The arrest of four Sun journalists threatens to open a fresh phase of the scandal surrounding News International
On Saturday morning, the police arrested four journalists who have worked for Rupert Murdoch. For a while, it looked as though these were yet more arrests of people related to the News of the World but then it became clear that this was something much more significant.
This may be the moment when the scandal that closed the NoW finally started to pose a potential threat to at least one of Murdoch’s three other UK newspaper titles: the Sun, the Times and the Sunday Times.
The four men arrested on Saturday are not linked to the NoW. They come from the Sun, from the top of the tree – the current head of news and his crime editor, the former managing editor and deputy editor.
Nothing is certain. No one has been convicted of anything. The four who were arrested on Saturday – like the 25 others before them – have not even been charged with any offence. But behind the scenes, something very significant has changed at News International.
Under enormous legal and political pressure, Murdoch has ordered that the police be given everything they need. Whereas Scotland Yard began their inquiry a year ago with nothing much more than the heap of scruffy paperwork seized from the NoW’s private investigator, Glenn Mulcaire, Murdoch’s Management and Standards Committee has now handed them what may be the largest cache of evidence ever gathered by a police operation in this country, including the material that led to Saturday’s arrests. …
The role of the former Sun editor Rebekah Brooks is expected to come under fresh scrutiny after four of the paper's current and former journalists were arrested on Saturday in connection with an investigation into corrupt payments to police.
Detectives with Operation Elveden, the Metropolitan Police's investigation into illegal payments to officers, raided the Sun's offices in Wapping, east London, morning after receiving information from News Corp, the parent company of News International, which owns the paper. A serving police officer in the Met's Territorial Policing command was also arrested at his place of work and questioned at a police station.
In a statement, News Corp said: "Metropolitan Police Service officers from Operation Elveden arrested four current and former employees from the Sun newspaper. Searches have also taken place at the homes and offices of those arrested. News Corporation made a commitment last summer that unacceptable news gathering practices by individuals in the past would not be repeated."
It is understood that staff and management at the Sun had no warning of the operation. The four Sun journalists arrested were Mike Sullivan, the paper's crime editor; the former managing editor, Graham Dudman; an executive editor, Fergus Shanahan; and Chris Pharo, a news desk executive. They all worked under Brooks, who edited the Sun from January 2003 to September 2009, when she became chief executive of News International. ...
Detectives with Operation Elveden, the Metropolitan Police's investigation into illegal payments to officers, raided the Sun's offices in Wapping, east London, morning after receiving information from News Corp, the parent company of News International, which owns the paper. A serving police officer in the Met's Territorial Policing command was also arrested at his place of work and questioned at a police station.
In a statement, News Corp said: "Metropolitan Police Service officers from Operation Elveden arrested four current and former employees from the Sun newspaper. Searches have also taken place at the homes and offices of those arrested. News Corporation made a commitment last summer that unacceptable news gathering practices by individuals in the past would not be repeated."
It is understood that staff and management at the Sun had no warning of the operation. The four Sun journalists arrested were Mike Sullivan, the paper's crime editor; the former managing editor, Graham Dudman; an executive editor, Fergus Shanahan; and Chris Pharo, a news desk executive. They all worked under Brooks, who edited the Sun from January 2003 to September 2009, when she became chief executive of News International. ...
Despite the repetition of denials, an accumulation of horror stories of tabloid practices has emerged
"Oh no I didn't!" "Oh yes you did!" As good as any Christmas pantomime, the Leveson inquiry into tabloid morals may well have been intended, as its critics allege, to distract attention from the prime minister's own ill-advised links with Rupert Murdoch.
But nevertheless, in the first month of what is due to be a long London run in courtroom 73 at the Royal Courts of Justice, Leveson mostly succeeded in laying on a gripping show. There have been 63 live performers so far.
This is despite the absence for legal reasons of key testimony, including from the News of the World executive responsible for hacking the phone of the murdered Milly Dowler.
Piers Morgan, one-time Mirror editor, proved one of the more theatrical of the oh-no-I-didn't brigade. He gave curt and sulky answers, and tried to blame Sir Paul McCartney's ex-wife for a voicemail tape he himself once boasted of hearing. Morgan also lashed out at the Guardian's reporters who unearthed the present scandal, calling them the sanctimonious "bishops of Fleet Street".
His fellow editor Colin Myler, who presided over four years of cover-up at the late News of the World, did at least have the grace to blurt out "I apologise" when accused of deceiving the Press Complaints Commission.
But the overall picture Myler sought to paint was of a saintly process of reform, worthy of any bishop, in which the sinners had long been swept away, and he no longer tolerated misbehaviour.
When he made this claim, "Oh yes you did!" might have been heard at the back of the hall. For he was at once contradicted by a large ex-policeman, Derek Webb.
Nicknamed, rather improbably, the Silent Shadow, Webb's job at the News of the World was to follow people about, the hearing was told. When it became too hot to employ him as a private detective, he explained on oath, he was simply told to get a National Union of Journalists card. This happened under the supposedly reforming editorship of Myler.
The inquiry's lawyers asked Webb whether anything changed at all at the NoW after the new broom succeeded the disgraced former editor Andy Coulson. Webb replied succinctly: "Nothing." ...
"Oh no I didn't!" "Oh yes you did!" As good as any Christmas pantomime, the Leveson inquiry into tabloid morals may well have been intended, as its critics allege, to distract attention from the prime minister's own ill-advised links with Rupert Murdoch.
But nevertheless, in the first month of what is due to be a long London run in courtroom 73 at the Royal Courts of Justice, Leveson mostly succeeded in laying on a gripping show. There have been 63 live performers so far.
This is despite the absence for legal reasons of key testimony, including from the News of the World executive responsible for hacking the phone of the murdered Milly Dowler.
Piers Morgan, one-time Mirror editor, proved one of the more theatrical of the oh-no-I-didn't brigade. He gave curt and sulky answers, and tried to blame Sir Paul McCartney's ex-wife for a voicemail tape he himself once boasted of hearing. Morgan also lashed out at the Guardian's reporters who unearthed the present scandal, calling them the sanctimonious "bishops of Fleet Street".
His fellow editor Colin Myler, who presided over four years of cover-up at the late News of the World, did at least have the grace to blurt out "I apologise" when accused of deceiving the Press Complaints Commission.
But the overall picture Myler sought to paint was of a saintly process of reform, worthy of any bishop, in which the sinners had long been swept away, and he no longer tolerated misbehaviour.
When he made this claim, "Oh yes you did!" might have been heard at the back of the hall. For he was at once contradicted by a large ex-policeman, Derek Webb.
Nicknamed, rather improbably, the Silent Shadow, Webb's job at the News of the World was to follow people about, the hearing was told. When it became too hot to employ him as a private detective, he explained on oath, he was simply told to get a National Union of Journalists card. This happened under the supposedly reforming editorship of Myler.
The inquiry's lawyers asked Webb whether anything changed at all at the NoW after the new broom succeeded the disgraced former editor Andy Coulson. Webb replied succinctly: "Nothing." ...
With Anna Hazare ending his 288-hour-long fast at Ramlila, the group of young India Against Corruption (IAC) activists fasting at Azad Maidan broke their fast at 10am on Sunday.
Siddhesh Kadam, 33, who was fasting since August 25 said "It is the beginning of the struggle. Victory will be a strong Jan Lokpal bill passed by the Parliament."
He felt that with a multitude of youth coming out in support, the overall response to the anti-corruption movement was good.
"The youth have realized how corruption is affecting the country. It is a victory for the people. Politicians cannot take us for granted anymore," Kadam added.
Kadam, who had never undertaken an activism driven fast before, said "I was involved with students agitations but this was my first fast. I was very scared at first, as I had never fasted before, but once I began there was no turning back," adding, "Anna inspired me."
Sunil Pednekar, another IAC activist who was a part of the fast, said, "Success of this movement should change the mindset of people who were saying nothing can be done about corruption. Not much can be achieved by sitting at home. Instead people should come out in support."
When queried whether the Lokpal bill would bring an end to corruption, another IAC member Vishal Bhambre said, "As per the speeches of politicians, the bill may not be able to stop all the corruption but even if it stops 30-40% corruption, that is an achievement for this movement."
"People have the mentality that nothing will change. If we have the will, we can make a change," he said. ...
Siddhesh Kadam, 33, who was fasting since August 25 said "It is the beginning of the struggle. Victory will be a strong Jan Lokpal bill passed by the Parliament."
He felt that with a multitude of youth coming out in support, the overall response to the anti-corruption movement was good.
"The youth have realized how corruption is affecting the country. It is a victory for the people. Politicians cannot take us for granted anymore," Kadam added.
Kadam, who had never undertaken an activism driven fast before, said "I was involved with students agitations but this was my first fast. I was very scared at first, as I had never fasted before, but once I began there was no turning back," adding, "Anna inspired me."
Sunil Pednekar, another IAC activist who was a part of the fast, said, "Success of this movement should change the mindset of people who were saying nothing can be done about corruption. Not much can be achieved by sitting at home. Instead people should come out in support."
When queried whether the Lokpal bill would bring an end to corruption, another IAC member Vishal Bhambre said, "As per the speeches of politicians, the bill may not be able to stop all the corruption but even if it stops 30-40% corruption, that is an achievement for this movement."
"People have the mentality that nothing will change. If we have the will, we can make a change," he said. ...
A police detective has been arrested on suspicion of leaking details about Scotland Yard's phone-hacking investigation.
The man has not been charged but he has been suspended by the Metropolitan police.
The Met also on Friday arrested a 35-year-old man, who Sky News named as former News of the World reporter Dan Evans, on suspicion of phone hacking. He has been released on police bail.
Evans was suspended by the paper more than a year ago after being named in a civil case against the now defunct tabloid's publisher, News International subsidiary News Group Newspapers, brought by interior designer Kelly Hoppen.
Sue Akers, the force's deputy assistant commissioner, who is leading the investigation into phone hacking at the News of the World, said: "I made very clear when I took on this investigation the need for operational and information security. It is hugely disappointing that this may not have been adhered to."
Akers added: "The MPS [Met] takes the unauthorised disclosure of information extremely seriously and has acted swiftly in making these arrests." ...
The man has not been charged but he has been suspended by the Metropolitan police.
The Met also on Friday arrested a 35-year-old man, who Sky News named as former News of the World reporter Dan Evans, on suspicion of phone hacking. He has been released on police bail.
Evans was suspended by the paper more than a year ago after being named in a civil case against the now defunct tabloid's publisher, News International subsidiary News Group Newspapers, brought by interior designer Kelly Hoppen.
Sue Akers, the force's deputy assistant commissioner, who is leading the investigation into phone hacking at the News of the World, said: "I made very clear when I took on this investigation the need for operational and information security. It is hugely disappointing that this may not have been adhered to."
Akers added: "The MPS [Met] takes the unauthorised disclosure of information extremely seriously and has acted swiftly in making these arrests." ...
Senior MPs want to question further one of News International's technology suppliers, after the firm responsible for overseeing its day-to-day emails revealed that hundreds of thousands of them had been deleted on a total of nine occasions from the newspaper publisher's server since May last year.
Lawyers acting for HCL, the firm contracted to oversee News International's email system, told the home affairs select committee that it was aware of "nothing which appeared abnormal, untoward or inconsistent with its contractual role" – but went onto to advise MPs to direct further questions to News International.
The law firm, Stuart Benson, acting for HCL, said: "It is entirely for News International, the police and your committee as to whether there was any other agenda or subtext when issues of deletion arose and that is a matter on which my client cannot comment and something you will no doubt wish to explore direct with News International."
Keith Vaz, chair of the committee, said he was most surprised by the deletions and added that the MPs would be seeking further details from HCL, the firm contracted to oversee the News International's 'live emails', typically those less than 15 days old. ...
Lawyers acting for HCL, the firm contracted to oversee News International's email system, told the home affairs select committee that it was aware of "nothing which appeared abnormal, untoward or inconsistent with its contractual role" – but went onto to advise MPs to direct further questions to News International.
The law firm, Stuart Benson, acting for HCL, said: "It is entirely for News International, the police and your committee as to whether there was any other agenda or subtext when issues of deletion arose and that is a matter on which my client cannot comment and something you will no doubt wish to explore direct with News International."
Keith Vaz, chair of the committee, said he was most surprised by the deletions and added that the MPs would be seeking further details from HCL, the firm contracted to oversee the News International's 'live emails', typically those less than 15 days old. ...
The Wall Street Journal "could have done a better job" when it published an interview with proprietor Rupert Murdoch in which he said News Corporation had made only "minor mistakes" in managing the phone-hacking scandal, according to the paper's special editorial committee.
In a report published in the Journal on Monday designed to answer critics of its phone-hacking coverage, the committee – set up when Murdoch bought the paper in 2007 – admitted that its journalists failed to cover the scandal as promptly as its rivals. It also offered criticism of a one-sided interview earlier this month, just 24 hours before News Corp lost two of its most senior newspaper executives, including Les Hinton, who was responsible for the Dow Jones newswires.
"[The Journal] could have done a better job with a recent story allowing Mr Murdoch to get his side of the story on the record without tougher questioning," the report said, adding "We have discussed this with the involved editors."
However, in response to a political request for evidence that the US journalists were not involved in wrongdoing last week, the committee found "nothing to even hint that the sort of misdeeds alleged in London have somehow crept into [WSJ publisher] Dow Jones".
In one critical paragraph of the Journal's coverage of a scandal that has rocked the company, the UK political establishment and police authorities, the committee wrote: "The Journal was slower than it should have been at the outset to pursue the phone-hacking scandal story, in our opinion, though it is doing much better now with aggressive coverage, fitting placement in the paper, and unflinching headlines."
Last Friday, two days after Rupert Murdoch and his heir apparent James appeared before parliament, the Journal broke the news that the justice department is preparing wide-ranging subpoenas to gather evidence in the phone hacking case.
The committee had nothing to say about the WSJ editorial published last week that accused journalists at the Guardian and other news outlets for pushing coverage of the phone-hacking story for "commercial and ideological motives".
Much of the committee's evidence seems to have been gathered by asking relevant editors and reporters: "Is anybody putting political, ideological or commercial pressure on you to influence your news judgment?" The answer, perhaps unsurprisingly, is "no".
The report comes after the Journal, edited by Robert Thomson, a former editor of the Times in London, has come under heavy criticism from rival media organisations in recent weeks.
New York Times columnist Joe Nocera, who has previously written in support of Murdoch ownership, said: "The Journal was turned into a propaganda vehicle for its owner's conservative views. That's half the definition of Fox-ification. The other half is that Murdoch's media outlets must shill for his business interests. With the News of the World scandal, the Journal has now shown itself willing to do that, too." ...
In a report published in the Journal on Monday designed to answer critics of its phone-hacking coverage, the committee – set up when Murdoch bought the paper in 2007 – admitted that its journalists failed to cover the scandal as promptly as its rivals. It also offered criticism of a one-sided interview earlier this month, just 24 hours before News Corp lost two of its most senior newspaper executives, including Les Hinton, who was responsible for the Dow Jones newswires.
"[The Journal] could have done a better job with a recent story allowing Mr Murdoch to get his side of the story on the record without tougher questioning," the report said, adding "We have discussed this with the involved editors."
However, in response to a political request for evidence that the US journalists were not involved in wrongdoing last week, the committee found "nothing to even hint that the sort of misdeeds alleged in London have somehow crept into [WSJ publisher] Dow Jones".
In one critical paragraph of the Journal's coverage of a scandal that has rocked the company, the UK political establishment and police authorities, the committee wrote: "The Journal was slower than it should have been at the outset to pursue the phone-hacking scandal story, in our opinion, though it is doing much better now with aggressive coverage, fitting placement in the paper, and unflinching headlines."
Last Friday, two days after Rupert Murdoch and his heir apparent James appeared before parliament, the Journal broke the news that the justice department is preparing wide-ranging subpoenas to gather evidence in the phone hacking case.
The committee had nothing to say about the WSJ editorial published last week that accused journalists at the Guardian and other news outlets for pushing coverage of the phone-hacking story for "commercial and ideological motives".
Much of the committee's evidence seems to have been gathered by asking relevant editors and reporters: "Is anybody putting political, ideological or commercial pressure on you to influence your news judgment?" The answer, perhaps unsurprisingly, is "no".
The report comes after the Journal, edited by Robert Thomson, a former editor of the Times in London, has come under heavy criticism from rival media organisations in recent weeks.
New York Times columnist Joe Nocera, who has previously written in support of Murdoch ownership, said: "The Journal was turned into a propaganda vehicle for its owner's conservative views. That's half the definition of Fox-ification. The other half is that Murdoch's media outlets must shill for his business interests. With the News of the World scandal, the Journal has now shown itself willing to do that, too." ...
Leading lawyers feel client information may have been intercepted after their names were found in Glenn Mulcaire's file
Owen Bowcott
Monday 25 July 2011
Now it's the turn of lawyers and the legal process to be sucked into the phone-hacking vortex. The Law Society has even suggested justice itself is under threat, implying messages could have been intercepted with the intention of influencing court cases.
Several prominent solicitors fear their mobile phones have been hacked. Some have been formally informed of the risk by police after detectives discovered their numbers among a private investigator's notes.
Graham Shear, of Berwin Leighton Paisner who has represented celebrities such as Robbie Williams and Jude Law, is one of those who has lodged a claim against the News of the World for damages over breach of privacy.
"In January this year I was contacted by senior officers in Operation Weeting [the Metropolitan police inquiry into phone hacking]," Shear said. "They told me that, contrary to what had been said previously, a number of my clients were referred to in documents from [Glenn] Mulcaire's file. My name was among them."
If messages had been intercepted, he said, it would have been a breach of confidential relationship with clients.
The media lawyer Mark Stephens expressed similar anxieties. "I asked [Scotland Yard] if I'd been hacked - they came back to me in 90 minutes and said yes," he told Channel 4 News. "It confirmed my worst suspicions, that I was in Mulcaire's notebook. There is nothing I can do about it, but the important thing is to ascertain which client [was the target] so I can advise them. My concern is for them, not myself." ...
Owen Bowcott
Monday 25 July 2011
Now it's the turn of lawyers and the legal process to be sucked into the phone-hacking vortex. The Law Society has even suggested justice itself is under threat, implying messages could have been intercepted with the intention of influencing court cases.
Several prominent solicitors fear their mobile phones have been hacked. Some have been formally informed of the risk by police after detectives discovered their numbers among a private investigator's notes.
Graham Shear, of Berwin Leighton Paisner who has represented celebrities such as Robbie Williams and Jude Law, is one of those who has lodged a claim against the News of the World for damages over breach of privacy.
"In January this year I was contacted by senior officers in Operation Weeting [the Metropolitan police inquiry into phone hacking]," Shear said. "They told me that, contrary to what had been said previously, a number of my clients were referred to in documents from [Glenn] Mulcaire's file. My name was among them."
If messages had been intercepted, he said, it would have been a breach of confidential relationship with clients.
The media lawyer Mark Stephens expressed similar anxieties. "I asked [Scotland Yard] if I'd been hacked - they came back to me in 90 minutes and said yes," he told Channel 4 News. "It confirmed my worst suspicions, that I was in Mulcaire's notebook. There is nothing I can do about it, but the important thing is to ascertain which client [was the target] so I can advise them. My concern is for them, not myself." ...
The prime minister, David Cameron, has denied that it was inappropriate for him to have dinner at the home of senior News Corporation executive Rebekah Brooks while the government was considering the company's takeover bid for BSkyB.
Cameron said Brooks, the chief executive of News Corp's UK newspaper publisher News International, was "married to a very old friend of mine" – a reference to her husband, Charlie Brooks, the racehorse trainer and writer. Both attended Eton.
He added that party leaders and prime ministers "have lunches and dinners with editors, journalists and proprietors all of the time" and he did not think "there's a problem at all" with him attending the dinner.
Cameron was quizzed about the dinner at the Oxfordshire home of the Brooks over the Christmas period on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Tuesday by presenter John Humphrys.
The dinner was also attended by James Murdoch, the News Corp chairman and chief executive for Europe and Asia, and took place while the culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, was considering whether to refer the company's bid to acquire the 61% of Sky it did not already own to the Competition Commission on public interest grounds.
It took place a few days after Cameron had stripped the business secretary, Vince Cable, of responsibility for media takeovers and given the powers to Hunt. Cable had been secretly taped by Daily Telegraph journalists saying that he was "at war" with Rupert Murdoch, the News Corp chairman and chief executive.
Humphrys said a lot of people thought attending the dinner was inappropriate and asked Cameron if he wished he had not done it.
"No. I've had absolutely nothing to do with the merger proposals that were put forward," Cameron replied. "I deliberately excluded myself from any part of that decision-making process. The first I knew of [Hunt's decision] was when the results were announced on the BBC.
"Jeremy Hunt had a quasi-judicial role to carry out, which he carried out in my view entirely properly, and it's quite right that he didn't consult the prime minister over that. He looked at the evidence and he made the decision and so I don't think there's a problem at all.
"Party leaders and prime ministers have lunches and dinners with editors, journalists proprietors all of the time." ...
Cameron said Brooks, the chief executive of News Corp's UK newspaper publisher News International, was "married to a very old friend of mine" – a reference to her husband, Charlie Brooks, the racehorse trainer and writer. Both attended Eton.
He added that party leaders and prime ministers "have lunches and dinners with editors, journalists and proprietors all of the time" and he did not think "there's a problem at all" with him attending the dinner.
Cameron was quizzed about the dinner at the Oxfordshire home of the Brooks over the Christmas period on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Tuesday by presenter John Humphrys.
The dinner was also attended by James Murdoch, the News Corp chairman and chief executive for Europe and Asia, and took place while the culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, was considering whether to refer the company's bid to acquire the 61% of Sky it did not already own to the Competition Commission on public interest grounds.
It took place a few days after Cameron had stripped the business secretary, Vince Cable, of responsibility for media takeovers and given the powers to Hunt. Cable had been secretly taped by Daily Telegraph journalists saying that he was "at war" with Rupert Murdoch, the News Corp chairman and chief executive.
Humphrys said a lot of people thought attending the dinner was inappropriate and asked Cameron if he wished he had not done it.
"No. I've had absolutely nothing to do with the merger proposals that were put forward," Cameron replied. "I deliberately excluded myself from any part of that decision-making process. The first I knew of [Hunt's decision] was when the results were announced on the BBC.
"Jeremy Hunt had a quasi-judicial role to carry out, which he carried out in my view entirely properly, and it's quite right that he didn't consult the prime minister over that. He looked at the evidence and he made the decision and so I don't think there's a problem at all.
"Party leaders and prime ministers have lunches and dinners with editors, journalists proprietors all of the time." ...
The alleged members of a vice ring who are claimed to have procured young women for Italy's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, have fallen out spectacularly, creating a potentially grave problem for his defence.
Berlusconi denies paying an underage prostitute and then abusing his position to cover up the alleged offence in a trial that began earlier this month.
Three of his associates are also under investigation in related proceedings, on suspicion of aiding and abetting prostitution, juvenile and otherwise.
They include Nicole Minetti, an Anglo-Italian dental hygienist and former TV variety dancer whom Berlusconi made a regional parliamentarian.
Also under investigation are Emilio Fede, who presents a news programme on one of Berlusconi's TV channels, and Lele Mora, a showbusiness talent scout.
Minetti's lawyer handed the prosecutors a document outlining her defence on Monday night.
According to reports, the document blames the other suspects for introducing the prime minister to Karima El Mahroug, the then 17-year-old Moroccan runaway known as Ruby who is at the heart of the case.
Minetti and her lawyer both denied the reports. "I am not accusing either Emilio Fede or Lele Mora," Minetti said.
But that was not Fede's view. After being guided through a summary by Minetti's lawyer, he said: "The memorandum submitted by Nicole Minetti is bullshit ... I deny it." ...
Berlusconi denies paying an underage prostitute and then abusing his position to cover up the alleged offence in a trial that began earlier this month.
Three of his associates are also under investigation in related proceedings, on suspicion of aiding and abetting prostitution, juvenile and otherwise.
They include Nicole Minetti, an Anglo-Italian dental hygienist and former TV variety dancer whom Berlusconi made a regional parliamentarian.
Also under investigation are Emilio Fede, who presents a news programme on one of Berlusconi's TV channels, and Lele Mora, a showbusiness talent scout.
Minetti's lawyer handed the prosecutors a document outlining her defence on Monday night.
According to reports, the document blames the other suspects for introducing the prime minister to Karima El Mahroug, the then 17-year-old Moroccan runaway known as Ruby who is at the heart of the case.
Minetti and her lawyer both denied the reports. "I am not accusing either Emilio Fede or Lele Mora," Minetti said.
But that was not Fede's view. After being guided through a summary by Minetti's lawyer, he said: "The memorandum submitted by Nicole Minetti is bullshit ... I deny it." ...
The actor Leslie Ash has spoken out for the first time against the Metropolitan police for failing to investigate claims that a private investigator working for the News of the World had hacked into her mobile phone, even though the force had held evidence since 2006 that he had targeted her along with her husband and two children.
Ash, a former star of Men Behaving Badly, told the Guardian: "I feel I've really been let down. I can't understand their behaviour at all." Ash and her husband, the former footballer Lee Chapman, are suing the News of the World for breach of privacy after the Met confirmed in January that in a 2006 raid on the investigator Glenn Mulcaire, it had seized notepads in which he had recorded their mobile phone numbers and those of their two sons.
Despite holding that information, which Ash said includes phone numbers for her GP, bank and a teacher at her sons' school, Scotland Yard failed to tell her that she was a target.
"The police were actually withholding evidence," she said. "I've been brought up to trust the police. It's not a good time for the police at the moment."
Ash became a regular in the headlines as soon as she appeared in the hit laddish comedy Men Behaving Badly, but tabloid pressure reached its peak when cosmetic surgery left her with inflamed lips in 2003 and when she contracted a form of MRSA in hospital the following year.
Her family feared she would die. Now Ash says that messages left on mobile phones belonging to her and her children at that time were used by newspapers. ...
Ash, a former star of Men Behaving Badly, told the Guardian: "I feel I've really been let down. I can't understand their behaviour at all." Ash and her husband, the former footballer Lee Chapman, are suing the News of the World for breach of privacy after the Met confirmed in January that in a 2006 raid on the investigator Glenn Mulcaire, it had seized notepads in which he had recorded their mobile phone numbers and those of their two sons.
Despite holding that information, which Ash said includes phone numbers for her GP, bank and a teacher at her sons' school, Scotland Yard failed to tell her that she was a target.
"The police were actually withholding evidence," she said. "I've been brought up to trust the police. It's not a good time for the police at the moment."
Ash became a regular in the headlines as soon as she appeared in the hit laddish comedy Men Behaving Badly, but tabloid pressure reached its peak when cosmetic surgery left her with inflamed lips in 2003 and when she contracted a form of MRSA in hospital the following year.
Her family feared she would die. Now Ash says that messages left on mobile phones belonging to her and her children at that time were used by newspapers. ...
The News of the World has revealed that its computers have retained an archive of potentially damning emails, which hitherto it had claimed had been lost.
The millions of emails, amounting to half a terabyte of data, could expose executives and reporters involved in hacking the voicemail of public figures, including former deputy prime minister John Prescott, actor Sienna Miller, and former culture secretary Tessa Jowell.
The archived data is likely to include email exchanges between the most senior executives, including former editor Andy Coulson, who resigned as David Cameron's media adviser in January, as well as three former news editors – Ian Edmondson, Greg Miskiw, and Neville Thurlbeck – implicated in the affair by paperwork seized from Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator who was on the News of the World's books. Edmondson was sacked in January. Miskiw and Thurlbeck were interviewed by police last autumn. No charge has been brought against any of them. Coulson and the three former news editors have all denied all involvement in criminal activity.
MPs on the home affairs select committee are likely on Tuesday to ask about the emails to John Yates, acting deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan police, when they question him over allegations he misled parliament in evidence he gave about the number of hacking victims originally identified by Scotland Yard. Yates told the committee six months ago the Met had only identified "10 to 12" individuals in a 2006 inquiry because the Crown Prosecution Service advised it to adopt a narrow legal definition of what constituted an offence. The Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer, has said that prosecuting counsel never adopted this narrow definition.
Several News of the World journalists have since been linked with phone hacking after victims began legal battles, raising questions about why Scotland Yard failed to conduct a more comprehensive inquiry. Only one reporter, former royal editor Clive Goodman, was convicted of a crime along with Mulcaire. Both men were sentenced to jail terms in January 2007. ...
The millions of emails, amounting to half a terabyte of data, could expose executives and reporters involved in hacking the voicemail of public figures, including former deputy prime minister John Prescott, actor Sienna Miller, and former culture secretary Tessa Jowell.
The archived data is likely to include email exchanges between the most senior executives, including former editor Andy Coulson, who resigned as David Cameron's media adviser in January, as well as three former news editors – Ian Edmondson, Greg Miskiw, and Neville Thurlbeck – implicated in the affair by paperwork seized from Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator who was on the News of the World's books. Edmondson was sacked in January. Miskiw and Thurlbeck were interviewed by police last autumn. No charge has been brought against any of them. Coulson and the three former news editors have all denied all involvement in criminal activity.
MPs on the home affairs select committee are likely on Tuesday to ask about the emails to John Yates, acting deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan police, when they question him over allegations he misled parliament in evidence he gave about the number of hacking victims originally identified by Scotland Yard. Yates told the committee six months ago the Met had only identified "10 to 12" individuals in a 2006 inquiry because the Crown Prosecution Service advised it to adopt a narrow legal definition of what constituted an offence. The Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer, has said that prosecuting counsel never adopted this narrow definition.
Several News of the World journalists have since been linked with phone hacking after victims began legal battles, raising questions about why Scotland Yard failed to conduct a more comprehensive inquiry. Only one reporter, former royal editor Clive Goodman, was convicted of a crime along with Mulcaire. Both men were sentenced to jail terms in January 2007. ...
Eight charity workers in Malawi are suing Madonna after the collapse of her $15m (£9.4m) academy for girls cost them their jobs. The employees' lawyer said they are taking the US singer to court for unfair dismissal and non-payment of benefits.
The board of Raising Malawi was ousted after failing to start the building of an elite girls' school amid allegations of financial mismanagement, including lavish spending on offices, cars and golf membership.
Madonna, who adopted a boy and a girl from the southern African country, loaned $11m (£6.9m) to the charity and now sits on the board. The charity workers' lawyer, Mzondi Chirambo, said the singer had 14 days to respond to their concerns.
"Their employment was terminated by the trustees of Raising Malawi Academy for Girls ostensibly following the change of plan not to build the school as planned," he told Reuters news agency. "My clients are also being forced to sign a discriminatory termination agreement before they are paid their benefits."
The papers were filed with Malawi's industrial court, which handles employment disputes. Madonna's US representative was not immediately available for comment, but there were reports that the singer is considering filing a counter-suit. ...
The board of Raising Malawi was ousted after failing to start the building of an elite girls' school amid allegations of financial mismanagement, including lavish spending on offices, cars and golf membership.
Madonna, who adopted a boy and a girl from the southern African country, loaned $11m (£6.9m) to the charity and now sits on the board. The charity workers' lawyer, Mzondi Chirambo, said the singer had 14 days to respond to their concerns.
"Their employment was terminated by the trustees of Raising Malawi Academy for Girls ostensibly following the change of plan not to build the school as planned," he told Reuters news agency. "My clients are also being forced to sign a discriminatory termination agreement before they are paid their benefits."
The papers were filed with Malawi's industrial court, which handles employment disputes. Madonna's US representative was not immediately available for comment, but there were reports that the singer is considering filing a counter-suit. ...
The extraordinary public clash between the Metropolitan police and the director of public prosecutions during which each side has implied that the other has misled parliament continued with controversial claims before a Commons committee.
The quarrel continued as new claims were made that private investigators working for newspapers may have targeted the families of Milly Dowler, the Surrey schoolgirl who was abducted and murdered in March 2002, and of Holly Chapman, one of the two 10-year-old girls murdered by Ian Huntley in Soham in August 2002.
The Met-DPP clash continued at a special session of the Commons culture, media and sport committee, where Scotland Yard's acting deputy commissioner, John Yates, conceded for the first time that the original 2006 inquiry into phone hacking at the News of the World should have done more, and that police had failed to do enough for victims of hacking.
Asked if he accepted that the affair had seriously damaged the reputation of the Metropolitan police, he said: "I would certainly say that it has been very challenging for us. We are working extremely hard to put that right."
But it was his evidence on the legal advice provided by the director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, that was most controversial. The immediate focus of the dispute is an arcane point of law.
Its underlying significance is the light it may shed on the question of whether Scotland Yard has tried to hide the truth about the number of people whose phones were hacked by journalists and private investigators working for the NoW.
In his evidence, Yates listed a series of occasions on which prosecutors had advised police that the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (Ripa) made it an offence to intercept voicemail only if the message had not already been heard by its intended recipient.
He said this advice had been given repeatedly during the original inquiry in 2006: "It permeated every aspect of the investigative strategy." It was on this basis, Yates added, that he had previously told parliament that police had found only 10 to 12 victims of the hacking, even though the emerging evidence now suggests there were many more.
Yates's evidence directly clashes with a written submission from Starmer last October to the home affairs select committee. Starmer said the question of how to interpret Ripa had not arisen during the original inquiry.
Prosecutors had attached no significance to the point in preparing charges or presenting the facts, he said. "It is evident that the prosecution's approach to Ripa had no bearing on the charges brought against the defendants or the legal proceedings generally," he wrote. ...
The quarrel continued as new claims were made that private investigators working for newspapers may have targeted the families of Milly Dowler, the Surrey schoolgirl who was abducted and murdered in March 2002, and of Holly Chapman, one of the two 10-year-old girls murdered by Ian Huntley in Soham in August 2002.
The Met-DPP clash continued at a special session of the Commons culture, media and sport committee, where Scotland Yard's acting deputy commissioner, John Yates, conceded for the first time that the original 2006 inquiry into phone hacking at the News of the World should have done more, and that police had failed to do enough for victims of hacking.
Asked if he accepted that the affair had seriously damaged the reputation of the Metropolitan police, he said: "I would certainly say that it has been very challenging for us. We are working extremely hard to put that right."
But it was his evidence on the legal advice provided by the director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, that was most controversial. The immediate focus of the dispute is an arcane point of law.
Its underlying significance is the light it may shed on the question of whether Scotland Yard has tried to hide the truth about the number of people whose phones were hacked by journalists and private investigators working for the NoW.
In his evidence, Yates listed a series of occasions on which prosecutors had advised police that the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (Ripa) made it an offence to intercept voicemail only if the message had not already been heard by its intended recipient.
He said this advice had been given repeatedly during the original inquiry in 2006: "It permeated every aspect of the investigative strategy." It was on this basis, Yates added, that he had previously told parliament that police had found only 10 to 12 victims of the hacking, even though the emerging evidence now suggests there were many more.
Yates's evidence directly clashes with a written submission from Starmer last October to the home affairs select committee. Starmer said the question of how to interpret Ripa had not arisen during the original inquiry.
Prosecutors had attached no significance to the point in preparing charges or presenting the facts, he said. "It is evident that the prosecution's approach to Ripa had no bearing on the charges brought against the defendants or the legal proceedings generally," he wrote. ...
The growing number of public figures suing the News of the World won a major high court victory when a judge said Scotland Yard must hand over a mass of phone-hacking evidence that has never before been disclosed.
The ruling by Justice Geoffrey Vos, who was appointed this week to handle the 14 phone-hacking cases currently going through the courts, means the Metropolitan police will be forced to pass reams of documents seized from Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator who worked for the News of the World, to lawyers acting for the politicians, celebrities and football figures who are suing the paper. They include Sienna Miller, Paul Gascoigne, Steve Coogan and the former culture secretary Tessa Jowell.
Vos ruled on Friday that the Met must give unredacted documents – including Mulcaire's emails, address and contacts books, and phone bills – to another hacking victim, the football agent Sky Andrew. The decision sets a precedent for the other hacking cases and has far-reaching implications for the NoW, police and other litigants. It will lead to a flood of hacking documents being released to other claimants, all of whom are seeking copies of papers seized by police in a 2006 raid on Mulcaire's home. ...
The ruling by Justice Geoffrey Vos, who was appointed this week to handle the 14 phone-hacking cases currently going through the courts, means the Metropolitan police will be forced to pass reams of documents seized from Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator who worked for the News of the World, to lawyers acting for the politicians, celebrities and football figures who are suing the paper. They include Sienna Miller, Paul Gascoigne, Steve Coogan and the former culture secretary Tessa Jowell.
Vos ruled on Friday that the Met must give unredacted documents – including Mulcaire's emails, address and contacts books, and phone bills – to another hacking victim, the football agent Sky Andrew. The decision sets a precedent for the other hacking cases and has far-reaching implications for the NoW, police and other litigants. It will lead to a flood of hacking documents being released to other claimants, all of whom are seeking copies of papers seized by police in a 2006 raid on Mulcaire's home. ...
Phone hacking: Panorama to name sixth journalist in News of the World scandal | Media | The Guardian
The News of the World phone-hacking scandal is set to reach a new peak of embarrassment for the paper and for Scotland Yard with the naming of the sixth and most senior journalist yet to be implicated in illegal news-gathering.
A BBC Panorama programme claims that Alex Marunchak, formerly the paper's senior executive editor, commissioned a specialist snooper who illegally intercepted email messages from a target's computer and faxed copies of them to Marunchak's News of the World office.
The embarrassment is heightened by the fact that the target was a former British army intelligence officer who had served in Northern Ireland and was in possession of secrets which were deemed so sensitive that they had been suppressed by a court order.
Rupert Murdoch's News International, which owns the News of the World, has claimed repeatedly that only one of its journalists – the former royal correspondent, Clive Goodman – was involved in illegal news-gathering. When Goodman was jailed in January 2007, Scotland Yard chose not to interview any other journalist or executive on the paper.
And Panorama reports that the illegal interception of emails happened in July 2006, when the prime minister's former media adviser Andy Coulson was editing the paper. ...
A BBC Panorama programme claims that Alex Marunchak, formerly the paper's senior executive editor, commissioned a specialist snooper who illegally intercepted email messages from a target's computer and faxed copies of them to Marunchak's News of the World office.
The embarrassment is heightened by the fact that the target was a former British army intelligence officer who had served in Northern Ireland and was in possession of secrets which were deemed so sensitive that they had been suppressed by a court order.
Rupert Murdoch's News International, which owns the News of the World, has claimed repeatedly that only one of its journalists – the former royal correspondent, Clive Goodman – was involved in illegal news-gathering. When Goodman was jailed in January 2007, Scotland Yard chose not to interview any other journalist or executive on the paper.
And Panorama reports that the illegal interception of emails happened in July 2006, when the prime minister's former media adviser Andy Coulson was editing the paper. ...
A man cleared of murder can be named as a private investigator with links to corrupt police officers who earned £150,000 a year from the News of the World for supplying illegally obtained information on people in the public eye.
Jonathan Rees was acquitted of the murder of his former business partner, Daniel Morgan, who was found in a south London car park in 1987 with an axe in the back of his head. The case collapsed after 18 months of legal argument, during which it has been impossible for media to write about Rees's Fleet Street connections.
The ending of the trial means it is now possible for the first time to tell how Rees went to prison in December 2000 after a period of earning six-figure sums from the News of the World.
Rees, who had worked for the paper for seven years, was jailed for planting cocaine on a woman in order to discredit her during divorce proceedings. After his release from prison Rees, who had been bugged for six months by Scotland Yard because of his links with corrupt police officers, was rehired by the News of the World, which was being edited by Andy Coulson.
The revelations call into question David Cameron's judgment in choosing Coulson as director of communications at 10 Downing Street in May 2010. Both he and the deputy prime minister had been warned in March 2010 about Coulson's responsibility for rehiring Rees after his prison sentence.
Nick Clegg had been informed in detail about Jonathan Rees's murder charge, his prison sentence and his involvement with police corruption – and that he and three other private investigators had committed crimes for the News of the World while Coulson was deputy editor or editor.
In September 2002 the Guardian published a lengthy exposé of Rees's involvement with police corruption and illegal newsgathering. But since April 2008 the press have been prevented from revealing Rees's connections with the News of the World, or placing it in the context of News International's denials about any knowledge of illegal activity on behalf of the company. ...
Jonathan Rees was acquitted of the murder of his former business partner, Daniel Morgan, who was found in a south London car park in 1987 with an axe in the back of his head. The case collapsed after 18 months of legal argument, during which it has been impossible for media to write about Rees's Fleet Street connections.
The ending of the trial means it is now possible for the first time to tell how Rees went to prison in December 2000 after a period of earning six-figure sums from the News of the World.
Rees, who had worked for the paper for seven years, was jailed for planting cocaine on a woman in order to discredit her during divorce proceedings. After his release from prison Rees, who had been bugged for six months by Scotland Yard because of his links with corrupt police officers, was rehired by the News of the World, which was being edited by Andy Coulson.
The revelations call into question David Cameron's judgment in choosing Coulson as director of communications at 10 Downing Street in May 2010. Both he and the deputy prime minister had been warned in March 2010 about Coulson's responsibility for rehiring Rees after his prison sentence.
Nick Clegg had been informed in detail about Jonathan Rees's murder charge, his prison sentence and his involvement with police corruption – and that he and three other private investigators had committed crimes for the News of the World while Coulson was deputy editor or editor.
In September 2002 the Guardian published a lengthy exposé of Rees's involvement with police corruption and illegal newsgathering. But since April 2008 the press have been prevented from revealing Rees's connections with the News of the World, or placing it in the context of News International's denials about any knowledge of illegal activity on behalf of the company. ...
The money came pouring in. Jonathan Rees worked from a dingy office in south London. He lived in a cramped flat upstairs. He was divorced, overweight and foul-mouthed but his business was golden: he traded information. His sources may have been corrupt. His actions may have been illegal. But the money kept coming – from one golden source in particular. As Rees himself put it: "No one pays like the News of the World do."
There was only one problem with Rees's lucrative business. He had caught the eye of Scotland Yard's anti-corruption command who strongly suspected that he was paying bribes to various serving officers and, with great care and some skill, they had managed to place a covert listening device inside his office.
It was that bug which recorded him gloating about the pay he received from the News of the World. It also recorded the vivid detail of an empire of corruption, run with casual ease by Rees and his business partner, Sid Fillery – and liberally greased with cash from the News of the World and other Fleet Street titles. The News of the World alone was paying him more than £150,000 a year.
The listening device was placed in Rees's office in mid-April 1999. It did its job for only six months. In that short time, it provided one highly revealing chapter in a long tale of promiscuous criminality. Further chapters were provided by three other private investigators, all of whom worked separately for the News of the World, all of whom finally ended up in court, all of whom were publicly linked with illegal news-gathering.
Over the following years, the Guardian published a lengthy exposé of Rees's involvement with corrupt police and the procurement of confidential information for the News of the World; the Sunday tabloid's assistant editor is believed to have been arrested and accused of paying bribes to police and other key workers, although he was never charged; the paper was named in a London court as the paymaster for the purchase of information from the police national computer; Rees was jailed for a conspiracy to frame an innocent woman and then accused of conspiracy to murder.
And yet the man who became the prime minister's media adviser, Andy Coulson, has always maintained in evidence to parliament and on oath in court that he knew nothing of any illegal activity during the seven years he spent at the top of the News of the World. The entire story unfolded without ever catching his eye. In the same way, the prime minister and his deputy were happy to appoint Coulson last May to oversee the communication between the British government and its people, even though they were already fully aware of all the essential facts.
It begins with the bug....
There was only one problem with Rees's lucrative business. He had caught the eye of Scotland Yard's anti-corruption command who strongly suspected that he was paying bribes to various serving officers and, with great care and some skill, they had managed to place a covert listening device inside his office.
It was that bug which recorded him gloating about the pay he received from the News of the World. It also recorded the vivid detail of an empire of corruption, run with casual ease by Rees and his business partner, Sid Fillery – and liberally greased with cash from the News of the World and other Fleet Street titles. The News of the World alone was paying him more than £150,000 a year.
The listening device was placed in Rees's office in mid-April 1999. It did its job for only six months. In that short time, it provided one highly revealing chapter in a long tale of promiscuous criminality. Further chapters were provided by three other private investigators, all of whom worked separately for the News of the World, all of whom finally ended up in court, all of whom were publicly linked with illegal news-gathering.
Over the following years, the Guardian published a lengthy exposé of Rees's involvement with corrupt police and the procurement of confidential information for the News of the World; the Sunday tabloid's assistant editor is believed to have been arrested and accused of paying bribes to police and other key workers, although he was never charged; the paper was named in a London court as the paymaster for the purchase of information from the police national computer; Rees was jailed for a conspiracy to frame an innocent woman and then accused of conspiracy to murder.
And yet the man who became the prime minister's media adviser, Andy Coulson, has always maintained in evidence to parliament and on oath in court that he knew nothing of any illegal activity during the seven years he spent at the top of the News of the World. The entire story unfolded without ever catching his eye. In the same way, the prime minister and his deputy were happy to appoint Coulson last May to oversee the communication between the British government and its people, even though they were already fully aware of all the essential facts.
It begins with the bug....
Nick Davies, the Guardian journalist who revealed the News of the World had made a series of legal payments to hide the full extent of the phone-hacking scandal, wrote to the paper's former editor Andy Coulson on 23 February last year.
He put a series of allegations to Coulson, who was then head of the communications for the Conservative party. At the time of Davies' letter, the Guardian could not reveal the full extent of the phone-hacking affair because one of the private investigators who had worked for the paper was facing a murder charge.
The email containing the charges was sent two months before the general election. Both David Cameron and Nick Clegg – later to be prime minister and deputy prime minister – knew about the allegations. Despite that, Cameron appointed Coulson as his director of communications in Downing Street in May 2010. Coulson resigned in January this year. ...
He put a series of allegations to Coulson, who was then head of the communications for the Conservative party. At the time of Davies' letter, the Guardian could not reveal the full extent of the phone-hacking affair because one of the private investigators who had worked for the paper was facing a murder charge.
The email containing the charges was sent two months before the general election. Both David Cameron and Nick Clegg – later to be prime minister and deputy prime minister – knew about the allegations. Despite that, Cameron appointed Coulson as his director of communications in Downing Street in May 2010. Coulson resigned in January this year. ...
Corporations and interest groups have channelled more than £1.6m to MPs and lords in the past year through sponsorship of parliamentary groups, a Guardian investigation can reveal.
Parliamentary reformers given access to the Guardian's findings have called on the coalition government to take action to prevent all-party groups acting as "mere front groups for lobbyists to buy influence".
Westminster has more than 450 all-party political groups, semi-official entities around particular subjects or countries, ranging from groups on asthma and autism, to the parliamentary choir and rowing team.
The Guardian has found 283 of these groups receive financial support from outside interests, including:
• £60,000 support for the parliamentary choir from BT
• £52,000 from drink and pub companies for the beer group
• £16,000 for the parliamentary boat race from Siemens
Other benefits are less quantifiable: the members of the all-party wine and spirits group, co-chaired by former Tory shadow minister Geoffrey Clifton-Brown and new Labour MP Ian Mearns, receive corkage, refreshment and wine tasting thanks to the largesse of the Wine and Spirits Trade Association. Some sporting groups, such as the athletics or rugby league groups, receive free tickets to matches.
Benefits of a less indulgent nature are offered to the parliamentary slimming group, whose members include Ed Vaizey and David Amess: they are entitled to receive free Slimming World membership, worth £290 a year.
Conservative MP Douglas Carswell, an outspoken advocate for parliamentary reform, says constituents should make the judgment on whether such fringe benefits are legitimate.
"I don't know whether it's legitimate for companies to hand out, say, sports tickets to MPs," he said. "But if my constituents can see clearly and easily what I have received, sunlight is the best disinfectant. The public will quickly rule what they think is acceptable. It's for them to decide, not a group of Westminster grandees." ...
Parliamentary reformers given access to the Guardian's findings have called on the coalition government to take action to prevent all-party groups acting as "mere front groups for lobbyists to buy influence".
Westminster has more than 450 all-party political groups, semi-official entities around particular subjects or countries, ranging from groups on asthma and autism, to the parliamentary choir and rowing team.
The Guardian has found 283 of these groups receive financial support from outside interests, including:
• £60,000 support for the parliamentary choir from BT
• £52,000 from drink and pub companies for the beer group
• £16,000 for the parliamentary boat race from Siemens
Other benefits are less quantifiable: the members of the all-party wine and spirits group, co-chaired by former Tory shadow minister Geoffrey Clifton-Brown and new Labour MP Ian Mearns, receive corkage, refreshment and wine tasting thanks to the largesse of the Wine and Spirits Trade Association. Some sporting groups, such as the athletics or rugby league groups, receive free tickets to matches.
Benefits of a less indulgent nature are offered to the parliamentary slimming group, whose members include Ed Vaizey and David Amess: they are entitled to receive free Slimming World membership, worth £290 a year.
Conservative MP Douglas Carswell, an outspoken advocate for parliamentary reform, says constituents should make the judgment on whether such fringe benefits are legitimate.
"I don't know whether it's legitimate for companies to hand out, say, sports tickets to MPs," he said. "But if my constituents can see clearly and easily what I have received, sunlight is the best disinfectant. The public will quickly rule what they think is acceptable. It's for them to decide, not a group of Westminster grandees." ...
The chairman of the right-wing current affairs channel, Fox News, Roger Ailes, has been named in court documents as the previously anonymous executive who allegedly tried to persuade a fellow boss at News Corporation to lie to federal investigators over a crucial Washington appointment.
The New York Times reported court documents had become available that for the first time name Ailes as the mysterious executive involved in the allegations. The claims were initially made in November 2007 by Judith Regan, one of Rupert Murdoch's rising stars in News Corporation until she was dismissed the previous year in a row over her decision to publish a book with OJ Simpson.
In her unfair dismissal claim against her former employers, Regan claimed that a News Corporation senior executive had tried to secure her silence during the process to vet Bernard Kerik as the US head of homeland security. Regan had been having an affair with Kerik, and she alleged in her lawsuit that the unnamed executive had wanted her to keep quiet about it during the vetting procedure in order to protect Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor who had appointed Kerik as New York police commissioner and was Kerik's main supporter. Giuliani was at the time considering a run for the White House in 2008 and the revelations could have rubbed off adversely on him.
The identity of the executive has long been a topic of speculation in New York media circles. Now, according to the New York Times, the mystery is solved as Ailes is named in a separate court case in 2008.
The court documents reveal his identity and, even more sensationally, say that there is a tape recording of Ailes's conversation with Regan in which he seeks to secure her co-operation. However, there are no transcripts of the conversation. ...
The New York Times reported court documents had become available that for the first time name Ailes as the mysterious executive involved in the allegations. The claims were initially made in November 2007 by Judith Regan, one of Rupert Murdoch's rising stars in News Corporation until she was dismissed the previous year in a row over her decision to publish a book with OJ Simpson.
In her unfair dismissal claim against her former employers, Regan claimed that a News Corporation senior executive had tried to secure her silence during the process to vet Bernard Kerik as the US head of homeland security. Regan had been having an affair with Kerik, and she alleged in her lawsuit that the unnamed executive had wanted her to keep quiet about it during the vetting procedure in order to protect Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor who had appointed Kerik as New York police commissioner and was Kerik's main supporter. Giuliani was at the time considering a run for the White House in 2008 and the revelations could have rubbed off adversely on him.
The identity of the executive has long been a topic of speculation in New York media circles. Now, according to the New York Times, the mystery is solved as Ailes is named in a separate court case in 2008.
The court documents reveal his identity and, even more sensationally, say that there is a tape recording of Ailes's conversation with Regan in which he seeks to secure her co-operation. However, there are no transcripts of the conversation. ...
It is not the sex or sleaze swirling around Silvio Berlusconi that irks Matteo Renzi most. "I checked, and he is only six years younger than my granny," said the leftwing mayor of Florence who, at the tender age of 36, is being tipped as the man to clean up Italy if and when Berlusconi's creaking rule collapses.
As the Italian prime minister, 74, prepares to go on trial on suspicion of paying an underage girl for sex, Renzi is basking in ratings revealing he is the country's most popular mayor. He is now building national backing with a 20-city tour promoting his book calling for a dramatic generational change in Italian politics. Its title? Fuori! (Out!)
"When Italy hosted international summits in 1994, 2001 and 2009, John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown were Britain's prime ministers, but Berlusconi was there every time," Renzi, a member of the centre-left Democratic party, told the Observer. "We need to send a whole generation of politicians into retirement and I am just one of many demanding we turn a page."
Renzi has yet to make the leap to the national stage, but for many it is just a matter of time. In an attempt to drive home his ambitions and youthful credentials, he held a book launch in Florence this month at which he preached change over a U2 soundtrack and prowled the stage before 1,000 fans. It was a far cry from Berlusconi's idea of connecting with young people, which allegedly consists of groping topless girls as they cavort at his private soirées and sending out emissaries to scour beauty contests for a fresh stock of "virgins ready to sacrifice themselves to the dragon", as his wife put it before leaving him.
Last week the allegations of sleaze and debauchery took a dramatic turn in favour of Berlusconi's critics as he was ordered to stand trial, before three female judges, in April. But the media mogul shows no sign of resigning and is beefing up his support in parliament. ...
As the Italian prime minister, 74, prepares to go on trial on suspicion of paying an underage girl for sex, Renzi is basking in ratings revealing he is the country's most popular mayor. He is now building national backing with a 20-city tour promoting his book calling for a dramatic generational change in Italian politics. Its title? Fuori! (Out!)
"When Italy hosted international summits in 1994, 2001 and 2009, John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown were Britain's prime ministers, but Berlusconi was there every time," Renzi, a member of the centre-left Democratic party, told the Observer. "We need to send a whole generation of politicians into retirement and I am just one of many demanding we turn a page."
Renzi has yet to make the leap to the national stage, but for many it is just a matter of time. In an attempt to drive home his ambitions and youthful credentials, he held a book launch in Florence this month at which he preached change over a U2 soundtrack and prowled the stage before 1,000 fans. It was a far cry from Berlusconi's idea of connecting with young people, which allegedly consists of groping topless girls as they cavort at his private soirées and sending out emissaries to scour beauty contests for a fresh stock of "virgins ready to sacrifice themselves to the dragon", as his wife put it before leaving him.
Last week the allegations of sleaze and debauchery took a dramatic turn in favour of Berlusconi's critics as he was ordered to stand trial, before three female judges, in April. But the media mogul shows no sign of resigning and is beefing up his support in parliament. ...
Geppi Calcara, a Sicilian archivist, was there with her friend and 11-year-old daughter "because we're tired of our children living in a society of non-values", she said. "We find it really difficult to bring up our children with the values they're learning."
Behind her, the Piazza del Popolo in Rome was filling up with tens of thousands of women, and many men who had arrived with their wives or girlfriends.
"There are lots of us," said Calcara. "But we're not visible. The privately-owned TV channels, which belong to [Silvio] Berlusconi, and all but one of the [state-owned] RAI channels, manipulate the news. So people know nothing, or only half, of what is happening."
On Sunday, Italians dismayed by the prime minister and his antics got a chance to show their feelings in a way that even his television network will find difficult to ignore. Thousands of them assembled in piazzas from the foothills of the Alps to the tip of Sicily and in cities from Auckland to Zurich.
"We're more than a million across the world," the actor Angela Finocchiaro told the crowd in the Piazza del Popolo. And though that claim may be disputed, there was plenty of evidence to suggest the numbers ran to several hundreds of thousands.
The posters for the demonstration proclaimed it was being held in support of "a country that respects women". That the need should be felt for such a protest in Europe, 11 years into the 21st century and several decades after Italy spawned one of the continent's most lively feminist movements is, in part at least, evidence of the impact of Berlusconi and his media empire. Last week, the 74-year-old prime minister learned that prosecutors had asked for his indictment on charges of paying an underage sex worker and abusing his official position when she was arrested. He denies any wrongdoing.
His Mediaset network has for years thrived on supplying the public with schedules that are long on glitzy variety programmes and quiz shows that feature so-called veline – young, pretty women in scanty costumes whose most demanding duty in most cases is to hold up a score card.
But RAI too uses veline, and both networks reflect attitudes in society as much as create them. The posters for the demonstration were printed on a pink background without anyone apparently thinking that was patronising.
Unlike Spanish, Italian has not been altered by the change in relations between the sexes, so the words for positions of authority – chief, minister, lawyer and so on – have no have feminine forms.
According to the World Economic Forum's latest global gender gap report, Italy ranked 74th out of 134 countries surveyed — 33 places below Kazakhstan. It scored particularly badly on economic participation and opportunity. Less than half of Italian women have a job and the notion that they should not return to paid work after having a child is still widespread. ...
Behind her, the Piazza del Popolo in Rome was filling up with tens of thousands of women, and many men who had arrived with their wives or girlfriends.
"There are lots of us," said Calcara. "But we're not visible. The privately-owned TV channels, which belong to [Silvio] Berlusconi, and all but one of the [state-owned] RAI channels, manipulate the news. So people know nothing, or only half, of what is happening."
On Sunday, Italians dismayed by the prime minister and his antics got a chance to show their feelings in a way that even his television network will find difficult to ignore. Thousands of them assembled in piazzas from the foothills of the Alps to the tip of Sicily and in cities from Auckland to Zurich.
"We're more than a million across the world," the actor Angela Finocchiaro told the crowd in the Piazza del Popolo. And though that claim may be disputed, there was plenty of evidence to suggest the numbers ran to several hundreds of thousands.
The posters for the demonstration proclaimed it was being held in support of "a country that respects women". That the need should be felt for such a protest in Europe, 11 years into the 21st century and several decades after Italy spawned one of the continent's most lively feminist movements is, in part at least, evidence of the impact of Berlusconi and his media empire. Last week, the 74-year-old prime minister learned that prosecutors had asked for his indictment on charges of paying an underage sex worker and abusing his official position when she was arrested. He denies any wrongdoing.
His Mediaset network has for years thrived on supplying the public with schedules that are long on glitzy variety programmes and quiz shows that feature so-called veline – young, pretty women in scanty costumes whose most demanding duty in most cases is to hold up a score card.
But RAI too uses veline, and both networks reflect attitudes in society as much as create them. The posters for the demonstration were printed on a pink background without anyone apparently thinking that was patronising.
Unlike Spanish, Italian has not been altered by the change in relations between the sexes, so the words for positions of authority – chief, minister, lawyer and so on – have no have feminine forms.
According to the World Economic Forum's latest global gender gap report, Italy ranked 74th out of 134 countries surveyed — 33 places below Kazakhstan. It scored particularly badly on economic participation and opportunity. Less than half of Italian women have a job and the notion that they should not return to paid work after having a child is still widespread. ...
Britain's fastest-growing protest movement is to target scores of high street banks in the next stage of its campaign against government cuts and corporate tax avoidance.
Activists from UK Uncut have, over the past five months, caused the temporary closure of more than 100 branches of high street stores accused of avoiding millions of pounds in tax.
The group will stage its first national day of action against UK banks on 19 February.
"The idea this time is not to shut these places down but to open up high street banks, occupying them and using them for things that may be more useful for the community," said Daniel Garvin from the group.
He and other protesters have mobilised thousands of activists using the Twitter hashtag #UKuncut since the group was formed in October.
The protests, which come as banks reveal multimillion-pound bonus packages over the next few weeks, will involve a range of peaceful – and creative – direct actions.
"If libraries are being closed in their area, people may decide to stage a read-in in the bank," said Garvin.
"The housing benefit cap means people are losing their homes, so some groups may opt for a sleep-in. Theatres are being shut, so others have talked about staging a play.
"Health provision is being cut, so what about setting up a walk-in clinic? Education funding is being savaged so how about holding a lecture series?" ...
Activists from UK Uncut have, over the past five months, caused the temporary closure of more than 100 branches of high street stores accused of avoiding millions of pounds in tax.
The group will stage its first national day of action against UK banks on 19 February.
"The idea this time is not to shut these places down but to open up high street banks, occupying them and using them for things that may be more useful for the community," said Daniel Garvin from the group.
He and other protesters have mobilised thousands of activists using the Twitter hashtag #UKuncut since the group was formed in October.
The protests, which come as banks reveal multimillion-pound bonus packages over the next few weeks, will involve a range of peaceful – and creative – direct actions.
"If libraries are being closed in their area, people may decide to stage a read-in in the bank," said Garvin.
"The housing benefit cap means people are losing their homes, so some groups may opt for a sleep-in. Theatres are being shut, so others have talked about staging a play.
"Health provision is being cut, so what about setting up a walk-in clinic? Education funding is being savaged so how about holding a lecture series?" ...
George Osborne's efforts to end the war on bankers were crumbling as Vince Cable, the business secretary, said he was still determined to end "unjustified and outrageous" salaries in the sector and his Liberal Democrat ally Lord Oakeshott left his party's frontbench after damning the government's attempts to curb bonuses.
Oakeshott, who was not in the government but spoke for the junior coalition partner on Treasury matters in the Lords, stood down shortly after he criticised officials working on the government's deal with the bankers and said: "If this is robust action on bank bonuses, my name's Bob Diamond."
Danny Alexander, the Lib Dem chief secretary to the Treasury, said Oakeshott had stood down by mutual consent.
Osborne hailed his deal as the moment to move beyond retribution to economic recovery. ...
Oakeshott, who was not in the government but spoke for the junior coalition partner on Treasury matters in the Lords, stood down shortly after he criticised officials working on the government's deal with the bankers and said: "If this is robust action on bank bonuses, my name's Bob Diamond."
Danny Alexander, the Lib Dem chief secretary to the Treasury, said Oakeshott had stood down by mutual consent.
Osborne hailed his deal as the moment to move beyond retribution to economic recovery. ...
Silvio Berlusconi has raised the spectre of a full-scale constitutional showdown in Italy after prosecutors in Milan asked for him to be put on trial immediately, charged with sex-related offences.
Italy's prime minister accused them of breaking the law and going against parliament. Soon afterwards his chief ally, Umberto Bossi of the Northern League, said the indictment request marked the start of a "total war" between Italy's judiciary and its legislature.
Berlusconi and his allies have argued that the case should have been dropped last week after a vote in the lower house of parliament, where they have a narrow majority. The house adopted a resolution that meant, in effect, that the prosecutors had no right to pursue their investigation.
Milan's chief prosecutor, Edmondo Bruti Liberati, said his colleagues had asked for the prime minister to be put in the dock without a preliminary hearing because of the "obviousness of the evidence" against him.
A judge, Cristina Di Censo, is expected to rule early next week on the prosecutors' application. If it is granted, Berlusconi could be put on trial as early as April.
The latest move piled yet more pressure on the media tycoon-turned-conservative politician, whose Freedom People movement was hit by a split last year. His government has since survived two make-or-break confidence votes in parliament, but it is struggling to pass legislation Bossi has said is essential to the Northern League's continued support. ...
Italy's prime minister accused them of breaking the law and going against parliament. Soon afterwards his chief ally, Umberto Bossi of the Northern League, said the indictment request marked the start of a "total war" between Italy's judiciary and its legislature.
Berlusconi and his allies have argued that the case should have been dropped last week after a vote in the lower house of parliament, where they have a narrow majority. The house adopted a resolution that meant, in effect, that the prosecutors had no right to pursue their investigation.
Milan's chief prosecutor, Edmondo Bruti Liberati, said his colleagues had asked for the prime minister to be put in the dock without a preliminary hearing because of the "obviousness of the evidence" against him.
A judge, Cristina Di Censo, is expected to rule early next week on the prosecutors' application. If it is granted, Berlusconi could be put on trial as early as April.
The latest move piled yet more pressure on the media tycoon-turned-conservative politician, whose Freedom People movement was hit by a split last year. His government has since survived two make-or-break confidence votes in parliament, but it is struggling to pass legislation Bossi has said is essential to the Northern League's continued support. ...
Financiers in the City of London provided more than 50% of the funding for the Tories last year, new research revealed last night, prompting claims that the party is in thrall to the banks.
A study by the Bureau for Investigative Journalism has found that the City accounted for £11.4m of Tory funding – 50.79% of its total haul – in 2010, a general election year. This compared with £2.7m, or 25% of its funding, in 2005, when David Cameron became party leader.
The research also shows that nearly 60 donors gave more than £50,000 to the Tories last year, entitling each of them to a face-to-face meeting with leading members of the party up to and including Cameron.
The study shows the impact that Michael Spencer has had on party funding. He was appointed by Cameron as Tory treasurer in an attempt to reduce the influence of Lord Ashcroft, the party's former deputy chairman. Spencer was asked by Cameron to increase the number of relatively small donations of £50,000 to curb the influence of large donors such as Ashcroft, and for these smaller donations the City was place to look.
But there were still big City donations last year. David "Spotty" Rowland gave more than £4m. Stanley Fink, a hedge fund manager who was appointed the Tory treasurer last year in succession to Spencer, gave £1.9m while George Magan gave £485,000. Magan was also given a peerage. ...
A study by the Bureau for Investigative Journalism has found that the City accounted for £11.4m of Tory funding – 50.79% of its total haul – in 2010, a general election year. This compared with £2.7m, or 25% of its funding, in 2005, when David Cameron became party leader.
The research also shows that nearly 60 donors gave more than £50,000 to the Tories last year, entitling each of them to a face-to-face meeting with leading members of the party up to and including Cameron.
The study shows the impact that Michael Spencer has had on party funding. He was appointed by Cameron as Tory treasurer in an attempt to reduce the influence of Lord Ashcroft, the party's former deputy chairman. Spencer was asked by Cameron to increase the number of relatively small donations of £50,000 to curb the influence of large donors such as Ashcroft, and for these smaller donations the City was place to look.
But there were still big City donations last year. David "Spotty" Rowland gave more than £4m. Stanley Fink, a hedge fund manager who was appointed the Tory treasurer last year in succession to Spencer, gave £1.9m while George Magan gave £485,000. Magan was also given a peerage. ...
Disgraced Eric Illsley has finally quit as an MP, weeks after being convicted of fiddling his expenses.
Treasury sources confirmed that Illsley had been granted the ceremonial post of crown steward and bailiff of the three Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke, Desborough and Burnham – the traditional way of resigning from parliament.
Labour is planning to trigger a by-election in his Barnsley Central seat on March 3.
Illsley is due to be sentenced on Thursday after admitting dishonestly claiming £14,000 of expenses on 11 January.
He could theoretically have stayed on as an MP with a jail term of less than 12 months.
However, following heavy pressure Illsley expressed "deep regret" over his actions and said he would quit before the court decided his fate. He is believed to have been receiving his £65,000 a year parliamentary salary over the past month – meaning he will have pocketed roughly £5,400 since being convicted. ...
Treasury sources confirmed that Illsley had been granted the ceremonial post of crown steward and bailiff of the three Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke, Desborough and Burnham – the traditional way of resigning from parliament.
Labour is planning to trigger a by-election in his Barnsley Central seat on March 3.
Illsley is due to be sentenced on Thursday after admitting dishonestly claiming £14,000 of expenses on 11 January.
He could theoretically have stayed on as an MP with a jail term of less than 12 months.
However, following heavy pressure Illsley expressed "deep regret" over his actions and said he would quit before the court decided his fate. He is believed to have been receiving his £65,000 a year parliamentary salary over the past month – meaning he will have pocketed roughly £5,400 since being convicted. ...
Sir George Young, the leader of the house of Commons, today delivered a devastating critique of the expenses watchdog as it published the latest tranche of claims, naming and shaming 125 MPs who had claims rejected.
The list includes the ministers Ed Davey, Ed Vaizey Maria Miller and Peter Luff and Labour grandees, among them Jack Straw and Harriet Harman.
The Conservative MP for Loughborough, Nicky Morgan, had a £77 claim for hosting a "big society" reception rejected, though it was subsequently resubmitted and paid, and her colleague in Hereford, Jesse Norman, had the largest sum rejected – £1,504.01 for furniture for his office.
Overall, the rejected claims amounted to just £15,352 out of the total £3.64m expenses bill for September and October.
The number of MPs rejected has fallen substantially compared with the first four months of the new scheme, which was introduced to clean up the expenses system after the scandal that rocked parliament in 2009.
But today is the first time those who have had their expenses rejected have been named.
Young published his official response to a consultation on the future of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) moments before the latest tranche of expenses was revealed.
In it, he accused Ipsa of "failing" to support MPs in their work, and said it had "unsatisfactory features" which are "at best distracting, and at worst impeding".
He called for widespread reforms, but insisted Ipsa should remain independent of the House of Commons. It is understood that the prime minister, David Cameron, has seen the document. ...
The list includes the ministers Ed Davey, Ed Vaizey Maria Miller and Peter Luff and Labour grandees, among them Jack Straw and Harriet Harman.
The Conservative MP for Loughborough, Nicky Morgan, had a £77 claim for hosting a "big society" reception rejected, though it was subsequently resubmitted and paid, and her colleague in Hereford, Jesse Norman, had the largest sum rejected – £1,504.01 for furniture for his office.
Overall, the rejected claims amounted to just £15,352 out of the total £3.64m expenses bill for September and October.
The number of MPs rejected has fallen substantially compared with the first four months of the new scheme, which was introduced to clean up the expenses system after the scandal that rocked parliament in 2009.
But today is the first time those who have had their expenses rejected have been named.
Young published his official response to a consultation on the future of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) moments before the latest tranche of expenses was revealed.
In it, he accused Ipsa of "failing" to support MPs in their work, and said it had "unsatisfactory features" which are "at best distracting, and at worst impeding".
He called for widespread reforms, but insisted Ipsa should remain independent of the House of Commons. It is understood that the prime minister, David Cameron, has seen the document. ...
Former Labour MP Jim Devine, accused of submitting false invoices for parliamentary expenses, claimed the cash to clear his overdraft, a court heard yesterday.
Devine, 57, who represented Livingston in Scotland, is alleged to have submitted five false invoices for cleaning and maintenance work to his London flat, and two false documents to claim for printing leaflets, totalling almost £9,000. But, Southwark crown court in London heard, none of the work was carried out. When confronted Devine tried to blame a secretary who he said was trying to frame him.
Devine, whose main residence was in Bathgate, West Lothian, denies two counts of false accounting. Peter Wright QC, prosecuting, told jurors the case was "very straightforward". Devine was almost always overdrawn. One invoice for £2,400 was sufficient to "extinguish his overdraft" but only for a day.
"This was, we say, quite a memorable event as it was the only day in the history of his bank account between July 2008 and May 2009 when he was actually in funds," said Wright. The following month he was in £8,000 debt, and is said to have submitted another claim, this time for £3,105.
It is alleged between July 2008 and May 2009 Devine dishonestly claimed £3,240 for cleaning services from Tom O'Donnell Hygiene and Cleaning Services, a company run by the landlord of Devine's local pub in south-east London.
Although a cleaner employed by O'Donnell did some cleaning work at the flat, Devine carried on using a blank invoice given to him by the publican to claim for further work that was not done.
Invoices totalling £5,505 were claimed for stationery from Armstrong Printing Ltd, but, said Wright, "the invoices were fiction. No such costs had been incurred."
Rules and regulations on submitting expenses were set out in the Green Book, a guide listing the fundamental principles MPs should adhere to when making claims. "These are based on concepts of selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership," said Wright. "We say these are qualities of which Mr Devine demonstrated a woeful inadequacy." ...
Devine, 57, who represented Livingston in Scotland, is alleged to have submitted five false invoices for cleaning and maintenance work to his London flat, and two false documents to claim for printing leaflets, totalling almost £9,000. But, Southwark crown court in London heard, none of the work was carried out. When confronted Devine tried to blame a secretary who he said was trying to frame him.
Devine, whose main residence was in Bathgate, West Lothian, denies two counts of false accounting. Peter Wright QC, prosecuting, told jurors the case was "very straightforward". Devine was almost always overdrawn. One invoice for £2,400 was sufficient to "extinguish his overdraft" but only for a day.
"This was, we say, quite a memorable event as it was the only day in the history of his bank account between July 2008 and May 2009 when he was actually in funds," said Wright. The following month he was in £8,000 debt, and is said to have submitted another claim, this time for £3,105.
It is alleged between July 2008 and May 2009 Devine dishonestly claimed £3,240 for cleaning services from Tom O'Donnell Hygiene and Cleaning Services, a company run by the landlord of Devine's local pub in south-east London.
Although a cleaner employed by O'Donnell did some cleaning work at the flat, Devine carried on using a blank invoice given to him by the publican to claim for further work that was not done.
Invoices totalling £5,505 were claimed for stationery from Armstrong Printing Ltd, but, said Wright, "the invoices were fiction. No such costs had been incurred."
Rules and regulations on submitting expenses were set out in the Green Book, a guide listing the fundamental principles MPs should adhere to when making claims. "These are based on concepts of selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership," said Wright. "We say these are qualities of which Mr Devine demonstrated a woeful inadequacy." ...
Silvio Berlusconi to face charges as early as next week, prosecutors say | World news | The Guardian
Prosecutors investigating Silvio Berlusconi said today that they were expecting to recommend the Italian prime minister be charged with abusing his position to cover up allegations that he had paid an underage prostitute.
In a move that will electrify the country's already tense political situation, Milan's chief prosecutor, Edmondo Bruti Liberati, who has overseen the investigation into Berlusconi, said a request for an immediate indictment would be submitted to a judge "most likely on Monday or Tuesday".
The prime minister is formally suspected of paying for an underage prostitute and abusing his official position to cover it up. Together, the offences carry a maximum sentence of 15 years.
Prosecutors met to discuss whether they should seek Berlusconi's immediate indictment on both charges, or only the second. A trial on juvenile prostitution charges is normally preceded by committal proceedings.
News of the impending request came as it was reported that the girl at the centre of the investigation is pregnant and has plans to marry. The web site of the weekly magazine Oggi quoted well-informed sources as saying Karima el-Mahroug, a Moroccan runaway who visited Berlusconi's home while still 17 years old, was two months pregnant. The magazine had earlier said that she and her boyfriend had published their marriage ban[n]s in his native Genoa. ...
In a move that will electrify the country's already tense political situation, Milan's chief prosecutor, Edmondo Bruti Liberati, who has overseen the investigation into Berlusconi, said a request for an immediate indictment would be submitted to a judge "most likely on Monday or Tuesday".
The prime minister is formally suspected of paying for an underage prostitute and abusing his official position to cover it up. Together, the offences carry a maximum sentence of 15 years.
Prosecutors met to discuss whether they should seek Berlusconi's immediate indictment on both charges, or only the second. A trial on juvenile prostitution charges is normally preceded by committal proceedings.
News of the impending request came as it was reported that the girl at the centre of the investigation is pregnant and has plans to marry. The web site of the weekly magazine Oggi quoted well-informed sources as saying Karima el-Mahroug, a Moroccan runaway who visited Berlusconi's home while still 17 years old, was two months pregnant. The magazine had earlier said that she and her boyfriend had published their marriage ban[n]s in his native Genoa. ...
The ancient sport of sumo wrestling was today bracing itself for a fresh assault on its reputation, after police said they had found evidence of match-fixing on several wrestlers' mobile phones.
Japanese media reports said the text messages showed the wrestlers had gone as far as agreeing which winning moves would be used during bouts, and how the losing opponent should fall.
The messages were found on phones belonging to wrestlers in sumo's second division, the Kyodo news agency said. The phones had been confiscated during an investigation into allegations of illegal gambling involving scores of wrestlers that surfaced last year.
They suggested that match-fixing was common in the 2,000-year-old sport, with hundreds of thousands of yen resting on the outcome of a single bout.
The Japan sumo association summoned one elder and nine wrestlers, including three from the top division, to an emergency meeting to discuss the allegations.
"We are examining the situation," the association's chairman, Hanaregoma, said.
Reports suggested the police would not take action against the wrestlers, as match-fixing is not illegal and there was no evidence that anyone had bet on the predetermined bouts. ...
Japanese media reports said the text messages showed the wrestlers had gone as far as agreeing which winning moves would be used during bouts, and how the losing opponent should fall.
The messages were found on phones belonging to wrestlers in sumo's second division, the Kyodo news agency said. The phones had been confiscated during an investigation into allegations of illegal gambling involving scores of wrestlers that surfaced last year.
They suggested that match-fixing was common in the 2,000-year-old sport, with hundreds of thousands of yen resting on the outcome of a single bout.
The Japan sumo association summoned one elder and nine wrestlers, including three from the top division, to an emergency meeting to discuss the allegations.
"We are examining the situation," the association's chairman, Hanaregoma, said.
Reports suggested the police would not take action against the wrestlers, as match-fixing is not illegal and there was no evidence that anyone had bet on the predetermined bouts. ...
María Ester García Polanco, one of the women at the centre of the scandal engulfing the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, is bouncing her daughter on her knee – but that doesn't mean she's not a worried woman.
"With the newspapers full of this story, I am concerned about my child and what other mothers are saying at school," says the 27-year-old model and showgirl. Two weeks ago police woke her at 6am to search for evidence that she was accepting cash gifts and free rent from the Italian prime minister, allegedly in return for sexual favours.
Since then journalists have laid siege to the smart apartment complex on the fringes of Milan that is home to María and a "stable" of other beautiful women, all suspected of participating in Berlusconi's alleged "bunga bunga" nights of striptease and sex at his villa an hour's drive to the north.
The investigation into the prime minister's sexual activities, following suspicions that Berlusconi paid an underage Moroccan dancer, Karima El-Mahroug, thousands of euros for sex when she was 17, is deadly serious. But its ramifications took on a tragi-comic dimension when the owners of the Via Olgettina apartment complex tried to evict the models for "lowering the tone" of the neighbourhood. That eviction notice has been shelved, but the journalists remain. ...
"With the newspapers full of this story, I am concerned about my child and what other mothers are saying at school," says the 27-year-old model and showgirl. Two weeks ago police woke her at 6am to search for evidence that she was accepting cash gifts and free rent from the Italian prime minister, allegedly in return for sexual favours.
Since then journalists have laid siege to the smart apartment complex on the fringes of Milan that is home to María and a "stable" of other beautiful women, all suspected of participating in Berlusconi's alleged "bunga bunga" nights of striptease and sex at his villa an hour's drive to the north.
The investigation into the prime minister's sexual activities, following suspicions that Berlusconi paid an underage Moroccan dancer, Karima El-Mahroug, thousands of euros for sex when she was 17, is deadly serious. But its ramifications took on a tragi-comic dimension when the owners of the Via Olgettina apartment complex tried to evict the models for "lowering the tone" of the neighbourhood. That eviction notice has been shelved, but the journalists remain. ...
The mayor of Ciudad Juárez has accused federal police of killing one of his bodyguards in an incident that underlines the growing tension between the different authorities in Mexico's drug war capital.
Héctor Murguía Lardizábal said the incident happened while he was having supper with a priest in the centre of the beleaguered border city on Monday. The mayor said his bodyguards had set up a security perimeter around the building when hooded federal officers – who are claiming the incident was an act of self defence – approached two of his men stationed at a street corner.
"My bodyguard, accompanied by another, identified himself, raised his hands and was shot in the head," Murguía told reporters. "That's a murder." ...
Héctor Murguía Lardizábal said the incident happened while he was having supper with a priest in the centre of the beleaguered border city on Monday. The mayor said his bodyguards had set up a security perimeter around the building when hooded federal officers – who are claiming the incident was an act of self defence – approached two of his men stationed at a street corner.
"My bodyguard, accompanied by another, identified himself, raised his hands and was shot in the head," Murguía told reporters. "That's a murder." ...
Kosovo's prime minister, Hashim Thaçi, has been identified as one of the "biggest fish" in organised crime in his country, according to western military intelligence reports leaked to the Guardian.
The Nato documents, which are marked "Secret", indicate that the US and other western powers backing Kosovo's government have had extensive knowledge of its criminal connections for several years.
They also identify another senior ruling politician in Kosovo as having links to the Albanian mafia, stating that he exerts considerable control over Thaçi, a former guerrilla leader.
Marked "USA KFOR", they provide detailed information about organised criminal networks in Kosovo based on reports by western intelligence agencies and informants. The geographical spread of Kosovo's criminal gangs is set out, alongside details of alleged familial and business links.
The Council of Europe is tomorrow expected to formally demand an investigation into claims that Thaçi was the head of a "mafia-like" network responsible for smuggling weapons, drugs and human organs during and after the 1998-99 Kosovo war. ...
The Nato documents, which are marked "Secret", indicate that the US and other western powers backing Kosovo's government have had extensive knowledge of its criminal connections for several years.
They also identify another senior ruling politician in Kosovo as having links to the Albanian mafia, stating that he exerts considerable control over Thaçi, a former guerrilla leader.
Marked "USA KFOR", they provide detailed information about organised criminal networks in Kosovo based on reports by western intelligence agencies and informants. The geographical spread of Kosovo's criminal gangs is set out, alongside details of alleged familial and business links.
The Council of Europe is tomorrow expected to formally demand an investigation into claims that Thaçi was the head of a "mafia-like" network responsible for smuggling weapons, drugs and human organs during and after the 1998-99 Kosovo war. ...
Nearly a third of Zimbabwe's 5.5m registered voters are dead, research has found. Others appear to be up to 120 years old, improbably outstripping the country's average life expectancy of 43.
The independent Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) said the country's electoral roll was a "shambles" and should be overhauled before fresh elections, which could be held this year.
A new electoral register is a key demand of the Movement for Democratic Change , which has accused President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party of counting "ghost voters" in its own favour.
After conducting an audit of the roll, the ZESN reported that 27% of people registered to vote were dead.
"The computer test revealed that 2,344 people born between 1901 and 1909, therefore aged between 101 and 110 years, were on the voters' roll," it said. "Nine people born between 1890 and 1900, aged between 111 and 120 years, are registered voters."
Life expectancy in Zimbabwe is 43 years, according to the World Health Organisation. Mugabe will soon turn 87. ...
The independent Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) said the country's electoral roll was a "shambles" and should be overhauled before fresh elections, which could be held this year.
A new electoral register is a key demand of the Movement for Democratic Change , which has accused President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party of counting "ghost voters" in its own favour.
After conducting an audit of the roll, the ZESN reported that 27% of people registered to vote were dead.
"The computer test revealed that 2,344 people born between 1901 and 1909, therefore aged between 101 and 110 years, were on the voters' roll," it said. "Nine people born between 1890 and 1900, aged between 111 and 120 years, are registered voters."
Life expectancy in Zimbabwe is 43 years, according to the World Health Organisation. Mugabe will soon turn 87. ...
A "significant" number of women had sex with the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, for money at his residence near Milan, prosecutors alleged in a document published today.
Investigators also claim to have "ample investigative evidence" that Berlusconi provided free flats to the women at a Milan housing complex which he built in the 1970s before he entered politics.
Berlusconi is under investigation on suspicion of paying for sex last year with Karima el-Mahroug, a Moroccan belly dancer, when she was 17, an offence under Italian law. He is also suspected of pressuring police into freeing Mahroug from custody when she was arrested on suspicion of theft.
Prosecutors sent the document outlining their case to the Italian parliament today to seek permission to raid the Milan offices of an accountant working for Berlusconi who is suspected of handling payments to the women. ...
Investigators also claim to have "ample investigative evidence" that Berlusconi provided free flats to the women at a Milan housing complex which he built in the 1970s before he entered politics.
Berlusconi is under investigation on suspicion of paying for sex last year with Karima el-Mahroug, a Moroccan belly dancer, when she was 17, an offence under Italian law. He is also suspected of pressuring police into freeing Mahroug from custody when she was arrested on suspicion of theft.
Prosecutors sent the document outlining their case to the Italian parliament today to seek permission to raid the Milan offices of an accountant working for Berlusconi who is suspected of handling payments to the women. ...
Silvio Berlusconi was tonight facing the potentially devastating possibility that he might be put on trial as an alleged sex offender.
The chief prosecutor in his home city of Milan said the Italian prime minister had been formally placed under investigation on suspicion of having sex with an underage prostitute. He was also accused of abusing his position to pressure the police.
The offences carry sentences totalling up to 15 years in jail. Berlusconi had not been charged, but had been invited to present himself for questioning, according to the prosecutor's statement.
The previous day Italy's constitutional court overturned key passages of a bill introduced by Berlusconi's government that would have shielded him from the courts. The double blow looked certain to weaken a leader whose majority in parliament has hung by a thread ever since he was deserted last year by his former ally and deputy, Gianfranco Fini.
The investigation concerns Karima El Mahroug, otherwise known as Ruby Rubacuori, a Moroccan teenager who told investigators last year – when she was 17 – that she had attended parties at Berlusconi's estate near Milan, one of which ended in an erotic game called "Bunga Bunga".
The period in which Berlusconi is suspected of relations with a juvenile prostitute, February to May 2010, coincides with that in which Mahroug is thought to have visited his estate. She has denied having sexual relations with the prime minister, but acknowledged accepting from him a gift of several thousand euros.
Berlusconi's lawyers said in a statement that the allegations were "absurd and groundless". They called the investigation a "very serious interference in the private life" of the prime minister. ...
The chief prosecutor in his home city of Milan said the Italian prime minister had been formally placed under investigation on suspicion of having sex with an underage prostitute. He was also accused of abusing his position to pressure the police.
The offences carry sentences totalling up to 15 years in jail. Berlusconi had not been charged, but had been invited to present himself for questioning, according to the prosecutor's statement.
The previous day Italy's constitutional court overturned key passages of a bill introduced by Berlusconi's government that would have shielded him from the courts. The double blow looked certain to weaken a leader whose majority in parliament has hung by a thread ever since he was deserted last year by his former ally and deputy, Gianfranco Fini.
The investigation concerns Karima El Mahroug, otherwise known as Ruby Rubacuori, a Moroccan teenager who told investigators last year – when she was 17 – that she had attended parties at Berlusconi's estate near Milan, one of which ended in an erotic game called "Bunga Bunga".
The period in which Berlusconi is suspected of relations with a juvenile prostitute, February to May 2010, coincides with that in which Mahroug is thought to have visited his estate. She has denied having sexual relations with the prime minister, but acknowledged accepting from him a gift of several thousand euros.
Berlusconi's lawyers said in a statement that the allegations were "absurd and groundless". They called the investigation a "very serious interference in the private life" of the prime minister. ...
Any one of the many allegations levelled at Silvio Berlusconi over the years would probably be sufficient to sink a prime minister in most countries, but the scandal which could finally undo him is perhaps the most scurrilous of them all. It combines an underage belly dancer, ribald sex parties and claims of political interference with the police.
The unwitting protagonist in this particular tale is Karima el-Mahroug, who also goes under the stage monicker of Ruby Rubacuori, or Ruby Heartstealer.
According to a series of media reports last October, Berlusconi met Mahroug, then 17, through Nicole Minetti, a TV showgirl turned dental hygienist who acquired a post in Berlusconi's Freedom People party after catching his eye while cleaning his teeth.
Mahroug insisted that she had not slept with the 74-year-old prime minister, but she told Italian newspapers that she attended "bunga bunga" sex parties at his mansion near Milan. At one of these, Mahroug said, she sat next to Berlusconi, who later took her upstairs and gave her an envelope containing €7,000. She said he also gave her jewellery.
Their acquaintance came to light after Mahroug was arrested in Milan for allegedly stealing cash. The station commander said that she was released after police received a call from the prime minister's office saying – incorrectly – that she was the granddaughter of Egypt's long-serving president, Hosni Mubarak.
Berlusconi ridiculed opposition calls for him to resign over the affair, saying: "As always, I work without interruption and if occasionally I happen to look a beautiful girl in the face, it's better to like beautiful girls than to be gay." ...
The unwitting protagonist in this particular tale is Karima el-Mahroug, who also goes under the stage monicker of Ruby Rubacuori, or Ruby Heartstealer.
According to a series of media reports last October, Berlusconi met Mahroug, then 17, through Nicole Minetti, a TV showgirl turned dental hygienist who acquired a post in Berlusconi's Freedom People party after catching his eye while cleaning his teeth.
Mahroug insisted that she had not slept with the 74-year-old prime minister, but she told Italian newspapers that she attended "bunga bunga" sex parties at his mansion near Milan. At one of these, Mahroug said, she sat next to Berlusconi, who later took her upstairs and gave her an envelope containing €7,000. She said he also gave her jewellery.
Their acquaintance came to light after Mahroug was arrested in Milan for allegedly stealing cash. The station commander said that she was released after police received a call from the prime minister's office saying – incorrectly – that she was the granddaughter of Egypt's long-serving president, Hosni Mubarak.
Berlusconi ridiculed opposition calls for him to resign over the affair, saying: "As always, I work without interruption and if occasionally I happen to look a beautiful girl in the face, it's better to like beautiful girls than to be gay." ...
The former Labour MP David Chaytor behind bars tonight beginning an 18-month jail sentence after admitting claiming false parliamentary expenses.
Chaytor, who as MP for Bury North tried to cheat taxpayers out of more than £22,000, looked gaunt but impassive as Mr Justice Saunders at Southwark crown court told him the expenses scandal had "shaken public confidence in our legislature" and had "angered the public".
The first MP to be convicted and sentenced over the debacle, he was led from a reinforced glass-panelled dock and taken to Wandsworth prison, where he will be held until transferred to an open prison.
The 61-year-old may serve just four-and-a-half months if risk-assessed as eligible for the home detention curfew scheme, which could see him released with a tag as early as the end of May.
Passing sentence, the judge said a custodial sentence was one of the first steps in restoring public faith in the parliamentary system. He said Chaytor had breached "the high degree of trust" placed in MPs who hold an "important and powerful place in society". ...
Chaytor, who as MP for Bury North tried to cheat taxpayers out of more than £22,000, looked gaunt but impassive as Mr Justice Saunders at Southwark crown court told him the expenses scandal had "shaken public confidence in our legislature" and had "angered the public".
The first MP to be convicted and sentenced over the debacle, he was led from a reinforced glass-panelled dock and taken to Wandsworth prison, where he will be held until transferred to an open prison.
The 61-year-old may serve just four-and-a-half months if risk-assessed as eligible for the home detention curfew scheme, which could see him released with a tag as early as the end of May.
Passing sentence, the judge said a custodial sentence was one of the first steps in restoring public faith in the parliamentary system. He said Chaytor had breached "the high degree of trust" placed in MPs who hold an "important and powerful place in society". ...
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Issa puts himself up for bid
One of the hallmarks of the tea party gains in the GOP has been virulent opposition to earmarks. Their newfound influence within the Republican Party has led to a strong push to eliminate the practice of earmarks altogether, and Darrell Issa hasn't missed a beat jumping on board that train.
Issa was among the first Republicans to suspend his earmark requests, and even went so far as to declare "Mr. Speaker, I make a point of order that an earmark is tantamount to a bribe." Yet that never prevented Issa from requesting earmarks before Fiscal year 2010. And not just a few here and there- hundreds of millions of dollars worth.
In FY 2007, Issa requested a total of $260,738,955 in what he later called "tantamount to a bribe." It dipped a bit in FY 2008 to $112,570,000, but he rebounded strongly for FY 2009 with earmark requests totalling $214,367,000. And let's remember that it was just a few weeks after submitting those FY2009 earmark requests that he was trying to block health care for 9/11 first responders, saying "I have to ask ... why the firefighters who went there and everybody in the city of New York needs to come to the federal government for the dollars versus this being primarily a state consideration."
As though he felt compelled to shine even more light on his hypocrisy with respect to earmarks, it’s worth noting that Issa requested a $5 million earmark in FY 2007 for a project submitted by the giant defense contractor SAIC. Interestingly, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, SAIC has been Issa's single largest source of campaign contributions throughout his Congressional career. Between FY 2007 and 2008, Issa submitted $13 million in earmark requests to benefit another defense contractor, BAE Systems. BAE clocks in at fifth on Issa's career top contributor list.
The conflicts and the hypocrisy are a troubling pattern--especially in light of yesterday’s news that Issa has now asked corporate lobbyists to tell him what to investigate. ...
Issa puts himself up for bid
One of the hallmarks of the tea party gains in the GOP has been virulent opposition to earmarks. Their newfound influence within the Republican Party has led to a strong push to eliminate the practice of earmarks altogether, and Darrell Issa hasn't missed a beat jumping on board that train.
Issa was among the first Republicans to suspend his earmark requests, and even went so far as to declare "Mr. Speaker, I make a point of order that an earmark is tantamount to a bribe." Yet that never prevented Issa from requesting earmarks before Fiscal year 2010. And not just a few here and there- hundreds of millions of dollars worth.
In FY 2007, Issa requested a total of $260,738,955 in what he later called "tantamount to a bribe." It dipped a bit in FY 2008 to $112,570,000, but he rebounded strongly for FY 2009 with earmark requests totalling $214,367,000. And let's remember that it was just a few weeks after submitting those FY2009 earmark requests that he was trying to block health care for 9/11 first responders, saying "I have to ask ... why the firefighters who went there and everybody in the city of New York needs to come to the federal government for the dollars versus this being primarily a state consideration."
As though he felt compelled to shine even more light on his hypocrisy with respect to earmarks, it’s worth noting that Issa requested a $5 million earmark in FY 2007 for a project submitted by the giant defense contractor SAIC. Interestingly, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, SAIC has been Issa's single largest source of campaign contributions throughout his Congressional career. Between FY 2007 and 2008, Issa submitted $13 million in earmark requests to benefit another defense contractor, BAE Systems. BAE clocks in at fifth on Issa's career top contributor list.
The conflicts and the hypocrisy are a troubling pattern--especially in light of yesterday’s news that Issa has now asked corporate lobbyists to tell him what to investigate. ...
Gabon's late president Omar Bongo allegedly pocketed millions in embezzled funds from central African states, channelling some of it to French political parties in support of Nicolas Sarkozy, according to a US embassy cable published by El País.
A senior official at the Bank of Central African States (Beac) told a US diplomat in Cameroon of Bongo's "brazen" defrauding of the bank which holds the pooled reserves of six central African countries, including Gabon, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Shortly after Bongo's death in 2009, the US embassy in Yaounde said the bank source told them: "Gabonese officials used the proceeds for their own enrichment and, at Bongo's direction, funnelled funds to French political parties, including in support of French President Nicolas Sarkozy."
The cable, released by WikiLeaks, continued: "Asked what the officials did with the stolen funds, the Beac official responded, 'sometimes they kept it for themselves, sometimes they funnelled it to French political parties.' Asked who received the funds, the official responded, 'both sides, but mostly the right; especially Chirac and including Sarkozy.' The Beac official said 'Bongo was France's favourite president in Africa,' and 'this is classic Françafrique.'" ...
A senior official at the Bank of Central African States (Beac) told a US diplomat in Cameroon of Bongo's "brazen" defrauding of the bank which holds the pooled reserves of six central African countries, including Gabon, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Shortly after Bongo's death in 2009, the US embassy in Yaounde said the bank source told them: "Gabonese officials used the proceeds for their own enrichment and, at Bongo's direction, funnelled funds to French political parties, including in support of French President Nicolas Sarkozy."
The cable, released by WikiLeaks, continued: "Asked what the officials did with the stolen funds, the Beac official responded, 'sometimes they kept it for themselves, sometimes they funnelled it to French political parties.' Asked who received the funds, the official responded, 'both sides, but mostly the right; especially Chirac and including Sarkozy.' The Beac official said 'Bongo was France's favourite president in Africa,' and 'this is classic Françafrique.'" ...
The Vatican today announced new rules to make its financial dealings more transparent and bring it into line with international legislation designed to prevent money-laundering.
The move came after an Italian court in September froze €23m (£19.6m) of the Vatican's money over claims that its bankers were trying to move the cash across international borders without identifying its source, destination or purpose. The head of the Vatican bank, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, and his deputy are still under investigation on suspicion of money-laundering, although no charges have been brought against the two men, who both deny wrongdoing.
Full details of the new measures are to be released today. But a statement made clear they would include the creation of a new compliance authority and the introduction of legislation to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
The Vatican bank, known as the Institute for the Works of Religion, or IOR, is perhaps the world's most extraordinary financial organisation. Its reputedly state-of-the-art facilities are housed in a 15th century tower next to the pope's palace and its ATM behind St Peter's Basilica is in Latin (a cash withdrawal being "deductio ex pecunia"). ...
The move came after an Italian court in September froze €23m (£19.6m) of the Vatican's money over claims that its bankers were trying to move the cash across international borders without identifying its source, destination or purpose. The head of the Vatican bank, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, and his deputy are still under investigation on suspicion of money-laundering, although no charges have been brought against the two men, who both deny wrongdoing.
Full details of the new measures are to be released today. But a statement made clear they would include the creation of a new compliance authority and the introduction of legislation to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
The Vatican bank, known as the Institute for the Works of Religion, or IOR, is perhaps the world's most extraordinary financial organisation. Its reputedly state-of-the-art facilities are housed in a 15th century tower next to the pope's palace and its ATM behind St Peter's Basilica is in Latin (a cash withdrawal being "deductio ex pecunia"). ...
Christine O'Donnell, the Tea Party star with a colourful past, is said to be under federal investigation for misusing donations made by supporters during her failed election campaigns.
The Associated Press reported that a criminal probe has been opened to examine whether O'Donnell broke the law by using campaign funds to pay for personal expenses during the Delaware Republican's attempts to win a seat in the US Senate.
Quoting a "person with knowledge of a federal campaign-finance investigation," who it says could not be named in order to protect the identity of a client, AP reporters Ben Nuckols and Mattew Barakat said O'Donnell's case has been assigned to two federal prosecutors and two FBI agents in Delaware but has not been brought before a grand jury.
Delaware's News Journal also reported that O'Donnell was "the subject of a federal criminal probe to determine if she illegally used campaign money to pay personal expenses," quoting "a federal source in a position to know".
Accusations of financial irregularities have dogged O'Donnell for months, even before O'Donnell shot to fame in September after her surprise victory in the Delaware Republican primary – thanks to a surge of support from the Tea Party movement and backing from the likes of Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh. ...
The Associated Press reported that a criminal probe has been opened to examine whether O'Donnell broke the law by using campaign funds to pay for personal expenses during the Delaware Republican's attempts to win a seat in the US Senate.
Quoting a "person with knowledge of a federal campaign-finance investigation," who it says could not be named in order to protect the identity of a client, AP reporters Ben Nuckols and Mattew Barakat said O'Donnell's case has been assigned to two federal prosecutors and two FBI agents in Delaware but has not been brought before a grand jury.
Delaware's News Journal also reported that O'Donnell was "the subject of a federal criminal probe to determine if she illegally used campaign money to pay personal expenses," quoting "a federal source in a position to know".
Accusations of financial irregularities have dogged O'Donnell for months, even before O'Donnell shot to fame in September after her surprise victory in the Delaware Republican primary – thanks to a surge of support from the Tea Party movement and backing from the likes of Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh. ...
WikiLeaks cables: Julian Assange says his life is 'under threat'
• WikiLeaks founder says Swedish rape case is 'a travesty'
• Bank of America blocks WikiLeaks payments
David Batty
Saturday 18 December 2010
Julian Assange said today his life and the lives of his colleagues at the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks are under threat.
Speaking to reporters outside Ellingham Hall, the Norfolk house at which he is staying following his release on bail from prison, Assange said: "There is a threat to my life. There is a threat to my staff. There are significant risks facing us."
Assange is wanted in Sweden, after he was accused of committing sex offences. He denies the allegations and his lawyers have accused the Swedish authorities of waging a "vendetta".
He was initially remanded in custody but freed from prison on Thursday after a judge granted bail pending a court ruling on extradition to Sweden.
Assange said: "The case in Sweden is a travesty. No person should be exposed to that type of investigation and persecution.
"I have seen a statement from one of the witnesses that she was bamboozled ... I have heard a rumour that one has withdrawn her statement."
Meanwhile, Bank of America has become the latest financial institution to refuse to handle payments for WikiLeaks.
The bank released a statement saying it will no longer process any transactions that it believes are intended for the site, which has released thousands of secret US diplomatic cables.
"This decision is based upon our reasonable belief that WikiLeaks may be engaged in activities that are, among other things, inconsistent with our internal policies for processing payments," the bank said.
The action comes as WikiLeaks says it plans to release information about banks.
Other financial institutions, including MasterCard and PayPal, have also stopped handling payments for the site. ...
• WikiLeaks founder says Swedish rape case is 'a travesty'
• Bank of America blocks WikiLeaks payments
David Batty
Saturday 18 December 2010
Julian Assange said today his life and the lives of his colleagues at the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks are under threat.
Speaking to reporters outside Ellingham Hall, the Norfolk house at which he is staying following his release on bail from prison, Assange said: "There is a threat to my life. There is a threat to my staff. There are significant risks facing us."
Assange is wanted in Sweden, after he was accused of committing sex offences. He denies the allegations and his lawyers have accused the Swedish authorities of waging a "vendetta".
He was initially remanded in custody but freed from prison on Thursday after a judge granted bail pending a court ruling on extradition to Sweden.
Assange said: "The case in Sweden is a travesty. No person should be exposed to that type of investigation and persecution.
"I have seen a statement from one of the witnesses that she was bamboozled ... I have heard a rumour that one has withdrawn her statement."
Meanwhile, Bank of America has become the latest financial institution to refuse to handle payments for WikiLeaks.
The bank released a statement saying it will no longer process any transactions that it believes are intended for the site, which has released thousands of secret US diplomatic cables.
"This decision is based upon our reasonable belief that WikiLeaks may be engaged in activities that are, among other things, inconsistent with our internal policies for processing payments," the bank said.
The action comes as WikiLeaks says it plans to release information about banks.
Other financial institutions, including MasterCard and PayPal, have also stopped handling payments for the site. ...
Silvio Berlusconi was today under renewed pressure after he was barracked in public and his party outvoted in parliament as a new video emerged appearing to show miniskirted women being ushered into one of his properties.
Already reeling from revelations that he had entertained Karimael Mahroug, a 17-year-old Moroccan belly dancer before intervening to free her when she was arrested on suspicion of theft, the Italian prime minister was accused of hosting a Cuban model and a Romanian reality TV star at his mansion near Milan.
The Oggi gossip magazine posted video footage, shot in July, of the celebrity agent Lele Mora allegedly helping the women into a car with tinted windows at his Milan office before driving them into the grounds of Berlusconi's property without stopping at a police checkpoint at the gate.
Mora is already being investigated on suspicion of aiding and abetting prostitution.
Opposition politicians argued that Berlusconi was making himself an easy blackmail target. "There is a certain ease with which women who admit to being involved in prostitution gain access to the prime minister's residence," Luigi de Magistris, of the Italy of Values party, said.
"It is clear that this makes Berlusconi a potential blackmail victim, and that puts national security at risk." ...
Already reeling from revelations that he had entertained Karimael Mahroug, a 17-year-old Moroccan belly dancer before intervening to free her when she was arrested on suspicion of theft, the Italian prime minister was accused of hosting a Cuban model and a Romanian reality TV star at his mansion near Milan.
The Oggi gossip magazine posted video footage, shot in July, of the celebrity agent Lele Mora allegedly helping the women into a car with tinted windows at his Milan office before driving them into the grounds of Berlusconi's property without stopping at a police checkpoint at the gate.
Mora is already being investigated on suspicion of aiding and abetting prostitution.
Opposition politicians argued that Berlusconi was making himself an easy blackmail target. "There is a certain ease with which women who admit to being involved in prostitution gain access to the prime minister's residence," Luigi de Magistris, of the Italy of Values party, said.
"It is clear that this makes Berlusconi a potential blackmail victim, and that puts national security at risk." ...
British Airways is among 10 airlines to have been fined a total of €800m by the European Union for their involvement in a cargo pricing cartel between 1999 and 2006.
The EU said the airlines "co-ordinated their action on surcharges for fuel and security without discounts."
"The carriers contacted each other so as to ensure that worldwide air freight carriers imposed a flat rate surcharge per kg for all shipments."
BA were fined €104m, but Air France-KLM were handed the biggest sanction of €339.6m. The other offenders were Qantas, Air Japan, Singapore Airlines, SAS, Cargolux, LAN Chile, Air Canada and Cathay Pacific. German airline Lufthansa escaped a fine because it blew the whistle on the cartel. ...
The EU said the airlines "co-ordinated their action on surcharges for fuel and security without discounts."
"The carriers contacted each other so as to ensure that worldwide air freight carriers imposed a flat rate surcharge per kg for all shipments."
BA were fined €104m, but Air France-KLM were handed the biggest sanction of €339.6m. The other offenders were Qantas, Air Japan, Singapore Airlines, SAS, Cargolux, LAN Chile, Air Canada and Cathay Pacific. German airline Lufthansa escaped a fine because it blew the whistle on the cartel. ...
... Detroit filed a motion in federal court Tuesday seeking to recoup $10 million it paid former Police Department monitor Sheryl Robinson Wood and the firms who employed her to oversee federally mandated department reforms, because Wood was found to have been carrying on a secret relationship with Kilpatrick.
"She violated the city's trust, and all the money needs to be repaid," said attorney Thomas Murray, who is representing the city.
In July 2009, U.S. District Judge Julian Abele Cook received Wood's resignation after Kilpatrick's messages revealed what Cook characterized as "undisclosed communication, as well as meetings of a personal nature."
University of Detroit Mercy law professor Larry Dubin said it appears the city has a serious claim. "A lawyer has a duty to give the client or the court undivided loyalty." ...
"She violated the city's trust, and all the money needs to be repaid," said attorney Thomas Murray, who is representing the city.
In July 2009, U.S. District Judge Julian Abele Cook received Wood's resignation after Kilpatrick's messages revealed what Cook characterized as "undisclosed communication, as well as meetings of a personal nature."
University of Detroit Mercy law professor Larry Dubin said it appears the city has a serious claim. "A lawyer has a duty to give the client or the court undivided loyalty." ...
Most (And Least) Corrupt Countries
by JJ Sutherland
October 26, 2010
Corruption seems endemic. It follows war and chaos like an unwelcome cousin. Transparency International has just released its annual report ranking corruption across the world.
At the bottom of the list, the most corrupt, are countries hit by warfare and strife, unsurprisingly. Somalia is the worst, followed by Burma, then Afghanistan and Iraq. The least corrupt countires are Denmark, New Zealand, and Singapore, unchanged from last year.
In a press release, the organization said, “Notable among decliners are some of the countries most affected by a financial crisis precipitated by transparency and integrity deficits.” Greece fell from 71 to 78 and Italy from 63 to 67. The US also fell, from the 19th spot to the 22nd. ...
by JJ Sutherland
October 26, 2010
Corruption seems endemic. It follows war and chaos like an unwelcome cousin. Transparency International has just released its annual report ranking corruption across the world.
At the bottom of the list, the most corrupt, are countries hit by warfare and strife, unsurprisingly. Somalia is the worst, followed by Burma, then Afghanistan and Iraq. The least corrupt countires are Denmark, New Zealand, and Singapore, unchanged from last year.
In a press release, the organization said, “Notable among decliners are some of the countries most affected by a financial crisis precipitated by transparency and integrity deficits.” Greece fell from 71 to 78 and Italy from 63 to 67. The US also fell, from the 19th spot to the 22nd. ...
Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore top list of least corrupt countries
Expats living in Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore can rest assured they are residing in the least corrupt countries in the world, according to this year's Corruption Perception Index (CPI).
By Sean O'Hare
27 Oct 2010
Britain, in the wake of the MP expenses scandal, has slipped to its all-time lowest rating of 20th in the survey of 178 countries, compiled by Transparency International.
The ranking is based on the perceived levels of corruption among public officials and politicians, as assessed by experts at ten independent institutions including the World Bank, Economist Intelligence Unit and World Economic Forum.
It scores countries on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is perceived to be highly corrupt and 10 indicates low levels of corruption.
Scoring 9.3, Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore head the chart, followed closely by Finland and Sweden at 9.2.
President for the British Chamber of Commerce in Denmark Mariano A. Davies said: "The Danish mentality is to a great extent permeated by a Scandinavian cultural heritage known as 'Jante Law', where modesty, punctuality and equality are important measuring tools in the Danish way of life.
"For this reason, few people become seriously rich and even fewer are seriously poor. This rule of life is never very far from the surface of Danish life.
"In a business context, this will mean that Danes celebrate promotion with sensitivity and do not like people who promote themselves bombastically and at the expense of others.
"There is a sense of watchdog mentality underlying the Danish way of life resulting in very clear 'dos and don’ts'”.
"Furthermore, from a business perspective, it can take a very long time (and therefore a local presence) to earn the trust of a company in a supplier role and this trust can be lost very quickly." ...
Expats living in Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore can rest assured they are residing in the least corrupt countries in the world, according to this year's Corruption Perception Index (CPI).
By Sean O'Hare
27 Oct 2010
Britain, in the wake of the MP expenses scandal, has slipped to its all-time lowest rating of 20th in the survey of 178 countries, compiled by Transparency International.
The ranking is based on the perceived levels of corruption among public officials and politicians, as assessed by experts at ten independent institutions including the World Bank, Economist Intelligence Unit and World Economic Forum.
It scores countries on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is perceived to be highly corrupt and 10 indicates low levels of corruption.
Scoring 9.3, Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore head the chart, followed closely by Finland and Sweden at 9.2.
President for the British Chamber of Commerce in Denmark Mariano A. Davies said: "The Danish mentality is to a great extent permeated by a Scandinavian cultural heritage known as 'Jante Law', where modesty, punctuality and equality are important measuring tools in the Danish way of life.
"For this reason, few people become seriously rich and even fewer are seriously poor. This rule of life is never very far from the surface of Danish life.
"In a business context, this will mean that Danes celebrate promotion with sensitivity and do not like people who promote themselves bombastically and at the expense of others.
"There is a sense of watchdog mentality underlying the Danish way of life resulting in very clear 'dos and don’ts'”.
"Furthermore, from a business perspective, it can take a very long time (and therefore a local presence) to earn the trust of a company in a supplier role and this trust can be lost very quickly." ...
In Russia, corruption has taken on a life of its own
By Will Englund
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
MOSCOW - In Russia, the greased palm has overtaken the strong hand. For the past decade, Vladimir Putin, now the prime minister, has been building a tightly centralized, practically unaccountable political structure - a structure that tolerates and is highly susceptible to corruption. But now that corruption appears to have expanded beyond the Kremlin's control.
The current president, Dmitry Medvedev, is anxious to deepen Russia's economic relations with the West after the battering of the 2008 financial crisis. He has brought Russia to the doorstep of the World Trade Organization. This month, he led California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and an American delegation to a new school of management that he hopes will spawn Russia's version of Silicon Valley. On Tuesday, he chaired a meeting in the central Russian city of Naberezhnyye Chelny on ways to improve the country's economic efficiency.
But corruption ties an anchor to all his plans.
"Corruption is not a disease, it's a pain. It's a signal that something is not working efficiently," Georgy Satarov, head of the Indem Foundation in Moscow, said Tuesday.
That signal grew stronger Tuesday with the release of the 15th annual Transparency International report on corruption perceptions around the world, ranking nations from least to most corrupt. Russia slid from 146th place to 154th, out of 178 countries, and into a tie with Tajikistan, Papua New Guinea and several African nations.
"How can a country claiming to be a world leader be in such a position?" asked Yelena Panfilova, director of the Moscow office of Transparency International. "It's a situation of national shame."
There is, she said, a "catastrophic gap" between civil society and "state sabotage." Corruption is everywhere - in hospitals and in schools, in utilities and courts, and especially in the ranks of the traffic police - but she said Russia is falling ever more deeply down the international list because of a sense of immunity in the higher levels of government.
According to the report, Russia was the most corrupt among the G-20 nations. The United States, because of financial scandals, dropped out of the top 20 least-corrupt nations for the first time since Transparency International began issuing its annual list 15 years ago. The United States fell from 19th place to 22nd, behind Chile.
In October, Medvedev launched a "Forward, Russia" campaign to fight corruption. But in July, he acknowledged that it had achieved no results. He laments that government ministers do not carry out his orders - the direct consequence, according to Yuli Nisnevich, chief researcher for Transparency International in Moscow, of a corrupt bureaucracy over which the external controls no longer hold sway. ...
By Will Englund
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
MOSCOW - In Russia, the greased palm has overtaken the strong hand. For the past decade, Vladimir Putin, now the prime minister, has been building a tightly centralized, practically unaccountable political structure - a structure that tolerates and is highly susceptible to corruption. But now that corruption appears to have expanded beyond the Kremlin's control.
The current president, Dmitry Medvedev, is anxious to deepen Russia's economic relations with the West after the battering of the 2008 financial crisis. He has brought Russia to the doorstep of the World Trade Organization. This month, he led California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and an American delegation to a new school of management that he hopes will spawn Russia's version of Silicon Valley. On Tuesday, he chaired a meeting in the central Russian city of Naberezhnyye Chelny on ways to improve the country's economic efficiency.
But corruption ties an anchor to all his plans.
"Corruption is not a disease, it's a pain. It's a signal that something is not working efficiently," Georgy Satarov, head of the Indem Foundation in Moscow, said Tuesday.
That signal grew stronger Tuesday with the release of the 15th annual Transparency International report on corruption perceptions around the world, ranking nations from least to most corrupt. Russia slid from 146th place to 154th, out of 178 countries, and into a tie with Tajikistan, Papua New Guinea and several African nations.
"How can a country claiming to be a world leader be in such a position?" asked Yelena Panfilova, director of the Moscow office of Transparency International. "It's a situation of national shame."
There is, she said, a "catastrophic gap" between civil society and "state sabotage." Corruption is everywhere - in hospitals and in schools, in utilities and courts, and especially in the ranks of the traffic police - but she said Russia is falling ever more deeply down the international list because of a sense of immunity in the higher levels of government.
According to the report, Russia was the most corrupt among the G-20 nations. The United States, because of financial scandals, dropped out of the top 20 least-corrupt nations for the first time since Transparency International began issuing its annual list 15 years ago. The United States fell from 19th place to 22nd, behind Chile.
In October, Medvedev launched a "Forward, Russia" campaign to fight corruption. But in July, he acknowledged that it had achieved no results. He laments that government ministers do not carry out his orders - the direct consequence, according to Yuli Nisnevich, chief researcher for Transparency International in Moscow, of a corrupt bureaucracy over which the external controls no longer hold sway. ...
Russia Uncovers 35,000 Cases of Corruption, Accuses Four Deputy Governors
By Henry Meyer -
Russian police uncovered 35,000 cases of corruption in the first nine months of this year, including alleged crimes by four deputy governors and five regional ministers.
Major bribe-taking increased by 17.5 percent from January to September compared with the same period of 2009, the Interior Ministry said in a statement distributed to reporters today. The average size of a bribe increased 1.5 times to around $1,400.
“We understand that you can’t overcome corruption in one year,” Alexander Nazarov, deputy head of the ministry’s economic crimes department, said at a briefing outside Moscow. “We are trying to minimize this problem so it doesn’t affect the development of the economy.”
Russia is the world’s most corrupt major economy, according to Berlin-based Transparency International’s 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index released yesterday, sliding to 154th among 178 countries and placing it alongside Tajikistan and Kenya.
While President Dmitry Medvedev vowed to combat corruption when he was elected in 2008, Russians surveyed at the end of July ranked the inability of Vladimir Putin, now the prime minister, to deal with the issue during his 10 years in power as the administration’s biggest failure.
Police said on Oct. 21 they were seeking the former deputy head of government in the Moscow region and his wife, believed to be in the U.S., over the alleged embezzlement of $1 billion. The authorities, who have detained the region’s former deputy finance chief in the same case, said they managed to recover $820 million of the misappropriated assets. ...
By Henry Meyer -
Russian police uncovered 35,000 cases of corruption in the first nine months of this year, including alleged crimes by four deputy governors and five regional ministers.
Major bribe-taking increased by 17.5 percent from January to September compared with the same period of 2009, the Interior Ministry said in a statement distributed to reporters today. The average size of a bribe increased 1.5 times to around $1,400.
“We understand that you can’t overcome corruption in one year,” Alexander Nazarov, deputy head of the ministry’s economic crimes department, said at a briefing outside Moscow. “We are trying to minimize this problem so it doesn’t affect the development of the economy.”
Russia is the world’s most corrupt major economy, according to Berlin-based Transparency International’s 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index released yesterday, sliding to 154th among 178 countries and placing it alongside Tajikistan and Kenya.
While President Dmitry Medvedev vowed to combat corruption when he was elected in 2008, Russians surveyed at the end of July ranked the inability of Vladimir Putin, now the prime minister, to deal with the issue during his 10 years in power as the administration’s biggest failure.
Police said on Oct. 21 they were seeking the former deputy head of government in the Moscow region and his wife, believed to be in the U.S., over the alleged embezzlement of $1 billion. The authorities, who have detained the region’s former deputy finance chief in the same case, said they managed to recover $820 million of the misappropriated assets. ...
Posted: Oct. 27, 2010
Kwame Kilpatrick's news of tossed city computer upsets judge
Computer, e-mails for Greene case gone
By TRESA BALDAS
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Someone threw away ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's city computer in the middle of his heated text-message scandal in 2008.
And a federal judge is demanding to know why.
"It's highly troubling," U.S. Magistrate Judge R. Steven Whalen said at a hearing Tuesday after learning the computer was tossed seven months before Kilpatrick resigned in September 2008.
Of particular concern, said Whalen, who could sanction the city for spoiling evidence, is that e-mails potentially relevant to several lawsuits have been wiped out.
Whalen's comments came during an evidentiary hearing in a lawsuit filed by the family of Tamara Greene, a slain stripper said to have danced at a rumored wild party at the Manoogian Mansion. The family is suing the city and Kilpatrick, claiming authorities sabotaged the murder investigation to shield the killers.
Gary Hermanson, an attorney for the family, argued that the city has dragged its feet in producing e-mails for Kilpatrick and his ex-chief of staff and lover, Christine Beatty.
City attorney John Schapka, in explaining why the city doesn't have the e-mails, disclosed that computer hard drives belonging to Kilpatrick and Beatty were thrown away and replaced in February 2008. Any deleted e-mails would have been electronically shredded by the main server to free up space, he said.
Whalen was miffed as to why "nobody archived anything," given the litigation the city has faced involving Kilpatrick's and Beatty's electronic communications.
"The relevance and potential role seems really obvious to me," he said.
Whalen ordered Hermanson to submit a brief within two weeks addressing the handling of evidence. The city will get two weeks to respond. ...
Kwame Kilpatrick's news of tossed city computer upsets judge
Computer, e-mails for Greene case gone
By TRESA BALDAS
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Someone threw away ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's city computer in the middle of his heated text-message scandal in 2008.
And a federal judge is demanding to know why.
"It's highly troubling," U.S. Magistrate Judge R. Steven Whalen said at a hearing Tuesday after learning the computer was tossed seven months before Kilpatrick resigned in September 2008.
Of particular concern, said Whalen, who could sanction the city for spoiling evidence, is that e-mails potentially relevant to several lawsuits have been wiped out.
Whalen's comments came during an evidentiary hearing in a lawsuit filed by the family of Tamara Greene, a slain stripper said to have danced at a rumored wild party at the Manoogian Mansion. The family is suing the city and Kilpatrick, claiming authorities sabotaged the murder investigation to shield the killers.
Gary Hermanson, an attorney for the family, argued that the city has dragged its feet in producing e-mails for Kilpatrick and his ex-chief of staff and lover, Christine Beatty.
City attorney John Schapka, in explaining why the city doesn't have the e-mails, disclosed that computer hard drives belonging to Kilpatrick and Beatty were thrown away and replaced in February 2008. Any deleted e-mails would have been electronically shredded by the main server to free up space, he said.
Whalen was miffed as to why "nobody archived anything," given the litigation the city has faced involving Kilpatrick's and Beatty's electronic communications.
"The relevance and potential role seems really obvious to me," he said.
Whalen ordered Hermanson to submit a brief within two weeks addressing the handling of evidence. The city will get two weeks to respond. ...
Hamid Karzai admits office gets 'bags of money' from Iran
Afghan president says Iran provides up to £625,000 in cash at a time to pay office expenses, just as US funds other offices
Jon Boone in Kabul
Monday 25 October 2010
Hamid Karzai has admitted that his chief of staff collects "bags of money" containing hundreds of thousands of euros from the Iranian government each year.
The Afghan president told a press conference that the cash was used to pay his office expenses and that he was happy to take large sums from the main regional enemy of the US, Afghanistan's most important ally.
"This is nothing hidden," Karzai said. "We are grateful for Iranian help in this regard. The United States is doing the same thing. They're providing cash to some of our offices."
He said once or twice a year Iran provided as much as €700,000 (£625,000) and that money was handed by Umar Daudzai, the powerful chief of staff who is known for his anti-western views.
The New York Times reported on Sunday that at the end of an official visit by Karzai to Iran Daudzai was handed bags of cash by an Iranian official as he waited to board the presidential plane.
Karzai's frank admission of Iran's role at the heart of the Afghan administration clears up a long-standing mystery surrounding the funding of his office. It had long been assumed Karzai had access to a sizeable slush fund because of his habit of disbursing money, cars and other gifts to political allies and others considered worthy of rewards. ...
Afghan president says Iran provides up to £625,000 in cash at a time to pay office expenses, just as US funds other offices
Jon Boone in Kabul
Monday 25 October 2010
Hamid Karzai has admitted that his chief of staff collects "bags of money" containing hundreds of thousands of euros from the Iranian government each year.
The Afghan president told a press conference that the cash was used to pay his office expenses and that he was happy to take large sums from the main regional enemy of the US, Afghanistan's most important ally.
"This is nothing hidden," Karzai said. "We are grateful for Iranian help in this regard. The United States is doing the same thing. They're providing cash to some of our offices."
He said once or twice a year Iran provided as much as €700,000 (£625,000) and that money was handed by Umar Daudzai, the powerful chief of staff who is known for his anti-western views.
The New York Times reported on Sunday that at the end of an official visit by Karzai to Iran Daudzai was handed bags of cash by an Iranian official as he waited to board the presidential plane.
Karzai's frank admission of Iran's role at the heart of the Afghan administration clears up a long-standing mystery surrounding the funding of his office. It had long been assumed Karzai had access to a sizeable slush fund because of his habit of disbursing money, cars and other gifts to political allies and others considered worthy of rewards. ...
It will have 250 staff operating out of 150 countries and sounds like Ian Fleming dreamed it up. Yet the International Corruption Hunters Network (ICHN) is not something out of a James Bond novel, but the World Bank's latest initiative for stamping out bribery, fraud and the pilfering of money designed to alleviate poverty.
The idea is a good one. There are countless individual agencies around the world dedicated to stamping out financial crime: pooling their expertise should make it more difficult for the venal to get away with it. And not before time, since the taxpayers who last year provided the $70bn-plus spent by the World Bank in the field need to know that their money is not finding its way into numbered Swiss bank accounts or swelling the profits of unscrupulous companies.
Crackdowns on corruption are nothing new. James Wolfowitz arrived at the bank in 2005 vowing to root out wrongdoing but promised far more than he delivered. So what's different this time?
Leonard McCarthy is the bank's vice-president for integrity and the man responsible for the ICHN. Yesterday he published an annual report showing that his department's caseload involved 260 projects in 84 countries. As a result of the investigation, the World Bank debarred 45 firms, individuals, and NGOs, preventing them from participating in future bank projects for varying periods of time. The UK publishing house, Macmillan, was one of them - debarred for six years after admitting it had paid bribes to win a contract in southern Sudan. ...
The idea is a good one. There are countless individual agencies around the world dedicated to stamping out financial crime: pooling their expertise should make it more difficult for the venal to get away with it. And not before time, since the taxpayers who last year provided the $70bn-plus spent by the World Bank in the field need to know that their money is not finding its way into numbered Swiss bank accounts or swelling the profits of unscrupulous companies.
Crackdowns on corruption are nothing new. James Wolfowitz arrived at the bank in 2005 vowing to root out wrongdoing but promised far more than he delivered. So what's different this time?
Leonard McCarthy is the bank's vice-president for integrity and the man responsible for the ICHN. Yesterday he published an annual report showing that his department's caseload involved 260 projects in 84 countries. As a result of the investigation, the World Bank debarred 45 firms, individuals, and NGOs, preventing them from participating in future bank projects for varying periods of time. The UK publishing house, Macmillan, was one of them - debarred for six years after admitting it had paid bribes to win a contract in southern Sudan. ...
Dmitry Medvedev's stereo system has Russia's bloggers buzzing
Breakfast talks with Vladimir Putin offer glimpse of president's £130,000 state-of-the-art music system
Luke Harding in Moscow
Tuesday 5 October 2010
Forget the sacking of Moscow's mayor or Russia's chances of beating England to host the 2018 world cup. Russia's blogosphere was today buzzing with a discussion of president Dmitry Medvedev's state-of-the-art stereo system.
On Friday Medvedev invited Vladimir Putin to his Moscow residence for a simple breakfast of milk and brown bread. The meeting was meant to reinforce the two leaders' unity and their humble love of patriotic dairy products.
Sharp-eyed bloggers, however, spotted Medvedev's extraordinary stereo lurking in the background. Experts estimated it was worth up to $200,000 (£130,000). It includes giant speakers, a CD player, amplifiers, and other expensive gadgets. It is not clear whether the stereo belongs to Medvedev himself – a Deep Purple fan and keen vinyl enthusiast – or is the property of the state, in this case the Russian Federation. Either way, it is a tantalising clue in a country where any mention of Putin or Medvedev's personal wealth is strictly taboo.
Bloggers seemed unimpressed by Medvedev's choice of audio equipment, much of it made in Britain (including a bespoke Avid Acutus Reference SP turntable, made in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, and two Swiss-made Daniel Hertz M1 speakers, costing a cool $75,000 a pair, it was estimated.)
One blogger, yarosh, declared: "The experts I've talked to tell me this is a bit of a vulgar stereo complex. There's nothing special about it. You can find something cooler and cheaper in Russia and, most crucially, with a superior sound." Others wanted to know why Medvedev had not bought a Russian model and whether he had paid for it himself or used taxpayers' cash. "If the stereo belonged to Obama, or any European leader, this would be a scandal rather than a joke," one blogger, westernstorm, pointed out. ...
Breakfast talks with Vladimir Putin offer glimpse of president's £130,000 state-of-the-art music system
Luke Harding in Moscow
Tuesday 5 October 2010
Forget the sacking of Moscow's mayor or Russia's chances of beating England to host the 2018 world cup. Russia's blogosphere was today buzzing with a discussion of president Dmitry Medvedev's state-of-the-art stereo system.
On Friday Medvedev invited Vladimir Putin to his Moscow residence for a simple breakfast of milk and brown bread. The meeting was meant to reinforce the two leaders' unity and their humble love of patriotic dairy products.
Sharp-eyed bloggers, however, spotted Medvedev's extraordinary stereo lurking in the background. Experts estimated it was worth up to $200,000 (£130,000). It includes giant speakers, a CD player, amplifiers, and other expensive gadgets. It is not clear whether the stereo belongs to Medvedev himself – a Deep Purple fan and keen vinyl enthusiast – or is the property of the state, in this case the Russian Federation. Either way, it is a tantalising clue in a country where any mention of Putin or Medvedev's personal wealth is strictly taboo.
Bloggers seemed unimpressed by Medvedev's choice of audio equipment, much of it made in Britain (including a bespoke Avid Acutus Reference SP turntable, made in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, and two Swiss-made Daniel Hertz M1 speakers, costing a cool $75,000 a pair, it was estimated.)
One blogger, yarosh, declared: "The experts I've talked to tell me this is a bit of a vulgar stereo complex. There's nothing special about it. You can find something cooler and cheaper in Russia and, most crucially, with a superior sound." Others wanted to know why Medvedev had not bought a Russian model and whether he had paid for it himself or used taxpayers' cash. "If the stereo belonged to Obama, or any European leader, this would be a scandal rather than a joke," one blogger, westernstorm, pointed out. ...
ANOTHER RECOMMENDATION by Contractor General Greg Christie, for criminal charges to be brought against public officials, has been dismissed by Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Paula Llewellyn.
Christie had suggested that Agriculture Minister Dr Christopher Tufton, his permanent secretary, Donovan Stanberry, and consultant Aubyn Hill be charged with supplying his office with inaccurate information.
The contractor general was examining the circumstances under which Hill, a former investment banker, was given a multimillion-dollar contract to divest the country's sugar assets.
In her ruling made public yesterday, Llewellyn said the Crown would struggle to successful prosecute the case in court.
The dismissal of Christie's recommendation for criminal charge came a day after she ruled that no one was criminally culpable in the award of contracts by the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) to companies in which its late executive director, Douglas Chambers, had active interests.
Christie had said a number of persons at the JUTC should be made to answer before the court for their actions. ...
One cannot help but wonder, "Who owns the judge? Who owns the judge?"
Christie had suggested that Agriculture Minister Dr Christopher Tufton, his permanent secretary, Donovan Stanberry, and consultant Aubyn Hill be charged with supplying his office with inaccurate information.
The contractor general was examining the circumstances under which Hill, a former investment banker, was given a multimillion-dollar contract to divest the country's sugar assets.
In her ruling made public yesterday, Llewellyn said the Crown would struggle to successful prosecute the case in court.
The dismissal of Christie's recommendation for criminal charge came a day after she ruled that no one was criminally culpable in the award of contracts by the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) to companies in which its late executive director, Douglas Chambers, had active interests.
Christie had said a number of persons at the JUTC should be made to answer before the court for their actions. ...
One cannot help but wonder, "Who owns the judge? Who owns the judge?"
Officials Arrested in Los Angeles Suburb
By ADAM NAGOURNEY and REBECCA CATHCART
Published: September 21, 2010
BELL, Calif. — The investigators from the district attorney’s office showed up at the mayor’s house early Tuesday morning, arrest warrant and battering ram in hand, banging on the door. When the mayor, Oscar Hernandez, ignored their shouts — “Come out!” and “Put your hands up!” — they rammed down the door and arrested Mr. Hernandez on charges of looting the treasury of his own city to enrich himself.
Residents of Bell, Calif., gathered outside City Hall on Tuesday to celebrate the arrest of eight former and current city officials.
And it was not only Mr. Hernandez. To cheers and visible elation in this working-class town of small stucco houses south of Los Angeles, the authorities arrested eight former and current city officials of Bell — including the former city manager, who had been drawing an annual salary of nearly $800,000 — just after 8 a.m. on Tuesday. The officials were accused, in effect, of turning this city into their personal piggy bank: misappropriating $5.5 million in city money to enrich themselves with pumped-up salaries, illicit loans and big payments to attend committee meetings that lasted just a few minutes, if they were held at all.
The arrests brought to a climax a distasteful tale that has gripped Los Angeles throughout the summer: The story of public officials apparently looting a working-class city — overwhelmingly Hispanic, with many living below the poverty line — in a state that is so broke and where so many people face a cutoff of social services.
The case began in July when The Los Angeles Times, in the first of what has been an almost daily run of articles detailing malfeasance in Bell, reported that Robert Rizzo, who resigned as city manager after the articles appeared, was paid almost double the salary of the president of the United States, while Randy Adams, who resigned last month as police chief, was paid $457,000 a year.
“This is corruption on steroids,” said Steve Cooley, the district attorney of Los Angeles.
Throughout the day, Bell residents grinned broadly and broke out in cheers and song as they spoke of the arrests and traded stories of watching officials who have been the subject of an increasingly vibrant recall movement being led, handcuffed, out of their houses or businesses.
“Man, was I happy when I heard they were arrested,” said Macario Limon, 66, who has lived in Bell for 31 years. “I can celebrate now. Last night we were at a City Council meeting, and the city councilmen are so arrogant, all of them. I’m just glad they’re locked up, and I hope they stay in there forever.” ...
By ADAM NAGOURNEY and REBECCA CATHCART
Published: September 21, 2010
BELL, Calif. — The investigators from the district attorney’s office showed up at the mayor’s house early Tuesday morning, arrest warrant and battering ram in hand, banging on the door. When the mayor, Oscar Hernandez, ignored their shouts — “Come out!” and “Put your hands up!” — they rammed down the door and arrested Mr. Hernandez on charges of looting the treasury of his own city to enrich himself.
Residents of Bell, Calif., gathered outside City Hall on Tuesday to celebrate the arrest of eight former and current city officials.
And it was not only Mr. Hernandez. To cheers and visible elation in this working-class town of small stucco houses south of Los Angeles, the authorities arrested eight former and current city officials of Bell — including the former city manager, who had been drawing an annual salary of nearly $800,000 — just after 8 a.m. on Tuesday. The officials were accused, in effect, of turning this city into their personal piggy bank: misappropriating $5.5 million in city money to enrich themselves with pumped-up salaries, illicit loans and big payments to attend committee meetings that lasted just a few minutes, if they were held at all.
The arrests brought to a climax a distasteful tale that has gripped Los Angeles throughout the summer: The story of public officials apparently looting a working-class city — overwhelmingly Hispanic, with many living below the poverty line — in a state that is so broke and where so many people face a cutoff of social services.
The case began in July when The Los Angeles Times, in the first of what has been an almost daily run of articles detailing malfeasance in Bell, reported that Robert Rizzo, who resigned as city manager after the articles appeared, was paid almost double the salary of the president of the United States, while Randy Adams, who resigned last month as police chief, was paid $457,000 a year.
“This is corruption on steroids,” said Steve Cooley, the district attorney of Los Angeles.
Throughout the day, Bell residents grinned broadly and broke out in cheers and song as they spoke of the arrests and traded stories of watching officials who have been the subject of an increasingly vibrant recall movement being led, handcuffed, out of their houses or businesses.
“Man, was I happy when I heard they were arrested,” said Macario Limon, 66, who has lived in Bell for 31 years. “I can celebrate now. Last night we were at a City Council meeting, and the city councilmen are so arrogant, all of them. I’m just glad they’re locked up, and I hope they stay in there forever.” ...
... "Mr Golding says he was associated with gunmen. The PNPYO wants to know when Crime Stop is going to get that list that he was associated with?" Crawford queried.
In the late 1990s, after Golding had parted company with the Jamaica Labour Party and formed the National Democratic Movement, he declared that he had rejected garrison politics.
On his road-to-Damascus transformation, Golding had confessed that he was once associated with gunmen in his earlier political career but had turned over a new leaf.
