Sunday, November 28, 2010

BU alum detained at airport and questioned about wikileaks
EXCERPT:
BU alum detained at airport, questioned about Wikileaks
By Jaime Lutz

Updated: Tuesday, November 16, 2010 04:11
Bradley Manning supporter David House speaks out about Chicago O'Hare incident

A Boston University alumnus said he was detained and questioned by government officials at the Chicago O'Hare International Airport this month for what he said was because of his involvement with the soldier suspected of releasing hundreds of thousands of classified military documents to the whistleblower website Wikileaks.

David House, 23, a 2010 graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences, said his laptop, cell phone, USB flash drive and other electronics were searched and seized, under the guise of a customs search, by two officials claiming to be Department of Homeland Security agents after he returned from a short vacation in Mexico with his girlfriend on Nov. 3. His electronics were not returned at press time.

House said the agents' questions led him to believe the seizure had to do with his involvement in the Bradley Manning Support Network, an organization working to fund the legal defense of Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, who is accused of leaking classified information detailing the U.S. military's involvement in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Courage To Resist
EXCERPT:
Courage to Resist needs your support


Dec 2010 newsletter now available!
By Jeff Paterson, Courage to Resist. November 15, 2010

It’s been quite a ride the last four months since we took up the defense of accused WikiLeaks whistle-blower Bradley Manning. Since then, we helped form the Bradley Manning Support Network, established a defense fund, and have already paid over half of Bradley’s total $100,000 in estimated legal expenses.

Now, I’m asking for your support of Courage to Resist so that we can continue to support not only Bradley, but the scores of other troops who are coming into conflict with military authorities due to reasons of conscience.

Please donate today.
“Soldiers sworn oath is to defend and support the Constitution. Bradley Manning has been defending and supporting our Constitution.”
—Dan Ellsberg, Pentagon Papers whistle-blower

wikileaks
Cables Obtained by WikiLeaks Shine Light Into Secret Diplomatic Channels

WASHINGTON — A cache of a quarter-million confidential American diplomatic cables, most of them from the past three years, provides an unprecedented look at backroom bargaining by embassies around the world, brutally candid views of foreign leaders and frank assessments of nuclear and terrorist threats.

State's Secrets
Day 1 of 9

A cache of diplomatic cables provide a chronicle of the United States' relations with the world.

Associated Press
Pfc. Bradley Manning is accused of leaking diplomatic cables and other classified documents to WikiLeaks.

The Lede
What revelation from the secret documents did you find most interesting?

Some of the cables, made available to The New York Times and several other news organizations, were written as recently as late February, revealing the Obama administration’s exchanges over crises and conflicts. The material was originally obtained by WikiLeaks, an organization devoted to revealing secret documents. WikiLeaks intends to make the archive public on its Web site in batches, beginning Sunday.

The anticipated disclosure of the cables is already sending shudders through the diplomatic establishment, and could conceivably strain relations with some countries, influencing international affairs in ways that are impossible to predict.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and American ambassadors around the world have been contacting foreign officials in recent days to alert them to the expected disclosures. A statement from the White House on Sunday said: “We condemn in the strongest terms the unauthorized disclosure of classified documents and sensitive national security information.”

“President Obama supports responsible, accountable, and open government at home and around the world, but this reckless and dangerous action runs counter to that goal,” the statement said. “By releasing stolen and classified documents, WikiLeaks has put at risk not only the cause of human rights but also the lives and work of these individuals.”

The cables, a huge sampling of the daily traffic between the State Department and some 270 embassies and consulates, amount to a secret chronicle of the United States’ relations with the world in an age of war and terrorism. Among their revelations, to be detailed in The Times in coming days:

¶ A dangerous standoff with Pakistan over nuclear fuel: Since 2007, the United States has mounted a highly secret effort, so far unsuccessful, to remove from a Pakistani research reactor highly enriched uranium that American officials fear could be diverted for use in an illicit nuclear device. In May 2009, Ambassador Anne W. Patterson reported that Pakistan was refusing to schedule a visit by American technical experts because, as a Pakistani official said, “if the local media got word of the fuel removal, ‘they certainly would portray it as the United States taking Pakistan’s nuclear weapons,’ he argued.”

¶ Gaming out an eventual collapse of North Korea: American and South Korean officials have discussed the prospects for a unified Korea, should the North’s economic troubles and political transition lead the state to implode. The South Koreans even considered commercial inducements to China, according to the American ambassador to Seoul. She told Washington in February that South Korean officials believe that the right business deals would “help salve” China’s “concerns about living with a reunified Korea” that is in a “benign alliance” with the United States.

¶ Bargaining to empty the Guantánamo Bay prison: When American diplomats pressed other countries to resettle detainees, they became reluctant players in a State Department version of “Let’s Make a Deal.” Slovenia was told to take a prisoner if it wanted to meet with President Obama, while the island nation of Kiribati was offered incentives worth millions of dollars to take in Chinese Muslim detainees, cables from diplomats recounted. The Americans, meanwhile, suggested that accepting more prisoners would be “a low-cost way for Belgium to attain prominence in Europe.”

¶ Suspicions of corruption in the Afghan government: When Afghanistan’s vice president visited the United Arab Emirates last year, local authorities working with the Drug Enforcement Administration discovered that he was carrying $52 million in cash. With wry understatement, a cable from the American Embassy in Kabul called the money “a significant amount” that the official, Ahmed Zia Massoud, “was ultimately allowed to keep without revealing the money’s origin or destination.” (Mr. Massoud denies taking any money out of Afghanistan.)

¶ A global computer hacking effort: China’s Politburo directed the intrusion into Google’s computer systems in that country, a Chinese contact told the American Embassy in Beijing in January, one cable reported. The Google hacking was part of a coordinated campaign of computer sabotage carried out by government operatives, private security experts and Internet outlaws recruited by the Chinese government. They have broken into American government computers and those of Western allies, the Dalai Lama and American businesses since 2002, cables said.

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Scott Shane reported from Washington, and Andrew W. Lehren from New York. Reporting was contributed by Jo Becker, C. J. Chivers and James Glanz from New York; Eric Lichtblau, Michael R. Gordon, David E. Sanger, Charlie Savage, Eric Schmitt and Ginger Thompson from Washington; and Jane Perlez from Islamabad, Pakistan.

bradleymanning.org
Bradley Manning Support Network Condemns Unjust Detainment of Activist
[10 Nov 2010 | 8 Comments]
Washington, DC, November 10, 2010 – Last week, David House, a developer working with the Bradley Manning Support Network, was detained and had his computer seized by the FBI when returning from a vacation in Mexico. He committed no crime, nor was he ever alleged to have committed a crime. He was questioned extensively about his support for alleged WikiLeaks whistleblower Bradley Manning, who has been imprisoned in Quantico for over 160 days.

