And politics .....
Better watch out, Hillary .....
The REPUBLICANS are coming to get you .....
RUN, HILLARY, RUN ....
"McFarland to again campaign"
By BETH FOUHY, Associated Press
First published: Wednesday, August 23, 2006
NEW YORK -- A top strategist for Republican Senate candidate Kathleen Troia "KT" McFarland said Tuesday that McFarland would resume campaigning later this week after suspending activities to deal with her daughter's arrest on shoplifting charges.
"Nothing has changed -- we haven't canceled anything beyond yesterday and today," strategist Ed Rollins said.
"KT is trying to deal with her daughter, and that's a very painful process."
Camilla McFarland, 16, was arrested Saturday in Southampton.
She was charged with misdemeanor counts of petty theft and possession of stolen property for stealing a pair of jeans and two bathing suits from two stores.
KT McFarland said Monday she would suspend her campaign "until further notice" to address the matter.
McFarland is competing with former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer for the Republican nomination to challenge Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the heavily favored Democrat.
In a statement to police obtained by The Associated Press, Camilla McFarland said she had decided to shoplift after purchasing gifts for friends at a beachwear store in Southampton.
"I then walked into another store called Nora's," McFarland said.
"While I was in Nora's I decided to take a pair of jeans."
"I put them in my bag while I was in the changing room, and then left."
The jeans were described as True Religion brand, valued at $172.
She said she went to another store, the Flying Point Surf Shop, where she took two bikinis.
Together, they were valued at less than $250.
end quotes
Ah, yes ......
Republican family values .....
And since when does a pair of jeans cost $172?
I know .....
I know .....
I'm a yokel .....
I live out in the sticks .....
I just don't know "value" .....
When it is staring me in the face .....
And so .....
Jeans for $172 .....
What a kick that is ....
$172 for a pair of ordinary blue jeans .....
What was it P.T. Barnum said?
You'll never lose money underestimating the intelligence of human beings?
And so .....
Full Version: Life in OUR America, Volume 5
Pages: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31
"A case for war? - President Bush talks a lot more about why the U.S. can't leave Iraq than he does about why it's there at all"
Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Wednesday, August 23, 2006
More than three years and almost 3,000 American deaths later, it's harder than ever to discern a reason for just why the United States went to war in Iraq, or even what the precise mission is at this point.
President Bush certainly isn't of much help.
At a revealing news conference on Monday, the President instead went on and on about why the United States can't leave, complete with some sharp digs at those who now believe it is time to withdraw from Iraq.
A pre-emptive war to remove Iraq's chemical and biological weapons was exposed as a folly some time ago, of course, a matter of either very bad intelligence or outright duplicity.
Saddam Hussein, in Mr. Bush's words, was capable of obtaining weapons of mass destruction but not in possession of them.
The competing fallacy of Iraq's involvement in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is off the President's list as well.
Mr. Bush now explicitly acknowledges the lack of such a link.
"Nobody has ever suggested that the attacks of September 11 were ordered by Iraq," he says.
Instead 9/11 is reduced to an issue of proximity, as in when Mr. Bush lists the consequences of leaving Iraq.
"If you think it's bad now, imagine what Iraq would look like if the United States leaves before this government can defend itself and sustain itself," he says.
"Imagine a world in which Saddam Hussein was there, stirring up even more trouble in a part of the world that had so much resentment and so much hatred that people came and killed 3,000 of our citizens."
The President presents Iraq as part of a much larger fight against Islamic extremism and its implications for America's national security.
Intriguing geopolitics, perhaps, but a case for an ongoing war?
As for why we're staying, Mr. Bush's words are much more pointed.
"'We're not leaving so long as I am president," he says.
"That would be a huge mistake."
"It would send an unbelievably ... terrible signal to reformers across the region."
"It would say we've abandoned our desire to change the conditions that create terror."
"It would give the terrorists a safe haven from which to launch attacks."
"It would embolden Iran."
"It would embolden extremists."
Still, the President seems to relish the thought of the midterm elections campaign being waged over the Iraq war.
"What matters is that in this campaign that we clarify the different points of view," he says.
"And there are a lot of people in the Democratic Party who believe that the best course of action is to leave Iraq before the job is done -- period -- and they're wrong."
If only a president so eager to take on the critics of the war could better defend it.
end quotes
George's war in Iraq is a faith-based initiative .....
PURE AND SIMPLE ....
So there is no defense ...
A defense would imply that there was nothing to have faith in ...
And that is George ....
We have faith in George ...
As GOD'S ANNOITED .....
Down here on this earth of OURS .....
And that's it ...
We don't question further ...
Because to question at all ...
Implies that we don't have faith ...
In what is a faith-based initiative ....
And so ...
Because it is a faith-based initiative .....
Well ......
That logic .......
Goes round and round and round and round and round ....
Ad infinitum ....
Forever ....
GOD loves George ...
So we have to, too .....
And so .....
Anyone who questions George's war .....
Don't love GOD .....
Which makes them into an enemy of America .....
And so ....
Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Wednesday, August 23, 2006
More than three years and almost 3,000 American deaths later, it's harder than ever to discern a reason for just why the United States went to war in Iraq, or even what the precise mission is at this point.
President Bush certainly isn't of much help.
At a revealing news conference on Monday, the President instead went on and on about why the United States can't leave, complete with some sharp digs at those who now believe it is time to withdraw from Iraq.
A pre-emptive war to remove Iraq's chemical and biological weapons was exposed as a folly some time ago, of course, a matter of either very bad intelligence or outright duplicity.
Saddam Hussein, in Mr. Bush's words, was capable of obtaining weapons of mass destruction but not in possession of them.
The competing fallacy of Iraq's involvement in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is off the President's list as well.
Mr. Bush now explicitly acknowledges the lack of such a link.
"Nobody has ever suggested that the attacks of September 11 were ordered by Iraq," he says.
Instead 9/11 is reduced to an issue of proximity, as in when Mr. Bush lists the consequences of leaving Iraq.
"If you think it's bad now, imagine what Iraq would look like if the United States leaves before this government can defend itself and sustain itself," he says.
"Imagine a world in which Saddam Hussein was there, stirring up even more trouble in a part of the world that had so much resentment and so much hatred that people came and killed 3,000 of our citizens."
The President presents Iraq as part of a much larger fight against Islamic extremism and its implications for America's national security.
Intriguing geopolitics, perhaps, but a case for an ongoing war?
As for why we're staying, Mr. Bush's words are much more pointed.
"'We're not leaving so long as I am president," he says.
"That would be a huge mistake."
"It would send an unbelievably ... terrible signal to reformers across the region."
"It would say we've abandoned our desire to change the conditions that create terror."
"It would give the terrorists a safe haven from which to launch attacks."
"It would embolden Iran."
"It would embolden extremists."
Still, the President seems to relish the thought of the midterm elections campaign being waged over the Iraq war.
"What matters is that in this campaign that we clarify the different points of view," he says.
"And there are a lot of people in the Democratic Party who believe that the best course of action is to leave Iraq before the job is done -- period -- and they're wrong."
If only a president so eager to take on the critics of the war could better defend it.
end quotes
George's war in Iraq is a faith-based initiative .....
PURE AND SIMPLE ....
So there is no defense ...
A defense would imply that there was nothing to have faith in ...
And that is George ....
We have faith in George ...
As GOD'S ANNOITED .....
Down here on this earth of OURS .....
And that's it ...
We don't question further ...
Because to question at all ...
Implies that we don't have faith ...
In what is a faith-based initiative ....
And so ...
Because it is a faith-based initiative .....
Well ......
That logic .......
Goes round and round and round and round and round ....
Ad infinitum ....
Forever ....
GOD loves George ...
So we have to, too .....
And so .....
Anyone who questions George's war .....
Don't love GOD .....
Which makes them into an enemy of America .....
And so ....
I have just started to read the book Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq by Michael R. Gordon and General Bernard E. Trainor ......
And my advice to George W. Bush .....
Before he goes and feeds us any more malarky ....
About the "NEED" .....
For us to be in Iraq ....
And about letting down any alleged "reformists" .....
Anywhere in the world ....
WHICH IS PURE INVENTION ON HIS PART .....
TO TUG AT OUR EMOTIONAL HEARTSTRINGS ...
SO AS TO DISTRACT US .....
IN THIS HOUR ....
OF OUR NATION'S NEED ....
WHERE WE FIND OURSELVES ....
"ADRIFT AT SEA" .....
Over there in Iraq .....
Without any leadership at the helm of OUR national government ...
Is that George W. Bush himself .....
Ought to read this book .....
AND THEN .....
Any national debate that we have on this subject of Iraq ....
And OUR alleged need to be over there ......
Should be based upon the documented AMERICAN HISTORY .....
That is contained .....
In just the first twenty or so pages .....
Of this one book .....
A history .....
That has to .....
And does begin .....
With his father ...
George H.W. "BIG" Bush .....
And "BIG" Bush's 100-HOUR WAR .....
To drive Saddam's Republican Guards back out of Kuwait ....
As a nation over here ...
And yes, I am subject to this myself ....
We have a tendency to never remember yesterday ....
As if "today" ....
Like Topsy .....
Just sprang to life, full-formed .....
When the sun rose over CORRUPT Washington, D.C. in the morning ....
And such is just not the case at all ...
At least not always .....
In the affairs of mankind ...
And especially over there in what is called .....
By us .....
In OUR arrogance ....
As if we were God's appointed label makers and affixers down here on this earth of OURS ....
The MIDDLE EAST ....
Which has nations in it ....
That were already in existence ....
And flourishing ....
When young ALEXANDER THE GREAT, ALTHOUGH NOT AS GREAT AS GEORGE W. BUSH .....
Made his rampage through that area .....
To satisfy his own massive ego .....
Which didn't do young ALEXANDER THE PENULTIMATE GREATEST .....
Much good at all ...
Since young Alexander died quite young ....
And so .....
In this debate that George W. Bush now wants to have on Iraq .....
Which I whole-heartedly endorse .....
George wants to completely skip over the actual history of how we got into Iraq .....
WHICH WAS IN A WAR OF HIS CHOICE .....
AND NOT A WAR OF NECESSITY FOR OUR AMERICA ....
And what George wants to do ...
Is to have a debate on OUR NATIONAL SECURITY ......
That has as its "base" ......
An emotional argument for "staying the course" .....
This "DAMAGED NATIONAL PSYCHE" psycho-babble .....
That George is now spouting ....
As opposed to a look at the history of wrong-headed decision-making .....
Primarily by Dick Cheney ....
And Donald "GASBAG" Rumsfeld .....
That has got us to where we are now .....
When you read this book Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq by Michael R. Gordon and General Bernard E. Trainor ......
And stop to consider the AMERICAN HISTORY ....
That is contained just within those opening pages .....
It becomes patently obvious ....
To all but a real, pure-goose fool like George, I would say .....
That this talk of "staying the course" ....
Is simply ridiculous .....
SINCE THERE NEVER WAS A "COURSE" .....
TO STAY .....
IN THE FIRST PLACE .....
A fact .....
That George W. Bush appears to be in complete denial of .....
And so ......
To all these Democrats out there .....
Who are simply shouting that we should pull out .....
What I think they should do .....
Is to read this book as well ...
And then tell us ....
The American people .....
How simply pulling out now ....
RATHER THAN TACTICALLY DIS-ENGAGING ....
AND PULLING BACK ....
AND CONTAINING IRAQ ....
Will solve anything now ....
And so .....
It is a fact .....
That in their collective stupidity ....
Which apparently knows no bounds ....
George W. Bush ....
And Dick Cheney ....
And Donald "GASBAG" Rumsfeld ....
And "CON-JOB CONNIE" (KILLER) Rice .....
HAVE BLUNDERED THIS NATION OF OURS ...
RIGHT INTO A DEEP PIT OF QUICKSAND .....
SOME EIGHT THOUSAND MILES ....
ACROSS AN OCEAN ....
FROM OUR HOMES AND HEARTHS ....
OUR KITH AND KIN .....
HERE IN OUR OWN COUNTRY .....
WHICH IS WHERE OUR ATTENTION BELONGS .....
UNTIL IT IS PERFECT OVER HERE .....
AT WHICH TIME ...
PERHAPS WE CAN THEN START THINKING ABOUT "PERFECTING" ANYBODY ELSE ...
And when you are in quicksand .....
The one thing that you should stop doing .....
Is blundering about any further .....
Since further blundering about ...
Which is all the strategy that George W. Bush now has to offer us in Iraq ....
Only sinks you down further ....
And so ...
But to stop sinking ....
So that you can hopefully begin to extricate yourself ....
And sometimes ....
It is too late for that ....
You have to stop moving .....
STRATEGIC INERTNESS, it is called .....
And there is where George W. Bush .....
And Dick Cheney .....
And Donald "GASBAG" Rumsfeld are now all completely worthless to us .....
As a nation ....
BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO VISION ....
TO SEE THIS REALITY ...
Blinded as they are ...
By their own egos ...
And their own ambitions ......
WHICH HAVE NOW LED US .....
OUR AMERICA .....
DEEP INTO THIS FOLLY ....
Of George W. Bush's WAR OF CHOICE .....
AND NOT NECESSITY .....
IN IRAQ ....
And so ....
And my advice to George W. Bush .....
Before he goes and feeds us any more malarky ....
About the "NEED" .....
For us to be in Iraq ....
And about letting down any alleged "reformists" .....
Anywhere in the world ....
WHICH IS PURE INVENTION ON HIS PART .....
TO TUG AT OUR EMOTIONAL HEARTSTRINGS ...
SO AS TO DISTRACT US .....
IN THIS HOUR ....
OF OUR NATION'S NEED ....
WHERE WE FIND OURSELVES ....
"ADRIFT AT SEA" .....
Over there in Iraq .....
Without any leadership at the helm of OUR national government ...
Is that George W. Bush himself .....
Ought to read this book .....
AND THEN .....
Any national debate that we have on this subject of Iraq ....
And OUR alleged need to be over there ......
Should be based upon the documented AMERICAN HISTORY .....
That is contained .....
In just the first twenty or so pages .....
Of this one book .....
A history .....
That has to .....
And does begin .....
With his father ...
George H.W. "BIG" Bush .....
And "BIG" Bush's 100-HOUR WAR .....
To drive Saddam's Republican Guards back out of Kuwait ....
As a nation over here ...
And yes, I am subject to this myself ....
We have a tendency to never remember yesterday ....
As if "today" ....
Like Topsy .....
Just sprang to life, full-formed .....
When the sun rose over CORRUPT Washington, D.C. in the morning ....
And such is just not the case at all ...
At least not always .....
In the affairs of mankind ...
And especially over there in what is called .....
By us .....
In OUR arrogance ....
As if we were God's appointed label makers and affixers down here on this earth of OURS ....
The MIDDLE EAST ....
Which has nations in it ....
That were already in existence ....
And flourishing ....
When young ALEXANDER THE GREAT, ALTHOUGH NOT AS GREAT AS GEORGE W. BUSH .....
Made his rampage through that area .....
To satisfy his own massive ego .....
Which didn't do young ALEXANDER THE PENULTIMATE GREATEST .....
Much good at all ...
Since young Alexander died quite young ....
And so .....
In this debate that George W. Bush now wants to have on Iraq .....
Which I whole-heartedly endorse .....
George wants to completely skip over the actual history of how we got into Iraq .....
WHICH WAS IN A WAR OF HIS CHOICE .....
AND NOT A WAR OF NECESSITY FOR OUR AMERICA ....
And what George wants to do ...
Is to have a debate on OUR NATIONAL SECURITY ......
That has as its "base" ......
An emotional argument for "staying the course" .....
This "DAMAGED NATIONAL PSYCHE" psycho-babble .....
That George is now spouting ....
As opposed to a look at the history of wrong-headed decision-making .....
Primarily by Dick Cheney ....
And Donald "GASBAG" Rumsfeld .....
That has got us to where we are now .....
When you read this book Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq by Michael R. Gordon and General Bernard E. Trainor ......
And stop to consider the AMERICAN HISTORY ....
That is contained just within those opening pages .....
It becomes patently obvious ....
To all but a real, pure-goose fool like George, I would say .....
That this talk of "staying the course" ....
Is simply ridiculous .....
SINCE THERE NEVER WAS A "COURSE" .....
TO STAY .....
IN THE FIRST PLACE .....
A fact .....
That George W. Bush appears to be in complete denial of .....
And so ......
To all these Democrats out there .....
Who are simply shouting that we should pull out .....
What I think they should do .....
Is to read this book as well ...
And then tell us ....
The American people .....
How simply pulling out now ....
RATHER THAN TACTICALLY DIS-ENGAGING ....
AND PULLING BACK ....
AND CONTAINING IRAQ ....
Will solve anything now ....
And so .....
It is a fact .....
That in their collective stupidity ....
Which apparently knows no bounds ....
George W. Bush ....
And Dick Cheney ....
And Donald "GASBAG" Rumsfeld ....
And "CON-JOB CONNIE" (KILLER) Rice .....
HAVE BLUNDERED THIS NATION OF OURS ...
RIGHT INTO A DEEP PIT OF QUICKSAND .....
SOME EIGHT THOUSAND MILES ....
ACROSS AN OCEAN ....
FROM OUR HOMES AND HEARTHS ....
OUR KITH AND KIN .....
HERE IN OUR OWN COUNTRY .....
WHICH IS WHERE OUR ATTENTION BELONGS .....
UNTIL IT IS PERFECT OVER HERE .....
AT WHICH TIME ...
PERHAPS WE CAN THEN START THINKING ABOUT "PERFECTING" ANYBODY ELSE ...
And when you are in quicksand .....
The one thing that you should stop doing .....
Is blundering about any further .....
Since further blundering about ...
Which is all the strategy that George W. Bush now has to offer us in Iraq ....
Only sinks you down further ....
And so ...
But to stop sinking ....
So that you can hopefully begin to extricate yourself ....
And sometimes ....
It is too late for that ....
You have to stop moving .....
STRATEGIC INERTNESS, it is called .....
And there is where George W. Bush .....
And Dick Cheney .....
And Donald "GASBAG" Rumsfeld are now all completely worthless to us .....
As a nation ....
BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO VISION ....
TO SEE THIS REALITY ...
Blinded as they are ...
By their own egos ...
And their own ambitions ......
WHICH HAVE NOW LED US .....
OUR AMERICA .....
DEEP INTO THIS FOLLY ....
Of George W. Bush's WAR OF CHOICE .....
AND NOT NECESSITY .....
IN IRAQ ....
And so ....
And while we are on the subject .....
Of the monumental stupidity .....
And towering acts of folly .....
That have gotten us ....
QUITE PREDICTABLY .....
MIRED DOWN IN A QUAGMIRE .....
Over there in Iraq .....
And the "TRUTH FINALLY BEING OUTED" .....
Although it might now be way too late ....
For that truth .....
To do OUR military forces in Iraq ....
Who are the ones bogged down .....
In Iraq .....
Right in the heart of the quicksand ....
Much good ....
We have ....
"TV ads raise ire of GOP - Sweeney camp, national committee want stations to pull spots on Iraq funding"
By TIM O'BRIEN, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Thursday, August 24, 2006
TROY -- Congressman John Sweeney's campaign is seeing red over a pair of television ads that depict him as being caught "red-handed" backing the misuse of funds in Iraq.
MoveOn.org, a left-leaning political action group, is running the television ads on four area stations until Sept. 1.
The "issue ads" are funded by the political group and not by Sweeney's opponent in the 20th Congressional District race, Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand.
Maureen Donovan, Sweeney's campaign spokeswoman, sent a letter to area TV stations Wednesday demanding the ads not be aired, saying they falsely accuse the congressman of wrongdoing.
The National Republican Congressional Committee joined the fray over the ads, one of which ran in four other congressional districts.
"This is another false and misleading ad from a group that believes our military should not be funded," said NRCC spokesman Ed Patru.
One ad depicts a truck dumping cash in Iraq.
The voice-over asks:
"What happened to the $300 billion we sent to Iraq?"
"Halliburton got 18 billion."
"Nine billion is just plain missing."
"And our congressman, John Sweeney, has been caught red-handed, voting for all of it."
The ad shows Sweeney with his hand tinted red.
Donovan and Patru object, saying that the unaccounted-for $8.8 billion did not come from funds authorized by Congress.
"That had nothing to do with congressional oversight."
"t came out of the Iraqi oil for food program," Patru said.
"The majority of House Democrats, including the leadership, voted to support Iraq funding eight times going back to 2003."
Both the Sweeney camp and the national committee also said Congress does not authorize the contracts with Halliburton or other contractors.
"There was never a vote on funding Halliburton," Patru said.
Tom Mattzie, Washington director for MoveOn.org, defended the ads.
"The ads are accurate," he said.
"He has continually voted to fund the war without any questions for the Bush administration."
Steve Baboulis, vice president and general manager for WNYT Ch. 13, said he will run the ads and let viewers decide whether they are fair.
"Our general philosophy is that we run it."
"In the forum of ideas, we run these things unless it is blatantly, patently false," he said.
Robert Furlong, general manager of WRGB Ch. 6, hadn't seen either Sweeney's letter or the ad when reached Wednesday afternoon.
He said his main concern is to make sure the ad is neither graphic nor full of bad language.
"There's a freedom of speech issue here," Furlong said.
"It is their opinion, or is it patently false?"
"I've got to sit and take a look at the spot."
Baboulis disputed Donovan's assertion the "caught red-handed" theme implies Sweeney committed a crime or some other misdeed.
"In the text itself and if anyone watches the ad carefully, they don't say that," he said.
"They never really say he did anything illegal."
"It's really beyond the scope of a broadcaster to be the censor of these things," he continued.
"If we were in the business of not running these ads every time someone wrote to us, we'd never run these ads."
Donovan disagreed and said the campaign team would meet today discuss its options on how to respond.
She said there ought to be some venue for appealing such decisions by network affiliates.
"That's problematic because they are going to air something that is totally untruthful," Donovan said.
"It's the duty of the radio and TV stations to fact-check that."
O'Brien can be reached at 454-5096 or by e-mail at tobrien@timesunion.com.
end quotes
"LEFT-LEANING" ......
Good old Timmy O'Brien .....
We haven't seen much of "REPUBLICAN TIMMY" up here lately .....
He has actually been quite silent ....
And now .....
Like the good REPUBLICAN SCRIBE that he is ......
Just before the November congressional races coming up .....
Here comes "REPUBLICAN TIMMY" .....
And his "brush" .....
With which he is now going to start painting anyone opposed to the REPUBLICANS ....
As being "LEFTIES" ......
Ready to sell out OUR America .....
To anyone with the nickel .....
Or dime .....
To buy it with ....
Since OUR America .....
Is always for sale ...
To the highest bidder .....
As "REPUBLICAN TIMMY" well knows .....
Having shilled for the REPUBLICANS so long .....
As they sell out OUR America every day ......
And themselves as well ....
TO WHOMEVER HAS THE MONEY TO BUY THEM WITH .....
And so ...
Of the monumental stupidity .....
And towering acts of folly .....
That have gotten us ....
QUITE PREDICTABLY .....
MIRED DOWN IN A QUAGMIRE .....
Over there in Iraq .....
And the "TRUTH FINALLY BEING OUTED" .....
Although it might now be way too late ....
For that truth .....
To do OUR military forces in Iraq ....
Who are the ones bogged down .....
In Iraq .....
Right in the heart of the quicksand ....
Much good ....
We have ....
"TV ads raise ire of GOP - Sweeney camp, national committee want stations to pull spots on Iraq funding"
By TIM O'BRIEN, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Thursday, August 24, 2006
TROY -- Congressman John Sweeney's campaign is seeing red over a pair of television ads that depict him as being caught "red-handed" backing the misuse of funds in Iraq.
MoveOn.org, a left-leaning political action group, is running the television ads on four area stations until Sept. 1.
The "issue ads" are funded by the political group and not by Sweeney's opponent in the 20th Congressional District race, Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand.
Maureen Donovan, Sweeney's campaign spokeswoman, sent a letter to area TV stations Wednesday demanding the ads not be aired, saying they falsely accuse the congressman of wrongdoing.
The National Republican Congressional Committee joined the fray over the ads, one of which ran in four other congressional districts.
"This is another false and misleading ad from a group that believes our military should not be funded," said NRCC spokesman Ed Patru.
One ad depicts a truck dumping cash in Iraq.
The voice-over asks:
"What happened to the $300 billion we sent to Iraq?"
"Halliburton got 18 billion."
"Nine billion is just plain missing."
"And our congressman, John Sweeney, has been caught red-handed, voting for all of it."
The ad shows Sweeney with his hand tinted red.
Donovan and Patru object, saying that the unaccounted-for $8.8 billion did not come from funds authorized by Congress.
"That had nothing to do with congressional oversight."
"t came out of the Iraqi oil for food program," Patru said.
"The majority of House Democrats, including the leadership, voted to support Iraq funding eight times going back to 2003."
Both the Sweeney camp and the national committee also said Congress does not authorize the contracts with Halliburton or other contractors.
"There was never a vote on funding Halliburton," Patru said.
Tom Mattzie, Washington director for MoveOn.org, defended the ads.
"The ads are accurate," he said.
"He has continually voted to fund the war without any questions for the Bush administration."
Steve Baboulis, vice president and general manager for WNYT Ch. 13, said he will run the ads and let viewers decide whether they are fair.
"Our general philosophy is that we run it."
"In the forum of ideas, we run these things unless it is blatantly, patently false," he said.
Robert Furlong, general manager of WRGB Ch. 6, hadn't seen either Sweeney's letter or the ad when reached Wednesday afternoon.
He said his main concern is to make sure the ad is neither graphic nor full of bad language.
"There's a freedom of speech issue here," Furlong said.
"It is their opinion, or is it patently false?"
"I've got to sit and take a look at the spot."
Baboulis disputed Donovan's assertion the "caught red-handed" theme implies Sweeney committed a crime or some other misdeed.
"In the text itself and if anyone watches the ad carefully, they don't say that," he said.
"They never really say he did anything illegal."
"It's really beyond the scope of a broadcaster to be the censor of these things," he continued.
"If we were in the business of not running these ads every time someone wrote to us, we'd never run these ads."
Donovan disagreed and said the campaign team would meet today discuss its options on how to respond.
She said there ought to be some venue for appealing such decisions by network affiliates.
"That's problematic because they are going to air something that is totally untruthful," Donovan said.
"It's the duty of the radio and TV stations to fact-check that."
O'Brien can be reached at 454-5096 or by e-mail at tobrien@timesunion.com.
end quotes
"LEFT-LEANING" ......
Good old Timmy O'Brien .....
We haven't seen much of "REPUBLICAN TIMMY" up here lately .....
He has actually been quite silent ....
And now .....
Like the good REPUBLICAN SCRIBE that he is ......
Just before the November congressional races coming up .....
Here comes "REPUBLICAN TIMMY" .....
And his "brush" .....
With which he is now going to start painting anyone opposed to the REPUBLICANS ....
As being "LEFTIES" ......
Ready to sell out OUR America .....
To anyone with the nickel .....
Or dime .....
To buy it with ....
Since OUR America .....
Is always for sale ...
To the highest bidder .....
As "REPUBLICAN TIMMY" well knows .....
Having shilled for the REPUBLICANS so long .....
As they sell out OUR America every day ......
And themselves as well ....
TO WHOMEVER HAS THE MONEY TO BUY THEM WITH .....
And so ...
And from the "GROUND ZERO" .....
Of REPUBLICAN George Pataki's CORRUPT REPUBLICAN CAPITAL .....
Of Albany, New York .....
We have ......
VIOLENCE, AS USUAL .....
While REPUBLICAN GEORGE PATAKI .....
And "HEY, JACKIE BOY, HEY, JOHNNIE" Sweeney .....
Try to convince us ......
That all of OUR problems .....
Are over there in the quicksand of Iraq ......
WHICH IS BULL **** ......
I know a young man .....
Who is a Police Officer down there in the CORRUPT PATAKI CAPITAL .....
Of Albany, New York ....
And the other night ....
He tussled with .....
And arrested, finally .....
A fifteen-year old .....
Who had a $1200 Ruger .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun .....
Fully loaded .....
And ready for use ....
In his possession ....
And that is just one of a steady wave up here .....
Where George Pataki's CAPITAL CITY ....
Of Albany, New York .....
Is like a run-down version ....
Of the slums of Iraq ....
A vision, perhaps .....
Of what the REPUBLICANS will turn Iraq into .....
If we give them the chance .....
And so ....
"Shots hit 4 on Albany street - One victim "serious" as police hunt for two suspects in First Street shootings"
By MARC PARRY, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Thursday, August 24, 2006
ALBANY - Four people were shot on an Arbor Hill street late Wednesday night, leaving at least one man with "serious" injuries, police said.
Three men and a woman were wounded on First Street, between Lexington Avenue and Judson Street, at 9:15 p.m., said Detective James Miller, a police spokesman.
He said one of the victims suffered a "serious" gunshot wound, but stopped short of calling it life-threatening.
The man and another victim were undergoing surgery at Albany Medical Center Hospital, where all four people were taken after police arrived.
The other two victims were in stable condition, Miller said.
Investigators were searching for two men they suspect in the shooting, he said.
The names of the victims were unavailable.
"They're trying to work as quickly as possible to piece this together and identify people responsible so we don't have anything further occur," Miller said.
Police closed off a section of First Street after the shooting.
Sabrina Henderson, 41, of First Street, where she's lived for six months, was in her home when she heard the shooting.
"All I heard was gunshots."
"I stayed in the house," Henderson said, as she waited by police tape to get back in her home just before midnight.
"This street is hot -- stays hot."
"I go to work, (go) in the house, stay there until I go to work."
"I don't go out on this block."
end quotes
Posting stories .....
About people getting shot ....
On the streets .....
In George Pataki's Albany .....
In a lot of ways ...
Is like talking about cars going fast .....
On the interstates up here .....
So generally ...
I don't say anything about the rampant violence up here .....
WHICH IS A DAY-TO-DAY OCCURRENCE .....
But as we head into these November elections .....
With all this talk about "staying the course" in Iraq .....
To "help the alleged reformers" over there .....
MY THOUGHT IS ......
THAT PERHAPS .....
WE SHOULD FIX WHAT IS BROKEN OVER HERE FIRST ......
And a good place for that to start ......
Is right here in Albany, New York .....
Where you can find violence any day of the week .....
And drugs .....
And gunfire .....
Right outside the doors of George Pataki's BUNKER COMPLEX .....
At the top of State Street hill .....
In CORRUPT Albany .....
WHERE YOU NEVER FIND GEORGE PATAKI THESE DAYS ......
And so ....
Of REPUBLICAN George Pataki's CORRUPT REPUBLICAN CAPITAL .....
Of Albany, New York .....
We have ......
VIOLENCE, AS USUAL .....
While REPUBLICAN GEORGE PATAKI .....
And "HEY, JACKIE BOY, HEY, JOHNNIE" Sweeney .....
Try to convince us ......
That all of OUR problems .....
Are over there in the quicksand of Iraq ......
WHICH IS BULL **** ......
I know a young man .....
Who is a Police Officer down there in the CORRUPT PATAKI CAPITAL .....
Of Albany, New York ....
And the other night ....
He tussled with .....
And arrested, finally .....
A fifteen-year old .....
Who had a $1200 Ruger .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun .....
Fully loaded .....
And ready for use ....
In his possession ....
And that is just one of a steady wave up here .....
Where George Pataki's CAPITAL CITY ....
Of Albany, New York .....
Is like a run-down version ....
Of the slums of Iraq ....
A vision, perhaps .....
Of what the REPUBLICANS will turn Iraq into .....
If we give them the chance .....
And so ....
"Shots hit 4 on Albany street - One victim "serious" as police hunt for two suspects in First Street shootings"
By MARC PARRY, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Thursday, August 24, 2006
ALBANY - Four people were shot on an Arbor Hill street late Wednesday night, leaving at least one man with "serious" injuries, police said.
Three men and a woman were wounded on First Street, between Lexington Avenue and Judson Street, at 9:15 p.m., said Detective James Miller, a police spokesman.
He said one of the victims suffered a "serious" gunshot wound, but stopped short of calling it life-threatening.
The man and another victim were undergoing surgery at Albany Medical Center Hospital, where all four people were taken after police arrived.
The other two victims were in stable condition, Miller said.
Investigators were searching for two men they suspect in the shooting, he said.
The names of the victims were unavailable.
"They're trying to work as quickly as possible to piece this together and identify people responsible so we don't have anything further occur," Miller said.
Police closed off a section of First Street after the shooting.
Sabrina Henderson, 41, of First Street, where she's lived for six months, was in her home when she heard the shooting.
"All I heard was gunshots."
"I stayed in the house," Henderson said, as she waited by police tape to get back in her home just before midnight.
"This street is hot -- stays hot."
"I go to work, (go) in the house, stay there until I go to work."
"I don't go out on this block."
end quotes
Posting stories .....
About people getting shot ....
On the streets .....
In George Pataki's Albany .....
In a lot of ways ...
Is like talking about cars going fast .....
On the interstates up here .....
So generally ...
I don't say anything about the rampant violence up here .....
WHICH IS A DAY-TO-DAY OCCURRENCE .....
But as we head into these November elections .....
With all this talk about "staying the course" in Iraq .....
To "help the alleged reformers" over there .....
MY THOUGHT IS ......
THAT PERHAPS .....
WE SHOULD FIX WHAT IS BROKEN OVER HERE FIRST ......
And a good place for that to start ......
Is right here in Albany, New York .....
Where you can find violence any day of the week .....
And drugs .....
And gunfire .....
Right outside the doors of George Pataki's BUNKER COMPLEX .....
At the top of State Street hill .....
In CORRUPT Albany .....
WHERE YOU NEVER FIND GEORGE PATAKI THESE DAYS ......
And so ....
And giving George W. Bush ....
The credit that he believes is due him .....
For bringing down .....
OUR NATIONAL ECONOMY ......