"I was associated with gunmen," Golding said in 1999, adding, "but being associated with gunmen is not a criminal offence."
Golding had said that, under the old-style politics in which he was involved, gunmen served a function in his former Central St Catherine constituency by keeping supporters of the People's National Party out of the area.
Classy PM ya got, Jamaica.
In the late 1990s, after Golding had parted company with the Jamaica Labour Party and formed the National Democratic Movement, he declared that he had rejected garrison politics.
On his road-to-Damascus transformation, Golding had confessed that he was once associated with gunmen in his earlier political career but had turned over a new leaf.
"I was associated with gunmen," Golding said in 1999, adding, "but being associated with gunmen is not a criminal offence."
Golding had said that, under the old-style politics in which he was involved, gunmen served a function in his former Central St Catherine constituency by keeping supporters of the People's National Party out of the area.
Classy PM ya got, Jamaica.
Editorial
The Secret Election
Published: September 18, 2010
For all the headlines about the Tea Party and blind voter anger, the most disturbing story of this year’s election is embodied in an odd combination of numbers and letters: 501(c)(4). That is the legal designation for the advocacy committees that are sucking in many millions of anonymous corporate dollars, making this the most secretive election cycle since the Watergate years.
As Michael Luo reported in The Times last week, the battle for Congress is largely being financed by a small corps of wealthy individuals and corporations whose names may never be known to the public. And the full brunt of that spending — most of it going to Republican candidates — has yet to be felt in this campaign.
Corporations got the power to pour anonymous money into elections from Supreme Court and Federal Election Commission decisions in the last two years, culminating in the Citizens United opinion earlier this year. The effect is drastic: In 2004 and 2006, virtually all independent groups receiving electioneering donations revealed their donors. In 2008, less than half of the groups reported their donors, according to a study issued last week by the watchdog group Public Citizen. So far this year, only 32 percent of the groups have done so.
Most of the cash has gone to Republican operatives like Karl Rove who have set up tax-exempt 501(c)(4) organizations. In theory, these groups, with disingenuously innocuous names like American Crossroads and the American Action Network, are meant to promote social welfare. The value to the political operatives is that they are a funnel for anonymous campaign donations. ...
Ta much, dear Ar0cketman
The Secret Election
Published: September 18, 2010
For all the headlines about the Tea Party and blind voter anger, the most disturbing story of this year’s election is embodied in an odd combination of numbers and letters: 501(c)(4). That is the legal designation for the advocacy committees that are sucking in many millions of anonymous corporate dollars, making this the most secretive election cycle since the Watergate years.
As Michael Luo reported in The Times last week, the battle for Congress is largely being financed by a small corps of wealthy individuals and corporations whose names may never be known to the public. And the full brunt of that spending — most of it going to Republican candidates — has yet to be felt in this campaign.
Corporations got the power to pour anonymous money into elections from Supreme Court and Federal Election Commission decisions in the last two years, culminating in the Citizens United opinion earlier this year. The effect is drastic: In 2004 and 2006, virtually all independent groups receiving electioneering donations revealed their donors. In 2008, less than half of the groups reported their donors, according to a study issued last week by the watchdog group Public Citizen. So far this year, only 32 percent of the groups have done so.
Most of the cash has gone to Republican operatives like Karl Rove who have set up tax-exempt 501(c)(4) organizations. In theory, these groups, with disingenuously innocuous names like American Crossroads and the American Action Network, are meant to promote social welfare. The value to the political operatives is that they are a funnel for anonymous campaign donations. ...
Ta much, dear Ar0cketman
September 11. 2010 1:00AM
Conyers checks in to federal prison
Ex-Detroit City Council president starts 37-month sentence in federal penitentiary
Robert Snell / The Detroit News
... Conyers, who said she enrolled in divinity school after quitting the council last year and pleading guilty to bribery conspiracy, also will have access to a chapel, religious library and prayer and study areas.
Resembling a prep school, the prison has no razor wire, imposing fences or thick towering walls. Windows can be left open -- except in winter -- and a red line rings the prison boundary. Cross it, and risk an escape charge.
She will sleep in a room with no lock or bars on the windows and be assigned a job, from housecleaning to food service to landscaping duty or light clerical work, Ross said.
Conyers also can have few personal possessions: certain religious materials and jewelry, a watch and wedding band -- sans stones. Visitors are allowed, but Alderson is an eight-hour drive from Detroit.
That could be an adjustment for a woman who arrived to court proceedings in a Lincoln Town car and faced accusations that she ate free at the Mosaic restaurant in Greektown, received thousands of dollars of free jewelry from a pawn shop and regularly took hundreds of dollars from a developer. ...
Conyers checks in to federal prison
Ex-Detroit City Council president starts 37-month sentence in federal penitentiary
Robert Snell / The Detroit News
... Conyers, who said she enrolled in divinity school after quitting the council last year and pleading guilty to bribery conspiracy, also will have access to a chapel, religious library and prayer and study areas.
Resembling a prep school, the prison has no razor wire, imposing fences or thick towering walls. Windows can be left open -- except in winter -- and a red line rings the prison boundary. Cross it, and risk an escape charge.
She will sleep in a room with no lock or bars on the windows and be assigned a job, from housecleaning to food service to landscaping duty or light clerical work, Ross said.
Conyers also can have few personal possessions: certain religious materials and jewelry, a watch and wedding band -- sans stones. Visitors are allowed, but Alderson is an eight-hour drive from Detroit.
That could be an adjustment for a woman who arrived to court proceedings in a Lincoln Town car and faced accusations that she ate free at the Mosaic restaurant in Greektown, received thousands of dollars of free jewelry from a pawn shop and regularly took hundreds of dollars from a developer. ...
For years, two corrupt Synagro Technologies salesmen courted Detroit power brokers with cash, Vegas getaways, booze, even a $1,200 strip-club outing as the company sought a $1.2-billion city contract for sludge disposal.
Both men were caught and sent to prison for bribery. No one else at Synagro has been charged.
But documents reviewed by the Free Press indicate that at least four Synagro executives — including the CEO at the time — were aware of thousands of dollars in questionable spending by the salesmen, James Rosendall and Rayford Jackson, with some executives approving payments on several occasions.
Taken together, the records portray top Synagro executives as being so eager to close the Detroit deal that they set aside ethical concerns over payments and perks to then-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, his father, Bernard Kilpatrick, Councilwoman Monica Conyers and others. ...
Both men were caught and sent to prison for bribery. No one else at Synagro has been charged.
But documents reviewed by the Free Press indicate that at least four Synagro executives — including the CEO at the time — were aware of thousands of dollars in questionable spending by the salesmen, James Rosendall and Rayford Jackson, with some executives approving payments on several occasions.
Taken together, the records portray top Synagro executives as being so eager to close the Detroit deal that they set aside ethical concerns over payments and perks to then-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, his father, Bernard Kilpatrick, Councilwoman Monica Conyers and others. ...
Police have raided the home of L'Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt's financial adviser as the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, came under increasing pressure over alleged donations to his presidential campaign.
Officers also swooped on the offices of the company Clymène, which handles part of Bettencourt's fortune and where the wife of Eric Woerth, the employment minister, worked.
Bettencourt's former bookkeeper said financial adviser Patrice de Maistre had asked her to withdraw €150,000 (£125,000) from the heiress's bank account to help fund Sarkozy's presidential campaign in 2007.
The bookkeeper, Claire Thibout, claimed De Maistre told her to withdraw the cash which he allegedly indicated was to be given to Woerth, who is also treasurer of the ruling party, Le Mouvement Populaire (UMP).
Police have discovered that €50,000 was withdrawn from Bettencourt's account at the BNP Paribas branch near the Arc de Triomphe. The rest reportedly came from secret bank accounts in Switzerland. De Maistre has denied handing over any cash donation.
The raids came a day after De Maistre confronted Thibout in a meeting set up by police as part of their investigation into alleged illegal donations to Sarkozy's governing party.
French press described the atmosphere at the Elysée Palace as a "state of urgency" and claimed Sarkozy had been completely "thrown off track" by the recent series of damaging allegations. The president's popularity has fallen to an all-time low since the Bettencourt scandal took a political turn. ...
Officers also swooped on the offices of the company Clymène, which handles part of Bettencourt's fortune and where the wife of Eric Woerth, the employment minister, worked.
Bettencourt's former bookkeeper said financial adviser Patrice de Maistre had asked her to withdraw €150,000 (£125,000) from the heiress's bank account to help fund Sarkozy's presidential campaign in 2007.
The bookkeeper, Claire Thibout, claimed De Maistre told her to withdraw the cash which he allegedly indicated was to be given to Woerth, who is also treasurer of the ruling party, Le Mouvement Populaire (UMP).
Police have discovered that €50,000 was withdrawn from Bettencourt's account at the BNP Paribas branch near the Arc de Triomphe. The rest reportedly came from secret bank accounts in Switzerland. De Maistre has denied handing over any cash donation.
The raids came a day after De Maistre confronted Thibout in a meeting set up by police as part of their investigation into alleged illegal donations to Sarkozy's governing party.
French press described the atmosphere at the Elysée Palace as a "state of urgency" and claimed Sarkozy had been completely "thrown off track" by the recent series of damaging allegations. The president's popularity has fallen to an all-time low since the Bettencourt scandal took a political turn. ...
Nicolas Sarkozy urges cabinet to 'keep cool' over L'Oréal payment claims | World news | The Guardian
An embattled Nicolas Sarkozy urged members of his government to "keep cool" today after prosecutors opened an investigation into allegations that his 2007 presidential campaign was funded illegally by L'Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt.
Quashing any presidential hopes that reports of an alleged campaign donation of €150,000 (£125,000) would lead nowhere, anti-fraud investigators were ordered to look into claims that his employment minister, Eric Woerth, had been given the cash by France's richest woman two months before Sarkozy's election victory.
In allegations that have been denied by all implicated, Claire Thibout, a former accountant to Bettencourt, 87, told police the payment was made to Woerth, then UMP party treasurer, in March 2007 by Patrice de Maistre, the billionaire's financial advisor. She said that while she withdrew €50,000 from a bank in Paris, Maistre told her he had travelled to Switzerland to recoup the remainder and that the total was to be given to the Sarkozy campaign.
Woerth has questioned the reliability of her account, picking holes and implying she is part of a leftwing "political plot". A statement from his ministry today said he would be suing for slander. ...
Quashing any presidential hopes that reports of an alleged campaign donation of €150,000 (£125,000) would lead nowhere, anti-fraud investigators were ordered to look into claims that his employment minister, Eric Woerth, had been given the cash by France's richest woman two months before Sarkozy's election victory.
In allegations that have been denied by all implicated, Claire Thibout, a former accountant to Bettencourt, 87, told police the payment was made to Woerth, then UMP party treasurer, in March 2007 by Patrice de Maistre, the billionaire's financial advisor. She said that while she withdrew €50,000 from a bank in Paris, Maistre told her he had travelled to Switzerland to recoup the remainder and that the total was to be given to the Sarkozy campaign.
Woerth has questioned the reliability of her account, picking holes and implying she is part of a leftwing "political plot". A statement from his ministry today said he would be suing for slander. ...
After an initial denial, the state-owned Urban Development Corporation (UDC) has admitted that it hired and is still paying millions of dollars to a company partially owned by extradited west Kingston strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke.
The UDC says it has one contract with the firm Bulls Eye Security Services Limited, but it is still checking its records to see if there are any others.
Late last month, the UDC told The Gleaner that it had not issued any contract to Bulls Eye, which lists Coke as a shareholder. Coke was previously listed as a director but is believed to have pulled out because of requirements that would force him to be fingerprinted.
But, last week, in a letter to The Gleaner, the UDC said it erred in its denial.
"We wish to state for the record that the UDC, in expediting what was deemed to be an urgent request from a Gleaner reporter to meet a cut-off deadline for publication, stated: "The UDC has not awarded any contract to Bulls Eye Security Services Limited.
"The company was engaged by contractors Jatlin Construction and Associates and Alcar Construction Limited for the St William Grant Park and Downtown Transport Centre projects, respectively," read a section of the UDC's missive.
"However, a further review of our records has indicated that in one instance, July 2009, the services of Bulls Eye were contracted within the provisions of the Procurement Guidelines by way of limited tender. The contract, which is valued at $5.28 million, expires on March 4, 2011 and services the UDC project located at the corner of Church and North (streets)."
The UDC argued that the $5.28-million contract should be placed in the context of its entire security bill of $205.4 million, spread across seven contractors. ...
The UDC says it has one contract with the firm Bulls Eye Security Services Limited, but it is still checking its records to see if there are any others.
Late last month, the UDC told The Gleaner that it had not issued any contract to Bulls Eye, which lists Coke as a shareholder. Coke was previously listed as a director but is believed to have pulled out because of requirements that would force him to be fingerprinted.
But, last week, in a letter to The Gleaner, the UDC said it erred in its denial.
"We wish to state for the record that the UDC, in expediting what was deemed to be an urgent request from a Gleaner reporter to meet a cut-off deadline for publication, stated: "The UDC has not awarded any contract to Bulls Eye Security Services Limited.
"The company was engaged by contractors Jatlin Construction and Associates and Alcar Construction Limited for the St William Grant Park and Downtown Transport Centre projects, respectively," read a section of the UDC's missive.
"However, a further review of our records has indicated that in one instance, July 2009, the services of Bulls Eye were contracted within the provisions of the Procurement Guidelines by way of limited tender. The contract, which is valued at $5.28 million, expires on March 4, 2011 and services the UDC project located at the corner of Church and North (streets)."
The UDC argued that the $5.28-million contract should be placed in the context of its entire security bill of $205.4 million, spread across seven contractors. ...
A senior Vatican cardinal is under investigation for corruption, dragging the Catholic church into a public works scandal that has sent shockwaves through the Italian government.
Italian media reported today that Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, the archbishop of Naples, was suspected of striking cosy deals while head of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, the Vatican congregation that uses proceeds from a property empire including 2,000 Rome apartments to fund missionary efforts.
Sepe allegedly oversaw the sale in 2004 of a building in Rome to the then transport minister, Pietro Lunardi, for the suspiciously low price of €4.16m, newspapers reported, adding that magistrates wanted to know why Lunardi then freed up €2.5m in state funding the following year for the congregation to create a museum in its headquarters, and why that museum never opened.
Lunardi, who is also under investigation, said he would contact the magistrates looking into the deal "as soon as possible... to clear everything up". ...
Italian media reported today that Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, the archbishop of Naples, was suspected of striking cosy deals while head of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, the Vatican congregation that uses proceeds from a property empire including 2,000 Rome apartments to fund missionary efforts.
Sepe allegedly oversaw the sale in 2004 of a building in Rome to the then transport minister, Pietro Lunardi, for the suspiciously low price of €4.16m, newspapers reported, adding that magistrates wanted to know why Lunardi then freed up €2.5m in state funding the following year for the congregation to create a museum in its headquarters, and why that museum never opened.
Lunardi, who is also under investigation, said he would contact the magistrates looking into the deal "as soon as possible... to clear everything up". ...
Who is behind Jamaica's mayhem?
Published: Saturday | May 29, 2010
The Editor, Sir:
I have read and watched with interest the developments in Jamaica since the Christopher 'Dudus' Coke extradition issue has come to the forefront. And, I must say how interesting it is when one man must take the fall for the ills of many.
Yes, I say, many because, even though the spotlight is on Dudus, the real problem facing Jamaica is not Dudus; it is corruption in all levels of government. Dudus is just a product of the ongoing corruption that has infected Jamaican politics and society over the years.
Lest we forget, many members of parliament, in an effort to maintain power, have supported dons in garrison constituencies. And these events today are just a product of those actions. What is happening now, with the signing of the extradition order and the effort to arrest Dudus, is seemingly just a facade to save face and to appease the US State Department, which has stepped up pressure on the Jamaican government.
Let's ask the question, "what would have happened if there were no extradition request from the United States?", and "what will happen next?" Would the garrisons remain? Or rather, "will they remain when this is all over and Dudus is gone?"
It is time to hold members of parliament accountable for ills in their constituencies. Dudus has allegedly broken the law, but the politicians have been living above the law since independence. ...
Published: Saturday | May 29, 2010
The Editor, Sir:
I have read and watched with interest the developments in Jamaica since the Christopher 'Dudus' Coke extradition issue has come to the forefront. And, I must say how interesting it is when one man must take the fall for the ills of many.
Yes, I say, many because, even though the spotlight is on Dudus, the real problem facing Jamaica is not Dudus; it is corruption in all levels of government. Dudus is just a product of the ongoing corruption that has infected Jamaican politics and society over the years.
Lest we forget, many members of parliament, in an effort to maintain power, have supported dons in garrison constituencies. And these events today are just a product of those actions. What is happening now, with the signing of the extradition order and the effort to arrest Dudus, is seemingly just a facade to save face and to appease the US State Department, which has stepped up pressure on the Jamaican government.
Let's ask the question, "what would have happened if there were no extradition request from the United States?", and "what will happen next?" Would the garrisons remain? Or rather, "will they remain when this is all over and Dudus is gone?"
It is time to hold members of parliament accountable for ills in their constituencies. Dudus has allegedly broken the law, but the politicians have been living above the law since independence. ...
Massacre in Tivoli Gardens
Published: Saturday | May 29, 2010
Massacre in Tivoli Gardens
The Editor, Sir:
Since the prime minister's announcement that the process for the extradition of Christopher 'Dudus' Coke would take place, not only have we witnessed the physical and mental destruction of a community, but we have witnessed an intentional onslaught by the security forces on a poor, innocent and misled people. What makes it so difficult and painful is the fact that the invasion's main purpose was inconsequential.
How can a warrant be issued without any credible evidence as to the whereabouts of the person being sought? Refusing to acquire, or not acquiring, credible evidence suggests that other than issuing the warrant, the security forces could not wait to unleash their weaponry on a community which has been a target for them for quite a number of years....
A time to rejoice
The Editor, Sir;
While many Jamaicans lament the killing of innocent Jamaicans in this battle in Tivoli, many of us applaud the efforts of the military and the police to rid the country of criminal elements.
We are quite aware that politicians are guilty of the escalation of mafia-type crime in Jamaica through the granting of contracts to these criminal elements, which has served to safeguard the politicians' selfish desire for political power. So, while many politicians forge unholy alliances with criminals, many hardworking Jamaicans cowered in their communities as criminals ran amok, holding citizens hostage to violence and extortion.
Now that the politicians have empowered these criminals to the point where they can challenge the State, the Government has reacted to stave off international embarrassment. ...
...hard-working Jamaicans have had enough of crime and rejoice at the dismantling of this and hopefully many other garrisons across Jamaica....
Published: Saturday | May 29, 2010
Massacre in Tivoli Gardens
The Editor, Sir:
Since the prime minister's announcement that the process for the extradition of Christopher 'Dudus' Coke would take place, not only have we witnessed the physical and mental destruction of a community, but we have witnessed an intentional onslaught by the security forces on a poor, innocent and misled people. What makes it so difficult and painful is the fact that the invasion's main purpose was inconsequential.
How can a warrant be issued without any credible evidence as to the whereabouts of the person being sought? Refusing to acquire, or not acquiring, credible evidence suggests that other than issuing the warrant, the security forces could not wait to unleash their weaponry on a community which has been a target for them for quite a number of years....
A time to rejoice
The Editor, Sir;
While many Jamaicans lament the killing of innocent Jamaicans in this battle in Tivoli, many of us applaud the efforts of the military and the police to rid the country of criminal elements.
We are quite aware that politicians are guilty of the escalation of mafia-type crime in Jamaica through the granting of contracts to these criminal elements, which has served to safeguard the politicians' selfish desire for political power. So, while many politicians forge unholy alliances with criminals, many hardworking Jamaicans cowered in their communities as criminals ran amok, holding citizens hostage to violence and extortion.
Now that the politicians have empowered these criminals to the point where they can challenge the State, the Government has reacted to stave off international embarrassment. ...
...hard-working Jamaicans have had enough of crime and rejoice at the dismantling of this and hopefully many other garrisons across Jamaica....
Gov't hiding 'real issues' in Chinese deal - OCG
Published: Friday | May 28, 2010
Contractor General Greg Christie has slammed the Government for its attempt to justify a proposed multibillion-dollar deal to sell its 45 per cent stake of the Jamalco alumina refinery to Chinese firm Zhuhai Hongfan Non-ferrous Metals and Chemical Engineering Limited (Hongfan). He accused government bureaucrats of "obfuscating" the real issues when it responded to the initial alarm he raised about the deal.
In a media release, responding to concerns raised by the Office of the Contractor General (OCG) two weeks ago, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Mining (MEM), Hillary Alexander, pointed to, among other things, operating losses at Clarendon Alumina Production Company (CAP), which created a debt of more than US$400 million, an obligation, she said which cannot be accommodated in the current economic programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
But in a sharp rebuke, Christie described the ministry's response as an "interesting attempt ... to obfuscate the real issues which are the subject of the OCG's contention in the matter".
"As you are very much aware, the OCG's primary contention is that the proposed multibillion-dollar Government of Jamaica/Port Reliant/Hongfan contract award is not one which was borne out of an open, competitive and transparent tender process," the OCG letter which was released to the media said.
"Indeed, to date," the contractor general continued, "you have failed to provide to the OCG an acceptable explanation for your ministry's aberrant and potentially damaging conduct in not putting this major asset divestment to public competitive tender."
In the letter, which was copied to the prime minister and other state officials, Christie pointed to the ministry's references to the "drain on the public purse" and the allusion that the IMF standby agreement made no provision for the servicing of CAP's J$36-billion debt. ...
Published: Friday | May 28, 2010
Contractor General Greg Christie has slammed the Government for its attempt to justify a proposed multibillion-dollar deal to sell its 45 per cent stake of the Jamalco alumina refinery to Chinese firm Zhuhai Hongfan Non-ferrous Metals and Chemical Engineering Limited (Hongfan). He accused government bureaucrats of "obfuscating" the real issues when it responded to the initial alarm he raised about the deal.
In a media release, responding to concerns raised by the Office of the Contractor General (OCG) two weeks ago, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Mining (MEM), Hillary Alexander, pointed to, among other things, operating losses at Clarendon Alumina Production Company (CAP), which created a debt of more than US$400 million, an obligation, she said which cannot be accommodated in the current economic programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
But in a sharp rebuke, Christie described the ministry's response as an "interesting attempt ... to obfuscate the real issues which are the subject of the OCG's contention in the matter".
"As you are very much aware, the OCG's primary contention is that the proposed multibillion-dollar Government of Jamaica/Port Reliant/Hongfan contract award is not one which was borne out of an open, competitive and transparent tender process," the OCG letter which was released to the media said.
"Indeed, to date," the contractor general continued, "you have failed to provide to the OCG an acceptable explanation for your ministry's aberrant and potentially damaging conduct in not putting this major asset divestment to public competitive tender."
In the letter, which was copied to the prime minister and other state officials, Christie pointed to the ministry's references to the "drain on the public purse" and the allusion that the IMF standby agreement made no provision for the servicing of CAP's J$36-billion debt. ...
BRUCE GOLDING, prime minister of Jamaica, shares an intriguing relationship with Christopher 'Dudus' Coke, the 'President' of Tivoli Gardens.
The power-sharing framework between the man who formally represents the West Kingston constituency in which Tivoli Gardens is located, and the man who really runs the place, is just as fascinating.
The word from well-placed political sources is that Golding and Dudus are not particularly close.
More than a generation separates them.
While Golding revels in the political limelight, Dudus shirks it.
Why then would Golding sacrifice his political career for a man with whom he is not a particularly close friend?
A Sunday Gleaner probe reveals that Coke was instrumental in Golding's election as member of parliament (MP) for Western Kingston after he was elected leader of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) in 2005. ...
The power-sharing framework between the man who formally represents the West Kingston constituency in which Tivoli Gardens is located, and the man who really runs the place, is just as fascinating.
The word from well-placed political sources is that Golding and Dudus are not particularly close.
More than a generation separates them.
While Golding revels in the political limelight, Dudus shirks it.
Why then would Golding sacrifice his political career for a man with whom he is not a particularly close friend?
A Sunday Gleaner probe reveals that Coke was instrumental in Golding's election as member of parliament (MP) for Western Kingston after he was elected leader of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) in 2005. ...
Prime Minister talks it out - Golding holds Vale Royal meetings with JLP to decide on his future
Saturday | May 15, 2010
Gary Spaulding, Senior Gleaner Writer
As the calls for the resignation of the prime minister heighten, official word from the Government is that Bruce Golding is engaged in a series of consultations before deciding his future.
Information Minister Daryl Vaz feverishly sought to quash swirling rumours that Golding had tendered his resignation to a meeting of officers of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) yesterday.
"The prime minister, the Government and the party take very seriously what has transpired and, therefore, these consultations and discussions have to be done in a very organised way," asserted Vaz.
The information minister continued to be the face and voice of the party in turmoil even as scores of other party faithfuls wound up heavily tinted windows to avoid the media.
Vaz sought to stave off a rush on the prime minister's official residence, Vale Royal, in the face of the rumours that the prime minister had buckled under pressure. ...
Saturday | May 15, 2010
Gary Spaulding, Senior Gleaner Writer
As the calls for the resignation of the prime minister heighten, official word from the Government is that Bruce Golding is engaged in a series of consultations before deciding his future.
Information Minister Daryl Vaz feverishly sought to quash swirling rumours that Golding had tendered his resignation to a meeting of officers of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) yesterday.
"The prime minister, the Government and the party take very seriously what has transpired and, therefore, these consultations and discussions have to be done in a very organised way," asserted Vaz.
The information minister continued to be the face and voice of the party in turmoil even as scores of other party faithfuls wound up heavily tinted windows to avoid the media.
Vaz sought to stave off a rush on the prime minister's official residence, Vale Royal, in the face of the rumours that the prime minister had buckled under pressure. ...
Report: Tea Parties created as GOP political ploy
By David Edwards
Thursday, April 15th, 2010
The Tea Party has been billed as an organic grassroots operation, but a newly uncovered document obtained by Politico suggests the movement has been successfully co-opted as a Republican fundraising ploy.
GOP political consultant Joe Wierzbicki floated the proposal a year ago today to create the Tea Party Express, a nationwide bus tour to "give a boost to our PAC and position us as a growing force/leading force as the 2010 elections come into focus." His idea eventually became one of the best known brands in the Tea Party movement.
The document cautioned planners to be careful when discussing the ruse to use Tea Parties for political gain. "We have to be very, very careful about discussing amongst ourselves anyone we include 'outside of the family' because quite frankly, we are not only not part of the political establishment or conservative establishment, but we are also sadly not currently a part of the 'tea party' establishment," Wierzbicki wrote.
Wierzbicki, who works for the Sacramento firm Russo Marsh + Rogers, went on to outline how conservative media including Fox News could be leveraged to hype the Tea Party Express. He recommended using "mentions and possibly even promotion from conservative/pro-tea party bloggers, talk radio hosts, Fox News commentators, etc..."
Citing Michigan as an example, he noted that one of the plan's primary goals would be to elect Republican candidates. "It is also worth considering making a return run to Michigan. Former Republican Michigan governor, John Engler, has recently stated that he believes the Republican Party will do quite well in Michigan," he continued. ...
Ta much, dear Zaxy
By David Edwards
Thursday, April 15th, 2010
The Tea Party has been billed as an organic grassroots operation, but a newly uncovered document obtained by Politico suggests the movement has been successfully co-opted as a Republican fundraising ploy.
GOP political consultant Joe Wierzbicki floated the proposal a year ago today to create the Tea Party Express, a nationwide bus tour to "give a boost to our PAC and position us as a growing force/leading force as the 2010 elections come into focus." His idea eventually became one of the best known brands in the Tea Party movement.
The document cautioned planners to be careful when discussing the ruse to use Tea Parties for political gain. "We have to be very, very careful about discussing amongst ourselves anyone we include 'outside of the family' because quite frankly, we are not only not part of the political establishment or conservative establishment, but we are also sadly not currently a part of the 'tea party' establishment," Wierzbicki wrote.
Wierzbicki, who works for the Sacramento firm Russo Marsh + Rogers, went on to outline how conservative media including Fox News could be leveraged to hype the Tea Party Express. He recommended using "mentions and possibly even promotion from conservative/pro-tea party bloggers, talk radio hosts, Fox News commentators, etc..."
Citing Michigan as an example, he noted that one of the plan's primary goals would be to elect Republican candidates. "It is also worth considering making a return run to Michigan. Former Republican Michigan governor, John Engler, has recently stated that he believes the Republican Party will do quite well in Michigan," he continued. ...
Ta much, dear Zaxy
GOP operatives crash the tea party
By KENNETH P. VOGEL | 4/14/10
Just days after the first widespread tea party demonstrators hit the streets a year ago Thursday, Joe Wierzbicki, a Republican political consultant with the Sacramento firm Russo Marsh + Rogers, made a proposal to his colleagues that he said could “give a boost to our PAC and position us as a growing force/leading force as the 2010 elections come into focus.”
The proposal, obtained by POLITICO, was for a nationwide tea party bus tour, to be called the Tea Party Express, which over the past seven months has become among the most identifiable brands of the tea party movement. Buses emblazoned with the Tea Party Express logo have brought speakers and entertainers to rallies in dozens of small towns and big cities, including one in Boston on Wednesday that will feature former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
Aided by campaign-style advance work and event planning, slick ads cut by Russo Marsh, impressive crowds and a savvy media operation, the political action committee run by Wierzbicki, Russo Marsh founder Sal Russo and a handful of other Republican operatives has also emerged as among the prolific fundraising vehicles under the tea party banner. Known as Our Country Deserves Better when it was founded during the 2008 election as a vehicle to oppose Barack Obama’s campaign for president, the PAC saw its fundraising more than quadruple after it took the Tea Party Express public in July, raising nearly $2.7 million in roughly the following six months, compared with less than $600,000 in the preceding six months, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
Its fundraising success has made the PAC — which formally filed with the FEC in October to change its name to “Our Country Deserves Better PAC–TeaPartyExpress.org” — a power player in the tea party and beyond, airing hundreds of thousands of dollars in ads supporting Republican campaigns such as Scott Brown’s successful special election for Senate in Massachusetts and blasting Democratic ones, such as Senate Majority Leader Reid’s reelection bid in Nevada.
And that fundraising success has also meant a brisk business for Russo March, which essentially runs the PAC. In that capacity, Russo Marsh and a sister firm called King Media Group have received $1.9 million of the $4.1 million in payments made by the committee — a financial relationship that is not uncommon between political action committees run by consultants and their consulting firms. ...
By KENNETH P. VOGEL | 4/14/10
Just days after the first widespread tea party demonstrators hit the streets a year ago Thursday, Joe Wierzbicki, a Republican political consultant with the Sacramento firm Russo Marsh + Rogers, made a proposal to his colleagues that he said could “give a boost to our PAC and position us as a growing force/leading force as the 2010 elections come into focus.”
The proposal, obtained by POLITICO, was for a nationwide tea party bus tour, to be called the Tea Party Express, which over the past seven months has become among the most identifiable brands of the tea party movement. Buses emblazoned with the Tea Party Express logo have brought speakers and entertainers to rallies in dozens of small towns and big cities, including one in Boston on Wednesday that will feature former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
Aided by campaign-style advance work and event planning, slick ads cut by Russo Marsh, impressive crowds and a savvy media operation, the political action committee run by Wierzbicki, Russo Marsh founder Sal Russo and a handful of other Republican operatives has also emerged as among the prolific fundraising vehicles under the tea party banner. Known as Our Country Deserves Better when it was founded during the 2008 election as a vehicle to oppose Barack Obama’s campaign for president, the PAC saw its fundraising more than quadruple after it took the Tea Party Express public in July, raising nearly $2.7 million in roughly the following six months, compared with less than $600,000 in the preceding six months, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
Its fundraising success has made the PAC — which formally filed with the FEC in October to change its name to “Our Country Deserves Better PAC–TeaPartyExpress.org” — a power player in the tea party and beyond, airing hundreds of thousands of dollars in ads supporting Republican campaigns such as Scott Brown’s successful special election for Senate in Massachusetts and blasting Democratic ones, such as Senate Majority Leader Reid’s reelection bid in Nevada.
And that fundraising success has also meant a brisk business for Russo March, which essentially runs the PAC. In that capacity, Russo Marsh and a sister firm called King Media Group have received $1.9 million of the $4.1 million in payments made by the committee — a financial relationship that is not uncommon between political action committees run by consultants and their consulting firms. ...
Fuck yu, yu t'iefin' bastard! Yu h'alreddy t'ief from wi, an' now unu want wi help yu pey h'it baack? Mi na t'ink so, you faat t'iefin' fuckka!
A German-Canadian arms dealer who rose to prominence in the party funding scandal that damaged Germany's ruling Christian Democrats (CDU) in 1999 was today jailed for eight years.
A court in Augsburg, southern Germany, convicted 76-year-old Karlheinz Schreiber on six counts of tax evasion between 1988 and 1993. The verdict comes days before the CDU faces a key electoral test.
Schreiber was a central figure in a funding scandal involving Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU that forced the former chancellor, Helmut Kohl – who was then honorary party leader – to resign after he admitted accepting illegal party donations.
The court found Schreiber had cheated the tax authorities of €7.3m (£6.2m).
Passing sentence, the presiding judge, Rudolf Weigell, said: "The accused is the type of person only concerned with his own advantage, who will bribe anyone and anything if things aren't going to plan, and who will cheat the taxman in any way he can." ...
A court in Augsburg, southern Germany, convicted 76-year-old Karlheinz Schreiber on six counts of tax evasion between 1988 and 1993. The verdict comes days before the CDU faces a key electoral test.
Schreiber was a central figure in a funding scandal involving Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU that forced the former chancellor, Helmut Kohl – who was then honorary party leader – to resign after he admitted accepting illegal party donations.
The court found Schreiber had cheated the tax authorities of €7.3m (£6.2m).
Passing sentence, the presiding judge, Rudolf Weigell, said: "The accused is the type of person only concerned with his own advantage, who will bribe anyone and anything if things aren't going to plan, and who will cheat the taxman in any way he can." ...
NPR and other outlets are reporting today that there seems to be a federal criminal probe into allegations of bribery by Massey Energy - Don Blankenship's company, the one involved in last month's horrible disaster - of federal mine-regulating officials.
Ken Ward, who writes the excellent Coal Tattoo blog for the Charleston (WV) Gazette, offers the best summary here. It's early on this story and still a bit fuzzy, but it's something we shall keep an eye on.
When last we spoke of this general matter, the subject of why MSHA, the mine safety and health administration, didn't do more to prevent such disasters was the topic of lots of down-thread discussion. Well, one answer might be that some officials took bribes. But let me take pains to say that we're a long long way from having that established as a fact, or even officially alleged.
Even so, here's another reason, from the AP:
The nation's top mine safety official told lawmakers earlier this week that the government will start going directly to federal court to shut down mines that make a habit of ignoring safety.
Joe Main, director of the Mine Safety and Health Administration, said his agency has had the power to seek federal injunctions for years, but has never tried to use it.
"I can't speak for past administrations," Main said during the Senate's first hearing on the accident that killed 29 men. "We're going to use it."
Main also called for a slew of other legal and regulatory reforms to beef up safety enforcement in the wake of this month's deadly explosion at a mine in West Virginia. ...
Ken Ward, who writes the excellent Coal Tattoo blog for the Charleston (WV) Gazette, offers the best summary here. It's early on this story and still a bit fuzzy, but it's something we shall keep an eye on.
When last we spoke of this general matter, the subject of why MSHA, the mine safety and health administration, didn't do more to prevent such disasters was the topic of lots of down-thread discussion. Well, one answer might be that some officials took bribes. But let me take pains to say that we're a long long way from having that established as a fact, or even officially alleged.
Even so, here's another reason, from the AP:
The nation's top mine safety official told lawmakers earlier this week that the government will start going directly to federal court to shut down mines that make a habit of ignoring safety.
Joe Main, director of the Mine Safety and Health Administration, said his agency has had the power to seek federal injunctions for years, but has never tried to use it.
"I can't speak for past administrations," Main said during the Senate's first hearing on the accident that killed 29 men. "We're going to use it."
Main also called for a slew of other legal and regulatory reforms to beef up safety enforcement in the wake of this month's deadly explosion at a mine in West Virginia. ...
Sixty Russian officials should be banned from the United States over the torture and death in prison of a lawyer who exposed a $230 million (£149 million) fraud by corrupt policemen, a powerful US government body has urged Hillary Clinton, the Secretary of State.
Senator Benjamin Cardin, the chairman of the Commission on Security and Co-operation in Europe, sent Mrs Clinton a list of security service agents, police, prosecutors, judges, tax officials and prison wardens who he said were implicated in the killing of Sergei Magnitsky.
The request threatens to cause a row between the Kremlin and the Obama Administration.
The list includes Viktor Grin, Russia’s Deputy General Prosecutor Viktor Grin, Aleksei Anichin, the Interior Ministry’s chief investigator Alexei Anichin, and 11 senior judges.
Mr Magnitsky, 37, died in November in Matrosskaya Tishina prison, Moscow, where he was held in pre-trial detention for almost a year for an alleged tax crime. He was refused medical treatment despite serious illnesses and denied access to his family.
Mr Magnitsky, a lawyer for the US firm Firestone Duncan, represented Hermitage Capital, a London-based hedge fund, in a battle with Kremlin officials allegedly involved in the theft of companies belonging to Hermitage and HSBC.
He was arrested on the orders of a group of Interior Ministry officers whom he had accused of fraudulently reclaiming $230 million in state taxes paid by Hermitage. ...
Senator Benjamin Cardin, the chairman of the Commission on Security and Co-operation in Europe, sent Mrs Clinton a list of security service agents, police, prosecutors, judges, tax officials and prison wardens who he said were implicated in the killing of Sergei Magnitsky.
The request threatens to cause a row between the Kremlin and the Obama Administration.
The list includes Viktor Grin, Russia’s Deputy General Prosecutor Viktor Grin, Aleksei Anichin, the Interior Ministry’s chief investigator Alexei Anichin, and 11 senior judges.
Mr Magnitsky, 37, died in November in Matrosskaya Tishina prison, Moscow, where he was held in pre-trial detention for almost a year for an alleged tax crime. He was refused medical treatment despite serious illnesses and denied access to his family.
Mr Magnitsky, a lawyer for the US firm Firestone Duncan, represented Hermitage Capital, a London-based hedge fund, in a battle with Kremlin officials allegedly involved in the theft of companies belonging to Hermitage and HSBC.
He was arrested on the orders of a group of Interior Ministry officers whom he had accused of fraudulently reclaiming $230 million in state taxes paid by Hermitage. ...
Barely 6 1/2 months before the midterm elections, an internal investigation by the Republican National Committee has revealed that the organization is beset with questionable financial management and oversight and is spending more money courting top-dollar donors than it raises.
The investigation found that the Republican Party's national governing body is losing money on its major-donors' fundraising program -- spending $1.09 for each $1.00 raised, according to RNC members privy to the investigation's findings. It typically costs about 40 cents for every dollar raised from donors who give more than $1,000.
The investigation also found that the RNC has allowed employees to forge Finance Director Rob Bickhart's initials on expense-reimbursement request approvals, according to an RNC member who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. The RNC's top elected and appointed management have united in defense of the committee's practices. RNC Chairman Michael S. Steele can withhold or increase RNC contributions to a state party.
The Washington Times obtained a copy of a report on the investigation -- prepared by RNC Treasurer Randy Pullen -- that he sent to the 28-member RNC Executive Committee before a conference call hastily scheduled for Wednesday afternoon by Mr. Steele's office. It includes some of the findings.
RNC communications director Doug Heye disputed the fundraising figures when reached for comment about the report. He said year-to-date the RNC has received $2,649,586 from major donors at a cost of $1,832,642, netting the organization more than $800,000.
The report says several RNC Finance Department employees have been forging Mr. Bickhart's signature for reimbursement for the purchase of clothing, wine and entertainment expenses, including some that were labeled as office supplies.
One such expense was the nearly $2,000 that a Finance Department employee named Allison Myers -- since fired -- received for money spent by a friend and non-employee at an Los Angeles nightclub that featured a sexual-bondage theme. Many small and large RNC donors alike were not amused. ...
Ta much, dear Anneliese
The investigation found that the Republican Party's national governing body is losing money on its major-donors' fundraising program -- spending $1.09 for each $1.00 raised, according to RNC members privy to the investigation's findings. It typically costs about 40 cents for every dollar raised from donors who give more than $1,000.
The investigation also found that the RNC has allowed employees to forge Finance Director Rob Bickhart's initials on expense-reimbursement request approvals, according to an RNC member who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. The RNC's top elected and appointed management have united in defense of the committee's practices. RNC Chairman Michael S. Steele can withhold or increase RNC contributions to a state party.
The Washington Times obtained a copy of a report on the investigation -- prepared by RNC Treasurer Randy Pullen -- that he sent to the 28-member RNC Executive Committee before a conference call hastily scheduled for Wednesday afternoon by Mr. Steele's office. It includes some of the findings.
RNC communications director Doug Heye disputed the fundraising figures when reached for comment about the report. He said year-to-date the RNC has received $2,649,586 from major donors at a cost of $1,832,642, netting the organization more than $800,000.
The report says several RNC Finance Department employees have been forging Mr. Bickhart's signature for reimbursement for the purchase of clothing, wine and entertainment expenses, including some that were labeled as office supplies.
One such expense was the nearly $2,000 that a Finance Department employee named Allison Myers -- since fired -- received for money spent by a friend and non-employee at an Los Angeles nightclub that featured a sexual-bondage theme. Many small and large RNC donors alike were not amused. ...
Ta much, dear Anneliese
The head of Kyrgyzstan's new interim government yesterday revealed that her country was broke and said that the former president who was overthrown in a street-led revolution this week had left only $80m in the budget.
In an interview with the Guardian, Roza Otunbayeva appealed for urgent international aid so that the impoverished Central Asian nation could meet its immediate bills. "Tomorrow we should pay pensions. This is a really serious problem," she said.
Otunbayeva said that the ousted president Kurmanbek Bakiyev had plundered the economy, installing his sons in key government positions and flogging off strategic state industries for a fraction of their true value.
She said the country's leading telecoms firm had been sold to an offshore company in the Canary Islands, belonging to a friend of the president's son Maxim. "We had an absolutely scandalous situation where Kyrgyzstan had become a family-run regime," she said.
Otunbayeva, a former foreign minister, said popular anger against the president and his relatives exploded after he imposed new tariffs on 1 January on electricity and hot water. She said the revolt started in the freezing mountain town of Talas in early March, then spread across the country. ...
In an interview with the Guardian, Roza Otunbayeva appealed for urgent international aid so that the impoverished Central Asian nation could meet its immediate bills. "Tomorrow we should pay pensions. This is a really serious problem," she said.
Otunbayeva said that the ousted president Kurmanbek Bakiyev had plundered the economy, installing his sons in key government positions and flogging off strategic state industries for a fraction of their true value.
She said the country's leading telecoms firm had been sold to an offshore company in the Canary Islands, belonging to a friend of the president's son Maxim. "We had an absolutely scandalous situation where Kyrgyzstan had become a family-run regime," she said.
Otunbayeva, a former foreign minister, said popular anger against the president and his relatives exploded after he imposed new tariffs on 1 January on electricity and hot water. She said the revolt started in the freezing mountain town of Talas in early March, then spread across the country. ...
George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld covered up that hundreds of innocent men were sent to the Guantánamo Bay prison camp because they feared that releasing them would harm the push for war in Iraq and the broader War on Terror, according to a new document obtained by The Times.
The accusations were made by Lawrence Wilkerson, a top aide to Colin Powell, the former Republican Secretary of State, in a signed declaration to support a lawsuit filed by a Guantánamo detainee. It is the first time that such allegations have been made by a senior member of the Bush Administration.
Colonel Wilkerson, who was General Powell’s chief of staff when he ran the State Department, was most critical of Mr Cheney and Mr Rumsfeld. He claimed that the former Vice-President and Defence Secretary knew that the majority of the initial 742 detainees sent to Guantánamo in 2002 were innocent but believed that it was “politically impossible to release them”.
General Powell, who left the Bush Administration in 2005, angry about the misinformation that he unwittingly gave the world when he made the case for the invasion of Iraq at the UN, is understood to have backed Colonel Wilkerson’s declaration. ...
The accusations were made by Lawrence Wilkerson, a top aide to Colin Powell, the former Republican Secretary of State, in a signed declaration to support a lawsuit filed by a Guantánamo detainee. It is the first time that such allegations have been made by a senior member of the Bush Administration.
Colonel Wilkerson, who was General Powell’s chief of staff when he ran the State Department, was most critical of Mr Cheney and Mr Rumsfeld. He claimed that the former Vice-President and Defence Secretary knew that the majority of the initial 742 detainees sent to Guantánamo in 2002 were innocent but believed that it was “politically impossible to release them”.
General Powell, who left the Bush Administration in 2005, angry about the misinformation that he unwittingly gave the world when he made the case for the invasion of Iraq at the UN, is understood to have backed Colonel Wilkerson’s declaration. ...
US-Afghan relations sink further as Hamid Karzai accused of drug abuse | World news | guardian.co.uk
US-Afghan relations sink further as Hamid Karzai accused of drug abuse
Former UN diplomat Peter Galbraith questions Afghan premier's mental stability
Jon Boone in Kabul
Wednesday 7 April 2010
... A White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs, has said the US will consider cancelling Karzai's invitation to meet Obama in Washington on 12 May in the light of any "further remarks" the Afghan president makes.
The foreign secretary, David Miliband, has intervened in the row, saying that "malign suggestions" the UK was involved in interfering with the elections were "completely without foundation".
Karzai's claims that foreigners were responsible for "very widespread fraud" during the election were first made shortly after Barack Obama made a fleeting visit to Kabul last week.
The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, tried to defuse the row during a phone call with Karzai on Friday, but he went on to repeat his claims to Afghan MPs and rhetorically threatened to "join the Taliban" if foreigners continued to interfere in the country's affairs.
On Sunday, during a trip to Kandahar, he told the BBC that he stood by his allegations despite the furore they had created.
There is some evidence that by sticking up for Afghan sovereignty he has gained some kudos among ordinary Afghans, but many MPs and members of the country's establishment have been horrified to see him jeopardise the critical Afghan-US relationship. ...
Former UN diplomat Peter Galbraith questions Afghan premier's mental stability
Jon Boone in Kabul
Wednesday 7 April 2010
... A White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs, has said the US will consider cancelling Karzai's invitation to meet Obama in Washington on 12 May in the light of any "further remarks" the Afghan president makes.
The foreign secretary, David Miliband, has intervened in the row, saying that "malign suggestions" the UK was involved in interfering with the elections were "completely without foundation".
Karzai's claims that foreigners were responsible for "very widespread fraud" during the election were first made shortly after Barack Obama made a fleeting visit to Kabul last week.
The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, tried to defuse the row during a phone call with Karzai on Friday, but he went on to repeat his claims to Afghan MPs and rhetorically threatened to "join the Taliban" if foreigners continued to interfere in the country's affairs.
On Sunday, during a trip to Kandahar, he told the BBC that he stood by his allegations despite the furore they had created.
There is some evidence that by sticking up for Afghan sovereignty he has gained some kudos among ordinary Afghans, but many MPs and members of the country's establishment have been horrified to see him jeopardise the critical Afghan-US relationship. ...
Obama sidelines Karzai as Washington alleges drug use
Afghan leader increasingly isolated as Washington strikes back at charges of foreign electoral fraud
Jon Boone in Kabul and Ewen MacAskill in Washington
Wednesday 7 April 2010
The Obama administration is to step up efforts to bypass Hamid Karzai after a series of controversial remarks by the Afghan president over recent days renewed concern about his reliability as an ally.
With relations between Washington and Kabul at a new low, the former UN envoy to Kabul Peter Galbraith said Karzai's comments raised questions about his mental stability and blamed them on alleged drug use.
Galbraith, an American who was the former deputy UN chief in Afghanistan, was responding to allegations first made by the Afghan president last Thursday. Karzai said the international community, and Galbraith in particular, had been responsible for "massive fraud" during last year's disastrous presidential election.
"He's prone to tirades, he can be very emotional, act impulsively," Galbraith said on MSNBC television. "In fact, some of the palace insiders say that he has a certain fondness for some of Afghanistan's most profitable exports." When asked whether he was saying Karzai had a substance abuse problem, Galbraith said there were "reports to that effect". ...
Afghan leader increasingly isolated as Washington strikes back at charges of foreign electoral fraud
Jon Boone in Kabul and Ewen MacAskill in Washington
Wednesday 7 April 2010
The Obama administration is to step up efforts to bypass Hamid Karzai after a series of controversial remarks by the Afghan president over recent days renewed concern about his reliability as an ally.
With relations between Washington and Kabul at a new low, the former UN envoy to Kabul Peter Galbraith said Karzai's comments raised questions about his mental stability and blamed them on alleged drug use.
Galbraith, an American who was the former deputy UN chief in Afghanistan, was responding to allegations first made by the Afghan president last Thursday. Karzai said the international community, and Galbraith in particular, had been responsible for "massive fraud" during last year's disastrous presidential election.
"He's prone to tirades, he can be very emotional, act impulsively," Galbraith said on MSNBC television. "In fact, some of the palace insiders say that he has a certain fondness for some of Afghanistan's most profitable exports." When asked whether he was saying Karzai had a substance abuse problem, Galbraith said there were "reports to that effect". ...
General election 2010: Tory adviser's firm stands to benefit from cuts
• Key expert chairs health company
• Labour to mount fightback on NI
• More business chiefs back Tories
Patrick Wintour, political editor
Wednesday 7 April 2010
One of David Cameron's independent efficiency experts who identified the £12bn spending savings an incoming Conservative government could make this year chairs a private healthcare firm that openly admits it will benefit from NHS spending cutbacks.
Sir Peter Gershon chairs General Healthcare Group, the largest private sector health firm in the UK. The Conservatives have relied on Gershon's analysis of efficiency savings to enable them to promise scrapping most of the government's planned national insurance increase – a move that has left Labour flatfooted at the outset of the election campaign.
The disclosure, which will open the Tories to the charge that they have not been transparent about the interests of a key adviser, came after the issue dominated the second day of formal campaigning. Cameron pummelled Gordon Brown over Labour's insistence that it had to raise NI contributions (NICs) – rather than cut spending immediately – in the last prime minister's questions before polling day, and the Tories announced that they had secured the support of another 30 business leaders, taking to 68 the number who have backed their plans to scrap the rise.
The Conservatives claim that the £12bn savings would enable them to cut spending this year by £6bn and channel a further £6bn into other areas. But at a potentially crucial press conference tomorrow – at which Brown and Alistair Darling, the chancellor, will attempt to stem the damage caused by the business assault on the NI rise – Labour will argue that it would be more damaging to take £6bn out of the economy this year than to increase Nics next year.
They will also seek to rebut the Tory claim that Labour is not willing to make efficiency savings of its own in the current financial year. ...
• Key expert chairs health company
• Labour to mount fightback on NI
• More business chiefs back Tories
Patrick Wintour, political editor
Wednesday 7 April 2010
One of David Cameron's independent efficiency experts who identified the £12bn spending savings an incoming Conservative government could make this year chairs a private healthcare firm that openly admits it will benefit from NHS spending cutbacks.
Sir Peter Gershon chairs General Healthcare Group, the largest private sector health firm in the UK. The Conservatives have relied on Gershon's analysis of efficiency savings to enable them to promise scrapping most of the government's planned national insurance increase – a move that has left Labour flatfooted at the outset of the election campaign.
The disclosure, which will open the Tories to the charge that they have not been transparent about the interests of a key adviser, came after the issue dominated the second day of formal campaigning. Cameron pummelled Gordon Brown over Labour's insistence that it had to raise NI contributions (NICs) – rather than cut spending immediately – in the last prime minister's questions before polling day, and the Tories announced that they had secured the support of another 30 business leaders, taking to 68 the number who have backed their plans to scrap the rise.
The Conservatives claim that the £12bn savings would enable them to cut spending this year by £6bn and channel a further £6bn into other areas. But at a potentially crucial press conference tomorrow – at which Brown and Alistair Darling, the chancellor, will attempt to stem the damage caused by the business assault on the NI rise – Labour will argue that it would be more damaging to take £6bn out of the economy this year than to increase Nics next year.
They will also seek to rebut the Tory claim that Labour is not willing to make efficiency savings of its own in the current financial year. ...
March 28, 2010
DPS: Scam cost $57M
FBI investigates ex-risk manager; district sues to recover money
BY JENNIFER DIXON
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
A former department chief at Detroit Public Schools and his assistant used secret offices and their own computer system to improperly divert more than $57 million in school funds to vendors who provided little, if anything, in return, according to sworn records reviewed by the Free Press.
Documents in a Wayne County Circuit Court lawsuit brought by DPS allege that Stephen Hill of Detroit -- director of DPS risk management from 2001-05 -- received luxury vehicles and other kickbacks. Some of the vendors who benefitted were friends or associates of Hill's or relatives of Hill's assistant, Christina Polk-Osumah of Detroit, court records allege.
When Hill left the district in September 2005, he received a champagne-and-tenderloin farewell bash that cost the impoverished school system $40,000, according to the suit.
The FBI now is investigating the alleged fraud scheme.
Robert Bobb, the district's emergency financial manager, said in a statement that the case is another example of how "DPS has been a place where people use the district as their personal banker and where there has been a cesspool of corruption, and in cases such as this one, both national corporations and local individuals took advantage of Detroit Public Schools."
Hill could not be reached for comment. His former attorney denied that Hill acted improperly and said he will be vindicated. ...
DPS: Scam cost $57M
FBI investigates ex-risk manager; district sues to recover money
BY JENNIFER DIXON
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
A former department chief at Detroit Public Schools and his assistant used secret offices and their own computer system to improperly divert more than $57 million in school funds to vendors who provided little, if anything, in return, according to sworn records reviewed by the Free Press.
Documents in a Wayne County Circuit Court lawsuit brought by DPS allege that Stephen Hill of Detroit -- director of DPS risk management from 2001-05 -- received luxury vehicles and other kickbacks. Some of the vendors who benefitted were friends or associates of Hill's or relatives of Hill's assistant, Christina Polk-Osumah of Detroit, court records allege.
When Hill left the district in September 2005, he received a champagne-and-tenderloin farewell bash that cost the impoverished school system $40,000, according to the suit.
The FBI now is investigating the alleged fraud scheme.
Robert Bobb, the district's emergency financial manager, said in a statement that the case is another example of how "DPS has been a place where people use the district as their personal banker and where there has been a cesspool of corruption, and in cases such as this one, both national corporations and local individuals took advantage of Detroit Public Schools."
Hill could not be reached for comment. His former attorney denied that Hill acted improperly and said he will be vindicated. ...
March 31, 2010
$57-MILLION ALLEGATIONS
Ex-official facing DPS suit loses job offer
Ill. county rescinds proposal for top spot after troubles found
BY JENNIFER DIXON
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
On Sunday, the Free Press reported that a former Detroit schools official was accused of running a $57-million scam and accepting kickbacks while at Detroit Public Schools.
On Monday, Cook County, which covers Chicago and its environs, announced that the former official, Stephen Hill, had been offered a job as that county's director of risk management.
Oops.
When the Free Press called to inquire Tuesday, Cook County officials -- hours later -- confirmed the job offer. But they said the offer was rescinded after someone performed a Google search, which turned up the Free Press article, and other material on the DPS lawsuit against Hill, set for trial this summer. ...
$57-MILLION ALLEGATIONS
Ex-official facing DPS suit loses job offer
Ill. county rescinds proposal for top spot after troubles found
BY JENNIFER DIXON
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
On Sunday, the Free Press reported that a former Detroit schools official was accused of running a $57-million scam and accepting kickbacks while at Detroit Public Schools.
On Monday, Cook County, which covers Chicago and its environs, announced that the former official, Stephen Hill, had been offered a job as that county's director of risk management.
Oops.
When the Free Press called to inquire Tuesday, Cook County officials -- hours later -- confirmed the job offer. But they said the offer was rescinded after someone performed a Google search, which turned up the Free Press article, and other material on the DPS lawsuit against Hill, set for trial this summer. ...
The Republican chairman, Michael Steele, promised on taking office that he would bring the party to corners of America it had not reached before. It is a fair bet that most Republicans did not expect these corners to include the Voyeur West Hollywood, a bondage and S&M club in Los Angeles.
It emerged today that the Republicans spent almost $2,000 last month on a visit to the club where topless women hang from nets on the ceiling and simulate sex in a glass case.
The lavish spending will anger grassroots Republicans who are bombarded almost every day with more requests for contributions to help the cash-strapped party. A Republican National Committee spokesman said that it was looking into the matter. It insisted Steele was not at the club, but did not identify who had spent the money.
Such extravagance, in a time of recession and by the party that bills itself as fiscally conservative and reflecting family and Christian values, will renew questions about Steele's leadership.
The spending is disclosed in a Republican filing, as required by US law, to the Federal Election Commission.
It says that $1,946.25 (£1,300) was spent on 4 February for meals at the Voyeur West Hollywood by the Republican National Committee. ...
It emerged today that the Republicans spent almost $2,000 last month on a visit to the club where topless women hang from nets on the ceiling and simulate sex in a glass case.
The lavish spending will anger grassroots Republicans who are bombarded almost every day with more requests for contributions to help the cash-strapped party. A Republican National Committee spokesman said that it was looking into the matter. It insisted Steele was not at the club, but did not identify who had spent the money.
Such extravagance, in a time of recession and by the party that bills itself as fiscally conservative and reflecting family and Christian values, will renew questions about Steele's leadership.
The spending is disclosed in a Republican filing, as required by US law, to the Federal Election Commission.
It says that $1,946.25 (£1,300) was spent on 4 February for meals at the Voyeur West Hollywood by the Republican National Committee. ...
A nonprofit run by Kwame Kilpatrick's family paid more than $100,000 to a consulting firm formed by Christine Beatty after she resigned as his chief of staff during the text message scandal.
State records show that Beatty incorporated Maiyen Consulting the morning of Jan. 28, 2008 -- within hours of resigning from her $142,813 a year city job.
A federal tax report filed by the Kilpatrick Civic Fund says the fund -- whose mission was voter education and community improvement -- paid at least $100,000 to Maiyen Consulting as a "publication and print consultant." The report does not list the exact amount paid to the firm.
Beatty, who pleaded guilty to two felony charges in the text message scandal but refused to cooperate with prosecutors investigating Kilpatrick, didn't respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
Her lawyer, Mayer Morganroth, said Beatty was hired to work on publications for the civic fund and spent some of her fee on subcontractors, including printers. He said Beatty disclosed the payments to probation officials in her criminal case and declared it on her tax return.
In light of the Free Press' findings, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office plans to examine the civic fund's dealings with Maiyen Consulting.
"There was some preliminary research regarding this particular consulting contract, however, we focused on other matters connected to the civic fund," prosecutor spokeswoman Maria Miller said Wednesday. "Given this information, we will be looking into this further." ...
State records show that Beatty incorporated Maiyen Consulting the morning of Jan. 28, 2008 -- within hours of resigning from her $142,813 a year city job.
A federal tax report filed by the Kilpatrick Civic Fund says the fund -- whose mission was voter education and community improvement -- paid at least $100,000 to Maiyen Consulting as a "publication and print consultant." The report does not list the exact amount paid to the firm.
Beatty, who pleaded guilty to two felony charges in the text message scandal but refused to cooperate with prosecutors investigating Kilpatrick, didn't respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
Her lawyer, Mayer Morganroth, said Beatty was hired to work on publications for the civic fund and spent some of her fee on subcontractors, including printers. He said Beatty disclosed the payments to probation officials in her criminal case and declared it on her tax return.
In light of the Free Press' findings, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office plans to examine the civic fund's dealings with Maiyen Consulting.
"There was some preliminary research regarding this particular consulting contract, however, we focused on other matters connected to the civic fund," prosecutor spokeswoman Maria Miller said Wednesday. "Given this information, we will be looking into this further." ...
Last Updated: March 26. 2010 1:00AM
Ex-Kilpatrick aide Beatty under scrutiny over civic fund contract
Prosecutors give her 90 days before review of her restitution
Doug Guthrie and Mike Wilkinson / The Detroit News
Detroit --Wayne County prosecutors who put Kwame Kilpatrick's personal finances under a microscope at a probation violation hearing this week are giving the former mayor's criminal co-defendant and lover Christine Beatty 90 days before also reviewing her ability to pay restitution.
Kilpatrick's high lifestyle in Texas and claims that he is unable to meet the court's demands for payment on $1 million restitution have been spotlighted in court by Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy. Meanwhile, Beatty, who promised to pay the city $100,000, has faced no public pressure from authorities while paying just $2,302 so far. She was allowed in January to move to Georgia to search for work.
"Christine Beatty recently moved to Atlanta to begin a new job. We will review her case in 90 days," Assistant Prosecutor Maria Miller said about the possibility of asking her sentencing judge for a restitution hearing where Beatty's ability to start making regular payments would be established.
"Until then, she will continue being supervised by probation authorities there (in Georgia)," Miller said.
Both Beatty and Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to felony charges of obstruction of justice for committing perjury during a 2007 trial. Their extramarital affair was revealed in Kilpatrick's infamous text messages. Both went to jail and both promised to pay the city hefty restitution.
Beatty, who now lives in a condominium near the heart of Atlanta, has made seven payments toward her $100,000 restitution. Her last payment of $350 was made Jan. 4, a week before she asked permission of the court to move. No more payments have been made since, according to Wayne Circuit Court records. ...
Ex-Kilpatrick aide Beatty under scrutiny over civic fund contract
Prosecutors give her 90 days before review of her restitution
Doug Guthrie and Mike Wilkinson / The Detroit News
Detroit --Wayne County prosecutors who put Kwame Kilpatrick's personal finances under a microscope at a probation violation hearing this week are giving the former mayor's criminal co-defendant and lover Christine Beatty 90 days before also reviewing her ability to pay restitution.
Kilpatrick's high lifestyle in Texas and claims that he is unable to meet the court's demands for payment on $1 million restitution have been spotlighted in court by Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy. Meanwhile, Beatty, who promised to pay the city $100,000, has faced no public pressure from authorities while paying just $2,302 so far. She was allowed in January to move to Georgia to search for work.
"Christine Beatty recently moved to Atlanta to begin a new job. We will review her case in 90 days," Assistant Prosecutor Maria Miller said about the possibility of asking her sentencing judge for a restitution hearing where Beatty's ability to start making regular payments would be established.
"Until then, she will continue being supervised by probation authorities there (in Georgia)," Miller said.
Both Beatty and Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to felony charges of obstruction of justice for committing perjury during a 2007 trial. Their extramarital affair was revealed in Kilpatrick's infamous text messages. Both went to jail and both promised to pay the city hefty restitution.
Beatty, who now lives in a condominium near the heart of Atlanta, has made seven payments toward her $100,000 restitution. Her last payment of $350 was made Jan. 4, a week before she asked permission of the court to move. No more payments have been made since, according to Wayne Circuit Court records. ...
... In Detroit, there have been no charges to date from the East Coast sting, but federal documents portray the father of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and a mayoral aide as front men in a deal that would have resulted in payoffs to the Detroiters in exchange for the city hiring the fake company.
The deal never went through. But documents contend that over a period of months in 2007, Bernard Kilpatrick, mayoral aide Marc Cunningham and others were eagerly courted by officials with Coastal Solutions. Cunningham allegedly had Coastal Solutions send a $3,000 Super Bowl ticket to him at City Hall.
Bernard Kilpatrick's meetings with Coastal took him from the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City to a championship fight in Las Vegas. Also in Vegas were Kwame Kilpatrick and Cunningham.
After the fight, the documents say, Cunningham left a voice mail with Coastal Solutions saying Kwame Kilpatrick favored the deal. The FBI interpreted that to mean the mayor and others were willing to do a deal in return for bribes.
Bernard Kilpatrick did not return messages over recent weeks. James Thomas, a criminal attorney for Kwame Kilpatrick, said: "Mr. Kilpatrick has not been charged and to my knowledge, he's not been indicted. Of course, he denies the allegations. It's always been my practice that I'd rather discuss this case in court, if it comes to that."
Cunningham, the mayoral aide, could not be reached for comment. Cunningham quit his job in July 2008, on the same day the Free Press reported that a cell phone assigned to him had been tapped by federal agents. Cunningham said then that he quit to pursue other opportunities.
The FBI briefly listened in on conversations on that phone in June 2007. By then, the sting operation using Coastal Solutions was in full swing. ...
The deal never went through. But documents contend that over a period of months in 2007, Bernard Kilpatrick, mayoral aide Marc Cunningham and others were eagerly courted by officials with Coastal Solutions. Cunningham allegedly had Coastal Solutions send a $3,000 Super Bowl ticket to him at City Hall.
Bernard Kilpatrick's meetings with Coastal took him from the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City to a championship fight in Las Vegas. Also in Vegas were Kwame Kilpatrick and Cunningham.
After the fight, the documents say, Cunningham left a voice mail with Coastal Solutions saying Kwame Kilpatrick favored the deal. The FBI interpreted that to mean the mayor and others were willing to do a deal in return for bribes.
Bernard Kilpatrick did not return messages over recent weeks. James Thomas, a criminal attorney for Kwame Kilpatrick, said: "Mr. Kilpatrick has not been charged and to my knowledge, he's not been indicted. Of course, he denies the allegations. It's always been my practice that I'd rather discuss this case in court, if it comes to that."
Cunningham, the mayoral aide, could not be reached for comment. Cunningham quit his job in July 2008, on the same day the Free Press reported that a cell phone assigned to him had been tapped by federal agents. Cunningham said then that he quit to pursue other opportunities.
The FBI briefly listened in on conversations on that phone in June 2007. By then, the sting operation using Coastal Solutions was in full swing. ...
I briefly knew the guy ferguson threatened; we were kids.
... The Free Press has learned that at least nine businesspeople have testified to a grand jury or told federal investigators in interviews that they paid Bernard Kilpatrick, who ran a consulting firm called Maestro Associates, tens of thousands of dollars to try to get contracts from the city run by his son, former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
FBI agents don't believe Bernard Kilpatrick actually was consulting. They think he was paid for access to Detroit's mayor.
The revelations, from documents and interviews by the Free Press, paint the most detailed portrait yet of the slow-building, cat-and-mouse game between FBI agents and their quarry.
They detail payoffs and perks that investigators say Bernard Kilpatrick received from contractors and other people seeking city business, including tickets to a prizefight in Las Vegas, Cristal champagne and a $7,000 discount on a leased Cadillac Escalade.
The investigation, some five years old, is still ongoing. There have been no charges against either Kilpatrick in the federal corruption probe. Kwame Kilpatrick declined to comment when reached on his cell phone Friday. Bernard Kilpatrick didn't respond to requests for comment in recent weeks.
The FBI has not gone away. ...
FBI agents don't believe Bernard Kilpatrick actually was consulting. They think he was paid for access to Detroit's mayor.
The revelations, from documents and interviews by the Free Press, paint the most detailed portrait yet of the slow-building, cat-and-mouse game between FBI agents and their quarry.
They detail payoffs and perks that investigators say Bernard Kilpatrick received from contractors and other people seeking city business, including tickets to a prizefight in Las Vegas, Cristal champagne and a $7,000 discount on a leased Cadillac Escalade.
The investigation, some five years old, is still ongoing. There have been no charges against either Kilpatrick in the federal corruption probe. Kwame Kilpatrick declined to comment when reached on his cell phone Friday. Bernard Kilpatrick didn't respond to requests for comment in recent weeks.
The FBI has not gone away. ...
Last Updated: March 22. 2010 1:00AM
N.J. FBI case led to Detroit
Ex-mayor's father linked to two corruption investigations in 2007
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
Detroit -- The father of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was a subject of not just one -- but two -- FBI public corruption investigations in 2007.
FBI agents investigating political corruption in New Jersey followed leads in late 2006 that led them to Bernard N. Kilpatrick and raising concerns about upsetting a separate probe by the FBI in Detroit, a person familiar with the investigation said Sunday.
Bernard Kilpatrick had been under investigation by the FBI in Detroit for about two years when he came to the attention of FBI agents in New Jersey conducting Operation Broken Boards, a corruption probe that would lead to convictions of 14 New Jersey officials, including state assemblymen and school board officials.
The New Jersey FBI snagged corrupt politicians by setting up a dummy company called Coastal Solutions LLC and offering bribes in return for insurance-related contracts.
Those agents were put in touch with Marc Andre Cunningham, a former Kilpatrick aide, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported in 2007. Cunningham, who was a fraternity brother of Kilpatrick and former city treasurer and pension fund official Jeff Beasley at Florida A&M University, left City Hall in 2008 after media reports said his phone had been briefly tapped by the FBI. ...
... Both Kilpatricks remain under federal investigation in Detroit, amid allegations they were involved in a "pay to play" scheme in which contractors seeking city work were pressured to hire Bernard Kilpatrick as a consultant or make other illegal payments. Former Cobo Center contractor Karl Kado has told federal officials he made close to $100,000 in illegal payments to Kwame Kilpatrick and paid close to $300,000 to Kilpatrick's father, according to court records and a person familiar with the investigation.
Bernard Kilpatrick has not returned phone calls. James C. Thomas, an attorney for Kwame Kilpatrick, has denied his client took illegal payments from Kado.
Also Sunday, Detroit-area contractor Andrew Housey confirmed an incident in 2003 at a political fundraiser for Kilpatrick in which contractor and close Kilpatrick friend Bobby Ferguson allegedly threatened Housey with a handgun. ...
N.J. FBI case led to Detroit
Ex-mayor's father linked to two corruption investigations in 2007
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
Detroit -- The father of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was a subject of not just one -- but two -- FBI public corruption investigations in 2007.
FBI agents investigating political corruption in New Jersey followed leads in late 2006 that led them to Bernard N. Kilpatrick and raising concerns about upsetting a separate probe by the FBI in Detroit, a person familiar with the investigation said Sunday.
Bernard Kilpatrick had been under investigation by the FBI in Detroit for about two years when he came to the attention of FBI agents in New Jersey conducting Operation Broken Boards, a corruption probe that would lead to convictions of 14 New Jersey officials, including state assemblymen and school board officials.
The New Jersey FBI snagged corrupt politicians by setting up a dummy company called Coastal Solutions LLC and offering bribes in return for insurance-related contracts.
Those agents were put in touch with Marc Andre Cunningham, a former Kilpatrick aide, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported in 2007. Cunningham, who was a fraternity brother of Kilpatrick and former city treasurer and pension fund official Jeff Beasley at Florida A&M University, left City Hall in 2008 after media reports said his phone had been briefly tapped by the FBI. ...
... Both Kilpatricks remain under federal investigation in Detroit, amid allegations they were involved in a "pay to play" scheme in which contractors seeking city work were pressured to hire Bernard Kilpatrick as a consultant or make other illegal payments. Former Cobo Center contractor Karl Kado has told federal officials he made close to $100,000 in illegal payments to Kwame Kilpatrick and paid close to $300,000 to Kilpatrick's father, according to court records and a person familiar with the investigation.
Bernard Kilpatrick has not returned phone calls. James C. Thomas, an attorney for Kwame Kilpatrick, has denied his client took illegal payments from Kado.
Also Sunday, Detroit-area contractor Andrew Housey confirmed an incident in 2003 at a political fundraiser for Kilpatrick in which contractor and close Kilpatrick friend Bobby Ferguson allegedly threatened Housey with a handgun. ...
Posted: March 6, 2010
Will Kilpatrick face jail time?
Some say it is possible, but there are defenses
BY BEN SCHMITT and JIM SCHAEFER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
... "It seems that Judge Groner has lost his patience with Mr. Kilpatrick," Dubin said. "Judge Groner, in his opinions, has expressed the fact that the court has been offended by the nature of Kilpatrick's testimony, or the disingenuousness of Kilpatrick's testimony. For those reasons, the possibility of sending him to jail for a period of time so that he can contemplate the seriousness of abiding by his terms of probation seems real."
The state Court of Appeals said Kilpatrick and his lawyers do have defenses.
"At the probation violation hearings, defendant can raise the issue of ability to pay," Presiding Judge Karen Fort Hood wrote.
But Kilpatrick still could be in trouble over other allegations including: that he failed to provide a complete financial accounting for himself and his wife, Carlita Kilpatrick; did not surrender all tax refunds as ordered by the court, and did not disclose any gifts or benefits as ordered by the court.
Kilpatrick testified during previous restitution hearings that he received $240,000 in loans from local businessmen Peter Karmanos, Roger Penske, Dan Gilbert and Jim Nicholson.
"The trial court did not abuse its discretion by concluding that the $240,000 transfer of the loan from the defendant to his wife constituted a fraudulent conveyance," the appellate judges wrote.
In 2008, Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and no contest to assault, and resigned from office.
The plea came after the Free Press broke the text message scandal in January 2008 with a series of stories showing that Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff Christine Beatty perjured themselves during a 2007 civil whistle-blowers trial involving police officers.
Kilpatrick served 99 days in jail and was ordered to pay $1 million in restitution to the City of Detroit. He lives in a Dallas suburb and works at a $120,000-a-year sales job for Covisint, a subsidiary of Detroit-based Compuware. ...
Will Kilpatrick face jail time?
Some say it is possible, but there are defenses
BY BEN SCHMITT and JIM SCHAEFER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
... "It seems that Judge Groner has lost his patience with Mr. Kilpatrick," Dubin said. "Judge Groner, in his opinions, has expressed the fact that the court has been offended by the nature of Kilpatrick's testimony, or the disingenuousness of Kilpatrick's testimony. For those reasons, the possibility of sending him to jail for a period of time so that he can contemplate the seriousness of abiding by his terms of probation seems real."
The state Court of Appeals said Kilpatrick and his lawyers do have defenses.
"At the probation violation hearings, defendant can raise the issue of ability to pay," Presiding Judge Karen Fort Hood wrote.
But Kilpatrick still could be in trouble over other allegations including: that he failed to provide a complete financial accounting for himself and his wife, Carlita Kilpatrick; did not surrender all tax refunds as ordered by the court, and did not disclose any gifts or benefits as ordered by the court.
Kilpatrick testified during previous restitution hearings that he received $240,000 in loans from local businessmen Peter Karmanos, Roger Penske, Dan Gilbert and Jim Nicholson.
"The trial court did not abuse its discretion by concluding that the $240,000 transfer of the loan from the defendant to his wife constituted a fraudulent conveyance," the appellate judges wrote.
In 2008, Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and no contest to assault, and resigned from office.
The plea came after the Free Press broke the text message scandal in January 2008 with a series of stories showing that Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff Christine Beatty perjured themselves during a 2007 civil whistle-blowers trial involving police officers.
Kilpatrick served 99 days in jail and was ordered to pay $1 million in restitution to the City of Detroit. He lives in a Dallas suburb and works at a $120,000-a-year sales job for Covisint, a subsidiary of Detroit-based Compuware. ...
February 24. 2010 1:00AM
Judge expected to expand charges against Kilpatrick
Doug Guthrie / The Detroit News
Detroit --When former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick returns from Texas on Friday for arraignment on criminal probation violation charges, he will face far more accusations than missing a single restitution payment.
Wayne County prosecutors Tuesday were ordered by Circuit Judge David Groner to assist Michigan Department of Corrections authorities in expanding the single charge recommended by agents overseeing Kilpatrick's probation to include numerous alleged violations revealed during six days of recent hearings on Kilpatrick's finances.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy's spokeswoman, Maria Miller, declined to provide details, but legal experts say the charges could include perjury and fraud.
"We are prepared to proceed on Friday," Miller said. "We have assisted the probation department in their preparation of the warrant. The allegations will be contained in that petition."
With the charges broadened beyond Kilpatrick's failure to meet a deadline last week to pay $79,000 toward the $1 million restitution in the text message scandal, his lawyers' efforts to get the Michigan Court of Appeals to overturn Groner's recent restitution orders will likely have no impact on the coming proceedings, said Curt Benson, professor at Cooley School of Law. The higher court is likely to focus only on Kilpatrick's complaint that the judge overstepped his authority in ordering him to make more than $300,000 in accelerated restitution payments, because he determined Kilpatrick hid assets from the court.
The Court of Appeals agreed to consider Kilpatrick's appeal, but only after receiving transcripts of the lengthy restitution hearings. Groner's court reporter has almost a month to prepare the transcripts. The appeals court refused to delay payment deadlines. The first deadline, for $79,011, passed last Friday. The second, for $240,000, comes in April. ...
Judge expected to expand charges against Kilpatrick
Doug Guthrie / The Detroit News
Detroit --When former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick returns from Texas on Friday for arraignment on criminal probation violation charges, he will face far more accusations than missing a single restitution payment.
Wayne County prosecutors Tuesday were ordered by Circuit Judge David Groner to assist Michigan Department of Corrections authorities in expanding the single charge recommended by agents overseeing Kilpatrick's probation to include numerous alleged violations revealed during six days of recent hearings on Kilpatrick's finances.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy's spokeswoman, Maria Miller, declined to provide details, but legal experts say the charges could include perjury and fraud.
"We are prepared to proceed on Friday," Miller said. "We have assisted the probation department in their preparation of the warrant. The allegations will be contained in that petition."
With the charges broadened beyond Kilpatrick's failure to meet a deadline last week to pay $79,000 toward the $1 million restitution in the text message scandal, his lawyers' efforts to get the Michigan Court of Appeals to overturn Groner's recent restitution orders will likely have no impact on the coming proceedings, said Curt Benson, professor at Cooley School of Law. The higher court is likely to focus only on Kilpatrick's complaint that the judge overstepped his authority in ordering him to make more than $300,000 in accelerated restitution payments, because he determined Kilpatrick hid assets from the court.
The Court of Appeals agreed to consider Kilpatrick's appeal, but only after receiving transcripts of the lengthy restitution hearings. Groner's court reporter has almost a month to prepare the transcripts. The appeals court refused to delay payment deadlines. The first deadline, for $79,011, passed last Friday. The second, for $240,000, comes in April. ...
Posted: Feb. 21, 2010
Feds have evidence ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick took bribes
Contractor said Kilpatrick got up to $100K, his father up to $290K; Kilpatrick's lawyer says he knows nothing of bribery accusation
BY JENNIFER DIXON and JIM SCHAEFER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
A contractor who pleaded guilty in an ongoing corruption probe in Detroit has told investigators that he handed as much as $100,000 in bribes to then-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick in 2002, according to interviews and sworn documents reviewed by the Free Press.
The contractor, Karl Kado of West Bloomfield, also told the FBI he paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to the mayor's father, and thousands more to a close mayoral aide, according to the records and interviews.
Kado told authorities he paid Kwame Kilpatrick in four or five installments of about $20,000 each. Kado, who is awaiting sentencing for paying bribes to protect multimillion-dollar Cobo Center contracts, said he sometimes delivered the money in envelopes to Kilpatrick's office on the 11th floor at City Hall, and sometimes Kilpatrick dropped by Cobo to get the cash.
The allegations are significant because they show, for the first time, that the government has secured the cooperation of someone who says he gave payoffs directly to Kilpatrick.
Authorities obtained the information as part of a years-long, complex and wide-ranging investigation in Detroit and Southfield that has produced a series of public corruption charges and 10 guilty pleas.
In pursuing Kilpatrick, investigators tracked cash moving in and out of bank accounts and wiretapped the phone of his father, among others, while slowly trying to build a case.
FBI agents also contend in sworn statements that they have grounds to believe Kilpatrick and his associates used the mayor's office to run a criminal enterprise, a term the FBI reserves for organized crime and racketeering cases. ...
Feds have evidence ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick took bribes
Contractor said Kilpatrick got up to $100K, his father up to $290K; Kilpatrick's lawyer says he knows nothing of bribery accusation
BY JENNIFER DIXON and JIM SCHAEFER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
A contractor who pleaded guilty in an ongoing corruption probe in Detroit has told investigators that he handed as much as $100,000 in bribes to then-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick in 2002, according to interviews and sworn documents reviewed by the Free Press.
The contractor, Karl Kado of West Bloomfield, also told the FBI he paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to the mayor's father, and thousands more to a close mayoral aide, according to the records and interviews.
Kado told authorities he paid Kwame Kilpatrick in four or five installments of about $20,000 each. Kado, who is awaiting sentencing for paying bribes to protect multimillion-dollar Cobo Center contracts, said he sometimes delivered the money in envelopes to Kilpatrick's office on the 11th floor at City Hall, and sometimes Kilpatrick dropped by Cobo to get the cash.
The allegations are significant because they show, for the first time, that the government has secured the cooperation of someone who says he gave payoffs directly to Kilpatrick.
Authorities obtained the information as part of a years-long, complex and wide-ranging investigation in Detroit and Southfield that has produced a series of public corruption charges and 10 guilty pleas.
In pursuing Kilpatrick, investigators tracked cash moving in and out of bank accounts and wiretapped the phone of his father, among others, while slowly trying to build a case.
FBI agents also contend in sworn statements that they have grounds to believe Kilpatrick and his associates used the mayor's office to run a criminal enterprise, a term the FBI reserves for organized crime and racketeering cases. ...
Last Updated: February 22. 2010 1:00AM
Feds plan Kilpatrick charges
Ex-mayor, dad expected to face felonies in 'pay to play' probe
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
Detroit -- Federal officials are preparing felony charges against former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his father, business consultant Bernard N. Kilpatrick, The Detroit News has learned.
For at least five years, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office have been investigating an alleged "pay to play" system at City Hall under Kilpatrick and allegations that contractors wanting City Hall business were directed to hire the former mayor's father as a consultant.
Now there are new allegations that former Cobo Center contractor Karl Kado, who has been cooperating with the FBI since 2005, not only paid close to $300,000 to the mayor's father but made about $100,000 in illegal cash payments directly to the former mayor.
Those allegations are contained in sworn statements that are part of the evidence in the wide-ranging corruption probe, a person familiar with the investigation said Sunday. Charges are expected against both Kwame Kilpatrick and his father, though the timing and specific nature of those charges are still being determined, the source said.
It's the first time a source close to the investigation has said corruption charges against the former mayor are planned, though there have been strong signals Kilpatrick was the ultimate target of a long-running investigation that has netted nine guilty pleas.
A federal grand jury has subpoenaed records and testimony related to possible abuses in fundraising and expenditures connected with the former mayor's nonprofit foundation, the Kilpatrick Civic Fund, and possible felony income tax violations are being examined, people familiar with the investigation said. ...
Feds plan Kilpatrick charges
Ex-mayor, dad expected to face felonies in 'pay to play' probe
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
Detroit -- Federal officials are preparing felony charges against former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his father, business consultant Bernard N. Kilpatrick, The Detroit News has learned.
For at least five years, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office have been investigating an alleged "pay to play" system at City Hall under Kilpatrick and allegations that contractors wanting City Hall business were directed to hire the former mayor's father as a consultant.
Now there are new allegations that former Cobo Center contractor Karl Kado, who has been cooperating with the FBI since 2005, not only paid close to $300,000 to the mayor's father but made about $100,000 in illegal cash payments directly to the former mayor.
Those allegations are contained in sworn statements that are part of the evidence in the wide-ranging corruption probe, a person familiar with the investigation said Sunday. Charges are expected against both Kwame Kilpatrick and his father, though the timing and specific nature of those charges are still being determined, the source said.
It's the first time a source close to the investigation has said corruption charges against the former mayor are planned, though there have been strong signals Kilpatrick was the ultimate target of a long-running investigation that has netted nine guilty pleas.
A federal grand jury has subpoenaed records and testimony related to possible abuses in fundraising and expenditures connected with the former mayor's nonprofit foundation, the Kilpatrick Civic Fund, and possible felony income tax violations are being examined, people familiar with the investigation said. ...
The troubled American private security company Blackwater faced fresh controversy today when two former employees accused it of defrauding the US government for years, including billing for a Filipina prostitute on its payroll in Afghanistan.
According to Melan Davis, a former employee, Blackwater listed the woman for payment under the "morale welfare recreation" category.
The company, which allegedly employed her in Kabul, billed the government for her plane tickets and monthly salary, Davis said.
Blackwater, renamed Xe last year apparently because of the bad publicity attached to its original name, is among the biggest private security firms employed by the state department and Pentagon in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The most notorious incident involving Blackwater was the shooting of 17 Iraqis in Baghdad in 2007. Charges against Blackwater employees in the US over the incident were dropped last year, prompting the Iraqi government to order hundreds of its security staff out of the country within the next few days.
The latest accusations are contained in court records that have been recently unsealed and reveal details of a lawsuit by Davis and her husband, Brad, who both worked for Blackwater. According to Associated Press, the records say they had personal knowledge of the company falsifying invoices, double-billing federal agencies and charging the government for personal and inappropriate items whose real purpose was hidden.
They said they witnessed "systematic" fraud on the company's security contracts with the state department in Iraq and Afghanistan, and with the department of homeland security and federal emergency management agency in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. ...
According to Melan Davis, a former employee, Blackwater listed the woman for payment under the "morale welfare recreation" category.
The company, which allegedly employed her in Kabul, billed the government for her plane tickets and monthly salary, Davis said.
Blackwater, renamed Xe last year apparently because of the bad publicity attached to its original name, is among the biggest private security firms employed by the state department and Pentagon in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The most notorious incident involving Blackwater was the shooting of 17 Iraqis in Baghdad in 2007. Charges against Blackwater employees in the US over the incident were dropped last year, prompting the Iraqi government to order hundreds of its security staff out of the country within the next few days.
The latest accusations are contained in court records that have been recently unsealed and reveal details of a lawsuit by Davis and her husband, Brad, who both worked for Blackwater. According to Associated Press, the records say they had personal knowledge of the company falsifying invoices, double-billing federal agencies and charging the government for personal and inappropriate items whose real purpose was hidden.
They said they witnessed "systematic" fraud on the company's security contracts with the state department in Iraq and Afghanistan, and with the department of homeland security and federal emergency management agency in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. ...
Three Labour MPs and one Tory peer face expenses abuse charges
Keir Starmer announces Elliot Morley, David Chaytor, Jim Devine and Lord Hanningfield will be charged with fraudulently claiming expenses
Andrew Sparrow
Friday 5 February 2010
Three Labour MPs and a Tory peer will be charged with false accounting in relation to their parliamentary expenses, it was announced today.
Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions, revealed that Elliot Morley, a former minister, David Chaytor, the MP for Bury North, Jim Devine, the MP for Livingston, and Lord Hanningfield, a former Conservative business spokesman, will be charged under the Theft Act.
Morley, Chaytor and Devine are Labour MPs; Hanningfield is a Conservative peer and was leader of Essex county council until he resigned this afternoon following the statement from the DPP. Starmer said the four would be charged with offences under section 17 of the Theft Act relating to false accounting.
Starmer said the four were being charged following a "careful and detailed" police investigation and that the CPS had reviewed the files carefully before deciding there was "sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges". ...
Keir Starmer announces Elliot Morley, David Chaytor, Jim Devine and Lord Hanningfield will be charged with fraudulently claiming expenses
Andrew Sparrow
Friday 5 February 2010
Three Labour MPs and a Tory peer will be charged with false accounting in relation to their parliamentary expenses, it was announced today.
Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions, revealed that Elliot Morley, a former minister, David Chaytor, the MP for Bury North, Jim Devine, the MP for Livingston, and Lord Hanningfield, a former Conservative business spokesman, will be charged under the Theft Act.
Morley, Chaytor and Devine are Labour MPs; Hanningfield is a Conservative peer and was leader of Essex county council until he resigned this afternoon following the statement from the DPP. Starmer said the four would be charged with offences under section 17 of the Theft Act relating to false accounting.
Starmer said the four were being charged following a "careful and detailed" police investigation and that the CPS had reviewed the files carefully before deciding there was "sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges". ...
February 6, 2010
Accused MPs argue they are above the law
Sam Coates and Francis Elliott
Three Labour MPs charged yesterday with theft over fraudulent expense claims declared that they were above the law and would fight attempts to put them on trial.
Elliot Morley, David Chaytor and Jim Devine each face up to seven years in jail after Keir Starmer, QC, the Director of Public Prosecutions, announced that he was charging them under the Theft Act 1968.
Lord Hanningfield, the Tory frontbencher and leader of Essex County Council, faces six charges over his expense claims.
In a joint statement, the three MPs announced that they would fight the charges by claiming parliamentary privilege over their expense claims. It said: “We maintain that this is an issue that should be resolved by the parliamentary commissioner, who is there to enforce any breach of the rules.” ...
Accused MPs argue they are above the law
Sam Coates and Francis Elliott
Three Labour MPs charged yesterday with theft over fraudulent expense claims declared that they were above the law and would fight attempts to put them on trial.
Elliot Morley, David Chaytor and Jim Devine each face up to seven years in jail after Keir Starmer, QC, the Director of Public Prosecutions, announced that he was charging them under the Theft Act 1968.
Lord Hanningfield, the Tory frontbencher and leader of Essex County Council, faces six charges over his expense claims.
In a joint statement, the three MPs announced that they would fight the charges by claiming parliamentary privilege over their expense claims. It said: “We maintain that this is an issue that should be resolved by the parliamentary commissioner, who is there to enforce any breach of the rules.” ...
Expenses claims: MPs not above the law, say legal experts
Lawyers say bid to test legal immunity in the courts will fail because alleged offences at Westminster are criminal deeds
Afua Hirsch
Friday 5 February 2010
Senior legal figures say there is no basis for MPs and peers to be above the law following the statement by the director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer, saying the four parliamentarians charged over expenses claims had raised a defence of parliamentary privilege.
"We have considered that question and concluded that the applicability and extent of any parliamentary privilege claimed should be tested in court," Starmer said when announcing charges today.
Hugh Tomlinson QC, at Matrix chambers, said: "MPs don't enjoy any kind of immunity from the ordinary criminal law. It seems to me that any privilege arguments are unlikely to be successful because the alleged offences are in substance just ordinary criminal offences. They are no different from the kind of offences any member of the public could also be accused of through their work." ...
Lawyers say bid to test legal immunity in the courts will fail because alleged offences at Westminster are criminal deeds
Afua Hirsch
Friday 5 February 2010
Senior legal figures say there is no basis for MPs and peers to be above the law following the statement by the director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer, saying the four parliamentarians charged over expenses claims had raised a defence of parliamentary privilege.
"We have considered that question and concluded that the applicability and extent of any parliamentary privilege claimed should be tested in court," Starmer said when announcing charges today.
Hugh Tomlinson QC, at Matrix chambers, said: "MPs don't enjoy any kind of immunity from the ordinary criminal law. It seems to me that any privilege arguments are unlikely to be successful because the alleged offences are in substance just ordinary criminal offences. They are no different from the kind of offences any member of the public could also be accused of through their work." ...
BAE deal with Tanzania: Military air traffic control – for country with no airforce
Claire Short and Robin Cook had tried to stop the sale of a hugely expensive radar to the poverty- stricken Tanzanians
Rob Evans and Paul Lewis
Saturday 6 February 2010
Tony Blair was at the centre of controversy over BAE's arms deal with Tanzania, just as he was in the Saudi contracts.
Cabinet ministers Claire Short and Robin Cook had tried to stop the sale of the hugely expensive radar to the poverty- stricken Tanzanians. But, as prime minister, he overruled them and insisted that the deal had to go through.
It left Cook ruefully muttering that it seemed that Dick Evans, BAE's then chairman, seemed to have "the key to the garden door of No 10".
The World Bank and the International Civil Aviation Organisation judged that the 2001 purchase was unnecessary and overpriced.
But the £28m deal started to look even worse when the SFO discovered that a third of the contract's price had been diverted into secret offshore bank accounts.
The SFO believed that this money was used to pay bribes to Tanzanian politicians and officials.
Yesterday Short, who resigned from the government, said : "Every way you looked at it, it [the deal] was outrageous and disgraceful. And guess who absolutely insisted on it going through? My dear friend Tony Blair, who absolutely, adamantly, favoured all proposals for arms deals.
"It was an obviously corrupt project. Tanzania didn't need a new military air traffic control, it was out-of-date technology, they didn't have any military aircraft – they needed a civilian air traffic control system and there was a modern, much cheaper one. Everyone talks about good governance in Africa as though it is an African problem, and often the roots of the 'badness' is companies in Europe." ...
Claire Short and Robin Cook had tried to stop the sale of a hugely expensive radar to the poverty- stricken Tanzanians
Rob Evans and Paul Lewis
Saturday 6 February 2010
Tony Blair was at the centre of controversy over BAE's arms deal with Tanzania, just as he was in the Saudi contracts.
Cabinet ministers Claire Short and Robin Cook had tried to stop the sale of the hugely expensive radar to the poverty- stricken Tanzanians. But, as prime minister, he overruled them and insisted that the deal had to go through.
It left Cook ruefully muttering that it seemed that Dick Evans, BAE's then chairman, seemed to have "the key to the garden door of No 10".
The World Bank and the International Civil Aviation Organisation judged that the 2001 purchase was unnecessary and overpriced.
But the £28m deal started to look even worse when the SFO discovered that a third of the contract's price had been diverted into secret offshore bank accounts.
The SFO believed that this money was used to pay bribes to Tanzanian politicians and officials.
Yesterday Short, who resigned from the government, said : "Every way you looked at it, it [the deal] was outrageous and disgraceful. And guess who absolutely insisted on it going through? My dear friend Tony Blair, who absolutely, adamantly, favoured all proposals for arms deals.
"It was an obviously corrupt project. Tanzania didn't need a new military air traffic control, it was out-of-date technology, they didn't have any military aircraft – they needed a civilian air traffic control system and there was a modern, much cheaper one. Everyone talks about good governance in Africa as though it is an African problem, and often the roots of the 'badness' is companies in Europe." ...
Perseverance and bluff – how the legal deal was done that sees BAE pay £285m fines
That the arms giant has finally been forced to pay substantial penalties is due to the doggedness of a small group of prosecutors
David Leigh and Rob Evans
Friday 5 February 2010
Since the Guardian first exposed BAE's worldwide system of undercover payments to secure contracts in 2003, the company has fought hard to deny its guilt, using every lobbying tool at its disposal and exploiting its influence within the offices of the then prime minister, Tony Blair.
That the arms giant has finally been forced to pay substantial penalties is due to the doggedness of a small group of prosecutors, currently led by Richard Alderman, director of the Serious Fraud Office, and his US counterpart, Mark Mendelsohn, at the department of justice in Washington.
Alderman's predecessor, Robert Wardle, stepped down from his post at the SFO in 2008, a frustrated man, having seen BAE and its friends persuade Blair to intervene and force a halt to extensive and long running criminal inquiries into the £43bn al-Yamamah arms deal with Saudi Arabia.
But that turned out to be the high-water mark of BAE's political influence. The US authorities promptly picked up the Saudi case which Blair had claimed would be so damaging to Britain's "national security".
Washington officials were vigorously attempting to enforce their own Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and were long suspicious of BAE's surprising arms deals in the Czech Republic, about which they had vainly protested at the time.
Meanwhile Alderman, when he succeeded Wardle at the SFO, insisted he was no patsy. He ordered renewed investigations into BAE's remaining suspect contracts in Tanzania, South Africa, Romania and the Czech Republic. Alderman staked much of his credibility on attempts to change the lumbering SFO style of investigation. ...
That the arms giant has finally been forced to pay substantial penalties is due to the doggedness of a small group of prosecutors
David Leigh and Rob Evans
Friday 5 February 2010
Since the Guardian first exposed BAE's worldwide system of undercover payments to secure contracts in 2003, the company has fought hard to deny its guilt, using every lobbying tool at its disposal and exploiting its influence within the offices of the then prime minister, Tony Blair.
That the arms giant has finally been forced to pay substantial penalties is due to the doggedness of a small group of prosecutors, currently led by Richard Alderman, director of the Serious Fraud Office, and his US counterpart, Mark Mendelsohn, at the department of justice in Washington.
Alderman's predecessor, Robert Wardle, stepped down from his post at the SFO in 2008, a frustrated man, having seen BAE and its friends persuade Blair to intervene and force a halt to extensive and long running criminal inquiries into the £43bn al-Yamamah arms deal with Saudi Arabia.
But that turned out to be the high-water mark of BAE's political influence. The US authorities promptly picked up the Saudi case which Blair had claimed would be so damaging to Britain's "national security".
Washington officials were vigorously attempting to enforce their own Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and were long suspicious of BAE's surprising arms deals in the Czech Republic, about which they had vainly protested at the time.
Meanwhile Alderman, when he succeeded Wardle at the SFO, insisted he was no patsy. He ordered renewed investigations into BAE's remaining suspect contracts in Tanzania, South Africa, Romania and the Czech Republic. Alderman staked much of his credibility on attempts to change the lumbering SFO style of investigation. ...
January 22, 2010
Public support teenager who killed Communist Party leader Li Shiming
Jane Macartney in Beijing
Everybody hated Li Shiming. Those who got on the wrong side of the district Communist Party secretary, or challenged his bullying or arbitrary land seizures, could be beaten up or driven away by his hired thugs.
So when Zhang Xuping, 19, drove a knife into Li’s heart, killing him with a single thrust, there were few who mourned. Quite the opposite: more than 20,000 residents signed a petition appealing for leniency even though the murder had been plotted for two years.
The case, and the clamour surrounding it, illustrates one of the greatest challenges facing the regime: corruption and abuse of power.
Li lorded it over Xiashuixi, an arid mining region where farmers struggle to find water to grow vegetables to sustain themselves or corn to feed their pigs. His position as local party boss gave him the power to run the district like a fiefdom.
That came to an end when Li visited a school in September 2008 and was stabbed. The official could only muster enough strength to stagger to his Audi car before he collapsed and died.The teenager, who had made a careful study of anatomy so that could kill Mr Li with a single strike, confessed to the crime.
Zhang had been paid 1,000 yuan (£90) by Zhang Huping, 35, a farmer who had been harassed by the official for years. The farmer said that he had been detained routinely on trumped-up charges after he led a group of neighbours to seek redress from provincial authorities. They complained that Li had razed 28 acres of woodland without permission or compensation in 2003.
Many residents had a grievance with the haughty apparatchik. Xin Xiaomei, another villager, said: “I didn’t feel surprised at all when I heard that Li Shiming had been killed because people wanted to kill him a long time ago. I wanted to kill Li myself but I was too weak.” She said that Li had harassed her husband for years after a dispute. ...
Public support teenager who killed Communist Party leader Li Shiming
Jane Macartney in Beijing
Everybody hated Li Shiming. Those who got on the wrong side of the district Communist Party secretary, or challenged his bullying or arbitrary land seizures, could be beaten up or driven away by his hired thugs.
So when Zhang Xuping, 19, drove a knife into Li’s heart, killing him with a single thrust, there were few who mourned. Quite the opposite: more than 20,000 residents signed a petition appealing for leniency even though the murder had been plotted for two years.
The case, and the clamour surrounding it, illustrates one of the greatest challenges facing the regime: corruption and abuse of power.
Li lorded it over Xiashuixi, an arid mining region where farmers struggle to find water to grow vegetables to sustain themselves or corn to feed their pigs. His position as local party boss gave him the power to run the district like a fiefdom.
That came to an end when Li visited a school in September 2008 and was stabbed. The official could only muster enough strength to stagger to his Audi car before he collapsed and died.The teenager, who had made a careful study of anatomy so that could kill Mr Li with a single strike, confessed to the crime.
Zhang had been paid 1,000 yuan (£90) by Zhang Huping, 35, a farmer who had been harassed by the official for years. The farmer said that he had been detained routinely on trumped-up charges after he led a group of neighbours to seek redress from provincial authorities. They complained that Li had razed 28 acres of woodland without permission or compensation in 2003.
Many residents had a grievance with the haughty apparatchik. Xin Xiaomei, another villager, said: “I didn’t feel surprised at all when I heard that Li Shiming had been killed because people wanted to kill him a long time ago. I wanted to kill Li myself but I was too weak.” She said that Li had harassed her husband for years after a dispute. ...
... It is claimed they offered to pay a 20% "commission" as a bribe to win part of a $15m (£9.1m) deal to equip an African country's presidential guard. But a sales agent who they believed represented the defence minister was in fact an undercover FBI agent. No actual defence minister was involved.
During the two-and-a-half year investigation, which involved 250 FBI agents, it is claimed defendants sought to obtain contracts for the sale of a range of products including grenade and teargas launchers, pistols, ammunition and explosive detection kits.
Raids were carried out across the US, and by City of London police in seven parts of the UK, which they declined to name. All those arrested had been attending the 2010 Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show and Conference in Las Vegas.
Assistant attorney general Lanny Breuer said: "The fight to erase foreign bribery from the corporate playbook will not be won overnight, but these actions are a turning point."
Those arrested face charges under laws governing payments to foreign officials, and are also accused of corruption. These offences would involve a maximum prison sentence of five years. It is alleged they were involved in money laundering, which would carry a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
All the accused are executives or employees of companies in the "military and law enforcement products industry", the Department of Justice said.
During the two-and-a-half year investigation, which involved 250 FBI agents, it is claimed defendants sought to obtain contracts for the sale of a range of products including grenade and teargas launchers, pistols, ammunition and explosive detection kits.
Raids were carried out across the US, and by City of London police in seven parts of the UK, which they declined to name. All those arrested had been attending the 2010 Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show and Conference in Las Vegas.
Assistant attorney general Lanny Breuer said: "The fight to erase foreign bribery from the corporate playbook will not be won overnight, but these actions are a turning point."
Those arrested face charges under laws governing payments to foreign officials, and are also accused of corruption. These offences would involve a maximum prison sentence of five years. It is alleged they were involved in money laundering, which would carry a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
All the accused are executives or employees of companies in the "military and law enforcement products industry", the Department of Justice said.
The grand obstructionist party is at it again, girls and boys.
He said he expected the taxpayers would foot only half the bill.
WTF,politicos parasites?
WTF,
One of the FBI's top agents warned yesterday that corruption in the US was increasing and tearing at the fabric of society.
Special agent John Gillies, who has led major anti-corruption drives during his 27-year career with the bureau, focused his words primarily on crooked financiers and unscrupulous officials. ...
Can you say, 'greed?'
Can you say, 'capitalism?'
I knew you could.
Special agent John Gillies, who has led major anti-corruption drives during his 27-year career with the bureau, focused his words primarily on crooked financiers and unscrupulous officials. ...
Can you say, 'greed?'
Can you say, 'capitalism?'
I knew you could.
A convicted hitman-turned-supergrass told a court yesterday that Silvio Berlusconi has had ties to the Mafia and that a crime boss once boasted that this relationship had “put the country in our hands”.
Gaspare Spatuzza was testifying in Turin in the appeal of Marcello Dell’Utri, an associate of Mr Berlusconi and co-founder of the Forza Italia party. He is appealing against a nine-year sentence for association with the Mafia. Mr Berlusconi and Dell’Utri deny involvement with the Mafia.
Spatuzza told the court about a meeting in Rome in 1994 with Giuseppe Graviano, a godfather from Palermo, Sicily, who was convicted later with his brother Filippo for bombings in Rome, Milan and Florence. “Two names were mentioned, one of them was Berlusconi’s,” he said.
“Graviano told me that thanks to the seriousness of these people we had the country in our hands.” He had referred specifically to Mr Berlusconi, giving the other name as Dell’Utri. ...
Gaspare Spatuzza was testifying in Turin in the appeal of Marcello Dell’Utri, an associate of Mr Berlusconi and co-founder of the Forza Italia party. He is appealing against a nine-year sentence for association with the Mafia. Mr Berlusconi and Dell’Utri deny involvement with the Mafia.
Spatuzza told the court about a meeting in Rome in 1994 with Giuseppe Graviano, a godfather from Palermo, Sicily, who was convicted later with his brother Filippo for bombings in Rome, Milan and Florence. “Two names were mentioned, one of them was Berlusconi’s,” he said.
“Graviano told me that thanks to the seriousness of these people we had the country in our hands.” He had referred specifically to Mr Berlusconi, giving the other name as Dell’Utri. ...
The secret video tapes could not be more damning. A newspaper owner shoves 30,000 reals (£10,000) in cash into his underpants. A state deputy stuffs a thick wad into her handbag. A press secretary and a Cabinet chief dump bricks of money into a hold-all.
Even corruption-hardened Brazilians have been shocked by the spectacle of their greedy leaders, capped by footage of the governor of the capital city pocketing an envelope said to contain R$50,000.
José Roberto Arruda, the Governor of Brasilia, says that it is a misunderstanding but the dialogue accompanying the video seems convincing: “Let me pay before I forget,” says Durval Barbosa, Mr Arruda’s former secretary for institutional affairs. “Great,” the governor replies. “Give me a hamper.”
The footage, now entertaining millions of Brazilians courtesy of television stations, was recorded secretly by Mr Barbosa, who has agreed to co-operate with a police investigation codenamed Operation Pandora. ...
Even corruption-hardened Brazilians have been shocked by the spectacle of their greedy leaders, capped by footage of the governor of the capital city pocketing an envelope said to contain R$50,000.
José Roberto Arruda, the Governor of Brasilia, says that it is a misunderstanding but the dialogue accompanying the video seems convincing: “Let me pay before I forget,” says Durval Barbosa, Mr Arruda’s former secretary for institutional affairs. “Great,” the governor replies. “Give me a hamper.”
The footage, now entertaining millions of Brazilians courtesy of television stations, was recorded secretly by Mr Barbosa, who has agreed to co-operate with a police investigation codenamed Operation Pandora. ...
A university that accepted £25 million from Tesco has published a report with misleading figures to endorse the supermarket’s policy of giving away billions of single-use carrier bags.
The University of Manchester’s Sustainable Consumption Institute allowed senior Tesco staff to contribute to the report but failed to disclose the extent of the company’s involvement. David Cameron, the Conservative leader, joined Sir Terry Leahy, Tesco chief executive, at the publication of the report at the Royal Society in London last month.
The report includes an analysis of different approaches to reducing the number of disposable bags issued annually by supermarkets. It claims that Tesco’s approach of giving customers a loyalty card point for reusing a bag is more effective than requiring shops to charge for bags, which is used in the Republic of Ireland.
The reduction in Ireland was five times greater than that achieved across Tesco shops in Britain. Ireland cut plastic bag consumption by 90 per cent when it introduced a 15 cent charge per bag in 2002. The Tesco reward method took three years to cut the number of plastic bags by less than 50 per cent. ...
The University of Manchester’s Sustainable Consumption Institute allowed senior Tesco staff to contribute to the report but failed to disclose the extent of the company’s involvement. David Cameron, the Conservative leader, joined Sir Terry Leahy, Tesco chief executive, at the publication of the report at the Royal Society in London last month.
The report includes an analysis of different approaches to reducing the number of disposable bags issued annually by supermarkets. It claims that Tesco’s approach of giving customers a loyalty card point for reusing a bag is more effective than requiring shops to charge for bags, which is used in the Republic of Ireland.
The reduction in Ireland was five times greater than that achieved across Tesco shops in Britain. Ireland cut plastic bag consumption by 90 per cent when it introduced a 15 cent charge per bag in 2002. The Tesco reward method took three years to cut the number of plastic bags by less than 50 per cent. ...
... D'Addario also gives her version of the two candle-lit dinners at the residence on October 16 and November 4 - she only stayed the night on the second occasion.
Both events, she said, were attended by dozens of showgirls and would-be actresses and gave the lie to Berlusconi's claim that the evenings were party political gatherings.
"First of all, such a political club would have to consist only of young, beautiful women dressed only in skin-tight black dresses, because they were the only sort of person I saw," she writes.
"Secondly, the party members let themselves be caressed, kissed and touched in an unequivocal manner by their boss? If this is how politics is now conducted, I'm well qualified." ...
Both events, she said, were attended by dozens of showgirls and would-be actresses and gave the lie to Berlusconi's claim that the evenings were party political gatherings.
"First of all, such a political club would have to consist only of young, beautiful women dressed only in skin-tight black dresses, because they were the only sort of person I saw," she writes.
"Secondly, the party members let themselves be caressed, kissed and touched in an unequivocal manner by their boss? If this is how politics is now conducted, I'm well qualified." ...
/me quietly hums Baretta theme song
David Curry, the Conservative MP who is head of the committee responsible for policing Commons expenses, has resigned his position before the start of a formal inquiry into his own claims.
He is standing down as chairman of the Parliamentary Standards and Privileges Committee after reports that he has claimed almost £30,000 for a second home that he rarely stays in.
Mr Curry’s claims followed the temporary break-up of his marriage in 2004. Later that year, after moving back into the family home in Essex, he designated a cottage near Masham, a town in his North Yorkshire constituency of Skipton and Ripon, as his second home. Since then he has claimed £28,078.
One of his neighbours, however, said: “I have lived in the village for five years but I have never seen him. I have never even seen a car in the driveway.” ...
He is standing down as chairman of the Parliamentary Standards and Privileges Committee after reports that he has claimed almost £30,000 for a second home that he rarely stays in.
Mr Curry’s claims followed the temporary break-up of his marriage in 2004. Later that year, after moving back into the family home in Essex, he designated a cottage near Masham, a town in his North Yorkshire constituency of Skipton and Ripon, as his second home. Since then he has claimed £28,078.
One of his neighbours, however, said: “I have lived in the village for five years but I have never seen him. I have never even seen a car in the driveway.” ...
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Intel Corp was sued by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who accused the world's largest chipmaker of threatening computer makers and paying billions of dollars in kickbacks to maintain its market dominance.
The lawsuit accuses Intel of violating state and federal antitrust law through a "systematic worldwide campaign" of bullying and coercion to monopolize the market for personal computer chips, at the expense of rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
Intel's microprocessors power more than 80 percent of the world's PCs. Wednesday's lawsuit comes on the heels of several antitrust probes throughout the world into the Santa Clara, California-based company's business practices. ...
The lawsuit accuses Intel of violating state and federal antitrust law through a "systematic worldwide campaign" of bullying and coercion to monopolize the market for personal computer chips, at the expense of rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
Intel's microprocessors power more than 80 percent of the world's PCs. Wednesday's lawsuit comes on the heels of several antitrust probes throughout the world into the Santa Clara, California-based company's business practices. ...
A pot of £30m compensation due to be paid to thousands of African victims of toxic waste may end up being stolen thanks to the Ivory Coast regime's corruption, their lawyers said today.
The money was handed over by oil traders Trafigura in an out-of-court settlement in London and deposited in a bank in the west African state's capital, Abidjan, ready to be shared out in cash to each of the 30,000 victims. But the entire sum has been frozen in a sudden move backed by the local state prosecutor, according to Martyn Day, the senior partner at Leigh Day, the London lawyers who won the landmark settlement.
Moves are now in train, he said, to order all the cash to be handed over to a local group claiming to represent the victims. At the same time, Day has received a request to meet representatives of a senior Ivorian figure in Paris, to agree to come to an "arrangement".
"Blatant corruption" could be occurring, Day, who has flown back to London from Ivory Coast, said today. "There is a very serious risk that the compensation monies will simply disappear and our clients will see none of it." ...
The money was handed over by oil traders Trafigura in an out-of-court settlement in London and deposited in a bank in the west African state's capital, Abidjan, ready to be shared out in cash to each of the 30,000 victims. But the entire sum has been frozen in a sudden move backed by the local state prosecutor, according to Martyn Day, the senior partner at Leigh Day, the London lawyers who won the landmark settlement.
Moves are now in train, he said, to order all the cash to be handed over to a local group claiming to represent the victims. At the same time, Day has received a request to meet representatives of a senior Ivorian figure in Paris, to agree to come to an "arrangement".
"Blatant corruption" could be occurring, Day, who has flown back to London from Ivory Coast, said today. "There is a very serious risk that the compensation monies will simply disappear and our clients will see none of it." ...
... Fighting corruption depends on the complex business of helping people to believe in their long-term future. But we can also make progress in small steps. Here is a simple example. My office recently carried out a pilot reform of the vehicle registration process. We found that it takes more than a month, 51 steps or signatures and on average $400-500 in bribes for an Afghan to be able to register his vehicle. ...
T'row da bum out, I tells ya!
Mr Tipping, a former junior minister, became the 46th MP to step down since the Daily Telegraph began its investigation into parliamentary expenses in May.
Earlier this year he paid back more than £14,000 in mortgage interest payments for his London flat, after it emerged that he had increased the size of the loan to refurbish the property. ...
Earlier this year he paid back more than £14,000 in mortgage interest payments for his London flat, after it emerged that he had increased the size of the loan to refurbish the property. ...
Rep. Buyer's scholarship fund hasn't helped a single student
Steve Buyer defends his scholarship foundation, which has yet to help a single student.
By Mary Beth Schneiderand Maureen Groppe
Posted: October 18, 2009
The biggest accomplishment so far of U.S. Rep. Steve Buyer's scholarship foundation has been to send the Indiana congressman to play golf with donors at luxury locales such as the Bahamas and Disney World.
The fundraising golf outings have raised more than $880,000 for the Frontier Foundation that Buyer founded in 2003. Almost all the contributions are from 20 companies and trade organizations that have interests before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on which Buyer serves.
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The foundation has yet to award its first scholarship, and it has handed out only $10,500 in charitable grants.
Of those grants, $4,500 went to a cancer fund run by the chief Washington lobbyist for Eli Lilly and Co. That lobbyist, Joe Kelley, said he is refunding the money because Lilly is among the groups that have supported Buyer's foundation.
In addition, the foundation gave $1,450 in 2008 to the National Rifle Association Foundation.
The lack of scholarships, plus the fact that the foundation's money is coming from groups that might want to curry favor with the congressman, has come under fire by Democrats.
Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Dan Parker...said...."No good deed goes unpunished? Where's the good deed, if they haven't given out any scholarships?" he said. "It looks like this organization is a shadow campaign organization that's utilized to fly him around the country raising money from corporations that he can't legally raise (contributions from) to his campaign committee." ...
Ta much, dear Anneliese
Steve Buyer defends his scholarship foundation, which has yet to help a single student.
By Mary Beth Schneiderand Maureen Groppe
Posted: October 18, 2009
The biggest accomplishment so far of U.S. Rep. Steve Buyer's scholarship foundation has been to send the Indiana congressman to play golf with donors at luxury locales such as the Bahamas and Disney World.
The fundraising golf outings have raised more than $880,000 for the Frontier Foundation that Buyer founded in 2003. Almost all the contributions are from 20 companies and trade organizations that have interests before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on which Buyer serves.
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The foundation has yet to award its first scholarship, and it has handed out only $10,500 in charitable grants.
Of those grants, $4,500 went to a cancer fund run by the chief Washington lobbyist for Eli Lilly and Co. That lobbyist, Joe Kelley, said he is refunding the money because Lilly is among the groups that have supported Buyer's foundation.
In addition, the foundation gave $1,450 in 2008 to the National Rifle Association Foundation.
The lack of scholarships, plus the fact that the foundation's money is coming from groups that might want to curry favor with the congressman, has come under fire by Democrats.
Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Dan Parker...said...."No good deed goes unpunished? Where's the good deed, if they haven't given out any scholarships?" he said. "It looks like this organization is a shadow campaign organization that's utilized to fly him around the country raising money from corporations that he can't legally raise (contributions from) to his campaign committee." ...
Ta much, dear Anneliese
President Karzai's camp today declared a "deadlock" as a UN-backed watchdog reported "clear and convincing evidence of fraud" in Afghanistan's election and reportedly revised the results to force a second round of voting.
Mohammad Moin Marastyal, an Afghan MP and leading member of Mr Karzai’s campaign team. said that the UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) had twisted the facts in a deliberate attempt to trigger a run-off vote.
“Effort has been made to lower Karzai’s vote to below 50 per cent," Mr Marastyal said. "Now we are in a deadlock.”
Mr Karzai's campaign spokesman Waheed Omar added: “I don’t think we can make any judgment based on the figures announced today.” ...
Mohammad Moin Marastyal, an Afghan MP and leading member of Mr Karzai’s campaign team. said that the UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) had twisted the facts in a deliberate attempt to trigger a run-off vote.
“Effort has been made to lower Karzai’s vote to below 50 per cent," Mr Marastyal said. "Now we are in a deadlock.”
Mr Karzai's campaign spokesman Waheed Omar added: “I don’t think we can make any judgment based on the figures announced today.” ...
A UN-backed election watchdog has declared invalid hundreds of thousands of votes for Afghanistan's president in the disputed August election, apparently stripping Hamid Karzai of outright victory and setting the stage for a second round.
After nearly two months of investigations, the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) – controlled by a majority of non-Afghans – found Karzai's total had fallen to 48.3%, according to an independent analysis. He needed 50% to clinch another term in office.
A separate election commission that backs the president will have to endorse the findings and call for a second-round vote to be held in the next few weeks.
"Now that we have the ECC orders, we expect the IEC [Independent Election Commission] to implement those orders with haste and move swiftly to issue the final certified results or the need for a runoff as required by Afghan electoral law," said Aleem Siddique, a UN spokesman in Kabul.
According to the independent analysis by the US-based Democracy International, Karzai's share of the vote fell from 55% to 48.3% after fraudulent votes identified by the EEC were stripped away. The figures confirmed views expressed anonymously by several foreign diplomats and election workers that Karzai's share of the vote had dropped to around 48%.
The president's closest rival, Abdullah Abdullah, gained from his preliminary tally of 28% to 31.6%.
A spokesman for the Karzai campaign, Moen Marastial, said they would accept only the results published by the Independent Election Commission, an Afghan-led organisation thought to be heavily partisan in favour of Karzai. ...
After nearly two months of investigations, the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) – controlled by a majority of non-Afghans – found Karzai's total had fallen to 48.3%, according to an independent analysis. He needed 50% to clinch another term in office.
A separate election commission that backs the president will have to endorse the findings and call for a second-round vote to be held in the next few weeks.
"Now that we have the ECC orders, we expect the IEC [Independent Election Commission] to implement those orders with haste and move swiftly to issue the final certified results or the need for a runoff as required by Afghan electoral law," said Aleem Siddique, a UN spokesman in Kabul.
According to the independent analysis by the US-based Democracy International, Karzai's share of the vote fell from 55% to 48.3% after fraudulent votes identified by the EEC were stripped away. The figures confirmed views expressed anonymously by several foreign diplomats and election workers that Karzai's share of the vote had dropped to around 48%.
The president's closest rival, Abdullah Abdullah, gained from his preliminary tally of 28% to 31.6%.
A spokesman for the Karzai campaign, Moen Marastial, said they would accept only the results published by the Independent Election Commission, an Afghan-led organisation thought to be heavily partisan in favour of Karzai. ...
oth Silvio Berlusconi and his predecessor Romano Prodi have issued denials following the report in the Times yesterday that 10 French servicemen died in Afghanistan last year because their superiors did not realise the Italians who preceded them had been bribing the Taliban not to attack.
As The First Post reported yesterday, the French underestimated the Taliban threat as a result and suffered a brutal attack on one of their convoys. Insurgents later paraded trophies taken from the dead solders, to the disgust of the French.
A statement from the Italian prime minister's office said the Berlusconi government had never authorised or allowed payments to insurgents, and nor was it aware of "any such initiatives set in motion by the previous government".
Prodi himself told the Times: "This is the first time I have ever heard such accusations and I can say that there is no base for them. I know absolutely nothing of this."
Ignazio La Russa, the Italian defence minister, dismissed the claim as "rubbish" and said he was taking steps to sue the Times.
However, the Times today quotes a Taliban commander, Mohammed Ishmayel, confirming that Italian forces paid protection money. Ishmayel said a deal was struck last year so that Italian forces in the Sarobi valley, east of Kabul, would not be attacked.
Ishmayel told the Times that it was agreed that "neither side should attack one another. That is why we were informed at that time, that we should not attack the Nato troops".
However, he said, the Taliban were not informed when the Italian forces left the area to be replaced by the French and so they assumed the deal had been broken. ...
As The First Post reported yesterday, the French underestimated the Taliban threat as a result and suffered a brutal attack on one of their convoys. Insurgents later paraded trophies taken from the dead solders, to the disgust of the French.
A statement from the Italian prime minister's office said the Berlusconi government had never authorised or allowed payments to insurgents, and nor was it aware of "any such initiatives set in motion by the previous government".
Prodi himself told the Times: "This is the first time I have ever heard such accusations and I can say that there is no base for them. I know absolutely nothing of this."
Ignazio La Russa, the Italian defence minister, dismissed the claim as "rubbish" and said he was taking steps to sue the Times.
However, the Times today quotes a Taliban commander, Mohammed Ishmayel, confirming that Italian forces paid protection money. Ishmayel said a deal was struck last year so that Italian forces in the Sarobi valley, east of Kabul, would not be attacked.
Ishmayel told the Times that it was agreed that "neither side should attack one another. That is why we were informed at that time, that we should not attack the Nato troops".
However, he said, the Taliban were not informed when the Italian forces left the area to be replaced by the French and so they assumed the deal had been broken. ...
NICK GRIFFIN, the BNP leader, has put his personal bodyguard on the European Union payroll as his party becomes the latest to exploit the political expenses system.
A dozen senior figures from the party make up a BNP entourage of publicly funded assistants. As MEPs, Griffin and Andrew Brons are entitled to claim a combined £382,000 a year to pay for their colleagues’ salaries.
Martin Reynolds, a 20-stone bodybuilder who is head of security and Griffin’s bodyguard, said he “honestly didn’t know” why he was justified in being paid by the taxpayer. ...
A dozen senior figures from the party make up a BNP entourage of publicly funded assistants. As MEPs, Griffin and Andrew Brons are entitled to claim a combined £382,000 a year to pay for their colleagues’ salaries.
Martin Reynolds, a 20-stone bodybuilder who is head of security and Griffin’s bodyguard, said he “honestly didn’t know” why he was justified in being paid by the taxpayer. ...
David Wilshire, the Tory MP for Spelthorne, announced last night that he will stand down at the next election after allegations that he had funnelled £100,000 in parliamentary expenses into a private company owned by himself and his partner.
Wilshire agreed to stand down after a meeting with the chief whip, Patrick McLoughlin, but Conservative sources said it was his own decision after discussions with his family and friends.
Earlier, Wilshire had submitted the allegations to the parliamentary commissioner for standards, John Lyon, but it was clear during the day that his efforts to defer the issue would not satisfy the Tory high command.
Wilshire, a former whip and a rightwing moralist, had insisted that his arrangement had been agreed with the fees office, but it is not clear if he had invoices to justify payments to the private company. He said in a statement: "I am very conscious that the allegations and investigation will cause great distress to my family and friends. These allegations also run the risk of harming my local party and our national party's chances of winning at the next general election. In the circumstances I have reluctantly concluded that it is sensible for me not to seek re-election next year." ...
Wilshire agreed to stand down after a meeting with the chief whip, Patrick McLoughlin, but Conservative sources said it was his own decision after discussions with his family and friends.
Earlier, Wilshire had submitted the allegations to the parliamentary commissioner for standards, John Lyon, but it was clear during the day that his efforts to defer the issue would not satisfy the Tory high command.
Wilshire, a former whip and a rightwing moralist, had insisted that his arrangement had been agreed with the fees office, but it is not clear if he had invoices to justify payments to the private company. He said in a statement: "I am very conscious that the allegations and investigation will cause great distress to my family and friends. These allegations also run the risk of harming my local party and our national party's chances of winning at the next general election. In the circumstances I have reluctantly concluded that it is sensible for me not to seek re-election next year." ...
Women MPs fight back as Berlusconi lashes out
You are increasingly more beautiful than intelligent, PM tells furious Bindi
By Jack Bremer
FIRST POSTED OCTOBER 9, 2009
Amid warnings that Italy is on the edge of a constitutional crisis after Silvio Berlusconi was stripped of his immunity from prosecution, the man himself has been flailing around like a bear with a thorn in its foot. Taking part by phone in a late-night television discussion, he struck out at President Giorgio Napolitano saying he should have used "his influence" to get a different ruling from the Constitutional Court.
When a studio guest, Rosy Bindi, a former family minister in Romano Prodi's centre-left government, expressed shock at this suggestion, Berlusconi replied: "I recognise you are increasingly more beautiful than intelligent".
Even coming from Berlusconi, this was over the top and Bindi answered that she was "not a woman at your disposal", alluding to the call-girls and television showgirls at the centre of the long-running Berlusconi sex scandal.
Among the first to leap to Bindi's defence was another former minister under Prodi, the American-born Italian MP Giovanna Melandri. She said the remark summed up "the Berlusconi philosophy towards women". The diminutive prime minister, she went on, had shown himself to be "taller than he is well-mannered". ...
He has also shown himself to have more height than integrity - and wisdom.
You are increasingly more beautiful than intelligent, PM tells furious Bindi
By Jack Bremer
FIRST POSTED OCTOBER 9, 2009
Amid warnings that Italy is on the edge of a constitutional crisis after Silvio Berlusconi was stripped of his immunity from prosecution, the man himself has been flailing around like a bear with a thorn in its foot. Taking part by phone in a late-night television discussion, he struck out at President Giorgio Napolitano saying he should have used "his influence" to get a different ruling from the Constitutional Court.
When a studio guest, Rosy Bindi, a former family minister in Romano Prodi's centre-left government, expressed shock at this suggestion, Berlusconi replied: "I recognise you are increasingly more beautiful than intelligent".
Even coming from Berlusconi, this was over the top and Bindi answered that she was "not a woman at your disposal", alluding to the call-girls and television showgirls at the centre of the long-running Berlusconi sex scandal.
Among the first to leap to Bindi's defence was another former minister under Prodi, the American-born Italian MP Giovanna Melandri. She said the remark summed up "the Berlusconi philosophy towards women". The diminutive prime minister, she went on, had shown himself to be "taller than he is well-mannered". ...
He has also shown himself to have more height than integrity - and wisdom.
October 10, 2009
Expenses bills return to haunt up to 100 MPs
Tom Baldwin, Chief Reporter
The expenses scandal is set to engulf the House of Commons again on Monday when MPs will be sent an auditor’s letter about the claims they made over the past five years.
The Times has learnt that up to 100 MPs will be asked to repay expenses, or prove that their claims were legitimate. About a dozen are likely to face demands to hand back significant sums, in some cases “tens of thousands of pounds”.
Investigators working for Sir Thomas Legg, a former civil servant appointed by the Commons to audit MPs’ expenses, are understood to have focused on big mortgage claims, as well as extravagant charges for household services.
Sir Thomas is also said to have widened the net of his investigation to include MPs who exploited loopholes to make claims that were in breach of the spirit, if not the letter, of the fees system. ...
Expenses bills return to haunt up to 100 MPs
Tom Baldwin, Chief Reporter
The expenses scandal is set to engulf the House of Commons again on Monday when MPs will be sent an auditor’s letter about the claims they made over the past five years.
The Times has learnt that up to 100 MPs will be asked to repay expenses, or prove that their claims were legitimate. About a dozen are likely to face demands to hand back significant sums, in some cases “tens of thousands of pounds”.
Investigators working for Sir Thomas Legg, a former civil servant appointed by the Commons to audit MPs’ expenses, are understood to have focused on big mortgage claims, as well as extravagant charges for household services.
Sir Thomas is also said to have widened the net of his investigation to include MPs who exploited loopholes to make claims that were in breach of the spirit, if not the letter, of the fees system. ...
Silvio Berlusconi defiant as court throws out immunity law
Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi laughs off legal proceedings against him as he loses immunity from prosecution ...
T'row da bum owt!
Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi laughs off legal proceedings against him as he loses immunity from prosecution ...
T'row da bum owt!
In an Italy abuzz with claims of subversive plots and speculation about a snap election, the judges of its constitutional court today began deliberating whether to strip Silvio Berlusconi of his immunity from prosecution.
Italy's prime minister, already on the defensive because of a lurid sex-and-drugs scandal, could go back on trial in two cases if an act passed last year to shield him from the law is thrown out. ...
T'row out da law an' da bum wid it!
Italy's prime minister, already on the defensive because of a lurid sex-and-drugs scandal, could go back on trial in two cases if an act passed last year to shield him from the law is thrown out. ...
T'row out da law an' da bum wid it!
Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe calls for 'friendly relations' with west
• Speech to parliament raises hopes of diplomatic thaw
• President renews call for EU and US sanctions to be lifted
[brilliant snooty English butler]I'm sorry, sir, but no one is accepting your calls.[/brilliant snooty English butler]
• Speech to parliament raises hopes of diplomatic thaw
• President renews call for EU and US sanctions to be lifted
[brilliant snooty English butler]I'm sorry, sir, but no one is accepting your calls.[/brilliant snooty English butler]
The long awaited trial of South Africa’s former police chief and ex-head of Interpol, finally opened today in dramatic fashion.
Jackie Selebi, 58, the most senior official of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) yet to be charged with corruption and close ally of ousted president Thabo Mbeki, denied taking bribes from a convicted drug smuggler and immediately pointed the finger at two other top party officials who he said were involved in a conspiracy to bring him down.
“I am ready to drop some bombshells,” he told reporters as he left court after an initial 30-minute session. State prosecutors, who intend to call a host of senior ANC figures, asked for the case to be set aside until tomorrow, but promised to be ready to proceed then after almost two years of preparation. ...
Jackie Selebi, 58, the most senior official of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) yet to be charged with corruption and close ally of ousted president Thabo Mbeki, denied taking bribes from a convicted drug smuggler and immediately pointed the finger at two other top party officials who he said were involved in a conspiracy to bring him down.
“I am ready to drop some bombshells,” he told reporters as he left court after an initial 30-minute session. State prosecutors, who intend to call a host of senior ANC figures, asked for the case to be set aside until tomorrow, but promised to be ready to proceed then after almost two years of preparation. ...
Well done, Waitrose, et al...but why hasn't sky network dumped faux news?
The woman at the centre of the sex scandal involving Silvio Berlusconi has claimed the Italian prime minister knew she was an escort when she spent the night with him last November.
In her first live interview on Italian television, Patrizia D'Addario, 42, said: "Certainly he knew that I was an escort."
She added she was not the only escort present at two parties she attended at Berlusconi's Rome residence. "When I arrived it seemed like a harem," she told the current affairs programme Annozero last night.
Berlusconi has denied ever paying for sex and has said he was unaware escorts were brought to his parties by Gianpaolo Tarantini, a Bari businessman being investigated for drug dealing and prostitution. Berlusconi is not under investigation. ...
In her first live interview on Italian television, Patrizia D'Addario, 42, said: "Certainly he knew that I was an escort."
She added she was not the only escort present at two parties she attended at Berlusconi's Rome residence. "When I arrived it seemed like a harem," she told the current affairs programme Annozero last night.
Berlusconi has denied ever paying for sex and has said he was unaware escorts were brought to his parties by Gianpaolo Tarantini, a Bari businessman being investigated for drug dealing and prostitution. Berlusconi is not under investigation. ...
Gordon Brown is ready to leave Britain’s biggest defence manufacturer, BAE Systems, to the mercy of the courts over allegations that it paid millions of pounds in bribes to win contracts, The Times has learnt.
Senior Downing Street sources said last night that he was adopting a “strictly hands-off approach” to the case. It is understood that a plea from BAE for the Prime Minister to intervene — as Tony Blair did three years ago in helping to halt a previous investigation — has already been “firmly rebuffed” by officials.
Yesterday an ultimatum issued by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) for the arms giant to accept an out-of-court settlement expired. Instead, the agency charged with stamping out corruption by British business vowed to pursue claims that BAE paid out millions of pounds for lucrative defence contracts in Tanzania, the Czech Republic, South Africa and Romania. ...
Senior Downing Street sources said last night that he was adopting a “strictly hands-off approach” to the case. It is understood that a plea from BAE for the Prime Minister to intervene — as Tony Blair did three years ago in helping to halt a previous investigation — has already been “firmly rebuffed” by officials.
Yesterday an ultimatum issued by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) for the arms giant to accept an out-of-court settlement expired. Instead, the agency charged with stamping out corruption by British business vowed to pursue claims that BAE paid out millions of pounds for lucrative defence contracts in Tanzania, the Czech Republic, South Africa and Romania. ...
BARONESS SCOTLAND was saved from facing questions about her expenses last week by a swift government U-turn that at a stroke changed its policy on allowances.
The Sunday Times revealed last week that Scotland had received £170,000 from an allowance intended for ministers in the House of Lords who live outside London. This was despite the fact that the baroness has owned a family home in the capital for 15 years and tells the Lords it is her main address.
Before our article, the Cabinet Office could not have been more clear that Scotland should have received the allowance only if her main home was outside the capital.
However, less than 24 hours after the article was published, Baroness Royall, the leader of the Lords, sanctioned a statement by the Cabinet Office which overturned all its previous advice. It said the allowance was available to all lords who serve as ministers, regardless of where they live.
The guidance contradicts information the government had given to the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) and creates new anomalies, with a number of ministers being entitled to ask why they, too, did not receive the cash. It also took the pressure off Scotland, who was facing calls for her resignation for hiring a cleaner who was an illegal immigrant. The cleaner will give her side of her story to a Sunday newspaper this weekend.
Ministers in the Lords are given a taxed annual allowance of £38,280 to help them live in the capital. Backbench peers receive £174 a night tax-free for staying overnight in London.
As a minister in the Home Office and then as attorney-general, Scotland was paid the allowance despite being based in London. Her defence is that the law that created the allowance made no reference to where a peer lived.
The Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991 says the allowance is available to all ministers in the Lords, but in practice it has been interpreted differently for years.
The SSRB, which advises on ministers’ pay, states in its publications the allowance is for peers who live outside London. Parliament’s own publications repeat this. Before the U-turn, a Cabinet Office spokesman said departments assessed a minister’s entitlement based on their home address.
Spokesman: “The point of it was so they can maintain a life in London. In practice it is looked at where they have a primary or secondary home . . .”
Reporter: “If the Cabinet Office made that assessment why on earth did they give it to Baroness Scotland?”
Spokesman: "Well, she does have a home outside London." ...
The Sunday Times revealed last week that Scotland had received £170,000 from an allowance intended for ministers in the House of Lords who live outside London. This was despite the fact that the baroness has owned a family home in the capital for 15 years and tells the Lords it is her main address.
