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John
McCain
- 
Vicki
Iseman - 
Corporate
- 
Government- 
Vacations
- 
Jets
- 
Real
Estate - 
Television
Networks - 
Media
- 
Communications
- 
Law
- 
Politics
- 
History
- Phoenix
- 
Arizona
- 2008
Election - "For
McCain, Self-Confidence on Ethics Poses Its Own Risk."
... "Even as he [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona
Senator John McCain] has vowed to hold himself to the highest ethical standards,
his confidence in his own integrity has sometimes seemed to blind him to
potentially embarrassing conflicts of interest." ... "Mr. McCain promised,
for example, never to fly directly from Washington to Phoenix [Arizona],
his hometown, to avoid the impression of self-interest because he sponsored
a law that opened the route nearly a decade ago. But like other lawmakers,
he often flew on the corporate jets of business executives seeking his
support, including the media moguls Rupert Murdoch, Michael R. Bloomberg
and Lowell W. Paxson, Ms. [lobbyist Vicki] Iseman’s client. (Last year
he voted to end the practice.)" ... "Mr. McCain helped found a nonprofit
group to promote his personal battle for tighter campaign finance rules.
But he later resigned as its chairman after news reports disclosed that
the group was tapping the same kinds of unlimited corporate contributions
he opposed, including those from companies seeking his favor. He has criticized
the cozy ties between lawmakers and lobbyists, but is relying on corporate
lobbyists to donate their time running his presidential race and recently
hired a lobbyist to run his Senate office. " ... "During Mr. McCain’s four
years in the House [of Representatives], Mr. [Charles] Keating, his family
and his business associates contributed heavily to his political campaigns.
The banker gave Mr. McCain free rides on his private jet, a violation of
Congressional ethics rules (he later said it was an oversight and paid
for the trips). They vacationed together in the Bahamas. And in 1986, the
year Mr. McCain was elected to the Senate, his wife joined Mr. Keating
in investing in an Arizona shopping mall." ... "Mr. Keating had taken over
the Lincoln Savings and Loan Association and used its federally insured
deposits to gamble on risky real estate and other investments. He pressed
Mr. McCain and other lawmakers to help hold back federal banking regulators."
... "For years, Mr. McCain complied. At Mr. Keating’s request, he wrote
several letters to regulators, introduced legislation and helped secure
the nomination of a Keating associate to a banking regulatory board." ...
"By early 1987, though, the thrift was careering toward disaster. Mr. McCain
agreed to join several senators, eventually known as the Keating Five,
for two private meetings with regulators to urge them to ease up." ...
"When Lincoln went bankrupt in 1989 — one of the biggest collapses of the
savings and loan crisis, costing taxpayers $3.4 billion — the Keating Five
became infamous. The scandal sent Mr. Keating to prison and ended the careers
of three senators, who were censured in 1991 for intervening. Mr. McCain,
who had been a less aggressive advocate for Mr. Keating than the others,
was reprimanded only for “poor judgment” and was re-elected the next year.
" ... "A champion of deregulation, Mr. McCain wrote letters in 1998 and
1999 to the Federal Communications Commission urging it to uphold marketing
agreements allowing a television company to control two stations in the
same city, a crucial issue for Glencairn Ltd. [Limited], one of Ms. Iseman’s
clients. He introduced a bill to create tax incentives for minority ownership
of stations; Ms. Iseman represented several businesses seeking such a program.
And he twice tried to advance legislation that would permit a company to
control television stations in overlapping markets, an important issue
for Paxson." ... "In late 1999, Ms. Iseman asked Mr. McCain’s staff to
send a letter to the commission to help Paxson, now Ion Media Networks,
on another matter. Mr. Paxson was impatient for F.C.C. approval of a television
deal, and Ms. Iseman acknowledged in an e-mail message to The Times that
she had sent to Mr. McCain’s staff information for drafting a letter urging
a swift decision." ... "Mr. McCain complied. He sent two letters to the
commission, drawing a rare rebuke for interference from its chairman."
