January 2008 News History Archives

January 2008 News:
2008 Election

_2008 News News Reference January 2008 News
January 31, 2008 News URL: #January-31-2008-News
20080131 Thursday

- Jack Abramoff - John A Boehner - John T Doolittle - Legal - Politics - Ohio - California - Georgia - Utah - Colorado - Indiana - California - Texas
"Fellow Republicans Help Doolittle Pay Legal Bills Stemming From Abramoff Ties." ... "A House Republican under Justice Department investigation because of ties to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff has garnered help with his legal bills from a handful of colleagues, including [Ohio Republican Representative] Minority Leader John A. Boehner." ... "[California Republican Representative] Rep. John T. Doolittle, R-Calif., reported in a filing made available Thursday that his legal expense fund had received $5,000 from Boehner’s leadership PAC. The money was part of $36,500 kicked in by GOP colleagues to Doolittle’s legal defense between June 27, when he opened the fund, and year’s end." ... "Other Republican lawmakers who contributed money from their campaign funds or leadership committees included [Republican Senator] Sens. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, [Republican Senator] Orrin G. Hatch of Utah and [Republican Senator] Wayne Allard of Colorado, and Reps. [Republican Representative] Dan Burton of Indiana, [Republican Representative] Wally Herger of California, [Republican Representative] Jack Kingston of Georgia, [Republican Representative] Sam Johnson of Texas, and [California Republican Representative] Howard P. “Buck” McKeon and [Republican Representative] Dana Rohrabacher of California." -By Kathleen Hunter -CQPolitics.com

- Mitt Romney - John McCain - US - Iraq - Military - History - 2008 Election
"Romney accuses McCain of using Nixon tactic on Iraq." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney accused Republican [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] rival John McCain of adopting underhanded tactics from [Republican President] Richard Nixon, the GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] president who resigned in disgrace." ... ""I don't think I want to see our party go back to that kind of campaigning," Mr. Romney said in his most pointed rebuttal yet to front-runner Mr. McCain's claim that the former Massachusetts governor favors a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq. Mr. Romney denies this charge, and most media analyses have concluded that Mr. Romney wasn't using "timetable" in the same way Democratic candidates have." -AP via -DallasNews.com

- US - Germany - Afghanistan - Military
"Paper: U.S. urged Germany to expand Afghanistan force." ... "U.S. [United States] Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has written to his German counterpart urging Berlin to send an additional 3,200 troops to Afghanistan, warning that the [North Atlantic Treaty Organization] NATO-led force there could lose credibility without reinforcement, a Defense Ministry spokesman confirmed Thursday." ... "According to the German Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily, the one-and-a-half-page-long, undated letter to Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung arrived last week. In it, Gates specifically asks Germany to drop caveats limiting its troops to the north of Afghanistan and to send helicopter units, infantry and paratroopers that could join the fight against Taliban militants in the south, the paper reported without citing the letter." -AP via -USATODAY

- Mitt Romney - John McCain - Rudy Giuliani - US - Iraq - Military - 2008 Election - Massachusetts - Florida - Arizona - New York - Florida
"Romney Accuses McCain of 'Dirty Tricks': Romney Accuses McCain of Resorting to 'Dirty Tricks' Over Iraq Timetable Issue in Debate." ... "Republican [2008 Election Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney accused [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain of using dirty tricks by suggesting the former Massachusetts governor wanted a deadline for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, in a spirited debate Wednesday night that underscored the intensity of their presidential rivalry." ... "Coming 24 hours after McCain defeated him in Florida, Romney vented his frustrations over the Arizona senator's claims from last weekend." ... ""I have never, ever supported a specific timetable" for withdrawing troops, Romney said. McCain's accusation on the eve of Tuesday's primary, he said, "sort of falls into the dirty tricks that I think [Republican President] Ronald Reagan would have found reprehensible."" ... "Former New York City [New York] Mayor Rudy Giuliani left the race earlier Wednesday [after losing Florida to McCain]] and endorsed McCain." (1, 2, 3) -By Liz Sidoti -AP via -ABCNEWS.com