WITH HIS ENDLESS WARS .....
AND NOT MUCH ELSE .....
IN THE WAY OF LEADERSHIP ....
We have .....
"Chill hits house market - Sales of existing homes at 2-year low amid higher mortgage rates, worries about the economy"
By JEANNINE AVERSA, Associated Press
First published: Thursday, August 24, 2006
WASHINGTON -- House hunters shied away from buying in July, driving down sales of previously owned homes to a 2-year low.
The inventory of unsold homes climbed to a new record high.
The new figures, released Wednesday, provided fresh evidence of how much the once-sizzling housing market has cooled.
Prospective home buyers have turned cautious about making such a big-ticket purchase as mortgage rates have gone up and uncertainty has risen over whether the economy and job creation will keep slowing, analysts said.
Existing-home sales dropped 4.1 percent in July from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.33 million units, the National Association of Realtors reported.
That was the lowest level since January 2004.
The latest snapshot of housing activity was weaker than analysts anticipated.
Economists were forecasting the pace of sales to fall to 6.55 million.
Although sales prices for homes are no longer bounding ahead, some prospective buyers are still waiting for better deals -- another factor in the weak showing, economists said.
"Many potential home buyers have been on the sidelines, some kicking the tires but mostly waiting for sellers to compromise on prices and terms," said David Lereah, the association's chief economist.
The median nationwide price of a home sold last month was $230,000, up just 0.9 percent from the same month last year.
The median price is the middle point, where half sell for more and half sell for less.
Meanwhile, the inventory of unsold homes in July rose to a record high of 3.86 million.
At the current sales pace, it would take 7.3 months to exhaust that overhang.
That is the longest period to exhaust the supply of homes since the spring of 1993.
By region, sales tumbled 6.4 percent in the West in July from the previous month.
Sales fell 5.9 percent in the Midwest and 5.4 percent in the Northeast.
In the South, sales dipped 1.2 percent.
Wednesday's report shows that the bloom is off the rose.
For five years running, home sales had hit record highs as low mortgage rates lured buyers.
But the housing sector has lost steam this year as rates have gone up and would-be buyers have grown cautious amid high energy prices and a slowing economy.
Against that backdrop, the Federal Reserve earlier this month decided to halt a rate-raising campaign that had pushed interest rates steadily higher over the last two-plus years to fend off inflation.
The Fed's goal is to raise rates sufficiently to thwart inflation but not enough to hurt the economy.
One of the things that Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues are watching closely is the housing slowdown.
If home prices and sales were to crash, that could spell big trouble for the overall economy.
Thus far, Bernanke has said the market's slowdown has been fairly orderly and smooth.
Wednesday's figures made some economists worry about the potential for a sharper slowdown in housing.
However, Lereah said he still expects a "soft landing" for the housing sector.
But he urged the Fed to leave interest rates alone and refrain from bumping them up again -- as some analysts have said is a possibility.
The housing sector's transition from a red-hot market to a cool one has important implications for the overall economy.
Consumers who watched their homes rise rapidly in value over the last several years felt wealthy and more inclined to spend.
They also borrowed against their homes -- treating them like ATMs -- to support their spending ways.
But with home values nationwide not going up as much now as the double-digit gains seen in the past several years, consumers have tightened their belts.
That has contributed to a slowing in overall economic activity.
"Once upon a time there was a housing market that allowed homeowners to print money."
"Those days are gone," said Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors.
Recent reports underscore the housing slowdown's impact.
Luxury home builder Toll Brothers Inc. on Tuesday reported a sharp drop in third-quarter profits.
One day earlier Lowe's Cos., the nation's second-largest home-improvement chain, warned that a slowing housing market will hurt its earnings for the rest of the year.
Last week, the National Association of Home Builders reported that confidence among builders sank to a 15-year low.
end quotes
I'm still chuckling about a pair of jeans costing $172 .......
Who in their right mind would pay $172 for a pair of jeans ......
And when you consider that these jeans are for teenagers ......
Well .......
I guess those teenagers who would spend $172 for a pair of jeans .....
Must have much better stock-option plans .....
Or something, anyway .....
Than us older fools like me out here in the country do .....
Where a pair of jeans costs about $17 ......
Which is considered high out here .......
But not so out of sight ....
That we will forego buying a pair ....
Every couple of years .....
When we need some ....
And so ....
The credit that he believes is due him .....
For bringing down .....
OUR NATIONAL ECONOMY ......
WITH HIS ENDLESS WARS .....
AND NOT MUCH ELSE .....
IN THE WAY OF LEADERSHIP ....
We have .....
"Chill hits house market - Sales of existing homes at 2-year low amid higher mortgage rates, worries about the economy"
By JEANNINE AVERSA, Associated Press
First published: Thursday, August 24, 2006
WASHINGTON -- House hunters shied away from buying in July, driving down sales of previously owned homes to a 2-year low.
The inventory of unsold homes climbed to a new record high.
The new figures, released Wednesday, provided fresh evidence of how much the once-sizzling housing market has cooled.
Prospective home buyers have turned cautious about making such a big-ticket purchase as mortgage rates have gone up and uncertainty has risen over whether the economy and job creation will keep slowing, analysts said.
Existing-home sales dropped 4.1 percent in July from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.33 million units, the National Association of Realtors reported.
That was the lowest level since January 2004.
The latest snapshot of housing activity was weaker than analysts anticipated.
Economists were forecasting the pace of sales to fall to 6.55 million.
Although sales prices for homes are no longer bounding ahead, some prospective buyers are still waiting for better deals -- another factor in the weak showing, economists said.
"Many potential home buyers have been on the sidelines, some kicking the tires but mostly waiting for sellers to compromise on prices and terms," said David Lereah, the association's chief economist.
The median nationwide price of a home sold last month was $230,000, up just 0.9 percent from the same month last year.
The median price is the middle point, where half sell for more and half sell for less.
Meanwhile, the inventory of unsold homes in July rose to a record high of 3.86 million.
At the current sales pace, it would take 7.3 months to exhaust that overhang.
That is the longest period to exhaust the supply of homes since the spring of 1993.
By region, sales tumbled 6.4 percent in the West in July from the previous month.
Sales fell 5.9 percent in the Midwest and 5.4 percent in the Northeast.
In the South, sales dipped 1.2 percent.
Wednesday's report shows that the bloom is off the rose.
For five years running, home sales had hit record highs as low mortgage rates lured buyers.
But the housing sector has lost steam this year as rates have gone up and would-be buyers have grown cautious amid high energy prices and a slowing economy.
Against that backdrop, the Federal Reserve earlier this month decided to halt a rate-raising campaign that had pushed interest rates steadily higher over the last two-plus years to fend off inflation.
The Fed's goal is to raise rates sufficiently to thwart inflation but not enough to hurt the economy.
One of the things that Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues are watching closely is the housing slowdown.
If home prices and sales were to crash, that could spell big trouble for the overall economy.
Thus far, Bernanke has said the market's slowdown has been fairly orderly and smooth.
Wednesday's figures made some economists worry about the potential for a sharper slowdown in housing.
However, Lereah said he still expects a "soft landing" for the housing sector.
But he urged the Fed to leave interest rates alone and refrain from bumping them up again -- as some analysts have said is a possibility.
The housing sector's transition from a red-hot market to a cool one has important implications for the overall economy.
Consumers who watched their homes rise rapidly in value over the last several years felt wealthy and more inclined to spend.
They also borrowed against their homes -- treating them like ATMs -- to support their spending ways.
But with home values nationwide not going up as much now as the double-digit gains seen in the past several years, consumers have tightened their belts.
That has contributed to a slowing in overall economic activity.
"Once upon a time there was a housing market that allowed homeowners to print money."
"Those days are gone," said Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors.
Recent reports underscore the housing slowdown's impact.
Luxury home builder Toll Brothers Inc. on Tuesday reported a sharp drop in third-quarter profits.
One day earlier Lowe's Cos., the nation's second-largest home-improvement chain, warned that a slowing housing market will hurt its earnings for the rest of the year.
Last week, the National Association of Home Builders reported that confidence among builders sank to a 15-year low.
end quotes
I'm still chuckling about a pair of jeans costing $172 .......
Who in their right mind would pay $172 for a pair of jeans ......
And when you consider that these jeans are for teenagers ......
Well .......
I guess those teenagers who would spend $172 for a pair of jeans .....
Must have much better stock-option plans .....
Or something, anyway .....
Than us older fools like me out here in the country do .....
Where a pair of jeans costs about $17 ......
Which is considered high out here .......
But not so out of sight ....
That we will forego buying a pair ....
Every couple of years .....
When we need some ....
And so ....
Yes sir .....
If we just "stay the course" .....
Over there in Iraq .....
Everything ......
Will then be all right with OUR world .....
Over here .....
And so ...
BE PATRIOTIC .....
VOTE FOR THE REPUBLICANS .....
They don't cut and run .....
No sir .....
THEY WILL STAY THAT COURSE ...
EVEN THOUGH THERE REALLY NEVER WAS ONE ....
UNTIL THERE IS NOTHING LEFT WORTH FIGHTING FOR ....
BECAUSE IT WILL ALL BE GONE ....
WE WILL ALL BE EQUAL ...
EQUALLY DESTITUTE ....
WITH NOTHING LEFT TO FIGHT OVER ....
EXCEPT SCRAPS ....
AND BONES .....
And some grizzle, maybe .....
If we are lucky ....
And so ....
"Stocks fall on housing concerns"
Associated Press
First published: Thursday, August 24, 2006
NEW YORK -- Wall Street fell for a third straight session Wednesday as fresh signs of a housing slump triggered concerns that the economy is slowing too fast and could erode corporate profits.
Investors believed housing sales might be dropping more rapidly than anticipated and theorized a soft landing for the U.S. economy might be more difficult to achieve.
A Federal Reserve official hinted Tuesday that higher interest rates may still be needed to tame inflation, a move that could curtail consumer spending.
Retailers and home builders, which have the most exposure to consumers, led major indexes lower.
"Housing is a relatively important number and clearly an area that has been a driver for the economy, and now we're trying to figure out if the Fed is done or if it needs to do more," said John Caldwell, chief investment strategist for McDonald Investments, the securities unit of Cleveland-based KeyCorp.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 41.94, or 0.37 percent, to 11,297.90.
Combined with Monday's and Tuesday's losses, the drop erased last week's five-day rally, pushing the Dow 0.73 percent from Friday's close.
Broader stock indicators also fell.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 5.83, or 0.45 percent, to 1,292.99, and the Nasdaq composite index dropped 15.36, or 0.71 percent, to 2,134.66.
Oil prices declined after U.S. government data showed rising supplies of gasoline as refiners increased output.
Light sweet crude for October delivery fell $1.34 to $71.76 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
U.S. home-builder stocks, already trading near yearly lows as housing sales remain depressed this summer, pulled back after the housing data was released.
Toll Brothers Inc. dropped 65 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $24.55.
Pulte Homes Inc., the nation's largest home builder fell $1.02, or 3.5 percent, to $28.09.
end quotes
WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! ......
"C'mon, you G** D*** goose ....."
WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! ......
"Lay another egg, I'm telling you ..."
WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!, WHAM! ......
"You want some more of this ...."
WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! ......
"G** D*** goose ..."
If we just "stay the course" .....
Over there in Iraq .....
Everything ......
Will then be all right with OUR world .....
Over here .....
And so ...
BE PATRIOTIC .....
VOTE FOR THE REPUBLICANS .....
They don't cut and run .....
No sir .....
THEY WILL STAY THAT COURSE ...
EVEN THOUGH THERE REALLY NEVER WAS ONE ....
UNTIL THERE IS NOTHING LEFT WORTH FIGHTING FOR ....
BECAUSE IT WILL ALL BE GONE ....
WE WILL ALL BE EQUAL ...
EQUALLY DESTITUTE ....
WITH NOTHING LEFT TO FIGHT OVER ....
EXCEPT SCRAPS ....
AND BONES .....
And some grizzle, maybe .....
If we are lucky ....
And so ....
"Stocks fall on housing concerns"
Associated Press
First published: Thursday, August 24, 2006
NEW YORK -- Wall Street fell for a third straight session Wednesday as fresh signs of a housing slump triggered concerns that the economy is slowing too fast and could erode corporate profits.
Investors believed housing sales might be dropping more rapidly than anticipated and theorized a soft landing for the U.S. economy might be more difficult to achieve.
A Federal Reserve official hinted Tuesday that higher interest rates may still be needed to tame inflation, a move that could curtail consumer spending.
Retailers and home builders, which have the most exposure to consumers, led major indexes lower.
"Housing is a relatively important number and clearly an area that has been a driver for the economy, and now we're trying to figure out if the Fed is done or if it needs to do more," said John Caldwell, chief investment strategist for McDonald Investments, the securities unit of Cleveland-based KeyCorp.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 41.94, or 0.37 percent, to 11,297.90.
Combined with Monday's and Tuesday's losses, the drop erased last week's five-day rally, pushing the Dow 0.73 percent from Friday's close.
Broader stock indicators also fell.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 5.83, or 0.45 percent, to 1,292.99, and the Nasdaq composite index dropped 15.36, or 0.71 percent, to 2,134.66.
Oil prices declined after U.S. government data showed rising supplies of gasoline as refiners increased output.
Light sweet crude for October delivery fell $1.34 to $71.76 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
U.S. home-builder stocks, already trading near yearly lows as housing sales remain depressed this summer, pulled back after the housing data was released.
Toll Brothers Inc. dropped 65 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $24.55.
Pulte Homes Inc., the nation's largest home builder fell $1.02, or 3.5 percent, to $28.09.
end quotes
WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! ......
"C'mon, you G** D*** goose ....."
WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! ......
"Lay another egg, I'm telling you ..."
WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!, WHAM! ......
"You want some more of this ...."
WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! ......
"G** D*** goose ..."
http://rawstory.com/showoutarticle.php?src...57D%26symbol%3D
"The Biggest Slump in US Housing in the Last 40 Years"…or 53 Years?
Nouriel Roubini | Aug 23, 2006
“The Biggest Slump in US Housing in the Last 40 Years”: These are not my words but those of the Toll Brothers, the famous luxury McMansions homebuilders. As reported by the WSJ today: In his 40 years as a home builder, Mr. Toll says, he has never seen a slump unfold like the current one. "I've never seen a downturn in housing without a downturn in employment or... some macroeconomic nasty condition that took housing down along with other elements of the economy," he says. "This time, you've got low unemployment, you've got job creation, you've got a stable stock market and relatively low interest rates.". This followed last week’s CNN headline: “Builder: Oversupply slump worst in 40 years. Toll Brothers slashes outlook on new homes as orders plunge and revenue misses forecasts” Indeed, yesterday’s sharply falling profit results from the Toll Brothers confirmed their view that this is the worst housing slump in decades. Similarly, Angelo Mozilo, the CEO of Countrywide – the country’s largest independent home mortgage lender - recently stated: "I've never seen a soft-landing in 53 years, so we have a ways to go before this levels out. I have to prepare the company for the worst that can happen." So, the only debate now is whether housing conditions are the worst in the last 40 years or in the last 53 years. So much for the bullish soft-landing wishful thinking coming out of Wall Street these days….
Of course, the message from the Toll Brothers and Countrywide is like the proverbial canary in the mine that is reflective of an ongoing rout – calling it slowdown or slump is a misnomer by now – in the US housing market. Every possible indicator of the housing sector that has been coming out in the last few weeks – and I will discuss their details below - suggests that the housing market is in free fall. And today’s figures on existing home sales and unsold homes say it all; as Bloomberg concisely headlined this morning: U.S. Existing-Home Sales Tumble; Unsold Inventory Is Highest in a Decade
At this point there no doubt on whether the housing sector is contracting – real residential investment fell at the annualized rate of 6.4% in Q2. The first derivative of the housing market is clear and negative today and looking ahead for the next few quarters. There is not even a debate about the second derivative of the housing market as any estimate out there suggests that the housing sector will contract at a faster rate in Q3 and Q4 than in Q2. Some official estimates that I have seen suggest that real residential housing will contract at 10% - rather than the Q2 6.4% in the next two quarters. My own estimate – based on a reading of the coming data – is that, actually, the contraction is more likely to be of the order of 12-15% annualized rate in the next several quarters. So, the only remaining scary question is about the third derivative of the housing sector and at which point – in terms of quantities and prices – the housing market will bottom out.
I have also argued before that the effects of housing on US economic growth and the role of housing in tipping the US economy into a recession in early 2007 are more significant than the role that the tech sector bust in 2000 played in tipping the economy into a recession in 2001. There are three reasons:
The direct effect of the fall in residential investment in aggregate demand will be as high as the effects of the fall in real investment in the 2000-2001episode. Then, real investment fell by about 2% of GDP. This time around the fall in residential investment alone – let alone the role other components of real investment, such as software and equipment, that are already falling in Q2 – will be as large as residential investment could fall from the peak of about 6.2% of GDP (the highest level since the 1950s) to as low as 4% of GDP at the bottom in 2007.
The wealth effect of the tech bust was limited to the elite of folks who had stocks in the NASDAQ. The wealth effect of now falling housing prices – yes median prices are starting to fall at the national level - affects every home-owning household: the value of residential real estate has also increased to 48.5% of household wealth in 2006 from from 38.7% in 1996. Also, the link between housing wealth rising, increased home equity withdrawal (HEW) and consumption of durable and non durables is very significant (see RGE’s Christian Menegatti brief on this), much more than the effect of the tech bubbles of the 1990s. Last year, out of the $800 billion of HEW at least $150 or possibly $200 billion was spent on consumption and another good $100 billion plus went into residential investment (i.e. house capital improvements/expansions). It is enough for house price to flatten – as they already did recently – let alone start falling - as they are doing now since they are beginning to fall in major markets – for the wealth effect to disappear, the HEW dribble to low levels and for consumption to sharply fall. Note that this year there will be large increases in the borrowing costs for $1 trillion of ARM’s while this figure for 2007 will be $1.8 trillion. Thus, debt servicing costs for millions of homeowners will sharply increase this year and next.
The employment effects of housing are serious; up to 30% of the employment growth in the last three years was due directly and indirectly to housing. The direct effects are job lost in construction, building materials, real estate brokers and sales agents, and employees of the mortgage finance industry. The indirect effects imply that the role of housing is even larger than 30%. The housing boom led to a boom in consumer durables spending on home appliances and furniture. Indeed, in Q2 real consumption of such goods was already negative: as you have less new home built and purchased and less old homes refurbished and expanded, you get less purchases of home appliances and furniture. There are also other indirect effects of the housing bust on employment, even on the purchases of motor vehicles. Indeed, the current auto sector slump is not unrelated to the housing slump. As the Financial Times put recently, the sharp fall in the sales of Ford's pick-up trucks is related to the housing slump as such truck are widely purchased by real estate contractors. And indeed in Q2 real consumer durables (that include both cars, home appliances and furniture all related to housing) already fell, consistent with the view that we have now have a glut in the stock of consumer durables (durables consumption has a investment-like nature to it as such goods last for a long time). Thus, as housing sector slumps, the job and income and wage losses in housing will percolate throughout the economy.
How bad are the signals coming from the housing sector? As a recent news headline clearly put it: it is simply UGLY. Indeed, all the indicators from the housing sectors - including the latest housing starts and the homebuilders (NAHB) forward looking business conditions - indicate a housing sector that is literally in free fall. New home sales started to fall since the beginning of 2006 and in some regions they are down over 30% relative to a year ago. As Bloomberg summarized today the new housing data: “Sales of previously owned homes in the U.S. fell more than expected in July, resulting in the biggest supply of unsold homes in more than a decade, as higher mortgage rates discouraged would-be home buyers.. Purchases declined 4.1 percent last month to an annual rate of 6.33 million, the lowest since January 2004, from 6.6 million in June, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington. Sales fell 11.2 percent compared with a year earlier.” Indeed, the number of unsold homes and the ratio of unsold homes to new home sales has therefore risen sharply to over 5.5 months of supply. Similarly the ratio of unsold homes to existing home sales has also sharply increased. These are clear indicator of a glut of unsold homes in the market. Housing starts are also sharply down elative to a year ago and expected to fall further over the next few quarters. Note also that, while overall mortgage applications are still up in the latest figures published today, due to sustained refinancing applications, applications for purchase applications have fallen 1.0% during the last week, this being fifth fall in the last six weeks. Moreover, there is a large amount of evidence that suggests increasing cancellation of initial mortgage applications, as the slump in the housing market and in the economy is now scaring households considering buying a home. Thus, the official data on purchase mortgage applications are very likely to exceed actual home sales.
More generally, note that when demand for housing initially falls relative to a glut of supply, the initial market response is not on price, as it is the case of financial market where prices adjust rapidly, but rather on the quantity of unsold homes and on how long unsold homes stay on the market. Housing prices, unlike financial assets, are sluggish. This market inventory adjustment eventually leads to lower prices once sellers realize that demand is low and that waiting is not going to help.
The housing market has thus followed so far the predicted various stages of adjustment to cycle driven by the initial housing bubble: initially a glut of supply of new homes as high prices (driven in part by speculative demand) led to high and excessive production of new homes; then a fall in demand as speculative high prices and rising rates made the purchases of housing less affordable to many; then, the ensuing inventory adjustment – an increase in unsold homes. Then, the reduction in the production of new homes – lower housing starts – as homebuilders with falling revenues and profits and lower expected demand finally reacted to the growing glut of unsold inventories. Indeed, the value of home builders’ shares on the NYSE has fallen by almost 50% relative to a year ago. Finally, we have now a price adjustment in two directions: a) an increase in rents as housing affordability fell since more and more households could not afford to pay the speculative prices of existing and new homes; this increase in rents is now correctly jacking up owner equivalent rent and increasing headline CPI inflation; the beginning of a fall in actual housing prices as the glut of unsold homes is now putting downward pressure on actual prices. (for more on recent indicators of the housing bust see the RGE Monitor cluster of readings on housing indicators)
The evidence on falling home prices is now becoming clearer. Since the end of World War II, there has never been a year on year fall in housing prices. There have been instead several quarters in which housing prices declined. Of course in some regions where there were housing busts prices declined for a while: in Texas during the housing bust of the mid 1980s that led to the S&L crisis; in California in the early 1990s following the recession in that state; in Boston in 1990. Those episodes were all associated with the housing bust that was related to the 1990-1991 recession So, you do not need a persistent year-on-year fall in median housing prices to have a housing bust; such bust can occur even if prices are flattening or falling in some regions, but not nationally. Moreover, such regional bust can be associated with national recession, as in the 1990-91 episode. So, the fact that the latest housing bubble was concentrated on the two coasts (North East all the way to Florida; and West Coast, especially California) does not mean that the coming housing bust in these regions will not have national macro effects. For one thing, the value of the housing stock in those two regions is close to 50% of the total housing stock given the bubble of recent years. Thus, a housing bust in the two coasts can and will have macro effects.
Indeed, today the National Association of Realtors reported today that the median price of an existing home rose only 0.9 percent in July from a year ago. So, housing prices are practically flat at the national level. Worse, relative to a year ago housing prices have already fallen in the North East (-2.1%), Mid-West (-0.6%) and the West (-0.3%). So, not only housing prices are falling in the bubbly two coast; they are also starting to fall in the Mid-West, the region where the conventional wisdom was that there was no housing bubble. The fact that home prices are falling in the Mid-West where prices did not skyrocket in the bubble years is a scary signal of how much the housing bust and glut in supply will lead to a sharp fall in housing prices in the quarters ahead with painful effects on the wealth, and thus consumption, of households. You can expect falling median housing prices, on a year-on-year basis, at the national level starting this month of August: indeed, today's figures on the glut of unsold homes - much larger than in the housing bust of the early 1990s - are only consistent with a highly likely actual fall in home prices in the months ahead and throughout most of 2007. Note also that, on an inflation adjusted basis, real home prices (relative to the CPI index) are already falling at a 4% plus rate.
Also, as noted by Dean Baker: "current house price indices are failing to pick up the full decline in prices because they miss the various concessions (seller paid closing costs, buyer-side realtor bonuses, and seller subsidized mortgages) that sellers often use to move their houses."
Even more ominously, futures markets now expect that house prices will fall during 2007. Following the lead and prodding of Robert Shiller – the maverick Yale professor who predicted the 2000 stock bust and is now predicting a housing bust - the Chicago Mercantile Exchange opened this spring a new futures market for house prices in ten U.S. cities. While this market is very new and still relatively illiquid, it is now predicting that U.S. house prices will fall in 2007 at the national average level, for the first time in over fifty years. The index of this futures’ market for the entire US is projecting a 5% price fall in 2007. And the futures contracts for individual cities show expected declines in housing prices even larger than 5% for Miami, New York, Boston, San Francisco, Boston, San Diego, Miami, New York and Las Vegas.
The likely fall in median home prices in 2007 may actually turn out to be larger than the 5% priced in the futures markets. In fact, one of the peculiar features of the latest housing cycle has been the presence of a large housing bubble: prices were going up well above economic fundamentals because of the speculative demand coming from expectations of increased housing prices that were feeding further speculative demand: "condo flipping" is the popular term for this speculative demand. Now that the bubble is bursting the fall in prices will be sharper than the one implied by medium term fundamantals as the initial price increase was due to a bubble that is bursting and leading to a fall in speculative demand: with prices now falling homeowners and speculators have no incentive to buy new homes as they expect prices to be lower in the future. So, expected prices fall leads to fall in speculative and fundamental demand and triggers actual larger than otherwise fall in actual prices. The speculative excess of a price bubble will now bring the bust of this price bubble. While the effect will be slower than in asset markets where prices adjust instantaneously (due to the sluggish nature of housing prices and their slow adjustment to increased inventories) eventually this price adjustment will occur - as it is now - and it will be very persistent over time. So, you can expect falling housing prices throughout most of 2007.
So, the simple conclusion from the analysis above is that this is indeed the biggest housing slump in the last four or five decades: every housing indictor is in free fall, including now housing prices. By itself this slump is enough to trigger a US recession: its effects on real residential investment, wealth and consumption, and employment will be more severe than the tech bust that triggered the 2001 recession. And on top of the housing bust, US consumers are facing oil above $70, the delayed effects of rising Fed Fund and long term rates, falling real wages, negative savings, high debt ratios and higher and higher debt servicing ratios. This is the tipping point for the US consumer and the effects will be ugly. Expect the great recession of 2007 to be much nastier, deeper and more protracted than the 2001 recession.
And the housing bust is not going to be only a US phenomenon. As I will discuss in another blog, housing bubbles festered in many other economies including many European ones. Thus, the combination of high oil prices, delayed effects of rising interest rates and slump of housing that is now leading to a US recession is a phenomenon that is common to many other economies, including several European ones. So, expect the same deadly combinations of three ugly bears (slumping housing, high oil prices and rising interest rates) to hammer Goldilocks and sharply hurt Europe and other economies in the world.
Comments
Of course, the National Association of Realtors is trying to put a positive spin on the imploding Housing bubble. Unfortunately, economists like NAR’s David Lereah have been mostly cheerleaders for the credit driven Housing bubble that has seriously damaged the monetary stability of the US Economy.
More evidence of the coming Recession from the California epicenter of the nation’s Housing bubble. According to Austrian Economic theory, the magnitude of the recession will be proportional to the excesses of the prior credit bubble boom. With million dollar McMansions overbuilt from coast to coast, the hangover will be a devastating hurricane to the debt bubble driven US Economy.
California Home Sales Down 25.3% in Q2
http://www.contactomagazine.com/calhomesales0808.htm
” The decline in housing sales has spread nationwide, with the number of deals falling in 28 states, including California, during the second quarter, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors.
Nationally, the number of resale home purchases dropped 7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.69 million homes, the group said. In California, the number of deals was down 25.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 460,500 homes. “
Written by Dave Chiang on 2006-08-23 09:59:34
Of course, the National Association of Realtors is trying to put a positive spin on the imploding Housing bubble. Unfortunately, economists like NAR’s David Lereah have been mostly cheerleaders for the credit driven Housing bubble that has seriously damaged the monetary stability of the US Economy.
More evidence of the coming Recession from the California epicenter of the nation’s Housing bubble. According to Austrian Economic theory, the magnitude of the recession will be proportional to the excesses of the prior credit bubble boom. With million dollar McMansions overbuilt from coast to coast, the hangover will be a devastating hurricane to the debt bubble driven US Economy.
California Home Sales Down 25.3% in Q2
http://www.contactomagazine.com/calhomesales0808.htm
” The decline in housing sales has spread nationwide, with the number of deals falling in 28 states, including California, during the second quarter, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors.
Nationally, the number of resale home purchases dropped 7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.69 million homes, the group said. In California, the number of deals was down 25.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 460,500 homes. “
Written by Dave Chiang on 2006-08-23 09:59:34
For a taste of what is to come for the US McMansion Housing bubble, the luxury condo market in Shanghai China has gone bust. Luxury Housing Prices collapse 10% in one week.
http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1855956,00.html
" Others blame a housing market swamped with swanky apartment blocks and luxury villas. In a single week last month, residential prices in Shanghai fell 10%.
From the top floor of its sleek, luxury apartment blocks in the Pudong development zone, you can, say the brochures, look out across the Huangpu river at one of the world's most futuristic skylines.
Since it opened in October last year, the waterfront development has failed to attract a single buyer for any of its 74 apartments. The situation is so desperate that Tomson has decided to put a second block out to global public tender. "
My comment: The article fails to mention that the Chinese government has slammed the brakes on the Shanghai property bubble by imposing high short-term capital gains taxes on the sale of real estate. The Shanghai property bubble would have imploded sooner or later, but monetary authorities need to address asset bubbles in their policy decisions. Not all of China is impacted by a property bubble; mostly the luxury condo and villa market in Shanghai and Beijing. The same also holds true for the United States where property bubble gains in Chicago never matched New York, Boston, or San Francisco.
"The Biggest Slump in US Housing in the Last 40 Years"…or 53 Years?
Nouriel Roubini | Aug 23, 2006
“The Biggest Slump in US Housing in the Last 40 Years”: These are not my words but those of the Toll Brothers, the famous luxury McMansions homebuilders. As reported by the WSJ today: In his 40 years as a home builder, Mr. Toll says, he has never seen a slump unfold like the current one. "I've never seen a downturn in housing without a downturn in employment or... some macroeconomic nasty condition that took housing down along with other elements of the economy," he says. "This time, you've got low unemployment, you've got job creation, you've got a stable stock market and relatively low interest rates.". This followed last week’s CNN headline: “Builder: Oversupply slump worst in 40 years. Toll Brothers slashes outlook on new homes as orders plunge and revenue misses forecasts” Indeed, yesterday’s sharply falling profit results from the Toll Brothers confirmed their view that this is the worst housing slump in decades. Similarly, Angelo Mozilo, the CEO of Countrywide – the country’s largest independent home mortgage lender - recently stated: "I've never seen a soft-landing in 53 years, so we have a ways to go before this levels out. I have to prepare the company for the worst that can happen." So, the only debate now is whether housing conditions are the worst in the last 40 years or in the last 53 years. So much for the bullish soft-landing wishful thinking coming out of Wall Street these days….
Of course, the message from the Toll Brothers and Countrywide is like the proverbial canary in the mine that is reflective of an ongoing rout – calling it slowdown or slump is a misnomer by now – in the US housing market. Every possible indicator of the housing sector that has been coming out in the last few weeks – and I will discuss their details below - suggests that the housing market is in free fall. And today’s figures on existing home sales and unsold homes say it all; as Bloomberg concisely headlined this morning: U.S. Existing-Home Sales Tumble; Unsold Inventory Is Highest in a Decade
At this point there no doubt on whether the housing sector is contracting – real residential investment fell at the annualized rate of 6.4% in Q2. The first derivative of the housing market is clear and negative today and looking ahead for the next few quarters. There is not even a debate about the second derivative of the housing market as any estimate out there suggests that the housing sector will contract at a faster rate in Q3 and Q4 than in Q2. Some official estimates that I have seen suggest that real residential housing will contract at 10% - rather than the Q2 6.4% in the next two quarters. My own estimate – based on a reading of the coming data – is that, actually, the contraction is more likely to be of the order of 12-15% annualized rate in the next several quarters. So, the only remaining scary question is about the third derivative of the housing sector and at which point – in terms of quantities and prices – the housing market will bottom out.
I have also argued before that the effects of housing on US economic growth and the role of housing in tipping the US economy into a recession in early 2007 are more significant than the role that the tech sector bust in 2000 played in tipping the economy into a recession in 2001. There are three reasons:
The direct effect of the fall in residential investment in aggregate demand will be as high as the effects of the fall in real investment in the 2000-2001episode. Then, real investment fell by about 2% of GDP. This time around the fall in residential investment alone – let alone the role other components of real investment, such as software and equipment, that are already falling in Q2 – will be as large as residential investment could fall from the peak of about 6.2% of GDP (the highest level since the 1950s) to as low as 4% of GDP at the bottom in 2007.
The wealth effect of the tech bust was limited to the elite of folks who had stocks in the NASDAQ. The wealth effect of now falling housing prices – yes median prices are starting to fall at the national level - affects every home-owning household: the value of residential real estate has also increased to 48.5% of household wealth in 2006 from from 38.7% in 1996. Also, the link between housing wealth rising, increased home equity withdrawal (HEW) and consumption of durable and non durables is very significant (see RGE’s Christian Menegatti brief on this), much more than the effect of the tech bubbles of the 1990s. Last year, out of the $800 billion of HEW at least $150 or possibly $200 billion was spent on consumption and another good $100 billion plus went into residential investment (i.e. house capital improvements/expansions). It is enough for house price to flatten – as they already did recently – let alone start falling - as they are doing now since they are beginning to fall in major markets – for the wealth effect to disappear, the HEW dribble to low levels and for consumption to sharply fall. Note that this year there will be large increases in the borrowing costs for $1 trillion of ARM’s while this figure for 2007 will be $1.8 trillion. Thus, debt servicing costs for millions of homeowners will sharply increase this year and next.