Read the full story »

Stand with Brad
[8 Nov 2010 | 2 Comments].
San Diego Decries US War Crimes, Demands Manning’s Release
[23 Sep 2010 | No Comments].
Days of Action for Bradley Manning – Videos
Never Let Fear Become a Prison for Truth

Bradley Manning Support Network Condemns Unjust Detainment of Activist
[10 Nov 2010 | 8 Comments]
Washington, DC, November 10, 2010 – Last week, David House, a developer working with the Bradley Manning Support Network, was detained and had his computer seized by the FBI when returning from a vacation in Mexico. He committed no crime, nor was he ever alleged to have committed a crime. He was questioned extensively about his support for alleged WikiLeaks whistleblower Bradley Manning, who has been imprisoned in Quantico for over 160 days.
.Activism, Featured »
Stand with Brad
[8 Nov 2010 | 2 Comments]
The Bradley Manning Support Network is calling on supporters to sign a public declaration of support for accused WikiLeaks whistleblower Bradley Manning. Whistleblowers who speak out against injustice and tyranny make incredible personal sacrifices. Sign this petition and our partner, Courage to Resist, will mail your statement of support to Secretary of the Army John McHugh and Chief of Staff of the Army General George Casey.
.Headline, News »
More than Twenty Cities Rally for Bradley Manning
[24 Sep 2010 | 4 Comments]
Grassroots Campaign for Accused WikiLeaks Whistleblower Activates International Support
From September 16-19, supporters of Bradley Manning held public rallies and vigils for the accused WikiLeaks whistleblower, currently imprisoned in Quantico. Events were held in twenty-one cities in the United States, Canada and Australia in response to a call for action sent by the Bradley Manning Support Network and Courage to Resist.

The Days of Action kicked off with a packed hall in Oakland, California on Thursday, September 16 with Afghanistan: Occupation, WikiLeaks, and accused Whistle-blower Army Pfc. Bradley Manning. Keynote speakers included …
.Activism, Featured »
San Diego Decries US War Crimes, Demands Manning’s Release
[23 Sep 2010 | No Comments]
On September 19, 2010, over 5 dozen San Diegans rallied in solidarity with Pfc. Bradley Manning. They called on the US government to release Manning and decried the evidence of war crimes perpetrated by US armed soldiers depicted in the logs and videos released by WikiLeaks. Protesters affirmed that, if Bradley Manning is the source of the leaks, he deserves the gratitude of the entire world and should be heralded as a hero for his sacrifice. The protesters included a wide range of groups including labor activists, queer rights activists, legal scholars, anti-war activists and veterans. On the day after the rally, San Diego staged a public showing of the Collateral Murder video.
.Activism, Featured »
Days of Action for Bradley Manning – Videos
[23 Sep 2010 | One Comment]
On September 16-19, 2010, protesters in twenty-one locations rallied on behalf of accused WikiLeaks whistleblower Bradley Manning. Supporters taking part in the International Days of Action held demonstrations in Canada, the United States and Australia demanding Manning’s release.
Legal scholars, peace activists and free information advocates decried the actions of US soldiers documented in Collateral Murder as contrary to the Geneva Conventions. In statements issued by organizations across the US, defenders of Manning referred to the alleged WikiLeaks source as a conscientious whistleblower defending the constitution and the country. Manning’s …
.Activism, Commentary, Featured »
Never Let Fear Become a Prison for Truth
[21 Sep 2010 | 3 Comments]
o call Collateral Murder, or The Afghan War Diary, a leak is an immediate invective of language. The government, the mass media, they call these things leaks, as though they are the slow, steady trickle of information tumbling without direction onto the American landscape. They would have us believe that leaks are the meaningless detritus sloughed off by a well oiled war machine. Evidence of murder doesn’t drip calmly from the battlefield. It has to be spirited away from enemy lines, gripped hard and hurled in the air, let to burn over the heads of the misinformed. In the fight for this countries conscience Collateral Murder is a flash grenade. It’s a bright, hot blast that for an instant breaks the darkness of war. It shakes us. It frightens us. But it gives us vision.
.Commentary, Featured »
Bradley Manning: An American Hero
[21 Sep 2010 | One Comment]
by Marjorie Cohn, Professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law

Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is accused of leaking military secrets to the public. This week, his supporters are holding rallies in 21 cities, seeking Manning’s release from military custody. Manning is in the brig for allegedly disclosing a classified video depicting U.S. troops shooting civilians from an Apache helicopter in Iraq in July 2007. The video, available at www.collateralmurder.com, was published by WikiLeaks on April 5, 2010. Manning faces 52 years in prison. No charges have been filed against the soldiers in the video.

In fact, the actions depicted in “Collateral Murder” contain evidence of three violations of the laws of war set forth in the Geneva Conventions, which amount to war crimes.
.Art, Featured »
Free Bradley Manning (song)
[18 Sep 2010 | 8 Comments]
James Cerveny contacted us early on, as we were getting the Bradley Manning campaign up and running. A man of many talents, he consulted with us on some legal issues as well as contributing articles here and getting letters to the editor published. Now he displays another one of those many talents, in song:
“Free Bradley Manning” by James Cerveny
.News »
Legal update
[16 Sep 2010 | 9 Comments]
by Jeff Paterson
Dear Supporters of Bradley Manning,
Leading into our International Days of Action, here are some updates on Bradley’s legal case we can share.
From Bradley’s civilian attorney, David E. Coombs:
“I spoke with PFC Bradley Manning today. I let him know that so far the defense has received $10,000 from Courage to Resist; $5,000 from Mr. Michael Moore; and $860.00 from direct donations. Brad is aware of the fact that events are happening from today through the 19th. He has asked me to express how very thankful that he is for …
.Featured, News »
What Happened to Our Facebook Page with 10,000+ Supporters?
[15 Sep 2010 | 43 Comments]
You’ll notice that the page, with over 10,300 supporters, is rather quiet. That’s because the Bradley Manning Support Network’s administrative rights to the page have been revoked due to a “violation of the terms of service.”

We have not violated the terms of service. We are currently unable to post information or links on the page. Other users (non-admins) can post to the wall, but the administrators of the page cannot.

We have sent a letter of appeal to Facebook instructing them to reinstate our publishing privileges immediately. As of this writing, we have gotten no response. We have not even received information on how to appeal this restriction.

With just days to go before our International Days of Action, this could not happen at a worse time.
.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

The Ed Show -Delay convicted of money laundering charges www.msnbc.msn.com video

DeLay convicted of money laundering charges
By R.G. RATCLIFFE and PEGGY FIKAC
AUSTIN BUREAU
Nov. 24, 2010, 5:26PM
.
Ben Sklar Getty Images
Former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay answers questions from the media at the 250th District Court during jury selection in his corruption trial on Oct. 26, 2010, in Austin. DeLay had been indicted five years ago on charges that he illegally funneled corporate money to help Republicans in Texas legislative races in 2002.

Share Del.icio.usDiggTwitterYahoo! BuzzFacebookStumbleUponEmail Close [X]AUSTIN – After almost 19 hours of deliberations, a Travis County jury today convicted former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay on felony charges of political money laundering.

DeLay faces two to 20 years in prison on a conspiracy charge and five to 99 years or life on a money laundering charge. DeLay remains free on bail, with sentencing tentatively set for Dec. 20.

DeLay and his family did not react when the verdict was read. But after the court was dismissed, DeLay received a hug and a kiss from his wife. Then, his adult daughter, Dani, buried her face into DeLay's shoulder and began sobbing. DeLay's face turned red as he fought back tears.

DeLay's defense lawyer, Dick DeGuerin, who has claimed no money laundering actually occurred, decried the verdict.

"This is a terrible miscarriage of justice," DeGuerin said. "We will appeal. I'm very, very disappointed. This will never stand up on appeal."

DeLay, as he has from the beginning, said the case was all politics, but said his religious faith is getting him through.

"I'm not going to blame anyone," he said. "This is an abuse of power. It's a miscarriage of justice. And I still maintain that I am innocent. The criminalization of politics undermines our system."

Lead prosecutor Gary Cobb said the jury acted without a political agenda and made a decision based on the facts.

"We thought the citizens of Travis County would see this case for what it was, a corrupt politician who was caught violating the laws of the state," Cobb said.

The case against DeLay originally was brought in 2005 by then-District Attorney Ronnie Earle. DeLay claimed Earle was conducting a Democratic political vendetta.

Earle's successor, District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, noted that as the DeLay case began, her office won a corruption conviction of state Rep. Kino Flores, D-Palmview. She said the cases together show there is nothing partisan about her investigators and prosecutors.

"This case is a message from the citizens of the state of Texas that the public officials they elect to represent them must do so honestly, ethically or else they will be held accountable," Lehmberg said.

The six-man, six-woman jury promised each other that they would not talk to the media afterward. Visiting Judge Pat Priest assured them he would not immediately release their names.

"It has been conveyed to me by the bailiff that you do not wish to become instant celebrities," Priest said.

One juror agreed to speak briefly to reporters so long as neither the gender nor any identifying features be given away. The juror said the decision was based on the weight of the evidence in the case.

"It was just everything," the juror said.

DeLay and two political aides were accused of arranging to trade $190,000 in corporate money with the Republican National Committee in 2002 in exchange a like amount of money raised from individual donations that the RNC gave to seven specified Texas candidates. Texas law bars the use of corporate contributions in candidate elections.

Tom DeLay wikipedia
EXCERPT:
Life after Congress
Since leaving Congress, along with tending to his legal troubles, DeLay has co-authored (with Stephen Mansfield) a political memoir, No Retreat, No Surrender: One American's Fight, given media interviews (primarily regarding politics), begun a personal blog,[80] opened an official Facebook page (written in the third-person),[81] become active on Twitter (written in the first-person),[82] and appeared on the ninth season of Dancing with the Stars, the highly-watched ABC television reality show. Previously, in season three of Dancing with the Stars, DeLay publicly campaigned for "his good friend, country music singer, and GOP supporter" Sara Evans, before she withdrew from competition on the show due to her very public and ugly divorce from her then-husband, Republican politico Craig Schelske. On August 19, 2009, while promoting his participation on the upcoming season of Dancing with the Stars, DeLay made political news when he became perhaps the most famous Republican to date to promote the "birther" conspiracy theory about President Obama.[83][84][85][86]

The DeLay-Abramoff Money Trail
Nonprofit Group Linked to Lawmaker Was Funded Mostly by Clients of Lobbyist

EXCERPT:
The U.S. Family Network, a public advocacy group that operated in the 1990s with close ties to Rep. Tom DeLay and claimed to be a nationwide grass-roots organization, was funded almost entirely by corporations linked to embattled lobbyist Jack Abramoff, according to tax records and former associates of the group.

Craig Schelske sex pervert
EXCERPT:
Okay, so maybe this is not the most relevant story we have ever run. But Schelske does contribute to an increasingly visible pattern of obviously disturbed individuals hiding behind the cloak of so-called conservative values. Plus, one of our readers notes that one of the few candidates his PAC has supported just happens to be Rep. John Shimkus - the chairman of the. . . House Page Board! There are also several pictures of Schelske schmoozing with various important people, including President Bush on at least two occasions.

Dancing with the stars gossip
EXCERPT:
Sara Evans
Moves On

After filing for divorce and accusing her husband, Craig Schelske, of cheating on her (a charge he also levels against her), Sara Evans, 35, dropped out of the show, she said, to be with her three children. But on Nov. 6, she performed, looking radiant, in Nashville at the Country Music Awards. She is expected to appear on the Dancing finale Nov. 15. Assuming she and Schelske, 43, reach an agreement, the earliest that her divorce could be granted is Jan. 10. (The couple have already agreed to split a $274,000 joint account so he can find housing.) In the end the divorce could have a positive effect on her career. Says Nashville Star judge Anastasia Brown: "A divorce [can make an artist] more of a household name if the music is good enough to back it up—and she's one of Nashville's more revered artists."

Sara Evans wikipedia
EXCERPT:
Divorce
On October 12, 2006, Evans left Dancing with the Stars, citing personal reasons, and the following day it was revealed that Evans had filed for divorce from her husband of 13 years, Craig Schelske.[30] Documents filed by Evans' husband accused the singer of having close to a dozen affairs, including singer/songwriter Richard Marx, country star Kenny Chesney, Dancing with the Stars partner Tony Dovolani, various members of Evans' band, and four of the five members of the rock band 3 Doors Down. A representative for Chesney called the allegations "ridiculous,"[31] and Kirt Webster, a spokesman for the rock band 3 Doors Down, stated that the accusations are "ludicrous" and "untrue" and that the band members "are saddened by what she's going through." [32]

On September 28, 2007, the divorce between Evans and Schelske became final. Evans will pay him a minimum of $500,000 in alimony over a ten-year period. Evans was awarded custody of their three children with visitation rights to Schelske.[26]

An ex-nanny of Evans', Alison Clinton Lee, sued her for $3 million,[33] claiming that Evans has smeared her name by including it in her divorce papers as one of the many women Evans claims her husband had affairs with.[34] The case was settled in July 2009, for $500,000.[35]

On February 25, 2010, Evans obtained a restraining order against Schelske. Documents say Schelske is not allowed to make any derogatory statements about Evans to the media or make allegations about what led to their divorce.[36]

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Dianne Feinstein wikipedia
EXCERPT:
In 1980, Feinstein married Richard C. Blum, an investment banker. In 2003, Feinstein was ranked the fifth-wealthiest senator, with an estimated net worth of $26 million.[6] By 2005 her net worth had increased to between $43 million and $99 million.[7] Her 347-page financial-disclosure statement[8] – characterized by the San Francisco Chronicle as "nearly the size of a phonebook" – draws clear lines between her assets and those of her husband, with many of her assets in blind trusts.[9]

MGM Mirage Perini mismanaged city center project
MGM to take steps to pay off workers

Casino company says its problems aren't with subcontractors

By HOWARD STUTZ
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL MGM counterclaim document

Jim Murren
MGM MIRAGE CHIEF SAYS COMPANY'S ISSUES ARE WITH PERINI

MGM Mirage said Friday it would take steps toward paying some 600 subcontractors who worked on the $8.5 billion CityCenter development and are now caught in the middle of a legal skirmish between the casino operator and general contractor Perini Building Co.

In a filing in Clark County District Court, MGM Mirage said Perini mismanaged the project and performed defective construction work at the Strip complex.

Because Perini recorded a $490 million lien on CityCenter's property and filed a lawsuit seeking payment, MGM Mirage believes the general contractor breached its construction agreement with the company.

"(Perini) embarked on a massive publicity campaign to smear CityCenter and its management for failing to pay Perini's demand, all before Perini had submitted its final application for payment to CityCenter," MGM Mirage attorneys said in the filing. "Because of Perini's actions, the subcontractor close-out process ... was derailed. CityCenter has undertaken this process even though it has no contractual obligation to Perini's subcontractors."

MGM Mirage said previously that hundreds of small minority- or women-owned subcontractors were brought into the project by the company's corporate diversity hiring program.

"Our issues are not with those firms. Our issues are with Perini," MGM Mirage Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Murren said May 7.

MGM Mirage officials Friday declined comment beyond the filing.

In an e-mailed statement that didn't directly address MGM Mirage's court filing, Perini Building Co. CEO Craig Shaw said he was confident the casino operator would be held accountable and required to pay money owed the subcontractors and Perini.