- Noteworthy - Political - Lawmakers - Terrorism
"What "bipartisanship" in Washington means." ... "Whenever the mavens of "bipartisanship" attempt to do more than spout pretty platitudes, they invariably reveal just how vapid and bereft of substance are their slogans." ... "But more importantly, "bipartisanship" is already rampant in Washington, not rare. And, in almost every significant case, what "bipartisanship" means in Washington is that enough Democrats join with all of the Republicans to endorse and enact into law Republican policies, with which most Democratic voters disagree. That's how so-called "bipartisanship" manifests in almost every case." ... "In almost every case, the proposals that are enacted are ones favored by the White House and supported by all GOP lawmakers, and then Democrats split and enough of them join with Republicans to ensure that the GOP gets what it wants. That's "bipartisanhip" in Washington[.]" ... "On virtually every major controversial issue -- particularly, though not only, ones involving national security and terrorism -- the Republicans (including their vaunted mythical moderates and mavericks) vote in almost complete lockstep in favor of the [Republican] President [Bush], the Democratic caucus splits, and the Republicans then get their way on every issue thanks to "bipartisan" support. That's what "bipartisanship" in Washington means." -By Glenn Greenwald -Salon

- John Edwards - Hillary Clinton - Barack Obama - New Orleans - Louisiana - Poverty - Homeless - People - Health Care - US - Iraq - Military - Money - 2008 Election
"Democrat Edwards exits presidential race: Clinton, Obama praise ex-rival, who refrains from endorsing one or other." ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Democrat John Edwards bowed out of the race for the White House on Wednesday, saying it was time to step aside “so that history can blaze its path” in a campaign now left to [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Hillary Rodham Clinton and [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama." ... ""It is time for me to step aside," said Edwards, ending his second campaign in a hurricane-ravaged section of New Orleans [Louisiana] where he began it more than a year ago. “With our convictions and a little backbone we will take back the White House in November.”" ... "Edwards said Clinton and Obama had both pledged that “they will make ending poverty central to their campaign for the presidency.”" ... "“This is the cause of my life and I now have their commitment to engage in this cause,” he said before a small group of supporters. He was joined by his wife Elizabeth and his three children, Cate, Emma Claire and Jack." ... "Edwards said that on his way to make his campaign-ending statement, he drove by a highway underpass where several homeless people live. He stopped to talk, he said, and as he was leaving, one of them asked him never to forget them and their plight." ... "“Well I say to her and I say to all those who are struggling in this country, we will never forget you. We will fight for you. We will stand up for you,” he said, pledging to continue his campaign-long effort to end what he frequently said was “two Americas,” one for the powerful, the other for the rest." ... "Edwards burst out of the starting gate with a flurry of progressive policy ideas — he was the first to offer a plan for universal health care, the first to call on Congress to pull funding for the [Iraq] war, and he led the charge that lobbyists have too much power in Washington and need to be reigned in." (1, 2) -AP via -MSNBC

- Kenya - Terrorism - Radio - Agricultural - Land - Wealth - British - History
"How Kenya came undone: Long-simmering ethnic tensions threaten to tear apart East Africa's most stable, prosperous country." ... "While the most recent spark for the violence was the deeply flawed elections in which Mr. [Mwai] Kibaki was declared president, the underlying source of the country's tension is a perception that one ethnic group – Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe – has unfairly benefited from the nation's wealth solely because of its proximity to people in power. Resentment between Kenya's ethnic communities is chronic, observers say, but mistrust of Kikuyus has been building ever since Kenya's first president, Jomo Kenyatta, took power after independence from Britain in 1963." ... "Under Mr. Kenyatta – himself a Kikuyu – Kikuyus rose to high positions in government, took over major firms, and bought much of the farm land sold off by departing white settlers in the fertile Rift Valley. But it took a sense of betrayal to produce the violence of today, experts say. In 2002, a remarkably broad coalition of opposition leaders from different ethnic groups overthrew the 24-year dictatorship of President Daniel arap Moi. The new government signed a memorandum of understanding to share power." ... "But in 2003, Kibaki revoked that agreement and went back to the old habit of filling government positions – including, crucially, the Electoral Commission of Kenya – with personal allies and members of his own ethnic group, the Kikuyus. Furious at what they considered a betrayal, and cut off from access to power, former allies such as populist opposition leader Raila Odinga – a member of the Luo ethnic group who claims that he won the Dec. 27 vote – broke from the government and started a campaign for "majimbo," Swahili for self-rule, and resistance to Kikuyu domination." ... "For most Kenyans, this tribal fight is not just about the presidency, but land – the ultimate source of wealth in a mainly agricultural society. And the Rift Valley – Kenya's bread basket – is the main battlefield, as small "indigenous" armies with bows, arrows, and machetes march to expel the Kikuyu "newcomers."" ... "Some politicians used radio broadcasts to spread hatred against Kikuyus, and proclaimed that the time had come to remove the "weeds" from their lands." ... "Stoked with hate, the ethnic clashes began in earnest, particularly in the areas where Kikuyus had settled in the Rift Valley. Between the elections of 1992 and 1997, more than 2,000 Kenyans were killed and more than 300,000 Kenyans were displaced, most of them Kikuyus." ... "Politicians have used the belief that Kikuyus control the economy as a battle cry, pitting Kikuyus as the perpetual "haves" against the Luos, Kalenjins, and other tribes as the perpetual "have-nots."" (1, 2, 3, 4) -By Scott Baldauf -CSMonitor