Before our article, the Cabinet Office could not have been more clear that Scotland should have received the allowance only if her main home was outside the capital.
However, less than 24 hours after the article was published, Baroness Royall, the leader of the Lords, sanctioned a statement by the Cabinet Office which overturned all its previous advice. It said the allowance was available to all lords who serve as ministers, regardless of where they live.
The guidance contradicts information the government had given to the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) and creates new anomalies, with a number of ministers being entitled to ask why they, too, did not receive the cash. It also took the pressure off Scotland, who was facing calls for her resignation for hiring a cleaner who was an illegal immigrant. The cleaner will give her side of her story to a Sunday newspaper this weekend.
Ministers in the Lords are given a taxed annual allowance of £38,280 to help them live in the capital. Backbench peers receive £174 a night tax-free for staying overnight in London.
As a minister in the Home Office and then as attorney-general, Scotland was paid the allowance despite being based in London. Her defence is that the law that created the allowance made no reference to where a peer lived.
The Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991 says the allowance is available to all ministers in the Lords, but in practice it has been interpreted differently for years.
The SSRB, which advises on ministers’ pay, states in its publications the allowance is for peers who live outside London. Parliament’s own publications repeat this. Before the U-turn, a Cabinet Office spokesman said departments assessed a minister’s entitlement based on their home address.
Spokesman: “The point of it was so they can maintain a life in London. In practice it is looked at where they have a primary or secondary home . . .”
Reporter: “If the Cabinet Office made that assessment why on earth did they give it to Baroness Scotland?”
Spokesman: "Well, she does have a home outside London." ...
A parliamentary aide stood down today in protest at Lady Scotland's refusal to resign after paying a £5,000 fine for employing an illegal immigrant.
Stephen Hesford told the Guardian he was quitting because "in [Scotland's] position as chief legal adviser to the government she has to consider her position. She can't be seen to be doing anything to damage her office or the government."
In his resignation letter to Gordon Brown, he added: "In my view the facts of the case do not matter. It is the principle which counts, particularly at a time when the public's trust of Whitehall is uncertain to say the least. We have to be seen to be accountable." ...
Stephen Hesford told the Guardian he was quitting because "in [Scotland's] position as chief legal adviser to the government she has to consider her position. She can't be seen to be doing anything to damage her office or the government."
In his resignation letter to Gordon Brown, he added: "In my view the facts of the case do not matter. It is the principle which counts, particularly at a time when the public's trust of Whitehall is uncertain to say the least. We have to be seen to be accountable." ...
AT least 80 MPs are to face further humiliation over their expenses, as auditors have found they claimed too much for their mortgages and must pay it back.
Many face repaying thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money. Informed sources say an investigation ordered by Gordon Brown has found a “ticking time bomb” of irregularities.
Investigators working for Sir Thomas Legg, a QC and former civil servant, have found MPs have routinely been claiming the full cost of mortgages on their second homes, even though they are only allowed to recoup the interest.
Whitehall sources predict that many MPs will be ordered to pay back thousands of pounds claimed over the past five years in breach of the rules. ...
Many face repaying thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money. Informed sources say an investigation ordered by Gordon Brown has found a “ticking time bomb” of irregularities.
Investigators working for Sir Thomas Legg, a QC and former civil servant, have found MPs have routinely been claiming the full cost of mortgages on their second homes, even though they are only allowed to recoup the interest.
Whitehall sources predict that many MPs will be ordered to pay back thousands of pounds claimed over the past five years in breach of the rules. ...
Formula One's governing body was made aware of allegations that Renault had fixed the Singapore grand prix by ordering the Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet Jnr to crash last year, according to reports.
The driver's father, Nelson Piquet Sr, told investigators that he had spoken informally to the FIA's race director Charlie Whiting at the season-ending Brazilian race in November, days after the Singapore incident.
Piquet and Whiting worked together at the Brabham team in the 1980s, with the Briton acting as the world champion's chief mechanic.
"When this thing happened in Singapore I couldn't believe it," the Brazilian declared in excerpts from an interview that the Daily Mirror said was conducted by private investigators Quest in London on 17 August.
"Anyway, in Brazil I talk to Charlie," he continued. "I got him and said, 'Look what could happen to Nelson if I bring this up?' I was afraid to screw up his career."
Piquet added later: "In the race in Brazil I called Charlie and I told the whole story to Charlie."
Speaking to the Guardian last week, Max Mosley, the outgoing FIA president, said he had been made aware of the allegations in late July.
"Of course there was nothing one could do then because there was no evidence – it was all rumour and hearsay," he said. ...
The driver's father, Nelson Piquet Sr, told investigators that he had spoken informally to the FIA's race director Charlie Whiting at the season-ending Brazilian race in November, days after the Singapore incident.
Piquet and Whiting worked together at the Brabham team in the 1980s, with the Briton acting as the world champion's chief mechanic.
"When this thing happened in Singapore I couldn't believe it," the Brazilian declared in excerpts from an interview that the Daily Mirror said was conducted by private investigators Quest in London on 17 August.
"Anyway, in Brazil I talk to Charlie," he continued. "I got him and said, 'Look what could happen to Nelson if I bring this up?' I was afraid to screw up his career."
Piquet added later: "In the race in Brazil I called Charlie and I told the whole story to Charlie."
Speaking to the Guardian last week, Max Mosley, the outgoing FIA president, said he had been made aware of the allegations in late July.
"Of course there was nothing one could do then because there was no evidence – it was all rumour and hearsay," he said. ...
Nelson Piquet Sr is threatening to take Flavio Briatore to court in order to prevent his son from continuing to pay the disgraced former Renault team principal 20 per cent of his earnings.
Briatore resigned on Wednesday after apparently ordering Piquet Jr to deliberately crash his car in last September's Singapore Grand Prix but he continues to manage the Brazilian driver through his management company FFBB. Piquet Jr signed for FFBB in October 2006 and his contract means a fifth of his earnings go directly to Briatore.
The FIA's World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) will hear the case against Renault in Paris on Monday and Piquet Sr says he will wait to hear their findings before deciding whether to pursue a case against the Italian.
"I could not talk to other team members about it [the contract], because Nelson was working for Flavio and his management has a contract with the team," Piquet Sr said. "Now I finally have something - contract violation - to put pressure on Flavio. ...
Briatore resigned on Wednesday after apparently ordering Piquet Jr to deliberately crash his car in last September's Singapore Grand Prix but he continues to manage the Brazilian driver through his management company FFBB. Piquet Jr signed for FFBB in October 2006 and his contract means a fifth of his earnings go directly to Briatore.
The FIA's World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) will hear the case against Renault in Paris on Monday and Piquet Sr says he will wait to hear their findings before deciding whether to pursue a case against the Italian.
"I could not talk to other team members about it [the contract], because Nelson was working for Flavio and his management has a contract with the team," Piquet Sr said. "Now I finally have something - contract violation - to put pressure on Flavio. ...
Vladimir Putin hands over Swiss watch to astonished factory worker
Questions over Russian prime minister's salary after spontaneous gift of £5,500 watch
rootin' tootin' vladimir putin should be living in a goddam shoebox.
Oh, and lotsa luck with your anti-corruption crusade, mr putin's lapdog, er medvedev.
Bobb to announce criminal charges in DPS probe
BY BEN SCHMITT • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • August 11, 2009
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy issued a press release today stating she and Public Schools Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb will announce criminal charges Wednesday stemming from an investigation into the public schools. ...
BY BEN SCHMITT • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • August 11, 2009
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy issued a press release today stating she and Public Schools Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb will announce criminal charges Wednesday stemming from an investigation into the public schools. ...
Cockrel goes to cops on Conyers' missing stuff
BY NAOMI R. PATTON AND BEN SCHMITT • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS • August 7, 2009
Detroit City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. today asked police to investigate the disappearance of more than $21,000 worth of city-owned equipment from the office of former Detroit City Council President Pro Tem Monica Conyers.
A Cockrel staffer hand-delivered to police a package that included the inventory of equipment found missing after she resigned, plus correspondence with Cockrel and her attorney.
Cockrel said he has not yet spoken to Police Chief Warren Evans or Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy since the package was delivered.
“We just got to a point where it became very clear we were not getting cooperation from either her or her attorney,” Cockrel said. “We’ve been promised, on a couple of occasions, a written response.”
He said attorneys with the council’s Research and Analysis Division have been the primary contact with Conyers' lawyer, Steve Fishman.
Fishman laughed today when informed of Cockrel’s report to police.
“I don’t have anything to add to what I said before,” Fishman said, before hanging up the phone.
Last month, Fishman said of the allegations: “"Monica Conyers did not take any property belonging to the City of Detroit, nor did she authorize anyone else to do so."
Cockrel initially sent Conyers a letter, dated July 23, telling her her that 29 items, valued at $21,300, were missing from her council offices. He asked her to arrange for the items – including, desktop computers, printers, a camcorder; and two digital cameras – to be returned, or “the items will be deemed stolen property and I will forward this documentation to the Detroit Police Department and the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office."
Since then two of the laptops -- an Apple MacBook and a Hewlett Packard PC -- and a computer carrying case have been returned, reportedly on Conyers behalf, by a former staffer. ...
She's just an evil, lyin,' t'iefin' bitch.
BY NAOMI R. PATTON AND BEN SCHMITT • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS • August 7, 2009
Detroit City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. today asked police to investigate the disappearance of more than $21,000 worth of city-owned equipment from the office of former Detroit City Council President Pro Tem Monica Conyers.
A Cockrel staffer hand-delivered to police a package that included the inventory of equipment found missing after she resigned, plus correspondence with Cockrel and her attorney.
Cockrel said he has not yet spoken to Police Chief Warren Evans or Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy since the package was delivered.
“We just got to a point where it became very clear we were not getting cooperation from either her or her attorney,” Cockrel said. “We’ve been promised, on a couple of occasions, a written response.”
He said attorneys with the council’s Research and Analysis Division have been the primary contact with Conyers' lawyer, Steve Fishman.
Fishman laughed today when informed of Cockrel’s report to police.
“I don’t have anything to add to what I said before,” Fishman said, before hanging up the phone.
Last month, Fishman said of the allegations: “"Monica Conyers did not take any property belonging to the City of Detroit, nor did she authorize anyone else to do so."
Cockrel initially sent Conyers a letter, dated July 23, telling her her that 29 items, valued at $21,300, were missing from her council offices. He asked her to arrange for the items – including, desktop computers, printers, a camcorder; and two digital cameras – to be returned, or “the items will be deemed stolen property and I will forward this documentation to the Detroit Police Department and the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office."
Since then two of the laptops -- an Apple MacBook and a Hewlett Packard PC -- and a computer carrying case have been returned, reportedly on Conyers behalf, by a former staffer. ...
She's just an evil, lyin,' t'iefin' bitch.
A couple of audits of Detroit Public Schools uncovered rampant financial waste, Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb announced today.
One audit of health-care workers revealed that there were 411 people, some of them deceased, who were on the payrolls even though they were not eligible, the district said. Removing the 411 people will save about $2.1 million, according to the district.
Another audit of the district’s Office of Public Safety uncovered wasted equipment that was not being used –- including 160 BlackBerry phones, 97 two-way phones, 1,872 master locks, 132 safety kits, 50 handheld radios, and 13 printers. Eleven motorcycles were not being used.
“It’s now time to bring all of this BS to a standstill,” Bobb said at a news conference today. “This school system cannot be viewed as a personal bank.” ...
One audit of health-care workers revealed that there were 411 people, some of them deceased, who were on the payrolls even though they were not eligible, the district said. Removing the 411 people will save about $2.1 million, according to the district.
Another audit of the district’s Office of Public Safety uncovered wasted equipment that was not being used –- including 160 BlackBerry phones, 97 two-way phones, 1,872 master locks, 132 safety kits, 50 handheld radios, and 13 printers. Eleven motorcycles were not being used.
“It’s now time to bring all of this BS to a standstill,” Bobb said at a news conference today. “This school system cannot be viewed as a personal bank.” ...
The Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, has ordered a £20,000 refurbishment of his grace-and-favour residence – including spending £7,524.30 on a sofa suite and window seat cushions for the drawing room, it emerged last night.
When he was appointed in June, Bercow pledged to forego the £24,000-a-year second home allowance as part of moves to restore trust in the wake of the expenses scandal.
However, details of the expenditure on improvements at the Palace of Westminster's Speaker's house were revealed in a confidential document seen by the Daily Telegraph.
The improvements include a series of alterations, redecoration and new furnishings for the rent-free home. One of the two studies is to become a playroom for Bercow's three young children, with a £1,087 bill for redecorating it.
Some £3,600 is being spent on fitting locks to the windows and paying workmen to check that access ducts in the wall panelling are lockable or childproof. A further £3,880 has been spent on planters to provide additional child safety on the terrace. ...
Believe it or else, the list goes on on and on!
When he was appointed in June, Bercow pledged to forego the £24,000-a-year second home allowance as part of moves to restore trust in the wake of the expenses scandal.
However, details of the expenditure on improvements at the Palace of Westminster's Speaker's house were revealed in a confidential document seen by the Daily Telegraph.
The improvements include a series of alterations, redecoration and new furnishings for the rent-free home. One of the two studies is to become a playroom for Bercow's three young children, with a £1,087 bill for redecorating it.
Some £3,600 is being spent on fitting locks to the windows and paying workmen to check that access ducts in the wall panelling are lockable or childproof. A further £3,880 has been spent on planters to provide additional child safety on the terrace. ...
Believe it or else, the list goes on on and on!
Former Detroit police monitor Sheryl Robinson Wood was ousted under a cloud. Some experts say a review of her ties to then-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick may eventually turn into a criminal investigation.
"With the possibility of federal charges, there are no minor concerns," said Detroit attorney Bill Goodman, who represented the City Council in its efforts to oust Kilpatrick.
Wood has been in talks this week with attorney Richard Craig Smith, an expert in white-collar crime and government investigations with the Washington, D.C., firm Fulbright & Jaworski. The firm was once home to Watergate special prosecutor Leon Jaworski.
Wood has not returned calls seeking comment. Carl Racine, managing partner at her law firm, Venable LLP, based in Washington and Baltimore, declined to discuss her status.
As first reported on freep.com, the judge overseeing Detroit Police Department reform efforts forced her ouster last week after being shown text messages that, the judge concluded, revealed Wood had engaged in an inappropriate relationship with Kilpatrick, even as she was monitoring the city's compliance with police reforms. ...
"With the possibility of federal charges, there are no minor concerns," said Detroit attorney Bill Goodman, who represented the City Council in its efforts to oust Kilpatrick.
Wood has been in talks this week with attorney Richard Craig Smith, an expert in white-collar crime and government investigations with the Washington, D.C., firm Fulbright & Jaworski. The firm was once home to Watergate special prosecutor Leon Jaworski.
Wood has not returned calls seeking comment. Carl Racine, managing partner at her law firm, Venable LLP, based in Washington and Baltimore, declined to discuss her status.
As first reported on freep.com, the judge overseeing Detroit Police Department reform efforts forced her ouster last week after being shown text messages that, the judge concluded, revealed Wood had engaged in an inappropriate relationship with Kilpatrick, even as she was monitoring the city's compliance with police reforms. ...
Operation Bid Rig was a long-term investigation into money laundering and political corruption conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, and the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey. In the third phase of the investigation, from 2007 to 2009, sting operations resulted in the July 2009 arrest of 44 people in New Jersey and New York, including 29 public servants and five orthodox rabbis from the Syrian Jewish community. A number of high-level New Jersey elected officials were arrested in the operation, including Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano, Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell, Ridgefield Mayor Anthony R. Suarez, Assemblyman L. Harvey Smith, Assemblyman Daniel M. Van Pelt, and former Assemblyman Louis Manzo. ...
July 26, 2009
Millionaire Lord Bhatia claimed £20,000 on small flat
A MILLIONAIRE peer has claimed more than £20,000 in allowances from the House of Lords by saying that a small rented flat occupied by his brother is his main home. Last week he could not even remember its address.
Lord Bhatia, a businessman and philanthropist, has lived with his wife in a £1.5m home in southwest London for 20 years. Almost two years ago he decided to “flip” the designation of his primary residence to a two-bedroom flat in Reigate, Surrey, which has been his brother’s home for three years. The town is a mile beyond the M25 motorway, a boundary used by peers to define whether they live outside London for expenses purposes.
By saying the Reigate flat was his main home, Bhatia was able to claim lucrative “overnight” allowances from the Lords. Peers whose main home is outside the capital are able to collect £174 a night as reimbursement for the cost of a hotel or maintaining a second home while attending parliament.
Bhatia could not remember the address of the flat when repeatedly asked last week. He had to look it up and even then misspelt the name of the block. A neighbour could not recall him living there, but Bhatia insisted he had spent many weekends at the flat and said he intended to move there with his wife when he sells his family home. ...
...The Sunday Times has highlighted the need for an overhaul of the Lords’ expenses system. Unlike the Commons no new legislation is being introduced to change Lords’ allowances, despite a series of scandals.
The police are already investigating the overnight allowance claims made by Baroness Uddin and Lord Clarke of Hampstead following inquiries by this newspaper. Uddin faces fresh questions about her travel expenses as it emerged that she claimed for 89 round trips to a flat at which her neighbours had never seen her.
Bhatia is a 77-year-old Labour party donor who sits as a crossbencher. He is a successful businessman who has been prominent in several charities. After being made a peer by Tony Blair in 2001, he went on to lead the Edutrust Academies Charitable Trust which was formed to open and run city academies. He quit the board of the trust after a government inquiry found evidence of financial and governance mismanagement at the charity.
The Sunday Times began looking into his allowance claims after examining his record in the Lords. Although his attendance record is high, he has taken part in only 15% of votes since becoming a peer and has not spoken in the House for four years. Some peers are known to “clock in” frequently, securing a daily attendance allowance without staying to do any work. ...
Greedy greedy greedy greedy.
Millionaire Lord Bhatia claimed £20,000 on small flat
A MILLIONAIRE peer has claimed more than £20,000 in allowances from the House of Lords by saying that a small rented flat occupied by his brother is his main home. Last week he could not even remember its address.
Lord Bhatia, a businessman and philanthropist, has lived with his wife in a £1.5m home in southwest London for 20 years. Almost two years ago he decided to “flip” the designation of his primary residence to a two-bedroom flat in Reigate, Surrey, which has been his brother’s home for three years. The town is a mile beyond the M25 motorway, a boundary used by peers to define whether they live outside London for expenses purposes.
By saying the Reigate flat was his main home, Bhatia was able to claim lucrative “overnight” allowances from the Lords. Peers whose main home is outside the capital are able to collect £174 a night as reimbursement for the cost of a hotel or maintaining a second home while attending parliament.
Bhatia could not remember the address of the flat when repeatedly asked last week. He had to look it up and even then misspelt the name of the block. A neighbour could not recall him living there, but Bhatia insisted he had spent many weekends at the flat and said he intended to move there with his wife when he sells his family home. ...
...The Sunday Times has highlighted the need for an overhaul of the Lords’ expenses system. Unlike the Commons no new legislation is being introduced to change Lords’ allowances, despite a series of scandals.
The police are already investigating the overnight allowance claims made by Baroness Uddin and Lord Clarke of Hampstead following inquiries by this newspaper. Uddin faces fresh questions about her travel expenses as it emerged that she claimed for 89 round trips to a flat at which her neighbours had never seen her.
Bhatia is a 77-year-old Labour party donor who sits as a crossbencher. He is a successful businessman who has been prominent in several charities. After being made a peer by Tony Blair in 2001, he went on to lead the Edutrust Academies Charitable Trust which was formed to open and run city academies. He quit the board of the trust after a government inquiry found evidence of financial and governance mismanagement at the charity.
The Sunday Times began looking into his allowance claims after examining his record in the Lords. Although his attendance record is high, he has taken part in only 15% of votes since becoming a peer and has not spoken in the House for four years. Some peers are known to “clock in” frequently, securing a daily attendance allowance without staying to do any work. ...
Greedy greedy greedy greedy.
Funding of some of the most prestigious cultural grand projects in Britain is in jeopardy because a £100m black hole has been discovered in the budgets of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Whitehall sources disclosed tonight.
The scale of the department's spending over-commitment could derail ambitious building projects such as the British Museum's new exhibition wing, Tate Modern's redevelopment, the British Film Institute's film centre on the South Bank in London and the Stonehenge visitor centre.
The shortfall has emerged in the capital budget for the financial years 2009-10 and 2010-11. Senior arts sources today variously called the funding crisis "a cock-up" and "quite astonishing". One source said: "It's hopeless management. Everyone will blame the DCMS for being hopeless, and they are fairly hopeless, so it's not unjustified."
According to another source: "Financial directors of interested bodies received a letter saying they were £100m overspent on capital and seeking contributions from unspent capital money."
The DCMS refused to comment on why it had got into a situation in which it had overpromised funds for capital projects by approximately £100m. However, it is understood that the problem was noted several weeks ago and is being addressed by ministers. A DCMS spokesperson said: "Our capital budget is currently overcommitted. Ministers are examining the reasons for this and looking for solutions. It is possible that difficult decisions will be needed, but none has been taken yet." [Italics mine.]
A senior arts source said: "They will solve it by scrabbling around, and delaying things here and there[; b]ut my goodness, it's no way to run a railroad." ...
Dem a t'ief it, Mon!
The scale of the department's spending over-commitment could derail ambitious building projects such as the British Museum's new exhibition wing, Tate Modern's redevelopment, the British Film Institute's film centre on the South Bank in London and the Stonehenge visitor centre.
The shortfall has emerged in the capital budget for the financial years 2009-10 and 2010-11. Senior arts sources today variously called the funding crisis "a cock-up" and "quite astonishing". One source said: "It's hopeless management. Everyone will blame the DCMS for being hopeless, and they are fairly hopeless, so it's not unjustified."
According to another source: "Financial directors of interested bodies received a letter saying they were £100m overspent on capital and seeking contributions from unspent capital money."
The DCMS refused to comment on why it had got into a situation in which it had overpromised funds for capital projects by approximately £100m. However, it is understood that the problem was noted several weeks ago and is being addressed by ministers. A DCMS spokesperson said: "Our capital budget is currently overcommitted. Ministers are examining the reasons for this and looking for solutions. It is possible that difficult decisions will be needed, but none has been taken yet." [Italics mine.]
A senior arts source said: "They will solve it by scrabbling around, and delaying things here and there[; b]ut my goodness, it's no way to run a railroad." ...
Dem a t'ief it, Mon!
Judge to review more Kilpatrick texts for possible release
By JOE SWICKARD • Free Press Staff Writer • July 24, 2009
Wayne County Circuit Judge Robert Colombo approved a deal this morning between the Free Press and the City of Detroit that could lead to the release of more text messages from former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his chief aide Christine Beatty.
Under the deal, Colombo will review a sampling of text messages for possible evidence of civic corruption. Messages would then be released if the judge finds the possible evidence.
The deal was struck after months of negotiations between the newspaper and the city. In the deal, the city – as subscriber of the SkyTel text messaging service-- consented to the release of the messages.
Colombo said that Beatty and Kilpatrick will be allowed to object to release of the messages, but only if they admit authorship – something they have not done. ...
By JOE SWICKARD • Free Press Staff Writer • July 24, 2009
Wayne County Circuit Judge Robert Colombo approved a deal this morning between the Free Press and the City of Detroit that could lead to the release of more text messages from former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his chief aide Christine Beatty.
Under the deal, Colombo will review a sampling of text messages for possible evidence of civic corruption. Messages would then be released if the judge finds the possible evidence.
The deal was struck after months of negotiations between the newspaper and the city. In the deal, the city – as subscriber of the SkyTel text messaging service-- consented to the release of the messages.
Colombo said that Beatty and Kilpatrick will be allowed to object to release of the messages, but only if they admit authorship – something they have not done. ...
... Lattimore was charged this month with a single felony charge that he took $7,500 in 2007 as a councilman, "intending to be rewarded and influenced in connection with his official duties," according to court documents.
According to federal indictments handed down last week, political consultant Sam Riddle and former state Rep. Mary Waters, both charged with corruption, conspired to bribe Lattimore with $12,500 to gain his support for the relocation and expansion of a Southfield pawnshop.
Lattimore, according to the indictments, used the City of Southfield letterhead to write two letters supporting the project. In an interview with the Free Press in June, the councilman denied writing any letters supporting Zeidman's Jewelry & Loan -- the business implicated in the probe.
Southfield Mayor Brenda Lawrence said that if Lattimore pleads guilty to the felony charge, the city's charter "gives the city the right to ask for removal." But she said he should resign before the council is forced to act.
According to federal indictments handed down last week, political consultant Sam Riddle and former state Rep. Mary Waters, both charged with corruption, conspired to bribe Lattimore with $12,500 to gain his support for the relocation and expansion of a Southfield pawnshop.
Lattimore, according to the indictments, used the City of Southfield letterhead to write two letters supporting the project. In an interview with the Free Press in June, the councilman denied writing any letters supporting Zeidman's Jewelry & Loan -- the business implicated in the probe.
Southfield Mayor Brenda Lawrence said that if Lattimore pleads guilty to the felony charge, the city's charter "gives the city the right to ask for removal." But she said he should resign before the council is forced to act.
If Silvio Berlusconi thought he'd shaken off the furore over his alleged use of escort girls, he was in for a nasty surprise today.
The Italian prime minister has successfully deflected and sidestepped lurid allegations about his supposed liaisons in recent weeks, helped by some timely international summitry which let him demonstrate his statesmanship, not to mention his commitment to dealing with the aftermath of the L'Aquila earthquake.
But today it was all about call girls, giant beds and the suggestion of a menage-a-trois, after a left-leaning news magazine, L'Espresso, posted "pillow talk" recordings that an escort said she made during a night with the septuagenarian Italian leader.
The escort, Patrizia D'Addario, claims the tapes relate to the night of 4 November last year, when the leaders of the world were holding their breath, waiting to see if Americans would elect their first black president.
Berlusconi, apparently, had other things on his mind. ...
I've never been able to understand why as soon as men get power, they want shedloads of whores. Were I rich and powerful I'd pay off all our bills first, (and then I'd want books, a laptop, some nice moisturis/zer, and someone from World Wildlife Fund [among other great charities] to relieve me of some of my ca$h) not buy a buncha whores.
The Italian prime minister has successfully deflected and sidestepped lurid allegations about his supposed liaisons in recent weeks, helped by some timely international summitry which let him demonstrate his statesmanship, not to mention his commitment to dealing with the aftermath of the L'Aquila earthquake.
But today it was all about call girls, giant beds and the suggestion of a menage-a-trois, after a left-leaning news magazine, L'Espresso, posted "pillow talk" recordings that an escort said she made during a night with the septuagenarian Italian leader.
The escort, Patrizia D'Addario, claims the tapes relate to the night of 4 November last year, when the leaders of the world were holding their breath, waiting to see if Americans would elect their first black president.
Berlusconi, apparently, had other things on his mind. ...
I've never been able to understand why as soon as men get power, they want shedloads of whores. Were I rich and powerful I'd pay off all our bills first, (and then I'd want books, a laptop, some nice moisturis/zer, and someone from World Wildlife Fund [among other great charities] to relieve me of some of my ca$h) not buy a buncha whores.
Monica Conyers' wrist slap is wrong message
BY STEPHEN HENDERSON • FREE PRESS COLUMNIST • July 16, 2009
Someone in the local U.S. Attorney's Office may have some 'splainin to do.
They have it all backward in the ongoing city hall corruption probe.
Here's why.
Based on the indictment handed down Wednesday of political consultant Sam Riddle, it seems prosecutors believe Riddle and former Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers were running a pretty robust shakedown operation.
The documents say they hit up a strip club owner for $25,000, extorted $20,000 each from a technology company and a restaurant, and tried to put the arm on a real estate developer.
Riddle's facing a slew of charges related to each of those acts, as well as his involvement with Conyers on the rotten Synagro sludge deal and some other stuff. By statute, he could face a sentence in excess of 100 (yes, one hundred) years.
But Conyers, if you'll remember, copped a plea a few weeks ago to one count of conspiracy in the Synagro deal. And even though she's mentioned about as often as Riddle in his indictment, she isn't being charged for any of the non-Synagro schemes they allegedly hatched. She faces 5 years max in federal prison -- one-twentieth of the time Riddle could get.
Sorry, but that doesn't make sense.
Conyers was the public official involved here, the one who took an oath to serve the public faithfully, and the one who had the power to deliver on any favors she and Riddle concocted to sell. ...
BY STEPHEN HENDERSON • FREE PRESS COLUMNIST • July 16, 2009
Someone in the local U.S. Attorney's Office may have some 'splainin to do.
They have it all backward in the ongoing city hall corruption probe.
Here's why.
Based on the indictment handed down Wednesday of political consultant Sam Riddle, it seems prosecutors believe Riddle and former Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers were running a pretty robust shakedown operation.
The documents say they hit up a strip club owner for $25,000, extorted $20,000 each from a technology company and a restaurant, and tried to put the arm on a real estate developer.
Riddle's facing a slew of charges related to each of those acts, as well as his involvement with Conyers on the rotten Synagro sludge deal and some other stuff. By statute, he could face a sentence in excess of 100 (yes, one hundred) years.
But Conyers, if you'll remember, copped a plea a few weeks ago to one count of conspiracy in the Synagro deal. And even though she's mentioned about as often as Riddle in his indictment, she isn't being charged for any of the non-Synagro schemes they allegedly hatched. She faces 5 years max in federal prison -- one-twentieth of the time Riddle could get.
Sorry, but that doesn't make sense.
Conyers was the public official involved here, the one who took an oath to serve the public faithfully, and the one who had the power to deliver on any favors she and Riddle concocted to sell. ...
... “You’d better get my loot, that’s all I know,” Conyers is quoted as telling Riddle regarding a payment from a restaurant owner.
Riddle passed her $10,000 in that caper, the indictment says. ...
... Conyers first took office in January 2006. Just 15 months later, according to the indictment, Conyers and Riddle began their extortion racket.
The indictment charges:
• Conyers conspired with Riddle to hit up the owner of a technology company for $20,000 to make Riddle a bogus “consultant.”
• Conyers and Riddle pressured a Detroit restaurant owner to pay Riddle $20,000 for another “consulting job” that didn’t exist.
• Conyers and Riddle received $25,000 from the owner of a strip club with an issue before the city council.
• Conyers and Riddle attempted to receive money in another faux “consulting contract” for Riddle, this time with a real estate developer.
Conyers, the wife of U.S. Rep. John Conyers, a Detroit Democrat, became notorious for her bad temper in public. In private, she appears to be equally difficult. The indictment portrays her as nagging Riddle and ordering him to carry out her orders in their various schemes.
“This bitch is a trip,” Riddle told an owner of the technology company, explaining Conyers was eager to receive the owner’s final $5,000 payment.
“Work on the, uh, five thing,” Riddle advised, “so I can keep her chilled out and stuff.”
Riddle passed her $10,000 in that caper, the indictment says. ...
... Conyers first took office in January 2006. Just 15 months later, according to the indictment, Conyers and Riddle began their extortion racket.
The indictment charges:
• Conyers conspired with Riddle to hit up the owner of a technology company for $20,000 to make Riddle a bogus “consultant.”
• Conyers and Riddle pressured a Detroit restaurant owner to pay Riddle $20,000 for another “consulting job” that didn’t exist.
• Conyers and Riddle received $25,000 from the owner of a strip club with an issue before the city council.
• Conyers and Riddle attempted to receive money in another faux “consulting contract” for Riddle, this time with a real estate developer.
Conyers, the wife of U.S. Rep. John Conyers, a Detroit Democrat, became notorious for her bad temper in public. In private, she appears to be equally difficult. The indictment portrays her as nagging Riddle and ordering him to carry out her orders in their various schemes.
“This bitch is a trip,” Riddle told an owner of the technology company, explaining Conyers was eager to receive the owner’s final $5,000 payment.
“Work on the, uh, five thing,” Riddle advised, “so I can keep her chilled out and stuff.”
Stupid...well, I can't very well call her a cow - that's insulting a noble beast.
... The Bing administration told the Free Press that White was unavailable to answer questions about the emergency check system -- not the sort of response voters anticipated when Bing was elected on a promise to provide transparency in the city's financial dealings. It's disturbing that the Free Press even had to file a FOIA request to obtain information that ought to be readily available online to any Detroit taxpayer.
No one should hold the new administration responsible for its predecessors' fiscal irresponsibility. But everyone should expect candor about any abuse of the emergency check system, especially when questions arise about the role played by a member of the current administration.
No one should hold the new administration responsible for its predecessors' fiscal irresponsibility. But everyone should expect candor about any abuse of the emergency check system, especially when questions arise about the role played by a member of the current administration.
July 6, 2009
FSA to triple fines and dock pay for market abuse
Patrick Hosking, Financial Editor
Companies guilty of the biggest financial offences could be fined as much as £50 million after the Financial Services Authority (FSA) today announced a step change in the size of penalties it wants to mete out.
The City regulator said some fines could treble in size as it seeks to address concerns that penalties thus far have not proved much of a deterrent in improving company behaviour.
It also announced proposals for a minimum fine of £100,000 for individuals found guilty of market abuse offences such as insider dealing. Up to 40 per cent of an individual's salary and benefits could be taken, it said.
Fines would amount to 20 per cent of turnover from the relevant product or business area over the period of the offences, the FSA said. ...
FSA to triple fines and dock pay for market abuse
Patrick Hosking, Financial Editor
Companies guilty of the biggest financial offences could be fined as much as £50 million after the Financial Services Authority (FSA) today announced a step change in the size of penalties it wants to mete out.
The City regulator said some fines could treble in size as it seeks to address concerns that penalties thus far have not proved much of a deterrent in improving company behaviour.
It also announced proposals for a minimum fine of £100,000 for individuals found guilty of market abuse offences such as insider dealing. Up to 40 per cent of an individual's salary and benefits could be taken, it said.
Fines would amount to 20 per cent of turnover from the relevant product or business area over the period of the offences, the FSA said. ...
PM warned that elevation of Michael Martin could damage Lords
Nicholas Watt, chief political correspondent
* guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 30 June 2009 23.28 BST
Michael Martin, the former Speaker of the Commons, was today elevated to the House of Lords despite a warning from the independent appointments commission that his presence could "diminish" the upper house.
In an unprecedented move, the commission wrote to Gordon Brown to warn that Martin's conduct in recent months, which led him to become the first Speaker of the modern era to be forced out, could damage the Lords' reputation.
The intervention by the commission, chaired by the former Foreign Office permanent secretary Lord Jay, is understood to be the first time in modern times that questions have been raised about elevating a former Speaker to the Lords. ...
Nicholas Watt, chief political correspondent
* guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 30 June 2009 23.28 BST
Michael Martin, the former Speaker of the Commons, was today elevated to the House of Lords despite a warning from the independent appointments commission that his presence could "diminish" the upper house.
In an unprecedented move, the commission wrote to Gordon Brown to warn that Martin's conduct in recent months, which led him to become the first Speaker of the modern era to be forced out, could damage the Lords' reputation.
The intervention by the commission, chaired by the former Foreign Office permanent secretary Lord Jay, is understood to be the first time in modern times that questions have been raised about elevating a former Speaker to the Lords. ...
Yup. Apple, tree, the whole shebang.
Hey, bing! When the hell you gonna get off yo' ass and do something, other than tryin' ta raise our water rates, you idiot?
This gaping hole calls for a new party. Let's call it Labour
The party I joined as a gullible student has been dismantled by Blair and Brown, and with it any voice for those on the left
o Simon Jenkins
o Tuesday 23 June 2009
Iknow what this country needs. It needs a Labour party. The old one is not fit for purpose. What finally convinced me was Labour MPs voting on Monday for John Bercow as Speaker. It was a dollop of cynicism on what has surely been the worst parliament of modern times, a tawdry somnolence of sleaze and squandermania, authoritarian in its law-making, reckless in its warmongering and immoral in its self-regulation.
Leaders and frontbenchers of both main parties have paid back money filched from taxpayers under a regime that would have prosecuted those taxpayers if they had done the same. This patent admission of guilt left them blandly claiming that they had "done nothing wrong". In that case, why pay it back? Had the house-flipping and tax-dodging been isolated, the culprits would have been drummed from office. Instead, wrongdoing cleansed itself by strength in numbers. Hardly a member of this parliament will depart next year untainted by fiddle or fraud.
As a doubtless gullible student, I purchased a Labour party card, gulping at the notorious clause four on its reverse. Even when, disillusioned, I crossed the floor to a similar flirtation with Conservatism, I retained a respect for Labour as custodian of a fine genetic strain in British politics, an ambition for social liberalism, fairness in wealth distribution and ethical dealing in public life.
That party was dismantled, ideologically and constitutionally, by Tony Blair and his circle, to prevent it impeding his freedom of action in office, as it had done so many of his predecessors. He wanted no trouble from that quarter. ...
This man is a fucking genius.
The party I joined as a gullible student has been dismantled by Blair and Brown, and with it any voice for those on the left
o Simon Jenkins
o Tuesday 23 June 2009
Iknow what this country needs. It needs a Labour party. The old one is not fit for purpose. What finally convinced me was Labour MPs voting on Monday for John Bercow as Speaker. It was a dollop of cynicism on what has surely been the worst parliament of modern times, a tawdry somnolence of sleaze and squandermania, authoritarian in its law-making, reckless in its warmongering and immoral in its self-regulation.
Leaders and frontbenchers of both main parties have paid back money filched from taxpayers under a regime that would have prosecuted those taxpayers if they had done the same. This patent admission of guilt left them blandly claiming that they had "done nothing wrong". In that case, why pay it back? Had the house-flipping and tax-dodging been isolated, the culprits would have been drummed from office. Instead, wrongdoing cleansed itself by strength in numbers. Hardly a member of this parliament will depart next year untainted by fiddle or fraud.
As a doubtless gullible student, I purchased a Labour party card, gulping at the notorious clause four on its reverse. Even when, disillusioned, I crossed the floor to a similar flirtation with Conservatism, I retained a respect for Labour as custodian of a fine genetic strain in British politics, an ambition for social liberalism, fairness in wealth distribution and ethical dealing in public life.
That party was dismantled, ideologically and constitutionally, by Tony Blair and his circle, to prevent it impeding his freedom of action in office, as it had done so many of his predecessors. He wanted no trouble from that quarter. ...
This man is a fucking genius.
June 20, 2009
Drop the noble platitudes, what’s in it for me?
We shouldn’t be shocked that MPs have shown us they are an interest group like any other. Politics is about who benefits
Matthew Parris
This latest turn in the tale of our MPs’ expenses is intolerable. What blithering, blethering idiots. Have the Commons authorities and their black ink contrived deliberately to twist the knife into these pathetic parliamentarians? Now the MPs mumble something about being warned by the authorities that if they had stuck their necks out and published their uncensored expenses independently they’d be infringing the Data Protection Act.
So infringe it, you ninnies! Don’t you see you’re fighting for your lives? Wasn’t it obvious to you how those big blacked-out blocks on newspaper front pages were going to look? Those front pages could haunt our politics for a generation. Can’t you see that only a mass decision by most MPs to ignore the jobsworths’ legal warnings and volunteer everything that The Daily Telegraph had already knew, fast and early, could have saved you from being pitched by the media right back into the muck? In the face of such peril, fear of infringing data protection should have counted about as much as fear of a parking ticket.
But they just couldn’t let go, could they? Aptly did Kipling write: “That the dog returns to his vomit and the sow returns to her mire? And the burnt fool’s bandaged finger goes wobbling back to the fire.”
Parliamentarians’ cowardice, and the Commons authority’s goonish PR incompetence, have contrived to set this story alight again just when the flames were beginning to subside — and all without the fuel of a single big new discovery. They’ve made the cover-up the story. Again. What next? New leaks about how much black ink the MPs themselves added to the authorities’ first draft? ...
Drop the noble platitudes, what’s in it for me?
We shouldn’t be shocked that MPs have shown us they are an interest group like any other. Politics is about who benefits
Matthew Parris
This latest turn in the tale of our MPs’ expenses is intolerable. What blithering, blethering idiots. Have the Commons authorities and their black ink contrived deliberately to twist the knife into these pathetic parliamentarians? Now the MPs mumble something about being warned by the authorities that if they had stuck their necks out and published their uncensored expenses independently they’d be infringing the Data Protection Act.
So infringe it, you ninnies! Don’t you see you’re fighting for your lives? Wasn’t it obvious to you how those big blacked-out blocks on newspaper front pages were going to look? Those front pages could haunt our politics for a generation. Can’t you see that only a mass decision by most MPs to ignore the jobsworths’ legal warnings and volunteer everything that The Daily Telegraph had already knew, fast and early, could have saved you from being pitched by the media right back into the muck? In the face of such peril, fear of infringing data protection should have counted about as much as fear of a parking ticket.
But they just couldn’t let go, could they? Aptly did Kipling write: “That the dog returns to his vomit and the sow returns to her mire? And the burnt fool’s bandaged finger goes wobbling back to the fire.”
Parliamentarians’ cowardice, and the Commons authority’s goonish PR incompetence, have contrived to set this story alight again just when the flames were beginning to subside — and all without the fuel of a single big new discovery. They’ve made the cover-up the story. Again. What next? New leaks about how much black ink the MPs themselves added to the authorities’ first draft? ...
Why not term limits on campaign cash?
June 20, 2009
They concluded their last campaigns in 2006, and under Michigan law they're forbidden to seek re-election when their current terms end in 2010. So why are 30 term-limited Michigan senators still collecting campaign contributions?
The Michigan Information & Research Service reports that the 30 lawmakers in question have raised a combined $1.6 million for their respective campaign funds -- and spent an even larger sum -- since they were elected to their final terms more than 30 months ago.
The top five term-limited fund-raisers -- Sen. Jason Allen, R-Traverse City; Sen. Bruce Patterson, R-Canton; Sen. Bill Hardiman, R-Grand Rapids; Sen. Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland; and Sen. Alan Sanborn, R-Richmond -- each have raised more than $100,000 since beginning their last terms.
None of this is illegal. And some term-limited senators use proceeds from their post-election fund-raising to pay off debts incurred in the course of their campaigns.
But many of the uses to which these twilight donations are applied are more ethically problematic. Some term-limited lawmakers funnel their own surplus funds to colleagues' campaigns -- a money-laundering strategy that makes it harder for voters to know which special interests are bankrolling which candidates. According to MIRS, Allen has distributed more than a third of the $162,000 he has raised to other GOP candidates. ...
Why am I not surprised they're all rethuglicunts?
June 20, 2009
They concluded their last campaigns in 2006, and under Michigan law they're forbidden to seek re-election when their current terms end in 2010. So why are 30 term-limited Michigan senators still collecting campaign contributions?
The Michigan Information & Research Service reports that the 30 lawmakers in question have raised a combined $1.6 million for their respective campaign funds -- and spent an even larger sum -- since they were elected to their final terms more than 30 months ago.
The top five term-limited fund-raisers -- Sen. Jason Allen, R-Traverse City; Sen. Bruce Patterson, R-Canton; Sen. Bill Hardiman, R-Grand Rapids; Sen. Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland; and Sen. Alan Sanborn, R-Richmond -- each have raised more than $100,000 since beginning their last terms.
None of this is illegal. And some term-limited senators use proceeds from their post-election fund-raising to pay off debts incurred in the course of their campaigns.
But many of the uses to which these twilight donations are applied are more ethically problematic. Some term-limited lawmakers funnel their own surplus funds to colleagues' campaigns -- a money-laundering strategy that makes it harder for voters to know which special interests are bankrolling which candidates. According to MIRS, Allen has distributed more than a third of the $162,000 he has raised to other GOP candidates. ...
Why am I not surprised they're all rethuglicunts?
Library money paying city bills
Official: Cash supposed to go to benefits
By ZACHARY GORCHOW and CHASTITY PRATT DAWSEY
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
June 20, 2009
The City of Detroit has been spending property tax money intended for Detroit Public Library employees' benefits on city operations instead, a library official said Friday.
Revelations about the city's use of library money came on the same day the Free Press reported that the city had been spending tax money it collects on behalf of the Detroit Public Schools to cover the city's payroll and other obligations.
The city would later reimburse DPS.
The library is a separate municipal corporation from the city with a dedicated millage that provides most of its $48-million annual budget.
On Friday, Library Commissioner Jonathan Kinloch said library staff learned this week that the city spent $6.2 million in property tax money that was supposed to go to the library, dating back to July 1.
The money was to cover employee benefits and contributions to the library workers' pension fund.
The city still owes the library the money.
"It's horrible, and it's illegal," Kinloch said. "There's a piggy bank that our money is supposed to be in, and the city is basically going into our piggy bank to pay their bills."
Joseph Harris, the chief financial officer during Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr.'s tenure, said he was unaware the practice of spending others' tax dollars dated back to July.
Financial experts say that the practice is a sign a municipality is in serious financial trouble.
A spokeswoman for Mayor Dave Bing did not respond to requests for comment Thursday and Friday about how close the city is to running out of cash. Nor is it known how, or if, the city plans on repaying the library. ...
Official: Cash supposed to go to benefits
By ZACHARY GORCHOW and CHASTITY PRATT DAWSEY
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
June 20, 2009
The City of Detroit has been spending property tax money intended for Detroit Public Library employees' benefits on city operations instead, a library official said Friday.
Revelations about the city's use of library money came on the same day the Free Press reported that the city had been spending tax money it collects on behalf of the Detroit Public Schools to cover the city's payroll and other obligations.
The city would later reimburse DPS.
The library is a separate municipal corporation from the city with a dedicated millage that provides most of its $48-million annual budget.
On Friday, Library Commissioner Jonathan Kinloch said library staff learned this week that the city spent $6.2 million in property tax money that was supposed to go to the library, dating back to July 1.
The money was to cover employee benefits and contributions to the library workers' pension fund.
The city still owes the library the money.
"It's horrible, and it's illegal," Kinloch said. "There's a piggy bank that our money is supposed to be in, and the city is basically going into our piggy bank to pay their bills."
Joseph Harris, the chief financial officer during Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr.'s tenure, said he was unaware the practice of spending others' tax dollars dated back to July.
Financial experts say that the practice is a sign a municipality is in serious financial trouble.
A spokeswoman for Mayor Dave Bing did not respond to requests for comment Thursday and Friday about how close the city is to running out of cash. Nor is it known how, or if, the city plans on repaying the library. ...
OooooooooOOOOOOOoooooo!
'Oo's a nawty boy then, eh?
'Oo's a nawty boy then, eh?
I suppose the taxpayers are paying for this...........
June 5, 2008
Tory MEP Giles Chichester paid £400,000 expenses to his own firm
The row is especially embarrassing as Mr Chichester had been put in charge by Mr Cameron of ensuring full transparency in MEP expenses
David Charter, Europe Correspondent
The Conservative MEP charged by David Cameron with ensuring the probity of expenses claims admitted last night to breaking the rules by channelling thousands of pounds of allowances into a family company.
Giles Chichester paid more than £400,000 for office services to a company of which he was a director.
His admission caused alarm at Westminster by raising the spectre of sleaze for the Conservative Party just at it had reached a commanding lead in opinion polls over Labour.
It was especially embarrassing because Mr Chichester was put in charge of ensuring integrity in Tory MEP expenses after it was disclosed that the MP Derek Conway had paid his son more than £40,000 as a Commons researcher while he was a student at Newcastle University.
Mr Cameron has demanded a detailed account of the financial dealings of Mr Chichester, 61, the top Tory in Brussels and MEP for the South West of England and Gibraltar.
In a television interview last night, Mr Chichester appeared to make light of the situation, calling his transgression “technical”. ...
Tory MEP Giles Chichester paid £400,000 expenses to his own firm
The row is especially embarrassing as Mr Chichester had been put in charge by Mr Cameron of ensuring full transparency in MEP expenses
David Charter, Europe Correspondent
The Conservative MEP charged by David Cameron with ensuring the probity of expenses claims admitted last night to breaking the rules by channelling thousands of pounds of allowances into a family company.
Giles Chichester paid more than £400,000 for office services to a company of which he was a director.
His admission caused alarm at Westminster by raising the spectre of sleaze for the Conservative Party just at it had reached a commanding lead in opinion polls over Labour.
It was especially embarrassing because Mr Chichester was put in charge of ensuring integrity in Tory MEP expenses after it was disclosed that the MP Derek Conway had paid his son more than £40,000 as a Commons researcher while he was a student at Newcastle University.
Mr Cameron has demanded a detailed account of the financial dealings of Mr Chichester, 61, the top Tory in Brussels and MEP for the South West of England and Gibraltar.
In a television interview last night, Mr Chichester appeared to make light of the situation, calling his transgression “technical”. ...
GLENYS KINNOCK, the new minister for Europe, has amassed six publicly funded pensions worth £185,000 per year with her husband Neil, the former leader of the Labour party.
They have already received up to £8m of taxpayers’ money in pay and allowances, he as a European commissioner and she as a member of the European parliament.
The pair are already drawing payments from three of their taxpayer-funded pensions. Glenys Kinnock, 64, soon to be elevated to the House of Lords alongside her husband, is collecting a teacher’s pension and from next month is entitled to another from Brussels with an estimated annual value of £48,000.
Lord Kinnock, 67, is receiving one pension as a former MP and a second for his service in Brussels, together worth more than £112,000.
Glenys Kinnock is simultaneously drawing a ministerial salary of £83,275. Her job entitles her to a further ministerial pension.
After she retires from her job she will be eligible to draw a further UK-based pension related to her service as an MEP, worth £19,730 a year. ...
They have already received up to £8m of taxpayers’ money in pay and allowances, he as a European commissioner and she as a member of the European parliament.
The pair are already drawing payments from three of their taxpayer-funded pensions. Glenys Kinnock, 64, soon to be elevated to the House of Lords alongside her husband, is collecting a teacher’s pension and from next month is entitled to another from Brussels with an estimated annual value of £48,000.
Lord Kinnock, 67, is receiving one pension as a former MP and a second for his service in Brussels, together worth more than £112,000.
Glenys Kinnock is simultaneously drawing a ministerial salary of £83,275. Her job entitles her to a further ministerial pension.
After she retires from her job she will be eligible to draw a further UK-based pension related to her service as an MEP, worth £19,730 a year. ...
$380,000 TO TRAVEL THE WORLD
Detroit pension trustees take flight on funds' tab
The Free Press sued to get the records. Little is offered; some were destroyed. Are the assets of city workers safe?
BY JENNIFER DIXON • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • June 14, 2009
The trustees who oversee Detroit's two public pensions, their lawyers and staff spent $380,000 over the past year circling the globe to attend conferences -- often traveling in packs, with virtually no limitation on where they went or how often they traveled.
Trustee Ronald Gracia spent the most time on the road -- billing the General Retirement System for $105,000 in travel, including three trips to Singapore and $18,600 on travel to Hong Kong, according to records provided by the pension funds.
The two public pensions, with 21 trustees, have guarded their travel records from scrutiny. The Free Press sued to get the records -- which are actually only summaries from the past year.
The funds have yet to turn over actual receipts that would show, for instance, where trustees and staffers stayed and how they spent some of the money. Other documents have been destroyed.
However limited, these summaries provide a fuller snapshot than previously reported examples of the pensions' freewheeling travel practices.
The records also raise questions about how the travel squares with the trustees' legal duty to protect city workers' and retirees' assets, pension fund experts say.
Gracia declined to be interviewed. But in an e-mail, he said in today's world of global economics, trustees have an obligation to stay educated. He also said that the pension funds are in good financial shape.
Other pension officials declined comment. ...
Detroit pension trustees take flight on funds' tab
The Free Press sued to get the records. Little is offered; some were destroyed. Are the assets of city workers safe?
BY JENNIFER DIXON • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • June 14, 2009
The trustees who oversee Detroit's two public pensions, their lawyers and staff spent $380,000 over the past year circling the globe to attend conferences -- often traveling in packs, with virtually no limitation on where they went or how often they traveled.
Trustee Ronald Gracia spent the most time on the road -- billing the General Retirement System for $105,000 in travel, including three trips to Singapore and $18,600 on travel to Hong Kong, according to records provided by the pension funds.
The two public pensions, with 21 trustees, have guarded their travel records from scrutiny. The Free Press sued to get the records -- which are actually only summaries from the past year.
The funds have yet to turn over actual receipts that would show, for instance, where trustees and staffers stayed and how they spent some of the money. Other documents have been destroyed.
However limited, these summaries provide a fuller snapshot than previously reported examples of the pensions' freewheeling travel practices.
The records also raise questions about how the travel squares with the trustees' legal duty to protect city workers' and retirees' assets, pension fund experts say.
Gracia declined to be interviewed. But in an e-mail, he said in today's world of global economics, trustees have an obligation to stay educated. He also said that the pension funds are in good financial shape.
Other pension officials declined comment. ...
Water department gives him $56,600 a year, but Gracia focuses on pension
BY JENNIFER DIXON • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • June 14, 2009
Ronald Gracia, the $100,000-a-year traveler at Detroit's General Retirement System, also has a day job with the city's water department.
At least on paper.
Gracia receives $56,600 a year as a senior data processing program analyst with Detroit's Water and Sewerage Department, but spokesman George Ellenwood concedes Gracia doesn't actually work at his job.
Ellenwood said the department allows Gracia to devote full attention to his trustee duties for the pension fund, which typically meets once a week.
"All of his time is allocated to the pension work that he did," Ellenwood said, calling it a "long-term practice based on an understanding that is some years old."
Gracia, a trustee for 26 years, said in an e-mail he doesn't have to be on the job because he's a full-time union official and, like some other city employees, he's allowed to do union work full-time.
He did not respond to questions about whether he had a written agreement regarding his water department position. He also did not identify the union and his position.
Ellenwood said the water department is "trying to find if there was a written agreement with HR or some policy decision from perhaps labor relations that established this practice." ...
Yu a stinkin' t'ief, mon an' mi hope ya lose bot' ya jobs!
Rass claaat!
BY JENNIFER DIXON • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • June 14, 2009
Ronald Gracia, the $100,000-a-year traveler at Detroit's General Retirement System, also has a day job with the city's water department.
At least on paper.
Gracia receives $56,600 a year as a senior data processing program analyst with Detroit's Water and Sewerage Department, but spokesman George Ellenwood concedes Gracia doesn't actually work at his job.
Ellenwood said the department allows Gracia to devote full attention to his trustee duties for the pension fund, which typically meets once a week.
"All of his time is allocated to the pension work that he did," Ellenwood said, calling it a "long-term practice based on an understanding that is some years old."
Gracia, a trustee for 26 years, said in an e-mail he doesn't have to be on the job because he's a full-time union official and, like some other city employees, he's allowed to do union work full-time.
He did not respond to questions about whether he had a written agreement regarding his water department position. He also did not identify the union and his position.
Ellenwood said the water department is "trying to find if there was a written agreement with HR or some policy decision from perhaps labor relations that established this practice." ...
Yu a stinkin' t'ief, mon an' mi hope ya lose bot' ya jobs!
Rass claaat!
...Accompanying Rosendall's plea was an intriguing document that talked about questionable payments to unnamed city officials and relatives and associates.
But Rosendall did not publicly identify the members of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's administration, City Council or other city officials who are described -- but not named -- in the documents laying out Rosendall's pay-to-play scheme.
It's unclear whether Jackson's plea will contain a similar document. Jackson, a developer known for his flashy style, moves freely in local political and business circles.
Several sources previously said there is a video showing Jackson talking with Rosendall about bribe payments that Jackson said he made. One source said Jackson ticked off amounts of bribe money he allegedly had spread around.
The sources, who viewed the videos some time ago, said they could not now recall the names of everyone Jackson said he had paid, or what those people may have done for the money. However, they said it was clear in the videotaped conversation that the pair talked about buying influence.
The Detroit council approved the Synagro sludge disposal contract in November 2007 by a 5-4 vote. At least three council members who voted for the Synagro facility have been contacted by the FBI: Monica Conyers, who had opposed the deal before voting for it, Martha Reeves and Barbara-Rose Collins. Collins announced in May she is not seeking re-election this year. ...
But Rosendall did not publicly identify the members of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's administration, City Council or other city officials who are described -- but not named -- in the documents laying out Rosendall's pay-to-play scheme.
It's unclear whether Jackson's plea will contain a similar document. Jackson, a developer known for his flashy style, moves freely in local political and business circles.
Several sources previously said there is a video showing Jackson talking with Rosendall about bribe payments that Jackson said he made. One source said Jackson ticked off amounts of bribe money he allegedly had spread around.
The sources, who viewed the videos some time ago, said they could not now recall the names of everyone Jackson said he had paid, or what those people may have done for the money. However, they said it was clear in the videotaped conversation that the pair talked about buying influence.
The Detroit council approved the Synagro sludge disposal contract in November 2007 by a 5-4 vote. At least three council members who voted for the Synagro facility have been contacted by the FBI: Monica Conyers, who had opposed the deal before voting for it, Martha Reeves and Barbara-Rose Collins. Collins announced in May she is not seeking re-election this year. ...
I knew he wouldn't get away with keepin' that shit's shit secret.
Shell pays £9.7m to families of executed activist
Royal Dutch Shell sought to draw a line under one of the most damaging episodes in its history on Tuesday by agreeing to pay £9.7 million to Nigerians who accused the company of complicity in their relations' execution by a military regime.
By Mike Pflanz, West Africa Correspondent
Published: 4:45PM BST 09 Jun 2009
The out-of-court settlement comes 14 years after nine Nigerian activists, including Ken Saro-Wiwa, a playwright and prominent campaigner against Shell's presence in the Niger delta, were hanged by the country's military dictator, General Sani Abacha.
Their relations took legal action against Shell in America, intending to press their allegation of complicity, which the company denies. But an eleventh-hour agreement means the case will not come before the court in New York.
Shell said it was innocent of the charges, including the suggestion that it supported Nigeria's former military government when it arrested and executed the nine men.
But the company faces separate legal action in New York brought by another man from Mr Saro-Wiwa's Ogoni tribe, and in Amsterdam by a group of environmental activists.
"Shell will be dragged from the boardroom to the courthouse, time and again, until the company addresses the injustices at the root of the Niger delta crises and puts an end to its environmental devastation," said Elizabeth Bast of Friends of the Earth US.
In Nigeria, there was broad support for the agreement, reached late on Monday in New York. But there were also angry claims that Shell is still polluting the creeks of the delta, which produces more than 650,000 barrels of oil a day for the company.
Bari-Ara Kpalap, a spokesman for the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni people, the organisation co-founded by Mr Saro-Wiwa, said that Shell continued to exploit Nigerian oil without giving proper compensation to the country's people. ...
Royal Dutch Shell sought to draw a line under one of the most damaging episodes in its history on Tuesday by agreeing to pay £9.7 million to Nigerians who accused the company of complicity in their relations' execution by a military regime.
By Mike Pflanz, West Africa Correspondent
Published: 4:45PM BST 09 Jun 2009
The out-of-court settlement comes 14 years after nine Nigerian activists, including Ken Saro-Wiwa, a playwright and prominent campaigner against Shell's presence in the Niger delta, were hanged by the country's military dictator, General Sani Abacha.
Their relations took legal action against Shell in America, intending to press their allegation of complicity, which the company denies. But an eleventh-hour agreement means the case will not come before the court in New York.
Shell said it was innocent of the charges, including the suggestion that it supported Nigeria's former military government when it arrested and executed the nine men.
But the company faces separate legal action in New York brought by another man from Mr Saro-Wiwa's Ogoni tribe, and in Amsterdam by a group of environmental activists.
"Shell will be dragged from the boardroom to the courthouse, time and again, until the company addresses the injustices at the root of the Niger delta crises and puts an end to its environmental devastation," said Elizabeth Bast of Friends of the Earth US.
In Nigeria, there was broad support for the agreement, reached late on Monday in New York. But there were also angry claims that Shell is still polluting the creeks of the delta, which produces more than 650,000 barrels of oil a day for the company.
Bari-Ara Kpalap, a spokesman for the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni people, the organisation co-founded by Mr Saro-Wiwa, said that Shell continued to exploit Nigerian oil without giving proper compensation to the country's people. ...
WTF, you idiot? You gonna sue 'em for "making" your long-suffering wife leave you, too?
Kilpatrick's restitution payment late, $3,500 short
By M.L. ELRICK and JIM SCHAEFER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
June 2, 2009
Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's latest restitution payment arrived three days late and $3,500 short, the Free Press has learned.
A judge in March ordered Kilpatrick to pay $6,000 a month in restitution toward the $1 million he agreed to pay the City of Detroit when he pleaded guilty last year to two perjury-related felonies. His lawyer argued that Kilpatrick could afford to pay only $6 a month.
After mustering $6,000 for his April restitution payment, Kilpatrick sent only $2,500 last month. The payment, due on the 15th of each month, came on May 18, said Russ Marlan, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections.
Failing to make full restitution payments could lead to Kilpatrick being found in violation of his probation.
In another complication for the former mayor, Compuware officials contradicted Kilpatrick's explanation for why he wanted to go on a congressional trip last month to the Middle East.
He said it was for work. They said it was not.
Mideast trip said to be business; company disagrees
Kilpatrick told probation officials he wanted to make a business trip to the Middle East in May, a state corrections official said.
But a spokeswoman for Compuware, which hired Kilpatrick, told the Free Press on Tuesday that the ex-Detroit mayor's planned trip was not for the company.
Kilpatrick could face sanctions if he misled probation officials about the reason for his proposed trip.
On May 18, Kilpatrick sought permission to go Dubai, Qatar and Iraq to assess the health care system of the military overseas, Marlan told the Free Press on Tuesday. ...
He needs to go back to jail -- in texass.
By M.L. ELRICK and JIM SCHAEFER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
June 2, 2009
Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's latest restitution payment arrived three days late and $3,500 short, the Free Press has learned.
A judge in March ordered Kilpatrick to pay $6,000 a month in restitution toward the $1 million he agreed to pay the City of Detroit when he pleaded guilty last year to two perjury-related felonies. His lawyer argued that Kilpatrick could afford to pay only $6 a month.
After mustering $6,000 for his April restitution payment, Kilpatrick sent only $2,500 last month. The payment, due on the 15th of each month, came on May 18, said Russ Marlan, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections.
Failing to make full restitution payments could lead to Kilpatrick being found in violation of his probation.
In another complication for the former mayor, Compuware officials contradicted Kilpatrick's explanation for why he wanted to go on a congressional trip last month to the Middle East.
He said it was for work. They said it was not.
Mideast trip said to be business; company disagrees
Kilpatrick told probation officials he wanted to make a business trip to the Middle East in May, a state corrections official said.
But a spokeswoman for Compuware, which hired Kilpatrick, told the Free Press on Tuesday that the ex-Detroit mayor's planned trip was not for the company.
Kilpatrick could face sanctions if he misled probation officials about the reason for his proposed trip.
On May 18, Kilpatrick sought permission to go Dubai, Qatar and Iraq to assess the health care system of the military overseas, Marlan told the Free Press on Tuesday. ...
He needs to go back to jail -- in texass.
DPS audit shows missing funds, 'sloppy bookkeeping'
BY CHASTITY PRATT DAWSEY
FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER
June 3, 2009
Detroit Public Schools Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb released audit findings this morning that show sloppy bookkeeping at 189 of 194 school buildings, some of which could result in criminal charges. The tax-exempt schools also may have lost about $1.7 million that was wrongly paid in sales taxes, a meeting with a vendor revealed this morning.
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The audits showed loans made to school officials using school funds, missing funds from activities, school funds diverted to personal accounts, principals writing and signing checks, untimely deposits and money taken home by staff.
Three cases involving high schools and two involving elementary schools have been turned over to the district’s inspector general, former FBI official John Bell.
“We have a reason to believe some of them probably will” be turned over to the prosecutor’s office, Bobb said.
“How do you justify making loans to school officials?” he said.
Over a period of 21 days, 35 auditors investigated 194 schools that handle $2.5 million to $4 million in funds. Only five had “entirely proper bookkeeping,” he said. ...
BY CHASTITY PRATT DAWSEY
FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER
June 3, 2009
Detroit Public Schools Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb released audit findings this morning that show sloppy bookkeeping at 189 of 194 school buildings, some of which could result in criminal charges. The tax-exempt schools also may have lost about $1.7 million that was wrongly paid in sales taxes, a meeting with a vendor revealed this morning.
Advertisement
The audits showed loans made to school officials using school funds, missing funds from activities, school funds diverted to personal accounts, principals writing and signing checks, untimely deposits and money taken home by staff.
Three cases involving high schools and two involving elementary schools have been turned over to the district’s inspector general, former FBI official John Bell.
“We have a reason to believe some of them probably will” be turned over to the prosecutor’s office, Bobb said.
“How do you justify making loans to school officials?” he said.
Over a period of 21 days, 35 auditors investigated 194 schools that handle $2.5 million to $4 million in funds. Only five had “entirely proper bookkeeping,” he said. ...
These pricks have no shame whatsoever.
The t'iefin' kinky bastard!
Good riddance to all bad rubbish.
... The Mole hears some Labour MPs are going to judge the mood at tonight's Parliamentary Labour Party meeting before putting their heads above the parapet. But they are saying privately they have had enough excuses from Brown.
After the crop of weekend polls giving Labour its lowest showing since records began, they are furious that he is determined to cling to office, regardless of the disaster he will inflict on the party. Echoing Charles Clarke's controversial remarks recently, one Labour MP said: "I feel ashamed to be a member of this party under Brown after the [Damian] McBride affair.
"Now he is riding rough-shod over the backbench. There's one law for people like David Chaytor and Elliot Morley [among the 12 MPs who have announced they will step down] and another law for ministers. Why haven't Tony McNulty and Jacqui Smith been told they have to step down?"
In a further example of double standards for ministers and backbenchers, Brown has defended Alistair Darling over 'flipping' his houses four times to avoid capital gains tax. Brown said there was 'no substance' to the claims. In spite of speculation that Darling will be axed in a reshuffle this week, Brown said: "He is a very good Chancellor, a very good colleague, and friend." ...
After the crop of weekend polls giving Labour its lowest showing since records began, they are furious that he is determined to cling to office, regardless of the disaster he will inflict on the party. Echoing Charles Clarke's controversial remarks recently, one Labour MP said: "I feel ashamed to be a member of this party under Brown after the [Damian] McBride affair.
"Now he is riding rough-shod over the backbench. There's one law for people like David Chaytor and Elliot Morley [among the 12 MPs who have announced they will step down] and another law for ministers. Why haven't Tony McNulty and Jacqui Smith been told they have to step down?"
In a further example of double standards for ministers and backbenchers, Brown has defended Alistair Darling over 'flipping' his houses four times to avoid capital gains tax. Brown said there was 'no substance' to the claims. In spite of speculation that Darling will be axed in a reshuffle this week, Brown said: "He is a very good Chancellor, a very good colleague, and friend." ...
Yu sey yu try a be 'a good mum an' a good EmmPee,' but yu jus' anudda t'ief h'until ya gat caaaght!
Do like dat daarries creature - go back a bed an' stey dere, mon.
Do like dat daarries creature - go back a bed an' stey dere, mon.
My thoughts are unfit for family reading, so I will reserve them.
I will point out she insists she won't return a farthing of what she's stolen.
I will point out she insists she won't return a farthing of what she's stolen.
Go back to bed and stay there.
Alex Salmond claims he was victim of MPs' expenses system
Alex Salmond has refused to apologise for his expense claims, arguing that he was the innocent victim of a system that was open to “widespread abuse”.
By Simon Johnson, Scottish Political Editor
Last Updated: 7:53PM BST 13 May 2009
'Nuff said.
Alex Salmond has refused to apologise for his expense claims, arguing that he was the innocent victim of a system that was open to “widespread abuse”.
By Simon Johnson, Scottish Political Editor
Last Updated: 7:53PM BST 13 May 2009
'Nuff said.
Scarecrow mocking MPs over expenses springs up in Jamie Oliver's village
A scarecrow poking fun at money-grabbing MPs is one of nearly 70 which have sprung up in Jamie Oliver's home village.
Last Updated: 5:04PM BST 25 May 2009
The scarecrow poking fun at money-grabbing MPs Photo: PETER LAWSON
The figure is part of an invasion of novelty bird-scarers, including Darth Vader, the Village People and Margaret Thatcher, which have popped up all over the tiny rural idyll of Clavering, Essex.
But one enterprising resident saw an opportunity to make a dig at scandal-hit politicians who have been exposed by the Daily Telegraph's investigation into MPs expenses.
The scarecrow of a gardener pushing a lawnmower has popped up outside a pretty thatched cottage in the village.
Signs offering 'moat clearing', 'removals organised for flipping' and stating 'Invoices can be sent direct to Westminster if desired' have also been errected.
Local MP for Saffron Walden Alan Hazlehurst spent £12,000 on gardening costs over five years.
Farmer Peter Balaam, who made the effigy, said he was not pointing the finger at him but at MPs in general.
He said: "I don't think our local MP has had his nose in the trough but it is a dig at all MPs who have had their noses in the trough.
"We are country people, leading an honest life.
"There is so much red tape attached to our industry and then you see there's so much money just being frittered away. It's not right."
He added: "The village came up with the scarecrow competition and I wasn't particularly motivated by building one and then I thought, I'll do one with the MPs in mind.
"We have had lots of people walking by and stopping for a look. I think it's gone down well."
Victoria Cook, who helped come up with the idea for the figures as part of the build-up for next week's village fete, said the scarecrow was "fantastic". ...
... Organisers of the fete have been astounded by the response to their idea after 67 figures appeared on grass verges, in gardens and on benches in the pretty village. ...
A scarecrow poking fun at money-grabbing MPs is one of nearly 70 which have sprung up in Jamie Oliver's home village.
Last Updated: 5:04PM BST 25 May 2009
The scarecrow poking fun at money-grabbing MPs Photo: PETER LAWSON
The figure is part of an invasion of novelty bird-scarers, including Darth Vader, the Village People and Margaret Thatcher, which have popped up all over the tiny rural idyll of Clavering, Essex.
But one enterprising resident saw an opportunity to make a dig at scandal-hit politicians who have been exposed by the Daily Telegraph's investigation into MPs expenses.
The scarecrow of a gardener pushing a lawnmower has popped up outside a pretty thatched cottage in the village.
Signs offering 'moat clearing', 'removals organised for flipping' and stating 'Invoices can be sent direct to Westminster if desired' have also been errected.
Local MP for Saffron Walden Alan Hazlehurst spent £12,000 on gardening costs over five years.
Farmer Peter Balaam, who made the effigy, said he was not pointing the finger at him but at MPs in general.
He said: "I don't think our local MP has had his nose in the trough but it is a dig at all MPs who have had their noses in the trough.
"We are country people, leading an honest life.
"There is so much red tape attached to our industry and then you see there's so much money just being frittered away. It's not right."
He added: "The village came up with the scarecrow competition and I wasn't particularly motivated by building one and then I thought, I'll do one with the MPs in mind.
"We have had lots of people walking by and stopping for a look. I think it's gone down well."
Victoria Cook, who helped come up with the idea for the figures as part of the build-up for next week's village fete, said the scarecrow was "fantastic". ...
... Organisers of the fete have been astounded by the response to their idea after 67 figures appeared on grass verges, in gardens and on benches in the pretty village. ...
Sir Nicholas and Ann Winterton to stand down from parliament: MPs expenses
Sir Nicholas and Ann Winterton, the Conservative MPs, are to resign from parliament at the next election.
By Christopher Hope and Jon Swaine
Last Updated: 4:31PM BST 25 May 2009
The couple will not run for re-election as the MPs for Macclesfield and Congleton.
In a letter to David Cameron, the Tory leader, the couple said that they could no longer "maintain the hectic pace" of political life and wanted to step down in order to spend more time with their family. [Ed. Note: Peut-êum;tre, mes chers!]
Their decision comes after the Telegraph disclosed that they claimed more than £80,000 in rent for a small London flat that was owned by a trust controlled by their children.
Expenses submitted by Sir Nicholas show he claimed for £41,508 in rent. His wife’s claims amounted to £41,584.
Since 2002 the Wintertons’ flat in Westminster has been owned by a trust which is controlled by their children.
The decision to pass the property into a family trust was reportedly designed to save hundreds of thousands of pounds in death duties.
The trustees are Sir Nicholas and Lady Winterton, together with the family’s lawyer. For four years the pair submitted rental claims of £900 a month each. ...
Sir Nicholas and Ann Winterton, the Conservative MPs, are to resign from parliament at the next election.
By Christopher Hope and Jon Swaine
Last Updated: 4:31PM BST 25 May 2009
The couple will not run for re-election as the MPs for Macclesfield and Congleton.
In a letter to David Cameron, the Tory leader, the couple said that they could no longer "maintain the hectic pace" of political life and wanted to step down in order to spend more time with their family. [Ed. Note: Peut-êum;tre, mes chers!]
Their decision comes after the Telegraph disclosed that they claimed more than £80,000 in rent for a small London flat that was owned by a trust controlled by their children.
Expenses submitted by Sir Nicholas show he claimed for £41,508 in rent. His wife’s claims amounted to £41,584.
Since 2002 the Wintertons’ flat in Westminster has been owned by a trust which is controlled by their children.
The decision to pass the property into a family trust was reportedly designed to save hundreds of thousands of pounds in death duties.
The trustees are Sir Nicholas and Lady Winterton, together with the family’s lawyer. For four years the pair submitted rental claims of £900 a month each. ...
Some interesting developments have happened overnight. Nadine Dorries has seen the blog part of her website instantly taken down after she made allegations against the owners of the Telegraph Group, Sir David Barclay and Sir Frederick Barclay.
Lawyers acting for the Barclay brothers, Withers, instructed the takedown carried out by Acidity via mail to Coreix last night, citing the Acceptable User Policy. The takedown will be bolstered by the Godfrey vs Demon precendent, where an order can be made and it will be done instantly.
Of course, if the website was being hosted in the USA it would be much harder to order the instant takedown. You'd think though, that if the allegations were moonbat untrue there would just be a "point, laugh and call them ridiculous" strategy rather than ordering a takedown to gag Nadine from saying it.
This is especially the case I would've thought because once Recess is over, Nadine would be free to say such things in the House and be protected by Parliamentary Privilege. By taken her down like this the Telegraph will have fed the very idea of some sort of hidden agenda. Suppression, whether it is of speech that is right or wrong, is usually counterproductive. ...
True dat, but allowing moronic wingnuts free rein (note correct spelling, please) is usually equally counterproductive. e.g., shrub jr
This also explains why I couldn't access her site yesterday in an attempt to inform her that being hysterical and stupid at the top of her lungs makes other women look bad.
Lawyers acting for the Barclay brothers, Withers, instructed the takedown carried out by Acidity via mail to Coreix last night, citing the Acceptable User Policy. The takedown will be bolstered by the Godfrey vs Demon precendent, where an order can be made and it will be done instantly.
Of course, if the website was being hosted in the USA it would be much harder to order the instant takedown. You'd think though, that if the allegations were moonbat untrue there would just be a "point, laugh and call them ridiculous" strategy rather than ordering a takedown to gag Nadine from saying it.
This is especially the case I would've thought because once Recess is over, Nadine would be free to say such things in the House and be protected by Parliamentary Privilege. By taken her down like this the Telegraph will have fed the very idea of some sort of hidden agenda. Suppression, whether it is of speech that is right or wrong, is usually counterproductive. ...
True dat, but allowing moronic wingnuts free rein (note correct spelling, please) is usually equally counterproductive. e.g., shrub jr
This also explains why I couldn't access her site yesterday in an attempt to inform her that being hysterical and stupid at the top of her lungs makes other women look bad.
What is wrong with you, so-called 'independent'?? Why on Earth are you making any sympathetic noises at all toward a group of people who has been robbing the public for God knows how long? Are you nuts?
After I post the rest of the whining tripe you'd published (Your gall galls me!) I will no longer visit your site.
No wonder you're fighting off bankruptcy: real journalism is reality-driven. I wish fox were in the same slimy leaky-ass boat you are, but I'll publicly limit myself to hoping you both reach complete Enlightenment.
Idiot apologists.
After I post the rest of the whining tripe you'd published (Your gall galls me!) I will no longer visit your site.
No wonder you're fighting off bankruptcy: real journalism is reality-driven. I wish fox were in the same slimy leaky-ass boat you are, but I'll publicly limit myself to hoping you both reach complete Enlightenment.
Idiot apologists.
Yu a t'iefin psycho-lady, mon. Gettin' yaase'f some last-gasp publicité befaar da soe-called h'indipend-ahnt h'in bankrupsy caart while ya defend dem udda t'iefs dem?
Cha. Goa 'wey, yu h'and dat dyamn rag what print ya shit.
Cha. Goa 'wey, yu h'and dat dyamn rag what print ya shit.
... "I've always voted Labour," said Eileen Saines, 67. "I couldn't vote Tory after what Thatcher did to working people, so now I don't know what to do. What the hell was she thinking? People here are struggling and she has three houses paid for by us. Who does she think she is?"
The revelations that Moran spent £22,500 for dry rot repairs on a third home, in Southampton, 100 miles from her constituency and, according to Financial Times, that she used parliamentary resources to help a company partially run from her constituency office win up to £50,000 of public funding and sponsorship, have alienated many constituents so much that they are considering voting for a television celebrity to replace her. ...
The revelations that Moran spent £22,500 for dry rot repairs on a third home, in Southampton, 100 miles from her constituency and, according to Financial Times, that she used parliamentary resources to help a company partially run from her constituency office win up to £50,000 of public funding and sponsorship, have alienated many constituents so much that they are considering voting for a television celebrity to replace her. ...
John Wick is a God among insects.
Sit down and STFU nadine, you horrid little weasel. Your hysteria and stupidity undoes years of work real women have done convincing people that not all females are hysterical and stupid.
It's just that nadine sure as hell is.
We're not all hysterical and stupid, really we're not - just like not all men are testosterone-poisoned and violent.
It's just that nadine sure as hell is.
We're not all hysterical and stupid, really we're not - just like not all men are testosterone-poisoned and violent.
May 20, 2009
Collapse of the last bastion of old Labour
Michael Martin owed his position to loyalty - not to voters, but to a Scottish party machine that all but ignored them
Magnus Linklater
No explanation. No regrets. Just a 35-second resignation statement, with one curious reference to the unity of the House of Commons. But that reference is crucial. Michael Martin is, first and last, an organisation man, and the organisation to which he owes his loyalty is not the public, but the power base that he represents.
For most of his life that has been the Labour Party in Scotland - the old, pre-Blair party machine that still holds sway, particularly in the west. It has never set much store by openness or accountablity, it has protected its institutions and people with ruthless self-interest, and it resents bitterly any attempt to challenge its authority.
For more than 50 years after the war, it ran councils and constituencies as a self-perpetuating oligarchy, with a code as rigid as that of a latterday mafia. The assumption that Labour was the natural expression of the people's opinion was so endemic that the people themselves were rarely required to be involved in its affairs.
So, when Mr Martin responded to the wave of outrage that has swept the country in the wake of the expenses scandal by turning on his critics rather than promising to expose the abuse, he was merely reflecting the system he represents. ...
Collapse of the last bastion of old Labour
Michael Martin owed his position to loyalty - not to voters, but to a Scottish party machine that all but ignored them
Magnus Linklater
No explanation. No regrets. Just a 35-second resignation statement, with one curious reference to the unity of the House of Commons. But that reference is crucial. Michael Martin is, first and last, an organisation man, and the organisation to which he owes his loyalty is not the public, but the power base that he represents.
For most of his life that has been the Labour Party in Scotland - the old, pre-Blair party machine that still holds sway, particularly in the west. It has never set much store by openness or accountablity, it has protected its institutions and people with ruthless self-interest, and it resents bitterly any attempt to challenge its authority.
For more than 50 years after the war, it ran councils and constituencies as a self-perpetuating oligarchy, with a code as rigid as that of a latterday mafia. The assumption that Labour was the natural expression of the people's opinion was so endemic that the people themselves were rarely required to be involved in its affairs.
So, when Mr Martin responded to the wave of outrage that has swept the country in the wake of the expenses scandal by turning on his critics rather than promising to expose the abuse, he was merely reflecting the system he represents. ...
May 19, 2009
The little people no longer look up to the big
Rachel Sylvester
... The public reaction to claims for mortgages, manure and massage chairs is so intense because it is not just about MPs' expenses. It's about the inability of politicians to understand that the “little people” no longer look up to the “big people”, that the balance of power has shifted from institutions to individuals, that the iPod generation does not want to join party tribes. There has been an emotional outpouring, rather as there was after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, because there is a cultural clash between Westminster and the modern world.
The moat is a metaphor for the barrier between the voters and their elected representatives. A revolution is under way, and not just in politics.
Bankers are facing a backlash over bonuses. Bloggers take on the mainstream media. Banksy is as desirable as Botticelli. A decade ago, celebrity magazines would portray Hollywood stars as higher beings - now they write flatteringly about reality TV contestants while highlighting millionaire actresses' cellulite.
Just as Galileo argued that the Earth moved around the Sun, so the “little people” insist that they, rather than the “big people”, are now the centre of the world. A Cabinet minister says: “When you're knocking on doors one of the hardest things is the amount of anger and hostility towards anybody in authority. It's like a flame thrower being directed against you.”
The Freedom of Information Act is the “little people's charter”, handing control from an elite to the masses. The Human Rights Act shifts the balance towards the individual too. The dreaded “elf and safety” irritates so many because it's a move back towards big state control. The implications are far-reaching and not always benign - is it really a good idea, for example, that the Ministry of Defence can be sued over injuries sustained on the battlefield? The danger is that selfish individualism triumphs over the collective good, popular mediocrity over intellectual substance, mob rule over representative democracy.
But the change has happened and politicians must understand the mood and try to harness the anger. Of course the expenses regime must be cleaned up, but that is only the start. The grip of the party machines must loosen...
The little people no longer look up to the big
Rachel Sylvester
... The public reaction to claims for mortgages, manure and massage chairs is so intense because it is not just about MPs' expenses. It's about the inability of politicians to understand that the “little people” no longer look up to the “big people”, that the balance of power has shifted from institutions to individuals, that the iPod generation does not want to join party tribes. There has been an emotional outpouring, rather as there was after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, because there is a cultural clash between Westminster and the modern world.
The moat is a metaphor for the barrier between the voters and their elected representatives. A revolution is under way, and not just in politics.
Bankers are facing a backlash over bonuses. Bloggers take on the mainstream media. Banksy is as desirable as Botticelli. A decade ago, celebrity magazines would portray Hollywood stars as higher beings - now they write flatteringly about reality TV contestants while highlighting millionaire actresses' cellulite.
Just as Galileo argued that the Earth moved around the Sun, so the “little people” insist that they, rather than the “big people”, are now the centre of the world. A Cabinet minister says: “When you're knocking on doors one of the hardest things is the amount of anger and hostility towards anybody in authority. It's like a flame thrower being directed against you.”
The Freedom of Information Act is the “little people's charter”, handing control from an elite to the masses. The Human Rights Act shifts the balance towards the individual too. The dreaded “elf and safety” irritates so many because it's a move back towards big state control. The implications are far-reaching and not always benign - is it really a good idea, for example, that the Ministry of Defence can be sued over injuries sustained on the battlefield? The danger is that selfish individualism triumphs over the collective good, popular mediocrity over intellectual substance, mob rule over representative democracy.
But the change has happened and politicians must understand the mood and try to harness the anger. Of course the expenses regime must be cleaned up, but that is only the start. The grip of the party machines must loosen...
Good - he was starting to rather resemble kwame kilpatrick.
I'd cheerfully spit in this prick's eye - and I've got good aim.
/me sings
Baronet Oswald Ernald Mosely!
Baronet Oswald Ernald Mosely!
martin wants stringing up!
We have those exact same fabulous elephant lamps, and they sho as hell din't cost no dang £135! They din't even cost no dang $135!
They should lose their jobs, be disbarred if they're members of the bar, pay back all their absurd expense claims, go to trial, and then jail.
Simple as.
Simple as.
Two Labour peers face suspension from the House of Lords until the autumn after being found guilty of offering to try to change the law in return for money.
An investigation into the so-called "cash for amendments" affair published today concluded that Lord Truscott, a former energy minister, and Lord Taylor of Blackburn broke Lords rules saying that peers must "always act on their personal honour". ...
taylor strongly resembles Junior Soprano, and not just superficially as it happens.
An investigation into the so-called "cash for amendments" affair published today concluded that Lord Truscott, a former energy minister, and Lord Taylor of Blackburn broke Lords rules saying that peers must "always act on their personal honour". ...
taylor strongly resembles Junior Soprano, and not just superficially as it happens.
Sink meh, but Old Boris has actually spoken sense!
"...shamed and demoralised Members. ..."
snicker snicker snicker
snicker snicker snicker
Brown blames the system; his system
Martin Ivens
May 10, 2009
Winston Churchill’s reverence for the institution of parliament always was exceptional. “This little place is what makes the difference between us and Germany. This little room is the shrine of the world’s liberties,” he remarked to a fellow MP during wartime. But the gulf between the ideal and the grubby reality at Westminster is now gaping.
The devil is in the detail of MPs’ expenses – the dog food, the Kit Kats, the potted plants, the pram, the manure, the eyeliner, the 59p chocolate Santa. The mean Scottish MP who charged for a 5p carrier bag should be prosecuted for inciting racial hatred against his countrymen.
Responding to the publication of their expenses last week, cabinet ministers, led by Harriet Harman, insisted poker-faced that everything was done “within the rules”. This excuse certainly has echoes of wartime – but of Germany, not Britain – and the voters find it about as convincing as “we were only obeying orders”. The prime minister’s explanation sounds a little more up to date. Like a radical 1960s student, he blames “the system”. But, Mr Brown, you are the system. ...
Martin Ivens
May 10, 2009
Winston Churchill’s reverence for the institution of parliament always was exceptional. “This little place is what makes the difference between us and Germany. This little room is the shrine of the world’s liberties,” he remarked to a fellow MP during wartime. But the gulf between the ideal and the grubby reality at Westminster is now gaping.
The devil is in the detail of MPs’ expenses – the dog food, the Kit Kats, the potted plants, the pram, the manure, the eyeliner, the 59p chocolate Santa. The mean Scottish MP who charged for a 5p carrier bag should be prosecuted for inciting racial hatred against his countrymen.
Responding to the publication of their expenses last week, cabinet ministers, led by Harriet Harman, insisted poker-faced that everything was done “within the rules”. This excuse certainly has echoes of wartime – but of Germany, not Britain – and the voters find it about as convincing as “we were only obeying orders”. The prime minister’s explanation sounds a little more up to date. Like a radical 1960s student, he blames “the system”. But, Mr Brown, you are the system. ...
...How did the culture of letting the taxpayer pick up the tab become so universal?
Um, I think your politicians got the idea from your royals.
Um, I think your politicians got the idea from your royals.
May 8, 2009
Ministers under fire over lavish expenses
Sam Coates, Chief Political Correspondent
Gordon Brown came under renewed pressure after it emerged last night that more than half the Cabinet face embarrassment over expense claims.
Senior ministers were forced to explain a series of lavish, unusual and erroneous claims that highlight the lengths to which MPs have gone to exploit the system of taxpayer-funded allowances.
The revelations come days after the Prime Minister abandoned an attempt to reform the controversial £24,000 second-home allowance.
Mr Brown was thrust into the spotlight after it emerged he had paid his brother Andrew, a lobbyist for the energy company EDF, £241 a month for cleaning services.
The documents also show that Mr Brown transferred the location of his main home, from his constituency to his London flat, ten days after Tony Blair announced the date he would step down. Designating the North Queensferry property as his second home allowed Mr Brown to claim most of the running costs, including a gardener and cleaner, and carry out extensive repairs and redecoration at public expense. ...
More links from the page:
Full expense details | 'Pay for redecoration or I'll be divorced' | Tea room secrets exposed | 'Accountancy not my strong point' | Comment: Francis Elliott | The 10 most outrageous MP expense claims ever
Ministers under fire over lavish expenses
Sam Coates, Chief Political Correspondent
Gordon Brown came under renewed pressure after it emerged last night that more than half the Cabinet face embarrassment over expense claims.
Senior ministers were forced to explain a series of lavish, unusual and erroneous claims that highlight the lengths to which MPs have gone to exploit the system of taxpayer-funded allowances.
The revelations come days after the Prime Minister abandoned an attempt to reform the controversial £24,000 second-home allowance.
Mr Brown was thrust into the spotlight after it emerged he had paid his brother Andrew, a lobbyist for the energy company EDF, £241 a month for cleaning services.
The documents also show that Mr Brown transferred the location of his main home, from his constituency to his London flat, ten days after Tony Blair announced the date he would step down. Designating the North Queensferry property as his second home allowed Mr Brown to claim most of the running costs, including a gardener and cleaner, and carry out extensive repairs and redecoration at public expense. ...
More links from the page:
Full expense details | 'Pay for redecoration or I'll be divorced' | Tea room secrets exposed | 'Accountancy not my strong point' | Comment: Francis Elliott | The 10 most outrageous MP expense claims ever
STAFF at a government-backed fund supposed to help some of the poorest people in the world have been awarded £65m in bonuses – equivalent to an annual £350,000 per employee.
The bonuses have largely come from investments intended to tackle poverty in the developing world. The fund was part of the Department for International Development (DFID) until it was part-privatised in 2004.
Charity workers say the government has allowed the fund, Actis, to skew Britain’s priorities overseas in its pursuit of high returns by depriving poor rural communities of investment. Actis manages funds for DFID’s investment body, CDC, tasked with reducing poverty, and has been praised for its success. But it has been awarding staff bonuses of up to £3m out of investments built up over years in developing countries.
Average pay for employees in 2007 was on a par with those at Goldman Sachs, the US investment bank. ...
The bonuses have largely come from investments intended to tackle poverty in the developing world. The fund was part of the Department for International Development (DFID) until it was part-privatised in 2004.
Charity workers say the government has allowed the fund, Actis, to skew Britain’s priorities overseas in its pursuit of high returns by depriving poor rural communities of investment. Actis manages funds for DFID’s investment body, CDC, tasked with reducing poverty, and has been praised for its success. But it has been awarding staff bonuses of up to £3m out of investments built up over years in developing countries.
Average pay for employees in 2007 was on a par with those at Goldman Sachs, the US investment bank. ...
Class.
It wouldn't be nearly as bad if only marijuana were legalized. Coke's no good, and it's a dangerous business as well as a dangerous drug - but if law enforcement didn't have to waste time with pot smokers they could focus on the cocaine bastards instead.
U.S. judges admit to jailing children for money
Thu Feb 12, 2009
By Jon Hurdle
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Two judges pleaded guilty on Thursday to accepting more than $2.6 million from a private youth detention center in Pennsylvania in return for giving hundreds of youths and teenagers long sentences.
Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan of the Court of Common Pleas in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, entered plea agreements in federal court in Scranton admitting that they took payoffs from PA Childcare and a sister company, Western PA Childcare, between 2003 and 2006.
"Your statement that I have disgraced my judgeship is true," Ciavarella wrote in a letter to the court. "My actions have destroyed everything I worked to accomplish and I have only myself to blame."
Conahan, who along with Ciavarella faces up to seven years in prison, did not make any comment on the case.
When someone is sent to a detention center, the company running the facility receives money from the county government to defray the cost of incarceration. So as more children were sentenced to the detention center, PA Childcare and Western PA Childcare received more money from the government, prosecutors said.
Teenagers who came before Ciavarella in juvenile court often were sentenced to detention centers for minor offenses that would typically have been classified as misdemeanors, according to the Juvenile Law Center, a Philadelphia nonprofit group.
One 17-year-old boy was sentenced to three months' detention for being in the company of another minor caught shoplifting. ...
Thu Feb 12, 2009
By Jon Hurdle
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Two judges pleaded guilty on Thursday to accepting more than $2.6 million from a private youth detention center in Pennsylvania in return for giving hundreds of youths and teenagers long sentences.
Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan of the Court of Common Pleas in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, entered plea agreements in federal court in Scranton admitting that they took payoffs from PA Childcare and a sister company, Western PA Childcare, between 2003 and 2006.
"Your statement that I have disgraced my judgeship is true," Ciavarella wrote in a letter to the court. "My actions have destroyed everything I worked to accomplish and I have only myself to blame."
Conahan, who along with Ciavarella faces up to seven years in prison, did not make any comment on the case.
When someone is sent to a detention center, the company running the facility receives money from the county government to defray the cost of incarceration. So as more children were sentenced to the detention center, PA Childcare and Western PA Childcare received more money from the government, prosecutors said.
Teenagers who came before Ciavarella in juvenile court often were sentenced to detention centers for minor offenses that would typically have been classified as misdemeanors, according to the Juvenile Law Center, a Philadelphia nonprofit group.
One 17-year-old boy was sentenced to three months' detention for being in the company of another minor caught shoplifting. ...
Fraud at Accountant General's Department
Published: Thursday | February 12, 2009
The police have confirmed that a major fraud case has been uncovered at the Accountant General's Department in downtown Kingston.
Damion Brown, a supervisor who worked in the pensions department, has since been charged in connection with the case.
It is reported that over the past two and a half years, Brown swindled millions of dollars in pension cheques that were drawn in the names of dead pensioners.
The Gleaner/Power 106 News has been informed that the supervisor, claiming the pensioners were unable to sign the cheques to have them cashed, fraudulently added the names of some of his relatives.
Between 2006 and January of this year when he was caught, he allegedly routed the cheques through his relatives' bank accounts each month. ...
Published: Thursday | February 12, 2009
The police have confirmed that a major fraud case has been uncovered at the Accountant General's Department in downtown Kingston.
Damion Brown, a supervisor who worked in the pensions department, has since been charged in connection with the case.
It is reported that over the past two and a half years, Brown swindled millions of dollars in pension cheques that were drawn in the names of dead pensioners.
The Gleaner/Power 106 News has been informed that the supervisor, claiming the pensioners were unable to sign the cheques to have them cashed, fraudulently added the names of some of his relatives.
Between 2006 and January of this year when he was caught, he allegedly routed the cheques through his relatives' bank accounts each month. ...
Peers who influence or amend laws to benefit companies that pay them will not face any new restrictions after the cash for amendments row.
Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, promised new laws yesterday, allowing members of the Lords to be expelled if they bring the Upper House into disrepute.
Peers who are “non-domiciled” for tax purposes, potentially including billionaire Labour and Tory donors, could also lose their seats if plans supported by the Justice Secretary become law. Mr Straw said that, in general, lobbyists were too influential in British political life — the first hint since a report by the Commons Public Administration Committee on lobbying that curbs may be coming.
But there are no plans by the Government or the House of Lords to restrict peers who lobby on behalf of companies that pay them, despite criticism that this presents a worrying conflict of interest. ...
Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, promised new laws yesterday, allowing members of the Lords to be expelled if they bring the Upper House into disrepute.
Peers who are “non-domiciled” for tax purposes, potentially including billionaire Labour and Tory donors, could also lose their seats if plans supported by the Justice Secretary become law. Mr Straw said that, in general, lobbyists were too influential in British political life — the first hint since a report by the Commons Public Administration Committee on lobbying that curbs may be coming.
But there are no plans by the Government or the House of Lords to restrict peers who lobby on behalf of companies that pay them, despite criticism that this presents a worrying conflict of interest. ...
I laugh at Illinois' and Chicago's corruption. We've been corrupt here much longer; we're better at it.
Lawyer: Ex-Conyers aide Sam Riddle tried to sell votes in strip club deal
BY JIM SCHAEFER and JOE SWICKARD
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
January 30, 2009
A day after denying wrongdoing in a bribery-tainted sludge-hauling contract in Detroit, political consultant and former City Council aide Sam Riddle faced new allegations Thursday that he tried to sell council support in an unrelated strip club deal.
Brad Shafer, a Lansing lawyer, said Riddle promised Shafer's clients he could deliver Councilwoman Monica Conyers' vote in favor of a new strip club operation in downtown Detroit -- if the men were willing to pay Riddle $25,000. At the time, Riddle was Conyers' aide.
Shafer said Jim St. John and Joe Hall both testified to a federal grand jury that Riddle made the offer to them in a Dearborn restaurant in November 2006. The offer came days before council voted on a permit that would allow their DéjÀ Vu Consulting to open a Hustler strip joint in the Zoo Bar location in Detroit.
"Mr. Riddle made a comment to the effect that for $25,000 we could get Monica Conyers' vote," Shafer said, adding that he was not at the meeting but was relaying what his clients told the grand jury. "They took it as a clear bribe solicitation."
Shafer said St. John and Hall both declined the offer.
Riddle, who has not been charged, said Thursday the allegation is not true.
"I have never went out and said I could deliver votes for money -- never happened," Riddle said. "I have never taken money to deliver Monica Conyers' vote." ...
Yeah, suuuure.
Detroit: Corrupt Since 1806 (at the Very Latest)
BY JIM SCHAEFER and JOE SWICKARD
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
January 30, 2009
A day after denying wrongdoing in a bribery-tainted sludge-hauling contract in Detroit, political consultant and former City Council aide Sam Riddle faced new allegations Thursday that he tried to sell council support in an unrelated strip club deal.
Brad Shafer, a Lansing lawyer, said Riddle promised Shafer's clients he could deliver Councilwoman Monica Conyers' vote in favor of a new strip club operation in downtown Detroit -- if the men were willing to pay Riddle $25,000. At the time, Riddle was Conyers' aide.
Shafer said Jim St. John and Joe Hall both testified to a federal grand jury that Riddle made the offer to them in a Dearborn restaurant in November 2006. The offer came days before council voted on a permit that would allow their DéjÀ Vu Consulting to open a Hustler strip joint in the Zoo Bar location in Detroit.
"Mr. Riddle made a comment to the effect that for $25,000 we could get Monica Conyers' vote," Shafer said, adding that he was not at the meeting but was relaying what his clients told the grand jury. "They took it as a clear bribe solicitation."
Shafer said St. John and Hall both declined the offer.
Riddle, who has not been charged, said Thursday the allegation is not true.
"I have never went out and said I could deliver votes for money -- never happened," Riddle said. "I have never taken money to deliver Monica Conyers' vote." ...
Yeah, suuuure.
Detroit: Corrupt Since 1806 (at the Very Latest)
Detroit woman sues police for $15 million
BY ZLATI MEYER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
January 30, 2009
A Detroit woman and her seven children ages 9-18 are suing the Detroit Police Department for $15 million, because they allege officers attacked them without provocation in their home earlier this month.
Tasha Flowers said Thursday that approximately 14 police officers barged into her home in the 19000 block of Shrewsbury about 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 3 without a search warrant, demanding to know where drugs and guns were. After she explained she didn't have any, she said they twisted her arm and tried to handcuff her, while her children and two of their friends were there.
The following day, a police officer came back with $25 gift certificates to Wal-Mart and Target, $100 in cash and the promise to bring a cashmere coat because he felt bad about the alleged attack, Flowers said. ...
BY ZLATI MEYER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
January 30, 2009
A Detroit woman and her seven children ages 9-18 are suing the Detroit Police Department for $15 million, because they allege officers attacked them without provocation in their home earlier this month.
Tasha Flowers said Thursday that approximately 14 police officers barged into her home in the 19000 block of Shrewsbury about 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 3 without a search warrant, demanding to know where drugs and guns were. After she explained she didn't have any, she said they twisted her arm and tried to handcuff her, while her children and two of their friends were there.
The following day, a police officer came back with $25 gift certificates to Wal-Mart and Target, $100 in cash and the promise to bring a cashmere coat because he felt bad about the alleged attack, Flowers said. ...
Friday, January 30, 2009
Lawsuit: Cops beat mom, gave gift cards as bribe
Woman claims she and her children were assaulted by officers and offered a bribe to be quiet about the incident.
George Hunter / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- Cash and gift cards from Walmart and Target stores were allegedly offered as bribes to a 36-year-old woman if she agreed to keep quiet about a group of officers who broke into her home and assaulted her and her children, the woman claims in a lawsuit.
Attorneys for Tasha Flowers filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Wayne County Circuit Court, seeking $15 million in damages stemming from the alleged Jan. 3 incident.
Flowers claims in the lawsuit that several Detroit police officers from the department's Western District responded to a neighbor's complaint that she was selling drugs in her home on Shrewsbury. The police rushed into Flowers' home without her permission and without a search warrant.
"They showed up at my door and pointed a gun at me," Flowers said. "Then the officers pushed past me into my house and started asking me about drugs and guns. They pushed my daughter, and threw me to the ground and twisted my arm. Then the lieutenant grabbed my 14-year-old son in a chokehold until he was unconscious."
Flowers said the group of about 10 officers began assaulting her other six children, ages 8 to 17, who she said suffered cuts, scrapes and bruises.
Then, the next day, Flowers said the lieutenant in charge of the officers paid a second visit to her home.
"He said he felt bad about what he'd done, and asked if there was anything he could do to make up for it," Flowers said. "Then he offered me two gift cards: One from Walmart and Target; and $100." ...
Lawsuit: Cops beat mom, gave gift cards as bribe
Woman claims she and her children were assaulted by officers and offered a bribe to be quiet about the incident.
George Hunter / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- Cash and gift cards from Walmart and Target stores were allegedly offered as bribes to a 36-year-old woman if she agreed to keep quiet about a group of officers who broke into her home and assaulted her and her children, the woman claims in a lawsuit.
Attorneys for Tasha Flowers filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Wayne County Circuit Court, seeking $15 million in damages stemming from the alleged Jan. 3 incident.
Flowers claims in the lawsuit that several Detroit police officers from the department's Western District responded to a neighbor's complaint that she was selling drugs in her home on Shrewsbury. The police rushed into Flowers' home without her permission and without a search warrant.
"They showed up at my door and pointed a gun at me," Flowers said. "Then the officers pushed past me into my house and started asking me about drugs and guns. They pushed my daughter, and threw me to the ground and twisted my arm. Then the lieutenant grabbed my 14-year-old son in a chokehold until he was unconscious."
Flowers said the group of about 10 officers began assaulting her other six children, ages 8 to 17, who she said suffered cuts, scrapes and bruises.
Then, the next day, Flowers said the lieutenant in charge of the officers paid a second visit to her home.
"He said he felt bad about what he'd done, and asked if there was anything he could do to make up for it," Flowers said. "Then he offered me two gift cards: One from Walmart and Target; and $100." ...
I knew you couldn't.
Even though he was under investigation he kept pullin' stuff.
This creep's been in trouble for some time - this story's dated last February.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Conyers aide under fire
Lawyer: Riddle made cash-for-vote offer
Christine MacDonald and Paul Egan
The Detroit News
DETROIT -- A lawyer for a strip club official says his client told a federal grand jury Wednesday that a top aide to then-City Councilwoman Monica Conyers offered to deliver her vote on a permit transfer for $25,000.
The onetime aide, Sam Riddle, denies the claims, which came the same day he held a news conference denying he accepted or delivered bribes in connection with the multimillion-dollar Synagro sludge deal.
Jim St. John, CEO of Deja Vu Consulting, alleged he and a colleague met with Riddle in a Dearborn restaurant in November 2006, days before the City Council was to vote on the Zoo Bar's bid to transfer a topless permit, St. John's attorney Brad Shafer told The News on Wednesday. ...
Conyers aide under fire
Lawyer: Riddle made cash-for-vote offer
Christine MacDonald and Paul Egan
The Detroit News
DETROIT -- A lawyer for a strip club official says his client told a federal grand jury Wednesday that a top aide to then-City Councilwoman Monica Conyers offered to deliver her vote on a permit transfer for $25,000.
The onetime aide, Sam Riddle, denies the claims, which came the same day he held a news conference denying he accepted or delivered bribes in connection with the multimillion-dollar Synagro sludge deal.
Jim St. John, CEO of Deja Vu Consulting, alleged he and a colleague met with Riddle in a Dearborn restaurant in November 2006, days before the City Council was to vote on the Zoo Bar's bid to transfer a topless permit, St. John's attorney Brad Shafer told The News on Wednesday. ...
Kilpatricks, Conyers among 8 named in FBI bribery probe
BY DAVID ASHENFELTER, M.L. ELRICK, JOE SWICKARD and JIM SCHAEFER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
January 27, 2009
Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, his father, Bernard Kilpatrick, and City Council President Monica Conyers are the major figures cited in a sludge-hauling executive's account of greed and bribery in the Synagro scandal, sources confirmed Tuesday to the Free Press. The three have not been charged with wrongdoing in the case.
Their names -- and others -- emerged with additional details about the government's investigation into city corruption.
The Free Press has learned that James Rosendall, the former Synagro Technologies vice president who pleaded guilty to bribery Monday, has been questioned about his contacts with other executives at Houston-based Synagro. ...
BY DAVID ASHENFELTER, M.L. ELRICK, JOE SWICKARD and JIM SCHAEFER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
January 27, 2009
Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, his father, Bernard Kilpatrick, and City Council President Monica Conyers are the major figures cited in a sludge-hauling executive's account of greed and bribery in the Synagro scandal, sources confirmed Tuesday to the Free Press. The three have not been charged with wrongdoing in the case.
Their names -- and others -- emerged with additional details about the government's investigation into city corruption.
The Free Press has learned that James Rosendall, the former Synagro Technologies vice president who pleaded guilty to bribery Monday, has been questioned about his contacts with other executives at Houston-based Synagro. ...
Ha! They'll find out the extent of his misdealings and he'll go right back to jail.
6:42pm UK, Monday January 26, 2009
A recording of a discussion between a peer at the centre of a corruption controversy and an undercover reporter has been released by the Sunday Times.
The newspaper claims four Labour peers, including Lord Taylor of Blackburn, were prepared to change the law for cash.
During a conversation, recorded on 18th January, the paper alleges that Lord Taylor said: "I can speak better and they will speak more freely over a cup of coffee or a 'pie and a pint' as I say, rather than a board room table or a ministerial desk where everything is being written down and so on."
The Sunday Times alleges that Lord Taylor told the journalist he had managed to "delay" a statute to help a company.
"For example, I've been working with them on amending a statute that's coming out, or was coming out, because I've got it delayed now, whereby it was going to be difficult for them to get certain information and so on. So I've got that amended and you do it quietly behind the scenes you see," the paper alleges he said.
The reporter asks Lord Taylor if he put in the amendment himself.
He replies: "No no no no no. You don't do things like that. That's stupid. What you do is you talk to the parliamentary team who drafts the statute as it goes through and you point out to them the difficulty the retailer would be having on this, and hope things are working and so on.
"You get them to amend that way.
"You're too late when you put amendments down in...because they don't want loss of face.
"But if you can get it done when it's in the draft form it's far better because you know what the principles are of the bill as it's going through and you know what they are introducing...
"What you do is you meet the minister you meet the various people, and it's not always ministers or secretary of state or even permanent secretaries that do this.
"It's some little chappie half way down…It's about identifying the decision makers. It's about identifying the people that make the recommendations."
The Times reporter then raises the question of payment.
"Obviously, from our point of view, this would be something we would remunerate you for. And I don't think money is an object.
"But I would ask you to do would be to give us some idea of what a fee structure would be."
Lord Taylor replies: "This is absolutely difficult, this is very difficult for me because some companies that I work will pay me £100,000 a year.
"Reporter: £100,000?
"Lord Taylor: Oh yes. That's cheap for what I do for them. And other companies will pay me £25,000. It all depends on what you are trying to do and how much time I think I am going to spend on it.
"Reporter: Those fees are not impossible. They are all fine.
"Lord Taylor: Yes but these are the sort of fees I get. I am being absolutely honest with you. I am not exaggerating.
"It's whether I want to do it or not. You've got to whet my appetite to get me on board." ...
OMFG! It's Uncle Junior Soprano!
See?!
A recording of a discussion between a peer at the centre of a corruption controversy and an undercover reporter has been released by the Sunday Times.
The newspaper claims four Labour peers, including Lord Taylor of Blackburn, were prepared to change the law for cash.
During a conversation, recorded on 18th January, the paper alleges that Lord Taylor said: "I can speak better and they will speak more freely over a cup of coffee or a 'pie and a pint' as I say, rather than a board room table or a ministerial desk where everything is being written down and so on."
The Sunday Times alleges that Lord Taylor told the journalist he had managed to "delay" a statute to help a company.
"For example, I've been working with them on amending a statute that's coming out, or was coming out, because I've got it delayed now, whereby it was going to be difficult for them to get certain information and so on. So I've got that amended and you do it quietly behind the scenes you see," the paper alleges he said.
The reporter asks Lord Taylor if he put in the amendment himself.
He replies: "No no no no no. You don't do things like that. That's stupid. What you do is you talk to the parliamentary team who drafts the statute as it goes through and you point out to them the difficulty the retailer would be having on this, and hope things are working and so on.
"You get them to amend that way.
"You're too late when you put amendments down in...because they don't want loss of face.
"But if you can get it done when it's in the draft form it's far better because you know what the principles are of the bill as it's going through and you know what they are introducing...
"What you do is you meet the minister you meet the various people, and it's not always ministers or secretary of state or even permanent secretaries that do this.
"It's some little chappie half way down…It's about identifying the decision makers. It's about identifying the people that make the recommendations."
The Times reporter then raises the question of payment.
"Obviously, from our point of view, this would be something we would remunerate you for. And I don't think money is an object.
"But I would ask you to do would be to give us some idea of what a fee structure would be."
Lord Taylor replies: "This is absolutely difficult, this is very difficult for me because some companies that I work will pay me £100,000 a year.
"Reporter: £100,000?
"Lord Taylor: Oh yes. That's cheap for what I do for them. And other companies will pay me £25,000. It all depends on what you are trying to do and how much time I think I am going to spend on it.
"Reporter: Those fees are not impossible. They are all fine.
"Lord Taylor: Yes but these are the sort of fees I get. I am being absolutely honest with you. I am not exaggerating.
"It's whether I want to do it or not. You've got to whet my appetite to get me on board." ...
OMFG! It's Uncle Junior Soprano!
See?!
"Detroit" is an old Frogistani word meaning, "Zey are so corrrrupt even Ai am ze shocked!"
Dunno about you, but whenever a preacher says something that will further poison our air is a good thing, my alarm bells start ringing.
Friday, January 23, 2009
No settlement in lawsuit over additional release of Kilpatrick text messages
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- Lawyers involved in a Michigan Freedom of Information Act lawsuit attempting to win public release of text messages sent during the administration of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick met for more than 90 minutes Friday without finalizing a settlement.
Lawyers for The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press said progress was made in the closed-door settlement discussions. Parties will resume their negotiations on Feb. 13, they said.
Attorneys for the two newspapers, the city, Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff Christine Beatty have been working with Wayne Circuit Judge Robert J. Colombo Jr. to try to settle the lawsuit.
The newspapers are suing the city for all records related to the $8.4 million settlement in 2007 of two whistle-blower lawsuits brought by three former city police officers.
Among the records sought are text messages sent and received by the mayor and other officials on city-issued SkyTel pagers. It's possible text messages that have never been made public will be released as part of the settlement, lawyers said. Legal fees in the case are another outstanding issue. ...
No settlement in lawsuit over additional release of Kilpatrick text messages
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- Lawyers involved in a Michigan Freedom of Information Act lawsuit attempting to win public release of text messages sent during the administration of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick met for more than 90 minutes Friday without finalizing a settlement.
Lawyers for The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press said progress was made in the closed-door settlement discussions. Parties will resume their negotiations on Feb. 13, they said.
Attorneys for the two newspapers, the city, Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff Christine Beatty have been working with Wayne Circuit Judge Robert J. Colombo Jr. to try to settle the lawsuit.
The newspapers are suing the city for all records related to the $8.4 million settlement in 2007 of two whistle-blower lawsuits brought by three former city police officers.
Among the records sought are text messages sent and received by the mayor and other officials on city-issued SkyTel pagers. It's possible text messages that have never been made public will be released as part of the settlement, lawyers said. Legal fees in the case are another outstanding issue. ...
Friday, January 23, 2009
Editorial: Conyers must account for her travel expenses
The Detroit News
Restoring confidence in city government should be the top priority of everyone connected to Detroit's City Hall. That's why the city's General Retirement System should demand that Council President Monica Conyers make a full and complete accounting of her travel expense account.
Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick spent far too much of his first term in office dealing with the fallout from his abuses of his expense account. The lesson taken from that sorry episode in the city's history should have made every elected official laser focused on accountability and ethical behavior.
But when it comes to expense account issues, Conyers seems to have decided to take up where Kilpatrick left off.
As a member of the pension board for a little more than two years, she has traveled to Portugal, London, Philadelphia, Washington and San Francisco to attend conferences on the retirement system's dime.
Treating the pension system as a travel club is bad enough. But Conyers has refused repeated requests to account for the money she spent on many of those trips.
In one example, Conyers requested nearly $8,400 for business class airfare to London for a June pension conference. Records later revealed that the plane ticket cost less than $2,700, leaving about $5,700 unaccounted for.
We'll leave aside for now the question of why Conyers or any city official is traveling first class. Taxpayers and the retirees who funded the system have a right to know how the rest of the money was spent.
Since taking over the council presidency after Kenneth Cockrel Jr. became interim mayor last fall, Conyers has doubled overtime spending for her city-paid bodyguards and added her teenage son to her payroll, paying him $15 an hour for occasional work. ...
Editorial: Conyers must account for her travel expenses
The Detroit News
Restoring confidence in city government should be the top priority of everyone connected to Detroit's City Hall. That's why the city's General Retirement System should demand that Council President Monica Conyers make a full and complete accounting of her travel expense account.
Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick spent far too much of his first term in office dealing with the fallout from his abuses of his expense account. The lesson taken from that sorry episode in the city's history should have made every elected official laser focused on accountability and ethical behavior.
But when it comes to expense account issues, Conyers seems to have decided to take up where Kilpatrick left off.
As a member of the pension board for a little more than two years, she has traveled to Portugal, London, Philadelphia, Washington and San Francisco to attend conferences on the retirement system's dime.
Treating the pension system as a travel club is bad enough. But Conyers has refused repeated requests to account for the money she spent on many of those trips.
In one example, Conyers requested nearly $8,400 for business class airfare to London for a June pension conference. Records later revealed that the plane ticket cost less than $2,700, leaving about $5,700 unaccounted for.
We'll leave aside for now the question of why Conyers or any city official is traveling first class. Taxpayers and the retirees who funded the system have a right to know how the rest of the money was spent.
Since taking over the council presidency after Kenneth Cockrel Jr. became interim mayor last fall, Conyers has doubled overtime spending for her city-paid bodyguards and added her teenage son to her payroll, paying him $15 an hour for occasional work. ...
Conyers given 2 weeks to resolve bill with board
By Jennifer Dixon
Free Press staff writer
January 22, 2009
Detroit’s General Retirement System today demanded that City Council President Monica Conyers resolve more than $5,600 in travel advances it says she never used while she was on the pension board.
In a letter sent today, Conyers was asked to repay the money or produce receipts for the expenses within two weeks. A copy of the pension system’s travel policy accompanied the letter.
A spokeswoman for Conyers said today the office would have no comment.
Pension board trustees get cash advances before they travel and must provide receipts showing how the money was spent. Money that is unaccounted for must be repaid.
Pension board records show Conyers did not provide receipts for hotel stays on Grand Cayman Island and in Philadelphia. In addition, Conyers provided a June 3 Northwest Airlines printout before she traveled to London showing an $8,392.23 airfare. Her receipt showed the ticket cost $2,652.56.
Conyers initially owed the board $7,371.25 but repaid $1,700 with two checks earlier this week, according to the board. ...
By Jennifer Dixon
Free Press staff writer
January 22, 2009
Detroit’s General Retirement System today demanded that City Council President Monica Conyers resolve more than $5,600 in travel advances it says she never used while she was on the pension board.
In a letter sent today, Conyers was asked to repay the money or produce receipts for the expenses within two weeks. A copy of the pension system’s travel policy accompanied the letter.
A spokeswoman for Conyers said today the office would have no comment.
Pension board trustees get cash advances before they travel and must provide receipts showing how the money was spent. Money that is unaccounted for must be repaid.
Pension board records show Conyers did not provide receipts for hotel stays on Grand Cayman Island and in Philadelphia. In addition, Conyers provided a June 3 Northwest Airlines printout before she traveled to London showing an $8,392.23 airfare. Her receipt showed the ticket cost $2,652.56.
Conyers initially owed the board $7,371.25 but repaid $1,700 with two checks earlier this week, according to the board. ...
New witness in dancer's death
Imprisoned drug kingpin linked to Greene through Detroit strip club owner, family says.
Paul Egan
The Detroit News
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
DETROIT -- Imprisoned drug kingpin Milton "Butch" Jones might be able to shed light on the killing of exotic dancer Tamara "Strawberry" Greene because they're linked through former state legislator and strip club owner Keith Stallworth, a lawyer for Greene's family said Monday.
That's why Jones, 53, now serving a federal prison sentence at Milan, was added Friday as a possible witness in a federal lawsuit brought by Greene's family against the city of Detroit, former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, and several top city and police officials, said Robert Zawideh, one of the attorneys representing Greene's family.
Greene, linked to a long-rumored but never substantiated party at the mayor's Manoogian Mansion in fall 2002, was shot to death in Detroit on April 30, 2003. Her family's lawsuit alleges top police and city officials obstructed the investigation of her still unsolved killing for political reasons. Kilpatrick and the other defendants deny the allegations. The case could go to trial this year.
Stallworth, who in 2003 pleaded guilty to a felony financial transaction, was indicted along with Jones in 2001 and accused of using his Detroit strip joint, Tiger's Lounge, to launder money for the Young Boys Inc. heroin-dealing gang that Jones founded. Stallworth, a friend and former Democratic state House colleague of Kilpatrick, also is on the Greene witness list.
He could not be reached for comment Monday. ...
Imprisoned drug kingpin linked to Greene through Detroit strip club owner, family says.
Paul Egan
The Detroit News
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
DETROIT -- Imprisoned drug kingpin Milton "Butch" Jones might be able to shed light on the killing of exotic dancer Tamara "Strawberry" Greene because they're linked through former state legislator and strip club owner Keith Stallworth, a lawyer for Greene's family said Monday.
That's why Jones, 53, now serving a federal prison sentence at Milan, was added Friday as a possible witness in a federal lawsuit brought by Greene's family against the city of Detroit, former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, and several top city and police officials, said Robert Zawideh, one of the attorneys representing Greene's family.
Greene, linked to a long-rumored but never substantiated party at the mayor's Manoogian Mansion in fall 2002, was shot to death in Detroit on April 30, 2003. Her family's lawsuit alleges top police and city officials obstructed the investigation of her still unsolved killing for political reasons. Kilpatrick and the other defendants deny the allegations. The case could go to trial this year.
Stallworth, who in 2003 pleaded guilty to a felony financial transaction, was indicted along with Jones in 2001 and accused of using his Detroit strip joint, Tiger's Lounge, to launder money for the Young Boys Inc. heroin-dealing gang that Jones founded. Stallworth, a friend and former Democratic state House colleague of Kilpatrick, also is on the Greene witness list.
He could not be reached for comment Monday. ...
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Hit man, drug king among witnesses in Detroit stripper lawsuit
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- Confessed city "hit man" Vincent Smothers and notorious drug kingpin Milton "Butch" Jones are among the names on a beefed-up witness list filed by relatives of a slain exotic dancer in their federal lawsuit against the city of Detroit.
Norman Yatooma, the Birmingham lawyer representing the family of Tamara "Strawberry" Greene, filed the new witness list late Friday. It contains the names of 343 witnesses and classes of witnesses, up from 193 names on an earlier witness list filed in October.
Other names on the expanded witness list include John Bebow, a former reporter for The Detroit News; Matt Allen, a former spokesman for Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick; and exotic dancers described only as "Mia;" Charlotte, also known as "Netta;" and Kelly, also known as "Lucky."
Greene, who was linked to a long-rumored party involving strippers at the mayor's Manoogian Mansion in the fall of 2002, was killed in a drive-by shooting outside her Detroit home on April 30, 2003. The killing remains unsolved.
Greene's family is suing the city, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, his former chief of staff Christine Beatty, former Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings, and other top city and police officials, alleging they obstructed the investigation of Greene's killing for political reasons.
The defendants deny the charges. The case could go to trial this year.
Among the allegations is that Greene sought hospital treatment in the fall of 2002 because she was assaulted at the party by Carlita Kilpatrick, the wife of the former mayor. Witnesses have signed affidavits saying they had evidence a dancer was treated for injuries at a Detroit hospital at about the time of the rumored party. ...
Hit man, drug king among witnesses in Detroit stripper lawsuit
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- Confessed city "hit man" Vincent Smothers and notorious drug kingpin Milton "Butch" Jones are among the names on a beefed-up witness list filed by relatives of a slain exotic dancer in their federal lawsuit against the city of Detroit.
Norman Yatooma, the Birmingham lawyer representing the family of Tamara "Strawberry" Greene, filed the new witness list late Friday. It contains the names of 343 witnesses and classes of witnesses, up from 193 names on an earlier witness list filed in October.
Other names on the expanded witness list include John Bebow, a former reporter for The Detroit News; Matt Allen, a former spokesman for Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick; and exotic dancers described only as "Mia;" Charlotte, also known as "Netta;" and Kelly, also known as "Lucky."
Greene, who was linked to a long-rumored party involving strippers at the mayor's Manoogian Mansion in the fall of 2002, was killed in a drive-by shooting outside her Detroit home on April 30, 2003. The killing remains unsolved.
Greene's family is suing the city, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, his former chief of staff Christine Beatty, former Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings, and other top city and police officials, alleging they obstructed the investigation of Greene's killing for political reasons.
The defendants deny the charges. The case could go to trial this year.
Among the allegations is that Greene sought hospital treatment in the fall of 2002 because she was assaulted at the party by Carlita Kilpatrick, the wife of the former mayor. Witnesses have signed affidavits saying they had evidence a dancer was treated for injuries at a Detroit hospital at about the time of the rumored party. ...
Pay-to-play inquiry leads to offices tied to Ferguson
BY JOE SWICKARD, M.L. ELRICK and JIM SCHAEFER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
January 16, 2009
Federal agents converged on double fronts Thursday in their wide-ranging investigation into City Hall corruption, raiding two businesses linked to a city contractor who is a longtime friend of disgraced former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
The searches of offices linked to Bobby Ferguson followed last weekend's news that a grand jury is seeking the testimony of a veteran City Council aide as part of the probe into allegations that officials have taken bribes for city contracts.
A City Hall official with knowledge of the federal investigation said Thursday's raids were tied into the probe of an alleged pay-to-play scheme in city government for contracts, including those at Cobo Center, as well as a controversial sludge-hauling deal awarded to Synagro Technologies of Houston. ...
BY JOE SWICKARD, M.L. ELRICK and JIM SCHAEFER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
January 16, 2009
Federal agents converged on double fronts Thursday in their wide-ranging investigation into City Hall corruption, raiding two businesses linked to a city contractor who is a longtime friend of disgraced former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
The searches of offices linked to Bobby Ferguson followed last weekend's news that a grand jury is seeking the testimony of a veteran City Council aide as part of the probe into allegations that officials have taken bribes for city contracts.
A City Hall official with knowledge of the federal investigation said Thursday's raids were tied into the probe of an alleged pay-to-play scheme in city government for contracts, including those at Cobo Center, as well as a controversial sludge-hauling deal awarded to Synagro Technologies of Houston. ...
FBI raids offices of Bobby Ferguson
BY JOE SWICKARD AND M.L. ELRICK
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
January 15, 2009
A lawyer for city contractor Bobby Ferguson said he had no idea why officials from the FBI, Housing and Urban Development and the Environmental Protection Agency raided Ferguson's Detroit office today.
Attorney Avery Williams -- who has represented Ferguson in civil, not criminal, matters -- said this afternoon: "I would just hope that everyone would give him the presumption of innocence that he is entitled to by the Constitution."
Ferguson, a friend of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick with a troubled past, was linked by text messages to questionable city contracts, the Free Press reported last year. ...
BY JOE SWICKARD AND M.L. ELRICK
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
January 15, 2009
A lawyer for city contractor Bobby Ferguson said he had no idea why officials from the FBI, Housing and Urban Development and the Environmental Protection Agency raided Ferguson's Detroit office today.
Attorney Avery Williams -- who has represented Ferguson in civil, not criminal, matters -- said this afternoon: "I would just hope that everyone would give him the presumption of innocence that he is entitled to by the Constitution."
Ferguson, a friend of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick with a troubled past, was linked by text messages to questionable city contracts, the Free Press reported last year. ...
Texts may shed light on Tamara Greene slaying
Magistrates ID 13 messages
By BEN SCHMITT, DAVID ASHENFELTER and JOE SWICKARD
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
January 14, 2009
Federal magistrates have identified 13 text messages from city-issued pagers that might shed light on the 2003 killing of stripper Tamara Greene, who was said to have danced at a long-rumored party at the Manoogian Mansion, the Free Press has learned.
It's unclear what the text messages say, who exchanged them or why the magistrate judges singled them out from the hundreds that were exchanged April 30, 2003 — the day Greene was fatally shot — on pagers the city leased from Mississippi-based SkyTel Inc.
Birmingham attorney Norman Yatooma, who represents Greene's teenage son and other family members, sought Wednesday to obtain access to the messages as part of his lawsuit against the city, former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, his top aide Christine Beatty, police executives and others, lawyers in the case said.
The suit claims that city officials sabotaged the investigation into Greene's death, preventing the family from filing a wrongful death suit against her killers. ...
Magistrates ID 13 messages
By BEN SCHMITT, DAVID ASHENFELTER and JOE SWICKARD
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
January 14, 2009
Federal magistrates have identified 13 text messages from city-issued pagers that might shed light on the 2003 killing of stripper Tamara Greene, who was said to have danced at a long-rumored party at the Manoogian Mansion, the Free Press has learned.
It's unclear what the text messages say, who exchanged them or why the magistrate judges singled them out from the hundreds that were exchanged April 30, 2003 — the day Greene was fatally shot — on pagers the city leased from Mississippi-based SkyTel Inc.
Birmingham attorney Norman Yatooma, who represents Greene's teenage son and other family members, sought Wednesday to obtain access to the messages as part of his lawsuit against the city, former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, his top aide Christine Beatty, police executives and others, lawyers in the case said.
The suit claims that city officials sabotaged the investigation into Greene's death, preventing the family from filing a wrongful death suit against her killers. ...
Charges of pay-to-play surface in Detroit pension lawsuit
Businessman who got $30M in pension loans says he was pressured by 'unsavory' demands.
Christine MacDonald, Paul Egan and David Josar
The Detroit News
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
DETROIT --A Southern businessman in a legal battle with the city's pension boards claims Detroit's former treasurer pressured him to donate $100,000 to then-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's legal fund in exchange for another $15 million pension investment in his now-failed airline.
"I felt pressured to engage in a pay-to-play scheme," Donald V. Watkins said in documents related to a federal lawsuit and obtained by The Detroit News.
Watkins, an attorney and banker based in Florida, was a onetime board member of Kilpatrick's defense fund. But he claims his relationship with the city's two pension boards -- police and fire and the general retirement system -- soured after he refused the request from Jeff Beasley, then-city treasurer and member of both boards. That request and other "unsavory" demands from pension board members were included in a sworn statement recently submitted to the pension boards.
Among the claims: free use of his plane to help the NAACP, cash for pension board members' re-election campaigns and a request by Monica Conyers, the City Council's president and a general retirement pension board member, to meet with Rayford Jackson, a Detroit businessman at the center of the FBI corruption probe into City Hall. ...
Businessman who got $30M in pension loans says he was pressured by 'unsavory' demands.
Christine MacDonald, Paul Egan and David Josar
The Detroit News
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
DETROIT --A Southern businessman in a legal battle with the city's pension boards claims Detroit's former treasurer pressured him to donate $100,000 to then-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's legal fund in exchange for another $15 million pension investment in his now-failed airline.
"I felt pressured to engage in a pay-to-play scheme," Donald V. Watkins said in documents related to a federal lawsuit and obtained by The Detroit News.
Watkins, an attorney and banker based in Florida, was a onetime board member of Kilpatrick's defense fund. But he claims his relationship with the city's two pension boards -- police and fire and the general retirement system -- soured after he refused the request from Jeff Beasley, then-city treasurer and member of both boards. That request and other "unsavory" demands from pension board members were included in a sworn statement recently submitted to the pension boards.
Among the claims: free use of his plane to help the NAACP, cash for pension board members' re-election campaigns and a request by Monica Conyers, the City Council's president and a general retirement pension board member, to meet with Rayford Jackson, a Detroit businessman at the center of the FBI corruption probe into City Hall. ...
If pat robertson's a good christian, I'm a millionaire whom scrabble adores.
DPS academy issues plea for toilet paper
Letter sent home with students says school can't afford supplies, including trash bags, light bulbs.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Oralandar Brand-Williams, Mark Hicks and Jennifer Mrozowski / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- At least one city school is visibly bearing the scars of the district's financial woes with an appeal for donations of toilet paper and light bulbs.
This week, administrators at the Academy of the Americas sent a letter home with students asking parents and others to donate items "that are of the utmost importance for proper school functioning and most importantly for student health and safety" -- including light bulbs, trash bags, paper towel rolls and toilet paper. Students said the items were expected to be accepted at the front office starting Monday.
The district's "budgetary constraints" meant officials no longer were able to supply the necessities, Principal Naomi Khalil said in the letter to parents. ...
Letter sent home with students says school can't afford supplies, including trash bags, light bulbs.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Oralandar Brand-Williams, Mark Hicks and Jennifer Mrozowski / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- At least one city school is visibly bearing the scars of the district's financial woes with an appeal for donations of toilet paper and light bulbs.
This week, administrators at the Academy of the Americas sent a letter home with students asking parents and others to donate items "that are of the utmost importance for proper school functioning and most importantly for student health and safety" -- including light bulbs, trash bags, paper towel rolls and toilet paper. Students said the items were expected to be accepted at the front office starting Monday.
The district's "budgetary constraints" meant officials no longer were able to supply the necessities, Principal Naomi Khalil said in the letter to parents. ...
Detroit's deficit soars; Cockrel orders more cuts
Mayor tells all city departments to slice 10% from budgets
By Zachary Gorchow
Free Press Staff Writer
December 19, 2008
The City of Detroit's deficit is soaring, approaching $300 million, Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr. said today as he also revealed he has ordered all city departments to cut their budgets by 10% as part of his forthcoming deficit elimination plan - an amount that will increase because of the growing deficit.
In November, Cockrel and the City Council's fiscal analyst said the deficit could be as high as $200 million. That was up from initial estimates after Cockrel took office in September projecting a deficit of between $100 million to $150 million.
Cockrel said he would not unveil his deficit elimination plan until his administration fully untangles the city's finances. The city is almost a year late in submitting an audit for the 2006-07 fiscal year.
"The truth is that every day, we continue to find problems with the finances and financial reporting from the previous administration which confirms that the former mayor misled Detroiters and misled City Council," Cockrel said...
Mayor tells all city departments to slice 10% from budgets
By Zachary Gorchow
Free Press Staff Writer
December 19, 2008
The City of Detroit's deficit is soaring, approaching $300 million, Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr. said today as he also revealed he has ordered all city departments to cut their budgets by 10% as part of his forthcoming deficit elimination plan - an amount that will increase because of the growing deficit.
In November, Cockrel and the City Council's fiscal analyst said the deficit could be as high as $200 million. That was up from initial estimates after Cockrel took office in September projecting a deficit of between $100 million to $150 million.
Cockrel said he would not unveil his deficit elimination plan until his administration fully untangles the city's finances. The city is almost a year late in submitting an audit for the 2006-07 fiscal year.
"The truth is that every day, we continue to find problems with the finances and financial reporting from the previous administration which confirms that the former mayor misled Detroiters and misled City Council," Cockrel said...
U.S. Customs official charged with hiring illegals
Fri Dec 5, 2008
By Scott Malone
BOSTON (Reuters) - A senior U.S. border patrol official was charged on Friday with hiring illegal immigrants to clean her home and advising one of them on how to avoid detection by the authorities. ...
Fri Dec 5, 2008
By Scott Malone
BOSTON (Reuters) - A senior U.S. border patrol official was charged on Friday with hiring illegal immigrants to clean her home and advising one of them on how to avoid detection by the authorities. ...
Through tears, Beatty offers apology
Former mayoral aide asks for prayers hours after pleading guilty
By Jim Schaefer AND DAVID ASHENFELTER
Free Press Staff Writers
December 1, 2008
Hours after pleading guilty to two felonies, Christine Beatty issued a tearful apology this afternoon to her family, ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's family and the citizens of Detroit for her crimes in the text message scandal.
Beatty, sitting with her attorneys in their Southfield office, read from a prepared three-paragraph statement, but choked up when she said why she finally agreed to a plea deal 11 months after the Free Press exposed her perjury in January. ...
Former mayoral aide asks for prayers hours after pleading guilty
By Jim Schaefer AND DAVID ASHENFELTER
Free Press Staff Writers
December 1, 2008
Hours after pleading guilty to two felonies, Christine Beatty issued a tearful apology this afternoon to her family, ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's family and the citizens of Detroit for her crimes in the text message scandal.
Beatty, sitting with her attorneys in their Southfield office, read from a prepared three-paragraph statement, but choked up when she said why she finally agreed to a plea deal 11 months after the Free Press exposed her perjury in January. ...
Beatty: 'I lied under oath'
Ex-mayoral aide admits 2 felonies, will get 120 days in jail, repay $100,000
By Joe Swickard and Jim Schaefer
Free Press Staff Writers
December 1, 2008
Christine Beatty, once Detroit's most powerful woman as a top aide to Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, today pleaded guilty to two felonies and will serve 120 days in jail for her role in the text-message scandal that also brought down her former boss.
Beatty, who admitted guilt to two counts of obstructing justice for lying in a police whistle-blower case, also will be on probation for five years. During that time, she will have to reimburse the City of Detroit for $100,000 if she is able.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said after the hearing that Beatty's deal doesn't call for her to cooperate in any ongoing probes of Kilpatrick or city officials.
"The cooperation wasn't a consideration," she said. "I've said all along this is an ongoing investigation."