"MGM Mirage, which faces significant debt payments, is attempting to avoid its responsibility to pay the subcontractors," Shaw said. "MGM Mirage should do the right thing by the subcontractors, Perini and the Las Vegas community and pay for the work that was performed."

In court documents, MGM Mirage said Perini mismanaged CityCenter and performed defective construction work on some of the development's components, namely the stalled Harmon Hotel. The casino operator, which owns CityCenter in a 50-50 joint venture with Dubai World, said Perini has now embarked on "a scorched-earth legal, media and political attack" to be paid money that it is not owed.

Last week Perini and its subcontractors asked Gov. Jim Gibbons to intervene in the dispute and the governor's office said a meeting with the general contractor and the subcontractor representatives will take place on Friday.

Perini also launched a media and Internet campaign to force MGM Mirage's hand.

In the filing, MGM Mirage attorneys said the general contractor began "a massive publicity campaign to smear CityCenter and its management for failing to pay Perini's demand, all before Perini had submitted its final application for payment."

MGM Mirage went on to claim that Perini's payment request consisted of "140 banker's boxes containing over 300,000 pages of disorganized, allegedly supporting documentation that CityCenter must now organize and analyze to determine how much money, if any, is actually owed to Perini."

The casino operator believes the amount will be far less than Perini has claimed.

Perini was accused of overseeing defective work at the Harmon, which had to be scaled back and redesigned from 47 floors to 26 floors after subcontractors installed defective steel reinforcement bars. The Harmon was delayed and remains unfinished.

"Perini was responsible for supervising and managing the work of its subcontractors," the filing stated. "Perini breached the construction agreement and applicable standard of care by failing to perform its own work and failing to supervise the work of its subcontractors."

The company said in the court filing that Perini owes MGM Mirage "hundreds of millions of dollars" for the defective work on Harmon. The company said Perini paid a fine to the Nevada State Contractors Board last year for "substandard workmanship" at Harmon.

CityCenter, which includes the 4,004-room Aria, two boutique-style nongaming hotels, a twin-building high-rise residential tower, and a 500,000-square-foot dining, retail, and entertainment district, opened in December after a five-year design and building process.

Review-Journal writer Arnold M. Knightly contributed to this report. Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871.

Richard Blum (Feinstein's hubby and Pirini)
Perini Corporation
73 Mt. Wayte Avenue
Framingham, MA 01701
Phone: (508) 628-2000
Fax: (508) 628-2821
http://www.perini.com
Profile
Company Principals
Board of Directors
Contract History
Political Contributions
UpdatesBackground
Founded more than a century ago in Massachusetts as a civil infrastructure contractor, Perini is known today for its hospitality and gaming industry projects, and for its corrections, health care, sports, entertainment and educational expertise. It is the largest casino and hotel builder in the United States. It also builds hospitals, prisons and public buildings. In addition, Perini is a major player in civil infrastructure construction, working on everything from bridges and highways to subways and airports.

Chairman and CEO Ronald Tutor and billionaire investor Richard Blum, who together own investment groups that hold 75 percent of Perini's voting stock, control the company. Blum is the husband of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

In addition to Perini, Tutor and Blum conduct a great deal of business through another company called Tutor-Saliba. Among that company's largest projects is the Los Angeles subway system.

Iraq contracts
In April 2003, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Transatlantic Programs Center awarded a contract to Perini worth as much as $500 million to provide goods and services to the U.S. Central Command. Washington Group International and Fluor Intercontinental were awarded similar contracts. The indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract has a performance period of one year. The IDIQ contract allows the Corps of Engineers to call upon the contracted companies to rapidly execute design and construction services as needed anywhere in CENTCOM's area of operations to support military operations, other U.S. government agencies, or friendly foreign governments under established agreements. The area of operations encompasses 25 nations from the Horn of Africa into central Asia, including Afghanistan and Iraq. No specific work or location for work to be performed has been identified to date.

In late September 2003, the Army Corps of Engineers issued additional task orders totaling $278 million on the three individual contracts and the Corps decided to raise the contract ceiling from $100 million to $500 million.

Perini will repair electrical infrastructure in southern Iraq, while Fluor and Washington Group International will perform similar work in central and northern Iraq.

Afghanistan contracts
In March 2003, Perini was awarded a contract by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Transatlantic Programs Center, for the design and construction of facilities to support the First Brigade of the Afghan National Army, located near Kabul.

Perini is the prime contractor for this $25 million, fast-track project, providing overall program management, design management, construction management and supervision, and quality control. The Perini team includes Tetra Tech, Azad Architects, and POWER Engineers.

The project consists of three phases, with occupancy of some facilities to begin in May 2003 and a final completion date of August 2003. It is unclear if the work has been completed. The facilities consist of barracks, dining facilities, a power plant, a water treatment facility and a wastewater treatment plant. Construction was started on January 19, 2003.

On April 4, 2003, the Army Corps of Engineers' Transatlantic Programs Center announced that it had awarded three contracts "to rapidly execute design and construction services as needed anywhere" in the area of operations for the U.S. military's Central Command (CENTCOM). The one-year contracts, awarded to Fluor Intercontinental, Perini Corporation and Washington Group International, are indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contracts with a guaranteed minimum value of $500,000 and a maximum of $100 million. However, in late September 2003, the Army Corps of Engineers issued additional task orders totaling $278 million on the three contracts and the Corps decided to raise the contract ceiling from $100 million to $500 million.

According to the Pentagon: Perini, alongside Fluor Intercontinental and Washington Group International, will remove and rebuild damaged roads and replace a destroyed bridge in Afghanistan as part of their individual IDIQ contracts to support CENTCOM.

Government ties
Principal shareholder Richard Blum, who co-owns 75 percent of Perini's voting shares, is the husband of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California who serves on the Appropriations Committee and the Select Committee on Intelligence.

Legal Action/Investigations
Perini entered into a contract worth roughly $41 million with the City of New York to upgrade and expand the structures and equipment at the Coney Island Water Pollution Plant. During performance of the contract, the city issued several change orders that increased the time required to complete the contract and caused Perini to incur extra costs. Perini notified the city that it had incurred or would incur damages as a result of the change orders. Perini and the city were unable to resolve the issue, so Perini sued. The federal courts ultimately ruled in the city's favor.

Updates
As of May 20, 2004
On March 12, 2004, the Program Management Office awarded Perini a contract with a ceiling of $500,000,000 for "electrical power distribution and transmission" in the southern region of Iraq.

—Bob Williams

Blum Capital wikipedia
EXCERPT:
Blum Capital is a private equity firm focused on leveraged buyout, growth capital and PIPE investments in small cap and middle-market companies across a range of industries. The firm is known for pioneering a hybrid private equity / strategic block investment strategy in public companies.

The firm, which is based in San Francisco, was founded in 1975 by Richard C. Blum. The firm has raised approximately $4.5 billion since inception across four institutional private equity funds raised since 1998.

[edit] History
Prior to founding Blum Capital, Richard C. Blum worked at Sutro & Co. an investment management and brokerage firm founded in 1858. While at Sutro, Blum led a partnership that acquired the struggling Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1967 for $8 million and sold it to Mattel Inc. for $40 million just four years later.

Among Blum Capital's most notable investments have been Fair Isaac[2], Lenovo[3], DHL Airways[4] and CB Richard Ellis.[5][6][7]

In 1994, Blum Capital entered into a joint venture, Newbridge Capital, with Texas Pacific Group and Acon Investments to invest in Asia and Latin America.

Richard C. Blum
EXCERPT:
Richard C. Blum is an investment banker and the husband of United States Senator from California Dianne Feinstein. He is a managing partner Blum Capital Partners, LP, an investment firm, and has a net worth of over $50 million. [1]
In 2002, Blum was appointed by California Governor Gray Davis to a 12-year term as a Regent of the University of California.

Blum serves on the boards of the following companies:

CB Richard Ellis (Chairman) [1]
Newbridge Capital, LLC (co-Chairman) [1]
Korea First Bank [1]
Northwest Airlines
Playtex Products [1]
Glenborough Realty Trust [1]
Kinetic Concepts (jointly owned with Fremont Partners) [1]

Critics have frequently accused Blum and Sen. Feinstein of political corruption and conflicts of interest arising from his business interests and his contributions to his wife's Senate campaigns. In 1992, Feinstein was fined $190,000 for failing to disclose that Blum had guaranteed nearly $3 million in loans to fund her 1990 bid for California governor. In 1997, a Los Angeles Times article revealed that while Feinstein was campaigning in the Senate for a lifting of trade sanctions against the People's Republic of China, Blum was managing millions of dollars of investments in Chinese businesses through his firm Newbridge Capital. Shortly after the scandal erupted, Blum announced that he would donate all of his profits from his China investments to charity.
Blum has a strong interest in Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism. In 1981 he attempted to climb Mount Everest from the Tibetan side with Sir Edmund Hillary. He is the founder of the American Himalayan Foundation, which has given millions of dollars to build hospitals and schools in Tibet and Nepal.

References

Feinstein, Husband Hold Strong China Connections; Asia: Senator, Blum insist a solid "firewall" separates her foreign policy role, his growing business interests there. Glenn F. Bunting; The Los Angeles Times; March 28, 1997; pg. 1
Richard Blum hones art of upping shareholder value. Loren Steffy; Bloomberg News; August 4, 2002. [1]

Blum and Sutro and the Bush
EXCERPT:
On June 8, 1990, Ralph Smith, a trader for Sutro & Co., called Bush on behalf of an institutional client interested in buying a large block of Harken stock. Smith asked Bush if he was interested in selling. Bush said no, but added that he might be interested in about two weeks.

On June 15, 1990, lawyers from the firm of Haynes & Boone, which worked for Harken, sent a warning about selling on insider information. The memo to Harken staffers had the subject line Liability for insider trading and short swing profits.
MGM Mirage Perini mismanaged city center project

Saturday, November 20, 2010

DePuy class action
1-800-391-8000 Parilman and Associates
Depuy Class Action
⊆ August 27th, 2010 | ≡ Topic: Depuy Class Action | | ˜
Depuy Class Action – Numerous Lawsuits have been filed as a result of the Depuy Hip Recall however, no Depuy Class Action Lawsuit has been announced. It is not necessary that a Depuy Class Action Lawsuit occur for you to file your claim if you have required revision or secondary surgery after a Depuy hip surgery. If you had a Depuy hip replacement surgery and later required a second hip surgery you should fill out the contact form to the right for a free consultation with an attorney working on the Depuy hip replacement lawsuit.

Established manufacturer of orthopedic implants, Depuy Orthopedics, made public a Recall on August 26th 2010 . The Depuy Recall affected two products, the Depuy ASR XL Acetabular System and the ASR Hip Resurfacing System. The hip replacement recall was a result suspected defects in the hip replacement products. Many hip surgery patients that received these devices later required a second surgery. These “Revision Surgeries” or second surgeries are usually required to correct an issue caused by or related to the initial hip surgery. These revision surgeries are painful and expensive. Recovery from these revisions surgeries is often as or more difficult than recovery from the initial hip surgery.

Do not feel like you need to wait for a Depuy Class Action Lawsuit. If you were the recipient of a Depuy ASR or ASR XL hip surgery and have required additional hip replacement or revision surgery you should speak to a Depuy Attorney today. A Depuy Attorney is an Attorney that is experienced in handling Depuy Hip Replacement Lawsuits. To contact a Depuy Attorney or to inquire about filing a Depuy Lawsuit please fill out the contact form at the right.

Economist

How did Watergate scandal change US politics (ABA American Bar Association)
EXCERPT:
Since Nixon and many senior officials involved in Watergate were lawyers, the scandal severely tarnished the public image of the legal profession. In order to defuse public demand for direct federal regulation of lawyers (as opposed to leaving it in the hands of state bar associations or supreme courts), the American Bar Association, (ABA) launched two major reforms. First, the ABA decided that its existing Model Code of Professional Responsibility (promulgated 1969) was a failure, and replaced it with the Model Rules of Professional Conduct in 1983. The MRPC has been adopted in part or in whole by 44 states. Its preamble contains an emphatic reminder to young lawyers that the legal profession can remain self-governing only if lawyers behave properly. Second, the ABA promulgated a requirement that law students at ABA-approved law schools take a course in professional responsibility (which means they must study the MRPC). The requirement remains in effect.

Hip Recall suit

DePuy Hip Recall Lawyers
The DePuy Hip Recall of the DePuy ASR Hip Replacement was announced August 26, 2010 by DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. The Depuy Hip Recall Lawyers at the Mazie Slater Katz & freeman, LLC are available to answer any additional questions patients may have about their rights.

The DePuy ASR hip replacements subject to the Depuy Hip recall are both the ASR XL Acetabular System and the ASR Hip Resurfacing System. These DePuy ASR hips have been implanted since 2005 in the United States and since 2001 internationally.

Depuy ASR Hip Revision Surgery
Depuy ASR recall patients may require a painful revision surgery to remove and replace the defective hip implant. DePuy estimates approximately 10,000 patients may need revision surgery, however we believe that this underestimates the number hip revision surgeries that will be necessary.

The DePuy ASR revisions are necessary because the device is defectively designed and manufactured so that high levels of metal ions are released from the Depuy ASR hip. This metal ion release damages tissue, causes pseudotumours, and results in osteolysis requiring hip revision surgery to remove and replace the device. This may happen shortly after the DePuy ASR hip replacement is implanted into the patient or it may take years to occur.

DePuy Hip Revision Patient Profile
The Adverse Event Reports involving the DePuy ASR submitted to the FDA by surgeons performing DePuy hip revision surgeries mention instances of “loosening, pseudotumour and metallosis” / (sic) metalosis. Surgeons have noted upon revision that the DePuy ASR hip cup was “loose and easy to revise”, that the “the cup popped right out” and that “there was no evidence of any bony ingrowth.” This is in spite of the surgeon’s prerevision observation that “The patient was revised to address complaint of extreme pain when weight bearing. X-rays looked good, and cup was in position.”

The DePuy ASR Hip Problems Well Known for Years
Prior to the DePuy hip recall of the ASR hip systems, published articles detailed the design problems with the device. Hundreds of Adverse Event Reports to the FDA in the United States confirmed what the studies showed. The DePuy ASR hip was withdrawn from the Australian market in December 2009. On May 25, 2010 a Medical Device Alert was issued in the UK for the DePuy Hip.

DePuy Hip Recall Liability Management Program
DePuy is paying surgeons to assist them in getting patients to sign documents for DePuy that allows DePuy to keep the explanted hip implant and to do "testing" on it. The explanted device is a valuable piece of evidence and a patient may not be able to prove a product defect case without the explanted hip device. Patients should be wary of this and not jeopordize their current and future legal rights by signing any documents for DePuy without obtaining independent legal advice. Patients may not realize what they are doing and think they are "just doing what the doctor asked" when they sign the documents. Please realize that your health care insurer is obligated to pay for your revision surgery and testing and it is not necessary for you to sign any documents for DePuy in order to get your revision or testing done. Contact Mazie Slater Katz & freeman, LLC before you sign any documents for Depuy!