The employment effects of housing are serious; up to 30% of the employment growth in the last three years was due directly and indirectly to housing. The direct effects are job lost in construction, building materials, real estate brokers and sales agents, and employees of the mortgage finance industry. The indirect effects imply that the role of housing is even larger than 30%. The housing boom led to a boom in consumer durables spending on home appliances and furniture. Indeed, in Q2 real consumption of such goods was already negative: as you have less new home built and purchased and less old homes refurbished and expanded, you get less purchases of home appliances and furniture. There are also other indirect effects of the housing bust on employment, even on the purchases of motor vehicles. Indeed, the current auto sector slump is not unrelated to the housing slump. As the Financial Times put recently, the sharp fall in the sales of Ford's pick-up trucks is related to the housing slump as such truck are widely purchased by real estate contractors. And indeed in Q2 real consumer durables (that include both cars, home appliances and furniture all related to housing) already fell, consistent with the view that we have now have a glut in the stock of consumer durables (durables consumption has a investment-like nature to it as such goods last for a long time). Thus, as housing sector slumps, the job and income and wage losses in housing will percolate throughout the economy.
How bad are the signals coming from the housing sector? As a recent news headline clearly put it: it is simply UGLY. Indeed, all the indicators from the housing sectors - including the latest housing starts and the homebuilders (NAHB) forward looking business conditions - indicate a housing sector that is literally in free fall. New home sales started to fall since the beginning of 2006 and in some regions they are down over 30% relative to a year ago. As Bloomberg summarized today the new housing data: “Sales of previously owned homes in the U.S. fell more than expected in July, resulting in the biggest supply of unsold homes in more than a decade, as higher mortgage rates discouraged would-be home buyers.. Purchases declined 4.1 percent last month to an annual rate of 6.33 million, the lowest since January 2004, from 6.6 million in June, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington. Sales fell 11.2 percent compared with a year earlier.” Indeed, the number of unsold homes and the ratio of unsold homes to new home sales has therefore risen sharply to over 5.5 months of supply. Similarly the ratio of unsold homes to existing home sales has also sharply increased. These are clear indicator of a glut of unsold homes in the market. Housing starts are also sharply down elative to a year ago and expected to fall further over the next few quarters. Note also that, while overall mortgage applications are still up in the latest figures published today, due to sustained refinancing applications, applications for purchase applications have fallen 1.0% during the last week, this being fifth fall in the last six weeks. Moreover, there is a large amount of evidence that suggests increasing cancellation of initial mortgage applications, as the slump in the housing market and in the economy is now scaring households considering buying a home. Thus, the official data on purchase mortgage applications are very likely to exceed actual home sales.
More generally, note that when demand for housing initially falls relative to a glut of supply, the initial market response is not on price, as it is the case of financial market where prices adjust rapidly, but rather on the quantity of unsold homes and on how long unsold homes stay on the market. Housing prices, unlike financial assets, are sluggish. This market inventory adjustment eventually leads to lower prices once sellers realize that demand is low and that waiting is not going to help.
The housing market has thus followed so far the predicted various stages of adjustment to cycle driven by the initial housing bubble: initially a glut of supply of new homes as high prices (driven in part by speculative demand) led to high and excessive production of new homes; then a fall in demand as speculative high prices and rising rates made the purchases of housing less affordable to many; then, the ensuing inventory adjustment – an increase in unsold homes. Then, the reduction in the production of new homes – lower housing starts – as homebuilders with falling revenues and profits and lower expected demand finally reacted to the growing glut of unsold inventories. Indeed, the value of home builders’ shares on the NYSE has fallen by almost 50% relative to a year ago. Finally, we have now a price adjustment in two directions: a) an increase in rents as housing affordability fell since more and more households could not afford to pay the speculative prices of existing and new homes; this increase in rents is now correctly jacking up owner equivalent rent and increasing headline CPI inflation; the beginning of a fall in actual housing prices as the glut of unsold homes is now putting downward pressure on actual prices. (for more on recent indicators of the housing bust see the RGE Monitor cluster of readings on housing indicators)
The evidence on falling home prices is now becoming clearer. Since the end of World War II, there has never been a year on year fall in housing prices. There have been instead several quarters in which housing prices declined. Of course in some regions where there were housing busts prices declined for a while: in Texas during the housing bust of the mid 1980s that led to the S&L crisis; in California in the early 1990s following the recession in that state; in Boston in 1990. Those episodes were all associated with the housing bust that was related to the 1990-1991 recession So, you do not need a persistent year-on-year fall in median housing prices to have a housing bust; such bust can occur even if prices are flattening or falling in some regions, but not nationally. Moreover, such regional bust can be associated with national recession, as in the 1990-91 episode. So, the fact that the latest housing bubble was concentrated on the two coasts (North East all the way to Florida; and West Coast, especially California) does not mean that the coming housing bust in these regions will not have national macro effects. For one thing, the value of the housing stock in those two regions is close to 50% of the total housing stock given the bubble of recent years. Thus, a housing bust in the two coasts can and will have macro effects.
Indeed, today the National Association of Realtors reported today that the median price of an existing home rose only 0.9 percent in July from a year ago. So, housing prices are practically flat at the national level. Worse, relative to a year ago housing prices have already fallen in the North East (-2.1%), Mid-West (-0.6%) and the West (-0.3%). So, not only housing prices are falling in the bubbly two coast; they are also starting to fall in the Mid-West, the region where the conventional wisdom was that there was no housing bubble. The fact that home prices are falling in the Mid-West where prices did not skyrocket in the bubble years is a scary signal of how much the housing bust and glut in supply will lead to a sharp fall in housing prices in the quarters ahead with painful effects on the wealth, and thus consumption, of households. You can expect falling median housing prices, on a year-on-year basis, at the national level starting this month of August: indeed, today's figures on the glut of unsold homes - much larger than in the housing bust of the early 1990s - are only consistent with a highly likely actual fall in home prices in the months ahead and throughout most of 2007. Note also that, on an inflation adjusted basis, real home prices (relative to the CPI index) are already falling at a 4% plus rate.
Also, as noted by Dean Baker: "current house price indices are failing to pick up the full decline in prices because they miss the various concessions (seller paid closing costs, buyer-side realtor bonuses, and seller subsidized mortgages) that sellers often use to move their houses."
Even more ominously, futures markets now expect that house prices will fall during 2007. Following the lead and prodding of Robert Shiller – the maverick Yale professor who predicted the 2000 stock bust and is now predicting a housing bust - the Chicago Mercantile Exchange opened this spring a new futures market for house prices in ten U.S. cities. While this market is very new and still relatively illiquid, it is now predicting that U.S. house prices will fall in 2007 at the national average level, for the first time in over fifty years. The index of this futures’ market for the entire US is projecting a 5% price fall in 2007. And the futures contracts for individual cities show expected declines in housing prices even larger than 5% for Miami, New York, Boston, San Francisco, Boston, San Diego, Miami, New York and Las Vegas.
The likely fall in median home prices in 2007 may actually turn out to be larger than the 5% priced in the futures markets. In fact, one of the peculiar features of the latest housing cycle has been the presence of a large housing bubble: prices were going up well above economic fundamentals because of the speculative demand coming from expectations of increased housing prices that were feeding further speculative demand: "condo flipping" is the popular term for this speculative demand. Now that the bubble is bursting the fall in prices will be sharper than the one implied by medium term fundamantals as the initial price increase was due to a bubble that is bursting and leading to a fall in speculative demand: with prices now falling homeowners and speculators have no incentive to buy new homes as they expect prices to be lower in the future. So, expected prices fall leads to fall in speculative and fundamental demand and triggers actual larger than otherwise fall in actual prices. The speculative excess of a price bubble will now bring the bust of this price bubble. While the effect will be slower than in asset markets where prices adjust instantaneously (due to the sluggish nature of housing prices and their slow adjustment to increased inventories) eventually this price adjustment will occur - as it is now - and it will be very persistent over time. So, you can expect falling housing prices throughout most of 2007.
So, the simple conclusion from the analysis above is that this is indeed the biggest housing slump in the last four or five decades: every housing indictor is in free fall, including now housing prices. By itself this slump is enough to trigger a US recession: its effects on real residential investment, wealth and consumption, and employment will be more severe than the tech bust that triggered the 2001 recession. And on top of the housing bust, US consumers are facing oil above $70, the delayed effects of rising Fed Fund and long term rates, falling real wages, negative savings, high debt ratios and higher and higher debt servicing ratios. This is the tipping point for the US consumer and the effects will be ugly. Expect the great recession of 2007 to be much nastier, deeper and more protracted than the 2001 recession.
And the housing bust is not going to be only a US phenomenon. As I will discuss in another blog, housing bubbles festered in many other economies including many European ones. Thus, the combination of high oil prices, delayed effects of rising interest rates and slump of housing that is now leading to a US recession is a phenomenon that is common to many other economies, including several European ones. So, expect the same deadly combinations of three ugly bears (slumping housing, high oil prices and rising interest rates) to hammer Goldilocks and sharply hurt Europe and other economies in the world.
Comments
Of course, the National Association of Realtors is trying to put a positive spin on the imploding Housing bubble. Unfortunately, economists like NAR’s David Lereah have been mostly cheerleaders for the credit driven Housing bubble that has seriously damaged the monetary stability of the US Economy.
More evidence of the coming Recession from the California epicenter of the nation’s Housing bubble. According to Austrian Economic theory, the magnitude of the recession will be proportional to the excesses of the prior credit bubble boom. With million dollar McMansions overbuilt from coast to coast, the hangover will be a devastating hurricane to the debt bubble driven US Economy.
California Home Sales Down 25.3% in Q2
http://www.contactomagazine.com/calhomesales0808.htm
” The decline in housing sales has spread nationwide, with the number of deals falling in 28 states, including California, during the second quarter, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors.
Nationally, the number of resale home purchases dropped 7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.69 million homes, the group said. In California, the number of deals was down 25.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 460,500 homes. “
Written by Dave Chiang on 2006-08-23 09:59:34
Of course, the National Association of Realtors is trying to put a positive spin on the imploding Housing bubble. Unfortunately, economists like NAR’s David Lereah have been mostly cheerleaders for the credit driven Housing bubble that has seriously damaged the monetary stability of the US Economy.
More evidence of the coming Recession from the California epicenter of the nation’s Housing bubble. According to Austrian Economic theory, the magnitude of the recession will be proportional to the excesses of the prior credit bubble boom. With million dollar McMansions overbuilt from coast to coast, the hangover will be a devastating hurricane to the debt bubble driven US Economy.
California Home Sales Down 25.3% in Q2
http://www.contactomagazine.com/calhomesales0808.htm
” The decline in housing sales has spread nationwide, with the number of deals falling in 28 states, including California, during the second quarter, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors.
Nationally, the number of resale home purchases dropped 7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.69 million homes, the group said. In California, the number of deals was down 25.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 460,500 homes. “
Written by Dave Chiang on 2006-08-23 09:59:34
For a taste of what is to come for the US McMansion Housing bubble, the luxury condo market in Shanghai China has gone bust. Luxury Housing Prices collapse 10% in one week.
http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1855956,00.html
" Others blame a housing market swamped with swanky apartment blocks and luxury villas. In a single week last month, residential prices in Shanghai fell 10%.
From the top floor of its sleek, luxury apartment blocks in the Pudong development zone, you can, say the brochures, look out across the Huangpu river at one of the world's most futuristic skylines.
Since it opened in October last year, the waterfront development has failed to attract a single buyer for any of its 74 apartments. The situation is so desperate that Tomson has decided to put a second block out to global public tender. "
My comment: The article fails to mention that the Chinese government has slammed the brakes on the Shanghai property bubble by imposing high short-term capital gains taxes on the sale of real estate. The Shanghai property bubble would have imploded sooner or later, but monetary authorities need to address asset bubbles in their policy decisions. Not all of China is impacted by a property bubble; mostly the luxury condo and villa market in Shanghai and Beijing. The same also holds true for the United States where property bubble gains in Chicago never matched New York, Boston, or San Francisco.
QUOTE(Livyjr @ Aug 24 2006, 06:16 AM)
I have just started to read the book Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq by Michael R. Gordon and General Bernard E. Trainor ......
And my advice to George W. Bush .....
Before he goes and feeds us any more malarky ....
About the "NEED" .....
For us to be in Iraq ....
And about letting down any alleged "reformists" .....
Anywhere in the world ....
WHICH IS PURE INVENTION ON HIS PART .....
TO TUG AT OUR EMOTIONAL HEARTSTRINGS ...
SO AS TO DISTRACT US .....
IN THIS HOUR ....
OF OUR NATION'S NEED ....
WHERE WE FIND OURSELVES ....
"ADRIFT AT SEA" .....
Over there in Iraq .....
Without any leadership at the helm of OUR national government ...
Is that George W. Bush himself .....
Ought to read this book .....
AND THEN .....
Any national debate that we have on this subject of Iraq ....
And OUR alleged need to be over there ......
Should be based upon the documented AMERICAN HISTORY .....
That is contained .....
In just the first twenty or so pages .....
Of this one book .....
And my advice to George W. Bush .....
Before he goes and feeds us any more malarky ....
About the "NEED" .....
For us to be in Iraq ....
And about letting down any alleged "reformists" .....
Anywhere in the world ....
WHICH IS PURE INVENTION ON HIS PART .....
TO TUG AT OUR EMOTIONAL HEARTSTRINGS ...
SO AS TO DISTRACT US .....
IN THIS HOUR ....
OF OUR NATION'S NEED ....
WHERE WE FIND OURSELVES ....
"ADRIFT AT SEA" .....
Over there in Iraq .....
Without any leadership at the helm of OUR national government ...
Is that George W. Bush himself .....
Ought to read this book .....
AND THEN .....
Any national debate that we have on this subject of Iraq ....
And OUR alleged need to be over there ......
Should be based upon the documented AMERICAN HISTORY .....
That is contained .....
In just the first twenty or so pages .....
Of this one book .....
The Iraq Liberation Act
October 31, 1998
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
October 31, 1998
Today I am signing into law H.R. 4655, the "Iraq Liberation Act of 1998."
This Act makes clear that it is the sense of the Congress that the United States should support those elements of the Iraqi opposition that advocate a very different future for Iraq than the bitter reality of internal repression and external aggression that the current regime in Baghdad now offers.
Let me be clear on what the U.S. objectives are:
The United States wants Iraq to rejoin the family of nations as a freedom-loving and law-abiding member.
This is in our interest and that of our allies within the region.
The United States favors an Iraq that offers its people freedom at home.
I categorically reject arguments that this is unattainable due to Iraq's history or its ethnic or sectarian make-up.
Iraqis deserve and desire freedom like everyone else.
The United States looks forward to a democratically supported regime that would permit us to enter into a dialogue leading to the reintegration of Iraq into normal international life.
My Administration has pursued, and will continue to pursue, these objectives through active application of all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.
The evidence is overwhelming that such changes will not happen under the current Iraq leadership.
In the meantime, while the United States continues to look to the Security Council's efforts to keep the current regime's behavior in check, we look forward to new leadership in Iraq that has the support of the Iraqi people.
The United States is providing support to opposition groups from all sectors of the Iraqi community that could lead to a popularly supported government.
On October 21, 1998, I signed into law the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999, which made $8 million available for assistance to the Iraqi democratic opposition.
This assistance is intended to help the democratic opposition unify, work together more effectively, and articulate the aspirations of the Iraqi people for a pluralistic, participatory political system that will include all of Iraq's diverse ethnic and religious groups.
As required by the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for FY 1998 (Public Law 105-174), the Department of State submitted a report to the Congress on plans to establish a program to support the democratic opposition.
My Administration, as required by that statute, has also begun to implement a program to compile information regarding allegations of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes by Iraq's current leaders as a step towards bringing to justice those directly responsible for such acts.
The Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 provides additional, discretionary authorities under which my Administration can act to further the objectives I outlined above.
There are, of course, other important elements of U.S. policy.
These include the maintenance of U.N. Security Council support efforts to eliminate Iraq's weapons and missile programs and economic sanctions that continue to deny the regime the means to reconstitute those threats to international peace and security.
United States support for the Iraqi opposition will be carried out consistent with those policy objectives as well.
Similarly, U.S. support must be attuned to what the opposition can effectively make use of as it develops over time.
With those observations, I sign H.R. 4655 into law.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
THE WHITE HOUSE,
October 31, 1998.
Iraq Liberation Act
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-338) [1] (codified in a note to 22 USCS § 2151) is a United States Congressional statement of policy calling for regime change in Iraq.
Findings and Declaration of Policy
The Act found that Iraq had, between 1980 and 1998 (1) committed various and significant violations of International Law, (2) had failed to comply with the obligations to which it had agree following the First Gulf War and (3) further had ignored Resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.
The Act declared that it was the Policy of the United States to support "regime change."
The Act was passed in the House [2] and Senate [3] and signed into law by the US President Bill Clinton on October 31, 1998.
Its stated purpose was: "to establish a program to support a transition to democracy in Iraq."
Specifically, Congress made findings of past Iraqi military actions in violation of International Law and that Iraq had denied entry of United Nations Special Commission on Iraq (UNSCOM) inspectors into its country to inspect for weapons of mass destruction.
Congress found: "It should be the policy of the United States to support efforts to remove the regime headed by Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and to promote the emergence of a democratic government to replace that regime."
Support for Groups opposed to Hussein
This act required the President to designate one or more qualified recipients of assistance, with the primary requirement being opposition to the present Saddam Hussein regime.
Such groups should, according to the Act, include a broad spectrum of Iraqi individuals, groups, or both, who are opposed to the Saddam Hussein regime, and are committed to democratic values, respect for human rights, peaceful relations with Iraq's neighbors, maintaining Iraq's territorial integrity, and fostering cooperation among democratic opponents of the Saddam Hussein regime.
On February 4, 1999 President Clinton designated 7 groups as qualifying for assistance under the Act. (see Note to 22 U.S.C. 2151 and 64 Fed. Reg. 67810).
The groups were:
(1) The Iraqi National Accord;
(2) The Iraqi National Congress;
(3) The Islamic Movement of Iraqi Kurdistan;
(4) The Kurdistan Democratic Party;
(5) The Movement for Constitutional Monarchy;
(6) The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, and
(7) The Supreme Council for The Islamic Revolution in Iraq.
The Act authorized the President to assist all such groups with: broadcasting assistance (for radio and television broadcasting), military assistance (education and training of an army),and humanitarian assistance (for individuals fleeing Saddam Hussein).
The Act specifically refused to grant the President authority to use U.S. Military force to achieve its stated goals and purposes.
Contemplation of Post Hussein Iraq
The Act contemplated the future need for War Crimes Tribunals in Iraq stating, "The Congress urges the President to call upon the United Nations to establish an international criminal tribunal for the purpose of indicting, prosecuting, and imprisoning Saddam Hussein and other Iraqi officials who are responsible for crimes against humanity, genocide, and other criminal violations of international law."
A generalized statement of policy toward the post-Hussein Iraq was also set forth stating, "It is the sense of the Congress that once the Saddam Hussein regime is removed from power in Iraq, the United States should support Iraq's transition to democracy by providing immediate and substantial humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people, by providing democracy transition assistance to Iraqi parties and movements with democratic goals, and by convening Iraq's foreign creditors to develop a multilateral response to Iraq's foreign debt incurred by Saddam Hussein's regime."
Precursor to War
President George W. Bush has often referred to the Act and its findings to argue that the Clinton Administration supported regime change in Iraq and further that it believed that Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction.
The Act was cited as a basis of support in the Congressional Authorization for use of Military Force Against Iraq in October of 2002 (Public Law 107–243—OCT. 16, 2002) [4].
External links
Original text of act
Statement by the President upon signing the Act into Law
Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_Liberation_Act
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-338) [1] (codified in a note to 22 USCS § 2151) is a United States Congressional statement of policy calling for regime change in Iraq.
Findings and Declaration of Policy
The Act found that Iraq had, between 1980 and 1998 (1) committed various and significant violations of International Law, (2) had failed to comply with the obligations to which it had agree following the First Gulf War and (3) further had ignored Resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.
The Act declared that it was the Policy of the United States to support "regime change."
The Act was passed in the House [2] and Senate [3] and signed into law by the US President Bill Clinton on October 31, 1998.
Its stated purpose was: "to establish a program to support a transition to democracy in Iraq."
Specifically, Congress made findings of past Iraqi military actions in violation of International Law and that Iraq had denied entry of United Nations Special Commission on Iraq (UNSCOM) inspectors into its country to inspect for weapons of mass destruction.
Congress found: "It should be the policy of the United States to support efforts to remove the regime headed by Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and to promote the emergence of a democratic government to replace that regime."
Support for Groups opposed to Hussein
This act required the President to designate one or more qualified recipients of assistance, with the primary requirement being opposition to the present Saddam Hussein regime.
Such groups should, according to the Act, include a broad spectrum of Iraqi individuals, groups, or both, who are opposed to the Saddam Hussein regime, and are committed to democratic values, respect for human rights, peaceful relations with Iraq's neighbors, maintaining Iraq's territorial integrity, and fostering cooperation among democratic opponents of the Saddam Hussein regime.
On February 4, 1999 President Clinton designated 7 groups as qualifying for assistance under the Act. (see Note to 22 U.S.C. 2151 and 64 Fed. Reg. 67810).
The groups were:
(1) The Iraqi National Accord;
(2) The Iraqi National Congress;
(3) The Islamic Movement of Iraqi Kurdistan;
(4) The Kurdistan Democratic Party;
(5) The Movement for Constitutional Monarchy;
(6) The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, and
(7) The Supreme Council for The Islamic Revolution in Iraq.
The Act authorized the President to assist all such groups with: broadcasting assistance (for radio and television broadcasting), military assistance (education and training of an army),and humanitarian assistance (for individuals fleeing Saddam Hussein).
The Act specifically refused to grant the President authority to use U.S. Military force to achieve its stated goals and purposes.
Contemplation of Post Hussein Iraq
The Act contemplated the future need for War Crimes Tribunals in Iraq stating, "The Congress urges the President to call upon the United Nations to establish an international criminal tribunal for the purpose of indicting, prosecuting, and imprisoning Saddam Hussein and other Iraqi officials who are responsible for crimes against humanity, genocide, and other criminal violations of international law."
A generalized statement of policy toward the post-Hussein Iraq was also set forth stating, "It is the sense of the Congress that once the Saddam Hussein regime is removed from power in Iraq, the United States should support Iraq's transition to democracy by providing immediate and substantial humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people, by providing democracy transition assistance to Iraqi parties and movements with democratic goals, and by convening Iraq's foreign creditors to develop a multilateral response to Iraq's foreign debt incurred by Saddam Hussein's regime."
Precursor to War
President George W. Bush has often referred to the Act and its findings to argue that the Clinton Administration supported regime change in Iraq and further that it believed that Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction.
The Act was cited as a basis of support in the Congressional Authorization for use of Military Force Against Iraq in October of 2002 (Public Law 107–243—OCT. 16, 2002) [4].
External links
Original text of act
Statement by the President upon signing the Act into Law
Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_Liberation_Act
QUOTE(Snuffysmith @ Aug 24 2006, 08:08 AM)
http://rawstory.com/showoutarticle.php?src...57D%26symbol%3D
"The Biggest Slump in US Housing in the Last 40 Years…or 53 Years?"
Nouriel Roubini | Aug 23, 2006
Even more ominously, futures markets now expect that house prices will fall during 2007.
Following the lead and prodding of Robert Shiller – the maverick Yale professor who predicted the 2000 stock bust and is now predicting a housing bust - the Chicago Mercantile Exchange opened this spring a new futures market for house prices in ten U.S. cities.
While this market is very new and still relatively illiquid, it is now predicting that U.S. house prices will fall in 2007 at the national average level, for the first time in over fifty years.
The index of this futures’ market for the entire US is projecting a 5% price fall in 2007.
And the futures contracts for individual cities show expected declines in housing prices even larger than 5% for Miami, New York, Boston, San Francisco, Boston, San Diego, Miami, New York and Las Vegas.
"The Biggest Slump in US Housing in the Last 40 Years…or 53 Years?"
Nouriel Roubini | Aug 23, 2006
Even more ominously, futures markets now expect that house prices will fall during 2007.
Following the lead and prodding of Robert Shiller – the maverick Yale professor who predicted the 2000 stock bust and is now predicting a housing bust - the Chicago Mercantile Exchange opened this spring a new futures market for house prices in ten U.S. cities.
While this market is very new and still relatively illiquid, it is now predicting that U.S. house prices will fall in 2007 at the national average level, for the first time in over fifty years.
The index of this futures’ market for the entire US is projecting a 5% price fall in 2007.
And the futures contracts for individual cities show expected declines in housing prices even larger than 5% for Miami, New York, Boston, San Francisco, Boston, San Diego, Miami, New York and Las Vegas.
ROBERT SHILLER, THE PROPHET OF HOUSE PRICES
By Martin Bashir, ABC News
March 24, 2006 -- If a prophet is only as good as his last prophecy, then you'd be wise to listen to Robert Shiller.
On "Nightline," Shiller offered his considerable analysis of the current real estate market … and he doesn't bring good news.
It was back in the heady stock market days of 1996 that Shiller, an economics professor at Yale University, gave voice to his first prophecy.
He warned that the stock market was overheating and that investment had risen to what he described as irrational levels.
The stock market crash that followed was no surprise to Shiller and proved that he had called it right.
Now he's warning that a similar collapse may soon apply to the real estate market.
And there's evidence that he may be right here, too.
In statistics published today, the Commerce Department reported that the sale of new homes during the month of February dropped by 10.5 percent.
That's the largest decrease in almost nine years.
It was also the second straight monthly decline and the possible emergence of a worrying trend.
Shiller said that the same psychology that applies to stock market investors now drives the real estate boom.
He called it irrational exuberance, coincidentally the title of his 2000 book about the stock market.
Prices Driven By Emotion
Shiller argued that human emotion, not strategic economic factors, drives prices and property buying.
He argues that many first-time buyers pay inflated prices simply because they fear they'll be left behind.
He believes that "glamour" locations, such as Las Vegas and Miami, drive prices upward but the real worth of properties in such giddy locations may be a great deal less.
Shiller has traced the actual financial return that houses produce for their owners.
He says that over the long term, house prices roughly match gains in people's incomes and that booms are more often followed by busts, thereby dissipating any major increases in equity.
The National Association of Realtors, unsurprisingly, challenges Shiller's assessment and argues that the market is stabilizing and predicts continued growth, albeit at a more sober rate.
As long as Americans continue to believe that their money is only as safe as their houses, then investment in real estate will continue.
But Shiller's warnings are well worth hearing.
And a public service notice from the Tom Suozzi for New York State Governor Campaign ......
Dear Friend,
The election is heating up!
On Wednesday, August 30th, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m., local cable stations are hosting a statewide gubernatorial town hall meeting in four locations - Albany, New York City, Rochester and Syracuse.
Tom Suozzi will participate from Pace University in New York City, and John Faso and Eliot Spitzer will participate from the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester.
Other audiences will convene at production studios in both Albany and Syracuse.
Each candidate will have 25 minutes to field questions from the audiences in all four locations.
The four audiences will be connected via remote video and audio, and we are encouraging Suozzi supporters from each region to attend the town hall in their area.
For ticket information for each location, please use the reservation information below:
Albany, call (518) 640-8606
New York City, call (212) 379-3443
Rochester, call (585)-340-8358
Syracuse, call (315) 634-6224
Please mark your calendar.
If you can make it, we look forward to seeing you next Wednesday; if not, please check your local listings for cablecast information where you live and tune in to cheer Tom on!
Sincerely,
Team Suozzi
P.S. Remember that Primary Day is Tuesday, September 12th.
Dear Friend,
The election is heating up!
On Wednesday, August 30th, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m., local cable stations are hosting a statewide gubernatorial town hall meeting in four locations - Albany, New York City, Rochester and Syracuse.
Tom Suozzi will participate from Pace University in New York City, and John Faso and Eliot Spitzer will participate from the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester.
Other audiences will convene at production studios in both Albany and Syracuse.
Each candidate will have 25 minutes to field questions from the audiences in all four locations.
The four audiences will be connected via remote video and audio, and we are encouraging Suozzi supporters from each region to attend the town hall in their area.
For ticket information for each location, please use the reservation information below:
Albany, call (518) 640-8606
New York City, call (212) 379-3443
Rochester, call (585)-340-8358
Syracuse, call (315) 634-6224
Please mark your calendar.
If you can make it, we look forward to seeing you next Wednesday; if not, please check your local listings for cablecast information where you live and tune in to cheer Tom on!
Sincerely,
Team Suozzi
P.S. Remember that Primary Day is Tuesday, September 12th.
QUOTE(Livyjr @ Aug 24 2006, 03:58 PM)
Iraq Liberation Act
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-338) [1] (codified in a note to 22 USCS § 2151) is a United States Congressional statement of policy calling for regime change in Iraq.
Findings and Declaration of Policy
The Act declared that it was the Policy of the United States to support "regime change."
The Act was passed in the House [2] and Senate [3] and signed into law by the US President Bill Clinton on October 31, 1998.
Its stated purpose was: "to establish a program to support a transition to democracy in Iraq."
Congress found: "It should be the policy of the United States to support efforts to remove the regime headed by Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and to promote the emergence of a democratic government to replace that regime."
The Act specifically refused to grant the President authority to use U.S. Military force to achieve its stated goals and purposes.
Contemplation of Post Hussein Iraq
A generalized statement of policy toward the post-Hussein Iraq was also set forth stating, "It is the sense of the Congress that once the Saddam Hussein regime is removed from power in Iraq, the United States should support Iraq's transition to democracy by providing immediate and substantial humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people, by providing democracy transition assistance to Iraqi parties and movements with democratic goals, and by convening Iraq's foreign creditors to develop a multilateral response to Iraq's foreign debt incurred by Saddam Hussein's regime."
Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_Liberation_Act
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-338) [1] (codified in a note to 22 USCS § 2151) is a United States Congressional statement of policy calling for regime change in Iraq.
Findings and Declaration of Policy
The Act declared that it was the Policy of the United States to support "regime change."
The Act was passed in the House [2] and Senate [3] and signed into law by the US President Bill Clinton on October 31, 1998.
Its stated purpose was: "to establish a program to support a transition to democracy in Iraq."
Congress found: "It should be the policy of the United States to support efforts to remove the regime headed by Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and to promote the emergence of a democratic government to replace that regime."
The Act specifically refused to grant the President authority to use U.S. Military force to achieve its stated goals and purposes.
Contemplation of Post Hussein Iraq
A generalized statement of policy toward the post-Hussein Iraq was also set forth stating, "It is the sense of the Congress that once the Saddam Hussein regime is removed from power in Iraq, the United States should support Iraq's transition to democracy by providing immediate and substantial humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people, by providing democracy transition assistance to Iraqi parties and movements with democratic goals, and by convening Iraq's foreign creditors to develop a multilateral response to Iraq's foreign debt incurred by Saddam Hussein's regime."
Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_Liberation_Act
The Iraq Liberation Act ....
Was a REPUBLICAN act .....
Not a Democrat act .....
Despite being signed by Bill Clinton .....
And that was two full years before George W. Bush got onto the throne .....
Here in OUR America ......
SOOOOoooooo ........
WHAT WENT WRONG IN IRAQ?
WHEN WITH THE REPUBLICAN "IRAQ LIBERATION ACT" IN PLACE .....
SINCE 1998 .....
NOTHING SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GO WRONG ...
AT ALL ....
"Bush adopts new tack to stress Iraq obstacles - President's refocused message is seen as acknowledgment of nation's darkening mood"
By PETER BAKER, Washington Post
First published: Thursday, August 24, 2006
WASHINGTON -- Of all the words that President Bush used at his news conference this week to defend his policies in Iraq, the one that did not pass his lips was "progress."
For three years, the President tried to reassure Americans that more progress was being made in than they realized.
But with Iraq either in civil war or on the brink of it, Bush dropped the unseen-progress argument in favor of the contention that things could be even worse.
The shifting rhetoric reflected a broader pessimism that has reached into even some of the most optimistic corners of the administration, a sense that the Iraq venture has taken a dark turn and will not be resolved anytime soon.
Bush advisers once believed that if they met certain benchmarks, such as building a constitutional democracy and training a new Iraqi army, the war would be won.
And now, they feel they have more or less met those goals, yet the war rages on.
While still committed to the venture, officials have privately told friends and associates outside government that they have grown discouraged in recent months.
Even the death of al-Qaida's leader in Iraq proved not to be the turning point they expected, they have told associates, and other developments have been relentlessly dispiriting, with fewer signs of hope.
Bush acknowledged this week that he has been discouraged as well.
"Frustrated?" he asked.
"Sometimes I'm frustrated."
"Rarely surprised."
"Sometimes I'm happy."
"This is -- but war is not a time of joy."
"These aren't joyous times."
"These are challenging times, and they're difficult times, and they're straining the psyche of our country."
Presidential counselor Dan Bartlett said Bush and his advisers still believe progress is being made and the war will be won.
"No question about it, the last three months have been much more challenging," Bartlett said.
"Are we always going to be pleased with the pace?"
"No."
"There are days that are frustrating."
"But is the overall direction going the right way?"
"The answer to that is yes."
The tone represents a striking change from what critics considered an overly rosy portrayal of Iraq in the past.
With sectarian violence flaring into some of the worst bloodshed since the 2003 invasion, the White House felt the need to connect with the American public's anxiety.
"Most of the people rightly are concerned about the security situation, as is the President," Bartlett said.
But with crucial midterm congressional elections just 2 months away, Bush and his team are trying to turn the public debate away from whether the Iraq invasion has worked out to what would happen if U.S. troops were withdrawn, as some Democrats advocate.
Using terms like "havoc" at Monday's news conference, Bush made no effort to suggest the situation in Iraq is improving.
Instead, he argued, "If you think it's bad now, imagine what Iraq would look like if the United States leaves before this government can defend itself."
Christopher Gelpi, a Duke University scholar whose research on public opinion in wartime has been influential in the White House, said Bush had little choice.
"He looks foolish and not credible if he says, 'We're making progress in Iraq,' " Gelpi said.
"I think he probably would like to make that argument, but because that's not credible given the facts on the ground, this is the fallback."
"... If the only thing you can say is 'Yes, it's bad, but it could be worse,' that really is a last-ditch argument."
As recently as two weeks ago, Bush was still making the case that things in Iraq are better than they seem.
The new Iraqi government, he said on Aug. 7, "has shown remarkable progress on the political front" and its mere existence was "quite a remarkable achievement."
U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad published a piece in The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday arguing that a recent shift in security operations in Baghdad has shown "positive results" and said "this initial progress should give Iraqis, as well as Americans, hope about the future."
But Bush has been ruminating on the different nature of Iraq and the battle with Islamic radicals and how hard it is to define victory.
"Veterans of World War II and Korea will tell you we were able to measure progress based upon miles gained or based upon tanks destroyed or however people measured war in those days," he said in a speech last week.
"This is different ... and it's hard on the American people, and I understand that."
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a strong supporter of the war, suggested this week the Bush team has only itself to blame for setting unrealistic expectations.
"One of the biggest mistakes we made was underestimating the size of the task and the sacrifices that would be required," McCain said.
"'Stuff happens,' 'mission accomplished,' 'last throes,' 'a few dead-enders.'"
"I'm just more familiar with those statements than anyone else because it grieves me so much that we had not told the American people how tough and difficult this task would be."
WHEELS ...
WITHIN WHEELS .....
WITHIN YET MORE WHEELS .....
AS THE ESSENCE ....
OR SUBSTANCE ......
OR "FOG" .....
OF THE WORLD-WIDE BUSHCO "WAR OF TERROR" .....
CONTINUES TO UNFOLD .....
JUST WEEKS BEFORE ....
WE ARE TO VOTE .....
HERE IN OUR AMERICA ....
FOR WHO WE BELIEVE .....
CAN BEST REPRESENT OUR INTERESTS .....
AS AMERICAN CITIZENS .....
IN OUR UNITED STATES CONGRESS ....
And so ....
WHAT IS THE GAME BEING PLAYED HERE, BY GEORGE W. BUSH'S ALLY, PAKISTAN, WITH RESPECT TO THIS LATEST "TAY-RIST PLOT" THAT GEORGE W. BUSH SUPPOSEDLY FOILED, WITH HIS UNCONSTITUTIONAL SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM, HERE IN OUR AMERICA?
JUST WHOSE "PAYROLL" IS THIS AL-QAIDA REALLY ON?
AND WHOSE GOALS ARE THEY REALLY PURSUING?
AND ARE WE BEING TWEAKED ....
OR FIDDLED WITH .....
YET SOME MORE .....
HERE IN OUR AMERICA ....
BY THIS ADMINISTRATION .....
THAT NEEDS US AFRAID .....
SO THAT IT CAN CONTINUE TO HOLD POWER ....
HERE IN OUR AMERICA .....
THE QUESTION OF THE DAY .....
And so ...
"Pakistan withholds terror suspects' info"
By MATTHEW PENNINGTON, Associated Press
Last updated: 5:16 a.m., Friday, August 25, 2006
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Two weeks after an alleged plot to blow up U.S.-bound airliners was thwarted in Britain, Pakistani authorities have screwed tight the faucet that had trickled intriguing details from their investigation.
Mystery surrounds the role played by "key suspect" Rashid Rauf, a Briton with dual Pakistani nationality who has family ties to a notorious Pakistani militant.
Pakistani authorities allege Rauf communicated between an al-Qaida mastermind in Afghanistan and the plotters in Britain.
Britain has yet to confirm al-Qaida's involvement in the plans to bomb as many as 10 U.S.-bound aircraft.
On Wednesday, it released Rauf's brother Tayib without charge.
The Home Office in London refused to say Thursday whether it was still seeking Rashid Rauf's extradition.
Rauf, in his mid-20s, is the only one among the at least seven suspects arrested in Pakistan to have been named.
He is being interrogated at a high-walled Pakistani intelligence headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad.
It's unclear if he or the other suspects have been charged with any offense.
The lack of transparency is characteristic of terror cases in Pakistan, which has netted most of the top al-Qaida figures captured since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America.
It contrasts with the legal process pursued in Britain, where despite tight control on information from the investigation, authorities named two dozen suspects soon after their arrest Aug. 10.
So far, British authorities have charged 11: eight with conspiracy to murder and preparing to commit terrorism, and three others with lesser offenses, including failing to disclose information.
Under Pakistani law, authorities can hold any terror suspect for up to a year without charge.
Such a detention must be approved by a panel of judges.
In practice, suspects in the custody of intelligence agencies have little or no recourse to the law.
"The difference between Britain and Pakistan is the absence of due process," said Samina Ahmed, South Asia project director for the International Crisis Group think tank.
"There's been very little information to come out, other than about Rauf, and I think that's because his links with some very prominent jihadi leaders were bound to come out in the open."
"It would have been impossible to keep it covered up," she said.
Rauf has ties by marriage to Masood Azhar, leader of an al-Qaida-linked Pakistani militant group, Jaish-e-Mohammed.
Rauf was arrested Aug. 9 in the Punjab town of Bhawalpur, where he had settled and where the outlawed group has a strong presence.
A senior Pakistani government official, who like the intelligence official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the case's sensitivity, described Rauf as a "transmitter of messages" between the unnamed al-Qaida mastermind in Afghanistan and plotters in London.
The official said there was as yet no established link with Pakistani militant groups to the plot.
To many observers in Pakistan that stretches credibility, and could explain authorities' reluctance to divulge more details about the other suspects, even their nationalities.
A Pakistani intelligence officer said Rauf had been monitored for five or six months, and within two days of his arrest had given investigators a full picture of the plot.
The information was shared with Britain and the U.S., whose leaders later praised Pakistan's role thwarting the plan.
President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, a key Western ally, has been robust in fighting al-Qaida and has taken steps to reel in militant groups that emerged here during the U.S.-backed jihad against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s and later, the Pakistan-endorsed fight against Indian rule in Kashmir.
But the continued presence of dangerous militants in Pakistan and its failure to regulate religious schools that cultivate extremists has left this Islamic nation open to allegations that it remains a magnet for jihadists -- such as the suicide bombers who killed 52 people on the London transit system in July 2005.
Three of them visited Pakistan before the attacks.
Pakistan has also placed under house arrest Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, former leader of the outlawed Lashkar-e-Tayyaba group, which fights in Kashmir.
The government said his Aug. 10 detention was to prevent him from making a public address in Lahore on Aug. 12, but he has not been released, adding to the mystery surrounding Pakistan's investigations.
On Thursday intelligence agents took him away from his home in the city to an undisclosed location for questioning.
Officials refused to disclose the reason.
WITHIN WHEELS .....
WITHIN YET MORE WHEELS .....
AS THE ESSENCE ....
OR SUBSTANCE ......
OR "FOG" .....
OF THE WORLD-WIDE BUSHCO "WAR OF TERROR" .....
CONTINUES TO UNFOLD .....
JUST WEEKS BEFORE ....
WE ARE TO VOTE .....
HERE IN OUR AMERICA ....
FOR WHO WE BELIEVE .....
CAN BEST REPRESENT OUR INTERESTS .....
AS AMERICAN CITIZENS .....
IN OUR UNITED STATES CONGRESS ....
And so ....
WHAT IS THE GAME BEING PLAYED HERE, BY GEORGE W. BUSH'S ALLY, PAKISTAN, WITH RESPECT TO THIS LATEST "TAY-RIST PLOT" THAT GEORGE W. BUSH SUPPOSEDLY FOILED, WITH HIS UNCONSTITUTIONAL SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM, HERE IN OUR AMERICA?
JUST WHOSE "PAYROLL" IS THIS AL-QAIDA REALLY ON?
AND WHOSE GOALS ARE THEY REALLY PURSUING?
AND ARE WE BEING TWEAKED ....
OR FIDDLED WITH .....
YET SOME MORE .....
HERE IN OUR AMERICA ....
BY THIS ADMINISTRATION .....
THAT NEEDS US AFRAID .....
SO THAT IT CAN CONTINUE TO HOLD POWER ....
HERE IN OUR AMERICA .....
THE QUESTION OF THE DAY .....
And so ...
"Pakistan withholds terror suspects' info"
By MATTHEW PENNINGTON, Associated Press
Last updated: 5:16 a.m., Friday, August 25, 2006
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Two weeks after an alleged plot to blow up U.S.-bound airliners was thwarted in Britain, Pakistani authorities have screwed tight the faucet that had trickled intriguing details from their investigation.
Mystery surrounds the role played by "key suspect" Rashid Rauf, a Briton with dual Pakistani nationality who has family ties to a notorious Pakistani militant.
Pakistani authorities allege Rauf communicated between an al-Qaida mastermind in Afghanistan and the plotters in Britain.
Britain has yet to confirm al-Qaida's involvement in the plans to bomb as many as 10 U.S.-bound aircraft.
On Wednesday, it released Rauf's brother Tayib without charge.
The Home Office in London refused to say Thursday whether it was still seeking Rashid Rauf's extradition.
Rauf, in his mid-20s, is the only one among the at least seven suspects arrested in Pakistan to have been named.
He is being interrogated at a high-walled Pakistani intelligence headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad.
It's unclear if he or the other suspects have been charged with any offense.
The lack of transparency is characteristic of terror cases in Pakistan, which has netted most of the top al-Qaida figures captured since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America.
It contrasts with the legal process pursued in Britain, where despite tight control on information from the investigation, authorities named two dozen suspects soon after their arrest Aug. 10.
So far, British authorities have charged 11: eight with conspiracy to murder and preparing to commit terrorism, and three others with lesser offenses, including failing to disclose information.
Under Pakistani law, authorities can hold any terror suspect for up to a year without charge.
Such a detention must be approved by a panel of judges.
In practice, suspects in the custody of intelligence agencies have little or no recourse to the law.
"The difference between Britain and Pakistan is the absence of due process," said Samina Ahmed, South Asia project director for the International Crisis Group think tank.
"There's been very little information to come out, other than about Rauf, and I think that's because his links with some very prominent jihadi leaders were bound to come out in the open."
"It would have been impossible to keep it covered up," she said.
Rauf has ties by marriage to Masood Azhar, leader of an al-Qaida-linked Pakistani militant group, Jaish-e-Mohammed.
Rauf was arrested Aug. 9 in the Punjab town of Bhawalpur, where he had settled and where the outlawed group has a strong presence.
A senior Pakistani government official, who like the intelligence official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the case's sensitivity, described Rauf as a "transmitter of messages" between the unnamed al-Qaida mastermind in Afghanistan and plotters in London.
The official said there was as yet no established link with Pakistani militant groups to the plot.
To many observers in Pakistan that stretches credibility, and could explain authorities' reluctance to divulge more details about the other suspects, even their nationalities.
A Pakistani intelligence officer said Rauf had been monitored for five or six months, and within two days of his arrest had given investigators a full picture of the plot.
The information was shared with Britain and the U.S., whose leaders later praised Pakistan's role thwarting the plan.
President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, a key Western ally, has been robust in fighting al-Qaida and has taken steps to reel in militant groups that emerged here during the U.S.-backed jihad against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s and later, the Pakistan-endorsed fight against Indian rule in Kashmir.
But the continued presence of dangerous militants in Pakistan and its failure to regulate religious schools that cultivate extremists has left this Islamic nation open to allegations that it remains a magnet for jihadists -- such as the suicide bombers who killed 52 people on the London transit system in July 2005.
Three of them visited Pakistan before the attacks.
Pakistan has also placed under house arrest Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, former leader of the outlawed Lashkar-e-Tayyaba group, which fights in Kashmir.
The government said his Aug. 10 detention was to prevent him from making a public address in Lahore on Aug. 12, but he has not been released, adding to the mystery surrounding Pakistan's investigations.
On Thursday intelligence agents took him away from his home in the city to an undisclosed location for questioning.
Officials refused to disclose the reason.
TO IRAN WITH LOVE: FROM THE BOTCHED IRAQ WAR TO THREATENING IRAN WITH "REGIME CHANGE," NEOCONSERVATIVE POLICIES HAVE BEEN A BOON FOR TEHRAN - JOE CONASON (SALON, AUGUST 25)
http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2006/...s/index_np.html
http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2006/...s/index_np.html
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/08/2...ntelligence.php
'Fixing' Iran Intelligence
John Prados
August 25, 2006
John Prados is a senior fellow with the National Security Archive in Washington. His forthcoming book is Safe for Democracy: The Secret Wars of the CIA (Ivan Dee Publisher).
More and more it appears that the pattern of manipulation and misuse of intelligence that served the Bush administration in the drive to start a war with Iraq is being repeated today for its neighbor Iran.
Recently we reported on TomPaine.com one facet of the repetition—that Congress, not the president, has had to ask for National Intelligence Estimates that would shed light on a key foreign policy issue on the front burner in the Bush White House. The demand described there pertained to Iraq, but Congress has also pressed for an NIE on Iran, where many worry that the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which denies it, is secretly conducting a nuclear weapons development program.
Now that the Senate has called for the NIE, the first marker has gone down, in the form of a report released this week by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence chairman Peter Hoekstra. Disguised as a technical review of “gaps” in knowledge, the report tosses together speculations on the array of Iranian enrichment facilities, charges of its deceptions on these programs, notes on Iran’s missile development efforts with extraneous material—indications of an Iranian role in the Iraqi mess plus charges against Tehran on terrorism and support of Hezbollah in Lebanon—to conclude that “Iran is a serious security threat.”
Let’s take a moment to recall the Iraq prewar intelligence manipulation. The Bush administration asked the CIA and the rest of the intelligence community for data on Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had private channels to Iraqi exiles feeding them alarmist fabrications. When the CIA’s reporting emerged as less dark than hoped for, Cheney and Rumsfeld, and their staffs, asked for new looks at the data. When revised analyses came out the same, the manipulators surfaced their exile fabrications and demanded evaluations of those. The fabricated material was also put before the public in the form of leaks to friendly media. Halfway through the process, intelligence officers were put on notice that their jobs were on the line when John R. Bolton, at the time undersecretary of state, started a vendetta against top analysts at both the State Department and the CIA. Meanwhile, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and others, made speeches and gave public declarations that asserted as fact elements of the data that intelligence analysts were being asked to assess. That effectively put out markers to the CIA as to what conclusions were permissible to Bush officials when the NIE was finally requested, as mentioned, by Senate Democrats in September 2002.
Now to Iran. Readers will be aware that charges and denials regarding the existence of an Iranian nuclear weapons program, and its rate of progress, have been swirling for years. That has been especially true since late 2004, when the Iranian exile group National Council for Resistance in Iran publicly charged that the Iranian Ministry of Defense was operating a major secret nuclear site. The Iranian government has been in on-again, off-again negotiations with the Europeans on curtailing its alleged program, and has accepted inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency, though with little enthusiasm. The Iranians have devoted a large effort to generating nuclear power for peaceful purposes and consider themselves as having a right to nuclear weapons, whether or not they are actually developing them.
The Bush administration has alternately refused to engage with Tehran on these issues, aligned itself with the European group of concern, pondered military strikes on Iran, or lately, sought United Nations sanctions against Tehran. Bush’s diplomatic initiatives have extended to sending out a tag team of diplomats and nonproliferation experts who travel to any country that will listen and give an “intelligence” briefing designed to paint black hats on the Iranians. Despite all this activity there seems to be no current NIE on Iranian nuclear development. Late this May, five Democratic senators wrote President Bush asking that he request such a study.
What is it with this administration? Bush seems consistently to resist hearing what U.S. intelligence can tell him about the issues that are central to his own foreign policy. In the case of Iran, it seems that the White House is uncertain what it will learn from an intelligence estimate. The consensus among U.S. intelligence analysts--as reflected in annual threat reports to Congress and briefs on worldwide acquisition of technology for weapons of mass destruction--has waxed and waned. In 2001 the CIA was sure Iran had the intention of seeking weapons but conceded a limited capability. Over the next two years, during which the agency learned of Pakistani exports of nuclear technology to Iran, the view became more alarming. A report at the end of 2003 declaimed, “The United States remains convinced that Tehran has been pursuing a clandestine nuclear weapons program.” But CIA director George Tenet in February 2004 acknowledged that Tehran had admitted its covert nuclear activity and agreed to inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), retreating to the posture that Tehran was “trying to preserve its WMD options.” The CIA’s technology acquisition report for 2004, actually released shortly before Porter Goss became the agency’s director, posited only that Iran “may have” a clandestine nuclear weapons program. In fact, the initial IAEA inspections had weakened the WMD charge by finding no conclusive evidence of mass production of the highly enriched uranium necessary for nuclear weapons.
The analysts who draft NIEs were burned by the Iraq prewar estimate, which has been used to try and blame the war on the CIA. They are going to be doubly careful this time around, and the judgment that Iran’s nuclear fuel cycle is being diverted to weapons is an inherently difficult one. Despite difficulties collecting intelligence in Iran, there is a lot more data for this case than for Iraq. A computer hard drive purloined from an Iranian official is reputed to be chock full of information. Director of National Intelligence John D. Negroponte’s analysts also have the material gleaned from the breakup of the Pakistani nuclear smuggling network, plus what the U.S. has received from Russia, Iran’s main nuclear supplier; the IAEA inspection data; that from exiles and spies; plus everything collected by satellites and drones. There is also an official today who is in charge of shaping collection on Iran, a “mission manager,” S. Leslie Ireland, a longtime Iran hand among CIA analysts.
But the intelligence problem is the classic one of identifying how long it will take before a putative Iranian threat can be a serious one. Technical experts from the International Institute of Strategic Studies, as recently as last September, held it would be at least five years until Iran could enrich enough material for a single nuclear weapon. Public reporting of the intelligence community’s own timeline agrees, expecting the emergence of a weapon sometime between 2010 and 2015. That’s not much of an excuse for bombing Nantaz today, or Tehran for that matter. In February, Negroponte, in his own threat briefing, remarked “we assess that Iran seeks nuclear weapons,” but hastened to add “We judge that Tehran probably does not yet have a nuclear weapon and probably has not yet produced or acquired the necessary fissile material.”
Which brings us back to intelligence manipulation. The staff paper released by Hoekstra was not considered by the full committee, which took no vote on releasing it. Its lead author was Frederick H. Fleitz, who in 2002 was John Bolton’s henchman in his attempted ambush of the intelligence analysts, and is now on the committee’s majority staff. Fleitz’s substantive expertise at CIA, it should be added, was in peacekeeping operations, not weapons of mass destruction. Hoekstra publicized this report unilaterally. That act sends the message that any NIE which takes a less alarming view will be deemed suspect.
All this should be read as fresh politicization of intelligence, the very “Boltonization” that crippled efforts to prevent war in Iraq. The fact that this act has been perpetrated by a congressional committee whose job it is to oversee U.S. intelligence is further evidence that intelligence oversight has become part of the problem, not the solution.
'Fixing' Iran Intelligence
John Prados
August 25, 2006
John Prados is a senior fellow with the National Security Archive in Washington. His forthcoming book is Safe for Democracy: The Secret Wars of the CIA (Ivan Dee Publisher).
More and more it appears that the pattern of manipulation and misuse of intelligence that served the Bush administration in the drive to start a war with Iraq is being repeated today for its neighbor Iran.
Recently we reported on TomPaine.com one facet of the repetition—that Congress, not the president, has had to ask for National Intelligence Estimates that would shed light on a key foreign policy issue on the front burner in the Bush White House. The demand described there pertained to Iraq, but Congress has also pressed for an NIE on Iran, where many worry that the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which denies it, is secretly conducting a nuclear weapons development program.
Now that the Senate has called for the NIE, the first marker has gone down, in the form of a report released this week by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence chairman Peter Hoekstra. Disguised as a technical review of “gaps” in knowledge, the report tosses together speculations on the array of Iranian enrichment facilities, charges of its deceptions on these programs, notes on Iran’s missile development efforts with extraneous material—indications of an Iranian role in the Iraqi mess plus charges against Tehran on terrorism and support of Hezbollah in Lebanon—to conclude that “Iran is a serious security threat.”
Let’s take a moment to recall the Iraq prewar intelligence manipulation. The Bush administration asked the CIA and the rest of the intelligence community for data on Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had private channels to Iraqi exiles feeding them alarmist fabrications. When the CIA’s reporting emerged as less dark than hoped for, Cheney and Rumsfeld, and their staffs, asked for new looks at the data. When revised analyses came out the same, the manipulators surfaced their exile fabrications and demanded evaluations of those. The fabricated material was also put before the public in the form of leaks to friendly media. Halfway through the process, intelligence officers were put on notice that their jobs were on the line when John R. Bolton, at the time undersecretary of state, started a vendetta against top analysts at both the State Department and the CIA. Meanwhile, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and others, made speeches and gave public declarations that asserted as fact elements of the data that intelligence analysts were being asked to assess. That effectively put out markers to the CIA as to what conclusions were permissible to Bush officials when the NIE was finally requested, as mentioned, by Senate Democrats in September 2002.
Now to Iran. Readers will be aware that charges and denials regarding the existence of an Iranian nuclear weapons program, and its rate of progress, have been swirling for years. That has been especially true since late 2004, when the Iranian exile group National Council for Resistance in Iran publicly charged that the Iranian Ministry of Defense was operating a major secret nuclear site. The Iranian government has been in on-again, off-again negotiations with the Europeans on curtailing its alleged program, and has accepted inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency, though with little enthusiasm. The Iranians have devoted a large effort to generating nuclear power for peaceful purposes and consider themselves as having a right to nuclear weapons, whether or not they are actually developing them.
The Bush administration has alternately refused to engage with Tehran on these issues, aligned itself with the European group of concern, pondered military strikes on Iran, or lately, sought United Nations sanctions against Tehran. Bush’s diplomatic initiatives have extended to sending out a tag team of diplomats and nonproliferation experts who travel to any country that will listen and give an “intelligence” briefing designed to paint black hats on the Iranians. Despite all this activity there seems to be no current NIE on Iranian nuclear development. Late this May, five Democratic senators wrote President Bush asking that he request such a study.
What is it with this administration? Bush seems consistently to resist hearing what U.S. intelligence can tell him about the issues that are central to his own foreign policy. In the case of Iran, it seems that the White House is uncertain what it will learn from an intelligence estimate. The consensus among U.S. intelligence analysts--as reflected in annual threat reports to Congress and briefs on worldwide acquisition of technology for weapons of mass destruction--has waxed and waned. In 2001 the CIA was sure Iran had the intention of seeking weapons but conceded a limited capability. Over the next two years, during which the agency learned of Pakistani exports of nuclear technology to Iran, the view became more alarming. A report at the end of 2003 declaimed, “The United States remains convinced that Tehran has been pursuing a clandestine nuclear weapons program.” But CIA director George Tenet in February 2004 acknowledged that Tehran had admitted its covert nuclear activity and agreed to inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), retreating to the posture that Tehran was “trying to preserve its WMD options.” The CIA’s technology acquisition report for 2004, actually released shortly before Porter Goss became the agency’s director, posited only that Iran “may have” a clandestine nuclear weapons program. In fact, the initial IAEA inspections had weakened the WMD charge by finding no conclusive evidence of mass production of the highly enriched uranium necessary for nuclear weapons.
The analysts who draft NIEs were burned by the Iraq prewar estimate, which has been used to try and blame the war on the CIA. They are going to be doubly careful this time around, and the judgment that Iran’s nuclear fuel cycle is being diverted to weapons is an inherently difficult one. Despite difficulties collecting intelligence in Iran, there is a lot more data for this case than for Iraq. A computer hard drive purloined from an Iranian official is reputed to be chock full of information. Director of National Intelligence John D. Negroponte’s analysts also have the material gleaned from the breakup of the Pakistani nuclear smuggling network, plus what the U.S. has received from Russia, Iran’s main nuclear supplier; the IAEA inspection data; that from exiles and spies; plus everything collected by satellites and drones. There is also an official today who is in charge of shaping collection on Iran, a “mission manager,” S. Leslie Ireland, a longtime Iran hand among CIA analysts.
But the intelligence problem is the classic one of identifying how long it will take before a putative Iranian threat can be a serious one. Technical experts from the International Institute of Strategic Studies, as recently as last September, held it would be at least five years until Iran could enrich enough material for a single nuclear weapon. Public reporting of the intelligence community’s own timeline agrees, expecting the emergence of a weapon sometime between 2010 and 2015. That’s not much of an excuse for bombing Nantaz today, or Tehran for that matter. In February, Negroponte, in his own threat briefing, remarked “we assess that Iran seeks nuclear weapons,” but hastened to add “We judge that Tehran probably does not yet have a nuclear weapon and probably has not yet produced or acquired the necessary fissile material.”
Which brings us back to intelligence manipulation. The staff paper released by Hoekstra was not considered by the full committee, which took no vote on releasing it. Its lead author was Frederick H. Fleitz, who in 2002 was John Bolton’s henchman in his attempted ambush of the intelligence analysts, and is now on the committee’s majority staff. Fleitz’s substantive expertise at CIA, it should be added, was in peacekeeping operations, not weapons of mass destruction. Hoekstra publicized this report unilaterally. That act sends the message that any NIE which takes a less alarming view will be deemed suspect.
All this should be read as fresh politicization of intelligence, the very “Boltonization” that crippled efforts to prevent war in Iraq. The fact that this act has been perpetrated by a congressional committee whose job it is to oversee U.S. intelligence is further evidence that intelligence oversight has become part of the problem, not the solution.
And for anyone out there who is interested in the grass-roots campaign of Democrat Tom Suozzi for Governor of the State of New York ....
This weekend ....
Tom Suozzi can be heard on:
NY1's Inside City Hall with Dominic Carter at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, August 25
WB's 11 News Closeup with Marvin Scott at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 26
WNBC Channel 4's News Forum with Gabe Pressman at 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, August 27
Sincerely,
Team Suozzi
This weekend ....
Tom Suozzi can be heard on:
NY1's Inside City Hall with Dominic Carter at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, August 25
WB's 11 News Closeup with Marvin Scott at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 26
WNBC Channel 4's News Forum with Gabe Pressman at 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, August 27
Sincerely,
Team Suozzi
Bush Haiku
This is a short poem made up entirely of actual quotations from George W. Bush.
These have been arranged, only for aesthetic purposes, by Washington Post writer, Richard Thompson.
A wonderful Haiku poem like this is too good not to share.
MAKE THE PIE HIGHER
I think we all agree, the past is over .....
This is still a dangerous world ......
It's a world of madmen ....
And uncertainty .....
And potential mental losses ......
Rarely is the question asked ....
Is our children learning?
Will the highways of the Internet ....
Become more few?
How many hands have I shaked?
They misunderestimate me .....
I am a pitbull ....
On the pantleg of opportunity .....
I know that the human being ....
And the fish can coexist .....
Families is where our nation finds hope ....
Where our wings take dream .....
Put food on your family!
Knock down the tollbooth!
Vulcanize society!
Make the pie higher!
I am the Decider!
This is a short poem made up entirely of actual quotations from George W. Bush.
These have been arranged, only for aesthetic purposes, by Washington Post writer, Richard Thompson.
A wonderful Haiku poem like this is too good not to share.
MAKE THE PIE HIGHER
I think we all agree, the past is over .....
This is still a dangerous world ......
It's a world of madmen ....
And uncertainty .....
And potential mental losses ......
Rarely is the question asked ....
Is our children learning?
Will the highways of the Internet ....
Become more few?
How many hands have I shaked?
They misunderestimate me .....
I am a pitbull ....
On the pantleg of opportunity .....
I know that the human being ....
And the fish can coexist .....
Families is where our nation finds hope ....
Where our wings take dream .....
Put food on your family!
Knock down the tollbooth!
Vulcanize society!
Make the pie higher!
I am the Decider!
QUOTE(Livyjr @ Aug 25 2006, 05:35 PM)
MAKE THE PIE HIGHER
I think we all agree, the past is over .....
This is still a dangerous world ......
It's a world of madmen ....
And uncertainty .....
And potential mental losses .....
I think we all agree, the past is over .....
This is still a dangerous world ......
It's a world of madmen ....
And uncertainty .....
And potential mental losses .....
Boy ......
I'll say there are, alright .....
Those potential mental losses, anyway .....
And that all seems to be concentrated .....
Right down there ....
In Washington, D.C. .....
Where the White House is .....
And so ....
"Baghdad's quieter, say top U.S. brass - Killings continue as questions remain about accuracy of information"
By PATRICK QUINN, Associated Press
First published: Friday, August 25, 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- America's two top generals in the Middle East said Thursday a security operation in Baghdad was helping curb violence after a surge of bombings and shootings there in recent months.
But the bloodshed persisted with three car bombs in Baghdad and a series of bombings and shootings across the country killing at least 16 Iraqis and two U.S. soldiers on Thursday.
Another U.S. soldier was killed the previous day, the military said.
U.S. authorities claim a joint American and Iraqi operation in Baghdad that began in early August has improved security.
The U.S. military has said the operation, for which 12,000 troops were redeployed to Baghdad, aims to curb mostly sectarian warfare.
"I believe there is a danger of civil war in Iraq, but only a danger," Gen. John Abizaid, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, said after meeting with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.
"I think Iraq's far from it."
"I think that there's been great progress in the security front here recently in Baghdad."
Abizaid said he and Army Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, were "very optimistic that the situation will stabilize."
Casey also said the security operation was working.
"I think everybody has seen an improvement in the situation in Baghdad over the last weeks because of the operations of the Iraqi security forces supported by the American Army," he said.
"And we're confident that we can sustain that."
Although accurate casualty figures are not available and statistics have not been provided for violent deaths in August, an Associated Press count indicates a downward trend.
Reported deaths, however, are thought to be considerably lower than the actual number of people killed.
With one week remaining in August, the estimated number of Iraqis killed around the country was at least 605, according to an AP count.
That was about 60 percent of the estimated AP total of at 1east 1,015 killed for all of July.
But the government's count for July was far higher at 3,500, including 1,500 in Baghdad alone.
British target border
British troops abandoned a major base in southern Iraq and prepared to wage guerrilla warfare along the Iranian border to combat weapons smuggling.
Anti-American cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr called British relocation the first expulsion of U.S.-led coalition forces from an Iraqi urban center.
A British military spokesman told the Washington Post the last of 1,200 troops left Camp Abu Naji, just outside of Amara, at noon Thursday after several days of heavy mortar and rocket fire by a local militia, which local residents identified as the Mahdi Army, controlled by Al-Sadr.
Six-hundred British soldiers will soon slip into the marshlands and deserts of eastern Maysan in an attempt to secure the Iranian border.
And here is a public service announcement to America and the world from George W. Bush's NSA surveillance team ......
Who wants us to know .....
THEY ARE INDEED LISTENING IN .....
ON OUR VERY THOUGHTS .....
And so .....
http://www.newsday.com/media/flash/2006-06/23671673.swf
Who wants us to know .....
THEY ARE INDEED LISTENING IN .....
ON OUR VERY THOUGHTS .....
And so .....
http://www.newsday.com/media/flash/2006-06/23671673.swf
And as the George W. Bush administration ....
Continues to ratchet down tighter .....
And tighter ...
And tighter ...
And yet tighter still ...
On what thoughts we are allowed to have ...
AS AMERICAN CITIZENS .....
About this or that ...
Or some other thing ...
And who we have to like .....
And who we have to dislike ...
BY ORDER OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ....
And who our friends can be ...
And who our enemies have to be ...
BY ORDER OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ....
Even if we ourselves have Christian beliefs .....
That have us personally ...
And individually .....
HAVING NO ENEMIES .....
We have .....
GOVERNMENT PROFILING ....
To determine ...
IF WE MIGHT BE A "GOOD" AMERICAN ....
OR AN ENEMY OF GEORGE W. BUSH ...
AND WHAT HE PERSONALLY BELIEVES IN ....
WHICH IS TOP SECRET, OF COURSE ...
LEST HIS ENEMIES KNOW WHAT HE IS THINKING .....
All of which seems excessively paranoid to me .....
From what I can glean from the gibberish he is always spouting .....
About making the pie higher .....
And humans co-existing with fish .....
And so ....
"Terror link key to trial - Federal prosecutors set to use experts to prove Albany men fit profile"
By MICHELE MORGAN BOLTON, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Saturday, August 26, 2006
ALBANY -- A terrorism expert is set to testify that an Albany pizza shop owner was once caught on tape mirroring Osama bin Laden's justification for the Sept. 11 attacks -- and declared "kill or be killed," according to court papers.
Rohan Gunaratna, a Sri Lankan researcher based in Singapore, will also testify that a city mosque leader is a "global jihadist," or fighter in a holy war, said documents that federal prosecutors filed in Albany.
The mosque leader, Yassin Aref, and pizzeria owner, Mohammed Hossain, were arrested in a 2004 federal counterterrorism sting and accused of taking part in a phony plot to profit from the sale of missile launchers to terrorists.
Both men are charged with money laundering.
Their trial begins Sept. 6.
A superseding indictment in September also charged Aref, 35, an Iraqi refugee, with having documented connections to key terrorist figures in the Middle East.
This week, a Binghamton judge quashed a defense attempt to subpoena documents about Gunaratna, the head of terrorism research at the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies and a key witness in the trial.
Gunaratna, an expert on the formation and structure of Islamist groups and their ideology and members, will try to show the jury how Aref and Hossain fit into that structure, according to a trial memo filed by federal prosecutors.
Gunaratna's expert testimony report on the defendants and the charges they face is so inflammatory, U.S. District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy ordered it sealed during a pre-trial conference Tuesday in Binghamton.
McAvoy said the document was not to be opened until he gave further notice, or until a jury renders a verdict.
Previously, the judge said Aref and Hossain's right to a fair trial warranted sealing the document only until a jury was selected.
However, portions of that text have been filed in both defense and government cases and are now public documents.
Prosecutors say that Gunaratna's testimony will lay a foundation for the jury to see how a relationship between a confidential FBI agent and Hossain developed, beginning in August 2003, and led to the full-blown sting operation.
Five months after the male agent showed Hossain a surface-to-air missile -- and Hossain purportedly made the bin Laden comment -- the 49-year-old husband and father laundered cash from the sale of the missile to Islamic zealots in New York City, according to court documents.
If Hossain wasn't mimicking bin Laden, the leader of al Qaida, when he made the remark, prosecutors, who allegedly have the scenario on videotape, say "Hossain is free to argue that he was expressing his own independent thoughts."
Defense lawyers Terence L. Kindlon and Kevin Luibrand have denied all allegations.
They say Hossain was involved in legal money exchanges and Aref was present only as a witness, per the Quran.
Kindlon also said in court papers it's unlikely Aref will testify in his own defense.
The case -- already shrouded by sealed government documents and illegal wiretapping allegations -- deepened this week when McAvoy also quashed a defense request for access to other secret documents, immigration information, and reports and notes.
They pertained not only to Gunaratna, but also to Rodney Ratledge, another key witness.
Ratledge is a weapons expert from the Alabama Defense Intelligence Agency, Missile and Space Intelligence Center at Red Stone Arsenal, near Huntsville, Ala.
Prosecutors said he is chief of a division that studies short-range surface-to-air missile systems, or SAMs, including producing scientific and technical intelligence assessments of foreign versions.
"Mr. Ratledge will testify concerning surface-to-air missiles generally, as well as the system utilized in this case, including system components, how SAMs work, identification of particular weapons, capabilities, proliferation, and use of SAMs by terrorists," documents said.
He will show the jury that Hossain knew, as he allegedly cradled one of the projectiles, that it was a "weapon of mass destruction," prosecutors said.
On Tuesday, McAvoy ordered Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Coombe and William Pericak to give him documents related to the men's anticipated testimony to determine which, if any, should be shared with the defense.
In a written decision, he also reminded all attorneys to abide by a gag order.
Kindlon has objected to a prosecution plan to offer examples, dating 12 years, of Aref's journals, writings and contacts with people he met in the Middle East as a way of proving he has deep ties to terrorism.
Government allegations tying Aref to the Islamic Movement for Kurdistan, or the IMK, fail to note that the organization is not a designated terrorist group, he says.
Rather, it is a Kurdish nationalist group that had an office in Damascus, Syria, where Aref worked after shuttling his family out of Iraq to escape Saddam Hussein's dictatorship.
During his time at IMK, Aref had contact with Mullah Krekar, who later founded the terrorist organization Ansar al Aslam, which has been linked to attacks on both Kurdish and U.S. targets in Iraq.
Nothing in the documents filed this week indicates that McAvoy has ruled on a prosecution request to allow five FBI translators to testify using disguises and pseudonyms.
The translators are expected to explain Urdu, Kurdish, Arabic and Bengali audiotape translations and written documents that are evidence in the trial.
Michele Morgan Bolton can be reached at 434-2403 or by e-mail at mbolton@timesunion.com.
Continues to ratchet down tighter .....
And tighter ...
And tighter ...
And yet tighter still ...
On what thoughts we are allowed to have ...
AS AMERICAN CITIZENS .....
About this or that ...
Or some other thing ...
And who we have to like .....
And who we have to dislike ...
BY ORDER OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ....
And who our friends can be ...
And who our enemies have to be ...
BY ORDER OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ....
Even if we ourselves have Christian beliefs .....
That have us personally ...
And individually .....
HAVING NO ENEMIES .....
We have .....
GOVERNMENT PROFILING ....
To determine ...
IF WE MIGHT BE A "GOOD" AMERICAN ....
OR AN ENEMY OF GEORGE W. BUSH ...
AND WHAT HE PERSONALLY BELIEVES IN ....
WHICH IS TOP SECRET, OF COURSE ...
LEST HIS ENEMIES KNOW WHAT HE IS THINKING .....
All of which seems excessively paranoid to me .....
From what I can glean from the gibberish he is always spouting .....
About making the pie higher .....
And humans co-existing with fish .....
And so ....
"Terror link key to trial - Federal prosecutors set to use experts to prove Albany men fit profile"
By MICHELE MORGAN BOLTON, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Saturday, August 26, 2006
ALBANY -- A terrorism expert is set to testify that an Albany pizza shop owner was once caught on tape mirroring Osama bin Laden's justification for the Sept. 11 attacks -- and declared "kill or be killed," according to court papers.
Rohan Gunaratna, a Sri Lankan researcher based in Singapore, will also testify that a city mosque leader is a "global jihadist," or fighter in a holy war, said documents that federal prosecutors filed in Albany.
The mosque leader, Yassin Aref, and pizzeria owner, Mohammed Hossain, were arrested in a 2004 federal counterterrorism sting and accused of taking part in a phony plot to profit from the sale of missile launchers to terrorists.
Both men are charged with money laundering.
Their trial begins Sept. 6.
A superseding indictment in September also charged Aref, 35, an Iraqi refugee, with having documented connections to key terrorist figures in the Middle East.
This week, a Binghamton judge quashed a defense attempt to subpoena documents about Gunaratna, the head of terrorism research at the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies and a key witness in the trial.
Gunaratna, an expert on the formation and structure of Islamist groups and their ideology and members, will try to show the jury how Aref and Hossain fit into that structure, according to a trial memo filed by federal prosecutors.
Gunaratna's expert testimony report on the defendants and the charges they face is so inflammatory, U.S. District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy ordered it sealed during a pre-trial conference Tuesday in Binghamton.
McAvoy said the document was not to be opened until he gave further notice, or until a jury renders a verdict.
Previously, the judge said Aref and Hossain's right to a fair trial warranted sealing the document only until a jury was selected.
However, portions of that text have been filed in both defense and government cases and are now public documents.
Prosecutors say that Gunaratna's testimony will lay a foundation for the jury to see how a relationship between a confidential FBI agent and Hossain developed, beginning in August 2003, and led to the full-blown sting operation.
Five months after the male agent showed Hossain a surface-to-air missile -- and Hossain purportedly made the bin Laden comment -- the 49-year-old husband and father laundered cash from the sale of the missile to Islamic zealots in New York City, according to court documents.
If Hossain wasn't mimicking bin Laden, the leader of al Qaida, when he made the remark, prosecutors, who allegedly have the scenario on videotape, say "Hossain is free to argue that he was expressing his own independent thoughts."
Defense lawyers Terence L. Kindlon and Kevin Luibrand have denied all allegations.
They say Hossain was involved in legal money exchanges and Aref was present only as a witness, per the Quran.
Kindlon also said in court papers it's unlikely Aref will testify in his own defense.
The case -- already shrouded by sealed government documents and illegal wiretapping allegations -- deepened this week when McAvoy also quashed a defense request for access to other secret documents, immigration information, and reports and notes.
They pertained not only to Gunaratna, but also to Rodney Ratledge, another key witness.
Ratledge is a weapons expert from the Alabama Defense Intelligence Agency, Missile and Space Intelligence Center at Red Stone Arsenal, near Huntsville, Ala.
Prosecutors said he is chief of a division that studies short-range surface-to-air missile systems, or SAMs, including producing scientific and technical intelligence assessments of foreign versions.
"Mr. Ratledge will testify concerning surface-to-air missiles generally, as well as the system utilized in this case, including system components, how SAMs work, identification of particular weapons, capabilities, proliferation, and use of SAMs by terrorists," documents said.
He will show the jury that Hossain knew, as he allegedly cradled one of the projectiles, that it was a "weapon of mass destruction," prosecutors said.
On Tuesday, McAvoy ordered Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Coombe and William Pericak to give him documents related to the men's anticipated testimony to determine which, if any, should be shared with the defense.
In a written decision, he also reminded all attorneys to abide by a gag order.
Kindlon has objected to a prosecution plan to offer examples, dating 12 years, of Aref's journals, writings and contacts with people he met in the Middle East as a way of proving he has deep ties to terrorism.
Government allegations tying Aref to the Islamic Movement for Kurdistan, or the IMK, fail to note that the organization is not a designated terrorist group, he says.
Rather, it is a Kurdish nationalist group that had an office in Damascus, Syria, where Aref worked after shuttling his family out of Iraq to escape Saddam Hussein's dictatorship.
During his time at IMK, Aref had contact with Mullah Krekar, who later founded the terrorist organization Ansar al Aslam, which has been linked to attacks on both Kurdish and U.S. targets in Iraq.
Nothing in the documents filed this week indicates that McAvoy has ruled on a prosecution request to allow five FBI translators to testify using disguises and pseudonyms.
The translators are expected to explain Urdu, Kurdish, Arabic and Bengali audiotape translations and written documents that are evidence in the trial.
Michele Morgan Bolton can be reached at 434-2403 or by e-mail at mbolton@timesunion.com.
And speaking about continued REPUBLICAN EFFORTS ....
At THOUGHT-CONTROL .....
Here in OUR America ....
"Sweeney's attorney goes after TV ads - MoveOn.org attack on defense donations to congressman called false"
By TIM O'BRIEN, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Saturday, August 26, 2006
U.S. Rep. John Sweeney brought in a legal big gun to aid his effort to blast two political ads off the airwaves.
Attorney E. Stewart Jones Jr. fired off a letter to local TV stations Thursday, asking them to remove the ads from MoveOn.org.
The ads depict Sweeney with his hand tinted red and claim he's been "caught red-handed" accepting donations from defense contractors.
"The MoveOn.org advertisement is demonstrably false, irresponsibly misleading and clearly defamatory," Jones wrote to the stations.
"I know that you are well aware that as an FCC licensee you have an obligation to exercise your independent editorial judgment and refuse to air such deliberately false statements."
"You also have a duty to avoid being a party to libelous, reckless, wanton or negligent character assassination and defamation of any individual, public or private, including (a) congressman."
Sweeney is running for re-election in the 20th Congressional District against Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand.
MoveOn.org, a liberal organization known for targeting Republicans, is paying for the ads.
Earlier this week, Sweeney's campaign mailed a similar letter.
The Republican National Congressional Committee also protested the ads, one of which says Sweeney supported hiring Halliburton as a contractor and approved $8.8 billion unaccounted for in Iraq.
The missing funds were from Iraqi oil revenue, his staff has said, and Congress does not vote to hire individual contractors.
Sweeney voted to create the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction to investigate contractor fraud in Iraq, Jones wrote.
Tom Matzzie, MoveOn's Washington, D.C., director, said the letter is meant to intimidate stations.
"It looked like a cookie-cutter letter the Republicans have sent to stations all over the country," he said.
"Every place we place ads, it doesn't matter what it says, they send out nasty letters with big words trying to use the clout of the congressman."
Jones' letter stops short of saying legal action would be taken if the ads continue to run.
"It's certainly in discussion," the attorney said.
"The question is would the action be directed at MoveOn.org or with the media outlets?"
Since the ad is running in other congressional districts, Jones said, legal actions may be taken against MoveOn.org nationally.
Steve Baboulis, vice president and general manager for WNYT, said he passed the letter along to the station's attorney.
"The ad he references in his letter is not the ad that is running," Baboulis added.
There are two "caught red-handed" ads, one of which depicts dump trucks unloading cash in Iraq.
While Sweeney and the National Republican Congressional Committee have complained that ad is riddled with errors, the ad WNYT is airing targets Sweeney's acceptance of cash from defense contractors.
Both ads, however, use the "caught red-handed" theme, which Jones wrote falsely implies Sweeney has done something illegal.
Rene LaSpina, president and general manager for WTEN, said it, too, has only been asked to run one ad and it is not the one that makes charges regarding missing money in Iraq.
Still, she said, the station chose not to run the other ad.
"I'm not running it -- not because of Stew Jones," she said.
The station's counsel had advised against airing it, LaSpina said.
"It had the potential to be defamatory," she said.
"It was pretty close to the line."
Matzzie of MoveOn.org said he appreciates the extra attention the letters have generated.
"That's the ironic thing."
"Every time they send out a threatening letter, it prompts a news story," he said.
"It provides value to our ads."
Tim O'Brien can be reached at 454-5096 or by e-mail at tobrien@timesunion.com.
At THOUGHT-CONTROL .....
Here in OUR America ....
"Sweeney's attorney goes after TV ads - MoveOn.org attack on defense donations to congressman called false"
By TIM O'BRIEN, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Saturday, August 26, 2006
U.S. Rep. John Sweeney brought in a legal big gun to aid his effort to blast two political ads off the airwaves.
Attorney E. Stewart Jones Jr. fired off a letter to local TV stations Thursday, asking them to remove the ads from MoveOn.org.
The ads depict Sweeney with his hand tinted red and claim he's been "caught red-handed" accepting donations from defense contractors.
"The MoveOn.org advertisement is demonstrably false, irresponsibly misleading and clearly defamatory," Jones wrote to the stations.
"I know that you are well aware that as an FCC licensee you have an obligation to exercise your independent editorial judgment and refuse to air such deliberately false statements."
"You also have a duty to avoid being a party to libelous, reckless, wanton or negligent character assassination and defamation of any individual, public or private, including (a) congressman."
Sweeney is running for re-election in the 20th Congressional District against Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand.
MoveOn.org, a liberal organization known for targeting Republicans, is paying for the ads.
Earlier this week, Sweeney's campaign mailed a similar letter.
The Republican National Congressional Committee also protested the ads, one of which says Sweeney supported hiring Halliburton as a contractor and approved $8.8 billion unaccounted for in Iraq.
The missing funds were from Iraqi oil revenue, his staff has said, and Congress does not vote to hire individual contractors.
Sweeney voted to create the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction to investigate contractor fraud in Iraq, Jones wrote.
Tom Matzzie, MoveOn's Washington, D.C., director, said the letter is meant to intimidate stations.
"It looked like a cookie-cutter letter the Republicans have sent to stations all over the country," he said.
"Every place we place ads, it doesn't matter what it says, they send out nasty letters with big words trying to use the clout of the congressman."
Jones' letter stops short of saying legal action would be taken if the ads continue to run.
"It's certainly in discussion," the attorney said.
"The question is would the action be directed at MoveOn.org or with the media outlets?"
Since the ad is running in other congressional districts, Jones said, legal actions may be taken against MoveOn.org nationally.
Steve Baboulis, vice president and general manager for WNYT, said he passed the letter along to the station's attorney.
"The ad he references in his letter is not the ad that is running," Baboulis added.
There are two "caught red-handed" ads, one of which depicts dump trucks unloading cash in Iraq.
While Sweeney and the National Republican Congressional Committee have complained that ad is riddled with errors, the ad WNYT is airing targets Sweeney's acceptance of cash from defense contractors.
Both ads, however, use the "caught red-handed" theme, which Jones wrote falsely implies Sweeney has done something illegal.
Rene LaSpina, president and general manager for WTEN, said it, too, has only been asked to run one ad and it is not the one that makes charges regarding missing money in Iraq.
Still, she said, the station chose not to run the other ad.
"I'm not running it -- not because of Stew Jones," she said.
The station's counsel had advised against airing it, LaSpina said.
"It had the potential to be defamatory," she said.
"It was pretty close to the line."
Matzzie of MoveOn.org said he appreciates the extra attention the letters have generated.
"That's the ironic thing."
"Every time they send out a threatening letter, it prompts a news story," he said.
"It provides value to our ads."
Tim O'Brien can be reached at 454-5096 or by e-mail at tobrien@timesunion.com.
QUOTE(Livyjr @ Aug 10 2005 @ 07:58 AM)
And here is an update on what is known in the corrupt REPUBLICAN EMPIRE of New York as the "Pataki STING", from just before the November 2004 elections, when it was necessary to keep Americans "scared" out of their wits with fears of TAY-RISTS lurking around, under their very beds, and in their clothes closets, to boot ........
"Sting targeted mosque leader - U.S. attorney's office files motion to limit information it must reveal about counterterrorism investigation of Albany imam and pizza shop owner; trial expected early next year"
By BRENDAN LYONS, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Wednesday, August 10, 2005
ALBANY -- The leader of an Albany mosque was the "ultimate target" of an FBI counterterrorism sting that began two years ago as authorities tried to learn whether the Kurdish immigrant had any ties to terrorism, according to documents filed Tuesday by the U.S. attorney's office.
The 40-page motion -- which was heavily redacted for reasons of national security -- outlined the government's case in sharp detail as it retraced how FBI agents enlisted an informant to infiltrate the Central Avenue mosque.
The motion is the government's formal request to have a federal judge limit the amount of information they have to disclose about their investigation and intelligence-gathering methods.
ref, 35, who is the spiritual leader at the mosque, and Mohammed M. Hossain, a 50-year-old pizza shop owner, were arrested a year ago on charges they took part in a scheme to make money from the sale of grenade launchers to terrorists
The FBI investigation was led by Special Agent Tim Coll, a counterterrorism agent based in Albany.
The FBI has been interested in the Central Avenue mosque since the 9/11 attacks.
Aref and other members were interviewed by FBI agents after the attacks, although no one from the mosque was ever accused of having any connection with terrorism.
Still, the FBI sought to infiltrate the mosque.
The FBI investigation "initially targeted Hossain, but had Aref as its ultimate target," according to the motion filed Tuesday.
"Coll's goal was to have Hossain introduce the (informant) to Aref, and for the (informant) similarly to engage Aref in conversation intended to determine if Aref was involved in terrorist or criminal activity."
Aref and Hossain were drawn into the sting by a Pakistani immigrant who has served as an FBI informant in other cases.
The informant went to work for the government several years ago after being arrested on charges he was helping other immigrants illegally obtain driver's licenses, according to court records.
Their supporters and lawyers have described Aref and Hossain as peaceful and deeply religious men.
But federal authorities have cast them as willing participants in a scheme to help launder $50,000 from the illicit sale of a shoulder-fired missile.
The plot was not real, but was proffered by the undercover informant who at one point allegedly showed Hossain the weapon and talked about it being used in New York City to kill a Pakistani ambassador.
In their motion Tuesday, federal prosecutors argued that Aref is not entitled to an entrapment defense because the FBI informant lured only Hossain into the sting.
While the FBI acknowledges they were hopeful the case would lead to Aref, they contend it was Hossain's choice to bring Aref into the alleged scheme as witness to their deal.
The informant cultivated a relationship with Hossain two years ago by befriending his children, including buying one of his sons a toy helicopter, according to Hossain, who owns a pizza shop and several rental properties.
Outside court Tuesday, Hossain said it has been difficult living under house arrest while the case has wended slowly toward trial.
"I am a human being, I have a limit," he said.
"I don't have any freedom."
"... Then I smile and laugh with my children and my family."
The informant, Shahed Hussain, had been facing deportation after being arrested in 2002 on fraud charges.
He pleaded guilty in April 2003 but has not been sentenced and was promised leniency for working as an informant for the FBI in at least three other undercover stings.
Those investigations, which involved driver's license scams, ensnared immigrants from China and the Middle East who were unable to pass motor vehicle exams and tried to buy their way through the process.
In the Albany mosque case, the informant allegedly tried to curry favor with Hossain by promising to help his brother, who is developmentally disabled, obtain a driver's license.
Later, at the FBI's direction, the informant allegedly asked Hossain if he wanted to participate in a plot to launder money from the sale of a missile launcher that was to be used in a terrorist attack in New York City.
Lawyers for the suspects have argued that language barriers prevented them from understanding what the informant was saying or that they were taking part in a terror-related plot.
But prosecutors have disclosed dozens of pages of wiretap transcripts from conversations between the informant and the defendants, which they say demonstrate that Aref and Hossain knew the informant was importing illegal weapons from China for "jihadists."
Last week, the Times Union, citing a law enforcement official, reported that federal authorities intended to file a superseding indictment against Aref on Tuesday that would add criminal charges to his case.
But a source close to the case this week called the newspaper's report "premature."
He said additional charges against Aref, in connection with the sting operation, will be filed in the coming weeks.
A year ago, a federal judge jailed Aref and Hossain without bond after federal prosecutors laid out their case, including information found in a notebook in Iraq that they claimed may tie Aref to terrorist activities.
But the U.S. attorney's office later acknowledged that Army intelligence experts had apparently misinterpreted a document that prosecutors cited as a link between Aref and terrorists in Iraq.
The document referred to Aref as "brother," not "commander," prosecutors said.
Authorities said the mistake did not undermine their allegation of terrorist connections in the case.
Still, U.S. Magistrate Judge David R. Homer reopened a bail hearing after the mistake was acknowledged by the Justice Department and ordered the pair released on bond while their case is pending.
Aref and Hossain are charged with money laundering, providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, importing firearms without a license and conspiracy charges related to the sting.
U.S. District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy said during a status conference Tuesday that he expects to schedule the case for trial in early 2006.
The case has moved slowly because, prosecutors said, they are dealing with volumes of classified material, which they have not publicly described, that may be offered as evidence in the case.
The government also invoked the Classified Information Procedures Act last August, enabling them to file records in the case under seal.
"Sting targeted mosque leader - U.S. attorney's office files motion to limit information it must reveal about counterterrorism investigation of Albany imam and pizza shop owner; trial expected early next year"
By BRENDAN LYONS, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Wednesday, August 10, 2005
ALBANY -- The leader of an Albany mosque was the "ultimate target" of an FBI counterterrorism sting that began two years ago as authorities tried to learn whether the Kurdish immigrant had any ties to terrorism, according to documents filed Tuesday by the U.S. attorney's office.
The 40-page motion -- which was heavily redacted for reasons of national security -- outlined the government's case in sharp detail as it retraced how FBI agents enlisted an informant to infiltrate the Central Avenue mosque.
The motion is the government's formal request to have a federal judge limit the amount of information they have to disclose about their investigation and intelligence-gathering methods.
ref, 35, who is the spiritual leader at the mosque, and Mohammed M. Hossain, a 50-year-old pizza shop owner, were arrested a year ago on charges they took part in a scheme to make money from the sale of grenade launchers to terrorists
The FBI investigation was led by Special Agent Tim Coll, a counterterrorism agent based in Albany.
The FBI has been interested in the Central Avenue mosque since the 9/11 attacks.
Aref and other members were interviewed by FBI agents after the attacks, although no one from the mosque was ever accused of having any connection with terrorism.
Still, the FBI sought to infiltrate the mosque.
The FBI investigation "initially targeted Hossain, but had Aref as its ultimate target," according to the motion filed Tuesday.
"Coll's goal was to have Hossain introduce the (informant) to Aref, and for the (informant) similarly to engage Aref in conversation intended to determine if Aref was involved in terrorist or criminal activity."
Aref and Hossain were drawn into the sting by a Pakistani immigrant who has served as an FBI informant in other cases.
The informant went to work for the government several years ago after being arrested on charges he was helping other immigrants illegally obtain driver's licenses, according to court records.
Their supporters and lawyers have described Aref and Hossain as peaceful and deeply religious men.
But federal authorities have cast them as willing participants in a scheme to help launder $50,000 from the illicit sale of a shoulder-fired missile.
The plot was not real, but was proffered by the undercover informant who at one point allegedly showed Hossain the weapon and talked about it being used in New York City to kill a Pakistani ambassador.
In their motion Tuesday, federal prosecutors argued that Aref is not entitled to an entrapment defense because the FBI informant lured only Hossain into the sting.
While the FBI acknowledges they were hopeful the case would lead to Aref, they contend it was Hossain's choice to bring Aref into the alleged scheme as witness to their deal.
The informant cultivated a relationship with Hossain two years ago by befriending his children, including buying one of his sons a toy helicopter, according to Hossain, who owns a pizza shop and several rental properties.
Outside court Tuesday, Hossain said it has been difficult living under house arrest while the case has wended slowly toward trial.
"I am a human being, I have a limit," he said.
"I don't have any freedom."
"... Then I smile and laugh with my children and my family."
The informant, Shahed Hussain, had been facing deportation after being arrested in 2002 on fraud charges.
He pleaded guilty in April 2003 but has not been sentenced and was promised leniency for working as an informant for the FBI in at least three other undercover stings.
Those investigations, which involved driver's license scams, ensnared immigrants from China and the Middle East who were unable to pass motor vehicle exams and tried to buy their way through the process.
In the Albany mosque case, the informant allegedly tried to curry favor with Hossain by promising to help his brother, who is developmentally disabled, obtain a driver's license.
Later, at the FBI's direction, the informant allegedly asked Hossain if he wanted to participate in a plot to launder money from the sale of a missile launcher that was to be used in a terrorist attack in New York City.
Lawyers for the suspects have argued that language barriers prevented them from understanding what the informant was saying or that they were taking part in a terror-related plot.
But prosecutors have disclosed dozens of pages of wiretap transcripts from conversations between the informant and the defendants, which they say demonstrate that Aref and Hossain knew the informant was importing illegal weapons from China for "jihadists."
Last week, the Times Union, citing a law enforcement official, reported that federal authorities intended to file a superseding indictment against Aref on Tuesday that would add criminal charges to his case.
But a source close to the case this week called the newspaper's report "premature."
He said additional charges against Aref, in connection with the sting operation, will be filed in the coming weeks.
A year ago, a federal judge jailed Aref and Hossain without bond after federal prosecutors laid out their case, including information found in a notebook in Iraq that they claimed may tie Aref to terrorist activities.
But the U.S. attorney's office later acknowledged that Army intelligence experts had apparently misinterpreted a document that prosecutors cited as a link between Aref and terrorists in Iraq.
The document referred to Aref as "brother," not "commander," prosecutors said.
Authorities said the mistake did not undermine their allegation of terrorist connections in the case.
Still, U.S. Magistrate Judge David R. Homer reopened a bail hearing after the mistake was acknowledged by the Justice Department and ordered the pair released on bond while their case is pending.
Aref and Hossain are charged with money laundering, providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, importing firearms without a license and conspiracy charges related to the sting.
U.S. District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy said during a status conference Tuesday that he expects to schedule the case for trial in early 2006.
The case has moved slowly because, prosecutors said, they are dealing with volumes of classified material, which they have not publicly described, that may be offered as evidence in the case.
The government also invoked the Classified Information Procedures Act last August, enabling them to file records in the case under seal.
QUOTE(Livyjr @ Aug 10 2005 @ 05:19 PM)
There are several things about this "sting" that I find troubling, such as the fact that this "informant" was walking around the City of Albany, New York carrying a Stinger anti-aircraft missle in its storage box, which is kind of obvious, and yet, nobody, including the Albany police, ever questioned that, which is like something out of a Mel Brook's movie, when you think about!
In fact, maybe the "informant" was walking around Albany with the missle under his arm like it was a violin, and for all practical purposes, he might as well have been!
But what is most troubling is that this Pakistani, who was doing illegal things, and got caught, is now going to be rewarded by the United States government making him a full-blown citizen, as I last understood the situation up here.
The Pakistani "informant", himself a criminal, agreed to "sting" these others in return for citizenship, and I find that reprehensible!
OUR government sure does seem to be an awful good friend to criminals, is how I see it!
They have protection programs for them, and this Pakistani criminal gets to be an American, because he is a criminal, so go figure that out, will you ....
In fact, maybe the "informant" was walking around Albany with the missle under his arm like it was a violin, and for all practical purposes, he might as well have been!
But what is most troubling is that this Pakistani, who was doing illegal things, and got caught, is now going to be rewarded by the United States government making him a full-blown citizen, as I last understood the situation up here.
The Pakistani "informant", himself a criminal, agreed to "sting" these others in return for citizenship, and I find that reprehensible!
OUR government sure does seem to be an awful good friend to criminals, is how I see it!
They have protection programs for them, and this Pakistani criminal gets to be an American, because he is a criminal, so go figure that out, will you ....
QUOTE(Livyjr @ Oct 15 2005 @ 04:40 PM)
"Lawyers request access in sting case - Attorneys for two men named in terrorism charges ask judge to see secret documents against clients"
By BRENDAN LYONS, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Saturday, October 15, 2005
ALBANY -- Attorneys for two Albany men ensnared in a counterterrorism sting have asked a federal judge to give them access to top secret documents government prosecutors have compiled in the case.
But the request, according to sources close to the case, is unlikely to be granted by U.S. District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy, who was able to view the classified materials before they were filed under seal.
During a status conference Friday in U.S. District Court, McAvoy said the trial in the case will begin early next year.
The judge also recently ordered federal prosecutors to file a brief explaining why the defense should not have access to the secret materials, which are sealed because prosecutors contend they involve matters of "national security."
It's not clear whether the sealed materials would assist the defendants.
But without seeing them, defense attorneys said, they are at a disadvantage because they don't know every aspect of the federal government's case.
The defense attorneys, Terence Kindlon and Kevin Luibrand, underwent background checks and had to sign agreements stating they would keep secret any classified information they viewed in the case.
So far, they have not been granted access to any secret materials.
Two weeks ago, another federal judge revoked bail for one of the defendants, Yassin M. Aref, who is the spiritual leader of a Central Avenue mosque at the center of the investigation.
The judge cited new evidence proffered by prosecutors that indicates Aref may "espouse" terrorism and had once known key terrorist figures in the Middle East.
The latest allegations were outlined in a memorandum filed Sept. 29 by federal prosecutors in connection with a new round of terrorism-related charges.
Aref and another mosque member, Mohammed M. Hossain, a city pizza shop owner, were arrested Aug. 5, 2004, on a 19-count indictment charging them with money laundering in connection with a plot to sell grenade launchers to terrorists.
There was never any real terrorist plot.
Rather, the plot was concocted by FBI agents as they used an undercover informant to befriend Aref and Hossain.
The informant convinced them to take part in a scheme to sell shoulder-fired missiles to a terrorist group.
Much of the government's motions and evidence in the case have been filed under seal, viewed only by the presiding judge.
Luibrand and Kindlon both have filed motions arguing the cloaked records have undermined their ability to mount a defense.
Iraqi-born Aref, 35, is a religious scholar who was hired as imam at the Masjid As Salam mosque on Central Avenue soon after he arrived in the United States six years ago.
The mosque did not draw much attention from federal authorities until the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, after which Aref and other members were questioned and, in some cases, polygraphed or detained by the FBI.
No one else at the mosque has ever been alleged to have any terrorism ties.
The FBI sting began in July 2003 when an undercover informant allegedly convinced Aref and Hossain to take part in a money-laundering scheme.
The informant, a Loudonville resident and Pakistani immigrant, allegedly lured Hossain into the deal.
Aref was enlisted to witness transactions, according to court records.
If convicted on all counts, both face sentences of more than 400 years.
Brendan Lyons can be reached at 454-5547 or by e-mail at blyons@timesunion.com.
By BRENDAN LYONS, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Saturday, October 15, 2005
ALBANY -- Attorneys for two Albany men ensnared in a counterterrorism sting have asked a federal judge to give them access to top secret documents government prosecutors have compiled in the case.
But the request, according to sources close to the case, is unlikely to be granted by U.S. District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy, who was able to view the classified materials before they were filed under seal.
During a status conference Friday in U.S. District Court, McAvoy said the trial in the case will begin early next year.
The judge also recently ordered federal prosecutors to file a brief explaining why the defense should not have access to the secret materials, which are sealed because prosecutors contend they involve matters of "national security."
It's not clear whether the sealed materials would assist the defendants.
But without seeing them, defense attorneys said, they are at a disadvantage because they don't know every aspect of the federal government's case.
The defense attorneys, Terence Kindlon and Kevin Luibrand, underwent background checks and had to sign agreements stating they would keep secret any classified information they viewed in the case.
So far, they have not been granted access to any secret materials.
Two weeks ago, another federal judge revoked bail for one of the defendants, Yassin M. Aref, who is the spiritual leader of a Central Avenue mosque at the center of the investigation.
The judge cited new evidence proffered by prosecutors that indicates Aref may "espouse" terrorism and had once known key terrorist figures in the Middle East.
The latest allegations were outlined in a memorandum filed Sept. 29 by federal prosecutors in connection with a new round of terrorism-related charges.
Aref and another mosque member, Mohammed M. Hossain, a city pizza shop owner, were arrested Aug. 5, 2004, on a 19-count indictment charging them with money laundering in connection with a plot to sell grenade launchers to terrorists.
There was never any real terrorist plot.
Rather, the plot was concocted by FBI agents as they used an undercover informant to befriend Aref and Hossain.
The informant convinced them to take part in a scheme to sell shoulder-fired missiles to a terrorist group.
Much of the government's motions and evidence in the case have been filed under seal, viewed only by the presiding judge.
Luibrand and Kindlon both have filed motions arguing the cloaked records have undermined their ability to mount a defense.
Iraqi-born Aref, 35, is a religious scholar who was hired as imam at the Masjid As Salam mosque on Central Avenue soon after he arrived in the United States six years ago.
The mosque did not draw much attention from federal authorities until the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, after which Aref and other members were questioned and, in some cases, polygraphed or detained by the FBI.
No one else at the mosque has ever been alleged to have any terrorism ties.
The FBI sting began in July 2003 when an undercover informant allegedly convinced Aref and Hossain to take part in a money-laundering scheme.
The informant, a Loudonville resident and Pakistani immigrant, allegedly lured Hossain into the deal.
Aref was enlisted to witness transactions, according to court records.
If convicted on all counts, both face sentences of more than 400 years.
Brendan Lyons can be reached at 454-5547 or by e-mail at blyons@timesunion.com.
QUOTE(Livyjr @ Jan 5 2006 @ 06:58 PM)
And while we are on the subject of REPUBLICAN George Pataki's capital city of Albany, New York .....
Here is an update on a story up here involving alleged TAY-RISTS that is called the "PATAKI STING" ......
This is a big TAY-RIST BUST that occurred up here just before the November 2004 presidential elections, where these two guys who got arrested were allegedly tied in to some plan to kill the Pakistani ambassador to the U.N., or some such bunkum and twaddle as that, since it was nothing more than a scam to ensnare these two guys who got arrested ....
And when they were arrested, Pataki was right there on the news, holding a press conference to tout George W. Bush as the only one in America who could keep us safe ......
And what a grand production it was ....
Scared some people up here who are easily scared, anyway .....
And so, it got George W. Bush some votes ...
Or so they say ....
And why would they say it, if it were not so?
"Suspects raise domestic spy issue - 2 Albany Muslim men accused in FBI sting seek information"
By BRENDAN LYONS, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Thursday, January 5, 2006
ALBANY -- The first formal challenge of a controversial national spying program has been raised in the case of two Albany men who were ensnared last year in an FBI counterterrorism sting.
Attorneys for the Muslim men, Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain, recently filed motions in U.S. District Court asking the government to disclose whether the pair were subjected to the domestic surveillance measures, which triggered a national debate when the activity was first exposed last month in a report by The New York Times.
The National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program relied on a secret directive issued by President Bush more than three years ago, in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, that allowed the cryptic NSA to circumvent court-authorized wiretaps in the hastened hunt for terrorists here and abroad.
The Bush administration has defended the practice, contending it was a matter of national security, and not unlawful, to sift through thousands of phone calls and e-mails without a warrant or court order.
Bush said last week that the measures, implemented to monitor conversations between Americans and terror suspects abroad, are "consistent with my constitutional responsibilities and authorities."
But the Albany investigation is a sting case, which means the government will likely be compelled at trial to show the men were predisposed to take part in a terrorism plot without any urging from an FBI informant.
However, if it turns out they were targeted because of information secretly gleaned from their e-mails or telephone calls, the entire case could be jeopardized if its foundation was based on an unlawful act, according to their attorneys.
In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, the FBI reshaped its mission to focus on counterterrorism.
But many of their sting cases have drawn controversy.
The Albany-based sting began in July 2003 when the FBI sent an undercover informant, a Pakistani immigrant and Muslim, into Hossain's pizza shop to lure the men into a plot to make money from the sale of missile launchers to terrorists.
Federal authorities have admitted Aref was the "ultimate target" of their lengthy operation.
Aref's name, phone number and Albany address were found in a notebook recovered from a bombed-out Iraqi encampment -- about two months before the sting began -- that the government contends was occupied by "terrorists."
It's not clear when the FBI learned of the notebook entry or if it triggered the sting.
His lawyer said it's possible Aref was being monitored before the government collected any information tying him to terrorist figures.
Hossain's and Aref's confidential criminal history reports, which prosecutors have turned over to their lawyers, show no arrests outside of their Aug. 5, 2004, arrests in the sting case.
However, their criminal history reports, which are normally not public, refer to a U.S. attorney general's directive on April 11, 2002, regarding "known or suspected terrorists."
It's not clear why the entry is listed in their criminal history reports.
Assistant U.S. Attorney William Pericak, who is prosecuting the case, declined comment.
Hossain's attorney, Kevin Luibrand, and Aref's attorney, Terence L. Kindlon, also declined to discuss their motions, citing judge's orders not to discus the case.
The 2002 directive from former Attorney General John Ashcroft ordered the FBI, the newly formed Foreign Terrorist Tracking Task Force and other federal agencies to begin coordinating their activities to fight terrorism.
Ashcroft's memo also noted an Oct. 30, 2001, directive from Bush in which the President ordered that the task force should have access to electronic surveillance and other intelligence information "to keep foreign terrorists and their supporters out of the United States."
Even if Aref and Hossain were secretly monitored by the NSA, it's not clear whether their attorneys, or, the public, will ever know.
So far, U.S. District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy, who is presiding over their case, has not granted any requests by defense attorneys for access to classified information gathered by the government.
Much of the material has been reviewed by McAvoy under seal, and not turned over to the defense teams.
The new request for access to any NSA surveillance records, if they exist, is scheduled to be addressed at a status conference slated for Monday in U.S. District Court in Albany.
Aref and Hossain were arrested last year on a 19-count indictment charging them with money laundering in connection with a plot to sell grenade launchers to terrorists.
The government has since added more charges, including allegations the men conspired to provide material support to a Pakistani terrorist group, although the support was in the form of taking part in the FBI sting.
There was never any real terrorist plot.
Hossain, a Bangladeshi immigrant who has lived in Albany for more than two decades, claims he was lured into the plot by an overzealous FBI informant.
Aref, 35, is an Iraqi-born religious scholar who was hired as imam at the Masjid As Salam mosque on Central Avenue soon after he arrived in the United States seven years ago.
Aref and Hossain had been free on bond while their case is pending, but Aref's freedom was revoked by a federal judge on Sept. 30 when federal prosecutors filed a superseding indictment that contained allegations of Aref's past ties to terrorist organizations.
The case is expected to go to trial in the coming months.
Here is an update on a story up here involving alleged TAY-RISTS that is called the "PATAKI STING" ......
This is a big TAY-RIST BUST that occurred up here just before the November 2004 presidential elections, where these two guys who got arrested were allegedly tied in to some plan to kill the Pakistani ambassador to the U.N., or some such bunkum and twaddle as that, since it was nothing more than a scam to ensnare these two guys who got arrested ....
And when they were arrested, Pataki was right there on the news, holding a press conference to tout George W. Bush as the only one in America who could keep us safe ......
And what a grand production it was ....
Scared some people up here who are easily scared, anyway .....
And so, it got George W. Bush some votes ...
Or so they say ....
And why would they say it, if it were not so?
"Suspects raise domestic spy issue - 2 Albany Muslim men accused in FBI sting seek information"
By BRENDAN LYONS, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Thursday, January 5, 2006
ALBANY -- The first formal challenge of a controversial national spying program has been raised in the case of two Albany men who were ensnared last year in an FBI counterterrorism sting.
Attorneys for the Muslim men, Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain, recently filed motions in U.S. District Court asking the government to disclose whether the pair were subjected to the domestic surveillance measures, which triggered a national debate when the activity was first exposed last month in a report by The New York Times.
The National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program relied on a secret directive issued by President Bush more than three years ago, in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, that allowed the cryptic NSA to circumvent court-authorized wiretaps in the hastened hunt for terrorists here and abroad.
The Bush administration has defended the practice, contending it was a matter of national security, and not unlawful, to sift through thousands of phone calls and e-mails without a warrant or court order.
Bush said last week that the measures, implemented to monitor conversations between Americans and terror suspects abroad, are "consistent with my constitutional responsibilities and authorities."
But the Albany investigation is a sting case, which means the government will likely be compelled at trial to show the men were predisposed to take part in a terrorism plot without any urging from an FBI informant.
However, if it turns out they were targeted because of information secretly gleaned from their e-mails or telephone calls, the entire case could be jeopardized if its foundation was based on an unlawful act, according to their attorneys.
In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, the FBI reshaped its mission to focus on counterterrorism.
But many of their sting cases have drawn controversy.
The Albany-based sting began in July 2003 when the FBI sent an undercover informant, a Pakistani immigrant and Muslim, into Hossain's pizza shop to lure the men into a plot to make money from the sale of missile launchers to terrorists.
Federal authorities have admitted Aref was the "ultimate target" of their lengthy operation.
Aref's name, phone number and Albany address were found in a notebook recovered from a bombed-out Iraqi encampment -- about two months before the sting began -- that the government contends was occupied by "terrorists."
It's not clear when the FBI learned of the notebook entry or if it triggered the sting.
His lawyer said it's possible Aref was being monitored before the government collected any information tying him to terrorist figures.
Hossain's and Aref's confidential criminal history reports, which prosecutors have turned over to their lawyers, show no arrests outside of their Aug. 5, 2004, arrests in the sting case.
However, their criminal history reports, which are normally not public, refer to a U.S. attorney general's directive on April 11, 2002, regarding "known or suspected terrorists."
It's not clear why the entry is listed in their criminal history reports.
Assistant U.S. Attorney William Pericak, who is prosecuting the case, declined comment.
Hossain's attorney, Kevin Luibrand, and Aref's attorney, Terence L. Kindlon, also declined to discuss their motions, citing judge's orders not to discus the case.
The 2002 directive from former Attorney General John Ashcroft ordered the FBI, the newly formed Foreign Terrorist Tracking Task Force and other federal agencies to begin coordinating their activities to fight terrorism.
Ashcroft's memo also noted an Oct. 30, 2001, directive from Bush in which the President ordered that the task force should have access to electronic surveillance and other intelligence information "to keep foreign terrorists and their supporters out of the United States."
Even if Aref and Hossain were secretly monitored by the NSA, it's not clear whether their attorneys, or, the public, will ever know.
So far, U.S. District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy, who is presiding over their case, has not granted any requests by defense attorneys for access to classified information gathered by the government.
Much of the material has been reviewed by McAvoy under seal, and not turned over to the defense teams.
The new request for access to any NSA surveillance records, if they exist, is scheduled to be addressed at a status conference slated for Monday in U.S. District Court in Albany.
Aref and Hossain were arrested last year on a 19-count indictment charging them with money laundering in connection with a plot to sell grenade launchers to terrorists.
The government has since added more charges, including allegations the men conspired to provide material support to a Pakistani terrorist group, although the support was in the form of taking part in the FBI sting.
There was never any real terrorist plot.
Hossain, a Bangladeshi immigrant who has lived in Albany for more than two decades, claims he was lured into the plot by an overzealous FBI informant.
Aref, 35, is an Iraqi-born religious scholar who was hired as imam at the Masjid As Salam mosque on Central Avenue soon after he arrived in the United States seven years ago.
Aref and Hossain had been free on bond while their case is pending, but Aref's freedom was revoked by a federal judge on Sept. 30 when federal prosecutors filed a superseding indictment that contained allegations of Aref's past ties to terrorist organizations.
The case is expected to go to trial in the coming months.
QUOTE(Livyjr @ Jan 9 2006 @ 04:56 PM)
"Judge refuses to dismiss charges against New York terror suspects"
By MICHAEL VIRTANEN, Associated Press
Last updated: 1:28 p.m., Monday, January 9, 2006
ALBANY, New York -- A federal judge Monday refused to dismiss charges against two Muslims accused of supporting terrorism, despite their attorneys' arguments that the men were victims of entrapment.
Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain were arrested in August 2004, and accused of laundering money for an FBI informant posing as an arms dealer.
While the men were solicited by the FBI, prosecutors said the indictment should stand because they were "willing" participants in the crime.
Judge Thomas McAvoy ruled that there was sufficient evidence to take the case to a jury.
Aref, a 35-year-old native of the Kurdish area of northern Iraq, is in jail awaiting trial.
He immigrated to the United States with his family in 1999 and is an imam at Masjid as-Salam, the Albany mosque raided Aug. 5, 2004, by federal agents following the year-long sting aimed at Aref.
Hossain, 50, a pizzeria owner, is free on bond.
A native of Bangladesh, he is a naturalized U.S. citizen.
He declined comment leaving court.
They are accused of attempting to provide support to Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based group listed by the federal government as a terrorist organization.
The FBI informant allegedly told the men that some $50,000 they held for him was from the sale of a shoulder-fired missile that would be used to kill a Pakistani diplomat in New York City.
Both men have pleaded innocent.
They say their faith opposes terrorism and maintain they never believed the business deal was part of a terrorist plot.
Aref is charged with lying to federal officials for failing to disclose his former membership in the nationalist Islamic Movement in Kurdistan.
He is also believed to have known Mullah Krekar, the founder of Ansar al-Islam, which U.S. authorities maintain is a terrorist group that has ties to al-Qaida and has been responsible for attacks on American forces in the Middle East.
McAvoy refused Monday to grant separate trials, saying instructions to the jury should help prevent Aref's alleged background from prejudicing jurors against Hossain.
He also reserved judgment on whether to require the FBI to disclose information about wiretaps used in the investigation.
Defense attorneys said wiretaps may have been obtained without warrants and therefore be illegal.
If convicted of all charges, authorities say Aref faces a sentence of up to 470 years in prison and $7.25 million in fines while Hossain faces 450 years in prison and $6.75 million in fines.
By MICHAEL VIRTANEN, Associated Press
Last updated: 1:28 p.m., Monday, January 9, 2006
ALBANY, New York -- A federal judge Monday refused to dismiss charges against two Muslims accused of supporting terrorism, despite their attorneys' arguments that the men were victims of entrapment.
Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain were arrested in August 2004, and accused of laundering money for an FBI informant posing as an arms dealer.
While the men were solicited by the FBI, prosecutors said the indictment should stand because they were "willing" participants in the crime.
Judge Thomas McAvoy ruled that there was sufficient evidence to take the case to a jury.
Aref, a 35-year-old native of the Kurdish area of northern Iraq, is in jail awaiting trial.
He immigrated to the United States with his family in 1999 and is an imam at Masjid as-Salam, the Albany mosque raided Aug. 5, 2004, by federal agents following the year-long sting aimed at Aref.
Hossain, 50, a pizzeria owner, is free on bond.
A native of Bangladesh, he is a naturalized U.S. citizen.
He declined comment leaving court.
They are accused of attempting to provide support to Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based group listed by the federal government as a terrorist organization.
The FBI informant allegedly told the men that some $50,000 they held for him was from the sale of a shoulder-fired missile that would be used to kill a Pakistani diplomat in New York City.
Both men have pleaded innocent.
They say their faith opposes terrorism and maintain they never believed the business deal was part of a terrorist plot.
Aref is charged with lying to federal officials for failing to disclose his former membership in the nationalist Islamic Movement in Kurdistan.
He is also believed to have known Mullah Krekar, the founder of Ansar al-Islam, which U.S. authorities maintain is a terrorist group that has ties to al-Qaida and has been responsible for attacks on American forces in the Middle East.
McAvoy refused Monday to grant separate trials, saying instructions to the jury should help prevent Aref's alleged background from prejudicing jurors against Hossain.
He also reserved judgment on whether to require the FBI to disclose information about wiretaps used in the investigation.
Defense attorneys said wiretaps may have been obtained without warrants and therefore be illegal.
If convicted of all charges, authorities say Aref faces a sentence of up to 470 years in prison and $7.25 million in fines while Hossain faces 450 years in prison and $6.75 million in fines.
QUOTE(Livyjr @ Feb 11 2006 @ 05:01 PM)
And here is an update on a TAY-RIZM case from REPUBLICAN George Pataki's capital city of Albany, New York that we have been tracking in here ....
And actually, I started tracking this case on the old John Kerry forum ....
Before the November 2004 elections ....
When this "big bust" was made ...
And REPUBLICAN BUSH WATER-CARRIER George Pataki had his face right there on the TV ....
Telling us how lucky we were to have REPUBLICANS in power here in OUR America ....
And how sorry we would be ....
If George W. Bush lost to Democrat John Kerry ....
The PATAKI STING .....
And DUE PROCESS OF LAW is right out the window ....
Here in George W. Bush's America ...
"Imam loses 4th bid for release - Albany suspect in FBI terror sting still danger to society, jurist rules"
By MICHELE MORGAN BOLTON, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Saturday, February 11, 2006
ALBANY -- An imam at an Albany mosque facing terrorism charges lost his fourth bid for bail Friday, despite a lawyer's impassioned plea that he is a peaceful, deeply religious man desperately needed by his family and faith.
"To be isolated from every other human being, especially if you're a social person, has a devastating effect," said lawyer Terence L. Kindlon.
"Over the course of the past several months he has become profoundly depressed."
Yassin Aref, 35, has been held in 22-hour-a-day protective confinement in the Rensselaer County Jail since Sept. 30, when U.S. Magistrate Judge David Homer revoked his bail after 13 months of electronically monitored house arrest.
cAref and his co-defendant, Mohammed Hossain, an Albany pizza shop owner, were caught in an FBI sting beginning in August 2003 in which they allegedly took part in a fake plot to sell missile launchers to terrorists.
Hossain is free on bail.
A superseding indictment in September also charged the Iraqi refugee with having documented connections to key terrorist figures in the Middle East.
Friday's detention hearing, again before Homer, was the fourth for Aref.
Kindlon offered three new pieces of information he said warranted Aref's release.
First, he said, government red tape could delay a trial until at least 2007, violating the right to due process.
Assistant U.S. Attorney William Pericak brushed off Kindlon's claims, saying, "I think the case will be tried long before January."
Kindlon also noted that Aref's wife, who has a mental illness, is struggling to care for three young children and a newborn on public support and isolated by language barriers.
"They talk once a week, and they cry," Kindlon said.
"In her culture there is no such thing as a single mother."
"A woman is an extension of a man."
Finally, he said, there are national published reports that say the Bush administration's National Security Agency's penchant for potentially illegal, warrantless wiretapping was specifically responsible for Aref's arrest.
If so, such criminal activity requires the indictment to be tossed immediately, Kindlon said.
He believes prosecutors have made too much of Aref's private journal entries that allegedly link him to terrorist activity.
Kindlon said his client is not guilty.
He said he is yet to see any of the government's evidence.
"The government has issued secret security clearances to me and my colleague yet as of today we've seen no classified information," he said.
"I guess they've taken the position we don't need to see it."
"In the meanwhile, my client is rotting in jail."
Pericak asserted to Homer there is nothing new to consider.
He said both the journal entries and family situation are not new.
And Kindlon's request to toss the case based on the NSA allegations is the subject of a March 13 hearing, he said.
Homer agreed that Kindlon's arguments produced new issues but said they didn't persuade him Aref deserves to be free.
Five months in jail doesn't begin to approach an excess, Homer said.
He agreed that the March hearing will address wiretap issues.
"There is a tragic element to the effect of detention," the judge said.
"But it is the judicial function not to be affected by the tragedy."
"The effect on Mrs. Aref and the children is not a material fact."
There may well be innocent explanations for Aref's journal entries, but the current conclusion is they show he has substantial ties to terrorism and, thus, is a danger to society, Homer said.
During arguments, Aref bowed his head, and then gestured vehemently to Kindlon as the judge issued his decision.
Aref's wife, children and other family filed quietly from court, refusing to comment.
Outside, Kindlon said he was desperately disappointed with the decision, his client is heartbroken, but it doesn't stop here.
When asked if he thinks the federal government is tapping lawyers' phones, Kindlon unloaded:
"I think anyone's phone may be tapped."
"This administration is acting lawlessly."
"They don't give a damn about the Constitution."
"Every time I hear George Bush speak, I think someone should really read that guy his Miranda rights."
And actually, I started tracking this case on the old John Kerry forum ....
Before the November 2004 elections ....
When this "big bust" was made ...
And REPUBLICAN BUSH WATER-CARRIER George Pataki had his face right there on the TV ....
Telling us how lucky we were to have REPUBLICANS in power here in OUR America ....
And how sorry we would be ....
If George W. Bush lost to Democrat John Kerry ....
The PATAKI STING .....
And DUE PROCESS OF LAW is right out the window ....
Here in George W. Bush's America ...
"Imam loses 4th bid for release - Albany suspect in FBI terror sting still danger to society, jurist rules"
By MICHELE MORGAN BOLTON, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Saturday, February 11, 2006
ALBANY -- An imam at an Albany mosque facing terrorism charges lost his fourth bid for bail Friday, despite a lawyer's impassioned plea that he is a peaceful, deeply religious man desperately needed by his family and faith.
"To be isolated from every other human being, especially if you're a social person, has a devastating effect," said lawyer Terence L. Kindlon.
"Over the course of the past several months he has become profoundly depressed."
Yassin Aref, 35, has been held in 22-hour-a-day protective confinement in the Rensselaer County Jail since Sept. 30, when U.S. Magistrate Judge David Homer revoked his bail after 13 months of electronically monitored house arrest.
cAref and his co-defendant, Mohammed Hossain, an Albany pizza shop owner, were caught in an FBI sting beginning in August 2003 in which they allegedly took part in a fake plot to sell missile launchers to terrorists.
Hossain is free on bail.
A superseding indictment in September also charged the Iraqi refugee with having documented connections to key terrorist figures in the Middle East.
Friday's detention hearing, again before Homer, was the fourth for Aref.
Kindlon offered three new pieces of information he said warranted Aref's release.
First, he said, government red tape could delay a trial until at least 2007, violating the right to due process.
Assistant U.S. Attorney William Pericak brushed off Kindlon's claims, saying, "I think the case will be tried long before January."
Kindlon also noted that Aref's wife, who has a mental illness, is struggling to care for three young children and a newborn on public support and isolated by language barriers.
"They talk once a week, and they cry," Kindlon said.
"In her culture there is no such thing as a single mother."
"A woman is an extension of a man."
Finally, he said, there are national published reports that say the Bush administration's National Security Agency's penchant for potentially illegal, warrantless wiretapping was specifically responsible for Aref's arrest.
If so, such criminal activity requires the indictment to be tossed immediately, Kindlon said.
He believes prosecutors have made too much of Aref's private journal entries that allegedly link him to terrorist activity.
Kindlon said his client is not guilty.
He said he is yet to see any of the government's evidence.
"The government has issued secret security clearances to me and my colleague yet as of today we've seen no classified information," he said.
"I guess they've taken the position we don't need to see it."
"In the meanwhile, my client is rotting in jail."
Pericak asserted to Homer there is nothing new to consider.
He said both the journal entries and family situation are not new.
And Kindlon's request to toss the case based on the NSA allegations is the subject of a March 13 hearing, he said.
Homer agreed that Kindlon's arguments produced new issues but said they didn't persuade him Aref deserves to be free.
Five months in jail doesn't begin to approach an excess, Homer said.
He agreed that the March hearing will address wiretap issues.
"There is a tragic element to the effect of detention," the judge said.
"But it is the judicial function not to be affected by the tragedy."
"The effect on Mrs. Aref and the children is not a material fact."
There may well be innocent explanations for Aref's journal entries, but the current conclusion is they show he has substantial ties to terrorism and, thus, is a danger to society, Homer said.
During arguments, Aref bowed his head, and then gestured vehemently to Kindlon as the judge issued his decision.
Aref's wife, children and other family filed quietly from court, refusing to comment.
Outside, Kindlon said he was desperately disappointed with the decision, his client is heartbroken, but it doesn't stop here.
When asked if he thinks the federal government is tapping lawyers' phones, Kindlon unloaded:
"I think anyone's phone may be tapped."
"This administration is acting lawlessly."
"They don't give a damn about the Constitution."
"Every time I hear George Bush speak, I think someone should really read that guy his Miranda rights."
QUOTE(Livyjr @ Feb 20 2006 @ 06:50 PM)
"Shaky case keeps imam stuck in jail"
Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Tuesday, February 14, 2006
On Friday, the Albany imam facing terrorism and money laundering charges stemming from a phony missile launcher sting operation in 2003 again was denied bail by U.S. Magistrate David Homer.
So it was back to the Rensselaer County jail for the religious leader of an Albany mosque, Yassin Aref, 35, until the government can get its act and its case together.
Homer's bail denial is understandable, but barely, at this point.
Technically, this is a terrorism case.
But as terrorism cases go, this one is unusually shaky, along the lines of Vice President Dick Cheney's quail-shooting skills.
The government's sting operation was a clumsy affair that left us wondering if the accused was far more interested in making an illegal buck than he was in fomenting terrorist activity.
For 13 months, the imam was free on $250,000 bail, wearing a monitoring ankle bracelet.
At least he was able to work and support his young family.
As far as we have been told, the imam was a model bailee.
But bail was revoked five months ago because the government plopped down a superseding indictment that intimates the imam actually had documented connections to known terrorists.
Maybe.
Depending, no doubt, on translations that the government has blown before, and on what are to be considered "connections."
The imam's lawyers haven't seen any of this so-called damning evidence.
It's of a piece with the way this entire dismal case has progressed, more as a political sideshow than anything else.
At some point, this has to become about the rule of law, and actual illegalities, not concocted ones, and appropriate punishment for those illegalities.
The court, and the people of the region, have been patient, too patient.
It's time for the government to put up or shut up.
The federal prosecutor, William Pericak, in responding to the latest failed bail attempt, brushed aside claims of "Justice delayed is justice denied," by saying, "I think the case will be tried long before January" 2007.
I wonder.
In the meantime, what's wrong with the imam going back out on the street until that trial?
Law enforcement can effectively monitor his whereabouts, and save the taxpayers a ton of money in the process.
Also, the court can and should send out the appropriate message that the government's enormous power to accuse does not trump the individual's presumption of innocence.
Not unless there is compelling evidence otherwise.
So far, none is visible.
The joker in all this is that the imam may well turn out to be the victim of illegal wiretaps by the government anyway, which makes even the superseding indictment shaky.
This case was specifically cited as justification for the Bush administration's secret domestic electronic surveillance that has Washington deservedly in an uproar at the moment.
Next month, the imam has a scheduled hearing before Magistrate Homer on the potentially illegal wiretaps, and tossing the case out because of it.
An appropriate gambit, but probably fruitless.
There's no indication at this point that the furor over the wiretaps will be settled one way or the other by next month.
In fact, it may be years before that happens -- and the trial can be held.
Aref should not be penalized for such a delay.
Put two ankle bracelets on him if it makes the government feel more secure, but until there's a trial, let him walk.
Fred LeBrun can be reached at 454-5453 or by e-mail at flebrun@timesunion.com.
Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Tuesday, February 14, 2006
On Friday, the Albany imam facing terrorism and money laundering charges stemming from a phony missile launcher sting operation in 2003 again was denied bail by U.S. Magistrate David Homer.
So it was back to the Rensselaer County jail for the religious leader of an Albany mosque, Yassin Aref, 35, until the government can get its act and its case together.
Homer's bail denial is understandable, but barely, at this point.
Technically, this is a terrorism case.
But as terrorism cases go, this one is unusually shaky, along the lines of Vice President Dick Cheney's quail-shooting skills.
The government's sting operation was a clumsy affair that left us wondering if the accused was far more interested in making an illegal buck than he was in fomenting terrorist activity.
For 13 months, the imam was free on $250,000 bail, wearing a monitoring ankle bracelet.
At least he was able to work and support his young family.
As far as we have been told, the imam was a model bailee.
But bail was revoked five months ago because the government plopped down a superseding indictment that intimates the imam actually had documented connections to known terrorists.
Maybe.
Depending, no doubt, on translations that the government has blown before, and on what are to be considered "connections."
The imam's lawyers haven't seen any of this so-called damning evidence.
It's of a piece with the way this entire dismal case has progressed, more as a political sideshow than anything else.
At some point, this has to become about the rule of law, and actual illegalities, not concocted ones, and appropriate punishment for those illegalities.
The court, and the people of the region, have been patient, too patient.
It's time for the government to put up or shut up.
The federal prosecutor, William Pericak, in responding to the latest failed bail attempt, brushed aside claims of "Justice delayed is justice denied," by saying, "I think the case will be tried long before January" 2007.
I wonder.
In the meantime, what's wrong with the imam going back out on the street until that trial?
Law enforcement can effectively monitor his whereabouts, and save the taxpayers a ton of money in the process.
Also, the court can and should send out the appropriate message that the government's enormous power to accuse does not trump the individual's presumption of innocence.
Not unless there is compelling evidence otherwise.
So far, none is visible.
The joker in all this is that the imam may well turn out to be the victim of illegal wiretaps by the government anyway, which makes even the superseding indictment shaky.
This case was specifically cited as justification for the Bush administration's secret domestic electronic surveillance that has Washington deservedly in an uproar at the moment.
Next month, the imam has a scheduled hearing before Magistrate Homer on the potentially illegal wiretaps, and tossing the case out because of it.
An appropriate gambit, but probably fruitless.
There's no indication at this point that the furor over the wiretaps will be settled one way or the other by next month.
In fact, it may be years before that happens -- and the trial can be held.
Aref should not be penalized for such a delay.
Put two ankle bracelets on him if it makes the government feel more secure, but until there's a trial, let him walk.
Fred LeBrun can be reached at 454-5453 or by e-mail at flebrun@timesunion.com.
QUOTE(Livyjr @ Mar 12 2006 @ 06:20 PM)
And then, of course ....
There is GUMMINT SECRECY here in OUR America .....
Where pretty soon ....
We won't know nothing at all ...
Because it's a secret ...
So don't tell anyone ...
And they won't know either .....
EVEN IF THEY ARE A DEFENDANT IN A CRIMINAL TRIAL ...
Here in THEIR America ......
Which is to say ...
George W. Bush's warped and twisted version of OUR America ....
Which is no longer a NATION OF LAWS .....
But a nation of the whims and foibles and outright follies of George, instead .....
"Judge upholds terror counts - Federal jurist's sealed order denies mosque case defendants' request to dismiss indictment based on national spy program"
By BRENDAN LYONS, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Sunday, March 12, 2006
ALBANY - The secrecy enveloping an FBI counterterrorism case against two members of an Albany mosque continues, as a federal judge has issued a sealed order refusing to dismiss the indictment.
U.S. District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy handed down the order, which cannot be viewed by the public or defense attorneys, after reviewing a sealed motion filed by the Justice Department.
Defense attorneys Terence L. Kindlon and Kevin Luibrand, who hoped to win dismissal of the suit on the grounds it may have originated from a controversial national spying program, both said they were stunned at how the process unfolded.
Essentially, McAvoy based his decision Friday on a government motion that may never become public, although it's possible the decision will be appealed to the Second Circuit.
The attorneys had hoped their challenge of the government's case against Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain, who allegedly took part in a plot to sell missile launchers to terrorists, would force federal prosecutors, and the judge, to address a national debate unfolding about whether the National Security Agency violated any laws by eavesdropping on U.S. residents.
Kindlon, Aref's attorney, filed a nine-page motion in January asking for all evidence in the case to be thrown out, and for a dismissal of the indictment.
While defense lawyers have requested access to classified evidence for more than a year, the motion specifically targeted the NSA program.
Kindlon said the secrecy surrounding the government's motion and McAvoy's decision leads him to believe the program was used in this case.
In his motion, he argued:
"The government engaged in illegal electronic surveillance of thousands of U.S. persons, including Yassin Aref, then instigated a sting operation to attempt to entrap Mr. Aref into supporting a nonexistent terrorist plot, then dared to claim that the illegal NSA operation was justified because it was the only way to catch Mr. Aref."
The New York Civil Liberties Union has filed a motion trying to intervene in the case on the NSA issue, but it's not clear now whether the effort will be moot.
Kindlon filed his motion several days after The New York Times, citing anonymous sources, reported that the NSA spying program may have prompted the FBI to zero in on Aref and Hossain.
An analysis of the spying program by Harvard Law School Professor Laurence H. Tribe, a noted constitutional law scholar, called the NSA eavesdropping program "as grave an abuse of executive authority as I can recall ever having studied."
Through its sealed motion, Kindlon said, the government appeared to tacitly confirm Aref was targeted through information gleaned in the controversial spy program.
Federal authorities have acknowledged Aref was the "ultimate target" of their investigation, although they have not said why.
Two months before the sting was launched, Aref's name, phone number and Albany address were found in a notebook recovered from a bombed-out Iraqi encampment that the government contends was occupied by terrorists.
Prosecutors have laid out allegations tying Aref to top Middle East terrorist groups.
Aref has admitted he met people who the U.S. government has labeled terrorist figures, but he has denied being involved with their causes.
Officials have not made any similar charges against Hossain.
The NSA's surveillance program has relied on a secret directive President Bush issued more than three years ago, after the Sept. 11 attacks.
It allowed the agency to circumvent court-authorized wiretaps as it eavesdropped on phone calls and e-mails exchanged between U.S. residents and people abroad.
The Bush administration has defended the practice, contending it was a matter of national security, and legal, to sift through thousands of phone calls and e-mails without a warrant or court order.
The Albany-based sting began in July 2003 when an undercover FBI informant, a Pakistani Muslim immigrant, went to Hossain's pizza shop to lure the men into a plot to sell missile launchers to terrorists.
No trial date has been set.
Hossain is free on bond while Aref remains jailed without bond.
Brendan Lyons can be reached at 454-5547 or by e-mail at blyons@timesunion.com.
There is GUMMINT SECRECY here in OUR America .....
Where pretty soon ....
We won't know nothing at all ...
Because it's a secret ...
So don't tell anyone ...
And they won't know either .....
EVEN IF THEY ARE A DEFENDANT IN A CRIMINAL TRIAL ...
Here in THEIR America ......
Which is to say ...
George W. Bush's warped and twisted version of OUR America ....
Which is no longer a NATION OF LAWS .....
But a nation of the whims and foibles and outright follies of George, instead .....
"Judge upholds terror counts - Federal jurist's sealed order denies mosque case defendants' request to dismiss indictment based on national spy program"
By BRENDAN LYONS, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Sunday, March 12, 2006
ALBANY - The secrecy enveloping an FBI counterterrorism case against two members of an Albany mosque continues, as a federal judge has issued a sealed order refusing to dismiss the indictment.
U.S. District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy handed down the order, which cannot be viewed by the public or defense attorneys, after reviewing a sealed motion filed by the Justice Department.
Defense attorneys Terence L. Kindlon and Kevin Luibrand, who hoped to win dismissal of the suit on the grounds it may have originated from a controversial national spying program, both said they were stunned at how the process unfolded.
Essentially, McAvoy based his decision Friday on a government motion that may never become public, although it's possible the decision will be appealed to the Second Circuit.
The attorneys had hoped their challenge of the government's case against Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain, who allegedly took part in a plot to sell missile launchers to terrorists, would force federal prosecutors, and the judge, to address a national debate unfolding about whether the National Security Agency violated any laws by eavesdropping on U.S. residents.
Kindlon, Aref's attorney, filed a nine-page motion in January asking for all evidence in the case to be thrown out, and for a dismissal of the indictment.
While defense lawyers have requested access to classified evidence for more than a year, the motion specifically targeted the NSA program.
Kindlon said the secrecy surrounding the government's motion and McAvoy's decision leads him to believe the program was used in this case.
In his motion, he argued:
"The government engaged in illegal electronic surveillance of thousands of U.S. persons, including Yassin Aref, then instigated a sting operation to attempt to entrap Mr. Aref into supporting a nonexistent terrorist plot, then dared to claim that the illegal NSA operation was justified because it was the only way to catch Mr. Aref."
The New York Civil Liberties Union has filed a motion trying to intervene in the case on the NSA issue, but it's not clear now whether the effort will be moot.
Kindlon filed his motion several days after The New York Times, citing anonymous sources, reported that the NSA spying program may have prompted the FBI to zero in on Aref and Hossain.
An analysis of the spying program by Harvard Law School Professor Laurence H. Tribe, a noted constitutional law scholar, called the NSA eavesdropping program "as grave an abuse of executive authority as I can recall ever having studied."
Through its sealed motion, Kindlon said, the government appeared to tacitly confirm Aref was targeted through information gleaned in the controversial spy program.
Federal authorities have acknowledged Aref was the "ultimate target" of their investigation, although they have not said why.
Two months before the sting was launched, Aref's name, phone number and Albany address were found in a notebook recovered from a bombed-out Iraqi encampment that the government contends was occupied by terrorists.
Prosecutors have laid out allegations tying Aref to top Middle East terrorist groups.
Aref has admitted he met people who the U.S. government has labeled terrorist figures, but he has denied being involved with their causes.
Officials have not made any similar charges against Hossain.
The NSA's surveillance program has relied on a secret directive President Bush issued more than three years ago, after the Sept. 11 attacks.
It allowed the agency to circumvent court-authorized wiretaps as it eavesdropped on phone calls and e-mails exchanged between U.S. residents and people abroad.
The Bush administration has defended the practice, contending it was a matter of national security, and legal, to sift through thousands of phone calls and e-mails without a warrant or court order.
The Albany-based sting began in July 2003 when an undercover FBI informant, a Pakistani Muslim immigrant, went to Hossain's pizza shop to lure the men into a plot to sell missile launchers to terrorists.
No trial date has been set.
Hossain is free on bond while Aref remains jailed without bond.
Brendan Lyons can be reached at 454-5547 or by e-mail at blyons@timesunion.com.
QUOTE(Livyjr @ Apr 15 2006 @ 04:59 PM)
And then ...
There is the PATAKI STING .....
"Terror sting tapes sought - Lawyer for Yassin Aref asks for release of any calls as Sept. 6 trial date set for mosque leader and Mohammed Hossain"
By BRENDAN LYONS, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Saturday, April 15, 2006
ALBANY -- An attorney for an Albany mosque leader has asked the government to turn over any tape recordings of calls that his client allegedly made to a Syrian phone number the Justice Department claims was used to gather intelligence for Osama bin Laden.
Terence L. Kindlon, who is the attorney for Yassin Aref, a Kurdish refugee and the jailed spiritual leader of a Central Avenue mosque, is challenging the Justice Department's assertions that Aref aided terrorists when he called the Syrian number between 1999 and 2001.
"Yassin Aref assures me that those 13 calls, which the government is apparently claiming connect him to a terrorist organization, Ansar al Islam ... (were) personal in nature and do not in any way connect him to any alleged terrorist activity," Kindlon wrote in a letter this week to U.S. District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy.
The request, which is intended to force the government to disclose whether it secretly recorded Aref's telephone calls, was filed as McAvoy set a September trial date for Aref and another mosque member, Mohammed Hossain, who were indicted two years ago in connection with an FBI counterterrorism sting.
"The court has set a trial date of Sept. 6 and the government looks forward to putting on its proof," said Assistant U.S. Attorney William Pericak.
But pending challenges by defense attorneys, who are seeking access to classified government records involving their clients, could delay the start of the trial several months.
Last month, the defense attorneys asked the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan to intervene.
Their formal request seeks to undo the Justice Department's efforts to keep secret whether the National Security Agency eavesdropped on the e-mails or telephone calls of Aref and Hossain and whether the spying may have triggered the sting investigation.
It was the first challenge of the controversial NSA program in a federal appeals court, but it's not certain the circuit court will agree to hear the case.
If the NSA program triggered the sting, both Kindlon and Hossain's attorney, Kevin Luibrand, said they hope to have the indictment against their clients thrown out on the grounds it was the "poisonous fruit" of an unlawful wiretap.
But aside from the fight for that information in the appellate court, Kindlon's request this week is geared toward forcing the court to again address the NSA issue.
This time, Kindlon argues that any tape recordings should be disclosed because they could potentially exonerate his client in terms of any connections to terrorist figures.
His request was based on classified documents unsealed on March 21 that the Justice Department said show that Aref was linked to terrorist figures because he called a phone number linked to al-Qaida.
There was no information outlining what was discussed in the calls, though, and most of the FBI report was blacked out before being released.
The report claims an informant told the FBI that during October 2001 he was approached by someone soliciting intelligence about "flight training schools, access to airports in (redacted)" and information about "how close the individual could get to an aircraft."
The informant said he was instructed that any information could be distributed to "brothers" through two phone numbers in Damascus, Syria.
The report does not say anything about Aref.
But one of the numbers that the FBI believes was linked to terrorism was called repeatedly by Aref from his Albany home, according to federal authorities.
Kindlon said the information is meaningless because the number was at the headquarters for Islamic Movement for Kurdistan, a political organization which had an office in Damascus where Aref had worked after fleeing Iraq.
Aref called IMK because he had made many friends there, Kindlon added.
Aref and Hossain were arrested in August 2004 and accused of taking part in a plot to sell missile launchers to terrorists.
So far, defense attorneys in this and other terror-related cases have been thwarted in their attempts to learn whether the NSA program was used against their clients.
U.S. government officials have refused to publicly disclose the controversial program's use in any specific case.
The NSA's surveillance program has relied on a secret directive President Bush issued more than three years ago, after the Sept. 11 attacks.
It allowed the agency to circumvent court-authorized wiretaps as it eavesdropped on phone calls and e-mails exchanged between U.S. residents and people abroad.
The Bush administration has defended the practice, contending it was a matter of national security, and legal, to sift through thousands of phone calls and e-mails without a warrant or court order.
In January, The New York Times, citing anonymous sources, first reported that the NSA spying program may have prompted the FBI to zero in on Aref and Hossain.
Federal authorities have acknowledged Aref, a Kurdish refugee and religious scholar, was the "ultimate target" of their investigation, although they have not said why.
Aref has admitted he met people who the U.S. government has labeled terrorist figures, but he has denied being involved with their causes.
Officials have not made any similar charges against Hossain.
Hossain is free on bond while Aref remains jailed without bond pending trial.
Brendan Lyons can be reached at 454-5547 or by e-mail at blyons@timesunion.com.
There is the PATAKI STING .....
"Terror sting tapes sought - Lawyer for Yassin Aref asks for release of any calls as Sept. 6 trial date set for mosque leader and Mohammed Hossain"
By BRENDAN LYONS, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Saturday, April 15, 2006
ALBANY -- An attorney for an Albany mosque leader has asked the government to turn over any tape recordings of calls that his client allegedly made to a Syrian phone number the Justice Department claims was used to gather intelligence for Osama bin Laden.
Terence L. Kindlon, who is the attorney for Yassin Aref, a Kurdish refugee and the jailed spiritual leader of a Central Avenue mosque, is challenging the Justice Department's assertions that Aref aided terrorists when he called the Syrian number between 1999 and 2001.
"Yassin Aref assures me that those 13 calls, which the government is apparently claiming connect him to a terrorist organization, Ansar al Islam ... (were) personal in nature and do not in any way connect him to any alleged terrorist activity," Kindlon wrote in a letter this week to U.S. District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy.
The request, which is intended to force the government to disclose whether it secretly recorded Aref's telephone calls, was filed as McAvoy set a September trial date for Aref and another mosque member, Mohammed Hossain, who were indicted two years ago in connection with an FBI counterterrorism sting.
"The court has set a trial date of Sept. 6 and the government looks forward to putting on its proof," said Assistant U.S. Attorney William Pericak.
But pending challenges by defense attorneys, who are seeking access to classified government records involving their clients, could delay the start of the trial several months.
Last month, the defense attorneys asked the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan to intervene.
Their formal request seeks to undo the Justice Department's efforts to keep secret whether the National Security Agency eavesdropped on the e-mails or telephone calls of Aref and Hossain and whether the spying may have triggered the sting investigation.
It was the first challenge of the controversial NSA program in a federal appeals court, but it's not certain the circuit court will agree to hear the case.
If the NSA program triggered the sting, both Kindlon and Hossain's attorney, Kevin Luibrand, said they hope to have the indictment against their clients thrown out on the grounds it was the "poisonous fruit" of an unlawful wiretap.
But aside from the fight for that information in the appellate court, Kindlon's request this week is geared toward forcing the court to again address the NSA issue.
This time, Kindlon argues that any tape recordings should be disclosed because they could potentially exonerate his client in terms of any connections to terrorist figures.
His request was based on classified documents unsealed on March 21 that the Justice Department said show that Aref was linked to terrorist figures because he called a phone number linked to al-Qaida.
There was no information outlining what was discussed in the calls, though, and most of the FBI report was blacked out before being released.
The report claims an informant told the FBI that during October 2001 he was approached by someone soliciting intelligence about "flight training schools, access to airports in (redacted)" and information about "how close the individual could get to an aircraft."
The informant said he was instructed that any information could be distributed to "brothers" through two phone numbers in Damascus, Syria.
The report does not say anything about Aref.
But one of the numbers that the FBI believes was linked to terrorism was called repeatedly by Aref from his Albany home, according to federal authorities.
Kindlon said the information is meaningless because the number was at the headquarters for Islamic Movement for Kurdistan, a political organization which had an office in Damascus where Aref had worked after fleeing Iraq.
Aref called IMK because he had made many friends there, Kindlon added.
Aref and Hossain were arrested in August 2004 and accused of taking part in a plot to sell missile launchers to terrorists.
So far, defense attorneys in this and other terror-related cases have been thwarted in their attempts to learn whether the NSA program was used against their clients.
U.S. government officials have refused to publicly disclose the controversial program's use in any specific case.
The NSA's surveillance program has relied on a secret directive President Bush issued more than three years ago, after the Sept. 11 attacks.
It allowed the agency to circumvent court-authorized wiretaps as it eavesdropped on phone calls and e-mails exchanged between U.S. residents and people abroad.
The Bush administration has defended the practice, contending it was a matter of national security, and legal, to sift through thousands of phone calls and e-mails without a warrant or court order.
In January, The New York Times, citing anonymous sources, first reported that the NSA spying program may have prompted the FBI to zero in on Aref and Hossain.
Federal authorities have acknowledged Aref, a Kurdish refugee and religious scholar, was the "ultimate target" of their investigation, although they have not said why.
Aref has admitted he met people who the U.S. government has labeled terrorist figures, but he has denied being involved with their causes.
Officials have not made any similar charges against Hossain.
Hossain is free on bond while Aref remains jailed without bond pending trial.
Brendan Lyons can be reached at 454-5547 or by e-mail at blyons@timesunion.com.
QUOTE(Livyjr @ Apr 27 2006 @ 05:53 PM)
And here is something else that needs to be said ...
As well ....
And so .....
"Parallels of inequity in terror cases"
Fred LeBrun, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Tuesday, April 25, 2006
For the second time, government prosecutors have had to significantly back down on claims against the accused in local terrorism cases.
First it was the sting involving the still-to-be-tried imam of an Albany mosque.
A critical word in an incriminating document that the federal government took to the grand jury as "commander" turned out to be "brother."
That revelation certainly deflated the U.S. attorney's case against Kurdish refugee Yassin Aref as far as the public was concerned.
Now, what yet another grand jury was told were high crimes by a Chinese immigrant living in Guilderland turn out to be the equivalent of jaywalking thanks to a screw-up by the State Department.
Jun Wang, a microbiologist at Wadsworth Laboratories of the state Health Department, was accused of mailing sensitive guidance systems back to China, ostensibly for the military.
But then we learned the same guidance systems are legally sold in China, as they are all over the world, and Wang's only impropriety was a procedural one of not filling out proper export papers.
Meanwhile, Wang -- who was hired at the Health Department through a contractor -- spent a month in jail.
He was fired from his job because the contractor got skittish from the publicity, according to Wang's attorney, Kevin Luibrand.
And Wang is threatened with deportation.
So sorry we erred and ruined your life, Mr. Wang.
What inevitably happens to cases like these two, which get big media buildups but turn out to be molehills, is that the accused pay a big price whether they are guilty or not.
All to salve the ego and arrogance of our Justice Department, which wouldn't think of walking away in the interests of justice.
It's the "where there's smoke, there's fire" prosecutorial strategy.
OK, so there was no fire, but we think we smell smoke, so let them pay for the fire anyway.
In this instance, Wang is still confined to his home, having posted $250,000 bail, all because the government hasn't been able to track every one of those guidance systems to the university Wang said they were going to.
You know what?
So what.
If these guidance systems are on the open market and anybody can buy them, there's no point to tracking them all down.
It's not as if Wang was trying to hide any of the transactions, which should have been a tip-off to the feds.
The money from China was wired directly to Wang's SEFCU credit union account, and he sent electronics back to his brother by snail mail.
Now the government is combing through Wang's tax returns to see if he declared the transactions.
This is beyond ridiculous.
If there was no crime, then hounding Wang amounts to malicious prosecution, regardless of the 9/11 embargo of our civil rights by the Bush administration.
Granted, in the cases of both Aref and Wang we do not know, and are unlikely to ever know with certitude, what is in their hearts, what their true motivations were.
With Aref, the evidence strongly points to making a buck.
With Wang, we just don't know.
Fair is fair.
The same can be said for not knowing what is in the hearts of the prosecutors.
Sad to say, their motivations are proving to be even murkier than those of the two men they are prosecuting.
As well ....
And so .....
"Parallels of inequity in terror cases"
Fred LeBrun, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Tuesday, April 25, 2006
For the second time, government prosecutors have had to significantly back down on claims against the accused in local terrorism cases.
First it was the sting involving the still-to-be-tried imam of an Albany mosque.
A critical word in an incriminating document that the federal government took to the grand jury as "commander" turned out to be "brother."
That revelation certainly deflated the U.S. attorney's case against Kurdish refugee Yassin Aref as far as the public was concerned.
Now, what yet another grand jury was told were high crimes by a Chinese immigrant living in Guilderland turn out to be the equivalent of jaywalking thanks to a screw-up by the State Department.
Jun Wang, a microbiologist at Wadsworth Laboratories of the state Health Department, was accused of mailing sensitive guidance systems back to China, ostensibly for the military.
But then we learned the same guidance systems are legally sold in China, as they are all over the world, and Wang's only impropriety was a procedural one of not filling out proper export papers.
Meanwhile, Wang -- who was hired at the Health Department through a contractor -- spent a month in jail.
He was fired from his job because the contractor got skittish from the publicity, according to Wang's attorney, Kevin Luibrand.
And Wang is threatened with deportation.
So sorry we erred and ruined your life, Mr. Wang.
What inevitably happens to cases like these two, which get big media buildups but turn out to be molehills, is that the accused pay a big price whether they are guilty or not.
All to salve the ego and arrogance of our Justice Department, which wouldn't think of walking away in the interests of justice.
It's the "where there's smoke, there's fire" prosecutorial strategy.
OK, so there was no fire, but we think we smell smoke, so let them pay for the fire anyway.
In this instance, Wang is still confined to his home, having posted $250,000 bail, all because the government hasn't been able to track every one of those guidance systems to the university Wang said they were going to.
You know what?
So what.
If these guidance systems are on the open market and anybody can buy them, there's no point to tracking them all down.
It's not as if Wang was trying to hide any of the transactions, which should have been a tip-off to the feds.
The money from China was wired directly to Wang's SEFCU credit union account, and he sent electronics back to his brother by snail mail.
Now the government is combing through Wang's tax returns to see if he declared the transactions.
This is beyond ridiculous.
If there was no crime, then hounding Wang amounts to malicious prosecution, regardless of the 9/11 embargo of our civil rights by the Bush administration.
Granted, in the cases of both Aref and Wang we do not know, and are unlikely to ever know with certitude, what is in their hearts, what their true motivations were.
With Aref, the evidence strongly points to making a buck.
With Wang, we just don't know.
Fair is fair.
The same can be said for not knowing what is in the hearts of the prosecutors.
Sad to say, their motivations are proving to be even murkier than those of the two men they are prosecuting.
As this Pataki Sting case continues along ...
It just seems to get weirder .....
And weirder ....
And still weirder, yet .....
And as one of the opinion pieces above says .....
It really is up the THE PEOPLE up here .....
Those who would be the jurors in this case .....
Which could be people just like you ...
Or me ....
To really be attentive .....
To just what has been going on here ....
Starting with this Pakistani dude .....
Who is not an American citizen ...
Or at least he was not back when he was arrested here in the State of New York .....
For scamming people .....
In a Motor Vehicles scam .....
Involving New York State driver's licenses .....
Which should have gotten his sorry *** deported ....
BUT INSTEAD ....
All of a sudden ....
He is now an FBI AGENT ....
And by scamming these two Pataki Sting suspects ....
This Pakistani ....
IS GOING TO BECOME AN AMERICAN ....
JUST LIKE YOU AND ME .....
EXCEPT HE IS GETTING TO BE ONE ...
BY HAVING A CRIMINAL RECORD .....
WHICH SOMEHOW GOES AGAINST OUR AMERICAN VALUES ...
AT LEAST AS THEY USED TO BE .....
BEFORE GEORGE W. BUSH ...
AND HIS CROWD ...
TURNED OUR LAWS ....
AND OUR CONSTITUTION ....
ON THEIR EARS ....
And so ....
And while that bit of BUSHIAN HOCUS-POCUS ....
Known as the PATAKI STING .....
Is playing itself out .....
Up here in the federal District Court ....
For the Northern District of New York ....
Where the American concept ....
Of JUSTICE FOR ALL .....
Is turning into a real mockery ....
Let's take a jump over ...
To some of the other BUSHIAN HOCUS-POCUS .....
Which is plaguing OUR world ....
And our future .....
As a democratic REPUBLIC ....
And so ....
WHAT ELSE, OF COURSE .....
But scads more violence ....
Over there in George W. Bush's possession ....
Of Iraq ....
Despite the assurances .....
Of George ....
And Dick Cheney .....
That this on-going mess ....
Is somehow in OUR national interest .....
And is somehow making us "safer" ....
As a nation ...
Although they can never say how that is ....
And so ....
"Violence sweeps Iraq; more than 50 dead"
By ELENA BECATOROS, Associated Press
Last updated: 5:26 p.m., Sunday, August 27, 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A wave of bomb attacks and shootings swept Iraq Sunday, killing dozens of people despite a massive security operation in the capital and appeals from Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for an end to sectarian fighting.
Al-Maliki insisted that his government was making progress in combatting attacks by insurgents and sectarian clashes between Shiites and Sunnis.
"We're not in a civil war."
"Iraq will never be in a civil war," he said through an interpreter on CNN's Late Edition.
"The violence is in decrease and our security ability is increasing."
Asked about U.S. allegations that Iran is supporting Iraqi groups involved in sectarian violence, al-Maliki said the reports were being investigated.
He said Iraqi authorities were in contact with Iran in order to determine the veracity of the information "and to prevent this interference."
The Shiite prime minister dodged a series of questions about Iraqi support for Hezbollah and whether his government had any intention of recognizing Israel.
"This issue is not on the table at this point," al-Maliki said of diplomatic relations with the Jewish state, adding that the issue of Israel should be handled by "international laws."
Across Iraq, Sunday's attacks left more than 50 people dead.
A group of assailants in three cars raked an open-air night market with gunfire, killing at least 12 people and wounding 25 others, police said.
The gunmen fired indiscriminately at throngs of people at the main market of Khalis, a mostly Shiite town 50 miles north of Baghdad, Diyala provincial police said.
Earlier in the day, another six people were killed and 14 wounded when a bomb exploded on the outskirts of the town.
The U.S. military command said two U.S. soldiers were killed -- one by small-arms fire in eastern Baghdad Sunday afternoon, and the other on Saturday night when his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb southeast of the capital.
A U.S. official also said a U.S. armored vehicle was attacked on Sunday outside Tarmiyah, 30 miles north of Baghdad, "resulting in casualties."
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the U.S. military command had not yet issued a statement on the incident, could not give details on the number of casualties or their condition.
In downtown Baghdad, a bomb in a minibus exploded outside the Palestine Hotel, killing nine people and wounding 16, while a car bomb outside the offices of a government-run newspaper left three dead and at least 29 wounded, police and witnesses said.
Two back-to-back suicide car bombings in the northern city of Kirkuk killed nine people and wounded 22, hours another suicide car bomb killed one person and wounded 16.
In Basra, Iraq's second largest city, 340 miles southeast of Baghdad, a motorcycle bomb at a night market killed four people and wounded 15, the governor's office said.
Drive-by shootings also killed two people in Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad; one in Numaniyah, a town near Kut, 100 miles southeast of the capital; and another three -- believed to be the bodyguards of a member of parliament -- in Dujail, 50 miles north of the capital, police in both cities said.
In Mahmoudiya, about 20 miles south of Baghdad, police found the bodies of eight people in various parts of the city, Capt. Rasheed Al-Samerayi of Mahmoudiyah police said.
All had been handcuffed and blindfolded, he said.
The U.S. military command said Iraqi and coalition forces were expanding a security operation in the capital that aims to crack down on violence neighborhood by neighborhood.
Security forces were to cordon off and search all the buildings in the Sunni district of Azamiyah in north Baghdad, the command said in a statement.
Since Aug. 7, about 12,000 additional U.S. and Iraqi troops have been brought into the capital as part of the security effort, dubbed "Operation Together Forward," and have covered four of the most problematic capital neighborhoods.
The security sweep has already "resulted in a 36 percent reduction of murders across the city of Baghdad," said Maj. Gen. James D. Thurman, commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad.
British Ambassador to Iraq Dominic Asquith said that, while sectarian violence persisted, it had not reached the level of civil war.
"There is no question there is sectarian violence going on, inspired by people who are determined to fan the flames of sectarian violence," Asquith told reporters.
"That sectarian violence is very focused on Baghdad."
"And you know well that there are large areas of Iraq that are not affected by that sectarian violence."
"I've spent some of my time in Lebanon in earlier years and this does not look to me like civil war," he said.
On Saturday, the prime minister appealed to Iraqis to support his national reconciliation plan to end the bloodshed.
But the persistent killings showed that is still a distant goal, even though it was endorsed by hundreds of tribal chiefs at a conference on Saturday who signed a "pact of honor" to support the prime minister's effort.
------
Associated Press writers Yahya Barzanji, Vijay Joshi and Patrick Quinn contributed to this report from Baghdad.
Known as the PATAKI STING .....
Is playing itself out .....
Up here in the federal District Court ....
For the Northern District of New York ....
Where the American concept ....
Of JUSTICE FOR ALL .....
Is turning into a real mockery ....
Let's take a jump over ...
To some of the other BUSHIAN HOCUS-POCUS .....
Which is plaguing OUR world ....
And our future .....
As a democratic REPUBLIC ....
And so ....
WHAT ELSE, OF COURSE .....
But scads more violence ....
Over there in George W. Bush's possession ....
Of Iraq ....
Despite the assurances .....
Of George ....
And Dick Cheney .....
That this on-going mess ....
Is somehow in OUR national interest .....
And is somehow making us "safer" ....
As a nation ...
Although they can never say how that is ....
And so ....
"Violence sweeps Iraq; more than 50 dead"
By ELENA BECATOROS, Associated Press
Last updated: 5:26 p.m., Sunday, August 27, 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A wave of bomb attacks and shootings swept Iraq Sunday, killing dozens of people despite a massive security operation in the capital and appeals from Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for an end to sectarian fighting.
Al-Maliki insisted that his government was making progress in combatting attacks by insurgents and sectarian clashes between Shiites and Sunnis.
"We're not in a civil war."
"Iraq will never be in a civil war," he said through an interpreter on CNN's Late Edition.
"The violence is in decrease and our security ability is increasing."
Asked about U.S. allegations that Iran is supporting Iraqi groups involved in sectarian violence, al-Maliki said the reports were being investigated.
He said Iraqi authorities were in contact with Iran in order to determine the veracity of the information "and to prevent this interference."
The Shiite prime minister dodged a series of questions about Iraqi support for Hezbollah and whether his government had any intention of recognizing Israel.
"This issue is not on the table at this point," al-Maliki said of diplomatic relations with the Jewish state, adding that the issue of Israel should be handled by "international laws."
Across Iraq, Sunday's attacks left more than 50 people dead.
A group of assailants in three cars raked an open-air night market with gunfire, killing at least 12 people and wounding 25 others, police said.
The gunmen fired indiscriminately at throngs of people at the main market of Khalis, a mostly Shiite town 50 miles north of Baghdad, Diyala provincial police said.
Earlier in the day, another six people were killed and 14 wounded when a bomb exploded on the outskirts of the town.
The U.S. military command said two U.S. soldiers were killed -- one by small-arms fire in eastern Baghdad Sunday afternoon, and the other on Saturday night when his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb southeast of the capital.
A U.S. official also said a U.S. armored vehicle was attacked on Sunday outside Tarmiyah, 30 miles north of Baghdad, "resulting in casualties."
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the U.S. military command had not yet issued a statement on the incident, could not give details on the number of casualties or their condition.
In downtown Baghdad, a bomb in a minibus exploded outside the Palestine Hotel, killing nine people and wounding 16, while a car bomb outside the offices of a government-run newspaper left three dead and at least 29 wounded, police and witnesses said.
Two back-to-back suicide car bombings in the northern city of Kirkuk killed nine people and wounded 22, hours another suicide car bomb killed one person and wounded 16.
In Basra, Iraq's second largest city, 340 miles southeast of Baghdad, a motorcycle bomb at a night market killed four people and wounded 15, the governor's office said.
Drive-by shootings also killed two people in Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad; one in Numaniyah, a town near Kut, 100 miles southeast of the capital; and another three -- believed to be the bodyguards of a member of parliament -- in Dujail, 50 miles north of the capital, police in both cities said.
In Mahmoudiya, about 20 miles south of Baghdad, police found the bodies of eight people in various parts of the city, Capt. Rasheed Al-Samerayi of Mahmoudiyah police said.
All had been handcuffed and blindfolded, he said.
The U.S. military command said Iraqi and coalition forces were expanding a security operation in the capital that aims to crack down on violence neighborhood by neighborhood.
Security forces were to cordon off and search all the buildings in the Sunni district of Azamiyah in north Baghdad, the command said in a statement.
Since Aug. 7, about 12,000 additional U.S. and Iraqi troops have been brought into the capital as part of the security effort, dubbed "Operation Together Forward," and have covered four of the most problematic capital neighborhoods.
The security sweep has already "resulted in a 36 percent reduction of murders across the city of Baghdad," said Maj. Gen. James D. Thurman, commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad.
British Ambassador to Iraq Dominic Asquith said that, while sectarian violence persisted, it had not reached the level of civil war.
"There is no question there is sectarian violence going on, inspired by people who are determined to fan the flames of sectarian violence," Asquith told reporters.
"That sectarian violence is very focused on Baghdad."
"And you know well that there are large areas of Iraq that are not affected by that sectarian violence."
"I've spent some of my time in Lebanon in earlier years and this does not look to me like civil war," he said.
On Saturday, the prime minister appealed to Iraqis to support his national reconciliation plan to end the bloodshed.
But the persistent killings showed that is still a distant goal, even though it was endorsed by hundreds of tribal chiefs at a conference on Saturday who signed a "pact of honor" to support the prime minister's effort.
------
Associated Press writers Yahya Barzanji, Vijay Joshi and Patrick Quinn contributed to this report from Baghdad.
And while we are on the subject .....
Of rampant and blatant BUSHIAN HOCUS-POCUS .....
In OUR America today ....
We have .....
"Hearings delayed for Marines in Calif."
Associated Press
Last updated: 8:45 p.m., Saturday, August 26, 2006
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Pretrial hearings for two Marines accused of kidnapping and murder have been delayed, a military official said Saturday.
Cpls. Marshall L. Magincalda and Trent D. Thomas were originally due to appear in court Monday, but their attorneys asked for more time, said Camp Pendleton spokesman Lt. Col. Sean Gibson.
Magincalda is now set to appear Wednesday, and Thomas's hearing has been pushed back until October, Gibson said.
Another Marine, Pfc. John J. Jodka III, is also set to appear at a hearing Wednesday.
The men are among seven Marines and one Navy corpsman accused of kidnapping and murdering an Iraqi civilian in the town of Hamdania last spring.
All are in the brig at Camp Pendleton and could face the death penalty.
Thomas also is charged with assaulting an Iraqi civilian in an unrelated incident April 10.
The hearings form a key part of an Article 32 investigation, where an officer determines if there is probable cause to bring a defendant to trial.
The delay is the latest in a string of changes to the hearing dates, and further postponements are possible.
Jane Siegel, an attorney for Jodka, said his defense team might request a continuance.
Investigators say the seven Marines and one sailor went into Hamdania, took a man from his home, tied him up, put him in a hole and shot him without provocation.
Through their lawyers and families, the men have denied any wrongdoing.
Of rampant and blatant BUSHIAN HOCUS-POCUS .....
In OUR America today ....
We have .....
"Hearings delayed for Marines in Calif."
Associated Press
Last updated: 8:45 p.m., Saturday, August 26, 2006
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Pretrial hearings for two Marines accused of kidnapping and murder have been delayed, a military official said Saturday.
Cpls. Marshall L. Magincalda and Trent D. Thomas were originally due to appear in court Monday, but their attorneys asked for more time, said Camp Pendleton spokesman Lt. Col. Sean Gibson.
Magincalda is now set to appear Wednesday, and Thomas's hearing has been pushed back until October, Gibson said.
Another Marine, Pfc. John J. Jodka III, is also set to appear at a hearing Wednesday.
The men are among seven Marines and one Navy corpsman accused of kidnapping and murdering an Iraqi civilian in the town of Hamdania last spring.
All are in the brig at Camp Pendleton and could face the death penalty.
Thomas also is charged with assaulting an Iraqi civilian in an unrelated incident April 10.
The hearings form a key part of an Article 32 investigation, where an officer determines if there is probable cause to bring a defendant to trial.
The delay is the latest in a string of changes to the hearing dates, and further postponements are possible.
Jane Siegel, an attorney for Jodka, said his defense team might request a continuance.
Investigators say the seven Marines and one sailor went into Hamdania, took a man from his home, tied him up, put him in a hole and shot him without provocation.
Through their lawyers and families, the men have denied any wrongdoing.
QUOTE(Livyjr @ Aug 27 2006, 05:10 PM)
And while we are on the subject .....
Of rampant and blatant BUSHIAN HOCUS-POCUS .....
In OUR America today ....
We have .....
Of rampant and blatant BUSHIAN HOCUS-POCUS .....
In OUR America today ....
We have .....
"Guilty plea in kickback scheme"
Associated Press
Last updated: 7:55 p.m., Friday, August 25, 2006
WASHINGTON -- A former U.S. Army Reserve officer admitted Friday that he steered millions of dollars in Iraq-reconstruction contracts in exchange for jewelry, computers, cigars and sexual favors.
Bruce D. Hopfengardner, 46, of Fredericksburg, Va., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud.
Hopfengardner served as a special adviser to the U.S.-led occupation forces, recommending funding for projects on law enforcement facilities in Iraq.
He admitted conspiring with Philip H. Bloom, a U.S. citizen with businesses in Romania, Robert J. Stein Jr., a former Defense Department contract official, and others to create a corrupt bidding process that included the theft of $2 million in reconstruction money.
Hopfengardner is the first military officer to plead guilty in the conspiracy.
Bloom and Stein already have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the scheme.
Hopfengardner's role was to recommend that the Coalition Provisional Authority fund projects to demolish the Ba'ath Party headquarters, rebuild a police academy and construct various other facilities.
Bloom, who controlled companies in Iraq and Romania, bid on projects using dummy corporations and Stein ensured that one of the firms was awarded the contract, according to court documents.
The businessman allegedly showered Hopfengardner and Stein with cash, cars, premium airline seats, jewelry, alcohol and even sexual favors from women at his Baghdad villa.
"A Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army today admits to a disturbing abuse of his position, in scheming with others to defraud the government for their own personal and financial gain," Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher said in a prepared statement.
Court papers said Hopfengardner demanded that Bloom pay for a white 2004 GMC Yukon Denali with a sandstone interior.
At Hopfengardner's request, Bloom also allegedly paid the air fare for Hopfengardner and his wife to travel from San Francisco to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., while he was on leave in January 2004.
E-mails that prosecutors made public in April show that Bloom told his employees to spare no expense in satisfying the officials who controlled contracts in the CPA's regional office in Hillah, about 50 miles south of Baghdad.
As part of the plea agreement, Hopfengardner surrendered a car, a Harley Davidson motorcycle, camera equipment, a Breitling watch valued at $5,700 and a computer.
He also agreed to forfeit $144,500, prosecutors said.
end quotes
Hey .....
As the BUSHCOS say .....
If it feels good .....
Well ...
Go ahead and do it .....
After all .....
Everyone else is ....
And so ....
Somehow .....
It seems that going after just one BUSHCO ....
For corruption ...
Is like singling out just one driver .....
At the Indianapolis 500 ....
For a speeding ticket .....
For driving fast .....
And so ...
And then ....
There is what MOTHER NATURE .....
Might be dishing out to us ....
And so ...
I've been wondering what happened .....
To all the hurricanes .....
That we have been supposed to get this year ....
And here we go ....
Well .....
Maybe, anyway .....
And so ...
"Bush declares state of emergency in Fla."
By JESSICA GRESKO, Associated Press
Last updated: 7:16 p.m., Sunday, August 27, 2006
KEY WEST, Fla. -- A hurricane watch was issued Sunday for the Florida Keys and Gov. Jeb Bush ordered a state of emergency in anticipation of Tropical Storm Ernesto.