- John McCain - Rudy Giuliani - Hillary Clinton - Politics - 2008 Election - Arizona
"Many Lobbyists Among McCain Fundraisers." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain attempted to capitalize on the resurgence of his presidential campaign at a Washington, DC, fundraiser last night that was expected to raise more than $300,000." ... "Many of the sponsors of the function at Charlie Palmer's Steakhouse are Washington lobbyists, who have become a staple of his fundraising effort, according to a review released today by the advocacy group Public Citizen." ... "By Public Citizen's count, McCain has at least 58 federal lobbyists raising money for his campaign, compared with 35 working for Republican [2008 Election Presidential Candidate] Rudy Giuliani and 20 working for [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Democrat Hillary Clinton." -By Matthew Mosk -WashingtonPost

- Jack Abramoff - Randy Cunningham - Money - Government - Lawmakers - History - 2006 Election - California - Maryland
"Question of Timing on Bush’s Push on Earmarks." ... "[Republican] President Bush has never shown much distaste for Congressional pork." ... "In the last seven years he has signed spending bills containing about 55,000 earmarks worth more than $100 billion for projects like a new lane for a local road, a new facade for a town landmark or a weapons contract for a company that happened to be a big donor to an influential lawmaker." ... "Such projects tucked into the endnotes of complex spending bills at the request of individual lawmakers with almost no oversight have contributed to a mounting pileup of waste and corruption, including sending the [Republican] lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the former [California Republican] congressman Randy Cunningham, a California Republican, to jail." ... "Mr. Bush was notably silent on the subject until after his fellow Republicans lost control of Congress in the 2006 midterm elections." ... "“When the president and the Republican Congress had the power to address this, they did nothing,” [Maryland Democratic Representative Chris] Mr. Van Hollen said." -By David D. Kirkpatrick -NYTimes

- Safety - Food - Drug - Medical - Manufacturers - Business - Investigation - Lawmakers - Science - Politics
"FDA flawed on food, medical device safety: GAO: When it comes to the safety of food and medical devices, the Food and Drug Administration [FDA] has some work to do, government investigators reported to lawmakers on Tuesday." ... ""FDA has opportunities to better leverage its resources," according to a Government Accountability Office [GAO] report presented at a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's oversight subcommittee. "Efficient use of resources is particularly important at FDA because we found that its food safety workload has increased in the past decade, while its food safety staff and funding have not kept pace."" ... "FDA oversees about 80% of the U.S. food supply, which includes $417 billion of domestic food and $49 billion of imported food annually, according to GAO." ... "In November, an advisory committee to the FDA found that the agency "suffers from serious scientific deficiencies and is not positioned to meet current or emerging regulatory responsibilities."" ... "Also Tuesday, the GAO said FDA has not met its statutory requirement to inspect domestic manufacturers of medical devices classified as high risk, such as pacemakers, or medium risk, such as hearing aids, every two years." -By Ruth Mantell -MarketWatch