Monetary Damages and Compensation for DePuy ASR Victims
Depuy ASR hip replacement patients may be eligible for compensation due to the injuries they have suffered as a result of being implanted with the defective DePuy ASR hip replacement. Past and future pain, suffering, medical bills, lost earnings, and disfigurement are among the damages that the patients may be entitled to recover. Mazie Slater Katz & freeman, LLC handles cases on a contingent fee basis. The client is never at risk of paying any money out of pocket. If there is no recovery, there is no fee.

Depuy Hip Recall Lawyers
The Mazie Slater Katz & freeman, LLC has represented patients against the manufacturers of defective products from almost every state. In addition, Mazie Slater Katz & freeman, LLC is well-versed in the litigation tactics and J&J organization as we have pursued cases involving other defective products that they have manufactured.

Depuy Hip Recall Lawsuits
The Mazie Slater Katz & freeman, LLC is filing individual Depuy Hip Recall lawsuits on behalf of DePuy ASR patients nationwide.

Doctors Not Sued in Depuy Hip Recall Lawsuits
Mazie Slater Katz & freeman, LLC will not file a lawsuit against any doctor or hospital in the DePuy ASR litigation. We will seek recovery against the manufacturer and distributor of the device.

Time Limitations Will Bar Late Claims
Depuy ASR lawsuits must be filed for patients before the legal deadline or the patient’s rights to compensation will be lost.

Free Initial Claim Evaluation and Depuy Hip Recall Information Packet Contact Mazie Slater Katz & freeman, LLC today by completing the contact form to receive a free no obligation claim evaluation by a lawyer experienced in handling defective product cases. We handle cases nationwide. Contact us today.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Sen. Jay Rockefeller: FCC Should Take FOX News, MSNBC Off Airwaves video on We Are Change

I think some of 'our' folks ought to do interviews with John Grisham, what do you think........ after reading 'The King of Torts'???

A few items today. I've been off of here for a bit because of family stuffs. First off two of my other g'kids were hit.

It's kind of bizarre and one might think I'm being paranoid but I don't think so. Here's why. Both of them were hurt in football accidents not too many days after my oldest daughter got to Phoenix.

Now one might think, doesn't she ever think things happen naturally? Yes, I do but it seems mighty strange to me that all the things happening to my g'kids have been within a 2 month time frame. For instance my oldest g'son that was hurt has been playing football now for years. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

OK, here's why I don't think it's a coincidence; when we moved to Colorado a doctor that's son played on my g'sons football team rented my daughter's house. (hmmmmmmm and after my visit to Dos Palos when my friends started having difficulties on the net and on their TV's, is it any wonder I don't think 'accidents happen'?) connection here being the same connection to renting the house and foodball accidents, eh? (The renters always had knowledge of where 'WE' meaning daughter's family and me?)

BTW, my one g'son got a concussion and my other (they are brothers) had a severe injury to his hand and had to be rushed to emergency? hmmmmmmmm.

Anyways, to my favorite hacker that hacked me again........... oh my isn't he so very wise and gave me my latest virus......... well, touche!

I will tell you this......... Shawn Renta (whatever, I've seen another name associated with this sob) or who the hell ever you are, I have a parrellel universe I work in and I do work even when I'm off-line.

Now, this is the most interesting thing, mi thinks.

I was trying my damndest to recover and stay on the sane when I happened to visit an antique shop this past week. hmmmmmm, and lo and behold I found a book (I suggest everyone read it, cause I think it's very important for 'OUR'cause.) I'm still having a shit load of difficulties this AM on the net so I'm not gonna do a search just share with you a few paragraphs from the book. I'm hoping my soul mate is watching over me and will see this and get it out to all the folks that need to see it....... IT'S VERY IMPORTANT.

The King of Torts John Grisham amazon
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Grisham continues to impress with his daring, venturing out of legal thrillers entirely for A Painted House and Skipping Christmas (the re-release of which this past fall was itself a bold move) and, within the genre, working major variations. Here's his most unusual legal thriller yet--a story whose hero and villain are the same, a young man with the tragic flaw of greed; a story whose suspense arises not from physical threat but moral turmoil, and one that launches a devastating assault on a group of the author's colleagues within the law. Mass tort lawyers are Grisham's target, the men (they're all men here, at least) who win billion-dollar class-action settlements from corporations selling bad products, then rake fantastic fees off the top, with far smaller payouts going to the people harmed by the products. Clay Carter is a burning-out lawyer at the Office of the Public Defender (OPD) in Washington, D.C., when he catches the case of a teen who, for no apparent reason, has gunned down an acquaintance. Clay is approached by a mysterious stranger, the enigmatic Max Pace, who says he represents a megacorporation whose bad drug caused the teen--and others--to kill. The corporation will pay Clay $10 million to settle with all the murder victims at $5 million per, if all is accomplished on the hush-hush; that way, the corporation avoids trial and possibly much higher jury awards. After briefly examining his conscience, Clay bites. He quits the OPD, sets up his own firm and settles the cases. In reward, Pace gives him a present--a mass tort case based on stolen evidence but worth tens of millions in fees. Clay lunges again, eventually winning over a hundred million in fees. He is crowned by the press the new King of Torts, with enough money to hobnob with the other, venal-hearted tort royalty, to buy a Porsche, a Georgetown townhouse and a private jet, but not enough to forget his heartache over the woman he loves, who dumped him as a loser right before his career took off. Clay's financial/legal hubris knows few bounds, and soon he's overextended, his future hanging on the results of one product liability trial. The tension is considerable throughout, and readers will like the gentle ending, but Grisham's aim here clearly is to educate as he entertains. He can be didactic (" `Nobody earns ten million dollars in six months, Clay,' " a friend warns. " `You might win it, steal it, or have it drop out of the sky, but nobody earns money like that. It's ridiculous and obscene' "), but readers will applaud Grisham's fierce moral stance (while perhaps wondering what sort of advance he got for this book) as they cling to his words every step along the way of this powerful and gripping morality tale.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
No manuscript available, but the publishers describe The King of Torts as a legal thriller set in Washington DC. An aspiring young lawyer in the Public Defender's office is assigned a case that appears to be nothing more than one of many crack cocaine murders in the capital. However, he delves deeper and begins to uncover a conspiracy that is bigger than him and perhaps bigger than the justice system itself. It's something of a truism to say that Grisham's inspiration has been fitful of late, but his sales rarely falter; The King of Torts will no doubt get the punters forking out their shekels. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


I've been having a bit of a conflict within my brain over class action lawsuits for quite some time now and it was asif God made sure I bought this book??????? Go figure, eh? Anyways, here's some of the passages from 'The King Of Torts' by John Grisham.

pg 164
And, while he was at it, he didn't like insurance companies and banks and multinationals and Republicans, either. Unbridled capitalism created the need for people like those hardy souls in the Circle of Barristers, those down in the trenches who were un-afraid to attack big business on behalf of the working people, the little people.

pg 248
"They're not as famous as the drug cases, but pretty damned lucrative. I started the rage about ten years ago. Our clients are schools, churches, hospitals, commercial buildings, all with layers of lead paint on the walls. Very dangerous stuff. We've sued the paint manufacturers, settled with a few. Couple of billion so far. Anyway, during discovery against one company I found out about another nice little mass tort that you might want to look at. I can't handle it because of some conflicts."

pg 316
"I just have one. Class actions are a fraud, at least the way you and your pals handle them. Mass torts are a scam, a consumer rip-off, a lottery driven by greed that will one day harm all of us. Unbrideled greed will swing the pendulum to the other side. Reforms will take place, and they'll be severe. You boys will be out of business but you won't care because you'll have the money. The people who'll get harmed are all the future plaintiffs out there, all the little people who won't be able to sue for bad products because you boys have screwed up the law."

pg 375
Washington attorney J. Clay Carter, the so-called newest King of Torts, received a taste of his own medicine yesterday when he was sued by some disgrunteld clients. The lawsuit alleges that Carter, who earned a reported 110$ million in fees last year, prematruely settled cases for small amounts when they were, in fact, worht millions.

pg 377
"Did you own any stock in the company before you filed the lawsuit?"
"No."
"Did you sell the stock short, then buy it back at a lower price?"

Of course he had...............................

pg 389
The bigger the crook the faster he ran to the office of Zack Battle, and Clay thought, for the first time, that perhaps he'd hired the wrong lawyer.............

There are lots more that I would put here because this book tells a lot but I'm not gonna waste any more time and wanted to share this asap. I think it's a very good book and think everyone should order it and read it soon and get it out to the masses.............................


(authors note).
It is here that authors often submit massive disclaimers in an effort to cover their rears and, hopefully, avoid liability. There is always the temptation to simply create a fictional place or entity rather than research the real ones, and I confess I would rather do almost anything than verify details. Fiction is a marvelous shield. It's very easy to hide behind. But when it ventures near the truth, it needs to be accurate. Otherwise, the author needs a few lines in this space.

The Public Defender Service in Washington, DC, is a proud and vibran t organization that has zealously protected the indigent for many years. Its lawyers are bright, committed, and very tight-lipped. Downright secretive. It's inner workings remain a mystery, so I simply created my own Office of Public Defender. Any resemblance between the two is purely coincidental.

Mark Twain said he often moved cities, counties, and even entire states when necessary to help a story along. Nothing gets in my way either. If I can't find a building, then I'll construct one on my map, then I won't hesitate to either move it or draw a new map. I would guess that about half the places in this book are described somewhat correctly. The other half either don't exist or have been modified or relocated to such an extent that no one would recognize them. Anyone looking for accuracy is wasting time.

That's not to say I don't try. My idea of research is frantically working the telephone as the deadline draws near. I leaned on the following people for advice, and it's here that I thank them: Fritz Chockley, Bruce Brown, Gaines Talbott, Bobby Moak, Penny Pynkala, and Jerome Davis.

Renee read the rough draft and didn't fling it at me-always a good sign. David Gernert picked it to pieces, then helped me put it together again. Will Denton and Pamela Creel Jenner read it and offered salient advice. When I had written it for the fourth time and everything was correct, Estelle Laurence read it and found a thousand mistakes.

All of the above were eager to help. The mistakes, as always, are mine.

.......................................


I went out to try and get the url for the following and kept getting disconnected msgs. so here's the article alone, thanks Ernie Hancock for this. (He's one of my friends in Phoenix.) I know I have a virus but think all of this is so important I chanced it... Please forgive me if I've infected you and hopefully it'll be taken care of soon.

Feathered Bastard
Russell Pearce Bigot Bill Scuttled by Freedom's Phoenix? And Ernie Hancock Calls Pearce a "Judas Goat"By Stephen Lemons, Thu., Mar. 18 2010 @ 10:03AM Comments (30) Categories: Feathered Bastard

ErnestHancock.com
Ernie Hancock and Freedom's Phoenix to the rescue? Sure looks like it...
Let's hear it for the Libertarians. It seems civil liberties concerns raised by writers like John Green over at Freedom's Phoenix may have gotten the Ron Paul-wing of the local GOP up in arms over a provision in state Senator Russell Pearce's bigot bill SB 1070/HB 2632, which they call a "back door" to the federal REAL ID Act.

That's an act that would essentially make your state driver's license into a national form of identification, with all of your info being freely exchanged between the state and the feds.

Green points to a section in the proposed Pearce legislation, which states that any public official in the state of Arizona, or any of its political subdivisions, "may not be prohibited or in any way restricted" from sharing "the immigration status of any individual" or exchanging that information with "any other federal, state, or local government entity."

The law is so broad that Libertarian claims of this being a back door to a national ID are quite valid. The night before the Pearce bill went to the floor of the House, Freedom's Phoenix's owner Ernie Hancock sent out a link to the Green article via Hancock's e-mail database, which includes all state legislators.

The mass e-mail drew blood in Republican ranks far more efficaciously than any pro-immigrant argument. Yesterday, the bill's sponsor Rep. David Gowan was forced to move that the bill be "retained on the schedule," leaving the legislation in limbo.

Gowan later told Arizona Capitol Times reporter Jim Small that, "We just had some issues within the Republican caucus." He didn't name what those "issues" were.

Apparently, Pearce himself felt the need to respond to the Freedom's Phoenix attack with a long, rambling e-mail that denied there was any provision in the bill that opened the gate to Real I.D.

Freedom's Phoenix posted a copy of the e-mail today.

"Ernie Hancock put out information on this bill that needs to corrected right now about a National ID piece and an ability to detain folks indefinitely," the Pearce e-mail reads. "I wrote the bill and it has NO such provision. It is such a stretch, it is unbelievable. I have a memo from our Constitutional attorney coming to verify this very fact. It is the black helicopter mentality.

"I understand and believe in the Constitution and work hard to honor it in all I do. I do not now or never have supported any form of National ID. The other issue he speaks about is detention. Nothing in this bill allows for detention of citizens at all and illegal aliens only as allowed under federal law for purposes of determining legal status for purposes of deportation."

Green responded by accusing Pearce of "red-handed lying," and, indeed, despite Pearce's assertion that "Nothing in this bill allows for detention of citizens at all," the bill does in fact state that,

"A law enforcement officer, without a warrant, may arrest a person if the officer has probable cause to believe that the person has committed any public offense that makes the person removable from the United States."

What if a cop messes up and detains a U.S. citizen or someone else legally in our country, and gets sued as a result? The bill orders that the cop be indemnified by his or her law enforcement agency for all reasonable expenses, including attorney's fees. Talk about a green light to violate your civil rights.

Hancock was in rare form when I called him for a comment on Pearce's debacle of a bill. Hancock insisted that, despite Pearce's claims to the contrary, Pearce has long been an advocate of Real I.D.

"This is the police state in immigration camouflage," said Hancock of the bill. "You want to know how that Nazi Germany [stuff] happens? This is how it happens."

Hancock observed that the immigration issue often becomes a Trojan horse for civil liberties, with people willing to give up their rights in exchange for ridding their community of illegal immigrants. He called Russell Pearce a "Judas goat," leading ordinary citizens "to the slaughter."

Thing is, Hancock has the ear of many Republican legislators who consider themselves libertarian with a small "l." So his opposition to the measure counts. Could the Libertarians of Freedom's Phoenix kill Russell Pearce's dream bill? All I can say is, if they do, I'll give them all the credit in the world.
Tags:
Ernie Hancock, Freedom's Phoenix, Russell Pearce, SB1070/HB2632

www.realnightmare.org/opposition/92/
Opposition Voices > What Government Officials and National Organizations are saying about Real ID


What Government Officials and National Organizations are saying about Real ID
"...[Real ID] carries the potential unintended consequence of establishing a “gold standard” for fraudulent activity. A fraudulently obtained “national license” could open doors for terrorists in situations that previously might have required supporting or secondary documentation or identification."


-- Sen. John E. Sununu, "Real ID: Unnecessary, Unfunded, and Unlikely to Make You Safer," Manchester Union Leader, May 17, 2006.

"Real ID Act provisions would be so difficult for states to implement, the bill would undermine an initiative that can make the nation safer from terrorism."

-- Senators John Sununu (R-NH), Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Richard Durbin (D-IL), letter to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN)

"Standardization of driver's licenses has long been recognized as a bureaucratic back-door to implementation of a national ID card. With its required linking of databases and ability of the Secretary of Homeland Security to require a prescribed format, HR 418 takes us well along that road."

-- American Conservative Union, Gun Owners of America, League of United Latin American Citizens, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, Republican Liberty Caucus, among others, coalition letter to Congress


"What passed is something that will be an enormous amount of work and it's questionable what it's going to yield. Is it going to yield national security or is it going to be hassle for people already complying with the law?"

-- Matt Dunlap, Secretary of State of Maine


"H.R. 418 would impose technological standards and verification procedures on states, many of which are beyond the current capacity of even the federal government. Moreover, the cost of implementing such standards and verification procedures for the 220 million driver's licenses issued by states represents a massive unfunded federal mandate."

-- National Governor's Association, American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, National Conference of State Legislatures, and Council of State Governments, letter to Senate leaders


"Real ID will harm thousands of battered women and children, including US citizens and permanent residents, and will erode critical protections passed by Congress ... Real ID erodes 10 years of progress in the campaign to end domestic violence."

-- National Organization of Women, National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and others, coalition letter to the Senate (pdf).

"[The Real ID Act] would undermine our system of checks and balances by stripping the federal courts of jurisdiction to review erroneous rulings in deportation cases, opening the door to drastic consequences in many cases."

-- The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and other organizations, coalition letter to the Senate

"Let's not ask states to make their driver's license a national passport. And for heaven sakes, let's not put people who are right now behind the counter of a DMV, who are not trained to be INS agents or FBI or CIA, suddenly make these folks who don't earn enough money as it is, take on the burden of screening out terrorists."

-- Governor Mike Huckabee (R-AR)


"The Real ID Act would move America beyond a de facto national ID to new "Big Brother" territory of a de jure national identity document."

-- The American Policy Center, Association of American Physicians and Surgeons the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and others, coalition letter to Senate

"REAL ID would require all individuals to use their principal residential address on their driver's license or state identification card. ... For people fleeing domestic abuse or stalking, the option to use an alternate address is not a matter of convenience or preference; it can be a matter of life or death."

-- Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and others, coalition letter to the Senate.

"REAL ID ignores state-based solutions in favor of federally imposed and unfunded mandates. It also fails to address several baseline questions that states need answered to evaluate and implement the act's requirements."

-- Governor Janet Napolitano (D-AZ) and Governor Mike Huckabee (R-AR), letter to Michael Chertoff, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security

"We have had no hearings, no debate, no votes in the Senate on this so-called REAL ID Act."

-- Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL)


"Ramming unpopular bills like REAL ID through Congress by attaching them to "must-pass" spending bills is a political strategy for avoiding a hearing and debate that could kill the bill."

-- Bill of Rights Defense Committee


"Realizing government's tendency towards mission creep, no one should be surprised if this database grows to contain far more information than that which is relevant to driving. . . . There is no limit to what other information may eventually be contained in the database -- something which should definitely concern gun owners."

-- Gun Owners of America

"If you didn't have a headache before this, you'd have one now."
-- Nebraska State Sen. Tom Baker (44th District - Trenton)

I watched a show last night with John Stossel and he is another Fox prick. OMG.......... He was talking about pesticides in foods and other food stuffs. ewe......... (back in the day, I used to think he was kinda cute but after last night................ I THINK HE IS AWFUL!!!)

ABC reprimands reporter over organic food report (John Stossel is a creep now at FOX
ABC Reprimands Reporter Over Organic Food Report
By JIM RUTENBERG
Published: August 10, 2000
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ABC News executives said yesterday that they would reprimand John Stossel, the news correspondent, for a report challenging the assumed benefits of organic food that was based in part on evidence that did not exist. The producer of the segment, David W. Fitzpatrick, is to be suspended without pay for one month, they said.

Executives took the action two days after conceding that the report on organic food, which ran twice on ''20/20'' -- first on Feb. 4 and then again on July 7 -- had misrepresented tests done on behalf of ABC News.

In a statement, the executives said, ''We've completed our review of the circumstances surrounding the error and have taken the appropriate actions.''

Neither Mr. Stossel nor Mr. Fitzpatrick would comment.

Mr. Stossel said in the report that testing commissioned by ABC News showed that conventional produce did not necessarily have more pesticide residue than did organic produce, debunking a main selling point for organic food.



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But the two researchers who were commissioned by ABC -- Dr. Michael Doyle, a scientist with the University of Georgia, and Dr. Lester Crawford, director of the Center for Food and Nutrition Policy at Georgetown University -- said they had never tested produce for pesticide residue for ABC.

In a letter dated Feb. 8, the Environmental Working Group, which supports the consumption of organic food, alerted Mr. Stossel that the researchers said they had not conducted the tests.

In a return letter, Mr. Fitzpatrick insisted that such tests did, indeed, exist. When the report was rebroadcast in July, Mr. Stossel re-emphasized the supposed pesticide tests results in an on-the-air discussion with Cynthia McFadden, a ''20/20'' anchor. Executives said yesterday that, upon investigation, they believe Mr. Fitzpatrick truly thought the pesticide tests had been performed on produce, even after he was contacted by the Environmental Working Group. Apparently, the executives said, he did not follow up carefully enough after the concerns were raised. The Environmental Working Group criticized ABC for not meting out stiffer discipline.

''I think it's outrageous that they are letting Stossel off the hook and slapping a producer on the wrist after they lied and threatened an entire industry by disseminating false and damaging information,'' said Ken Cook, the group's president.

The group has also asserted that Mr. Stossel's report inappropriately implied ABC testing had detected dangerous strains of E. coli bacteria in organic food when the tests did not establish the presence of the dangerous type of E. coli. Executives said Mr. Stossel may address that concern during an on-air apology he is scheduled to make tomorrow.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Keith Olberman wikipedia
EXCERPT:
Suspension
On October 28, 2010, days before the 2010 U.S. elections, Olbermann donated $2,400 each to three Democratic candidates for Congress: Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway, and Arizona Democratic Representatives Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords.[65] In response, on November 5, MSNBC President Phil Griffin suspended him indefinitely without pay for violating a network policy regarding political contributions which required prior approval from management.[66][67]

Maddow Keith Olberman on suspension
EXCERPT:
Maddow did acknowledge that Olbermann broke an NBC News rule, adding, "I understand this rule, I understand what it means to break this rule. I believe everybody should face the same treatment under this rule."

But she called on her MSNBC bosses to end the suspension, saying that the point had been made.

"I also personally believe that the point has been made and we should have Keith back hosting 'Countdown,'" she said.

Maddow also referenced "Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough's political donation to a Republican friend in 2006, though she did not reference Scarborough by name.

"You can [donate] if you ask in advance and management tells you OK. That's what I understand happened with our morning show host's political donations in 2006, under previous management," she said.
Keith Olberman wikipedia
EXCERPT: