4/24 Roundup: Good Car Bad Car, Right Track Wrong Track, Barack on a Hip Trip

Leader: Good Car Bad Car

- Ford Motor Co. lost $1.4 billion in the first quarter, but outperformed expectations, and will remain off the government dole.  Despite lower sales, the company used up less reserve capital last quarter than it did in the fourth quarter of 2008.

- Things are less rosy over at Chrysler. The Treasury has instructed Chrysler to be ready for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing as early as next week.  The company has until April 30 to reach a deal with Fiat, the Italian auto manufacturer with an interest in acquiring a stake in Chrysler. The WSJ reports that even if a deal is reached, Chrysler will likely still have to file for bankruptcy.

Politics

- For the first time in seven years, more Americans think the country is on the right track than think it's on the wrong track. This is great news for President Obama as his 100-day evaluations approach.

- In response to a Freedom of Information Act suit filed by the ACLU, the Obama administration will release a number of photographs depicting the harsh interrogations as they were used at US prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The photos are reportedly not as shocking as those that ignited the Abu Ghraib scandal, but many still fear that they could ignite a fresh backlash.

- Foreign Policy collects grades on Obama's performance in his first 100 days from a panoply of experts, academics and public intellectuals.  On the whole, he does quite well.  Except with Elliott Abrams.

Economy

- World Bank President Robert Zoellick spoke out against the trend among G-20 nations toward trade protectionism.  Rob has issued similar warnings. Quoth the Zoellick:

"As the recession deepens, leaders will be under pressure to protect home markets. Such retreats behind barriers will only make the economic crisis worse."

- China has revealed that it has been stockpiling bullion-- and we're talking gold, not chicken stock.  Much to everyone's surprise, China is now the world's fifth largest holder of gold.

International

- Under threat of an assault from the Pakistani military, Taliban insurgents pulled back from the Buner district that they had successfully occupied yesterday.  The US has been pushing Pakistan to fight the Taliban more aggressively. 

- The UN reports that nearly 6,500 ethnic Tamil civilians have been killed in Sri Lanka.  As many as 100,000 civilians have escaped the "no-fire zone" in which they have been trapped alongside the Tamil Tigers, who had taken refuge there from government forces. About 50,000 civilians remain trapped in the small sliver of land, lacking basic resources, and surrounded by violence.

New From NDN

- Rob Shapiro wrote yesterday about the political challenges to any kind of climate change legislation.  He writes:

Doing our part to contain climate changes will be very costly and consequently very difficult politically. That makes a strong, economic revival here and around the world perhaps the single most important thing the Obama administration can do right now to help preserve the Earth.

- Rep. John Larson unveiled a bill yesterday based on Rob Shapiro's paper calling for free computer training for all Americans through the US's community college system.  Dan got some nice pictures of the event.

One More Thing

- Politico earns MAJOR POINTS for referencing Tower of Power lyrics in a headline. Bonus point for concluding that Obama is hip.  (He's on a hip trip. Maybe hipper than hip.)

- A child asked Michelle Obama a totally adorable question: "What would you do if something bad happened to a country?" I think her answer rather reasonable.

- Last the guy who sang us a song about Paul Krugman a few weeks ago, today sings us one of the tortue memos.  It's a little incongruous, and an interesting way to listen to this cold language describing chilling acts: