20081216
Dick
Cheney - 
Torture
- War
Crimes - 
Criminal
- 
Terrorism
- 
Intelligence
- 
Politics
- 
Military
- Prison
- 
Law
- 
US
- Guantanamo_Bay
- 
Cuba
"Cheney
was key in clearing CIA interrogation tactics: The
vice president [Republican Dick Cheney] says that the use of waterboarding
was appropriate and that the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, should stay
open until 'the end of the war on terror.'" ... "[Republican] Vice President
Dick Cheney said Monday that he was directly involved in approving severe
interrogation methods used by the CIA [Central Intelligence Agency], and
that the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, should remain open indefinitely."
... "Cheney's comments also mark the first time that he has acknowledged
playing a central role in clearing the CIA's use of an array of controversial
interrogation tactics, including a simulated drowning method known as waterboarding."
... ""I was aware of the program, certainly, and involved in helping get
the process cleared," Cheney said in an interview with ABC News." ... "Asked
whether he still believes it was appropriate to use the waterboarding method
on terrorism suspects, Cheney said: "I do."" ... "His comments come on
the heels of disclosures by a Senate committee showing that high-level
officials in the [Republican President] Bush administration were intimately
involved in reviewing and approving interrogation methods that have since
been explicitly outlawed and that have been condemned internationally as
torture." -By Greg Miller
-LAtimes
China
- US
- 
British
- 
Hong
Kong - 
Taiwan
-
Foreign
- Language
- 
Websites
- Police
- Law
- 
Journalists
- 
Radio
- 
Sports
"China
'bans BBC Chinese website': China appears to have
banned a number of foreign websites, including the [United Kingdom's British
Broadcasting Corporation] BBC's Chinese language news site and Voice of
America in Chinese." ... "The sites had been unblocked after journalists
attending the Beijing [China's capital] Olympics complained that the government
was censoring sites deemed sensitive." ... "The BBC expressed disappointment
at the apparent reinstatement of the ban." ... "But a Chinese government
spokesman told journalists that some sites contained content that violated
Chinese law." ... "Among the other sites blocked are Asiaweek, Reporters
Without Borders and some Hong Kong and Taiwan sites." ... "China imposes
strict controls on the dissemination of information through the web, employing
teams of people to remove sensitive content, police bloggers and remove
access to certain sites." ... "In a statement, the BBC said it was disappointed
that Chinese-speaking audiences in China were denied access to BBCChinese.com."
... "It said that except during the 2008 Games, the website had been blocked
since its inception nearly a decade ago, and Mandarin radio broadcasts
had been "subject to persistent frequency interference for decades"."
-BBC/News
BBCChinese.com
20081213
US
- 
Iraq
- 
Reconstruction
- 
Money
- Politics
- Foreign
- 
Production- 
Accounting
- Investigations
- 
Federal
- 
History
- Military
- Law
"Official
History Spotlights Iraq Rebuilding Blunders." ...
"An unpublished, 513-page federal history of the American-led reconstruction
of Iraq depicts an effort crippled before the invasion by Pentagon planners
who were hostile to the idea of rebuilding a foreign country, and then
molded into a $100 billion failure by bureaucratic turf wars, spiraling
violence and ignorance of the basic elements of Iraqi society and infrastructure."
... "The history, the first official account of its kind, is circulating
in draft form here and in Washington among a tight circle of technical
reviewers, policy experts and senior officials. It also concludes that
when the reconstruction began to lag — particularly in the critical area
of rebuilding the Iraqi police and army — the Pentagon simply put out inflated
measures of progress to cover up the failures." ... "In one passage, for
example, [Republican President Bush's] former Secretary of State Colin
L. Powell is quoted as saying that in the months after the 2003 invasion,
the Defense Department "kept inventing numbers of Iraqi security forces
— the number would jump 20,000 a week! 'We now have 80,000, we now have
100,000,
we now have 120,000.'"" ... "Mr. Powell's assertion that the Pentagon inflated
the number of competent Iraqi security forces is backed up by [Lieutenant
General] Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, the former commander of ground troops
in Iraq, and L. Paul Bremer III, the top civilian administrator until an
Iraqi government took over in June 2004." ... "Among the overarching conclusions
of the history is that five years after embarking on its largest foreign
reconstruction project since the Marshall Plan in Europe after World War
II, the United States government has in place neither the policies and
technical capacity nor the organizational structure that would be needed
to undertake such a program on anything approaching this scale." ... "The
bitterest message of all for the reconstruction program may be the way
the history ends. The hard figures on basic services and industrial production
compiled for the report reveal that for all the money spent and promises
made, the rebuilding effort never did much more than restore what was destroyed
during the invasion and the convulsive looting that followed." ... "By
mid-2008, the history says, $117 billion had been spent on the reconstruction
of Iraq, including some $50 billion in United States taxpayer money." ...
"Five years after the invasion of Iraq, the history concludes, "the government
as a whole has never developed a legislatively sanctioned doctrine or framework
for planning, preparing and executing contingency operations in which diplomacy,
development and military action all figure."" ... "Titled "Hard Lessons:
The Iraq Reconstruction Experience," the new history was compiled by the
Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, led by
Stuart W. Bowen Jr., a Republican lawyer who regularly travels to Iraq
and has a staff of engineers and auditors based here." ... "The manuscript
is based on approximately 500 new interviews, as well as more than 600
audits, inspections and investigations on which Mr. Bowen's office has
reported individually over the years. Laid out for the first time in a
connected history, the material forms the basis for broad judgments on
the entire rebuilding program." ... "In the preface, Mr. Bowen gives a
searing critique of what he calls the "blinkered and disjointed prewar
planning for Iraq's reconstruction" and the botched expansion of the program
from a modest initiative to improve Iraqi services to a multibillion-dollar
enterprise." -By T.
Christian Miller and James
Glanz -ProPublica.org
-NYTimes
""Hard
Lessons: The Iraq Reconstruction Experience."" ... "The draft of
a federal report by the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq
Reconstruction. Annotations are based on the review's findings." [(PDF)
Original Document] via -NYTimes
20081212
Ted
Stevens - Criminal
- Politics
- 
Alaska
"Judge
temporarily lifts Stevens' law license: Decision
to suspend convicted senator's license could become permanent." ... "Convicted
[Alaska Republican Senator] Sen. Ted Stevens has temporarily lost his license
to practice law in the District of Columbia, a decision that could become
permanent after further proceedings." -AP
via -MSNBC
Investment
- Investigation
"Madoff
Confessed $50 Billion Fraud to Workers Before FBI Arrest."
... "Bernard
Madoff had confessed to employees this week that his investment
advisory business was “a giant Ponzi scheme” that cost clients $50 billion
before two FBI agents showed up yesterday morning at his Manhattan apartment."
... "“We’re here to find out if there’s an innocent explanation,” Agent
Theodore Cacioppi told Madoff, 70, who is considered a pioneer of modern
Wall Street." ... "“There is no innocent explanation,” Madoff told the
agents, saying he personally traded and lost money for institutional clients.
He said he “paid investors with money that wasn’t there” and expected to
go to jail. With that, agents arrested Madoff, according to an FBI complaint."
... "The 8:30 a.m. arrest capped the stunningly swift downfall of Madoff
and businesses bearing his name that specialized in trading securities,
making markets and advising wealthy clients. Many questions remain unanswered,
including whether Madoff’s clients actually lost $50 billion." ... "Madoff’s
firm had about $17.1 billion in assets under management as of Nov. 17,
according to NASD records." ... "Prosecutors are joining regulators at
the Securities
and Exchange Commission, which filed a civil lawsuit, in scrambling
to unravel the collapse of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC."
... "The case is U.S. v. Madoff, 08-MAG-02735, U.S. District Court for
the Southern District of New York (Manhattan)." -By
David Voreacos and David Glovin -Bloomberg
Barack
Obama - Media
- Politics
- Investigation
- History
- 
Illinois
"Media
Matters: Media pick up where they left off 8 years ago."
... "To anyone who lived through the media feeding frenzy of the 1990s,
during which the nation's leading news organizations spent the better part
of a decade destroying their own credibility by relentlessly hyping a series
of non-scandals, the past few days, in which the media have tried to shoehorn
[Democratic President Elect] Barack Obama into the [Illinois Democratic
Governor] Rod Blagojevich scandal, have been sickeningly familiar." ...
"Whenever reporters think -- or want you to think -- they've uncovered
a presidential scandal, they waste little time in comparing it to previous
controversies." ... "Perhaps the most striking aspect of the media's attempts
to link Obama to the Blagojevich scandal has been the volume of news reports
that are purely speculative -- and not only speculative, but vaguely
speculative. That is, they don't even consist of conjecture about specific
potential wrong doing. They simply consist of completely baseless speculation
that Obama might in some way become caught up in the investigation at some
point in the future, for some reason. It's little more than, "Maybe Obama
will be involved." Well, sure. And maybe he'll play shortstop for
the Washington Nationals [baseball team] next year." ... "If you want to
make a "scandal" stick to someone despite the inconvenient truth that they
aren't actually guilty of the purported wrongdoing in question, one thing
you do -- if you're the media covering a Democratic president, or an overzealous
conservative -- is continually expand the scandal's definition. So the
"scandal" grows and evolves into an amorphous mass of innuendo as political
opponents and journalists begin throwing everything against the wall, hoping
something will stick." ... "If the news media regains a bit of the skepticism
so many of them set aside for the past eight years, that would be an unequivocally
good thing, and it should be applauded." ... "But this week brought signs
that much of the media is set to resume the absurd and shameful behavior
that defined the 1990s -- guilt by association, circular analysis whereby
they ask baseless questions about non-scandals, then claim they have to
report on the "scandal" because the White House is "besieged by questions,"
grotesque leaps of logic, downplaying exculpatory information, and too
many other failings to list." ... "If that happens -- if the media continue
to behave as they did in covering Whitewater -- they will damage the country.
It's really that simple. We cannot afford to be distracted from serious
problems by overheated conjecture and baseless insinuation masquerading
as journalism." ... "That's how the media behaved the last time we had
a Democratic president. They devoted wall-to-wall coverage to invented
"scandals," ignored exculpatory evidence, saw evidence of guilt everywhere,
took people out of context in order to accuse them of lying, and generally
behaved like a pack of wild animals who couldn't tell right from wrong
or truth from fiction -- or who simply didn't care. As a group, they behaved
without ethical standards and without regard for the truth." ... "It's
our responsibility -- all of us -- to make sure it doesn't happen again."
-By Jamison
Foser -MediaMatters.org
20081211
Torture
- Prisons
-War
Crimes - Secret
- Military
- Government
- Intelligence
- Law
- Investigation
- Human
Rights - Politics
- History
- 
McCain
- 
Ariz
- 
Mich
- US
- Guantanamo
- Cuba
- Iraq
- 
Afghanistan
- China
- 
Korea
"Bipartisan
Report: Rumsfeld Responsible for Detainee Abuse:
Senate Committee Finds Officials Made Decisions That Led to Offenses Against
Prisoners." ... "A bipartisan panel of senators has concluded that [Republican
President Bush's] former defense secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and other
top Bush administration officials bear direct responsibility for the harsh
treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay [Cuba], and that their decisions
led to more serious abuses in Iraq and elsewhere." ... "In the most comprehensive
critique by Congress of the military's interrogation practices, the Senate
Armed Services Committee issued a report yesterday that accuses Rumsfeld
and his deputies of being the authors and chief promoters of harsh interrogation
policies that disgraced the nation and undermined U.S. security. The report,
released by Sens. [ Senators] Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.[ Democratic-Michigan])
and John McCain (R-Ariz.[ Republican Arizona]), contends that Pentagon
officials later tried to create a false impression that the policies were
unrelated to acts of detainee abuse committed by members of the military."
... ""The abuse of detainees in U.S. [United States] custody cannot simply
be attributed to the actions of 'a few bad apples' acting on their own,"
the report states. "The fact is that senior officials in the United States
government solicited information on how to use aggressive techniques, redefined
the law to create the appearance of their legality, and authorized their
use against detainees."" ... "The report is the most direct refutation
to date of the administration's rationale for using aggressive interrogation
tactics -- that inflicting humiliation and pain on detainees was legal
and effective, and helped protect the country. The 25-member panel, without
one dissent among the 12 Republican members, declared the opposite to be
true." ... "The [Republican President Bush's] administration's policies
and the resulting controversies, the panel concluded, "damaged our ability
to collect accurate intelligence that could save lives, strengthened the
hand of our enemies, and compromised our moral authority."" ... "A Defense
Department spokesman noted that the Pentagon cooperated extensively with
the Senate investigation and has taken numerous steps in recent years to
ensure the humane treatment of detainees." ... "The panel's investigation
focused on the Defense Department's employment of controversial interrogation
practices, including forced nudity, painful stress positions, sleep deprivation,
extreme temperatures and the use of dogs. The practices, some of which
had already been adopted by the CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] at its
secret prisons, were adapted for interrogations at the detention center
at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and later migrated to U.S. detention camps in
Afghanistan and Iraq, including the infamous Abu Ghraib prison." ... "The
true genesis of the decision to use coercive techniques, the report said,
was a memo signed by [Republican] President Bush on [February] Feb. 7,
2002, declaring that the Geneva Convention's standards for humane treatment
did not apply to captured al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters. As early as that
spring, the panel said, top administration officials, including National
Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, participated in meetings in which the
use of coercive measures was discussed. The panel drew on a written statement
by Rice, released earlier this year, to support that conclusion." ... "In
July 2002, Rumseld's senior staff began compiling information about techniques
used in military survival schools to simulate conditions that U.S. airmen
might face if captured by an enemy that did not follow the Geneva conditions.
Those techniques -- borrowed from a training program known as Survival,
Evasion, Resistance and Escape, or SERE -- included waterboarding, or simulated
drowning, and were loosely based on methods adopted by Chinese communists
to coerce propaganda confessions from captured U.S. soldiers during the
Korean war." ... "The SERE program became the template for interrogation
methods that were ultimately approved by Rumsfeld himself, the report says."
-By Joby Warrick and Karen DeYoung -WashingtonPost
[PDF]
"Senate
Armed Services Committee Inquiry Into The Treatment of Detainees In U.S.
Custody." ... “What sets us apart from our enemies
in this fight… is how we behave. In everything we do, we must observe the
standards and values that dictate that we treat noncombatants and detainees
with dignity and respect. While we are warriors, we are also all human
beings” -- General David Petraeus via -WashingtonPost
Animals
- Federal
- Law
- Enforcement
- 
Science
- Politics
- History
- Global
- 
Climate
- 
Ice
- 
Oil
- 
Emissions
- Construction
- Money
"Environmentalists:
New rule guts Endangered Species Act." ... "In a
move environmental groups says strikes at the heart of the Endangered Species
Act, the [Republican President] Bush administration on Thursday announced
a new rule that would let federal agencies decide on their own whether
their projects harm endangered species, instead of requiring them in many
cases to get a second opinion from federal wildlife experts." ... "Opponents
said the move destroys the checks and balances that have helped the gove
rnment save hundreds of species from extinction under the 1973 law." ...
"[Republican President Bush's] Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said
the reason for the rule change was linked to global warming." ... "Kempthorne
listed the polar bear as a threatened species in May but said that the
Endangered Species Act could not be used to try to halt global warming.
The new regulation specifies that there is no need for consultations when
the harm to endangered or threatened species is a result from a global
process that's too broad to measure." ... "Kempthorne said it's impossible
to pinpoint the death of any single animal from emissions from any single
polluter. In fact, emissions of heat-trapping gases disperse evenly in
the atmosphere around the globe and remain there for centuries. The resulting
warming and melting of polar ice have put the polar bear at risk of extinction
by mid-century, scientists have said." ... "The rule changes also go further
and specify that federal agencies are not required to consult with the
biologists of the two agencies that enforce the act — the Fish and Wildlife
Service and the National Marine Fisheries Services — if they think a project
such as a timber sale or construction of a power plant won't harm or kill
a threatened or endangered species. The changes do not rule out voluntary
consultations." ... "The Interior Department on Thursday also finalized
a rule implementing another section of the Endangered Species Act to clarify
that it will not protect polar bears from oil and gas development or greenhouse
gas emissions." -By
Renee
Schoof -McClatchyDC.com
John
Boehner
- 
Don
Young - 
Doc
Hastings - 
Jack
Abramoff - 
Tom
DeLay - 
Jerry
Lewis - 
Ken
Calvert - 
John
Doolittle - 
Ohio
- AK
- 
WA
-
Texas
- 
CA
- 
Florida
- Money
- Politics
- US
Attorney - Law
- Federal
- Investigation
"House
GOP [Republicans] Gives Scandal-Ridden Don Young’s Committee Seat To Scandal-Ridden
Doc Hastings." ... " ... [Ohio Republican Representative
and House Minority Leader John Boehner told Alaska Republican Representative]
Rep. Don Young (R-AK [Republican-Alaska]) that he could no longer support
him as ranking Republican on the Natural Resources Committee, leading to
Young’s resignation from the post." ... "The AP reports
that a panel of top House leaders picked [Washington state Republican Representative]
Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA [Republican-Washington]) today to lead the committee.
“The recommendation by the GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] Steering
Committee is final under a rule change adopted Wednesday.”" ... "Recall,
Jack Abramoff once boasted of having an “excellent
relationship” with Hastings, who received $14,000
[*]
from Abramoff’s firm, Preston Gates — including $1,000 from Abramoff himself.
After taking control of the Ethics Committee, Hastings reportedly fired
two staff lawyers involved in unanimous decisions to admonish
[Texas Republican] Tom DeLay for improper fundraising. Hastings also
contacted fired [United States] U.S. Attorney John McKay and attempted
to pressure
him in an ongoing investigation." ... "As ThinkProgress has documented,
Boehner has a history of playing musical chairs with committee assignments
for corrupt members:"
"[California
Republican Representative] Rep. Jerry Lewis: Boehner ruled that
Rep. Jerry Lewis of California could continue as the ranking member on
the Appropriations Committee while under federal
investigation on ethics charges."
"[California
Republican Representative] Rep. Ken Calvert: The GOP Steering Committee
appointed Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA[ Republican-California]) to [California
Republican Representative] Rep. Jon Doolittle’s (R-CA[ Republican-California])
Appropriations seat, after Doolittle was the subject of an FBI [Federal
Bureau of Investigation] investigation for his ties to Abramoff. Calvert
has profited
from legislation he supported and was caught
in the act with a prostitute."
"[Florida
Republican Representative] Rep. Tom Feeney: Feeney, who was questioned
by the FBI over his relationship with Abramoff took over as GOP [Republican]
leader on the space subcommittee for Calvert."
"Despite
Boehner’s ethics pledge
after ethics pledge,
the culture of corruption still rules at the end of the day." -By
Satyam
Khanna -ThinkProgress.org
20081210
Homeless
- 
Families
- Poverty
- Crisis
- Politics
- Law
- Police
- Florida
"Homeless
turn foreclosures into shelters." ... "For Max Rameau,
a vacant, boarded-up home is more than just a symbol of the national housing
crisis. It's an opportunity to house the homeless." ... "Rameau, a homeless
advocate, runs a controversial program in Miami [Florida] that helps families
squat in homes vacated because of bank foreclosures. Using Internet listings
and a team of volunteers, Rameau and his Take Back the Land foundation
matches homeless families with empty homes." ... "Rameau, 39, says his
efforts are creative solutions for two of America's biggest problems: rising
numbers of vacant homes and a growing homeless population. He has moved
in six families since January. The authorities so far haven't stopped him."
... ""It's morally indefensible to have vacant homes sitting there, potentially
for years, while you have human beings on the street," Rameau says." ...
"Kelly Penton, a city of Miami spokeswoman, says police don't have the
manpower to scour neighborhoods looking for squatters. Police only act
on a complaint by a property owner, which so far hasn't happened, she says."
... ""People need to obey the law, obviously," Penton says. "But it has
to be something that's reported to the city."" ... "With 44% of the nation's
744,000 homeless unsheltered, it's not surprising that people want to take
over homes, says Michael Stoops, executive director of the National Coalition
for the Homeless." -By Rick Jervis
-USATODAY
Illinois
- Law
- Enforcement
- 
Nevada
"All
50 Dem Senators Call On Blagojevich To Step Down."
... "Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean issued a statement
calling for Blagojevich's resignation:"
"The
arrest of and complaint against [Illinois Democratic Governor] Gov. Blagojevich
raises serious concerns about his ability to effectively represent the
people of Illinois. The conduct alleged represents a disgraceful abuse
of the public trust. In the interest of the people of Illinois and all
Americans, he should resign immediately. If he does not, I hope the Illinois
legislature will take action."
"All
fifty members of the Democratic Senate caucus have signed [Nevada Democratic
Senator and] Majority Leader Harry Reid's letter calling on Gov. Rod Blagojevich
to step down from his post and refrain from appointing anyone to the vacated
Illinois Senate seat, a source confirms." ... "It is also the first public
indication that the Senate will take constitutional provisions to untangle
any political appointment made by the embattled governor -- a legal maneuver
that various scholars have said is well within the body's rights." ...
"Here is the complete letter."
"Dear
Governor Blagojevich:"
"We
write to insist that you step down as Governor of Illinois and under no
circumstance make an appointment to fill the vacant Illinois Senate seat.
In light of your arrest yesterday on alleged federal corruption charges
related to that Senate seat, any appointment by you would raise serious
questions."
"It
is within the authority of the Illinois legislature to remove your power
to make this appointment by providing for a special election. But a decision
by you to resign or to step aside under Article V of the Illinois Constitution
would be the most expeditious way for a new Senator to be chosen and seated
in a manner that would earn the confidence of the people of Illinois and
all Americans. We consider it imperative that a new senator be seated as
soon as possible so that Illinois is fully represented in the Senate as
the important work of the 111th Congress moves forward."
"Please
understand that should you decide to ignore the request of the Senate Democratic
Caucus and make an appointment we would be forced to exercise our Constitutional
authority under Article I, Section 5, to determine whether such a person
should be seated."
"We
do not prejudge the outcome of the criminal charges against you or question
your constitutional right to contest those charges. But for the good of
the Senate and our nation, we implore you refrain from making an appointment
to the Senate."
"
-By
Sam
Stein -HuffingtonPost.com
Terrorism
- Criminal
- Political
- History
- Corporate
- Religion
-Prison
- 
Pat
Robertson - Abortion
- Gay
- Rights
- Law
- California
- Texas
- US
- Iraq
- Military
"Bush
Awards Presidential Citizen Medal To Watergate Crook Chuck Colson."
... "Established in 1969, the Presidential Citizens Medal is the second
highest honor for a civilian, recognizing Americans “who have performed
exemplary
deeds of service for the nation.”" ... "Today, [Republican] President
Bush honored 24 recipients of this year’s award, including actor Gary Sinise
and Teach for America founder Wendy Kopp. Also included in that mix was
Chuck Colson, “the first member of the [Republican President] Nixon administration
to serve
prison time for Watergate-related offenses.” Colson was President Nixon’s
counsel from 1969-1973 and pleaded guilty in 1974 to obstruction of justice.
Colson received a one to three year sentence, but served just seven months.
David Plotz at Slate described Colson’s role in the Nixon administration:"
"As
special counsel to the president, he [Chuck Colson] was [Republican President]
Richard Nixon’s hard man, the “evil genius” of an evil administration.
According to Watergate historian Stanley Kutler, Colson sought to hire
Teamsters thugs to beat up anti-war demonstrators, and he plotted to raid
or firebomb the Brookings Institution. He eventually pleaded guilty to
scheming to defame Daniel Ellsberg and interfering with his trial."
"Since
that time, Colson has become an evangelical prison reformer, running the
nonprofit Prison Fellowship, which advocates for “privately run prisons
and the delivery of all social services by faith-based groups.” However,
according to author Allan Lichtman in “White Protestant Nation,” Colson
has also remained involved in conservative politics:"
"Colson
brought together politically conservative Catholics and Protestands for
a statement of common beliefs, advised conservative politicians including
Texas [Republican] governor George W. Bush, and worked with Christian right
leaders Pat Robertson and James Dobson on the development of political
strategy. He disseminated conservative messages on sex roles, abortion,
homosexuality, pornography, gay rights, and separation of church and state
in his radio broadcasts and columns, reaching millions of Americans."
"On
October 3, 2002, Colson was also one of the co-signers of a letter
from prominent evangelical leaders supporting an invasion of Iraq. More
recently he has spoken out in favor of California’s Prop. 8, accusing the
LGBT community of “anti-religious bigotry.”" -By Amanda
Terkel -ThinkProgress.org
20081209
Military- Inpector
- 
Safer
- 
Vehicles
- Technology
- Politics
- MRAPS
- US
- Iraq
"Pentagon
ignored danger of roadside bombs, report finds."
... "The military ignored steps before the invasion of Iraq that could
have prevented the staggering number of casualties from roadside bombs,
the Pentagon's acting inspector general charged Tuesday." ... "The IG's
[Inspector General's] report says that the military knew years before the
war that mines and homemade bombs, which the military calls "improvised
explosive devices," would be a "threat . . . in low-intensity conflicts"
and that "mine-resistant vehicles" were available." ... ""Yet the military
did not develop requirements for, fund or acquire" safer vehicles, the
report says. The military invaded Iraq in 2003 "without having taken available
steps to acquire technology to mitigate the known mine and IED [Improvised
Explosive Device] risk to soldiers and Marines."" ... "Even after the war
was under way, as the devices began taking a deadly toll and field commanders
pressed for vehicles that were better protected from roadside bombs, the
Pentagon was slow to act, the report says." ... "The IG's office is headed
by Acting Inspector General Gordon Heddell." ... "Explosive devices, including
roadside bombs and mines, have caused nearly 25,000 deaths and injuries,
according to the Pentagon, the top cause of death for U.S. [United States]
service members in Iraq." ... "The IG report says that the military "stopped
processing" a 2005 request for 1,169 MRAPS [Mine Resistant Ambush Protected
vehicles] from commanders in the field. " -By David
Goldstein -McClatchyDC.com
Kevin
Martin - Corporate
- Government
- Politics
- 
Telecommunications
- Accounting
- Investigation
- Consumers
- 
Video
- Media
"Congressional
report: FCC chair abused power." ... "[Republican
President Bush's] Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin
ignored his responsibilities as head of the regulatory body and abused
his power, according to a congressional report released Tuesday." ... "Over
the course of his tenure, Martin manipulated and withheld information from
the other FCC [Federal Communications Commission] commissioners and from
Congress, neglected his statutory responsibilities to produce certain information
to Congress, and ignored evidence that certain national communications
programs were being grossly mismanaged, according to the report issued
by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, titled "Deception
and Distrust: The Federal Communications Commission Under Chairman Kevin
J. Martin." (PDF)" ... "The committee launched a bipartisan investigation
in January after hearing allegations of mismanagement from current and
former FCC employees, telecommunications industry representatives, and
other FCC commissioners." ... "Typically, a congressional committee would
hold hearings to investigate such matters, but the report was issued in
lieu of hearings because, the report says, "due to the climate of fear
that pervades the FCC...we found that key witnesses were unwilling to testify
or even to have their names become known."" ... "The chairman's office,
the report says, ignored evidence consumers were overcharged and providers
were overcompensated by as much as $100 million a year. The neglect of
that information led to a windfall of millions of dollars for the largest
TRS [Telecommunications Relay Service] provider, Sorenson, which covers
about 80 percent of the video relay services market." ... "The report also
recommends the Government Accountability Office audit the entire TRS program,
including the FCC's efforts to protect the integrity of the fund." ...
"The report also says Martin manipulated information given to his fellow
commissioners and Congress. For instance, upon becoming chair in 2005,
the report says, Martin ordered FCC staff to reverse the findings of a
study, which initially said that "a la carte" cable programming would not
benefit consumers. He also demoted the Media Bureau chief, who had been
in charge of the study." ... "The reversal led to suspicion inside and
out of the FCC that the study sent to Congress was not based on objective
analysis, the committee report says." -By Stephanie
Condon -CNET
/News
Washington
-Political
- Financing- Accounting
- Investigation
- Realtors
"Realtor
group's account of expenses disputed: [Washington
state's Public Disclosure Commission] PDC's complaints include over-the-limit
contributions to [Washington state's Republican Governor Candidate Dino]
Rossi." ... "State regulators have filed their second campaign-finance
complaint of the year against the Washington Association of Realtors, this
time alleging that the association improperly reported its spending on
Republicans in races for governor and attorney general." ... "The executive
director of the Public Disclosure Commission, Vicki Rippie, filed her complaint
last week, and the agency is launching a full investigation, spokesmen
said this week." ... "The complaint also named the GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican]
campaigns of Attorney General Rob McKenna and gubernatorial hopeful Dino
Rossi." ... "The Realtors PAC and [Realtors'] Quality of Life PAC
both, in effect, made over-limit contributions to Rossi of $497,806. Rossi
allegedly gave fundraising help to R-PAC before it sponsored its ads."
... "The PDC allegations do go so far as to suggest that the Realtors,
Rossi or McKenna conspired to get around rules that forbid coordination
between campaigns and independent groups. But they do say that actions
the Realtors and Mc Kenna campaign took made the PACs ineligible for independent
expenditures on behalf of Mc Kenna." ... "Realtors paid $80,000 in fines
earlier in the year to settle an earlier complaint over failing to fully
report $953,000 in transactions during 2004-07 — including $310,000 in
independent expenditures during 2004. Another $50,000 of fines were suspended
on condition the group did not have further wrongdoing." (1, 2)
-By Brad Shannon -TheOlympian.com
Larry
Craig - 
Idaho
- Politician
- Saint
Paul - 
Minnesota
- Police
"Court
denies Sen. Craig's effort to withdraw sex-sting plea."
... "The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Tuesday rejected U.S. [United States,
Idaho Republican Senator] Sen. Larry Craig's effort to withdraw his guilty
plea to a misdemeanor offense of disorderly conduct in connection with
a sex-sting operation." ... "The Idaho Republican was arrested in the Minneapolis-St.
Paul [Saint Paul, Minnesota's capital] airport in June 2007 after an undercover
police officer accused him of soliciting sex by using hand signals and
tapping his foot in a bathroom stall. Two months after his arrest, and
without consulting a lawyer, Craig pleaded guilty to the charge without
appearing in court." ... "After the incident became public, he attempted
to withdraw his plea, contending that his "wide stance" had been misinterpreted
by the arresting officer and that he had pleaded guilty simply to get the
matter over with." -CNN
Barack
Obama - Illinois
- Politics
- Federal
- Investigation
"Fitzgerald:
No evidence Obama knew of Blagojevich's scheme."
... "Illinois [Democratic Governor] Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested Tuesday
on charges of trying to trade [Democratic] President-elect Barack Obama’s
vacant Senate seat for a lucrative job in the future Obama administration."
... "Chicago [Illinois, United States] U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald,
the prosecutor who brought the charges, described the allegations against
Blagojevich as a "political corruption crime spree," but emphasized that
he had no evidence Obama was aware of the scheme." ... "Blagojevich was
aware he was already under federal investigation for other pay-to-play
allegations even as he speculated how he could sell the senate seat, the
affidavit said." ... "The 76-page affidavit, which quotes lengthy taped
phone and office conversations, appears to indicate that Obama’s advisers
were not receptive to the scheme. In one passage, Blagojevich allegedly
says he knew Obama wanted an unnamed "Senate Candidate 1" for the seat
but that "they’re not willing to give me anything except appreciation.
F--- them."" -By
Marisa
Taylor -McClatchyDC.com
[PDF]
78-page FBI affidavit via ChicagoTribune
Blackwater
- Investigation
- Corporate
- Military
- California
- 
North
Carolina - US
- Iraq
- International
- Politics
"Plea
by Blackwater guard helps indict 5 others." ... "In
the first public airing of an investigation that remains a source of international
outrage, the Justice Department unsealed its case against five private
security guards, built largely around the chilling testimony of a sixth
guard about the 2007 shootings that left 17 unsuspecting Iraqi civilians
dead at a busy Baghdad [Iraq's capital] traffic circle." ... "In pleading
guilty to manslaughter, the sixth security guard, Jeremy Ridgeway of California,
described how he and the other guards used automatic rifles and grenade
launchers to fire on cars, houses, a traffic officer and a girls' school.
In addition to those killed, at least 20 people were wounded." ... "The
six guards were employed by Blackwater Worldwide, the largest security
contractor in Iraq; the company, based in North Carolina, has not been
charged in the case." ... "Ridgeway said in the court documents unsealed
Monday that the episode in Nisour Square on Sept. 16, 2007, started when
the guards opened fire on a white Kia sedan "that posed no threat to the
convoy."" ... "The case remained a sore point during the [Republican President]
Bush administration's negotiations with Iraq for an agreement setting new
rules for the continuing presence of U.S. [United States] troops. Ultimately,
a major provision of the agreement ended immunity for private contractors
working in Iraq." (1, 2)
-By Ginger
Thompson -IHT.com
20081206
US
- Iraq
-Corporate
- Military
- Federal
- Investigation
"Blackwater
Guards Indicted In Deadly Baghdad Shooting: 5 Face
Trial Over Incident That Killed 17 Civilians, Sources Say." ... "Five Blackwater
Worldwide Security guards have been charged in a September 2007 shooting
that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead and raised questions about the U.S. government's
use of security contractors in combat zones, according to two sources familiar
with the case." ... "The guards, all former U.S. military personnel, worked
as security contractors for the State Department, assigned to protect U.S.
diplomats and other nonmilitary officials in Iraq." ... "Federal prosecutors
obtained the indictment Thursday, and it was sealed. Channing Phillips,
a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the District, declined to
comment on the investigation. The exact nature of the charges could not
be determined." ... "The sources said the government is bringing the charges
under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, which has been previously
used to prosecute only cases referred to federal prosecutors by the Defense
Department for crimes committed by military personnel overseas." -By
Del Quentin Wilber -WashingtonPost
20081203
Michael
Mukasey - 
Karl
Rove - 
Harriet
Miers - US
Attorney - Politics
- Federal
- Investigation
"Federal
Prosecutor Is Making Inquiries in the Investigation of the Dismissal of
U.S. Attorneys." ... "A prosecutor who is investigating
the dismissals of nine [United States] U.S. attorneys has been meeting
with defense lawyers, dispatching subpoenas and seeking information about
the events, according to legal sources familiar with the case." ... "Attorney
General Michael B. Mukasey appointed prosecutor Nora R. Dannehy two months
ago, after the department's Office of Inspector General and Office of Professional
Responsibility reported that they had hit a roadblock in their lengthy
probe into whether political interference prompted the dismissals. Internal
investigators said they had been stymied by the refusal of key witnesses,
including former [Republican President Bush] presidential adviser Karl
Rove and former White House counsel Harriet E. Miers, to cooperate." ...
"By naming a federal prosecutor to determine whether crimes have been committed,
the attorney general ensured that authorities would have the power to compel
testimony and documents. Dannehy, a longtime assistant U.S. attorney in
Connecticut, in recent weeks has met with lawyers and government officials
involved in the case. A grand jury in the District has issued subpoenas,
the sources said." ... "The requests for documents could provoke another
legal skirmish in a fight over the scope of executive power wielded by
the Bush administration." -By Carrie Johnson -WashingtonPost
20081202
Barack
Obama - 
Stephen
Johnson - Water
- 
Earth
- Coal
- Companies
- Government
- Law
- Enforcement
- Politics
- 
Kentucky
- 
Tennessee
"EPA
to gut mountaintop mining rule that protects streams."
... "The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday approved a last-minute
rule change by the [Republican President] Bush administration that will
allow coal companies to bury streams under the rocks leftover from mining."
... "The 1983 rule prohibited dumping the fill from mountaintop removal
mining within 100 feet of streams. In practice, the government hadn't been
enforcing the rule. Government figures show that 535 miles of streams were
buried or diverted from 2001 to 2005, more than half of them in the mountains
of Appalachia. Along with the loss of the streams has been an increase
of erosion and flooding." ... "The 11th hour change before President George
W. Bush leaves office would eliminate a tool that citizens groups have
used in lawsuits to keep mining waste out of streams. Mining companies
had been pushing for the change for years." ... "It also means that [Democratic]
President-elect Barack Obama's administration will have to decide whether
to try to restore and enforce the rule, a process that could take many
months of new rulemaking. Obama's transition team declined to comment on
its plans on Tuesday." ... "Another option would be for opponents to go
through the courts. Opponents have argued that the rule change is illegal."
... "For now, however, the EPA's approval means there are no further obstacles
to the Office of Surface Mining's plans to change the rule. The White House's
Office of Management and Budget approved it on Monday. The Department of
Interior, which includes the mining office, plans to make the rule final
in December after briefing members of Congress, and it will go into effect
30 days after that, said spokesman Peter Mali." ... "The timing means the
rule is expected to be in effect when Obama takes office in January." ...
"In approving the change in writing as required by law, [Republican President
Bush's Environmental Protection Agency] EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson
rejected the appeals of environmentalists and some coal-country officials,
including Kentucky [Democratic Governor] Gov. Steve Beshear and Tennessee
[Democratic Governor] Gov. Phil Bredesen, both Democrats." ... "In a letter
in November to Johnson, Beshear said his state had to protect its water
and that while coal was important to the economy, it should be mined in
environmentally responsible ways." -By Renee Schoof
and Bill Estep -Herald-Leader
-McClatchyDC.com
20081118
Ted
Stevens - Criminal
- Oil
- Money
- Federal
- Law
- Alaska
- History
- 2008
Election
"Alaska
Sen. Ted Stevens loses re-election bid." ... "[Alaska
Republican Senator] Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest serving Republican in
Senate history, narrowly lost his [2008 Election] re-election bid Tuesday,
marking the downfall of a Washington political power and Alaska icon who
couldn't survive a conviction on federal corruption charges. His defeat
by Anchorage [Alaska] Mayor Mark Begich moves Senate Democrats within two
seats of a filibuster-proof 60-vote majority." ... "Stevens' ouster on
his 85th birthday marks an abrupt realignment in Alaska politics and will
alter the power structure in the Senate, where he has served since the
days of the [Democratic President] Johnson administration while holding
seats on some of the most influential committees in Congress." ... "Last
month just days before the election, Stevens was convicted by a federal
jury in Washington of lying on Senate disclosure forms to conceal more
than $250,000 in gifts and home renovations from an oil field services
company. -By Michael R. Blood with contributions by
Jesse J. Holland, Andrew Taylor and Rachel D'Oro
-AP via -Yahoo
20081116
Obama
- Government
- Law
- Enforcement
- Markets
- Accounting
-History
- 
Enron
- 
Eliot
Spitzer - 
New
York - US
- Global
"How
to Ground The Street: The Former 'Enforcer' On the
Best Way to Keep Financial Markets in Check." ... "[Democratic] President-elect
Barack Obama will soon face the extraordinary task of saving capitalism
from its own excesses, much as [Democratic President] Franklin D. Roosevelt
had to do 76 years ago. Up until this point in the crisis, policymakers
have appropriately applied the rules of triage -- Band-Aids and tourniquets,
then radical surgery -- to keep the global financial system alive. Capital
infusions, bailouts, mega-mergers, government guarantees of unimaginable
proportions -- all have been sought and supported by officials and corporate
chief executives who had until now opposed any government participation
in the marketplace. But put aside for the moment the ideological cartwheel
we have seen and look at the big picture: The rules of modern capitalism
have been re-written before our eyes." ... "The new president's team must
soon get to the root causes of the mistakes that have brought us to the
economic precipice. Yes, we have all derided the explosion of leverage,
the failure to regulate derivatives, the flood of subprime lending that
was bound to default and the excesses of CEO [Chief Executive Officer]
compensation. But these are all mere manifestations of three deeper structural
problems that require greater attention: misconceptions about what a "free
market" really is, a continuing breakdown in corporate governance and an
antiquated and incoherent federal financial regulatory framework." ...
"First, we must confront head-on the pervasive misunderstanding of what
constitutes a "free market." For long stretches of the past 30 years, too
many Americans fell prey to the ideology that a free market requires nearly
complete deregulation of banks and other financial institutions and a government
with a hands-off approach to enforcement. "We can regulate ourselves,"
the mantra went." ... "Those of us who raised red flags about this were
scoffed at for failing to understand or even believe in "the market." During
my tenure as New York state attorney general, my colleagues and I sought
to require investment banking analysts to provide their clients with unbiased
recommendations, devoid of undisclosed and structural conflicts. But powerful
voices with heavily vested interests accused us of meddling in the market."
... "When my office, along with the Department of Justice, warned that
some of American International Group's reinsurance transactions were little
more than efforts to create the false impression of extra capital on the
company's balance sheet, we were jeered at for attacking one of the nation's
great insurance companies, which surely knew how to balance risk and reward."
... "And when the attorneys general of all 50 states sought to investigate
subprime lending, believing that some lending practices might be toxic,
we were blocked by a coalition of the major banks and the [Republican President]
Bush administration, which invoked a rarely used statute to preempt the
states' ability to probe." ... "No major market problem has been resolved
through self-regulation, because individual competitive behavior doesn't
concern itself with the larger market. Individual actors care only about
performing better than the next guy, doing whatever is permitted -- or
will go undetected. Look at the major bubbles and market crises. Long-Term
Capital Management, Enron, the subprime lending scandals: All are classic
demonstrations of the bitter reality that greed, not self-discipline, rules
where unfettered behavior is allowed." ... "Those who truly understand
economics, as did Adam Smith, do not preach an absence of government participation.
A market doesn't exist in a vacuum. Rather, a market is a product of laws,
rules and enforcement. It needs transparency, capital requirements and
fidelity to fiduciary duty. The alternative, as we are seeing, is anarchy."
(1, 2)
-By Eliot L. Spitzer -WashingtonPost
20081114
Don
E Siegelman -Karl
Rove - Michael
Mukasey - 
Leura
G Canary - 
Bob
Riley - Criminal
- US
Attorney - Politics- Federal
- Law
- 
Alabama
- 
Georgia
- Michigan
"More
Allegations of Misconduct in Alabama Governor Case."
... "Next month in Atlanta [Georgia's capital], a federal court will hear
the high-profile appeal of former [Democratic] Alabama governor Don E.
Siegelman, whose conviction on corruption charges in 2006 became one of
the most publicly debated cases to emerge from eight years of controversy
at the [Republican President] Bush Justice Department. Now new documents
highlight alleged misconduct by the Bush-appointed [United States] U.S.
Attorney and other prosecutors in the case, including what appears to be
extensive and unusual contact between the prosecution and the jury." ...
"The documents, obtained by TIME, include internal
prosecution e-mails [PDF] given to the Justice Department and Congress
by a whistle-blower during the past 18 months. [Michigan Democratic Representative]
John Conyers, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which investigated
the
Siegelman case as part of a broader inquiry into alleged political
interference in the hiring and firing of U.S. Attorneys by the Bush Justice
Department, last week sent an
eight-page letter [PDF] to Attorney General Michael Mukasey citing
the new material." ... "Conyers says the evidence raises "serious questions"
about the U.S. Attorney in the Siegelman case, who, documents show, continued
to involve herself in the politically charged prosecution long after she
had publicly withdrawn to avoid an alleged conflict of interest relating
to her husband, a top GOP operative and close associate of Bush adviser
Karl Rove. Conyers' letter also cites evidence of numerous contacts between
jurors and members of the Siegelman prosecution team that were never disclosed
to the trial judge or defense counsel." ... "Critics, including a bipartisan
group of 52 state attorneys general, have raised numerous questions, including
the allegation that Siegelman was prosecuted at the insistence of Bush-appointed
officials at the Justice Department and Leura G. Canary, a U.S. Attorney
in Montgomery [Alabama] whose husband [William "Bill" Canary] was Alabama's
top Republican operative and who had worked
closely with Rove for years." ... "The documents — whose authenticity
is not in dispute — include e-mails written by Canary, long after her recusal,
offering legal advice to subordinates handling the case. At the time Canary
wrote the e-mails, her husband — Alabama GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican
operative William J. Canary — was a vocal booster of the state's Republican
governor, Bob Riley, who had defeated Siegelman for the office and against
whom Siegelman was preparing to run again. Canary also received tens of
thousands of dollars in fees from other political opponents of Siegelman."
... "A key prosecution e-mail describes how jurors repeatedly contacted
the government's legal team during the trial to express, among other things,
one juror's romantic interest in a member of the prosecution team." ...
"What's more, when prosecutors conducted their own investigation of suspected
improper conduct by jurors after the trial, two of them were interviewed,
despite instructions from the judge that no contact with jurors should
occur without his permission. Those interviews were not publicly disclosed
until nearly two years later, when the head of the [Department Of Justice]
DOJ's criminal division belatedly wrote all parties, including the appeals
court in Atlanta, to inform them." ... "Further undisclosed evidence of
prosecution team members speaking with jurors following the verdict emerges
in [Justice Department staffer Tamarah] Grimes' written statement to the
DOJ." -By Adam Zagorin
-TIME.com
Criminal
- 
Computer
- Hackers
- 
E-Mails
- Corporation
- Technology
- California- US
- Worldwide
"Spam
traffic plunges after report blames server hosting company:
The number of such e-mails falls about two-thirds worldwide after Internet
providers cut off a server company accused of enabling nefarious activity."
... ""I'm not under the illusion that it's going to last forever, but it's
nice to have these small victories," said Paul Ferguson, an advanced threat
researcher at software security company Trend Micro Inc. who contributed
to the effort." ... "He and other analysts circulated a dense report Wednesday
that blamed some companies for allowing spam to proliferate. Two big providers
of Internet connections named in it -- Hurricane Electric Internet Services
and Global Crossing Ltd. -- acted quickly to cut ties to the core subject
of the document, a little-known Silicon Valley [California] company called
McColo Corp. [Corporation] that rents out servers to clients." ... "The
researchers didn't say whether McColo knowingly aided criminals, but they
described some of the nefarious activities conducted on some websites the
company hosted. Among other things, McColo reportedly enabled its customers
to control vast networks of hijacked computers to send spam and take payments
for fake anti-virus software." ... "The criminal groups that allegedly
used McColo are largely believed to be based overseas. The groups now have
to find other service providers." -By Joseph Menn
-LAtimes
20081113
Henry
Paulson
- Corporate
- Government
- Investigation
- Legislation
"Bailout
Lacks Oversight Despite Billions Pledged: Watchdog
Panel Is Empty; Report Is Unfinished." ... "In the six weeks since lawmakers
approved the Treasury's massive bailout of financial firms, the government
has poured money into the country's largest banks, recruited smaller banks
into the program and repeatedly widened its scope to cover yet other types
of businesses, from insurers to consumer lenders." ... "Along the way,
the [Republican President] Bush administration has committed $290 billion
of the $700 billion rescue package." ... "Yet for all this activity, no
formal action has been taken to fill the independent oversight posts established
by Congress when it approved the bailout to prevent corruption and government
waste. Nor has the first monitoring report required by lawmakers been completed,
though the initial deadline has passed." ... "The legislation grants the
special inspector, who is expected to be the primary overseer of the program,
a budget of $50 million. The measure calls for him to conduct audits and
investigations of how the government spends money under the bailout program,
including on equity investments in firms. In particular, he is to report
about any assets acquired and their value, plus an explanation of why they
were acquired and details on individuals or companies involved in the transactions."
... "The leading candidate for the post is Neil M. Barofsky, a federal
prosecutor in New York, and his nomination could come as soon as this week,
according to people familiar with the matter." ... "For their part, lawmakers
have yet to nominate the five-member Congressional Oversight Panel, though
leaders of both parties said they hoped they would be named by the end
of the month and start work by December." ... "The legislation also created
a body called the Financial Stability Oversight Board, whose five members
include [Republican President Bush's Treasury Secretary Henry] Paulson
and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke. But it has no staff of its
own, and few expect that policymakers can conduct oversight of themselves.
"It's sort of a joke in terms of oversight," a congressional aide said."
(1, 2)
-By Amit R. Paley -WashingtonPost
20081112
Blackwater
- Corporate- Military
- Federal
- Investigation
- NC
- US
- Iraq
"Blackwater
likely to be fined millions in Iraq weapons case."
... "The State Department is preparing to slap a multi-million dollar fine
on private military contractor Blackwater USA for shipping hundreds of
automatic weapons to Iraq without the necessary permits." ... "Some of
the weapons are believed to have ended up on the country's black market,
department officials told McClatchy, but no criminal charges have been
filed in the case." ... "The expected fine is the result of a long-running
federal investigation into whether employees of the firm shipped weapons
hidden in shrink-wrapped pallets from its Moyock, N.C. [North Carolina]
headquarters to Iraq, where Blackwater is the State Department's largest
personal security contractor." ... "Since the arms shipment allegations
first became public 14 months ago, Blackwater, which has received $1.2
billion in federal contracts, according to the Web site fedspending.org,
has consistently denied involvement in illicit arms trafficking." ... "However,
the State Department found that Blackwater shipped 900 weapons to Iraq
without the paperwork required by arms export control regulations, one
department official said. Of that number, 119 were "particularly ... erroneous,"
he said." ... "Blackwater employees are also the subjects of a Justice
Department probe into the killing of 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad's [Iraq's
capital] Nisoor Square on Sept. [September] 16, 2007." ... "A federal grand
jury is weighing whether to indict the Blackwater guards who were involved
in the killings." -By
Warren
P. Strobel -McClatchyDC.com
Barack
Obama - 2008
Election - Race
- Terrorism
- Politics
- 
New
Jersey -New
York - Michigan
-
Pennsylvania
-Calif
- North
Carolina - 
Maine
"Local
Newspapers Cover Rising Number of Racist Anti-Obama Actions in Small Towns."
... "Away from the spotlight, many local newspapers around the country
have covered recent incidents of racially-motivated reactions to last week’s
[2008] election, from flags hung upside down to the dangling of nooses
and cross-burnings. As we noted last week, a couple in northern New Jersey
who had an [Democratic President-Elect Barack] Obama sign on their front
lawn woke up to find the charred remains of a cross out there. Local residents
today announced a "unity march" to protest the still-unsolved incident."
... "Now come these fresh reports." ... "The Associated Press revealed
today, "Police on eastern Long Island [New York region] are investigating
reports that more than a dozen cars were spray painted with racist graffiti,
reportedly including a message targeting President-elect Barack Obama.
The graffiti included racist slurs and sexually graphic references. At
least one resident in the quiet Mastic [New York] neighborhood told Newsday
her son's car was scribbled with a message threatening to kill Obama.""
... "Employees at Hampel's Key and Lockshop in Traverse City, Michigan,
flew an American flag upside down last Wednesday protesting of the new
president-elect, the Traverse City Record-Eagle reported." ... "Also in
Michigan, in Midland, a man dressed in full Ku Klux Klan regalia walked
around toting a handgun and waving an American flag. Initially denying
it, the man eventually admitted to police that the display was a reaction
to the Obama victory." ... "In Pennsylvania, an interracial couple in Apolacon
Township discovered the remains of a burned cross in their front yard."
... "Authorities in Temecula, Calif. [California], found spray-painted
graffiti on a city sidewalk containing a swastika and anti-Obama slogan."
... "Today, the NAACP called on North Carolina State University to expel
four students who spray painted racist messages about Obama." ... "Another
post-election noose incident happened in Maine. “More than 75 people rallied
Sunday against an incident last week in which black figures were hanged
by nooses from trees on Mount Desert Island the day after Barack Obama
won the presidential election,” according to the Bangor Daily News." -By
Dexter Hill -EditorAndPublisher.com
Corporate
- Government
- Politics
- Investigations
- 
Massachusetts
- New
York
"Hard
Times, But Big Wall Street Bonuses." ... "For Wall
Street workers still employed, there could be a hefty bonus in their checks
next month." ... "According to a report from financial news agency Bloomberg,
Goldman Sachs, for example, has set aside $6.8 billion for bonuses, and
Morgan Stanley, $6.4 billion." ... "And the chairman of the House Financial
Services Committee, Massachusetts [Democratic Representative] Democrat
Barney Frank, isn't happy. "These are people who lost enormous amounts
of money," Frank observes. "How do you give a bonus to someone for having
failed so badly as many of these people did?"" ... "What's got many on
Main Street and Capitol Hill angry, [CBSNews correspondent Priya] David
says, is the possibility that some of the $700 billion government bailout
package could go into the pockets of Wall Streeters to pay their bonuses."
... ""All of the money is to go into new loans," Frank points out. "None
of it is to go into compensation of any kind for the employees."" ... "[Democratic]
New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has opened an investigation
into the Wall Street bonuses. He sent a letter to nine financial institutions,
demanding "a detailed accounting regarding your expected payments to top
management in the upcoming bonus season."" ... "Cuomo told CBS News, "These
are tax dollars that are going to these institutions, and I believe the
taxpayers have a right to hold the institutions accountable for what they're
doing with their money."" -CBSNews
20081110
Child
- 
Labor
- Safety
- Enforcement
- Employers
- Politics
- 
Food
- 
Agriculture
- Plants
- Construction
- 
People
- Federal
- Immigration
- North
Carolina - 
South
Carolina - 
Iowa
"Child
labor going largely unchecked." ... "Nery Castañeda
tackled a job that was never intended for kids his age." ... "One afternoon
last fall, the 17-year-old Guatemala native ran a machine to grind damaged
pallets into mulch. When a co-worker at the Greensboro [North Carolina]
plant returned from another task, he didn't see Nery – until he looked
inside the shredder." ... "“A person shouldn't die like this,” said older
brother Luis. “…He came with a dream and found death.”" ... "Decades after
the enactment of regulations designed to prevent such tragedies, thousands
of youths still get hurt on American jobs deemed unsafe for young workers.
On a typical day, more than 400 juvenile workers are injured on the job.
Once every 10 days, on average, a worker under the age of 18 is killed,
federal statistics show." ... "Enforcement has waned, despite new evidence
that many employers are ignoring child labor laws. U.S. [United States]
Department of Labor investigations have dropped by nearly half since fiscal
year 2000." ... "“There are lots of kids being asked to do work that's
been prohibited for them – and it's been prohibited because it's dangerous,”
said Carol Runyan, who heads UNC's Injury Prevention Research Center. “…Our
system is failing them.”" ... "More than 3 million youths under age 18
have jobs. Regulations prohibit them from doing a variety of hazardous
jobs, including most meat-processing work." ... "But last month, at an
immigration raid at a House of Raeford Farms poultry plant in Greenville,
S.C. [South Carolina], six juveniles were among the workers detained. Three
young workers told the Observer they were under 18 when they held jobs
at House of Raeford plants requiring them to make thousands of cuts a day
with sharp knives. The company says it requires job applicants to present
identification showing their age, but not all the documentation is accurate."
... "At Agriprocessors, a large meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, authorities
recently charged owners with thousands of child-labor violations after
finding that teenage employees were asked to use circular saws, clean floors
with powerful chemicals and perform other dangerous tasks." ... "“The raids
in Postville and Greenville show that 15- and 16-year-old kids are doing
some of the most dangerous jobs in America,” says Reid Maki of the National
Consumers League. “ … It's time for the U.S. Department of Labor to investigate
slaughterhouses and poultry plants.”" ... "A study of 16- and 17-year-old
construction workers in North Carolina, published in 2006, found that more
than 80 percent did tasks that were clearly prohibited. A national survey
of young retail and service workers, published in 2007, found that more
than half of males and more than 40 percent of females performed prohibited
tasks." ... "Runyan, who co-authored both studies, says much of the blame
lies with employers." ... "“I suspect there are employers who flagrantly
disregard the law,” she said. “And I suspect there are others who are clueless.”"
... "Total federal penalties for child labor violations dropped 29 percent
from 2000 to 2007." -By Ames Alexander and Franco
Ordonez -Observer
20081108
Sarah
Palin - Barack
Obama - 2008
Election - Rhetoric
- Politics
- Racist
- Federal
- Investigation
- Intelligence
"Sarah
Palin blamed by the US Secret Service over death threats against Barack
Obama: [2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential
Candidate] Sarah Palin's attacks on [2008 Election Democratic President-Elect]
Barack Obama's patriotism provoked a spike in death threats against the
future president, Secret Service agents revealed during the final weeks
of the campaign." ... "The Republican vice presidential candidate attracted
criticism for accusing Mr Obama of "palling around with terrorists", citing
his association with the sixties radical William Ayers." ... "The attacks
provoked a near lynch mob atmosphere at her rallies, with supporters yelling
"terrorist" and "kill him" until the McCain campaign ordered her to tone
down the rhetoric." ... "But it has now emerged that her demagogic tone
may have unintentionally encouraged white supremacists to go even further."
... "The Secret Service warned the Obama family in mid October that they
had seen a dramatic increase in the number of threats against the Democratic
candidate, coinciding with Mrs Palin's attacks." ... "Michelle Obama, the
future First Lady, was so upset that she turned to her friend and campaign
adviser Valerie Jarrett and said: "Why would they try to make people hate
us?"" ... "Details of the spike in threats to Mr Obama come as a report
last week by security and intelligence analysts Stratfor, warned that he
is a high risk target for racist gunmen. It concluded: "Two plots to assassinate
Obama were broken up during the campaign season, and several more remain
under investigation. We would expect federal authorities to uncover many
more plots to attack the president that have been hatched by white supremacist
ideologues."" -By Tim Shipman
-Telegraph.co.uk
20081105
Barack
Obama - John
McCain - Sarah
Palin - 
Fashion
- Money
- Internet
- Hacking
- Federal
- Investigation
- 2008
Election - Technology
- Politics
- US
- 
Russia
- China
"Hackers
and Spending Sprees." ... "The computer systems of
both the [2008 Election Presidential Candidates] Obama and McCain campaigns
were victims of a sophisticated cyberattack by an unknown "foreign entity,"
prompting a federal investigation, NEWSWEEK reports today." ... "At the
Obama headquarters in midsummer, technology experts detected what they
initially thought was a computer virus—a case of "phishing," a form of
hacking often employed to steal passwords or credit-card numbers. But by
the next day, both the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] and the Secret
Service came to the campaign with an ominous warning: "You have a problem
way bigger than what you understand," an agent told Obama's team. "You
have been compromised, and a serious amount of files have been loaded off
your system." The following day, Obama campaign chief David Plouffe heard
from White House chief of staff Josh Bolten, to the same effect: "You have
a real problem ... and you have to deal with it." The Feds told Obama's
aides in late August that the McCain campaign's computer system had been
similarly compromised. A top McCain official confirmed to NEWSWEEK that
the campaign's computer system had been hacked and that the FBI had become
involved." ... "Officials at the FBI and the White House told the Obama
campaign that they believed a foreign entity or organization sought to
gather information on the evolution of both camps' policy positions—information
that might be useful in negotiations with a future administration. The
Feds assured the Obama team that it had not been hacked by its political
opponents. (Obama technical experts later speculated that the hackers were
Russian or Chinese.)" ... "NEWSWEEK has also learned that Palin's shopping
spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously
reported. While publicly supporting Palin, McCain's top advisers privately
fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy. One senior aide
said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention
and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying
for herself and her family—clothes and accessories from top stores such
as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable
sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor,
who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers
to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found
out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that
she spent "tens of thousands" more than the reported $150,000, and that
$20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of
clothing have apparently been lost." (1, 2)
-Newsweek
20081027
Ted
Stevens -Criminal
- Money
- Politics
- Alaska
- 
VECO
- 2008
Election
"Sen.
Ted Stevens guilty of all 7 felony charges." ...
"[Alaska Republican Senator] Ted Stevens, the longest-serving Republican
senator in history and patriarch of Alaska politics, was convicted Monday
of all seven felony charges for making false statements." ... "Shortly
before 4 p.m., the jury convicted the 84-year-old senator for making false
statements by failing to report more than $250,000 in gifts from Bill Allen,
the former head of Veco Corp., and other friends." ... ""This company,
the evidence showed, was not a charity," said Matthew Friedrich, assistant
attorney general for the criminal division at the Justice Department, referring
to Veco Corp." ... "Judge Emmet G. Sullivan deferred sentencing until after
Feb. 25, when a hearing is scheduled on further motions. Stevens faces
up to five years in prison on each count." ... "The jury did not seem to
buy the explanation from Stevens that Allen showered him with gifts he
didn't want and was unaware of, and that he believed the $160,000 he gave
to another contractor covered all costs for the home renovations." -By
Manu Raju with contributions by J. Taylor Rushing and Sam Youngman
-TheHill.com
Barack
Obama -2008
Election - Federal
- Law
- Race
- Terrorism
- Politics
- Tenn
- 
Ark
"Feds
disrupt skinhead plot to assassinate Obama." ...
"Two white supremacists allegedly plotted to go on a national killing spree,
shooting and decapitating black people and ultimately targeting [2008 Election]
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, federal authorities said
Monday." ... "In all, the two men whom officials describe as neo-Nazi skinheads
planned to kill 88 people — 14 by beheading, according to documents unsealed
in U.S. District Court in Jackson, Tenn. [Tennessee.] The numbers 88 and
14 are symbolic in the white supremacist community." ... "The spree, which
initially targeted an unidentified predominantly African-American school,
was to end with the two men driving toward Obama, "shooting at him from
the windows," the court documents show." ... "Sheriffs' deputies in Crockett
County, Tenn., arrested the two suspects — Daniel Cowart, 20, of Bells,
Tenn., and Paul Schlesselman 18, of Helena-West Helena, Ark. [Arkansas.]
— [October] Oct. 22 on unspecified charges." ... "An ATF [Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms] affidavit filed in the case says Cowart and Schlesselman
told investigators the day they were arrested they had shot at a glass
window at Beech Grove Church of Christ, a congregation of about 60 black
members in Brownsville, Tenn." -By Lara Jakes Jordan
with contributions by Erik Schelzig, Jon Gambrell, and Eileen Sullivan
-AP
via -Yahoo
20081020
Racist
- Marketing
- Fashion
- Politics
- Terrorism
- Crime
- Illegal
- Immigration
- Economy
- Pennsylvania
- Alabama
- Fla
"White
supremacists target middle America." ... "The white-power
movement is changing its marketing strategy to broaden its appeal." ...
"The USA's largest neo-Nazi group is ditching its trademark brown Nazi
uniform with swastika armband for a more muted look in black fatigues."
... "In Pennsylvania, the Keystone State Skinheads is changing its name
to Keystone United to attract members." ... "Supremacist groups are on
the rise as they market themselves to middle America, according to leaders
of the groups and organizations that monitor them. They are fueled by the
debate over illegal immigration and a struggling economy." ... ""Many white
supremacist groups are going more mainstream," says Jack Levin, a Northeastern
University criminologist who studies hate crime. "They are eliminating
the sheets and armbands. … The groups realize if they want to be attractive
to middle-class types, they need to look middle-class."" ... "The FBI [Federal
Bureau of Investigation] knows of about 24 domestic terrorist groups. Spokesman
Richard Kolko would not say how many are white supremacists." ... "Jeff
Schoep, head of the National Socialist Movement, says the government classifies
his group as a domestic group of interest, not domestic terrorists. The
FBI would not comment." ... "[Former Alabama Ku Klux Klan leader Don] Black's
son, Derek, 19, was elected to the Palm Beach County, Fla. [Florida], Republican
committee in August. Local Republican leaders are trying to unseat him
after learning of his white supremacist ties." -By
Marisol Bello -USATODAY
2008
Election - Law
- Politics
- California
- Florida
- Massachusetts
- Arizona
"Ontario
police arrest man in voter fraud case: Mark Jacoby,
who owns a firm hired by the California Republican Party, violated state
laws with his own registration, authorities say." ... "The owner of a firm
that the California Republican Party hired to register tens of thousands
of voters this year was arrested in Ontario over the weekend on suspicion
of voter registration fraud." ... "State and local investigators allege
that Mark Jacoby fraudulently registered himself to vote at a childhood
California address where he no longer lives so he would appear to meet
the legal requirement that all signature gatherers be eligible to vote
in California. His firm, Young Political Majors, or YPM, collects petition
signatures and registers voters in California and other states." ... "YPM
has been accused of using bait-and-switch tactics across the country. Election
officials and lawmakers have launched investigations into the activities
of YPM workers in Florida and Massachusetts. In Arizona, the firm was recently
a defendant in a civil rights lawsuit." -By Evan Halper
-LAtimes
John
McCain - 
Nathan
Sproul - Money
- Politics
- Investigation
- Law
- California
-Nevada
- 
Oregon
- Minnesota
- Pennsylvania
- 
West
Virginia - 
Vermont
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- 
Libraries
- 2004
Election - 2008
Election
"McCain
Employing GOP [Republican] Operative Accused Of Voter Registration Fraud."
... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain's campaign
has directed $175,000 to the firm of a Republican operative accused of
massive voter registration fraud in several states." ... "According to
campaign finance records, a joint committee of the McCain-Palin campaign,
the RNC [Republican National Committee] and the the California Republican
Party, made a $175,000 payment to the group Lincoln Strategy in June for
purposes of "registering voters." The managing partner of that firm is
Nathan Sproul, a renowned GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] operative
who has been investigated on multiple occasions for suppressing Democratic
voter turnout, throwing away registration forms and even spearheading
efforts to get Ralph Nader on ballots to hinder the Democratic ticket."
... "During the 2004 election, Sproul & Associates (the former name
of Lincoln Strategy) was accused of attempting to destroy forms collected
by Democratic voters in Nevada. That
same year in Oregon, Sproul & Associates allegedly instructed canvassers
to only accept Republican registration forms in addition to destroying
those turned in by Democrats." ... "In Minnesota, meanwhile, Sproul's firm
was accused of actually firing workers who brought back Democratic registration
forms, while other canvassers were allegedly paid "$13 an hour, with the
$3 bonus for every [Republican President] Bush, undecided or Ralph Nader
voter registration." Similar problems related to Sproul & Associates
popped up in Pennsylvania and West Virginia." ... "All of this was executed,
it seems, through an elaborate web of deception. As
Salon.com wrote back in 2004:"
"Canvassers
were told to act as if they were nonpartisan, to hide that they were working
for the RNC, especially if approached by the media... In letters the firm
sent to the libraries, Sproul misrepresented itself as America Votes --
a left-leaning national voter registration group not affiliated with Sproul
-- but said that it was interested in registering "all those who wish to
register to vote." Shortly after Sproul canvassers began working the libraries,
though, patrons began complaining that the canvassers were being especially
inquisitive about their political leanings, and some were pushing people
to register as Republicans."
"Sens.
[Vermont Democratic Senator] Patrick Leahy and [Massachusetts Democratic
Senator] Ted Kennedy sent a letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft in
2004 asking that the Justice Department "launch an immediate investigation
into the activities of Mr. Sproul and his firm." Three years later, members
of Congress still weren't satisfied. Rep. [Michigan Democratic Representative
John] Conyers complained in an Oct. 2007 letter that the Justice Department
was not closely scrutinizing Sproul's efforts. "The alleged misconduct
described by many witnesses," he wrote, "clearly suppress[es] votes and
violate[s] the law."" -By
Sam
Stein -HuffingtonPost.com
20081017
Barack
Obama - Michael
Mukasey - John
McCain -Political
- US
Attorneys - Law
- Investigation
- 2008
Election
"Obama
Lawyer Asks for Probe Into Vote-Fraud Claims (Update1)."
... "Robert Bauer, general counsel to the [2008 Election Democratic Presidential
Candidate Barack] Obama campaign, wrote to Attorney General Michael Mukasey
a day after the Associated Press, citing unidentified law enforcement officials,
reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was investigating ACORN.
The name is short for Association of Community Organizations for Reform
Now." ... "A special prosecutor appointed by Mukasey already is looking
into whether improper political considerations influenced the firings of
nine U.S. attorneys. At least one prosecutor was fired following Republican
complaints that he didn't aggressively pursue allegations of voter fraud
against ACORN." ... "Bauer said the news leaks are part of a coordinated
effort by [2008 Election Republican John] McCain's presidential campaign
and Republicans. They are ``fomenting specious vote-fraud allegations and
there are disturbing indications of official involvement or collusion,''
Bauer said." ... "``It is apparent,'' he wrote, that law enforcement officials
are serving ``improper political objectives'' that could inhibit voter
participation in the [2008 November] Nov. 4 election. The aim is to ``suppress
the vote and to unduly influence investigations and prosecutions,'' Bauer
wrote. " -By Jeff Bliss-Bloomberg
Barack
Obama - John
McCain - Michael
Mukasey - Law
- Politics
- Investigation
- 2008
Election
"Obama
Camp Charges GOP with ‘Partisan Plot’ to Suppress Votes."
... "The [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama
campaign charged Friday that [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate]
John
McCain, in concert with the [Republican President] Bush administration,
has embarked on a studied effort to disrupt [2008] Election Day in many
states and suppress the vote." ... "In a conference call with reporters
Friday, Robert Bauer, chief counsel for the Obama campaign, suggested
that a flurry of fraudulent registration complaints recently, and a subsequent
leak by FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] officials that the agency
was investigating the incidents, were part of a coordinated attempt by
McCain and the administration of [Republican] President Bush to
intimidate voters." ... "As evidence of the coordination, Bauer pointed
to recent rhetoric from McCain that Acorn, a left-leaning non-profit group
implicated in submitting fraudulent voter registration forms in several
states was, as McCain put it during this week’s debate, tearing at “the
very fabric of Democracy.’’" ... "McCain’s comments about Acorn were quickly
followed by a Justice Department news leak that the FBI was investigating
the group. The leak, Bauer said, was a clear violation of Justice Department
policies and likely came from the department." ... "Bauer said the timing
of the comments and the leak suggested a “partisan plot” to suppress the
vote on Election Day." ... "In a letter to Attorney General Michael
Mukasey released Friday by the Obama campaign, Bauer called the “current
bogus claims of vote fraud’’ and the McCain campaign’s attempts to breathe
life into the allegations by urging Justice Department investigations was
“history repeating itself.’’" ... "The Republicans used similar tactics
to suppress the vote in 2000 and 2004, Bauer wrote." ... "The leaks that
the FBI recently began investigating hark back to an on-going inquiry into
whether the Justice Department was improperly involved in voter suppression
activities in 2004, Bauer said." -By Christopher Cooper
-WSJ.com
20081014
John
McCain - William
Timmons - Criminal
- Oil
- Money
- Terrorism
- Politics
-Government
- Iraq
- International
- Law
- South
Korea - US
- 2008
Election
"McCain
Transition Chief Aided Saddam In Lobbying Effort."
... "William Timmons, the Washington lobbyist who [2008 Election Republican
Presidential Candidate] John McCain has named to head his presidential
transition team, aided an influence effort on behalf of Iraqi dictator
Saddam Hussein to ease international sanctions against his regime." ...
"The two lobbyists who Timmons worked closely with over a five year period
on the lobbying campaign later either pleaded guilty to or were convicted
of federal criminal charges that they had acted as unregistered agents
of Saddam Hussein's government." ... "During the same period beginning
in 1992, Timmons worked closely with the two lobbyists, Samir Vincent and
Tongsun Park, on a previously unreported prospective deal with the Iraqis
in which they hoped to be awarded a contract to purchase and resell Iraqi
oil. Timmons, Vincent, and Park stood to share at least $45 million if
the business deal went through." ... "Timmons' activities occurred in the
years following the first Gulf War, when Washington considered Iraq to
be a rogue enemy state and a sponsor of terrorism." ... "Virtually everything
Timmons did while working on the lobbying campaign was within days conveyed
by Vincent to either one or both of Saddam Hussein's top aides, Tariq Aziz
and Nizar Hamdoon. Vincent also testified that he almost always relayed
input from the Iraqi aides back to Timmons." ... "Talking points that Timmons
produced for the lobbyists to help ease the sanctions, for example, were
reviewed ahead of time by Aziz, Vincent testified in court. Proposals that
Timmons himself circulated to U.S. [United States] officials as part of
the effort were written with the assistance of the Iraqi officials, and
were also sent ahead of time with Timmons' approval to Aziz, other records
show." ... "Vincent, an Iraqi-born American citizen with whom Timmons worked
most closely, pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges in January 2005
that he had acted as an unregistered agent of Saddam Hussein's regime.
Tongsun Park, the second lobbyist who Timmons worked closely with, was
convicted by a federal jury in July 2006 on charges that he too violated
the Foreign Agent Registration Act." ... "At the time Timmons introduced
the two men, Park's notorious background was well known:" ... "In the 1970s,
Park had admitted to making hundreds of thousands in payments and illegal
campaign contributions to U.S. congressmen on behalf of the South Korean
government. Park was indicted on 36 counts by a federal grand jury, but
fled to South Korea before he could face trial. All of the charges were
later dismissed in exchange for Park providing information about which
public officials received funds from the South Korean government." -By
Murray
Waas with contributions by Patrick B. Anderson
-HuffingtonPost.com
Barack
Obama - 2008
Election - Federal
- Law
-Politics
- Investigation
- 
Colorado
- 
Indiana
- Ohio
- Michigan
- Nevada
- North
Carolina - 
New
Hampshire
Wisconsin
"Obama
Campaign: Count Every Vote." ... "Republicans have
been raising a huge stink about voter
fraud in recent days, but the much bigger question on Election
Day [2008] is whether every vote (or at least most of them) will actually
be counted." ... "The New York Times published a shocking
story last week, reporting that "tens of thousands of eligible
voters in at least six swing states have been removed from the rolls or
have been blocked from registering in ways that appear to violate federal
law."" ... "The article continued: "Although much attention this year has
been focused on the millions of new voters being added to the rolls by
the candidacy of Senator Barack Obama, there has been far less notice given
to the number of voters being dropped from those same rolls." The paper
looked at six swing states: Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Nevada and
North Carolina. "Michigan and Colorado are removing voters from the rolls
within 90 days of a federal election, which is not allowed except when
voters die, notify the authorities that they have moved out of state, or
have been declared unfit to vote. Indiana, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio
seem to be improperly using Social Security data to verify registration
applications for new voters."" ... "The net effect: in Michigan 33,000
voters were removed from the rolls in August and in Colorado 37,000 voters
were purged in three weeks since mid-July. Imagine this scenario--on Election
Day thousands of voters will show up to the polls, only to be told they're
not registered, leading to chaos and confusion, perhaps in large enough
numbers to swing the results in crucial swing states." ... "It's a scary
thought--and one the [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack]
Obama campaign says they're preparing for. On a conference call today,
Obama campaign manager David Plouffe and legal counsel Bob Bauer laid out
their plans to ensure that every vote is counted." ... ""This has been
an election of enormous interest to the American people and we think that's
something that should be celebrated," Plouffe said. "Our opponents seem
to have a different view."" ... "Obama counsel Bob Bauer pointed to examples
in Montana, where Republicans have used change-of-address forms to improperly
challenge new Democratic registrants (a federal judge called the GOP's
tactics "political chicanery"); in Ohio, where Republicans challenged same-day
registration and absentee voting (the 6th circuit court said the claim
rested on "shaky ground"); in Michigan, where Republicans tried to use
foreclosure lists to purge voters; and in Wisconsin, where the Republican
Attorney General is suing the state's board of elections. (And just today,
a GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] operative was indicted
for lying to the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] about charges that
he jammed the phones of the New Hampshire Democratic Party on Election
Day 2002.)" -By Ari
Berman -TheNation.com
20081008
Joe
Biden - Barack
Obama - Sarah
Palin - Terrorism
- Politics
- Fl
-Law
- Enforcement
- 2008
Election
"Biden:
Palin Must Condemn Supporters' Hateful Obama Attacks."
... "[2008 Election Democratic Vice Presidential Candidate] Joe Biden lashed
out at [2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate] Sarah Palin
on Wednesday, calling her recent rhetoric "ugly" and "mildly dangerous,"
and expressing shock that the Alaska Governor did not interrupt recent
rallies when supporters shouted
hateful attacks about Barack Obama, including "treason!" and "kill
him!"" ... ""I watched the news and I heard a couple people hollering from
the audience semi-vile things about 'terrorists,' things like that," Biden
said on NBC's Today show. "The idea that a leading American politician
who might be vice president of the United States would not just stop mid-sentence
and turn and condemn that -- it's just a slippery slope, it's a place that
we shouldn't be going."" ... "Biden repeated the sentiment on ABC's Good
Morning America:" ... ""I think it goes way too far. Look, this really
is a case where, when you don't have anything to talk about, attack --
and it gets really over the edge," he said. "I mean, some of the stuff
she's saying about Barack Obama and the stuff that people are yelling from
the crowd, if she hears it, she should be at least be saying, whoa, whoa,
whoa, that's overboard. But this is volatile stuff."" ... "A Secret Service
spokesperson said
on Tuesday that agents were trying to track down more information about
the individual who yelled "kill him" during the Palin event in Clearwater,
Fl. [Florida], on Monday." -By Nico
Pitney -HuffingtonPost.com
20081007
Sarah
Palin - Terrorism
- Politics
- Alaska
- 
Iran
- 
- History
- US
-Federal
- Law
-Enforcement
- Earth
- 
Environment
- 2008
Election
"The
Palins' un-American activities." ... ""My government
is my worst enemy. I'm going to fight them with any means at hand."" ...
"The quote is from Joe Vogler, the raging anti-American who founded the
Alaska Independence Party. Inconveniently for [2008 Election Republican
Vice Presidential Candidate and Alaska Governor Sarah] Palin, that's the
very same secessionist party that her husband, Todd [Palin], belonged to
for seven years and that she sent a shout-out to as Alaska governor earlier
this year. ("Keep up the good work," Palin told AIP members. "And God bless
you.")" ... "AIP chairwoman Lynette
Clark told me recently that Sarah Palin is her kind of gal. "She's
Alaskan to the bone ... she sounds just like Joe Vogler."" ... "So who
are these America-haters that the Palins are pallin' around with?" ...
"Before his strange murder in 1993, party founder Vogler preached armed
insurrection against the United States of America. Vogler, who always carried
a Magnum with him, was fond of saying, "When the [federal] bureaucrats
come after me, I suggest they wear red coats. They make better targets.
In the federal government are the biggest liars in the United States, and
I hate them with a passion. They think they own [Alaska]. There comes a
time when people will choose to die with honor rather than live with dishonor.
That time may be coming here. Our goal is ultimate independence by peaceful
means under a minimal government fully responsive to the people. I hope
we don't have to take human life, but if they go on tramping on our property
rights, look out, we're ready to die."" ... "This quote is from "Coming
Into the Country," by John McPhee, who traipsed around Alaska's remote
gold mining country with Vogler for his 1991 book. The violent-tempered
secessionist vowed to McPhee that if any federal official tried to stop
him from polluting Alaska's rivers with his earth-moving equipment, he
would "run over him with a Cat and turn mosquitoes loose on him while he
dies."" ... "Vogler's greatest moment of glory was to be his 1993 appearance
before the United Nations to denounce United States "tyranny" before the
entire world and to demand Alaska's freedom. The Alaska secessionist had
persuaded the government of Iran to sponsor his anti-American harangue."
... "That's right ... Iran. The Islamic dictatorship. The taker of American
hostages." ... "AIP leaders allege that Vogler, who was murdered that year
by a fellow secessionist, was taken out by powerful forces in the U.S.
before he could reach his U.N. platform." -By David
Talbot -Salon
20081006
John
McCain - Terrorism
- Politics
- 
Women's
- 
Medical
- Abortion
- Rights
- Federal
- Law
-Enforcement
- Colorado
- 2008
Election
"McCain
Voted To Protect Domestic Terrorists Who Carry Out Violence At Abortion
Clinics." ... "Referencing a recent New York Times
article, [spokesperson for 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate
John McCain, Nancy] Pfotenhauer claimed that if McCain “hung out with somebody
who had bombed abortion clinics” it would be a legitimate topic of discussion."
... "Pfotenhauer’s invocation of abortion clinic bombers in defense of
McCain is ironic given that McCain has repeatedly voted against protecting
Americans from domestic terrorists in the anti-choice movement. On multiple
occasions throughout his career, McCain sought to limit the government’s
ability to punish violent anti-choice fanatics by:"
"–
Voting against making anti-choice violence a federal crime. As the
Jed Report notes, McCain voted
in 1993 and 1994 against making “bombings, arson and blockades at abortion
clinics, and shootings and threats of violence against doctors and nurses
who perform abortions” federal crimes."
"–
Opposing Colorado’s “Bubble Law.” McCain said he opposed Colorado’s
“Bubble Law,” which prohibited abortion protesters from getting within
8 feet of women entering clinics [Denver Post, 2/27/00]. The law was later
upheld
by the U.S. Supreme Court."
"–
Voting to allow those fined for violence at clinics to avoid penalties
by declaring bankruptcy. NARAL Pro-Chioce America notes that McCain
“voted to allow perpetrators of violence or harassment at reproductive-health
clinics to
avoid
paying the fines assessed against them for their illegal acts by declaring
bankruptcy.””
-ThinkProgress.org
John
McCain - 2008
Election - Law
- Politics
- Investigation
- Arizona
- Texas
- US
- Iraqi
"FEC
Queries McCain Campaign on 'Excessive Contributions'."
... "The FEC [Federal Election Commission] sent a letter to [2008 Election
Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain's
campaign treasurer [September] Sept. 30 demanding the candidate turn over
more information about "contributions that appear to exceed the limits.""
... "The letter is accompanied by a nine-page list showing scores of overages
from McCain's August campaign finance report, including nearly $13,000
from Texas rancher Ray R. Barrett Jr.; $9,200 from an Iraqi security consultant,
H. Carter Andress; and $5,000 from Joseph F. Davolio, an executive at a
major national liquor, beer and wine distributor." ... ""Please inform
the Commission of your corrective action immediately in writing and provide
photocopies of any refund checks and/or letters reattributing or redesignating
the contributions in question," the letter from the FEC's senior campaign
finance analyst, Leah S. Palmer, says. "The acceptance of excessive contributions
is a serious problem."" -By Matthew Mosk
-WashingtonPost
20081004
Secret
- John
McCain - Terrorism
- History
- Money
- Politics
- Radio
- Federal
- Law
- Enforcement
- 2008
Election - 
Clinton
- New
York -Arizona
"Why
is the NY Times continuing to ignore McCain's "own Bill Ayers"?"
... "... [The New York[ Times has yet to mention, let alone
devote an entire article to, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate
and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain's relationship with radio host and
convicted Watergate burglar G. Gordon Liddy [Republican President Nixon
associate]." ... "As
Media Matters for America has noted,
Liddy served four and a half years in prison in connection with his conviction
for his role
in the Watergate break-in and the break-in at the office of the psychiatrist
of Daniel Ellsberg, the military analyst who leaked the Pentagon Papers.
Liddy has acknowledged
preparing to kill someone during the Ellsberg break-in "if necessary";
plotting
to murder journalist Jack Anderson; plotting
with a "gangland figure" to murder Howard Hunt to stop him from cooperating
with investigators; plotting
to firebomb the Brookings Institution; and plotting
to kidnap "leftist guerillas" at the 1972 Republican National Convention
-- a plan he outlined to the Nixon administration using terminology borrowed
from the Nazis. (The murder, firebombing, and kidnapping plots were never
carried out; the break-ins were.) During the 1990s, Liddy reportedly instructed
his radio audience on multiple occasions on how to shoot Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, and Firearms agents and also reportedly said he had named his
shooting targets after [Democratic President] Bill and [New York Senator]
Hillary Clinton." ... "Liddy has donated
$5,000 to McCain's campaigns since 1998, including $1,000 in February
2008. In addition, McCain has appeared on Liddy's radio show during
the presidential campaign, including as recently as May.
An online
video labeled "John McCain On The G. Gordon Liddy Show 11/8/07"
includes a discussion between Liddy and McCain, whom Liddy described as
an "old friend." During the segment, McCain praised Liddy's "adherence
to the principles and philosophies that keep our nation great," said he
was "proud" of Liddy, and said that "it's always a pleasure for me to come
on your program."" ... "Additionally, in 1998, Liddy reportedly
held a fundraiser at his home for McCain. Liddy was reportedly scheduled
to speak at another fundraiser for McCain in 2000. The Charlotte Observer
reported on January 23, 2000, that McCain's campaign vouched for Liddy's
"character":"
"His
[McCain's] campaign officials said Liddy's character will appeal to many
voters because he was following orders from [Republican] President Nixon
and kept silent afterward."
""His
(Liddy's) judgment might be in question, but I don't think his character
is," said Ed Walker, the York County chairman of McCain's campaign. "He
was following orders just like any good soldier, and he didn't tell on
anybody. He felt like he was on a mission and kept his silence.""
"Liddy's
2000 speech was reportedly canceled due to bad weather." ... "In his May
4 [Chicago] Tribune column,
[columnist Steve] Chapman wrote:"
"What
McCain didn't mention is that he has his own Bill Ayers -- in the form
of G. Gordon Liddy. Now a conservative radio talk-show host, Liddy spent
more than 4 years in prison for his role in the 1972 Watergate burglary.
That was just one element of what Liddy did, and proposed to do, in a secret
White House effort to subvert the Constitution. Far from repudiating him,
McCain has embraced him."
...
"Last
November, McCain went on his radio show. Liddy greeted him as "an old friend,"
and McCain sounded like one. "I'm proud of you, I'm proud of your family,"
he gushed. "It's always a pleasure for me to come on your program, Gordon,
and congratulations on your continued success and adherence to the principles
and philosophies that keep our nation great.""
"Which
principles would those be? The ones that told Liddy it was fine to break
into the office of the Democratic National Committee to plant bugs and
photograph documents? The ones that made him propose to kidnap anti-war
activists so they couldn't disrupt the 1972 Republican National Convention?
The ones that inspired him to plan the murder (never carried out) of an
unfriendly newspaper columnist?"
"Liddy
was in the thick of the biggest political scandal in American history --
and one of the greatest threats to the rule of law. He has said he has
no regrets about what he did, insisting that he went to jail as "a prisoner
of war.""
[Chicago
Tribune columnist Steve Chapman]
"
-By Jon Sime -MediaMatters.org
20080923
US
- Iraq
- Investigators
- Reconstruction
- Accounting
- Politics
"$13
Billion in Iraq Aid Wasted Or Stolen, Ex-Investigator Says."
... "A former Iraqi official estimated yesterday that more than $13 billion
meant for reconstruction projects in Iraq was wasted or stolen through
elaborate fraud schemes." ... "Salam Adhoob, a former chief investigator
for Iraq's Commission on Public Integrity, told the Senate Democratic Policy
Committee, an arm of the Democratic caucus, that an Iraqi auditing bureau
"could not properly account for" the money." ... "While many of the projects
audited "were not needed -- and many were never built," he said, "this
very real fact remains: Billions of American dollars that paid for these
projects are now gone."" ... "He said a report that went to Iraqi Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other top Iraqi officials was never published
because "nobody cares" about investigating such cases. Many investigators,
he said, feared for their safety because 32 of his co-workers have been
murdered. " -By Dana Hedgpeth with contributions by
Julie Tate
-WashingtonPost
20080921
Sarah
Palin - McCain
- Investigation
- Politics
- Law
- Alaska
-
Virginia
- New
York - 2008
Election
"Alaskans
angered that Palin is off-limits: Queries are directed
through the [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain
campaign machine. Her political capital at home is eroding." ... "Jerry
McCutcheon went to [2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate]
Sarah Palin's office here last week to request information about the firing
of former Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan, the scandal that for
weeks has threatened to overshadow the governor's role as Republican presidential
candidate John McCain's running mate." ... "McCutcheon was given a phone
number in Virginia to call: the national headquarters of the McCain-Palin
campaign." ... "Why, he wanted to know, did he have to call a campaign
office 4,300 miles away to find out what was going on in Alaska government?"
... ""Why did the McCain campaign take over the governor's office?" the
Anchorage Daily News demanded in an editorial Saturday. "Is it too much
to ask that Alaska's governor speak for herself, directly to Alaskans,
about her actions as Alaska's governor?"" ... "The biggest controversy
came Tuesday, when the McCain-Palin campaign called a news conference to
dispute the claim that Monegan was dismissed for refusing to fire the trooper."
... "Edward O'Callaghan, who until recently was co-chief of the terrorism
and national security unit of the U.S. [United States] attorney's office
in New York, and a former Palin spokeswoman now working for the national
campaign, accused Monegan of a "rogue mentality" and "outright insubordination."
They said he had flown to Washington, D.C., without Palin's approval to
lobby for more police funding." ... "Democratic leaders, incensed that
outsiders were attacking a respected former state official, produced a
travel document Friday showing that in fact Monegan had a signed authorization
from the governor's chief of staff before making what the Palin camp had
called an "unauthorized" lobbying trip." ... ""I don't know why they're
trying to paint this [legislative investigation] as a Democratic partisan
attack," said state Sen. Wielechowski. "The thing I constantly remind people
of is: Democrats didn't push this. You know who pushed it? It was the Republicans.
This is the thing people conveniently forget now. There were no Democrats
out there screaming for an investigation."" (1, 2)
-By Kim Murphy -LAtimes
Sarah
Palin - Crime
- Women
- Medical
- 
DNA
- Law
- Politics
- Alaska
- 2008
Election
"Palin's
town charged women for rape exams." ... "[2008 Election
Republican Vice Presidential Candidate and Governor of] Alaska Gov. Sarah
Palin's hometown required women to pay for their own rape examinations
while she was mayor, a practice her police chief fought to keep as late
as 2000." ... "Former state [Alaska State Democratic Representative] Rep.
Eric Croft, a Democrat, sponsored a state law requiring cities to provide
the examinations free of charge to victims. He said the only ongoing resistance
he met was from Wasilla [Alaska], where Palin was mayor from 1996 to 2002."
... ""It was one of those things everyone could agree on except Wasilla,"
Croft told CNN. "We couldn't convince the chief of police to stop charging
them."" ... "Alaska's Legislature in 2000 banned the practice of charging
women for rape exam kits -- which experts said could cost up to $1,000."
... "For years, Alaska has had the worst record of any state in rape and
in murder of women by men. The rape rate in Alaska is 2.5 times the national
average." ... "The bill, HB270, was before the legislature for six months.
In testimony, one expert called the practice of billing the victim "incomprehensible."
Others compared it to "dust[ing] for fingerprints" after a burglary, only
"the victim's body is the crime scene."" ... "During a rape exam, the victim
removes her clothing and a medical professional gathers DNA evidence from
her body. There is also a medical component to assess her injuries." ...
"[Tara] Henry, the forensic nurse, said charging victims "retraumatizes
them."" ... ""Asking them to pay for something law enforcement needs in
order to investigate their case, it's almost like blaming them for getting
sexually assaulted," she said." -By Jessica Yellin
-CNN
20080916
Sarah
Palin - Criminal
- Money
-Politics
- Women
- Children
- Law
- Federal
-Alaska
- 2008
Election
"Source:
Sex Assault Program Cited in Monegan Firing Targeted Child Abusers."
... "So [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Alaska Governor]
Sarah Palin's latest explanation
for why she fired Walt Monegan is that he had gone over her head in seeking
federal money for an initiative to combat sexual assault crimes, before
she had approved the program." ... "But it now appears that the program
in question is one that most elected officials would be wary of admitting
they hadn't strongly backed. According to Peggy Brown, who heads the Alaska
Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, Monegan wanted to use
the federal money to hire retired troopers and law enforcement officials,
and assign them to investigate the most egregious cases of sexual assault
-- including those against children." ... "In other words, if Palin's new
story is true, she fired Monegan for being too aggressive in going
after child molesters." ... "ABC News reported
yesterday that, although Alaska leads the nation in reported rapes
per capita, Palin hasn't made the issue a priority as governor." ... "Monegan,
however, appeared eager to change that. "He seemed to get the issue and
really took it seriously," Brown told TPMmuckraker." ... "According to
the Palin camp, too seriously." -By Zachary Roth
-TPMMuckracker
.TalkingPointsMemo
20080915
Sarah
Palin - John
McCain - Investigation
- Politics
- Alaska
-2008
Election
"Fired
Official: Governor Sarah Palin Did Not Tell the Truth to ABC:
Walt Monegan Says He Was Called to [2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential
Candidate and Alaska Governor] Gov.'s Office Over a "Private Family Matter"."
... ""She's not telling the truth when she told ABC neither she nor her
husband pressured me to fire Trooper Wooten," said Walt Monegan, the Alaskan
official whose dismissal by Sarah Palin is the focus of a state investigation
known as "Troopergate". "And she's not telling the truth to the media about
her reasons for firing me."" ... "In a 20/20 interview, Palin told ABC's
Charles Gibson she dismissed Monegan for poor job performance and that
neither she nor her husband pressured Monegan to fire State Trooper Wooten.
"We never did. I never pressured him to hire or fire anybody," Palin said."
... "But Monegan told ABC News.com he was summoned to a meeting with Todd
Palin in December 2006, shortly after Sarah Palin became governor." ...
""I was called to her Anchorage formal Governor's office to talk with Todd
Palin about an issue that was a private family matter," recounted Monegan.
Todd became "upset," Monegan recalled, when told the allegations had already
been investigated and the case would not be re-opened." ... ""When Sarah
later called to tell me the same thing, I thought to myself, 'I may not
be long for this job.'" But, Monegan said, he stood by his position. "I
held the public trust. As Chief, I was responsible."" ... "Governor Palin
initially agreed to "cooperate fully" with the Alaska state legislative
investigation but since being chosen as [2008 Election Republican Presidential
Candidate] John McCain's running mate both she and her husband have refused
to testify voluntarily." (1, 2,
3)
-By Rhonda Schwartz and Justin Rood
-ABCNEWS.com
Sarah
Palin - John
McCain - Criminal
- Politics
- Women
- Children
- Safety
- Law
- Money
- Religion
- Alaska
- 2008
Election
"Critics
Question Palin's Record on "Epidemic" Rape, Domestic Violence in Alaska:
Effort to Tackle Sex Violence Stalled by [2008 Election Republican Vice
Presidential Candidate Sarah] Palin's Office, Sources Say." ... "Evangelicals
and social conservatives have embraced [2008 Election Republican Presidential
Candidate John] McCain's vice presidential pick for what they call her
"pro-family," "pro-woman" values. But in Alaska, critics say [Alaska Republican
Governor] Gov. Sarah Palin has not addressed the rampant sexual abuse,
rape, domestic violence and murder that make her state one of the most
dangerous places in the country for women and children." ... "Alaska leads
the nation in reported forcible rapes per capita, according to the FBI
[Federal Bureau of Investigation], with a rate two and a half times the
national average – a ranking it has held for many years. Children are no
safer: Public safety experts believe that the prevalence of rape and sexual
assault of minors in Alaska makes the state's record one of the worst in
the U.S. [United States] And while solid statistics on domestic violence
are hard to come by, most – including Gov. Palin – agree it is an "epidemic.""
... "Despite the governor's pro-family image, public safety experts and
advocates for women and children struggled when asked to explain how Palin's
leadership has helped address the crisis. And current and former officials
from Palin's administration confirmed that an ambitious plan to tackle
the crisis has apparently sunk into doldrums after arriving at the governor's
office." ... ""She's really done a lot of work on oil and gas, but when
it comes to violence against women and children. . . we haven't been on
her radar as a priority," said Peggy Brown, executive director of the Alaska
Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. The Juneau[Alaska's capital]-based
group is an umbrella organization for shelters and anti-violence programs
around the state." ... "State troopers respond to most domestic violence
calls outside of Alaska's major cities, but they're too short-staffed and
under-funded to do it well, according to Robert Claus, a recently retired
trooper." (1, 2,
3)
-By Justin Rood -ABCNEWS.com
20080914
John
McCain - William
E. Timmons, Sr. - Corporate
- Government
-Politics
-Oil
- 
Drug
- Housing
- Consumer
- Investigation
- Law
- Foreign
- 
Japan
- US
- 2008
Election
"Obama
Memo on a [Republican McCain] "Lobbyist-Run White House"."
... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain's Team
of Lobbyists Grows, As They Plan for a Lobbyist-Run White House" ... "Joining
the ranks of the seven lobbyists running McCain's campaign, William Timmons,
a top Washington lobbyist, has been named to plan McCain's transition effort.
With at least 177 lobbyists helping advise, raise money and run his campaign,
there was little doubt who would be influencing McCain's White House, should
he win, but this appointment just confirms: a John McCain White House will
be organized, managed and influenced by lobbyists and the same old Washington
politics John McCain has decried. Campaigning on reform while surrounding
himself with lobbyists for the oil industry, big drug companies and foreign
interests doesn't seem much like change, and nothing shows that more than
naming a top Washington lobbyist to plan his transition." ... "SEPTEMBER
2008: TIMMONS JOINS MCCAIN TEAM" ... "One Of DC's “Most Senior Inside Players,”
A Special Interest Lobbyist To Help McCain Transition Planning Effort.
William E Timmons, Sr., the McCain campaign's new senior advisor of a hypothetical
transition, is a “prominent Washington lobbyist who has worked for every
Republican president since Richard Nixon” pointed out Time magazine. This
year alone, he is registered as a lobbyist for Freddie Mac, Anheuser-Busch,
an insurance industry trade group, an oil industry group, and a pharmaceutical
company. Time called him one “of Washington's steadiest and most senior
inside players.” [Time, 9/12/08; Senate Office of Public Records]" ...
"Timmons, A Former Nixon Aide, Founded Lobbying Shop In The Aftermath Of
Watergate. “Aftershocks of the Watergate scandal were still rumbling in
1975 when William Timmons and three other former Nixon aides decided to
launch their own lobbying shop. ‘We figured if we got 10 clients to pay
us $100,000 a year, we'd be in the clover,' recalls the 76-year-old Timmons.”
[Politico, 3/7/07]" ... "WHILE MCCAIN CRITICIZED FREDDIE MAC'S LOBBYISTS,
TIMMONS EARNED MILLIONS LOBBYING FOR FREDDIE MAC." ... " ... Timmons Earned
More Than $2.7 Million for His Firm Lobbying for Freddie Mac from 2000-2008.
William Timmons earned $2,795,000 in lobbying fees for his firm lobbying
from 2000 through the 2nd Quarter of 2008. His firm lobbied for Freddie
Mac on housing issues. [Timmons and Company Lobbying Disclosures, 2000-2008]"
... "TIMMONS ALSO EARNED MILLIONS FOR HIS FIRM LOBBYING FOR OIL COMPANIES"
... "Timmons Earned $2.1 Million for His Firm Lobbying for Unocal and Also
Lobbied for Chevron. William Timmons lobbied for Unocal from 1999-2005
and then briefly lobbied for Chevron in 2005 after the firm purchased Unocal.
[Timmons and Company Senate Lobbying Disclosures, 1999-2005]" ... "Timmons
Lobbied on Two Price Gouging Prevention Bills For Oil Industry. According
to lobbying disclosure forms, William Timmons – on behalf of the American
Petroleum Institute – lobbied on S. 94 and S. 1263 in 2007, two bills which
dealt with prohibiting price gouging by merchants. Timmons continued his
registration, which began in 1999, into the summer of 2008. [Timmons and
Company Senate Lobbying Disclosures]" ... "HITACHI: Timmons Contract Came
As US Government Opened Investigation" ... "8/2/85: Justice Dept. Opens
Investigation Of Hitachi For Antitrust Violations. In early August 1985,
the US Dept. of “investigation of Hitachi Ltd. for alleged unfair pricing
practices.” The probe “accused the Japanese of closing their doors to U.S.-produced
goods while using unfair tactics to make gains in the domestic U.S. marketplace.”.
[San Diego Union Tribune, 8/7/85]" ... "8/27/85: Hitachi Hires Timmons's
Firm. The $75,000 contract (one year) was to “represent the interests of
Hitachi before the legislative and executive branches.” [FARA, Exhibit
AB, http://www.fara.gov/docs/3489-Exhibit-AB-19850901-D0V9DI01.pdf
]" ... "[FARA (Foreign Agent Registration Act) filings, US Dept. of Justice
(fara.gov)]" -From the
capaing of Barack Obama
-TIME.com
McLobbyist.com
Sarah
Palin - Rove
- Abramoff
- E-Mail
- Secrecy
- Government
- 
Archive
- Politics
- Legal
- Investigation
- Computer
- Internet
- Tech
- Alaska
- 2008
Election
"Even
before VP nomination, Palin's e-mail use questioned."
... "Moments after [2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate
and Alaska Governor] Gov. Sarah Palin's first speech as Republican [2008
Election Presidential Candidate] John McCain's running mate, she sat with
her kids backstage, thumbing one of the two BlackBerrys that are always
with her." ... "The tech-savvy governor has one of the devices (which allow
users to read and send e-mails) for state business and another for personal
matters, but those worlds intertwine." ... "Palin routinely uses a private
Yahoo e-mail account to conduct state business. Others in the governor's
office sometimes use personal e-mail accounts, too." ... "The practice
raises questions about backdoor secrecy in an administration that vowed
during the 2006 campaign to be "open and transparent."" ... "Even before
the McCain campaign plucked Palin from Alaska, a controversy was brewing
over e-mails in the governor's office. Was the administration trying to
get around the public records law through broad exemptions or private e-mail
accounts?" ... "The governor's Yahoo account is "the most nonsensical,
inane thing I've ever heard of," said Andree McLeod, who is appealing the
administration's decision to withhold e-mails." ... ""The governor sets
the tone and the tone that has been set by this governor is beyond the
pale," McLeod said. "Common sense tells you to use an official state e-mail
account for official state business."" ... "State lawyers say that the
governor's e-mails about public business should be treated like any other
public record, even if she's sent them through a private account such as
Yahoo." ... "Some of her aides also routinely use Yahoo, but even messages
sent from one private account to another should be public, if they concern
public business, said Dave Jones, an assistant attorney general." ... ""The
difficulty is finding out they exist," Jones said." ... "The [Republican
President] Bush administration has drawn heat over revelations that more
than 80 White House aides, including senior Bush adviser Karl Rove, used
private GOP e-mail servers for government business. The controversy surfaced
during congressional investigations into White House contacts with convicted
lobbyist Jack Abramoff and into the firings of U.S. attorneys." -By
Lisa Demer -ADN.com
via -McClatchyDC.com
Sarah
Palin - E-Mails
- Archive
- Politics
- Legal
- Investigation
- Family
-
Privacy
- Alaska
- 2008
Election
"Palin
asked to release her husband's e-mails." ... "Can
[2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate and Alaska Governor]
Gov. Sarah Palin legally keep e-mails between her husband and her administration
from being released to the public?" ... "That's the question the lawyer
of Andree McLeod, a self-described Republican watchdog, put to the governor
last week in an appeal to disclose e-mails between her administration and
her husband, Todd." ... "Those e-mails could shed light on how Gov. Palin,
the Republican vice-presidential candidate, runs the state. And they could
also help reveal what role Todd Palin, who the state Legislature's special
investigator called a "central figure" in the governor's firing of former
Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan, played in his wife's administration."
... "In July, the governor's office refused to disclose the contents of
about 40 e-mails between Todd Palin and Gov. Palin's administration as
part of a larger public records request by McLeod. Other e-mails between
Todd Palin and the governor's staff were released, McLeod said, but had
some parts redacted. Todd Palin is copied as a recipient on most of the
e-mails but also authored a few." ... "Some of the subject lines of the
withheld e-mails, which were created between [February] Feb. 1 and [April]
Apr. 15. of this year, included: "Andrew Halcro," and "PSEA." Halcro is
a political rival of Palin. The PSEA is the union that represents the Alaska
State Troopers, including trooper Mike Wooten, who is divorced from Gov.
Palin's sister and is also a key figure in the investigation of Monegan's
firing." ... "In redacting or denying the request for e-mails, the governor's
office mostly cited Gov. Palin's right to a "deliberative process privilege,"
a law designed to let public officials receive candid advice from their
staff and consultants regarding matters of the state without fear of that
advice going public." ... "But McLeod's lawyer, Donald Mitchell, said Gov.
Palin waived that privilege when Todd Palin was included in her staff's
e-mails. Documents released to one member of the public have to be available
to all members of the public, he said." ... ""Mr. Palin is a private citizens
whose only connection to the office of the governor is that, at your invitation,
he from time to time is physically present in the offices of ... the governor
for no reason other than that he is your spouse," Mitchell wrote in his
appeal directly to the governor." ... "Those who pay attention to Alaska's
public records laws said Mitchell's legal argument holds water." ... "Larry
Persily, a former Empire editor who recently finished working for Gov.
Palin in Washington D.C., said he would bet his Alaska Permanent Fund dividend
that a judge would agree with him that Gov. Palin has no claims to the
deliberative process privilege once her administration's e-mail discussions
include her husband." ... ""The dike has got a hole in it, it's over,"
Persily said. " -By Alan Suderman
-JuneauEmpire.com
20080911
Sarah
Palin - Criminal
- Money- Politics
-Medical
- Law
- Alaska
- 2008
Election
"New
Evidence: Palin Had Direct Role In Charging Rape Victims For Exams."
... "Despite denials by the [2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential
Candidate Sarah] Palin campaign, new evidence proves that as mayor of Wasilla,
Alaska, Sarah Palin had a direct hand in imposing fees to pay for post-sexual
assault medical exams conducted by the city to gather evidence." ... "Palin's
role is now confirmed by Wasilla
City budget documents available online." ... "Under Sarah Palin's administration,
Wasilla cut funds that had previously paid for the medical exams and began
charging victims or their health insurers the $500 to $1200 fees. Although
Palin spokeswoman Maria Comella wrote
USA Today earlier this week that the GOP vice presidential nominee
"does not believe, nor has she ever believed, that rape victims should
have to pay for an evidence-gathering test...To suggest otherwise is a
deliberate misrepresentation of her commitment to supporting victims and
bringing violent criminals to justice," Palin, as mayor, fired police chief
Irl Stambaugh and replaced him with Charlie Fannon, who with Palin's knowledge,
slashed the budget for the exams and began charging the city's victims
of sexual assault. The city budget documents demonstrate Palin read and
signed off on the new budget. A year later, alarmed Alaska lawmakers passed
legislation outlawing the practice." ... "News of the controversial policy
has leaked slowly into the press this week as the presidential campaign
has heated up and Palin's record has been subject to increasing scrutiny.
The practice of charging rape victims has called into question Palin's
stated commitment to women's issues, her judgment as an executive and her
honesty about her record. " -By Jacob
Alperin-Sheriff -HuffingtonPost.com
Corporate
- Oil
- Government
- Political
- Accounting
- Legal
- Investigation
- Drugs
"Sex,
drug use and graft cited in U.S. agency scandal."
... "As Congress prepares to debate expansion of drilling in taxpayer-owned
coastal waters, the Interior Department agency that collects oil and gas
royalties has been caught up in a wide-ranging ethics scandal — including
allegations of financial self-dealing, accepting gifts from energy companies,
cocaine use and sexual misconduct." ... "In three reports delivered to
Congress on Wednesday, the department's inspector general, Earl E. Devaney,
found wrongdoing by a dozen current and former employees of the Minerals
Management Service, which collects about $10 billion in royalties annually
and is one of the government's largest sources of revenue other than taxes."
... ""A culture of ethical failure" pervades the agency, Devaney wrote
in a cover memo." ... "The reports portray a dysfunctional organization
that has been riddled with conflicts of interest, unprofessional behavior
and a free-for-all atmosphere for much of the [Republican President] Bush
administration's watch." ... "The highest-ranking official criticized in
the reports is Lucy Denett, the former associate director of minerals revenue
management, who retired earlier this year as the inquiry was progressing."
... "One former official named in the report, Jimmy Mayberry, pleaded guilty
to a felony conflict-of-interest charge in August and faces a sentence
of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine." ... "In late 2002,
when he was about to retire from the government, Mayberry drafted a "statement
of work" for a consulting contract to perform essentially identical functions
to his own. He then retired, started a company, and in June 2003 won the
contract with the help of Denett and Milton Dial, another friend at the
agency who later went to work for Mayberry." ... "Denett did not return
a message left at her home on Wednesday with her husband, Paul Denett,
who was the top procurement official in the [President Bush] White House
Office of Management and Budget until he resigned this month. He declined
to comment." ... "The other high-ranking official the Justice Department
has declined to prosecute is Gregory Smith, the former program director
of the royalty-in-kind program." ... "Some 19 officials — a third of the
program's staff — took gifts from oil and gas executives, some with "prodigious
frequency."" ... "On one occasion, the report said, the royalty-in-kind
program allowed a Chevron representative who won a bid to purchase some
of the government's oil to pay taxpayers a lower amount than his winning
offer because he said he had made a mistake in his calculations. A report
from Devaney's office earlier this year found that the program had frequently
allowed companies that purchase the oil and gas to revise their bids downward
after they won contracts. It documented 118 such occasions that cost taxpayers
about $4.4 million in all." (1, 2,
3)
-By Charlie
Savage -NYTimes
via -IHT.com
20080906
John
McCain - Sarah
Palin -Lawyers
- Politics
- Investigation
- Alaska
- 2008
Election
"Obstruction."
... "Newsweek: [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate
John] McCain camp and its Alaska allies move
to shut down trooper-gate probe." ... "Within days of [2008 Election
Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah] Palin's selection, at
least seven of her aides and associates, who had previously agreed
to cooperate with the trooper-gate investigation, informed investigator
Steve Branchflower that they were now no longer willing to be deposed.
Note too that this was immediately after the McCain team deployed
what George Stephanopoulos reported was a "rapid response team of about
ten operatives that includes lawyers" to the state." ... "So the question
is: what contact did representatives of the McCain campaign have with these
aides that had agreed to testify but within days of her selection
took back their pledge and are now refusing to cooperate?" -By
Josh Marshall .TalkingPointsMemo
20080905
John
McCain - Sarah
Palin - Law
- Politics
- Investigation
- Alaska
- 2008
Election
"Team
McCain and the Trooper: Nominee's ally moves to curb
probe of Palin." ... "Key Alaska allies of [2008 Election Republican Presidential
Candidate] John McCain are trying to derail a politically charged investigation
into [2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate and Alaska Governor]
Gov. Sarah Palin's firing of her public safety commissioner in order to
prevent a so-called "October surprise" that would produce embarrassing
information about the vice presidential candidate on the eve of the election."
... "In a move endorsed by the McCain campaign Friday, John Coghill, the
GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican chairman of the state House Rules Committee,
wrote a letter seeking a meeting of Alaska's bipartisan Legislative Council
in order to remove the Democratic state senator in charge of the so-called
"troopergate" investigation." ... "The move underscored the huge political
stakes in the outcome of a legislative investigation that is being closely
monitored by both the McCain and Obama campaigns because of its potential
impact on the fall election. "How can this possibly be read as anything
but a partisan attempt to shut down a legitimate investigation that was
approved and funded with bipartisan support?" said one state Democratic
legislative aide, who asked not to be identified because of the political
sensitivities. Coghill told NEWSWEEK that he decided to write his letter
to strip French of his position on his own-without any coaxing by McCain
campaign officials." ... "But a top McCain campaign official acknowledged
that the GOP lawyer had given the campaign a "heads up" about his letter
and that the McCain campaign approved of the effort to remove French."
... "One major reason the probe is so sensitive is that it raises the prospect
that Governor Palin's credibility could be called into a question in a
major state probe on the eve of the election. When the "troopergate" story
broke over the summer, Palin adamantly denied that anybody in her administration
exerted any pressure on Monegan to fire Wooten. But only weeks later, a
tape recording surfaced in which another one of her top aides, Frank Bailey,
was heard telling a police lieutenant, "Todd and Sarah are scratching their
heads, 'Why on earth hasn't this, why is this guy [Wooten] still representing
the department?'" ... "... Bailey also confirmed ... that Palin had herself
raised Wooten's name with the state police during her first security briefing
after she won election as governor in November 2006." (1, 2,
3)
-By Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball
-Newsweek
20080904
Sarah
Palin - Law
- Politics
- Alaska
- 2008
Election
"Fired
Alaskan Official Says Palin Hasn't Been Truthful:
Monegan Says He Was Fired For His Refusal to Fire Governor's Former Brother-In-Law."
... "The fired Alaskan official, whose dismissal has become the subject
of a state senate committee's investigation of [2008 Election Republican
Vice Presidential Candidate and Alaska Governor] Gov. Sarah Palin, has
told ABC News that she has not been entirely truthful on the matter." ...
"In a telephone interview Wednesday, Walt Monegan, the former Alaskan Public
Safety Commissioner, said he was dismissed because he refused to fire the
Governor's former brother-in-law, a state trooper." ... ""I believe I was
fired because of, primarily the reason of her former brother-in-law," Monegan
said. "I think that my unwillingness to take special action against her
former brother-in-law was not well received."" ... "Monegan says he believes
that the Governor has not told the truth about what happened." ... ""I
think there are some questions now that, coming to light about how transparent
and how honest she wants to be," Monegan said." ... "The allegation against
the Governor, which she denies, is that she wanted her former brother-in-law
fired and pushed the Monegan to do it." (1, 2,
3)
-By Brian Ross, Joseph Rhee, and Len Tepper
-ABCNEWS.com
Sarah
Palin - Legal
- Politics
- Workers
-Privacy
- Alaska
- 2008
Election
"Alaska
police union files complaint against Palin." ...
"The GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republicans] candidate for [2008 Election
Republican] vice president, [Alaska Republican Governor] Gov. Sarah Palin,
may be facing yet another ethics investigation back in her home state of
Alaska. An ethics
complaint obtained by NBC News [PDF] was filed Wednesday by the
police officers union in Alaska, requesting a probe into possible wrongdoing
by the governor or her office. It was brought on behalf of state trooper
Mike Wooten, an ex-brother-in-law of Palin who is at the center of the
"Troopergate" scandal." ... "The complaint alleges that the governor or
her staff may have have improperly disclosed information from Wooten's
personnel records. The complaint alleges "criminal penalties may apply.""
... "John Cyr, director of the union that filed the complaint, told NBC
News, "It seems obvious to us somebody has improperly accessed [Wooten's]
personnel file."" -By Aram Roston and Amna Nawaz
-MSNBC
Sarah
Palin - Police
- Workers- Privacy
- Politics
- Alaska
- 2008
Election
"Palin
aides peeked into trooper's files, union says." ...
"Aides to Alaska [Republican Governor] Gov. Sarah Palin improperly obtained
her former brother-in-law's state police personnel files and cited information
from those records to raise complaints about the officer, the head of Alaska's
state police union said Thursday." ... ""It's apparent to us that the governor
or someone on her staff had direct access to his personnel file, as well
as his workers' comp file, and those are protected," said John Cyr, executive
director of the Alaska Public Safety Employees Association." ... "Palin,
now the Republican nominee for [2008 Election] vice president, is battling
allegations that she sacked her public safety commissioner in July because
he refused to fire Trooper Mike Wooten, her sister's ex-husband. But a
spokesman for GOP presidential candidate John McCain's campaign released
documents late Thursday indicating Wooten signed a waiver during his divorce
that allowed his entire personnel file to be released." ... "In an ethics
complaint filed Wednesday, the union names the governor and three aides,
one of whom cited Wooten's records in a tape-recorded call to a state police
lieutenant in February. And the former commissioner, Walt Monegan, said
he believes his refusal to fire Wooten led to his firing." ... "In the
February 29 call by Frank Bailey, Palin's boards and commissions director,
to state police Lt. Rodney Dial, Bailey complained there had been "absolutely
no action for a year on this issue." During the call, he said there was
some "really funny business" about a worker's compensation claim Wooten
had filed and suggested he lied about a health condition on his state police
job application." ... ""That's extraordinary for them to reference that,"
Cyr said. Police application files contain results of background checks
and reference letters, "and those are sealed. Even Trooper Wooten doesn't
have access to those."" -CNN
20080903
Sarah
Palin - Law
- Politics
- Alaska
- 2008
Election
"Palin
Aide Ducks State Probe: Aide's Lawyer Cancels Deposition,
Questions Legislature's Jurisdiction." ... "The deposition of one of [2008
Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate and Alaska Governor] Gov.
Sarah Palin's staff members was canceled yesterday by the staffer's attorney,
in what is yet another setback to the state
legislature's investigation into claims that Palin fired the public
safety commissioner after he refused to dismiss a trooper, Palin's former
brother in-law." ... "Palin has denied any wrongdoing surrounding the dismissal
of Walt Monegan, but has acknowledged that phone calls were made by her
staff members to Public Safety officials regarding the trooper, Mike Wooten."
... "One of those calls was made by Palin's director of boards and commissions,
Frank Bailey. Bailey was scheduled to be deposed as part of the legislature's
investigation, but his attorney canceled the deposition yesterday and challenged
the legislature's jurisdiction, according to the state senator running
the probe." ... "Bailey's attorney, Greg Grebe, said he canceled the deposition,
which was to take place today, last night after speaking with Palin's private
attorney Thomas Van Flein." (1, 2)
-By Len Tepper, Brian Ross, and Maddy Sauer -ABCNEWS.com
Sarah
Palin - Money
-Politics- Lawsuit
- Alaska
- Arizona
- 2008
Election
"Another
Controversy for Sarah Palin: Former Police Chief
Says He Was Fired for Challenging Palin's Campaign Contributors." ... "[2008
Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate and Alaska Governor] Gov.
Sarah Palin is already facing ethical questions over her firing of the
Alaska public safety commissioner, and now she faces questions over the
firing of a longtime local police chief." ... "After taking over as Mayor
of the small town of Wasilla, Palin fired the longtime local police chief.
The former police chief, Irl Stambaugh says he was fired because he stepped
on the toes of Palin's campaign contributors, including bar owners and
the National Rifle Association." ... "Stambaugh's lawyer, William Jermain,
says the chief tried to move up the closing hours of local bars from 5
a.m. to two a.m. after a spurt of drunk driving accidents and arrests."
... ""His crackdown on that practice by the bars was not appreciated by
her and that was one reason she terminated Irl," said Jermain." (1, 2)
-By Brian Ross and Joseph Rhee
-ABCNEWS.com
20080831
Sarah
Palin - John
McCain - Political
- Investigation
- Attorney
- Government
- 
Transportation
- Construction
- Money
- Alaska
- Oil
- Global
- Climate
- 2008
Election
"What
McCain Didn't Know About Sarah Palin." ... "They've
[the 2008 Election Republican Presidential campaign of John McCain] bragged
that [Alaska Republican Governor Sarah] Palin opposed the famous "Bridge
to Nowhere," only to learn that Palin
supported the project and even told residents of Ketchikan [Alaska]
that they weren't "nowhere" to her. After the national outcry, she decided
to spend the funds allocated to the bridge for something else. Actually,
maybe it's more fair to say that coincident with the national outcry, she
changed her mind. The story shows her political judgment, but it is not
a reformer's credential." ... "Likewise, though she cut taxes as mayor
of Wassila [Alaska], she raised the sales tax, making her hardly a tax
cutter." ... "She denied pressuring the state's chief of public safety
to fire her sister-in-law's husband even though there's mounting evidence
that the impetus did indeed come from her. Ostensibly to clear her name,
Palin
asked her attorney general to open an independent investigation—the
legislature had already been investigating. (I am told that the campaign
was aware of the ethics complaint filed against her but accepts Palin's
account.)" ... "McCain's campaign seemed unaware that she supported a windfalls
profits tax on oil companies and that she is more skeptical about human
contributions to global warming than McCain is." ... "They did not know
that she took trips as the mayor of Wasilla to beg for earmarks." ... "They
did not know that she told a television interviewer this summer that she
did not fully understand what it is that a vice president does." -By
Marc
Ambinder -TheAtlantic.com
John
McCain - Joe
Biden - Barack
Obama - Hillary
Clinton - Hurricane
Katrina - Weather
- Emergency
- Investigation
- Legislation
- Politics
- History
- Federal
- NY
- New
Orleans - 
Louisiana
- Communications
- Funds
- Children
- Transportation
-2008
Election
"McCain
To Katrina Victims In 2005: You're On Your Own."
... "It doesn’t really come as a surprise to those of us who have watched
[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain over the
years that he's about to make a campaign
stop in New Orleans [Louisiana] after Hurricane Gustav hits this week.
After all, he's been exploiting the troops for years, what's a few hurricane
victims after that?" ... "What does seem odd is that McCain thinks Gulf
Coast residents will forget how he, [Republican President] George W. Bush
and the then-Republican Congress turned their backs on them so many times
in the months after Katrina thundered ashore in 2005." ... "Too bad he
spent the months to follow leading the Republican charge against every
Senate bill that would have actually helped Katrina victims or mandated
investigations on how the Bush administration could have blown disaster
response so thoroughly." ... "[2008 Election] Democratic Vice Presidential
nominee Joe Biden jumped immediately to the aid of hurricane victims in
the week after the 2005 disaster, authoring S.Amdt.
1661 "…to provide emergency funding for victims of Hurricane Katrina.""
... "Biden's legislation would have provided many things including money
to purchase interoperable communications equipment to help first-responders
dealing with the disaster, $10 million "to find, unite, and transport children
impacted by Hurricane Katrina to their parents, legal guardian, or next
of kin" and funding to assist victims of domestic violence in affected
areas." ... "But with John McCain's help, the Republican-led Senate shot
down the funding on a 41-56
vote with McCain voting against, while Biden and Democratic Presidential
nominee Barack Obama voted for the funding." ... "When [New York Democratic]
Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY[ Democratic-New York]) proposed the creation
of a Congressional Commission to "examine the Federal, State, and local
response to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina.. and make immediate
corrective measures to improve such responses in the future," John McCain
was once again exactly where [Republican President] George W. Bush wanted
him to be: On the "nay" side of a straight party-line vote (44-54)
that killed that legislation." ... "And lest you think it was McCain taking
a stand against what might become a Democratic witch hunt on the failures
of his bosses in the White House, the bill called for a wholly bipartisan
panel, stating
specifically of the 10-member group that "not more than 5 members of
the Commission shall be from the same political party."" ... "Unlike McCain,
Barack Obama was one of the cosponsors of that bill and both he and Biden
voted for immediate oversight on the bungled Katrina response." ... "But
that's not all." -By Bob
Geiger
20080830
Sarah
Palin - John
McCain - Political
- Investigation
- Safety
-Alaska
- 2008
Election
"'Troopergate'
inquiry hangs over campaign: Inquiry: Ex-commissioner
brings up undisclosed e-mails that he says mentioned trooper." ... "Alaska's
former commissioner of public safety says [Alaska Republican Governor]
Gov. Sarah Palin, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John
McCain's pick to be vice president, personally talked with him on two occasions
about a state trooper who was locked in a bitter custody battle with the
governor's sister." ... "In a phone conversation Friday night, Walt Monegan,
who was Alaska's top cop until Palin fired him July 11, told the Daily
News that the governor also had e-mailed him two or three times about her
ex-brother-in-law, Trooper Mike Wooten, though the e-mails didn't mention
Wooten by name." ... "Monegan claims his refusal to fire Wooten was a major
reason that Palin dismissed him. Wooten had been suspended for five days
previously, based largely on complaints that Palin's family had initiated
before Palin was governor." ... "The events surrounding Monegan's dismissal
currently are under investigation by the state's legislature. Palin has
acknowledged that a member of her staff phoned a trooper lieutenant in
an effort that could have been perceived as pressure to have Wooten dismissed
and that her husband and other officials also had contacted Monegan about
Wooten." ... "She has insisted, however, that she did not authorize the
phone call and was not aware of it. She has said she doesn't believe any
of the contacts amounted to pressuring Monegan." ... "Monegan, however,
said that Palin raised the subject of Wooten with him herself on two occasions
after becoming governor -- once on the phone soon after she took office
and once in person not long after that." ... "Monegan also said that the
governor's husband, Todd, talked to him several times about Wooten and
that three top officials in her administration contacted him." ... "Monegan
also disclosed for the first time that Palin sent him two or three e-mails
that referenced her ex-brother-in-law and his status with troopers. Monegan
declined to provide the e-mails because of the ongoing investigation."
... "Monegan said he believes his firing was directly related to the fact
Wooten stayed on the job. "It was a significant factor if not the factor,"
Monegan said." ... "Palin's replacement for Monegan, Chuck Kopp, was forced
to resign just two weeks after he was appointed because of a sexual harassment
complaint that had been filed against him when he was the chief of police
in Kenai [Alaska]." -By Lisa Demer
-ADN.com
20080829
Sarah
Palin - John
McCain - Law- Politics
- Safety
- Alaska
- 2008
Election
"Exclusive:
Chief Fired by Palin Speaks Out." ... "The July firing
of Alaska Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan by [Alaska Republican
Governor] Gov. Sarah Palin, who was announced as [2008 Election
Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain's running mate on
Friday, has unearthed a stream of soap-opera-like details about Palin,
her husband, her family and top state appointees. The controversy has also
cut against Palin's reputation for holding an ethical line and standing
up to colleagues in the Republican Party over matters of principle." ...
"Monegan, 57, a respected former chief of the Anchorage [Alaska] Police
Department, said in an interview with The Washington Post's James V.
Grimaldi on Friday that the governor repeatedly brought up the topic
of her ex-brother-in-law, Michael Wooten, after Monegan became the
state's commissioner of public safety in December 2006. Palin's husband,
Todd,
met with Monegan and presented a dossier of information about Wooten, who
was going through a bitter custody battle with Palin's sister,
Molly.
Monegan also said Sarah Palin sent him e-mails on the subject, but Monegan
declined to disclose them, saying he planned to give them to a legislative
investigator looking into the matter." ... "Palin initially denied that
she or anyone in her administration had ever pressured Monegan to fire
the trooper, but this summer acknowledged more than a half a dozen contacts
over the matter, including one phone call from a Palin administration official
to a state police lieutenant." -WashingtonPost
John
McCain - Sarah
Palin -Law
- Politics
- Safety
- Alaska
- Arizona
- 2008
Election
"McCain's
VP Pick Palin Facing Ethics Investigation." ... "...
[T]he 44-year-old [Alaska Republican Governor Sarah] Palin, who was selected
as [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator]
Sen. John McCain's running mate today, is now the focus of her own
state ethics investigation as part of the so-called "Troopergate" scandal,
a bizarre controversy involving the firing of a state police chief and
his reluctance to fire an Alaska state trooper, Palin's former brother-in-law
who has been involved in a bitter custody fight with her younger sister."
... "Just two weeks ago, Palin revealed
an audio recording of an aide pressuring the state's Public Safety
Department to fire trooper Mike Wooten, the Anchorage Daily News
reported." ... "Palin also acknowledged that her staff had contacted Public
Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan about two dozen times about Wooten.
Monegan himself was fired July 11 (the dismissal was "out
of the blue," he told reporters) and he later said that he was
pressured by Palin's staff and family to get rid of Wooten, a trooper
based in Palmer, Alaska." ... "(To counter the "Troopergate" tag, the alternative-weekly
Anchorage Press has dubbed the firing scandal "Wootengate")"
... "In July, Palin came under a state ethics investigation and critics
have said Palin's claim that she did not know of the political pressure
being placed on Monegan was a "little
too convenient."" -By Derek Kravitz
-WashingtonPost
Sarah
Palin - Alaska
- Lawmakers
- Investigation
- Global
-Climate
- Ice
- Environment
- Species
- 2008
Election
"Palin
candidacy raises eyebrows in Alaska." ... "State
lawmakers have launched a $100,000 investigation to determine if [2008
Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate and Alaska Governor Sarah]
Palin dismissed Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan last month because
Monegan wouldn't fire a state trooper involved in a messy custody battle
with her sister." ... "She also is under fire from environmentalists for
opposing the [Republican President] Bush administration's decision in May
to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species
Act because global warming is melting the polar ice cap." ... "Dermot Cole,
a longtime columnist for Alaska's second-largest newspaper, the Fairbanks
Daily News-Miner, called McCain's choice of Palin reckless and questioned
her credentials." ... ""Sarah Palin's chief qualification for being elected
governor was that she was not Frank Murkowski," Cole said of her enormously
unpopular predecessor, who lost favor with Alaskans in part because of
unpopular budget cuts. "She was not elected because she was a conservative.
She was not elected because of her grasp of issues or because of her track
record as the mayor of Wasilla [Alaska]."" -By Dan
Joling with contributions by Sharon Theimer and H. Josef Hebert-AP
via -Chron
Sarah
Palin - John
McCain - Investigation
- Legislature
- Alaska
- Colorado
- 2008
Election
"Choice
stuns state politicians." ... "[2008 Election Republican
Presidential Candidate] John McCain's choice of Alaska [Republican Governor]
Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate stunned and divided
Alaska political leaders on Friday. Supporters said she was a shrewd choice,
but others argued Palin has no business being a heartbeat away from the
presidency." ... "State Senate President Lyda Green said she thought it
was a joke when someone called her at 6 a.m. to give her the news." ...
""She's not prepared to be governor. How can she be prepared to be vice
president or president?" said Green, a Republican from Palin's hometown
of Wasilla [Alaska]. "Look at what she's done to this state. What would
she do to the nation?"" ... "... Anchorage [Alaska] Democratic state [Senator]
Sen. Hollis French said it's a huge mistake by McCain and "reflects very,
very badly on his judgment." French said Palin's experience running the
state for less than two years hasn't prepared her for this." ... "Alaska
Democratic Party chairwoman Patti Higgins, attending her party's national
convention in Denver [Colorado], said she was shocked to hear the news
this morning." ... ""In this very competitive election for them to go pick
somebody who is ... under a cloud of suspicion, who is under investigation
for abuse of power. It just sounds like a pretty slow start to me," Higgins
said." ... "The state Legislature is investigating whether Palin and her
staff broke state law by pressuring the public safety department to fire
a state trooper who was in a custody battle with her sister." ... ""We
need a vice president who can step in if, God forbid, something happened
to John McCain," Higgins said. "I don't think she's someone who is ready
for that 3 a.m. phone call."" -By Sean Cockerham and
Wesley Loy with contributions by Lisa Demer, Tom Kizzia and Elizabeth Bluemink-ADN.com
20080827
Ted
Stevens - Don
Young -Oil
-Money
-VECO
- Legal
- Investigation- Alaska- Florida
- Road
- Construction
"Indicted
Senator Wins G.O.P. Primary." ... "[Alaska Republican]
Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska won the Republican primary in his home state
on Tuesday, soundly defeating six Republican challengers less than a month
after he was indicted by a federal grand jury for concealing more than
$250,000 in gifts from an oil services company." ... "The victory for Mr.
Stevens, 84, means he now moves to a tough general election campaign against
[Anchorage, Alaska Democratic] Mayor Mark Begich of Anchorage, who easily
won the Democratic primary on Tuesday and leads the senator in polls. Mr.
Stevens enters the general election also having to prepare for his trial,
which is scheduled to begin in late September." ... "[Alaska Republican]
Representative Don Young, the state's lone House member and a 35-year incumbent,
was locked in a close primary race with Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell early Wednesday.
With nearly 98 percent of precincts reporting, Mr. Young led by fewer than
150 votes out of more than 85,000 cast." ... "Like Mr. Stevens, Mr. Young
is under federal investigation for his ties to VECO, a former oil services
company, but he also faces scrutiny on other matters, including a controversial
$10 million earmark he pushed through for a Florida road project. Mr. Young
has spent more than $1 million of his campaign funds on legal fees." -By
William Yardley -NYTimes
20080818
John
McCain - 
Ralph
Reed - Jack
Abramoff -Criminal
Investigation - Religion
- Politics
- Georgia
- 2008
Election
"McCain
nets $1.75 million at Reed-linked event." .. "[2008
Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain raised more than
$1.75 million for Republicans Monday at a fundraiser [in Georgia's capital
Atlanta] clouded by confusion over the role of a political operative connected
to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff." .. "The downtown event was promoted
by Ralph Reed, a former head of the Christian Coalition. McCain's campaign
said the event was organized by the Republican National Committee — not
Reed, who was linked to the Abramoff scandal that McCain investigated in
the Senate." .. "A House investigative committee in 2006 did not call Reed
as a witness, but concluded that he interceded with the [Republican President]
Bush White House to help some of Abramoff's clients. Reed's public relations
firm also received $4.2 million from Abramoff to mobilize Christian voters
to fight the opening of casinos that could compete with Abramoff's Indian
tribe clients." .. "Abramoff went to prison for conspiracy, mail fraud
and tax evasion." -By Philip Elliott
-AP via -Yahoo
20080814
Sarah
Palin - Political
- Law
- Investigation
- Alaska
"Palin
staff pushed to have trooper fired: Governor says
she's learned calls were made about Wooten's ouster." ... "[Alaska Republican
Governor] Gov. Sarah Palin on Wednesday revealed an audio recording that
shows an aide pressuring the Public Safety Department to fire a state trooper
embroiled in a custody battle with her sister." ... "Palin, who has previously
said her administration didn't exert pressure to get rid of trooper Mike
Wooten, also disclosed that members of her staff had made about two dozen
contacts with public safety officials about the trooper." ... ""I do now
have to tell Alaskans that such pressure could have been perceived to exist
although I have only now become aware of it," Palin said." ... "But Palin
said her decision to fire Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan last
month had nothing to do with his refusal to dump trooper Mike Wooten."
... "The governor said evidence of what she called a "smoking gun" conversation,
and other calls made by her aides, only recently surfaced as the attorney
general started an inquiry at her request into the circumstances surrounding
her firing of Monegan. Palin wanted the review because a special investigator
hired by the Legislature is about to investigate the firing and a legislator
has been quoted in a newspaper story talking about impeachment." ... "The
majority of the calls came from Palin's chief of staff at the time, Mike
Tibbles, according to information gathered by the state attorney general's
office. Attorney General Talis Colberg and Palin's husband, Todd, also
contacted Monegan about the trooper." ... "Palin said the "most disturbing"
was a phone call Frank Bailey, the governor's director of boards and commissions,
made to trooper Lt. Rodney Dial in February. The Public Safety Department
recorded the call, as it does routinely." ... "Palin, who said she'd only
just learned of the call, released a recorded copy of it to the press on
Wednesday. In it, Bailey clearly pressures the lieutenant." ... "Bailey
told him during the conversation that Palin and her husband want to know
why Wooten still has a job." ... ""Todd and Sarah are scratching their
heads, 'Why on earth hasn't this, why is this guy still representing the
department?' He's a horrible recruiting tool, you know," Bailey told the
lieutenant." ... "Bailey made several accusations against Wooten in the
call, including that he lied on his application. Dial asked Bailey how
he knew about any issue with the application." -By
Sean Cockerham -ADN.com
20080806
Hillary
Rodham Clinton - Dick
Cheney - Halliburton
KBR - Blackwater
- Corporate
- Government
- Disaster
- Politics
- Military
- Peoples
- Health
- Investigators
- Hurricane
Katrina - Housing
- US
- Iraq
- 
Cayman
Islands
"No
Crisis Is Immune From Exploitation Under Bush." ...
[By
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON:] "Tucked away on the Cayman Islands sits Ugland
House, an unassuming, nondescript building of modest scale and size. However,
according to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO),
this five-story office building is home to more than 18,000 corporate entities,
nearly half of which have U.S. [United States] ties." ... "In the past
few years, the number of corporations flocking to places like the Cayman
Islands to evade U.S. taxes has exploded. One of these companies, [Republican
Vice President Dick Cheney's] former Halliburton subsidiary KBR, has used
offshore tax havens to avoid paying hundreds of millions of dollars in
federal taxes. To no one's surprise, instead of cracking down on KBR, the
[Republican President] Bush administration has rewarded the company in
April of this year with a 10-year, $150 billion contract in Iraq." ...
"There appears to be no crisis, tragedy or disaster immune from exploitation
under the Bush administration. The examples of the waste, fraud and abuse
are legion -- from KBR performing shoddy electrical work in Iraq that has
resulted in the electrocution of our military personnel according to Pentagon
and Congressional investigators, to the firing of an Army official who
dared to refuse a $1 billion payout for questionable charges to the same
company. In another scam, the Pentagon awarded a $300 million contract
to AEY, Inc. [Incorporated], a company run by a 22-year-old who fulfilled
an ammunition deal in Afghanistan by supplying rotting Chinese-made munitions
to our allies." ... "But the fraud and waste are not limited to the war.
In the weeks after Hurricane Katrina, for example, FEMA [Federal Emergency
Management Agency] awarded a contract worth more than $500 million for
trailers to serve as temporary housing. The contractor, Gulf Stream, collected
all of its money even though they knew at the time that its trailers were
contaminated with formaldehyde." ... "While touting fiscal responsibility,
[Republican] President Bush and his administration have lined the pockets
of political cronies like Halliburton and Blackwater. While calling for
earmark reform, the president has allowed no-bid and questionable contracting
throughout the federal government to dwarf earmark spending by a 10-to-1
ratio." -By Hillary Rodham Clinton
-WSJ.com
20080805
Political
- Terrorism
- Intelligence
- Crime
- Noteworthy
- Government
- Law
- US
- Iraq
- Military
- History
- Journalist
"Author
claims White House knew Iraq had no WMD: Journalist
Ron Suskind says [Republican President] Bush ordered forgery linking Saddam,
al-Qaeda." ... "President Bush committed an impeachable offense by ordering
the CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] to to manufacture a false pretense
for the Iraq war in the form of a backdated, handwritten document linking
Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda, an explosive new book claims." ... "The charge
is made in “The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of
Extremism” by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind, released today."
... "Suskind says he spoke on the record with U.S. [United States] intelligence
officials who stated that Bush was informed unequivocally in January 2003
that Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction. Nonetheless, his book relates,
Bush decided to invade Iraq three months later — with the forged letter
from the head of Iraqi intelligence to Saddam bolstering the U.S. [United
States] rationale to go into war." ... "“It was a dark day for the CIA,”
Suskind told TODAY co-host Meredith Vieira on Tuesday. “It was the kind
of thing where [the CIA] said, ‘Look, this is not our charge. We’re not
here to carry forth a political mandate — which is clearly what this was
— to solve a political problem in America.’ And it was a cause of great
grievance inside of the agency.”" ... "The author writes that Bush’s action
is “one of the greatest lies in modern American political history” and
suggests it is a crime of greater impact than Watergate." ... "The letter"
... "On page 371 of “The Way of the World,” Suskind describes the [Republican
President Bush's] White House’s concoction of a forged letter purportedly
from the hand of [Iraqi intelligence chief Tahir Jalil] Habbush to Saddam
Hussein to justify the United States’ decision to go to war." ... "CIA
officers [Bob] Richer and John Maguire, who oversaw the Iraq Operations
Group, are both on the record in Suskind’s book confirming the existence
of the fake Habbush letter." -By Bob Considine
-MSNBC
WATCH:
Ron Suskind interview on TODAY show.
20080728
Jim
D Adkisson - Religious
- Terrorism
- Politics
-Tennessee
- Police
- Law
"Police:
Killer targeted church for liberal views: 2 people
killed, seven hurt, after man opens fire in Tennessee church." ... "An
unemployed man accused of opening fire with a shotgun and killing two people
at a Unitarian church apparently targeted the congregation out of hatred
for its liberal social policies, police said Monday." ... "Knoxville Police
Chief Sterling Owen IV said a letter had been been recovered from the SUV
of Jim D. Adkisson, 58, by investigators seeking clues about the motive
behind the attack. Authorities said he was an apparent stranger to the
Tennessee church where gunfire punctuated a children's performance based
on the musical "Annie." Two people were killed and seven wounded Sunday."
... ""It appears that what brought him to this horrible event was his lack
of being able to obtain a job, his frustration over that and his stated
hatred of the liberal movement," Owen said at a news conference."
-AP via -Yahoo
Jim
David Adkisson - Terrorism
- Media
- Politics
- Radio
- TV/Channel
-Tennessee
-Religion
- Law
- Police
"Bill
O'Reilly, Michael Savage, Sean Hannity on accused shooter's reading list:
4-page letter outlines frustration, hatred of 'liberal movement'." ...
"Police found right-wing political books, brass knuckles, empty shotgun
shell boxes and a handgun in the Powell [Tennessee] home of a man who said
he attacked a church in order to kill liberals "who are ruining the country,"
court records show." ... "Knoxville police Sunday evening searched the
Levy Drive home of Jim David Adkisson after he allegedly entered the Tennessee
Valley Unitarian Universalist Church and killed two people and wounded
six others during the presentation of a children's musical." ... "Knoxville
Police Department Officer Steve Still requested the search warrant after
interviewing Adkisson. who was subdued by several church members after
firing three rounds from a 12-gauge shotgun into the congregation." ...
"Adkisson targeted the church, Still wrote in the document obtained by
WBIR-TV, Channel 10, "because of its liberal teachings and his belief that
all liberals should be killed because they were ruining the country, and
that he felt that the Democrats had tied his country's hands in the war
on terror and they had ruined every institution in America with the aid
of media outlets."" ... "Adkisson told Still that "he could not get to
the leaders of the liberal movement that he would then target those that
had voted them in to office."" ... "Inside the house, officers found "Liberalism
is a Mental Health Disorder" by radio talk show host Michael Savage, "Let
Freedom Ring" by talk show host Sean Hannity, and "The O'Reilly Factor,"
by television talk show host Bill O'Reilly [the latter two work for Rupert
Murdoch's News Corp subsidiary Fox TV]." ... "The shotgun-wielding suspect
in Sunday's mass shooting at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist
Church was motivated by a hatred of "the liberal movement," and he planned
to shoot until police shot him, Knoxville Police Chief Sterling P. Owen
IV said this morning." ... "Adkisson, 58, of Powell wrote a four-page letter
in which he stated his "hatred of the liberal movement," Owen said. "Liberals
in general, as well as gays."" ... "Owen said Adkisson specifically targeted
the church for its beliefs, rather than a particular member of the congregation."
-By Hayes Hickman with contributions by Bob Fowler,
J.J. Stambaugh, Frank Munger and Amy McRary
-KnoxNews.com
Jim
Adkisson - Jobless
- Politics
- Police
- Tennessee
-Church
- Gays
- Women's
- Rights
-Desegregation- History
"US
church 'killer' wrote of hate: A man accused of shooting
dead two people in a Tennessee church was motivated by hatred of liberals
and anger at being jobless, US police say." ... "The Tennessee Valley Unitarian
Universalist Church describes itself on its website as working for social
change since the 1950s, including desegregation, racial harmony, fair wages,
women's rights and gay rights." -BBC/News
Jim
Adkisson - Terrorism
- Politics
- Tennessee
- Church
- Gays
- Jobs
- Government
- Food
- Money
"Tennessee
church shooter angry at "liberals"." ... "A man [Jim
Adkisson] who opened fire inside a church, killing two people with a shotgun
hidden in a guitar case, was frustrated at being unable to find a job and
blamed liberals and gays, police said on Monday." ... ""It appears that
what brought him to this horrible event was his lack of being able to obtain
a job, his frustration over that, and his stated hatred of the liberal
movement," Knoxville [Tennessee] Police Chief Sterling Owen told reporters
of Sunday's incident at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church."
... "Suspect Jim Adkisson...." ... "... described his violent plans in
a four-page letter found at his home, which also explained that his age
and "liberals and gays" taking jobs had worked against him." ... "Another
recent setback was that Adkisson's allotment of government-issued food
stamps had been reduced, Owen said." -By Andrew Stern
with contributions by Michael Conlon and Jackie Frank
-Reuters via -IHT.com
Jim
Adkisson - Terrorism
- Politics
- Tennessee
- Church
- Children
"Timeline:
Church service marred by gunfire." ... "A neighbor
told 10News [suspected killer, Jim] Adkisson described himself as a "Confederate"
and a "believer in the old South." She says Adkisson self-identified in
this way to her on more than one occasion, but that she didn't know what
he meant by it." ... "The shootings happened at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian
Universalist Church on Kingston Pike." ... "A witness who spoke to 10 News
said police had arrived and one person was being detained at the scene."
... "A children's production of "Annie" was taking place as part of the
normal Sunday service at the time of the shooting, the witness, who is
a member of the church, said. The gunman walked into a packed sanctuary
and opened fire." -WBIR.com
Tennessee
Valley Unitarian Universalist Church - TVUUC.org
Jim
Adkisson - Political
-Terrorism
- Tennessee
- Out-of-Work- Homeless
- Food
- Gay
- Churchgoers
- Women's
- Rights
- Children
"Police:
Man shot churchgoers over liberal views." ... "An
out-of-work truck driver accused of opening fire at a Unitarian church
[in Knoxville, Tennessee], killing two people, left behind a note suggesting
that he targeted the congregation out of hatred for its liberal policies,
including its acceptance of gays, authorities said Monday." ... "[Jim]
Adkisson, a 58-year-old truck driver on the verge of losing his food stamps,
had 76 rounds with him when he entered the church and pulled a shotgun
from a guitar case during a children's performance of the musical "Annie.""
... "The Unitarian-Universalist church advocates for women's rights and
gay rights and has provided sanctuary for political refugees. It also has
fed the homeless and founded a chapter of the American Civil Liberties
Union, according to its Web site." -By Duncan Mansfield
-AP via -Yahoo
Jim
Adkisson - People
- Emergency
- Church
- Terrorism
- Politics
- Police
-Law
- Tennessee
"Witnesses
recall Knoxville church shooting horror: ‘He had
gun leveled in our direction,’ says man who helped stop rampage." ... "Jamie
Parkey thought the blast that ripped through the sanctuary of the Tennessee
Valley Unitarian Universalist Church was part of the play his daughter
and other children were putting on. Then he saw blood on another parishioner
behind him and saw a man with a 12-gauge shotgun calmly firing away at
the congregation." ... "“He had the gun leveled in our direction,” Parkey
told TODAY’s Matt Lauer on Monday, one day after the gunman killed two
church members and wounded six others before being wrestled to the ground
by parishioners. “That’s when I pushed my mother and daughter to the floor
and got under the pew. When I saw the men rushing him was when I got up
to join them.”" ... "Parkey was one of the people who tackled 58-year-old
Jim D. Adkisson, kicking the shotgun away and holding the gunman on the
floor with an arm-bar hold. Parkey’s 16-year-old daughter was in the play,
and he had been sitting in the front of the church with his mother and
his 6-year-old daughter when the attack began." ... "“For the situation,
everyone responded phenomenally,” Parkey said. “June and Kevin Spooner
mobilized and got the kids out the back.” Vicki Masters, the director of
the play the children had been rehearsing for all summer, yelled for people
to get out of the building. Another woman ushered children to the Presbyterian
church next door after the gunman was subdued." ... "“Everybody did exactly
what they needed to do,” Broyles added. “There was very little panic, very
little screaming or hysteria. It’s a remarkable congregation of people.
I’ve never seen such a loving response to such an overwhelming tragedy.”"
... "Adkisson is being held in lieu of $1 million bail while local police,
with the assistance of FBI agents, gather evidence and search his home
in a neighboring town. Police say they found a letter in Adkisson’s car
which said that he planned the attack, that he couldn’t find a job, and
“stated his hatred for the liberal movement.”" -By
Mike Celizic -TODAYShow.com
-MSNBC
20080714
Barack
Obama -Military
- Police
- US
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Iran
- 
Pakistan
- Terrorism
- Intelligence
-Government
- Money
- Political
- McCain
- Arizona
- 2008
Election
"My
Plan for Iraq." [By 2008 Election Democratic Presidential
Canidate Barack Obama] ... "The call by Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki
for a timetable for the removal of American troops from Iraq presents an
enormous opportunity. We should seize this moment to begin the phased redeployment
of combat troops that I have long advocated, and that is needed for long-term
success in Iraq and the security interests of the United States." ... "The
differences on Iraq in this campaign are deep. Unlike [2008 Election Republican
Senator and Arizona] Senator John McCain, I opposed the war in Iraq before
it began, and would end it as president. I believed it was a grave mistake
to allow ourselves to be distracted from the fight against Al Qaeda and
the Taliban [in Afghanistan] by invading a country [Iraq] that posed no
imminent threat and had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. Since then,
more than 4,000 Americans have died and we have spent nearly $1 trillion.
Our military is overstretched. Nearly every threat we face — from Afghanistan
to Al Qaeda to Iran — has grown." ... "In the 18 months since [Republican]
President Bush announced the surge, our troops have performed heroically
in bringing down the level of violence. New tactics have protected the
Iraqi population, and the Sunni tribes have rejected Al Qaeda — greatly
weakening its effectiveness." ... "But the same factors that led me to
oppose the surge still hold true. The strain on our military has grown,
the situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated and we’ve spent nearly $200
billion more in Iraq than we had budgeted. Iraq’s leaders have failed to
invest tens of billions of dollars in oil revenues in rebuilding their
own country, and they have not reached the political accommodation that
was the stated purpose of the surge." ... "The good news is that Iraq’s
leaders want to take responsibility for their country by negotiating a
timetable for the removal of American troops. Meanwhile, Lt. Gen. [Lieutenant
General] James Dubik, the American officer in charge of training Iraq’s
security forces, estimates that the Iraqi Army and police will be ready
to assume responsibility for security in 2009." ... "Only by redeploying
our troops can we press the Iraqis to reach comprehensive political accommodation
and achieve a successful transition to Iraqis’ taking responsibility for
the security and stability of their country. Instead of seizing the moment
and encouraging Iraqis to step up, the Bush administration and Senator
McCain are refusing to embrace this transition — despite their previous
commitments to respect the will of Iraq’s sovereign government." ... "Ending
the war is essential to meeting our broader strategic goals, starting in
Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the Taliban is resurgent and Al Qaeda has
a safe haven. Iraq is not the central front in the war on terrorism, and
it never has been. As Adm. [Admiral] Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, recently pointed out, we won’t have sufficient resources
to finish the job in Afghanistan until we reduce our commitment to Iraq."
... "As president, I would pursue a new strategy, and begin by providing
at least two additional combat brigades to support our effort in Afghanistan.
We need more troops, more helicopters, better intelligence-gathering and
more nonmilitary assistance to accomplish the mission there. I would not
hold our military, our resources and our foreign policy hostage to a misguided
desire to maintain permanent bases in Iraq. " -By
Barack Obama -NYTimes
20080710
Karl
Rove - Don
Siegelman -US
Attorney - Politics
- Investigation
- Alabama
- California
"Rove,
Defying Subpoena, Doesn't Appear at Hearing (Update2)."
... "Former [Republican President Bush] White House political director
Karl Rove, defying a subpoena, failed to appear before a [United States]
U.S. House panel investigating whether the Justice Department prosecuted
people for political reasons." ... "Rove's action today prompted the House
Judiciary subcommittee to rule that his reasons for skipping the appearance
weren't legally valid, a first step toward a possible contempt of Congress
vote." ... "The panel is trying to determine whether Rove influenced the
Justice Department's decision to bring a corruption case against former
Alabama [Democratic] Governor Don Siegelman, a Democrat. Rove has rejected
the claim and said he would speak with the committee only in private, not
under oath and without a transcript. He also proposed answering questions
in writing." ... "[California Democratic Representative Linda] Sanchez
noted that Rove's offer was limited to discussing the Siegelman case. The
panel also wants to question him about other topics, including the 2006
firing of nine U.S. attorneys, she said." ... "The Justice Department's
ethics office also is probing whether Siegelman was the victim of selective
prosecution. " -By Robert Schmidt
-Bloomberg
John
Cowdery -
Kott
- 
Kohring
- 
Weyhrauch
-Oil
- Money
- Politics- VECO
- Federal
- Crimes
- Alaska
"Cowdery
indicted on two corruption charges." ... "The federal
indictment filed today against state [Alaska state Republican Senator]
Sen. John Cowdery revolves around the oil tax legislation pushed so hard
by Veco Corp. [Corporation] and its executives in 2006." ... "The Anchorage
Republican is charged with conspiracy and bribery, accused of scheming
with Veco executives to win over another senator in the battle for the
tax favored by North Slope oil producers." ... "According to the 16-page
indictment, Cowdery and others conspired to give the other state senator
$25,000, characterized as campaign contributions." ... "[Veco chief executive
Bill] Allen and Veco vice president Rick Smith have pleaded guilty to bribing
legislators, including Cowdery, to push through a version of an oil tax
favored by North Slope producers." ... "Two former legislators, [Republican]
Pete Kott of Eagle River [Alaska] and [Republican] Vic Kohring of Wasilla
[Alaska], are serving federal prison sentences after being convicted of
corruption charges related to the push for the tax. A third former legislator,
[Republican] Bruce Weyhrauch of Juneau [Alaska's capital], was indicted
too and is awaiting trial while courts consider an appeal on what evidence
can be heard." -By Lisa Demer
-ADN.com
20080706
Don
Young - Ted
Stevens - Tom
DeLay - Federal
- Investigation
- Legislative
- Politics
- 2008
Election - Alaska
- Texas
- Virginia
- Florida
- Transportation
- Construction
"When
Alaska's Young needed help, lobbyists ponied up."
... "Facing bad publicity and a dwindling campaign account, [United States
Alaska Republican Representative] U.S. Rep. Don Young last year turned
to the "AK Wolfpack," a group of more than 20 lobbyists, including former
Young staffers and retired former congressmen, with close ties to the Alaska
Republican." ... "Young's chief of staff, Mike Anderson, sent the Wolfpack
an e-mail to tell them that national Democrats planned aggressive fundraising
and claims of misconduct by Young to topple the 35-year incumbent congressman
and his fellow Alaska Republican [Senator], U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens." ...
"If they succeed, Anderson warned, "you and your clients will be impacted.""
... "They include Rick Alcalde, the lobbyist at the heart of a Young earmark
that is under federal investigation. They also include lobbyists Colin
Chapman, Anderson's immediate predecessor as Young's chief of staff, and
Randy DeLay, the brother of former Republican House Majority Leader Tom
DeLay of Texas. Randy DeLay lobbied on a Virginia highway project before
Young's transportation committee." ... "Anderson e-mailed his note a day
after The New York Times ran a front-page story about Young's earmarking
$10 million to study a Florida interchange that would benefit a developer
who had raised money for an earlier Young campaign. The paper described
the earmark as an "obvious" trade of campaign contributions for legislative
favors." -By Sean Cockerham and Erika
Bolstad -McClatchyDC.com
20080702
John
McCain -Carl
H Lindner Jr - Terrorism
- Money
- Illegal
- Military
- Politics
- Federal
- Investigation
- International
- Food
- 
Colombia
-US
-Arizona
- Ohio
- 2008
Election
"McCain
Backer's Firm Pleaded Guilty To Funding Terrorist Group In Colombia."
... "The co-host of a recent top-dollar fundraiser for [2008 Election Republican
Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain oversaw the
payment of roughly $1.7 million to a Colombian paramilitary group that
is today designated a terrorist organization by the United States." ...
"Carl H. Lindner Jr., the billionaire Cincinnati [Ohio] businessman, was
CEO [Chief Executive Officer] of Chiquita Brands International from 1984
to 2001, and remained on the company's board of directors until May 2002.
Beginning under his tenure, Chiquita executives paid hundreds of thousands
of dollars to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (known by the
Spanish acronym AUC), which is described
by George Washington University's National Security Archive as an "illegal
right-wing anti-guerrilla group tied to many of the country's most notorious
civilian massacres."" ... "Following a Justice Department indictment
[pdf] last year, Chiquita admitted
to illegally funding the paramilitaries and agreed to pay a $25 million
fine. Chiquita's payments to the AUC began in 1997 and lasted seven years;
roughly half of the funds came after the group was designated
a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. State Department in 2001."
... "According to the Justice Department, the payments "were reviewed and
approved by senior executives" of Chiquita, who knew by no later than September
2000 "that the AUC was a violent, paramilitary organization."" ... "Late
last week, Lindner co-hosted a $25,000-per-person fundraiser for McCain
and the Republican Party in the wealthy Indian Hills neighborhood of Cincinnati,
Ohio. The event raised about $2 million; Lindner also serves on McCain's
Ohio Victory Team." ... "While Lindner was CEO of Chiquita, the company
began sending money to the AUC through its shipping subsidiary Banadex.
A report
by the Organization of American States states that Banadex also engaged
in arms trafficking, helping to deliver 3,000 Nicaraguan AK-47 rifles and
millions of rounds of ammunition to the AUC in 2001. According to federal
prosecutors, when company officials realized the arrangement was illegal,
they switched to making the payments in cash." -By
Nico
Pitney -HuffingtonPost.com
Secret
- Torture
- War
Crimes - Prisons
- US
- Guantanamo
- Cuba
- Chinese
- Korean
- History
- Medical
-Science
- 
Psychological
- Military
- Intelligence
- Politics
-Investigators
"China
Inspired Interrogations at Guantánamo." ...
"The military trainers who came to Guantánamo Bay [Cuba] in December
2002 based an entire interrogation class on a chart showing the effects
of “coercive management techniques” for possible use on prisoners, including
“sleep deprivation,” “prolonged constraint,” and “exposure.”" ... "What
the trainers did not say, and may not have known, was that their chart
had been copied verbatim from a 1957 Air Force study of Chinese Communist
techniques used during the Korean War to obtain confessions, many of them
false, from American prisoners." ... "The recycled chart is the latest
and most vivid evidence of the way Communist interrogation methods that
the United States long described as torture became the basis for interrogations
both by the military at the base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and by
the Central Intelligence Agency." ... "Some methods were used against a
small number of prisoners at Guantánamo before 2005, when Congress
banned the use of coercion by the military. The C.I.A. is still authorized
by [Republican] President Bush to use a number of secret “alternative”
interrogation methods." ... "Several Guantánamo documents, including
the chart outlining coercive methods, were made public at a Senate Armed
Services Committee hearing June 17 that examined how such tactics came
to be employed." ... "But committee investigators were not aware of the
chart’s source in the half-century-old journal article, a connection pointed
out to The New York Times by an independent expert on interrogation who
spoke on condition of anonymity." ... "The 1957 article from which the
chart was copied was entitled “Communist Attempts to Elicit False Confessions
From Air Force Prisoners of War” and written by Alfred D. Biderman, a sociologist
then working for the Air Force, who died in 2003. Mr. Biderman had interviewed
American prisoners returning from North Korea, some of whom had been filmed
by their Chinese interrogators confessing to germ warfare and other atrocities."
... "Those orchestrated confessions led to allegations that the American
prisoners had been “brainwashed,” and provoked the military to revamp its
training to give some military personnel a taste of the enemies’ harsh
methods to inoculate them against quick capitulation if captured." ...
"In 2002, the training program, known as SERE, for Survival, Evasion, Resistance,
Escape, became a source of interrogation methods both for the C.I.A. and
the military. In what critics describe as a remarkable case of historical
amnesia, officials who drew on the SERE program appear to have been unaware
that it had been created as a result of concern about false confessions
by American prisoners." ... "The only change made in the chart presented
at Guantánamo was to drop its original title: “Communist Coercive
Methods for Eliciting Individual Compliance.”" (1, 2)
-By Scott
Shane -NYTimes
PDF
Documents via NYTimes:
"Communist
Attempts to Elicit False Confessions From the Air Force Prisoners of War
(pdf) [September
1957 article by A. D. Biderman, Bull, N.Y. Acad. Med, Vol. 33, No.9, pp
616-625. 10 pages. NB: p. 4 (619), Communist Coercive Methods for Eliciting
Individual Compliance]."
"Documents
Released at Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing on SERE Tactics (pdf)."
20080701
Norm
Coleman - Jeff
Larson - Money
-Politics
- Investigators
- House
- Minnesota
- 2008
Election
"Ethics
group files charge against Coleman over living arrangement."
... "[Minnesota Republican Senator Norm] Coleman, a Minnesota Republican,
has been living in the basement of a Capitol Hill town house owned by campaign
consultant Jeff Larson for the past year. He missed a couple of rent payments
until the magazine National Journal brought them to his attention. Coleman
also paid one month's rent by selling furniture to Larson." ... "Citizens
for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington wants the Senate Ethics Committee
to determine, among other things, whether the $600 monthly rent Coleman
pays is fair market value and whether Coleman would have paid the missing
rent checks had the magazine not flagged them." ... ""Few Americans have
landlords who sometimes fail to cash their rent checks, ignore unpaid rent,
or accept furniture in lieu of rent," said CREW's executive director, Melanie
Sloan." ... ""That Sen. Coleman has just such a landlord, who also happens
to financially benefit from his relationship with the senator, creates
exactly the sort of appearance of impropriety that undermines the public's
faith in government."" ... "Coleman faces a tough re-election challenge
from [2008 Election Minnesota Senatorial Candidate] Democrat Al Franken."
-AP via -USATODAY
20080628
US
-Afghanistan
- Pakistan
- Military
- Terrorism
- Intelligence
-Illegal
- Drug
- Money
- Human
Rights - Reconstruction
- Police
"Pentagon
report: Taliban regroups, likely to up pace of attacks in Afghanistan."
... "The Taliban has regrouped after its initial fall from power in Afghanistan
and the pace of its attacks is likely to increase this year, according
to a Pentagon report that offers a dim view of progress in the nearly seven-year-old
war." ... "Noting that insurgent violence has climbed, the report said
that despite U.S. and coalition efforts to capture and kill key leaders,
the Taliban is likely to "maintain or even increase the scope and pace
of its terrorist attacks and bombings in 2008."" ... "The Taliban, it said,
has "coalesced into a resilient insurgency."" ... "Vast problems — corruption,
the illegal poppy trade, human rights abuses and slow progress in reconstruction
— were detailed, as well as the struggle to train and equip the Afghan
Army and police." ... "The report described a dual terror threat in Afghanistan
that includes the Taliban in the south, and "a more complex, adaptive insurgency"
in the east. That fragmented insurgency is made up of groups ranging from
al-Qaida and Afghan warlords such as Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's radical Hezb-i-Islami
group to Pakistani militants such as Jaish-e-Mohammed." ... "Insurgents
will continue to challenge the government in southern and eastern Afghanistan,
and the may also move to increase their power in the north and west, the
report predicted." (1, 2,
3)
-By Lolita C. Baldor with contributions by Robert
Burns -AP
via -StarTribune
-Defenselink.mil Publications[PDFs]:
"Report
on Progress toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan."
"United
States Plan for Sustaining the Afghanistan National Security Forces."
-Defenselink.mil/Pubs
20080622
Blackwater
-Corporate
-Military
-Federal
-Crime
-North
Carolina
"Blackwater
using cache of AK-47s: Rifles given to sheriff in
deal that skirts law." ... "The private military company Blackwater [owned
by Erik Prince] has found an unusual way to skirt federal laws that prohibit
private parties from buying automatic weapons. Blackwater bought 17 Romanian
AK-47s and 17 Bushmasters, gave ownership of the guns to the Camden County
[North Carolina] sheriff and keeps most of the guns at Blackwater's armory
in Moyock [North Carolina]." ... "Tiny Camden County -- population 9,271
-- is one of the most peaceful in North Carolina. In the last 10 years,
there have been two murders, three robberies and seven rapes reported.
The sheriff has just 19 deputies." ... "Sheriff Tony Perry said his department
has never used the 17 AK-47s outside of shooting practice at Blackwater.
None of his 19 deputies are qualified to use the AK-47s, Perry said, and
his department's need for automatic weapons is "very minimal."" ... "In
the summer of 2005, Blackwater CEO Gary Jackson signed two agreements with
[Major] Maj. Jon Worthington of the Sheriff's Office. Worthington has worked
as a firearms instructor for Blackwater." ... ""Blackwater has financed
the purchase of 17 Romanian AK-47 rifles for the Camden County Sheriff's
Office for use by Sheriff's Office," the agreement says. "The Camden County
Sheriff's Office will have unlimited access to these rifles for training
and qualification, and state of emergency use." Worthington and Jackson
also signed an agreement for the purchase of 17 Bushmaster XM15 E2S automatic
rifles." ... "Why did Blackwater strike this deal with the Camden County
sheriff?" ... ""Because they needed guns, I imagine," Jackson said." ...
"Under federal law, it is illegal for a person to receive or possess an
automatic weapon that is not registered to that person in the National
Firearms Registration and Transfer Record." -By Joseph
Neff -NewsObserver.com
20080621
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