(1, 2,
3,
4)
-By Jim
Rutenberg, Marilyn W. Thompson, David
D. Kirkpatrick and Stephen
Labaton with contributions by Barclay Walsh and Kitty Bennett
-NYTimes
John
McCain
- Vicki
Iseman - Corporate
- Government
- Television
Stations - Media
- Communications
- Law
- Politics
- Jet
- Travel
- History
- Arizona
- 
Florida
- 
Pennsylvania
- 2008
Election - "McCain:
Reports on lobbyist a "smear"." ... "The story alleges
that McCain wrote letters and pushed legislation involving television station
ownership that would have benefited [lobbyist Vicki] Iseman's clients."
... "In late 1999, [Arizona Republican Senator and 2008 Election Republican
Presidential Candidate John] McCain twice wrote letters to the Federal
Communications Commission on behalf of Florida-based Paxson Communications
- which had paid Iseman as its lobbyist - urging quick consideration of
a proposal to buy a television station license in Pittsburgh [Pennsylvania].
At the time, Paxson's chief executive, Lowell W. "Bud" Paxson, also was
a major contributor to McCain's 2000 presidential campaign." ... "McCain
did not urge the FCC commissioners to approve the proposal, but he asked
for speedy consideration of the deal, which was pending from two years
earlier. In an unusual response, then-FCC Chairman William Kennard complained
that McCain's request "comes at a sensitive time in the deliberative process"
and "could have procedural and substantive impacts on the commission's
deliberations and, thus, on the due process rights of the parties."" ...
"McCain wrote the letters after he received more than $20,000 in contributions
from Paxson executives and lobbyists. Paxson also lent McCain his company's
jet at least four times during 1999 for campaign travel." -By
Libby Quaid -AP
via -Star-Telegram.com
Secrecy
- 
US
- 
Overseas
- Torture
- Flights
- Prisoners
- Transport
- Trip
- Corporate
- Government
- Law
- 
Intelligence
- Politics
- 
California
- "Secrecy
plea ties up torture flights case." ... "A lawsuit
accusing a San Jose [California] flight-planning company of helping the
CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] transport prisoners to overseas torture
chambers must be dismissed because it would risk exposing state secrets,
a [Republican President] Bush administration lawyer argued Tuesday to a
federal judge, who seemed to reluctantly agree." ... "The five plaintiffs
can't prove that Jeppesen International Trip Planning subjected them to
wrongful imprisonment and torture without first showing that the company
aided the CIA, that foreign governments collaborated, and that the so-called
extraordinary rendition program subjected them to brutal treatment, Justice
Department attorney Michael Abate said at a hearing in San Jose. Each one
of those assertions depends on classified information that can't be aired
in court, he said." ... ""Without the information in question, this case
cannot be litigated," Abate told U.S. [United States] District Judge James
Ware. The result of allowing the government to keep its secrets out of
court "can be harsh," he said, but under the state-secrets doctrine recognized
by the U.S. Supreme Court since 1953, "private parties bear that burden
on behalf of society."" ... "Ware did not issue a ruling after the 70-minute
hearing, and made it clear that he considered some aspects of the government's
position to be extreme. He questioned Abate's argument that the imprisonment
and interrogation of each plaintiff remained an official secret, even though
the men knew how they were treated." ... ""If they're in the program, the
secret's disclosed, at least to them," the judge said. When Abate insisted
that legal precedents require official government confirmation to remove
the veil of secrecy, Ware said the doctrine known as the state-secrets
privilege "should be called a state privilege to do whatever it wants.""
-Bob Egelko -SFGate.com
Rudy
Giuliani
- 
Police
- Politics
- Trips
- Apartments
- 
New
York
- Indigent
- Lawyers
- US
- 
Qatar
- 
Terrorism
- 2008
Election - "Giuliani
Defends Girlfriend's Expenses." ... "Former New York
Mayor [and 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Rudy Giuliani
on Sunday defended the expenses incurred by his security detail as he was
beginning an extramarital affair with current wife Judith Nathan, saying
police made the decision after she had received threats." ... "Giuliani
in recent weeks has faced a barrage of questions about New York police
security costs for his trysts with Nathan and about his business clients,
which have included the Persian Gulf country of Qatar. The Gulf state is
a U.S. ally, but allegations have been made that some prominent Qatari
officials sheltered suspected Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
" ... "Records first reported by Politico.com last month showed repeated
trips between 1999 and 2002 to Long Island, where Nathan had a condominium.