- Military - Politics - Government - Money - New York
"Army Blocks Disability Paperwork Aid at Fort Drum." ... "Army officials in upstate New York instructed representatives from the Department of Veterans Affairs not to help disabled soldiers at Fort Drum Army base with their military disability paperwork last year. That paperwork can be crucial because it helps determine whether soldiers will get annual disability payments and health care after they're discharged." ... "Now soldiers at Fort Drum say they feel betrayed by the institutions that are supposed to support them. The soldiers want to know why the Army would want to stop them from getting help with their disability paperwork and why the VA— whose mission is to help veterans — would agree to the Army's request." ... "Cynthia Vaughan, spokeswoman for the Army surgeon general, says the VA was not doing anything wrong by helping soldiers at Fort Drum." ... "She says the officers who asked the VA to stop helping Fort Drum's soldiers were part of what the Army calls a "Tiger Team"— an ad-hoc group assigned to investigate, in this case, medical disability benefits." -By Ari Shapiro -NPR

- Florida - 2008 Election - Voting Machines
"Florida Primary voters reporting problems at polls: One voter was told by poll workers there was no Democratic primary today." ... "On Florida Primary day [2008 Election], voters are reporting problems across Central Florida from Daytona Beach to Hunter's Creek. Among the precincts experiencing glitches was one in Orange County where voters were told by poll workers early on there was no Democratic primary today." ... "Phil Marjason said poll workers at precinct 145 in Hunter's Creek would not give him a Democratic ballot." ... ""I thought it was plain wrong," he said. "We need to get Florida straightened out."" ... "Election officials noticed a four-vote discrepancy between the number of ballots signed for and the number of ballots cast at the Daytona Beach City Island early voting site. The vote count came up one vote shy on Jan. 23 and three votes shy on Jan. 26," ... ""Apparently the machine failed to count the four votes the first time," McFall said." -By Robert Perez -OrlandoSentinel.com

- Kenya - Politics - Wealth - Land
"Tribal violence spreads in Kenya." ... "Kenya was locked into a chain reaction of violence on Monday as a spate of weekend killings in one part of the country triggered rioting by members of the victims' tribes elsewhere." ... "Tens of thousands of Kikuyus have fled western Kenya since the president's disputed election victory on December 27. Across the country more than 200,000 people have been forced from their homes in post-election violence that has killed over 800." ... "The most vicious sustained fighting has been in the Rift Valley province and has pitted members of the local Kalenjin ethnic group and the Luo community against Kikuyus." ... "Violence has been fuelled by the Kikuyus' perceived monopoly of power and wealth as well as inequality, grievances over land distribution and a long-held sense of marginalisation among non-Kikuyu tribes." -By Barney Jopson -FT.com

- Tim Russert - John McCain - Hillary Clinton - US - Iraq - Military - Politics - 2008 Election - Arizona - New York
"Russert let McCain mislead on Clinton's Iraq withdrawal proposal." ... "Summary: [MSNBC political journalist] Tim Russert left unchallenged [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain's false claim that [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and New York Senator] Sen. Hillary Clinton "would set a timetable within 60 days of withdrawal, complete withdrawal from Iraq." In fact, Clinton said that if she were to become president, "[W]e will start withdrawing within 60 days," and would continue to withdraw "one to two brigades a month" with the goal of having "nearly all the troops out by the end of the year [2009]," except for those necessary to "protect our embassy" and other "strategic interests."" -MediaMatters.org

- Barack Obama - Hillary Clinton - Massachusetts - Rhode Island - US - Iraq - Military - Race - Gay - 2008 Election
"Sen. Kennedy endorses Barack Obama: Democratic elder statesman plans to campaign for candidate." ... "Two generations of Kennedys - the Democratic Party's best known political family - endorsed [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama for president on Monday, with [Massachusetts Democratic Senator "Ted" Kennedy] Sen. Edward M. Kennedy calling him a "man with extraordinary gifts of leadership and character," a worthy heir to his assassinated brother [two of Ted Kennedy's brothers were assassinated, Democratic President John F. Kennedy and Democratic Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy]." ... "He [Obama] was introduced by Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the late president [John F. Kennedy], who said Obama "offers that same sense of hope and inspiration" as did her father. [Rhode Island Democratic Representative] Rep. Patrick Kennedy also endorsed Obama from the stage before a boisterous crowd at American University." ... "In his remarks, Sen. Kennedy sought one by one to rebut many of the arguments leveled by Obama's critics." ... ""From the beginning, he opposed the war in Iraq. And let no one deny that truth," he said, an obvious reference to former President Clinton's statement that Obama's early anti-war stance was a "fairy tale."" ... ""With Barack Obama, we will turn the page on the old politics of misrepresentation and distortion." ... ""With Barack Obama we will close the book on the old politics of race against race, gender against gender, ethnic group against ethnic group, and straight against gay," Kennedy said." ... "Lately, according to several associates, Kennedy became angered with what he viewed as racially divisive comments by [husband to 2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton, former Democratic President] Bill Clinton." -AP via -MSNBC

_2008 News News Reference January 2008 News
January 27, 2008 News URL: #January-27-2008-News
20080127 Sunday

- Mitt Romney - John McCain - Economy - US - Iraq - Military - 2008 Election - Florida - Massachusetts - Arizona
"Romney Slams McCain On Economy, Climate Bill." ... "After predicting a Florida victory in front of a raucous, heavily Latino crowd, [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney told members of the media that [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain’s interpretation of Romney’s past remarks on Iraq timetables were “obviously false” and “yesterday’s news.” The former Massachusetts governor then changed the subject by rehashing some of McCain’s past comments, which seemed to disparage the Arizona senator’s own understanding of economic policy." ... "“I simply don’t think that the people of Florida are gonna say the nominee of our party ought to be a person who on more than one occasion has expressed lack of understanding of our economy at a time when the economy is the number one issue that people are talking about here in the state of Florida,” Romney said." -By Scott Conroy -CBSNews

- Government - Spy - Intelligence - Imagery - Technology - Communications - California
"U.S. Spy Satellite, Power Gone, May Hit Earth." ... "A disabled American spy satellite is rapidly descending and is likely to plunge to Earth by late February or early March, posing a potential danger from its debris, officials said Saturday." ... "Officials said that they had no control over the nonfunctioning satellite and that it was unknown where the debris might land." ... "Specialists who follow spy satellite operations suspect it is an experimental imagery satellite built by Lockheed Martin and launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in December 2006 aboard a Delta II rocket. Shortly after the satellite reached orbit, ground controllers lost the ability to control it and were never able to regain communication." ... ""It's not necessarily dead, but deaf," said Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and an analyst of various government space programs." -NYTimes

- Kenya - Terrorism - Politics - Military
"Rival gangs defy leaders' call for peace in Kenya: The latest outburst of ethnic violence is the worst since the disputed [December 2007] Dec. 27 presidential election." ... "The country's latest post-election trouble spot is Nakuru, about 100 miles northwest of Nairobi, where gangs from rival tribes have burned hundreds of homes, stoned motorists and hacked dozens of people with machetes. The local morgue was overrun with burned, mutilated bodies. Local media put the death toll at as many as 41." ... "The government dispatched army units to quell the violence and imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew." ... "The clashes in Nakuru, which previously had escaped much of the violence, were some of the deadliest in this East African nation since the turmoil that followed a disputed Dec. 27 presidential poll." ... "International election observers said the vote was plagued by irregularities and suspected rigging. Despite the controversy, incumbent President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner by the country's election commission, sparking nationwide riots that have killed more than 600 people and displaced another 250,000." ... "The latest violence started Thursday night, just hours after Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga met for mediation talks for the first time. The presidential rivals shook hands and called upon their supporters to maintain peace as negotiations proceeded." -By Edmund Sanders -LAtimes