Beatty, standing before Wayne County Circuit Judge Timothy Kenny, choked up and paused before admitting her crimes, accepting a tissue from a sheriff's deputy before speaking.
She then took a deep breath and repeated the line uttered by Kilpatrick when he pleaded guilty in September.
"I lied under oath," Beatty told the judge. He accepted her plea deal and set a sentencing date of Jan. 5, when she will enter the Wayne County Jail. ...
Ex-mayoral aide admits 2 felonies, will get 120 days in jail, repay $100,000
By Joe Swickard and Jim Schaefer
Free Press Staff Writers
December 1, 2008
Christine Beatty, once Detroit's most powerful woman as a top aide to Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, today pleaded guilty to two felonies and will serve 120 days in jail for her role in the text-message scandal that also brought down her former boss.
Beatty, who admitted guilt to two counts of obstructing justice for lying in a police whistle-blower case, also will be on probation for five years. During that time, she will have to reimburse the City of Detroit for $100,000 if she is able.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said after the hearing that Beatty's deal doesn't call for her to cooperate in any ongoing probes of Kilpatrick or city officials.
"The cooperation wasn't a consideration," she said. "I've said all along this is an ongoing investigation."
Beatty, standing before Wayne County Circuit Judge Timothy Kenny, choked up and paused before admitting her crimes, accepting a tissue from a sheriff's deputy before speaking.
She then took a deep breath and repeated the line uttered by Kilpatrick when he pleaded guilty in September.
"I lied under oath," Beatty told the judge. He accepted her plea deal and set a sentencing date of Jan. 5, when she will enter the Wayne County Jail. ...
A plea deal for Beatty is close
By JOE SWICKARD
Free Press Staff Writer
November 30, 2008
A plea deal for Christine Beatty could be sealed Monday morning, according to sources aware of efforts over the past week to resolve the perjury and obstruction of justice case against her without a trial.
Although the tentative deal could still come unstitched, its broad outline has Beatty pleading guilty to two felonies, serving a jail term followed by probation, and paying a substantial restitution.
Exact terms were not clear late Sunday, but the deal is reported to be less harsh that the 150-day jail sentence under Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy's last public offer to Beatty. Also unknown is whether Beatty is required to cooperate in any of the ongoing investigations of ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his administration.
Maria Miller, Worthy's spokeswoman, did not return calls seeking comment Sunday evening. The sources who spoke with the Free Press requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations.
Kilpatrick, Beatty's former boss and lover, is serving a 120-day jail term as part of his plea deal in the text message scandal that toppled his administration. Kilpatrick's deal calls for him to serve 5 years probation and pay $1 million in restitution, in addition to giving up his state pension. He is also barred from running for public office for five years.
Beatty's defense attorney Mayer Morganroth declined Sunday to discuss or characterize any negotiations with prosecutors. He previously has said that he would be open to any plea offers before Beatty's trial, which is set for January.
Beatty currently faces seven felonies -- including perjury, obstruction of justice, official misconduct and conspiracy -- stemming from her testimony at a 2007 police whistle-blower trial. ...
By JOE SWICKARD
Free Press Staff Writer
November 30, 2008
A plea deal for Christine Beatty could be sealed Monday morning, according to sources aware of efforts over the past week to resolve the perjury and obstruction of justice case against her without a trial.
Although the tentative deal could still come unstitched, its broad outline has Beatty pleading guilty to two felonies, serving a jail term followed by probation, and paying a substantial restitution.
Exact terms were not clear late Sunday, but the deal is reported to be less harsh that the 150-day jail sentence under Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy's last public offer to Beatty. Also unknown is whether Beatty is required to cooperate in any of the ongoing investigations of ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his administration.
Maria Miller, Worthy's spokeswoman, did not return calls seeking comment Sunday evening. The sources who spoke with the Free Press requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations.
Kilpatrick, Beatty's former boss and lover, is serving a 120-day jail term as part of his plea deal in the text message scandal that toppled his administration. Kilpatrick's deal calls for him to serve 5 years probation and pay $1 million in restitution, in addition to giving up his state pension. He is also barred from running for public office for five years.
Beatty's defense attorney Mayer Morganroth declined Sunday to discuss or characterize any negotiations with prosecutors. He previously has said that he would be open to any plea offers before Beatty's trial, which is set for January.
Beatty currently faces seven felonies -- including perjury, obstruction of justice, official misconduct and conspiracy -- stemming from her testimony at a 2007 police whistle-blower trial. ...
Top Japan anti-drink cop caught DUI
Tue Nov 18, 2008
TOKYO (Reuters) - A senior Tokyo police official tasked with keeping the city's roads clear of drunk drivers has been arrested for driving under the influence, police said on Tuesday.
The deputy inspector, on his way home from a camping site, was caught late Monday after bumping into another car and veering off the road, said a police official in Ibaraki.
"He smelled of alcohol and he couldn't walk straight," the official said. ...
Tue Nov 18, 2008
TOKYO (Reuters) - A senior Tokyo police official tasked with keeping the city's roads clear of drunk drivers has been arrested for driving under the influence, police said on Tuesday.
The deputy inspector, on his way home from a camping site, was caught late Monday after bumping into another car and veering off the road, said a police official in Ibaraki.
"He smelled of alcohol and he couldn't walk straight," the official said. ...
clinton twp, MI is one of the world's least pleasant places.
Alaska Governor and Republican Vice President hopeful Sarah Palin may be facing another round of scrutiny, this time for charging the state for her children to travel with her while conducing official state business.
CBS News has obtained a copy of the complaint that Frank Gwartney, a retired lineman in Anchorage filed last Friday, with Alaska's Attorney General, Talis Colber in Juneau. "Palin ran on the platform of ethics, transparency and anti-corruption. I'm tired of the hypocrisy that exists in Government and people need to know the truth," said Gwartney.
The complaint against Governor Palin, alleges Misuse of Official Position: "Gov. Palin attempted to and in fact did use her official position for personal gain by securing unwarranted benefits for her daughters..." All the allegations contained in the complaint are related to state reimbursed travel. ...
Da t'iefin' bitch!
CBS News has obtained a copy of the complaint that Frank Gwartney, a retired lineman in Anchorage filed last Friday, with Alaska's Attorney General, Talis Colber in Juneau. "Palin ran on the platform of ethics, transparency and anti-corruption. I'm tired of the hypocrisy that exists in Government and people need to know the truth," said Gwartney.
The complaint against Governor Palin, alleges Misuse of Official Position: "Gov. Palin attempted to and in fact did use her official position for personal gain by securing unwarranted benefits for her daughters..." All the allegations contained in the complaint are related to state reimbursed travel. ...
Da t'iefin' bitch!
Transfer of Kilpatrick appointees probed
Cockrel calls for records review of former staffers who went to work force department in September.
Christine MacDonald / The Detroit News
Saturday, October 25, 2008
DETROIT -- Mayor Kenneth Cockrel Jr. has launched an investigation into the transfer of mayoral appointees into permanent civil service jobs during the final days of his predecessor, Kwame Kilpatrick.
Records obtained by The Detroit News through the Freedom of Information Act show that several of Kilpatrick's staffers were transferred in September to the Detroit Workforce Development Department.
Akua Porter, who published reports claim is Kilpatrick's cousin, ran the Neighborhood City Halls under Kilpatrick but is now a manager in the Workforce Development Department and drawing a $70,000 salary, according to human resources records.
Cockrel has asked the city's lawyers to review records to see if the moves were legitimate and whether the workers should keep their jobs, said Daniel Cherrin, Cockrel's spokesman.
"The legal department is reviewing who they are, and they will give their recommendation," Cherrin said.
"We just need to see who works where and why and how they got the position." ...
... The Detroit Workforce Development Department manages state and federally funded employee training programs. It's been heavily criticized in recent years for its track record.
In 2006, 46,000 people were assisted through the city's career resource centers, but the contractors who were supposed to find them jobs were only able to prove that 875 people were employed.
And 80 percent of those were in the fast food industry.
Cockrel calls for records review of former staffers who went to work force department in September.
Christine MacDonald / The Detroit News
Saturday, October 25, 2008
DETROIT -- Mayor Kenneth Cockrel Jr. has launched an investigation into the transfer of mayoral appointees into permanent civil service jobs during the final days of his predecessor, Kwame Kilpatrick.
Records obtained by The Detroit News through the Freedom of Information Act show that several of Kilpatrick's staffers were transferred in September to the Detroit Workforce Development Department.
Akua Porter, who published reports claim is Kilpatrick's cousin, ran the Neighborhood City Halls under Kilpatrick but is now a manager in the Workforce Development Department and drawing a $70,000 salary, according to human resources records.
Cockrel has asked the city's lawyers to review records to see if the moves were legitimate and whether the workers should keep their jobs, said Daniel Cherrin, Cockrel's spokesman.
"The legal department is reviewing who they are, and they will give their recommendation," Cherrin said.
"We just need to see who works where and why and how they got the position." ...
... The Detroit Workforce Development Department manages state and federally funded employee training programs. It's been heavily criticized in recent years for its track record.
In 2006, 46,000 people were assisted through the city's career resource centers, but the contractors who were supposed to find them jobs were only able to prove that 875 people were employed.
And 80 percent of those were in the fast food industry.
Globe-trotting Kilpatrick slashed use of credit card
BY ZACHARY GORCHOW
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
October 25, 2008
Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick promised after his narrow 2005 re-election to inform the public when he traveled on city business.
Records of the taxpayer-funded credit card he had as mayor that were released Friday showed he repeatedly failed to keep that promise.
While the records show Kilpatrick sharply reduced use of his credit card in his last four years in office from the profligate use in his first 33 months on the job, they show he traveled to Cape Verde, Paris, the Bahamas, Denver, Washington, Phoenix, Houston, New York, Dallas, Atlanta, St. Louis, Memphis and Miami, some multiple times.
The Free Press had filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the records in January.
But the city didn't respond until the newspaper reported last week that Chief Financial Officer Joseph Harris, who just started in his post after Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr. replaced Kilpatrick, said he had been told by staff members that Kilpatrick administration officials did not want the records released to the auditor general for political reasons.
The records also have been subpoenaed by Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, whose investigation of Kilpatrick remains ongoing.
The records show that, once rebates and returns are subtracted, Kilpatrick spent $75,500 from August 2004 until he resigned Sept. 18.
In 2005, the Free Press reported Kilpatrick charged $211,000 to his credit card from when he took office in January 2002 through mid-2004.
For the most part, the charges reflect travel and not the type of luxurious purchases made by the mayor early in his tenure, such as spa visits, swanky champagne and almost $4,000 for chauffeured sedans. ...
When those early purchases on the City's card were made public, kwame's response was, "My business is none of your business!"
BY ZACHARY GORCHOW
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
October 25, 2008
Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick promised after his narrow 2005 re-election to inform the public when he traveled on city business.
Records of the taxpayer-funded credit card he had as mayor that were released Friday showed he repeatedly failed to keep that promise.
While the records show Kilpatrick sharply reduced use of his credit card in his last four years in office from the profligate use in his first 33 months on the job, they show he traveled to Cape Verde, Paris, the Bahamas, Denver, Washington, Phoenix, Houston, New York, Dallas, Atlanta, St. Louis, Memphis and Miami, some multiple times.
The Free Press had filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the records in January.
But the city didn't respond until the newspaper reported last week that Chief Financial Officer Joseph Harris, who just started in his post after Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr. replaced Kilpatrick, said he had been told by staff members that Kilpatrick administration officials did not want the records released to the auditor general for political reasons.
The records also have been subpoenaed by Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, whose investigation of Kilpatrick remains ongoing.
The records show that, once rebates and returns are subtracted, Kilpatrick spent $75,500 from August 2004 until he resigned Sept. 18.
In 2005, the Free Press reported Kilpatrick charged $211,000 to his credit card from when he took office in January 2002 through mid-2004.
For the most part, the charges reflect travel and not the type of luxurious purchases made by the mayor early in his tenure, such as spa visits, swanky champagne and almost $4,000 for chauffeured sedans. ...
When those early purchases on the City's card were made public, kwame's response was, "My business is none of your business!"
Worthy probes Kilpatrick's spending
Credit card bills at issue
BY ROCHELLE RILEY and M.L. ELRICK
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
October 22, 2008
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has subpoenaed all of ex-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's city-issued credit card and travel records as part of a continuing investigation of Kilpatrick's nearly seven years in office, the Free Press has learned.
The city's Finance Department received the subpoena Friday, two days after new Chief Financial Officer Joseph Harris revealed that the Kilpatrick administration deliberately withheld credit card records from the independent city auditor general. City auditors have been trying to analyze spending by the mayor's office for the past 10 months.
Harris declined to discuss the subpoena, and Kilpatrick attorney James Thomas did not return a call seeking comment Wednesday.
The Detroit City Council ordered the audit after the Free Press broke the text message scandal in late January. The Office of the Auditor General said the Kilpatrick administration was withholding records. The former mayor has said that his staff cooperated with auditors, but that the auditors made excessive follow-up requests. Since the mayor resigned and Harris took over the finance department, he said staffers there have told him that they were ordered not to respond to the auditors' requests. ...
Credit card bills at issue
BY ROCHELLE RILEY and M.L. ELRICK
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
October 22, 2008
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has subpoenaed all of ex-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's city-issued credit card and travel records as part of a continuing investigation of Kilpatrick's nearly seven years in office, the Free Press has learned.
The city's Finance Department received the subpoena Friday, two days after new Chief Financial Officer Joseph Harris revealed that the Kilpatrick administration deliberately withheld credit card records from the independent city auditor general. City auditors have been trying to analyze spending by the mayor's office for the past 10 months.
Harris declined to discuss the subpoena, and Kilpatrick attorney James Thomas did not return a call seeking comment Wednesday.
The Detroit City Council ordered the audit after the Free Press broke the text message scandal in late January. The Office of the Auditor General said the Kilpatrick administration was withholding records. The former mayor has said that his staff cooperated with auditors, but that the auditors made excessive follow-up requests. Since the mayor resigned and Harris took over the finance department, he said staffers there have told him that they were ordered not to respond to the auditors' requests. ...
More texts in Beatty case to be released
By David Ashenfelter and Suzette Hackney
Free Press Staff Writers
October 22, 2008
Another round of potentially explosive text messages involving former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his chief of staff Christine Beatty will be made public at noon today, a day after the Michigan Court of Appeals rejected Beatty's request to delay their release.
Mayer Morganroth, Beatty's lead defense attorney, said yesterday he was resigned to the messages' release, contending that he did not have enough time to take the issue to the state Supreme Court.
Morganroth, who opposed the release of any texts before Beatty's January trial on perjury and conspiracy charges, said the new texts will serve only to embarrass his client and her young children.
Maria Miller, spokeswoman for Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, declined to speculate yesterday on whether the release of the new text messages would open the door to renewed plea negotiations between the prosecutor's office and Beatty's attorneys. ...
By David Ashenfelter and Suzette Hackney
Free Press Staff Writers
October 22, 2008
Another round of potentially explosive text messages involving former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his chief of staff Christine Beatty will be made public at noon today, a day after the Michigan Court of Appeals rejected Beatty's request to delay their release.
Mayer Morganroth, Beatty's lead defense attorney, said yesterday he was resigned to the messages' release, contending that he did not have enough time to take the issue to the state Supreme Court.
Morganroth, who opposed the release of any texts before Beatty's January trial on perjury and conspiracy charges, said the new texts will serve only to embarrass his client and her young children.
Maria Miller, spokeswoman for Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, declined to speculate yesterday on whether the release of the new text messages would open the door to renewed plea negotiations between the prosecutor's office and Beatty's attorneys. ...
Beatty's arguments to keep texts private disputed
Judge to decide on a release
BY JIM SCHAEFER and M.L. ELRICK
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
October 16, 2008
A Wayne County circuit judge is to decide Monday whether to release dozens of text messages sent by former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and Christine Beatty, his chief of staff and lover.
Judge Timothy Kenny disputed arguments Beatty's lawyers made in court Wednesday to keep the messages sealed, but the judge put off a decision until he has more information.
Kenny said he is not convinced he agrees with Beatty's argument that some messages should be excluded because they were between Beatty and her then-husband, Lou, or because they involved discussions of city business between herself and Kilpatrick.
"Unless good cause is shown, then things are not supposed to be sealed," Kenny said.
The Free Press has asked the judge to release the messages in the interest of public transparency, and given that Kilpatrick already admitted to his role in lying under oath about his affair with Beatty.
Free Press lawyer Herschel Fink told Kenny that current case law and the city's written policy, signed by Kilpatrick, made it clear that text messages sent on the city-provided pagers were public.
"City policy, I think, is evidence that these parties, including Ms. Beatty, understood that their messages were not private," Fink said. ...
Judge to decide on a release
BY JIM SCHAEFER and M.L. ELRICK
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
October 16, 2008
A Wayne County circuit judge is to decide Monday whether to release dozens of text messages sent by former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and Christine Beatty, his chief of staff and lover.
Judge Timothy Kenny disputed arguments Beatty's lawyers made in court Wednesday to keep the messages sealed, but the judge put off a decision until he has more information.
Kenny said he is not convinced he agrees with Beatty's argument that some messages should be excluded because they were between Beatty and her then-husband, Lou, or because they involved discussions of city business between herself and Kilpatrick.
"Unless good cause is shown, then things are not supposed to be sealed," Kenny said.
The Free Press has asked the judge to release the messages in the interest of public transparency, and given that Kilpatrick already admitted to his role in lying under oath about his affair with Beatty.
Free Press lawyer Herschel Fink told Kenny that current case law and the city's written policy, signed by Kilpatrick, made it clear that text messages sent on the city-provided pagers were public.
"City policy, I think, is evidence that these parties, including Ms. Beatty, understood that their messages were not private," Fink said. ...
Kilpatrick travel records found
New city finance chief says he'll give long-sought credit card documents to auditor; public release unclear.
David Josar / The Detroit News
Friday, October 17, 2008
DETROIT -- The city's new chief financial officer, Joe Harris, says he's found long-sought credit card records related to former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's travels, but it remains unclear when -- or if -- they will be made public.
Harris said Thursday he will give the "voluminous" records to Auditor General Loren Monroe, who has tried for months to secure them for an audit of Kilpatrick's office.
But as of late Thursday, Monroe had not requested the records.
Earlier that day, one of his staffers told the council Monroe couldn't complete the investigation into Kilpatrick because of missing documents and the departure of his key staffers.
Harris said a staffer told him the documents were not turned over for "political reasons" but that the records were always available in the finance office. He said he thinks only former deputy mayor Anthony Adams or the previous chief financial officer, Norm White, would have been in a position to keep the records from going public. The News couldn't reach either for comment. ...
New city finance chief says he'll give long-sought credit card documents to auditor; public release unclear.
David Josar / The Detroit News
Friday, October 17, 2008
DETROIT -- The city's new chief financial officer, Joe Harris, says he's found long-sought credit card records related to former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's travels, but it remains unclear when -- or if -- they will be made public.
Harris said Thursday he will give the "voluminous" records to Auditor General Loren Monroe, who has tried for months to secure them for an audit of Kilpatrick's office.
But as of late Thursday, Monroe had not requested the records.
Earlier that day, one of his staffers told the council Monroe couldn't complete the investigation into Kilpatrick because of missing documents and the departure of his key staffers.
Harris said a staffer told him the documents were not turned over for "political reasons" but that the records were always available in the finance office. He said he thinks only former deputy mayor Anthony Adams or the previous chief financial officer, Norm White, would have been in a position to keep the records from going public. The News couldn't reach either for comment. ...
9 Detroit court employees suspended in ticket fixing probe
Doug Guthrie / The Detroit News
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
DETROIT -- A months-long internal investigation into an alleged traffic ticket fixing scheme resulted Wednesday in the suspension of nine employees of the city's 36th District Court.
The nine were placed Wednesday on 30-days of paid [Ed. Note: WTF? Paid leave?!] administrative leave pending the conclusion of an investigation being conducted by court administrators. No criminal charges have been filed. Findings of the investigation will be turned over to the Michigan State Police, said Darlene Conyers, spokeswoman for the court's administration.
"We want to make it clear that none of our judges or magistrates is implicated in this at all," Conyers said. "I am not certain of the job descriptions of the individuals under investigation or whether the allegations are that they were somehow working together or individually." ...
Doug Guthrie / The Detroit News
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
DETROIT -- A months-long internal investigation into an alleged traffic ticket fixing scheme resulted Wednesday in the suspension of nine employees of the city's 36th District Court.
The nine were placed Wednesday on 30-days of paid [Ed. Note: WTF? Paid leave?!] administrative leave pending the conclusion of an investigation being conducted by court administrators. No criminal charges have been filed. Findings of the investigation will be turned over to the Michigan State Police, said Darlene Conyers, spokeswoman for the court's administration.
"We want to make it clear that none of our judges or magistrates is implicated in this at all," Conyers said. "I am not certain of the job descriptions of the individuals under investigation or whether the allegations are that they were somehow working together or individually." ...
City Council may discuss Conyers lawsuit
BY ZACHARY GORCHOW
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
September 26, 2008
The Detroit City Council might hold a closed session to discuss the lawsuit of a former employee of council President Monica Conyers, who was fired just before she was about to report that part of her job entailed running personal errands for Conyers.
On a 2-0 vote Thursday, the council's Internal Operations Committee voted for a closed session, which would require the approval of the full council. A vote could come as soon as Tuesday.
Yakima Washington has sued the City of Detroit for declining to pay her what her attorney says was a $90,000 out-of-court settlement proposed by a city attorney and agreed to by Washington's lawyer. ...
She should sue her parents, too, for having given her that name.
BY ZACHARY GORCHOW
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
September 26, 2008
The Detroit City Council might hold a closed session to discuss the lawsuit of a former employee of council President Monica Conyers, who was fired just before she was about to report that part of her job entailed running personal errands for Conyers.
On a 2-0 vote Thursday, the council's Internal Operations Committee voted for a closed session, which would require the approval of the full council. A vote could come as soon as Tuesday.
Yakima Washington has sued the City of Detroit for declining to pay her what her attorney says was a $90,000 out-of-court settlement proposed by a city attorney and agreed to by Washington's lawyer. ...
She should sue her parents, too, for having given her that name.
Detroit Police lab shut down after probe finds errors
BY BEN SCHMITT AND JOE SWICKARD
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
September 25, 2008
The Detroit Police crime lab is so riddled with errors that officials ordered an immediate shut down today, saying that the local criminal justice system could be at risk.
A Michigan State Police audit of the Detroit Police firearms lab revealed a 10% error rate in ballistic evidence and led to Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy and Police Chief James Barren to announce the closing of all operations of the crime lab.
"If we have even one person in prison on evidence that was improperly done, that's a huge problem," Worthy said. "As prosecutors we completely rely on the findings of police crime lab experts every day in court and we present this information to juries. And when there are failures of this magnitude, there is a complete betrayal of trust."
The audit said: "If this 10 % error-rate holds, the negative impact on the judicial system would be substantial, with a strong likelihood of wrongful convictions and a valid concern about numerous appeals."
Questions about the firearms testing in the Detroit lab were raised in April after defense attorney Marvin Barnett determined that police mishandled evidence in a shooting case. Former Chief Ella Bully-Cummings closed the firearms unit and requested the State Police to conduct an audit.
Barnett was trying a double homicide case and questioned whether 42 spent shell casings could have come from the same weapon as the crime lab indicated. He hired former Michigan State Police firearms examiner David Balash to review the evidence, and determined that 17 casings came from one weapon and 25 came from a second weapon.
"Oh, my God, I can't tell you how catastrophic this is," Balash said today after learning about the audit. "That kind of number - I never would have thought it. You could have people in prison who shouldn't be there." ...
BY BEN SCHMITT AND JOE SWICKARD
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
September 25, 2008
The Detroit Police crime lab is so riddled with errors that officials ordered an immediate shut down today, saying that the local criminal justice system could be at risk.
A Michigan State Police audit of the Detroit Police firearms lab revealed a 10% error rate in ballistic evidence and led to Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy and Police Chief James Barren to announce the closing of all operations of the crime lab.
"If we have even one person in prison on evidence that was improperly done, that's a huge problem," Worthy said. "As prosecutors we completely rely on the findings of police crime lab experts every day in court and we present this information to juries. And when there are failures of this magnitude, there is a complete betrayal of trust."
The audit said: "If this 10 % error-rate holds, the negative impact on the judicial system would be substantial, with a strong likelihood of wrongful convictions and a valid concern about numerous appeals."
Questions about the firearms testing in the Detroit lab were raised in April after defense attorney Marvin Barnett determined that police mishandled evidence in a shooting case. Former Chief Ella Bully-Cummings closed the firearms unit and requested the State Police to conduct an audit.
Barnett was trying a double homicide case and questioned whether 42 spent shell casings could have come from the same weapon as the crime lab indicated. He hired former Michigan State Police firearms examiner David Balash to review the evidence, and determined that 17 casings came from one weapon and 25 came from a second weapon.
"Oh, my God, I can't tell you how catastrophic this is," Balash said today after learning about the audit. "That kind of number - I never would have thought it. You could have people in prison who shouldn't be there." ...
Mark this day down. Today - last night, actually - the New York Times and Roll Call reported (it's hard to see who was first) what may be the biggest political story of the campaign. How big? John McCain might have to fire his campaign manager. Big enough?
The story is this. The lobbying firm of Rick Davis, the manager, was being paid $15,000 a month by Freddie Mac until last month. That fact is a direct contradiction of words McCain had spoken Sunday night. At that time, responding to a Times story being prepared for Monday's paper revealing that Davis had been the head of a lobbying consortium led by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae until 2005, McCain said Davis had done no further work for either mortgage giant.
Someone's lying - either Davis to McCain, or McCain to the public. I trust you see the problem here. ...
The story is this. The lobbying firm of Rick Davis, the manager, was being paid $15,000 a month by Freddie Mac until last month. That fact is a direct contradiction of words McCain had spoken Sunday night. At that time, responding to a Times story being prepared for Monday's paper revealing that Davis had been the head of a lobbying consortium led by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae until 2005, McCain said Davis had done no further work for either mortgage giant.
Someone's lying - either Davis to McCain, or McCain to the public. I trust you see the problem here. ...
Beatty opts for trial, rejects plea offer including 150 days in jail
Jail time kills plea deal
BY JIM SCHAEFER and JOE SWICKARD
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
September 16, 2008
Christine Beatty chose Monday to face what her former boss would not: a trial on felony charges in the text message scandal.
Beatty, former chief of staff to Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, spurned the latest offer from Wayne County prosecutors that would have required her to plead guilty to two felonies and serve 150 days in jail -- 30 more days than Kilpatrick, her former codefendant and lover, received.
"That offer is rejected," Beatty's attorney Mayer Morganroth declared in Wayne County Circuit Court after a last round of negotiations that delayed a hearing for more than two hours. "We find the offer unreasonable, and my client will go forward and have the case tried in court."
Some legal observers found the latest offer from prosecutors surprisingly harsh because it dramatically increased Beatty's jail time from last week's expired offer of 60 days.
Detroit defense lawyer Mark Kriger said that Monday's offer to Beatty seems "incredibly unfair to give her more jail time than Kwame Kilpatrick. She appears to be less culpable -- and she resigned earlier." He added: "It appears Morganroth had to cut a deal sooner." ...
Jail time kills plea deal
BY JIM SCHAEFER and JOE SWICKARD
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
September 16, 2008
Christine Beatty chose Monday to face what her former boss would not: a trial on felony charges in the text message scandal.
Beatty, former chief of staff to Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, spurned the latest offer from Wayne County prosecutors that would have required her to plead guilty to two felonies and serve 150 days in jail -- 30 more days than Kilpatrick, her former codefendant and lover, received.
"That offer is rejected," Beatty's attorney Mayer Morganroth declared in Wayne County Circuit Court after a last round of negotiations that delayed a hearing for more than two hours. "We find the offer unreasonable, and my client will go forward and have the case tried in court."
Some legal observers found the latest offer from prosecutors surprisingly harsh because it dramatically increased Beatty's jail time from last week's expired offer of 60 days.
Detroit defense lawyer Mark Kriger said that Monday's offer to Beatty seems "incredibly unfair to give her more jail time than Kwame Kilpatrick. She appears to be less culpable -- and she resigned earlier." He added: "It appears Morganroth had to cut a deal sooner." ...
Kilpatrick likely to take Fifth in questioning today
Mayor still has reasons to protect himself
BY DAVID ASHENFELTER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
September 16, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick faces a witness chair again today, part of a Free Press Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to learn more about last year's $8.4-million police whistle-blower settlement that brought him down.
But newspaper lawyers aren't expecting Kilpatrick to answer many questions.
Like his former paramour and chief of staff Christine Beatty did two weeks ago, the lawyers expect Kilpatrick to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
"I anticipate that he'll take the Fifth to every question because he arguably is still at risk from Worthy and the federal investigation," Free Press lawyer Herschel Fink said Monday.
Fink was referring to additional possible charges from Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy in her ongoing probe of the text message scandal and a federal grand jury investigation into allegations of corruption in city government.
But Fink said he plans to ask Kilpatrick a litany of questions -- up to two hours' worth -- in hopes of learning more about the 2007 settlement.
Kilpatrick lawyer James Thomas wouldn't comment on the mayor's testimony today. ...
Mayor still has reasons to protect himself
BY DAVID ASHENFELTER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
September 16, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick faces a witness chair again today, part of a Free Press Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to learn more about last year's $8.4-million police whistle-blower settlement that brought him down.
But newspaper lawyers aren't expecting Kilpatrick to answer many questions.
Like his former paramour and chief of staff Christine Beatty did two weeks ago, the lawyers expect Kilpatrick to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
"I anticipate that he'll take the Fifth to every question because he arguably is still at risk from Worthy and the federal investigation," Free Press lawyer Herschel Fink said Monday.
Fink was referring to additional possible charges from Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy in her ongoing probe of the text message scandal and a federal grand jury investigation into allegations of corruption in city government.
But Fink said he plans to ask Kilpatrick a litany of questions -- up to two hours' worth -- in hopes of learning more about the 2007 settlement.
Kilpatrick lawyer James Thomas wouldn't comment on the mayor's testimony today. ...
Everybody knows who she is now
BY BRIAN DICKERSON
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
September 12, 2008
During a bond hearing shortly before his guilty plea, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick complained that none of the reporters who have chronicled his self-immolation really knows him.
If he's right -- and certainly this member of the vast media conspiracy claims no intimate insight into hizzoner's complicated pathology -- we surely know even less about his former chief of staff, the increasingly spectral apparition known as Christine Beatty.
Reporters who cover the Michigan Legislature first encountered Beatty more than a decade ago when she ran Kilpatrick's successful campaign for the state House and quickly established herself as his indispensible alter ego.
But most of us couldn't have picked her out of a police lineup until 2004, when she gained instant notoriety for cussing out a couple of Detroit cops who had the bad manners to pull her over for speeding.
Behind the tough talk
Beatty's indignation -- "Do you know who the [expletive] I am?" she memorably asked the hapless officers -- seemed to capture succinctly the narcissistic grandiosity that would ultimately lead the Kilpatrick administration to ruin. ...
BY BRIAN DICKERSON
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
September 12, 2008
During a bond hearing shortly before his guilty plea, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick complained that none of the reporters who have chronicled his self-immolation really knows him.
If he's right -- and certainly this member of the vast media conspiracy claims no intimate insight into hizzoner's complicated pathology -- we surely know even less about his former chief of staff, the increasingly spectral apparition known as Christine Beatty.
Reporters who cover the Michigan Legislature first encountered Beatty more than a decade ago when she ran Kilpatrick's successful campaign for the state House and quickly established herself as his indispensible alter ego.
But most of us couldn't have picked her out of a police lineup until 2004, when she gained instant notoriety for cussing out a couple of Detroit cops who had the bad manners to pull her over for speeding.
Behind the tough talk
Beatty's indignation -- "Do you know who the [expletive] I am?" she memorably asked the hapless officers -- seemed to capture succinctly the narcissistic grandiosity that would ultimately lead the Kilpatrick administration to ruin. ...
Movers seen at Manoogian
By Christy Arboscello
Free Press Staff Writer
September 13, 2008
A moving truck left the Manoogian Mansion at 4 p.m. today, just five days before Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is expected to vacate the residence.
The North American Van Lines vehicle pulled out of the driveway about a half hour before a black Cadillac Escalade left, followed by a black sedan. Immediately after, a black Chevrolet Impala backed into the mansion's driveway to block the entrance.
According to North American, the parent company has three agents that regularly service the city of Detroit. No one could immediately be reached today at those offices in Redford, Warren and Farmington Hills.
City officials permitted Kilpatrick, who has pleaded guilty to two felonies and no contest to a third, to stay in the mansion until he officially steps down as mayor on Thursday. ...
By Christy Arboscello
Free Press Staff Writer
September 13, 2008
A moving truck left the Manoogian Mansion at 4 p.m. today, just five days before Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is expected to vacate the residence.
The North American Van Lines vehicle pulled out of the driveway about a half hour before a black Cadillac Escalade left, followed by a black sedan. Immediately after, a black Chevrolet Impala backed into the mansion's driveway to block the entrance.
According to North American, the parent company has three agents that regularly service the city of Detroit. No one could immediately be reached today at those offices in Redford, Warren and Farmington Hills.
City officials permitted Kilpatrick, who has pleaded guilty to two felonies and no contest to a third, to stay in the mansion until he officially steps down as mayor on Thursday. ...
Government workers in oil industry sex and drug scandal
Thu Sep 11, 2008
By Tom Doggett
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Interior Department employees who oversaw oil drilling on federal lands had sex and used illegal drugs with workers at energy companies where they were conducting official business, an internal government report said on Wednesday.
Employees at the department's Minerals Management Service "socialized with, and received a wide array of gifts and gratuities from, oil and gas companies," according to the department's inspector general, Earl Devaney.
"When confronted by our investigators, none of the employees involved displayed remorse," Devaney said.
The alleged activities occurred between 2002 and 2006 and involved 19 former and current workers at the Minerals Management Service's offices in Denver and Washington. Devaney recommended that those still on the job be fired.
The workers were involved in the "royalty-in-kind" program that collects and sells oil and gas turned over by energy companies as royalties for drilling on federal lands. About $4 billion a year in royalty-in-kind oil and gas is collected and sold by the department.
The oil companies named in the report were Chevron, Shell Oil, Hess Corp and Gary Williams Energy Corp. ...
1st Update:
Interior Secretary "outraged" by oil-sex scandal
Thu Sep 11, 2008
By Tom Doggett
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne on Thursday said he was "outraged" by department workers who had sex, used drugs and took gifts from employees at regulated oil companies, while one senator called for a Bush administration official to resign over the scandal.
The Interior Department's inspector general issued a scathing report on Wednesday that found "a culture of substance abuse and promiscuity" at the department's Minerals Management Service, whose employees handled billions of dollars in oil and natural gas supplies that were turned over by companies as in-kind royalty payments for drilling on federal lands.
"I am outraged by the immoral behavior, illegal activities, and appalling misconduct of several former and current long-serving career employees in the Minerals Management Service's royalty-in-kind program," Kempthorne said. "We will take swift action to restore the public trust."
Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida called for the agency's top head, MMS director Randall Luthi, to resign. ...
Thu Sep 11, 2008
By Tom Doggett
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Interior Department employees who oversaw oil drilling on federal lands had sex and used illegal drugs with workers at energy companies where they were conducting official business, an internal government report said on Wednesday.
Employees at the department's Minerals Management Service "socialized with, and received a wide array of gifts and gratuities from, oil and gas companies," according to the department's inspector general, Earl Devaney.
"When confronted by our investigators, none of the employees involved displayed remorse," Devaney said.
The alleged activities occurred between 2002 and 2006 and involved 19 former and current workers at the Minerals Management Service's offices in Denver and Washington. Devaney recommended that those still on the job be fired.
The workers were involved in the "royalty-in-kind" program that collects and sells oil and gas turned over by energy companies as royalties for drilling on federal lands. About $4 billion a year in royalty-in-kind oil and gas is collected and sold by the department.
The oil companies named in the report were Chevron, Shell Oil, Hess Corp and Gary Williams Energy Corp. ...
1st Update:
Interior Secretary "outraged" by oil-sex scandal
Thu Sep 11, 2008
By Tom Doggett
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne on Thursday said he was "outraged" by department workers who had sex, used drugs and took gifts from employees at regulated oil companies, while one senator called for a Bush administration official to resign over the scandal.
The Interior Department's inspector general issued a scathing report on Wednesday that found "a culture of substance abuse and promiscuity" at the department's Minerals Management Service, whose employees handled billions of dollars in oil and natural gas supplies that were turned over by companies as in-kind royalty payments for drilling on federal lands.
"I am outraged by the immoral behavior, illegal activities, and appalling misconduct of several former and current long-serving career employees in the Minerals Management Service's royalty-in-kind program," Kempthorne said. "We will take swift action to restore the public trust."
Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida called for the agency's top head, MMS director Randall Luthi, to resign. ...
Council to hold closed sessions on lawyer contracts
BY BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
September 11, 2008
A Detroit City Council committee today voted to hold closed sessions to discuss whether to pay a combined $205,000 in contracts for lawyers involved in the text message scandal and Tamara Greene lawsuit.
Among the contracts was $75,000 to Wayne State University professor Robert Sedler, who contested council's forfeiture proceedings against Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick while maintaining that he represented the city.
"This council was not in compliance with him," Councilman Kwame Kenyatta said of Sedler. "He was suing the client he claimed to represent."
Sedler ultimately prevailed after a judge ruled last month that council could not hold removal hearings against the mayor. However, Gov. Jennifer Granholm began similar proceedings last week that were halted when Kilpatrick pleaded guilty.
Another contract for $60,000 was for Southfield Attorney Mayer Morganroth's firm. Morganroth has been representing city officials in a lawsuit brought by Greene's family. The lawsuit claims police and other city officials thwarted the investigation into Greene's April 30, 2003, slaying in Detroit, which remains unsolved. ...
BY BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
September 11, 2008
A Detroit City Council committee today voted to hold closed sessions to discuss whether to pay a combined $205,000 in contracts for lawyers involved in the text message scandal and Tamara Greene lawsuit.
Among the contracts was $75,000 to Wayne State University professor Robert Sedler, who contested council's forfeiture proceedings against Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick while maintaining that he represented the city.
"This council was not in compliance with him," Councilman Kwame Kenyatta said of Sedler. "He was suing the client he claimed to represent."
Sedler ultimately prevailed after a judge ruled last month that council could not hold removal hearings against the mayor. However, Gov. Jennifer Granholm began similar proceedings last week that were halted when Kilpatrick pleaded guilty.
Another contract for $60,000 was for Southfield Attorney Mayer Morganroth's firm. Morganroth has been representing city officials in a lawsuit brought by Greene's family. The lawsuit claims police and other city officials thwarted the investigation into Greene's April 30, 2003, slaying in Detroit, which remains unsolved. ...
Beatty may seal plea deal on Monday
By Jim Schaefer and Joe Swickard
Free Press Staff Writers
September 11, 2008
No plea deal yet. But maybe by Monday.
That was the word just moments ago from lawyers on both sides of Christine Beatty's criminal case in Wayne County Circuit Court in Detroit.
Everyone agreed before Judge David Groner that they will return to his courtroom at 2 p.m. Monday to possibly seal a plea deal.
"Both parties feel that there is a good chance...it could work out by then?" Groner asked.
"We have no objection to that, your honor," said assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Robert Spada.
"That is correct," said Beatty's lawyer, Mayer Morganroth.
Beatty did not speak as she left the courtroom. Morganroth repeatedly declined to discuss any specifics of the negotiations. ...
By Jim Schaefer and Joe Swickard
Free Press Staff Writers
September 11, 2008
No plea deal yet. But maybe by Monday.
That was the word just moments ago from lawyers on both sides of Christine Beatty's criminal case in Wayne County Circuit Court in Detroit.
Everyone agreed before Judge David Groner that they will return to his courtroom at 2 p.m. Monday to possibly seal a plea deal.
"Both parties feel that there is a good chance...it could work out by then?" Groner asked.
"We have no objection to that, your honor," said assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Robert Spada.
"That is correct," said Beatty's lawyer, Mayer Morganroth.
Beatty did not speak as she left the courtroom. Morganroth repeatedly declined to discuss any specifics of the negotiations. ...
Conyers: I've got nothing to fear over Synagro probe
BY BEN SCHMITT and ZACHARY GORCHOW
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
September 10, 2008
Incoming Detroit City Council President Monica Conyers said Tuesday that she doesn't fear a federal probe into alleged payoffs involving a city sludge disposal contract that sources have told the Free Press involves her.
During an impromptu, nine-minute news conference after Tuesday's City Council meeting -- her first conference since sources said she was under scrutiny in connection with the Synagro Technologies contract -- she also clarified why she called the media evil Monday.
Conyers said the news media unfairly characterized the comments of her former chief of staff, Sam Riddle, who said in July that his interview with federal authorities left him with the impression that Conyers was under scrutiny.
"He thought that they could be targeting me, and you took that and you ran with it to say that I am a target, and I think that's unfair," she said. "Until you get some evidence, some concrete evidence to say that I am a target, I would really appreciate it if you just stopped." ...
BY BEN SCHMITT and ZACHARY GORCHOW
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
September 10, 2008
Incoming Detroit City Council President Monica Conyers said Tuesday that she doesn't fear a federal probe into alleged payoffs involving a city sludge disposal contract that sources have told the Free Press involves her.
During an impromptu, nine-minute news conference after Tuesday's City Council meeting -- her first conference since sources said she was under scrutiny in connection with the Synagro Technologies contract -- she also clarified why she called the media evil Monday.
Conyers said the news media unfairly characterized the comments of her former chief of staff, Sam Riddle, who said in July that his interview with federal authorities left him with the impression that Conyers was under scrutiny.
"He thought that they could be targeting me, and you took that and you ran with it to say that I am a target, and I think that's unfair," she said. "Until you get some evidence, some concrete evidence to say that I am a target, I would really appreciate it if you just stopped." ...
Jailed ex-official, Cockrel testify in corruption probe
Grand jury hears from councilwoman, former McNamara aide in City Hall investigation.
Paul Egan and Oralandar Brand-Williams
The Detroit News
Thursday, September 11, 2008
DETROIT -- The only official sent to prison as a result of an FBI investigation of Wayne County government under Edward H. McNamara, the late political boss, made a surprise appearance at the federal courthouse Wednesday as a grand jury convened to probe alleged corruption at Detroit City Hall.
The grand jury heard evidence Wednesday from former county official Wilbourne Kelley III, Detroit City Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel and former Cobo Center director Lou Pavledes.
Kelley, a former top airport official who was not due to be released until next month, provides a link between a lengthy investigation of Wayne County that netted little in the way of convictions and a long-running city of Detroit probe that has heated up considerably in the past few months.
Bernard N. Kilpatrick, the father of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who was a high-ranking Wayne County official as McNamara's former chief of staff, is a second such link. Bernard Kilpatrick's home and cell phones were tapped as part of the City Hall investigation, and the FBI is examining payments made by City Hall contractors to Bernard Kilpatrick's business consulting firm, Maestro Associates, people familiar with the investigation told The Detroit News. Bernard Kilpatrick has not been charged or accused of wrongdoing in connection with either investigation.
Kelley and his wife, Barbara, were convicted in 2004 of accepting cash, home improvements and other gifts from former airport contractor Frank Vallecorsa. They were sentenced to 44 months and 41 months in prison, respectively.
Detroit attorney James McGinnis, who represented Kelley in the extortion case, said he knows nothing about Kelley being called before the grand jury. Kelley could not be reached for comment, but sources said Kelley was at the courthouse Wednesday to testify. ...
Grand jury hears from councilwoman, former McNamara aide in City Hall investigation.
Paul Egan and Oralandar Brand-Williams
The Detroit News
Thursday, September 11, 2008
DETROIT -- The only official sent to prison as a result of an FBI investigation of Wayne County government under Edward H. McNamara, the late political boss, made a surprise appearance at the federal courthouse Wednesday as a grand jury convened to probe alleged corruption at Detroit City Hall.
The grand jury heard evidence Wednesday from former county official Wilbourne Kelley III, Detroit City Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel and former Cobo Center director Lou Pavledes.
Kelley, a former top airport official who was not due to be released until next month, provides a link between a lengthy investigation of Wayne County that netted little in the way of convictions and a long-running city of Detroit probe that has heated up considerably in the past few months.
Bernard N. Kilpatrick, the father of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who was a high-ranking Wayne County official as McNamara's former chief of staff, is a second such link. Bernard Kilpatrick's home and cell phones were tapped as part of the City Hall investigation, and the FBI is examining payments made by City Hall contractors to Bernard Kilpatrick's business consulting firm, Maestro Associates, people familiar with the investigation told The Detroit News. Bernard Kilpatrick has not been charged or accused of wrongdoing in connection with either investigation.
Kelley and his wife, Barbara, were convicted in 2004 of accepting cash, home improvements and other gifts from former airport contractor Frank Vallecorsa. They were sentenced to 44 months and 41 months in prison, respectively.
Detroit attorney James McGinnis, who represented Kelley in the extortion case, said he knows nothing about Kelley being called before the grand jury. Kelley could not be reached for comment, but sources said Kelley was at the courthouse Wednesday to testify. ...
Auditor: Kilpatrick staffers are holding up report
Mayoral official denies lack of cooperation
By BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
September 11, 2008
Detroit's Auditor General Loren Monroe and his staff told city council members today that they have not been able to interview key members of outgoing Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's staff as part of an effort to complete a full audit of Kilpatrick's office.
Monroe said he doesn't think an audit will ever be completed.
The items that city council requested in the audit include credit card bills, travel records, vehicles, bank accounts, contracts and legal expenses. ...
... Barbara Worden, an audit manager in Monroe's office, said certain employees have not responded to interview requests.
"We will probably never have a response from the responsible people and therefore we can't issue a report," Worden said. ...
Mayoral official denies lack of cooperation
By BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
September 11, 2008
Detroit's Auditor General Loren Monroe and his staff told city council members today that they have not been able to interview key members of outgoing Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's staff as part of an effort to complete a full audit of Kilpatrick's office.
Monroe said he doesn't think an audit will ever be completed.
The items that city council requested in the audit include credit card bills, travel records, vehicles, bank accounts, contracts and legal expenses. ...
... Barbara Worden, an audit manager in Monroe's office, said certain employees have not responded to interview requests.
"We will probably never have a response from the responsible people and therefore we can't issue a report," Worden said. ...
This isn't what we mean when we tell the oil companies "Go get fucked!"
Monday, September 8, 2008
Ferguson arrested again
Police stop Kilpatrick's friend riding motorcycle and give him ticket at police headquarters.
Valerie Olander / The Detroit News
A longtime friend of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and a contractor on numerous city projects was arrested Saturday night in another brush with the law -- this time while riding a motorcycle on Detroit's northwest side.
Bobby Ferguson, 39, was arrested by Detroit Police after being stopped for an undetermined reason while riding a motorcycle. He had a valid license but no endorsement from the Secretary of State to operate a motorcycle, police said. He was taken to the city's Northwest District headquarters. He was ticketed, then he left.
Ferguson is on probation until 2010 for pistol whipping a former employee in 2005. Meanwhile, he is facing drunken driving charges in Southfield District Court. If convicted of the May 26 incident, Ferguson could be found in violation of the terms of his probation and face prison time. ...
... The Detroit News reported that Ferguson has received at least $170 million in contracts from the city since 2002, including $109 million from the Water and Sewerage Department.
Public records show Ferguson's share of water department contracts has risen more than 20-fold since Kilpatrick was elected, contradicting the contractor's claims that his friendship with Kilpatrick has hurt his company's ability to win city contracts. ...
Ferguson arrested again
Police stop Kilpatrick's friend riding motorcycle and give him ticket at police headquarters.
Valerie Olander / The Detroit News
A longtime friend of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and a contractor on numerous city projects was arrested Saturday night in another brush with the law -- this time while riding a motorcycle on Detroit's northwest side.
Bobby Ferguson, 39, was arrested by Detroit Police after being stopped for an undetermined reason while riding a motorcycle. He had a valid license but no endorsement from the Secretary of State to operate a motorcycle, police said. He was taken to the city's Northwest District headquarters. He was ticketed, then he left.
Ferguson is on probation until 2010 for pistol whipping a former employee in 2005. Meanwhile, he is facing drunken driving charges in Southfield District Court. If convicted of the May 26 incident, Ferguson could be found in violation of the terms of his probation and face prison time. ...
... The Detroit News reported that Ferguson has received at least $170 million in contracts from the city since 2002, including $109 million from the Water and Sewerage Department.
Public records show Ferguson's share of water department contracts has risen more than 20-fold since Kilpatrick was elected, contradicting the contractor's claims that his friendship with Kilpatrick has hurt his company's ability to win city contracts. ...
Kilpatrick's farewell as bad as his stay
BY MITCH ALBOM
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
September 7, 2008
Keep walking, Kwame. Out the door, off the stage and into a jail cell. You had a chance, on what could have been the most honest night of your life, to truly stand up, to change the image of who you are and perhaps begin to change yourself. Instead, you put cops at the door, blocked reporters you didn't like from coming in, then bathed in sycophantic applause before leaving in a gush of phony bravado, like an ego-mad athlete being tossed from the game.
"You done set me up for a comeback," were your final words, because you couldn't resist, as the curtain came down, one more grab of the spotlight. Instead of fessing up to a series of lies that paralyzed this city, cost it millions and turned it into an international embarrassment, you exited like a poor victim, swinging at some vast, invisible conspiracy, as if people in this state had nothing better to do than to mount an exhausting, eight-month campaign against you -- full of your own text messages. As if it were other people who had extramarital sex in hotel rooms, fired cops, traded city money for silence and lied under oath, while you stood innocently on the sidelines.
Keep walking, Kwame. Even at a moment when some were inclined to feel sorry for you, you had the audacity to reach for your wife and blame other people for trying to "tear this up." Was it other people who sent a text message to Christine Beatty reading, "I need you soooo bad"?
Was it other people who sent Beatty the words, "I promise for the rest of my life you will be my girl"?
Others tried to tear up your marriage?
Keep walking. ...
BY MITCH ALBOM
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
September 7, 2008
Keep walking, Kwame. Out the door, off the stage and into a jail cell. You had a chance, on what could have been the most honest night of your life, to truly stand up, to change the image of who you are and perhaps begin to change yourself. Instead, you put cops at the door, blocked reporters you didn't like from coming in, then bathed in sycophantic applause before leaving in a gush of phony bravado, like an ego-mad athlete being tossed from the game.
"You done set me up for a comeback," were your final words, because you couldn't resist, as the curtain came down, one more grab of the spotlight. Instead of fessing up to a series of lies that paralyzed this city, cost it millions and turned it into an international embarrassment, you exited like a poor victim, swinging at some vast, invisible conspiracy, as if people in this state had nothing better to do than to mount an exhausting, eight-month campaign against you -- full of your own text messages. As if it were other people who had extramarital sex in hotel rooms, fired cops, traded city money for silence and lied under oath, while you stood innocently on the sidelines.
Keep walking, Kwame. Even at a moment when some were inclined to feel sorry for you, you had the audacity to reach for your wife and blame other people for trying to "tear this up." Was it other people who sent a text message to Christine Beatty reading, "I need you soooo bad"?
Was it other people who sent Beatty the words, "I promise for the rest of my life you will be my girl"?
Others tried to tear up your marriage?
Keep walking. ...
Texts in homicide due by Sept. 20
Court to look for bearing on dancer
BY BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
September 6, 2008
A telecommunications company has until Sept. 20 to turn over text messages that City of Detroit officials sent or received during a four-hour period on the morning stripper Tamara Greene was shot and killed.
U.S. District Magistrate Judge Steven Whalen on Friday set the deadline by which Mississippi-based SkyTel must submit messages from all city officials and employees that were sent or received between 1:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. April 30, 2003, the morning Greene was fatally shot.
Judge Gerald Rosen will distribute the voluminous trove of messages to Whalen and Magistrate Judge Michael Hluchaniuk for them to review to determine whether they are relevant to a lawsuit brought against city officials by Greene's family. Family members accuse the city of dragging its feet in investigating Greene's death.
Birmingham lawyer Norman Yatooma, who represents Greene's family, wants the messages so he can see whether city officials derailed the investigation into Greene's slaying, which remains unsolved. The suit claims Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and others thwarted any probe into the killing. As part of his suit, Yatooma also is trying to gather evidence of a rumored but never-proven party at the mayoral Manoogian Mansion in 2002, in which Greene, who went by the name Strawberry, was supposedly assaulted. ...
Court to look for bearing on dancer
BY BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
September 6, 2008
A telecommunications company has until Sept. 20 to turn over text messages that City of Detroit officials sent or received during a four-hour period on the morning stripper Tamara Greene was shot and killed.
U.S. District Magistrate Judge Steven Whalen on Friday set the deadline by which Mississippi-based SkyTel must submit messages from all city officials and employees that were sent or received between 1:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. April 30, 2003, the morning Greene was fatally shot.
Judge Gerald Rosen will distribute the voluminous trove of messages to Whalen and Magistrate Judge Michael Hluchaniuk for them to review to determine whether they are relevant to a lawsuit brought against city officials by Greene's family. Family members accuse the city of dragging its feet in investigating Greene's death.
Birmingham lawyer Norman Yatooma, who represents Greene's family, wants the messages so he can see whether city officials derailed the investigation into Greene's slaying, which remains unsolved. The suit claims Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and others thwarted any probe into the killing. As part of his suit, Yatooma also is trying to gather evidence of a rumored but never-proven party at the mayoral Manoogian Mansion in 2002, in which Greene, who went by the name Strawberry, was supposedly assaulted. ...
100-plus Kilpatrick appointees could face ax
By Zachary Gorchow
Free Press Staff Writer
September 5, 2008
Incoming Detroit Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr. started deciding which of dozens of mayoral appointees he'll keep today, the first day since Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick announced his resignation.
While Cockrel declined to talk specifics, he labeled as bizarre Kilpatrick's decision Thursday to have two police executives share the duties of the department's departed chief, Ella Bully-Cummings.
Meanwhile, Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who resisted public comments on Kilpatrick before halting the removal hearing Thursday, defended her decision to hold the hearing in a series of interviews.
But the eyes of Detroit have clearly shifted from its disgraced mayor, who pleaded guilty to two felonies Thursday stemming from the text-message scandal -- to Cockrel, who has promised a vigorous and transparent transition as the incoming mayor.
Asked what has been the most interesting moment since learning he would be the city's 61st mayor, Cockrel said, "It's all been interesting. It's been a whirlwind."
Mayoral spokesman James Canning said Kilpatrick's 100-plus appointees, who serve at the mayor's pleasure, will give up their appointments when the mayor leaves office Sept. 18. ...
By Zachary Gorchow
Free Press Staff Writer
September 5, 2008
Incoming Detroit Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr. started deciding which of dozens of mayoral appointees he'll keep today, the first day since Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick announced his resignation.
While Cockrel declined to talk specifics, he labeled as bizarre Kilpatrick's decision Thursday to have two police executives share the duties of the department's departed chief, Ella Bully-Cummings.
Meanwhile, Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who resisted public comments on Kilpatrick before halting the removal hearing Thursday, defended her decision to hold the hearing in a series of interviews.
But the eyes of Detroit have clearly shifted from its disgraced mayor, who pleaded guilty to two felonies Thursday stemming from the text-message scandal -- to Cockrel, who has promised a vigorous and transparent transition as the incoming mayor.
Asked what has been the most interesting moment since learning he would be the city's 61st mayor, Cockrel said, "It's all been interesting. It's been a whirlwind."
Mayoral spokesman James Canning said Kilpatrick's 100-plus appointees, who serve at the mayor's pleasure, will give up their appointments when the mayor leaves office Sept. 18. ...
I'll say one thing for him: he made a nice argument for athiests there.
Sheila Cockrel called to testify before grand jury
By DAVID ASHENFELTER and CECIL ANGEL
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
September 5, 2008
Detroit City Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel said she has been subpoenaed to testify Wednesday before a federal grand jury investigating corruption in city government.
"I am not a target of the investigation, and I'll appear and answer the questions that are asked," Cockrel said Friday.
Her lawyer, Mark Kriger, said she received the subpoena this week. He said the subpoena does not indicate what prosecutors want to talk to her about, but he assumes it has to deal with the $47-million Synagro Technologies sludge disposal contract with the city. ...
... Cockrel was among five council members who approved the deal last November despite protests from southwest Detroit residents* who did not want a plant built in their neighborhood. ...
*Please note these SW Detroit residents who didn't want the plant - due to the present proliferation of such things in their area - are mostly Hispanic and Black. PIBBY, we Yankistanis term it.
By DAVID ASHENFELTER and CECIL ANGEL
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
September 5, 2008
Detroit City Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel said she has been subpoenaed to testify Wednesday before a federal grand jury investigating corruption in city government.
"I am not a target of the investigation, and I'll appear and answer the questions that are asked," Cockrel said Friday.
Her lawyer, Mark Kriger, said she received the subpoena this week. He said the subpoena does not indicate what prosecutors want to talk to her about, but he assumes it has to deal with the $47-million Synagro Technologies sludge disposal contract with the city. ...
... Cockrel was among five council members who approved the deal last November despite protests from southwest Detroit residents* who did not want a plant built in their neighborhood. ...
*Please note these SW Detroit residents who didn't want the plant - due to the present proliferation of such things in their area - are mostly Hispanic and Black. PIBBY, we Yankistanis term it.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
MAYOR TO RESIGN
KILPATRICK PLEADS: 'I LIED UNDER OATH'
George Hunter and Doug Guthrie / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- In four short words, Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick acknowledged his guilt Thursday morning, admitting he lied during a whistle-blower case brought by two former police officers who claimed they were punished for looking into wrongdoing by the mayor's staff.
"I lied under oath," Kilpatrick said after he pleaded guilty to two felonies, a plea that will require him to spend four months in the Wayne County Jail, to resign his office and to pay $1 million in restitution.
Kilpatrick also will agree not to seek office during the five years he is on probation and will surrender his state pension to the county. He also will surrender his law license. ...
MAYOR TO RESIGN
KILPATRICK PLEADS: 'I LIED UNDER OATH'
George Hunter and Doug Guthrie / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- In four short words, Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick acknowledged his guilt Thursday morning, admitting he lied during a whistle-blower case brought by two former police officers who claimed they were punished for looking into wrongdoing by the mayor's staff.
"I lied under oath," Kilpatrick said after he pleaded guilty to two felonies, a plea that will require him to spend four months in the Wayne County Jail, to resign his office and to pay $1 million in restitution.
Kilpatrick also will agree not to seek office during the five years he is on probation and will surrender his state pension to the county. He also will surrender his law license. ...
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Mayor's exit poses questions, answers
Christine MacDonald
The Detroit News
Q. Does Council President Kenneth Cockrel Jr. need to be sworn in?
Yes. A judge or a staffer from Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey's office would swear Cockrel in and he would sign an oath of office. It's not clear how quickly that would happen but Winfrey said typically it's done before the new mayor takes any official action.
Q. How soon would there be an election to fill Kilpatrick's job?
It's not clear. Some believe the city council is required to hold a special election to fill the post. The earliest that could be done according to state law and the city charter would be a special primary election in February and a special general election in May. But others believe the city council could opt not to have a special election at all because of the $3 million cost and because it would be too close to the regularly scheduled mayoral election in November. In that case, Council President Kenneth Cockrel Jr. serves out Kilpatrick remaining term until Dec. 2009. The city council would have to decide.
Q. Would there be a special election for another council member to replace Cockrel?
Winfrey said it's a decision that would be up to the Detroit City Council. ...
Mayor's exit poses questions, answers
Christine MacDonald
The Detroit News
Q. Does Council President Kenneth Cockrel Jr. need to be sworn in?
Yes. A judge or a staffer from Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey's office would swear Cockrel in and he would sign an oath of office. It's not clear how quickly that would happen but Winfrey said typically it's done before the new mayor takes any official action.
Q. How soon would there be an election to fill Kilpatrick's job?
It's not clear. Some believe the city council is required to hold a special election to fill the post. The earliest that could be done according to state law and the city charter would be a special primary election in February and a special general election in May. But others believe the city council could opt not to have a special election at all because of the $3 million cost and because it would be too close to the regularly scheduled mayoral election in November. In that case, Council President Kenneth Cockrel Jr. serves out Kilpatrick remaining term until Dec. 2009. The city council would have to decide.
Q. Would there be a special election for another council member to replace Cockrel?
Winfrey said it's a decision that would be up to the Detroit City Council. ...
Kilpatrick pleads no contest to charge of assaulting police
BY M.L. ELRICK
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
September 4, 2008
Updated at 10:45 a.m.
Prosecutor Douglas Baker has told Judge David Groner that Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick will plead no contest to one felony assault charge in return for dropping a second assault charge.
The deal also calls for Kilpatrick to resign by Sept. 28 and 120 days in jail. That sentence will run at the same time as the jail time Kilpatrick agreed to in a deal he struck with Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy.
The deal is essentially the same one Cox took off the table yesterday -- Kilpatrick will plead no contest to one felony and Cox will dismiss the second felony charge he brought after Kilpatrick allegedly assaulted two deputies in July as they tried to serve a subpoena at the home of his sister, Ayanna. ...
BY M.L. ELRICK
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
September 4, 2008
Updated at 10:45 a.m.
Prosecutor Douglas Baker has told Judge David Groner that Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick will plead no contest to one felony assault charge in return for dropping a second assault charge.
The deal also calls for Kilpatrick to resign by Sept. 28 and 120 days in jail. That sentence will run at the same time as the jail time Kilpatrick agreed to in a deal he struck with Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy.
The deal is essentially the same one Cox took off the table yesterday -- Kilpatrick will plead no contest to one felony and Cox will dismiss the second felony charge he brought after Kilpatrick allegedly assaulted two deputies in July as they tried to serve a subpoena at the home of his sister, Ayanna. ...
Mayor packs office, weighs guilty plea
Deal involving jail time may come today
Ron French, Charlie LeDuff and Leonard N. Fleming / The Detroit News
Thursday, September 4, 2008
DETROIT -- Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, the charismatic but scandal-scarred mayor, has packed his boxes at City Hall and may plead guilty to at least two felonies this morning, ending eight months of turmoil that has paralyzed the city.
Jail time could remain a sticking point for the plea, however, whose details were still being ironed out late Wednesday. Two attorneys, including James C. Thomas, who represents the mayor, were spotted leaving the mansion on the Detroit River shortly after 10 p.m.
A framework called for Kilpatrick to resign, serve four months in jail, forfeit his state pension and pay restitution of up to $1 million, according to a source close to the talks. But the situation was incredibly fluid Wednesday evening, as lawyers remained for hours at the Manoogian Mansion. At one point, during a chaotic day, lawyers for both sides said a deal was in place, and then almost immediately disowned the announcements. ...
Deal involving jail time may come today
Ron French, Charlie LeDuff and Leonard N. Fleming / The Detroit News
Thursday, September 4, 2008
DETROIT -- Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, the charismatic but scandal-scarred mayor, has packed his boxes at City Hall and may plead guilty to at least two felonies this morning, ending eight months of turmoil that has paralyzed the city.
Jail time could remain a sticking point for the plea, however, whose details were still being ironed out late Wednesday. Two attorneys, including James C. Thomas, who represents the mayor, were spotted leaving the mansion on the Detroit River shortly after 10 p.m.
A framework called for Kilpatrick to resign, serve four months in jail, forfeit his state pension and pay restitution of up to $1 million, according to a source close to the talks. But the situation was incredibly fluid Wednesday evening, as lawyers remained for hours at the Manoogian Mansion. At one point, during a chaotic day, lawyers for both sides said a deal was in place, and then almost immediately disowned the announcements. ...
Councilwoman slams August boosts; mayor's counsel says Kilpatrick appointees deserved them.
David Josar / The Detroit News
Thursday, September 4, 2008
DETROIT -- Less than three weeks ago, 16 of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's top appointees received pay raises that ranged from 4 percent for the director of human resources to 30 percent for Lucius Vassar, a friend of the mayor who had been heading the city's work force development office.
On Aug. 18, the mayor gave his chief of staff, Kandia Milton, a pay boost to $152,000. In 2007, Milton earned just $91,300 but was made chief of staff earlier this year after Christine Beatty resigned.
Milton and Kilpatrick are childhood friends.
That same day Milton, as deputy mayor, recommended raises for 15 other appointees, including Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings, whose salary was boosted to $152,000, a 6 percent raise.
The pay raises were outlined in memos obtained recently by Fox 2 News (WJBK).
Maximum salaries are dictated by city ordinance. Many of the raises reach that ceiling.
The raises in what are most likely the waning days of the Kilpatrick administration quickly became the focus of ire by at least one City Council member.
"This is exactly what people are worried about what would happen ... there will be more abuse of power," said Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel. ...
David Josar / The Detroit News
Thursday, September 4, 2008
DETROIT -- Less than three weeks ago, 16 of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's top appointees received pay raises that ranged from 4 percent for the director of human resources to 30 percent for Lucius Vassar, a friend of the mayor who had been heading the city's work force development office.
On Aug. 18, the mayor gave his chief of staff, Kandia Milton, a pay boost to $152,000. In 2007, Milton earned just $91,300 but was made chief of staff earlier this year after Christine Beatty resigned.
Milton and Kilpatrick are childhood friends.
That same day Milton, as deputy mayor, recommended raises for 15 other appointees, including Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings, whose salary was boosted to $152,000, a 6 percent raise.
The pay raises were outlined in memos obtained recently by Fox 2 News (WJBK).
Maximum salaries are dictated by city ordinance. Many of the raises reach that ceiling.
The raises in what are most likely the waning days of the Kilpatrick administration quickly became the focus of ire by at least one City Council member.
"This is exactly what people are worried about what would happen ... there will be more abuse of power," said Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel. ...
Kilpatrick grapples with decision: Should I plead guilty today?
BY JIM SCHAEFER, M.L. ELRICK and JOE SWICKARD
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
September 4, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick spent Wednesday night wrestling with whether to plead guilty when he enters a downtown courtroom this morning, a move that would cost him his job -- and send him to jail -- but would finally end a scandal that has swamped the city and state for nearly eight months.
After a frenetic evening, when a tentative plea deal was alternately announced by the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office and then postponed, Kilpatrick is due in court at 9 a.m. today before Wayne County Circuit Judge David Groner in his criminal perjury case stemming from the text message scandal. A plea deal could be announced there -- if all sides commit.
Prosecutors plan to present their offer at the hearing, publicly and in detail, whether Kilpatrick agrees to it or not.
As it stood Wednesday night, the deal, according to a source familiar with the negotiations, calls for the mayor pleading guilty to two felonies -- both counts dealing with obstruction of justice by committing perjury, four months in jail, $1 million in restitution, and five years' probation during which he would not run for office. The mayor also would turn over his state pension to the City of Detroit. The source stressed the situation remained fluid. James Thomas, one of Kilpatrick's attorneys, said Wednesday evening that the mayor was negotiating jail time, which would be a change in Kilpatrick's earlier reported stance that he would not agree to any deal that would put him behind bars. ...
BY JIM SCHAEFER, M.L. ELRICK and JOE SWICKARD
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
September 4, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick spent Wednesday night wrestling with whether to plead guilty when he enters a downtown courtroom this morning, a move that would cost him his job -- and send him to jail -- but would finally end a scandal that has swamped the city and state for nearly eight months.
After a frenetic evening, when a tentative plea deal was alternately announced by the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office and then postponed, Kilpatrick is due in court at 9 a.m. today before Wayne County Circuit Judge David Groner in his criminal perjury case stemming from the text message scandal. A plea deal could be announced there -- if all sides commit.
Prosecutors plan to present their offer at the hearing, publicly and in detail, whether Kilpatrick agrees to it or not.
As it stood Wednesday night, the deal, according to a source familiar with the negotiations, calls for the mayor pleading guilty to two felonies -- both counts dealing with obstruction of justice by committing perjury, four months in jail, $1 million in restitution, and five years' probation during which he would not run for office. The mayor also would turn over his state pension to the City of Detroit. The source stressed the situation remained fluid. James Thomas, one of Kilpatrick's attorneys, said Wednesday evening that the mayor was negotiating jail time, which would be a change in Kilpatrick's earlier reported stance that he would not agree to any deal that would put him behind bars. ...
Granholm's hearing hinges on plea
BY BEN SCHMITT, M.L. ELRICK and JIM SCHAEFER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
September 4, 2008
Day 2 of Gov. Jennifer Granholm's removal hearing against Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick begins this morning -- maybe.
"We will potentially reconvene tomorrow morning -- potentially -- after some proceedings in the morning," Granholm said Wednesday after more than seven hours of testimony in the Cadillac Place state office building in Detroit. "There is no notice to you as to the specific time. Most likely around 10. Just letting you know."
Intense media attention over the hearing Wednesday morning gave way to a sudden and dramatic shift back to Wayne County Circuit Court after Prosecutor Kym Worthy's office released a statement that Kilpatrick would plead guilty at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday to an unspecified number of criminal charges in connection with the text message scandal.
The promised plea hearing, just as abruptly, was canceled, then tentatively rescheduled for 9 a.m. today.
A focused Granholm continued with her hearing, even as members of the media scrambled from the room. Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said the hearing will continue today barring news of Kilpatrick's resignation. ...
BY BEN SCHMITT, M.L. ELRICK and JIM SCHAEFER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
September 4, 2008
Day 2 of Gov. Jennifer Granholm's removal hearing against Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick begins this morning -- maybe.
"We will potentially reconvene tomorrow morning -- potentially -- after some proceedings in the morning," Granholm said Wednesday after more than seven hours of testimony in the Cadillac Place state office building in Detroit. "There is no notice to you as to the specific time. Most likely around 10. Just letting you know."
Intense media attention over the hearing Wednesday morning gave way to a sudden and dramatic shift back to Wayne County Circuit Court after Prosecutor Kym Worthy's office released a statement that Kilpatrick would plead guilty at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday to an unspecified number of criminal charges in connection with the text message scandal.
The promised plea hearing, just as abruptly, was canceled, then tentatively rescheduled for 9 a.m. today.
A focused Granholm continued with her hearing, even as members of the media scrambled from the room. Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said the hearing will continue today barring news of Kilpatrick's resignation. ...
Live blog from the fu-, er, kwame's removal hearing.
Permalink - the page content may change or disappear.
Permalink - the page content may change or disappear.
Those damn shoes of his'd probably cost the average person at least two weeks' pay.
Appeals court paves way to historic mayoral removal hearing
By ZACHARY GORCHOW, BEN SCHMITT and JOE SWICKARD
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
September 2, 2008
... In the morning, Wayne County Circuit Judge Robert Ziolkowski ruled that the hearing could proceed, saying Granholm's public and private comments about Kilpatrick's criminal case and the council's request that she remove the mayor did not show unfair bias.
"None of these reflect a comment concerning the facts of this case or even of those cases," Ziolkowski said, referring in part to the criminal charges.
Kilpatrick swiftly appealed to the state Court of Appeals, where a three-judge panel roughed up Thomas for arriving [more than ten minutes] late, then skewered his legal arguments before rejecting them.
Court of Appeals Judge Michael Talbot, raising his voice, said legal briefs filed by Thomas and Kilpatrick's general counsel, Sharon McPhail, [are "breathtakingly inadequate" and] "say nothing" in arguing their case.
"What you do is personally attack the governor," Talbot said at one point. ...
By ZACHARY GORCHOW, BEN SCHMITT and JOE SWICKARD
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
September 2, 2008
... In the morning, Wayne County Circuit Judge Robert Ziolkowski ruled that the hearing could proceed, saying Granholm's public and private comments about Kilpatrick's criminal case and the council's request that she remove the mayor did not show unfair bias.
"None of these reflect a comment concerning the facts of this case or even of those cases," Ziolkowski said, referring in part to the criminal charges.
Kilpatrick swiftly appealed to the state Court of Appeals, where a three-judge panel roughed up Thomas for arriving [more than ten minutes] late, then skewered his legal arguments before rejecting them.
Court of Appeals Judge Michael Talbot, raising his voice, said legal briefs filed by Thomas and Kilpatrick's general counsel, Sharon McPhail, [are "breathtakingly inadequate" and] "say nothing" in arguing their case.
"What you do is personally attack the governor," Talbot said at one point. ...
Judge: Kilpatrick ouster hearing can proceed
By Zachary Gorchow and Joe Swickard
Free Press Staff Writers
September 2, 2008
A judge ruled today that Gov. Jennifer Granholm can proceed with a removal hearing Wednesday against Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
Kilpatrick's attorneys said they would immediately appeal to the Michigan Court of Appeals.
Wayne County Circuit Judge Robert Ziolkowski said Granholm's public and private comments about Kilpatrick's criminal case and the Detroit City Council's request that she remove the mayor from office contained no bias. Further, Ziolkowski said a previous court has ruled that a lawsuit claiming violation of the Michigan Constitution's promise of "fair and just treatment" in executive investigations cannot be brought before a removal hearing - only during the hearing. ...
By Zachary Gorchow and Joe Swickard
Free Press Staff Writers
September 2, 2008
A judge ruled today that Gov. Jennifer Granholm can proceed with a removal hearing Wednesday against Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
Kilpatrick's attorneys said they would immediately appeal to the Michigan Court of Appeals.
Wayne County Circuit Judge Robert Ziolkowski said Granholm's public and private comments about Kilpatrick's criminal case and the Detroit City Council's request that she remove the mayor from office contained no bias. Further, Ziolkowski said a previous court has ruled that a lawsuit claiming violation of the Michigan Constitution's promise of "fair and just treatment" in executive investigations cannot be brought before a removal hearing - only during the hearing. ...
Kilpatrick's crisis shuts down city progress
BY STEPHEN HENDERSON
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
August 31, 2008
If you can get anyone in Detroit city government to talk honestly about the state of affairs these days, a frightening phrase creeps quickly into the conversation: operational disaster.
Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's troubles and his brain cramp over resigning have put vital areas of city governance on utter hold, leading to a dangerous paralysis that will have consequences for years to come. ...
The author assumes kwame has a brain! How very quaint!
BY STEPHEN HENDERSON
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
August 31, 2008
If you can get anyone in Detroit city government to talk honestly about the state of affairs these days, a frightening phrase creeps quickly into the conversation: operational disaster.
Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's troubles and his brain cramp over resigning have put vital areas of city governance on utter hold, leading to a dangerous paralysis that will have consequences for years to come. ...
The author assumes kwame has a brain! How very quaint!
Agents examining cop gun
Reported lost in '07, it's found with felon
BY BEN SCHMITT, DAVID ASHENFELTER and M.L. ELRICK
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
August 30, 2008
Federal experts are examining a handgun reported lost in a restaurant bathroom last year by a former bodyguard of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and recently found in possession of a convicted felon. They are looking into whether the gun was used in other crimes.
Police spokesman James Tate declined to comment Friday.
A bathroom emergency led Loronzo (Greg) Jones, former commanding officer of Kilpatrick's security team, to the Memphis Smoke bar and restaurant in Royal Oak on July 23, 2007. Jones told police he accidentally left his department-issued .40-caliber Glock handgun on a metal tissue holder in a bathroom stall, hurrying home to get medicine for an upset stomach.
He made the report to Royal Oak Police on July 25, 2007, two days after he said he lost the handgun.
Earlier this month, on Aug. 9, Detroit Police arrested Anthony Nixon after police say he was riding in a stolen van with another man. An Aug. 22 report filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit said police found a loaded, stolen Detroit Police Department-issued gun in the passenger floorboard of the 1989 GMC van "where Nixon had been previously observed bending over."
Nixon has convictions for possession of cocaine and armed robbery, court records show. ...
Reported lost in '07, it's found with felon
BY BEN SCHMITT, DAVID ASHENFELTER and M.L. ELRICK
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
August 30, 2008
Federal experts are examining a handgun reported lost in a restaurant bathroom last year by a former bodyguard of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and recently found in possession of a convicted felon. They are looking into whether the gun was used in other crimes.
Police spokesman James Tate declined to comment Friday.
A bathroom emergency led Loronzo (Greg) Jones, former commanding officer of Kilpatrick's security team, to the Memphis Smoke bar and restaurant in Royal Oak on July 23, 2007. Jones told police he accidentally left his department-issued .40-caliber Glock handgun on a metal tissue holder in a bathroom stall, hurrying home to get medicine for an upset stomach.
He made the report to Royal Oak Police on July 25, 2007, two days after he said he lost the handgun.
Earlier this month, on Aug. 9, Detroit Police arrested Anthony Nixon after police say he was riding in a stolen van with another man. An Aug. 22 report filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit said police found a loaded, stolen Detroit Police Department-issued gun in the passenger floorboard of the 1989 GMC van "where Nixon had been previously observed bending over."
Nixon has convictions for possession of cocaine and armed robbery, court records show. ...
Mayor should quit legal games, and job
August 30, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick doesn't have the facts on his side. He doesn't have the law on his side.
So for months, he has been arguing procedure -- what can be done to him, and can't be done to him; what his rights are and what he should agree to -- rather than facing up to what he did and what the law says and resigning from office for the good of the city.
This has gone on far too long, but it looks now as if Detroit -- indeed all Michigan -- will have to endure it a while longer.
Kilpatrick went to court Friday to halt Gov. Jennifer Granholm's planned ouster hearings, claiming that she has a bias against him going into the proceedings. Reportedly, at a meeting in May, Granholm tried to bring closure to the Kilpatrick saga by pointing out to him that no matter what happens, he'll need to resign.
But again, isn't that just the reality? There's no chance Kilpatrick will just go back to being mayor, and that all of the mess he has made -- legal and social -- will just disappear.
Only Kilpatrick -- and the lawyers who toil at great expense to him and city taxpayers -- are otherwise deluded. ...
August 30, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick doesn't have the facts on his side. He doesn't have the law on his side.
So for months, he has been arguing procedure -- what can be done to him, and can't be done to him; what his rights are and what he should agree to -- rather than facing up to what he did and what the law says and resigning from office for the good of the city.
This has gone on far too long, but it looks now as if Detroit -- indeed all Michigan -- will have to endure it a while longer.
Kilpatrick went to court Friday to halt Gov. Jennifer Granholm's planned ouster hearings, claiming that she has a bias against him going into the proceedings. Reportedly, at a meeting in May, Granholm tried to bring closure to the Kilpatrick saga by pointing out to him that no matter what happens, he'll need to resign.
But again, isn't that just the reality? There's no chance Kilpatrick will just go back to being mayor, and that all of the mess he has made -- legal and social -- will just disappear.
Only Kilpatrick -- and the lawyers who toil at great expense to him and city taxpayers -- are otherwise deluded. ...
Kilpatrick's law license likely a goner
BY ROCHELLE RILEY
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
August 29, 2008
DENVER -- Four days full of Democrats, and all I heard when people learned where I was from was: "What's wrong with your mayor?" Or "When is that going to be over with your mayor?"
So, here's a thought: If the only thing keeping Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick
from quitting, pleading guilty and going away is trying to keep his law license, then he can consider this.
Robert Agacinski, the administrator for the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission, said Wednesday that a lawyer investigated by the commission could lose his license after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor.
"Nothing is guaranteed," he said.
So, see, the mayor can go ahead and resign. He's probably going to lose his law license anyway. ...
BY ROCHELLE RILEY
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
August 29, 2008
DENVER -- Four days full of Democrats, and all I heard when people learned where I was from was: "What's wrong with your mayor?" Or "When is that going to be over with your mayor?"
So, here's a thought: If the only thing keeping Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick
from quitting, pleading guilty and going away is trying to keep his law license, then he can consider this.
Robert Agacinski, the administrator for the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission, said Wednesday that a lawyer investigated by the commission could lose his license after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor.
"Nothing is guaranteed," he said.
So, see, the mayor can go ahead and resign. He's probably going to lose his law license anyway. ...
Kilpatrick's plea offer
He'd admit guilt, resign, pay restitution and more
By JOE SWICKARD and BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
August 30, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick would resign, plead guilty to at least two felonies, pay a six-figure restitution and agree not to run for office for two years under a plea deal offered by his defense lawyers to end the text message scandal, the Free Press has learned.
The deal, which prosecutor Kym Worthy has not yet accepted, would also have Kilpatrick surrender his law license, sign over his state pension and benefits to the City of Detroit, do 300 hours of community service and serve up to five years probation, according to a source familiar with all aspects of the negotiations. ...
He'd admit guilt, resign, pay restitution and more
By JOE SWICKARD and BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
August 30, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick would resign, plead guilty to at least two felonies, pay a six-figure restitution and agree not to run for office for two years under a plea deal offered by his defense lawyers to end the text message scandal, the Free Press has learned.
The deal, which prosecutor Kym Worthy has not yet accepted, would also have Kilpatrick surrender his law license, sign over his state pension and benefits to the City of Detroit, do 300 hours of community service and serve up to five years probation, according to a source familiar with all aspects of the negotiations. ...
Ex-mayoral bodyguard's gun found with felon
BY BEN SCHMITT and DAVID ASHENFELTER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
August 29, 2008
A convicted felon was recently found in possession of a stolen .40 caliber Glock handgun that belonged to Loronzo (Greg) Jones, the former commanding officer of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's security team, according to police reports obtained by the Free Press.
Detroit Police arrested Anthony Nixon on Aug. 9 after he was allegedly riding in a stolen van with another man. A report filed in U.S. District Court said police found a stolen Detroit Police department-issued gun in the passenger floorboard of the 1989 GMC van "where Nixon had been previously observed bending over."
Nixon has several convictions including, possession of cocaine and armed robbery, court records show.
Royal Oak Police Lt. Corey O'Donohue said today that Jones reported the gun stolen on July 25, 2007. Jones told police he accidentally left the gun in a bathroom stall of the Memphis Smoke bar and restaurant on July 23, 2007. ...
BY BEN SCHMITT and DAVID ASHENFELTER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
August 29, 2008
A convicted felon was recently found in possession of a stolen .40 caliber Glock handgun that belonged to Loronzo (Greg) Jones, the former commanding officer of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's security team, according to police reports obtained by the Free Press.
Detroit Police arrested Anthony Nixon on Aug. 9 after he was allegedly riding in a stolen van with another man. A report filed in U.S. District Court said police found a stolen Detroit Police department-issued gun in the passenger floorboard of the 1989 GMC van "where Nixon had been previously observed bending over."
Nixon has several convictions including, possession of cocaine and armed robbery, court records show.
Royal Oak Police Lt. Corey O'Donohue said today that Jones reported the gun stolen on July 25, 2007. Jones told police he accidentally left the gun in a bathroom stall of the Memphis Smoke bar and restaurant on July 23, 2007. ...
Kilpatrick administration has requested $315,500 in legal service contracts
By ZACHARY GORCHOW
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
August 28, 2008
The administration of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has requested $315,500 in taxpayer-funded legal services contracts stemming from the text message scandal, according to a report today from the city's auditor general.
Almost all of the contracts cited in the memo to City Council members already had been disclosed to the council, but there were some new ones.
The Law Department today asked for a $75,000 for one of the attorneys who challenged the Detroit City Council's forfeiture hearings. It also is asking for $75,000 to Sedler's cocounsel, Godfrey Dillard. ...
By ZACHARY GORCHOW
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
August 28, 2008
The administration of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has requested $315,500 in taxpayer-funded legal services contracts stemming from the text message scandal, according to a report today from the city's auditor general.
Almost all of the contracts cited in the memo to City Council members already had been disclosed to the council, but there were some new ones.
The Law Department today asked for a $75,000 for one of the attorneys who challenged the Detroit City Council's forfeiture hearings. It also is asking for $75,000 to Sedler's cocounsel, Godfrey Dillard. ...
Lawyer: Mayor used my work but didn't pay
BY M.L. ELRICK and DAVID ASHENFELTER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
August 29, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick could be called to give a deposition in a lawsuit filed by a Washington-area criminal defense attorney who claims the mayor stiffed him on a $79,000 legal bill.
"I've never done this before," William Moffitt of Alexandria, Va., said Thursday. "I've never had a client who had not fulfilled his obligation, who would not sit down and talk with me about it."
The suit was filed Wednesday in Wayne County Circuit Court. It says the mayor hired Moffitt shortly after a Free Press investigation revealed in January that the mayor had lied on the witness stand during a police whistle-blower trial last year, but before Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy filed eight felony charges against Kilpatrick. The charges range from conspiracy to perjury, misconduct in office and obstruction of justice.
"I made as many personal appeals as I thought I could and I thought I was being ignored," Moffitt said of his efforts to collect his fees. ...
BY M.L. ELRICK and DAVID ASHENFELTER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
August 29, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick could be called to give a deposition in a lawsuit filed by a Washington-area criminal defense attorney who claims the mayor stiffed him on a $79,000 legal bill.
"I've never done this before," William Moffitt of Alexandria, Va., said Thursday. "I've never had a client who had not fulfilled his obligation, who would not sit down and talk with me about it."
The suit was filed Wednesday in Wayne County Circuit Court. It says the mayor hired Moffitt shortly after a Free Press investigation revealed in January that the mayor had lied on the witness stand during a police whistle-blower trial last year, but before Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy filed eight felony charges against Kilpatrick. The charges range from conspiracy to perjury, misconduct in office and obstruction of justice.
"I made as many personal appeals as I thought I could and I thought I was being ignored," Moffitt said of his efforts to collect his fees. ...
With historic hearing, Granholm sends clear message to Kilpatrick
Pressure on mayor to get plea deal quickly
BY ZACHARY GORCHOW, BEN SCHMITT and SUZETTE HACKNEY
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
August 27, 2008
Gov. Jennifer Granholm has designed the removal hearing she ordered for next week against Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick in a way that makes it difficult for Kilpatrick to survive in office, legal experts say.
"It's a clear message to Kwame that he's going to lose," said Maurice Kelman, a retired Wayne State University law professor. "There's no way she can exonerate him."
Granholm's decision, reached Tuesday, sets up a historic Sept. 3 hearing at the Cadillac Place Building in Detroit in which the mayor will have to convince the governor that his handling of police whistle-blower settlements did not amount to official misconduct. ...
ahem Fat chance, kwame.
Pressure on mayor to get plea deal quickly
BY ZACHARY GORCHOW, BEN SCHMITT and SUZETTE HACKNEY
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
August 27, 2008
Gov. Jennifer Granholm has designed the removal hearing she ordered for next week against Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick in a way that makes it difficult for Kilpatrick to survive in office, legal experts say.
"It's a clear message to Kwame that he's going to lose," said Maurice Kelman, a retired Wayne State University law professor. "There's no way she can exonerate him."
Granholm's decision, reached Tuesday, sets up a historic Sept. 3 hearing at the Cadillac Place Building in Detroit in which the mayor will have to convince the governor that his handling of police whistle-blower settlements did not amount to official misconduct. ...
ahem Fat chance, kwame.
Kilpatrick's aide: I shredded file
Another walks out on deposition date
BY DAVID ASHENFELTER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
August 27, 2008
In the span of 24 hours, one witness canceled sworn testimony on short notice, one walked out moments before she was to be questioned by lawyers, and a third one admitted shredding documents.
Tuesday was just another day in the continuing effort by lawyers for the Free Press and Detroit News to learn more details about last year's secret $8.4-million settlement of police whistle-blower lawsuits that spawned the text message scandal confronting Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
"The pattern in this case is unbelievable," Free Press lawyer Richard Zuckerman said Tuesday after Patricia Peoples, the mayor's former office manager, walked out on a scheduled deposition with newspaper lawyers in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.
A short time later, Kilpatrick's current office manager, Bobbie Tyler, admitted shredding a copy of the city's contract with SkyTel, which once provided text messaging devices for the city.
Late Monday afternoon, a lawyer for the mayor's former chief of staff, Christine Beatty, abruptly canceled her deposition scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, citing unspecified child care responsibilities. ...
Another walks out on deposition date
BY DAVID ASHENFELTER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
August 27, 2008
In the span of 24 hours, one witness canceled sworn testimony on short notice, one walked out moments before she was to be questioned by lawyers, and a third one admitted shredding documents.
Tuesday was just another day in the continuing effort by lawyers for the Free Press and Detroit News to learn more details about last year's secret $8.4-million settlement of police whistle-blower lawsuits that spawned the text message scandal confronting Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
"The pattern in this case is unbelievable," Free Press lawyer Richard Zuckerman said Tuesday after Patricia Peoples, the mayor's former office manager, walked out on a scheduled deposition with newspaper lawyers in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.
A short time later, Kilpatrick's current office manager, Bobbie Tyler, admitted shredding a copy of the city's contract with SkyTel, which once provided text messaging devices for the city.
Late Monday afternoon, a lawyer for the mayor's former chief of staff, Christine Beatty, abruptly canceled her deposition scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, citing unspecified child care responsibilities. ...
Kilpatrick friend to stand trial on drunken driving charge
Mike Martindale
The Detroit News
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
SOUTHFIELD -- A Metro Detroit contractor and friend of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick will stand trial for an alleged drunken driving incident earlier this summer, a Southfield District judge ruled Tuesday following a defense attorney's efforts to suppress evidence in the case.
Bobby Ferguson, 39, of Detroit, is charged with operating a vehicle May 26 in Southfield while having a blood-alcohol level of .20 -- well over the limit of .08 in which a person is considered intoxicated.
Defense attorney Brian Stacey had asked to have the blood-alcohol tests tossed out, arguing that more time should have elapsed between different readings in which the .20 level was determined.
District Judge Susan Moiseev denied Stacey's motion and set a pretrial hearing for Sept. 26. ...
Ferguson was on probation in an assault case at the time of the alleged offense...
Mike Martindale
The Detroit News
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
SOUTHFIELD -- A Metro Detroit contractor and friend of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick will stand trial for an alleged drunken driving incident earlier this summer, a Southfield District judge ruled Tuesday following a defense attorney's efforts to suppress evidence in the case.
Bobby Ferguson, 39, of Detroit, is charged with operating a vehicle May 26 in Southfield while having a blood-alcohol level of .20 -- well over the limit of .08 in which a person is considered intoxicated.
Defense attorney Brian Stacey had asked to have the blood-alcohol tests tossed out, arguing that more time should have elapsed between different readings in which the .20 level was determined.
District Judge Susan Moiseev denied Stacey's motion and set a pretrial hearing for Sept. 26. ...
Ferguson was on probation in an assault case at the time of the alleged offense...
Judge: City must turn over text messages in Tamara Greene case
By Zachary Gorchow
Free Press Staff Writer
August 24, 2008
The City of Detroit must turn over text messages exchanged by high-ranking city and police officials around the time of the death of Tamara Greene, a stripper who purportedly danced at the long-rumored, but never proven party at the Manoogian Mansion, a federal court has ruled.
U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen, in a ruling dated Friday, ordered the attorney representing Greene's family -- which has sued the city claiming it stalled the investigation into Greene's slaying -- to resubmit his request for the text messages and for the City of Detroit to produce them.
Rosen held that the federal Stored Communications Act would allow Greene family attorney Norman Yatooma to obtain the text messages if he asked for them under court evidentiary rules requiring parties to disclose materials in their control instead of as a subpoena as Yatooma has done. The judge further ordered the city to obtain the text messages from its onetime provider, SkyTel, which he said would then forward them to the court.
The court would then review the messages to determine their relevance to the Greene family's lawsuit.
Rosen has said he would allow the review and possible release of up to 18 months of messages from the paging devices of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick; his bodyguards; his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty; Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings, and more than two dozen others. ...
By Zachary Gorchow
Free Press Staff Writer
August 24, 2008
The City of Detroit must turn over text messages exchanged by high-ranking city and police officials around the time of the death of Tamara Greene, a stripper who purportedly danced at the long-rumored, but never proven party at the Manoogian Mansion, a federal court has ruled.
U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen, in a ruling dated Friday, ordered the attorney representing Greene's family -- which has sued the city claiming it stalled the investigation into Greene's slaying -- to resubmit his request for the text messages and for the City of Detroit to produce them.
Rosen held that the federal Stored Communications Act would allow Greene family attorney Norman Yatooma to obtain the text messages if he asked for them under court evidentiary rules requiring parties to disclose materials in their control instead of as a subpoena as Yatooma has done. The judge further ordered the city to obtain the text messages from its onetime provider, SkyTel, which he said would then forward them to the court.
The court would then review the messages to determine their relevance to the Greene family's lawsuit.
Rosen has said he would allow the review and possible release of up to 18 months of messages from the paging devices of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick; his bodyguards; his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty; Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings, and more than two dozen others. ...
Council attorney: Gov. can hear Kilpatrick removal request
By Zachary Gorchow
Free Press Staff Writer
August 20, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's pending felony charges do not inoculate him from having Gov. Jennifer Granholm remove him from office, the City Council's attorney argued in a brief filed today with Granholm.
Bill Goodman, the independent attorney hired by the council to assist with its investigation of the text message scandal, wrote that while the criminal case deal with a crime, the removal request from the council to the governor is a civil matter unaffected by the criminal proceedings.
"The petition does not allege and does not seek to prove that the Mayor is guilty of a crime," he wrote. "The City of Detroit is in crisis, and whether the mayor is acquitted or convicted does not alter the necessity of removal for official misconduct in this proceeding. Indeed, the existence of pending criminal charges is not a reason to stay or delay these proceedings. Precisely the opposite is the case. The pendency of criminal charges not only hangs heavily over the head of the Mayor. It hovers over this entire community like an angry, dark cloud." ...
By Zachary Gorchow
Free Press Staff Writer
August 20, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's pending felony charges do not inoculate him from having Gov. Jennifer Granholm remove him from office, the City Council's attorney argued in a brief filed today with Granholm.
Bill Goodman, the independent attorney hired by the council to assist with its investigation of the text message scandal, wrote that while the criminal case deal with a crime, the removal request from the council to the governor is a civil matter unaffected by the criminal proceedings.
"The petition does not allege and does not seek to prove that the Mayor is guilty of a crime," he wrote. "The City of Detroit is in crisis, and whether the mayor is acquitted or convicted does not alter the necessity of removal for official misconduct in this proceeding. Indeed, the existence of pending criminal charges is not a reason to stay or delay these proceedings. Precisely the opposite is the case. The pendency of criminal charges not only hangs heavily over the head of the Mayor. It hovers over this entire community like an angry, dark cloud." ...
What do we say about Detroit now?
by James Macon
August 20, 2008
Well, let the second great exodus of the city begin.
To say that the City of Detroit is tainted or corrupt would be akin to gross negligence. Yes, I am just another voice of the thousands sick of defendant Kwame Kilpatrick's dismantling of the city, but my voice matters none the less. ...
...I've come to fear that doing business in Detroit is a farce. It requires what would seem to be a complete lack of morals and ethics. To those of you who are not corrupt, I apologize, but understand that this is the generalization, this is the perception that people across the region, state, and country see. Detroit's perception is that of a city where every branch of government seems like it's bought and paid for.
I'm talking the Mayor's office, Detroit City Council, Detroit Public Schools, Detroit Police Department, Detroit Water and Sewer Depatment - all under investigation by the FBI. Well, if the City of Detroit doesn't want my morals and ethics, do they deserve my taxes and employees? ...
by James Macon
August 20, 2008
Well, let the second great exodus of the city begin.
To say that the City of Detroit is tainted or corrupt would be akin to gross negligence. Yes, I am just another voice of the thousands sick of defendant Kwame Kilpatrick's dismantling of the city, but my voice matters none the less. ...
...I've come to fear that doing business in Detroit is a farce. It requires what would seem to be a complete lack of morals and ethics. To those of you who are not corrupt, I apologize, but understand that this is the generalization, this is the perception that people across the region, state, and country see. Detroit's perception is that of a city where every branch of government seems like it's bought and paid for.
I'm talking the Mayor's office, Detroit City Council, Detroit Public Schools, Detroit Police Department, Detroit Water and Sewer Depatment - all under investigation by the FBI. Well, if the City of Detroit doesn't want my morals and ethics, do they deserve my taxes and employees? ...
Kilpatrick victory puts Granholm in control
Hearing by governor is quickest option left as decision on it nears
BY ZACHARY GORCHOW
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
August 19, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's job is now in the hands of Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
Wayne County Circuit Judge Robert Ziolkowski's ruling Monday that the City Council lacks the power to remove Kilpatrick makes clear what has long been suspected: Granholm has clearer authority to remove Kilpatrick from office faster than any of the other methods in play.
"The ball is in the governor's court, and she still has an opportunity to pick up that ball and do what she chooses to do with it," said City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr.
Monday's ruling should make it politically more palatable for Granholm to remove Kilpatrick because local removal efforts have been sidelined or are on hold indefinitely, said Coit Cook Ford III, a Detroit political consultant.
"It is probably as offensive, if not more so, for the majority of Detroiters to wait that long," he said, referring to a potential appeal of Monday's ruling, or a felony conviction or a recall effort to remove the mayor.
Granholm has tentatively scheduled a removal hearing for Sept. 3 in Detroit. She will not make a final decision on whether to order the hearing until at least Monday, the last day that attorneys for the council and the mayor can file responses in the case, Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said. ...
Hearing by governor is quickest option left as decision on it nears
BY ZACHARY GORCHOW
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
August 19, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's job is now in the hands of Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
Wayne County Circuit Judge Robert Ziolkowski's ruling Monday that the City Council lacks the power to remove Kilpatrick makes clear what has long been suspected: Granholm has clearer authority to remove Kilpatrick from office faster than any of the other methods in play.
"The ball is in the governor's court, and she still has an opportunity to pick up that ball and do what she chooses to do with it," said City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr.
Monday's ruling should make it politically more palatable for Granholm to remove Kilpatrick because local removal efforts have been sidelined or are on hold indefinitely, said Coit Cook Ford III, a Detroit political consultant.
"It is probably as offensive, if not more so, for the majority of Detroiters to wait that long," he said, referring to a potential appeal of Monday's ruling, or a felony conviction or a recall effort to remove the mayor.
Granholm has tentatively scheduled a removal hearing for Sept. 3 in Detroit. She will not make a final decision on whether to order the hearing until at least Monday, the last day that attorneys for the council and the mayor can file responses in the case, Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said. ...
Free Press files motion to force Kilpatrick to testify in FOIA suit | freep.com | Detroit Free Press
Free Press files motion to force Kilpatrick to testify in FOIA suit
BY BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
August 15, 2008
A lawyer for the Detroit Free Press today filed a motion asking that a judge force Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to give a deposition in the newspaper's Freedom of Information Act lawsuit sometime before Sept. 1.
Attorney Herschel Fink says in the motion that the mayor has evaded requests to give a deposition.
Earlier this month, Fink said one of Kilpatrick's lawyers, James Thomas, told him that the mayor might be able to give testimony Aug. 14, which was yesterday. Since then, "attorneys heard nothing from him, despite repeated follow-up contacts," wrote Fink.
"Kilpatrick has abused the professional courtesies extended to him... and has delayed discovery in this matter long enough," Fink wrote, adding he will make himself available to take depositions "24 hours a day, 7 days a week."
The Free Press filed the FOIA suit in January seeking details about last October's secret settlement for $8.4 million of police whistle-blower lawsuits. ...
BY BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
August 15, 2008
A lawyer for the Detroit Free Press today filed a motion asking that a judge force Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to give a deposition in the newspaper's Freedom of Information Act lawsuit sometime before Sept. 1.
Attorney Herschel Fink says in the motion that the mayor has evaded requests to give a deposition.
Earlier this month, Fink said one of Kilpatrick's lawyers, James Thomas, told him that the mayor might be able to give testimony Aug. 14, which was yesterday. Since then, "attorneys heard nothing from him, despite repeated follow-up contacts," wrote Fink.
"Kilpatrick has abused the professional courtesies extended to him... and has delayed discovery in this matter long enough," Fink wrote, adding he will make himself available to take depositions "24 hours a day, 7 days a week."
The Free Press filed the FOIA suit in January seeking details about last October's secret settlement for $8.4 million of police whistle-blower lawsuits. ...
KILPATRICK IN CRISIS
FBI probe: Was mayor's dad entangled in payoff schemes at City Hall?
By David Ashenfelter, Jim Schaefer and M.L. Elrick
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
August 15, 2008
The FBI is investigating whether Bernard Kilpatrick, the father of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, was involved in payoff schemes to steer city business to contractors, according to five lawyers familiar with the investigation.
The sources said agents are trying to determine whether Bernard Kilpatrick illegally passed along any money to the mayor. The sources agreed to discuss the investigation only if they were not identified.
"It's a pure pay-to-play system," one lawyer alleged of the process to obtain many contracts in Detroit. ...
FBI probe: Was mayor's dad entangled in payoff schemes at City Hall?
By David Ashenfelter, Jim Schaefer and M.L. Elrick
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
August 15, 2008
The FBI is investigating whether Bernard Kilpatrick, the father of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, was involved in payoff schemes to steer city business to contractors, according to five lawyers familiar with the investigation.
The sources said agents are trying to determine whether Bernard Kilpatrick illegally passed along any money to the mayor. The sources agreed to discuss the investigation only if they were not identified.
"It's a pure pay-to-play system," one lawyer alleged of the process to obtain many contracts in Detroit. ...
TEXT MESSAGE SCANDAL
Beatty would testify if given immunity, attorney says
BY BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
August 14, 2008
The lawyer for former mayoral chief of staff and paramour Christine Beatty said today that if prosecutors want her to testify against Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, they have the power to make that happen.
"All they have to do is give her immunity if they think she can help them," said Mayer Morganroth, Beatty's defense lawyer. "You cannot turn down immunity. They know how to do it."
Today's remarks are the strongest to date by Morganroth about his client's willingness to testify against her former boss, and comes in a week in which rumors are swirling about whether the mayor is seeking a deal to leave office in return for the resolution of his myriad legal problems.
Morganroth said prosecutors have the right to get a court order, without his agreement, granting Beatty immunity from prosecution in the text message scandal, and thereby forcing her to testify. ...
Neither a literary genius nor a soap opera writer could've dreamed up this shit. Even a pornographer'd be ahem hard-pressed to create more of an obscenity.
She's in a really tough spot. He was screwing who knows how many other broads when she was his GF and chief of stiff, er staff; he abandoned her to the wolves (AAARRRROOOOOOOOOOO) as soon as the shit hit the fan; I do believe she's got as many counts against her as he in the perjury/text msg thang. If he once told her, "Don't ever worry, baby. *I'll* take care of you," he was lying.
Anyone who thinks this is merely a "sex scandal" hasn't paid attention. A woman was murdered, whistleblowers were fired or demoted, a whistleblower lawsuit cost the city $9 million, etc etc etc
Beatty would testify if given immunity, attorney says
BY BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
August 14, 2008
The lawyer for former mayoral chief of staff and paramour Christine Beatty said today that if prosecutors want her to testify against Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, they have the power to make that happen.
"All they have to do is give her immunity if they think she can help them," said Mayer Morganroth, Beatty's defense lawyer. "You cannot turn down immunity. They know how to do it."
Today's remarks are the strongest to date by Morganroth about his client's willingness to testify against her former boss, and comes in a week in which rumors are swirling about whether the mayor is seeking a deal to leave office in return for the resolution of his myriad legal problems.
Morganroth said prosecutors have the right to get a court order, without his agreement, granting Beatty immunity from prosecution in the text message scandal, and thereby forcing her to testify. ...
Neither a literary genius nor a soap opera writer could've dreamed up this shit. Even a pornographer'd be ahem hard-pressed to create more of an obscenity.
She's in a really tough spot. He was screwing who knows how many other broads when she was his GF and chief of stiff, er staff; he abandoned her to the wolves (AAARRRROOOOOOOOOOO) as soon as the shit hit the fan; I do believe she's got as many counts against her as he in the perjury/text msg thang. If he once told her, "Don't ever worry, baby. *I'll* take care of you," he was lying.
Anyone who thinks this is merely a "sex scandal" hasn't paid attention. A woman was murdered, whistleblowers were fired or demoted, a whistleblower lawsuit cost the city $9 million, etc etc etc
A MAYOR IN CRISIS
Judge Giles orders Mayor Kilpatrick's tether put back on
By Jim Schaefer and Joe Swickard
Free Press Staff Writers
August 14, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick must return to wearing an electronic tether.
Detroit 36th District Court Judge Ronald Giles clarified just moments ago in a written order that Kilpatrick must remain on tether, despite a ruling earlier today from another judge, Giles' clerk Juanita Newsome told the Free Press.
Giles is presiding over two felony assault charges filed last week against Kilpatrick for allegedly shoving a sheriff's deputy who was trying to serve a subpoena in a separate criminal perjury case that evolved from the mayor's text message scandal.
Earlier today, Wayne County Circuit Judge Leonard Townsend ordered Kilpatrick's tether removed in the perjury case, and also granted Kilpatrick permission to attend the Democratic National Convention in Denver on Aug. 25, something Kilpatrick was not eligible to do under earlier restrictions.
But Newsome, the clerk, said Giles today put in writing that the mayor must remain on tether in the assault case and stay within the confines of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. His order does not grant Kilpatrick an exception to attend the convention. ...
Judge Giles orders Mayor Kilpatrick's tether put back on
By Jim Schaefer and Joe Swickard
Free Press Staff Writers
August 14, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick must return to wearing an electronic tether.
Detroit 36th District Court Judge Ronald Giles clarified just moments ago in a written order that Kilpatrick must remain on tether, despite a ruling earlier today from another judge, Giles' clerk Juanita Newsome told the Free Press.
Giles is presiding over two felony assault charges filed last week against Kilpatrick for allegedly shoving a sheriff's deputy who was trying to serve a subpoena in a separate criminal perjury case that evolved from the mayor's text message scandal.
Earlier today, Wayne County Circuit Judge Leonard Townsend ordered Kilpatrick's tether removed in the perjury case, and also granted Kilpatrick permission to attend the Democratic National Convention in Denver on Aug. 25, something Kilpatrick was not eligible to do under earlier restrictions.
But Newsome, the clerk, said Giles today put in writing that the mayor must remain on tether in the assault case and stay within the confines of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. His order does not grant Kilpatrick an exception to attend the convention. ...
Detroit mayoral scandal
Freedom from tether lasted for few hours
2nd judge orders Kilpatrick's GPS device reattached
Doug Guthrie, Paul Egan and David Josar
The Detroit News
Friday, August 15, 2008
DETROIT -- One moment, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was smiling. A few minutes later, he was on the verge of tears.
In the morning, a judge ordered his GPS-based tether removed. By afternoon, another judge ordered it reattached.
For a few hours, Kilpatrick thought he could go to the Democratic National Convention as a superdelegate but, soon enough, he was banned again from traveling outside Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.
So it goes in the catnap-for-a-few-hours-and-you'll-miss-it whirlwind that has become the Kilpatrick scandal. It will pick back up again this morning when the mayor is back in court for a preliminary examination on claims he assaulted two court officers.
"There is just so much going on it can get confusing," said Rusty Hills, a spokesman for the state Attorney General's Office, which objected to the tether's removal and got it reinstated by 36th District Judge Ronald Giles. The same judge tossed Kilpatrick in jail overnight last week for violating bond in his perjury case.
"You need a playbook to keep up with the players."
The mayor also returned full-time to City Hall, one day after his spokeswoman repeatedly said he was on an indefinite vacation. Thursday, she said she misspoke. ...
Freedom from tether lasted for few hours
2nd judge orders Kilpatrick's GPS device reattached
Doug Guthrie, Paul Egan and David Josar
The Detroit News
Friday, August 15, 2008
DETROIT -- One moment, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was smiling. A few minutes later, he was on the verge of tears.
In the morning, a judge ordered his GPS-based tether removed. By afternoon, another judge ordered it reattached.
For a few hours, Kilpatrick thought he could go to the Democratic National Convention as a superdelegate but, soon enough, he was banned again from traveling outside Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.
So it goes in the catnap-for-a-few-hours-and-you'll-miss-it whirlwind that has become the Kilpatrick scandal. It will pick back up again this morning when the mayor is back in court for a preliminary examination on claims he assaulted two court officers.
"There is just so much going on it can get confusing," said Rusty Hills, a spokesman for the state Attorney General's Office, which objected to the tether's removal and got it reinstated by 36th District Judge Ronald Giles. The same judge tossed Kilpatrick in jail overnight last week for violating bond in his perjury case.
"You need a playbook to keep up with the players."
The mayor also returned full-time to City Hall, one day after his spokeswoman repeatedly said he was on an indefinite vacation. Thursday, she said she misspoke. ...
Moves afoot to end Detroit mayor scandal
Kilpatrick's lawyer asks gov for pardon in criminal case; resignation calls grow
Leonard N. Fleming and David Josar
The Detroit News
Thursday, August 14, 2008
DETROIT --Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick announced Wednesday that he's taking an indefinite vacation amid mounting calls for his resignation and growing evidence of behind-the-scenes efforts to end the yearlong scandal.
It came the same day his lawyer, Sharon McPhail, wrote to Gov. Jennifer Granholm inquiring about a pardon for Kilpatrick to erase the perjury case against him -- and claiming the governor has already been meeting "with the prosecutor and others" about the case. Granholm is set to convene hearings Sept. 3 on whether to remove Kilpatrick.
Highland Park Administrator Art Blackwell -- who is close to the governor and the mayor -- said Granholm phoned him recently and asked if he would be involved in discussions to end the scandal. He attended a meeting last week with Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, a Kilpatrick defense attorney, and prominent leaders such as Compuware CEO Peter Karmanos to lay the groundwork for a deal.
The inquiry about a pardon came hours after McPhail met privately with Kilpatrick in the Manoogian Mansion. It followed calls for the mayor's resignation from the Michigan Chronicle, the state's pre-eminent black newspaper, more clergy members and longtime U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn. ...
Kilpatrick's lawyer asks gov for pardon in criminal case; resignation calls grow
Leonard N. Fleming and David Josar
The Detroit News
Thursday, August 14, 2008
DETROIT --Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick announced Wednesday that he's taking an indefinite vacation amid mounting calls for his resignation and growing evidence of behind-the-scenes efforts to end the yearlong scandal.
It came the same day his lawyer, Sharon McPhail, wrote to Gov. Jennifer Granholm inquiring about a pardon for Kilpatrick to erase the perjury case against him -- and claiming the governor has already been meeting "with the prosecutor and others" about the case. Granholm is set to convene hearings Sept. 3 on whether to remove Kilpatrick.
Highland Park Administrator Art Blackwell -- who is close to the governor and the mayor -- said Granholm phoned him recently and asked if he would be involved in discussions to end the scandal. He attended a meeting last week with Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, a Kilpatrick defense attorney, and prominent leaders such as Compuware CEO Peter Karmanos to lay the groundwork for a deal.
The inquiry about a pardon came hours after McPhail met privately with Kilpatrick in the Manoogian Mansion. It followed calls for the mayor's resignation from the Michigan Chronicle, the state's pre-eminent black newspaper, more clergy members and longtime U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn. ...
Cop: Bosses skittish over mayor probe
Investigator suing city says he had to hand over report about alleged link to Ky. drug dealer.
George Hunter
The Detroit News
Friday, August 15, 2008
DETROIT -- Investigator Ira Todd said he doesn't know whether reports of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's connection to a reputed Kentucky drug dealer are true, but he said the way his supervisors at the Detroit Police Department stymied his investigation into the claim is suspicious.
"From a cop's perspective, if someone tries to keep you from looking at something, that means there may be something they're trying to hide," said Todd, a veteran detective who claims he was demoted to desk duty for investigating alleged ties between Kilpatrick and a reputed cocaine dealer and associate of a hit man. "Otherwise, why not just allow the investigation to let the truth come out?"
Todd's attorney, Mike Stefani, filed a whistle-blower lawsuit on Todd's behalf last month, claiming Todd was transferred to a desk job in May because he was looking into the matter.
During a 90-minute interview Thursday in Stefani's Royal Oak office, Todd, 50, claimed his supervisors pressured him to turn over a written report documenting his investigation into hit man Vincent Smothers, who told police he was responsible for 10 murders, including the 2007 fatal shooting of Rose Cobb, the wife of Detroit Police Sgt. David Cobb.
Todd's report also included a reputed Lexington, Ky., police officer's claim that a suspected drug dealer bragged about a personal and business relationship with Kilpatrick. ...
This is the scariest yet!
Investigator suing city says he had to hand over report about alleged link to Ky. drug dealer.
George Hunter
The Detroit News
Friday, August 15, 2008
DETROIT -- Investigator Ira Todd said he doesn't know whether reports of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's connection to a reputed Kentucky drug dealer are true, but he said the way his supervisors at the Detroit Police Department stymied his investigation into the claim is suspicious.
"From a cop's perspective, if someone tries to keep you from looking at something, that means there may be something they're trying to hide," said Todd, a veteran detective who claims he was demoted to desk duty for investigating alleged ties between Kilpatrick and a reputed cocaine dealer and associate of a hit man. "Otherwise, why not just allow the investigation to let the truth come out?"
Todd's attorney, Mike Stefani, filed a whistle-blower lawsuit on Todd's behalf last month, claiming Todd was transferred to a desk job in May because he was looking into the matter.
During a 90-minute interview Thursday in Stefani's Royal Oak office, Todd, 50, claimed his supervisors pressured him to turn over a written report documenting his investigation into hit man Vincent Smothers, who told police he was responsible for 10 murders, including the 2007 fatal shooting of Rose Cobb, the wife of Detroit Police Sgt. David Cobb.
Todd's report also included a reputed Lexington, Ky., police officer's claim that a suspected drug dealer bragged about a personal and business relationship with Kilpatrick. ...
This is the scariest yet!
Monica Conyers vows cooperation if she's council president
Christine MacDonald
The Detroit News
Friday, August 15, 2008
DETROIT -- City Council President Pro-Tem Monica Conyers said Thursday she promises a "spirit of cooperation" if she ascends to the panel's presidency should Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick leave office, despite her reputation for not working well with others.
Conyers says it will be her first priority to get along with Kenneth Cockrel Jr., who would become temporary mayor, putting aside any bad blood between the two for the good of the city, she said.
The two had a famous dust-up in April during public hearings on the $8.4 million whistle-blower scandal. Conyers took umbrage when Cockrel cut her off during debate, saying "I have the floor! I don't want to hear you any more. Be quiet."
Conyers responded with a now-notorious rant, telling Cockrel, "You're not my daddy," and repeatedly calling him "Shrek," a reference to the grouchy, bald cartoon ogre.
"I am not one of those people who hold grudges," Conyers said. "I am a no-nonsense person. Either you like me or you don't.
"It's not about individuals; it's about the citizens of Detroit."
But some, including Councilman Kwame Kenyatta have said they fear a Conyers presidency and will work hard to keep her in check. In interview earlier this month, he called her behavior "unstable and sporadic," citing arguments she has gotten into at the council table.
He said the risk of her presidency is "further instability and being perceived as being out of control and not being taken seriously." ...
If you believe monica, you'll buy this bridge.
Christine MacDonald
The Detroit News
Friday, August 15, 2008
DETROIT -- City Council President Pro-Tem Monica Conyers said Thursday she promises a "spirit of cooperation" if she ascends to the panel's presidency should Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick leave office, despite her reputation for not working well with others.
Conyers says it will be her first priority to get along with Kenneth Cockrel Jr., who would become temporary mayor, putting aside any bad blood between the two for the good of the city, she said.
The two had a famous dust-up in April during public hearings on the $8.4 million whistle-blower scandal. Conyers took umbrage when Cockrel cut her off during debate, saying "I have the floor! I don't want to hear you any more. Be quiet."
Conyers responded with a now-notorious rant, telling Cockrel, "You're not my daddy," and repeatedly calling him "Shrek," a reference to the grouchy, bald cartoon ogre.
"I am not one of those people who hold grudges," Conyers said. "I am a no-nonsense person. Either you like me or you don't.
"It's not about individuals; it's about the citizens of Detroit."
But some, including Councilman Kwame Kenyatta have said they fear a Conyers presidency and will work hard to keep her in check. In interview earlier this month, he called her behavior "unstable and sporadic," citing arguments she has gotten into at the council table.
He said the risk of her presidency is "further instability and being perceived as being out of control and not being taken seriously." ...
If you believe monica, you'll buy this bridge.
Bishops in mayor's church call for him to resign
Gregg Krupa
The Detroit News
Thursday, August 14, 2008
DETROIT -- A council of bishops of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's church called on him Thursday to resign immediately, and a dispute quickly emerged between them and Kilpatrick's pastor, the Rev. Drew Sheard.
Bishop P.A. Brooks, chairman of the Michigan-Canada Council of Bishops of the Church of God in Christ, said Sheard should now join the bishops in asking Kilpatrick directly to resign. Sheard said he was unaware of the bishop's statements and had not heard from them.
"It would seem to me that since I am a part of the Church of God in Christ and since the mayor is a member of the church, that if the bishops had said that, that they would have informed me. And I have not been informed, as such," said Sheard, senior pastor of Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ in Detroit, and among the most prominent clerics of the Church of God in Christ.
Brooks announced the call for the mayor to resign immediately at a news conference Thursday morning in his church, the New St. Paul Church of God in Christ, on the west side.
"No one person should be allowed to virtually hold a city hostage," Brooks said. "The hardworking, good people of the city of Detroit are deserving of a leader who does not cause them embarrassment because of his actions. The youth of our city also deserve a role model that they can look up to. The negative exposure of a mayor who is embroiled in controversy is not conducive to the healthy growth of our city's youth." ...
Gregg Krupa
The Detroit News
Thursday, August 14, 2008
DETROIT -- A council of bishops of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's church called on him Thursday to resign immediately, and a dispute quickly emerged between them and Kilpatrick's pastor, the Rev. Drew Sheard.
Bishop P.A. Brooks, chairman of the Michigan-Canada Council of Bishops of the Church of God in Christ, said Sheard should now join the bishops in asking Kilpatrick directly to resign. Sheard said he was unaware of the bishop's statements and had not heard from them.
"It would seem to me that since I am a part of the Church of God in Christ and since the mayor is a member of the church, that if the bishops had said that, that they would have informed me. And I have not been informed, as such," said Sheard, senior pastor of Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ in Detroit, and among the most prominent clerics of the Church of God in Christ.
Brooks announced the call for the mayor to resign immediately at a news conference Thursday morning in his church, the New St. Paul Church of God in Christ, on the west side.
"No one person should be allowed to virtually hold a city hostage," Brooks said. "The hardworking, good people of the city of Detroit are deserving of a leader who does not cause them embarrassment because of his actions. The youth of our city also deserve a role model that they can look up to. The negative exposure of a mayor who is embroiled in controversy is not conducive to the healthy growth of our city's youth." ...
Detroit Public Schools -- RIP
BY ROCHELLE RILEY
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
August 14, 2008
... I heard the superintendent say that only 60 percent of the textbooks that the children need for the first day of school have been delivered. The other 40 percent are being held hostage by a vendor who says that Detroit's payment record is so bad, the district has to pay for two years worth of books to get this year's.
I heard school board member Jimmy Womack, who is running for a state legislative seat and is leaving the board, ask another board member to investigate whether Calloway, the superintendent, has applied for a job with another agency.
I heard bickering and back and forth that will always be in the way of progress.
What needs to happen now is simple: A single parent, just one, needs to sue the schools for dereliction of duty, for fraud, for foolishness, for not educating the children it has been paid not only in tax dollars but in blood and sweat, to educate. I wish I had done it five years ago. But someone new can now. And the district will lose in court, and it will be shut down. ...
BY ROCHELLE RILEY
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
August 14, 2008
... I heard the superintendent say that only 60 percent of the textbooks that the children need for the first day of school have been delivered. The other 40 percent are being held hostage by a vendor who says that Detroit's payment record is so bad, the district has to pay for two years worth of books to get this year's.
I heard school board member Jimmy Womack, who is running for a state legislative seat and is leaving the board, ask another board member to investigate whether Calloway, the superintendent, has applied for a job with another agency.
I heard bickering and back and forth that will always be in the way of progress.
What needs to happen now is simple: A single parent, just one, needs to sue the schools for dereliction of duty, for fraud, for foolishness, for not educating the children it has been paid not only in tax dollars but in blood and sweat, to educate. I wish I had done it five years ago. But someone new can now. And the district will lose in court, and it will be shut down. ...
Cox wants to talk to Greene witnesses
EMS official to be interviewed today about rumored assault
BY CHRIS CHRISTOFF, BEN SCHMITT and JIM SCHAEFER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
August 14, 2008
Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox said Wednesday his investigators are taking statements from two EMS supervisors who recently surfaced to say they had information about a rumor that a stripper was assaulted at the Manoogian Mansion, home to Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
One of the supervisors, Lt. Michael Kearns, told the Free Press he plans to meet with investigators from Cox's office today as well as investigators from Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy's office.
A second supervisor, retired Lt. Walter Godzwon, said Cox investigators have missed him at home the past two days, leaving business cards. "I'm willing to cooperate," Godzwon said Wednesday.
Cox's decision to interview the men renews never-proven rumors that have long bedeviled the mayor, who has steadfastly denied a wild party involving strippers took place at the Manoogian in fall 2002, or that his wife, Carlita Kilpatrick, assaulted one of the women.
Tamara Greene was killed in spring 2003 in a drive-by shooting. The crime was never solved, and Greene's family is now suing the city in federal court, claiming officials thwarted a probe into her death.
Cox -- who previously investigated the party rumors and concluded they were "an urban legend" -- said Wednesday he's known Kearns "my whole life." Their parents became friends within Detroit's Irish-American community. Cox said he's surprised Kearns never came forward to him before.
When asked why he never went to Cox, Kearns said, "I was afraid for my career," noting that he works under political appointees of the mayor. ...
EMS official to be interviewed today about rumored assault
BY CHRIS CHRISTOFF, BEN SCHMITT and JIM SCHAEFER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
August 14, 2008
Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox said Wednesday his investigators are taking statements from two EMS supervisors who recently surfaced to say they had information about a rumor that a stripper was assaulted at the Manoogian Mansion, home to Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
One of the supervisors, Lt. Michael Kearns, told the Free Press he plans to meet with investigators from Cox's office today as well as investigators from Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy's office.
A second supervisor, retired Lt. Walter Godzwon, said Cox investigators have missed him at home the past two days, leaving business cards. "I'm willing to cooperate," Godzwon said Wednesday.
Cox's decision to interview the men renews never-proven rumors that have long bedeviled the mayor, who has steadfastly denied a wild party involving strippers took place at the Manoogian in fall 2002, or that his wife, Carlita Kilpatrick, assaulted one of the women.
Tamara Greene was killed in spring 2003 in a drive-by shooting. The crime was never solved, and Greene's family is now suing the city in federal court, claiming officials thwarted a probe into her death.
Cox -- who previously investigated the party rumors and concluded they were "an urban legend" -- said Wednesday he's known Kearns "my whole life." Their parents became friends within Detroit's Irish-American community. Cox said he's surprised Kearns never came forward to him before.
When asked why he never went to Cox, Kearns said, "I was afraid for my career," noting that he works under political appointees of the mayor. ...
Granholm: I won't pardon mayor
By TOM WALSH and CHRIS CHRISTOFF
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
August 14, 2008
Gov. Jennifer Granholm this morning said she would not pardon or grant immunity to Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick in return for his testimony at a hearing about his possible removal from office.
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"I will not be pardoning or giving immunity for anyone testifying in that hearing," Granholm said, referring to a hearing scheduled for Sept. 3 before her on the Detroit City Council's request to remove Kilpatrick from office. Kilpatrick's general counsel, Sharon McPhail, had written to Granholm, raising the prospect of a pardon for the mayor's actions in the text message scandal.
If and when Granholm holds her hearing on removal of Kilpatrick from office, she said she will rule "immediately" at the conclusion of the hearing. ...
By TOM WALSH and CHRIS CHRISTOFF
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
August 14, 2008
Gov. Jennifer Granholm this morning said she would not pardon or grant immunity to Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick in return for his testimony at a hearing about his possible removal from office.
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"I will not be pardoning or giving immunity for anyone testifying in that hearing," Granholm said, referring to a hearing scheduled for Sept. 3 before her on the Detroit City Council's request to remove Kilpatrick from office. Kilpatrick's general counsel, Sharon McPhail, had written to Granholm, raising the prospect of a pardon for the mayor's actions in the text message scandal.
If and when Granholm holds her hearing on removal of Kilpatrick from office, she said she will rule "immediately" at the conclusion of the hearing. ...
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Appeal hearing for fired Detroit EMT ends abruptly
Session is terminated after lawyer in Greene lawsuit attempts to record it.
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- An appeal hearing for a fired Detroit Fire Department emergency medical technician was abruptly terminated Wednesday after city officials objected to attempts by a lawyer to record the proceeding.
Norman Yatooma, the lawyer for Douglas Bayer, denounced the hearing as a sham. ...
... Bayer recently filed a whistle-blower lawsuit alleging he was retaliated against and fired for providing the Michigan State Police with information related to a rumored stripper party at the mayor's Manoogian Mansion. Fire Department administrators say Bayer was fired for stealing department equipment, a charge Bayer denies. ...
Appeal hearing for fired Detroit EMT ends abruptly
Session is terminated after lawyer in Greene lawsuit attempts to record it.
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- An appeal hearing for a fired Detroit Fire Department emergency medical technician was abruptly terminated Wednesday after city officials objected to attempts by a lawyer to record the proceeding.
Norman Yatooma, the lawyer for Douglas Bayer, denounced the hearing as a sham. ...
... Bayer recently filed a whistle-blower lawsuit alleging he was retaliated against and fired for providing the Michigan State Police with information related to a rumored stripper party at the mayor's Manoogian Mansion. Fire Department administrators say Bayer was fired for stealing department equipment, a charge Bayer denies. ...
Kilpatrick, restricted by tether, goes on vacation for couple weeks
By Zachary Gorchow
Free Press Staff Writer
August 13, 2008
With his legal woes and calls to resign mounting, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick will be on vacation for the next couple weeks, his spokeswoman said today.
Press secretary Denise Tolliver said the mayor might have one public event during that time, a senior citizens function, but she said she did not know details. He is not turning over power to Chief of Staff and Deputy Mayor Kandia Milton, Tolliver said.
Tolliver said she did not know the mayor's plans during his vacation, but he would be staying close to home at the Manoogian Mansion.
Kilpatrick cannot travel outside Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties under the terms of his bond set by a Wayne County Circuit Court judge. Kilpatrick is awaiting trial on felony perjury, conspiracy, obstruction of justice and misconduct in office charges stemming from the text message scandal.
"He is not leaving the tri-county area," Tolliver said.
His time off comes as he awaits arraignment Thursday in Wayne County Circuit Court on those charges, a preliminary exam in 36th District Court on Friday on charges of shoving a county sheriff's deputy and the City Council's removal proceedings next week. ...
By Zachary Gorchow
Free Press Staff Writer
August 13, 2008
With his legal woes and calls to resign mounting, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick will be on vacation for the next couple weeks, his spokeswoman said today.
Press secretary Denise Tolliver said the mayor might have one public event during that time, a senior citizens function, but she said she did not know details. He is not turning over power to Chief of Staff and Deputy Mayor Kandia Milton, Tolliver said.
Tolliver said she did not know the mayor's plans during his vacation, but he would be staying close to home at the Manoogian Mansion.
Kilpatrick cannot travel outside Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties under the terms of his bond set by a Wayne County Circuit Court judge. Kilpatrick is awaiting trial on felony perjury, conspiracy, obstruction of justice and misconduct in office charges stemming from the text message scandal.
"He is not leaving the tri-county area," Tolliver said.
His time off comes as he awaits arraignment Thursday in Wayne County Circuit Court on those charges, a preliminary exam in 36th District Court on Friday on charges of shoving a county sheriff's deputy and the City Council's removal proceedings next week. ...
New Greene info spurs family's attorney to seek medical files
BY BEN SCHMITT and JIM SCHAEFER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
August 13, 2008
With new information surfacing about slain stripper Tamara Greene and a rumored Manoogian Mansion party, a lawyer for Greene's family said Tuesday he plans to subpoena medical records to determine whether she received treatment at Detroit Receiving Hospital in 2002 for a beating.
"I'm as close as I've ever been to a date, time and place," attorney Norman Yatooma said of his lawsuit on behalf of the Greene family. "Enough so that I can focus a subpoena without sending them to every medical provider in Wayne County."
On Monday, Yatooma filed an affidavit from a Detroit Fire EMS supervisor, Lt. Michael Kearns, who says he was dispatched to a gas station on Jefferson on an autumn night in 2002 and met Greene, who told him that the mayor's wife, Carlita Kilpatrick, assaulted her.
Kearns said Greene was being interviewed by police officers and was transported to a hospital by EMS workers. Kearns is the first official to publicly claim hearing firsthand from Greene that she was assaulted at the mansion. ...
BY BEN SCHMITT and JIM SCHAEFER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
August 13, 2008
With new information surfacing about slain stripper Tamara Greene and a rumored Manoogian Mansion party, a lawyer for Greene's family said Tuesday he plans to subpoena medical records to determine whether she received treatment at Detroit Receiving Hospital in 2002 for a beating.
"I'm as close as I've ever been to a date, time and place," attorney Norman Yatooma said of his lawsuit on behalf of the Greene family. "Enough so that I can focus a subpoena without sending them to every medical provider in Wayne County."
On Monday, Yatooma filed an affidavit from a Detroit Fire EMS supervisor, Lt. Michael Kearns, who says he was dispatched to a gas station on Jefferson on an autumn night in 2002 and met Greene, who told him that the mayor's wife, Carlita Kilpatrick, assaulted her.
Kearns said Greene was being interviewed by police officers and was transported to a hospital by EMS workers. Kearns is the first official to publicly claim hearing firsthand from Greene that she was assaulted at the mansion. ...
REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS
Lawyer: Granholm can't offer immunity
BY ZACHARY GORCHOW
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
August 13, 2008
Gov. Jennifer Granholm's legal counsel said Tuesday that the governor has no power to grant immunity to Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick in exchange for his testimony in the City Council's effort to have her remove him from office.
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Meanwhile, the council's efforts to remove the mayor through the council-led process called forfeiture gathered steam as the first subpoenas were issued for several key figures, including the mayor.
Sharon McPhail, the Kilpatrick administration's general counsel, had asked Granholm about the availability of immunity for Kilpatrick so he would not jeopardize his legal defense in the criminal charges pending against him.
"Gov. Granholm has no authority under ... Michigan law to grant immunity to witnesses in this matter," said Kelly Keenan, the governor's legal counsel.
Mayoral spokeswoman Denise Tolliver said McPhail would respond to the governor's ruling today. As of Tuesday, the mayor's attorneys had made no decision about whether Kilpatrick would testify in the removal hearing, Tolliver said. The hearing is set to take place Sept. 3 if the governor decides it is warranted.
Bill Goodman, the independent attorney hired by the council to assist with the text message scandal investigation, said he agreed with Keenan's letter.
"I didn't understand what she was talking about," he said of McPhail's request. "It appears to me that he didn't really understand what she was talking about either." ...
Your Humble Narrator thinks it sounds like classic mcfail.
Lawyer: Granholm can't offer immunity
BY ZACHARY GORCHOW
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
August 13, 2008
Gov. Jennifer Granholm's legal counsel said Tuesday that the governor has no power to grant immunity to Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick in exchange for his testimony in the City Council's effort to have her remove him from office.
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Meanwhile, the council's efforts to remove the mayor through the council-led process called forfeiture gathered steam as the first subpoenas were issued for several key figures, including the mayor.
Sharon McPhail, the Kilpatrick administration's general counsel, had asked Granholm about the availability of immunity for Kilpatrick so he would not jeopardize his legal defense in the criminal charges pending against him.
"Gov. Granholm has no authority under ... Michigan law to grant immunity to witnesses in this matter," said Kelly Keenan, the governor's legal counsel.
Mayoral spokeswoman Denise Tolliver said McPhail would respond to the governor's ruling today. As of Tuesday, the mayor's attorneys had made no decision about whether Kilpatrick would testify in the removal hearing, Tolliver said. The hearing is set to take place Sept. 3 if the governor decides it is warranted.
Bill Goodman, the independent attorney hired by the council to assist with the text message scandal investigation, said he agreed with Keenan's letter.
"I didn't understand what she was talking about," he said of McPhail's request. "It appears to me that he didn't really understand what she was talking about either." ...
Your Humble Narrator thinks it sounds like classic mcfail.
First subpoenas requested in City Council's ouster hearings
By Zachary Gorchow
Free Press Staff Writer
August 12, 2008
The first subpoenas have been requested in the Detroit City Council's hearings to remove Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick from office, with the mayor topping the list.
Mayoral spokeswoman Denise Tolliver said the mayor's office has not yet received the subpoena. Tolliver said no decision has been made on whether Kilpatrick would participate in the council's removal process, known as forfeiture.
Bill Goodman, the independent attorney hired by the council to assist with its investigation of the text message scandal, said the council also would subpoena Kilpatrick administration general counsel Sharon McPhail, Corporation Counsel John Johnson and Sam McCargo, the mayor's attorney in the police whistle-blower lawsuit that ignited the controversy.
The hearings are scheduled to begin Monday, but could be blocked depending on how a judge rules Thursday on the legality of the proceedings.
McPhail requested subpoenas for Judge Michael Callahan, who presided over the whistle-blower case; facilitator Val Washington, who worked with the city and the cops to broker a settlement; Mike Stefani, the cops' attorney; John Clark, the former chief of staff to Council President Ken Cockrel Jr.; and Debra Pospiech, an aide of Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel.
Goodman responded today to McPhail's request by rejecting subpoenas for Callahan, Clark and Pospiech, but said Washington and Stefani would be served.
Clark has been caught up in the Synagro Technologies sludge contract scandal. The FBI caught Clark on surveillance video accepting money related to the contract. ...
By Zachary Gorchow
Free Press Staff Writer
August 12, 2008
The first subpoenas have been requested in the Detroit City Council's hearings to remove Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick from office, with the mayor topping the list.
Mayoral spokeswoman Denise Tolliver said the mayor's office has not yet received the subpoena. Tolliver said no decision has been made on whether Kilpatrick would participate in the council's removal process, known as forfeiture.
Bill Goodman, the independent attorney hired by the council to assist with its investigation of the text message scandal, said the council also would subpoena Kilpatrick administration general counsel Sharon McPhail, Corporation Counsel John Johnson and Sam McCargo, the mayor's attorney in the police whistle-blower lawsuit that ignited the controversy.
The hearings are scheduled to begin Monday, but could be blocked depending on how a judge rules Thursday on the legality of the proceedings.
McPhail requested subpoenas for Judge Michael Callahan, who presided over the whistle-blower case; facilitator Val Washington, who worked with the city and the cops to broker a settlement; Mike Stefani, the cops' attorney; John Clark, the former chief of staff to Council President Ken Cockrel Jr.; and Debra Pospiech, an aide of Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel.
Goodman responded today to McPhail's request by rejecting subpoenas for Callahan, Clark and Pospiech, but said Washington and Stefani would be served.
Clark has been caught up in the Synagro Technologies sludge contract scandal. The FBI caught Clark on surveillance video accepting money related to the contract. ...
KILPATRICK REMOVAL HEARING
Granholm is rushing us, McPhail says
Mayor's counsel calls it railroading
BY CHRIS CHRISTOFF and ZACHARY GORCHOW
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
August 12, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's general counsel Sharon McPhail accused Gov. Jennifer Granholm on Monday of unfairly rushing to a September 3 hearing to decide whether to remove the mayor from office.
McPhail said Granholm was allowing too little time for Kilpatrick to prepare his case against the Detroit City Council's request that Granholm oust him for misconduct.
"I've never before seen a railroad that runs this fast," McPhail told the Free Press after Granholm issued procedures for the hearing over which she will preside in Detroit if she deems the hearing necessary. "If this isn't a railroad, I don't know what is."
Granholm must still rule on McPhail's motion to deny or delay the hearing before the Sept. 3 date becomes definite. But the governor accelerated the schedule after Kilpatrick's altercation with two law enforcement officers last month and announced a hearing location after Kilpatrick was jailed for a day last week when his bond was revoked.
The mayor's legal team has sharply criticized Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy for her handling of the mayor's perjury and misconduct case and the council for its removal process, but it has not until now spoken ill of the governor's actions.
Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said it would be inappropriate for her to comment because McPhail will be one of the attorneys appearing before the governor at the proceedings.
McPhail asked Granholm in a letter Friday about the possibility of immunity for Kilpatrick if he's called to testify. She said her research showed that an administrative hearing cannot inflict sanctions on officials if they refuse to testify because of the possibility they might incriminate themselves in a criminal case. ...
mcfail's as twisted and corrupt as any member of kwame's gang.
Granholm is rushing us, McPhail says
Mayor's counsel calls it railroading
BY CHRIS CHRISTOFF and ZACHARY GORCHOW
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
August 12, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's general counsel Sharon McPhail accused Gov. Jennifer Granholm on Monday of unfairly rushing to a September 3 hearing to decide whether to remove the mayor from office.
McPhail said Granholm was allowing too little time for Kilpatrick to prepare his case against the Detroit City Council's request that Granholm oust him for misconduct.
"I've never before seen a railroad that runs this fast," McPhail told the Free Press after Granholm issued procedures for the hearing over which she will preside in Detroit if she deems the hearing necessary. "If this isn't a railroad, I don't know what is."
Granholm must still rule on McPhail's motion to deny or delay the hearing before the Sept. 3 date becomes definite. But the governor accelerated the schedule after Kilpatrick's altercation with two law enforcement officers last month and announced a hearing location after Kilpatrick was jailed for a day last week when his bond was revoked.
The mayor's legal team has sharply criticized Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy for her handling of the mayor's perjury and misconduct case and the council for its removal process, but it has not until now spoken ill of the governor's actions.
Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said it would be inappropriate for her to comment because McPhail will be one of the attorneys appearing before the governor at the proceedings.
McPhail asked Granholm in a letter Friday about the possibility of immunity for Kilpatrick if he's called to testify. She said her research showed that an administrative hearing cannot inflict sanctions on officials if they refuse to testify because of the possibility they might incriminate themselves in a criminal case. ...
mcfail's as twisted and corrupt as any member of kwame's gang.
Kilpatrick did not violate the terms of his bond, judge rules
By M.L. ELRICK
Free Press Staff Writer
August 12, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick left court this morning arm in arm with his wife, moments after Judge Ronald Giles ruled that he did not violate the terms of his bond by being with a police bodyguard and the mayor's sister, who both witnessed his alleged assault on sheriff's deputies last month.
Giles agreed to add a Michigan state trooper to the list of people the mayor is forbidden to have contact with, bringing that total to three. The other two witnesses the mayor must avoid are Wayne County Sheriff Detective Brian White, whom he allegedly shoved, and former Detroit Police Sgt. JoAnn Kinney, who has said the mayor shoved White into her. ...
By M.L. ELRICK
Free Press Staff Writer
August 12, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick left court this morning arm in arm with his wife, moments after Judge Ronald Giles ruled that he did not violate the terms of his bond by being with a police bodyguard and the mayor's sister, who both witnessed his alleged assault on sheriff's deputies last month.
Giles agreed to add a Michigan state trooper to the list of people the mayor is forbidden to have contact with, bringing that total to three. The other two witnesses the mayor must avoid are Wayne County Sheriff Detective Brian White, whom he allegedly shoved, and former Detroit Police Sgt. JoAnn Kinney, who has said the mayor shoved White into her. ...
As a Detroit supporter and resident it has been humiliating to watch Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's disregard for the law be constantly displayed. That Kilpatrick should be removed from office is evident.
What I am most disturbed about though, is that city "leaders," a collection of prominent businessmen and even a U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals judge, should propose that Kilpatrick be made a deal that would allow no prosecution for felony charges ("Worthy hears leaders' bid to broker plea, exit," Aug. 9). That, they say, would allow him to retain his law license and make a living after he is no longer mayor.
This is totally unacceptable. As a lawyer, Kilpatrick knows the responsibility of being an officer of the court and he knowingly shunned that responsibility. Why in the world would someone with such disregard for the law, someone who has trampled the law, be allowed to make a living from laws he doesn't recognize?
The "leaders" of the city of Detroit must allow Kilpatrick to live with the consequences of his own actions. They should not be trying to figure out how to rescue him. We all want Detroit to prosper, but not at the cost of integrity.
Jacqueline Snow Davies
Detroit
Affront to the law-abiding
Sure, we all want the mayor to resign as quickly as possible. But at what cost to our judicial system, one of the bedrocks of our democracy? To even suggest that 10 felony charges be reduced to misdemeanors in exchange for Kilpatrick's resignation is an affront to all law-abiding citizens.
Kilpatrick has not just made one mistake for which he is sorry. He has, for a long time, showed an utter disregard for our laws and our judicial system with an arrogance that is mind-boggling. He deserves to pay the price and he deserves to lose his license to practice law.
Ronald Gries
Bloomfield Hills
What I am most disturbed about though, is that city "leaders," a collection of prominent businessmen and even a U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals judge, should propose that Kilpatrick be made a deal that would allow no prosecution for felony charges ("Worthy hears leaders' bid to broker plea, exit," Aug. 9). That, they say, would allow him to retain his law license and make a living after he is no longer mayor.
This is totally unacceptable. As a lawyer, Kilpatrick knows the responsibility of being an officer of the court and he knowingly shunned that responsibility. Why in the world would someone with such disregard for the law, someone who has trampled the law, be allowed to make a living from laws he doesn't recognize?
The "leaders" of the city of Detroit must allow Kilpatrick to live with the consequences of his own actions. They should not be trying to figure out how to rescue him. We all want Detroit to prosper, but not at the cost of integrity.
Jacqueline Snow Davies
Detroit
Affront to the law-abiding
Sure, we all want the mayor to resign as quickly as possible. But at what cost to our judicial system, one of the bedrocks of our democracy? To even suggest that 10 felony charges be reduced to misdemeanors in exchange for Kilpatrick's resignation is an affront to all law-abiding citizens.
Kilpatrick has not just made one mistake for which he is sorry. He has, for a long time, showed an utter disregard for our laws and our judicial system with an arrogance that is mind-boggling. He deserves to pay the price and he deserves to lose his license to practice law.
Ronald Gries
Bloomfield Hills
Giles to hear case on Kilpatrick's bond
By Joe Swickard and Jim Schaefer
Free Press Staff Writers
August 11, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's freedom will be addressed again Tuesday, in a hearing before 36th District Court Judge Ronald Giles on whether Kilpatrick violated terms of his bond over the weekend, the Free Press has learned.
The bond violation hearing and an upcoming preliminary examination on two felonious assault charges are going to be heard by Giles because the incident arose while the mayor was on bond to Giles in a separate criminal case that evolved from the mayor's text message scandal.
Giles is the judge who ordered Kilpatrick to jail last week after a bond violation in the text message case.
At issue now is whether Kilpatrick violated his bond conditions in his newest felony case on Saturday while at the home of his mother on LaSalle Boulevard in Detroit. Reporters observed the mayor and his sister, Ayanna Kilpatrick, at the home around the same time. Kilpatrick reportedly also was there with Jefferson Travis, a Detroit Police bodyguard who has long been assigned to the mayor's security detail. ...
... "Magistrate Renee McDuffee ordered that the conditions of the bond included having no contact with the witnesses of this case. The court was clear that this prohibition extended to the witnesses, not merely the two victims." Baker said in his motion filed today.
Baker added that Kilpatrick's seeing Ayanna Kilpatrick at their mother's house is "a violation of the terms and conditions set forth by the court on August 8, 2008." ...
By Joe Swickard and Jim Schaefer
Free Press Staff Writers
August 11, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's freedom will be addressed again Tuesday, in a hearing before 36th District Court Judge Ronald Giles on whether Kilpatrick violated terms of his bond over the weekend, the Free Press has learned.
The bond violation hearing and an upcoming preliminary examination on two felonious assault charges are going to be heard by Giles because the incident arose while the mayor was on bond to Giles in a separate criminal case that evolved from the mayor's text message scandal.
Giles is the judge who ordered Kilpatrick to jail last week after a bond violation in the text message case.
At issue now is whether Kilpatrick violated his bond conditions in his newest felony case on Saturday while at the home of his mother on LaSalle Boulevard in Detroit. Reporters observed the mayor and his sister, Ayanna Kilpatrick, at the home around the same time. Kilpatrick reportedly also was there with Jefferson Travis, a Detroit Police bodyguard who has long been assigned to the mayor's security detail. ...
... "Magistrate Renee McDuffee ordered that the conditions of the bond included having no contact with the witnesses of this case. The court was clear that this prohibition extended to the witnesses, not merely the two victims." Baker said in his motion filed today.
Baker added that Kilpatrick's seeing Ayanna Kilpatrick at their mother's house is "a violation of the terms and conditions set forth by the court on August 8, 2008." ...
What does Greene mystery's latest twist mean for Kilpatrick?
By ROCHELLE RILEY
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
August 11, 2008
And the walls come tumbling down...
Now that it appears that Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick will end his career as mayor, either as a convicted felon or as an ousted mayor, he may finally, finally be convinced that whatever life he envisions for himself is a pipe dream.
If he didn't before, perhaps today's developments will do it: Someone finally, finally may have come forward with the only information that matters.
Lt. Michael Kearns, a Detroit Emergency Medical Service worker, says in an affidavit that he encountered an upset and injured Tamara Greene at a Detroit gas station in the fall of 2002, and she claimed she had been dancing at the Manoogian Mansion when the mayor's wife hit her and threw her and another dancer out of the house. The 27-year-old Greene's face was swollen above her left eye. Kearns said he watched her get into an ambulance that was to take her to Detroit Receiving Hospital. A second EMS worker said in an additional affidavit that he saw the mayor and some of his bodyguards at Detroit Receiving Hospital that fall, but he did not give a specific time or date.
The following spring, at 3:40 a.m. on April 30, 2003, Tamara Greene was shot three times while sitting in her white Chevy Trailblazer with her 32-year-old boyfriend on a west Detroit street. The boyfriend survived.
Former police officer Alvin Bowman said he was investigating the possibility that a Detroit police officer killed Greene because, among other things, she was shot with .40-caliber bullets, and Detroit officers use .40-caliber Glocks. He said that files went missing, and he was eventually demoted. He sued and won a settlement against the city.
If the mayor's attorneys think they've been to the circus, they have no idea. ...
By ROCHELLE RILEY
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
August 11, 2008
And the walls come tumbling down...
Now that it appears that Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick will end his career as mayor, either as a convicted felon or as an ousted mayor, he may finally, finally be convinced that whatever life he envisions for himself is a pipe dream.
If he didn't before, perhaps today's developments will do it: Someone finally, finally may have come forward with the only information that matters.
Lt. Michael Kearns, a Detroit Emergency Medical Service worker, says in an affidavit that he encountered an upset and injured Tamara Greene at a Detroit gas station in the fall of 2002, and she claimed she had been dancing at the Manoogian Mansion when the mayor's wife hit her and threw her and another dancer out of the house. The 27-year-old Greene's face was swollen above her left eye. Kearns said he watched her get into an ambulance that was to take her to Detroit Receiving Hospital. A second EMS worker said in an additional affidavit that he saw the mayor and some of his bodyguards at Detroit Receiving Hospital that fall, but he did not give a specific time or date.
The following spring, at 3:40 a.m. on April 30, 2003, Tamara Greene was shot three times while sitting in her white Chevy Trailblazer with her 32-year-old boyfriend on a west Detroit street. The boyfriend survived.
Former police officer Alvin Bowman said he was investigating the possibility that a Detroit police officer killed Greene because, among other things, she was shot with .40-caliber bullets, and Detroit officers use .40-caliber Glocks. He said that files went missing, and he was eventually demoted. He sued and won a settlement against the city.
If the mayor's attorneys think they've been to the circus, they have no idea. ...
Granholm: Hearing on request to remove Kilpatrick could stretch into evenings, weekends
By Chris Christoff and Zachary Gorchow
Free Press Staff Writers
August 11, 2008
Gov. Jennifer Granholm issued procedural rules today governing the removal hearing requested by the Detroit City Council against Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, if the governor decides to order a hearing.
The order is the first indication that the hearing could extend more than a day. Granholm advises the hearing, which begins Sept. 3, will involve "extended evening and weekend hours if necessary."
Granholm directed the council to file by Aug. 15 a list of all witnesses it expects to call and a copy of all proposed exhibits. She directed the mayor to do the same by Aug. 25.
The hearing will allow each party to offer an opening and a closing statement, each not to exceed 15 minutes.
The council's attorneys will present witnesses first and will be subject to cross-examination by the mayor's attorneys. Cross-examination also applies to witnesses called by the mayor.
Further, the governor can question and cross-examine all witnesses, who will testify under oath.
Granholm informed the two sides they each will be responsible for securing witnesses because she lacks subpoena power to compel testimony.
The governor said the rules of evidence for a nonjury civil case in circuit court would be the guideline on admissibility issues, but that she would be the ultimate arbiter. Objections to evidence can be made.
But Granholm's rules do not address a request from Kilpatrick administration general counsel Sharon McPhail for immunity for Kilpatrick if he testifies - and any witnesses McPhail might call - should Granholm begin hearings on whether to oust the mayor for misconduct. McPhail has said Kilpatrick could jeopardize his right to a fair trial in the criminal charges pending against him. ...
By Chris Christoff and Zachary Gorchow
Free Press Staff Writers
August 11, 2008
Gov. Jennifer Granholm issued procedural rules today governing the removal hearing requested by the Detroit City Council against Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, if the governor decides to order a hearing.
The order is the first indication that the hearing could extend more than a day. Granholm advises the hearing, which begins Sept. 3, will involve "extended evening and weekend hours if necessary."
Granholm directed the council to file by Aug. 15 a list of all witnesses it expects to call and a copy of all proposed exhibits. She directed the mayor to do the same by Aug. 25.
The hearing will allow each party to offer an opening and a closing statement, each not to exceed 15 minutes.
The council's attorneys will present witnesses first and will be subject to cross-examination by the mayor's attorneys. Cross-examination also applies to witnesses called by the mayor.
Further, the governor can question and cross-examine all witnesses, who will testify under oath.
Granholm informed the two sides they each will be responsible for securing witnesses because she lacks subpoena power to compel testimony.
The governor said the rules of evidence for a nonjury civil case in circuit court would be the guideline on admissibility issues, but that she would be the ultimate arbiter. Objections to evidence can be made.
But Granholm's rules do not address a request from Kilpatrick administration general counsel Sharon McPhail for immunity for Kilpatrick if he testifies - and any witnesses McPhail might call - should Granholm begin hearings on whether to oust the mayor for misconduct. McPhail has said Kilpatrick could jeopardize his right to a fair trial in the criminal charges pending against him. ...
EMS supervisor says Greene claimed Carlita Kilpatrick beat her up
BY BEN SCHMITT and JIM SCHAEFER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
August 11, 2008
A Detroit Fire Department EMS supervisor said he talked with a swollen-faced Tamara Greene the night she was supposedly assaulted by the wife of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, according to a court filing today.
Lt. Michael Kearns signed an affidavit with Birmingham attorney Norman Yatooma in which he says he interviewed Greene, a stripper, at a gas station on Jefferson and Conner in the fall of 2002.
"The woman was very upset and had swelling over her left eye," Kearns said, adding she and a friend "were dancing at a party at the Manoogian Mansion and that the Mayor's wife, Carlita Kilpatrick, threw a fit, hit her and the other dancer, then kicked them out of the house."
Yatooma filed the disclosures today in U.S. District Court in connection with a lawsuit that accuses the city of thwarting an investigation into Greene's April 30, 2003, killing. Yatooma filed the lawsuit on behalf of Greene's son, Jonathan Bond, and is representing some of her other family members.
In his affidavit, Kearns said Greene was also talking with Detroit Police officers and an EMS unit arrived and subsequently transported her to a hospital. The affidavit does not name any of the EMS workers or police officers.
Kearns said the incident occurred on a Friday or Saturday night, but he did not remember the date.
He said he never came forward: "out of fear for my career and my safety." ...
BY BEN SCHMITT and JIM SCHAEFER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
August 11, 2008
A Detroit Fire Department EMS supervisor said he talked with a swollen-faced Tamara Greene the night she was supposedly assaulted by the wife of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, according to a court filing today.
Lt. Michael Kearns signed an affidavit with Birmingham attorney Norman Yatooma in which he says he interviewed Greene, a stripper, at a gas station on Jefferson and Conner in the fall of 2002.
"The woman was very upset and had swelling over her left eye," Kearns said, adding she and a friend "were dancing at a party at the Manoogian Mansion and that the Mayor's wife, Carlita Kilpatrick, threw a fit, hit her and the other dancer, then kicked them out of the house."
Yatooma filed the disclosures today in U.S. District Court in connection with a lawsuit that accuses the city of thwarting an investigation into Greene's April 30, 2003, killing. Yatooma filed the lawsuit on behalf of Greene's son, Jonathan Bond, and is representing some of her other family members.
In his affidavit, Kearns said Greene was also talking with Detroit Police officers and an EMS unit arrived and subsequently transported her to a hospital. The affidavit does not name any of the EMS workers or police officers.
Kearns said the incident occurred on a Friday or Saturday night, but he did not remember the date.
He said he never came forward: "out of fear for my career and my safety." ...
A Look At The Mayor's Tether
Last Update: 8/8/08 5:40 pm
(WXYZ) When the Mayor was released from custody, he was put on an electronic tether. The device uses GPS satellites to take a constant reading of his location.
The tether cannot be removed without the proper tools. If it is, it will automatically notify police of the Mayor's location so he can be taken into custody.
Mayor Kilpatrick was required to put a $100 deposit down before he was fitted with the tether. He also must make sure it is charged at least once a day. If the battery gets too low it will also send a signal to authorities. ...
Last Update: 8/8/08 5:40 pm
(WXYZ) When the Mayor was released from custody, he was put on an electronic tether. The device uses GPS satellites to take a constant reading of his location.
The tether cannot be removed without the proper tools. If it is, it will automatically notify police of the Mayor's location so he can be taken into custody.
Mayor Kilpatrick was required to put a $100 deposit down before he was fitted with the tether. He also must make sure it is charged at least once a day. If the battery gets too low it will also send a signal to authorities. ...
Who Bailed Out The Mayor?
Last Update: 8/8/08 5:46 pm
(WXYZ) When Mayor Kilpatrick posted his bond, it didn't come from his own pocket. He got the money from a bailbondsman. ...
Last Update: 8/8/08 5:46 pm
(WXYZ) When Mayor Kilpatrick posted his bond, it didn't come from his own pocket. He got the money from a bailbondsman. ...
Mayor's job loss threats increasing with time
By Zachary Gorchow
Free Press Staff Writer
August 7, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick just told a district judge that if the city fails to reach an agreement with Windsor on a deal to sell Detroit's half of the Detroit-Windsor [Ontario, Canada] Tunnel that he would have to lay off 2,000 city employees.
But that contradicts significantly with what Deputy Mayor Anthony Adams told the City Council about the layoff possibilities. Adams once told the council it would require the laying off of 1,300 non-uniform employees or 738 police officers and firefighters to come up with the $65 million that would be realized by selling the city's half of the tunnel.
In July, Adams revised that estimate and told the council that 1,200 was probably impossible because of the devastating impact that would have on city services and the city would instead lay off fewer employees and use other methods - like property sales - to come up with the rest of the money....
By Zachary Gorchow
Free Press Staff Writer
August 7, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick just told a district judge that if the city fails to reach an agreement with Windsor on a deal to sell Detroit's half of the Detroit-Windsor [Ontario, Canada] Tunnel that he would have to lay off 2,000 city employees.
But that contradicts significantly with what Deputy Mayor Anthony Adams told the City Council about the layoff possibilities. Adams once told the council it would require the laying off of 1,300 non-uniform employees or 738 police officers and firefighters to come up with the $65 million that would be realized by selling the city's half of the tunnel.
In July, Adams revised that estimate and told the council that 1,200 was probably impossible because of the devastating impact that would have on city services and the city would instead lay off fewer employees and use other methods - like property sales - to come up with the rest of the money....
Kilpatrick, city release statements
The Detroit News
Thursday, August 7, 2008
DETROIT -- Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has appointed Chief of Staff Kandia N. Milton as deputy mayor to run the city while Kilpatrick spends the night in jail.
Kilpatrick issued a statement making this change this afternoon. Milton has been plagued by financial issues.
Before Kilpatrick released a statement, city spokesman James Canning issued another statement for the city.
That statement reads:
"Detroit's government will continue to operate as usual. As there is in any city, a deputy mayor is appointed to oversee city operations in the Mayor's absence. A letter filed with the city clerk nearly two weeks ago appointed Kandia Milton as Deputy Mayor beginning August 1.
"Mayor Kilpatrick has also appointed very talented directors and deputy directors to run the day-to-day operations of our city departments. Trash will continue to be collected, recreation centers will remain open, grass will be cut, and fires will be extinguished.
"Once again, residents can be assured government will continue to operate as usual."
The Detroit News
Thursday, August 7, 2008
DETROIT -- Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has appointed Chief of Staff Kandia N. Milton as deputy mayor to run the city while Kilpatrick spends the night in jail.
Kilpatrick issued a statement making this change this afternoon. Milton has been plagued by financial issues.
Before Kilpatrick released a statement, city spokesman James Canning issued another statement for the city.
That statement reads:
"Detroit's government will continue to operate as usual. As there is in any city, a deputy mayor is appointed to oversee city operations in the Mayor's absence. A letter filed with the city clerk nearly two weeks ago appointed Kandia Milton as Deputy Mayor beginning August 1.
"Mayor Kilpatrick has also appointed very talented directors and deputy directors to run the day-to-day operations of our city departments. Trash will continue to be collected, recreation centers will remain open, grass will be cut, and fires will be extinguished.
"Once again, residents can be assured government will continue to operate as usual."
Mayor Kilpatrick to spend night in jail
Doug Guthrie and David Josar / The Detroit News
Thursday, August 7, 2008
DETROIT -- A judge on Thursday ordered Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to jail, shocking the city and plunging the leadership of the nation's 11th-largest city into uncertainty.
Despite a plea from Kilpatrick that invoked his sons, his respect for the judicial process and his love of the city, 36th District Judge Ronald Giles was unmoved. He revoked Kilpatrick's bond, ordering him to jail on a bond violation for a July 23 trip to Windsor.
As Kilpatrick's lips quivered, Giles ended a short speech by concluding: "If it was not Kwame Kilpatrick sitting in that seat, if it was John Six-Pack sitting in the seat, what would I do? That answers something. So I go back to my original, 'Keep it simple.'
"That's what I have to do ... the court is revoking your bond, that all travel be suspended, and that you be remanded to Wayne County Jail."
Wayne County sheriff's deputies were expected to pick up Kilpatrick from 36th District Court at noon and transport him to the main jail on St. Antoine, said John Roach, a spokesman for Sheriff Warren Evans. At 11:30 a.m., he said deputies were still working out lodging arrangements, such as whether Kilpatrick will be in solitary confinement.
Kilpatrick will spend the night in jail. His attorneys immediately appealed to Wayne Circuit Judge Thomas E. Jackson, who said he will hear the appeal at 9 a.m. Friday.
The order from Giles came after Kilpatrick threw himself at the court's mercy, acknowledging he violated the terms of his bond with the trip. ...
Doug Guthrie and David Josar / The Detroit News
Thursday, August 7, 2008
DETROIT -- A judge on Thursday ordered Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to jail, shocking the city and plunging the leadership of the nation's 11th-largest city into uncertainty.
Despite a plea from Kilpatrick that invoked his sons, his respect for the judicial process and his love of the city, 36th District Judge Ronald Giles was unmoved. He revoked Kilpatrick's bond, ordering him to jail on a bond violation for a July 23 trip to Windsor.
As Kilpatrick's lips quivered, Giles ended a short speech by concluding: "If it was not Kwame Kilpatrick sitting in that seat, if it was John Six-Pack sitting in the seat, what would I do? That answers something. So I go back to my original, 'Keep it simple.'
"That's what I have to do ... the court is revoking your bond, that all travel be suspended, and that you be remanded to Wayne County Jail."
Wayne County sheriff's deputies were expected to pick up Kilpatrick from 36th District Court at noon and transport him to the main jail on St. Antoine, said John Roach, a spokesman for Sheriff Warren Evans. At 11:30 a.m., he said deputies were still working out lodging arrangements, such as whether Kilpatrick will be in solitary confinement.
Kilpatrick will spend the night in jail. His attorneys immediately appealed to Wayne Circuit Judge Thomas E. Jackson, who said he will hear the appeal at 9 a.m. Friday.
The order from Giles came after Kilpatrick threw himself at the court's mercy, acknowledging he violated the terms of his bond with the trip. ...
Cockrel calls mayor's jailing a stunning blow to city
By Zachary Gorchow
Free Press Staff Writer
August 7, 2008
Detroit City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. said today that the jailing of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is another stunning blow to Detroit since the text message scandal broke in February. ...
... Cockrel again repeated his call for Kilpatrick to resign.
Earlier, Cockrel said he wanted council attorneys to examine whether Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's jailing constitutes his removal from office and creates a vacancy. But he just told Free Press reporting partner Local 4 that those attorneys have told him the mayor is on solid legal ground to name his chief of staff, Kandia Milton, as deputy mayor to serve in his absence and that the jailing does not constitute a vacancy.
By Zachary Gorchow
Free Press Staff Writer
August 7, 2008
Detroit City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. said today that the jailing of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is another stunning blow to Detroit since the text message scandal broke in February. ...
... Cockrel again repeated his call for Kilpatrick to resign.
Earlier, Cockrel said he wanted council attorneys to examine whether Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's jailing constitutes his removal from office and creates a vacancy. But he just told Free Press reporting partner Local 4 that those attorneys have told him the mayor is on solid legal ground to name his chief of staff, Kandia Milton, as deputy mayor to serve in his absence and that the jailing does not constitute a vacancy.
Kilpatrick lawyer expects Cox to charge mayor, perhaps soon
He gets heads-up about Cox's intentions, isn't surprised
BY BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
August 7, 2008
A lawyer for Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said Wednesday that he believes state Attorney General Mike Cox will charge the mayor as soon as this week with a crime stemming from last month's porch-shoving incident involving a sheriff's employee.
Attorney Jim Parkman said he got a call over the weekend from a reliable source that Cox will charge Kilpatrick. The call prompted him to advise Kilpatrick not to talk to Michigan State Police who are investigating a July 24 incident in which Kilpatrick allegedly shoved Wayne County Detective Brian White.
"The call came from somebody that I tend to believe," Parkman said, declining to reveal his source. "The person indicated the AG is going to get a warrant."
An Attorney General's Office official declined to comment.
Parkman, who earlier ridiculed any effort to charge the mayor, said he's not sure what type of charge Kilpatrick could face. But he's not surprised.
"I've been expecting it," he said. "Well, you have a sheriff's deputy who said it happened and you have an AG who obviously doesn't like my client. Put those two factors together, and that means it's bound to happen."
Assaulting a law enforcement officer could result in a felony charge.
White testified Kilpatrick shoved him into his partner, JoAnn Kinney, after they stopped at the house of Kilpatrick's sister, Ayanna Kilpatrick, to serve a subpoena. ...
He gets heads-up about Cox's intentions, isn't surprised
BY BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
August 7, 2008
A lawyer for Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said Wednesday that he believes state Attorney General Mike Cox will charge the mayor as soon as this week with a crime stemming from last month's porch-shoving incident involving a sheriff's employee.
Attorney Jim Parkman said he got a call over the weekend from a reliable source that Cox will charge Kilpatrick. The call prompted him to advise Kilpatrick not to talk to Michigan State Police who are investigating a July 24 incident in which Kilpatrick allegedly shoved Wayne County Detective Brian White.
"The call came from somebody that I tend to believe," Parkman said, declining to reveal his source. "The person indicated the AG is going to get a warrant."
An Attorney General's Office official declined to comment.
Parkman, who earlier ridiculed any effort to charge the mayor, said he's not sure what type of charge Kilpatrick could face. But he's not surprised.
"I've been expecting it," he said. "Well, you have a sheriff's deputy who said it happened and you have an AG who obviously doesn't like my client. Put those two factors together, and that means it's bound to happen."
Assaulting a law enforcement officer could result in a felony charge.
White testified Kilpatrick shoved him into his partner, JoAnn Kinney, after they stopped at the house of Kilpatrick's sister, Ayanna Kilpatrick, to serve a subpoena. ...
Kilpatrick will spend night in jail
Judge Giles unmoved by mayor's apology
By M.L. ELRICK and JOE SWICKARD
Free Press Staff Writers
August 7, 2008
Updated at 12:11 p.m.
Judge Ronald Giles just sent Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to jail moments after the mayor pleaded for forgiveness and admitted he made an unauthorized trip to Windsor on city business.
As of noon Kilpatrick was still at 36th District Court being processed for transfer to Wayne County Jail.
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"The first day you were before me, I thought I made it clear to you that this court comes first in everything," Giles said. "I do understand that you're under...pressure...but I have to look at how the system should be run and perceived by the public."
"At the beginning of this case you were given every privilege that could be given to you with regard to travel," Giles said, adding that he later imposed restrictions after learning Kilpatrick had been abusing his privileges. ...
Judge Giles unmoved by mayor's apology
By M.L. ELRICK and JOE SWICKARD
Free Press Staff Writers
August 7, 2008
Updated at 12:11 p.m.
Judge Ronald Giles just sent Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to jail moments after the mayor pleaded for forgiveness and admitted he made an unauthorized trip to Windsor on city business.
As of noon Kilpatrick was still at 36th District Court being processed for transfer to Wayne County Jail.
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"The first day you were before me, I thought I made it clear to you that this court comes first in everything," Giles said. "I do understand that you're under...pressure...but I have to look at how the system should be run and perceived by the public."
"At the beginning of this case you were given every privilege that could be given to you with regard to travel," Giles said, adding that he later imposed restrictions after learning Kilpatrick had been abusing his privileges. ...
WILSON: Mayor Broke Bond Last Week
July 29, 2008
... when His Honor left Detroit last week and was photographed in Windsor heading to a meeting with officials there, he was in violation of this court order issued by Judge Ronald Giles. It required Kilpatrick to get permission for any personal travel outside Michigan and to give 48 hours advance notice when he leaves the state on official business.
Wilson: Was notice given that he was leaving the country last Wednesday?
Chief Judge Atkins: I checked with pre-trial services, they did not receive an envelope from the attorney regarding a trip to Canada. Judge Giles, I checked with him, he did not receive notification that the Mayor was going to Canada.
His office confirms the mayor left the country to discuss the Detroit-Windsor tunnel deal with his Canadian counterpart and others just across the river...
But as we've confirmed with several sources now, he left giving no notice to the office of prosecutor Kym Worthy as [required] and nothing at all [was] said to the court in violation of the order. Sources here tell us his last notice for out-of-state travel was two weeks ago for an unrelated jaunt. ...
July 29, 2008
... when His Honor left Detroit last week and was photographed in Windsor heading to a meeting with officials there, he was in violation of this court order issued by Judge Ronald Giles. It required Kilpatrick to get permission for any personal travel outside Michigan and to give 48 hours advance notice when he leaves the state on official business.
Wilson: Was notice given that he was leaving the country last Wednesday?
Chief Judge Atkins: I checked with pre-trial services, they did not receive an envelope from the attorney regarding a trip to Canada. Judge Giles, I checked with him, he did not receive notification that the Mayor was going to Canada.
His office confirms the mayor left the country to discuss the Detroit-Windsor tunnel deal with his Canadian counterpart and others just across the river...
But as we've confirmed with several sources now, he left giving no notice to the office of prosecutor Kym Worthy as [required] and nothing at all [was] said to the court in violation of the order. Sources here tell us his last notice for out-of-state travel was two weeks ago for an unrelated jaunt. ...
Time to tell Kilpatrick he simply must go
City and state leaders have to speak up to end this mess
BY STEPHEN HENDERSON * FREE PRESS COLUMNIST * July 26, 2008
To what end are we all being forced to watch the tragic self-immolation of Kwame Kilpatrick?
What purpose is being served by the mayor of Detroit holding hostage the business of the city and the attention of the region, if not the entire state?
Plainly, his increasingly destructive chain of behavior leads nowhere good for anyone, him least of all. The endgame is clear and inevitable: Kilpatrick must leave. The city must move on.
Only the delusional can believe Kilpatrick will emerge from his morass of criminal charges and suspicions to remain mayor, as if nothing had ever happened. Too much trust has been broken. Too many of his actions over the past six months -- the tirades, the self-serving accusations and, last week, the escalation to irrational and dangerous behavior -- have tossed accelerants onto his incendiary circumstances. He has gone from suspect to thug, from public problem to public menace. ...
City and state leaders have to speak up to end this mess
BY STEPHEN HENDERSON * FREE PRESS COLUMNIST * July 26, 2008
To what end are we all being forced to watch the tragic self-immolation of Kwame Kilpatrick?
What purpose is being served by the mayor of Detroit holding hostage the business of the city and the attention of the region, if not the entire state?
Plainly, his increasingly destructive chain of behavior leads nowhere good for anyone, him least of all. The endgame is clear and inevitable: Kilpatrick must leave. The city must move on.
Only the delusional can believe Kilpatrick will emerge from his morass of criminal charges and suspicions to remain mayor, as if nothing had ever happened. Too much trust has been broken. Too many of his actions over the past six months -- the tirades, the self-serving accusations and, last week, the escalation to irrational and dangerous behavior -- have tossed accelerants onto his incendiary circumstances. He has gone from suspect to thug, from public problem to public menace. ...
Kilpatrick faces more trouble after run-in with police
Deputy says he was pushed, but mayor's lawyer says there was no roughness
BY M.L. Elrick, Jim Schaffer, Ben Schmitt and Joe Swickard
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
July 25, 2008
Michigan State Police are investigating whether Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick assaulted a deputy trying to serve a subpoena at his sister's house Thursday -- an incident that could lead to additional criminal charges against the mayor.
In court today, prosecutors could present testimony about the incident in a bid to prove Kilpatrick violated the bond set after being charged with eight felonies stemming from the text message scandal the Free Press first reported in January.
The mayor is due in court at 8:30 a.m. to learn whether Detroit 36th District Court Judge Ronald Giles will release new text messages, including messages prosecutors say show the mayor lied about extramarital affairs in addition to the one with his former chief of staff Christine Beatty.
Kilpatrick's latest troubles began around 4 p.m., when a Wayne County sheriff's deputy and an investigator from Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy's office went to Ayanna Kilpatrick's home in Detroit to serve a subpoena on Bobby Ferguson. Ferguson, a controversial city contractor, is one of the mayor's best friends. His cousin, Daniel Ferguson, is married to Ayanna Kilpatrick.
"The officer alleges that the mayor pushed him with significant force to make him bounce into the prosecutor's investigator," Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans said at an evening news conference. ...
Deputy says he was pushed, but mayor's lawyer says there was no roughness
BY M.L. Elrick, Jim Schaffer, Ben Schmitt and Joe Swickard
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
July 25, 2008
Michigan State Police are investigating whether Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick assaulted a deputy trying to serve a subpoena at his sister's house Thursday -- an incident that could lead to additional criminal charges against the mayor.
In court today, prosecutors could present testimony about the incident in a bid to prove Kilpatrick violated the bond set after being charged with eight felonies stemming from the text message scandal the Free Press first reported in January.
The mayor is due in court at 8:30 a.m. to learn whether Detroit 36th District Court Judge Ronald Giles will release new text messages, including messages prosecutors say show the mayor lied about extramarital affairs in addition to the one with his former chief of staff Christine Beatty.
Kilpatrick's latest troubles began around 4 p.m., when a Wayne County sheriff's deputy and an investigator from Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy's office went to Ayanna Kilpatrick's home in Detroit to serve a subpoena on Bobby Ferguson. Ferguson, a controversial city contractor, is one of the mayor's best friends. His cousin, Daniel Ferguson, is married to Ayanna Kilpatrick.
"The officer alleges that the mayor pushed him with significant force to make him bounce into the prosecutor's investigator," Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans said at an evening news conference. ...
Judge orders Kilpatrick to post $7,500 bond to remain out of jail
BY M.L. Elrick
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
July 25, 2008
Updated at 1:08 p.m.
A stern Detroit judge, saying he has thrown people in jail for less, found that Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick violated the terms of his bond in his criminal case after a sheriff's deputy testified he was assaulted by the mayor Thursday.
The ruling followed sheriff's deputy Brian White's testimony this morning that Kilpatrick shouted expletives at him and his partner when White sought to serve a subpoena on Kilpatrick's friend, Bobby Ferguson, at the mayor's sister's home Thursday. White said the mayor then threw him into his investigative partner, Joann Kinney, and made racially charged remarks during the incident.
Judge Ronald Giles of Detroit's 36th District Court changed Kilpatrick's bond from a personal bond in his criminal perjury case to requiring him to post $7,500 cash with the court to remain free.
And Giles revoked the mayor's right to make any trips -- business or otherwise -- without a court hearing, though he allowed previously scheduled travel. He also ordered periodic and random drug screens for the mayor, though there was no accusation that Kilpatrick was under the influence during the alleged assault.
The judge said it does not "matter whether investigator White was pushed or thrown ... the fact that defendant Kilpatrick decided to inject himself into this situation where the officers were attempting to lawfully serve a subpoena ... defendant Kilpatrick had no right ... to come into contact with investigator White or say anything to investigator White."
"I have locked up defendants for approaching or saying things to witnesses for a lot less, let alone touching them," Giles said. "I'm at a loss to defendant Kilpatrick's behavior here. It's irrational." ...
... After meeting a man who identified himself as Derrick Ferguson, White said he heard shouting from Ayanna Kilpatrick's home.
"'Don't tell those f------ anything ... Get the f--- out of here.' At that point Kilpatrick comes storming out through the door, grabbed me with both of my hands behind me and throws me into investigator Kinney," referring to his partner, retired Detroit Police Homicide Sgt. Joann Kinney.
At that point in White's testimony, Kilpatrick turned, wide-eyed, toward one of his police bodyguards sitting in the front row of the courtroom. The police officer shook his head.
White continued testifying that Kilpatrick said: "Get the f--- out of here. Leave my f------ family alone. Get off my f------ porch." ...
kwame's got as bad a Detroit accent (every other word starts with 'f') as that old pimp coleman young ever had, even when he was a drunken, foul-mouthed old man whom the news had quit interviewing live.
I wonder if the dead old pimp has possessed him, they're so much alike.
BY M.L. Elrick
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
July 25, 2008
Updated at 1:08 p.m.
A stern Detroit judge, saying he has thrown people in jail for less, found that Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick violated the terms of his bond in his criminal case after a sheriff's deputy testified he was assaulted by the mayor Thursday.
The ruling followed sheriff's deputy Brian White's testimony this morning that Kilpatrick shouted expletives at him and his partner when White sought to serve a subpoena on Kilpatrick's friend, Bobby Ferguson, at the mayor's sister's home Thursday. White said the mayor then threw him into his investigative partner, Joann Kinney, and made racially charged remarks during the incident.
Judge Ronald Giles of Detroit's 36th District Court changed Kilpatrick's bond from a personal bond in his criminal perjury case to requiring him to post $7,500 cash with the court to remain free.
And Giles revoked the mayor's right to make any trips -- business or otherwise -- without a court hearing, though he allowed previously scheduled travel. He also ordered periodic and random drug screens for the mayor, though there was no accusation that Kilpatrick was under the influence during the alleged assault.
The judge said it does not "matter whether investigator White was pushed or thrown ... the fact that defendant Kilpatrick decided to inject himself into this situation where the officers were attempting to lawfully serve a subpoena ... defendant Kilpatrick had no right ... to come into contact with investigator White or say anything to investigator White."
"I have locked up defendants for approaching or saying things to witnesses for a lot less, let alone touching them," Giles said. "I'm at a loss to defendant Kilpatrick's behavior here. It's irrational." ...
... After meeting a man who identified himself as Derrick Ferguson, White said he heard shouting from Ayanna Kilpatrick's home.
"'Don't tell those f------ anything ... Get the f--- out of here.' At that point Kilpatrick comes storming out through the door, grabbed me with both of my hands behind me and throws me into investigator Kinney," referring to his partner, retired Detroit Police Homicide Sgt. Joann Kinney.
At that point in White's testimony, Kilpatrick turned, wide-eyed, toward one of his police bodyguards sitting in the front row of the courtroom. The police officer shook his head.
White continued testifying that Kilpatrick said: "Get the f--- out of here. Leave my f------ family alone. Get off my f------ porch." ...
kwame's got as bad a Detroit accent (every other word starts with 'f') as that old pimp coleman young ever had, even when he was a drunken, foul-mouthed old man whom the news had quit interviewing live.
I wonder if the dead old pimp has possessed him, they're so much alike.
A Preacher, A Prostitute & The Mayor
Last Update: July 15, 2008 11:53 pm
There are new questions about whether Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick pulled some strings to help someone avoid a trial on prostitution-related charges. ...
... It's a case of a now-former minister from one of the city's prominent churches picked up in a police prostitution sting, charged with soliciting a hooker, but then, after the preacher's lawyer says the defendant personally prevailed upon the mayor, the charges were ultimately dropped. Remember, this is a mayor who has vowed to fight prostitution by getting tough on "Johns," the men who solicit sex on the street. ...
... Antoinette Bostic: I was told that my supervisors, they told me they received a call, my lieutenant received a call from the chief's office and the mayor's office for me not to appear in court on that ticket.
Without the cop [Bostic] in the court, the charges would be dropped, the preacher would be entirely off the hook, and who would ever know?
Antoinette Bostic: It was my arrest and my supervisors were there that night and they said go to court.
Wilson: So you went.
Antoinette Bostic: Yes, I did.
Wilson: And the defendant showed up?
Antoinette Bostic: Yes he did.
Wilson: And what did he say? What happened?
Antoinette Bostic: His lawyer showed up with him and his lawyer made statements that the chief of the Detroit police department and the mayor was involved, and the ticket never should have made it to 36th District Court. ...
Ms Antoinette Bostic is no longer with the Detroit police department.
I wonder why.
I do not wonder why the preacher ain't that big baptist church's minister anymore.
Last Update: July 15, 2008 11:53 pm
There are new questions about whether Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick pulled some strings to help someone avoid a trial on prostitution-related charges. ...
... It's a case of a now-former minister from one of the city's prominent churches picked up in a police prostitution sting, charged with soliciting a hooker, but then, after the preacher's lawyer says the defendant personally prevailed upon the mayor, the charges were ultimately dropped. Remember, this is a mayor who has vowed to fight prostitution by getting tough on "Johns," the men who solicit sex on the street. ...
... Antoinette Bostic: I was told that my supervisors, they told me they received a call, my lieutenant received a call from the chief's office and the mayor's office for me not to appear in court on that ticket.
Without the cop [Bostic] in the court, the charges would be dropped, the preacher would be entirely off the hook, and who would ever know?
Antoinette Bostic: It was my arrest and my supervisors were there that night and they said go to court.
Wilson: So you went.
Antoinette Bostic: Yes, I did.
Wilson: And the defendant showed up?
Antoinette Bostic: Yes he did.
Wilson: And what did he say? What happened?
Antoinette Bostic: His lawyer showed up with him and his lawyer made statements that the chief of the Detroit police department and the mayor was involved, and the ticket never should have made it to 36th District Court. ...
Ms Antoinette Bostic is no longer with the Detroit police department.
I wonder why.
I do not wonder why the preacher ain't that big baptist church's minister anymore.
THE SYNAGRO SLUDGE DEAL
Concerns raised about Synagro contract were ignored
Kenyatta: Some on council didn't care
BY ZACHARY GORCHOW
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
July 6, 2008
The warning signs were there.
Some members of the Detroit City Council, environmentalists and union leaders saw trouble brewing last autumn in a proposal from Synagro Technologies to reprocess sludge from the city's waste treatment plant into fertilizer -- despite promises of reduced pollution and costs.
There were concerns about Rayford Jackson -- a new Synagro representative with ties to a Detroit housing scandal -- and James Rosendall, a Synagro vice president whose links to a troublesome compost facility had drawn the anger of residents.
Though the contract was relatively low-profile at the time, the revelation of an FBI investigation into whether council members and staff were bribed for their support has the council looking back on the debate over Synagro last October and November, trying to figure out how those warnings were ignored.
"No matter how much I raised these issues, those folks go ahead and vote for them, anyway," said Councilman Kwame Kenyatta, who was harshly critical of Jackson's role in the contract before voting against it.
"A willing miss of a warning sign," Kenyatta said. "They really didn't care."
But other council members -- backed by the city's Department of Water and Sewerage and Houston-based Synagro -- dismissed concerns about Jackson and Rosendall at the time as side issues, according to minutes of council hearings held before the Nov. 20 vote. They argued the new plant would improve air quality and save money compared to continuing to burn sludge at Detroit's older incinerators.
The project passed on a 5-4 vote, completing an intense 4-year effort by Synagro to win approval.
'Let's behave'
At one hearing, debate between Kenyatta and Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel, who backed the project, grew so heated that Council President Pro Tem Monica Conyers admonished them to behave.
Kenyatta was wary of Jackson's participation in the Synagro deal after his company had been implicated in a city housing scandal a year earlier. Detroit's auditor general reported in 2006 that the city's housing agency had sold properties at reduced prices to companies owned by Jackson and others, who then flipped the properties at a sizable profit.
Kenyatta had argued at the hearing that Jackson was tainted, which should disqualify Synagro's bid.
Sheila Cockrel countered that Jackson had never been charged with wrongdoing.
"I thought people were presumed innocent until proven guilty," Cockrel said, adding, "The project speaks for itself, we're either for it or we're not."
After several tense minutes, Conyers broke in.
"Let's behave," she pleaded. "We have guests here, and we don't want them to go back and say we're crazy, or something." ...
Concerns raised about Synagro contract were ignored
Kenyatta: Some on council didn't care
BY ZACHARY GORCHOW
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
July 6, 2008
The warning signs were there.
Some members of the Detroit City Council, environmentalists and union leaders saw trouble brewing last autumn in a proposal from Synagro Technologies to reprocess sludge from the city's waste treatment plant into fertilizer -- despite promises of reduced pollution and costs.
There were concerns about Rayford Jackson -- a new Synagro representative with ties to a Detroit housing scandal -- and James Rosendall, a Synagro vice president whose links to a troublesome compost facility had drawn the anger of residents.
Though the contract was relatively low-profile at the time, the revelation of an FBI investigation into whether council members and staff were bribed for their support has the council looking back on the debate over Synagro last October and November, trying to figure out how those warnings were ignored.
"No matter how much I raised these issues, those folks go ahead and vote for them, anyway," said Councilman Kwame Kenyatta, who was harshly critical of Jackson's role in the contract before voting against it.
"A willing miss of a warning sign," Kenyatta said. "They really didn't care."
But other council members -- backed by the city's Department of Water and Sewerage and Houston-based Synagro -- dismissed concerns about Jackson and Rosendall at the time as side issues, according to minutes of council hearings held before the Nov. 20 vote. They argued the new plant would improve air quality and save money compared to continuing to burn sludge at Detroit's older incinerators.
The project passed on a 5-4 vote, completing an intense 4-year effort by Synagro to win approval.
'Let's behave'
At one hearing, debate between Kenyatta and Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel, who backed the project, grew so heated that Council President Pro Tem Monica Conyers admonished them to behave.
Kenyatta was wary of Jackson's participation in the Synagro deal after his company had been implicated in a city housing scandal a year earlier. Detroit's auditor general reported in 2006 that the city's housing agency had sold properties at reduced prices to companies owned by Jackson and others, who then flipped the properties at a sizable profit.
Kenyatta had argued at the hearing that Jackson was tainted, which should disqualify Synagro's bid.
Sheila Cockrel countered that Jackson had never been charged with wrongdoing.
"I thought people were presumed innocent until proven guilty," Cockrel said, adding, "The project speaks for itself, we're either for it or we're not."
After several tense minutes, Conyers broke in.
"Let's behave," she pleaded. "We have guests here, and we don't want them to go back and say we're crazy, or something." ...
News: FBI Has Evidence Against Conyers
Last Update: Jul 6 2008 9:00 am
(WXYZ) Our reporting partners at the Detroit News are reporting that the FBI has electronic surveillance that links Detroit City Council President Pro Tem Monica Conyers to the Synagro scandal.
The evidence reportedly proves that Conyers received either a payment or payments in connection with the city-approved sludge contract.
Conyers was a vocal opponent of the $47 million a year Synagro contract, but changed her position and eventually voted for the deal when it passed by 5-4 vote in November.
The FBI is also looking into the involvement of, and possible payments to several other people in connection with the Synagro deal. Another, unnamed member of Council is also reportedly the focus of the investigation.
The investigation has also touched Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and Council President Ken Cockrel, Jr. Cockrel's former chief of staff John Clark resigned after it was reported that he had been videotaped taking a bribe. Mayor Kilpatrick's father Bernard Kilpatrick name has surfaced in the investigation, as has that of Michael Tardif, a member of the Democratic National Committee, and adviser to the mayor. Cockrel has said he is not a target of the investigation, Kilpatrick says he had no involvement in the Synagro deal. ...
Last Update: Jul 6 2008 9:00 am
(WXYZ) Our reporting partners at the Detroit News are reporting that the FBI has electronic surveillance that links Detroit City Council President Pro Tem Monica Conyers to the Synagro scandal.
The evidence reportedly proves that Conyers received either a payment or payments in connection with the city-approved sludge contract.
Conyers was a vocal opponent of the $47 million a year Synagro contract, but changed her position and eventually voted for the deal when it passed by 5-4 vote in November.
The FBI is also looking into the involvement of, and possible payments to several other people in connection with the Synagro deal. Another, unnamed member of Council is also reportedly the focus of the investigation.
The investigation has also touched Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and Council President Ken Cockrel, Jr. Cockrel's former chief of staff John Clark resigned after it was reported that he had been videotaped taking a bribe. Mayor Kilpatrick's father Bernard Kilpatrick name has surfaced in the investigation, as has that of Michael Tardif, a member of the Democratic National Committee, and adviser to the mayor. Cockrel has said he is not a target of the investigation, Kilpatrick says he had no involvement in the Synagro deal. ...
Council aide, taped taking cash, resigns
'Lots of targets,' source in federal probe says; sludge deal company cooperating with FBI
BY JIM SCHAEFER, M.L. ELRICK and DAVID ASHENFELTER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
June 29, 2008
The chief of staff for Detroit City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. resigned last week after being caught on videotape taking cash amid a widening federal investigation into public corruption in Detroit, the Free Press has learned.
John Clark, who worked for Cockrel for eight years, quit his job Wednesday after federal agents showed Cockrel a videotape of Clark accepting money earlier this year, two sources told the Free Press. One of the sources said Clark received $2,000 on two occasions.
Cockrel acknowledged late Saturday that Clark resigned, but would not elaborate.
Clark did not answer his cell phone Saturday.
Cockrel, who sources say is not a target of the investigation, met with FBI agents for about 90 minutes Wednesday and viewed hidden camera footage of Clark accepting money from someone, sources said.
The sources asked for anonymity because of the sensitivity of the ongoing probe. The investigation relates to a controversial sludge recycling contract with Houston-based Synagro Technologies that City Council approved last fall.
"There are lots of targets" in the investigation, one source said Saturday.
The Free Press first reported Friday night on freep.com that FBI agents had launched a probe in which they have obtained wiretaps and quizzed several people, including asking questions about Councilwoman Monica Conyers. She has not returned calls seeking comment.
Conyers was among the five members who approved the Synagro deal. The others were Sheila Cockrel, Martha Reeves, Barbara-Rose Collins and Alberta Tinsley-Talabi. ...
'Lots of targets,' source in federal probe says; sludge deal company cooperating with FBI
BY JIM SCHAEFER, M.L. ELRICK and DAVID ASHENFELTER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
June 29, 2008
The chief of staff for Detroit City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. resigned last week after being caught on videotape taking cash amid a widening federal investigation into public corruption in Detroit, the Free Press has learned.
John Clark, who worked for Cockrel for eight years, quit his job Wednesday after federal agents showed Cockrel a videotape of Clark accepting money earlier this year, two sources told the Free Press. One of the sources said Clark received $2,000 on two occasions.
Cockrel acknowledged late Saturday that Clark resigned, but would not elaborate.
Clark did not answer his cell phone Saturday.
Cockrel, who sources say is not a target of the investigation, met with FBI agents for about 90 minutes Wednesday and viewed hidden camera footage of Clark accepting money from someone, sources said.
The sources asked for anonymity because of the sensitivity of the ongoing probe. The investigation relates to a controversial sludge recycling contract with Houston-based Synagro Technologies that City Council approved last fall.
"There are lots of targets" in the investigation, one source said Saturday.
The Free Press first reported Friday night on freep.com that FBI agents had launched a probe in which they have obtained wiretaps and quizzed several people, including asking questions about Councilwoman Monica Conyers. She has not returned calls seeking comment.
Conyers was among the five members who approved the Synagro deal. The others were Sheila Cockrel, Martha Reeves, Barbara-Rose Collins and Alberta Tinsley-Talabi. ...
SIX-FIGURE SALARIES, CARS AND TRAVEL
1st class compensation, perks for airport executives
With independent oversight came more pay and privileges
BY JENNIFER DIXON
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
June 14, 2008
In the six years since control of Detroit Metro Airport shifted from Wayne County to an independent authority, the number of executives making more than $100,000 has more than doubled.
And while other public officials in Michigan gave up free vehicles to save money, the number of airport executives with car perks also has grown -- by 13. The travel budget, meanwhile, is up eightfold.
Today, Metro has 46 executives who make more than $100,000.
Most large airports surveyed by the Free Press have fewer executives making that much money and fewer car perks. Only Dallas-Fort Worth and Minneapolis-St. Paul, of the eight airports surveyed, had more employees than Detroit Metro making at least $100,000. Only Dallas gave out more cars than the Wayne County Airport Authority. ...
1st class compensation, perks for airport executives
With independent oversight came more pay and privileges
BY JENNIFER DIXON
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
June 14, 2008
In the six years since control of Detroit Metro Airport shifted from Wayne County to an independent authority, the number of executives making more than $100,000 has more than doubled.
And while other public officials in Michigan gave up free vehicles to save money, the number of airport executives with car perks also has grown -- by 13. The travel budget, meanwhile, is up eightfold.
Today, Metro has 46 executives who make more than $100,000.
Most large airports surveyed by the Free Press have fewer executives making that much money and fewer car perks. Only Dallas-Fort Worth and Minneapolis-St. Paul, of the eight airports surveyed, had more employees than Detroit Metro making at least $100,000. Only Dallas gave out more cars than the Wayne County Airport Authority. ...
Editorial: Spare taxpayers expense of defending lawyers
Detroiters shouldn't bear costs for attorneys facing ethics charges
Monday, June 16, 2008
Taxpayers are going to be stuck with massive legal bills attached to the Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick scandal. They shouldn't have to also pick up the tab for defending attorneys involved in the case against ethics charges.
Lawyers know the rules -- or ought to -- and when they are accused of breaking them, they should have to pay for their own defense. Those who are cleared of charges can certainly petition the City Council to cover the cost of their defense. ...
Detroiters shouldn't bear costs for attorneys facing ethics charges
Monday, June 16, 2008
Taxpayers are going to be stuck with massive legal bills attached to the Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick scandal. They shouldn't have to also pick up the tab for defending attorneys involved in the case against ethics charges.
Lawyers know the rules -- or ought to -- and when they are accused of breaking them, they should have to pay for their own defense. Those who are cleared of charges can certainly petition the City Council to cover the cost of their defense. ...
US congressional report finds strong White House ties to corrupt lobbyist
Elana Schor in Washington
Monday June 9 2008
The lobbyist and convicted fraudster Jack Abramoff had a direct pipeline to the Bush White House and influenced several key decisions, according to a bipartisan draft report released in Congress today.
The draft report found Abramoff associates using expensive gifts to curry favour with White House aides and orchestrating the sacking of a US state department negotiator who disagreed with them.
In addition, the congressional report uncovered six one-on-one encounters between Abramoff and George Bush -- four more than the White House has acknowledged previously in its denials of any significant ties to the lobbyist.
"This evidence suggests that the White House failed to conduct even the most basic internal investigation of the White House relationship with Mr Abramoff before making public statements characterising the connection," the report states. ...
Liar, liar, pants on fire!
Elana Schor in Washington
Monday June 9 2008
The lobbyist and convicted fraudster Jack Abramoff had a direct pipeline to the Bush White House and influenced several key decisions, according to a bipartisan draft report released in Congress today.
The draft report found Abramoff associates using expensive gifts to curry favour with White House aides and orchestrating the sacking of a US state department negotiator who disagreed with them.
In addition, the congressional report uncovered six one-on-one encounters between Abramoff and George Bush -- four more than the White House has acknowledged previously in its denials of any significant ties to the lobbyist.
"This evidence suggests that the White House failed to conduct even the most basic internal investigation of the White House relationship with Mr Abramoff before making public statements characterising the connection," the report states. ...
Liar, liar, pants on fire!
BBC uncovers lost Iraq billions
By Jane Corbin
BBC News
Tuesday, 10 June 2008
A BBC investigation estimates that around $23bn (11.75bn) may have been lost, stolen or just not properly accounted for in Iraq.
The BBC's Panorama programme has used US and Iraqi government sources to research how much some private contractors have profited from the conflict and rebuilding.
A US gagging order is preventing discussion of the allegations.
The order applies to 70 court cases against some of the top US companies.
War profiteering
While Presdient George W Bush remains in the White House, it is unlikely the gagging orders will be lifted.
To date, no major US contractor faces trial for fraud or mismanagement in Iraq.
The president's Democratic opponents are keeping up the pressure over war profiteering in Iraq.
Henry Waxman, who chairs the House committee on oversight and government reform, said: "The money that's gone into waste, fraud and abuse under these contracts is just so outrageous, it's egregious.
"It may well turn out to be the largest war profiteering in history."
In the run-up to the invasion, one of the most senior officials in charge of procurement in the Pentagon objected to a contract potentially worth $7bn that was given to Halliburton, a Texan company which used to be run by Dick Cheney before he became vice-president.
Unusually only Halliburton got to bid - and won. ...
By Jane Corbin
BBC News
Tuesday, 10 June 2008
A BBC investigation estimates that around $23bn (11.75bn) may have been lost, stolen or just not properly accounted for in Iraq.
The BBC's Panorama programme has used US and Iraqi government sources to research how much some private contractors have profited from the conflict and rebuilding.
A US gagging order is preventing discussion of the allegations.
The order applies to 70 court cases against some of the top US companies.
War profiteering
While Presdient George W Bush remains in the White House, it is unlikely the gagging orders will be lifted.
To date, no major US contractor faces trial for fraud or mismanagement in Iraq.
The president's Democratic opponents are keeping up the pressure over war profiteering in Iraq.
Henry Waxman, who chairs the House committee on oversight and government reform, said: "The money that's gone into waste, fraud and abuse under these contracts is just so outrageous, it's egregious.
"It may well turn out to be the largest war profiteering in history."
In the run-up to the invasion, one of the most senior officials in charge of procurement in the Pentagon objected to a contract potentially worth $7bn that was given to Halliburton, a Texan company which used to be run by Dick Cheney before he became vice-president.
Unusually only Halliburton got to bid - and won. ...
Mayor's office withdraws request for city to pay lawyer's bills
By JOE SWICKARD
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
June 10, 2008
The Kilpatrick administration today withdrew its request to have the city pay the legal bills of Detroit city attorney Valerie Colbert-Osamuede, who is under investigation for alleged professional misconduct for her work in the text message scandal. ...
... The two proposed contracts -- totaling $33,000 -- were for the Southfield law firm of Collins, Eeinhorn, Farrell & Ulanoff to represent Colbert-Osamuede, Detroit's chief assistant corporation counsel. She is one of at least 10 attorneys under investigation by the state Attorney Grievance Commission for their roles in settling police whistle-blower cases for $8.4 million last October. The deals included a secret side agreement to bury text messages that were damaging to Kilpatrick and his then chief of staff, Christine Beatty.
Colbert-Osamuede told Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Robert Colombo Jr. at a court hearing earlier this year that she knew of no confidential agreements in the whistle-blower deal. However, documents later emerged showing she signed a draft agreement to keep the text messages secret. ...
By JOE SWICKARD
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
June 10, 2008
The Kilpatrick administration today withdrew its request to have the city pay the legal bills of Detroit city attorney Valerie Colbert-Osamuede, who is under investigation for alleged professional misconduct for her work in the text message scandal. ...
... The two proposed contracts -- totaling $33,000 -- were for the Southfield law firm of Collins, Eeinhorn, Farrell & Ulanoff to represent Colbert-Osamuede, Detroit's chief assistant corporation counsel. She is one of at least 10 attorneys under investigation by the state Attorney Grievance Commission for their roles in settling police whistle-blower cases for $8.4 million last October. The deals included a secret side agreement to bury text messages that were damaging to Kilpatrick and his then chief of staff, Christine Beatty.
Colbert-Osamuede told Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Robert Colombo Jr. at a court hearing earlier this year that she knew of no confidential agreements in the whistle-blower deal. However, documents later emerged showing she signed a draft agreement to keep the text messages secret. ...
Council to review rules as it works to remove Kilpatrick from office
By BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
June 10, 2008
... The rules state that the council must prove by "clear and convincing evidence" that Kilpatrick violated any provision of the city charter punishable by forfeiture or has been convicted of a felony while holding office.
Kilpatrick will have an opportunity to designate attorneys to represent him, Cockrel said.
"I think the odds of the mayor himself participating in this are probably somewhere between slim to non-existent," he said. "But he does have that right."
Cockrel said the hearings are expected to begin July 7 and would last at least a week.
The proposed rules state: "There can be no decision by Council, as to forfeiture of elective office, unless those Members voting have been present through the entire proceeding and have heard all the testimony and seen all the exhibits."
Mayoral spokesman Denise Tolliver said today that the mayor's office has not yet reviewed the rules and declined further comment. ...
By BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
June 10, 2008
... The rules state that the council must prove by "clear and convincing evidence" that Kilpatrick violated any provision of the city charter punishable by forfeiture or has been convicted of a felony while holding office.
Kilpatrick will have an opportunity to designate attorneys to represent him, Cockrel said.
"I think the odds of the mayor himself participating in this are probably somewhere between slim to non-existent," he said. "But he does have that right."
Cockrel said the hearings are expected to begin July 7 and would last at least a week.
The proposed rules state: "There can be no decision by Council, as to forfeiture of elective office, unless those Members voting have been present through the entire proceeding and have heard all the testimony and seen all the exhibits."
Mayoral spokesman Denise Tolliver said today that the mayor's office has not yet reviewed the rules and declined further comment. ...
Voting Machine Company Salesman Becomes Election Director in Texas
By Kim Zetter
June 04, 2008
A former software sales manager for Election Systems & Software, the largest voting machine company in the country, has been named county elections administrator for Fort Bend County in Texas.
According to a local news report, John Oldham had been regional sales manager, account manager and Illinois state manager for ES&S, which is based in Nebraska. More recently he had been an independent contractor for both ES&S and various election jurisdictions.
The county does not currently use ES&S machines. Instead it uses touch-screen DRE machines made by Hart InterCivic, a Texas company.
Oldham is replacing the previous elections director, J.R. Perez, who abruptly resigned in March after clashing with county commissioners over the Hart InterCivic machines. According to the news report, Perez had wanted to get rid of the $4 million Hart machines in favor of machines that would produce a paper trail.
Oldham is not the only former voting machine employee who is now an election director. A former sales rep for Diebold Election Systems (now Premier Election Solutions) is now the registrar of voters in San Diego, California. ...
By Kim Zetter
June 04, 2008
A former software sales manager for Election Systems & Software, the largest voting machine company in the country, has been named county elections administrator for Fort Bend County in Texas.
According to a local news report, John Oldham had been regional sales manager, account manager and Illinois state manager for ES&S, which is based in Nebraska. More recently he had been an independent contractor for both ES&S and various election jurisdictions.
The county does not currently use ES&S machines. Instead it uses touch-screen DRE machines made by Hart InterCivic, a Texas company.
Oldham is replacing the previous elections director, J.R. Perez, who abruptly resigned in March after clashing with county commissioners over the Hart InterCivic machines. According to the news report, Perez had wanted to get rid of the $4 million Hart machines in favor of machines that would produce a paper trail.
Oldham is not the only former voting machine employee who is now an election director. A former sales rep for Diebold Election Systems (now Premier Election Solutions) is now the registrar of voters in San Diego, California. ...
Building's investors owe Detroit $224K
Council holds two pending contracts for mayor's friend, citing 'appearance questions.'
Robert Snell and David Josar
The Detroit News
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
DETROIT -- An investment team that includes Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's friend Bobby Ferguson and former Detroit Lion Robert Porcher owes the city $224,000 for a downtown high-rise whose rehabilitation has stalled amid unpaid contractors and copper thefts.
The Vinton Building remains an empty shell after the general contractor walked off the job March 18 along with several subcontractors who say they are owed $865,000, records show.
The investment team, Vinton Building LLC, bought the Albert Kahn-designed 12-story building three years ago from the Downtown Development Authority for $500,000. Investors promised offices, condos and shops within 18 months at the building on Woodward and Congress. ...
Council holds two pending contracts for mayor's friend, citing 'appearance questions.'
Robert Snell and David Josar
The Detroit News
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
DETROIT -- An investment team that includes Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's friend Bobby Ferguson and former Detroit Lion Robert Porcher owes the city $224,000 for a downtown high-rise whose rehabilitation has stalled amid unpaid contractors and copper thefts.
The Vinton Building remains an empty shell after the general contractor walked off the job March 18 along with several subcontractors who say they are owed $865,000, records show.
The investment team, Vinton Building LLC, bought the Albert Kahn-designed 12-story building three years ago from the Downtown Development Authority for $500,000. Investors promised offices, condos and shops within 18 months at the building on Woodward and Congress. ...
Attorney: I would not represent mayor after learning truth about messages
By M.L. ELRICK
Free Press Staff Writer
June 9, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's lead defense attorney in a police whistle-blower lawsuit said today he decided he could no longer represent the mayor after learning the true nature of text messages Kilpatrick exchanged with a top aide.
Sam McCargo, who represented Kilpatrick in two lawsuits brought by cops who said the mayor retaliated against them, told Free Press lawyers during a deposition today that he had been assured the text messages contained only discussions of city business.
The Free Press revealed in January that the messages included scores of romantic exchanges between Kilpatrick and his then-Chief of Staff Christine Beatty, as well as a discussion of their decision to fire Deputy Chief Gary Brown.
McCargo testified during the deposition he effectively turned the case over to another lawyer after learning of the text messages' contents, said Richard Zuckerman, a lawyer for the newspaper. ...
By M.L. ELRICK
Free Press Staff Writer
June 9, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's lead defense attorney in a police whistle-blower lawsuit said today he decided he could no longer represent the mayor after learning the true nature of text messages Kilpatrick exchanged with a top aide.
Sam McCargo, who represented Kilpatrick in two lawsuits brought by cops who said the mayor retaliated against them, told Free Press lawyers during a deposition today that he had been assured the text messages contained only discussions of city business.
The Free Press revealed in January that the messages included scores of romantic exchanges between Kilpatrick and his then-Chief of Staff Christine Beatty, as well as a discussion of their decision to fire Deputy Chief Gary Brown.
McCargo testified during the deposition he effectively turned the case over to another lawyer after learning of the text messages' contents, said Richard Zuckerman, a lawyer for the newspaper. ...
Kilpatrick's pal thrives on city contracts
Change orders pump up cost of Ferguson's deals; Kilpatrick, water board deny there's favoritism
Robert Snell and Ron French
The Detroit News
Monday, June 9, 2008
DETROIT -- A friend of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's has received at least $170 million in city contracts -- $109 million from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department alone -- since the mayor took office in 2002.
Bobby Ferguson, who has been at the mayor's side at black-tie social events and on the backs of motorcycles, has long claimed the relationship hurts his general contracting company's ability to land contracts. But an analysis of records by The Detroit News shows his share of water department contracts has jumped more than 20-fold since Kilpatrick took office. Half of them have doubled, tripled or almost quadrupled in price because of additional work -- a cost that is spread among customers in 126 communities across southeast Michigan.
Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel called The News' analysis "explosive." ...
Change orders pump up cost of Ferguson's deals; Kilpatrick, water board deny there's favoritism
Robert Snell and Ron French
The Detroit News
Monday, June 9, 2008
DETROIT -- A friend of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's has received at least $170 million in city contracts -- $109 million from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department alone -- since the mayor took office in 2002.
Bobby Ferguson, who has been at the mayor's side at black-tie social events and on the backs of motorcycles, has long claimed the relationship hurts his general contracting company's ability to land contracts. But an analysis of records by The Detroit News shows his share of water department contracts has jumped more than 20-fold since Kilpatrick took office. Half of them have doubled, tripled or almost quadrupled in price because of additional work -- a cost that is spread among customers in 126 communities across southeast Michigan.
Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel called The News' analysis "explosive." ...
Council wants closer look at contracts for mayor's friend
BY BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
June 9, 2008
A Detroit City Council committee today tabled two city water main contracts totaling $4.3 million that were destined for Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's friend Bobby Ferguson, citing a need for further analysis.
Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel told members of the Public Health and Safety Committee to hold off on sending the contracts to the full council until other bids are re-examined.
"There is a question of appearances," Cockrel said after today's hearing. "And a question of proper boundaries."
Cockrel said she does not question Ferguson's reputation and ability in water main repairs, but his friendship and close connection with the mayor caused her to ask for a closer evaluation of the contracts. ...
BY BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
June 9, 2008
A Detroit City Council committee today tabled two city water main contracts totaling $4.3 million that were destined for Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's friend Bobby Ferguson, citing a need for further analysis.
Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel told members of the Public Health and Safety Committee to hold off on sending the contracts to the full council until other bids are re-examined.
"There is a question of appearances," Cockrel said after today's hearing. "And a question of proper boundaries."
Cockrel said she does not question Ferguson's reputation and ability in water main repairs, but his friendship and close connection with the mayor caused her to ask for a closer evaluation of the contracts. ...
If you believe that, I gotta a bridge here you may like, pal.
Mayor needs a code of commitment
BY ROCHELLE RILEY
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
May 29, 2008
I have never been fired from a job. Never came close. But if I had, would I have the nerve to veto my own pink slip?
Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's decision this week to veto a Detroit City Council resolution asking Gov. Jennifer Granholm to remove him was a bold step -- baseless, but bold. He told the governor in a 10-page letter that he forbids the City Council from taking the action allowed by the city charter because the charter allows his removal only if he is convicted of a felony or lacks the qualifications to serve.
H-m-m-m-m-m? Qualifications? What qualifications? ...
BY ROCHELLE RILEY
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
May 29, 2008
I have never been fired from a job. Never came close. But if I had, would I have the nerve to veto my own pink slip?
Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's decision this week to veto a Detroit City Council resolution asking Gov. Jennifer Granholm to remove him was a bold step -- baseless, but bold. He told the governor in a 10-page letter that he forbids the City Council from taking the action allowed by the city charter because the charter allows his removal only if he is convicted of a felony or lacks the qualifications to serve.
H-m-m-m-m-m? Qualifications? What qualifications? ...
In Mayoral Wonderland, the madness multiplies
May 29, 2008
Round and round they go, and where Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and the City Council will stop, no one knows.
Actually, one person does have a leg up on deciding when the craziness -- which reached new lows Tuesday with the mayor attempting to veto the council's resolution asking the governor to remove him -- will end.
His name is Kwame Kilpatrick, and if he has any regard for the city's operation, its image, reputation or future, he'll do the right thing soon and leave. Get out of the way. Stop the antics and maneuvering and blustering.
Just go.
Kilpatrick's behavior Tuesday is all about self-preservation and aggrandizement. What else could explain a move so futile, so redolent of the fantastical ploys you'd be more likely to find in an Alice-in-Wonderland type of story?
On what basis does the mayor really believe he might veto an effort that attempts to remove him for misconduct? It's absurdity gone wild. ...
May 29, 2008
Round and round they go, and where Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and the City Council will stop, no one knows.
Actually, one person does have a leg up on deciding when the craziness -- which reached new lows Tuesday with the mayor attempting to veto the council's resolution asking the governor to remove him -- will end.
His name is Kwame Kilpatrick, and if he has any regard for the city's operation, its image, reputation or future, he'll do the right thing soon and leave. Get out of the way. Stop the antics and maneuvering and blustering.
Just go.
Kilpatrick's behavior Tuesday is all about self-preservation and aggrandizement. What else could explain a move so futile, so redolent of the fantastical ploys you'd be more likely to find in an Alice-in-Wonderland type of story?
On what basis does the mayor really believe he might veto an effort that attempts to remove him for misconduct? It's absurdity gone wild. ...
Mayor vetoes council resolution seeking his removal from office
By Zachary Gorchow
Free Press Staff Writer
May 27, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick vetoed today the resolution approved by the City Council asking Gov. Jennifer Granholm to remove Kilpatrick from office although Kilpatrick's veto will likely have little practical effect.
A request to the governor for the removal of a local elected official only requires a sworn statement by any person - public official or private citizen - and not the approval of a public body. However, the council's vote gave political heft to its request, and it's unclear what impact Kilpatrick's veto will have on that front. ...
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
By Zachary Gorchow
Free Press Staff Writer
May 27, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick vetoed today the resolution approved by the City Council asking Gov. Jennifer Granholm to remove Kilpatrick from office although Kilpatrick's veto will likely have little practical effect.
A request to the governor for the removal of a local elected official only requires a sworn statement by any person - public official or private citizen - and not the approval of a public body. However, the council's vote gave political heft to its request, and it's unclear what impact Kilpatrick's veto will have on that front. ...
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
Granholm asks mayor, Cockrel to quickly name their lawyers
By Zachary Gorchow and Ben Schmitt
Free Press Staff Writers
May 21, 2008
Gov. Jennifer Granholm responded quickly today to the Detroit City Council's request that she remove Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick from office, by sending a letter to Kilpatrick and the council asking them to name their legal representatives.
In a one-page letter faxed and mailed to Kilpatrick and Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. -- one day after the council submitted its request to her office -- Granholm made the request that they name "counsel or a representative to speak for you in this matter.
"I ask that this designation be made quickly, as soon as today, if possible," she said.
Granholm press secretary Liz Boyd said the governor's office is simply beginning review of the council's request.
"We are asking the respective parties to identify representatives we can work with so we can begin our review of that request," she said.
In the letter, first reported at freep.com this afternoon, Granholm said she wanted each side to name legal representatives because the process is like a trial and she would be "functioning in a manner similar to that of a judicial officer." ...
By Zachary Gorchow and Ben Schmitt
Free Press Staff Writers
May 21, 2008
Gov. Jennifer Granholm responded quickly today to the Detroit City Council's request that she remove Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick from office, by sending a letter to Kilpatrick and the council asking them to name their legal representatives.
In a one-page letter faxed and mailed to Kilpatrick and Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. -- one day after the council submitted its request to her office -- Granholm made the request that they name "counsel or a representative to speak for you in this matter.
"I ask that this designation be made quickly, as soon as today, if possible," she said.
Granholm press secretary Liz Boyd said the governor's office is simply beginning review of the council's request.
"We are asking the respective parties to identify representatives we can work with so we can begin our review of that request," she said.
In the letter, first reported at freep.com this afternoon, Granholm said she wanted each side to name legal representatives because the process is like a trial and she would be "functioning in a manner similar to that of a judicial officer." ...
City Council's ouster request is delivered to Granholm's office
By Zachary Gorchow
Free Press Staff Writer
May 20, 2008
LANSING -- The Detroit City Council's request that Gov. Jennifer Granholm remove Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick from office because of his conduct in the text message scandal was delivered to Granholm's office today.
Bill Goodman, the independent attorney hired by the City Council to assist with its investigation of the scandal, arrived at the Romney Building at 2:45 p.m. and headed up to the office of the governor's legal counsel, Kelly Keenan.
The materials submitted included a two-page cover letter, a 10-page summary of charges and evidence against the mayor, a proof of service stating that Goodman had notified the mayor's attorneys of the charges against Kilpatrick, a CD containing exhibits and transcript excerpts from three days of council hearings on the scandal and a one-page sworn statement signed by Council President Ken Cockrel Jr.
"This is an historic and unique moment for the City of Detroit," Goodman writes to Granholm. "For that reason, as well as reasons that are spelled out in detail in the enclosed papers, the Detroit City Council asks that you exercise your authority ... and undertake a process that can result, if you'll find it merited, in the mayor's removal from office."
The letter says the council looks forward to hearing from Granholm "in the very near future as to your plan for moving forward in this momentous matter."
The request states that Kilpatrick has committed official misconduct in his handling of the whistle-blower settlement. ...
By Zachary Gorchow
Free Press Staff Writer
May 20, 2008
LANSING -- The Detroit City Council's request that Gov. Jennifer Granholm remove Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick from office because of his conduct in the text message scandal was delivered to Granholm's office today.
Bill Goodman, the independent attorney hired by the City Council to assist with its investigation of the scandal, arrived at the Romney Building at 2:45 p.m. and headed up to the office of the governor's legal counsel, Kelly Keenan.
The materials submitted included a two-page cover letter, a 10-page summary of charges and evidence against the mayor, a proof of service stating that Goodman had notified the mayor's attorneys of the charges against Kilpatrick, a CD containing exhibits and transcript excerpts from three days of council hearings on the scandal and a one-page sworn statement signed by Council President Ken Cockrel Jr.
"This is an historic and unique moment for the City of Detroit," Goodman writes to Granholm. "For that reason, as well as reasons that are spelled out in detail in the enclosed papers, the Detroit City Council asks that you exercise your authority ... and undertake a process that can result, if you'll find it merited, in the mayor's removal from office."
The letter says the council looks forward to hearing from Granholm "in the very near future as to your plan for moving forward in this momentous matter."
The request states that Kilpatrick has committed official misconduct in his handling of the whistle-blower settlement. ...
Oust mayor, Granholm asked
City Council also to pursue Kilpatrick's removal from office
By Zachary Gorchow and Naomi R. Patton
Free Press Staff Writers
May 13, 2008
The Detroit City Council has just voted to launch a two-track effort to remove Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick from office by both beginning its own process and asking Gov. Jennifer Granholm to oust him.
The vote was 5-4 as the council made an historic move to topple a mayor.
A delicate majority in favor of removing Kilpatrick managed to hold together overnight.
Voting yes were Council President Ken Cockrel Jr and Councilmembers Sheila Cockrel, Brenda Jones, Kwame Kenyatta and JoAnn Watson. Voting no were Council President Pro Tem Monica Conyers and Councilmembers Barbara-Rose Collins, Martha Reeves and Alberta Tinsley-Talabi. ...
I sure as hell ain't votin' for none of them what voted no! Shame on you, Martha Reeves!
City Council also to pursue Kilpatrick's removal from office
By Zachary Gorchow and Naomi R. Patton
Free Press Staff Writers
May 13, 2008
The Detroit City Council has just voted to launch a two-track effort to remove Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick from office by both beginning its own process and asking Gov. Jennifer Granholm to oust him.
The vote was 5-4 as the council made an historic move to topple a mayor.
A delicate majority in favor of removing Kilpatrick managed to hold together overnight.
Voting yes were Council President Ken Cockrel Jr and Councilmembers Sheila Cockrel, Brenda Jones, Kwame Kenyatta and JoAnn Watson. Voting no were Council President Pro Tem Monica Conyers and Councilmembers Barbara-Rose Collins, Martha Reeves and Alberta Tinsley-Talabi. ...
I sure as hell ain't votin' for none of them what voted no! Shame on you, Martha Reeves!
Detroit deputy mayor warns council that if tunnel deal fails, expect cuts
By Zachary Gorchow and Naomi Patton
Free Press Staff Writers
May 2, 2008
A top aide to Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick warned the City Council today that Kilpatrick will implement "drastic cuts" in services [NB: What services? We don't have any services anymore, you witling!] if the council doesn't approve a proposed deal to sell the city's half of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.
Deputy Mayor Anthony Adams told the council the mayor would not support selling bonds to patch the $65-million hole in the 2007-08 fiscal year budget if the city doesn't sell its half of the tunnel to a new authority run jointly by the cities of Detroit and Windsor. Under the deal, the city would transfer title on its half of the tunnel to the authority and the city of Windsor would in turn provide Detroit with $75 million.
But Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel said she wouldn't bow to scare tactics. Cockrel said the deal may make sense, but is so complex and said the administration continues to provide information about it in a piecemeal manner at the last minute.
"I'm not going to get bullied into a transaction no matter how conceptually great it may be," she said.
Adams responded that he wasn't bullying anyone.
"I'm speaking to (sic) the hard fiscal realities in our city," he said.
That prompted Cockrel to retort that instead of threatening to cut city services, the mayor should start "with all the family and friends with all the contracts in city government."
Adams said he wanted to know what contracts to which Cockrel was referring.
"We'll have that for you real soon," Cockrel shot back.
In other work on the budget, Auditor General Loren Monroe told the council today he is concerned the budget's projected revenues are based on revenues such as the tunnel sale; a $25-million credit from the Police and Fire Retirement System pension fund; $22.3 million for the sale of surplus city-owned property; and $194.8 million in casino taxes.
The sales transactions have not be finalized, city officials have not completed negotiations for the pension fund credit, and the projected casino revenues were "overstated" by about $12.9 million, Monroe said.
When asked by Cockrel if the inclusion of these projected revenues in to the mayor's proposed budget really "translate into a possible deficit," Monroe was noncommittal. ...
By Zachary Gorchow and Naomi Patton
Free Press Staff Writers
May 2, 2008
A top aide to Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick warned the City Council today that Kilpatrick will implement "drastic cuts" in services [NB: What services? We don't have any services anymore, you witling!] if the council doesn't approve a proposed deal to sell the city's half of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.
Deputy Mayor Anthony Adams told the council the mayor would not support selling bonds to patch the $65-million hole in the 2007-08 fiscal year budget if the city doesn't sell its half of the tunnel to a new authority run jointly by the cities of Detroit and Windsor. Under the deal, the city would transfer title on its half of the tunnel to the authority and the city of Windsor would in turn provide Detroit with $75 million.
But Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel said she wouldn't bow to scare tactics. Cockrel said the deal may make sense, but is so complex and said the administration continues to provide information about it in a piecemeal manner at the last minute.
"I'm not going to get bullied into a transaction no matter how conceptually great it may be," she said.
Adams responded that he wasn't bullying anyone.
"I'm speaking to (sic) the hard fiscal realities in our city," he said.
That prompted Cockrel to retort that instead of threatening to cut city services, the mayor should start "with all the family and friends with all the contracts in city government."
Adams said he wanted to know what contracts to which Cockrel was referring.
"We'll have that for you real soon," Cockrel shot back.
In other work on the budget, Auditor General Loren Monroe told the council today he is concerned the budget's projected revenues are based on revenues such as the tunnel sale; a $25-million credit from the Police and Fire Retirement System pension fund; $22.3 million for the sale of surplus city-owned property; and $194.8 million in casino taxes.
The sales transactions have not be finalized, city officials have not completed negotiations for the pension fund credit, and the projected casino revenues were "overstated" by about $12.9 million, Monroe said.
When asked by Cockrel if the inclusion of these projected revenues in to the mayor's proposed budget really "translate into a possible deficit," Monroe was noncommittal. ...
House committee threatens Rove with subpoena
By BEN EVANS
1 May 2008
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House Judiciary Committee threatened Thursday to subpoena former White House adviser Karl Rove if he does not agree by May 12 to testify about former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman's corruption case.
In a letter to Rove's attorney, committee Democrats called it "completely unacceptable" that the Republican political strategist has rejected the panel's request for sworn testimony even as he discusses the matter publicly through the media.
"We can see no justification for his refusal to speak on the record to the committee," the letter states. "We urge you and your client to reconsider ... or we will have no choice but to consider the use of compulsory process."
Committee Democrats are investigating whether Rove and Republican appointees at the Justice Department influenced Siegelman's prosecution to kill his chances for re-election. It is part of a broader inquiry into whether U.S. attorneys were fired for not aggressively pursuing cases against Democrats.
Siegelman, a Democrat who served one term as governor after being elected in 1998, was convicted in 2006 on bribery and other charges and sentenced to more than seven years in prison. He was recently released on bond pending appeal.
Last year, Alabama attorney and one-time Republican campaign volunteer Jill Simpson, told the committee under oath that she heard conversations among GOP operatives in 2002 suggesting that Rove was pushing the Justice Department to pursue a conviction against Siegelman. She also has said Rove asked her in 2001 to find evidence that Siegelman was cheating on his wife. ...
By BEN EVANS
1 May 2008
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House Judiciary Committee threatened Thursday to subpoena former White House adviser Karl Rove if he does not agree by May 12 to testify about former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman's corruption case.
In a letter to Rove's attorney, committee Democrats called it "completely unacceptable" that the Republican political strategist has rejected the panel's request for sworn testimony even as he discusses the matter publicly through the media.
"We can see no justification for his refusal to speak on the record to the committee," the letter states. "We urge you and your client to reconsider ... or we will have no choice but to consider the use of compulsory process."
Committee Democrats are investigating whether Rove and Republican appointees at the Justice Department influenced Siegelman's prosecution to kill his chances for re-election. It is part of a broader inquiry into whether U.S. attorneys were fired for not aggressively pursuing cases against Democrats.
Siegelman, a Democrat who served one term as governor after being elected in 1998, was convicted in 2006 on bribery and other charges and sentenced to more than seven years in prison. He was recently released on bond pending appeal.
Last year, Alabama attorney and one-time Republican campaign volunteer Jill Simpson, told the committee under oath that she heard conversations among GOP operatives in 2002 suggesting that Rove was pushing the Justice Department to pursue a conviction against Siegelman. She also has said Rove asked her in 2001 to find evidence that Siegelman was cheating on his wife. ...
Police question Israeli PM about foreign campaign donations
By ARON HELLER
The Associated Press
Friday, May 2, 2008
JERUSALEM -- Police questioned Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Friday in an investigation of campaign donations by a U.S. citizen - the fifth high-profile probe involving the Israeli leader whose popularity has badly suffered because of the repeated charges of corruption.
Olmert's office predicted he would weather the latest storm, but it threatened to further weaken his hold on power and potentially derail peace talks with Palestinians.
With a court-imposed gag order limiting information about the investigation, it isn't clear what allegations police are looking into, but Israeli law restricts how much politicians can get from donors. Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's son, Omri, is in jail for receiving donations that far exceeded the ceiling.
Olmert was questioned under caution, indicating police believed their interrogation could result in an indictment. If Olmert was indicted, he would have to resign. A decision on formal charges was at least months away. ...
By ARON HELLER
The Associated Press
Friday, May 2, 2008
JERUSALEM -- Police questioned Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Friday in an investigation of campaign donations by a U.S. citizen - the fifth high-profile probe involving the Israeli leader whose popularity has badly suffered because of the repeated charges of corruption.
Olmert's office predicted he would weather the latest storm, but it threatened to further weaken his hold on power and potentially derail peace talks with Palestinians.
With a court-imposed gag order limiting information about the investigation, it isn't clear what allegations police are looking into, but Israeli law restricts how much politicians can get from donors. Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's son, Omri, is in jail for receiving donations that far exceeded the ceiling.
Olmert was questioned under caution, indicating police believed their interrogation could result in an indictment. If Olmert was indicted, he would have to resign. A decision on formal charges was at least months away. ...
ROBBER BARONS
John McCain Funded By The Freaking ROTHSCHILDS
For somebody who's always accusing his opponents of being "out of touch" with the Working Man, John McCain sure does hang out with a lot of fat-cat plutocrats who don't even have the decency to be American. On a recent visit to the tony U.K. -- a nation populated entirely by decadent, incestuous polo players with "smart" accents and harelips -- McCain attended a fundraising luncheon hosted by Lord Rothschild and Nathaniel Rothschild. The problem is, American candidates aren't allowed to take campaign contributions from such fancy foreign nationals as the Rothschilds! But does "hosting" an event constitute a "contribution"?
According to watchdog group Judicial Watch, yes! But then again, they also thought that Elton John, a known Englishman, should not have performed at a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton. However, this objection had more to do with violating the laws of good taste than campaign finance regulations.
McCain accused of accepting improper donations from Rothschilds [Guardian]
John McCain Funded By The Freaking ROTHSCHILDS
For somebody who's always accusing his opponents of being "out of touch" with the Working Man, John McCain sure does hang out with a lot of fat-cat plutocrats who don't even have the decency to be American. On a recent visit to the tony U.K. -- a nation populated entirely by decadent, incestuous polo players with "smart" accents and harelips -- McCain attended a fundraising luncheon hosted by Lord Rothschild and Nathaniel Rothschild. The problem is, American candidates aren't allowed to take campaign contributions from such fancy foreign nationals as the Rothschilds! But does "hosting" an event constitute a "contribution"?
According to watchdog group Judicial Watch, yes! But then again, they also thought that Elton John, a known Englishman, should not have performed at a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton. However, this objection had more to do with violating the laws of good taste than campaign finance regulations.
McCain accused of accepting improper donations from Rothschilds [Guardian]
E-mails show mayor's side feared leak of deal
Cough up missing document, judge orders Kilpatrick
BY JIM SCHAEFER and JOE SWICKARD
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
April 26, 2008
E-mails released Friday in a Free Press lawsuit against the City of Detroit show that Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's city-paid attorney fretted about the release of a police whistle-blower settlement because of the "potential adverse impact" if the media got ahold of it.
Also Friday in Wayne County Circuit Court, a judge said he wanted Kilpatrick to personally produce a missing legal document that triggered the $8.4-million deal, which kept the mayor's salacious text messages secret. ...
Cough up missing document, judge orders Kilpatrick
BY JIM SCHAEFER and JOE SWICKARD
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
April 26, 2008
E-mails released Friday in a Free Press lawsuit against the City of Detroit show that Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's city-paid attorney fretted about the release of a police whistle-blower settlement because of the "potential adverse impact" if the media got ahold of it.
Also Friday in Wayne County Circuit Court, a judge said he wanted Kilpatrick to personally produce a missing legal document that triggered the $8.4-million deal, which kept the mayor's salacious text messages secret. ...
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Mayor Kilpatrick's legal fund backers have ties that bind
Key fundraisers have city contracts, but deny conflict of interest.
Christine MacDonald and David Josar / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- Key players on Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's legal defense fundraising team have at least $5 million in current or pending city contracts, and others stand to make much more from the mayor's proposed $300 million economic stimulus project if he remains in office.
Of the 13 known committee members on Kilpatrick's Detroit Justice Fund, at least five have Detroit contracts or other financial ties to city business or the mayor. Fund members, four of whom live in Detroit, are raising money to pay lawyers who will seek to exonerate Kilpatrick of felony charges stemming from the text-message scandal and whistle-blowers' lawsuits.
Attorney David Baker Lewis is one of the fundraisers with the strongest City Hall financial interests. Kilpatrick wants Lewis' law firm as a counsel on his stimulus bond sale. Another is banker Donald Davis, who has two proposed contracts, including one for $4.6 million to lease computer software to the city.
Some critics say it's a conflict of interest to tap city contractors for help in raising money to cover the mayor's legal fees.
"By any standard definition ... about what a conflict of interest is, this is one," said Wayne Norman, an ethics professor at Duke University, who added that just the perception of a conflict, without evidence of wrongdoing, can undermine citizens' trust. "He is supposed to do what is best for the city. ... The fact that a citizen can reasonably wonder about that undermines the trust in the office and institution." ...
Mayor Kilpatrick's legal fund backers have ties that bind
Key fundraisers have city contracts, but deny conflict of interest.
Christine MacDonald and David Josar / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- Key players on Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's legal defense fundraising team have at least $5 million in current or pending city contracts, and others stand to make much more from the mayor's proposed $300 million economic stimulus project if he remains in office.
Of the 13 known committee members on Kilpatrick's Detroit Justice Fund, at least five have Detroit contracts or other financial ties to city business or the mayor. Fund members, four of whom live in Detroit, are raising money to pay lawyers who will seek to exonerate Kilpatrick of felony charges stemming from the text-message scandal and whistle-blowers' lawsuits.
Attorney David Baker Lewis is one of the fundraisers with the strongest City Hall financial interests. Kilpatrick wants Lewis' law firm as a counsel on his stimulus bond sale. Another is banker Donald Davis, who has two proposed contracts, including one for $4.6 million to lease computer software to the city.
Some critics say it's a conflict of interest to tap city contractors for help in raising money to cover the mayor's legal fees.
"By any standard definition ... about what a conflict of interest is, this is one," said Wayne Norman, an ethics professor at Duke University, who added that just the perception of a conflict, without evidence of wrongdoing, can undermine citizens' trust. "He is supposed to do what is best for the city. ... The fact that a citizen can reasonably wonder about that undermines the trust in the office and institution." ...
... Don't forget that he's black. What's that? Race is not an excuse to err? I didn't think so, either. But this mayor uses the race card like American Express. I know what a race card looks like. I have one, and I do not waste it. It is for extreme cases of bigotry and hatred, not for when you've been caught with your pants down. When the mayor turned his State of the City address into a pep rally with paid applause and blamed a lynch-mob mentality for his troubles, he went too far.
I wondered where his race card was when he kicked to the curb all the black attorneys who worked so hard to protect him and now may be charged with crimes. They were good enough for a rumored cover-up but not good enough to work on the big case, saving him from prison. He saved that for a white attorney from Illinois. We're taking the mayor's race card. Right here. Right now. Pulling out the scissors and cutting it up. ...
I wondered where his race card was when he kicked to the curb all the black attorneys who worked so hard to protect him and now may be charged with crimes. They were good enough for a rumored cover-up but not good enough to work on the big case, saving him from prison. He saved that for a white attorney from Illinois. We're taking the mayor's race card. Right here. Right now. Pulling out the scissors and cutting it up. ...
Mayor, wife get jail in theft of $20K from little league
Saturday, April 19, 2008
ADELANTO, Calif. (AP) -- A former mayor of a California high desert town and his wife have been sentenced to 6 months in jail for the theft of more than $20,000 from Little League coffers. ...
... The former mayor was president of the Adelanto Little League, and his wife was a board member during the years the money from the league's annual fireworks sales went missing. The money was taken over three years starting in 2004. ...
Saturday, April 19, 2008
ADELANTO, Calif. (AP) -- A former mayor of a California high desert town and his wife have been sentenced to 6 months in jail for the theft of more than $20,000 from Little League coffers. ...
... The former mayor was president of the Adelanto Little League, and his wife was a board member during the years the money from the league's annual fireworks sales went missing. The money was taken over three years starting in 2004. ...
BILL McGRAW: City's biggest crisis is struggle to provide basics for residents
BY BILL MCGRAW
MOTOR CITY JOURNAL
April 15, 2008
After the latest episode of city government dysfunction -- the City Council's brush-off of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his new budget Monday -- it's tempting to conclude that the city of Detroit has fallen into an unprecedented crisis since Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy charged the mayor with eight felonies last month in the text message scandal.
But the crisis goes beyond the possibility of the mayor's going to prison.
It goes beyond Councilwoman Monica Conyers' calling council President Ken Cockrel Jr. "Shrek" during a tantrum Friday that quickly wound up on national TV.
It goes beyond Councilwoman Barbara-Rose Collins' celebrating her 69th birthday by wearing a silver tiara to the council meeting Monday.
Perhaps the most serious and long-lasting crisis is the city's operational crisis. ...
BY BILL MCGRAW
MOTOR CITY JOURNAL
April 15, 2008
After the latest episode of city government dysfunction -- the City Council's brush-off of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his new budget Monday -- it's tempting to conclude that the city of Detroit has fallen into an unprecedented crisis since Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy charged the mayor with eight felonies last month in the text message scandal.
But the crisis goes beyond the possibility of the mayor's going to prison.
It goes beyond Councilwoman Monica Conyers' calling council President Ken Cockrel Jr. "Shrek" during a tantrum Friday that quickly wound up on national TV.
It goes beyond Councilwoman Barbara-Rose Collins' celebrating her 69th birthday by wearing a silver tiara to the council meeting Monday.
Perhaps the most serious and long-lasting crisis is the city's operational crisis. ...
It should have always been called the political-military-industrial complex, and other non-g-rated words.
The UN must oversee all Yankistani elections.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Attorney sues Detroit mayor, Beatty to recover settlement payout
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- A Detroit attorney filed a lawsuit in Wayne County Circuit Court Tuesday seeking to recover what he alleges are millions of dollars defrauded from city taxpayers by Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff Christine Beatty.
The lawsuit by Corbett Edge O'Meara -- who is a candidate for one of three open seats on Wayne County Circuit Court -- also seeks to freeze Kilpatrick's personal assets and the assets of the mayor's recently formed legal defense fund.
O'Meara said the money he wants to recover on behalf of city taxpayers is the portion of the city's $8.4 million settlement of police whistle-blower lawsuits that was paid to keep secret text messages exchanged between Beatty and Kilpatrick. It will be up to a jury to decide how much of the $8.4 million was "hush money," the City Council was duped into paying, O'Meara said. ...
... Other records released as a result of a lawsuit brought by The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press show Kilpatrick and Beatty signed a secret deal to keep the text messages under wraps as part of the $8.4 million city settlement of police whistle-blower suits. ...
I knew Corbett when we were in high school and he was one of the most nasty, condescending, manipulative, and intelligent men I've ever met. The last time we spoke he was also shockingly (verbally) abusive.
Perfect for a law career.
It's been donkey's years - maybe he's grown and become kinder; for his wife and kids' sake I hope so.
That said, I still hope he kicks kwame's arse.
Attorney sues Detroit mayor, Beatty to recover settlement payout
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- A Detroit attorney filed a lawsuit in Wayne County Circuit Court Tuesday seeking to recover what he alleges are millions of dollars defrauded from city taxpayers by Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff Christine Beatty.
The lawsuit by Corbett Edge O'Meara -- who is a candidate for one of three open seats on Wayne County Circuit Court -- also seeks to freeze Kilpatrick's personal assets and the assets of the mayor's recently formed legal defense fund.
O'Meara said the money he wants to recover on behalf of city taxpayers is the portion of the city's $8.4 million settlement of police whistle-blower lawsuits that was paid to keep secret text messages exchanged between Beatty and Kilpatrick. It will be up to a jury to decide how much of the $8.4 million was "hush money," the City Council was duped into paying, O'Meara said. ...
... Other records released as a result of a lawsuit brought by The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press show Kilpatrick and Beatty signed a secret deal to keep the text messages under wraps as part of the $8.4 million city settlement of police whistle-blower suits. ...
I knew Corbett when we were in high school and he was one of the most nasty, condescending, manipulative, and intelligent men I've ever met. The last time we spoke he was also shockingly (verbally) abusive.
Perfect for a law career.
It's been donkey's years - maybe he's grown and become kinder; for his wife and kids' sake I hope so.
That said, I still hope he kicks kwame's arse.
Samsung Chief Questioned for 11 Hours
By KELLY OLSEN
The Associated Press
Saturday, April 5, 2008
SEOUL, South Korea -- Special prosecutors probing claims of corruption at Samsung Group took their investigation to the very top, quizzing its chairman in a lengthy interrogation over allegations the conglomerate paid bribes and engaged in other illegalities.
Lee Kun-hee, who has run South Korea's biggest industrial group for two decades, emerged early Saturday after nearly 11 hours spent in the office of the independent counsel examining the claims raised last year by a former Samsung lawyer.
Surrounded by a throng of waiting reporters, the 66-year-old tycoon appeared to backtrack from the strong denials he made Friday afternoon upon arrival for questioning, when he said he had nothing to do with either directing the setting up of a slush fund or ordering the payment of bribes. ...
By KELLY OLSEN
The Associated Press
Saturday, April 5, 2008
SEOUL, South Korea -- Special prosecutors probing claims of corruption at Samsung Group took their investigation to the very top, quizzing its chairman in a lengthy interrogation over allegations the conglomerate paid bribes and engaged in other illegalities.
Lee Kun-hee, who has run South Korea's biggest industrial group for two decades, emerged early Saturday after nearly 11 hours spent in the office of the independent counsel examining the claims raised last year by a former Samsung lawyer.
Surrounded by a throng of waiting reporters, the 66-year-old tycoon appeared to backtrack from the strong denials he made Friday afternoon upon arrival for questioning, when he said he had nothing to do with either directing the setting up of a slush fund or ordering the payment of bribes. ...
Judge's order tethers Beatty to Michigan
Job hunt in Atlanta is off
BY JOE SWICKARD
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
April 5, 2008
A magistrate chastised former mayoral chief of staff Christine Beatty on Friday as he ordered her to wear an electronic tether and confined her travel to Michigan after she made plans to go on an out-of-state job hunt.
Steve Lockhart, chief magistrate of 36th District Court in Detroit, summoned Beatty, her lawyers and prosecutors to appear before him Friday afternoon after he learned she was planning to go to Atlanta, Alabama and elsewhere to look for work. He also closed his courtroom to a Free Press reporter and the general public.
Beatty, who resigned Feb. 8 and is free on $75,000 personal bond, is facing perjury, obstruction of justice and other charges along with Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick in connection with the text message scandal first reported by the Free Press. The tether lets the court track her whereabouts but does not confine her to her home or place her under arrest.
Lockhart admonished Beatty that it is "a standing principle in this country that no one is special in the eyes of the law" since the American revolution swept out the British royal system, according to courtroom video obtained by Free Press reporting partner WDIV-TV Local 4. He cautioned Beatty against treating "cavalierly" the criminal matters facing her and told her that any travel out of state would require approval by the court.
Lockhart questioned who would hire someone facing felony charges and indicated Beatty would need proof of an interview for a specific job to leave the state. Lockhart said Beatty is now "denied the right to leave this state for any reason."
Under the original terms of her personal bond, Beatty needed permission to travel outside Michigan. ...
Job hunt in Atlanta is off
BY JOE SWICKARD
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
April 5, 2008
A magistrate chastised former mayoral chief of staff Christine Beatty on Friday as he ordered her to wear an electronic tether and confined her travel to Michigan after she made plans to go on an out-of-state job hunt.
Steve Lockhart, chief magistrate of 36th District Court in Detroit, summoned Beatty, her lawyers and prosecutors to appear before him Friday afternoon after he learned she was planning to go to Atlanta, Alabama and elsewhere to look for work. He also closed his courtroom to a Free Press reporter and the general public.
Beatty, who resigned Feb. 8 and is free on $75,000 personal bond, is facing perjury, obstruction of justice and other charges along with Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick in connection with the text message scandal first reported by the Free Press. The tether lets the court track her whereabouts but does not confine her to her home or place her under arrest.
Lockhart admonished Beatty that it is "a standing principle in this country that no one is special in the eyes of the law" since the American revolution swept out the British royal system, according to courtroom video obtained by Free Press reporting partner WDIV-TV Local 4. He cautioned Beatty against treating "cavalierly" the criminal matters facing her and told her that any travel out of state would require approval by the court.
Lockhart questioned who would hire someone facing felony charges and indicated Beatty would need proof of an interview for a specific job to leave the state. Lockhart said Beatty is now "denied the right to leave this state for any reason."
Under the original terms of her personal bond, Beatty needed permission to travel outside Michigan. ...
City lawyer now recalls signing the secret deal
BY JIM SCHAEFER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
April 5, 2008
A city lawyer who told a Wayne County judge that she wasn't aware of any confidential agreements in Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's text message scandal changed her mind Friday.
Valerie Colbert-Osamuede, the city's chief assistant corporation counsel, wrote in a letter to Wayne County Circuit Judge Robert Colombo Jr. that she now recalls signing a confidential settlement agreement Oct. 17 and that she also received subsequent e-mails about that deal.
Her letter came a day after her e-mails were ordered to be produced in a Free Press Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the city.
"I have discovered [Ed. Note: Discovered?!?]... my answers did not fully reflect all of the circumstances," Colbert-Osamuede wrote. "This letter is submitted to clarify my prior statements. The responses to the court's questions were my best recollection at the time and were truthful."
Colbert-Osamuede's lawyer, Donald Campbell, provided a copy of the letter to Free Press attorney Herschel Fink on Friday.
Colbert-Osamuede is one of 10 or more lawyers whose conduct in the text message scandal involving Kilpatrick and former chief of staff Christine Beatty is under investigation by the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission.
On Thursday, Colombo ordered the city to turn over any e-mails that Colbert-Osamuede and other city-paid lawyers exchanged with Michael Stefani, the lawyer who negotiated an $8.4-million settlement with Kilpatrick's lawyers. The settlement called for Stefani and his clients, three former cops who sued the mayor and the city, to turn over incriminating text messages and never again speak of them.
The messages, first published by the Free Press in January, showed the mayor and Beatty lied under oath in a whistle-blower trial last summer about their intimate relationship and gave misleading testimony about the firing of former Deputy Chief Gary Brown.
In January, when the Free Press was arguing for the release of secret settlement documents, Colbert-Osamuede told Colombo that she was "not aware of any confidential agreements." ...
BY JIM SCHAEFER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
April 5, 2008
A city lawyer who told a Wayne County judge that she wasn't aware of any confidential agreements in Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's text message scandal changed her mind Friday.
Valerie Colbert-Osamuede, the city's chief assistant corporation counsel, wrote in a letter to Wayne County Circuit Judge Robert Colombo Jr. that she now recalls signing a confidential settlement agreement Oct. 17 and that she also received subsequent e-mails about that deal.
Her letter came a day after her e-mails were ordered to be produced in a Free Press Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the city.
"I have discovered [Ed. Note: Discovered?!?]... my answers did not fully reflect all of the circumstances," Colbert-Osamuede wrote. "This letter is submitted to clarify my prior statements. The responses to the court's questions were my best recollection at the time and were truthful."
Colbert-Osamuede's lawyer, Donald Campbell, provided a copy of the letter to Free Press attorney Herschel Fink on Friday.
Colbert-Osamuede is one of 10 or more lawyers whose conduct in the text message scandal involving Kilpatrick and former chief of staff Christine Beatty is under investigation by the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission.
On Thursday, Colombo ordered the city to turn over any e-mails that Colbert-Osamuede and other city-paid lawyers exchanged with Michael Stefani, the lawyer who negotiated an $8.4-million settlement with Kilpatrick's lawyers. The settlement called for Stefani and his clients, three former cops who sued the mayor and the city, to turn over incriminating text messages and never again speak of them.
The messages, first published by the Free Press in January, showed the mayor and Beatty lied under oath in a whistle-blower trial last summer about their intimate relationship and gave misleading testimony about the firing of former Deputy Chief Gary Brown.
In January, when the Free Press was arguing for the release of secret settlement documents, Colbert-Osamuede told Colombo that she was "not aware of any confidential agreements." ...
Airline Maintenance on Fliers' Minds
By DAN CATERINICCHIA - 2 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Before boarding an American Airlines flight to Dallas this week, Jody Johnson took an unusual pre-travel precaution: she checked to see whether the aircraft was among those recently grounded because of safety concerns.
She was relieved to learn it was not the same type of plane grounded last week by American Airlines and Delta Air Lines for inspections of wiring along the wheel wells.
"It's the airlines' responsibility to us as consumers to offer service that's safe," said Johnson, a student from San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
Well-publicized equipment problems at American, Southwest and other large carriers is making travelers jittery and adding another headache to the ordeal of air travel.
There are also questions about the outsourcing of maintenance work to overseas facilities and allegations of a too-cozy relationship between airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration. ...
My fave bit was when the congressthing said it is "bordering on corruption." Which border is he looking at?
I want a matter transmitter. Modren "travel" has increasingly become more like its original source-word, "travail."
By DAN CATERINICCHIA - 2 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Before boarding an American Airlines flight to Dallas this week, Jody Johnson took an unusual pre-travel precaution: she checked to see whether the aircraft was among those recently grounded because of safety concerns.
She was relieved to learn it was not the same type of plane grounded last week by American Airlines and Delta Air Lines for inspections of wiring along the wheel wells.
"It's the airlines' responsibility to us as consumers to offer service that's safe," said Johnson, a student from San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
Well-publicized equipment problems at American, Southwest and other large carriers is making travelers jittery and adding another headache to the ordeal of air travel.
There are also questions about the outsourcing of maintenance work to overseas facilities and allegations of a too-cozy relationship between airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration. ...
My fave bit was when the congressthing said it is "bordering on corruption." Which border is he looking at?
I want a matter transmitter. Modren "travel" has increasingly become more like its original source-word, "travail."
Lawmaker Discusses Proposal To Authorize Executive Removal - Detroit Local News Story - WDIV Detroit
Lawmaker Discusses Proposal To Authorize Executive Removal
March 28, 2008
DETROIT -- A state lawmaker is discussing a proposal that would give city councils the authority to remove chief executives.
David Law of Commerce Township says the legislation stems from the city hall scandal in Detroit.
The proposal would require a two-thirds majority vote by a city's governing board or council to remove the official.
If the bill is enacted, it could be adopted by the Detroit City Council to remove Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick before his term expires. ...
March 28, 2008
DETROIT -- A state lawmaker is discussing a proposal that would give city councils the authority to remove chief executives.
David Law of Commerce Township says the legislation stems from the city hall scandal in Detroit.
The proposal would require a two-thirds majority vote by a city's governing board or council to remove the official.
If the bill is enacted, it could be adopted by the Detroit City Council to remove Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick before his term expires. ...
Second Kilpatrick recall petition filed
Friday, March 28, 2008
DETROIT-- A second recall petition has been filed with Wayne County to remove Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick from office.
Detroit resident Angelo Brown, 45, filed a petition Thursday for a recall, stating that the mayor's "legal fight against felony perjury takes away from the time for him to be a good mayor."
Brown said he will go before the Wayne County Elections Commission board between April 6 and April 16 for a hearing to see if his petition will be approved. ...
Friday, March 28, 2008
DETROIT-- A second recall petition has been filed with Wayne County to remove Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick from office.
Detroit resident Angelo Brown, 45, filed a petition Thursday for a recall, stating that the mayor's "legal fight against felony perjury takes away from the time for him to be a good mayor."
Brown said he will go before the Wayne County Elections Commission board between April 6 and April 16 for a hearing to see if his petition will be approved. ...
Hundreds show support for mayor at rally
By ERIC D. LAWRENCE
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
March 27, 2008
Hundreds of people packed a church in Detroit tonight to show their support for Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
To rousing chants of "I can make it through the storm" and choruses from a gospel choir, Kilpatrick's supporters clapped and shouted their intent to stand behind the mayor despite the recently announced criminal charges in the text-message scandal. ...
...and each cheering moron received a wad of (the City's) cash from His Dishonor.
By ERIC D. LAWRENCE
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
March 27, 2008
Hundreds of people packed a church in Detroit tonight to show their support for Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
To rousing chants of "I can make it through the storm" and choruses from a gospel choir, Kilpatrick's supporters clapped and shouted their intent to stand behind the mayor despite the recently announced criminal charges in the text-message scandal. ...
...and each cheering moron received a wad of (the City's) cash from His Dishonor.
Mayor Kilpatrick: 'Deeply Disappointed'
24 March 2008
Last Update: 1:09 pm
WATCH STATEMENT - VIDEO PLAYER
DETROIT (AP) - Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick says he's "deeply disappointed," but not surprised at being charged in a criminal case.
The mayor said Monday he expected to be exonerated.
His lawyer, Dan Webb, also says he has recommended...Kilpatrick...not resign. ...
24 March 2008
Last Update: 1:09 pm
WATCH STATEMENT - VIDEO PLAYER
DETROIT (AP) - Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick says he's "deeply disappointed," but not surprised at being charged in a criminal case.
The mayor said Monday he expected to be exonerated.
His lawyer, Dan Webb, also says he has recommended...Kilpatrick...not resign. ...
Felony Charges for Detroit Mayor, Beatty
24 March 2008
Last Update: 12:43 pm
WORTHY DETAILS CHARGES - VIDEO PLAYER
DETROIT (AP) - Kwame Kilpatrick, a one-time rising star in American urban politics who embraced his "Hip-Hop Mayor" image as Detroit's youngest elected leader, was charged Monday with perjury and other counts after sexually explicit text messages surfaced that appear to contradict his sworn denials of an affair with a top aide.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy also charged the charismatic and popular yet polarizing 37-year-old mayor with obstruction of justice and misconduct in office.
Former Chief of Staff Christine Beatty, 37, who also denied under oath that she and Kilpatrick shared a romantic relationship in 2002 and 2003, was charged with perjury and obstruction of justice.
In all, Worthy authorized a 12-count criminal information, which includes eight counts against Kilpatrick and seven against Beatty. Beatty and Kilpatrick are charged together in some counts and separately in others. ...
24 March 2008
Last Update: 12:43 pm
WORTHY DETAILS CHARGES - VIDEO PLAYER
DETROIT (AP) - Kwame Kilpatrick, a one-time rising star in American urban politics who embraced his "Hip-Hop Mayor" image as Detroit's youngest elected leader, was charged Monday with perjury and other counts after sexually explicit text messages surfaced that appear to contradict his sworn denials of an affair with a top aide.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy also charged the charismatic and popular yet polarizing 37-year-old mayor with obstruction of justice and misconduct in office.
Former Chief of Staff Christine Beatty, 37, who also denied under oath that she and Kilpatrick shared a romantic relationship in 2002 and 2003, was charged with perjury and obstruction of justice.
In all, Worthy authorized a 12-count criminal information, which includes eight counts against Kilpatrick and seven against Beatty. Beatty and Kilpatrick are charged together in some counts and separately in others. ...
Council committee wants to know who hired mayor's lawyers
By ZACHARY GORCHOW
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
March 24, 2008
A Detroit City Council committee today demanded answers from Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick on who has hired two new attorneys to assist him in the text message scandal.
Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel said she wants to know who hired James Burdick and James Lidell.
Burdick has been assisting Kilpatrick in the criminal probe said to be announced shortly by Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy.
Lidell is assisting the city in its defense of the Freedom of Information Act lawsuit brought by the Free Press and the Detroit News seeking additional documents.
Kilpatrick has said taxpayers are not paying for his legal defense and while Lidell does not appear to be involved in defending the mayor against possible criminal charges, Cockrel said he is listed as representing the city in the FOIA case.
Council members said they are concerned because they have received no contract requests neither for Lidell nor Burdick.
Cockrel also asked that the city reconsider using Mayer Morganroth as its attorney in the lawsuit filed that accuses the city of not fully investigating the death of Tamara Greene, an exotic dancer known as Strawberry. ...
By ZACHARY GORCHOW
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
March 24, 2008
A Detroit City Council committee today demanded answers from Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick on who has hired two new attorneys to assist him in the text message scandal.
Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel said she wants to know who hired James Burdick and James Lidell.
Burdick has been assisting Kilpatrick in the criminal probe said to be announced shortly by Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy.
Lidell is assisting the city in its defense of the Freedom of Information Act lawsuit brought by the Free Press and the Detroit News seeking additional documents.
Kilpatrick has said taxpayers are not paying for his legal defense and while Lidell does not appear to be involved in defending the mayor against possible criminal charges, Cockrel said he is listed as representing the city in the FOIA case.
Council members said they are concerned because they have received no contract requests neither for Lidell nor Burdick.
Cockrel also asked that the city reconsider using Mayer Morganroth as its attorney in the lawsuit filed that accuses the city of not fully investigating the death of Tamara Greene, an exotic dancer known as Strawberry. ...
Kilpatrick, Beatty face felony charges
12-count indictment charges perjury, misconduct and obstruction
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
March 24, 2008
UPDATED AT 12:55 P.M.
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and former chief of staff Christine Beatty were charged today in a 12-county indictment with perjury, obstruction of justice, misconduct in office and conspiracy because of their conduct in last year's police whistle-blower trial, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced.
Kilpatrick is charged with eight felonies and Beatty with seven. They are: perjury, conspiracy to obstruct justice, obstruction of justice and misconduct in office.
Worthy said the perjury charges accuse the two of lying during a whistle-blower lawsuit about the firing of Deputy Police Chief Gary Brown and about their romantic relationship.
Kilpatrick, 38, serving his seventh year in office, is the first Detroit mayor to face criminal charges while still in office. The perjury charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. ...
12-count indictment charges perjury, misconduct and obstruction
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
March 24, 2008
UPDATED AT 12:55 P.M.
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and former chief of staff Christine Beatty were charged today in a 12-county indictment with perjury, obstruction of justice, misconduct in office and conspiracy because of their conduct in last year's police whistle-blower trial, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced.
Kilpatrick is charged with eight felonies and Beatty with seven. They are: perjury, conspiracy to obstruct justice, obstruction of justice and misconduct in office.
Worthy said the perjury charges accuse the two of lying during a whistle-blower lawsuit about the firing of Deputy Police Chief Gary Brown and about their romantic relationship.
Kilpatrick, 38, serving his seventh year in office, is the first Detroit mayor to face criminal charges while still in office. The perjury charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. ...
... Russia is among the most dangerous countries for journalists, especially those who seek to expose official corruption or other abuses. The problem was highlighted last October by the killing of Anna Politkovskaya, whose exposs of human rights abuses in Chechnya irritated the Kremlin. Her murder remains unsolved.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said in January that 13 Russian journalists had been murdered in contract-style killings since 2000, making the country the third deadliest state for journalists, after Iraq and Algeria, in the past 15 years.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said in January that 13 Russian journalists had been murdered in contract-style killings since 2000, making the country the third deadliest state for journalists, after Iraq and Algeria, in the past 15 years.
The former treasurer for the National Republican Congressional Committee diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars -- and possibly as much as $1 million -- of the organization's funds into his personal accounts, GOP officials said yesterday, describing an alleged scheme that could become one of the largest political frauds in recent history.
For at least four years, Christopher J. Ward, who is under investigation by the FBI, allegedly used wire transfers to funnel money out of NRCC coffers and into other political committee accounts he controlled as treasurer, NRCC leaders and lawyers said in their first public statement since they turned the matter over to the FBI six weeks ago.
"The evidence we have today indicated we have been deceived and betrayed for a number of years by a highly respected and trusted individual," said Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), the NRCC chairman.[...] ...
Anyone even contemplating voting rethuglican seriously needs their head examined.
For at least four years, Christopher J. Ward, who is under investigation by the FBI, allegedly used wire transfers to funnel money out of NRCC coffers and into other political committee accounts he controlled as treasurer, NRCC leaders and lawyers said in their first public statement since they turned the matter over to the FBI six weeks ago.
"The evidence we have today indicated we have been deceived and betrayed for a number of years by a highly respected and trusted individual," said Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), the NRCC chairman.[...] ...
Anyone even contemplating voting rethuglican seriously needs their head examined.
Detroit Mayor's Troubles Test A City Short on Good Fortune
Scandal Overshadows Some Recent Economic Successes
By Darryl Fears
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 9, 2008
... The crisis has provided rich material for late-night television hosts, who have made Detroit the butt of jokes. But it is no laughing matter in Detroit, where the budget deficit hovers around $100 million, where fire stations have to temporarily close because there is no money to staff them and where the schools are losing 10,000 students each year as families flee to the suburbs.
"It's the sort of thing that makes people who are thinking of starting a business here or moving into a house think twice, no doubt about it," said City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. "I went to Taiwan on a fact-finding trade mission recently, and even people there had heard about it and were cracking jokes.
"I think, in the long run, it's not going to hurt that much,"...
Nah - that $9 million can be sneezed at, the corruption that runs so deeply in every city department, the murder of a stripper who'd performed at one of his dishonour's beyond-rowdy parties, none of that is important. None of it will hurt us in the long run, you sound-asleep pillock.
PS: Detroit is not known as "hockeytown usa" anywhere outside idiotic marketers' "minds," thank you very much.
Scandal Overshadows Some Recent Economic Successes
By Darryl Fears
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 9, 2008
... The crisis has provided rich material for late-night television hosts, who have made Detroit the butt of jokes. But it is no laughing matter in Detroit, where the budget deficit hovers around $100 million, where fire stations have to temporarily close because there is no money to staff them and where the schools are losing 10,000 students each year as families flee to the suburbs.
"It's the sort of thing that makes people who are thinking of starting a business here or moving into a house think twice, no doubt about it," said City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. "I went to Taiwan on a fact-finding trade mission recently, and even people there had heard about it and were cracking jokes.
"I think, in the long run, it's not going to hurt that much,"...
Nah - that $9 million can be sneezed at, the corruption that runs so deeply in every city department, the murder of a stripper who'd performed at one of his dishonour's beyond-rowdy parties, none of that is important. None of it will hurt us in the long run, you sound-asleep pillock.
PS: Detroit is not known as "hockeytown usa" anywhere outside idiotic marketers' "minds," thank you very much.
Decision near in Detroit mayor's text message scandal, prosecutor says
David Josar / The Detroit News
Sunday, March 9, 2008
DETROIT -- Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy this morning said she is "very close" to deciding whether or not to charge Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff in the wake of the text message scandal, and that only a "coward" would pawn off such a case to another jurisdiction.
"No matter how hot it gets you still have to do it because it happens in your shop, your place, your jurisdiction," Worthy said in a taped interview with Chuck Stokes that aired on Detroit News reporting partner WXYZ (Channel 7). "If you're not tough or enough or brave enough to do what comes your way you're a coward." ...
Sending this case to another jurisdicktion doesn't make you a coward if you are at all aware of the amount of corruption that surrounds you!
David Josar / The Detroit News
Sunday, March 9, 2008
DETROIT -- Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy this morning said she is "very close" to deciding whether or not to charge Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff in the wake of the text message scandal, and that only a "coward" would pawn off such a case to another jurisdiction.
"No matter how hot it gets you still have to do it because it happens in your shop, your place, your jurisdiction," Worthy said in a taped interview with Chuck Stokes that aired on Detroit News reporting partner WXYZ (Channel 7). "If you're not tough or enough or brave enough to do what comes your way you're a coward." ...
Sending this case to another jurisdicktion doesn't make you a coward if you are at all aware of the amount of corruption that surrounds you!
Ex-Official, Jailed in Md., Found With Handcuff Key
By Ruben Castaneda
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Former Prince George's County homeland security official Keith A. Washington, jailed awaiting sentencing for fatally shooting a furniture deliveryman and wounding another, was found last week with a handcuff key and had a "clear intention of escaping," according to court papers filed by prosecutors.
A Prince George's jail spokeswoman said yesterday that officials were investigating how Washington, who is also a former police officer, obtained the key. Law enforcement officials said that handcuff keys are generally universal and that the key probably could have opened any handcuffs.
According to the court papers, correctional officers discovered the key in the pocket of Washington's jail shirt Thursday, three days after he was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and other crimes. Washington, 46, resisted being strip-searched before being taken to the Calvert County jail, where he was being transferred for his safety, according to the papers.
"The shirt was 'pulled' from the defendant's grip and the handcuff key was found in the pocket of the defendant's jail shirt," prosecutors wrote. "Defendant stated that he found the handcuff key approximately two hours earlier and placed same in his pocket." ...
... State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey said yesterday he was "shocked" to learn that Washington had a key. "I thought this kind of thing only happened on shows like 'Prison Break' -- evidently not." ...
By Ruben Castaneda
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Former Prince George's County homeland security official Keith A. Washington, jailed awaiting sentencing for fatally shooting a furniture deliveryman and wounding another, was found last week with a handcuff key and had a "clear intention of escaping," according to court papers filed by prosecutors.
A Prince George's jail spokeswoman said yesterday that officials were investigating how Washington, who is also a former police officer, obtained the key. Law enforcement officials said that handcuff keys are generally universal and that the key probably could have opened any handcuffs.
According to the court papers, correctional officers discovered the key in the pocket of Washington's jail shirt Thursday, three days after he was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and other crimes. Washington, 46, resisted being strip-searched before being taken to the Calvert County jail, where he was being transferred for his safety, according to the papers.
"The shirt was 'pulled' from the defendant's grip and the handcuff key was found in the pocket of the defendant's jail shirt," prosecutors wrote. "Defendant stated that he found the handcuff key approximately two hours earlier and placed same in his pocket." ...
... State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey said yesterday he was "shocked" to learn that Washington had a key. "I thought this kind of thing only happened on shows like 'Prison Break' -- evidently not." ...
Kilpatrick recall effort can continue, election commission says
By ZACHARY GORCHOW
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
March 5, 2008
A proposed recall effort against Detroit Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick was given the green light today.
The Wayne County Election Commission ruled that one of the six petitions submitted by Douglas Johnson was sufficiently clear under the law that requires it to be clear enough for Kilpatrick and the public to understand it. ...
If our eejit "mayor" can read and understand it, then a six-year-old or even shrub can too.
By ZACHARY GORCHOW
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
March 5, 2008
A proposed recall effort against Detroit Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick was given the green light today.
The Wayne County Election Commission ruled that one of the six petitions submitted by Douglas Johnson was sufficiently clear under the law that requires it to be clear enough for Kilpatrick and the public to understand it. ...
If our eejit "mayor" can read and understand it, then a six-year-old or even shrub can too.
Mayor's response: Nothing of concern in documents
By ZACHARY GORCHOW
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
February 27, 2008
Kilpatrick's general counsel Sharon McPhail, speaking on behalf of the Mayor's Office, said there's nothing in the documents released today that is of concern, adding that the real concern is how government agencies will attempt to settle litigation in the future with the possibility of sensitive documents becoming public. ...
If they aren't important, why did he try like hell to keep them from becoming public, honey?
By ZACHARY GORCHOW
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
February 27, 2008
Kilpatrick's general counsel Sharon McPhail, speaking on behalf of the Mayor's Office, said there's nothing in the documents released today that is of concern, adding that the real concern is how government agencies will attempt to settle litigation in the future with the possibility of sensitive documents becoming public. ...
If they aren't important, why did he try like hell to keep them from becoming public, honey?
Congressman Charged in Land Deal
By LARA JAKES JORDAN
The Associated Press
Friday, February 22, 2008; 1:11 PM
WASHINGTON -- Republican Rep. Rick Renzi was indicted Friday on charges of extortion, wire fraud, money laundering and other matters in an Arizona land swap scam that allegedly helped him collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in payoffs.
A 26-page federal indictment unsealed in Tucson, Ariz., accuses Renzi and two former business partners of embezzlement and conspiring to promote the sale of land that buyers could swap for property owned by the federal government.
Renzi is a three-term member of the House. He announced in August that he would not seek re-election. Attempts to reach Renzi by phone on Friday through his congressional office in Flagstaff and his lawyer were unsuccessful.
The indictment accuses Renzi of using his position as a member of the House Natural Resources Committee to push the land swaps for business partner James W. Sandlin, a real estate investor from Sherman, Texas. It comes after a lengthy federal investigation into the land development and insurance businesses owned by Renzi's family. ...
By LARA JAKES JORDAN
The Associated Press
Friday, February 22, 2008; 1:11 PM
WASHINGTON -- Republican Rep. Rick Renzi was indicted Friday on charges of extortion, wire fraud, money laundering and other matters in an Arizona land swap scam that allegedly helped him collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in payoffs.
A 26-page federal indictment unsealed in Tucson, Ariz., accuses Renzi and two former business partners of embezzlement and conspiring to promote the sale of land that buyers could swap for property owned by the federal government.
Renzi is a three-term member of the House. He announced in August that he would not seek re-election. Attempts to reach Renzi by phone on Friday through his congressional office in Flagstaff and his lawyer were unsuccessful.
The indictment accuses Renzi of using his position as a member of the House Natural Resources Committee to push the land swaps for business partner James W. Sandlin, a real estate investor from Sherman, Texas. It comes after a lengthy federal investigation into the land development and insurance businesses owned by Renzi's family. ...
Kwame Kilpatrick -- the mayor of America's healthiest, most booming major city, Detroit -- is in TOO much trouble. A series of hot steamy text messages between Kilpatrick and his chief of staff, Christine Beatty, more or less proves that they were fucking, like, a lot. Allegedly. Furthermore, both the mayor and Beatty had denied any sort of sexual relationship in testimony last summer during a "police whistle-blower" trial that cost the city $9 million. Now there may be all sorts of perjury charges and scrutiny and blah blah blah snooze. That's a waste of our time; instead, let's check out some of these sexy text messages!
* Kilpatrick, 2002: "I'm madly in love with you." Good for him! It takes a real man to throw out the L-word... over text messaging.
* Beatty: "I hope you feel that way for a long time ... In case you haven't noticed, I am madly in love with you, too!" Hey wait a sec, no one talks or texts like this.
* Beatty: "And, did you miss me, sexually?" See: previous commentary.
* Kilpatrick: "Hell yeah! You couldn't tell. I want some more." This could mean he wants anything, though. Maybe he was talking about... federal revenue sharing funds for inner city schools? Eh? Stranger non sequiturs have happened.
* Kilpatrick, later in 2002: "I've been dreaming all day about having you all to myself for 3 days ... Relaxing, laughing, talking, sleeping and making love." OK, since the first four of these are obviously bullshit, who's to say the fifth reveals anything? ...
Business as usual for Detroit.
Click on a 'Detroit' tag for more juicy corruption and perjurin' badness.
* Kilpatrick, 2002: "I'm madly in love with you." Good for him! It takes a real man to throw out the L-word... over text messaging.
* Beatty: "I hope you feel that way for a long time ... In case you haven't noticed, I am madly in love with you, too!" Hey wait a sec, no one talks or texts like this.
* Beatty: "And, did you miss me, sexually?" See: previous commentary.
* Kilpatrick: "Hell yeah! You couldn't tell. I want some more." This could mean he wants anything, though. Maybe he was talking about... federal revenue sharing funds for inner city schools? Eh? Stranger non sequiturs have happened.
* Kilpatrick, later in 2002: "I've been dreaming all day about having you all to myself for 3 days ... Relaxing, laughing, talking, sleeping and making love." OK, since the first four of these are obviously bullshit, who's to say the fifth reveals anything? ...
Business as usual for Detroit.
Click on a 'Detroit' tag for more juicy corruption and perjurin' badness.
Sovereign Deed CEO lied about military service, records show
by: Eartha Jane Melzer
Thursday (01/17) at 12:07 PM
Contractor made millions claiming Army stripes
In December 2003, the founders of Triple Canopy, a private security firm in Baghdad, caught their first big break, signing a contract with the Coalition Provisional Authority governing Iraq. Within four months, Triple Canopy had signed six contracts worth more than $28 million to guard U.S. facilities throughout Iraq.
For the military veterans who founded the company and Barrett H. Moore, who was then Triple Canopy's chief executive officer, these agreements launched the company on the path to what it is today: one of the leading private military contractors, sharing a $1 billion contract with Blackwater USA and DynCorp to guard U.S. personnel in the Middle East.
Moore, 43, a Chicago businessman, now presents himself as a former U.S. Army Intelligence officer and business "visionary" who revolutionized the private security market but an Army spokesman said Moore was never an officer and never had intelligence training. Moore, fired by Triple Canopy in 2004, has launched a new private security firm called Sovereign Deed. He has parlayed his Triple Canopy success into political influence, persuading Republican and Democratic state officials to rewrite state law so that Sovereign Deed can receive $10 million in tax abatements and other incentives to establish a "national response center" for its private disaster relief business in northern Michigan.
What Moore's Pentagon patrons and political allies in Michigan have not known is the true story of Moore's military service. According to U.S. Army record keepers, Moore never completed his Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program in college and was discharged from an inactive branch of the Reserves in 1994 without ever having gone through basic training. Contrary to the claims on Sovereign Deed's Web site, Moore never served as an Army intelligence officer, or in any other branch of the country's armed forces.
Moore's brushes with law enforcement also escape detection. He was convicted of three counts of criminal fraud in Australia in 1992 and served time in prison, according to court records there. An appeals court later reversed Moore's conviction. But in a related criminal trial, Moore acknowledged participating in an "illegal enterprise" to smuggle cars from Chicago to Melbourne and admitted fabricating documents as part of the operation. ...
by: Eartha Jane Melzer
Thursday (01/17) at 12:07 PM
Contractor made millions claiming Army stripes
In December 2003, the founders of Triple Canopy, a private security firm in Baghdad, caught their first big break, signing a contract with the Coalition Provisional Authority governing Iraq. Within four months, Triple Canopy had signed six contracts worth more than $28 million to guard U.S. facilities throughout Iraq.
For the military veterans who founded the company and Barrett H. Moore, who was then Triple Canopy's chief executive officer, these agreements launched the company on the path to what it is today: one of the leading private military contractors, sharing a $1 billion contract with Blackwater USA and DynCorp to guard U.S. personnel in the Middle East.
Moore, 43, a Chicago businessman, now presents himself as a former U.S. Army Intelligence officer and business "visionary" who revolutionized the private security market but an Army spokesman said Moore was never an officer and never had intelligence training. Moore, fired by Triple Canopy in 2004, has launched a new private security firm called Sovereign Deed. He has parlayed his Triple Canopy success into political influence, persuading Republican and Democratic state officials to rewrite state law so that Sovereign Deed can receive $10 million in tax abatements and other incentives to establish a "national response center" for its private disaster relief business in northern Michigan.
What Moore's Pentagon patrons and political allies in Michigan have not known is the true story of Moore's military service. According to U.S. Army record keepers, Moore never completed his Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program in college and was discharged from an inactive branch of the Reserves in 1994 without ever having gone through basic training. Contrary to the claims on Sovereign Deed's Web site, Moore never served as an Army intelligence officer, or in any other branch of the country's armed forces.
Moore's brushes with law enforcement also escape detection. He was convicted of three counts of criminal fraud in Australia in 1992 and served time in prison, according to court records there. An appeals court later reversed Moore's conviction. But in a related criminal trial, Moore acknowledged participating in an "illegal enterprise" to smuggle cars from Chicago to Melbourne and admitted fabricating documents as part of the operation. ...
Ex-Lawmaker Charged in Terror Conspiracy
By LARA JAKES JORDAN
The Associated Press
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
WASHINGTON -- A former congressman and delegate to the United Nations was indicted Wednesday on charges of working for an alleged terrorist fundraising ring that sent more than $130,000 to an al-Qaida supporter who has threatened U.S. and international troops in Afghanistan.
Mark Deli Siljander, a Michigan Republican when he was in the House, was charged with money laundering, conspiracy and obstructing justice for allegedly lying about being hired to lobby senators on behalf of an Islamic charity that authorities said was secretly sending funds to terrorists.
The 42-count indictment, unsealed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., accuses the Islamic American Relief Agency of paying Siljander $50,000 for the lobbying - money that turned out to be stolen from the U.S. Agency for International Development. ...
Why in hell anyone would even consider voting rethuglican in this day and age is beyond even my broad mind!
By LARA JAKES JORDAN
The Associated Press
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
WASHINGTON -- A former congressman and delegate to the United Nations was indicted Wednesday on charges of working for an alleged terrorist fundraising ring that sent more than $130,000 to an al-Qaida supporter who has threatened U.S. and international troops in Afghanistan.
Mark Deli Siljander, a Michigan Republican when he was in the House, was charged with money laundering, conspiracy and obstructing justice for allegedly lying about being hired to lobby senators on behalf of an Islamic charity that authorities said was secretly sending funds to terrorists.
The 42-count indictment, unsealed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., accuses the Islamic American Relief Agency of paying Siljander $50,000 for the lobbying - money that turned out to be stolen from the U.S. Agency for International Development. ...
Why in hell anyone would even consider voting rethuglican in this day and age is beyond even my broad mind!
Our "elections" obviously require United Nations oversight.
US Iraq watchdog agency under investigation - report
Friday December 14 2007
WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. agency charged with investigating allegations of waste and fraud by contractors involved in rebuilding Iraq is itself the subject of four government probes, The Washington Post reported on Friday.
Employee allegations of overspending and mismanagement at the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) prompted an examination of the agencies financial practices by the FBI and federal prosecutors, the Post said.
A U.S. House of Representatives panel, an Army office and another federal agency were conducting separate investigations into complaints from SIGIR staff members, the Post said. ...
... Complaints obtained by the newspaper ranged from retaliatory firing of a whistle-blower to "sustained patterns of inappropriate behavior," the Post said.
Current and former SIGIR employees have told investigators that Bowen's deputy, Ginger Cruz, a self-described wiccan, threatened to put hexes on employees and made inappropriate sexual remarks. ...
Friday December 14 2007
WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. agency charged with investigating allegations of waste and fraud by contractors involved in rebuilding Iraq is itself the subject of four government probes, The Washington Post reported on Friday.
Employee allegations of overspending and mismanagement at the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) prompted an examination of the agencies financial practices by the FBI and federal prosecutors, the Post said.
A U.S. House of Representatives panel, an Army office and another federal agency were conducting separate investigations into complaints from SIGIR staff members, the Post said. ...
... Complaints obtained by the newspaper ranged from retaliatory firing of a whistle-blower to "sustained patterns of inappropriate behavior," the Post said.
Current and former SIGIR employees have told investigators that Bowen's deputy, Ginger Cruz, a self-described wiccan, threatened to put hexes on employees and made inappropriate sexual remarks. ...
Inspector General for Iraq Under Investigation
FBI, Congress Among Those Probing Allegations of Overspending, Mismanagement
By Robin Wright
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 14, 2007
Over the past four years, Inspector General Stuart W. Bowen Jr. and his staff have probed allegations of waste and fraud in the $22 billion U.S. effort to rebuild Iraq. Their work has led to arrests, indictments and millions of dollars in fines. And it has earned Bowen, who had been a legal adviser to President Bush, many admirers among both parties on Capitol Hill for his efforts to identify overspending and mismanagement.
But Bowen's office has also been roiled by allegations of its own overspending and mismanagement. Current and former employees have complained about overtime policies that allowed 10 staff members to earn more than $250,000 each last year. They have questioned the oversight of a $3.5 million book project about Iraq's reconstruction modeled after the 9/11 Commission report. And they have alleged that Bowen and his deputy have improperly snooped into their staff's e-mail messages.
The employee allegations have prompted four government probes into the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), including an investigation by the FBI and federal prosecutors into the agency's financial practices and claims of e-mail monitoring, according to law enforcement sources and SIGIR staff members. Federal prosecutors have presented evidence of alleged wrongdoing to a grand jury in Virginia, which has subpoenaed SIGIR for thousands of pages of financial documents, contracts, personnel records and correspondence, several sources familiar with the probe said. ...
FBI, Congress Among Those Probing Allegations of Overspending, Mismanagement
By Robin Wright
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 14, 2007
Over the past four years, Inspector General Stuart W. Bowen Jr. and his staff have probed allegations of waste and fraud in the $22 billion U.S. effort to rebuild Iraq. Their work has led to arrests, indictments and millions of dollars in fines. And it has earned Bowen, who had been a legal adviser to President Bush, many admirers among both parties on Capitol Hill for his efforts to identify overspending and mismanagement.
But Bowen's office has also been roiled by allegations of its own overspending and mismanagement. Current and former employees have complained about overtime policies that allowed 10 staff members to earn more than $250,000 each last year. They have questioned the oversight of a $3.5 million book project about Iraq's reconstruction modeled after the 9/11 Commission report. And they have alleged that Bowen and his deputy have improperly snooped into their staff's e-mail messages.
The employee allegations have prompted four government probes into the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), including an investigation by the FBI and federal prosecutors into the agency's financial practices and claims of e-mail monitoring, according to law enforcement sources and SIGIR staff members. Federal prosecutors have presented evidence of alleged wrongdoing to a grand jury in Virginia, which has subpoenaed SIGIR for thousands of pages of financial documents, contracts, personnel records and correspondence, several sources familiar with the probe said. ...
Preacher Rebuffs Senate Spending Inquiry
By ERIC GORSKI and RACHEL ZOLL
The Associated Press
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
One of six Christian ministries under investigation by a Senate committee is rebuffing inquiries into its spending, challenging the panel's watchdog role over religious groups, The Associated Press has learned.
A lawyer for preacher Creflo Dollar of World Changers Church International in suburban Atlanta has asked Sen. Charles Grassley to either refer the matter to the IRS or get a subpoena, according to a letter from Dollar's attorney obtained Wednesday by the AP. ...
Subpoena the bitch!
He tells his sheep that giving him their money will get them rich.
How's that again, and how many people actually believe that crap?
By ERIC GORSKI and RACHEL ZOLL
The Associated Press
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
One of six Christian ministries under investigation by a Senate committee is rebuffing inquiries into its spending, challenging the panel's watchdog role over religious groups, The Associated Press has learned.
A lawyer for preacher Creflo Dollar of World Changers Church International in suburban Atlanta has asked Sen. Charles Grassley to either refer the matter to the IRS or get a subpoena, according to a letter from Dollar's attorney obtained Wednesday by the AP. ...
Subpoena the bitch!
He tells his sheep that giving him their money will get them rich.
How's that again, and how many people actually believe that crap?
The USDA's Losing Effort
Costly Program for Rural Businesses Yields Dubious Results
By Gilbert M. Gaul
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Under a program to create jobs in rural America, the U.S. Department of Agriculture guaranteed $1.6 million in loans to Aztec Environmental Inc., an asbestos-removal company in Panama City, Fla.
Aztec did create jobs -- for hundreds of workers from Guatemala. "Locals didn't want the work," said Debbie Livingston, one of the owners.
Three years later, in February, Aztec went out of business after a federal investigation into allegations of environmental abuses and the hiring of illegal immigrants. Now, the USDA could lose hundreds of thousands of dollars on the loan.
The Aztec case is one graphic example of the scores of troubled loans that the USDA has backed in a little-known part of the agency's vast system of farm subsidies. Since the 1970s, the loan program has endured nearly $1.5 billion in losses while backing almost $14 billion in guarantees to private banks, a Washington Post investigation found. ...
Meanwhile, the usda does very little to keep our food safe. Thanks, guys!
Costly Program for Rural Businesses Yields Dubious Results
By Gilbert M. Gaul
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Under a program to create jobs in rural America, the U.S. Department of Agriculture guaranteed $1.6 million in loans to Aztec Environmental Inc., an asbestos-removal company in Panama City, Fla.
Aztec did create jobs -- for hundreds of workers from Guatemala. "Locals didn't want the work," said Debbie Livingston, one of the owners.
Three years later, in February, Aztec went out of business after a federal investigation into allegations of environmental abuses and the hiring of illegal immigrants. Now, the USDA could lose hundreds of thousands of dollars on the loan.
The Aztec case is one graphic example of the scores of troubled loans that the USDA has backed in a little-known part of the agency's vast system of farm subsidies. Since the 1970s, the loan program has endured nearly $1.5 billion in losses while backing almost $14 billion in guarantees to private banks, a Washington Post investigation found. ...
Meanwhile, the usda does very little to keep our food safe. Thanks, guys!
U.S. Targets Bribery Overseas
Globalization, Reforms Give Rise to Spike in Prosecutions
By Carrie Johnson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Prosecutors and stock market regulators on the hunt for fraud increasingly are targeting companies paying foreign government officials in a bid to secure contracts, according to Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission officials.
This year the U.S. government has collected more than $100 million in penalties from oil, chemical and telecommunications companies and secured five guilty pleas from corporate executives. The number of foreign bribery cases filed by criminal and civil investigators in the United States has more than doubled since 2004. ...
Imagine how many bribery cases'd come up if Yankistani biznesses and politicians were investigated!
Globalization, Reforms Give Rise to Spike in Prosecutions
By Carrie Johnson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Prosecutors and stock market regulators on the hunt for fraud increasingly are targeting companies paying foreign government officials in a bid to secure contracts, according to Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission officials.
This year the U.S. government has collected more than $100 million in penalties from oil, chemical and telecommunications companies and secured five guilty pleas from corporate executives. The number of foreign bribery cases filed by criminal and civil investigators in the United States has more than doubled since 2004. ...
Imagine how many bribery cases'd come up if Yankistani biznesses and politicians were investigated!
Shag Fund -- It's on Us!
12.01.07 -- 10:53AM
By Josh Marshall
Yesterday, every reporter who wanted a copy, was allowed to go down to City Hall and pick up copies of the city financial records that were the basis of the original Shag Fund report in the Politico.com. That's how we found out about the weird $400,000 prepayment to American Express, which appears to have been yet another method of taking city money and running it through enough buckets that it could be used for pretty much anything Rudy and his crew wanted to use it for. Some stuff legit, other stuff pretty questionable. The Daily News asked top Giuliani advisor Anthony Carbonetti about the prepayment and were told that, "it's fiscally responsible to anticipate predictable expenses and prepay them."
In other words, I guess fiscal responsibility can mean a lot of things.
In any case, this was a pretty thick stack of paper. Our muck crew actually spent pretty much the whole trying to make sense of it. (We actually broke in a new intern yesterday working exclusive on the Shag Fund accounting project, who did a great job.) We focused on the accounting methods while the city dailies focused more on what was actually paid for. So, from looking at their articles this morning, we can get yet a fuller picture.
The Shag Fund not only paid for the 11 tryst visits to Hamptons.
-- It paid for hotel and other expenses for mayoral aides -- in addition to the security detail -- who also went with the mayor to the Hamptons on the tryst weekends.
-- Nathan's NYPD-chauffeured trips (without Rudy) to visit her parents in Pennsylvania, 130 miles outside the city. ...
12.01.07 -- 10:53AM
By Josh Marshall
Yesterday, every reporter who wanted a copy, was allowed to go down to City Hall and pick up copies of the city financial records that were the basis of the original Shag Fund report in the Politico.com. That's how we found out about the weird $400,000 prepayment to American Express, which appears to have been yet another method of taking city money and running it through enough buckets that it could be used for pretty much anything Rudy and his crew wanted to use it for. Some stuff legit, other stuff pretty questionable. The Daily News asked top Giuliani advisor Anthony Carbonetti about the prepayment and were told that, "it's fiscally responsible to anticipate predictable expenses and prepay them."
In other words, I guess fiscal responsibility can mean a lot of things.
In any case, this was a pretty thick stack of paper. Our muck crew actually spent pretty much the whole trying to make sense of it. (We actually broke in a new intern yesterday working exclusive on the Shag Fund accounting project, who did a great job.) We focused on the accounting methods while the city dailies focused more on what was actually paid for. So, from looking at their articles this morning, we can get yet a fuller picture.
The Shag Fund not only paid for the 11 tryst visits to Hamptons.
-- It paid for hotel and other expenses for mayoral aides -- in addition to the security detail -- who also went with the mayor to the Hamptons on the tryst weekends.
-- Nathan's NYPD-chauffeured trips (without Rudy) to visit her parents in Pennsylvania, 130 miles outside the city. ...
Raid Yields A Treasure Trove, FBI List Shows
Chanel, Gucci, Rolex Among Goods at Home Of D.C. Tax Manager
By Carol D. Leonnig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, November 17, 2007
FBI agents who descended on the Northwest Washington home of D.C. tax manager Harriette Walters found a nondescript brick rambler, but just inside was the wardrobe of a princess.
The investigators hauled out more than 100 pieces of jewelry, a mink coat and 90 purses -- many of them such designer brands as Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Gucci, according to an FBI inventory that was released late yesterday. ...
... The day of the arrests and searches, federal prosecutors said they had confirmed that Walters, Gustus, three of Walters's relatives and another friend had stolen $16 million in 42 phony refunds dating from 2004. The next day, prosecutors said they had found evidence that the group stole a total of at least $20 million using 58 fraudulent checks.
A subsequent Washington Post analysis found $31.7 million in 92 suspicious property tax refund checks from 2000 to 2007, all issued to fictitious companies or for properties that do not exist in the city. ...
Chanel, Gucci, Rolex Among Goods at Home Of D.C. Tax Manager
By Carol D. Leonnig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, November 17, 2007
FBI agents who descended on the Northwest Washington home of D.C. tax manager Harriette Walters found a nondescript brick rambler, but just inside was the wardrobe of a princess.
The investigators hauled out more than 100 pieces of jewelry, a mink coat and 90 purses -- many of them such designer brands as Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Gucci, according to an FBI inventory that was released late yesterday. ...
... The day of the arrests and searches, federal prosecutors said they had confirmed that Walters, Gustus, three of Walters's relatives and another friend had stolen $16 million in 42 phony refunds dating from 2004. The next day, prosecutors said they had found evidence that the group stole a total of at least $20 million using 58 fraudulent checks.
A subsequent Washington Post analysis found $31.7 million in 92 suspicious property tax refund checks from 2000 to 2007, all issued to fictitious companies or for properties that do not exist in the city. ...
SITE IS AVAILABLE
D.C. Tax Workers Charged In Scam
2 Accused of Taking $16 Million Worth Of Illegal Refunds
By Carol D. Leonnig, Clarence Williams and David Nakamura
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Two mid-level D.C. government employees used phony paperwork to collect more than $16 million from illegal tax refunds, avoiding detection for at least three years while issuing more than 40 checks cashed by friends and family members in on the scam, prosecutors said yesterday.
By day, Harriette Walters and Diane Gustus worked at the District's Office of Tax and Revenue. In their free time, prosecutors said, they worked with others to raid the city's treasury to stock up on luxury items including fancy cars, homes, furs, precious jewelry, designer handbags and clothing. Walters alone spent more than $1.4 million at Neiman Marcus, according to charging papers.
Authorities called it the largest theft ever uncovered in local government in the Washington area. Four top officials in the tax office resigned yesterday amid criticism that they did not spot what was going on. About $4 million of the money has been found, authorities said.
Walters, a 25-year D.C. employee, was a mid-level manager in charge of property tax refunds, with a salary of $81,000 a year. Gustus, a tax specialist, was paid about $55,000. Both were arrested yesterday and jailed overnight pending appearances today at U.S. District Court in Washington.
A bank employee raised questions this summer, refusing to cash a $410,000 refund check and triggering a federal investigation. Raids yesterday, conducted by at least 100 law enforcement officials, turned up a $160,000 Bentley in the garage of Walters's brother Richard Walters and designer purses and shoes bearing the labels of Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Hermes at Harriette Walters's home, law enforcement officials said. Authorities also found records tying Walters to the purchase of a $26,000 handbag, but the purse itself did not turn up. ...
A lowly bank teller caught them.
Go figure.
D.C. Tax Workers Charged In Scam
2 Accused of Taking $16 Million Worth Of Illegal Refunds
By Carol D. Leonnig, Clarence Williams and David Nakamura
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Two mid-level D.C. government employees used phony paperwork to collect more than $16 million from illegal tax refunds, avoiding detection for at least three years while issuing more than 40 checks cashed by friends and family members in on the scam, prosecutors said yesterday.
By day, Harriette Walters and Diane Gustus worked at the District's Office of Tax and Revenue. In their free time, prosecutors said, they worked with others to raid the city's treasury to stock up on luxury items including fancy cars, homes, furs, precious jewelry, designer handbags and clothing. Walters alone spent more than $1.4 million at Neiman Marcus, according to charging papers.
Authorities called it the largest theft ever uncovered in local government in the Washington area. Four top officials in the tax office resigned yesterday amid criticism that they did not spot what was going on. About $4 million of the money has been found, authorities said.
Walters, a 25-year D.C. employee, was a mid-level manager in charge of property tax refunds, with a salary of $81,000 a year. Gustus, a tax specialist, was paid about $55,000. Both were arrested yesterday and jailed overnight pending appearances today at U.S. District Court in Washington.
A bank employee raised questions this summer, refusing to cash a $410,000 refund check and triggering a federal investigation. Raids yesterday, conducted by at least 100 law enforcement officials, turned up a $160,000 Bentley in the garage of Walters's brother Richard Walters and designer purses and shoes bearing the labels of Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Hermes at Harriette Walters's home, law enforcement officials said. Authorities also found records tying Walters to the purchase of a $26,000 handbag, but the purse itself did not turn up. ...
A lowly bank teller caught them.
Go figure.
Industries Paid for Top Regulators' Travel
Two Heads of Product Safety Agency Accepted Trips From Manufacturer Groups
By Elizabeth Williamson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 2, 2007
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, New Orleans and a golf resort on Hilton Head Island, S.C. ...
Two Heads of Product Safety Agency Accepted Trips From Manufacturer Groups
By Elizabeth Williamson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 2, 2007
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, New Orleans and a golf resort on Hilton Head Island, S.C. ...
FEMA Workers Masquerade As Reporters
Friday, October 26, 2007
WASHINGTON (AP) -- One way to get decent coverage in this rough-and-tumble city is to arrange to have your own employees interrogate you at your news conference.
That would seem to be the strategy of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, much maligned for its sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina over two years ago.
FEMA scheduled an early afternoon news briefing on only 15 minutes notice to reporters here Tuesday to talk about its handling of assistance to victims of wildfires that were ravaging much of Southern California.
But because there was so little advance notice for the event held by Vice Adm. Harvey E. Johnson, the deputy FEMA administrator, the agency made available an 800 number so reporters could call in. And many did, although it was a listen-only arrangement.
At the news conference itself, some FEMA employees played the role of reporter, asking questions of Johnson - queries described as soft and gratuitous.
"I'm very happy with FEMA's response," Johnson said in reply to one query from a person the Post said was an agency employee, not an independent journalist.
Asked about this, Mike Widomski, FEMA's deputy director of public affairs, said, "We had been getting mobbed with phone calls from reporters, and this was thrown together at the last minute."
FEMA's goal was "to get information out as soon as possible, and in trying to do so we made an error in judgment."...
Friday, October 26, 2007
WASHINGTON (AP) -- One way to get decent coverage in this rough-and-tumble city is to arrange to have your own employees interrogate you at your news conference.
That would seem to be the strategy of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, much maligned for its sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina over two years ago.
FEMA scheduled an early afternoon news briefing on only 15 minutes notice to reporters here Tuesday to talk about its handling of assistance to victims of wildfires that were ravaging much of Southern California.
But because there was so little advance notice for the event held by Vice Adm. Harvey E. Johnson, the deputy FEMA administrator, the agency made available an 800 number so reporters could call in. And many did, although it was a listen-only arrangement.
At the news conference itself, some FEMA employees played the role of reporter, asking questions of Johnson - queries described as soft and gratuitous.
"I'm very happy with FEMA's response," Johnson said in reply to one query from a person the Post said was an agency employee, not an independent journalist.
Asked about this, Mike Widomski, FEMA's deputy director of public affairs, said, "We had been getting mobbed with phone calls from reporters, and this was thrown together at the last minute."
FEMA's goal was "to get information out as soon as possible, and in trying to do so we made an error in judgment."...
FEMA Meets the Press, Which Happens to Be . . . FEMA
By Al Kamen
Friday, October 26, 2007
FEMA has truly learned the lessons of Katrina. Even its handling of the media has improved dramatically. For example, as the California wildfires raged Tuesday, Vice Adm. Harvey E. Johnson, the deputy administrator, had a 1 p.m. news briefing.
Reporters were given only 15 minutes' notice of the briefing, making it unlikely many could show up at FEMA's Southwest D.C. offices. They were given an 800 number to call in, though it was a "listen only" line, the notice said -- no questions. Parts of the briefing were carried live on Fox News, MSNBC and other outlets.
Johnson stood behind a lectern and began with an overview before saying he would take a few questions. The first questions were about the "commodities" being shipped to Southern California and how officials are dealing with people who refuse to evacuate. He responded eloquently.
He was apparently quite familiar with the reporters -- in one case, he appears to say "Mike" and points to a reporter -- and was asked an oddly in-house question about "what it means to have an emergency declaration as opposed to a major disaster declaration" signed by the president. He once again explained smoothly.
FEMA press secretary Aaron Walker interrupted at one point to caution he'd allow just "two more questions." Later, he called for a "last question."
"Are you happy with FEMA's response so far?" a reporter asked. Another asked about "lessons learned from Katrina."
"I'm very happy with FEMA's response so far," Johnson said, hailing "a very smoothly, very efficiently performing team."
"And so I think what you're really seeing here is the benefit of experience, the benefit of good leadership and the benefit of good partnership," Johnson said, "none of which were present in Katrina." (Wasn't Michael Chertoff DHS chief then?) Very smooth, very professional. But something didn't seem right. The reporters were lobbing too many softballs. No one asked about trailers with formaldehyde for those made homeless by the fires. And the media seemed to be giving Johnson all day to wax on and on about FEMA's greatness.
Of course, that could be because the questions were asked by FEMA staffers playing reporters. We're told the questions were asked by Cindy Taylor, FEMA's deputy director of external affairs, and by "Mike" Widomski, the deputy director of public affairs. Director of External Affairs John "Pat" Philbin asked a question, and another came, we understand, from someone who sounds like press aide Ali Kirin. ...
By Al Kamen
Friday, October 26, 2007
FEMA has truly learned the lessons of Katrina. Even its handling of the media has improved dramatically. For example, as the California wildfires raged Tuesday, Vice Adm. Harvey E. Johnson, the deputy administrator, had a 1 p.m. news briefing.
Reporters were given only 15 minutes' notice of the briefing, making it unlikely many could show up at FEMA's Southwest D.C. offices. They were given an 800 number to call in, though it was a "listen only" line, the notice said -- no questions. Parts of the briefing were carried live on Fox News, MSNBC and other outlets.
Johnson stood behind a lectern and began with an overview before saying he would take a few questions. The first questions were about the "commodities" being shipped to Southern California and how officials are dealing with people who refuse to evacuate. He responded eloquently.
He was apparently quite familiar with the reporters -- in one case, he appears to say "Mike" and points to a reporter -- and was asked an oddly in-house question about "what it means to have an emergency declaration as opposed to a major disaster declaration" signed by the president. He once again explained smoothly.
FEMA press secretary Aaron Walker interrupted at one point to caution he'd allow just "two more questions." Later, he called for a "last question."
"Are you happy with FEMA's response so far?" a reporter asked. Another asked about "lessons learned from Katrina."
"I'm very happy with FEMA's response so far," Johnson said, hailing "a very smoothly, very efficiently performing team."
"And so I think what you're really seeing here is the benefit of experience, the benefit of good leadership and the benefit of good partnership," Johnson said, "none of which were present in Katrina." (Wasn't Michael Chertoff DHS chief then?) Very smooth, very professional. But something didn't seem right. The reporters were lobbing too many softballs. No one asked about trailers with formaldehyde for those made homeless by the fires. And the media seemed to be giving Johnson all day to wax on and on about FEMA's greatness.
Of course, that could be because the questions were asked by FEMA staffers playing reporters. We're told the questions were asked by Cindy Taylor, FEMA's deputy director of external affairs, and by "Mike" Widomski, the deputy director of public affairs. Director of External Affairs John "Pat" Philbin asked a question, and another came, we understand, from someone who sounds like press aide Ali Kirin. ...
This is complete rot. The Chechins would never have executed her - she was furthering their cause!
"May God have mercy on your soul, Mr Putin."
- Aleksandr Litvinenko
"May God have mercy on your soul, Mr Putin."
- Aleksandr Litvinenko
GI to her family: Ask many questions if I die; 'I made some enemies,' Durkin said
By DIANA SCHOBERG and SUE SCHEIBLE
The Patriot Ledger
October 03, 2007
QUINCY - Ciara Durkin was home on leave last month and expressed a concern to her family in Quincy: If something happens to me in Afghanistan, don't let it go without an investigation.
Durkin, 30, a specialist with a Massachusetts National Guard finance battalion, was found dead last week near a church at the Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. She had been shot once in the head, the Army says.
Fiona Canavan, Durkin's older sister, said today that when her sister was home three weeks ago, she told family members that she had come across some things that concerned her and had raised objections to others at the base.
"She was in the finance unit and she said, 'I discovered some things I don't like and I made some enemies because of it.' Then she said, in her light-hearted way, 'If anything happens to me, you guys make sure it gets investigated,'" Canavan said. "But at the time we thought it was said more as a joke."
The family did not know what she was referring to, said Canavan, who lives in Quincy. ...
By DIANA SCHOBERG and SUE SCHEIBLE
The Patriot Ledger
October 03, 2007
QUINCY - Ciara Durkin was home on leave last month and expressed a concern to her family in Quincy: If something happens to me in Afghanistan, don't let it go without an investigation.
Durkin, 30, a specialist with a Massachusetts National Guard finance battalion, was found dead last week near a church at the Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. She had been shot once in the head, the Army says.
Fiona Canavan, Durkin's older sister, said today that when her sister was home three weeks ago, she told family members that she had come across some things that concerned her and had raised objections to others at the base.
"She was in the finance unit and she said, 'I discovered some things I don't like and I made some enemies because of it.' Then she said, in her light-hearted way, 'If anything happens to me, you guys make sure it gets investigated,'" Canavan said. "But at the time we thought it was said more as a joke."
The family did not know what she was referring to, said Canavan, who lives in Quincy. ...
I thought Brooklyn shoulda offed this bastard somehow, but then I remembered that assassination is only the bad guys' tool.
Iraq aims to end immunity of security firms
Fri Sep 21, 2007
By Mussab Al-Khairalla and Paul Tait
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq wants to tighten control over security contractors after a deadly shooting incident involving the U.S. firm Blackwater, ending their long immunity from Iraqi prosecution, the Interior Ministry said on Friday. ...
... Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Kareem Khalaf said the ministry had drafted legislation giving it wider powers over the contractors and calling for "severe punishment for those who fail to adhere to the ... guidelines."
Iraq has said it would review the status of all security firms after what it called a flagrant assault by Blackwater contractors in which 11 people were killed while the firm was escorting a U.S. Embassy convoy through Baghdad on Sunday.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki suggested the U.S. Embassy should stop using Blackwater...
Wait - there's more!
US investigates Blackwater arms smuggling - report
Sat Sep 22, 2007
WASHINGTON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors are looking into whether private U.S. security contractor Blackwater USA has shipped unlicensed automatic weapons and military goods into Iraq, a newspaper reported on Saturday.
Two former Blackwater employees have pleaded guilty in Greenville, North Carolina, to weapons charges and are cooperating with the investigation, The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina reported.
Federal prosecutors in North Carolina are handling the case, the News & Observer reported.
Blackwater, based in Moyock, North Carolina, employs around 1,000 contractors to protect the U.S. mission in Iraq and its diplomats from attack.
The newspaper quoted two unnamed sources as saying prosecutors are probing whether Blackwater was shipping weapons, night-vision scopes, armor, gun kits and other military goods to Iraq without the required permits. ...
Feds Target Blackwater in Weapons Probe
By MATTHEW LEE
The Associated Press
Saturday, September 22, 2007
WASHINGTON -- Federal prosecutors are investigating whether employees of the private security firm Blackwater USA illegally smuggled into Iraq weapons that may have been sold on the black market and ended up in the hands of a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, officials said Friday.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Raleigh, N.C., is handling the investigation with help from Pentagon and State Department auditors, who have concluded there is enough evidence to file charges, the officials told The Associated Press....
Blackwater denies making illegal weapons exports
Sat Sep 22, 2007
By James Vicini and Will Dunham
WASHINGTON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Private U.S. security contractor Blackwater USA denied on Saturday it was involved in illegally shipping automatic weapons and military goods to Iraq.
The statement by the company, whose contractors were accused by the Iraqi government of killing 11 people in Baghdad this week, came after a newspaper report that federal officials are investigating whether Blackwater exported unlicensed military hardware into Iraq.
"Allegations that Blackwater was in any way associated or complicit in unlawful arms activities are baseless. The company has no knowledge of any employee improperly exporting weapons," the company said in a statement.
"This issue is completely unrelated" to Blackwater's U.S. government programs in Iraq, said the company...
Fri Sep 21, 2007
By Mussab Al-Khairalla and Paul Tait
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq wants to tighten control over security contractors after a deadly shooting incident involving the U.S. firm Blackwater, ending their long immunity from Iraqi prosecution, the Interior Ministry said on Friday. ...
... Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Kareem Khalaf said the ministry had drafted legislation giving it wider powers over the contractors and calling for "severe punishment for those who fail to adhere to the ... guidelines."
Iraq has said it would review the status of all security firms after what it called a flagrant assault by Blackwater contractors in which 11 people were killed while the firm was escorting a U.S. Embassy convoy through Baghdad on Sunday.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki suggested the U.S. Embassy should stop using Blackwater...
Wait - there's more!
US investigates Blackwater arms smuggling - report
Sat Sep 22, 2007
WASHINGTON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors are looking into whether private U.S. security contractor Blackwater USA has shipped unlicensed automatic weapons and military goods into Iraq, a newspaper reported on Saturday.
Two former Blackwater employees have pleaded guilty in Greenville, North Carolina, to weapons charges and are cooperating with the investigation, The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina reported.
Federal prosecutors in North Carolina are handling the case, the News & Observer reported.
Blackwater, based in Moyock, North Carolina, employs around 1,000 contractors to protect the U.S. mission in Iraq and its diplomats from attack.
The newspaper quoted two unnamed sources as saying prosecutors are probing whether Blackwater was shipping weapons, night-vision scopes, armor, gun kits and other military goods to Iraq without the required permits. ...
Feds Target Blackwater in Weapons Probe
By MATTHEW LEE
The Associated Press
Saturday, September 22, 2007
WASHINGTON -- Federal prosecutors are investigating whether employees of the private security firm Blackwater USA illegally smuggled into Iraq weapons that may have been sold on the black market and ended up in the hands of a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, officials said Friday.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Raleigh, N.C., is handling the investigation with help from Pentagon and State Department auditors, who have concluded there is enough evidence to file charges, the officials told The Associated Press....
Blackwater denies making illegal weapons exports
Sat Sep 22, 2007
By James Vicini and Will Dunham
WASHINGTON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Private U.S. security contractor Blackwater USA denied on Saturday it was involved in illegally shipping automatic weapons and military goods to Iraq.
The statement by the company, whose contractors were accused by the Iraqi government of killing 11 people in Baghdad this week, came after a newspaper report that federal officials are investigating whether Blackwater exported unlicensed military hardware into Iraq.
"Allegations that Blackwater was in any way associated or complicit in unlawful arms activities are baseless. The company has no knowledge of any employee improperly exporting weapons," the company said in a statement.
"This issue is completely unrelated" to Blackwater's U.S. government programs in Iraq, said the company...
Iraq Probe of U.S. Security Firm Grows
Blackwater, Accused of Killing 11 on Sunday, Cited in Earlier Deaths
By Joshua Partlow and Sudarsan Raghavan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, September 22, 2007
BAGHDAD, Sept. 21 -- Iraq's probe into a deadly shooting by Blackwater USA in Baghdad last weekend has expanded to include allegations about the security firm's involvement in six other violent episodes this year that left at least 10 Iraqis dead.
The incidents include the killing of three guards at a state-run media complex and the shooting death of an Iraqi journalist outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Brig. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, chief spokesman for the Interior Ministry. ...
Iraq: Blackwater Guards Fired Unprovoked
By ROBERT H. REID
The Associated Press
Saturday, September 22, 2007
BAGHDAD -- Iraqi investigators have a videotape that shows Blackwater USA guards opened fire against civilians without provocation in a shooting last week that left 11 people dead, a senior Iraqi official said Saturday. He said the case was referred to the Iraqi judiciary.
Iraq's president, meanwhile, demanded that the Americans release an Iranian arrested this week on suspicion of smuggling weapons to Shiite militias. The demand adds new strains to U.S.-Iraqi relations only days before a meeting between President Bush and Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said Iraqi authorities had completed an investigation into the Sept. 16 shooting in Nisoor Square in western Baghdad and concluded that Blackwater guards were responsible for the deaths. ...
Blackwater, Accused of Killing 11 on Sunday, Cited in Earlier Deaths
By Joshua Partlow and Sudarsan Raghavan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, September 22, 2007
BAGHDAD, Sept. 21 -- Iraq's probe into a deadly shooting by Blackwater USA in Baghdad last weekend has expanded to include allegations about the security firm's involvement in six other violent episodes this year that left at least 10 Iraqis dead.
The incidents include the killing of three guards at a state-run media complex and the shooting death of an Iraqi journalist outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Brig. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, chief spokesman for the Interior Ministry. ...
Iraq: Blackwater Guards Fired Unprovoked
By ROBERT H. REID
The Associated Press
Saturday, September 22, 2007
BAGHDAD -- Iraqi investigators have a videotape that shows Blackwater USA guards opened fire against civilians without provocation in a shooting last week that left 11 people dead, a senior Iraqi official said Saturday. He said the case was referred to the Iraqi judiciary.
Iraq's president, meanwhile, demanded that the Americans release an Iranian arrested this week on suspicion of smuggling weapons to Shiite militias. The demand adds new strains to U.S.-Iraqi relations only days before a meeting between President Bush and Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said Iraqi authorities had completed an investigation into the Sept. 16 shooting in Nisoor Square in western Baghdad and concluded that Blackwater guards were responsible for the deaths. ...
Corrupt China official felled by 11 mistresses
Fri Sep 7, 2007
BEIJING (Reuters) - A corrupt senior Chinese official was denounced by his 11 mistresses after some of their husbands were sentenced to death for graft, state media said on Friday.
The news comes just days after a senior provincial Communist Party official was executed for blowing up his mistress with a car bomb.
"Second wives" are common among government officials and businessmen in China and are often blamed for driving men to seek money through bribes or other abuses of power.
Pang Jiayu, 63, former deputy head of the provincial political advisory body in the northwestern province of Shaanxi, was sacked and expelled from the Communist Party for graft, Xinhua news agency reported.
"Pang did not expect that he would be brought down by his own 11 mistresses," the official People's Daily said in a report carried on its Web site.
Pang, who was also Party boss of Baoji city, had lured several women, mostly "pretty and young" wives of his subordinates, to be his mistresses, it said. ...
Emphasis mine.
Nice, innit: the mistresses of greedy, corrupt Chinese politicos get the blame. I'm so goddam sick of that old song and dance.
Fri Sep 7, 2007
BEIJING (Reuters) - A corrupt senior Chinese official was denounced by his 11 mistresses after some of their husbands were sentenced to death for graft, state media said on Friday.
The news comes just days after a senior provincial Communist Party official was executed for blowing up his mistress with a car bomb.
"Second wives" are common among government officials and businessmen in China and are often blamed for driving men to seek money through bribes or other abuses of power.
Pang Jiayu, 63, former deputy head of the provincial political advisory body in the northwestern province of Shaanxi, was sacked and expelled from the Communist Party for graft, Xinhua news agency reported.
"Pang did not expect that he would be brought down by his own 11 mistresses," the official People's Daily said in a report carried on its Web site.
Pang, who was also Party boss of Baoji city, had lured several women, mostly "pretty and young" wives of his subordinates, to be his mistresses, it said. ...
Emphasis mine.
Nice, innit: the mistresses of greedy, corrupt Chinese politicos get the blame. I'm so goddam sick of that old song and dance.
New Jersey Corruption Probe Nets 11 Officials
Friday, September 7, 2007
TRENTON, N.J., Sept. 6 (AP) -- Federal agents arrested 11 public officials Thursday in towns across New Jersey on charges of taking bribes in exchange for influencing the awarding of public contracts, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Two of the arrested are state lawmakers, two are mayors, three are council members, and several served on the school board in Pleasantville, where the scandal began.
All 11, plus a private individual, are accused of taking cash payments of $1,500 to $17,500 to influence who received public contracts, according to criminal complaints. ...
Friday, September 7, 2007
TRENTON, N.J., Sept. 6 (AP) -- Federal agents arrested 11 public officials Thursday in towns across New Jersey on charges of taking bribes in exchange for influencing the awarding of public contracts, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Two of the arrested are state lawmakers, two are mayors, three are council members, and several served on the school board in Pleasantville, where the scandal began.
All 11, plus a private individual, are accused of taking cash payments of $1,500 to $17,500 to influence who received public contracts, according to criminal complaints. ...
Corrupt official plagiarizes trial apology
Wed Sep 5, 2007
BEIJING (Reuters) - Music, books and Hollywood films... China can now add testimonies of regret by corrupt officials to its exhaustive list of copyright violations.
Zhang Shaocang, former Communist Party chief of state-owned power company Anhui Province Energy Group Co Ltd, wept as he read a four-page "letter of apology" during his corruption trial at a court in Fuyang, Anhui, according to a Procuratorial Daily report reproduced in Wednesday's Beijing News.
But Zhang's sentiments were later found to be strikingly similar to those of Zhu Fuzhong, a disgraced former party chief of Tongan village in southwestern Sichuan province, whose apology letter was printed in the Procuratorial Daily less than two weeks before. ...
Wed Sep 5, 2007
BEIJING (Reuters) - Music, books and Hollywood films... China can now add testimonies of regret by corrupt officials to its exhaustive list of copyright violations.
Zhang Shaocang, former Communist Party chief of state-owned power company Anhui Province Energy Group Co Ltd, wept as he read a four-page "letter of apology" during his corruption trial at a court in Fuyang, Anhui, according to a Procuratorial Daily report reproduced in Wednesday's Beijing News.
But Zhang's sentiments were later found to be strikingly similar to those of Zhu Fuzhong, a disgraced former party chief of Tongan village in southwestern Sichuan province, whose apology letter was printed in the Procuratorial Daily less than two weeks before. ...
20 million risky condoms recalled
Tue Aug 28, 2007
By Bate Felix
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's health department said Tuesday it has recalled 20 million potentially defective condoms approved by an official accused of taking bribes from a manufacturer.
There are up to 1,000 AIDS-related deaths in South Africa every day and free condom distribution is a crucial part of the government's efforts to combat the spread of the epidemic.
"An official of the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS), has put millions of people at risk by illegally passing millions of condoms, which had not met the quality assurance requirements," said health department spokesman Sibani Mngadi. ...
If they did this they're guilty of murder as well as corruption. I'm of two minds re: an apt punishment...either they should be executed, or they should have to work in aids hospitals - preferably the childrens' wards - for a year before life imprisonment.
Tue Aug 28, 2007
By Bate Felix
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's health department said Tuesday it has recalled 20 million potentially defective condoms approved by an official accused of taking bribes from a manufacturer.
There are up to 1,000 AIDS-related deaths in South Africa every day and free condom distribution is a crucial part of the government's efforts to combat the spread of the epidemic.
"An official of the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS), has put millions of people at risk by illegally passing millions of condoms, which had not met the quality assurance requirements," said health department spokesman Sibani Mngadi. ...
If they did this they're guilty of murder as well as corruption. I'm of two minds re: an apt punishment...either they should be executed, or they should have to work in aids hospitals - preferably the childrens' wards - for a year before life imprisonment.
The rot ain't just here in the Wild Wild West, girls and boys.
The priest and the stripper
$200,000 STOLEN FROM PARISH
'He gave me money for spending time with him'
July 22, 2007
BY ERIC HERMAN Staff Reporter
The Rev. Mark Sorvillo loved taking his parish's money and spending it on himself. Trips to Rome, Venice, Paris. And $900 meals at New York restaurants.
In 1999, Sorvillo found someone else to lavish his parishioners' collection-plate donations on -- a male stripper.
Sorvillo -- who pleaded guilty Friday to stealing nearly $200,000 from St. Margaret Mary parish on the North Side -- gave cars, plane tickets and thousands of dollars in cash to James Sosnicki, a married Louisville man who stripped frequently at gay clubs in Chicago, law enforcement sources said. ...
$200,000 STOLEN FROM PARISH
'He gave me money for spending time with him'
July 22, 2007
BY ERIC HERMAN Staff Reporter
The Rev. Mark Sorvillo loved taking his parish's money and spending it on himself. Trips to Rome, Venice, Paris. And $900 meals at New York restaurants.
In 1999, Sorvillo found someone else to lavish his parishioners' collection-plate donations on -- a male stripper.
Sorvillo -- who pleaded guilty Friday to stealing nearly $200,000 from St. Margaret Mary parish on the North Side -- gave cars, plane tickets and thousands of dollars in cash to James Sosnicki, a married Louisville man who stripped frequently at gay clubs in Chicago, law enforcement sources said. ...
President of the Christian Action League, 74, Is Arrested after Allegedly Paying Hooker with Checks
Posted by Jon Ponder | Jul. 19, 2007
Privette on two occasions allegedly paid the prostitute with checks then reported the checks stolen.
Rev. Coy Privette, the president of the Christian Action League, a North Carolina ultraconservative Christian political organization based in Raleigh, has been arrested for soliciting prostitution:
"Privette, 74, was charged with six counts of misdemeanor aiding and abetting prostitution by renting a hotel room and paying for sexual acts, according to State Bureau of Investigation Agent Kevin Canty. Tiffany Denise Summers, 32, of Salisbury, was charged with six counts of misdemeanor prostitution, Canty said."
And:
"Police said officers were investigating a forged check case, which led them to the prostitution charges. Privette on two occasions allegedly paid the prostitute with checks then reported those checks as stolen, officials said."
According to its website, the Christian Action League is:
"...a Christian public policy organization that addresses public policy and legislative issues from a Christian worldview. The Christian Action League has a full-time presence in the General Assembly of North Carolina and has garnered considerable respect from both the Republican and Democratic parties. The League's purpose is to assist the church in fulfilling Christ's command to be the "salt" and the "light" of the earth. ..."
The Christian Action League is funded by the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, and it is affiliated with the ultra-rightwing American Family Association. ...
Posted by Jon Ponder | Jul. 19, 2007
Privette on two occasions allegedly paid the prostitute with checks then reported the checks stolen.
Rev. Coy Privette, the president of the Christian Action League, a North Carolina ultraconservative Christian political organization based in Raleigh, has been arrested for soliciting prostitution:
"Privette, 74, was charged with six counts of misdemeanor aiding and abetting prostitution by renting a hotel room and paying for sexual acts, according to State Bureau of Investigation Agent Kevin Canty. Tiffany Denise Summers, 32, of Salisbury, was charged with six counts of misdemeanor prostitution, Canty said."
And:
"Police said officers were investigating a forged check case, which led them to the prostitution charges. Privette on two occasions allegedly paid the prostitute with checks then reported those checks as stolen, officials said."
According to its website, the Christian Action League is:
"...a Christian public policy organization that addresses public policy and legislative issues from a Christian worldview. The Christian Action League has a full-time presence in the General Assembly of North Carolina and has garnered considerable respect from both the Republican and Democratic parties. The League's purpose is to assist the church in fulfilling Christ's command to be the "salt" and the "light" of the earth. ..."
The Christian Action League is funded by the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, and it is affiliated with the ultra-rightwing American Family Association. ...
Alleged Madam Can Distribute Records
By LUBNA TAKRURI
The Associated Press
Friday, July 6, 2007
WASHINGTON -- A woman accused of running a prostitution ring in the nation's capital is free to distribute thousands of pages of phone records after a federal judge lifted a restraining order on Thursday.
U.S. District Court Judge Gladys Kessler's order granted the request of Deborah Jeane Palfrey, 51, of Vallejo, Calif., to quash restrictions by government prosecutors that prohibited her from giving away the list.
"As a result, Jeane has determined to release those records under certain conditions to qualified individuals or organizations," wrote her attorney, Montgomery Blair Sibley, in an e-mail.
Palfrey and her attorney have said the list contains up to 15,000 names and could shake up Washington by revealing high-profile individuals. ...
By LUBNA TAKRURI
The Associated Press
Friday, July 6, 2007
WASHINGTON -- A woman accused of running a prostitution ring in the nation's capital is free to distribute thousands of pages of phone records after a federal judge lifted a restraining order on Thursday.
U.S. District Court Judge Gladys Kessler's order granted the request of Deborah Jeane Palfrey, 51, of Vallejo, Calif., to quash restrictions by government prosecutors that prohibited her from giving away the list.
"As a result, Jeane has determined to release those records under certain conditions to qualified individuals or organizations," wrote her attorney, Montgomery Blair Sibley, in an e-mail.
Palfrey and her attorney have said the list contains up to 15,000 names and could shake up Washington by revealing high-profile individuals. ...
bliar sucks.
Ex-German MP sentenced in VW corruption scandal
Fri Jun 15, 2007
WOLFSBURG, Germany (Reuters) - A former Volkswagen labour leader and Social Democrat member of parliament was found guilty on Thursday of perjury by denying he paid for prostitutes with company funds.
Hans-Juergen Uhl confessed to the prosecutor's charges and was found guilty on five counts of perjury and two counts of aiding and abetting fraud. He must pay € 39,200 (£26,483; $52,387) in fines, the court in VW's home town of Wolfsburg ruled.
His case was one of several involving high-ranking VW managers and labour leaders accused of conspiring to bilk the company of funds to pay for elaborate sex trips as part of a institutionalised system of bribery put in place under VW's former personnel boss, Peter Hartz. ...
Fri Jun 15, 2007
WOLFSBURG, Germany (Reuters) - A former Volkswagen labour leader and Social Democrat member of parliament was found guilty on Thursday of perjury by denying he paid for prostitutes with company funds.
Hans-Juergen Uhl confessed to the prosecutor's charges and was found guilty on five counts of perjury and two counts of aiding and abetting fraud. He must pay € 39,200 (£26,483; $52,387) in fines, the court in VW's home town of Wolfsburg ruled.
His case was one of several involving high-ranking VW managers and labour leaders accused of conspiring to bilk the company of funds to pay for elaborate sex trips as part of a institutionalised system of bribery put in place under VW's former personnel boss, Peter Hartz. ...
Mueller Often Uses FBI Jet Bought for Counterterrorism
By John Solomon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
When the FBI asked Congress this spring to provide $3.6 million in the war spending bill for its Gulfstream V jet, it said the money was needed to ensure that the aircraft, packed with state-of-the-art security and communications gear, could continue to fly counterterrorism agents on "crucial missions" into Iraq.
Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the bureau has made similar annual requests to maintain and fuel the $40 million jet on grounds that it had a "tremendous impact" on combating terrorism by rapidly deploying FBI agents to "fast-moving investigations and crisis situations" in places such as Afghanistan.
But the jet that the FBI originally sold to lawmakers in the late 1990s as an essential tool for battling terrorism is now routinely used to ferry FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III to speeches, public appearances and field office visits.
In fact, Mueller's travel now accounts for nearly a quarter of the flight time for the lone FBI jet able to make international flights.
FBI officials acknowledged to The Washington Post that Mueller's use of the Gulfstream is a marked departure from the travel practices of his predecessors, such as Louis J. Freeh, who flew commercially or used a smaller Cessna Citation jet. They said that Mueller's aides first check with the counterterrorism division to make sure the Gulfstream is not needed for terrorism operations, and that the Justice Department approves each flight. ...
By John Solomon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
When the FBI asked Congress this spring to provide $3.6 million in the war spending bill for its Gulfstream V jet, it said the money was needed to ensure that the aircraft, packed with state-of-the-art security and communications gear, could continue to fly counterterrorism agents on "crucial missions" into Iraq.
Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the bureau has made similar annual requests to maintain and fuel the $40 million jet on grounds that it had a "tremendous impact" on combating terrorism by rapidly deploying FBI agents to "fast-moving investigations and crisis situations" in places such as Afghanistan.
But the jet that the FBI originally sold to lawmakers in the late 1990s as an essential tool for battling terrorism is now routinely used to ferry FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III to speeches, public appearances and field office visits.
In fact, Mueller's travel now accounts for nearly a quarter of the flight time for the lone FBI jet able to make international flights.
FBI officials acknowledged to The Washington Post that Mueller's use of the Gulfstream is a marked departure from the travel practices of his predecessors, such as Louis J. Freeh, who flew commercially or used a smaller Cessna Citation jet. They said that Mueller's aides first check with the counterterrorism division to make sure the Gulfstream is not needed for terrorism operations, and that the Justice Department approves each flight. ...
Man wants electoral voice for "living dead"
Tue May 8, 2007
By Sharat Pradhan
LUCKNOW, India (Reuters) - A villager is campaigning in northern India for the rights of people declared legally dead by cheating relatives seeking to steal their assets.
Lal Bihari, a lower caste villager who lost his father's inheritance due to an unscrupulous uncle, formed the "Union of the Dead" in 1980 to fight for the rights of thousands he says have fallen victim to scams by relatives.
He is contesting as an independent in a month-long election in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, which ends on Tuesday.
In 1976, an uncle allegedly connived with corrupt local officials to fudge village records and declare Bihari dead. The uncle then won the inheritance of Bihari's father.
"It was only as late as in 1994 that I succeeded in proving myself alive," Bihari, 52, said. ...
I can never help wondering what it must be like to have a family that's nice. It must be fantastic.
Tue May 8, 2007
By Sharat Pradhan
LUCKNOW, India (Reuters) - A villager is campaigning in northern India for the rights of people declared legally dead by cheating relatives seeking to steal their assets.
Lal Bihari, a lower caste villager who lost his father's inheritance due to an unscrupulous uncle, formed the "Union of the Dead" in 1980 to fight for the rights of thousands he says have fallen victim to scams by relatives.
He is contesting as an independent in a month-long election in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, which ends on Tuesday.
In 1976, an uncle allegedly connived with corrupt local officials to fudge village records and declare Bihari dead. The uncle then won the inheritance of Bihari's father.
"It was only as late as in 1994 that I succeeded in proving myself alive," Bihari, 52, said. ...
I can never help wondering what it must be like to have a family that's nice. It must be fantastic.
Wolfowitz defiant as nations seek to push him out over job scandal
Larry Elliott in Washington
Monday April 16, 2007
The Guardian
A defiant Paul Wolfowitz was last night clinging to his job as president of the World Bank in the face of attempts by European countries to force his resignation over the scandal involving a promotion for his girlfriend.
Britain and Germany showed their anger when they insisted development ministers should discuss Mr Wolfowitz's conduct at the World Bank's annual spring meeting yesterday.
With no sign of the row abating over the transfer of Shaha Riza from the Bank to the state department, Mr Wolfowitz was still insisting yesterday that he had done nothing that required him to resign and was relying on support from the White House and African leaders to see him through the crisis. ...
The White House and African goverments have no problem with obvious and massive corruption, since to them it is a Way Of Life. It's akin to a killer's saying, "Charles Manson said I haven't committed a heinous crime!"
Larry Elliott in Washington
Monday April 16, 2007
The Guardian
A defiant Paul Wolfowitz was last night clinging to his job as president of the World Bank in the face of attempts by European countries to force his resignation over the scandal involving a promotion for his girlfriend.
Britain and Germany showed their anger when they insisted development ministers should discuss Mr Wolfowitz's conduct at the World Bank's annual spring meeting yesterday.
With no sign of the row abating over the transfer of Shaha Riza from the Bank to the state department, Mr Wolfowitz was still insisting yesterday that he had done nothing that required him to resign and was relying on support from the White House and African leaders to see him through the crisis. ...
The White House and African goverments have no problem with obvious and massive corruption, since to them it is a Way Of Life. It's akin to a killer's saying, "Charles Manson said I haven't committed a heinous crime!"
N.J. Pension Fund Endangered by Diverted Billions
By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
Published: April 4, 2007
In 2005, New Jersey put either $551 million, $56 million or nothing into its pension fund for teachers. All three figures appeared in various state documents -- though the state now says that the actual amount was zero.
The phantom contribution is just one indication that New Jersey has been diverting billions of dollars from its pension fund for state and local workers into other government purposes over the last 15 years, using a variety of unorthodox transactions authorized by the Legislature and by governors from both political parties.
The state has long acknowledged that it has been putting less money into the pension fund than it should. But an analysis of its records by The New York Times shows that in many cases, New Jersey has overstated even what it has claimed to be contributing, sometimes by hundreds of millions of dollars. ...
By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
Published: April 4, 2007
In 2005, New Jersey put either $551 million, $56 million or nothing into its pension fund for teachers. All three figures appeared in various state documents -- though the state now says that the actual amount was zero.
The phantom contribution is just one indication that New Jersey has been diverting billions of dollars from its pension fund for state and local workers into other government purposes over the last 15 years, using a variety of unorthodox transactions authorized by the Legislature and by governors from both political parties.
The state has long acknowledged that it has been putting less money into the pension fund than it should. But an analysis of its records by The New York Times shows that in many cases, New Jersey has overstated even what it has claimed to be contributing, sometimes by hundreds of millions of dollars. ...
This site is available!
Russian TV Airs Allegation in Poisoning
By JIM HEINTZ
Sunday, April 1, 2007
MOSCOW (AP) -- State television aired an interview Sunday implying that a former spy was fatally dosed with radiation to stop him revealing that a Russian tycoon deceived British officials to win political asylum.
A man identified only as Pyotr said that former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko had offered him millions of dollars to falsely confess that he had been assigned to kill Boris Berezovsky, a critic of the Kremlin, with a poisoned fountain pen. ...
... Pyotr said he had refused Litvinenko's offer but was dosed with psychotropic drugs and forced to falsely confess on tape, the reporter for Rossiya television's weekly news program "News of the Week." ...
... The TV program said the false confession tape was a key element in a British court's decision not to extradite Berezovsky to face criminal charges in Russia, and to eventually grant him citizenship - an apparent suggestion that Berezovsky tried to eliminate witnesses to the subterfuge, including Litvinenko. ...
This plot's got more crazy twists than a plate of Fusilloni.
Russian TV Airs Allegation in Poisoning
By JIM HEINTZ
Sunday, April 1, 2007
MOSCOW (AP) -- State television aired an interview Sunday implying that a former spy was fatally dosed with radiation to stop him revealing that a Russian tycoon deceived British officials to win political asylum.
A man identified only as Pyotr said that former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko had offered him millions of dollars to falsely confess that he had been assigned to kill Boris Berezovsky, a critic of the Kremlin, with a poisoned fountain pen. ...
... Pyotr said he had refused Litvinenko's offer but was dosed with psychotropic drugs and forced to falsely confess on tape, the reporter for Rossiya television's weekly news program "News of the Week." ...
... The TV program said the false confession tape was a key element in a British court's decision not to extradite Berezovsky to face criminal charges in Russia, and to eventually grant him citizenship - an apparent suggestion that Berezovsky tried to eliminate witnesses to the subterfuge, including Litvinenko. ...
This plot's got more crazy twists than a plate of Fusilloni.
This site is available!
The Libby Trial Losers
By Andrew Cohen
Special to washingtonpost.com
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Historians will need an index to list all the losers emerging from the perjury and obstruction trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. They will be able to count the winners on one hand. So it goes when you look back upon a case and a trial that braided together law and politics and journalism and ethics and morals and memory into one fine, ugly mess of a knot.
The story here isn't that Libby was convicted after a drubbing by prosecutors. The story here is that the events which led to his troubles are standard operating procedure in the corridors and backrooms and Blackberries of power. Government officials have before in our history used their power and knowledge to try to destroy their political enemies. And they will do so again. Reporters before in our history have been manipulated by ambition and laziness into becoming the tribunes of this sleazy work --into becoming the instruments of the attempted first-degree reputation murder. And no doubt they will be again.
Same as it ever was. Libby got caught and convicted and in the end it wasn't terribly close or worthy of dense legal analysis. Too many solid prosecution witnesses plus too paltry a defense case almost always equals conviction. And it did so here. Several of Libby's colleagues could have -- and maybe should have -- shared his fate. But the story of how the White House tried to get back at former ambassador Joseph Wilson after he went rogue on foreign policy is now familiarly embarrassing to all those who were involved, including the Vice President of the United States. Indeed, even more than Libby, who is looking at prison time, Cheney gets my vote for the biggest loser in all of this. ...
Many thanks to dear Leiaxe
The Libby Trial Losers
By Andrew Cohen
Special to washingtonpost.com
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Historians will need an index to list all the losers emerging from the perjury and obstruction trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. They will be able to count the winners on one hand. So it goes when you look back upon a case and a trial that braided together law and politics and journalism and ethics and morals and memory into one fine, ugly mess of a knot.
The story here isn't that Libby was convicted after a drubbing by prosecutors. The story here is that the events which led to his troubles are standard operating procedure in the corridors and backrooms and Blackberries of power. Government officials have before in our history used their power and knowledge to try to destroy their political enemies. And they will do so again. Reporters before in our history have been manipulated by ambition and laziness into becoming the tribunes of this sleazy work --into becoming the instruments of the attempted first-degree reputation murder. And no doubt they will be again.
Same as it ever was. Libby got caught and convicted and in the end it wasn't terribly close or worthy of dense legal analysis. Too many solid prosecution witnesses plus too paltry a defense case almost always equals conviction. And it did so here. Several of Libby's colleagues could have -- and maybe should have -- shared his fate. But the story of how the White House tried to get back at former ambassador Joseph Wilson after he went rogue on foreign policy is now familiarly embarrassing to all those who were involved, including the Vice President of the United States. Indeed, even more than Libby, who is looking at prison time, Cheney gets my vote for the biggest loser in all of this. ...
Many thanks to dear Leiaxe
Litvinenko supporter shot in US
Monday, 5 March 2007
The FBI and US police are investigating the shooting of a US expert on Russian intelligence, days after he said Moscow had a role in an ex-KGB agent's death.
Paul Joyal, 53, was shot several times as he returned to his home in the suburbs of Washington DC on Thursday.
Reports say Mr Joyal, who was seriously wounded, had items stolen in an attack that appeared to be a random robbery.
But the timing has raised concern that he was targeted for expressing his views on the Alexander Litvinenko case. ...
Curiouser and curiouser indeed, dear Zilcho (who also sent me this).
Wonder what - if anything, since he/his minions may have given permission - shrub will say.
Monday, 5 March 2007
The FBI and US police are investigating the shooting of a US expert on Russian intelligence, days after he said Moscow had a role in an ex-KGB agent's death.
Paul Joyal, 53, was shot several times as he returned to his home in the suburbs of Washington DC on Thursday.
Reports say Mr Joyal, who was seriously wounded, had items stolen in an attack that appeared to be a random robbery.
But the timing has raised concern that he was targeted for expressing his views on the Alexander Litvinenko case. ...
Curiouser and curiouser indeed, dear Zilcho (who also sent me this).
Wonder what - if anything, since he/his minions may have given permission - shrub will say.
February 08, 2007
FSB agents 'offered to kill' ex-spy Litvinenko
Tony Halpin in Moscow
Alexander Litvinenko was a traitor who would have deserved execution in Soviet times, his former chief in Russia's security service said last night.
Alexander Gusak accused Litvinenko of helping British secret services unmask Russian spies after he fled to London from Moscow. He claimed that furious agents considered assassinating him in revenge.
"I consider him a direct traitor because he betrayed what is most sacred for any operative -- his operational sources. His sources came to me and they complained that your [British] secret service officers had found them, and asked what to do," Mr Gusak said.
Mr Gusak was Litvinenko's former commander in the Organised Crime Division of the FSB, the successor to the Soviet KGB. He left the service in 1998, the same year that Litvinenko caused a sensation in Moscow by exposing an FSB plan to assassinate the billionaire oligarch Boris Berezovsky. ...
FSB agents 'offered to kill' ex-spy Litvinenko
Tony Halpin in Moscow
Alexander Litvinenko was a traitor who would have deserved execution in Soviet times, his former chief in Russia's security service said last night.
Alexander Gusak accused Litvinenko of helping British secret services unmask Russian spies after he fled to London from Moscow. He claimed that furious agents considered assassinating him in revenge.
"I consider him a direct traitor because he betrayed what is most sacred for any operative -- his operational sources. His sources came to me and they complained that your [British] secret service officers had found them, and asked what to do," Mr Gusak said.
Mr Gusak was Litvinenko's former commander in the Organised Crime Division of the FSB, the successor to the Soviet KGB. He left the service in 1998, the same year that Litvinenko caused a sensation in Moscow by exposing an FSB plan to assassinate the billionaire oligarch Boris Berezovsky. ...
Army Officers Charged In Planned Theft in Iraq
Two US Civilians Also Charged in Scheme
By ARIANE DEVOGUE
WASHINGTON - Feb. 7, 2007 -- Today, the Department of Justice unsealed a 25 count indictment charging three former US Army officers and two US civilians with various crimes in a scheme to steal millions of dollars from the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq.
Government officials were surprised by the "audacity" of the scheme and called it the work of "a handful of greedy individuals" committing fraud in Iraq.
One of the men charged, U.S. Army Reserve Colonel Curtis G. Whiteford, was once the second most senior official at the CPA with the responsibility of supervising personnel who awarded contracts related to the reconstruction of Iraq.
The indictment alleges that Whiteford, and Lt. Colonels Debra Harrison and Michael Wheeler conspired with others to rig CPA contracts so that they would be awarded to Philip Bloom, a US citizen who owned several companies in Iraq. ...
Two US Civilians Also Charged in Scheme
By ARIANE DEVOGUE
WASHINGTON - Feb. 7, 2007 -- Today, the Department of Justice unsealed a 25 count indictment charging three former US Army officers and two US civilians with various crimes in a scheme to steal millions of dollars from the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq.
Government officials were surprised by the "audacity" of the scheme and called it the work of "a handful of greedy individuals" committing fraud in Iraq.
One of the men charged, U.S. Army Reserve Colonel Curtis G. Whiteford, was once the second most senior official at the CPA with the responsibility of supervising personnel who awarded contracts related to the reconstruction of Iraq.
The indictment alleges that Whiteford, and Lt. Colonels Debra Harrison and Michael Wheeler conspired with others to rig CPA contracts so that they would be awarded to Philip Bloom, a US citizen who owned several companies in Iraq. ...
By SIMON WALTERS
3rd February 2007
Tony Blair's chief fund-raiser Lord Levy is ready to tell the police that the Prime Minister is to blame for the cash-for-peerages scandal.
The Labour peer is furious that he has become the prime suspect.
And he is ready to defend himself by arguing that Mr Blair, not he, should be made to take full responsibility for the affair.
He is said to be prepared to "do whatever it takes" to defend his own reputation.
"He said he is not going to swing for the Prime Minister. He is not prepared to take the rap for what has happened," said a former Cabinet Minister who has discussed the matter candidly with Levy.
The development came amid reports that one of the Downing Street suspects at the heart of the scandal has been "singing like a canary" to police to get themselves off the hook. ...
3rd February 2007
Tony Blair's chief fund-raiser Lord Levy is ready to tell the police that the Prime Minister is to blame for the cash-for-peerages scandal.
The Labour peer is furious that he has become the prime suspect.
And he is ready to defend himself by arguing that Mr Blair, not he, should be made to take full responsibility for the affair.
He is said to be prepared to "do whatever it takes" to defend his own reputation.
"He said he is not going to swing for the Prime Minister. He is not prepared to take the rap for what has happened," said a former Cabinet Minister who has discussed the matter candidly with Levy.
The development came amid reports that one of the Downing Street suspects at the heart of the scandal has been "singing like a canary" to police to get themselves off the hook. ...
By DOMINIC TURNBULL
3rd February 2007
A Government race adviser with close links to Cherie Blair is at the centre of a major investigation into an alleged illegal immigrant employment racket.
Left - rich, evil lying bitch. Right - rich, evil lying bitch.
Police and Immigration Service officers stormed the 3.5 million home of Nighat Awan on Friday night as part of a nationwide swoop on Indian restaurants, including those owned by her and her husband. A total of 70 men were arrested in the raids.
Mrs Awan, 51, spoke to police while they carried out a search of her home. Documents and computer equipment are believed to have been removed by officers later.
The raids are a major embarrassment for Labour. Mrs Awan, one of Britain's richest businesswomen, was last year appointed head of a Department of Trade and Industry-backed group to support black and ethnic minority businesses.
She is a close ally of Jack Straw, the Leader of the House of Commons. In 2004 she was awarded an OBE for her export and overseas charity work. ...
Will they ask her to give it back - th' OBE, I mean?
3rd February 2007
A Government race adviser with close links to Cherie Blair is at the centre of a major investigation into an alleged illegal immigrant employment racket.
Left - rich, evil lying bitch. Right - rich, evil lying bitch.
Police and Immigration Service officers stormed the 3.5 million home of Nighat Awan on Friday night as part of a nationwide swoop on Indian restaurants, including those owned by her and her husband. A total of 70 men were arrested in the raids.
Mrs Awan, 51, spoke to police while they carried out a search of her home. Documents and computer equipment are believed to have been removed by officers later.
The raids are a major embarrassment for Labour. Mrs Awan, one of Britain's richest businesswomen, was last year appointed head of a Department of Trade and Industry-backed group to support black and ethnic minority businesses.
She is a close ally of Jack Straw, the Leader of the House of Commons. In 2004 she was awarded an OBE for her export and overseas charity work. ...
Will they ask her to give it back - th' OBE, I mean?
Lie, lie, lie. That's all he and shrub ever do.
Honours probe will wind down soon, says Blair
29th January 2007
Tony Blair stunned Westminster yesterday by suggesting that the police investigation into the cash-for-peerages affair will come to nothing.
The Prime Minister made the confident assertion as it was claimed a paper trail links him directly to the honours scandal for the first time.
Detectives are said to have seized on a handwritten note from the Premier acknowledging the efforts of 12 businessmen who secretly lent 14million to Labour.
It was also claimed that Mr Blair wanted nearly all of the 12 to receive peerages - far more than the four whose nominations were blocked, which are at the centre of the affair.
Yet as the focus of the 10-month criminal investigation moved to the heart of No 10, Mr Blair yesterday appeared to pre-empt the outcome when he said: "In the weeks to come it will finish as an inquiry." ...
bliar is so confident for one or more of these reasons:
1. He's paid off the people who should bust his ass
2. He's an ignorant psycho with no sense of reality
3. He's just talking out of his arse/lying again
29th January 2007
Tony Blair stunned Westminster yesterday by suggesting that the police investigation into the cash-for-peerages affair will come to nothing.
The Prime Minister made the confident assertion as it was claimed a paper trail links him directly to the honours scandal for the first time.
Detectives are said to have seized on a handwritten note from the Premier acknowledging the efforts of 12 businessmen who secretly lent 14million to Labour.
It was also claimed that Mr Blair wanted nearly all of the 12 to receive peerages - far more than the four whose nominations were blocked, which are at the centre of the affair.
Yet as the focus of the 10-month criminal investigation moved to the heart of No 10, Mr Blair yesterday appeared to pre-empt the outcome when he said: "In the weeks to come it will finish as an inquiry." ...
bliar is so confident for one or more of these reasons:
1. He's paid off the people who should bust his ass
2. He's an ignorant psycho with no sense of reality
3. He's just talking out of his arse/lying again
Barclays' millions help to prop up Mugabe regime
Three British firms provide key finance, allowing the Zimbabwe leader to defy world condemnation
Antony Barnett and Christopher Thompson
Sunday January 28, 2007
The Observer
Barclays bank is helping to bankroll President Robert Mugabe's regime in Zimbabwe, providing millions of pounds of support for his vilified land reforms, The Observer can reveal. Mugabe's opponents describe the bank's activities as a 'disgrace' and an 'insult' to the millions who have suffered human rights abuses.
Barclays is the most high-profile of three British-based financial institutions, which, in total, have provided more than $1bn in direct and indirect funding to Mugabe's administration. The other two companies are Standard Chartered Bank and the insurance firm Old Mutual. According to influential newsletter Africa Confidential, that first disclosed the Barclays' loans, the British organisations provide an economic lifeline keeping Mugabe's regime afloat.
Article continues
A spokesman for Zimbabwe's main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, likened the bank's actions to its support of South Africa's apartheid regime and urged a boycott. ...
Wow - mighty ethical folks are runnin' Barclays!
Many thanks to dear Zilcho
Three British firms provide key finance, allowing the Zimbabwe leader to defy world condemnation
Antony Barnett and Christopher Thompson
Sunday January 28, 2007
The Observer
Barclays bank is helping to bankroll President Robert Mugabe's regime in Zimbabwe, providing millions of pounds of support for his vilified land reforms, The Observer can reveal. Mugabe's opponents describe the bank's activities as a 'disgrace' and an 'insult' to the millions who have suffered human rights abuses.
Barclays is the most high-profile of three British-based financial institutions, which, in total, have provided more than $1bn in direct and indirect funding to Mugabe's administration. The other two companies are Standard Chartered Bank and the insurance firm Old Mutual. According to influential newsletter Africa Confidential, that first disclosed the Barclays' loans, the British organisations provide an economic lifeline keeping Mugabe's regime afloat.
Article continues
A spokesman for Zimbabwe's main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, likened the bank's actions to its support of South Africa's apartheid regime and urged a boycott. ...
Wow - mighty ethical folks are runnin' Barclays!
Many thanks to dear Zilcho
Cash for honours and No10's deleted e-mails
By STEPHEN WRIGHT and BEN TAYLOR
26th January 2007
Police investigating the cash-for-honours affair have recovered sensational deleted e-mails from Downing Street computers.
They have unearthed potentially vital evidence that key figures close to Tony Blair openly discussed the possibility of Labour donors being rewarded with peerages.
Many of the e-mails were not voluntarily disclosed and may have been deliberately concealed, police sources say.
These internal communications are key to the file submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service, which will make the final decision on whether to bring formal charges.
The Daily Mail can reveal that detectives are now increasingly confident that the ten-month investigation will end in a criminal court case - either over claims that peerages were traded for political donations, or an attempt to conceal evidence. ...
By STEPHEN WRIGHT and BEN TAYLOR
26th January 2007
Police investigating the cash-for-honours affair have recovered sensational deleted e-mails from Downing Street computers.
They have unearthed potentially vital evidence that key figures close to Tony Blair openly discussed the possibility of Labour donors being rewarded with peerages.
Many of the e-mails were not voluntarily disclosed and may have been deliberately concealed, police sources say.
These internal communications are key to the file submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service, which will make the final decision on whether to bring formal charges.
The Daily Mail can reveal that detectives are now increasingly confident that the ten-month investigation will end in a criminal court case - either over claims that peerages were traded for political donations, or an attempt to conceal evidence. ...
January 20, 2007
Blair aide arrested as part of 'loans for peerages' inquiry
Rajeev Syal and Philip Webster
- Detectives suspect perversion of justice
- Friends criticise police operation
A member of Tony Blair's inner circle was arrested yesterday on suspicion of perverting the course of justice by police who are investigating the loans-for-peerages allegations.
Ruth Turner, the Downing Street director of government communications, was woken at 6.30am and questioned for four hours at a London police station. The Times understands that her arrest relates to missing correspondence that discusses Labour lenders and nominations for peerages.
She was questioned about contact with Sir Christopher Evans, the biotech tycoon, who has also been arrested as part of the inquiry, sources said.
The disclosed accusation of perverting the course of justice shows that the police have turned their attention towards an attempt to cover up the sale of honours, as revealed in this newspaper last month. ...
Blair aide arrested as part of 'loans for peerages' inquiry
Rajeev Syal and Philip Webster
- Detectives suspect perversion of justice
- Friends criticise police operation
A member of Tony Blair's inner circle was arrested yesterday on suspicion of perverting the course of justice by police who are investigating the loans-for-peerages allegations.
Ruth Turner, the Downing Street director of government communications, was woken at 6.30am and questioned for four hours at a London police station. The Times understands that her arrest relates to missing correspondence that discusses Labour lenders and nominations for peerages.
She was questioned about contact with Sir Christopher Evans, the biotech tycoon, who has also been arrested as part of the inquiry, sources said.
The disclosed accusation of perverting the course of justice shows that the police have turned their attention towards an attempt to cover up the sale of honours, as revealed in this newspaper last month. ...
Ney Sentenced to 30 Months In Prison for Abramoff Deals
By Susan Schmidt and James V. Grimaldi
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Former Ohio Republican congressman Robert W. Ney was sentenced to 30 months in prison yesterday, becoming the first elected official headed for jail because of corrupt dealings with now-convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
U.S. District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle handed down a tougher sentence than the 27 months recommended by prosecutors, telling Ney that, "as a member of Congress, you had the responsibility above all else to set an example and to uphold the law." ...
By Susan Schmidt and James V. Grimaldi
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Former Ohio Republican congressman Robert W. Ney was sentenced to 30 months in prison yesterday, becoming the first elected official headed for jail because of corrupt dealings with now-convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
U.S. District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle handed down a tougher sentence than the 27 months recommended by prosecutors, telling Ney that, "as a member of Congress, you had the responsibility above all else to set an example and to uphold the law." ...
Some at Guantanamo Mark 5 Years in Limbo
Big Questions About Low-Profile Inmates
By Carol D. Leonnig and Julie Tate
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Shackled at the wrists and blinded by special goggles, the first captives from the U.S. war in Afghanistan were ushered to makeshift prison cells thousands of miles from the battle, at the U.S. naval station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, five years ago last week.
Gholam Ruhani was among them, the prison's third official inmate, flown in by cargo plane with the first group of 20 men. The 23-year-old Afghan shopkeeper, who spoke a little English, was seized near his hometown of Ghazni when he agreed to translate for a Taliban government official seeking a meeting with a U.S. soldier. ...
Big Questions About Low-Profile Inmates
By Carol D. Leonnig and Julie Tate
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Shackled at the wrists and blinded by special goggles, the first captives from the U.S. war in Afghanistan were ushered to makeshift prison cells thousands of miles from the battle, at the U.S. naval station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, five years ago last week.
Gholam Ruhani was among them, the prison's third official inmate, flown in by cargo plane with the first group of 20 men. The 23-year-old Afghan shopkeeper, who spoke a little English, was seized near his hometown of Ghazni when he agreed to translate for a Taliban government official seeking a meeting with a U.S. soldier. ...
Top Central Bank Official Killed in Moscow
Created: 14.09.2006
The first deputy chairman of Russia's central bank died in hospital on Thursday, hours after gunmen with automatic weapons attacked him outside a Moscow sports stadium and killed his driver, officials said. Andrei Kozlov, 41, a high-profile figure in Russian finance who was in charge of cleaning up the murky and fragmented banking system, had undergone emergency surgery overnight for serious gunshot wounds to his chest and head.
"Andrei Kozlov died early this morning," Inna Sigeyeva, a deputy chief doctor at Moscow's Hospital No. 33, told Reuters.
Sources close to police investigations said Wednesday's attack on Kozlov, who had led an aggressive drive to shut down banks accused of money laundering and other crimes, bore the hallmarks of a contract killing.
The attack could have an impact on banking stocks such as Sberbank and on the interbank market, especially if the Kremlin reacts by cracking down on banks Kozlov investigated, analysts said. ...
Russia's the New Wild West, Mafia style.
Many thanks to dear Redway420
Created: 14.09.2006
The first deputy chairman of Russia's central bank died in hospital on Thursday, hours after gunmen with automatic weapons attacked him outside a Moscow sports stadium and killed his driver, officials said. Andrei Kozlov, 41, a high-profile figure in Russian finance who was in charge of cleaning up the murky and fragmented banking system, had undergone emergency surgery overnight for serious gunshot wounds to his chest and head.
"Andrei Kozlov died early this morning," Inna Sigeyeva, a deputy chief doctor at Moscow's Hospital No. 33, told Reuters.
Sources close to police investigations said Wednesday's attack on Kozlov, who had led an aggressive drive to shut down banks accused of money laundering and other crimes, bore the hallmarks of a contract killing.
The attack could have an impact on banking stocks such as Sberbank and on the interbank market, especially if the Kremlin reacts by cracking down on banks Kozlov investigated, analysts said. ...
Russia's the New Wild West, Mafia style.
Many thanks to dear Redway420
No names yet as bung inquiry continues
Wed Dec 20, 2006
By Mitch Phillips
LONDON (Reuters) - Lord Stevens, who is leading the probe into transfer bungs in football, said on Wednesday questions still remained over 17 of the 362 deals investigated but added he was unable to name the clubs or players involved. ...
This has got to be the best headline of the year, esp to those familiar with Yankistani slang and euphemism.
Wed Dec 20, 2006
By Mitch Phillips
LONDON (Reuters) - Lord Stevens, who is leading the probe into transfer bungs in football, said on Wednesday questions still remained over 17 of the 362 deals investigated but added he was unable to name the clubs or players involved. ...
This has got to be the best headline of the year, esp to those familiar with Yankistani slang and euphemism.
Litvinenko detectives may follow German toxic trail
By Neville Dean
Published: 19 December 2006
British police investigating the murder of Alexander Litvinenko are considering whether to travel to Germany after re-interviewing a key witness in the hunt for his alleged poisoners.
Traces of radiation have been found in Hamburg, where the witness, Dmitry Kovtun, is said to have visited before flying to London to meet Mr Litvinenko at the Millennium Hotel in Mayfair. Mr Kovtun, who is in Moscow receiving treatment for suspected radiation poisoning, met British detectives again yesterday. He reportedly told a Russian news agency that he had given "exhaustive" answers to their questions.
A team of nine Scotland Yard detectives travelled to Moscow two weeks ago to question witnesses. Some are still in Russia, and they are said to be keeping the idea of a trip to Germany "under review". They continue to liaise with the German authorities.
Detectives are still awaiting the results of the post-mortem examination on Mr Litvinenko. Preliminary results are said to show that he was given several times the lethal dose of the deadly radioactive toxin polonium-210.
Mr Litvinenko, 43, a former Russian spy, died in University College Hospital London last month. In a deathbed statement, he accused the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, of being behind his poisoning - an allegation that the Kremlin has vehemently denied.
Mr Kovtun and his business associate, Andrei Lugovoi, met Mr Litvinenko at the Millennium Hotel on 1 November, the day he fell ill. The German authorities found traces of polonium-210 at several locations in Hamburg visited by Mr Kovtun before he flew to London - including his ex-wife's apartment and the car that picked him up at the airport when he arrived from Moscow. ...
By Neville Dean
Published: 19 December 2006
British police investigating the murder of Alexander Litvinenko are considering whether to travel to Germany after re-interviewing a key witness in the hunt for his alleged poisoners.
Traces of radiation have been found in Hamburg, where the witness, Dmitry Kovtun, is said to have visited before flying to London to meet Mr Litvinenko at the Millennium Hotel in Mayfair. Mr Kovtun, who is in Moscow receiving treatment for suspected radiation poisoning, met British detectives again yesterday. He reportedly told a Russian news agency that he had given "exhaustive" answers to their questions.
A team of nine Scotland Yard detectives travelled to Moscow two weeks ago to question witnesses. Some are still in Russia, and they are said to be keeping the idea of a trip to Germany "under review". They continue to liaise with the German authorities.
Detectives are still awaiting the results of the post-mortem examination on Mr Litvinenko. Preliminary results are said to show that he was given several times the lethal dose of the deadly radioactive toxin polonium-210.
Mr Litvinenko, 43, a former Russian spy, died in University College Hospital London last month. In a deathbed statement, he accused the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, of being behind his poisoning - an allegation that the Kremlin has vehemently denied.
Mr Kovtun and his business associate, Andrei Lugovoi, met Mr Litvinenko at the Millennium Hotel on 1 November, the day he fell ill. The German authorities found traces of polonium-210 at several locations in Hamburg visited by Mr Kovtun before he flew to London - including his ex-wife's apartment and the car that picked him up at the airport when he arrived from Moscow. ...
Tuesday, December 19, 2006.
Kovtun Faces More Questions
Combined Reports
A key witness in the poisoning death of former security services agent Alexander Litvinenko on Monday faced a second round of questioning by British investigators, news reports said.
Dmitry Kovtun, who is undergoing treatment for radiation poisoning at a Moscow clinic, told RIA-Novosti that he gave "exhaustive" answers to Russian prosecutors and British investigators during Monday's meeting.
Also on Monday, the British detectives were reported to have wrapped up their investigation in Moscow.
Kovtun, who was already questioned by Scotland Yard detectives this month, refused to elaborate on his interrogation, citing a pledge not to divulge its details.
The Prosecutor General's office refused immediate comment on the report.
Litvinenko died Nov. 23 in London after being poisoned with polonium-210 and in a deathbed accusation blamed President Vladimir Putin, an allegation the Kremlin vehemently denied.
Kovtun and his associate, Andrei Lugovoi, met with Litvinenko in a London hotel on Nov. 1, the day he fell ill.
German authorities have found traces of polonium-210 in several locations in Hamburg visited by Kovtun just before he flew to London for the Nov. 1 meeting. Interfax said the second questioning of Kovtun was prompted by the developments in Germany.
The Prosecutor General's Office said Kovtun had been diagnosed with radiation poisoning. ...
Kovtun Faces More Questions
Combined Reports
A key witness in the poisoning death of former security services agent Alexander Litvinenko on Monday faced a second round of questioning by British investigators, news reports said.
Dmitry Kovtun, who is undergoing treatment for radiation poisoning at a Moscow clinic, told RIA-Novosti that he gave "exhaustive" answers to Russian prosecutors and British investigators during Monday's meeting.
Also on Monday, the British detectives were reported to have wrapped up their investigation in Moscow.
Kovtun, who was already questioned by Scotland Yard detectives this month, refused to elaborate on his interrogation, citing a pledge not to divulge its details.
The Prosecutor General's office refused immediate comment on the report.
Litvinenko died Nov. 23 in London after being poisoned with polonium-210 and in a deathbed accusation blamed President Vladimir Putin, an allegation the Kremlin vehemently denied.
Kovtun and his associate, Andrei Lugovoi, met with Litvinenko in a London hotel on Nov. 1, the day he fell ill.
German authorities have found traces of polonium-210 in several locations in Hamburg visited by Kovtun just before he flew to London for the Nov. 1 meeting. Interfax said the second questioning of Kovtun was prompted by the developments in Germany.
The Prosecutor General's Office said Kovtun had been diagnosed with radiation poisoning. ...
British Detectives End Moscow Mission in Litvinenko Poisoning Case
19.12.2006 10:25 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 11:06 MSK
MosNews
British detectives probing the murder of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko have wound up their investigation in Moscow and are due to leave for home on Tuesday, the Reuters news agency reported on Monday quoting a a British police source.
No details of what the Scotland Yard investigators had discovered were available.
Earlier, Russian agency Interfax, quoting what is said was an informed source, reported that the investigators had interviewed six people including Dmitry Kovtun and Andrei Lugovoy, who met Litvinenko in London on November 1, the day he fell ill with radiation poisoning. ...
19.12.2006 10:25 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 11:06 MSK
MosNews
British detectives probing the murder of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko have wound up their investigation in Moscow and are due to leave for home on Tuesday, the Reuters news agency reported on Monday quoting a a British police source.
No details of what the Scotland Yard investigators had discovered were available.
Earlier, Russian agency Interfax, quoting what is said was an informed source, reported that the investigators had interviewed six people including Dmitry Kovtun and Andrei Lugovoy, who met Litvinenko in London on November 1, the day he fell ill with radiation poisoning. ...
Litvinenko's killers used polonium worth $10m to give massive overdose
Daniel McGrory and Tony Halpin in Moscow
- Dose ten times the lethal level
- Investigators are baffled by amount
British investigators believe that Alexander Litvinenko's killers used more than $10 million of polonium-210 to poison him. Preliminary findings from the post mortem examination on the former KGB spy suggest that he was given more than ten times the lethal dose.
Police do not know why the assassins used so much of the polonium-210, and are investigating whether the poison was part of a consignment to be sold on the black market.
They believe that whoever orchestrated the plot knew of its effects, but are unsure whether the massive amount was used to send a message -- it made it easier for British scientists to detect -- or is evidence of a clumsy operation.
A British security source said yesterday: "You can't buy this much off the internet or steal it from a laboratory without raising an alarm so the only two plausible explanations for the source are that it was obtained from a nuclear reactor or very well connected black market smugglers."
Alexander Goldfarb, a friend of Litvinenko, said: "Only a state-sponsored organisation could obtain such a large amount of polonium-210 without raising suspicion on the international market." ...
Daniel McGrory and Tony Halpin in Moscow
- Dose ten times the lethal level
- Investigators are baffled by amount
British investigators believe that Alexander Litvinenko's killers used more than $10 million of polonium-210 to poison him. Preliminary findings from the post mortem examination on the former KGB spy suggest that he was given more than ten times the lethal dose.
Police do not know why the assassins used so much of the polonium-210, and are investigating whether the poison was part of a consignment to be sold on the black market.
They believe that whoever orchestrated the plot knew of its effects, but are unsure whether the massive amount was used to send a message -- it made it easier for British scientists to detect -- or is evidence of a clumsy operation.
A British security source said yesterday: "You can't buy this much off the internet or steal it from a laboratory without raising an alarm so the only two plausible explanations for the source are that it was obtained from a nuclear reactor or very well connected black market smugglers."
Alexander Goldfarb, a friend of Litvinenko, said: "Only a state-sponsored organisation could obtain such a large amount of polonium-210 without raising suspicion on the international market." ...
16 December 2006 20:19
Walter Litvinenko: 'Putin murdered my son'
Father says dissident's death was 'a calculated act of intimidation'
By Andy McSmith
Published: 16 December 2006
The father of the former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko has accused President Vladimir Putin of ordering his murder, claiming that no one else in Russia would have the authority to sanction an assassination on foreign soil.
In his first interview since his son's death, Walter Litvinenko, who served as a doctor in the Gulag during the Communist years, said he was convinced that Alexander was poisoned by the FSB - the successor to the KGB. "The cynical murder of my son was a calculated act of intimidation," he said. "I have no doubt that he was killed by the FSB, and that the order came from that former KGB spy President Putin. He was the only person who could give that order. I haven't a shadow of a doubt that this was done by Putin's men."
The comments will infuriate the Kremlin, which is still trying to ride out the political storm that followed Mr Litvinenko's death on 23 November, after being poisoned with the radioactive element polonium-210 in London on 1 November.
Mr Litvinenko also accused Russia's President of running an "authoritarian" regime, and claimed: "Bush and Blair have trusted him too much. They shouldn't have trusted him." ...
How anyone who's looked at him is able to trust him is beyond yr humble narrator's ken.
More good stuff from dear Zilcho
Walter Litvinenko: 'Putin murdered my son'
Father says dissident's death was 'a calculated act of intimidation'
By Andy McSmith
Published: 16 December 2006
The father of the former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko has accused President Vladimir Putin of ordering his murder, claiming that no one else in Russia would have the authority to sanction an assassination on foreign soil.
In his first interview since his son's death, Walter Litvinenko, who served as a doctor in the Gulag during the Communist years, said he was convinced that Alexander was poisoned by the FSB - the successor to the KGB. "The cynical murder of my son was a calculated act of intimidation," he said. "I have no doubt that he was killed by the FSB, and that the order came from that former KGB spy President Putin. He was the only person who could give that order. I haven't a shadow of a doubt that this was done by Putin's men."
The comments will infuriate the Kremlin, which is still trying to ride out the political storm that followed Mr Litvinenko's death on 23 November, after being poisoned with the radioactive element polonium-210 in London on 1 November.
Mr Litvinenko also accused Russia's President of running an "authoritarian" regime, and claimed: "Bush and Blair have trusted him too much. They shouldn't have trusted him." ...
How anyone who's looked at him is able to trust him is beyond yr humble narrator's ken.
More good stuff from dear Zilcho
14 December 2006
Saudi defence deal probe ditched
Arms deals with Saudi Arabia have been worth billions to the UK
The Serious Fraud Office has dropped a corruption probe into a 6bn defence deal with Saudi Arabia, after warnings it could damage national security.
Attorney General Lord Goldsmith said the SFO was "discontinuing" its investigation into Britain's biggest defence company, BAE Systems.
The reversal follows reports that Saudi Arabia was considering pulling out of a deal to buy Eurofighter jets from BAE.
Lord Goldsmith said he thought that a prosecution "could not be brought".
He said the decision had been made in the wider public interest, which had to be balanced against the rule of law.
Lord Goldsmith also told peers that Prime Minister Tony Blair had agreed that the continuation of the investigation would cause "serious damage" to relations between the UK and Saudi Arabia.
The probe had related to the Al Yamamah arms deal with Saudi Arabia. BAE has denied any wrongdoing. ...
Thanks to dear Pattenicus
Saudi defence deal probe ditched
Arms deals with Saudi Arabia have been worth billions to the UK
The Serious Fraud Office has dropped a corruption probe into a 6bn defence deal with Saudi Arabia, after warnings it could damage national security.
Attorney General Lord Goldsmith said the SFO was "discontinuing" its investigation into Britain's biggest defence company, BAE Systems.
The reversal follows reports that Saudi Arabia was considering pulling out of a deal to buy Eurofighter jets from BAE.
Lord Goldsmith said he thought that a prosecution "could not be brought".
He said the decision had been made in the wider public interest, which had to be balanced against the rule of law.
Lord Goldsmith also told peers that Prime Minister Tony Blair had agreed that the continuation of the investigation would cause "serious damage" to relations between the UK and Saudi Arabia.
The probe had related to the Al Yamamah arms deal with Saudi Arabia. BAE has denied any wrongdoing. ...
Thanks to dear Pattenicus
... The scandal at the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) just keeps getting worse.
Since the Washington Post published an op-ed I wrote asking if NSTA's puzzling decision to reject 50,000 free DVDs of Al Gore's global warming documentary An Inconvenient Truth might - just might - have had anything to do with more than six million dollars the organization has accepted from ExxonMobil, Shell Oil, ConocoPhillips and the American Petroleum Institute, the muck keeps piling up.
ExxonMobil, of course, remains the standout among a large group of fossil fuel companies that have done everything in their considerable power to delay, deflect, and derail any serious effort to cut global warming emissions. Funding scientific disinformation has long been one of their favorite tactics.
New evidence flatly contradicts statements NSTA has made in defense of its suspect partnerships, and efforts appear to be underway to wipe out online evidence showing that what the oil industry got in exchange was the group's imprimatur on classroom videos, teaching guides, and other "educational" materials that play down threats like global warming and play up the glories of continued oil dependence. ...
Since the Washington Post published an op-ed I wrote asking if NSTA's puzzling decision to reject 50,000 free DVDs of Al Gore's global warming documentary An Inconvenient Truth might - just might - have had anything to do with more than six million dollars the organization has accepted from ExxonMobil, Shell Oil, ConocoPhillips and the American Petroleum Institute, the muck keeps piling up.
ExxonMobil, of course, remains the standout among a large group of fossil fuel companies that have done everything in their considerable power to delay, deflect, and derail any serious effort to cut global warming emissions. Funding scientific disinformation has long been one of their favorite tactics.
New evidence flatly contradicts statements NSTA has made in defense of its suspect partnerships, and efforts appear to be underway to wipe out online evidence showing that what the oil industry got in exchange was the group's imprimatur on classroom videos, teaching guides, and other "educational" materials that play down threats like global warming and play up the glories of continued oil dependence. ...
Interpol Joins Probe of Ex-Agent's Death
By JUDITH INGRAM
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
MOSCOW (AP) -- Interpol said Tuesday it has joined the investigation into the poisoning death of a former Russian agent, in an effort to coordinate an inquiry that has pulled in witnesses and evidence in three countries. ...
By JUDITH INGRAM
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
MOSCOW (AP) -- Interpol said Tuesday it has joined the investigation into the poisoning death of a former Russian agent, in an effort to coordinate an inquiry that has pulled in witnesses and evidence in three countries. ...
Germans Investigate Russian in Poisoning
Radiation Found in Hamburg Predates Meeting With Ex-Agent, Officials Say
By Shannon Smiley and Peter Finn
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, December 11, 2006
HAMBURG, Dec. 10 -- German prosecutors said Sunday that they are investigating a Russian businessman for the illegal handling of a radioactive substance in the days after he flew to Germany from Russia and before he left to meet a former Russian internal security agent in London. The development is the strongest indication so far that the plot to poison Alexander Litvinenko in London originated in Moscow.
At a news conference in this port city, German officials said Dmitry Kovtun, who reportedly lies sick in a Moscow hospital, flew to Hamburg from Moscow on Oct. 28 before heading to London on Nov. 1, the day he met Litvinenko at a bar at the Millennium Hotel.
Hamburg's chief prosecutor, Martin Koehnke, said traces of radioactivity found in and around Hamburg and linked to Kovtun's movements before Nov. 1 suggested that he carried the substance to Germany. Koehnke said it was still possible that Kovtun was merely present when polonium-210 was "packaged in Moscow," but German investigators are convinced that he was in contact with the deadly isotope before he met Litvinenko. ...
Radiation Found in Hamburg Predates Meeting With Ex-Agent, Officials Say
By Shannon Smiley and Peter Finn
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, December 11, 2006
HAMBURG, Dec. 10 -- German prosecutors said Sunday that they are investigating a Russian businessman for the illegal handling of a radioactive substance in the days after he flew to Germany from Russia and before he left to meet a former Russian internal security agent in London. The development is the strongest indication so far that the plot to poison Alexander Litvinenko in London originated in Moscow.
At a news conference in this port city, German officials said Dmitry Kovtun, who reportedly lies sick in a Moscow hospital, flew to Hamburg from Moscow on Oct. 28 before heading to London on Nov. 1, the day he met Litvinenko at a bar at the Millennium Hotel.
Hamburg's chief prosecutor, Martin Koehnke, said traces of radioactivity found in and around Hamburg and linked to Kovtun's movements before Nov. 1 suggested that he carried the substance to Germany. Koehnke said it was still possible that Kovtun was merely present when polonium-210 was "packaged in Moscow," but German investigators are convinced that he was in contact with the deadly isotope before he met Litvinenko. ...
Officials: Traces Predate Spy Poisoning
Distrustful, Litvinenko's Widow Refuses To Coorperate With Russian Investigators
HAMBURG, Germany, Dec. 10, 2006 (AP) - German authorities said Sunday they have found traces of the rare radioactive substance polonium-210 at an apartment visited by a contact of poisoned ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko before they met in London.
Prosecutors said they were investigating Dmitry Kovtun on suspicion of improper handling of radioactive material.
Investigators said the Russian businessman visited his ex-wife's Hamburg apartment the night before heading to London, where he met Litvinenko on Nov. 1 -- the day the former spy is believed to have fallen ill.
Litvinenko was killed by polonium-210. Gerald Kirchner of the German Federal Radiation Protection agency said at a news conference that tests on traces of radiation at the apartment "clearly show that it is polonium-210." ...
Many thanks to dear Mu-Tiger
Distrustful, Litvinenko's Widow Refuses To Coorperate With Russian Investigators
HAMBURG, Germany, Dec. 10, 2006 (AP) - German authorities said Sunday they have found traces of the rare radioactive substance polonium-210 at an apartment visited by a contact of poisoned ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko before they met in London.
Prosecutors said they were investigating Dmitry Kovtun on suspicion of improper handling of radioactive material.
Investigators said the Russian businessman visited his ex-wife's Hamburg apartment the night before heading to London, where he met Litvinenko on Nov. 1 -- the day the former spy is believed to have fallen ill.
Litvinenko was killed by polonium-210. Gerald Kirchner of the German Federal Radiation Protection agency said at a news conference that tests on traces of radiation at the apartment "clearly show that it is polonium-210." ...
Many thanks to dear Mu-Tiger
Polonium-210 found in German homes
10 December 2006
In Germany, polonium-210 has been found in two buildings linked to a businessman who met poisoned ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko on the day he fell ill. On Saturday, traces of radiation were reported at an apartment belonging to Dmitry Kovtun's ex-wife in Hamburg and at his former mother-in-law's home, outside the city. Today, police confirmed they had found the same substance that claimed Litvinenko's life.
German prosecutors are investigating Kovtun, who is suspected of illegally handling radioactive material. Hospitalised in Russia, some reports say he is critically ill. His business partner Andrei Lugovoy is also undergoing medical checks. He, too, met Alexander Litvinenko on the day in question. ...
Many thanks to dear Mu-Tiger
10 December 2006
In Germany, polonium-210 has been found in two buildings linked to a businessman who met poisoned ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko on the day he fell ill. On Saturday, traces of radiation were reported at an apartment belonging to Dmitry Kovtun's ex-wife in Hamburg and at his former mother-in-law's home, outside the city. Today, police confirmed they had found the same substance that claimed Litvinenko's life.
German prosecutors are investigating Kovtun, who is suspected of illegally handling radioactive material. Hospitalised in Russia, some reports say he is critically ill. His business partner Andrei Lugovoy is also undergoing medical checks. He, too, met Alexander Litvinenko on the day in question. ...
Many thanks to dear Mu-Tiger
Top cancer scientist's secret link to drug firm
8th December 2006
A renowned British scientist failed to disclose he was being paid by a chemical company for more than 20 years while investigating cancer risks in the industry, it emerged today.
Sir Richard Doll, the epidemiologist who established smoking causes lung cancer, was paid 750 a day in the mid-Eighties from Monsanto.
During that time he wrote to a royal Australian commission investigating potential cancer-causing properties of Monsanto's Agent Orange, used by the US in the Vietnam war.
Sir Richard said there was no evidence of a cancer link.
The World Health Organisation disagreed with the conclusions of Sir Richard, who died last year.
8th December 2006
A renowned British scientist failed to disclose he was being paid by a chemical company for more than 20 years while investigating cancer risks in the industry, it emerged today.
Sir Richard Doll, the epidemiologist who established smoking causes lung cancer, was paid 750 a day in the mid-Eighties from Monsanto.
During that time he wrote to a royal Australian commission investigating potential cancer-causing properties of Monsanto's Agent Orange, used by the US in the Vietnam war.
Sir Richard said there was no evidence of a cancer link.
The World Health Organisation disagreed with the conclusions of Sir Richard, who died last year.
Moscow Restricts British Police Investigating Ex-Spy's Death
Prosecutor Rules Out Extraditions, Scotland Yard Role in Interrogation of Suspects, Witnesses
By Peter Finn and Mary Jordan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, December 6, 2006; Page A18
MOSCOW, Dec. 5 -- British detectives visiting Russia to investigate the poisoning death of a former Russian intelligence officer in London will face broad restrictions in their work here, a senior Russian official said Tuesday.
Prosecutor General Yury Chaika said his subordinates, not the British, would conduct any interrogations. He ruled out the extradition of possible suspects who are Russian citizens and said British investigators could not meet an imprisoned lawyer and former officer in the FSB, a successor agency of the KGB, who claims to have vital information. ...
Anyone have any doubts left that putin done it?
Prosecutor Rules Out Extraditions, Scotland Yard Role in Interrogation of Suspects, Witnesses
By Peter Finn and Mary Jordan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, December 6, 2006; Page A18
MOSCOW, Dec. 5 -- British detectives visiting Russia to investigate the poisoning death of a former Russian intelligence officer in London will face broad restrictions in their work here, a senior Russian official said Tuesday.
Prosecutor General Yury Chaika said his subordinates, not the British, would conduct any interrogations. He ruled out the extradition of possible suspects who are Russian citizens and said British investigators could not meet an imprisoned lawyer and former officer in the FSB, a successor agency of the KGB, who claims to have vital information. ...
Anyone have any doubts left that putin done it?
November 23, 2006
This is your captain speaking . . . I'm just raising the cash to get us home
David Brown
An airline pilot was cheered by passengers after he raided the takings of the bar and used his own money to pay the fees demanded by Senegal airport officials before they would allow the jet to fly home.
Captain John Lawrence was told to find two million francs (almost 2,000) by Dakar airport officials before the First Choice Airways jet was permitted to take off.
The 204 passengers were trapped on the plane for three hours as Mr Lawrence, 37, made repeated attempts to raise the money demanded by the authorities.
Flight FCA713 had landed at Dakar to refuel for its journey to Bristol after it had been unable to find supplies before leaving Banjul airport in Gambia. After the refuelling was complete officials at the airport made unexpected demands for a number of airport fees.
Mr Lawrence said yesterday: "I went to the cash machine in the terminal but it would not allow me to use my card. So I pulled together the cash float that we always carry together with my cash and travellers cheques and I asked the first officer for all the money he had."
After cashing all the travellers' cheques he went to pay the fees only to discover that the airport would accept only the local currency. He then had to return to the airport terminal to have the money converted.
Three hours later he was back aboard the Boeing 757. However, by then it was dusk and the airport authorities demanded a further 200 to switch on the runway lights. ...
Many thanks to dear CharlesHB
This is your captain speaking . . . I'm just raising the cash to get us home
David Brown
An airline pilot was cheered by passengers after he raided the takings of the bar and used his own money to pay the fees demanded by Senegal airport officials before they would allow the jet to fly home.
Captain John Lawrence was told to find two million francs (almost 2,000) by Dakar airport officials before the First Choice Airways jet was permitted to take off.
The 204 passengers were trapped on the plane for three hours as Mr Lawrence, 37, made repeated attempts to raise the money demanded by the authorities.
Flight FCA713 had landed at Dakar to refuel for its journey to Bristol after it had been unable to find supplies before leaving Banjul airport in Gambia. After the refuelling was complete officials at the airport made unexpected demands for a number of airport fees.
Mr Lawrence said yesterday: "I went to the cash machine in the terminal but it would not allow me to use my card. So I pulled together the cash float that we always carry together with my cash and travellers cheques and I asked the first officer for all the money he had."
After cashing all the travellers' cheques he went to pay the fees only to discover that the airport would accept only the local currency. He then had to return to the airport terminal to have the money converted.
Three hours later he was back aboard the Boeing 757. However, by then it was dusk and the airport authorities demanded a further 200 to switch on the runway lights. ...
Many thanks to dear CharlesHB
111 days to Cricket World Cup ... and Kingston still not ready!
Sunday November 19, 2006
Daraine Luton, Sunday Gleaner Reporter
WITH JUST over three months to go before the start of cricket's showpiece event, the much-talked-about redevelopment of the capital city in time for the ICC Cricket World Cup (CWC) is still to take shape.
Kingston Harbour remains polluted; St. William Grant Park continues to beg for a facelift; and, vendors in the Kingston Craft Market are shouting for help. Except for the beautiful wares and craft on display at the craft market, the facility remains an unwelcoming sight.
A section of the craft market that was destroyed by fire almost five years ago now remains in disrepair. The roof, vendors say, serves only to keep the sun out. One elderly vendor showed TheSunday Gleaner a bucket which she stands on whenever the elements intervene, adding that "a boat can sail inside here whenever it rains." ...
The powers that be in Jamaicastan are like spoiled children. They beg and plead for a pet, and when they get it they completely neglect it.
Sunday November 19, 2006
Daraine Luton, Sunday Gleaner Reporter
WITH JUST over three months to go before the start of cricket's showpiece event, the much-talked-about redevelopment of the capital city in time for the ICC Cricket World Cup (CWC) is still to take shape.
Kingston Harbour remains polluted; St. William Grant Park continues to beg for a facelift; and, vendors in the Kingston Craft Market are shouting for help. Except for the beautiful wares and craft on display at the craft market, the facility remains an unwelcoming sight.
A section of the craft market that was destroyed by fire almost five years ago now remains in disrepair. The roof, vendors say, serves only to keep the sun out. One elderly vendor showed TheSunday Gleaner a bucket which she stands on whenever the elements intervene, adding that "a boat can sail inside here whenever it rains." ...
The powers that be in Jamaicastan are like spoiled children. They beg and plead for a pet, and when they get it they completely neglect it.
Trafigura probe - Dutch Government launches investigation into $31m transaction
published: Sunday November 19, 2006
Gareth Manning, Sunday Gleaner Reporter
Dutch authorities have now launched a full investigation into the $31 million transaction between Trafigura Beheer and the ruling People's National Party (PNP).
"We got a further response yesterday (Friday) that they were satisfied that the matter warrants investigation and they would be launching (one) into the matter," Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) leader, Bruce Golding told hundreds of cheering supporters yesterday. He was speaking at the delegate's session of the 63rd Jamaica Labour Party Annual Conference, at the National Arena in Kingston.
Controversial transaction
Golding, the parliamentary Opposition Leader, said he had received confirmation from the Dutch authorities on Friday following a report made to the Dutch National Investigation Unit and another state agency to have the controversial transaction investigated.
The Trafigura Beheer scandal was first uncovered by the Opposition in October, when it received information that the Dutch oil trading company had deposited $31 million into a PNP account belonging to the former Information Minister and party General Secretary Colin Campbell. PNP officials claimed the money was a contribution to the party, but Trafigura denied the claims and said the transaction was purely commercial. This is in, apparent reference to a dummy arrangement, to pay the Colin Campbell-affiliated company for contracted professional services. ...
If you are possessed of intestinal fortitude, google trafigura beheer.
published: Sunday November 19, 2006
Gareth Manning, Sunday Gleaner Reporter
Dutch authorities have now launched a full investigation into the $31 million transaction between Trafigura Beheer and the ruling People's National Party (PNP).
"We got a further response yesterday (Friday) that they were satisfied that the matter warrants investigation and they would be launching (one) into the matter," Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) leader, Bruce Golding told hundreds of cheering supporters yesterday. He was speaking at the delegate's session of the 63rd Jamaica Labour Party Annual Conference, at the National Arena in Kingston.
Controversial transaction
Golding, the parliamentary Opposition Leader, said he had received confirmation from the Dutch authorities on Friday following a report made to the Dutch National Investigation Unit and another state agency to have the controversial transaction investigated.
The Trafigura Beheer scandal was first uncovered by the Opposition in October, when it received information that the Dutch oil trading company had deposited $31 million into a PNP account belonging to the former Information Minister and party General Secretary Colin Campbell. PNP officials claimed the money was a contribution to the party, but Trafigura denied the claims and said the transaction was purely commercial. This is in, apparent reference to a dummy arrangement, to pay the Colin Campbell-affiliated company for contracted professional services. ...
If you are possessed of intestinal fortitude, google trafigura beheer.
Russian defector poisoned in London 'on orders of Moscow'
In a real-life drama straight out of a Le Carr novel, former agent has lunch with a mysterious informant in Piccadilly, is told of official plot behind journalist's murder - and then, within hours, collapses in agony
By Sophie Goodchild and Ian Griggs in London, Andrew Osborn in Moscow and Peter Popham in Rome
Published: 19 November 2006
A Russian security service defector is in a critical condition at a London hospital after being poisoned in a plot worthy of a Cold War novel by John le Carr.
Alexander Litvinenko, a former lieutenant-colonel with Russia's FSB security service and a staunch critic of Vladimir Putin's regime, fled to Britain in 2000, saying he feared for his life. Yesterday, the Metropolitan Police said he was in a "serious but stable" condition after tests confirmed traces of rat poison called thallium in his body.
The 44-year-old defector, who was sentenced in absentia for treason in Russia, was taken to hospital when he began vomiting violently. His hair has also fallen out and it is understood his kidneys have been damaged by the effects of the dose of thallium. The heavy metal, which is hard to obtain in the UK, damages the nervous system and lungs. Colourless and odourless, it is used in rat poisons in the Middle East.
Mr Litvinenko has told associates he became ill after lunching in a sushi restaurant in London on 1 November, the sixth anniversary of his arrival in Britain. He gained full British citizenship last month.
The defector's lunch companion was an Italian information-peddler called Mario Scaramella, who is alleged to have links with Russian intelligence. He is said to have given Mr Litvinenko documents purporting to show that Russian agents were implicated in the murder of the Russian investigative reporter, Anna Politkovskaya, who was shot in Moscow last month.
Ms Politkovskaya was best known for her revelations about Russian abuses in Chechnya, a cause Mr Litvinenko had taken up. Last week an internet news agency, Chechenpress, published an interview with him. He refused to say who he believed had poisoned him, but said the documents he was given named FSB agents in connection with the journalist's murder.
"Judging by these documents, the tracks of the murder of Politkovskaya are leading to the Russian FSB," he said. He promised to hand the documents to Ms Politkovskaya's paper, Novaya Gazeta, when he recovers, but a specialist told the IoS yesterday that his chances of survival were "50-50" based on the levels of poison that he has ingested. ...
Many thanks to dear Woolly1
In a real-life drama straight out of a Le Carr novel, former agent has lunch with a mysterious informant in Piccadilly, is told of official plot behind journalist's murder - and then, within hours, collapses in agony
By Sophie Goodchild and Ian Griggs in London, Andrew Osborn in Moscow and Peter Popham in Rome
Published: 19 November 2006
A Russian security service defector is in a critical condition at a London hospital after being poisoned in a plot worthy of a Cold War novel by John le Carr.
Alexander Litvinenko, a former lieutenant-colonel with Russia's FSB security service and a staunch critic of Vladimir Putin's regime, fled to Britain in 2000, saying he feared for his life. Yesterday, the Metropolitan Police said he was in a "serious but stable" condition after tests confirmed traces of rat poison called thallium in his body.
The 44-year-old defector, who was sentenced in absentia for treason in Russia, was taken to hospital when he began vomiting violently. His hair has also fallen out and it is understood his kidneys have been damaged by the effects of the dose of thallium. The heavy metal, which is hard to obtain in the UK, damages the nervous system and lungs. Colourless and odourless, it is used in rat poisons in the Middle East.
Mr Litvinenko has told associates he became ill after lunching in a sushi restaurant in London on 1 November, the sixth anniversary of his arrival in Britain. He gained full British citizenship last month.
The defector's lunch companion was an Italian information-peddler called Mario Scaramella, who is alleged to have links with Russian intelligence. He is said to have given Mr Litvinenko documents purporting to show that Russian agents were implicated in the murder of the Russian investigative reporter, Anna Politkovskaya, who was shot in Moscow last month.
Ms Politkovskaya was best known for her revelations about Russian abuses in Chechnya, a cause Mr Litvinenko had taken up. Last week an internet news agency, Chechenpress, published an interview with him. He refused to say who he believed had poisoned him, but said the documents he was given named FSB agents in connection with the journalist's murder.
"Judging by these documents, the tracks of the murder of Politkovskaya are leading to the Russian FSB," he said. He promised to hand the documents to Ms Politkovskaya's paper, Novaya Gazeta, when he recovers, but a specialist told the IoS yesterday that his chances of survival were "50-50" based on the levels of poison that he has ingested. ...
Many thanks to dear Woolly1
Bigwig's haircut mocks murder charge
Thu Nov 16, 2006
NEW DELHI, Nov 16 (Reuters Life!) - A former Indian lawmaker jailed on murder charges was escorted from his cell by a handful of officers for a haircut and head massage at a beauty parlor, newspapers reported Thursday.
The ex-deputy from lawless Bihar state returned at a leisurely pace in full view of TV news cameras waiting outside the prison near Patna, Bihar's capital, to report the release on bail of another inmate.
Red-faced officials in the eastern state, where several former and serving legislators face criminal charges including rape and murder, have suspended the policemen involved.
"They could even be dismissed if allegations against them are found to be true," Afzal Amanullah, a top state official, was quoted as saying in the Indian Express daily. ...
... Several Indian politicians have fought and won elections while in jail on serious charges.
Thu Nov 16, 2006
NEW DELHI, Nov 16 (Reuters Life!) - A former Indian lawmaker jailed on murder charges was escorted from his cell by a handful of officers for a haircut and head massage at a beauty parlor, newspapers reported Thursday.
The ex-deputy from lawless Bihar state returned at a leisurely pace in full view of TV news cameras waiting outside the prison near Patna, Bihar's capital, to report the release on bail of another inmate.
Red-faced officials in the eastern state, where several former and serving legislators face criminal charges including rape and murder, have suspended the policemen involved.
"They could even be dismissed if allegations against them are found to be true," Afzal Amanullah, a top state official, was quoted as saying in the Indian Express daily. ...
... Several Indian politicians have fought and won elections while in jail on serious charges.
Italy Treasury's own shop in dock for tax evasion
Tue Nov 14, 2006
ROME (Reuters) - Italy's economy ministry is waging an all-out battle to stop tax evasion -- but even the shop on the ministry's premises does not hand out fiscal receipts to customers.
An undercover reporter for "Le Iene", a popular satirical television show due to be broadcast later on Tuesday, went to the shop, intended to cater to ministry staff, several times to buy goods worth a total of 216 euros (146 pounds).
Not once was he given a receipt, a widespread practice in Italy which makes it nearly impossible for tax inspectors to check shopowners' income.
A spokesman for the programme said the shop, which sells a variety of items from perfumes to jewellery, does not even have a till.
The economy ministry, which hopes to garner around 8 billion euros from measures against tax evasion in its belt-tightening 2007 budget, said the programme's findings showed how "common and open" some tax evasion practices were in Italy. ...
Tue Nov 14, 2006
ROME (Reuters) - Italy's economy ministry is waging an all-out battle to stop tax evasion -- but even the shop on the ministry's premises does not hand out fiscal receipts to customers.
An undercover reporter for "Le Iene", a popular satirical television show due to be broadcast later on Tuesday, went to the shop, intended to cater to ministry staff, several times to buy goods worth a total of 216 euros (146 pounds).
Not once was he given a receipt, a widespread practice in Italy which makes it nearly impossible for tax inspectors to check shopowners' income.
A spokesman for the programme said the shop, which sells a variety of items from perfumes to jewellery, does not even have a till.
The economy ministry, which hopes to garner around 8 billion euros from measures against tax evasion in its belt-tightening 2007 budget, said the programme's findings showed how "common and open" some tax evasion practices were in Italy. ...
Trafigura Beheer under probe
published: Tuesday | November 14, 2006
Police have visited the London and Amsterdam offices of Trafigura Beheer in connection with the dumping of toxic oil waste which killed 10 people in the Ivory Coast.
The Dutch oil company, which trades Nigerian oil for the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica, has been at the centre of controversy locally since it was revealed it made a political donation of $31 million to the governing People's National Party (PNP). Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, the president of the PNP, has since ordered her party to return the money.
The oil waste was dumped at 17 mostly open-air sites in the Ivory Coast, which made thousands ill.
British lawyer Martin Day has started court proceedings against Trafigura to compensate relatives of the victims and for those made ill. He is reportedly claiming 100 million. ...
published: Tuesday | November 14, 2006
Police have visited the London and Amsterdam offices of Trafigura Beheer in connection with the dumping of toxic oil waste which killed 10 people in the Ivory Coast.
The Dutch oil company, which trades Nigerian oil for the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica, has been at the centre of controversy locally since it was revealed it made a political donation of $31 million to the governing People's National Party (PNP). Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, the president of the PNP, has since ordered her party to return the money.
The oil waste was dumped at 17 mostly open-air sites in the Ivory Coast, which made thousands ill.
British lawyer Martin Day has started court proceedings against Trafigura to compensate relatives of the victims and for those made ill. He is reportedly claiming 100 million. ...
Taiwanese President Denies He Stole Funds
Chen Would Resign If Wife Is Convicted
By Edward Cody
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, November 6, 2006
TAIPEI, Nov. 5 -- Brushing aside demands that he resign immediately, President Chen Shui-bian declared Sunday night that he is innocent of corruption and said he would step down only if his wife is convicted in court on the embezzlement charges brought against her by Taiwan's public prosecutor.
Responding to the prosecutor's allegation that Chen was also involved in the corruption, the president said he did not steal any money but could not explain what happened to the funds in question because they went to finance "secret diplomatic work." The problem, he declared, was that regulations governing disbursement of certain secret funds were too complicated and ambiguous.
"How could you believe that Chen Shui-bian would embezzle money?" he asked Taiwanese during a speech broadcast live to Taiwan's 23 million people. ...
Uh oh: he's talking about himself in the third person. That never bodes well.
Chen Would Resign If Wife Is Convicted
By Edward Cody
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, November 6, 2006
TAIPEI, Nov. 5 -- Brushing aside demands that he resign immediately, President Chen Shui-bian declared Sunday night that he is innocent of corruption and said he would step down only if his wife is convicted in court on the embezzlement charges brought against her by Taiwan's public prosecutor.
Responding to the prosecutor's allegation that Chen was also involved in the corruption, the president said he did not steal any money but could not explain what happened to the funds in question because they went to finance "secret diplomatic work." The problem, he declared, was that regulations governing disbursement of certain secret funds were too complicated and ambiguous.
"How could you believe that Chen Shui-bian would embezzle money?" he asked Taiwanese during a speech broadcast live to Taiwan's 23 million people. ...
Uh oh: he's talking about himself in the third person. That never bodes well.
... Bill Cleary: ... As Chief of Police, Devery never reprimanded a policeman for taking a bribe, only for getting caught doing it.
"Big Bill" was eventually ousted from his lucrative Chief of Police position. The man must have had a huge set of balls because he wound up running for Mayor on an anti-corruption ticket, but New Yorkers felt he was so tarnished that he was giving "hypocrisy" a bad name.
NBX: How did he end up buying the Yankees?
Bill Cleary: Despite opposition from the crooked owner of the local National League club, there was intense pressure to bring an American League team into New York City. So in 1903, "Big Bill" and another Tammany Hall insider named Frank Farrell...who made his fortunes running seedy pool halls...quietly bought an AL team in Baltimore for $18,000 in cash. They committed to building a field for the team, which ended up being a rocky remote dump called Hilltop Park. Devery and Ferrell owned the team until 1915 when they sold the team for $460,000, which is about what the Yankees paid Sal Fasano to play this year. But to be honest, they probably made more money on kickbacks for Hilltop Park's construction. They paid one of Bill's friends $200,000 just to excavate rocks and flatten the field. So I suspect they were seeing a lot of that money again. ...
... NBX: What about the team logo? How did "Big Bill" come up with the most famous logo in the world...the interlocking "NYC"?
Bill Cleary: In 1909 the team began using what was to become the most highly recognizable symbol in the world when the famous "NYC" made its first appearance on the uniforms. Of every slick, crooked thing "Big Bill" ever did...this has to be at the top of his list of larceny.
Louis B. Tiffany initially developed the logo in 1877 for a medal that was presented posthumously to Officer John McDowell, the NYPD officer shot in the line of duty. This became the department tradition and was known as the Medal of Valor. "Big Bill" had to fleece the public one last time before leaving the police department, by misappropriating the very special symbol of bravery that was given to the families of those who died in the line of duty...and never paying a cent for it. ...
No wonder I hate the yankees so goddamn much.
Also: 1903? Pfui. An expansion team! /me smiles smugly
Nicked from dear Glenn321, and unlike "big bill" I give credit.
"Big Bill" was eventually ousted from his lucrative Chief of Police position. The man must have had a huge set of balls because he wound up running for Mayor on an anti-corruption ticket, but New Yorkers felt he was so tarnished that he was giving "hypocrisy" a bad name.
NBX: How did he end up buying the Yankees?
Bill Cleary: Despite opposition from the crooked owner of the local National League club, there was intense pressure to bring an American League team into New York City. So in 1903, "Big Bill" and another Tammany Hall insider named Frank Farrell...who made his fortunes running seedy pool halls...quietly bought an AL team in Baltimore for $18,000 in cash. They committed to building a field for the team, which ended up being a rocky remote dump called Hilltop Park. Devery and Ferrell owned the team until 1915 when they sold the team for $460,000, which is about what the Yankees paid Sal Fasano to play this year. But to be honest, they probably made more money on kickbacks for Hilltop Park's construction. They paid one of Bill's friends $200,000 just to excavate rocks and flatten the field. So I suspect they were seeing a lot of that money again. ...
... NBX: What about the team logo? How did "Big Bill" come up with the most famous logo in the world...the interlocking "NYC"?
Bill Cleary: In 1909 the team began using what was to become the most highly recognizable symbol in the world when the famous "NYC" made its first appearance on the uniforms. Of every slick, crooked thing "Big Bill" ever did...this has to be at the top of his list of larceny.
Louis B. Tiffany initially developed the logo in 1877 for a medal that was presented posthumously to Officer John McDowell, the NYPD officer shot in the line of duty. This became the department tradition and was known as the Medal of Valor. "Big Bill" had to fleece the public one last time before leaving the police department, by misappropriating the very special symbol of bravery that was given to the families of those who died in the line of duty...and never paying a cent for it. ...
No wonder I hate the yankees so goddamn much.
Also: 1903? Pfui. An expansion team! /me smiles smugly
Nicked from dear Glenn321, and unlike "big bill" I give credit.
Candidates, Please Drink At Home Until After Election Day
My Favorite Mormon - Wonkette
Let's check in with Rep. Jim Gibbons of Nevada, who was about to become governor of the Silver State until something happened outside a Vegas steak/seafood restaurant and bar:
* The Cocktail Waitress has not backed down from her charges that Gibbons assaulted her when she wouldn't go back to his motel.
* The bill for Gibbons' "flirty and dirty" drunkfest was "over $300."
* Nevada voters are now asking questions like, "So why was Gibbons allegedly helping somebody so drunk they could hardly walk get behind the wheel of a truck?"
* The slurring, cussing and weird laughter heard on The Cocktail Waitress' 911 calls suggests the Gibbons threat was less than dire.
* Gibbons' political wizard Sig Rogich -- who helped Reagan and Bush 41 get to the White House back when he had moves -- clumsily begged the LV Review-Journal not to run the story, saying "This is the kind of story that can cost an election." Duh.
* What the hell was Gibbons thinking, getting drunk with a bunch of women (and without his wife) three weeks before Election Day, in public?
* Gibbons has since made the worst campaign pledge in history: "I learned an important lesson: Never to offer a helping hand to anybody ever again."
Anyone who plans on voting repugn, er republican really needs to get their head examined.
Many thanks to The Good Doctor (Dr-Duke) for sending this, and to poor MrsA for her review which points out what is more than obvious to anyone whose brain functions.
My Favorite Mormon - Wonkette
Let's check in with Rep. Jim Gibbons of Nevada, who was about to become governor of the Silver State until something happened outside a Vegas steak/seafood restaurant and bar:
* The Cocktail Waitress has not backed down from her charges that Gibbons assaulted her when she wouldn't go back to his motel.
* The bill for Gibbons' "flirty and dirty" drunkfest was "over $300."
* Nevada voters are now asking questions like, "So why was Gibbons allegedly helping somebody so drunk they could hardly walk get behind the wheel of a truck?"
* The slurring, cussing and weird laughter heard on The Cocktail Waitress' 911 calls suggests the Gibbons threat was less than dire.
* Gibbons' political wizard Sig Rogich -- who helped Reagan and Bush 41 get to the White House back when he had moves -- clumsily begged the LV Review-Journal not to run the story, saying "This is the kind of story that can cost an election." Duh.
* What the hell was Gibbons thinking, getting drunk with a bunch of women (and without his wife) three weeks before Election Day, in public?
* Gibbons has since made the worst campaign pledge in history: "I learned an important lesson: Never to offer a helping hand to anybody ever again."
Anyone who plans on voting repugn, er republican really needs to get their head examined.
Many thanks to The Good Doctor (Dr-Duke) for sending this, and to poor MrsA for her review which points out what is more than obvious to anyone whose brain functions.
Lawmaker denies helping daughter win contracts
Mon Oct 16, 2006
By Richard Cowan and Thomas Ferraro
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon denied helping his lobbyist daughter win lucrative contracts on Monday, just hours after federal agents searched her home and that of a party activist.
"My daughter doesn't need my help now and she never has," Weldon told a news conference in Springfield, Pennsylvania.
A U.S. law enforcement official said the Justice Department "is conducting an investigation into the relationship between Congressman Weldon with his daughter and various contractors."
Weldon said the timing of the disclosure of the inquiry was politically aimed at undermining his bid for re-election next month to an 11th term. He is in tight race with Democrat Joe Sestak.
According to reports published in recent days, law enforcement officials are looking into whether Weldon used his influence in Congress to help his daughter, Karen Weldon, obtain lucrative lobbying contracts with foreign clients. ...
FBI Raids Florida Offices of Russian Gas Company Itera - http://www.mosnews.com/news/2006/10/17/weldonraided.shtml
Here's a headline fit to split yr sides with laughter:
Republican Weldon blasts 'liberal attack machine' for publicity - http://www.pennlive.com/newsflash/pa/index.ssf?/base/news-42/116109715433290.xml&storylist=penn
Why do these fat rich republican bastards constantly blame others for their predicament when they are caught? It's their own fault: they are corrupt and did things they shouldn't. It's their own responsibility (a word they have a lot of trouble with), and no one else's.
Mon Oct 16, 2006
By Richard Cowan and Thomas Ferraro
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon denied helping his lobbyist daughter win lucrative contracts on Monday, just hours after federal agents searched her home and that of a party activist.
"My daughter doesn't need my help now and she never has," Weldon told a news conference in Springfield, Pennsylvania.
A U.S. law enforcement official said the Justice Department "is conducting an investigation into the relationship between Congressman Weldon with his daughter and various contractors."
Weldon said the timing of the disclosure of the inquiry was politically aimed at undermining his bid for re-election next month to an 11th term. He is in tight race with Democrat Joe Sestak.
According to reports published in recent days, law enforcement officials are looking into whether Weldon used his influence in Congress to help his daughter, Karen Weldon, obtain lucrative lobbying contracts with foreign clients. ...
FBI Raids Florida Offices of Russian Gas Company Itera - http://www.mosnews.com/news/2006/10/17/weldonraided.shtml
Here's a headline fit to split yr sides with laughter:
Republican Weldon blasts 'liberal attack machine' for publicity - http://www.pennlive.com/newsflash/pa/index.ssf?/base/news-42/116109715433290.xml&storylist=penn
Why do these fat rich republican bastards constantly blame others for their predicament when they are caught? It's their own fault: they are corrupt and did things they shouldn't. It's their own responsibility (a word they have a lot of trouble with), and no one else's.
Indictment drafted for Israeli president: media
Tue Oct 17, 2006
By Allyn Fisher-Ilan
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prosecutors have begun to draft a charge sheet against Israeli President Moshe Katsav after police said they had evidence he committed rape, Israeli media reported on Tuesday.
Army Radio reported that the state attorney-general, Menachem Mazuz, is likely to decide within two weeks to press charges against Katsav, who is under growing pressure to resign over the scandal involving female employees.
The report, published also by the Haaretz newspaper, said Jerusalem prosecutors were drafting a charge sheet after police said Sunday they had evidence Katsav had "carried out sex crimes of rape, sexual molestation by force and without consent."
Katsav, 60, whose ceremonial position is widely seen as a unifying force in a country of deep political divides, has denied any wrongdoing and said he is the victim of a "public lynching without trial". ...
Hey, pal, the trial hasn't started yet! No one's hung you up by yr short hairs yet.
How exactly is someone like him 'a unifying force'? Lemme guess: all the other politicos are into the same stuff he is.
And, um, 'by force' and 'without consent' are two different things?
Tue Oct 17, 2006
By Allyn Fisher-Ilan
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prosecutors have begun to draft a charge sheet against Israeli President Moshe Katsav after police said they had evidence he committed rape, Israeli media reported on Tuesday.
Army Radio reported that the state attorney-general, Menachem Mazuz, is likely to decide within two weeks to press charges against Katsav, who is under growing pressure to resign over the scandal involving female employees.
The report, published also by the Haaretz newspaper, said Jerusalem prosecutors were drafting a charge sheet after police said Sunday they had evidence Katsav had "carried out sex crimes of rape, sexual molestation by force and without consent."
Katsav, 60, whose ceremonial position is widely seen as a unifying force in a country of deep political divides, has denied any wrongdoing and said he is the victim of a "public lynching without trial". ...
Hey, pal, the trial hasn't started yet! No one's hung you up by yr short hairs yet.
How exactly is someone like him 'a unifying force'? Lemme guess: all the other politicos are into the same stuff he is.
And, um, 'by force' and 'without consent' are two different things?
Moscow must prosecute reporter's killers-Barroso
Sun 15 Oct 2006
LONDON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Moscow's credibility is on the line over its ability to prosecute those responsible for the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Sunday.
Politkovskaya, an ardent critic of Putin and of Kremlin policies in Chechnya, was shot on the staircase of her apartment building on Oct. 7.
Investigators say her murder was linked to her reporting and her supporters said it showed Russia was failing to safeguard free speech.
Barroso said he would raise Politkovskaya's murder with Russian President Vladimir Putin in person, adding he would be "frank" in his discussions.
"We want those who have assassinated Ms Politkovskaya, great fighter for freedom of expression, we want them to be brought to justice," Barroso told BBC Television.
"It is a question of credibility of the Russian government and Russian authorities to show they are able to bring to justice those who make those hideous crimes," he added. ...
Sun 15 Oct 2006
LONDON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Moscow's credibility is on the line over its ability to prosecute those responsible for the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Sunday.
Politkovskaya, an ardent critic of Putin and of Kremlin policies in Chechnya, was shot on the staircase of her apartment building on Oct. 7.
Investigators say her murder was linked to her reporting and her supporters said it showed Russia was failing to safeguard free speech.
Barroso said he would raise Politkovskaya's murder with Russian President Vladimir Putin in person, adding he would be "frank" in his discussions.
"We want those who have assassinated Ms Politkovskaya, great fighter for freedom of expression, we want them to be brought to justice," Barroso told BBC Television.
"It is a question of credibility of the Russian government and Russian authorities to show they are able to bring to justice those who make those hideous crimes," he added. ...
Rape charge recommended for Israeli president
POSTED: 10:00 p.m. EDT, October 15, 2006
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Police in Israel are recommending that the country's president be charged with rape and other crimes against several women, a police announcement said.
Police issued a statement Sunday announcing that they have asked Attorney General Menahem Mazuz to charge Israeli President Moshe Katsav with rape, indecent assault and sexual harassment of an undisclosed number of women.
Investigators also have evidence that Katsav illegally pardoned people convicted of crimes and conducted illegal wire-taps, the statement said. (Watch how the scandal is likely to end a career -- 2:18 Video)
The investigation of Katsav continues into other charges that he harassed a witness and obstructed justice, the statement said.
Mazuz will make the final decision on whether to put the president on trial.
A previous president and several prime ministers have been suspected of financial misdeeds and a former defense minister was convicted of sexual harassment. But the charges facing Katsav would be the most serious criminal counts brought against a serving Israeli official. ...
My thoughts about this, this, creature are not fit for family viewing.
POSTED: 10:00 p.m. EDT, October 15, 2006
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Police in Israel are recommending that the country's president be charged with rape and other crimes against several women, a police announcement said.
Police issued a statement Sunday announcing that they have asked Attorney General Menahem Mazuz to charge Israeli President Moshe Katsav with rape, indecent assault and sexual harassment of an undisclosed number of women.
Investigators also have evidence that Katsav illegally pardoned people convicted of crimes and conducted illegal wire-taps, the statement said. (Watch how the scandal is likely to end a career -- 2:18 Video)
The investigation of Katsav continues into other charges that he harassed a witness and obstructed justice, the statement said.
Mazuz will make the final decision on whether to put the president on trial.
A previous president and several prime ministers have been suspected of financial misdeeds and a former defense minister was convicted of sexual harassment. But the charges facing Katsav would be the most serious criminal counts brought against a serving Israeli official. ...
My thoughts about this, this, creature are not fit for family viewing.
Copper Plant Illegally Burned Hazardous Waste, E.P.A. Says
By RALPH BLUMENTHAL
Published: October 11, 2006
HOUSTON, Oct. 10 -- A bankrupt copper giant facing billions of dollars in pollution claims across the nation pretended for years to recycle metals while illegally burning hazardous waste in a notorious El Paso smelter, according to a newly released Environmental Protection Agency document.
The agency, in a 1998 internal memorandum, said the company, Asarco, and its Corpus Christi subsidiary, Encycle, had a permit to extract metals from hazardous waste products but used that as a cover to burn the waste until the late 1990's, saving the high costs of proper disposal.
Among the more than 5,000 tons the company was accused of misrepresenting as containing metals for reclamation were more than 300 tons of nonmetallic residues from the former Army chemical warfare depot at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal outside Denver. (It is not clear what the arsenal's material contained.)
"This activity, plain and simple, was illegal treatment and disposal of hazardous waste," the environmental agency said in the memorandum, long held confidential but recently obtained by two El Paso environmental groups opposed to the smelter. "Encycle's own business records provide compelling evidence of sham recycling."
There was no response to messages left for an Asarco spokeswoman at corporate offices in Tucson and for the El Paso plant manager. But a company history states, "Asarco is committed to responsible management of our natural resources." ...
By RALPH BLUMENTHAL
Published: October 11, 2006
HOUSTON, Oct. 10 -- A bankrupt copper giant facing billions of dollars in pollution claims across the nation pretended for years to recycle metals while illegally burning hazardous waste in a notorious El Paso smelter, according to a newly released Environmental Protection Agency document.
The agency, in a 1998 internal memorandum, said the company, Asarco, and its Corpus Christi subsidiary, Encycle, had a permit to extract metals from hazardous waste products but used that as a cover to burn the waste until the late 1990's, saving the high costs of proper disposal.
Among the more than 5,000 tons the company was accused of misrepresenting as containing metals for reclamation were more than 300 tons of nonmetallic residues from the former Army chemical warfare depot at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal outside Denver. (It is not clear what the arsenal's material contained.)
"This activity, plain and simple, was illegal treatment and disposal of hazardous waste," the environmental agency said in the memorandum, long held confidential but recently obtained by two El Paso environmental groups opposed to the smelter. "Encycle's own business records provide compelling evidence of sham recycling."
There was no response to messages left for an Asarco spokeswoman at corporate offices in Tucson and for the El Paso plant manager. But a company history states, "Asarco is committed to responsible management of our natural resources." ...
Australian advertisers accused of "corporate paedophilia'
(AFP)
10 October 2006
SYDNEY - Advertising that exploits children's sexuality for commercial gain is on the rise in Australia as big retailers lend an air of respectability to "corporate paedophiles," researchers said on Tuesday.
An increasing number of businesses found it acceptable to eroticise young models for profit, increasing children's risk from sexual predators and robbing them of their childhood, the Australia Institute think tank said.
Institute director Clive Hamilton said it was particularly worrying that the phenomenon had entered the mainstream and condemned major retail chains for jumping on the bandwagon. ...
(AFP)
10 October 2006
SYDNEY - Advertising that exploits children's sexuality for commercial gain is on the rise in Australia as big retailers lend an air of respectability to "corporate paedophiles," researchers said on Tuesday.
An increasing number of businesses found it acceptable to eroticise young models for profit, increasing children's risk from sexual predators and robbing them of their childhood, the Australia Institute think tank said.
Institute director Clive Hamilton said it was particularly worrying that the phenomenon had entered the mainstream and condemned major retail chains for jumping on the bandwagon. ...
Royal Society Tells Exxon: Stop Funding Climate Change Denial
by David Adam
Britain's leading scientists have challenged the US oil company ExxonMobil to stop funding groups that attempt to undermine the scientific consensus on climate change.
In an unprecedented step, the Royal Society, Britain's premier scientific academy, has written to the oil giant to demand that the company withdraws support for dozens of groups that have "misrepresented the science of climate change by outright denial of the evidence".
The scientists also strongly criticise the company's public statements on global warming, which they describe as "inaccurate and misleading".
In a letter earlier this month to Esso, the UK arm of ExxonMobil, the Royal Society cites its own survey which found that ExxonMobil last year distributed $2.9m to 39 groups that the society says misrepresent the science of climate change.
These include the International Policy Network, a thinktank with its HQ in London, and the George C Marshall Institute, which is based in Washington DC. In 2004, the institute jointly published a report with the UK group the Scientific Alliance which claimed that global temperature rises were not related to rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.
"There is not a robust scientific basis for drawing definitive and objective conclusions about the effect of human influence on future climate," it said.
In the letter, Bob Ward of the Royal Society writes: "At our meeting in July ... you indicated that ExxonMobil would not be providing any further funding to these organisations. I would be grateful if you could let me know when ExxonMobil plans to carry out this pledge."
The letter, a copy of which has been obtained by the Guardian, adds: "I would be grateful if you could let me know which organisations in the UK and other European countries have been receiving funding so that I can work out which of these have been similarly providing inaccurate and misleading information to the public." ...
by David Adam
Britain's leading scientists have challenged the US oil company ExxonMobil to stop funding groups that attempt to undermine the scientific consensus on climate change.
In an unprecedented step, the Royal Society, Britain's premier scientific academy, has written to the oil giant to demand that the company withdraws support for dozens of groups that have "misrepresented the science of climate change by outright denial of the evidence".
The scientists also strongly criticise the company's public statements on global warming, which they describe as "inaccurate and misleading".
In a letter earlier this month to Esso, the UK arm of ExxonMobil, the Royal Society cites its own survey which found that ExxonMobil last year distributed $2.9m to 39 groups that the society says misrepresent the science of climate change.
These include the International Policy Network, a thinktank with its HQ in London, and the George C Marshall Institute, which is based in Washington DC. In 2004, the institute jointly published a report with the UK group the Scientific Alliance which claimed that global temperature rises were not related to rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.
"There is not a robust scientific basis for drawing definitive and objective conclusions about the effect of human influence on future climate," it said.
In the letter, Bob Ward of the Royal Society writes: "At our meeting in July ... you indicated that ExxonMobil would not be providing any further funding to these organisations. I would be grateful if you could let me know when ExxonMobil plans to carry out this pledge."
The letter, a copy of which has been obtained by the Guardian, adds: "I would be grateful if you could let me know which organisations in the UK and other European countries have been receiving funding so that I can work out which of these have been similarly providing inaccurate and misleading information to the public." ...
'We lied morning, noon and night' - PM's tape that left nation on brink
Wed 20 Sep 2006
Balazs Koranyi in Budapest
THE Hungarian prime minister, Ferenc Gyurcsany, rejected opposition calls to quit yesterday after anti-government riots he called the country's "longest and darkest night" since the end of communism.
The riots, in which over 150 people were hurt, followed the leak of a tape on Sunday in which Mr Gyurcsany said he and his Socialist Party had lied for four years about budgets in order to win a general election in April.
Thousands of people took to the streets of Budapest late on Monday night, occupying and setting fire to the state television building and fighting with riot police in the first such violence since communism collapsed at the end of the 1980s.
Higher taxes and fees for healthcare and university tuition had prompted protests before the release of the tape prompted a violent backlash.
"The longest and darkest night of the third Hungarian republic is behind us," Mr Gyurcsany said on television.
"This is not a revolution, this is not 1956, this is the betrayal of our great national history," he added later at a news conference referring to the Hungarian uprising against Soviet occupation 50 years ago.
About 500 protesters gathered at parliament during the day yesterday. There are also plans for a student demonstration tomorrow.
The soaring budget deficit has forced Hungary, a European Union member, to abandon plans to join the euro in 2010, with analysts now saying 2014 is more realistic. Five parliamentary parties passed a resolution condemning the violence.
A defiant Mr Gyurcsany, facing the biggest challenge in his two-year premiership, said that resigning was out of the question and he would continue with the tough reforms.
"I had spent three minutes on Sunday night thinking about whether I should step down or whether I had a reason to step down, and the conclusion I came to is absolutely not," said the 45-year-old millionaire. ...
Hey - they've got a spoiled brat running their country too.
Wed 20 Sep 2006
Balazs Koranyi in Budapest
THE Hungarian prime minister, Ferenc Gyurcsany, rejected opposition calls to quit yesterday after anti-government riots he called the country's "longest and darkest night" since the end of communism.
The riots, in which over 150 people were hurt, followed the leak of a tape on Sunday in which Mr Gyurcsany said he and his Socialist Party had lied for four years about budgets in order to win a general election in April.
Thousands of people took to the streets of Budapest late on Monday night, occupying and setting fire to the state television building and fighting with riot police in the first such violence since communism collapsed at the end of the 1980s.
Higher taxes and fees for healthcare and university tuition had prompted protests before the release of the tape prompted a violent backlash.
"The longest and darkest night of the third Hungarian republic is behind us," Mr Gyurcsany said on television.
"This is not a revolution, this is not 1956, this is the betrayal of our great national history," he added later at a news conference referring to the Hungarian uprising against Soviet occupation 50 years ago.
About 500 protesters gathered at parliament during the day yesterday. There are also plans for a student demonstration tomorrow.
The soaring budget deficit has forced Hungary, a European Union member, to abandon plans to join the euro in 2010, with analysts now saying 2014 is more realistic. Five parliamentary parties passed a resolution condemning the violence.
A defiant Mr Gyurcsany, facing the biggest challenge in his two-year premiership, said that resigning was out of the question and he would continue with the tough reforms.
"I had spent three minutes on Sunday night thinking about whether I should step down or whether I had a reason to step down, and the conclusion I came to is absolutely not," said the 45-year-old millionaire. ...
Hey - they've got a spoiled brat running their country too.
HP Chair to Step Down in Leak Aftermath
By JORDAN ROBERTSON
SAN JOSE, Calif. Sep 12, 2006 (AP)-- Hewlett-Packard Chairwoman Patricia Dunn will step down in January and be succeeded by CEO Mark Hurd amid a widening scandal involving the computer and printer company's possibly illegal probe into media leaks.
Director George Keyworth II, who acknowledged sharing company information with reporters, resigned from HP's board later Tuesday morning. The board had asked Keyworth to resign in May, but he refused.
Hurd will retain his existing positions as chief executive and president and Dunn will remain as a director after she relinquishes the chair on Jan. 18.
"I am taking action to ensure that inappropriate investigative techniques will not be employed again. They have no place in HP," Hurd said in a statement Tuesday. ...
By JORDAN ROBERTSON
SAN JOSE, Calif. Sep 12, 2006 (AP)-- Hewlett-Packard Chairwoman Patricia Dunn will step down in January and be succeeded by CEO Mark Hurd amid a widening scandal involving the computer and printer company's possibly illegal probe into media leaks.
Director George Keyworth II, who acknowledged sharing company information with reporters, resigned from HP's board later Tuesday morning. The board had asked Keyworth to resign in May, but he refused.
Hurd will retain his existing positions as chief executive and president and Dunn will remain as a director after she relinquishes the chair on Jan. 18.
"I am taking action to ensure that inappropriate investigative techniques will not be employed again. They have no place in HP," Hurd said in a statement Tuesday. ...
Mexico's election battle heads back to ballot box
Wed Aug 9, 2006 3:20am ET
By Kieran Murray
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - After a month of huge street protests, the battle for power in Mexico goes back to the ballot box on Wednesday with a partial recount of votes in a tight presidential election that has split the country.
The top electoral court ordered all the votes counted again at 9 percent of polling stations in a bid to clear up fraud allegations and calm a political crisis that has shaken Mexico's young democracy.
Starting on Wednesday morning, judges, election officials and party representatives will spend up to five days checking the tallies at 11,839 voting stations to see if there is truth to the leftist candidate's claim he was robbed of victory. ...
People and their actions lack transparency only when there is something to hide. Any reasonably intelligent person past adolescence knows this.
Wed Aug 9, 2006 3:20am ET
By Kieran Murray
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - After a month of huge street protests, the battle for power in Mexico goes back to the ballot box on Wednesday with a partial recount of votes in a tight presidential election that has split the country.
The top electoral court ordered all the votes counted again at 9 percent of polling stations in a bid to clear up fraud allegations and calm a political crisis that has shaken Mexico's young democracy.
Starting on Wednesday morning, judges, election officials and party representatives will spend up to five days checking the tallies at 11,839 voting stations to see if there is truth to the leftist candidate's claim he was robbed of victory. ...
People and their actions lack transparency only when there is something to hide. Any reasonably intelligent person past adolescence knows this.
Dallas Rebuilds Scandalized Police Dept.
By JULIA GLICK
The Associated Press
Thursday, July 13, 2006; 2:52 AM
DALLAS -- Besmirched by scandal and beset by racial tension, Dallas' police department needed to reinvent itself to be able to tackle the crime rate - worst among U.S. big cities.
Police Chief David Kunkle, hired two years ago to rebuild the department, has fired tainted officers, changed police tactics and gained City Hall support for his efforts. The result has been steady improvement in the nearly 3,000-member force, and crime, while still tops among big cities, has decreased.
Kunkle has fired more than 30 officers for misconduct since taking office, 14 of them since June. The firings include two officers accused of drunken driving and an officer accused of stealing tires from the police impound lot.
"Kunkle has improved on what he took over two years ago," said Alex del Carmen, a criminology professor at the University of Texas at Arlington. "He is slowly but surely chipping away at the old culture of the Dallas Police Department."
Kunkle, once Dallas' youngest captain and an ex-police chief of nearby Arlington, succeeded Terrell Bolton, the city's first black police chief.
Bolton was fired in 2003 following a four-year tenure plagued by poor management, costly lawsuits by demoted commanders and a 2001 scandal in which dozens of immigrants were wrongly arrested after police informants planted fake drugs on them.
Kunkle immediately demoted three top chiefs and fired officers involved in the fake-drug scandal. He banned the use of a neck hold that had led to a suspect's death and a community uproar before he took office. ...
By JULIA GLICK
The Associated Press
Thursday, July 13, 2006; 2:52 AM
DALLAS -- Besmirched by scandal and beset by racial tension, Dallas' police department needed to reinvent itself to be able to tackle the crime rate - worst among U.S. big cities.
Police Chief David Kunkle, hired two years ago to rebuild the department, has fired tainted officers, changed police tactics and gained City Hall support for his efforts. The result has been steady improvement in the nearly 3,000-member force, and crime, while still tops among big cities, has decreased.
Kunkle has fired more than 30 officers for misconduct since taking office, 14 of them since June. The firings include two officers accused of drunken driving and an officer accused of stealing tires from the police impound lot.
"Kunkle has improved on what he took over two years ago," said Alex del Carmen, a criminology professor at the University of Texas at Arlington. "He is slowly but surely chipping away at the old culture of the Dallas Police Department."
Kunkle, once Dallas' youngest captain and an ex-police chief of nearby Arlington, succeeded Terrell Bolton, the city's first black police chief.
Bolton was fired in 2003 following a four-year tenure plagued by poor management, costly lawsuits by demoted commanders and a 2001 scandal in which dozens of immigrants were wrongly arrested after police informants planted fake drugs on them.
Kunkle immediately demoted three top chiefs and fired officers involved in the fake-drug scandal. He banned the use of a neck hold that had led to a suspect's death and a community uproar before he took office. ...
Abramoff and 4 Others Sued by Tribe Over Casino Closing
By RICK LYMAN
Published: July 13, 2006
HOUSTON, July 12 -- An Indian tribe sued the former superlobbyist Jack Abramoff and Ralph Reed, a candidate for lieutenant governor in Georgia, on Wednesday, seeking millions of dollars in lost revenues from a casino that the Texas tribe said had been fraudulently closed.
The suit, in Federal District Court in Austin, says Mr. Abramoff, Mr. Reed and three other men mounted a fake religiously themed moral crusade in 2001 to defeat a bill in the Texas Legislature that would have legalized gambling in Indian casinos.
Their real motive, the suit adds, was to promote the gambling interests of a tribe in Louisiana that was paying them to represent its interest in a competing casino.
Two former Congressional aides who pleaded guilty to corruption charges along with Mr. Abramoff were also named in the suit: Michael Scanlon, who worked for the former House majority leader Tom DeLay of Texas; and Neil Volz, formerly on the staff of Representative Bob Ney of Ohio.
Jon Van Horne, who worked with Mr. Abramoff at his lobbying firm in Washington, was also named.
"This case chronicles Jack Abramoff and his associates' greed, corruption and deceit and their devastating impact on Texas's oldest recognized Indian tribe," said the suit, filed by the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas.
The tribe, whose 4,594-acre reservation is 75 miles northeast of here, was forced to close its sole casino in 2002 by a federal court order. Lawyers for the tribe said the closing had devastating economic effects on the community, including the loss of several hundred jobs. ...
By RICK LYMAN
Published: July 13, 2006
HOUSTON, July 12 -- An Indian tribe sued the former superlobbyist Jack Abramoff and Ralph Reed, a candidate for lieutenant governor in Georgia, on Wednesday, seeking millions of dollars in lost revenues from a casino that the Texas tribe said had been fraudulently closed.
The suit, in Federal District Court in Austin, says Mr. Abramoff, Mr. Reed and three other men mounted a fake religiously themed moral crusade in 2001 to defeat a bill in the Texas Legislature that would have legalized gambling in Indian casinos.
Their real motive, the suit adds, was to promote the gambling interests of a tribe in Louisiana that was paying them to represent its interest in a competing casino.
Two former Congressional aides who pleaded guilty to corruption charges along with Mr. Abramoff were also named in the suit: Michael Scanlon, who worked for the former House majority leader Tom DeLay of Texas; and Neil Volz, formerly on the staff of Representative Bob Ney of Ohio.
Jon Van Horne, who worked with Mr. Abramoff at his lobbying firm in Washington, was also named.
"This case chronicles Jack Abramoff and his associates' greed, corruption and deceit and their devastating impact on Texas's oldest recognized Indian tribe," said the suit, filed by the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas.
The tribe, whose 4,594-acre reservation is 75 miles northeast of here, was forced to close its sole casino in 2002 by a federal court order. Lawyers for the tribe said the closing had devastating economic effects on the community, including the loss of several hundred jobs. ...
Created: 02.06.2006 14:20 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 14:20 MSK
A former Russian MP, a local education chief, has been jailed for embezzlement and abuse of authority -- he made his subordinates study scientology and used budget money to pay for their studies.
Boris Shalimov of the Skovorodinsk region in Russia's Far East has been sentenced to two years in prison for embezzlement and abuse of authority, the website of Russia's Prosecutor General's Office reports. ...
A former Russian MP, a local education chief, has been jailed for embezzlement and abuse of authority -- he made his subordinates study scientology and used budget money to pay for their studies.
Boris Shalimov of the Skovorodinsk region in Russia's Far East has been sentenced to two years in prison for embezzlement and abuse of authority, the website of Russia's Prosecutor General's Office reports. ...
... "The president can say anything he wants when he signs a bill," Saltzburg said. ``[But] what does it say about respect for the Constitution and for the notion of checks and balances to have the president repeatedly claim the authority not to obey statutes, which he is signing into law?" ...
Nicked from da buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Nicked from da buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
From the fall of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) to the recent sentencing of lobbyist Jack Abramoff to new allegations about Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) the scandals continue to mount, disgracing our government, threatening the integrity of our democracy, and causing citizens to lose faith in our political system.
It's time to end the era of influence peddling, "pay-to-play" politics in Washington, D.C. by supporting Clean Elections reform. By enacting Clean Elections, a system of full public financing for elections, we can cut the cord between politicians and the big-money interests and lobbyists who currently fund their campaigns.
Clean Elections would bring a proven system of campaign finance reform to the federal level, freeing politicians from the burdens of constant fundraising and helping to restore the people's faith in our elected officials.
It's time to bring back the power of citizens to elect representatives not bought and paid for by special interest lobbyists and big-money donors.
Help send a message to Congress. Join us in supporting Clean Elections now.
It's time to end the era of influence peddling, "pay-to-play" politics in Washington, D.C. by supporting Clean Elections reform. By enacting Clean Elections, a system of full public financing for elections, we can cut the cord between politicians and the big-money interests and lobbyists who currently fund their campaigns.
Clean Elections would bring a proven system of campaign finance reform to the federal level, freeing politicians from the burdens of constant fundraising and helping to restore the people's faith in our elected officials.
It's time to bring back the power of citizens to elect representatives not bought and paid for by special interest lobbyists and big-money donors.
Help send a message to Congress. Join us in supporting Clean Elections now.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Federal agents searched the Capitol Hill office of a Louisiana congressman under investigation on bribery charges Sunday, while newly released court papers said agents found $90,000 in cash last year in his Washington home. ...
I wasn't born repugn, er republican, democrat or yesterday.
I wasn't born repugn, er republican, democrat or yesterday.
... He said it remained unclear why the national Republican Party spent millions of dollars defending Tobin.
"At first it seemed like he was a free agent working on his own with maybe one or two people. But then pretty quickly we saw that the Republican National Committee was spending millions to help with his legal defense. That shot us some pretty large red flags among people in the state," he said.
"Ever since then it's kind of grown slowly but surely. It hasn't gone away and I don't think it has peaked yet either."
Republican Party officials say they financed Tobin's defense because he had occupied a senior position in the national Republican Party when he was charged and because he had maintained his innocence.
Tobin, the former New England regional director of the Republican National Committee, stepped down as New England chairman of Bush's 2004 re-election campaign when he became subject of a federal criminal investigation. ...
Damn, these repugn, er republican bitches go to jail more often than a crack whore.
"At first it seemed like he was a free agent working on his own with maybe one or two people. But then pretty quickly we saw that the Republican National Committee was spending millions to help with his legal defense. That shot us some pretty large red flags among people in the state," he said.
"Ever since then it's kind of grown slowly but surely. It hasn't gone away and I don't think it has peaked yet either."
Republican Party officials say they financed Tobin's defense because he had occupied a senior position in the national Republican Party when he was charged and because he had maintained his innocence.
Tobin, the former New England regional director of the Republican National Committee, stepped down as New England chairman of Bush's 2004 re-election campaign when he became subject of a federal criminal investigation. ...
Damn, these repugn, er republican bitches go to jail more often than a crack whore.
FTP: August 14, 2000
by Jamie Dettmer, Paul M. Rodriguez
The staff director of the House Intelligence Committee killed himself in a seedy Fairfax, Va., motel. But there seems to be more to the story, and those in the know just aren't talking.
No one expected it. But, then, no one ever does. A suicide almost always is baffling, and the self-inflicted death of 47-year-old John Millis, the staff director of the House Intelligence Committee, was no exception. As Republican Rep. Porter Goss of Florida, the panel's chairman, said just hours after his aide shot himself on June 4 in a rundown Fairfax, Va., motel: "There are always more `whys' than there are answers when a tragedy like this occurs."
But in Millis' case the mystery surrounding his death has deepened -- partly as a result of the reluctance on the part of Goss and others in Congress and at the Central Intelligence Agency to respond to questions about the suicide that easily could be answered.
So far, no one in authority has been prepared even to explain why earlier this summer Millis was suspended with pay while under investigation by his own committee. Even that fact was not made public in the initial statements announcing the suicide and had to be wrested from Goss, who says he will not detail the reasons for the suspension. ...
Old news is new news sometimes.
Now is one of those times, kids.
Many thanks to dear Tall, Pink and Furry
by Jamie Dettmer, Paul M. Rodriguez
The staff director of the House Intelligence Committee killed himself in a seedy Fairfax, Va., motel. But there seems to be more to the story, and those in the know just aren't talking.
No one expected it. But, then, no one ever does. A suicide almost always is baffling, and the self-inflicted death of 47-year-old John Millis, the staff director of the House Intelligence Committee, was no exception. As Republican Rep. Porter Goss of Florida, the panel's chairman, said just hours after his aide shot himself on June 4 in a rundown Fairfax, Va., motel: "There are always more `whys' than there are answers when a tragedy like this occurs."
But in Millis' case the mystery surrounding his death has deepened -- partly as a result of the reluctance on the part of Goss and others in Congress and at the Central Intelligence Agency to respond to questions about the suicide that easily could be answered.
So far, no one in authority has been prepared even to explain why earlier this summer Millis was suspended with pay while under investigation by his own committee. Even that fact was not made public in the initial statements announcing the suicide and had to be wrested from Goss, who says he will not detail the reasons for the suspension. ...
Old news is new news sometimes.
Now is one of those times, kids.
Many thanks to dear Tall, Pink and Furry
Saturday May 13, 2006 1:46 AM
PARIS (AP) - Investigative judges raided the home of a director of European defense group EADS on Friday as part of a probe into a political scandal that has shaken France's government.
It was the second time this week that an executive of European Aeronautics and Defence Systems, the parent company of Airbus, was implicated in the affair. An EADS vice president resigned Wednesday amid speculation that he was behind a bogus list of prominent figures who allegedly laundered kickbacks through Luxembourg bank Clearstream.
The scandal centers on accusations that Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and President Jacques Chirac ordered a trumped-up corruption investigation into rival Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy. Sarkozy's name was among those on the Clearstream list.
Villepin and Chirac deny targeting Sarkozy, a leading presidential hopeful for next year's elections.
Two judges trying to determine who was behind the faked list of Clearstream accounts raided the home of EADS scientific director Imad Lahoud on Friday, judicial officials said. They had earlier raided his offices at EADS. ...
PARIS (AP) - Investigative judges raided the home of a director of European defense group EADS on Friday as part of a probe into a political scandal that has shaken France's government.
It was the second time this week that an executive of European Aeronautics and Defence Systems, the parent company of Airbus, was implicated in the affair. An EADS vice president resigned Wednesday amid speculation that he was behind a bogus list of prominent figures who allegedly laundered kickbacks through Luxembourg bank Clearstream.
The scandal centers on accusations that Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and President Jacques Chirac ordered a trumped-up corruption investigation into rival Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy. Sarkozy's name was among those on the Clearstream list.
Villepin and Chirac deny targeting Sarkozy, a leading presidential hopeful for next year's elections.
Two judges trying to determine who was behind the faked list of Clearstream accounts raided the home of EADS scientific director Imad Lahoud on Friday, judicial officials said. They had earlier raided his offices at EADS. ...
Have you heard about the May 15th deadline to sign up for the new prescription drug program? Most Americans haven't. But in less than 2 weeks, President Bush and Congressional Republicans are preparing to slap as many as 14 million seniors with heavy, lifetime penalties because they haven't joined the bewildering new program. We need to stand up for our seniors.
So today, we're launching an urgent petition calling on Congress to cancel the May 15th lifetime penalty (also called the "senior tax") and to fix the Medicare drug program. It's time to put seniors' needs above corporate greed.
Why are the top Republicans in Washington pushing this harsh deadline?
Big drug company lobbyists wrote the Medicare drug plan, and spent hundreds of millions of dollars to ram it through Congress. To maximize profit, they need as many seniors as possible to sign up, and pay in. But five months after the launch, as many as 14 million eligible seniors have been unable or unwilling to join the corrupt program. Why have so many seniors been shut out?
* Cost: The government is forbidden to use its free market negotiating power to lower costs, so seniors have to pay more as the deficit explodes, while the big drug companies rake in an estimated $325 billion dollar profit over the next 10 years.
* Control: Drug companies can switch the drugs they offer at will, but seniors are locked into single plans for up to a year at a time - whether or not they are getting the drugs they need.
* Confusion: Because Medicare is forbidden to offer the drugs directly, seniors are bombarded with hundreds of different private programs and mountains of fine print.
Adding insult to injury, the official Medicare hotline has consistently given out false information to seniors struggling to choose a plan.
Now, the drug companies need more seniors to pay in to their corrupt program. Seniors do need a drug program, and the right way to boost enrollment would be to fix the serious flaws that have kept seniors out. But instead, President Bush and Congressional Republicans are trying to intimidate reluctant seniors into joining by threatening them with severe, lifetime penalties.
But they don't have to get away with it. Democrats in Congress are standing firm against the penalties, and even some Republicans are breaking ranks. As the national spotlight turns this week to the looming "senior tax", we can help show Congress and the media that seniors - and Americans of all ages - are mobilized on this issue, and ready to act.
We'll rush your signatures and comments to Congress before the clock runs out next Monday. If enough of us speak up on this politically sensitive issue, we can help push Congress to act before it's too late. Please sign today.
So today, we're launching an urgent petition calling on Congress to cancel the May 15th lifetime penalty (also called the "senior tax") and to fix the Medicare drug program. It's time to put seniors' needs above corporate greed.
Why are the top Republicans in Washington pushing this harsh deadline?
Big drug company lobbyists wrote the Medicare drug plan, and spent hundreds of millions of dollars to ram it through Congress. To maximize profit, they need as many seniors as possible to sign up, and pay in. But five months after the launch, as many as 14 million eligible seniors have been unable or unwilling to join the corrupt program. Why have so many seniors been shut out?
* Cost: The government is forbidden to use its free market negotiating power to lower costs, so seniors have to pay more as the deficit explodes, while the big drug companies rake in an estimated $325 billion dollar profit over the next 10 years.
* Control: Drug companies can switch the drugs they offer at will, but seniors are locked into single plans for up to a year at a time - whether or not they are getting the drugs they need.
* Confusion: Because Medicare is forbidden to offer the drugs directly, seniors are bombarded with hundreds of different private programs and mountains of fine print.
Adding insult to injury, the official Medicare hotline has consistently given out false information to seniors struggling to choose a plan.
Now, the drug companies need more seniors to pay in to their corrupt program. Seniors do need a drug program, and the right way to boost enrollment would be to fix the serious flaws that have kept seniors out. But instead, President Bush and Congressional Republicans are trying to intimidate reluctant seniors into joining by threatening them with severe, lifetime penalties.
But they don't have to get away with it. Democrats in Congress are standing firm against the penalties, and even some Republicans are breaking ranks. As the national spotlight turns this week to the looming "senior tax", we can help show Congress and the media that seniors - and Americans of all ages - are mobilized on this issue, and ready to act.
We'll rush your signatures and comments to Congress before the clock runs out next Monday. If enough of us speak up on this politically sensitive issue, we can help push Congress to act before it's too late. Please sign today.
FTP: President cites powers of his office
By Charlie Savage, Globe Staff | April 30, 2006
WASHINGTON -- President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution.
Among the laws Bush said he can ignore are military rules and regulations, affirmative-action provisions, requirements that Congress be told about immigration services problems, "whistle-blower" protections for nuclear regulatory officials, and safeguards against political interference in federally funded research.
Legal scholars say the scope and aggression of Bush's assertions that he can bypass laws represent a concerted effort to expand his power at the expense of Congress, upsetting the balance between the branches of government. The Constitution is clear in assigning to Congress the power to write the laws and to the president a duty "to take care that the laws be faithfully executed." Bush, however, has repeatedly declared that he does not need to "execute" a law he believes is unconstitutional.
Former administration officials contend that just because Bush reserves the right to disobey a law does not mean he is not enforcing it: In many cases, he is simply asserting his belief that a certain requirement encroaches on presidential power. ...
Herbicide.
By Charlie Savage, Globe Staff | April 30, 2006
WASHINGTON -- President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution.
Among the laws Bush said he can ignore are military rules and regulations, affirmative-action provisions, requirements that Congress be told about immigration services problems, "whistle-blower" protections for nuclear regulatory officials, and safeguards against political interference in federally funded research.
Legal scholars say the scope and aggression of Bush's assertions that he can bypass laws represent a concerted effort to expand his power at the expense of Congress, upsetting the balance between the branches of government. The Constitution is clear in assigning to Congress the power to write the laws and to the president a duty "to take care that the laws be faithfully executed." Bush, however, has repeatedly declared that he does not need to "execute" a law he believes is unconstitutional.
Former administration officials contend that just because Bush reserves the right to disobey a law does not mean he is not enforcing it: In many cases, he is simply asserting his belief that a certain requirement encroaches on presidential power. ...
Herbicide.
FTP: Investigators Focus on Limo Company
By Jo Becker and Charles R. Babcock
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Federal authorities are investigating allegations that a California defense contractor arranged for a Washington area limousine company to provide prostitutes to convicted former congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.) and possibly other lawmakers, sources familiar with the probe said yesterday.
In recent weeks, investigators have focused on possible dealings between Christopher D. Baker, president of Shirlington Limousine and Transportation Inc., and Brent R. Wilkes, a San Diego businessman who is under investigation for bribing Cunningham in return for millions of dollars in federal contracts, said one source, who requested anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.
Baker has a criminal record and has experienced financial difficulties, public records show. Last fall, his company was awarded a $21 million contract with the Department of Homeland Security to provide transportation, including limo service for senior officials. Baker and his lawyer declined to comment yesterday. ...
Randy's randy and corrupt. Many thanks to dear Redway420
By Jo Becker and Charles R. Babcock
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Federal authorities are investigating allegations that a California defense contractor arranged for a Washington area limousine company to provide prostitutes to convicted former congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.) and possibly other lawmakers, sources familiar with the probe said yesterday.
In recent weeks, investigators have focused on possible dealings between Christopher D. Baker, president of Shirlington Limousine and Transportation Inc., and Brent R. Wilkes, a San Diego businessman who is under investigation for bribing Cunningham in return for millions of dollars in federal contracts, said one source, who requested anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.
Baker has a criminal record and has experienced financial difficulties, public records show. Last fall, his company was awarded a $21 million contract with the Department of Homeland Security to provide transportation, including limo service for senior officials. Baker and his lawyer declined to comment yesterday. ...
Randy's randy and corrupt. Many thanks to dear Redway420
FTP: By THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: April 26, 2006
WASHINGTON, April 25 -- The United States attorney for Nevada has decided not to prosecute federal employees who admitted making up details about research involving the Energy Department's effort to open a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, the department's inspector general said Tuesday.
But the inspector general, Gregory H. Friedman, said the Yucca project had "internal control deficiencies" that allowed lapses that contributed to a loss of public confidence.
Mr. Friedman's findings were part of a report about e-mail messages sent by employees of the United States Geologic Survey who said they had made up details about their research about the mountain's geology.
After an examination of the e-mail messages, which were written from 1998 to 2000, "We could not find a satisfactory explanation as to why the e-mails had not been recognized as problematic years earlier," he said.
The department still has not made its research materials public, and has been unable to apply for a license for the project, which was supposed to begin burying waste in 1998.
Mr. Friedman said that the Energy Department was testing or replacing the Geological Survey work, using outside scientists. ...
Will Xtine66 ever be proud to be a Yankistani? Film at eleven.
Published: April 26, 2006
WASHINGTON, April 25 -- The United States attorney for Nevada has decided not to prosecute federal employees who admitted making up details about research involving the Energy Department's effort to open a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, the department's inspector general said Tuesday.
But the inspector general, Gregory H. Friedman, said the Yucca project had "internal control deficiencies" that allowed lapses that contributed to a loss of public confidence.
Mr. Friedman's findings were part of a report about e-mail messages sent by employees of the United States Geologic Survey who said they had made up details about their research about the mountain's geology.
After an examination of the e-mail messages, which were written from 1998 to 2000, "We could not find a satisfactory explanation as to why the e-mails had not been recognized as problematic years earlier," he said.
The department still has not made its research materials public, and has been unable to apply for a license for the project, which was supposed to begin burying waste in 1998.
Mr. Friedman said that the Energy Department was testing or replacing the Geological Survey work, using outside scientists. ...
Will Xtine66 ever be proud to be a Yankistani? Film at eleven.
FTP: "Don't Be Fooled By Insurance Lobbyists"
Medical Malpractice legislation is scheduled to come before the United States Senate. Some Members of Congress want to establish limits on the rights of victims in order to protect powerful special interests and corporations intent on protecting their bottom line - no matter the consequence. Urge your Senators to protect a victim's right to hold wrongdoers responsible for their actions.
Many thanks to dear Mu-Tiger!
Medical Malpractice legislation is scheduled to come before the United States Senate. Some Members of Congress want to establish limits on the rights of victims in order to protect powerful special interests and corporations intent on protecting their bottom line - no matter the consequence. Urge your Senators to protect a victim's right to hold wrongdoers responsible for their actions.
Many thanks to dear Mu-Tiger!
FTP: A study by a group that monitors the media reveals that, over a ten month span, 77 television stations from all across the nation aired video news releases without informing their viewers even once that the reports were actually sponsored content, RAW STORY has found.
One "news report" that aired on three stations relied on a video news release (VNR) produced by a PR firm on behalf of General Motors which was even apparently based on a "false claim."
Center for Media and Democracy's Fake TV News: Widespread and Undisclosed is "a multimedia report on television newsrooms' use of material provided by PR firms on behalf of paying clients," containing video footage of the 36 video news releases (VNRs) cited in the report, plus a map and spreadsheet of the stations cited.
General Motors, Intel, Pfizer and Capital One are among the companies who produced VNRs with the help of three PR firms, and "[m]ore than one-third of the time, stations aired the pre-packaged VNR in its entirety."
An Oklahoma City FOX station owned by Sinclair is pegged as the "report's top repeat offender," airing five VNRs in full on its news broadcasts, with "the publicist's original narration each time."
Can you say "integrity?"
You can't, can you?
Many thanks again to dear CaliVagabond
One "news report" that aired on three stations relied on a video news release (VNR) produced by a PR firm on behalf of General Motors which was even apparently based on a "false claim."
Center for Media and Democracy's Fake TV News: Widespread and Undisclosed is "a multimedia report on television newsrooms' use of material provided by PR firms on behalf of paying clients," containing video footage of the 36 video news releases (VNRs) cited in the report, plus a map and spreadsheet of the stations cited.
General Motors, Intel, Pfizer and Capital One are among the companies who produced VNRs with the help of three PR firms, and "[m]ore than one-third of the time, stations aired the pre-packaged VNR in its entirety."
An Oklahoma City FOX station owned by Sinclair is pegged as the "report's top repeat offender," airing five VNRs in full on its news broadcasts, with "the publicist's original narration each time."
Can you say "integrity?"
You can't, can you?
Many thanks again to dear CaliVagabond
FTP: Government Says Aspartame Is Good For You
AP calls study independent, omits previous human studies showing Aspartame danger
Paul Joseph Watson/Prison Planet.com | April 5 2006
The deadly toxin Aspartame which is included in more than 6,000 food and drink products around the world is good for you according to a new government study. The Associated Press falsely labels the results as independent and omits referencing previous human studies undertaken by groups with no corporate or government ties that concluded the opposite.
Associated Press health correspondent Marilynn Marchione seems to revel in suggesting the study is beyond reproach because it uses human subjects rather than rats.
"A huge federal study in people -- not rats -- takes the fizz out of arguments that the diet soda sweetener aspartame might raise the risk of cancer," smarms the article in an attempt to discredit last year's Italian study which linked aspartame to an increased risk of leukaemias and lymphomas in female lab rats "at doses very close to the acceptable daily intake for humans."
In putting the study in this context, the Associated Press has lied by omission. Numerous independent controlled studies (not ones conducted by corporations or government) using human subjects have concluded that aspartame is deadly. They are Camfield (1992), Elsas (1988), Gulya (1992), Koehler (1988), Kulczycki (1995), Spiers (1988), Van Den Eeden (1994), Walton (1993). Why doesn't the AP mention any of these studies?
Why doesn't the AP mention the fact that "out of 90 independently-funded studies, 83 of them found one or more
problems caused by aspartame. But out of the 74 studies funded by the aspartame industry (e.g., Monsanto, G.D. Searle, ILSI, etc.), every single one of them claimed that no problems were found?" ...
Many thanks to dear ZimZalabim
AP calls study independent, omits previous human studies showing Aspartame danger
Paul Joseph Watson/Prison Planet.com | April 5 2006
The deadly toxin Aspartame which is included in more than 6,000 food and drink products around the world is good for you according to a new government study. The Associated Press falsely labels the results as independent and omits referencing previous human studies undertaken by groups with no corporate or government ties that concluded the opposite.
Associated Press health correspondent Marilynn Marchione seems to revel in suggesting the study is beyond reproach because it uses human subjects rather than rats.
"A huge federal study in people -- not rats -- takes the fizz out of arguments that the diet soda sweetener aspartame might raise the risk of cancer," smarms the article in an attempt to discredit last year's Italian study which linked aspartame to an increased risk of leukaemias and lymphomas in female lab rats "at doses very close to the acceptable daily intake for humans."
In putting the study in this context, the Associated Press has lied by omission. Numerous independent controlled studies (not ones conducted by corporations or government) using human subjects have concluded that aspartame is deadly. They are Camfield (1992), Elsas (1988), Gulya (1992), Koehler (1988), Kulczycki (1995), Spiers (1988), Van Den Eeden (1994), Walton (1993). Why doesn't the AP mention any of these studies?
Why doesn't the AP mention the fact that "out of 90 independently-funded studies, 83 of them found one or more
problems caused by aspartame. But out of the 74 studies funded by the aspartame industry (e.g., Monsanto, G.D. Searle, ILSI, etc.), every single one of them claimed that no problems were found?" ...
Many thanks to dear ZimZalabim
Papers: Cheney Aide Says Bush OK'd Leak
Apr 6, 4:22 PM (ET)
By PETE YOST
WASHINGTON (AP) - Vice President Dick Cheney's former top aide told prosecutors that President Bush authorized a leak of sensitive intelligence information about Iraq, according to court papers filed by prosecutors in the CIA leak case.
The filing by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald also describes Cheney involvement in I. Lewis Libby's communications with the press.
There was no indication in the filing that either Bush or Cheney authorized Libby to disclose Valerie Plame's CIA identity. But it points to Cheney as one of the originators of the idea that Plame could be used to discredit her husband, Bush administration critic Joseph Wilson.
Before his indictment, Libby testified to the grand jury investigating the CIA leak that Cheney told him to pass on prewar intelligence on Iraq and that it was Bush who authorized the disclosure, the court papers say. According to the documents, the authorization led to the July 8, 2003, conversation between Libby and New York Times reporter Judith Miller. In that meeting, Libby made reference to the fact that Wilson's wife worked for the CIA.
According to Fitzgerald's court filing, Cheney, in conversation with Libby, raised the question of whether a CIA-sponsored trip by Wilson "was legitimate or whether it was in effect a junket set up by Mr. Wilson's wife."
The disclosure in documents filed Wednesday means that the president and the vice president put Libby in play as a secret provider of information to reporters about prewar intelligence on Iraq.
Presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said Thursday the White House would have no comment on the ongoing investigation. At a congressional hearing, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said the president has the "inherent authority to decide who should have classified information." ...
Is gonzales an Hispanic aristocrat or something?
Apr 6, 4:22 PM (ET)
By PETE YOST
WASHINGTON (AP) - Vice President Dick Cheney's former top aide told prosecutors that President Bush authorized a leak of sensitive intelligence information about Iraq, according to court papers filed by prosecutors in the CIA leak case.
The filing by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald also describes Cheney involvement in I. Lewis Libby's communications with the press.
There was no indication in the filing that either Bush or Cheney authorized Libby to disclose Valerie Plame's CIA identity. But it points to Cheney as one of the originators of the idea that Plame could be used to discredit her husband, Bush administration critic Joseph Wilson.
Before his indictment, Libby testified to the grand jury investigating the CIA leak that Cheney told him to pass on prewar intelligence on Iraq and that it was Bush who authorized the disclosure, the court papers say. According to the documents, the authorization led to the July 8, 2003, conversation between Libby and New York Times reporter Judith Miller. In that meeting, Libby made reference to the fact that Wilson's wife worked for the CIA.
According to Fitzgerald's court filing, Cheney, in conversation with Libby, raised the question of whether a CIA-sponsored trip by Wilson "was legitimate or whether it was in effect a junket set up by Mr. Wilson's wife."
The disclosure in documents filed Wednesday means that the president and the vice president put Libby in play as a secret provider of information to reporters about prewar intelligence on Iraq.
Presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said Thursday the White House would have no comment on the ongoing investigation. At a congressional hearing, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said the president has the "inherent authority to decide who should have classified information." ...
Is gonzales an Hispanic aristocrat or something?
By WILLIAM J. BROAD
Published: April 2, 2006
A senior Congressional investigator has accused his agency of covering up a scientific fraud among builders of a $26 billion system meant to shield the nation from nuclear attack. The disputed weapon is the centerpiece of the Bush administration's antimissile plan, which is expected to cost more than $250 billion over the next two decades.
The investigator, Subrata Ghoshroy of the Government Accountability Office, led technical analyses of a prototype warhead for the antimissile weapon in an 18-month study, winning awards for his "great care" and "tremendous skill and patience."
Mr. Ghoshroy now says his agency ignored evidence that the two main contractors had doctored data, skewed test results and made false statements in a 2002 report that credited the contractors with revealing the warhead's failings to the government.
The agency strongly denied his accusations, insisting that its antimissile report was impartial and that it was right to exonerate the contractors of a coverup.
The dispute is unusual. Rarely in the 85-year history of the G.A.O., an investigative arm of Congress with a reputation for nonpartisan accuracy, has a dissenter emerged publicly from its ranks.
And Mr. Ghoshroy's assertions raise new questions about the Boeing Company's military arm, the main contractor for the troubled $26 billion system of interceptor rockets now being installed in Alaska and California. The system's "kill vehicles" are to zoom into space and destroy enemy warheads by force of impact. ...
Published: April 2, 2006
A senior Congressional investigator has accused his agency of covering up a scientific fraud among builders of a $26 billion system meant to shield the nation from nuclear attack. The disputed weapon is the centerpiece of the Bush administration's antimissile plan, which is expected to cost more than $250 billion over the next two decades.
The investigator, Subrata Ghoshroy of the Government Accountability Office, led technical analyses of a prototype warhead for the antimissile weapon in an 18-month study, winning awards for his "great care" and "tremendous skill and patience."
Mr. Ghoshroy now says his agency ignored evidence that the two main contractors had doctored data, skewed test results and made false statements in a 2002 report that credited the contractors with revealing the warhead's failings to the government.
The agency strongly denied his accusations, insisting that its antimissile report was impartial and that it was right to exonerate the contractors of a coverup.
The dispute is unusual. Rarely in the 85-year history of the G.A.O., an investigative arm of Congress with a reputation for nonpartisan accuracy, has a dissenter emerged publicly from its ranks.
And Mr. Ghoshroy's assertions raise new questions about the Boeing Company's military arm, the main contractor for the troubled $26 billion system of interceptor rockets now being installed in Alaska and California. The system's "kill vehicles" are to zoom into space and destroy enemy warheads by force of impact. ...
FTP: ... How is it possible that after three years of occupation and billions of dollars of spending, hospitals are still short of basic supplies? Part of the cause is ideological tunnel-vision. For months before the war the US state department had been drawing up plans for the postwar reconstruction, but those plans were junked when the Pentagon took over.
To supervise the reconstruction of the Iraqi health service, the Pentagon appointed James Haveman, a former health administrator from Michigan. He was also a loyal Bush supporter, who had campaigned for Jeb Bush, and a committed evangelical Christian. But he had virtually no experience in international health work.
The coalition's health programme was by any standards a failure. Basic equipment and drugs should have been distributed within months - the coalition wouldn't even have had to pay for it. But they missed that chance, not just in health, but in every other area of life in Iraq. As disgruntled Iraqis will often point out, despite far greater devastation and crushing sanctions, Saddam did more to rebuild Iraq in six months after the first Gulf war than the coalition has managed in three years.
Kees Reitfield, a health professional with 20 years' experience in post-conflict health care from Kosovo to Somalia, was in Iraq from the very beginning of the war and looked on in astonishment at the US management in its aftermath. "Everybody in Iraq was ready for three months' chaos," he says. "They had water for three months, they had food for three months, they were ready to wait for three months. I said, we've got until early August to show an improvement, some drugs in the health centres, some improvement of electricity in the grid, some fuel prices going down. Failure to deliver will mean civil unrest." He was right.
Of course, no one can say that if the Americans had got the reconstruction right it would have been enough. There were too many other mistakes as well, such as a policy of crude "deBa'athification" that saw Iraqi expertise marginalised, the creation of a sectarian government and the Americans attempting to foster friendship with Iraqis who themselves had no friends among other Iraqis.
Another experienced health worker, Mary Patterson - who was eventually asked to leave Iraq by James Haveman - characterises the Coalition's approach thus: "I believe it had a lot to do with showing that the US was in control," she says. "I believe that it had to do with rewarding people that were politically loyal. So rather than being a technical agenda, I believe it was largely a politically motivated reward-and-punishment kind of agenda."
Which sounds like the way Saddam used to run the country. "If you were to interview Iraqis today about what they see day to day," she says, "I think they will tell you that they don't see a lot of difference".
Thanks to dear Grayem
To supervise the reconstruction of the Iraqi health service, the Pentagon appointed James Haveman, a former health administrator from Michigan. He was also a loyal Bush supporter, who had campaigned for Jeb Bush, and a committed evangelical Christian. But he had virtually no experience in international health work.
The coalition's health programme was by any standards a failure. Basic equipment and drugs should have been distributed within months - the coalition wouldn't even have had to pay for it. But they missed that chance, not just in health, but in every other area of life in Iraq. As disgruntled Iraqis will often point out, despite far greater devastation and crushing sanctions, Saddam did more to rebuild Iraq in six months after the first Gulf war than the coalition has managed in three years.
Kees Reitfield, a health professional with 20 years' experience in post-conflict health care from Kosovo to Somalia, was in Iraq from the very beginning of the war and looked on in astonishment at the US management in its aftermath. "Everybody in Iraq was ready for three months' chaos," he says. "They had water for three months, they had food for three months, they were ready to wait for three months. I said, we've got until early August to show an improvement, some drugs in the health centres, some improvement of electricity in the grid, some fuel prices going down. Failure to deliver will mean civil unrest." He was right.
Of course, no one can say that if the Americans had got the reconstruction right it would have been enough. There were too many other mistakes as well, such as a policy of crude "deBa'athification" that saw Iraqi expertise marginalised, the creation of a sectarian government and the Americans attempting to foster friendship with Iraqis who themselves had no friends among other Iraqis.
Another experienced health worker, Mary Patterson - who was eventually asked to leave Iraq by James Haveman - characterises the Coalition's approach thus: "I believe it had a lot to do with showing that the US was in control," she says. "I believe that it had to do with rewarding people that were politically loyal. So rather than being a technical agenda, I believe it was largely a politically motivated reward-and-punishment kind of agenda."
Which sounds like the way Saddam used to run the country. "If you were to interview Iraqis today about what they see day to day," she says, "I think they will tell you that they don't see a lot of difference".
Thanks to dear Grayem
FTP: Bush Signs Bill That Didn't Pass Congress
Wilfully violates Constitution and places himself above the law again
Paul Joseph Watson/Prison Planet.com | March 18 2006
In an amazing development that has received almost no media attention, mainstream or alternative, President Bush again placed himself above the law and wilfully violated the Constitution by signing into law a bill that didn't pass both Houses of Congress.
According to representative Henry Waxman, Bush signed into law a version of the Budget Reconciliation Act that didn't pass Congress. The discrepancy between the version Bush signed and the actual bill that passed equates to a value of $2 billion.
Bush knew he was directly violating the Constitution and effectively acting as a despot because he received a call from the Speaker of the House before signing the bill, warning him that it had not been passed.
The Presentment Clause of the U.S. Constitution states that before a bill can become law, it must be passed by both Houses of Congress.
Over the past two years Bush staffers and advisors like John Yoo and Alberto Gonzales and Senators like Pat Roberts have declared in their own memos that Bush is above the law and therefore above the very US Constitution that he swore to protect and defend. ...
Wilfully violates Constitution and places himself above the law again
Paul Joseph Watson/Prison Planet.com | March 18 2006
In an amazing development that has received almost no media attention, mainstream or alternative, President Bush again placed himself above the law and wilfully violated the Constitution by signing into law a bill that didn't pass both Houses of Congress.
According to representative Henry Waxman, Bush signed into law a version of the Budget Reconciliation Act that didn't pass Congress. The discrepancy between the version Bush signed and the actual bill that passed equates to a value of $2 billion.
Bush knew he was directly violating the Constitution and effectively acting as a despot because he received a call from the Speaker of the House before signing the bill, warning him that it had not been passed.
The Presentment Clause of the U.S. Constitution states that before a bill can become law, it must be passed by both Houses of Congress.
Over the past two years Bush staffers and advisors like John Yoo and Alberto Gonzales and Senators like Pat Roberts have declared in their own memos that Bush is above the law and therefore above the very US Constitution that he swore to protect and defend. ...
It is clear now that the president has been repeatedly and willingly breaking the law to wiretap American citizens without a warrant. Congress must hold him accountable, and a reasonable first step is censure to show formal Congressional condemnation for his lawbreaking.
Sign and send it on!
Sign and send it on!
People who receive medical care under employer-sponsored ERISA plans would effectively lose their ability to recover for injuries caused by a negligent wrongdoer. Existing law presently forbids this result - the Conference Report on the Pension Bill should not now allow it.
Disgusting and frightening.
Disgusting and frightening.
House Moves to Strip Food Warning Labels
By LIBBY QUAID (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
March 08, 2006 11:04 PM EST
WASHINGTON - The House voted Wednesday to strip many warnings from food labels, potentially affecting alerts about arsenic in bottled water, lead in candy and allergy-causing sulfites, among others.
Pushed by food companies seeking uniform labels across state lines, the bill would prevent states from adding food warnings that go beyond federal law. States could petition the Food and Drug Administration to add extra warnings, under the bill.
Lawmakers approved the bill on a 283-139 vote. Supporters expect a Senate version of the bill to be introduced soon.
"This bill is going to overturn 200 state laws that protect our food supply," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. "Why are we doing that? What's wrong with our system of federalism?"
...Nationwide, as many as 200 state laws or regulations could be affected, according to the Congressional Budget Office. They include warnings about lead and alcohol in candy, arsenic in bottled water and many others.
The government would spend at least $100 million to answer petitions for tougher state rules, according to CBO.
Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif. noted the bill's supporters have personal ties to food industry lobbyists.
"This is not about consumers. This is about special interests," she said.
California is a primary target of the legislation. There, the voter-passed Proposition 65 requires companies to warn the public of potentially dangerous toxins in food. California has filed lawsuits seeking an array of warnings, including the mercury content of canned tuna and the presence of lead in Mexican candy.
Why is there lead and alcohol in candy? Why is arsenic in bottled water? Where and what do these politicians eat?
By LIBBY QUAID (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
March 08, 2006 11:04 PM EST
WASHINGTON - The House voted Wednesday to strip many warnings from food labels, potentially affecting alerts about arsenic in bottled water, lead in candy and allergy-causing sulfites, among others.
Pushed by food companies seeking uniform labels across state lines, the bill would prevent states from adding food warnings that go beyond federal law. States could petition the Food and Drug Administration to add extra warnings, under the bill.
Lawmakers approved the bill on a 283-139 vote. Supporters expect a Senate version of the bill to be introduced soon.
"This bill is going to overturn 200 state laws that protect our food supply," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. "Why are we doing that? What's wrong with our system of federalism?"
...Nationwide, as many as 200 state laws or regulations could be affected, according to the Congressional Budget Office. They include warnings about lead and alcohol in candy, arsenic in bottled water and many others.
The government would spend at least $100 million to answer petitions for tougher state rules, according to CBO.
Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif. noted the bill's supporters have personal ties to food industry lobbyists.
"This is not about consumers. This is about special interests," she said.
California is a primary target of the legislation. There, the voter-passed Proposition 65 requires companies to warn the public of potentially dangerous toxins in food. California has filed lawsuits seeking an array of warnings, including the mercury content of canned tuna and the presence of lead in Mexican candy.
Why is there lead and alcohol in candy? Why is arsenic in bottled water? Where and what do these politicians eat?
FTP: Alito Thank-You Letter To Religious Right Leader Is Grossly Inappropriate, Says Americans United
Wednesday, March 1, 2006
New High Court Justice Should Follow Command Of Constitution, Not Dobson, Asserts Church-State Watchdog Group
Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito has sent a cloying thank-you note to Focus on the Family head James C. Dobson, a move Americans United for Separation of Church and State says is further evidence the new justice is firmly in the pocket of the Religious Right.
"Justice Alito should follow the commands of the Constitution, not the orders of Dobson and the Religious Right," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. "This note strongly suggests that Alito is carrying out a right-wing agenda instead of being a justice for all.
"This is grossly inappropriate," said Lynn. "Alito sounds like a political candidate doing a victory lap and thanking his backers rather than being a fair and independent judge."
The Associated Press reported today Dobson received a six-paragraph personal note from Alito. In the letter, Alito thanked Dobson for backing his nomination to the Supreme Court.
Read the note, "This is just a short note to express my heartfelt thanks to you and the entire staff of Focus on the Family for your help and support during the past few challenging months. I would also greatly appreciate it if you would convey my appreciation to the good people from all parts of the country who wrote to tell me that they were praying for me and for my family during this period."
Alito went on to write, "As long as I serve on the Supreme Court I will keep in mind the trust that has been placed in me" and expressed his desire for a personal meeting with Dobson.
Dobson and other Religious Right leaders enthusiastically backed Alito's confirmation because they think he will restrict civil rights and civil liberties and rule against church-state separation. {Emphasis mine}
These people ain't worshippin' no God that enjoys Sunlight I tell you what.
Wednesday, March 1, 2006
New High Court Justice Should Follow Command Of Constitution, Not Dobson, Asserts Church-State Watchdog Group
Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito has sent a cloying thank-you note to Focus on the Family head James C. Dobson, a move Americans United for Separation of Church and State says is further evidence the new justice is firmly in the pocket of the Religious Right.
"Justice Alito should follow the commands of the Constitution, not the orders of Dobson and the Religious Right," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. "This note strongly suggests that Alito is carrying out a right-wing agenda instead of being a justice for all.
"This is grossly inappropriate," said Lynn. "Alito sounds like a political candidate doing a victory lap and thanking his backers rather than being a fair and independent judge."
The Associated Press reported today Dobson received a six-paragraph personal note from Alito. In the letter, Alito thanked Dobson for backing his nomination to the Supreme Court.
Read the note, "This is just a short note to express my heartfelt thanks to you and the entire staff of Focus on the Family for your help and support during the past few challenging months. I would also greatly appreciate it if you would convey my appreciation to the good people from all parts of the country who wrote to tell me that they were praying for me and for my family during this period."
Alito went on to write, "As long as I serve on the Supreme Court I will keep in mind the trust that has been placed in me" and expressed his desire for a personal meeting with Dobson.
Dobson and other Religious Right leaders enthusiastically backed Alito's confirmation because they think he will restrict civil rights and civil liberties and rule against church-state separation. {Emphasis mine}
These people ain't worshippin' no God that enjoys Sunlight I tell you what.
The Impeach Bush Referendum
I want my representative in the U.S. House of Representatives to vote to impeach President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard B. Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for high crimes and misdemeanors, and to have the case prosecuted and tried in the U.S. Senate.
AMEN. His handling (sic) of the New Orleans disaster is reason enough to impeach this insult to human DNA.
I want my representative in the U.S. House of Representatives to vote to impeach President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard B. Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for high crimes and misdemeanors, and to have the case prosecuted and tried in the U.S. Senate.
AMEN. His handling (sic) of the New Orleans disaster is reason enough to impeach this insult to human DNA.
Don't read this, sign it and send it on!
FTP: "In its new book, Articles of Impeachment Against George W. Bush, the Center for Constitutional Rights makes it clear that by illegally spying on U.S. citizens, lying to the American people about the Iraq war, seizing undue executive power, and sending people to be tortured overseas, President Bush is unfit to lead this country.
Here is how you can get involved:
Join CCR and a growing number of U.S. Representatives in calling for a select committee to investigate the possibility of impeachment by filling out the form below."
Here is how you can get involved:
Join CCR and a growing number of U.S. Representatives in calling for a select committee to investigate the possibility of impeachment by filling out the form below."
FTP: The state Division of Elections has refused to turn over its electronic voting files to the Democrats, arguing that the data format belongs to a private company and can't be made public.
The Alaska Democratic Party says the information is a public record essential for verifying the accuracy of the 2004 general election and must be provided.
The official vote results from the last general election are riddled with discrepancies and impossible for the public to make sense of, the Democrats said Monday. A detailed analysis of the underlying data could answer lingering questions about an election many thought was over more than a year ago, they say.
"Basically what they say is they want to give us a printout from the (electronic) file. They don't want to give us the file itself. It doesn't enable us to get to the bottom of what we need to know," said Kay Brown, spokeswoman for the party.
Die, die, diebold!
Thanks, mu-tiger
The Alaska Democratic Party says the information is a public record essential for verifying the accuracy of the 2004 general election and must be provided.
The official vote results from the last general election are riddled with discrepancies and impossible for the public to make sense of, the Democrats said Monday. A detailed analysis of the underlying data could answer lingering questions about an election many thought was over more than a year ago, they say.
"Basically what they say is they want to give us a printout from the (electronic) file. They don't want to give us the file itself. It doesn't enable us to get to the bottom of what we need to know," said Kay Brown, spokeswoman for the party.
Die, die, diebold!
Thanks, mu-tiger
FTP: The top climate scientist at NASA says the Bush administration has tried to stop him from speaking out since he gave a lecture last month calling for prompt reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases linked to global warming.
The scientist, James E. Hansen, longtime director of the agency's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said in an interview that officials at NASA headquarters had ordered the public affairs staff to review his coming lectures, papers, postings on the Goddard Web site and requests for interviews from journalists.
Dr. Hansen said he would ignore the restrictions. "They feel their job is to be this censor of information going out to the public," he said.
Dean Acosta, deputy assistant administrator for public affairs at the space agency, said there was no effort to silence Dr. Hansen. "That's not the way we operate here at NASA," he said. "We promote openness and we speak with the facts."
Mr. Acosta said the restrictions on Dr. Hansen applied to all National Aeronautics and Space Administration personnel whom the public could perceive as speaking for the agency. He added that government scientists were free to discuss scientific findings, but that policy statements should be left to policy makers and appointed spokesmen.
The scientist, James E. Hansen, longtime director of the agency's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said in an interview that officials at NASA headquarters had ordered the public affairs staff to review his coming lectures, papers, postings on the Goddard Web site and requests for interviews from journalists.
Dr. Hansen said he would ignore the restrictions. "They feel their job is to be this censor of information going out to the public," he said.
Dean Acosta, deputy assistant administrator for public affairs at the space agency, said there was no effort to silence Dr. Hansen. "That's not the way we operate here at NASA," he said. "We promote openness and we speak with the facts."
Mr. Acosta said the restrictions on Dr. Hansen applied to all National Aeronautics and Space Administration personnel whom the public could perceive as speaking for the agency. He added that government scientists were free to discuss scientific findings, but that policy statements should be left to policy makers and appointed spokesmen.
FTP: Cash meant for Iraqis 'misused'
Large bundles of cash meant for Iraq's reconstruction were stashed in filing cabinets, handed over without receipts and gambled away, a report has found.
The audit, by US-appointed inspectors, paints a picture of the chaotic misuse of millions of dollars of funds.
The lack of oversight had a tragic outcome in one case, when a hospital lift, supposed to have been fixed, crashed killing three people.
...One official kept $2m (1.1m) in a bathroom safe, while another allegedly stole $100,000 from a colleague's unsecured stash to balance his own books, investigators found. Payment was handed over for projects without any official contract being drawn up or checks on the work carried out. More than 2,000 contracts were found to be at fault. In one case a contractor was paid $100,000 to refurbish an Olympic swimming pool. US officials certified the work was complete, but it later turned out that the contractor had just polished the equipment, which was found to be defective. The pool has not been used since. One US military assistant is said to have gambled away up to $60,000 while accompanying the Iraqi Olympic team to the Philippines. "What's sad about it is that, considering the destruction in the country, with looting and so on, we needed every dollar for reconstruction," Wayne White, a former US state department official, told the New York Times. Correspondents say the authorities are struggling to make Iraq's infrastructure reliable. Previous findings by SIGIR have resulted in corruption charges against four Americans.
Thanks to dear Grayem
Large bundles of cash meant for Iraq's reconstruction were stashed in filing cabinets, handed over without receipts and gambled away, a report has found.
The audit, by US-appointed inspectors, paints a picture of the chaotic misuse of millions of dollars of funds.
The lack of oversight had a tragic outcome in one case, when a hospital lift, supposed to have been fixed, crashed killing three people.
...One official kept $2m (1.1m) in a bathroom safe, while another allegedly stole $100,000 from a colleague's unsecured stash to balance his own books, investigators found. Payment was handed over for projects without any official contract being drawn up or checks on the work carried out. More than 2,000 contracts were found to be at fault. In one case a contractor was paid $100,000 to refurbish an Olympic swimming pool. US officials certified the work was complete, but it later turned out that the contractor had just polished the equipment, which was found to be defective. The pool has not been used since. One US military assistant is said to have gambled away up to $60,000 while accompanying the Iraqi Olympic team to the Philippines. "What's sad about it is that, considering the destruction in the country, with looting and so on, we needed every dollar for reconstruction," Wayne White, a former US state department official, told the New York Times. Correspondents say the authorities are struggling to make Iraq's infrastructure reliable. Previous findings by SIGIR have resulted in corruption charges against four Americans.
Thanks to dear Grayem
FTP: US charts the chaos of Iraq's reconstruction programme
By Rupert Cornwell in Washington
Published: 25 January 2006
A new report by the American government has highlighted the chaos of Washington's post-war reconstruction programme in Iraq, hamstrung from the start by inadequate staffing, bureaucratic infighting and mounting security costs.
The document, prepared last month by the programme's official watchdog agency, seems likely to add to the mounting pressure here for the US to extricate itself from Iraq, financially as well as militarily. Since the invasion in March 2003, the Bush administration has allocated $21bn (12bn) into rebuilding the country, of which $18bn has already been allocated. But the White House will ask for no further funds in the budget request for the fiscal year starting next October, signalling its intention to wind down spending.
The report, leaked to The New York Times, confirms a picture that has long been obvious. Iraq's oil, electricity and water industries are struggling to return to pre-war levels of output, hindered by poor organisation, feuding between branches of government and an insurgency that grows month by month. Security routinely swallows more than 25 per cent of spending.
Thanks, Grayem
By Rupert Cornwell in Washington
Published: 25 January 2006
A new report by the American government has highlighted the chaos of Washington's post-war reconstruction programme in Iraq, hamstrung from the start by inadequate staffing, bureaucratic infighting and mounting security costs.
The document, prepared last month by the programme's official watchdog agency, seems likely to add to the mounting pressure here for the US to extricate itself from Iraq, financially as well as militarily. Since the invasion in March 2003, the Bush administration has allocated $21bn (12bn) into rebuilding the country, of which $18bn has already been allocated. But the White House will ask for no further funds in the budget request for the fiscal year starting next October, signalling its intention to wind down spending.
The report, leaked to The New York Times, confirms a picture that has long been obvious. Iraq's oil, electricity and water industries are struggling to return to pre-war levels of output, hindered by poor organisation, feuding between branches of government and an insurgency that grows month by month. Security routinely swallows more than 25 per cent of spending.
Thanks, Grayem
FTP: According to State Department sources, the United States has laid down an ultimatum to Iran. However, this ultimatum has nothing to do with Iran's nuclear program. Former U.S. ambassador to Turkmenistan Steven R. Mann, who is also the State Department's Special Negotiator for Eurasian Conflicts and Senior Adviser on Caspian Basin Energy Diplomacy, recently warned Iran against building a pipeline to India.
Mann, who was involved in successful negotiations on the building of the CentGas pipeline from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan to Pakistan and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, travels around central and south Asia helping to negotiate favorable pipeline and drilling deals for U.S. oil and natural gas companies. However, when it comes to U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mann strongly denies that they are being fought for oil and gas. That contention is usually met with stifled laughter from attendees at seminars and meetings in Washington and Asia.
Yeah, I bet! Thanks, Grayem!
Mann, who was involved in successful negotiations on the building of the CentGas pipeline from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan to Pakistan and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, travels around central and south Asia helping to negotiate favorable pipeline and drilling deals for U.S. oil and natural gas companies. However, when it comes to U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mann strongly denies that they are being fought for oil and gas. That contention is usually met with stifled laughter from attendees at seminars and meetings in Washington and Asia.
Yeah, I bet! Thanks, Grayem!
FTP: WASHINGTON --Troops and civilians at a U.S. military base in Iraq were exposed to contaminated water last year and employees for the responsible contractor, Halliburton, couldn't get their company to inform camp residents, according to interviews and internal company documents.
Halliburton, the company formerly headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, disputes the allegations about water problems at Camp Junction City, in Ramadi, even though they were made by its own employees and documented in company e-mails.
"We exposed a base camp population (military and civilian) to a water source that was not treated," said a July 15, 2005, memo written by William Granger, the official for Halliburton's KBR subsidiary who was in charge of water quality in Iraq and Kuwait.
"The level of contamination was roughly 2x the normal contamination of untreated water from the Euphrates River," Granger wrote in one of several documents. The Associated Press obtained the documents from Senate Democrats who are holding a public inquiry into the allegations Monday.
Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., who will chair the session, held a number of similar inquiries last year on contracting abuses in Iraq. He said Democrats were acting on their own because they had not been able to persuade Republican committee chairmen to investigate.
Okay. We're gonna send you to Iraq to secure the oil there. We won't give you decent body armor, your vehicles will also lack suffient armor, and we're going to poison you into the bargain. We'll expose you (and Iraqi civilians) to all kinds of horrible new and (banned) old chemicals.
Halliburton, the company formerly headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, disputes the allegations about water problems at Camp Junction City, in Ramadi, even though they were made by its own employees and documented in company e-mails.
"We exposed a base camp population (military and civilian) to a water source that was not treated," said a July 15, 2005, memo written by William Granger, the official for Halliburton's KBR subsidiary who was in charge of water quality in Iraq and Kuwait.
"The level of contamination was roughly 2x the normal contamination of untreated water from the Euphrates River," Granger wrote in one of several documents. The Associated Press obtained the documents from Senate Democrats who are holding a public inquiry into the allegations Monday.
Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., who will chair the session, held a number of similar inquiries last year on contracting abuses in Iraq. He said Democrats were acting on their own because they had not been able to persuade Republican committee chairmen to investigate.
Okay. We're gonna send you to Iraq to secure the oil there. We won't give you decent body armor, your vehicles will also lack suffient armor, and we're going to poison you into the bargain. We'll expose you (and Iraqi civilians) to all kinds of horrible new and (banned) old chemicals.
FTP: For more than 800 members of the Army's Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), the most memorable part of the holiday season was a surprise stocking-stuffer from the United States Army. It came in the form of a blue and white Western Union Mailgram that ordered them to report for active duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Eric, a second year law student, who completed four years of active duty in 2002, was at his parents' house on Christmas Eve when they handed him what looked like an innocuous piece of mail from the Secretary of the Army. "I was pretty shocked," Eric (not his real name) says. "I went up to my room and hyperventilated for a bit and then came back down and didn't tell anyone for two days. I didn't want to ruin Christmas."
You might remember this practice by the name critics gave it during the 2004 presidential election: the "backdoor draft." In June of that year, the Pentagon announced the initial call-ups of the IRR--a rarely-deployed group of about 114,000 soldiers who have completed their active duty requirements and returned to civilian life. This raised the specter of unwilling combatants being pulled back into military service against their will, generating headlines, controversy and uncomfortable memories of Vietnam. It also proved to be such a headache to administer that in November 2005 the Army appeared to capitulate to pressure by suspending the program. But as In These Times has learned, the program has not been suspended. In exclusive interviews, six soldiers who received mobilization orders expressed anger and frustration about what they say is a bad-faith effort by the Army to wring extra service out those who are about to complete their service commitment. Nearly all asked that their names be changed in this article for fear of reprisal as they negotiate their responses to these orders.
I feel sick again. Thanks, Grayem
Eric, a second year law student, who completed four years of active duty in 2002, was at his parents' house on Christmas Eve when they handed him what looked like an innocuous piece of mail from the Secretary of the Army. "I was pretty shocked," Eric (not his real name) says. "I went up to my room and hyperventilated for a bit and then came back down and didn't tell anyone for two days. I didn't want to ruin Christmas."
You might remember this practice by the name critics gave it during the 2004 presidential election: the "backdoor draft." In June of that year, the Pentagon announced the initial call-ups of the IRR--a rarely-deployed group of about 114,000 soldiers who have completed their active duty requirements and returned to civilian life. This raised the specter of unwilling combatants being pulled back into military service against their will, generating headlines, controversy and uncomfortable memories of Vietnam. It also proved to be such a headache to administer that in November 2005 the Army appeared to capitulate to pressure by suspending the program. But as In These Times has learned, the program has not been suspended. In exclusive interviews, six soldiers who received mobilization orders expressed anger and frustration about what they say is a bad-faith effort by the Army to wring extra service out those who are about to complete their service commitment. Nearly all asked that their names be changed in this article for fear of reprisal as they negotiate their responses to these orders.
I feel sick again. Thanks, Grayem
FTP: Some of Tony Blair's remarks in the row over so-called extraordinary rendition have already raised a few eyebrows.
Both in the Commons and during his monthly press conference in December he appeared to suggest he knew nothing about the alleged practice, or that he had no evidence one way or the other, so was not going to launch an investigation into it.
On 7 December, he told then Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy, who led demands for an explanation: "I don't know what he's referring to."
And at his press conference on 21 December, he declared: "I am not going to start ordering inquiries into this, that or the next thing when I have got no evidence to show whether this is right or not."
That led to some rather puzzled questions from observers that, if he truly had no idea what was going on, should he not be finding out.
It was also remarked that he appeared to be unusually reluctant to get into the issue at all.
Gotta love ol' bliar.
Both in the Commons and during his monthly press conference in December he appeared to suggest he knew nothing about the alleged practice, or that he had no evidence one way or the other, so was not going to launch an investigation into it.
On 7 December, he told then Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy, who led demands for an explanation: "I don't know what he's referring to."
And at his press conference on 21 December, he declared: "I am not going to start ordering inquiries into this, that or the next thing when I have got no evidence to show whether this is right or not."
That led to some rather puzzled questions from observers that, if he truly had no idea what was going on, should he not be finding out.
It was also remarked that he appeared to be unusually reluctant to get into the issue at all.
Gotta love ol' bliar.
From the page: "The National Election Data Archive (NEDA) is the first mathematical team to release a valid scientific analysis of the precinct-level 2004 Ohio presidential exit poll data. NEDA's analysis provides virtually irrefutable evidence of vote miscount.
(PRWEB) January 17, 2006 -- There is significant controversy about whether the 2004 presidential election was conducted fairly and its votes counted correctly. According to results of the major national election exit poll conducted for the National Election Pool by Edison/Mitofsky (E/M), Kerry won Ohio's pivotal vote, though the official tally gave the state, and thus the presidency, to Bush. The conduct of Ohio's election was formally debated by Congress in January 2005.
The National Election Data Archive (NEDA) is the first mathematical team to release a valid scientific analysis of the precinct-level 2004 Ohio presidential exit poll data "The Gun is Smoking: 2004 Ohio Precinct-level Exit Poll Data Show Virtually Irrefutable Evidence of Vote Miscount" available at http://electionarchive.org/ucvAnalysis/OH/Ohio-Exit-Polls-2004.pdf. NEDA's analysis provides significant evidence of an outcome-altering vote miscount.
The analysis is based on the most accurate statistical method yet devised for determining whether exit poll error, random variations, or vote count manipulation cause the discrepancies between exit polls and official vote tallies. This analysis method was made public recently by NEDA in "Vote Miscounts or Exit Poll Error? New Mathematical Function for Analyzing Exit Poll Discrepancy" available at http://electionarchive.org/ucvAnalysis/US/Exit-Poll-Analysis.pdf"
Thanks, Voyyaghar
(PRWEB) January 17, 2006 -- There is significant controversy about whether the 2004 presidential election was conducted fairly and its votes counted correctly. According to results of the major national election exit poll conducted for the National Election Pool by Edison/Mitofsky (E/M), Kerry won Ohio's pivotal vote, though the official tally gave the state, and thus the presidency, to Bush. The conduct of Ohio's election was formally debated by Congress in January 2005.
The National Election Data Archive (NEDA) is the first mathematical team to release a valid scientific analysis of the precinct-level 2004 Ohio presidential exit poll data "The Gun is Smoking: 2004 Ohio Precinct-level Exit Poll Data Show Virtually Irrefutable Evidence of Vote Miscount" available at http://electionarchive.org/ucvAnalysis/OH/Ohio-Exit-Polls-2004.pdf. NEDA's analysis provides significant evidence of an outcome-altering vote miscount.
The analysis is based on the most accurate statistical method yet devised for determining whether exit poll error, random variations, or vote count manipulation cause the discrepancies between exit polls and official vote tallies. This analysis method was made public recently by NEDA in "Vote Miscounts or Exit Poll Error? New Mathematical Function for Analyzing Exit Poll Discrepancy" available at http://electionarchive.org/ucvAnalysis/US/Exit-Poll-Analysis.pdf"
Thanks, Voyyaghar
FTP: "I can still remember the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach during those proceedings, when it became clear that the President had so systematically abused the powers of the presidency and so threatened the rule of law that he had to be removed from office. As a Democrat who opposed many of President Nixon's policies, I still found voting for his impeachment to be one of the most sobering and unpleasant tasks I ever had to undertake. None of the members of the committee took pleasure in voting for impeachment; after all, Democrat or Republican, Nixon was still our President.
At the time, I hoped that our committee's work would send a strong signal to future Presidents that they had to obey the rule of law. I was wrong."
You certainly were!
At the time, I hoped that our committee's work would send a strong signal to future Presidents that they had to obey the rule of law. I was wrong."
You certainly were!
FTP: "IRAN CAUSE FOR M3 FLUSH?
Tuesday, January 17, 2006 - FreeMarketNews.com
INITIAL POST 01.16.06
PROPHET TALK NEWS ANALYSIS
Is the Federal Reserve's recent surprise announcement - that it would stop releasing aggregate statistics on US dollars around the world - actually aimed at financial stabilization after the opening of an Iranian commodities bourse? That's the latest whispered 'Net rumor, and it is an intriguing one because the success of such a bourse could eventually cause the dollar to fall hard against other currencies.
The US "petrodollar" is the currency used to buy oil, and this has forced countries around the world to retain large reserves of dollars which they can purchase at US Treasury auctions. This, in turn, has allowed the US government to print virtually unlimited amounts of money - funding a powerful standing army and an ever-expanding [NB: currently ever-shrinking] array of public programs. The planned Iranian commodities bourse (slated now to open in the spring, apparently) will allow countries to purchase oil using a variety of currencies and even precious metals; this will mean that countries will need to hold fewer dollars and may in fact begin to disgorge them.
As dollars come back onto the market, their value will fall relative to other currencies. This will surely result in a lower living standard for Americans. The Fed is apparently betting that if it does not publish the number of aggregate dollars held around the world, especially the so-called petrodollar, then Americans will not be in a position of knowing how many dollars are returning home, nor how this is affecting American purchasing power or lifestyle. US citizens will notice the change only gradually, as they have fewer resources to buy luxuries - even necessities - and less capital available for business and trade ventures."
Great. I feel sick again.
Thanks (I think) Grayem
Tuesday, January 17, 2006 - FreeMarketNews.com
INITIAL POST 01.16.06
PROPHET TALK NEWS ANALYSIS
Is the Federal Reserve's recent surprise announcement - that it would stop releasing aggregate statistics on US dollars around the world - actually aimed at financial stabilization after the opening of an Iranian commodities bourse? That's the latest whispered 'Net rumor, and it is an intriguing one because the success of such a bourse could eventually cause the dollar to fall hard against other currencies.
The US "petrodollar" is the currency used to buy oil, and this has forced countries around the world to retain large reserves of dollars which they can purchase at US Treasury auctions. This, in turn, has allowed the US government to print virtually unlimited amounts of money - funding a powerful standing army and an ever-expanding [NB: currently ever-shrinking] array of public programs. The planned Iranian commodities bourse (slated now to open in the spring, apparently) will allow countries to purchase oil using a variety of currencies and even precious metals; this will mean that countries will need to hold fewer dollars and may in fact begin to disgorge them.
As dollars come back onto the market, their value will fall relative to other currencies. This will surely result in a lower living standard for Americans. The Fed is apparently betting that if it does not publish the number of aggregate dollars held around the world, especially the so-called petrodollar, then Americans will not be in a position of knowing how many dollars are returning home, nor how this is affecting American purchasing power or lifestyle. US citizens will notice the change only gradually, as they have fewer resources to buy luxuries - even necessities - and less capital available for business and trade ventures."
Great. I feel sick again.
Thanks (I think) Grayem
FTP: "The Bush administration reflexively blames "bad apples" rather than address[ing] a broken system and its own role in perpetuating it, but Rep. Major Owens, D-NY, was on target when he noted last year, "the federal government is itself guilty of gross negligence in efforts to deter corporate manslaughter."
Rather than solving that problem, Bush and Congress continue to exacerbate it. Since Bush took office, 17 proposed MSHA standards to protect miners' safety and health were discarded, and the number of mines referred by MSHA to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution has dropped from 38 in 2000 to 12 last year.
Compromising the agency's mission already driven away dedicated staff. Celeste Monforton, former special assistant at the MSHA for 6 years under the Clinton administration, told me she left a year after Bush took office because she "didn't want to be a disgruntled employee." Monforton believed Bush appointees were focused on "trying to be a friend and partner to industry instead of protecting workers."
Thanks, Zaxy
Rather than solving that problem, Bush and Congress continue to exacerbate it. Since Bush took office, 17 proposed MSHA standards to protect miners' safety and health were discarded, and the number of mines referred by MSHA to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution has dropped from 38 in 2000 to 12 last year.
Compromising the agency's mission already driven away dedicated staff. Celeste Monforton, former special assistant at the MSHA for 6 years under the Clinton administration, told me she left a year after Bush took office because she "didn't want to be a disgruntled employee." Monforton believed Bush appointees were focused on "trying to be a friend and partner to industry instead of protecting workers."
Thanks, Zaxy
FTP: "George Bush wants to create the new criminal of "disruptor" who can be jailed for the crime of "disruptive behavior." A "little-noticed provision" in the latest version of the Patriot Act will empower Secret Service to charge protesters with a new crime of "disrupting major events including political conventions and the Olympics."
The Secret Service would also be empowered to charge persons with "breaching security" and to charge for "entering a restricted area" which is "where the President or other person protected by the Secret Service is or will be temporarily visiting." In short, be sure to stay in those wired, fenced containments or free speech zones."
Bogseig min doloo
The Secret Service would also be empowered to charge persons with "breaching security" and to charge for "entering a restricted area" which is "where the President or other person protected by the Secret Service is or will be temporarily visiting." In short, be sure to stay in those wired, fenced containments or free speech zones."
Bogseig min doloo
FTP: "As explained by Kevin Phillips in his book, American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush, George W. Bush's businesses fail but he makes millions. Among Mr. Bush's business ventures:
* Arbusto, an oil exploration company, lost money, but it got considerable investments (nearly $5 million) because even losing oil investments were useful as tax shelters.
* Spectrum 7 Energy Corp. bought out Arbusto in 1984 and hired Mr. Bush to run the company's oil interests in Midland, Texas. The oil business collapsed as oil prices plummeted by 1986, and Spectrum 7 Energy was near failure.
* Harken Energy acquired Mr. Bush's Spectrum 7 Energy shares, and he got Harken shares, a directorship, and a consulting arrangement in return. Harken, under Bush, brought in Saudi real estate tycoon Sheikh Abdullah Bakhsh as a board member and a major investor. Over the next few years, Harken would turn out to have links to: Saudi money, CIA-connected Filipinos, the Harvard Endowment, the emir of Bahrain, and the shadowy Bank of Credit and Commerce International.
* A 1991 internal SEC document suggested George W. Bush violated federal securities law at least 4 times in the late 1980s and early 1990s in selling Harken stock while serving as a director of Harken. This is essentially the same kind of activity that Martha Stewart is going to prison over. Except at the time of the investigation, Mr. Bush's father was president and the case was quietly dropped."
He's making another fortune off Iraqi oil, the muu altsaasan yanhan.
Thanks, Grayem!
* Arbusto, an oil exploration company, lost money, but it got considerable investments (nearly $5 million) because even losing oil investments were useful as tax shelters.
* Spectrum 7 Energy Corp. bought out Arbusto in 1984 and hired Mr. Bush to run the company's oil interests in Midland, Texas. The oil business collapsed as oil prices plummeted by 1986, and Spectrum 7 Energy was near failure.
* Harken Energy acquired Mr. Bush's Spectrum 7 Energy shares, and he got Harken shares, a directorship, and a consulting arrangement in return. Harken, under Bush, brought in Saudi real estate tycoon Sheikh Abdullah Bakhsh as a board member and a major investor. Over the next few years, Harken would turn out to have links to: Saudi money, CIA-connected Filipinos, the Harvard Endowment, the emir of Bahrain, and the shadowy Bank of Credit and Commerce International.
* A 1991 internal SEC document suggested George W. Bush violated federal securities law at least 4 times in the late 1980s and early 1990s in selling Harken stock while serving as a director of Harken. This is essentially the same kind of activity that Martha Stewart is going to prison over. Except at the time of the investigation, Mr. Bush's father was president and the case was quietly dropped."
He's making another fortune off Iraqi oil, the muu altsaasan yanhan.
Thanks, Grayem!
FTP: "There are very graphic scenes of torture and abuse within this film. View at your own discretion, but spread the word so more may become informed. A British documentary on the extreme brutality of the American Prison System. One in every 150 American Citizens is in jail, with 5% of the World's Population, the US has 25% of the World's Prisoners, making the leading jailer in the world (even the counties they 'liberate' jail les of their population). The one time Land of the Free has become the Ultimate Prison State!"
Thanks, Grayem
Thanks, Grayem
FTP: "As the IRAQ WAR drags on, the BUSH ADMINISTRATION's attitude toward civil liberties has become a concern, with the American President repeatedly suggesting that the ruthlessness of the "enemy" justifies whatever steps it takes. The American nations is now more concerned about the country's security and civil liberties even more than the 9/11 attacks or the launch of their President's WAR ON TERROR.
Also although the White House keeps trying to abuse this term "war on terror" to include everything from the war in IRAQ to the protection of oil pipelines in Colombia, most of the Americans view this bogus war as the narrow term it represents, controlling the Middle East region and laying hands on its oil reserves.
THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT's persistent claim that his administration was after "terrorists" everywhere was seriously undermined from the very beginning by the illegal and brutal wars it waged ever since the bloody attack that killed thousands in the U.S. BUSH who defends his fake war to root out TERRORISM by saying that he's on a mission to bring democracy and protection of human rights has himself violated the basic human rights and continues to."
Thanks, Grayem
Also although the White House keeps trying to abuse this term "war on terror" to include everything from the war in IRAQ to the protection of oil pipelines in Colombia, most of the Americans view this bogus war as the narrow term it represents, controlling the Middle East region and laying hands on its oil reserves.
THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT's persistent claim that his administration was after "terrorists" everywhere was seriously undermined from the very beginning by the illegal and brutal wars it waged ever since the bloody attack that killed thousands in the U.S. BUSH who defends his fake war to root out TERRORISM by saying that he's on a mission to bring democracy and protection of human rights has himself violated the basic human rights and continues to."
Thanks, Grayem
FTP: "Hunger strikers are tied down and fed through nasal tubes, admits Guantnamo Bay doctor
David Rose
Sunday January 8, 2006
The Observer
New details have emerged of how the growing number of prisoners on hunger strike at Guantnamo Bay are being tied down and force-fed through tubes pushed down their nasal passages into their stomachs to keep them alive.
They routinely experience bleeding and nausea, according to a sworn statement by the camp's chief doctor, seen by The Observer.
'Experience teaches us' that such symptoms must be expected 'whenever nasogastric tubes are used,' says the affidavit of Captain John S Edmondson, commander of Guantnamo's hospital. The procedure - now standard practice at Guantnamo - 'requires that a foreign body be inserted into the body and, ideally, remain in it.' But staff always use a lubricant, and 'a nasogastric tube is never inserted and moved up and down. It is inserted down into the stomach slowly and directly, and it would be impossible to insert the wrong end of the tube.' Medical personnel do not insert nasogastric tubes in a manner 'intentionally designed to inflict pain.'"
Thanks, Voyyaghar and Grayem
David Rose
Sunday January 8, 2006
The Observer
New details have emerged of how the growing number of prisoners on hunger strike at Guantnamo Bay are being tied down and force-fed through tubes pushed down their nasal passages into their stomachs to keep them alive.
They routinely experience bleeding and nausea, according to a sworn statement by the camp's chief doctor, seen by The Observer.
'Experience teaches us' that such symptoms must be expected 'whenever nasogastric tubes are used,' says the affidavit of Captain John S Edmondson, commander of Guantnamo's hospital. The procedure - now standard practice at Guantnamo - 'requires that a foreign body be inserted into the body and, ideally, remain in it.' But staff always use a lubricant, and 'a nasogastric tube is never inserted and moved up and down. It is inserted down into the stomach slowly and directly, and it would be impossible to insert the wrong end of the tube.' Medical personnel do not insert nasogastric tubes in a manner 'intentionally designed to inflict pain.'"
Thanks, Voyyaghar and Grayem
FTP: "By MICHAEL MOSS
Published: January 6, 2006
A secret Pentagon study has found that at least 80 percent of the marines who have been killed in Iraq from wounds to their upper body could have survived if they had extra body armor. That armor has been available since 2003 but until recently the Pentagon has largely declined to supply it to troops despite calls from the field for additional protection, according to military officials."
Thanks, Voyyaghar!
Published: January 6, 2006
A secret Pentagon study has found that at least 80 percent of the marines who have been killed in Iraq from wounds to their upper body could have survived if they had extra body armor. That armor has been available since 2003 but until recently the Pentagon has largely declined to supply it to troops despite calls from the field for additional protection, according to military officials."
Thanks, Voyyaghar!
FTP: "House GOP Calls for DeLay Replacement
Jan 6, 10:55 PM (ET)
By DAVID ESPO
WASHINGTON (AP) - Embattled Rep. Tom DeLay's hopes of reclaiming his position as House majority leader suffered a potentially fatal setback on Friday as a growing number of fellow Republicans called for new leadership in the midst of a congressional corruption scandal.
"It's clear that we need to elect a new majority leader to restore the trust and confidence of the American people," said Rep. Jim Ramstad of Minnesota, as two fellow Republicans circulated a petition calling for new elections.
Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., whose own hold on power appears secure, signaled he would not stand in the way of elections that could produce changes in several leadership posts.
"This is consistent with the speaker's announcement ... that House Republicans would revisit this matter at the beginning of this year," said his spokesman, Ron Bonjean, referring to the petition drive."
Thanks to Zaxy for the good news
Jan 6, 10:55 PM (ET)
By DAVID ESPO
WASHINGTON (AP) - Embattled Rep. Tom DeLay's hopes of reclaiming his position as House majority leader suffered a potentially fatal setback on Friday as a growing number of fellow Republicans called for new leadership in the midst of a congressional corruption scandal.
"It's clear that we need to elect a new majority leader to restore the trust and confidence of the American people," said Rep. Jim Ramstad of Minnesota, as two fellow Republicans circulated a petition calling for new elections.
Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., whose own hold on power appears secure, signaled he would not stand in the way of elections that could produce changes in several leadership posts.
"This is consistent with the speaker's announcement ... that House Republicans would revisit this matter at the beginning of this year," said his spokesman, Ron Bonjean, referring to the petition drive."
Thanks to Zaxy for the good news
From the page: "DeLay's bid to return to US leadership in jeopardy
Jan 5, 5:58 PM (ET)
By Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rep. Tom DeLay's bid to return as majority leader of the House of Representatives was in mounting jeopardy on Thursday as fellow Republicans feared his ties with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff have made the Texan too much of an election-year liability.
"I would not support him for majority leader," Rep. Ray LaHood told Reuters in a telephone interview from his central Illinois district.
LaHood, a conservative Republican with close ties to House Speaker Dennis Hastert, also from Illinois, added that elections for a new majority leader ought to be held when the House reconvenes on January 31.
"We need to clean up our House here very quickly or a year from now we'll be the minority party," said LaHood, initially elected to Congress in 1994 when his party won control of the House for the first time in 40 years."
WOO HOO
Merci a chere Zaxy
Jan 5, 5:58 PM (ET)
By Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rep. Tom DeLay's bid to return as majority leader of the House of Representatives was in mounting jeopardy on Thursday as fellow Republicans feared his ties with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff have made the Texan too much of an election-year liability.
"I would not support him for majority leader," Rep. Ray LaHood told Reuters in a telephone interview from his central Illinois district.
LaHood, a conservative Republican with close ties to House Speaker Dennis Hastert, also from Illinois, added that elections for a new majority leader ought to be held when the House reconvenes on January 31.
"We need to clean up our House here very quickly or a year from now we'll be the minority party," said LaHood, initially elected to Congress in 1994 when his party won control of the House for the first time in 40 years."
WOO HOO
Merci a chere Zaxy
By Michael Isikoff
Newsweek
May 2 issue - The pitch from superlobbyist Jack Abramoff was hard to resist: a good way to get access on Capitol Hill, he told his clients a few years ago, was to contribute to a worthy charity he and his wife had just started up.
The charity, called the Capital Athletic Foundation, was supposed to provide sports programs and teach "leadership skills" to city youth. Donating to it also had a side benefit, Abramoff told his clients: it was a favored cause of Rep. Tom DeLay.
The pitch worked especially well among a group of Indian tribes who, having opened up lucrative gaming casinos, had hired Abramoff to protect their interests in Washington. In 2002 alone, records show, three Indian tribes donated nearly $1.1 million to the Capital Athletic Foundation. But now, NEWSWEEK has learned, investigators probing Abramoff's finances have found some of the money meant for inner-city kids went instead to fight the Palestinian intifada. More than $140,000 of foundation funds were actually sent to the Israeli West Bank where they were used by a Jewish settler to mobilize against the Palestinian uprising. Among the expenditures: purchases of camouflage suits, sniper scopes, night-vision binoculars, a thermal imager and other material described in foundation records as "security" equipment.
The FBI, sources tell NEWSWEEK, is now examining these payments as part of a larger investigation to determine if Abramoff defrauded his Indian tribe clients. The tribal donors are outraged.
"This is almost like outer-limits bizarre," says Henry Buffalo, a lawyer for the Saginaw Chippewa Indians who contributed $25,000 to the Capital Athletic Foundation at Abramoff's urging. "The tribe would never have given money for this.""
Thanks, Zaxy!
Newsweek
May 2 issue - The pitch from superlobbyist Jack Abramoff was hard to resist: a good way to get access on Capitol Hill, he told his clients a few years ago, was to contribute to a worthy charity he and his wife had just started up.
The charity, called the Capital Athletic Foundation, was supposed to provide sports programs and teach "leadership skills" to city youth. Donating to it also had a side benefit, Abramoff told his clients: it was a favored cause of Rep. Tom DeLay.
The pitch worked especially well among a group of Indian tribes who, having opened up lucrative gaming casinos, had hired Abramoff to protect their interests in Washington. In 2002 alone, records show, three Indian tribes donated nearly $1.1 million to the Capital Athletic Foundation. But now, NEWSWEEK has learned, investigators probing Abramoff's finances have found some of the money meant for inner-city kids went instead to fight the Palestinian intifada. More than $140,000 of foundation funds were actually sent to the Israeli West Bank where they were used by a Jewish settler to mobilize against the Palestinian uprising. Among the expenditures: purchases of camouflage suits, sniper scopes, night-vision binoculars, a thermal imager and other material described in foundation records as "security" equipment.
The FBI, sources tell NEWSWEEK, is now examining these payments as part of a larger investigation to determine if Abramoff defrauded his Indian tribe clients. The tribal donors are outraged.
"This is almost like outer-limits bizarre," says Henry Buffalo, a lawyer for the Saginaw Chippewa Indians who contributed $25,000 to the Capital Athletic Foundation at Abramoff's urging. "The tribe would never have given money for this.""
Thanks, Zaxy!
From the page: "Bush Bypasses Senate in Pentagon Hires
Jan 4, 9:11 PM (ET)
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush on Wednesday bypassed the Senate to install former Navy Secretary Gordon R. England as deputy secretary of defense, and used a similar maneuver to name a new Pentagon spokesman, campaign finance regulators and Amtrak directors.
In a highly unusual arrangement, England had been serving as both Navy secretary and acting deputy defense secretary since Paul Wolfowitz left the No. 2 Pentagon post last May to become head of the World Bank. England's nomination for the deputy secretary position had stalled in the Senate.
Under the Constitution, the president may circumvent the confirmation process by making appointments while the Senate is in recess. Such recess appointments usually expire at the end of next congressional session.
Since the Senate held a pro forma session Tuesday and then adjourned, the White House contends the second session of the 109th Congress has begun and Bush's recess appointments are valid until the following session concludes at the end of 2007."
The dumb son of a bitch really does think he's king!
Thanks, Zaxy!
Jan 4, 9:11 PM (ET)
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush on Wednesday bypassed the Senate to install former Navy Secretary Gordon R. England as deputy secretary of defense, and used a similar maneuver to name a new Pentagon spokesman, campaign finance regulators and Amtrak directors.
In a highly unusual arrangement, England had been serving as both Navy secretary and acting deputy defense secretary since Paul Wolfowitz left the No. 2 Pentagon post last May to become head of the World Bank. England's nomination for the deputy secretary position had stalled in the Senate.
Under the Constitution, the president may circumvent the confirmation process by making appointments while the Senate is in recess. Such recess appointments usually expire at the end of next congressional session.
Since the Senate held a pro forma session Tuesday and then adjourned, the White House contends the second session of the 109th Congress has begun and Bush's recess appointments are valid until the following session concludes at the end of 2007."
The dumb son of a bitch really does think he's king!
Thanks, Zaxy!
FTP: "An analysis released by a Democratic senator found that Vice President Dick Cheney's Halliburton stock options have risen 3,281 percent in the last year, RAW STORY can reveal.
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) asserts that Cheney's options -- worth $241,498 a year ago -- are now valued at more than $8 million. The former CEO of the oil and gas services juggernaut, Cheney has pledged to give proceeds to charity."
Gosh, I wonder which charities are hooked up to the military/industrial complex and conservative "think" tanks? That's where the money'd go.
Thanks, Voyyaghar!
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) asserts that Cheney's options -- worth $241,498 a year ago -- are now valued at more than $8 million. The former CEO of the oil and gas services juggernaut, Cheney has pledged to give proceeds to charity."
Gosh, I wonder which charities are hooked up to the military/industrial complex and conservative "think" tanks? That's where the money'd go.
Thanks, Voyyaghar!
FTP: "We speak with ABC News' Brian Ross who exposed in 1998 the horrific labor conditions in the U.S. territory of Saipan. At the time, Jack Abramoff was Saipan's hired gun on K Street and Tom DeLay was one of the island's chief advocates on Capitol Hill. DeLay backed the sweatshop owners even though it was exposed that the factory was forcing women to have abortions and treated workers like indentured servants.
Controversy is nothing new to Jack Abramoff. The Los Angeles Times reports Abramoff's first political scandal dates back to 1972 when he ran for student council president at the Hawthorne School, an elementary and middle school in Beverly Hills California. Abramoff was reportedly disqualified for exceeding the spending limit in the race.
In college Abramoff teamed up with two students who would become household names in Washington to take over the College Republican National Committee. They were anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed, founder of the Christian Coalition.
After college Abramoff's resume was diverse, from his brief Hollywood career to his secret dealings with the South African apartheid regime.
A 1995 investigation by Newsday revealed that Abramoff helped run a think-tank called the International Freedom Foundation. The organization was set up in 1986 and its goal was to improve the white South African apartheid government's image in the West while demonizing Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress as communist tools. The Newsday report also quoted sources saying that the South African military helped finance the 1988 movie "Red Scorpion" which Abramoff wrote and produced. The movie was a sympathetic portrayal of an anti-communist African guerrilla commander and loosely based on Jonas Savimbi, the Angolan rebel leader who was an ally of both South Africa's apartheid government and the U.S government."
This reads like the CV of the devil FFS!
Thanks, Voyyaghar!
Controversy is nothing new to Jack Abramoff. The Los Angeles Times reports Abramoff's first political scandal dates back to 1972 when he ran for student council president at the Hawthorne School, an elementary and middle school in Beverly Hills California. Abramoff was reportedly disqualified for exceeding the spending limit in the race.
In college Abramoff teamed up with two students who would become household names in Washington to take over the College Republican National Committee. They were anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed, founder of the Christian Coalition.
After college Abramoff's resume was diverse, from his brief Hollywood career to his secret dealings with the South African apartheid regime.
A 1995 investigation by Newsday revealed that Abramoff helped run a think-tank called the International Freedom Foundation. The organization was set up in 1986 and its goal was to improve the white South African apartheid government's image in the West while demonizing Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress as communist tools. The Newsday report also quoted sources saying that the South African military helped finance the 1988 movie "Red Scorpion" which Abramoff wrote and produced. The movie was a sympathetic portrayal of an anti-communist African guerrilla commander and loosely based on Jonas Savimbi, the Angolan rebel leader who was an ally of both South Africa's apartheid government and the U.S government."
This reads like the CV of the devil FFS!
Thanks, Voyyaghar!
FTP: "If Mr Abramoff spills the beans, they may soon be contemplating a similar fate. This is potentially the biggest Congressional scandal of the modern era. It is largely (though not exclusively) Republican, and may mark the beginning of the end of the party's 11-year dominance of Capitol Hill."
Seeing as I am an intelligent, poor female who lives in the ghetto, I certainly and heartily hope so! Thanks, Grayem!
Seeing as I am an intelligent, poor female who lives in the ghetto, I certainly and heartily hope so! Thanks, Grayem!
"The corruption scheme with Mr. Abramoff is very extensive and we will continue to follow it wherever it leads." - Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher
/me dances, singing: Go Alice! Go Alice! Go Alice! Go Alice!
Merci a cher Voyyaghar
/me dances, singing: Go Alice! Go Alice! Go Alice! Go Alice!
Merci a cher Voyyaghar
Teenagers in Washington state schools are being given the below item, which is completely unrelated to their studies.
"Considering the fact that this paper is a complete one off in that it is not part of any standard curriculum, we must question the motivations behind it.
Is the paper a means of gauging the level of obedience to the state amongst American teenagers?
We have covered several examples before where the government identifies a target group in society and canvasses their views on the nature of power and when that power goes too far. For example, in the 90's, American marines and national guard were occasionally asked if they would be willing to fire on American citizens in a time of crisis.
We are by no means against patriotism when it means love of country. Unfortunately however, the new brand of so-called patriotism translates as worship of government, and that definition is something that the founding fathers never intended."
Thanks, Voyyaghar!
"Considering the fact that this paper is a complete one off in that it is not part of any standard curriculum, we must question the motivations behind it.
Is the paper a means of gauging the level of obedience to the state amongst American teenagers?
We have covered several examples before where the government identifies a target group in society and canvasses their views on the nature of power and when that power goes too far. For example, in the 90's, American marines and national guard were occasionally asked if they would be willing to fire on American citizens in a time of crisis.
We are by no means against patriotism when it means love of country. Unfortunately however, the new brand of so-called patriotism translates as worship of government, and that definition is something that the founding fathers never intended."
Thanks, Voyyaghar!
FTP: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrant shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized."
Not bad for a group of farmers who were creating a new country -- one that has survived for 216 years and is the oldest continuous democracy in the world.
Now the "new King George" would have us believe one of three things: (1) the president's powers as commander-in-chief supersede the fourth amendment during the war on terror (2) the resolution adopted by Congress shortly after the 9/11 attack can be read to give the president the authority to conduct domestic wiretaps against American citizens without going to court to seek a warrant and (3) modern technology is such that the founding fathers could never have anticipated the need to conduct wiretaps without a warrant."
"It's just a goddam piece of paper," - "President" shrub on The Constitution of the United States
Thanks, Voyyaghar
Not bad for a group of farmers who were creating a new country -- one that has survived for 216 years and is the oldest continuous democracy in the world.
Now the "new King George" would have us believe one of three things: (1) the president's powers as commander-in-chief supersede the fourth amendment during the war on terror (2) the resolution adopted by Congress shortly after the 9/11 attack can be read to give the president the authority to conduct domestic wiretaps against American citizens without going to court to seek a warrant and (3) modern technology is such that the founding fathers could never have anticipated the need to conduct wiretaps without a warrant."
"It's just a goddam piece of paper," - "President" shrub on The Constitution of the United States
Thanks, Voyyaghar
FTP: "The goals of this Commission are:
To put impeachment firmly "on the map" of national politics by demonstrating broad and significant support for the impeachment of George Bush and Dick Cheney for lying about Iraq
To lobby Members of Congress to introduce Articles of Impeachment immediately
To campaign for pro-impeachment candidates and elect a pro-impeachment majority to Congress in November."
Respect, mon.
To put impeachment firmly "on the map" of national politics by demonstrating broad and significant support for the impeachment of George Bush and Dick Cheney for lying about Iraq
To lobby Members of Congress to introduce Articles of Impeachment immediately
To campaign for pro-impeachment candidates and elect a pro-impeachment majority to Congress in November."
Respect, mon.
FTP: "What if it emerged that the President of the United States was flagrantly violating the Constitution and a law passed by the Congress to protect Americans against abuses by a super-secret spy agency? What if, instead of apologizing, he said, in essence, "I have the power to do that, because I say I can." That frightening scenario is exactly what we are now witnessing in the case of the warrantless NSA spying ordered by President Bush that was reported December 16, 2005 by the New York Times.
According to the Times, Bush signed a presidential order in 2002 allowing the National Security Agency to monitor without a warrant the international (and sometimes domestic) telephone calls and e-mail messages of hundreds or thousands of citizens and legal residents inside the United States. The program eventually came to include some purely internal controls - but no requirement that warrants be obtained from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court as the 4th Amendment to the Constitution and the foreign intelligence surveillance laws require.
In other words, no independent review or judicial oversight.
That kind of surveillance is illegal. Period.
The day after this shocking abuse of power became public, President Bush admitted that he had authorized it, but argued that he had the authority to do so. But the law governing government eavesdropping on American citizens is well-established and crystal clear. President Bush's claim that he is not bound by that law is simply astounding. It is a Presidential power grab that poses a challenge in the deepest sense to the integrity of the American system of government - the separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches, the concept of checks and balances on executive power, the notion that the president is subject to the law like everyone else, and the general respect for the "rule of law" on which our democratic system depends."
We need UN folks supervising our "elections" too.
Thanks, Zaxy!
According to the Times, Bush signed a presidential order in 2002 allowing the National Security Agency to monitor without a warrant the international (and sometimes domestic) telephone calls and e-mail messages of hundreds or thousands of citizens and legal residents inside the United States. The program eventually came to include some purely internal controls - but no requirement that warrants be obtained from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court as the 4th Amendment to the Constitution and the foreign intelligence surveillance laws require.
In other words, no independent review or judicial oversight.
That kind of surveillance is illegal. Period.
The day after this shocking abuse of power became public, President Bush admitted that he had authorized it, but argued that he had the authority to do so. But the law governing government eavesdropping on American citizens is well-established and crystal clear. President Bush's claim that he is not bound by that law is simply astounding. It is a Presidential power grab that poses a challenge in the deepest sense to the integrity of the American system of government - the separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches, the concept of checks and balances on executive power, the notion that the president is subject to the law like everyone else, and the general respect for the "rule of law" on which our democratic system depends."
We need UN folks supervising our "elections" too.
Thanks, Zaxy!
From the page: "News > December 26, 2005
Cleaning Up Elections in Connecticut
By Hank Hoffman
Former governor John G. Rowland announcing his resignation.
Take one governor in hot water. Raise heat until the governor goes to prison. Combine with a unified and persistent coalition of reform advocates, and mix in widespread outrage at corruption. Add a dash of bipartisanship. What have you got?
In Connecticut, it's the recipe for breakthrough campaign finance reform.
On November 30, the Connecticut House of Representatives followed the state Senate in approving a measure introducing voluntary public financing for legislative and statewide offices. A week later, Republican Gov. Jodi Rell--who took office after Gov. John Rowland resigned in a corruption scandal--signed it into law.
Advocates, seeking to get big money out of politics, call the key provision "Clean Elections." By raising a specified goal in small contributions, major party candidates can opt to receive a public grant to finance their campaigns rather than go the conventional route of begging from well-heeled interests. The measure also bans contributions from lobbyists and state contractors, limits campaign spending for recipients of public financing, and places new restrictions on political action committees, or PACs. Public financing for legislative races takes effect in the 2008 election cycle and in 2010 for statewide offices.
Connecticut, which had earned the nickname "Corrupticut" after a recent rash of state and municipal scandals, is the first state to create a public financing mechanism for legislative races by legislative action. Arizona and Maine had previously adopted clean elections through referenda.
Democrats control both houses of the Connecticut General Assembly and House Majority Leader Christopher Donovan (D-Meriden) made sure that the Democrats had the votes to pass the measure. Although Rell was clear in her support for the measure, only four Republicans in each chamber voted for it."
Thanks to dear Zaxy
Cleaning Up Elections in Connecticut
By Hank Hoffman
Former governor John G. Rowland announcing his resignation.
Take one governor in hot water. Raise heat until the governor goes to prison. Combine with a unified and persistent coalition of reform advocates, and mix in widespread outrage at corruption. Add a dash of bipartisanship. What have you got?
In Connecticut, it's the recipe for breakthrough campaign finance reform.
On November 30, the Connecticut House of Representatives followed the state Senate in approving a measure introducing voluntary public financing for legislative and statewide offices. A week later, Republican Gov. Jodi Rell--who took office after Gov. John Rowland resigned in a corruption scandal--signed it into law.
Advocates, seeking to get big money out of politics, call the key provision "Clean Elections." By raising a specified goal in small contributions, major party candidates can opt to receive a public grant to finance their campaigns rather than go the conventional route of begging from well-heeled interests. The measure also bans contributions from lobbyists and state contractors, limits campaign spending for recipients of public financing, and places new restrictions on political action committees, or PACs. Public financing for legislative races takes effect in the 2008 election cycle and in 2010 for statewide offices.
Connecticut, which had earned the nickname "Corrupticut" after a recent rash of state and municipal scandals, is the first state to create a public financing mechanism for legislative races by legislative action. Arizona and Maine had previously adopted clean elections through referenda.
Democrats control both houses of the Connecticut General Assembly and House Majority Leader Christopher Donovan (D-Meriden) made sure that the Democrats had the votes to pass the measure. Although Rell was clear in her support for the measure, only four Republicans in each chamber voted for it."
Thanks to dear Zaxy
FTP: "The agency is working to establish procedures in the event a prisoner dies in custody. One proposal circulating among mid-level officers calls for rushing in a CIA pathologist to perform an autopsy and then quickly burning the body, according to two sources.
Consider that for a moment. The CIA NEEDS procedures for WHEN, not if, a prisoner dies in custody. But we are not engaging in torture. BALD FACED LIARS!
Incompetence leads to mendacity leads to lawlessness. On torture. On warrantless surveillance. On leaking the names of covert CIA operatives. Look at WHEN they care about national security leaks. Not when they happen. but when they threaten the "political security" of the Bush Administration. Karl Rove still works at the White House. The President KNEW more than a year ago that someone had leaked the BushCo FISA violations to the New York Times. THAT leak only became a matter of importance, Justice announced today it is investigating that leak, when it threatened BUSH's security - his political security."
Thanks, Voyyaghar
Consider that for a moment. The CIA NEEDS procedures for WHEN, not if, a prisoner dies in custody. But we are not engaging in torture. BALD FACED LIARS!
Incompetence leads to mendacity leads to lawlessness. On torture. On warrantless surveillance. On leaking the names of covert CIA operatives. Look at WHEN they care about national security leaks. Not when they happen. but when they threaten the "political security" of the Bush Administration. Karl Rove still works at the White House. The President KNEW more than a year ago that someone had leaked the BushCo FISA violations to the New York Times. THAT leak only became a matter of importance, Justice announced today it is investigating that leak, when it threatened BUSH's security - his political security."
Thanks, Voyyaghar
FTP: "...This is how President Bush takes his message to the people these days: in furtive sneak-attack addresses to closed audiences of elite friendlies at weird early-morning hours. If you want to catch Bush's act in person during this tour, you have to stalk him for days and keep both ears open for last-minute changes of plan; I actually missed the Annapolis speech when I made the mistake of briefly taking my eye off him the day before.
...I pried my eyes open just in time to see Bush, looking spooked and shrunken, take the stage.
Bush in person always strikes me as the kind of guy who would ask a woman for a hand job at the end of a first date. He has days where he looks like she said yes, and days where the answer was no.
Today was one of his no days. He frowned, looking wronged, and grabbed the microphone. I pulled out my notebook . . .
A few minutes later, I felt like a hooker who's just blinked under a blanket with a prep-school virgin. Was that it? Is it over? It seemed to be; Bush was off the podium and slipping down the first line of the crowd, pumping hands for a minute and then promptly Snagglepussing toward the left exit. By the time I made it five rows into the crowd, he had vanished into a sea of Secret Servicemen, who whisked him away, presumably to return him posthaste to his formaldehyde tank.
...The Council on Foreign Relations was good enough to pass out a list of the expected attendees at the speech. Here are some of the names that one could find in Bush's audience: Frank Finelli, the Carlyle Group; Adam Fromm, Office of Rep. Dennis Hastert; Robert W. Haines, Exxon Mobil Corp.; Paul W. Butler, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and Feld LLP; Robert Bremer, Lockheed Martin Corp.; Scott Sendek, Eli Lilly and Co.; James H. Lambright, Export-Import Bank of the United States.
The point is obvious; Bush's audience was like a guest list for a Monster's Ball of the military-industrial establishment. And even in this crowd full of corporate lawyers, investment bankers, weapons makers, ex-spooks and, for Christ's sake, lobbyists, the president of the United States couldn't cook up more than two tepid applause lines for his Iraq policy -- and one of those was because he was finishing up and, one guesses, freeing the audience to go call their brokers."
Brilliant story. Merci beaucoup a cher Grayem!
...I pried my eyes open just in time to see Bush, looking spooked and shrunken, take the stage.
Bush in person always strikes me as the kind of guy who would ask a woman for a hand job at the end of a first date. He has days where he looks like she said yes, and days where the answer was no.
Today was one of his no days. He frowned, looking wronged, and grabbed the microphone. I pulled out my notebook . . .
A few minutes later, I felt like a hooker who's just blinked under a blanket with a prep-school virgin. Was that it? Is it over? It seemed to be; Bush was off the podium and slipping down the first line of the crowd, pumping hands for a minute and then promptly Snagglepussing toward the left exit. By the time I made it five rows into the crowd, he had vanished into a sea of Secret Servicemen, who whisked him away, presumably to return him posthaste to his formaldehyde tank.
...The Council on Foreign Relations was good enough to pass out a list of the expected attendees at the speech. Here are some of the names that one could find in Bush's audience: Frank Finelli, the Carlyle Group; Adam Fromm, Office of Rep. Dennis Hastert; Robert W. Haines, Exxon Mobil Corp.; Paul W. Butler, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and Feld LLP; Robert Bremer, Lockheed Martin Corp.; Scott Sendek, Eli Lilly and Co.; James H. Lambright, Export-Import Bank of the United States.
The point is obvious; Bush's audience was like a guest list for a Monster's Ball of the military-industrial establishment. And even in this crowd full of corporate lawyers, investment bankers, weapons makers, ex-spooks and, for Christ's sake, lobbyists, the president of the United States couldn't cook up more than two tepid applause lines for his Iraq policy -- and one of those was because he was finishing up and, one guesses, freeing the audience to go call their brokers."
Brilliant story. Merci beaucoup a cher Grayem!
FTP: "Enron's Causey 'to plead guilty'
Richard Causey, former top accountant of fallen US energy giant Enron, is expected to plead guilty to at least one criminal charge on Wednesday.
Charged on 34 counts including fraud and conspiracy, Mr Causey is due to attend a court hearing ahead of the trial of Enron's two top executives.
US media report that the ex-accountant may have reached a plea bargain to avoid going on trial with the others."
Thanks, Zaxy!
Richard Causey, former top accountant of fallen US energy giant Enron, is expected to plead guilty to at least one criminal charge on Wednesday.
Charged on 34 counts including fraud and conspiracy, Mr Causey is due to attend a court hearing ahead of the trial of Enron's two top executives.
US media report that the ex-accountant may have reached a plea bargain to avoid going on trial with the others."
Thanks, Zaxy!
FTP: "Posted 12/27/2005 5:08 PM
Thousands stung by Ecuador pyramid scheme
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) - A 71-year-old provincial notary who died in a luxury hotel room earlier this year left behind a teenage girlfriend - who said he'd been on cocaine and Viagra - and a crumbling $800 million pyramid scheme that has blossomed into a nationwide scandal.
Jose Cabrera's sudden death sparked panic among thousands of people who gave him a minimum of $10,000 each over two decades in exchange for up to 10% monthly interest.
Most were rank-and-file police and military personnel - more than 6,500 of them - and residents of Machala, the port city where Cabrera was based. But the scandal has spread to high-ranking current and former military officials, judges, politicians and their families.
The head judge of the Machala Superior Court resigned after acknowledging that he had invested $15,000. Ecuador's former commander of the Joint Chiefs of Staff put in $45,000 and the wife of a former defense minister contributed $125,000, local media have reported.
Interior Minister Alfredo Castillo said last week that the scheme was probably linked to money laundering for the drug trade, illegal arms dealing or counterfeiting.
Cabrera died of an apparent heart attack on Oct. 26. His 18-year-old girlfriend of two years told police he had been smoking cocaine-laced cigarettes, drinking whiskey and popping Viagra.
Cabrera's son and daughter denied their father, a former president of the national association of notary publics, was involved in any shady dealings. They promised publicly to sort out the financial mess, before they disappeared last month as arrest warrants were issued." {Emphasis mine}
Remember, kids: cocaine + viagra + cigarettes + decadent old political thief = heart attack.
Many thanks to moderntimes, who is a really hip chicky.
Thousands stung by Ecuador pyramid scheme
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) - A 71-year-old provincial notary who died in a luxury hotel room earlier this year left behind a teenage girlfriend - who said he'd been on cocaine and Viagra - and a crumbling $800 million pyramid scheme that has blossomed into a nationwide scandal.
Jose Cabrera's sudden death sparked panic among thousands of people who gave him a minimum of $10,000 each over two decades in exchange for up to 10% monthly interest.
Most were rank-and-file police and military personnel - more than 6,500 of them - and residents of Machala, the port city where Cabrera was based. But the scandal has spread to high-ranking current and former military officials, judges, politicians and their families.
The head judge of the Machala Superior Court resigned after acknowledging that he had invested $15,000. Ecuador's former commander of the Joint Chiefs of Staff put in $45,000 and the wife of a former defense minister contributed $125,000, local media have reported.
Interior Minister Alfredo Castillo said last week that the scheme was probably linked to money laundering for the drug trade, illegal arms dealing or counterfeiting.
Cabrera died of an apparent heart attack on Oct. 26. His 18-year-old girlfriend of two years told police he had been smoking cocaine-laced cigarettes, drinking whiskey and popping Viagra.
Cabrera's son and daughter denied their father, a former president of the national association of notary publics, was involved in any shady dealings. They promised publicly to sort out the financial mess, before they disappeared last month as arrest warrants were issued." {Emphasis mine}
Remember, kids: cocaine + viagra + cigarettes + decadent old political thief = heart attack.
Many thanks to moderntimes, who is a really hip chicky.
FTP: "The journalists who have been covering Hurricane Katrina have literally been risking their lives for the last week. Reporters have been stationed in and around New Orleans since the Hurricane hit and have tirelessly reported on the devastation to the city. Some journalists have expressed enormous outrage at government officials for their slow response. A few television reporters openly broke down on air as they report the horrific conditions and the desperation of victims. Reporters have witnessed the militarization of the city and are starting to feel the effects of the government crack-down on information gathering. FEMA is now rejecting requests by journalists to accompany rescue boats searching for storm victims. In addition, journalists are being asked not to photograph any dead bodies in the region. NBC News Anchor Brian Williams reported on his blog, that police officers had been seen aiming their weapons at members of the media. And a blogger named Bob Brigham wrote a widely read dispatch that the National Guard in Jefferson County are under orders to turn all journalists away. Brigham writes: "Bush is now censoring all reporting from New Orleans, Louisiana. The First Amendment sank with the city.""
Thanks, Redway420
Thanks, Redway420
FTP: "As The New York Times first revealed on December 16, President Bush issued a secret presidential order shortly after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that authorized the National Security Agency (NSA) to eavesdrop on international phone and email communications that originate from or are received within the United States, and to do so without the court approval normally required under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Facing increasing scrutiny, the Bush administration and its conservative allies in the media have defended the secret spying operation with false and misleading claims that have subsequently been reported without challenge across the media. So, just in time for the holidays, Media Matters for America presents the top myths and falsehoods promoted by the media on the Bush administration's spying scandal."
Merry Christmas!
Thanks, Zaxy
Merry Christmas!
Thanks, Zaxy
FTP: "It's now been 5 days since President Bush admitted to authorizing the National Security Agency to spy on Americans without court order -- a system he reauthorized as many as 3 dozen times since 2001. Yet despite the outcry from millions of Americans -- both Democrats and Republicans alike -- President Bush has stubbornly promised to continue this illegal and unconstitutional activity.
How can the President of the United States -- the highest elected official in our land, a leader who swore an oath to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution" -- so egregiously and repeatedly violate our most basic civil liberties?
It's time for Congress to act -- to thoroughly investigate the President's actions now.
Urge Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter to hold hearings into the President's conduct."
How can the President of the United States -- the highest elected official in our land, a leader who swore an oath to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution" -- so egregiously and repeatedly violate our most basic civil liberties?
It's time for Congress to act -- to thoroughly investigate the President's actions now.
Urge Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter to hold hearings into the President's conduct."
FTP: "George W. Bush has quipped several times during his political career that it would be so much easier to govern in a dictatorship."
Thanks, RussellB!
Thanks, RussellB!
FTP: "George Bush is using the National Security Agency to conduct surveillance on American citizens without the consent of any court. After initially refusing to confirm the story, the President has admitted to personally overseeing this domestic spying program for years.
These actions are explicitly against the law. But the administration says that other laws somehow allow for this unprecedented use of a foreign intelligence agency to spy on Americans right here in the United States. According to reports, political appointees in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel wrote still-classified legal opinions laying out the supposed justification for this program.
Governor Howard Dean is filing a formal demand that they release these documents. You can add your name to a Freedom of Information Act request by providing the information below."
These actions are explicitly against the law. But the administration says that other laws somehow allow for this unprecedented use of a foreign intelligence agency to spy on Americans right here in the United States. According to reports, political appointees in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel wrote still-classified legal opinions laying out the supposed justification for this program.
Governor Howard Dean is filing a formal demand that they release these documents. You can add your name to a Freedom of Information Act request by providing the information below."
FTP: "Defiant Bush defends spying
Legal experts say action is worthy of impeachment
December 20, 2005
BY RON HUTCHESON
WASHINGTON -- A defiant President George W. Bush said Monday that he didn't need explicit permission from Congress or the courts to establish a secret domestic surveillance program to eavesdrop on suspected terrorists.
He even asserted: "The fact that we're discussing this program is helping the enemy.""
shrub, you're not king of the untied states by divine right, you psycho.
Thanks, Voyyaghar
Legal experts say action is worthy of impeachment
December 20, 2005
BY RON HUTCHESON
WASHINGTON -- A defiant President George W. Bush said Monday that he didn't need explicit permission from Congress or the courts to establish a secret domestic surveillance program to eavesdrop on suspected terrorists.
He even asserted: "The fact that we're discussing this program is helping the enemy.""
shrub, you're not king of the untied states by divine right, you psycho.
Thanks, Voyyaghar
FTP: "On Tuesday, December 6th, a Tampa, Florida jury acquitted Al-Arian of eight of the 17 counts against him, including a key charge of conspiring to maim and murder people overseas. The jury had deadlocked on other charges 10 to 2 in Al-Arian's favor.
Two of Al-Arian's co-defendants were acquitted entirely, and a third was acquitted on most counts, with jurors deadlocked on several others. In the end, not a single guilty verdict was returned after a lengthy trial that included more than 80 witnesses and 400 transcripts of intercepted phone conversations and faxes.
A headline in the Washington Post, dated Dec 14, says it all: "Ex-Professor Won Court Case but Not His Freedom.""
Nicked from steve10k
Two of Al-Arian's co-defendants were acquitted entirely, and a third was acquitted on most counts, with jurors deadlocked on several others. In the end, not a single guilty verdict was returned after a lengthy trial that included more than 80 witnesses and 400 transcripts of intercepted phone conversations and faxes.
A headline in the Washington Post, dated Dec 14, says it all: "Ex-Professor Won Court Case but Not His Freedom.""
Nicked from steve10k
FTP: "Conyers Releases Report on Misconduct of Bush Administration Concerning Iraq War
Calls for Censure of President Bush and Vice President Cheney
WASHINGTON - December 20 - Representative John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, released the following statement regarding today's release of a staff report entitled "The Constitution in Crisis: The Downing Street Minutes and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retributions and Cover-ups in the Iraq War." The Report is my best effort to examine all of the charges of misconduct by the Bush Administration concerning the Iraq War.
Conyers Report: http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/iraqrept.html
"In brief, we have found that there is substantial evidence the President, the Vice-President and other high ranking members of the Bush Administration misled Congress and the American people regarding the decision to go to war in Iraq; misstated and manipulated intelligence information regarding the justification for such war; countenanced torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in Iraq; and permitted inappropriate retaliation against critics of their Administration. There is at least a prima facie case that these actions that federal laws have been violated - from false statements to Congress to retaliating against Administration critics."
My God, I love John Conyers! He's my neighbor, too.
Calls for Censure of President Bush and Vice President Cheney
WASHINGTON - December 20 - Representative John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, released the following statement regarding today's release of a staff report entitled "The Constitution in Crisis: The Downing Street Minutes and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retributions and Cover-ups in the Iraq War." The Report is my best effort to examine all of the charges of misconduct by the Bush Administration concerning the Iraq War.
Conyers Report: http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/iraqrept.html
"In brief, we have found that there is substantial evidence the President, the Vice-President and other high ranking members of the Bush Administration misled Congress and the American people regarding the decision to go to war in Iraq; misstated and manipulated intelligence information regarding the justification for such war; countenanced torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in Iraq; and permitted inappropriate retaliation against critics of their Administration. There is at least a prima facie case that these actions that federal laws have been violated - from false statements to Congress to retaliating against Administration critics."
My God, I love John Conyers! He's my neighbor, too.
From the page: "WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 - Working through the night, the House early today voted to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling as part of a military measure and narrowly approved a $40 billion budget-cutting plan as bleary-eyed lawmakers concluded a marathon weekend session.
The Pentagon spending bill, adopted on a 308-106 vote shortly after 5 a.m., also included a $29 billion hurricane recovery package for the Gulf Coast, a $3.8 billion proposal to prepare for a potential flu pandemic and a 1 percent across-the-board cut that shaved a total of about $8 billion from current federal spending.
Democrats assailed majority Republicans for using the Pentagon bill to win approval of the drilling plan after objections by moderate Republicans led to it being eliminated from the budget measure."
I just love the holiday season when the Grinch is in charge.
Thanks, Voyyaghar!
The Pentagon spending bill, adopted on a 308-106 vote shortly after 5 a.m., also included a $29 billion hurricane recovery package for the Gulf Coast, a $3.8 billion proposal to prepare for a potential flu pandemic and a 1 percent across-the-board cut that shaved a total of about $8 billion from current federal spending.
Democrats assailed majority Republicans for using the Pentagon bill to win approval of the drilling plan after objections by moderate Republicans led to it being eliminated from the budget measure."
I just love the holiday season when the Grinch is in charge.
Thanks, Voyyaghar!
FTP: "Today is December 15 - ten days before Christmas. Throughout much of the world, it's the season of giving. But here in Congress, it's the season of taking away - taking away education programs, taking away job training, taking away home heating assistance, taking away rural health programs. And worst of all, taking away hope.
"We're saying to the low-income families that are working and struggling to pay their heating bills, put food on the table, keep their families together, make it through the winter: "Merry Christmas! Hang your stockings! Congress is bringing you a big lump of coal!"
"I don't understand how anyone can vote for this bill--especially at this time of year.
"I urge my colleagues in the Senate to defeat it. It's a terrible bill. The House defeated it once a few weeks ago and passed it by just two votes yesterday.
"We need to reject this bill and insist that the Republican leadership provide enough funding to write an acceptable bill. They have the power to do it. They run the White House and both houses of Congress. What's stopping them?
"If Senators pass this bill, and deliver this cruel present to the poorest people in America ten days before Christmas, it's on their conscience. But I'm voting no."
Thanks, Voyyaghar!
"We're saying to the low-income families that are working and struggling to pay their heating bills, put food on the table, keep their families together, make it through the winter: "Merry Christmas! Hang your stockings! Congress is bringing you a big lump of coal!"
"I don't understand how anyone can vote for this bill--especially at this time of year.
"I urge my colleagues in the Senate to defeat it. It's a terrible bill. The House defeated it once a few weeks ago and passed it by just two votes yesterday.
"We need to reject this bill and insist that the Republican leadership provide enough funding to write an acceptable bill. They have the power to do it. They run the White House and both houses of Congress. What's stopping them?
"If Senators pass this bill, and deliver this cruel present to the poorest people in America ten days before Christmas, it's on their conscience. But I'm voting no."
Thanks, Voyyaghar!
FTP: "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Democratic House leaders called Sunday for an independent panel to investigate the legality of a program President Bush authorized that allows warrantless wiretaps on U.S. citizens, according to a letter to House Speaker Dennis Hastert.
"We believe that the President must have the best possible intelligence to protect the American people, but that intelligence must be produced in a manner consistent with our Constitution and our laws, and in a manner that reflects our values as a nation," the letter says.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi; Minority Whip Steny Hoyer; Rep. John Conyers, the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee; and Rep. Henry Waxman, the ranking member on the House Committee on Government Reform, signed the letter."
"We believe that the President must have the best possible intelligence to protect the American people, but that intelligence must be produced in a manner consistent with our Constitution and our laws, and in a manner that reflects our values as a nation," the letter says.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi; Minority Whip Steny Hoyer; Rep. John Conyers, the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee; and Rep. Henry Waxman, the ranking member on the House Committee on Government Reform, signed the letter."
I have never vetoed a single bill presented by the Republican controlled House and Senate.
I an the first president since John Quincy Adama (nearly two hundred years) to have never vetoed a bill.
The government has grown substantially with a net increase of over 800,000 government jobs thus increasing the tax burden
That even though I blatantly lied in the "debates," federal discretionary, non-military spending is actually growing at 8 times the amount I stated and military spending is growing at a far greater rate.
In my convention speech I proposed programs that may cost up to $3,000,000,000,000 (three trillion) which is around 50% more than John Kerry had proposed.
The United States spends more money on the military than on the country that it is supposed to be defending.
...We hope that you don't mind the other things we are leaving to you such as global climate change, air pollution, and strip mined landscapes. Even though solar energy is the oldest and most widespread energy on the planet, it gets rid of monthly payments to our friends and family members in the oil, nuclear and coal industries. We sure hope you are innovative.
Thanks, Voyyaghar!
I an the first president since John Quincy Adama (nearly two hundred years) to have never vetoed a bill.
The government has grown substantially with a net increase of over 800,000 government jobs thus increasing the tax burden
That even though I blatantly lied in the "debates," federal discretionary, non-military spending is actually growing at 8 times the amount I stated and military spending is growing at a far greater rate.
In my convention speech I proposed programs that may cost up to $3,000,000,000,000 (three trillion) which is around 50% more than John Kerry had proposed.
The United States spends more money on the military than on the country that it is supposed to be defending.
...We hope that you don't mind the other things we are leaving to you such as global climate change, air pollution, and strip mined landscapes. Even though solar energy is the oldest and most widespread energy on the planet, it gets rid of monthly payments to our friends and family members in the oil, nuclear and coal industries. We sure hope you are innovative.
Thanks, Voyyaghar!
FTP: "Army officer charged in Iraq fraud scam
Dec 16, 10:46 AM (ET)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Army officer was arrested on Thursday for stealing between $80,000 and $100,000 in funds from the U.S. governing administration in Iraq and using the money to install a deck and hot hub in her New Jersey home.
The U.S. Justice Department said Army Reserve Lt. Col. Debra Harrison, 47, who served with the Coalition Provisional Authority, was arrested on charges involving bribery, money laundering and fraud.
Harrison is the second army officer and the fourth person charged in the past few weeks in connection with the scheme.
The Justice Department said Harrison was on active duty for the U.S. Army in 2003 and 2004, and was responsible for developing contract solicitations and ordering contracts for reconstruction efforts for the Coalition Provisional Authority -- South Central Region.
According to court papers, Harrison and her co-conspirators accepted money and gifts in return for using their official positions to rig contract bids."
As Blackadder so poetically put it, "I believe the phrase rhymes with 'clucking bell.'"
Dec 16, 10:46 AM (ET)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Army officer was arrested on Thursday for stealing between $80,000 and $100,000 in funds from the U.S. governing administration in Iraq and using the money to install a deck and hot hub in her New Jersey home.
The U.S. Justice Department said Army Reserve Lt. Col. Debra Harrison, 47, who served with the Coalition Provisional Authority, was arrested on charges involving bribery, money laundering and fraud.
Harrison is the second army officer and the fourth person charged in the past few weeks in connection with the scheme.
The Justice Department said Harrison was on active duty for the U.S. Army in 2003 and 2004, and was responsible for developing contract solicitations and ordering contracts for reconstruction efforts for the Coalition Provisional Authority -- South Central Region.
According to court papers, Harrison and her co-conspirators accepted money and gifts in return for using their official positions to rig contract bids."
As Blackadder so poetically put it, "I believe the phrase rhymes with 'clucking bell.'"
FTP: "By Tim Howells
Online Journal Contributing Writer
Nov 28, 2005, 13:55
The sponsorship of terrorism by western governments, targeting their own populations, has been a taboo subject. Although major scandals have received cursory coverage in the media, the subject has been allowed to immediately disappear without discussion or investigation. Therefore the appearance this year of two major studies of this subject is a welcome breakthrough, and provides essential reading for anyone struggling to understand the events of September 11, 2001 and the post September 11 world.
The studies are complementary. NATO's Secret Armies, Operation Gladio and Terrorism in Western Europe by Daniele Ganser concerns terrorism sponsored by American and British intelligence in Western Europe and Turkey between the end of World War II and 1985. The War on Truth, 9/11, Disinformation, and the Anatomy of Terrorism by Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed chronicles the cultivation and sponsorship of militant Islamic terrorism by the intelligence services of the United States, Britain and Russia from 1979 to the present. Both studies are models of scholarship -- meticulously documented and carefully reasoned -- but the world they reveal will boggle the mind of the most wild-eyed conspiracy theorist."
Many thanks to dear ZimZalabim
Online Journal Contributing Writer
Nov 28, 2005, 13:55
The sponsorship of terrorism by western governments, targeting their own populations, has been a taboo subject. Although major scandals have received cursory coverage in the media, the subject has been allowed to immediately disappear without discussion or investigation. Therefore the appearance this year of two major studies of this subject is a welcome breakthrough, and provides essential reading for anyone struggling to understand the events of September 11, 2001 and the post September 11 world.
The studies are complementary. NATO's Secret Armies, Operation Gladio and Terrorism in Western Europe by Daniele Ganser concerns terrorism sponsored by American and British intelligence in Western Europe and Turkey between the end of World War II and 1985. The War on Truth, 9/11, Disinformation, and the Anatomy of Terrorism by Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed chronicles the cultivation and sponsorship of militant Islamic terrorism by the intelligence services of the United States, Britain and Russia from 1979 to the present. Both studies are models of scholarship -- meticulously documented and carefully reasoned -- but the world they reveal will boggle the mind of the most wild-eyed conspiracy theorist."
Many thanks to dear ZimZalabim
FTP: "President George W Bush insists he has not compromised civil liberties, after it was alleged he authorised people in the US to be bugged without a warrant.
A storm of protest erupted after the New York Times said the National Security Agency (NSA) was allowed to eavesdrop on hundreds of people.
Senators from both sides called for an explanation and investigation.
Mr Bush refused to confirm or deny the claims, but said he always upheld the law and protected civil liberties.
The president said he would not discuss ongoing intelligence operations."
Grrrrrrrr
Thanks to dear RussellB
A storm of protest erupted after the New York Times said the National Security Agency (NSA) was allowed to eavesdrop on hundreds of people.
Senators from both sides called for an explanation and investigation.
Mr Bush refused to confirm or deny the claims, but said he always upheld the law and protected civil liberties.
The president said he would not discuss ongoing intelligence operations."
Grrrrrrrr
Thanks to dear RussellB
FTP: "Consider this: Bush ONLY rescinded his opposition to McCain's Anti-Torture Amendment because he'd already circumvented its most important provision!
The key provision would have made the Army's formal interrogation standards - which can be found in the Army Field Manual on Intelligence Interrogation - the UNIFORM STANDARD for the entire government. And torture-survivor McCain chose the Army's long-standing interrogation standards because they were written to conform with international-law conventions that strictly prohibit belligerents from humiliating, abusing, or torturing prisoners and detainees."
Thanks to Zaxy by way of TOMTHUMB
The key provision would have made the Army's formal interrogation standards - which can be found in the Army Field Manual on Intelligence Interrogation - the UNIFORM STANDARD for the entire government. And torture-survivor McCain chose the Army's long-standing interrogation standards because they were written to conform with international-law conventions that strictly prohibit belligerents from humiliating, abusing, or torturing prisoners and detainees."
Thanks to Zaxy by way of TOMTHUMB
FTP: "The previously undisclosed decision to permit some eavesdropping inside the country without court approval was a major shift in American intelligence-gathering practices, particularly for the National Security Agency, whose mission is to spy on communications abroad. As a result, some officials familiar with the continuing operation have questioned whether the surveillance has stretched, if not crossed, constitutional limits on legal searches."
FTP: "We got a serious situation in St. Bernard Parish," its president, Henry "Junior" Rodriguez, told CNN on Tuesday.
"We got people living in tents and automobiles. We got people living in barns. We got people living in their houses -- in tents," he said on "American Morning."
"This is the beginning of winter. This is unacceptable."
Tuesday morning, it was 41 degrees in New Orleans.
A site with 50 to 55 trailers is operational, Rodriguez said, and another may be able to handle 45 trailers within a couple days. But the 100 or so trailers fall far short of the 12,000 trailers needed for the number of people estimated to return home, he added.
St. Bernard Homeland Security Chief Larry Ingargiola said he calls FEMA representatives three to four times a day and cannot persuade the agency to move faster in paying for the trailers. "If they don't pay for the trailers, I can't put the trailers out," he said.
Rodriguez said he and other parish officials identified 6,500 trailers, each at a price $1,500 less than what FEMA is paying for trailers of the same type. Another list he provided had 4,500 trailers that are $3,000 cheaper than what FEMA pays, Rodriguez said. And FEMA hasn't talked with the contractor in charge of the cheaper trailers, Rodriguez added.
Thanks, ProgressiveMe!
"We got people living in tents and automobiles. We got people living in barns. We got people living in their houses -- in tents," he said on "American Morning."
"This is the beginning of winter. This is unacceptable."
Tuesday morning, it was 41 degrees in New Orleans.
A site with 50 to 55 trailers is operational, Rodriguez said, and another may be able to handle 45 trailers within a couple days. But the 100 or so trailers fall far short of the 12,000 trailers needed for the number of people estimated to return home, he added.
St. Bernard Homeland Security Chief Larry Ingargiola said he calls FEMA representatives three to four times a day and cannot persuade the agency to move faster in paying for the trailers. "If they don't pay for the trailers, I can't put the trailers out," he said.
Rodriguez said he and other parish officials identified 6,500 trailers, each at a price $1,500 less than what FEMA is paying for trailers of the same type. Another list he provided had 4,500 trailers that are $3,000 cheaper than what FEMA pays, Rodriguez said. And FEMA hasn't talked with the contractor in charge of the cheaper trailers, Rodriguez added.
Thanks, ProgressiveMe!
FTP: "Join Congressman Murtha's Call for a Real Debate on Iraq
"Because we in Congress are charged with overseeing the safety of our sons and daughters when the President sends them into battle, it is our responsibility, our obligation to speak out for them. This obligation has not been met. That's why I am speaking out now.
"I am asking you to join me in demanding a real discussion of the war in Iraq from the U.S. House of Representatives."
-- Congressman John Murtha (PA-12)
Yes, I support Representative John Murtha's call for Congress to have an honest debate on the safety of our troops."
"Because we in Congress are charged with overseeing the safety of our sons and daughters when the President sends them into battle, it is our responsibility, our obligation to speak out for them. This obligation has not been met. That's why I am speaking out now.
"I am asking you to join me in demanding a real discussion of the war in Iraq from the U.S. House of Representatives."
-- Congressman John Murtha (PA-12)
Yes, I support Representative John Murtha's call for Congress to have an honest debate on the safety of our troops."
FTP: "WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is in the final stage of welcoming industry experiments using human subjects to test the effects of pesticides and other commercial toxins, according to comments filed today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and a coalition of public health organizations. The proposed EPA rule, strongly supported by the chemical industry, allows experiments on humans to replace reliance on animal studies.
"The good news is that EPA, for the first time, is pledging to abide by the Nuremberg Code, adopted after World War II to prevent a repetition of the horrific Nazi human experiments," stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, whose organization became involved after EPA gagged its own scientists from voicing objections. "The bad news is that EPA's proposal breaks this long overdue pledge by offering a plan peppered with loopholes that encourage unethical conduct and omit key protections for infants, pregnant women and other vulnerable populations.""
Sickening.
Thanks to Dr-Duke and sent on to zillions
"The good news is that EPA, for the first time, is pledging to abide by the Nuremberg Code, adopted after World War II to prevent a repetition of the horrific Nazi human experiments," stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, whose organization became involved after EPA gagged its own scientists from voicing objections. "The bad news is that EPA's proposal breaks this long overdue pledge by offering a plan peppered with loopholes that encourage unethical conduct and omit key protections for infants, pregnant women and other vulnerable populations.""
Sickening.
Thanks to Dr-Duke and sent on to zillions
FTP: "While the Iraqi people struggle to define their future amid political chaos and violence, the fate of their most valuable economic asset, oil, is being decided behind closed doors.
This report reveals how an oil policy with origins in the US State Department is on course to be adopted in Iraq, soon after the December elections, with no public debate and at enormous potential cost. The policy allocates the majority of Iraq's oilfields - accounting for at least 64% of the country's oil reserves - for development by multinational oil companies.
Iraqi public opinion is strongly opposed to handing control over oil development to foreign companies. But with the active involvement of the US and British governments a group of powerful Iraqi politicians and technocrats is pushing for a system of long term contracts with foreign oil companies which will be beyond the reach of Iraqi courts, public scrutiny or democratic control."
"...Beyond the reach of...courts, public scrutiny or democratic control." Sound like any other country you know?
This war should be paid for entirely by oil companies, and all the soldiers should come from all levels of oil company management!
Thanks to dear indicaspecies.
This report reveals how an oil policy with origins in the US State Department is on course to be adopted in Iraq, soon after the December elections, with no public debate and at enormous potential cost. The policy allocates the majority of Iraq's oilfields - accounting for at least 64% of the country's oil reserves - for development by multinational oil companies.
Iraqi public opinion is strongly opposed to handing control over oil development to foreign companies. But with the active involvement of the US and British governments a group of powerful Iraqi politicians and technocrats is pushing for a system of long term contracts with foreign oil companies which will be beyond the reach of Iraqi courts, public scrutiny or democratic control."
"...Beyond the reach of...courts, public scrutiny or democratic control." Sound like any other country you know?
This war should be paid for entirely by oil companies, and all the soldiers should come from all levels of oil company management!
Thanks to dear indicaspecies.
Stolen from TOMTHUMB
FTP: "Their real God is money
By ROBERT WHITCOMB
Providence Journal
Dec 13, 2005, 06:01
It's interesting how, in the end, it all comes down to money. Assorted "Christian fundamentalists" such as Tom DeLay and Ralph Reed, not to mention many other Washington power brokers, turn out to a large extent to be fanatical worshippers of Mammon. In America's most intense money lust since perhaps the Gilded Age, high-level public-sector work in Washington is increasingly seen as simply another way to strike it rich. Lobbyist Jack Abramoff may be the J.P. Morgan of this world.
There are, of course, many honest individuals in Washington. But in a culture that increasingly values wealth and its accoutrements, we shouldn't be surprised at the recent scandals in the capital, mostly connected with Congress and mostly associated with the Republicans, because they control Congress."
Nicked from TOMTHUMB
By ROBERT WHITCOMB
Providence Journal
Dec 13, 2005, 06:01
It's interesting how, in the end, it all comes down to money. Assorted "Christian fundamentalists" such as Tom DeLay and Ralph Reed, not to mention many other Washington power brokers, turn out to a large extent to be fanatical worshippers of Mammon. In America's most intense money lust since perhaps the Gilded Age, high-level public-sector work in Washington is increasingly seen as simply another way to strike it rich. Lobbyist Jack Abramoff may be the J.P. Morgan of this world.
There are, of course, many honest individuals in Washington. But in a culture that increasingly values wealth and its accoutrements, we shouldn't be surprised at the recent scandals in the capital, mostly connected with Congress and mostly associated with the Republicans, because they control Congress."
Nicked from TOMTHUMB
FTP: Less than a month out of office, Gerhard Schrder finds himself defending a job offer from his old friend Vladimir Putin. Schrder's technically free to take any job he wants but the German papers catch a whiff of corruption.
"The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung waxes sarcastic: "How nice it would be if a flawless democrat" -- a reference to Schrder's glowing description of his pal Putin's democratic credentials -- "could win influence over a concern like that!" The paper finds it not just tacky that a German chancellor should go to work for a business where the Russian state has the last word; it casts doubt on the ex-chancellor's "inner independence" during his time in office. "So far Schrder's announcement has managed to hurt Germany," the editors write, "both inside and out."
The left-leaning Berliner Zeitung compares Schrder to rock stars, athletes, and actors who move on to a second career in advertizing. "From his recent activities in Russia's energy business it's clear that Schrder has decided against honor and in favor of money and power ... Yet he says nothing. Unlike athletes and artists, he should provide an explanation.""
Stolen from dear TOMTHUMB.
"The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung waxes sarcastic: "How nice it would be if a flawless democrat" -- a reference to Schrder's glowing description of his pal Putin's democratic credentials -- "could win influence over a concern like that!" The paper finds it not just tacky that a German chancellor should go to work for a business where the Russian state has the last word; it casts doubt on the ex-chancellor's "inner independence" during his time in office. "So far Schrder's announcement has managed to hurt Germany," the editors write, "both inside and out."
The left-leaning Berliner Zeitung compares Schrder to rock stars, athletes, and actors who move on to a second career in advertizing. "From his recent activities in Russia's energy business it's clear that Schrder has decided against honor and in favor of money and power ... Yet he says nothing. Unlike athletes and artists, he should provide an explanation.""
Stolen from dear TOMTHUMB.
FTP: "Bloodshed Casts Doubt on Mubarak Promises
Dec 8, 2:41 PM (ET)
By STEVEN R. HURST
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - The bloody election violence that marred Egypt's parliamentary vote has called into question the sincerity of President Hosni Mubarak's vow, under U.S. pressure, to open up the country's autocratic political system.
The violence was an apparent effort to blunt the startling gains made by the opposition Muslim Brotherhood. If so, it did not work: The banned Brotherhood, the country's main Islamic fundamentalist group, comes out of the vote with at least 88 seats in the new 454-member parliament, up from only 15 before.
At least 10 people died in violence over the three stages of voting that began Nov. 9. The final vote on Wednesday was especially bloody - eight people, including a 14-year-old boy, dead from gunshots.
Washington said the violent conduct by security forces raises concerns over Egypt's "commitment to democracy and freedom," tacitly acknowledging a setback in the Bush administration policy of spreading democracy in the Middle East. The comments, issued by the State Department, were a rare and harsh critique of Mubarak, Washington's strongest regional ally."
Washington has a hell of a lotta nerve to question anyone's commitment to freedom and democracy!
Dec 8, 2:41 PM (ET)
By STEVEN R. HURST
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - The bloody election violence that marred Egypt's parliamentary vote has called into question the sincerity of President Hosni Mubarak's vow, under U.S. pressure, to open up the country's autocratic political system.
The violence was an apparent effort to blunt the startling gains made by the opposition Muslim Brotherhood. If so, it did not work: The banned Brotherhood, the country's main Islamic fundamentalist group, comes out of the vote with at least 88 seats in the new 454-member parliament, up from only 15 before.
At least 10 people died in violence over the three stages of voting that began Nov. 9. The final vote on Wednesday was especially bloody - eight people, including a 14-year-old boy, dead from gunshots.
Washington said the violent conduct by security forces raises concerns over Egypt's "commitment to democracy and freedom," tacitly acknowledging a setback in the Bush administration policy of spreading democracy in the Middle East. The comments, issued by the State Department, were a rare and harsh critique of Mubarak, Washington's strongest regional ally."
Washington has a hell of a lotta nerve to question anyone's commitment to freedom and democracy!
U.S. Resists New Targets for Curbing Emissions
By ANDREW C. REVKIN
Published: December 8, 2005
MONTREAL, Dec. 7 - The Bush administration, facing fresh criticism on several fronts in climate talks here, maintained its opposition on Wednesday not only to new targets for cutting emissions linked to global warming but also to any informal discussions that might even touch on the subject.
Environmental groups set-up exhibits in the hallway outside the main meeting hall at the climate talks.
In an unusually direct rebuke, Prime Minister Paul Martin of Canada singled out the United States at a news conference for not joining international efforts to require curbs on carbon dioxide and the other greenhouse gases. "To the reticent nations, including the United States, I say this: There is such a thing as a global conscience," Mr. Martin said. "And now is the time to listen to it."
Separately, representatives from the Eskimo native culture of the Arctic, which for 5,000 years has used sea ice as a platform for hunting and transportation, announced that they had filed a petition against the United States on Wednesday in the Washington offices of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, a body examining claims of rights abuses in the Americas.
The petition asserts that unabated American emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases are threatening Eskimo traditions and presses the United States to curb the gases.
By ANDREW C. REVKIN
Published: December 8, 2005
MONTREAL, Dec. 7 - The Bush administration, facing fresh criticism on several fronts in climate talks here, maintained its opposition on Wednesday not only to new targets for cutting emissions linked to global warming but also to any informal discussions that might even touch on the subject.
Environmental groups set-up exhibits in the hallway outside the main meeting hall at the climate talks.
In an unusually direct rebuke, Prime Minister Paul Martin of Canada singled out the United States at a news conference for not joining international efforts to require curbs on carbon dioxide and the other greenhouse gases. "To the reticent nations, including the United States, I say this: There is such a thing as a global conscience," Mr. Martin said. "And now is the time to listen to it."
Separately, representatives from the Eskimo native culture of the Arctic, which for 5,000 years has used sea ice as a platform for hunting and transportation, announced that they had filed a petition against the United States on Wednesday in the Washington offices of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, a body examining claims of rights abuses in the Americas.
The petition asserts that unabated American emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases are threatening Eskimo traditions and presses the United States to curb the gases.
FTP: "The US-based NGO Human Rights Watch said that based on flight records and other evidence, it believed Poland and Romania had cooperated with the CIA to set up secret prisons.
Flight records and other evidence points to Poland and Romania as countries that allowed their territory to be used by the the United States' Central Intelligence Agency to hold top al Qaeda suspects captives, a Human Rights Watch director said.
Tom Malinowski, the Washington director of the human rights group, said the evidence, though circumstantial, strongly pointed to Poland and Romania as being among the unidentified eastern European countries referred to in a Washington Post report Wednesday on secret CIA-run prisons.
Malinowski said sources in Afghanistan told the human rights organization that top al Qaeda suspects, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, were moved out of Afghanistan in September 2003.
The same month, a Boeing 737, leased by the CIA to transport prisoners, departed from Kabul and made stops at a remote rural airfield at Szynany, near a Polish intelligence facility at the town of Szczytno in northeastern Poland and later at a military airfield in Romania known as Mihail Kogalniceaneu before continuing on to Morocco and then to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, he said."
Land of the free and the home of the brave, huh?
Thanks, Zaxy
Flight records and other evidence points to Poland and Romania as countries that allowed their territory to be used by the the United States' Central Intelligence Agency to hold top al Qaeda suspects captives, a Human Rights Watch director said.
Tom Malinowski, the Washington director of the human rights group, said the evidence, though circumstantial, strongly pointed to Poland and Romania as being among the unidentified eastern European countries referred to in a Washington Post report Wednesday on secret CIA-run prisons.
Malinowski said sources in Afghanistan told the human rights organization that top al Qaeda suspects, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, were moved out of Afghanistan in September 2003.
The same month, a Boeing 737, leased by the CIA to transport prisoners, departed from Kabul and made stops at a remote rural airfield at Szynany, near a Polish intelligence facility at the town of Szczytno in northeastern Poland and later at a military airfield in Romania known as Mihail Kogalniceaneu before continuing on to Morocco and then to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, he said."
Land of the free and the home of the brave, huh?
Thanks, Zaxy
From the page: "The U.S. military last week acknowledged paying Iraqi newspapers to publish pro-American stories written by an "information operations" task force. Then on Monday, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld blamed the mainstream press for dwelling on "the worst about America and our military."
So, rummy the dummy, what in hell is the good stuff?
This bad news, Rumsfeld told an academic audience, is "reported and spread around the world, often with little context and little scrutiny, let alone correction or accountability after the fact."
A secretive White House Iraq Group, or WHIG for short, set strategy for selling the Iraq war to the public. The group's work became a focus of the investigation into who leaked CIA agent Valerie Plame's name to the media."
So, rummy the dummy, what in hell is the good stuff?
This bad news, Rumsfeld told an academic audience, is "reported and spread around the world, often with little context and little scrutiny, let alone correction or accountability after the fact."
A secretive White House Iraq Group, or WHIG for short, set strategy for selling the Iraq war to the public. The group's work became a focus of the investigation into who leaked CIA agent Valerie Plame's name to the media."
FTP: "Supreme Court Weighs Military's Access to Law Schools
By LINDA GREENHOUSE
Published: December 7, 2005
WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 - The military wants access to law schools on the same basis as other potential employers seeking to recruit students, although openly gay law students, of course, need not apply. The law schools insist that only those employers who pledge not to discriminate, against gay men and lesbians or anyone else, are welcome.
For more than 10 years, the two sides have circled one another as Congress pulled the noose ever tighter in the form of a threatened withholding of federal money from noncompliant universities. A showdown in the Supreme Court appeared inevitable, and on Tuesday it finally took place.
The result was a lopsided argument during which the justices appeared strongly inclined to uphold a federal law known as the Solomon Amendment, which withholds federal grants from universities that do not open their doors to military recruiters "in a manner at least equal in quality and scope" to the access offered civilian recruiters.
Or as Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. put it succinctly: "It says that if you want our money, you have to let our recruiters on campus.""
Well, Roberts is certainly living up to my expectations, the witling.
By LINDA GREENHOUSE
Published: December 7, 2005
WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 - The military wants access to law schools on the same basis as other potential employers seeking to recruit students, although openly gay law students, of course, need not apply. The law schools insist that only those employers who pledge not to discriminate, against gay men and lesbians or anyone else, are welcome.
For more than 10 years, the two sides have circled one another as Congress pulled the noose ever tighter in the form of a threatened withholding of federal money from noncompliant universities. A showdown in the Supreme Court appeared inevitable, and on Tuesday it finally took place.
The result was a lopsided argument during which the justices appeared strongly inclined to uphold a federal law known as the Solomon Amendment, which withholds federal grants from universities that do not open their doors to military recruiters "in a manner at least equal in quality and scope" to the access offered civilian recruiters.
Or as Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. put it succinctly: "It says that if you want our money, you have to let our recruiters on campus.""
Well, Roberts is certainly living up to my expectations, the witling.
FTP: "Governor's Relative Is Big Contract Winner
By ERIC LIPTON
Published: December 7, 2005
PASS CHRISTIAN, Miss., Dec. 6 - Rosemary Barbour happens to be married to a nephew of Mississippi's governor, Haley Barbour. Since the Reagan administration, when Mrs. Barbour worked as a White House volunteer as a college student, she has been active in the Republican Party.
She also happens to be one of the biggest Mississippi-based winners of federal contracts for Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts.
To some contract watchdogs, this could be an example of how the federal government responsibly reached out to give a piece of the billions of dollars in federal hurricane-recovery work to a small Mississippi-based company owned by a Latina. Mrs. Barbour, 39, who was born in Guatemala but now lives in Jackson, Miss., is certified by the United States Small Business Administration as a disadvantaged small-business owner.
But the $6.4 million in contracts received by her company, Alcatec L.L.C., have also elicited questions about possible favoritism.
Federal records show that the company has won at least 10 separate contracts from the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the General Services Administration to install and maintain showers for relief workers and evacuees, to deliver tents, and to provide laundry equipment. The most valuable were awarded in September and October without competitive bidding, the records show."
Remember, girls and boys: It's Who You Know!
By ERIC LIPTON
Published: December 7, 2005
PASS CHRISTIAN, Miss., Dec. 6 - Rosemary Barbour happens to be married to a nephew of Mississippi's governor, Haley Barbour. Since the Reagan administration, when Mrs. Barbour worked as a White House volunteer as a college student, she has been active in the Republican Party.
She also happens to be one of the biggest Mississippi-based winners of federal contracts for Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts.
To some contract watchdogs, this could be an example of how the federal government responsibly reached out to give a piece of the billions of dollars in federal hurricane-recovery work to a small Mississippi-based company owned by a Latina. Mrs. Barbour, 39, who was born in Guatemala but now lives in Jackson, Miss., is certified by the United States Small Business Administration as a disadvantaged small-business owner.
But the $6.4 million in contracts received by her company, Alcatec L.L.C., have also elicited questions about possible favoritism.
Federal records show that the company has won at least 10 separate contracts from the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the General Services Administration to install and maintain showers for relief workers and evacuees, to deliver tents, and to provide laundry equipment. The most valuable were awarded in September and October without competitive bidding, the records show."
Remember, girls and boys: It's Who You Know!
Candidate caught with big cocaine haul
Dec 6, 11:25 AM (ET)
SAO PAULO, Brazil (Reuters) - A would-be Brazilian mayor was in custody on Tuesday for international drug trafficking on charges of importing 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) of cocaine on a plane that took off from Colombia, federal police in Brasilia said.
Misilvan Chavier dos Santos denied police claims that he planned to use money from drug sales to finance a pending bid for political office. Chavier dos Santos ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Tupiratins in Tocantins state in 2004 and for state congress in 2002.
His next campaign had also been showing signs of trouble.
Chavier dos Santos was expelled from the centrist Social Democracy Party last week after he used a motorcycle to flee from another plane loaded with cocaine just as federal police arrived at a clandestine airstrip.
Dec 6, 11:25 AM (ET)
SAO PAULO, Brazil (Reuters) - A would-be Brazilian mayor was in custody on Tuesday for international drug trafficking on charges of importing 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) of cocaine on a plane that took off from Colombia, federal police in Brasilia said.
Misilvan Chavier dos Santos denied police claims that he planned to use money from drug sales to finance a pending bid for political office. Chavier dos Santos ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Tupiratins in Tocantins state in 2004 and for state congress in 2002.
His next campaign had also been showing signs of trouble.
Chavier dos Santos was expelled from the centrist Social Democracy Party last week after he used a motorcycle to flee from another plane loaded with cocaine just as federal police arrived at a clandestine airstrip.
On the day the President told the American people to prepare for the long haul in Iraq, here's a story that seems to perfectly sum up our priorities as a nation. They're calling it Mitzvahpalooza. It may go down in history as the world's most obscene birthday party (eat your heart out Dennis Kozlowski). David H. Brooks, CEO of bulletproof vest maker DHB Industries, spared no expense for his 13-year old daughter's entry into adulthood. The girl and 300 of her closest BFFs were entertained recently in New York's Rainbow Room by Don Henley, Stevie Nicks, Kenny G, Aerosmith and, believe it or not, 50 Cent (I guess 500 large can make you forget all about street cred). It was hosted by Tom Petty. The reported cost: $10 million.
First off, what 13-year old is a fan of Don Henley, Fleetwood Mac and, for God's sake, Kenny G? Who was this party really for? Second, and more importantly, where does a guy get $10 million to blow on a Bat Mitzvah? Well, it appears, from you, the American taxpayer. According to United for a Fair Economy, Brooks and Co. have made a tidy profit outfitting our nation's fighting men and women in body armor that allegedly couldn't take a hit from a 9mm round:
"David H. Brooks, CEO of bulletproof vest maker DHB Industries, earned $70 million in 2004, 13,349% more than his 2001 compensation of $525,000. Brooks also sold company stock worth about $186 million last year, spooking investors who drove DHB's share price from more than $22 to as low as $6.50 [DHB was trading at $4.20 Wednesday]. In May 2005, the U.S. Marines recalled more than 5,000 DHB armored vests after questions were raised about their effectiveness. By that time, Brooks had pocketed over $250 million in war windfalls."
According to a government memo uncovered in an eight-month investigation by the Marine Corps Times, the company's vests, made by DHB subsidiary Point Blank Body Armor, failed tests when they suffered "multiple complete penetrations" of 9mm pistol rounds and other ballistics. In the memo, government ballistics expert James MacKiewicz said his office "has little confidence in the performance" of the body armor.
The Marines later disputed the results of the tests.
A spokeperson for the Marines issued a statement at the time saying, "Even though they may not have met contract specifications there's no evidence to suggest (troops) would be or had been at risk."
Nevertheless, the Marines recalled 5,277 of the company's "Interceptor" vests in May.
"It's shocking to see a guy who has no shame like this. He may be the world champion war profiteer," said the Institute for Policy Studies' Sarah Anderson, who co-authored the "Executive Excess 2005" report. "The shareholders are up in arms over the defective equipment, the military is up in arms, and he's out partying."
"...Mr. Brooks' compensation for DHB is fully disclosed in the company's annual report. For 2004, it was approximately $3 million."
According to the company's 2004 annual report, Rubin is correct. Brooks earned around $3 million in salary and "other compensation." But he also pocketed an additional $69,930,000 in cash from exercising stock options. This does not include a $186 million sale Brooks made of DHB stock, which is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Incredible!
Great site but for the anti-semitism in the comments. Morons. Evil comes in all flavors and religions.
Pinched from dear FENIAN.
First off, what 13-year old is a fan of Don Henley, Fleetwood Mac and, for God's sake, Kenny G? Who was this party really for? Second, and more importantly, where does a guy get $10 million to blow on a Bat Mitzvah? Well, it appears, from you, the American taxpayer. According to United for a Fair Economy, Brooks and Co. have made a tidy profit outfitting our nation's fighting men and women in body armor that allegedly couldn't take a hit from a 9mm round:
"David H. Brooks, CEO of bulletproof vest maker DHB Industries, earned $70 million in 2004, 13,349% more than his 2001 compensation of $525,000. Brooks also sold company stock worth about $186 million last year, spooking investors who drove DHB's share price from more than $22 to as low as $6.50 [DHB was trading at $4.20 Wednesday]. In May 2005, the U.S. Marines recalled more than 5,000 DHB armored vests after questions were raised about their effectiveness. By that time, Brooks had pocketed over $250 million in war windfalls."
According to a government memo uncovered in an eight-month investigation by the Marine Corps Times, the company's vests, made by DHB subsidiary Point Blank Body Armor, failed tests when they suffered "multiple complete penetrations" of 9mm pistol rounds and other ballistics. In the memo, government ballistics expert James MacKiewicz said his office "has little confidence in the performance" of the body armor.
The Marines later disputed the results of the tests.
A spokeperson for the Marines issued a statement at the time saying, "Even though they may not have met contract specifications there's no evidence to suggest (troops) would be or had been at risk."
Nevertheless, the Marines recalled 5,277 of the company's "Interceptor" vests in May.
"It's shocking to see a guy who has no shame like this. He may be the world champion war profiteer," said the Institute for Policy Studies' Sarah Anderson, who co-authored the "Executive Excess 2005" report. "The shareholders are up in arms over the defective equipment, the military is up in arms, and he's out partying."
"...Mr. Brooks' compensation for DHB is fully disclosed in the company's annual report. For 2004, it was approximately $3 million."
According to the company's 2004 annual report, Rubin is correct. Brooks earned around $3 million in salary and "other compensation." But he also pocketed an additional $69,930,000 in cash from exercising stock options. This does not include a $186 million sale Brooks made of DHB stock, which is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Incredible!
Great site but for the anti-semitism in the comments. Morons. Evil comes in all flavors and religions.
Pinched from dear FENIAN.
"Many Republicans say they are troubled that DeLay's political money-laundering trial in Texas could drag on for months, leaving the question of leadership in limbo. And they are increasingly anxious that DeLay may be implicated in the bribery and corruption investigations of Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff and former representative Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.)."
They're considering replacing him?
They're considering replacing him?
FTP: "The political scandal over the CIA's transfer of alleged terrorists to overseas prisons where they are subject to torture has now embroiled governments throughout Europe.
Airplanes operated by CIA-front companies carrying detainees have landed many times at European airports before flying off to countries where the prisoners are held incommunicado and tortured, with the knowledge and even direct participation of US operatives.
According to press reports, since September 11, 2001 at least 100 prisoners have been subjected to this process of "extraordinary rendition." Some have been kidnapped on European soil or are European citizens.
Human Rights Watch has said there is strong evidence, including the flight records of CIA jets transporting prisoners out of Afghanistan, that Poland and Romania were among countries allowing the CIA to operate secret detention centres, or "black sites.""
Thanks, RussellB
Airplanes operated by CIA-front companies carrying detainees have landed many times at European airports before flying off to countries where the prisoners are held incommunicado and tortured, with the knowledge and even direct participation of US operatives.
According to press reports, since September 11, 2001 at least 100 prisoners have been subjected to this process of "extraordinary rendition." Some have been kidnapped on European soil or are European citizens.
Human Rights Watch has said there is strong evidence, including the flight records of CIA jets transporting prisoners out of Afghanistan, that Poland and Romania were among countries allowing the CIA to operate secret detention centres, or "black sites.""
Thanks, RussellB
Thirty-one years ago, a man wrote a book exposing the politics involved in cancer therapy. It painted a picture of a world in which an effective control for cancer existed but was outlawed because it couldn't line the pockets of the powerful pharmaceutical industry. In 31 years, little has changed.
G. Edward Griffin's 1974 book World Without Cancer is as poignant today as the day it was written, and in some circles, just as controversial. That's because Griffin tells the story of a powerful substance that, despite its potential to aid in the fight against cancer, few cancer sufferers will ever know about, and that their doctors certainly will not offer them. That substance is vitamin B-17, also called Laetrile, and it is a naturally-occurring substance that has been banned for use in the control of cancer in the United States.
Griffin was first introduced to the subject of vitamin therapy for cancer control while on a fishing trip with San Francisco physician John Richardson, he said in a telephone interview. Dr. Richardson told Griffin he had seen great success in treating his cancer patients with vitamin B-17, but he faced opposition from local medical authorities who, when they caught wind of what he was doing, balked at the fact he was using a treatment that was not FDA-approved. In an effort to protect his right to administer a therapy he had seen work on so many patients, Dr. Richardson turned to Griffin for help in advancing his cause, and thus was the beginning of World Without Cancer.
Griffin, who knew nothing of the science of cancer when he began his project, soon learned plenty. His research led him to the conclusion that naturally-occurring Laetrile is indeed an effective treatment for cancer. In fact, from the time he started his research to today, Griffin says he has seen literally thousands of people benefit from treatment with Laetrile. He also learned that cancer is a disease linked directly to a deficiency of vitamin B-17, which is found in high amounts in apricot kernels. However, perhaps the most important and most troubling thing he learned was that Laetrile and its health potential were being kept out of doctors' hands for political - not scientific - reasons.
Thanks, ZimZalabim
G. Edward Griffin's 1974 book World Without Cancer is as poignant today as the day it was written, and in some circles, just as controversial. That's because Griffin tells the story of a powerful substance that, despite its potential to aid in the fight against cancer, few cancer sufferers will ever know about, and that their doctors certainly will not offer them. That substance is vitamin B-17, also called Laetrile, and it is a naturally-occurring substance that has been banned for use in the control of cancer in the United States.
Griffin was first introduced to the subject of vitamin therapy for cancer control while on a fishing trip with San Francisco physician John Richardson, he said in a telephone interview. Dr. Richardson told Griffin he had seen great success in treating his cancer patients with vitamin B-17, but he faced opposition from local medical authorities who, when they caught wind of what he was doing, balked at the fact he was using a treatment that was not FDA-approved. In an effort to protect his right to administer a therapy he had seen work on so many patients, Dr. Richardson turned to Griffin for help in advancing his cause, and thus was the beginning of World Without Cancer.
Griffin, who knew nothing of the science of cancer when he began his project, soon learned plenty. His research led him to the conclusion that naturally-occurring Laetrile is indeed an effective treatment for cancer. In fact, from the time he started his research to today, Griffin says he has seen literally thousands of people benefit from treatment with Laetrile. He also learned that cancer is a disease linked directly to a deficiency of vitamin B-17, which is found in high amounts in apricot kernels. However, perhaps the most important and most troubling thing he learned was that Laetrile and its health potential were being kept out of doctors' hands for political - not scientific - reasons.
Thanks, ZimZalabim
From the page: "National Parks to Seek Corporate Sponsorships
Corporate Funds Will Alter Park Landscapes and Sway Policies
WASHINGTON - November 30 - In a quiet but far-reaching change, the National Park Service is poised to adopt a new policy of aggressively seeking corporate sponsorship of park projects and facilities. In return for financial sponsorships, the plan will give corporate donors naming rights, use of National Park symbols and personnel in advertising and much greater influence over park managers, according to public comments filed today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).
"This starts a slow motion commercialization of the national park system," stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch. "What will be allowed stops just short of licensing ads for 'The Official Beer of Yosemite' or 'Old Faithful, Brought to You by Viagra.'
The Park Service has put forward a draft directive encouraging active pursuit of potential financial donors and repealing the agency's current passive posture of merely accepting donations. Public comment on the plan closes this week. Interior Secretary Gale Norton has hailed the plan as an "exciting" new approach for broadening the funding base for national parks."
Why doesn't shrub just sell all the National Parks to Kimberley-Clark so they can be clearcut?
Reaching for the wastebasket again.
Thanks, Voyyaghar
Corporate Funds Will Alter Park Landscapes and Sway Policies
WASHINGTON - November 30 - In a quiet but far-reaching change, the National Park Service is poised to adopt a new policy of aggressively seeking corporate sponsorship of park projects and facilities. In return for financial sponsorships, the plan will give corporate donors naming rights, use of National Park symbols and personnel in advertising and much greater influence over park managers, according to public comments filed today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).
"This starts a slow motion commercialization of the national park system," stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch. "What will be allowed stops just short of licensing ads for 'The Official Beer of Yosemite' or 'Old Faithful, Brought to You by Viagra.'
The Park Service has put forward a draft directive encouraging active pursuit of potential financial donors and repealing the agency's current passive posture of merely accepting donations. Public comment on the plan closes this week. Interior Secretary Gale Norton has hailed the plan as an "exciting" new approach for broadening the funding base for national parks."
Why doesn't shrub just sell all the National Parks to Kimberley-Clark so they can be clearcut?
Reaching for the wastebasket again.
Thanks, Voyyaghar
FTP: "The current president, George Bush, lectures Americans almost nonstop about being patriotic in the sense that they should make sacrifices and give service to their country (as if they are not already tax serfs) by helping to alleviate both domestic and foreign problems, mainly by spending more money on domestic programs and spending more money on foreign adventures and sending more troops to die in far-off lands, all in the name of spreading freedom and democracy. Many Americans have been taken in by the false notion of patriotism put forward by George W. Bush and his minions. Those that have opposed Bush and his Administration on their domestic and war policies have been dubbed "unpatriotic," as if blind obedience to a sitting president in an undeclared war is required in the Constitution.
But that is not the definition of patriotism. According to the 1986 version of the Merriam-Webster unabridged dictionary, a patriot is ... "a person who loves his country and defends and promotes its interests." Those who have criticized the Bush Administration for its domestic and foreign policies are much more patriotic than those who have gotten the U.S. into the fiscal and war/foreign policy mess that it is now in."
Many thanks to henrynjake!
But that is not the definition of patriotism. According to the 1986 version of the Merriam-Webster unabridged dictionary, a patriot is ... "a person who loves his country and defends and promotes its interests." Those who have criticized the Bush Administration for its domestic and foreign policies are much more patriotic than those who have gotten the U.S. into the fiscal and war/foreign policy mess that it is now in."
Many thanks to henrynjake!
FTP: "Troops write articles presented as news reports. Some officers object to the practice. ["Some?!" Why the hell not "All"?]
By Mark Mazzetti and Borzou Daragahi
LA Times Staff Writers
November 30, 2005
WASHINGTON - As part of an information offensive in Iraq, the U.S. military is secretly paying Iraqi newspapers to publish stories written by American troops in an effort to burnish the image of the U.S. mission in Iraq.
The articles, written by U.S. military "information operations" troops, are translated into Arabic and placed in Baghdad newspapers with the help of a defense contractor, according to U.S. military officials and documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times.
Many of the articles are presented in the Iraqi press as unbiased news accounts written and reported by independent journalists. The stories trumpet the work of U.S. and Iraqi troops, denounce insurgents and tout U.S.-led efforts to rebuild the country.
Though the articles are basically factual, they present only one side of events and omit information that might reflect poorly on the U.S. or Iraqi governments, officials said. Records and interviews indicate that the U.S. has paid Iraqi newspapers to run dozens of such articles, with headlines such as "Iraqis Insist on Living Despite Terrorism," [WTF??? Did someone's four-year-old think that one up?!] since the effort began this year."
I'm barfin' in my wastebasket here!
Thanks, Voyyaghar, I think.
By Mark Mazzetti and Borzou Daragahi
LA Times Staff Writers
November 30, 2005
WASHINGTON - As part of an information offensive in Iraq, the U.S. military is secretly paying Iraqi newspapers to publish stories written by American troops in an effort to burnish the image of the U.S. mission in Iraq.
The articles, written by U.S. military "information operations" troops, are translated into Arabic and placed in Baghdad newspapers with the help of a defense contractor, according to U.S. military officials and documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times.
Many of the articles are presented in the Iraqi press as unbiased news accounts written and reported by independent journalists. The stories trumpet the work of U.S. and Iraqi troops, denounce insurgents and tout U.S.-led efforts to rebuild the country.
Though the articles are basically factual, they present only one side of events and omit information that might reflect poorly on the U.S. or Iraqi governments, officials said. Records and interviews indicate that the U.S. has paid Iraqi newspapers to run dozens of such articles, with headlines such as "Iraqis Insist on Living Despite Terrorism," [WTF??? Did someone's four-year-old think that one up?!] since the effort began this year."
I'm barfin' in my wastebasket here!
Thanks, Voyyaghar, I think.
FTP: "Cultural wormhole
Fasten your seatbelts,
put on a helmet,
and prepare to go mobile
-- the ride is about to get rough
on the road to Ragnarok
-- John Kaminski
November 30, 2005
Any decision made out of fear is always wrong. Its major feature is those who suffer for it.
Now we have consequence piled neck high upon deception. One more big lie from the Washington war machine and we will all suffocate, it seems sometimes.
The alternative seems to be to be dead, incinerated by white phosphorus on some dusty Falluja street, or perhaps emaciated by cancer deposited inside you by your soldier-husband's uranium semen.
When you turn to your doctor, he will do one of two things: medicate you into oblivion or send you into a building inside which your life functions will be surreptitiously terminated as quickly and economically as possible.
And you start to get the hint that maybe this is all a job you should take care of yourself, because, as the old saying goes, if you don't do it, who will? And then, very likely, it won't get done, no matter how important it is.
Human society is entering a cultural wormhole within which the entire structure of its formulas for existing is being shaken to the core.
As the sinister and violent gap between spin and soul widens into drugged mass murder from the air, all humans feel the tightness in their chests as they crouch in their huts and pray to their neighborhood deities that the storm will blow over soon and won't kill them when it passes."
Ain't this no sh*t.
Thanks, ProgressiveMe!
Fasten your seatbelts,
put on a helmet,
and prepare to go mobile
-- the ride is about to get rough
on the road to Ragnarok
-- John Kaminski
November 30, 2005
Any decision made out of fear is always wrong. Its major feature is those who suffer for it.
Now we have consequence piled neck high upon deception. One more big lie from the Washington war machine and we will all suffocate, it seems sometimes.
The alternative seems to be to be dead, incinerated by white phosphorus on some dusty Falluja street, or perhaps emaciated by cancer deposited inside you by your soldier-husband's uranium semen.
When you turn to your doctor, he will do one of two things: medicate you into oblivion or send you into a building inside which your life functions will be surreptitiously terminated as quickly and economically as possible.
And you start to get the hint that maybe this is all a job you should take care of yourself, because, as the old saying goes, if you don't do it, who will? And then, very likely, it won't get done, no matter how important it is.
Human society is entering a cultural wormhole within which the entire structure of its formulas for existing is being shaken to the core.
As the sinister and violent gap between spin and soul widens into drugged mass murder from the air, all humans feel the tightness in their chests as they crouch in their huts and pray to their neighborhood deities that the storm will blow over soon and won't kill them when it passes."
Ain't this no sh*t.
Thanks, ProgressiveMe!
FTP: "British security contractors kill Iraqi civilians
11/28/2005 2:00:00 PM GMT
In a calculated effort to crush the growing resistance, the occupation forces in Iraq are attacking innocent civilians everyday but we are not given the dimensions or brutality of the atrocities being carried out thanks to the biased coverage provided by major press and broadcast outlets that purport to disseminate "the news."
Unfortunately worldwide media failed to give the "trophy" video showing security guards in Baghdad randomly shooting Iraqi civilians, the attention needed in the wake of numerous abuse scandals involving the U.S. brutal actions in Iraq.
Two investigations have been launched after the video was posted on www.aegisIraq.co.uk, the Sunday Telegraph revealed. But the video has been removed.
The video, which was linked unofficially to Aegis Defence Services, and contained four separate clips, in which security guards open fire with automatic rifles at civilian cars, sparked concerns that private security firms could be responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocent civilians in the war-torn country."
11/28/2005 2:00:00 PM GMT
In a calculated effort to crush the growing resistance, the occupation forces in Iraq are attacking innocent civilians everyday but we are not given the dimensions or brutality of the atrocities being carried out thanks to the biased coverage provided by major press and broadcast outlets that purport to disseminate "the news."
Unfortunately worldwide media failed to give the "trophy" video showing security guards in Baghdad randomly shooting Iraqi civilians, the attention needed in the wake of numerous abuse scandals involving the U.S. brutal actions in Iraq.
Two investigations have been launched after the video was posted on www.aegisIraq.co.uk, the Sunday Telegraph revealed. But the video has been removed.
The video, which was linked unofficially to Aegis Defence Services, and contained four separate clips, in which security guards open fire with automatic rifles at civilian cars, sparked concerns that private security firms could be responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocent civilians in the war-torn country."
FTP: "Egyptian Police Battle Voters; One Killed
Dec 1, 1:17 PM (ET)
By NADIA ABOU EL-MAGD
SANDOUB, Egypt (AP) - Riot police battled voters Thursday, killing one person and blocking entry to polling stations in opposition strongholds in the third and final round of Egypt's legislative elections.
Police fired into a crowd in the Balteem district of Kafr el-Sheik, killing Gomaa el-Zeftawi, a fisherman, and wounding 60 other people, said Mohammed el-Ashqar, a campaign worker for a Nasserite opposition candidate.
Interior Ministry spokesman Gen. Ibrahim Hamad confirmed the killing of el-Zeftawi, the second fatality since the elections began Nov. 9, but he did not give a figure for the wounded. Minutes earlier Hamad had issued a statement saying polling had "unfolded in a smooth and peaceful manner."
In one village, men and women determined to vote resorted to sneaking into the polling station, putting up ladders to climb over back walls - out of sight of police barring the entrance - and slipping through bathroom windows to get in.
Voting proceeded normally in some towns, but in two villages visited by an Associated Press reporter - one the hometown of a Muslim Brotherhood candidate, the other of an independent candidate - police were blocking voters. In some southern towns, voters were intimidated by lines of police outside stations.
"I'm calling on his excellency, the president, to appoint the members of parliament because no one has been allowed to vote. ... It would save the money wasted on elections," Sameer Fikri, a would-be voter in the village of Sandoub, said sarcastically."
Speechless!
Dec 1, 1:17 PM (ET)
By NADIA ABOU EL-MAGD
SANDOUB, Egypt (AP) - Riot police battled voters Thursday, killing one person and blocking entry to polling stations in opposition strongholds in the third and final round of Egypt's legislative elections.
Police fired into a crowd in the Balteem district of Kafr el-Sheik, killing Gomaa el-Zeftawi, a fisherman, and wounding 60 other people, said Mohammed el-Ashqar, a campaign worker for a Nasserite opposition candidate.
Interior Ministry spokesman Gen. Ibrahim Hamad confirmed the killing of el-Zeftawi, the second fatality since the elections began Nov. 9, but he did not give a figure for the wounded. Minutes earlier Hamad had issued a statement saying polling had "unfolded in a smooth and peaceful manner."
In one village, men and women determined to vote resorted to sneaking into the polling station, putting up ladders to climb over back walls - out of sight of police barring the entrance - and slipping through bathroom windows to get in.
Voting proceeded normally in some towns, but in two villages visited by an Associated Press reporter - one the hometown of a Muslim Brotherhood candidate, the other of an independent candidate - police were blocking voters. In some southern towns, voters were intimidated by lines of police outside stations.
"I'm calling on his excellency, the president, to appoint the members of parliament because no one has been allowed to vote. ... It would save the money wasted on elections," Sameer Fikri, a would-be voter in the village of Sandoub, said sarcastically."
Speechless!
FTP: "OK, wait a fucking minute here...this is the US of A, right? We are supposed to have civilian oversight of military activities unless I misunderstood 9th grade civics. So now the 1600 Crew has succeeded in bringing us one step closer to Grampaw Prescott's carefully supported, chosen government, Nazi Germany. We have laws like Posse Comitatus for a reason, and here we're getting a circumvention by the military being its own self-propelled judge, jury and executioner against American Citizens. Fuck that.
So with this blog post, on this most American of Holidays...I'll sum this up with a blast from the past.
"Naturally, the common people don't want war, but after all, it is the leaders of a country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag people along whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. This is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country."
Hermann Goering, Hitler's Reich-Marshall at the Nuremberg Trials"
Disgusting. I agree with the blogger: 2006 can't come soon enough.
Thanks, voyyaghar!
So with this blog post, on this most American of Holidays...I'll sum this up with a blast from the past.
"Naturally, the common people don't want war, but after all, it is the leaders of a country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag people along whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. This is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country."
Hermann Goering, Hitler's Reich-Marshall at the Nuremberg Trials"
Disgusting. I agree with the blogger: 2006 can't come soon enough.
Thanks, voyyaghar!
WASHINGTON - A top aide to former Secretary of State Colin Powell said Monday that wrongheaded ideas for the handling of foreign detainees arose from White House and Pentagon officials who argued that "the president of the United States is all-powerful" and the Geneva Conventions irrelevant.
In an Associated Press interview, former Powell chief of staff Lawrence Wilkerson also said President Bush was "too aloof, too distant from the details" of postwar planning. Underlings exploited Bush's detachment* and made poor decisions, Wilkerson said.
Wilkerson blamed Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and like-minded aides. He said Cheney must have sincerely believed that Iraq could be a spawning ground for new terror assaults, because "otherwise I have to declare him a moron, an idiot or a nefarious bastard."
...Cheney's office, Rumsfeld aides and others argued "that the president of the United States is all-powerful, that as commander in chief the president of the United States can do anything he damn well pleases," Wilkerson said.
...Powell raised frequent and loud objections, his former aide said, once yelling into a telephone at Rumsfeld: "Donald, don't you understand what you are doing to our image?"
..."What he seems to be saying to me now is the president failed to discipline the process the way he should have and that the president is ultimately responsible for this whole mess," Wilkerson said.
...He said he has almost, but not quite, concluded that Cheney and others in the administration deliberately ignored evidence of bad intelligence and looked only at what supported their case for war.
A newly declassified Defense Intelligence Agency document from February 2002 said that an al-Qaida military instructor was probably misleading his interrogators about training that the terror group's members received from Iraq on chemical, biological and radiological weapons. Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi reportedly recanted his statements in January 2004.
A presidential intelligence commission also has dissected how spy agencies handled an Iraqi refugee who was a German intelligence source. Code-named Curveball, this man, a leading source on Iraq's purported mobile biological weapons labs, was found to be a fabricator and alcoholic.
Curveball done throwed us a curveball, dang his hide!
Pinched with gratitude from oldguynewguy.
*"Detachment" isn't exactly the word I would have chosen, but I'm an honest ex-Mongol cavalryman not a friggin' diplomat.
In an Associated Press interview, former Powell chief of staff Lawrence Wilkerson also said President Bush was "too aloof, too distant from the details" of postwar planning. Underlings exploited Bush's detachment* and made poor decisions, Wilkerson said.
Wilkerson blamed Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and like-minded aides. He said Cheney must have sincerely believed that Iraq could be a spawning ground for new terror assaults, because "otherwise I have to declare him a moron, an idiot or a nefarious bastard."
...Cheney's office, Rumsfeld aides and others argued "that the president of the United States is all-powerful, that as commander in chief the president of the United States can do anything he damn well pleases," Wilkerson said.
...Powell raised frequent and loud objections, his former aide said, once yelling into a telephone at Rumsfeld: "Donald, don't you understand what you are doing to our image?"
..."What he seems to be saying to me now is the president failed to discipline the process the way he should have and that the president is ultimately responsible for this whole mess," Wilkerson said.
...He said he has almost, but not quite, concluded that Cheney and others in the administration deliberately ignored evidence of bad intelligence and looked only at what supported their case for war.
A newly declassified Defense Intelligence Agency document from February 2002 said that an al-Qaida military instructor was probably misleading his interrogators about training that the terror group's members received from Iraq on chemical, biological and radiological weapons. Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi reportedly recanted his statements in January 2004.
A presidential intelligence commission also has dissected how spy agencies handled an Iraqi refugee who was a German intelligence source. Code-named Curveball, this man, a leading source on Iraq's purported mobile biological weapons labs, was found to be a fabricator and alcoholic.
Curveball done throwed us a curveball, dang his hide!
Pinched with gratitude from oldguynewguy.
*"Detachment" isn't exactly the word I would have chosen, but I'm an honest ex-Mongol cavalryman not a friggin' diplomat.
Calif. Congressman Admits Taking Bribes
Nov 28, 6:51 PM (ET)
By ELLIOT SPAGAT
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, an eight-term congressman and hotshot Vietnam War fighter jock, pleaded guilty to graft and tearfully resigned Monday, admitting he took $2.4 million in bribes mostly from defense contractors in exchange for government business and other favors.
"The truth is I broke the law, concealed my conduct, and disgraced my office," the 63-year-old Republican said at a news conference. "I know that I will forfeit my freedom, my reputation, my worldly possessions, most importantly, the trust of my friends and family."
He could get up to 10 years in prison at sentencing Feb. 27 on federal charges of conspiracy to commit bribery and fraud, and tax evasion.
Investigators said Cunningham, a member of a House Appropriations subcommittee that controls defense dollars, secured contracts worth tens of millions of dollars for those who paid him off. Prosecutors did not identify the defense contractors.
...The congressman had already announced in July - after the investigation became public - that he would not seek re-election next year. But until he entered his plea, he had insisted he had done nothing wrong. (Emphasis mine)
..."He did the worst thing an elected official can do - he enriched himself through his position and violated the trust of those who put him there," U.S. Attorney Carol Lam said.
"People" like him only cry because they got caught, not because they know they did evil things.
I'm well aware that plenty of democrats are also corrupt. However, I've never seen or heard a dem loudly and puritanically moralize the way repugs do.
An awful lot of mad, bad sh*t been goin' down in SanD, yo. Just about the entire city gov't get kicked/resigned recently.
Thanks, Voyyaghar!
Nov 28, 6:51 PM (ET)
By ELLIOT SPAGAT
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, an eight-term congressman and hotshot Vietnam War fighter jock, pleaded guilty to graft and tearfully resigned Monday, admitting he took $2.4 million in bribes mostly from defense contractors in exchange for government business and other favors.
"The truth is I broke the law, concealed my conduct, and disgraced my office," the 63-year-old Republican said at a news conference. "I know that I will forfeit my freedom, my reputation, my worldly possessions, most importantly, the trust of my friends and family."
He could get up to 10 years in prison at sentencing Feb. 27 on federal charges of conspiracy to commit bribery and fraud, and tax evasion.
Investigators said Cunningham, a member of a House Appropriations subcommittee that controls defense dollars, secured contracts worth tens of millions of dollars for those who paid him off. Prosecutors did not identify the defense contractors.
...The congressman had already announced in July - after the investigation became public - that he would not seek re-election next year. But until he entered his plea, he had insisted he had done nothing wrong. (Emphasis mine)
..."He did the worst thing an elected official can do - he enriched himself through his position and violated the trust of those who put him there," U.S. Attorney Carol Lam said.
"People" like him only cry because they got caught, not because they know they did evil things.
I'm well aware that plenty of democrats are also corrupt. However, I've never seen or heard a dem loudly and puritanically moralize the way repugs do.
An awful lot of mad, bad sh*t been goin' down in SanD, yo. Just about the entire city gov't get kicked/resigned recently.
Thanks, Voyyaghar!
From the page: "By Associated Press
10/25/05 "Associated Press" -- -- Washington -- At least 21 detainees who died while in US custody in Iraq and Afghanistan were the victims of homicide and usually died during or after interrogations, according to an analysis of Defence Department data.
The analysis by the American Civil Liberties Union, released today, looked at 44 deaths described in records obtained by the ACLU. Of those, the group characterised 21 as homicides, and said at least eight resulted from abusive techniques by military or intelligence officers, such as strangulation or "blunt force injuries", as noted in the autopsy reports.
The 44 deaths represent a partial group of the total number of prisoners who have died in US custody overseas; more than 100 have died of natural and violent causes."
10/25/05 "Associated Press" -- -- Washington -- At least 21 detainees who died while in US custody in Iraq and Afghanistan were the victims of homicide and usually died during or after interrogations, according to an analysis of Defence Department data.
The analysis by the American Civil Liberties Union, released today, looked at 44 deaths described in records obtained by the ACLU. Of those, the group characterised 21 as homicides, and said at least eight resulted from abusive techniques by military or intelligence officers, such as strangulation or "blunt force injuries", as noted in the autopsy reports.
The 44 deaths represent a partial group of the total number of prisoners who have died in US custody overseas; more than 100 have died of natural and violent causes."
Face the facts, Yankistan.
From the page: "Former FBI Director Louis J. Freeh slammed the 9/11 Commission Thursday saying it ignored - or "summarily rejected" - the most critical piece of intelligence that could have prevented the horrific attacks of September 11, 2001.
Writing in the Wall Street Journal's opinion page, Freeh gave a blistering review of the Commission and says new revelations indicate it is "a good time for the country to make some assessments of the 9/11 Commission itself."
The former Bureau Director, who resigned his position just months before Sept. 11, 2001, points out that the U.S. government had learned of the identity of Mohammed Atta the year prior to the attacks. Atta was one of the ringleaders of the group, and piloted an American Airlines plane that slammed into one of the Twin Towers.
Freeh recounts that military intelligence operation code-named "Able Danger" concluded in February 2000 that military experts had identified Atta as an al-Qaida agent operating in the U.S."
None of this stuff surprises me anymore; it still horrifies.
Thanks to dear ZimZalabim
Writing in the Wall Street Journal's opinion page, Freeh gave a blistering review of the Commission and says new revelations indicate it is "a good time for the country to make some assessments of the 9/11 Commission itself."
The former Bureau Director, who resigned his position just months before Sept. 11, 2001, points out that the U.S. government had learned of the identity of Mohammed Atta the year prior to the attacks. Atta was one of the ringleaders of the group, and piloted an American Airlines plane that slammed into one of the Twin Towers.
Freeh recounts that military intelligence operation code-named "Able Danger" concluded in February 2000 that military experts had identified Atta as an al-Qaida agent operating in the U.S."
None of this stuff surprises me anymore; it still horrifies.
Thanks to dear ZimZalabim
From the page: "'YOU IZ DA MAN': Abramoff has already been indicted in Florida on unrelated fraud and conspiracy charges and "his day in court...[may] only [be] a matter of time." He and Scanlon worked very closely -- Abramoff at one point gushed to his colleague, "How can I say this strongly enough: YOU IZ DA MAN" -- and collected about $82 million from his tribal clients from 2000-2004. In a scheme the duo termed "gimme-five," Abramoff "would direct tribes to hire Scanlon's public relations firm without telling them Scanlon had agreed to kick back half of the profits to Abramoff." At one point, the two men bilked the Coushatta tribe out of $1 million for a "public affairs" strategy, but then rerouted the money to a charity Abramoff had founded, "which was paying to build a school for his children and give 'sniper training' courses in Israel." Throughout their swindles, Abramoff and Scanlon showed a wild arrogance and contempt for their clients. In e-mail exchanges between the two men, "it is the junior partner who often displays his thirst for wealth. 'I want all their money!!!' [and] 'Weeez gonna be rich!!!'" wrote Scanlon. At another point, he referred to the clients as "monkeys" and "troglodytes." "
OMFG
Thanks, Voyyaghar
OMFG
Thanks, Voyyaghar
I'm quoting SchreiberBike in full for this review.
"The Employment Policies Institute is a non-profit research organization dedicated to studying public policy issues surrounding employment growth. In particular, EPI focuses on issues that affect entry-level employment. Their website cites studies which show a range of negative effects from a living wage. They also promote the idea that the Earned Income Tax Credit is a much better way of helping people with low incomes. There is no mention of the fact that this means taxpayers are subsidizing the employers of low wage workers. There's nothing on the site of the Employment Policies Institute to show who pays for the research, who pays for the institute or what political leaning it may have. A bit of digging reveals a webpage from a site called SourceWatch which reports that the EPI is sponsored by , a Washington group which "lobbies for companies such as Cracker Barrel, Hooters, International House of Pancakes, Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, Red Lobster, Steak & Ale, TGI Friday's, Uno's Restaurants, and Wendy's" Rick Berman, the principle of Berman and Company said in 1999 "In effect, our work is restricted to and focused on issues that affect shareholder value," he said. "These big issues include labor costs as they relate to health insurance and the minimum wage."
I know that deception is par for the course in politics, but this one affected me directly. One of the participants in a discussion I was part of recently had done some research on the issue and found the site above. He thought he was finding independent unbiased information. In fact, he was being hoodwinked by the restaurant industry. Yesterday, I didn't know enough to explain the information. Now I do."
Love the "fake thinktank" tag. I've stolen that, too.
"The Employment Policies Institute is a non-profit research organization dedicated to studying public policy issues surrounding employment growth. In particular, EPI focuses on issues that affect entry-level employment. Their website cites studies which show a range of negative effects from a living wage. They also promote the idea that the Earned Income Tax Credit is a much better way of helping people with low incomes. There is no mention of the fact that this means taxpayers are subsidizing the employers of low wage workers. There's nothing on the site of the Employment Policies Institute to show who pays for the research, who pays for the institute or what political leaning it may have. A bit of digging reveals a webpage from a site called SourceWatch which reports that the EPI is sponsored by , a Washington group which "lobbies for companies such as Cracker Barrel, Hooters, International House of Pancakes, Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, Red Lobster, Steak & Ale, TGI Friday's, Uno's Restaurants, and Wendy's" Rick Berman, the principle of Berman and Company said in 1999 "In effect, our work is restricted to and focused on issues that affect shareholder value," he said. "These big issues include labor costs as they relate to health insurance and the minimum wage."
I know that deception is par for the course in politics, but this one affected me directly. One of the participants in a discussion I was part of recently had done some research on the issue and found the site above. He thought he was finding independent unbiased information. In fact, he was being hoodwinked by the restaurant industry. Yesterday, I didn't know enough to explain the information. Now I do."
Love the "fake thinktank" tag. I've stolen that, too.
Torture? What's to discuss? There's compassionate conservatismTM again.
Thanks, RussellB
Thanks, RussellB
Inside the Pentagon, officials are arguing with Vice President Dick Cheney about a new set of US Defense Department guidelines for interrogating suspected terrorists. The debate over an anti-torture bill is a sad moment for a country that once stood for human rights.
Yankistan isn't above the Geneva Convention, they are beneath it.
Pinched from Septembre
Yankistan isn't above the Geneva Convention, they are beneath it.
Pinched from Septembre
Inf*ckingcredible.
From the page: "Almost 15% of Hearne's young black male population was arrested in a swat-style drug raid in November 2000. As a result, 27 African Americans were charged with felony-level cocaine sales. A federally funded regional narcotics task force conducted the investigation against all of them using a schizophrenic, cocaine-addicted, criminal-turned-informant to make drug deals and testify against them. Once the informant admitted that he fabricated evidence and lied during his testimony, the DA was forced to dismiss charges against those who had not already pled guilty.
The ACLU of Texas produced this video about the plight of these families."
From the page: "Almost 15% of Hearne's young black male population was arrested in a swat-style drug raid in November 2000. As a result, 27 African Americans were charged with felony-level cocaine sales. A federally funded regional narcotics task force conducted the investigation against all of them using a schizophrenic, cocaine-addicted, criminal-turned-informant to make drug deals and testify against them. Once the informant admitted that he fabricated evidence and lied during his testimony, the DA was forced to dismiss charges against those who had not already pled guilty.
The ACLU of Texas produced this video about the plight of these families."
From the page: "This essay explores many of the issues that led me personally to the recognition that the policies I was supporting in Iraq were not consistent with the justifications made for the invasion in the spring of 2003, and that implicit in our post-invasion actions was the goal of permanent occupation, which would ensure endless war and the resultant degradation of our liberty, security, and moral authority.
For me, recognizing that I could no longer support the president for whom I voted, and the occupation of a land we had invaded, remains personally painful.
I have learned that while it is difficult to admit being wrong, such recognition is a prerequisite for redemptive action, necessary both for individual growth and for the healing of our nation.
It is in this spirit that I submit these reflections."
Thanks, Voyyaghar
For me, recognizing that I could no longer support the president for whom I voted, and the occupation of a land we had invaded, remains personally painful.
I have learned that while it is difficult to admit being wrong, such recognition is a prerequisite for redemptive action, necessary both for individual growth and for the healing of our nation.
It is in this spirit that I submit these reflections."
Thanks, Voyyaghar
From the page: "Randolph T. Holhut: 'Civilized nations shouldn't torture (unless they're run by Republicans)'
Posted on Wednesday, November 16 @ 09:59:48 EST
This article has been read 1138 times. Randolph T. Holhut
DUMMERSTON, Vt. - Why is the United States so despised in the Muslim world? It's not because they hate our freedom, as President Bush likes to say. They hate us because we have tortured Iraqi prisoners, leveled Iraqi cities and killed tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians.
The U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq has become al-Qaida's most effective recruiting tool. In a culture that still nurses a centuries-old grudge over the atrocities of the Crusaders, it will take a very long time before the images of Abu Ghraib and Fallujah are erased from the collective memories of Muslim Arabs.
That is why it is critically important that the United States takes the first step toward rehabilitating its image by adopting more restrictive rules against the CIA euphemistically calls "enhanced interrogation techniques," or what the rest of the civilized world calls torture."
Many thanks to Reasonablib!
[I'm #1138. What a shock.]
Posted on Wednesday, November 16 @ 09:59:48 EST
This article has been read 1138 times. Randolph T. Holhut
DUMMERSTON, Vt. - Why is the United States so despised in the Muslim world? It's not because they hate our freedom, as President Bush likes to say. They hate us because we have tortured Iraqi prisoners, leveled Iraqi cities and killed tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians.
The U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq has become al-Qaida's most effective recruiting tool. In a culture that still nurses a centuries-old grudge over the atrocities of the Crusaders, it will take a very long time before the images of Abu Ghraib and Fallujah are erased from the collective memories of Muslim Arabs.
That is why it is critically important that the United States takes the first step toward rehabilitating its image by adopting more restrictive rules against the CIA euphemistically calls "enhanced interrogation techniques," or what the rest of the civilized world calls torture."
Many thanks to Reasonablib!
[I'm #1138. What a shock.]
From the page: "Two Iraqi men who were arrested in Iraq in 2003 but never charged with crimes say that U.S. troops put them in a cage with lions, pretended to execute them in a firing line and humiliated them during interrogations at multiple detention facilities.
Sherzad Khalid, 35, and Thahe Sabber, 37, say they were brutally beaten over several months at U.S. facilities such as Camp Bucca, Abu Ghraib prison and another detention facility at the Baghdad airport. They said the abuse occurred when they were unable to tell U.S. troops where Saddam Hussein was hiding and did not know about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
Both are businessmen who were arrested in a July 17, 2003, raid in Baghdad while Khalid, of Kurdistan, was visiting friends. Both said they were supporters of the U.S. invasion.
The two men are plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights First against Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and top military commanders in Iraq. The suit contends that U.S. policies during the war allowed abuse and torture. Both men say that they were tortured and degraded for months before they were released.
"That was a terrifying period for me," Khalid said through an interpreter yesterday, slowly recounting being shoved into a lion's cage at one of the presidential palaces in Baghdad three times before soldiers lined him up for a mock execution. "I was wondering if it could be real that the American army would act this way.""
This is how we treat folks who support our invasion.
Evil and his best friend Stupid aren't just hangin' in DC - they're also having a great time where modern black magic was born.
Sherzad Khalid, 35, and Thahe Sabber, 37, say they were brutally beaten over several months at U.S. facilities such as Camp Bucca, Abu Ghraib prison and another detention facility at the Baghdad airport. They said the abuse occurred when they were unable to tell U.S. troops where Saddam Hussein was hiding and did not know about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
Both are businessmen who were arrested in a July 17, 2003, raid in Baghdad while Khalid, of Kurdistan, was visiting friends. Both said they were supporters of the U.S. invasion.
The two men are plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights First against Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and top military commanders in Iraq. The suit contends that U.S. policies during the war allowed abuse and torture. Both men say that they were tortured and degraded for months before they were released.
"That was a terrifying period for me," Khalid said through an interpreter yesterday, slowly recounting being shoved into a lion's cage at one of the presidential palaces in Baghdad three times before soldiers lined him up for a mock execution. "I was wondering if it could be real that the American army would act this way.""
This is how we treat folks who support our invasion.
Evil and his best friend Stupid aren't just hangin' in DC - they're also having a great time where modern black magic was born.
From the page:
Postwar Projections "had little or no impact on policy deliberations"
Declassified Kerr Report Available on National Security Archive Website
Washington, D.C., October 13, 2005 - "The White House disregarded intelligence projections on post-Saddam Iraq according to a newly-declassified CIA report, "Intelligence and Analysis on Iraq: Issues for the Intelligence Community," posted today on the website of the National Security Archive.
"In an ironic twist," the report finds, "the policy community was receptive to technical intelligence (the weapons program), where the analysis was wrong, but apparently paid little attention to intelligence on cultural and political issues (post-Saddam Iraq), where the analysis was right."
The report, from July 2004, is the third of three prepared by a group of intelligence experts led by Richard J. Kerr, a former deputy director of central intelligence, to examine the U.S. Intelligence Community's assessments in the months before the U.S. invasion. The first two reports remain classified despite the fact that many of their key findings are summarized in the July report and in unclassified reports produced by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction.
The Kerr report also identifies a number of weaknesses in the Intelligence Community's analytical products, particularly the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iraqi weapons programs, which the report says was prepared "under an unusually tight time constraint" and was "the product of three separate drafters, drawing from a mixed bag of analytic product." The October 2002 NIE was at the center of Bush administration claims about Iraq's weapons programs in the prewar period.
The report also finds that intelligence analysts were under constant pressure to find "links between Saddam and [al-Qa'ida]" causing them to take a "purposely aggressive approach" to the issue, "conducting exhaustive and repetitive searches for such links." No such ties were ever found, however, and "the Intelligence Community remained firm in its assessment that no operational or collaborative relationship existed.""
Stolen from Richazman
Postwar Projections "had little or no impact on policy deliberations"
Declassified Kerr Report Available on National Security Archive Website
Washington, D.C., October 13, 2005 - "The White House disregarded intelligence projections on post-Saddam Iraq according to a newly-declassified CIA report, "Intelligence and Analysis on Iraq: Issues for the Intelligence Community," posted today on the website of the National Security Archive.
"In an ironic twist," the report finds, "the policy community was receptive to technical intelligence (the weapons program), where the analysis was wrong, but apparently paid little attention to intelligence on cultural and political issues (post-Saddam Iraq), where the analysis was right."
The report, from July 2004, is the third of three prepared by a group of intelligence experts led by Richard J. Kerr, a former deputy director of central intelligence, to examine the U.S. Intelligence Community's assessments in the months before the U.S. invasion. The first two reports remain classified despite the fact that many of their key findings are summarized in the July report and in unclassified reports produced by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction.
The Kerr report also identifies a number of weaknesses in the Intelligence Community's analytical products, particularly the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iraqi weapons programs, which the report says was prepared "under an unusually tight time constraint" and was "the product of three separate drafters, drawing from a mixed bag of analytic product." The October 2002 NIE was at the center of Bush administration claims about Iraq's weapons programs in the prewar period.
The report also finds that intelligence analysts were under constant pressure to find "links between Saddam and [al-Qa'ida]" causing them to take a "purposely aggressive approach" to the issue, "conducting exhaustive and repetitive searches for such links." No such ties were ever found, however, and "the Intelligence Community remained firm in its assessment that no operational or collaborative relationship existed.""
Stolen from Richazman
From the page: "The oil execs started Wednesday's hearing with a note of defiance by refusing to testify under oath, possibly recalling the image of their predecessors holding their right hands in the air before a Congressional hearing in 1974.
Thirty-one years later, many of the same questions exist. "Are you rigging the price of oil?" asked Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Pete Domenici, who's accepted more than $500,000 from oil companies since 1989. "I think you owe the American people an explanation."
When the execs pointed to rising global demand, decreasing supply, worldwide speculators, disruptions from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and nettlesome domestic regulations, Domenici replied: "I'm not sure my constituents will be pleased with that answer."
In fact, the Big Five failed to take responsibility for much of anything. The situation today strangely parallels the Enron debacle; energy companies complained about excessive regulation when the real cause was a manipulation of supply. A lengthy question-and-answer session with senators bore out this inflexibility.
Should oil companies encourage automakers to raise fuel efficiency standards in light trucks and SUVs?
Lee Raymond, ExxonMobil: "I don't want to get into the political aspect of that."
Could oil companies voluntarily donate 10 percent of their profits toward heating assistance for low-income Americans, as suggested by Senate Finance Committee chairman Charles Grassley?
James Mulva, ConocoPhillips: "That's not a good precedent for the industry to fund."
Was a 24-cent increase in the price of gas over a 24-hour period following Hurricane Katrina unconscionably excessive?
Raymond: "We have nothing to say about the price at the pump%u2026. I don't know if that data is accurate."
Had we not experienced Hurricane Katrina, would the profits be even higher?
Raymond: "That's a hard question to answer."
And so on. "I hope I can give you a bit of a reality check," a reliably agitated Barbara Boxer said, before displaying a chart illustrating how the execs' yearly bonus was 155 times greater than the average American's yearly salary. "Will you consider making a major personal and corporate contribution to help Americans get relief from high heating costs? I'd like a yes or no answer." Before anyone could respond, Commerce chairman Ted Stevens, an irascible 82-year-old ally of Big Oil, interrupted the exchange.
"This chart is really publicity," Stevens said.
Publicity or not, more than eight pieces of legislation stand before Congress targeting oil industry profits. Senators Byron Dorgan and Chris Dodd want a 50 percent excise tax on the sale of oil priced above $40 a barrel, a variation on a theme recently endorsed by Senate Budget Committee chairman Judd Gregg. Members of both parties have called for a federal anti-price-gouging law, modeled after regulation already on the books in many states--an idea explored by state attorney generals and the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission in the day's afternoon panel.
Through a clever line of questioning, Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden persuaded the execs to admit that little, if any, of the $2.6 billion tax incentives in the energy bill would actually benefit their companies. Wyden said on Thursday he will try to strip the tax breaks from the Senate's massive budget reconciliation bill. More so than high-profile hearings, measures such as these will indicate the resolve of the Congress."
Thanks, Reasonablib!
Thirty-one years later, many of the same questions exist. "Are you rigging the price of oil?" asked Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Pete Domenici, who's accepted more than $500,000 from oil companies since 1989. "I think you owe the American people an explanation."
When the execs pointed to rising global demand, decreasing supply, worldwide speculators, disruptions from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and nettlesome domestic regulations, Domenici replied: "I'm not sure my constituents will be pleased with that answer."
In fact, the Big Five failed to take responsibility for much of anything. The situation today strangely parallels the Enron debacle; energy companies complained about excessive regulation when the real cause was a manipulation of supply. A lengthy question-and-answer session with senators bore out this inflexibility.
Should oil companies encourage automakers to raise fuel efficiency standards in light trucks and SUVs?
Lee Raymond, ExxonMobil: "I don't want to get into the political aspect of that."
Could oil companies voluntarily donate 10 percent of their profits toward heating assistance for low-income Americans, as suggested by Senate Finance Committee chairman Charles Grassley?
James Mulva, ConocoPhillips: "That's not a good precedent for the industry to fund."
Was a 24-cent increase in the price of gas over a 24-hour period following Hurricane Katrina unconscionably excessive?
Raymond: "We have nothing to say about the price at the pump%u2026. I don't know if that data is accurate."
Had we not experienced Hurricane Katrina, would the profits be even higher?
Raymond: "That's a hard question to answer."
And so on. "I hope I can give you a bit of a reality check," a reliably agitated Barbara Boxer said, before displaying a chart illustrating how the execs' yearly bonus was 155 times greater than the average American's yearly salary. "Will you consider making a major personal and corporate contribution to help Americans get relief from high heating costs? I'd like a yes or no answer." Before anyone could respond, Commerce chairman Ted Stevens, an irascible 82-year-old ally of Big Oil, interrupted the exchange.
"This chart is really publicity," Stevens said.
Publicity or not, more than eight pieces of legislation stand before Congress targeting oil industry profits. Senators Byron Dorgan and Chris Dodd want a 50 percent excise tax on the sale of oil priced above $40 a barrel, a variation on a theme recently endorsed by Senate Budget Committee chairman Judd Gregg. Members of both parties have called for a federal anti-price-gouging law, modeled after regulation already on the books in many states--an idea explored by state attorney generals and the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission in the day's afternoon panel.
Through a clever line of questioning, Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden persuaded the execs to admit that little, if any, of the $2.6 billion tax incentives in the energy bill would actually benefit their companies. Wyden said on Thursday he will try to strip the tax breaks from the Senate's massive budget reconciliation bill. More so than high-profile hearings, measures such as these will indicate the resolve of the Congress."
Thanks, Reasonablib!
From the page: "We Need Answers not Cover-ups
Scooter Libby and Vice President Cheney withheld critical documents in the Senate's investigation of the use and misuse of intelligence in the decision to go to war and in the management of the war.
These documents must be handed over, because the American people deserve answers.
We need answers, not cover-ups, by the Administration about these serious issues.
I ask the White House to turn over all documents withheld from the United States Senate during its investigation of the use of intelligence during the planning of the Iraq war."
Don't read this, pass it on!
Thanks, RussellB!
Scooter Libby and Vice President Cheney withheld critical documents in the Senate's investigation of the use and misuse of intelligence in the decision to go to war and in the management of the war.
These documents must be handed over, because the American people deserve answers.
We need answers, not cover-ups, by the Administration about these serious issues.
I ask the White House to turn over all documents withheld from the United States Senate during its investigation of the use of intelligence during the planning of the Iraq war."
Don't read this, pass it on!
Thanks, RussellB!
George Monbiot: The media are minimising US and British war crimes in Iraq | Politics | The Guardian
From the page: "The reporting of the Iraqi death toll - both in its scale and account of who is doing the killing - is profoundly dishonest
George Monbiot
Tuesday November 8, 2005
The Guardian
We were told that the Iraqis don't count. Before the invasion began, the head of US central command, General Thomas Franks, boasted that "we don't do body counts". His claim was repeated by Donald Rumsfeld in November 2003 ("We don't do body counts on other people") and the Pentagon last January ("The only thing we keep track of is casualties for US troops and civilians").
But it's not true. Almost every week the Pentagon claims to have killed 50 or 70 or 100 insurgents in its latest assault on the latest stronghold of the ubiquitous monster Zarqawi. In May the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff said that his soldiers had killed 250 of Zarqawi's "closest lieutenants" (or so 500 of his best friends had told him). But last week, the Pentagon did something new. Buried in its latest security report to Congress is a bar chart labelled "average daily casualties - Iraqi and coalition. 1 Jan 04-16 Sep 05". The claim that it kept no track of Iraqi deaths was false."
Thanks, strictlychemical
George Monbiot
Tuesday November 8, 2005
The Guardian
We were told that the Iraqis don't count. Before the invasion began, the head of US central command, General Thomas Franks, boasted that "we don't do body counts". His claim was repeated by Donald Rumsfeld in November 2003 ("We don't do body counts on other people") and the Pentagon last January ("The only thing we keep track of is casualties for US troops and civilians").
But it's not true. Almost every week the Pentagon claims to have killed 50 or 70 or 100 insurgents in its latest assault on the latest stronghold of the ubiquitous monster Zarqawi. In May the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff said that his soldiers had killed 250 of Zarqawi's "closest lieutenants" (or so 500 of his best friends had told him). But last week, the Pentagon did something new. Buried in its latest security report to Congress is a bar chart labelled "average daily casualties - Iraqi and coalition. 1 Jan 04-16 Sep 05". The claim that it kept no track of Iraqi deaths was false."
Thanks, strictlychemical
From the page: "By Melanie Hunter
CNSNews.com Senior Editor
November 04, 2005
(CNSNews.com) - President Bush and the current administration have borrowed more money from foreign governments and banks than the previous 42 presidents combined, a group of conservative to moderate Democrats said Friday.
Blue Dog Coalition, which describes itself as a group "focused on fiscal responsibility," called the administration's borrowing practices "astounding."
According to the Treasury Department, from 1776-2000, the first 224 years of U.S. history, 42 U.S. presidents borrowed a combined $1.01 trillion from foreign governments and financial institutions, but in the past four years alone, the Bush administration borrowed $1.05 trillion.
"The seriousness of this rapid and increasing financial vulnerability of our country can hardly be overstated," said Rep. John Tanner (D-Tenn.), a leader of the Blue Dog Coalition and member of the House Ways and Means Committee.
"The financial mismanagement of our country by the Bush Administration should be of concern to all Americans, regardless of political persuasion," said Tanner in a press release."
CNSNews.com Senior Editor
November 04, 2005
(CNSNews.com) - President Bush and the current administration have borrowed more money from foreign governments and banks than the previous 42 presidents combined, a group of conservative to moderate Democrats said Friday.
Blue Dog Coalition, which describes itself as a group "focused on fiscal responsibility," called the administration's borrowing practices "astounding."
According to the Treasury Department, from 1776-2000, the first 224 years of U.S. history, 42 U.S. presidents borrowed a combined $1.01 trillion from foreign governments and financial institutions, but in the past four years alone, the Bush administration borrowed $1.05 trillion.
"The seriousness of this rapid and increasing financial vulnerability of our country can hardly be overstated," said Rep. John Tanner (D-Tenn.), a leader of the Blue Dog Coalition and member of the House Ways and Means Committee.
"The financial mismanagement of our country by the Bush Administration should be of concern to all Americans, regardless of political persuasion," said Tanner in a press release."
From the page: "The US should reimburse Iraq up to $208m for work done by a US contractor, a UN watchdog agency has said.
The International Advisory and Monitoring Board said the work by Halliburton had been either overpriced or insufficiently documented.
Its recommendation came after it conducted an audit on contracting work by Halliburton's KBR unit in 2003-04.
In response, the energy firm denied overcharging and insisted it had co-operated with the audit.
The IAMB has been set up to monitor the spending of Iraq's oil revenues, following the US-led invasion in 2003.
It can make recommendations but not decisions on whether reimbursements are made.
'Seeking resolution'
The IAMB said in a statement that it "recommends that amounts disbursed to contractors that cannot be supported as fair be reimbursed expeditiously"."
The International Advisory and Monitoring Board said the work by Halliburton had been either overpriced or insufficiently documented.
Its recommendation came after it conducted an audit on contracting work by Halliburton's KBR unit in 2003-04.
In response, the energy firm denied overcharging and insisted it had co-operated with the audit.
The IAMB has been set up to monitor the spending of Iraq's oil revenues, following the US-led invasion in 2003.
It can make recommendations but not decisions on whether reimbursements are made.
'Seeking resolution'
The IAMB said in a statement that it "recommends that amounts disbursed to contractors that cannot be supported as fair be reimbursed expeditiously"."
From the page: "Last week we reported that when he was an owner of the Texas Rangers George W. Bush used eminent domain to seize private property in Arlington, Texas, in order to build a baseball stadium. Less than ten years later, when he was governor of Texas, Bush sold his interest in the Rangers and profited over $14 million.
Since then, we have learned that there is much more to this story. First, it appears that Mr. Bush evaded paying sufficient taxes on the sale. Second - and, more signficantly - he appears to have illegally used political influence as governor of Texas to increase the value of his share - actions that mirror the activities of an Illinois governor who was convicted of income tax fraud for influencing public policy that benefited his holdings in a race track .
Finally, the Rangers ultimately refused to pay the court-ordered $7.5 million settlement to the family whose land Bush seized, leaving the taxpayers of Arlington to cover the debt."
WTF??!!
Since then, we have learned that there is much more to this story. First, it appears that Mr. Bush evaded paying sufficient taxes on the sale. Second - and, more signficantly - he appears to have illegally used political influence as governor of Texas to increase the value of his share - actions that mirror the activities of an Illinois governor who was convicted of income tax fraud for influencing public policy that benefited his holdings in a race track .
Finally, the Rangers ultimately refused to pay the court-ordered $7.5 million settlement to the family whose land Bush seized, leaving the taxpayers of Arlington to cover the debt."
WTF??!!
From the page: "Objectives of We the People
1. To kick George W. Bush out of office, send him packing to Crawford Texas and to seek his future trial for war crimes in the docks of the International Court of Criminal Justice. To this add Dick Cheney and his rogue companions.
2. That We the People gain control over the Senate and House of Representatives whereby they are bound to perform according to their commitments to We the People or get booted out of office by state court upon complaint of We the People.
3. To teach the President and the Congress that We the People own America and the government and that every person in each of those entities is in our employ and subject to our termination by way of our reserved electoral right of recall.
4. To establish that the right of the people to recall members of the US Senate or the House of Representatives is a right not prohibited within the Constitution and is thus reserved to the electors of the States contrary to common myth.
5. To firmly establish the right of We the People to veto any acts of the Congress within 48 hours of passage which veto is final and cannot be overridden by the Congress.
6. To establish by use of the recall that We the People are the backbone of our government, not its vassals and that the government must respond to the will of We the People.
7. Not the last and not the least is that we must re-establish fiscal responsibility to this nation which is heading for bankruptcy under the present administration with the aid and assistance of our congressional delegates."
Stolen from Tigana
1. To kick George W. Bush out of office, send him packing to Crawford Texas and to seek his future trial for war crimes in the docks of the International Court of Criminal Justice. To this add Dick Cheney and his rogue companions.
2. That We the People gain control over the Senate and House of Representatives whereby they are bound to perform according to their commitments to We the People or get booted out of office by state court upon complaint of We the People.
3. To teach the President and the Congress that We the People own America and the government and that every person in each of those entities is in our employ and subject to our termination by way of our reserved electoral right of recall.
4. To establish that the right of the people to recall members of the US Senate or the House of Representatives is a right not prohibited within the Constitution and is thus reserved to the electors of the States contrary to common myth.
5. To firmly establish the right of We the People to veto any acts of the Congress within 48 hours of passage which veto is final and cannot be overridden by the Congress.
6. To establish by use of the recall that We the People are the backbone of our government, not its vassals and that the government must respond to the will of We the People.
7. Not the last and not the least is that we must re-establish fiscal responsibility to this nation which is heading for bankruptcy under the present administration with the aid and assistance of our congressional delegates."
Stolen from Tigana
From the page: "Italian state TV, Rai, has broadcast a documentary accusing the US military of using white phosphorus bombs against civilians in the Iraqi city of Falluja.
Rai says this amounts to the illegal use of chemical arms, though the bombs are considered incendiary devices.
Eyewitnesses and ex-US soldiers say the weapon was used in built-up areas in the insurgent-held city.
The US military denies this, but admits using white phosphorus bombs in Iraq to illuminate battlefields.
Washington is not a signatory of an international treaty restricting the use of white phosphorus devices."
Let me see if I can get this straight.
Saddam Hussein's a bad guy because he's killed Kurd and Iraqi civilians and tortured people.
shrub's a good guy despite his killing Yankistani and Iraqi civilians and tortured people.
My brain hurts.
Thanks, RussellB
Rai says this amounts to the illegal use of chemical arms, though the bombs are considered incendiary devices.
Eyewitnesses and ex-US soldiers say the weapon was used in built-up areas in the insurgent-held city.
The US military denies this, but admits using white phosphorus bombs in Iraq to illuminate battlefields.
Washington is not a signatory of an international treaty restricting the use of white phosphorus devices."
Let me see if I can get this straight.
Saddam Hussein's a bad guy because he's killed Kurd and Iraqi civilians and tortured people.
shrub's a good guy despite his killing Yankistani and Iraqi civilians and tortured people.
My brain hurts.
Thanks, RussellB
From the page: ""Wow, who would have thought that clean living, family values man Scooter Libby was capable of writing such filth?" said one reviewer on Amazon.
Another Amazon reviewer noted its "lavish dollops of voyeurism, bestiality, pedophilia and corpse robbery."
Mr Libby was charged last month with perjury in a special prosecutor's probe into how a CIA operative's identity was leaked to journalists.
Mr Libby's writing skills also happened to be displayed in a widely published letter to reporter Judith Miller of The New York Times that showed a flair for literary allusion and ambiguity."
Pure clarse!
Thanks, Voyyaghar!
Another Amazon reviewer noted its "lavish dollops of voyeurism, bestiality, pedophilia and corpse robbery."
Mr Libby was charged last month with perjury in a special prosecutor's probe into how a CIA operative's identity was leaked to journalists.
Mr Libby's writing skills also happened to be displayed in a widely published letter to reporter Judith Miller of The New York Times that showed a flair for literary allusion and ambiguity."
Pure clarse!
Thanks, Voyyaghar!
From the page: "So here's the deal -- the Republicans took statements Kaine has made and spliced them together to put together this out-of-context call. The horrible music in the background is there to mask the splicing.
This call is being played in liberal areas. A different spliced version of the call, talking about how liberal he is on choice and all those other hot-button social issues, is being played in conservative areas.
And it's all being funded by the Republican Governor's Association, as Bob at the Swing State Project has noted."
Thanks again to Voyyaghar
This call is being played in liberal areas. A different spliced version of the call, talking about how liberal he is on choice and all those other hot-button social issues, is being played in conservative areas.
And it's all being funded by the Republican Governor's Association, as Bob at the Swing State Project has noted."
Thanks again to Voyyaghar
From the page: "In soldier slang they call it Willy Pete. The technical name is white phosphorus. In theory its purpose is to illumine enemy positions in the dark. In practice, it was used as a chemical weapon in the rebel stronghold of Fallujah. And it was used not only against enemy combatants and guerrillas, but again innocent civilians. The Americans are responsible for a massacre using unconventional weapons, the identical charge for which Saddam Hussein stands accused. An investigation by RAI News 24, the all-news Italian satellite television channel, has pulled the veil from one of the most carefully concealed mysteries from the front in the entire US military campaign in Iraq.
A US veteran of the Iraq war told RAI New correspondent Sigfrido Ranucci this: I received the order use caution because we had used white phosphorus on Fallujah. In military slag it is called 'Willy Pete'. Phosphorus burns the human body on contact--it even melts it right down to the bone."
Thanks, Voyyaghar
A US veteran of the Iraq war told RAI New correspondent Sigfrido Ranucci this: I received the order use caution because we had used white phosphorus on Fallujah. In military slag it is called 'Willy Pete'. Phosphorus burns the human body on contact--it even melts it right down to the bone."
Thanks, Voyyaghar
From the page: "Bush rebuked by the hand of God
By Phil Davison
Published: 06 November 2005
George Bush presumably knew before this weekend that the "hand of God" could be merciless. He certainly does now. Maradona, rather than Iraq, was uppermost on the US President's mind this weekend as he attended a summit of leaders from the Western hemisphere in the Argentinian beach resort of Mar del Plata.
As domestic polls informed him that he was increasingly mistrusted by his fellow Americans, Mr Bush was clearly mortified to be called "human trash" by Latin America's equivalent of Michael Jordan - the Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona.
Despite being a compatriot of Ch Guevara, Maradona is an unlikely revolutionary. He cheated at football but was forgiven on account of his genius on the field. He also screwed up with drugs and was forgiven for that, too, because he fought it and, so far, is overcoming it. But could he be a nail in George Bush's political coffin? Don't rule it out.
Anyone who has spent time in Latin America recently knows Mr Bush is the least popular US president among Latin Americans in history. Five Latin American countries have voted in left-of-centre governments since he took office. From the indigenous people through to the middle classes and even among the elite, Latin Americans increasingly seek not the American dream, but the Latin American dream. They are disillusioned with what Maradona yesterday called "the American Empire".
Many thanks to dear comfychair
By Phil Davison
Published: 06 November 2005
George Bush presumably knew before this weekend that the "hand of God" could be merciless. He certainly does now. Maradona, rather than Iraq, was uppermost on the US President's mind this weekend as he attended a summit of leaders from the Western hemisphere in the Argentinian beach resort of Mar del Plata.
As domestic polls informed him that he was increasingly mistrusted by his fellow Americans, Mr Bush was clearly mortified to be called "human trash" by Latin America's equivalent of Michael Jordan - the Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona.
Despite being a compatriot of Ch Guevara, Maradona is an unlikely revolutionary. He cheated at football but was forgiven on account of his genius on the field. He also screwed up with drugs and was forgiven for that, too, because he fought it and, so far, is overcoming it. But could he be a nail in George Bush's political coffin? Don't rule it out.
Anyone who has spent time in Latin America recently knows Mr Bush is the least popular US president among Latin Americans in history. Five Latin American countries have voted in left-of-centre governments since he took office. From the indigenous people through to the middle classes and even among the elite, Latin Americans increasingly seek not the American dream, but the Latin American dream. They are disillusioned with what Maradona yesterday called "the American Empire".
Many thanks to dear comfychair
From the page: "Tuesday, November 01, 2005
By Jess Bravin and Jeanne Cummings, The Wall Street Journal
In 15 years on the federal bench, Judge Samuel Alito often has sided with positions backed by business leaders -- and shown himself a strict interpreter of contracts -- in cases ranging from employment discrimination and commercial speech to shareholder suits.
Indeed, legal experts said that, while the immediate focus of supporters and critics Monday was on social issues like abortion, Judge Alito's extensive track record on business and regulatory issues at the Philadelphia-based court is likely to play a large role in his nomination process.
Judge Alito's Third Circuit is one of the smaller federal jurisdictions, but it hears a disproportionate share of business-related cases because its three-state territory includes Delaware, where many companies are incorporated, and the heavily industrial New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
For those assessing Judge Alito, there are dozens of business cases to sift, some of which are widely known and many which are more technical. One of the best-known is a 1997 dissent in which Judge Alito argued against a racial-discrimination claim made by a black housekeeping manager who was denied promotion to a job at a Marriott International Inc. hotel. The position, at a hotel in Park Ridge, N.J., went to a white woman. While the court ruled the woman could take the case to a jury, Judge Alito argued that, although she might be able to claim she had been treated unfairly, that wasn't enough to let her sue.
"What we end up doing then is ... allowing disgruntled employees to impose the cost of trial on employers who, although they have not acted with the intent to discriminate, may have treated their employees unfairly," he wrote. "This represents an unwarranted extension of the anti-discrimination laws.""
Well, once you buy him, he stays bought.
What a completely heartless f*cker.
Thanks, Reasonablib
By Jess Bravin and Jeanne Cummings, The Wall Street Journal
In 15 years on the federal bench, Judge Samuel Alito often has sided with positions backed by business leaders -- and shown himself a strict interpreter of contracts -- in cases ranging from employment discrimination and commercial speech to shareholder suits.
Indeed, legal experts said that, while the immediate focus of supporters and critics Monday was on social issues like abortion, Judge Alito's extensive track record on business and regulatory issues at the Philadelphia-based court is likely to play a large role in his nomination process.
Judge Alito's Third Circuit is one of the smaller federal jurisdictions, but it hears a disproportionate share of business-related cases because its three-state territory includes Delaware, where many companies are incorporated, and the heavily industrial New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
For those assessing Judge Alito, there are dozens of business cases to sift, some of which are widely known and many which are more technical. One of the best-known is a 1997 dissent in which Judge Alito argued against a racial-discrimination claim made by a black housekeeping manager who was denied promotion to a job at a Marriott International Inc. hotel. The position, at a hotel in Park Ridge, N.J., went to a white woman. While the court ruled the woman could take the case to a jury, Judge Alito argued that, although she might be able to claim she had been treated unfairly, that wasn't enough to let her sue.
"What we end up doing then is ... allowing disgruntled employees to impose the cost of trial on employers who, although they have not acted with the intent to discriminate, may have treated their employees unfairly," he wrote. "This represents an unwarranted extension of the anti-discrimination laws.""
Well, once you buy him, he stays bought.
What a completely heartless f*cker.
Thanks, Reasonablib
From the page: "ImpeachPAC is Launched to Support Pro-Impeachment Candidates
By a margin of 53% to 42%, Americans want Congress to impeach President Bush if he lied about the war in Iraq, according to a new poll commissioned by AfterDowningStreet.org, a grassroots coalition that supports a Congressional investigation of President Bush's decision to invade Iraq in 2003.
The poll was conducted by Zogby International, the highly-regarded non-partisan polling company. The poll interviewed 1,200 U.S. adults from October 29 through November 2.
The poll found that 53% agreed with the statement:
"If President Bush did not tell the truth about his reasons for going to war with Iraq, Congress should consider holding him accountable through impeachment."
42% disagreed, and 5% said they didn't know or declined to answer. The poll has a /- 2.9% margin of error."
FLASH! IQs rise all over country! Film at eleven.
Thanks to Reasonablib!
By a margin of 53% to 42%, Americans want Congress to impeach President Bush if he lied about the war in Iraq, according to a new poll commissioned by AfterDowningStreet.org, a grassroots coalition that supports a Congressional investigation of President Bush's decision to invade Iraq in 2003.
The poll was conducted by Zogby International, the highly-regarded non-partisan polling company. The poll interviewed 1,200 U.S. adults from October 29 through November 2.
The poll found that 53% agreed with the statement:
"If President Bush did not tell the truth about his reasons for going to war with Iraq, Congress should consider holding him accountable through impeachment."
42% disagreed, and 5% said they didn't know or declined to answer. The poll has a /- 2.9% margin of error."
FLASH! IQs rise all over country! Film at eleven.
Thanks to Reasonablib!
From the page: "After three years at Guantanamo, Afghan writers found to be no threat to United States
BY JAMES RUPERT
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
October 31, 2005
PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Badr Zaman Badr and his brother Abdurrahim Muslim Dost relish writing a good joke that jabs a corrupt politician or distills the sufferings of fellow Afghans. Badr admires the political satires in "The Canterbury Tales" and "Gulliver's Travels," and Dost wrote some wicked lampoons in the 1990s, accusing Afghan mullahs of growing rich while preaching and organizing jihad. So in 2002, when the U.S. military shackled the writers and flew them to Guantanamo among prisoners whom Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld declared "the worst of the worst" violent terrorists, the brothers found life imitating farce.
For months, grim interrogators grilled them over a satirical article Dost had written in 1998, when the Clinton administration offered a $5-million reward for Osama bin Laden. Dost responded that Afghans put up 5 million Afghanis -- equivalent to $113 -- for the arrest of President Bill Clinton.
"It was a lampoon ... of the poor Afghan economy" under the Taliban, Badr recalled. The article carefully instructed Afghans how to identify Clinton if they stumbled upon him. "It said he was clean-shaven, had light-colored eyes and he had been seen involved in a scandal with Monica Lewinsky," Badr said."
This is one of the scariest goddam things I've read in a looooooooooooooooong time.
Thanks, Voyyagahar!
BY JAMES RUPERT
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
October 31, 2005
PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Badr Zaman Badr and his brother Abdurrahim Muslim Dost relish writing a good joke that jabs a corrupt politician or distills the sufferings of fellow Afghans. Badr admires the political satires in "The Canterbury Tales" and "Gulliver's Travels," and Dost wrote some wicked lampoons in the 1990s, accusing Afghan mullahs of growing rich while preaching and organizing jihad. So in 2002, when the U.S. military shackled the writers and flew them to Guantanamo among prisoners whom Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld declared "the worst of the worst" violent terrorists, the brothers found life imitating farce.
For months, grim interrogators grilled them over a satirical article Dost had written in 1998, when the Clinton administration offered a $5-million reward for Osama bin Laden. Dost responded that Afghans put up 5 million Afghanis -- equivalent to $113 -- for the arrest of President Bill Clinton.
"It was a lampoon ... of the poor Afghan economy" under the Taliban, Badr recalled. The article carefully instructed Afghans how to identify Clinton if they stumbled upon him. "It said he was clean-shaven, had light-colored eyes and he had been seen involved in a scandal with Monica Lewinsky," Badr said."
This is one of the scariest goddam things I've read in a looooooooooooooooong time.
Thanks, Voyyagahar!
"...Therefore be it resolved that:
The House calls upon the Republican Leadership and Chairmen of the committees of jurisdiction to comply with their oversight responsibilities, demands they conduct a thorough investigation of abuses relating to the Iraq War, and condemns their refusal to conduct oversight of an Executive Branch controlled by the same party, which is in contradiction to the established rules of standing committees and Congressional precedent."
I love you, Ms Pelosi.
The House calls upon the Republican Leadership and Chairmen of the committees of jurisdiction to comply with their oversight responsibilities, demands they conduct a thorough investigation of abuses relating to the Iraq War, and condemns their refusal to conduct oversight of an Executive Branch controlled by the same party, which is in contradiction to the established rules of standing committees and Congressional precedent."
I love you, Ms Pelosi.
From the page:
"Helen Carter
Saturday June 18, 2005
The Guardian
A corrupt customs officer who helped smuggle millions of pounds of cocaine into Britain by waving couriers through Gatwick airport's nothing to declare channel, was jailed yesterday for 15 years.
Richard Riley, 53, from Dulwich, south London, was described by a judge at Southwark crown court as "an absolutely central figure" in the plot, allowing suitcases bulging with drugs in from the Caribbean.
He was given "rivers of cash" as he systematically betrayed his employers, feeding the drugs gang highly confidential intelligence. He also helped to arrange the importation of the drugs.
His safety guarantee resulted in a wholesale operation that earned him huge pay-offs, which his wife, Marjorie, 51, a social worker, then helped launder. She admitted her part in the operation and was sentenced to 180 hours community service yesterday.
In the first six months of 2004, the couple had 125,000 paid into their bank accounts. They bought a top of the range BMW, an expensive new home, enjoyed five-star holidays in Barbados and Egypt and invested 40,000 in a plot of land in the Caribbean, intending to build a mansion. Riley admitted conspiracy to smuggle drugs and money laundering."
Not livin' the life of Riley anymore innit.
"Helen Carter
Saturday June 18, 2005
The Guardian
A corrupt customs officer who helped smuggle millions of pounds of cocaine into Britain by waving couriers through Gatwick airport's nothing to declare channel, was jailed yesterday for 15 years.
Richard Riley, 53, from Dulwich, south London, was described by a judge at Southwark crown court as "an absolutely central figure" in the plot, allowing suitcases bulging with drugs in from the Caribbean.
He was given "rivers of cash" as he systematically betrayed his employers, feeding the drugs gang highly confidential intelligence. He also helped to arrange the importation of the drugs.
His safety guarantee resulted in a wholesale operation that earned him huge pay-offs, which his wife, Marjorie, 51, a social worker, then helped launder. She admitted her part in the operation and was sentenced to 180 hours community service yesterday.
In the first six months of 2004, the couple had 125,000 paid into their bank accounts. They bought a top of the range BMW, an expensive new home, enjoyed five-star holidays in Barbados and Egypt and invested 40,000 in a plot of land in the Caribbean, intending to build a mansion. Riley admitted conspiracy to smuggle drugs and money laundering."
Not livin' the life of Riley anymore innit.
From the page: "Last week, the Independent Committee investigating the Oil-for-Food program (OFF) released its final report detailing how Saddam Hussein's regime skimmed just under two percent from the otherwise successful relief effort by charging kickbacks and "inland transportation" fees to companies doing business with Iraq.
The small group of conservative writers who I've dubbed the "Scandal Pimps" have been less enthusiastic about the release of this report than they've been about those that preceded it. The day after the release, the Wall Street Journal editorialized that the report didn't really add anything new, it just filled in some details.
What they characterized as "details" were actually the names of over 2,000 companies that paid bribes to the Hussein regime for a shot at buying Iraq's oil, selling spare parts for its oil infrastructure or providing humanitarian goods for a population starving under the U.S./ U.K.-led sanctions regime."
Thanks, Reasonablib!
The small group of conservative writers who I've dubbed the "Scandal Pimps" have been less enthusiastic about the release of this report than they've been about those that preceded it. The day after the release, the Wall Street Journal editorialized that the report didn't really add anything new, it just filled in some details.
What they characterized as "details" were actually the names of over 2,000 companies that paid bribes to the Hussein regime for a shot at buying Iraq's oil, selling spare parts for its oil infrastructure or providing humanitarian goods for a population starving under the U.S./ U.K.-led sanctions regime."
Thanks, Reasonablib!
Bush's Popularity Reaches New Low
58 Percent in Poll Question His Integrity
By Richard Morin and Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, November 4, 2005; Page A01
"For the first time in his presidency a majority of Americans question the integrity of President Bush, and growing doubts about his leadership have left him with record negative ratings on the economy, Iraq and even the war on terrorism, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows.
On almost every key measure of presidential character and performance, the survey found that Bush has never been less popular with the American people. Currently 39 percent approve of the job he is doing as president, while 60 percent disapprove of his performance in office -- the highest level of disapproval ever recorded for Bush in Post-ABC polls."
Found this in Buzz, thanks to Inguz. Nice to have some good news before bed.
58 Percent in Poll Question His Integrity
By Richard Morin and Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, November 4, 2005; Page A01
"For the first time in his presidency a majority of Americans question the integrity of President Bush, and growing doubts about his leadership have left him with record negative ratings on the economy, Iraq and even the war on terrorism, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows.
On almost every key measure of presidential character and performance, the survey found that Bush has never been less popular with the American people. Currently 39 percent approve of the job he is doing as president, while 60 percent disapprove of his performance in office -- the highest level of disapproval ever recorded for Bush in Post-ABC polls."
Found this in Buzz, thanks to Inguz. Nice to have some good news before bed.
From the page: "The majority of UE-150's members are African-American, and women members far outnumber men. Complaints about racist practices cropped up repeatedly in regional worker hearings, and some incidents led to public controversies. For example, in 2003 during celebrations of Black History Month, a noose was hung up and left for weeks in a Department of Transportation maintenance area, creating what a court later found to be a hostile racial environment.
Muhammad recounted a similar incident in Rocky Mount during an organizing drive for public sector workers, when a man with what co-workers said was a history of overt racism hung up a training manikin with a noose around its neck in the electrical department of a public garage. In public comments, town officials wrote the incident off as a misunderstanding."
A misunderstanding?! Spare me!
Thanks, Voyyaghar!
Muhammad recounted a similar incident in Rocky Mount during an organizing drive for public sector workers, when a man with what co-workers said was a history of overt racism hung up a training manikin with a noose around its neck in the electrical department of a public garage. In public comments, town officials wrote the incident off as a misunderstanding."
A misunderstanding?! Spare me!
Thanks, Voyyaghar!
From the page: "FEMA's Brown: People are dying; like my shirt?
While people were drowning and enduring the hell of Hurricane Katrina, FEMA Director Michael "Heckuva Job" Brown had other things on his mind, Knight Ridder reports:
Even as subordinates warned him that the flooding of New Orleans was a matter of life or death, Michael Brown, the now-dismissed head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, remained strangely detached from the crisis, e-mails made public Wednesday show.
He mused about his future, joked about a new shirt and wondered how he looked on TV.
KR provides "verbatim text" of Brown's email correspondance, which included frequent musings about his clothes, how he looked on TV, and a series of exchanges on Sept. 1 (the day Brown supposedly found out desperate people were teaming in the New Orleans convenion center) focused on getting a new dog sitter:
"My eyes must certainly be deceiving me. You look fabulous - and I'm not talking the makeup!" - Cindy Taylor, FEMA deputy director of public affairs, to Brown, commenting on Brown's TV appearance on the morning of Aug. 29, when Katrina hit.
Brown's response: "I got it at Nordstrom's. Email (FEMA spokeswoman Lee Anne) McBride and make sure she knows! Are you proud of me? Can I quit now? Can I go home?"
An hour later, Brown e-mailed Taylor: "If you look at my lovely FEMA attire you'll really vomit. I am a fashion god."
"Is this your last hurrah? I'll be in DC the end of next week and would love to see you. Suspect you might still be in La/Ms etc - especially knowing how much you love to hang around DC/DHS/NAC etc." - Betty Guhman, a colleague who just left Homeland Security (DHS), to Brown on Sept. 1.
Brown's response: "Last hurrah was supposed to have been Labor Day. I'm trapped now, please rescue me."
"Sir, I know that you know the situation is past critical. Here some things you might not know. Hotels are kicking people out, thousands gathering in the streets with no food or water. Hundreds still being rescued from homes.
"The dying patients at the DMAT (disaster medical assistance team) tent being medivac. Estimates are many will die within hours. Evacuation in process. Plans developing for dome evacuation but hotel situation adding to problem. We are out of food and running out of water at the dome, plans in works to address the critical need.
"FEMA staff is OK and holding own. DMAT staff working in deplorable conditions. The sooner we can get the medical patients out, the sooner we can get them out.
"Phone connectivity impossible." - Marty Bahamonde, FEMA regional director, to Brown, describing the situation in New Orleans on Aug. 31.
Brown's response: "Thanks for update. Anything specific I need to do or tweak?"
Is this man in jail for criminal negligence? Has he been ridiculed in D.C., forcefully condemned by the Bush Administration, and shunned into private life?
No -- he's still working at FEMA on the taxpayer's dime.
And the Bush team still refuses to cooperate with the Congressional investigation and turn over documents critical to understanding what happened:
The Republican who heads a Congressional panel investigating the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina complained Wednesday that the Bush administration had failed to turn over documents the panel requested weeks ago.
The official, Representative Thomas M. Davis III of Virginia, chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform, also threatened to issue subpoenas to compel administration officials to release the documents if they did not comply with the committee's request.
Another day, another subpoena."
Merci a cher Reasonablib
While people were drowning and enduring the hell of Hurricane Katrina, FEMA Director Michael "Heckuva Job" Brown had other things on his mind, Knight Ridder reports:
Even as subordinates warned him that the flooding of New Orleans was a matter of life or death, Michael Brown, the now-dismissed head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, remained strangely detached from the crisis, e-mails made public Wednesday show.
He mused about his future, joked about a new shirt and wondered how he looked on TV.
KR provides "verbatim text" of Brown's email correspondance, which included frequent musings about his clothes, how he looked on TV, and a series of exchanges on Sept. 1 (the day Brown supposedly found out desperate people were teaming in the New Orleans convenion center) focused on getting a new dog sitter:
"My eyes must certainly be deceiving me. You look fabulous - and I'm not talking the makeup!" - Cindy Taylor, FEMA deputy director of public affairs, to Brown, commenting on Brown's TV appearance on the morning of Aug. 29, when Katrina hit.
Brown's response: "I got it at Nordstrom's. Email (FEMA spokeswoman Lee Anne) McBride and make sure she knows! Are you proud of me? Can I quit now? Can I go home?"
An hour later, Brown e-mailed Taylor: "If you look at my lovely FEMA attire you'll really vomit. I am a fashion god."
"Is this your last hurrah? I'll be in DC the end of next week and would love to see you. Suspect you might still be in La/Ms etc - especially knowing how much you love to hang around DC/DHS/NAC etc." - Betty Guhman, a colleague who just left Homeland Security (DHS), to Brown on Sept. 1.
Brown's response: "Last hurrah was supposed to have been Labor Day. I'm trapped now, please rescue me."
"Sir, I know that you know the situation is past critical. Here some things you might not know. Hotels are kicking people out, thousands gathering in the streets with no food or water. Hundreds still being rescued from homes.
"The dying patients at the DMAT (disaster medical assistance team) tent being medivac. Estimates are many will die within hours. Evacuation in process. Plans developing for dome evacuation but hotel situation adding to problem. We are out of food and running out of water at the dome, plans in works to address the critical need.
"FEMA staff is OK and holding own. DMAT staff working in deplorable conditions. The sooner we can get the medical patients out, the sooner we can get them out.
"Phone connectivity impossible." - Marty Bahamonde, FEMA regional director, to Brown, describing the situation in New Orleans on Aug. 31.
Brown's response: "Thanks for update. Anything specific I need to do or tweak?"
Is this man in jail for criminal negligence? Has he been ridiculed in D.C., forcefully condemned by the Bush Administration, and shunned into private life?
No -- he's still working at FEMA on the taxpayer's dime.
And the Bush team still refuses to cooperate with the Congressional investigation and turn over documents critical to understanding what happened:
The Republican who heads a Congressional panel investigating the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina complained Wednesday that the Bush administration had failed to turn over documents the panel requested weeks ago.
The official, Representative Thomas M. Davis III of Virginia, chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform, also threatened to issue subpoenas to compel administration officials to release the documents if they did not comply with the committee's request.
Another day, another subpoena."
Merci a cher Reasonablib
From the page: "Congress has appropriated $62.3 billion in emergency relief for stricken areas still struggling to meet citizens' basic needs, with most of the money moving through the beleaguered Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). But agency records from late October show nearly $40 billion still sitting in FEMA's disaster-relief fund, including $2 billion in unassigned money intended for Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
Gulf Coast lawmakers whose hurricane-relief efforts attracted a media onslaught just last month are now competing for public attention with Supreme Court nominations, reexamination of the Iraq war and a host of other issues.
"Not to underestimate the good intentions of many FEMA employees, but the agency was dysfunctional eight weeks ago and it's dysfunctional today," said Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.). "Of the $62 billion Congress sent to FEMA, much of it is being mishandled and wasted because the agency is understaffed and overwhelmed."
So...what the f*ck they planning to do with all that $$$?
Gulf Coast lawmakers whose hurricane-relief efforts attracted a media onslaught just last month are now competing for public attention with Supreme Court nominations, reexamination of the Iraq war and a host of other issues.
"Not to underestimate the good intentions of many FEMA employees, but the agency was dysfunctional eight weeks ago and it's dysfunctional today," said Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.). "Of the $62 billion Congress sent to FEMA, much of it is being mishandled and wasted because the agency is understaffed and overwhelmed."
So...what the f*ck they planning to do with all that $$$?
From the page: "WASHINGTON - E-mails sent as Hurricane Katrina raged reveal that FEMA's then-director, Michael Brown, discussed his clothing and his need for a dog sitter but left unanswered urgent messages."
Such a group of heartless folk has rarely been seen outside of the Gestapo.
Thanks, Voyyaghar!
Such a group of heartless folk has rarely been seen outside of the Gestapo.
Thanks, Voyyaghar!
From the page: "I hereby resign my position as a silent accomplice to your perpetration of and involvement in bullying, rape, and murder. I will no longer sit dumbly by while you, purporting to be my government, fabricate and manipulate evidence in order to engage in illegal wars of aggression. I refuse to any longer tacitly support your policies of torture, abuse, extraordinary rendition, and "disappearing." I resign from aiding and abetting your hypocritical regime that preaches democracy abroad while subverting it at home."
That's just the beginning. Love it!
Thanks to Voyyaghar!
That's just the beginning. Love it!
Thanks to Voyyaghar!
From the page: "(CBS) Tempers cooled a bit in Washington today after the partisan meltdown that brought Senate business to a halt Tuesday.
Even so, neither Congress nor the White House will find much in a new CBS News poll to put them in a better humor. President Bush's job approval has reached the lowest level yet. Only 35 percent approve of the job he's doing.
...Vice President Cheney has never been as popular as the president, but his favorable rating is down nine points this year to just 19 percent.
Read more of the results from the latest CBS News poll.
So where does the White House go from here? Mr. Bush is finding no shortage of advice, reports CBS News White House correspondent John Roberts.
The plunge in poll numbers is another dose of bad news for a White House mired in it. The only recent president lower at this point in their second term was Richard Nixon."
FLASH! IQs rise all over US! - film at 11.
Thanks to Reasonablib, wearer of snorkel
Even so, neither Congress nor the White House will find much in a new CBS News poll to put them in a better humor. President Bush's job approval has reached the lowest level yet. Only 35 percent approve of the job he's doing.
...Vice President Cheney has never been as popular as the president, but his favorable rating is down nine points this year to just 19 percent.
Read more of the results from the latest CBS News poll.
So where does the White House go from here? Mr. Bush is finding no shortage of advice, reports CBS News White House correspondent John Roberts.
The plunge in poll numbers is another dose of bad news for a White House mired in it. The only recent president lower at this point in their second term was Richard Nixon."
FLASH! IQs rise all over US! - film at 11.
Thanks to Reasonablib, wearer of snorkel
From the page: "Like ExxonMobil's, my own $9.9 billion windfall arrived just a few weeks ago. Thanks to the skyrocketing wholesale price of newspaper columns, continued high demand, and Congressional approval of new tax breaks and subsidies for the newspaper-column industry, my profit-and-loss statement for the third quarter showed net income of $9.9 billion.
Did I feel guilty, apologize, and give some of the money back? Should I be embarrassed that during wartime, I had to rent a self-storage unit just to warehouse all of my cash?
Of course not. As ExxonMobil was quick to point out last week, many businesses - including newspaper columnizing - are cyclical, and massive profits one year often become slightly less massive profits the next."
Sigh...
Thanks, Reasonablib!
Did I feel guilty, apologize, and give some of the money back? Should I be embarrassed that during wartime, I had to rent a self-storage unit just to warehouse all of my cash?
Of course not. As ExxonMobil was quick to point out last week, many businesses - including newspaper columnizing - are cyclical, and massive profits one year often become slightly less massive profits the next."
Sigh...
Thanks, Reasonablib!
From the page: "WASHINGTON - On a quiet Indian summer afternoon, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid dramatically wrenched the political agenda from the Republican majority Monday by forcing the Senate into secret session.
Reid's gambit was designed to prod Republicans to agree to speed up "Phase II" of the investigation by the Senate Intelligence Committee, led by Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, into how spy data was used or misused in the prelude to the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.
Senate Democrats said Roberts and the Republicans were stalling on the investigation; Republicans disputed that.
The indictment of Vice President Dick Cheney's aide Lewis Libby last week offered Democrats a chance to put Iraq intelligence back on the agenda. Reid did so in spectacular fashion.
"The Libby indictment provides a window into what this is really all about, how this administration manufactured and manipulated intelligence in order to sell the war in Iraq and attempted to destroy those who dared to challenge its actions," Reid said before making the motion which sent the Senate into a closed-door session.
Democratic Whip Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told reporters, "tomorrow is the one-year anniversary of the last election, Sen. Roberts said he could not initiate Phase II because of the last election, another year has passed, there is no deadline.... The American people are entitled to this information.""
Reid's gambit was designed to prod Republicans to agree to speed up "Phase II" of the investigation by the Senate Intelligence Committee, led by Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, into how spy data was used or misused in the prelude to the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.
Senate Democrats said Roberts and the Republicans were stalling on the investigation; Republicans disputed that.
The indictment of Vice President Dick Cheney's aide Lewis Libby last week offered Democrats a chance to put Iraq intelligence back on the agenda. Reid did so in spectacular fashion.
"The Libby indictment provides a window into what this is really all about, how this administration manufactured and manipulated intelligence in order to sell the war in Iraq and attempted to destroy those who dared to challenge its actions," Reid said before making the motion which sent the Senate into a closed-door session.
Democratic Whip Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told reporters, "tomorrow is the one-year anniversary of the last election, Sen. Roberts said he could not initiate Phase II because of the last election, another year has passed, there is no deadline.... The American people are entitled to this information.""
From the page: "The articles are very dense with information that is not always arrranged sequentially. Chef Shystee untangles the spaghetti for you and puts things in chronological order for easier digestion.
For those of you on a diet, this first article is the story of an Italian International Scumbag of Mystery (Rocco Martino), who cooks up the fake Dodgy Niger-Saddam Dossier to earn a few bucks. He sells it to the French Intelligence Agency which promptly recognizes it as crap and throws it in the trash.
But, later on, when word gets to Italy that the Bush Administration is looking for excuses to go after Saddam, Berlusconi tells his Intelligence chief, Nicolo Pollari, to find something, anything. So the Dodgy Dossier gets re-gifted to the Brits and the Americans."
For those of you on a diet, this first article is the story of an Italian International Scumbag of Mystery (Rocco Martino), who cooks up the fake Dodgy Niger-Saddam Dossier to earn a few bucks. He sells it to the French Intelligence Agency which promptly recognizes it as crap and throws it in the trash.
But, later on, when word gets to Italy that the Bush Administration is looking for excuses to go after Saddam, Berlusconi tells his Intelligence chief, Nicolo Pollari, to find something, anything. So the Dodgy Dossier gets re-gifted to the Brits and the Americans."
I can't even f*cking believe it. Wh-wh-where's the b-b-barf bucket? Huuuuuuuurl!
Hmm..."politics," "corruption," "activism." A logical progression, what?
Why the f*ck are you reading this clever-clogs crrap instead of signing and passing this on?
Thanks, Laukev7!
Why the f*ck are you reading this clever-clogs crrap instead of signing and passing this on?
Thanks, Laukev7!
The impeachment articles in the case of Richard Nixon charged him with lying about the bombing of Cambodia but did not charge him with war crimes for the actual bombing. The bombing resulted in 600,000 dead and the destruction of much of the farmland in Cambodia driving the peasants into the open arms of the Khmer Rouge.
We are witnessing the same phenomenom today as the Fitzgerald enquiry has charged Libby with perjury and obstruction of justice. He lied so he is a bad boy but not because he was a major player in all the decisions about Iraq which resulted in a multitude of war crimes.
The discourse about the wrongdoing of President Bush focuses on his lies about his reasons for going to war against Iraq but not about the horrendous war crimes for which he is ultimately responsible. The polls, now showing that the people want him impeached, reveal that people are disgusted by the lying of President Bush but not by his war crimes.
That's because so many people care only about things that (appear to) affect them directly. They don't know that what Grant Morrison said is true, "We're all one fooker," and they certainly wouldn't understand why Rastas prefer to use "I" and "We" in place of "You" and "They/them."
Many thanks to Reasonablib.
PS I watched Nixon's trial and his resignation skit live. Sure felt good.
We are witnessing the same phenomenom today as the Fitzgerald enquiry has charged Libby with perjury and obstruction of justice. He lied so he is a bad boy but not because he was a major player in all the decisions about Iraq which resulted in a multitude of war crimes.
The discourse about the wrongdoing of President Bush focuses on his lies about his reasons for going to war against Iraq but not about the horrendous war crimes for which he is ultimately responsible. The polls, now showing that the people want him impeached, reveal that people are disgusted by the lying of President Bush but not by his war crimes.
That's because so many people care only about things that (appear to) affect them directly. They don't know that what Grant Morrison said is true, "We're all one fooker," and they certainly wouldn't understand why Rastas prefer to use "I" and "We" in place of "You" and "They/them."
Many thanks to Reasonablib.
PS I watched Nixon's trial and his resignation skit live. Sure felt good.
WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice declined on Wednesday to rule out American forces still being needed in Iraq a decade from now. Senators warned that the Bush administration must play it straight with the public or risk losing public support for the war.
Pushed by senators from both parties to define the limits of U.S. involvement in Iraq and the Middle East, Rice also declined to rule out the use of military force in Iran or Syria, although she said the administration prefers diplomacy.
"I don't think the president ever takes any of his options off the table concerning anything to do with military force," Rice said.
Since when has this "administration" preferred diplomacy? I bet shrub can't even spell diplomacy, and prolly thinks a diplomacy is what his daddy bought him at Yale.
Pinched from Jack-Benny
Pushed by senators from both parties to define the limits of U.S. involvement in Iraq and the Middle East, Rice also declined to rule out the use of military force in Iran or Syria, although she said the administration prefers diplomacy.
"I don't think the president ever takes any of his options off the table concerning anything to do with military force," Rice said.
Since when has this "administration" preferred diplomacy? I bet shrub can't even spell diplomacy, and prolly thinks a diplomacy is what his daddy bought him at Yale.
Pinched from Jack-Benny
Oil Companies report record profits, 2000 Troops Dead, Bush calls for more sacrifice...
Are these stories related?
Back in April Bush held hands with the Saudi Prince and said, "I wish I could simply wave a magic wand and lower gas prices tomorrow."
Every year the oil companies have produced even higher record profits, and now it's almost $10 Billion profit in just 3 months for Exxon. Is this why Bush called for more sacrifice?
Are these stories related?
Back in April Bush held hands with the Saudi Prince and said, "I wish I could simply wave a magic wand and lower gas prices tomorrow."
Every year the oil companies have produced even higher record profits, and now it's almost $10 Billion profit in just 3 months for Exxon. Is this why Bush called for more sacrifice?
From the page: "Prosecutors allege that DeLay and his associates funneled corporate money given to the Texas committee to an arm of the Republican National Committee, which sent it back to seven GOP candidates for the Texas Legislature. Texas law prohibits corporate money from being used directly in a political campaign.
DeLay, Ellis and Colyandro are charged with conspiracy and money laundering. Colyandro and RoBold are charged with accepting or making restricted corporate donations."
DeLay, Ellis and Colyandro are charged with conspiracy and money laundering. Colyandro and RoBold are charged with accepting or making restricted corporate donations."
Scathing Oil-For-Food Report Draws Denials
Oct 28, 7:38 PM (ET)
By JIM HEINTZ
MOSCOW (AP) - A scathing report on corruption in the U.N. oil-for-food program for Saddam Hussein's Iraq drew widespread denials, terse dismissals and protestations of innocence Friday. But there were also pledges to investigate from some of the 2,200 companies cited and countries with citizens named.
Russian officials angrily alleged that documents accusing companies and officials in that country were fake, and the head of the nation's electricity monopoly called for the report's writers to be punished. But in a rare partial admission, Sweden's Volvo AB acknowledged making payments through an agent to Iraqi authorities but said it did not consider that bribery.
The U.N. report issued Thursday rattled reputations around the world with charges of kickbacks in lucrative contracts in the 1996-2003 program, under which Iraq was allowed to sell oil provided the proceeds went to buying humanitarian goods to help offset U.N. sanctions.
Saddam, who could choose the buyers of Iraqi oil and the sellers of humanitarian goods, corrupted the program by awarding contracts to - and getting kickbacks from - favored buyers, according to the report by the Independent Inquiry Committee led by former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker.
Oct 28, 7:38 PM (ET)
By JIM HEINTZ
MOSCOW (AP) - A scathing report on corruption in the U.N. oil-for-food program for Saddam Hussein's Iraq drew widespread denials, terse dismissals and protestations of innocence Friday. But there were also pledges to investigate from some of the 2,200 companies cited and countries with citizens named.
Russian officials angrily alleged that documents accusing companies and officials in that country were fake, and the head of the nation's electricity monopoly called for the report's writers to be punished. But in a rare partial admission, Sweden's Volvo AB acknowledged making payments through an agent to Iraqi authorities but said it did not consider that bribery.
The U.N. report issued Thursday rattled reputations around the world with charges of kickbacks in lucrative contracts in the 1996-2003 program, under which Iraq was allowed to sell oil provided the proceeds went to buying humanitarian goods to help offset U.N. sanctions.
Saddam, who could choose the buyers of Iraqi oil and the sellers of humanitarian goods, corrupted the program by awarding contracts to - and getting kickbacks from - favored buyers, according to the report by the Independent Inquiry Committee led by former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker.
From the page: "Mr. Libby was not charged directly with revealing the identity of a C.I.A. undercover operative, the accusation that brought about the investigation in the first place."
Huh?
Huh?
From the page: "WASHINGTON (AP) - The vice president's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter' Libby Jr., was charged Friday with obstruction of justice, perjury and making false statements in the CIA leak investigation, a politically charged case that will throw a spotlight on President Bush's push to war. Libby resigned and left the White House.
Karl Rove, Bush's closest adviser, escaped indictment Friday but remained under investigation, his legal status a continuing political problem for the White House.
The grand jury indictment charged Libby, 55, with one count of obstruction of justice, two of perjury and two false statement counts. If convicted on all five, he could face as much as 30 years in prison and $1.25 million in fines."
See, girls and boys, karma doesn't get only the good guys!
Karl Rove, Bush's closest adviser, escaped indictment Friday but remained under investigation, his legal status a continuing political problem for the White House.
The grand jury indictment charged Libby, 55, with one count of obstruction of justice, two of perjury and two false statement counts. If convicted on all five, he could face as much as 30 years in prison and $1.25 million in fines."
See, girls and boys, karma doesn't get only the good guys!
Terror tip for rich
E-mails warned bigs of city attack
By ALISON GENDAR DAILY NEWS POLICE BUREAU CHIEF
The city's rich and well-connected were tipped off to last week's subway terror threat days before average New Yorkers, the Daily News has learned.
At least two E-mails revealing the purported plot were sent to a select crowd of business and arts executives early last week by New Yorkers who claimed to have close connections to Homeland Security and other federal officials, authorities said.
The NYPD confirmed that it learned of the E-mails on Oct. 3 - three days before Mayor Bloomberg, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and the FBI went public with the threat.
"I have just received a most disturbing call from one of my oldest friends from growing up in Washington," one E-mail began. "He called with a very specific caution to not enter or use the New York City subway system from Oct. 7 through 10th."
A second E-mail sounded a similar ominous tone: "As some of you know my father works for Homeland Security, at a very high position and receives security briefings on a daily basis.
"The only information that I can pass on is that everyone should at all costs not ride the subway for the next two weeks in major areas of NYC."
One of the E-mails was dated Oct. 3 with a 6:05 p.m. time stamp, about 90 minutes before Bloomberg was fully briefed on the threat, a police source said.
The early warning infuriated several police officials, who noted that Homeland Security officials had challenged the credibility of the threat after the city and FBI warned the public.
"We're briefing the mayor, ratcheting up security, talking about when to go public - and Homeland Security is downplaying the whole thing while their people are telling friends to stay out of the subways," a police source said. "It's pretty bad."
NYPD investigators obtained copies of the E-mails on Oct. 4, as Bloomberg and Kelly were finalizing a plan to respond to the threat, and police officials gave the E-mails to the Homeland Security Department, police said.
"Members of our corporate security network informed the Police Department of the E-mails' existence days prior to any announcement of the threat," NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said yesterday.
Homeland Security officials confirmed that they were told about the early E-mail warnings.
"We have looked into them, but do not consider them to be of great significance," Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said yesterday.
Of course you wouldn't view them as having great significance! They weren't sent out to poor people!
Stolen from AnarKitty, whose blog you really should go check out http://anarkitty.stumbleupon.com/
E-mails warned bigs of city attack
By ALISON GENDAR DAILY NEWS POLICE BUREAU CHIEF
The city's rich and well-connected were tipped off to last week's subway terror threat days before average New Yorkers, the Daily News has learned.
At least two E-mails revealing the purported plot were sent to a select crowd of business and arts executives early last week by New Yorkers who claimed to have close connections to Homeland Security and other federal officials, authorities said.
The NYPD confirmed that it learned of the E-mails on Oct. 3 - three days before Mayor Bloomberg, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and the FBI went public with the threat.
"I have just received a most disturbing call from one of my oldest friends from growing up in Washington," one E-mail began. "He called with a very specific caution to not enter or use the New York City subway system from Oct. 7 through 10th."
A second E-mail sounded a similar ominous tone: "As some of you know my father works for Homeland Security, at a very high position and receives security briefings on a daily basis.
"The only information that I can pass on is that everyone should at all costs not ride the subway for the next two weeks in major areas of NYC."
One of the E-mails was dated Oct. 3 with a 6:05 p.m. time stamp, about 90 minutes before Bloomberg was fully briefed on the threat, a police source said.
The early warning infuriated several police officials, who noted that Homeland Security officials had challenged the credibility of the threat after the city and FBI warned the public.
"We're briefing the mayor, ratcheting up security, talking about when to go public - and Homeland Security is downplaying the whole thing while their people are telling friends to stay out of the subways," a police source said. "It's pretty bad."
NYPD investigators obtained copies of the E-mails on Oct. 4, as Bloomberg and Kelly were finalizing a plan to respond to the threat, and police officials gave the E-mails to the Homeland Security Department, police said.
"Members of our corporate security network informed the Police Department of the E-mails' existence days prior to any announcement of the threat," NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said yesterday.
Homeland Security officials confirmed that they were told about the early E-mail warnings.
"We have looked into them, but do not consider them to be of great significance," Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said yesterday.
Of course you wouldn't view them as having great significance! They weren't sent out to poor people!
Stolen from AnarKitty, whose blog you really should go check out http://anarkitty.stumbleupon.com/
Is it me, or does this look just like a weasel?
Is it just me, or does this look just like The Debbil?
In Hurricane Tax Package, a Boon for Wealthy Donors
By STEPHANIE STROM
Published: October 27, 2005
A little-noted provision in the tax relief package to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina is shaping up as a windfall for charity and a drain on government coffers.
It allows donors who make cash gifts to almost any charity by the end of this year to deduct an amount equal to virtually 100 percent of their adjusted gross incomes, double the normal limit of 50 percent of income. The tantalizing prospect has set off a financial scramble among some wealthy donors and charities vying for their dollars.
"I just keep thinking there's got to be a catch, they can't really be doing this," said C. Kemmons Wilson Jr., a Memphis businessman whose father was the founder of Holiday Inns Inc.
Mr. Wilson said that he and his siblings gave away several million dollars a year and that the amount could double this year because of the provision. "How many sales does the government have?" he said. "This is a big sale, and you bet I'm going to go."
By STEPHANIE STROM
Published: October 27, 2005
A little-noted provision in the tax relief package to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina is shaping up as a windfall for charity and a drain on government coffers.
It allows donors who make cash gifts to almost any charity by the end of this year to deduct an amount equal to virtually 100 percent of their adjusted gross incomes, double the normal limit of 50 percent of income. The tantalizing prospect has set off a financial scramble among some wealthy donors and charities vying for their dollars.
"I just keep thinking there's got to be a catch, they can't really be doing this," said C. Kemmons Wilson Jr., a Memphis businessman whose father was the founder of Holiday Inns Inc.
Mr. Wilson said that he and his siblings gave away several million dollars a year and that the amount could double this year because of the provision. "How many sales does the government have?" he said. "This is a big sale, and you bet I'm going to go."
Pinched from Spocko