Giuliani's first trip was from Aug. 31 to Sept. 1, 1999 - months before
he acknowledged the breakdown of his second marriage in the spring of 2000."
... "Security costs for those trips were charged to agencies like the New
York City Loft Board, which regulates loft apartments and was billed $34,000.
The Office for People with Disabilities was charged $10,000, while the
Assigned Counsel Administrative Office, which provides lawyers for indigent
defendants, was charged roughly $400,000. " -By Libby
Quaid -AP
via -CBSNews
Secret
- Rudy
Giuliani
- Cops
- 
Car
- 
Family
- Travel
- 
Gas
- 
Account
- New
York
- Pennsylvania
- 
Christmas
- 2008
Election - "City
taxpayers picked up tab for Judith Giuliani's visit to kin in Pennsylvania."
... "In the fall of 2001, [New York City, New York] city cops chauffeured
[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Rudy Giuliani's then-mistress,
Judith Nathan, to her parents' Pennsylvania home 130 miles away on the
taxpayers' dime." ... "Records show that city cops refueled at an ExxonMobil
station down the road from Nathan's childhood home in Hazleton on Oct.
20, 2001, while Giuliani stayed behind in New York attending 9/11 funerals."
... "A similar receipt pops up at a different Hazleton gas station two
months later, when Nathan apparently went home for a pre-Christmas visit
with her parents." ... "The records show that - in addition to using [New
York] City Hall funds to take Giuliani and Nathan to 11 secret trysts in
the Hamptons, as has been previously reported - taxpayers were paying to
ferry Nathan on long-distance trips without Giuliani, now a Republican
contender for President." ... "The expenses were all paid with a City Hall
American Express card funded with money from mayoral office units that
had nothing to do with travel or security." -By Michael
Saul and David Saltonstall -NYDailyNews.com
Secret
- Rudolph
Giuliani
- New
York
- Police
- Car
- Transport
- Traveling
- Politics
- 2008
Election - "Giuliani's
Mistress Used N.Y. Police as Taxi Service." ... "Well
before it was publicly known he was seeing her, then-married New York Mayor
[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Rudy Giuliani provided
a police driver and city car for his mistress Judith Nathan, former senior
city officials tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com." ... ""She used the PD
[Police Department] as her personal taxi service," said one former city
official who worked for Giuliani." ... "New York papers reported in 2000
that the city had provided a security detail for Nathan, who became Giuliani's
third wife after his divorce from Donna Hanover, who also had her own police
security detail at the same time." ... "The former officials told ABCNews.com
the extra costs involved overtime and per diem costs for officers traveling
with Giuliani to secret weekend rendezvous with Nathan in the fashionable
Hamptons resort area on Long Island." -By Richard
Esposito -ABCNEWS.com
Rudy
Giuliani
- Travel
- Politics
- New
York
- Police
- Government
- Law
- 2008
Election - "Giuliani
billed obscure agencies for trips." ... "As [2008
Election Republican Presidential Candidate] New York mayor, Rudy Giuliani
billed obscure city agencies for tens of thousands of dollars in security
expenses amassed during the time when he was beginning an extramarital
relationship with future wife Judith Nathan in the Hamptons, according
to previously undisclosed government records." ... "The documents, obtained
by Politico under New York’s Freedom of Information Law, show that the
mayoral costs had nothing to do with the functions of the little-known
city offices that defrayed his tabs, including agencies responsible for
regulating loft apartments, aiding the disabled and providing lawyers for
indigent defendants." ... "At the time, the mayor’s office refused to explain
the accounting to city auditors, citing “security.”" ... "The Hamptons
visits resulted in hotel, gas and other costs for Giuliani’s New York Police
Department security detail." -By: Ben Smith
-Politico.com
Don
Young - Criminal
- Transportation
- Construction
- Real
Estate - Jet
- Travel
- Money- Politics
- 
Alaska
- New
York
- Florida
- "Alaska
lawmaker promoted earmarks, raked in cash." ... "As
chairman of the House transportation committee, Alaska Congressman Don
Young flew at least three times to upstate New York aboard a sleek jet
owned by Robert Congel, an ambitious shopping mall developer seeking federal
highway dollars." ... "With Young’s help, Congel got millions of dollars
to boost his dream of building the largest mall in North America. The veteran
Republican congressman got something, too: more than $33,000 in political
donations from Congel, his family and his associates." ... "For Young,
the Congel story was hardly unusual. Time after time, Young approved millions
of dollars for highway projects for people who in turn fattened his campaign
coffers." ... "With money pouring in from transportation interests, Young
amassed $6.5 million in political contributions from 2001 to 2005. Facing
weak political opposition at home, he didn’t need much for his campaign.
Instead, Young tapped his campaign fund to travel the country, often lavishly
and in corporate jets, to meet with more developers and view their proposed
highway projects." ... "Now, though, Young’s campaign donations are going
for another purpose. He’s spent nearly $450,000 on criminal defense lawyers
after he learned of an FBI investigation into his relationships with political
donors, who include a Florida real estate developer seeking a highway ramp
near his undeveloped land." -By
Greg
Gordon and Erika Bolstad-McClatchyDC.com
Nancy
Nord
- Children- Safety
- Politics
- Government
- Consumer
- Law
- Enforcement
- Manufacturer
- Travel
- Money
- 
China
- 
Spain
- US
- San
Francisco - California
- New
Orleans - 
Louisiana
- 
SC
- "Industries
Paid for Top Regulators' Travel: Two Heads of Product
Safety Agency Accepted Trips From Manufacturer Groups." ... "The chief
of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and her predecessor have taken
dozens of trips at the expense of the toy, appliance and children's furniture
industries and others they regulate, according to internal records obtained
by The Washington Post. Some of the trips were sponsored by lobbying groups
and lawyers representing the makers of products linked to consumer hazards."
... "The records document nearly 30 trips since 2002 by the agency's acting
chairman, Nancy Nord, and the previous chairman, Hal Stratton, that were
paid for in full or in part by trade associations or manufacturers of products
ranging from space heaters to disinfectants. The airfares, hotels and meals
totaled nearly $60,000, and the destinations included China, Spain, San
Francisco [California], New Orleans [Louisiana] and a golf resort on Hilton
Head Island, S.C. [South Carolina.]" ... "Consumer groups and lawmakers
intensified their criticism of the CPSC this summer after several highly
publicized recalls of Chinese-made toys that contained hazardous levels
of lead. Critics have long charged that the agency has become too close
to regulated industries, opting for "voluntary" standards and repeatedly
choosing not to take legal action against businesses that refuse to recall
dangerous products." ... "Government-wide travel regulations state that
officials from agencies such as the CPSC should not accept money for travel
from nonfederal sources if the payments "would cause a reasonable person
. . . to question the integrity of agency programs or operations."" ...
""This is a blatant violation of the ethics code," said Craig Holman, an
expert on governmental ethics law for the nonprofit consumer advocacy group
Public Citizen." ... "The records show that Nord and Stratton repeatedly
accepted gift travel for events from industries subject to CPSC enforcement."
(1, 2,
3)
-By Elizabeth Williamson
-WashingtonPost
Rudolph
W Giuliani
- Money
- Politics
- Government
- Traveling
- 2008
Election - New
York
- "Giuliani
Still Working at Firm He Promised to Leave." ...
"Ten months into his presidential bid, [2008 Election Republican Presidential
Candidate] Rudolph W. Giuliani continues to work part time at the security
consulting firm he promised to leave this past spring to focus on his pursuit
of the Republican nomination." ... "Giuliani's continuing involvement with
a firm catering to corporate clients makes him unique among Republican
contenders. It also complicates the task of separating his firm's assets
from his campaign spending." ... "Several of the firm's employees do volunteer
work for his campaign. And Giuliani did not decide until mid-June, six
months after he entered the race, to bill his campaign for the cost of
the security detail traveling with him on campaign trips; before then,
the firm paid the expense." ... "Aides at Giuliani Partners in New York
and with his campaign confirmed that he continues working part time at
the firm. They declined to answer specific questions about the nature of
his efforts, his compensation or the amount of time he spends there." ...
"Federal election laws prohibit Giuliani's firm from absorbing costs or
providing services that legally should be covered by political donations,
campaign experts said." ... "Giuliani's firm has grossed more than $100
million since its formation." ... "Because the firm represents many security
interests, some of which might have business before the federal government,
Giuliani faced questions about his continuing employment there. He announced
in April that he planned to leave the firm to concentrate entirely on the
campaign." (1, 2,
3)
-By John Solomon -WashingtonPost
Flying
- Safety
- 
Science
- Politics- Travel
- Business
- Government
- "NASA
won't disclose air safety survey." ... "Anxious to
avoid upsetting air travelers, NASA is withholding results from an unprecedented
national survey [National Aviation Operations Monitoring Service] of pilots
that found safety problems like near collisions and runway interference
occur far more frequently than the government previously recognized." ...
"NASA gathered the information under an $8.5 million safety project, through
telephone interviews with roughly 24,000 commercial and general aviation
pilots over nearly four years. Since ending the interviews at the beginning
of 2005 and shutting down the project completely more than one year ago,
the space agency has refused to divulge the results publicly." ... "Just
last week, NASA ordered the contractor that conducted the survey to purge
all related data from its computers." ... "A senior NASA official, associate
administrator Thomas S. Luedtke, said revealing the findings could damage
the public's confidence in airlines and affect airline profits. Luedtke
acknowledged that the survey results "present a comprehensive picture of
certain aspects of the U.S. commercial aviation industry."" ... "Among
other results, the pilots reported at least twice as many bird strikes,
near mid-air collisions and runway incursions as other government monitoring
systems show, according to a person familiar with the results who was not
authorized to discuss them publicly." ... "The survey also revealed higher-than-expected
numbers of pilots who experienced "in-close approach changes" — potentially
dangerous, last-minute instructions to alter landing plans." -Rita
Beamish -AP
via -Yahoo
Randy
"Duke" Cunningham
- 
Brent
Wilkes - 
Jerry
Lewis - 
Duncan
Hunter
- 
Tom
DeLay
- 
Roy
Blunt
- 
Dennis
Hastert - Money
- Politics
- Lawmakers
- Travel
- Flying
- Government
- 
Military
- Intelligence
- San
Diego - California
- 
Texas
- 
Missouri
- 
Hawaii
- Florida
- 
Nevada
- 
Idaho
- 
Illinois
- "Witness:
Contractor Gave Lawmaker Perks." ... "[Former California
Republican Representative Randy "Duke"] Cunningham, a San Diego Republican
who held seats on the powerful House intelligence and defense appropriations
committees, was elected to eight terms before resigning in 2005. He pleaded
guilty that year to accepting $2.4 million in bribes from [Brent] Wilkes
and others and is serving an eight-year prison sentence." ... "[Wilkes
nephew and employee Joel] Combs testified Wednesday that his uncle communicated
with other prominent lawmakers, including California Republicans Jerry
Lewis and Duncan Hunter, former House Majority Leader [Republican] Tom
DeLay of Texas, Republican Whip [Missouri Representative] Roy Blunt, and
Sen. Daniel Inouye, a Hawaii Democrat." ... "But the relationship with
Cunningham was at the center of Wilkes' success in Washington, and Combs
said his uncle worked to keep the lawmaker happy - efforts that included
staking his nephew money to purposely lose in poker games with the lawmaker."
... "Combs recalled dinners at Washington's fancy Capital Grille restaurant,
shooting lessons, and trips to Florida, Las Vegas [Nevada] and Idaho provided
by Wilkes for the congressman from 1998 until 2002. During that period,
Cunningham made calls to Pentagon officials on Wilkes' behalf and helped
secure about $90 million in federal contracts for Wilkes' company." ...
"The perks included a $20,000 stay in a private villa at a resort in Hawaii,
where Wilkes, Combs and the congressman went diving - an expedition captured
in an underwater video that was played for jurors. Combs said he also hired
women from an escort service for his uncle and the congressman." ... "Wilkes
also paid to fly Cunningham and former House Speaker [Illinois Republican
Representative] Dennis Hastert from a golf outing in Palm Springs [California]
to San Diego [California] for a reception and then back to Washington on
private jets, Combs testified." -By Allison Hoffman
-AP via -Guardian.co.uk
Religious
- 
University
- Home
- Remodeling
- Jet
- Trip
- Autos
- 
Clothes
- Money
- Political
- Family
- 
Oklahoma
- Texas
- California
- "Scandal
brewing at Oral Roberts." ... "[Televangelist Oral
Roberts son and Oklahoma's Oral Roberts University President] Richard Roberts
is accused of illegal involvement in a local political campaign and lavish
spending at donors' expense, including numerous home remodeling projects,
use of the university jet for his daughter's senior trip to the Bahamas,
and a red Mercedes convertible and a Lexus SUV for his wife, Lindsay."
... "She is accused of dropping tens of thousands of dollars on clothes,
awarding nonacademic scholarships to friends of her children and sending
scores of text messages on university-issued cell phones to people described
in the lawsuit as "underage males."" ... "San Antonio [Texas] televangelist
John Hagee, a member of the ORU board of regents, said the university's
executive board "is conducting a full and thorough investigation."" ...
"The university reported nearly $76 million in revenue in 2005, according
to the IRS." ... "Oral Roberts is 89 and lives in California." ... "Richard
Roberts, according to the suit, asked a professor in 2005 to use his students
and university resources to aid a county commissioner's bid for Tulsa [Oklahoma]
mayor. Such involvement would violate state and federal law because of
the university's nonprofit status. Up to 50 students are alleged to have
worked on the campaign." -By Justin Juozapavicius
-AP via -Yahoo
Government- 
Electronic
- 
Surveillance
- Data
- Travelers
- Flying
- Driving
- 
Reading
- 
People
- Civil
Liberties - US
- International
- San
Francisco - California
- Alaska
- Terrorism- Intelligence
- Politics
- Law
- "Collecting
of Details on Travelers Documented: U.S. Effort More
Extensive Than Previously Known." ... "The U.S. government is collecting
electronic records on the travel habits of millions of Americans who fly,
drive or take cruises abroad, retaining data on the persons with whom they
travel or plan to stay, the personal items they carry during their journeys,
and even the books that travelers have carried, according to documents
obtained by a group of civil liberties advocates and statements by government
officials." ... "The personal travel records are meant to be stored for
as long as 15 years, as part of the Department of Homeland Security's effort
to assess the security threat posed by all travelers entering the country.
Officials say the records, which are analyzed by the department's Automated
Targeting System, help border officials distinguish potential terrorists
from innocent people entering the country." ... "Officials yesterday defended
the retention of highly personal data on travelers not involved in or linked
to any violations of the law. But civil liberties advocates have alleged
that the type of information preserved by the department raises alarms
about the government's ability to intrude into the lives of ordinary people.
The millions of travelers whose records are kept by the government are
generally unaware of what their records say, and the government has not
created an effective mechanism for reviewing the data and correcting any
errors, activists said." ... "The activists alleged that the data collection
effort, as carried out now, violates the Privacy Act, which bars the gathering
of data related to Americans' exercise of their First Amendment rights,
such as their choice of reading material or persons with whom to associate.
They also expressed concern that such personal data could one day be used
to impede their right to travel." ... ""The federal government is trying
to build a surveillance society," said John Gilmore, a civil liberties
activist in San Francisco whose records were requested by the Identity
Project, an ad-hoc group of privacy advocates in California and Alaska.
The government, he said, "may be doing it with the best or worst of intentions.
. . . But the job of building a surveillance database and populating it
with information about us is happening largely without our awareness and
without our consent."" (1, 2)
-By Ellen Nakashima with contributions by Julie Tate
-WashingtonPost
Iraqi
- US
- Immigration
- Politics
- Government
- Military
- 
Employees
- Foreign- Companies
- Travel
- 
Jordan
- 
Syria
- 
United
Nations - "Obstacles
Keep Iraqi Refugees From U.S.." ... "Despite a stepped-up
commitment from the United States to take in Iraqis who are in danger because
they worked for the American government and military, very few are signing
up to go, resettlement officials say." ... "The reason, Iraqis say, is
that they are not allowed to apply in Iraq, requiring them to make a costly
and uncertain journey to countries like Syria or Jordan, where they may
be turned away by border officials already overwhelmed by fleeing Iraqis."
... "The United Nations, which defines a refugee as someone who has fled
his or her home country, has submitted more than 9,000 Iraqis to the United
States for consideration since the State Department announced a new resettlement
program in February." ... "But only about 5 percent of the applicants are
former employees of the American war effort, according to figures provided
by the United Nations and the International Organization for Migration,
the agencies processing the cases." ... "But thousands more Iraqis work
for the United States through contractors like Titan, a subsidiary of L-3
Communications; DynCorp International; Parsons Corporation; and Triple
Canopy, and their subcontractors." ... "In all, 69,000 Iraqis work on contracts
with the Department of Defense through Iraqi and foreign companies, according
to the American military." ... "More than 40,000 Iraqis have registered
with the United Nations in Jordan and 90,000 more in Syria, out of an estimated
2 million who have fled Iraq, but not all qualify for refugee status."
(1, 2)
-By Sabrina Tavernise and David Rohde with contributions
by Mudhafar al-Husaini and Yusra al-Hakeem -NYTimes
US
- 
Massachusetts
- 
Canada
- Car
- Travel
- Pet
- Animal
- Mitt
Romney
- 2008
Election - "Romney
Accused of Mistreating Family Dog." ... "[2008 election
Presidential candidate Mitt] Romney placed his family dog, an Irish setter
named Seamus, into a kennel lashed to the top of his station wagon for
a 12-hour family trip from Boston [Massachusetts] to Ontario [Canada] in
1983. Despite being shielded by a wind screen the former Massachusetts
governor erected, Seamus expressed his discomfort with a diarrhea attack."
-By Glen Johnson -AP
via -SFGate.com
Scott
J Bloch
- 
Karl
Rove
- Government
- Employees
- Investigation
- 2004
Election - Travel
- Politics
- 
E-Mail
- US
Attorney - Hatch
Act - Law
- Mass
- "Rove
Investigator Faces Own Allegations." ... "The senior
government official who says he is investigating [Republican President
Bush's aide] Karl Rove for allegations he influenced government activity
for partisan purposes is himself facing allegations of similar behavior."
... "In interviews yesterday with reporters, Scott J. Bloch disclosed that
his Office of Special Counsel was opening a broad probe of the White House
political office and its interaction with government agencies. The investigation
will cover the use of private e-mail accounts by White House aides, the
firing of at least one U.S. attorney and presentations of political data
by White House aides to other officials in government, Bloch told the Los
Angeles Times and the Washington Post." ... "But government watchdogs have
accused Bloch himself of similar behavior. In April 2005, they and others
complained the White House appointee had allowed his office to "sit on"
a complaint that then-White House National Security Adviser Condoleezza
Rice used government funds to travel in support of President Bush's [2004]
re-election bid." ... "By contrast, they said, Bloch ordered an immediate
on-site investigation of a complaint that Bush's challenger for the White
House, [Massachusetts Democratic Senator and 2004 Presidential Candidate]
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., improperly campaigned in a government workplace,
which had been filed around the same time." ... "Bloch's obscure but important
office investigates violations of a law banning the use of public resources
for partisan political purposes, known as the Hatch Act. In January, his
office said Kerry did not violate the act." -By Justin
Rood -ABCNEWS.com
John
E Sweeney - 
Jack
Abramoff - 
Tony
Rudy - Politician
- 
Trip
- 
Northern
Mariana Islands - US
- New
York - Law
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