- Mitt Romney - John McCain - US - Iraq - Military - 2008 Election - Florida - Arizona - Massachusetts
"Republican Candidates Trade Attacks in Florida." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain of Arizona accused [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and] former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney of having once supported a U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq, sparking an angry demand for an apology from Romney, who called the statement "dishonest."" ... "Romney, who said in April the military should consider a "private timetable" but not public deadlines, shot back: "That's dishonest, to say that I have a specific date. That's simply wrong . . . I know he's trying desperately to change the topic from the economy and trying to get back to Iraq, but to say something that's not accurate is simply wrong and he knows better."" ... "Later, Romney added that McCain's comment on Iraq is "simply wrong and it's dishonest, and he should apologize."" (1, 2) -By Michael D. Shear and Juliet Eilperin -WashingtonPost

- Barack Obama - Hillary Clinton - John Edwards - South Carolina - 2008 Election
"Obama smashes Clinton in S.C. victory." ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama cruised to a decisive victory in South Carolina's presidential primary Saturday with overwhelming support from black voters and about one-fourth of whites as well, a win that leaves [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Hillary Clinton humbled and [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] John Edwards staggering." ... "Clinton and her husband, the former president, fought hard in the final days to overtake the Illinois senator, or at least come close in a state where polls found she was the front-runner just last month." -By David Lightman -McClatchyDC.com

_2008 News News Reference January 2008 News
January 25, 2008 News URL: #January-25-2008-News
20080125 Friday

- John McCain - Rick Davis - Russian - Crime - Money - Politics - Switzerland - Ukraine - Canada - Britain - Lawsuits - Ga - NH - Virginia - Arizona - 2008 Election - US - International
"Aide Helped Controversial Russian Meet McCain: Davis, Then a Lobbyist, Has Spurred Debate in Reform-Focused Campaign." ... "A top political adviser in [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator]  Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign helped arrange an introduction in 2006 between McCain and a Russian billionaire whose suspected links to anti-democratic and organized-crime figures are so controversial that the U.S. [United States] government revoked his visa." ... "Rick Davis, who is now McCain's campaign manager, helped set up the encounter between McCain and Russian aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska in [World Economic Summit at Davos] Switzerland during an international economic conference. At the time, Davis was working for a lobbying firm and seeking to do business with the billionaire." ... "With a net worth of more than $13 billion, Deripaska is one of the richest men in Russia and a close ally of President Vladimir Putin." ... "When Deripaska met McCain, Davis was part of Davis Manafort, a lobbying firm that was being paid to provide political advice to pro-Russian and oligarch-funded candidates in Ukraine, according to interviews and news accounts." ... "Davis, who has been a political adviser to McCain on and off since 1999, was part of a lobbying firm that worked not only for Ukrainian politicians but also for telecommunications firms, a lottery services provider and freight companies." ... "Davis's firm provided political advice to a pro-Russian party in Ukraine during the parliamentary elections of 2006." ... "He [Oleg Deripaska] has been accused of shady business practices in lawsuits in the United States and Britain, and his multiple-entry U.S. visa was yanked by the State Department in the summer of 2006." ... "The first gathering that brought McCain and Deripaska together occurred in January 2006, when McCain was part of a congressional delegation trip. He and a small group of senators, including [Georgia Republican Senator] Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.[Republican-Georgia]) and [New Hampshire Republican Senator] John E. Sununu (R-N.H.[Republican-New Hampshire]), met for a drink near Davos, Switzerland, at an apartment where they were greeted by Davis and Deripaska. The group then went to a dinner at the ski chalet of Peter Munk, founder of Barrick Gold, the world's largest gold-mining company, based in Toronto [Canada]. Participants at the buffet dinner said Munk complimented his sometime business partner Deripaska during his brief remarks to the 40 or so guests." ... "Later that month, Deripaska wrote to Davis and his partner, GOP political consultant Paul J. Manafort, to thank them for arranging the meeting. "Thank you so much for setting up everything in Klosters so spectacularly," he wrote. "It was very interesting to meet Senators McCain, Chambliss and Sununu in such an intimate setting."" ... "The letter was sent to Davis at the Reform Institute, a Virginia-based nonprofit group that McCain helped start to promote many of his trademark reform efforts, including increasing the transparency of lobbying and campaign financing." ... "Davis was the institute's president from January 2003 until December 2005. During that time, he was also a registered lobbyist at Davis Manafort. The institute was located at the Davis Manafort offices until January 2006." ... "Seven months later, in August 2006, Davis was present again at a social gathering that was also attended by McCain and Deripaska, this time in Montenegro, another Eastern European country in which Davis's firm was working." (1, 2, 3) -By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum and John Solomon with contributions by Peter Baker -WashingtonPost

- John Edwards - Consumer - Marketplace - Politics - Government - Law - 2008 Election - North Carolina - South Carolina
"Health Care Up to Public, Edwards Says." ... "[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and North Carolina's] Former Senator John Edwards does not discount the possibility that his health care proposal, which would allow Americans to buy new government insurance packages modeled on Medicare, could evolve into a federalized system like those in Canada and many European countries. And if it does, Mr. Edwards said he would be just fine with that." ... "But Mr. Edwards, of North Carolina, emphasized in a 40-minute interview on health policy that the choice would be made not in Washington, but by consumers in an open marketplace where private insurance competes with government plans." ... "“American health consumers will decide which works best,” Mr. Edwards said Wednesday afternoon while traveling through South Carolina on his campaign bus. “It could continue to be divided. But it could go in one direction or the other, and one of the directions is obviously government or single-payer. And I’m not opposed to that.”" ... "If the government is able to undercut private insurers on price — by forgoing profit, reducing overhead, and maximizing economies of scale — it theoretically could put the private system out of business and become the de facto insurer for the nation." ... "Republican candidates and policy strategists have raised the specter of “socialized medicine” and depicted the Democratic plans as a back-door route to a so-called single-payer government system." ... "Mr. Edwards brushed off that critique. “There is nothing back-door about it,” he said. “It’s right through the front door. We’re going to let America decide what health care system works for them.”" (1, 2) -By Kevin Sack -NYTimes

- Telecom - Amnesty - Corporate - Government - Intelligence - Surveillance - Wisconsin - Nevada - Connecticut
"Feingold: "I Really Do Disagree" With Reid On FISA." ... "A long-debated provision over whether or not telephone companies would get a free pass for aiding the U.S. [United States] government in warrentless surveillance hits the Senate floor today. And it threatens to open up fissures within the Democratic Party." ... "In an interview with the Huffington Post on Thursday morning, [Wisconsin Democratic Senator] Sen. Russ Feingold, who opposes granting immunity to those companies, expressed disappointment that his party's leader, [Nevada Democratic Senator] Sen. Harry Reid, was not doing more to help strike the provision from a newly considered version of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act." ... ""Of course I have great respect for the Majority Leader," said Feingold. "He is a good friend of mine. But I really do disagree with his way of proceeding."" ... "At issue is the likely passage of a version of FISA that contains retroactive immunity over one that doesn't. Reid has said he supports the former, but legislatively, the path has been paved for the passage of the latter. In addition, there is debate over an amendment offered by [Connecticut Democratic Senator] Sen. Chris Dodd, to strip immunity from any FISA bill. If that fails -- and it seems likely -- Dodd has threatened to filibuster the whole bill. On Wednesday, Reid was interpreted as saying any such filibuster will be the standing and talking variety as opposed to an agreed-upon 60-vote minimum threshold. Feingold, who supports Dodd's stance, took slight issue with that approach." ... ""We should have a normal process w[h]ere this is debated based on a majority vote in the senate," said the Wisconsin Democrat. "That's the way it should have been done and I regret that it's not being done that way. Of course, I support Senator Dodd. He and I were principally involved in making sure this didn't get jammed through before the holidays and I will be supporting him again. But this decision does make it harder."" -By Sam Stein -HuffingtonPost.com

- US Immigration - Federal - Law - Enforcement - Politics - Arizona -Minnesota - Georgia - Colorado
"Immigration officials detaining, deporting American citizens." ... "Thomas Warziniack was born in Minnesota and grew up in Georgia, but immigration authorities pronounced him an illegal immigrant from Russia." ... "Immigration and Customs Enforcement has held Warziniack for weeks in an Arizona detention facility with the aim of deporting him to a country he's never seen. His jailers shrugged off Warziniack's claims that he was an American citizen, even though they could have retrieved his Minnesota birth certificate in minutes and even though a Colorado court had concluded that he was a U.S. [United States] citizen a year before it shipped him to Arizona." ... "On Thursday, Warziniac