Ernesto, which had strengthened into a hurricane for about 10 hours, weakened back into a tropical storm by late afternoon with top sustained winds of 60 mph, the National Hurricane Center said.
Still, the Miami-based hurricane center said the storm could reclaim its hurricane status before reaching the southeastern coast of Cuba on Monday morning.
"It certainly looks like it's going to impact a significant portion of Florida before it's all over," said Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center.
Florida has been hit by eight hurricanes in the past two years.
Officials in the Keys told tourists to postpone any immediate plans to travel there and ordered those already in the island chain to leave.
All travel trailers and recreational vehicles were ordered off the islands immediately.
Residents were taking notice too: a Home Depot store in Key West was busy Sunday afternoon as customers shopped for generators and other storm-preparation equipment.
"We put up the storm shutters today and we're hitting the grocery store tomorrow," said Ben Cassis, who, along with his father-in-law, spent nearly $2,500 for a powerful generator Sunday.
The state of emergency directs counties to open their emergency management offices and activates the National Guard, among other things.
Bush canceled a scheduled trip to New York on Monday, choosing to stay in Tallahassee and monitor storm developments.
Ernesto, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, lashed Haiti and the Dominican Republic on Sunday.
The storm was expected to arrive in southern Florida by early Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center said.
Tourists including Jim Rogers, of Lodi, N.J., made preparations Sunday to leave the low-lying Keys, which are connected to each other by just one highway, U.S. 1.
Traffic leaving the Keys on the single evacuation route was steady but not heavy Sunday afternoon.
Rogers was part of a group of eight visiting Key Largo and had planned to stay in the Keys until Thursday or Friday.
Rogers said the group now might go to Naples, but they were not going home.
"You don't know where to go."
"You don't know where it's going to blow," he said.
"You don't want to be in Key West."
------
Associated Press writer Phil Davis in Tampa contributed to this report.
There is what MOTHER NATURE .....
Might be dishing out to us ....
And so ...
I've been wondering what happened .....
To all the hurricanes .....
That we have been supposed to get this year ....
And here we go ....
Well .....
Maybe, anyway .....
And so ...
"Bush declares state of emergency in Fla."
By JESSICA GRESKO, Associated Press
Last updated: 7:16 p.m., Sunday, August 27, 2006
KEY WEST, Fla. -- A hurricane watch was issued Sunday for the Florida Keys and Gov. Jeb Bush ordered a state of emergency in anticipation of Tropical Storm Ernesto.
Ernesto, which had strengthened into a hurricane for about 10 hours, weakened back into a tropical storm by late afternoon with top sustained winds of 60 mph, the National Hurricane Center said.
Still, the Miami-based hurricane center said the storm could reclaim its hurricane status before reaching the southeastern coast of Cuba on Monday morning.
"It certainly looks like it's going to impact a significant portion of Florida before it's all over," said Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center.
Florida has been hit by eight hurricanes in the past two years.
Officials in the Keys told tourists to postpone any immediate plans to travel there and ordered those already in the island chain to leave.
All travel trailers and recreational vehicles were ordered off the islands immediately.
Residents were taking notice too: a Home Depot store in Key West was busy Sunday afternoon as customers shopped for generators and other storm-preparation equipment.
"We put up the storm shutters today and we're hitting the grocery store tomorrow," said Ben Cassis, who, along with his father-in-law, spent nearly $2,500 for a powerful generator Sunday.
The state of emergency directs counties to open their emergency management offices and activates the National Guard, among other things.
Bush canceled a scheduled trip to New York on Monday, choosing to stay in Tallahassee and monitor storm developments.
Ernesto, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, lashed Haiti and the Dominican Republic on Sunday.
The storm was expected to arrive in southern Florida by early Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center said.
Tourists including Jim Rogers, of Lodi, N.J., made preparations Sunday to leave the low-lying Keys, which are connected to each other by just one highway, U.S. 1.
Traffic leaving the Keys on the single evacuation route was steady but not heavy Sunday afternoon.
Rogers was part of a group of eight visiting Key Largo and had planned to stay in the Keys until Thursday or Friday.
Rogers said the group now might go to Naples, but they were not going home.
"You don't know where to go."
"You don't know where it's going to blow," he said.
"You don't want to be in Key West."
------
Associated Press writer Phil Davis in Tampa contributed to this report.
"Of war and peace - History shows military victories can lay foundation for future strife and instability"
By ANDREW J. BACEVICH
First published: Sunday, August 27, 2006
In the wake of the war in southern Lebanon, claims of victory are legion.
Hardly had the shooting stopped than Sheik Hassan Nasrallah was asserting that Hezbollah had triumphed.
Others see Syria or Iran or even Shiite Islam as the big winner.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, seconded by President Bush, doggedly insists that Israel came out on top.
What are we to make of these competing claims?
What is victory anyway?
Ardently pursued, victory in the modern era has been remarkably elusive.
Genuine victory implies something more than military success; it must have a political dimension.
Even then, results often prove other than expected.
Understanding why requires that we appreciate the intimate relationship between war and politics.
"Victory" that defeats the enemy but leaves intact the issues giving rise to war in the first place is likely to prove hollow.
The ensuing "peace" is false; after a brief interval, hostilities are likely to resume.
World War I offers a classic illustration: At horrific cost, the Allies broke the German army, but did not break German ambition, which soon revived.
Worse, World War I served as a petri dish for political dysfunction in Eastern Europe, the Balkans and, especially, the Middle East.
The victory that in November 1918 appeared conclusive instead provided the incubus for future violence.
The 1945 Allied victory finally solved the German problem, crushing the hegemonic ambitions that had roiled European politics since the middle of the 19th century.
In this sense, victory produced something tangible.
Henceforth, Germany would be of Europe but would not rule Europe.
Americans like to think that victory in 1945 also solved the problem posed by Japan.
Did it?
Even today, as the controversial Yasukuni Shrine reminds us, many Japanese cling to a different understanding of the Pacific war's origins and justification.
As far as China and South Korea are concerned, victory in 1945 did not solve their Japan problem; that problem persists and is growing.
If East Asia becomes the locus of renewed great power competition between China and Japan, V-J Day will no longer look quite so decisive.
Military victory in 1945 as clear-cut as any in history emphatically did not produce peace.
Instead, it created the conditions for a new conflict, the Cold War, which began almost immediately.
Ambiguous shooting wars in places such as Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan ensued, as did a succession of conflicts in the Middle East.
In 1967, conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbors yielded what appeared to be a decidedly unambiguous outcome.
With the United States mired embarrassingly in Vietnam, here was plucky little Israel rolling up its enemies on three fronts.
But what did this exemplary battlefield success produce?
Apart from preserving the Jewish state from destruction as a considerable achievement the fruits of victory over Egypt, Jordan and Syria in the Six-Day War proved disappointing.
Beaten in battle, the Arabs were far from defeated politically.
A more dangerous conflict with Egypt ensued just six years later.
More tragically, victory-induced dreams of a Greater Israel served only to enlarge and aggravate Israel's Palestinian problem.
Out of the ugly, debilitating conflict that ensued came Hamas and Hezbollah.
Since 1967, Israel has won a thousand little fights, but victory that actually settles something remains a chimera.
The truth is that absent an Israeli willingness to engage in total war, as the Allies did against the Axis, the Palestinians will never submit and even then the Arabs would be unlikely to make peace.
When the Cold War finally ended in 1989, many in the West proclaimed it the greatest victory since 1945.
But it was a paradoxical victory: We did not defeat the enemy militarily, and yet the political issues underlying the Cold War had quietly vanished.
The Soviets gave up their empire and gave up promoting revolution.
We "won" without firing a shot.
Before Americans could contemplate the significance of this paradox, yet another shooting war intruded: Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in August 1990.
The Persian Gulf War produced a seemingly stupendous military victory for the U.S.-led coalition.
But events soon showed this to be an illusion.
Saddam survived, so the underlying political problem remained.
Americans celebrated their glitzy "Hundred-Hour War," but then somehow lost sight of the jousting that continued throughout the next decade as U.S. forces conducted hundreds of air strikes against Iraq.
The United States invaded Iraq in March 2003 intent on correcting the "mistake" of 1991 by getting rid of Saddam.
Operation Iraqi Freedom also produced a slam-dunk victory.
This time we had finished the job.
Yet to our dismay, once again a military victory produced not peace but something akin to chaos, which continues to the present day.
How could this be?
It turns out that the Bush administration, seeing war as a strictly military enterprise, had misread Iraqi politics.
Instead of paving the way for democracy, using a U.S. army to remove the hated Iraqi dictator (and then keeping that army on hand to supervise the aftermath) merely released pent-up forces bent on using violence to achieve their ambitions.
In Iraq, as elsewhere in the Middle East, they do politics with guns.
Frustrated American hawks and some anxious Israelis now want to up the ante.
Believing that big victories require big wars, some advocate attacking Iran.
The appeal is clear: At least in its initial stages, a war with Iran would play to the U.S. or Israeli strong suit.
It would be a war of "shock and awe" rather than of ambushes and roadside bombs.
But even if a war against Iran were winnable militarily - a large assumption indeed - would victory solve our political problems?
History says don't count on it.
Andrew J. Bacevich is a professor at Boston University. He wrote this article for the Los Angeles Times.
By ANDREW J. BACEVICH
First published: Sunday, August 27, 2006
In the wake of the war in southern Lebanon, claims of victory are legion.
Hardly had the shooting stopped than Sheik Hassan Nasrallah was asserting that Hezbollah had triumphed.
Others see Syria or Iran or even Shiite Islam as the big winner.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, seconded by President Bush, doggedly insists that Israel came out on top.
What are we to make of these competing claims?
What is victory anyway?
Ardently pursued, victory in the modern era has been remarkably elusive.
Genuine victory implies something more than military success; it must have a political dimension.
Even then, results often prove other than expected.
Understanding why requires that we appreciate the intimate relationship between war and politics.
"Victory" that defeats the enemy but leaves intact the issues giving rise to war in the first place is likely to prove hollow.
The ensuing "peace" is false; after a brief interval, hostilities are likely to resume.
World War I offers a classic illustration: At horrific cost, the Allies broke the German army, but did not break German ambition, which soon revived.
Worse, World War I served as a petri dish for political dysfunction in Eastern Europe, the Balkans and, especially, the Middle East.
The victory that in November 1918 appeared conclusive instead provided the incubus for future violence.
The 1945 Allied victory finally solved the German problem, crushing the hegemonic ambitions that had roiled European politics since the middle of the 19th century.
In this sense, victory produced something tangible.
Henceforth, Germany would be of Europe but would not rule Europe.
Americans like to think that victory in 1945 also solved the problem posed by Japan.
Did it?
Even today, as the controversial Yasukuni Shrine reminds us, many Japanese cling to a different understanding of the Pacific war's origins and justification.
As far as China and South Korea are concerned, victory in 1945 did not solve their Japan problem; that problem persists and is growing.
If East Asia becomes the locus of renewed great power competition between China and Japan, V-J Day will no longer look quite so decisive.
Military victory in 1945 as clear-cut as any in history emphatically did not produce peace.
Instead, it created the conditions for a new conflict, the Cold War, which began almost immediately.
Ambiguous shooting wars in places such as Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan ensued, as did a succession of conflicts in the Middle East.
In 1967, conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbors yielded what appeared to be a decidedly unambiguous outcome.
With the United States mired embarrassingly in Vietnam, here was plucky little Israel rolling up its enemies on three fronts.
But what did this exemplary battlefield success produce?
Apart from preserving the Jewish state from destruction as a considerable achievement the fruits of victory over Egypt, Jordan and Syria in the Six-Day War proved disappointing.
Beaten in battle, the Arabs were far from defeated politically.
A more dangerous conflict with Egypt ensued just six years later.
More tragically, victory-induced dreams of a Greater Israel served only to enlarge and aggravate Israel's Palestinian problem.
Out of the ugly, debilitating conflict that ensued came Hamas and Hezbollah.
Since 1967, Israel has won a thousand little fights, but victory that actually settles something remains a chimera.
The truth is that absent an Israeli willingness to engage in total war, as the Allies did against the Axis, the Palestinians will never submit and even then the Arabs would be unlikely to make peace.
When the Cold War finally ended in 1989, many in the West proclaimed it the greatest victory since 1945.
But it was a paradoxical victory: We did not defeat the enemy militarily, and yet the political issues underlying the Cold War had quietly vanished.
The Soviets gave up their empire and gave up promoting revolution.
We "won" without firing a shot.
Before Americans could contemplate the significance of this paradox, yet another shooting war intruded: Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in August 1990.
The Persian Gulf War produced a seemingly stupendous military victory for the U.S.-led coalition.
But events soon showed this to be an illusion.
Saddam survived, so the underlying political problem remained.
Americans celebrated their glitzy "Hundred-Hour War," but then somehow lost sight of the jousting that continued throughout the next decade as U.S. forces conducted hundreds of air strikes against Iraq.
The United States invaded Iraq in March 2003 intent on correcting the "mistake" of 1991 by getting rid of Saddam.
Operation Iraqi Freedom also produced a slam-dunk victory.
This time we had finished the job.
Yet to our dismay, once again a military victory produced not peace but something akin to chaos, which continues to the present day.
How could this be?
It turns out that the Bush administration, seeing war as a strictly military enterprise, had misread Iraqi politics.
Instead of paving the way for democracy, using a U.S. army to remove the hated Iraqi dictator (and then keeping that army on hand to supervise the aftermath) merely released pent-up forces bent on using violence to achieve their ambitions.
In Iraq, as elsewhere in the Middle East, they do politics with guns.
Frustrated American hawks and some anxious Israelis now want to up the ante.
Believing that big victories require big wars, some advocate attacking Iran.
The appeal is clear: At least in its initial stages, a war with Iran would play to the U.S. or Israeli strong suit.
It would be a war of "shock and awe" rather than of ambushes and roadside bombs.
But even if a war against Iran were winnable militarily - a large assumption indeed - would victory solve our political problems?
History says don't count on it.
Andrew J. Bacevich is a professor at Boston University. He wrote this article for the Los Angeles Times.
QUOTE(Livyjr @ Aug 27 2006, 05:52 PM)
"Of war and peace - History shows military victories can lay foundation for future strife and instability"
By ANDREW J. BACEVICH
First published: Sunday, August 27, 2006
Americans celebrated their glitzy "Hundred-Hour War," but then somehow lost sight of the jousting that continued throughout the next decade as U.S. forces conducted hundreds of air strikes against Iraq.
The United States invaded Iraq in March 2003 intent on correcting the "mistake" of 1991 by getting rid of Saddam.
Operation Iraqi Freedom also produced a slam-dunk victory.
This time we had finished the job.
Yet to our dismay, once again a military victory produced not peace but something akin to chaos, which continues to the present day.
How could this be?
It turns out that the Bush administration, seeing war as a strictly military enterprise, had misread Iraqi politics.
Instead of paving the way for democracy, using a U.S. army to remove the hated Iraqi dictator (and then keeping that army on hand to supervise the aftermath) merely released pent-up forces bent on using violence to achieve their ambitions.
In Iraq, as elsewhere in the Middle East, they do politics with guns.
Andrew J. Bacevich is a professor at Boston University. He wrote this article for the Los Angeles Times.
By ANDREW J. BACEVICH
First published: Sunday, August 27, 2006
Americans celebrated their glitzy "Hundred-Hour War," but then somehow lost sight of the jousting that continued throughout the next decade as U.S. forces conducted hundreds of air strikes against Iraq.
The United States invaded Iraq in March 2003 intent on correcting the "mistake" of 1991 by getting rid of Saddam.
Operation Iraqi Freedom also produced a slam-dunk victory.
This time we had finished the job.
Yet to our dismay, once again a military victory produced not peace but something akin to chaos, which continues to the present day.
How could this be?
It turns out that the Bush administration, seeing war as a strictly military enterprise, had misread Iraqi politics.
Instead of paving the way for democracy, using a U.S. army to remove the hated Iraqi dictator (and then keeping that army on hand to supervise the aftermath) merely released pent-up forces bent on using violence to achieve their ambitions.
In Iraq, as elsewhere in the Middle East, they do politics with guns.
Andrew J. Bacevich is a professor at Boston University. He wrote this article for the Los Angeles Times.
WAR AS A PUBLICITY STUNT ....
Yeah, right, George, Karl and Dick Cheney, too .....
Park an aircraft carrier off the coast of California .....
Where it is safe from harm, of course ....
Have George W. Bush jump out of an airplane .....
And stand there ...
In his custom flight suit ....
Looking very MANLY MANLY, of course .....
Under a great big sign that says, wrongly .....
Or fraudulently .....
"MISSION ACCOMPLISHED"
And the American public will just suck that scene right up ....
And they will believe ...
Mistakenly .....
That the great big sign is stating some kind of truth ....
Which it is not ...
And that will be that ...
And so ...
"Dozens killed in Iraq; 8 U.S. troops die"
By ELENA BECATOROS, Associated Press
Last updated: 7:35 a.m., Monday, August 28, 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A surge in bloodshed Monday left nearly 50 people dead in a suicide car bombing and clashes between Shiite militia and Iraqi security forces Monday, in a brutal contradiction of the prime minister's claim that violence was decreasing.
In one of the deadliest weekends for U.S. forces in recent months, the U.S. military said eight U.S. soldiers were killed Saturday and Sunday in and around Baghdad, seven of them by roadside bombs and one by gunfire.
The deaths followed a day of bombings and shootings on Sunday, when more than 60 people were killed across the country, from the northern city of Kirkuk to the capital Baghdad and down to the south in Basra.
In the city of Diwaniyah, gunbattles between Iraqi forces and militiamen of the Mahdi Army loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr left at least 34 people dead and about 70 wounded, Iraqi officials said.
The fighting broke out late Sunday night when Iraqi soldiers conducted raids in three neighborhoods to flush out the militiamen and seize weapons, said army Capt. Fatik Aied.
He said the fighting continued Monday.
Dr. Mohammed Abdul-Muhsen of the city's general hospital said 34 bodies were brought in -- 25 Iraqi soldiers, seven civilians and two militiamen.
He said at least 70 people were injured, but could not immediately give a breakdown.
Fatik said the militiamen were using rocket propelled grenades and automatic assault rifles.
At least 10 militiamen had been arrested, he said.
Diwaniyah, 80 miles south of Baghdad, is a Shiite dominated city where the influence of Mahdi Army has been gradually increasing.
It already runs a virtual parallel government in Sadr City, a slum in eastern Baghdad.
But the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, has found it difficult to rein in al-Sadr, whose movement holds 30 of the 275 seats in parliament and five Cabinet posts.
Al-Sadr's backing also helped al-Maliki win the top job during painstaking negotiations within the Shiite alliance that led to the ouster of Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari.
Al-Sadr mounted two major uprisings against the American-led coalition in 2004 when U.S. authorities closed his newspaper and pushed an Iraqi judge into issuing an arrest warrant against him.
But American forces have also been wary of confronting the Mahdi Army because of al-Sadr's clout over the government and his large following among Shiites, who are in a majority in Iraq.
Some 10,000 Iraqis have been killed in the last four months alone in unrelenting attacks by Sunni and Shiite extremists on each other's communities, as well as bombings and shootings by Sunni Arab insurgents.
In Baghdad, a car suicide bomber slammed into a police checkpoint outside the Interior Ministry in midmorning Monday, when traffic is usually heavy.
The blast could be heard more than a mile away, and smoke could be seen rising from the scene.
The blast killed 14 people, including eight policemen, police 1st Lt. Ahmed Mohammed Ali said.
He said 17 policemen were among the wounded.
The U.S. military said eight U.S. soldiers were killed Saturday and Sunday in and around Baghdad, seven of them by roadside bombs and one by gunfire.
More than 2,600 U.S. military personnel have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press Count.
The renewed violence undercut Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's claim that government forces were prevailing over insurgents and sectarian extremists.
"We're not in a civil war."
"Iraq will never be in a civil war," he said through an interpreter on CNN television Sunday.
"The violence is in decrease and our security ability is increasing."
His statement came on a day when Iraq saw a string of bombings and shooting across the country.
In one of the deadliest attacks, a group of assailants in three cars opened fire at an open-air night market in Khalis, a mostly Shiite town 50 miles north of Baghdad, killing 23 people and wounding 25 others, the town's hospital and police said.
A suicide bomber on a minibus near the Palestine Hotel in central Baghdad killed eight civilians and wounded 18, the Iraqi government said, while two back-to-back suicide car bombings in the northern city of Kirkuk killed nine people hours after another suicide car bomb killed one person.
In Basra, Iraq's second largest city, 340 miles southeast of Baghdad, a motorcycle bomb at a night market Sunday killed four people and wounded 15, the governor's office said.
--------
Associated Press writers Vijay Joshi in Baghdad contributed to this report.
end quotes
GO BACK TO SLEEP ...
GO BACK TO SLEEP ...
GO BACK TO SLEEP ...
This above is just some drivel from the LIBERAL news media ...
That is intended to make George W. Bush .....
Look weak and ineffectual .....
With CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS in OUR America ....
Looming large on the horizon ....
The mission in Iraq is really over ...
Because George W. Bush said it is ....
And he wouldn't have said that ...
If it wasn't true .....
And so .....
IF YOU WANT OUR AMERICA ....
TO BE AS SAFE AS IRAQ IS ....
VOTE REPUBLICAN .....
And you will have your wishes fulfilled ...
And so ...
What is going on in Iraq right now ....
Is a product .....
Of George W. Bush's GUT ....
Which is where his primary thinking is done .....
And so ....
If it looks like **** to you ...
What is going on over there now ...
As it does to me ....
Well ....
"Bush needs more smart thinking, less gut reaction"
By DAVID G. MYERS
First published: Sunday, August 27, 2006
Say this much for President Bush: He is not deaf to the inner whispers of his intuition.
"I know there's no evidence that shows the death penalty has a deterrent effect," he reportedly said as Texas governor, "but I just feel in my gut it must be true."
Six years and two wars into his presidency, the President still relies on his gut instincts.
His recent fly-in to Baghdad was, he explained to U.S. troops, "to look Prime Minister (Nouri) Maliki in the eyes -- to determine whether or not he is as dedicated to a free Iraq as you are."
The President's snap assessment?
"I believe he is."
He told Larry King in an interview last month:
"If you make decisions based upon what you believe in your heart of hearts, you stay resolved."
In flying by the seat of his pants, Bush has much company.
"Buried deep within each and every one of us, there is an instinctive, heart-felt awareness that provides -- if we allow it to -- the most reliable guide," offered Prince Charles, whose decisions also have been relentlessly second-guessed for much of his adult life.
For those disposed to follow their inner guide, today's pop psychology offers books on "intuitive healing," "intuitive learning," "intuitive managing," "intuitive trading" and much more.
So, when hiring and firing, fearing and risking, investing and gambling, should we follow Bush's example and tune down that analytical, linear, left-brained mind?
Should we stop obsessing over logic and data and trust the force within?
Today's psychological science documents a vast intuitive mind.
More than we realize, our thinking, memory and attitudes operate on two levels -- conscious and unconscious -- with the larger part operating automatically.
We know more than we know we know.
Studies show that as we gain expertise, even reasoned judgments can become automatic.
Rather than wend their way through a decision tree, experienced car mechanics and physicians will often, after a quick listen and look, diagnose problems.
Chess masters intuitively know the right move.
And Japanese chicken sexers use complex pattern recognition to separate newborn pullets and cockerels with near perfect accuracy.
Moreover, we're all experts when it comes to reading people's emotions.
Psychologists Nalini Ambady and Robert Rosenthal report that after viewing mere "thin slices" of college professors' teaching -- three two-second clips -- observers' ratings of them correlate well with students' end-of-semester ratings.
To gain a sense of someone's energy and warmth, six seconds will often do.
So is our President smart to harness the powers of his intuition?
Or should he, and we, be subjecting our hunches to scrutiny?
Intuition is important, but we often underestimate its perils.
My geographical intuition tells me that Reno is east of Los Angeles and that Rome is south of New York.
But I am wrong.
"The first principle," said Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman, "is that you must not fool yourself -- and you are the easiest person to fool."
In hundreds of experiments, people have greatly overestimated their eyewitness recollections, their interviewee assessments and their stock-picking talents.
It's humbling to realize how often we misjudge and mispredict reality and then display "belief perseverance" when facing disconfirming information.
We fear things that claim lives in bunches.
Smoking kills 400,000 Americans a year, and carbon dioxide looks to be the biggest weapon of mass destruction, but terrorists frighten us more.
We are told, but are unmoved by, statistics showing that the most dangerous part of air travel is the drive to the airport.
Intuition -- automatic, effortless, unreasoned thinking -- guides our lives.
But intuition also errs, and false intuitions may go before a fall.
After meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, Bush felt that he had him sized up.
"I looked the man in the eye," Bush said.
"I was able to get a sense of his soul."
But the President has since expressed frustration at Putin's democracy-suffocating record.
Bush also told journalist and author Bob Woodward that intuition was a key to his decision to launch the Iraq war:
"I'm a gut player."
"I rely on my instincts."
Bush still insists that he made the right decision, but most Americans now disagree.
The President, like all of us, should check his intuitions against the facts.
He can welcome the creative whispers of the unseen mind, but only as the beginning of inquiry.
Smart thinking often begins with hunches but continues as one examines assumptions, evaluates evidence, invites critique and tests conclusions.
As Proverbs says: "He who trusts in his own heart is a fool."
David G. Myers, a social psychologist at Hope College in Michigan, is the author of "Intuition: Its Powers and Perils." He wrote this article for The Los Angeles Times.
end quotes
When the VEET NAM war was going on ...
George's GUT ....
Told him to cut and run ....
And get his *** out of harm's way .....
Which was probably a good move on his part ...
Since George just might not have had the right stuff to have lasted very long over there .....
And when George crawled into a whiskey bottle ....
And stayed in there for quite a few years ....
That was his GUT telling him ....
That "wrapping the whiskey blanket" around himself for comfort ....
Was what life had intended for him at that time ...
And once again ...
He was probably right .....
And when he stood on that aircraft carrier .....
And told us ....
That the mission in Iraq was over .....
Well .....
That **** came from his GUT as well ....
Right down onto OUR America's head ...
Like pigeon droppings from above ....
And so ...
Is a product .....
Of George W. Bush's GUT ....
Which is where his primary thinking is done .....
And so ....
If it looks like **** to you ...
What is going on over there now ...
As it does to me ....
Well ....
"Bush needs more smart thinking, less gut reaction"
By DAVID G. MYERS
First published: Sunday, August 27, 2006
Say this much for President Bush: He is not deaf to the inner whispers of his intuition.
"I know there's no evidence that shows the death penalty has a deterrent effect," he reportedly said as Texas governor, "but I just feel in my gut it must be true."
Six years and two wars into his presidency, the President still relies on his gut instincts.
His recent fly-in to Baghdad was, he explained to U.S. troops, "to look Prime Minister (Nouri) Maliki in the eyes -- to determine whether or not he is as dedicated to a free Iraq as you are."
The President's snap assessment?
"I believe he is."
He told Larry King in an interview last month:
"If you make decisions based upon what you believe in your heart of hearts, you stay resolved."
In flying by the seat of his pants, Bush has much company.
"Buried deep within each and every one of us, there is an instinctive, heart-felt awareness that provides -- if we allow it to -- the most reliable guide," offered Prince Charles, whose decisions also have been relentlessly second-guessed for much of his adult life.
For those disposed to follow their inner guide, today's pop psychology offers books on "intuitive healing," "intuitive learning," "intuitive managing," "intuitive trading" and much more.
So, when hiring and firing, fearing and risking, investing and gambling, should we follow Bush's example and tune down that analytical, linear, left-brained mind?
Should we stop obsessing over logic and data and trust the force within?
Today's psychological science documents a vast intuitive mind.
More than we realize, our thinking, memory and attitudes operate on two levels -- conscious and unconscious -- with the larger part operating automatically.
We know more than we know we know.
Studies show that as we gain expertise, even reasoned judgments can become automatic.
Rather than wend their way through a decision tree, experienced car mechanics and physicians will often, after a quick listen and look, diagnose problems.
Chess masters intuitively know the right move.
And Japanese chicken sexers use complex pattern recognition to separate newborn pullets and cockerels with near perfect accuracy.
Moreover, we're all experts when it comes to reading people's emotions.
Psychologists Nalini Ambady and Robert Rosenthal report that after viewing mere "thin slices" of college professors' teaching -- three two-second clips -- observers' ratings of them correlate well with students' end-of-semester ratings.
To gain a sense of someone's energy and warmth, six seconds will often do.
So is our President smart to harness the powers of his intuition?
Or should he, and we, be subjecting our hunches to scrutiny?
Intuition is important, but we often underestimate its perils.
My geographical intuition tells me that Reno is east of Los Angeles and that Rome is south of New York.
But I am wrong.
"The first principle," said Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman, "is that you must not fool yourself -- and you are the easiest person to fool."
In hundreds of experiments, people have greatly overestimated their eyewitness recollections, their interviewee assessments and their stock-picking talents.
It's humbling to realize how often we misjudge and mispredict reality and then display "belief perseverance" when facing disconfirming information.
We fear things that claim lives in bunches.
Smoking kills 400,000 Americans a year, and carbon dioxide looks to be the biggest weapon of mass destruction, but terrorists frighten us more.
We are told, but are unmoved by, statistics showing that the most dangerous part of air travel is the drive to the airport.
Intuition -- automatic, effortless, unreasoned thinking -- guides our lives.
But intuition also errs, and false intuitions may go before a fall.
After meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, Bush felt that he had him sized up.
"I looked the man in the eye," Bush said.
"I was able to get a sense of his soul."
But the President has since expressed frustration at Putin's democracy-suffocating record.
Bush also told journalist and author Bob Woodward that intuition was a key to his decision to launch the Iraq war:
"I'm a gut player."
"I rely on my instincts."
Bush still insists that he made the right decision, but most Americans now disagree.
The President, like all of us, should check his intuitions against the facts.
He can welcome the creative whispers of the unseen mind, but only as the beginning of inquiry.
Smart thinking often begins with hunches but continues as one examines assumptions, evaluates evidence, invites critique and tests conclusions.
As Proverbs says: "He who trusts in his own heart is a fool."
David G. Myers, a social psychologist at Hope College in Michigan, is the author of "Intuition: Its Powers and Perils." He wrote this article for The Los Angeles Times.
end quotes
When the VEET NAM war was going on ...
George's GUT ....
Told him to cut and run ....
And get his *** out of harm's way .....
Which was probably a good move on his part ...
Since George just might not have had the right stuff to have lasted very long over there .....
And when George crawled into a whiskey bottle ....
And stayed in there for quite a few years ....
That was his GUT telling him ....
That "wrapping the whiskey blanket" around himself for comfort ....
Was what life had intended for him at that time ...
And once again ...
He was probably right .....
And when he stood on that aircraft carrier .....
And told us ....
That the mission in Iraq was over .....
Well .....
That **** came from his GUT as well ....
Right down onto OUR America's head ...
Like pigeon droppings from above ....
And so ...
QUOTE(Livyjr @ Aug 23 2006, 05:59 PM)
"A case for war? - President Bush talks a lot more about why the U.S. can't leave Iraq than he does about why it's there at all"
Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Wednesday, August 23, 2006
More than three years and almost 3,000 American deaths later, it's harder than ever to discern a reason for just why the United States went to war in Iraq, or even what the precise mission is at this point.
President Bush certainly isn't of much help.
At a revealing news conference on Monday, the President instead went on and on about why the United States can't leave, complete with some sharp digs at those who now believe it is time to withdraw from Iraq.
If only a president so eager to take on the critics of the war could better defend it.
end quotes
George's war in Iraq is a faith-based initiative .....
PURE AND SIMPLE ....
So there is no defense ...
A defense would imply that there was nothing to have faith in ...
And that is George ....
We have faith in George ...
As GOD'S ANNOITED .....
Down here on this earth of OURS .....
And that's it ...
We don't question further ...
Because to question at all ...
Implies that we don't have faith ...
In what is a faith-based initiative ....
And so ...
Because it is a faith-based initiative .....
Well ......
That logic .......
Goes round and round and round and round and round ....
Ad infinitum ....
Forever ....
GOD loves George ...
So we have to, too .....
And so .....
Anyone who questions George's war .....
Don't love GOD .....
Which makes them into an enemy of America .....
And probably a COMMIE PINKO, to boot ....
And so ....
Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Wednesday, August 23, 2006
More than three years and almost 3,000 American deaths later, it's harder than ever to discern a reason for just why the United States went to war in Iraq, or even what the precise mission is at this point.
President Bush certainly isn't of much help.
At a revealing news conference on Monday, the President instead went on and on about why the United States can't leave, complete with some sharp digs at those who now believe it is time to withdraw from Iraq.
If only a president so eager to take on the critics of the war could better defend it.
end quotes
George's war in Iraq is a faith-based initiative .....
PURE AND SIMPLE ....
So there is no defense ...
A defense would imply that there was nothing to have faith in ...
And that is George ....
We have faith in George ...
As GOD'S ANNOITED .....
Down here on this earth of OURS .....
And that's it ...
We don't question further ...
Because to question at all ...
Implies that we don't have faith ...
In what is a faith-based initiative ....
And so ...
Because it is a faith-based initiative .....
Well ......
That logic .......
Goes round and round and round and round and round ....
Ad infinitum ....
Forever ....
GOD loves George ...
So we have to, too .....
And so .....
Anyone who questions George's war .....
Don't love GOD .....
Which makes them into an enemy of America .....
And probably a COMMIE PINKO, to boot ....
And so ....
QUOTE(Livyjr @ Aug 24 2006, 06:16 AM)
I have just started to read the book Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq by Michael R. Gordon and General Bernard E. Trainor ......
And my advice to George W. Bush .....
Before he goes and feeds us any more malarky ....
About the "NEED" .....
For us to be in Iraq ....
And about letting down any alleged "reformists" .....
Anywhere in the world ....
WHICH IS PURE INVENTION ON HIS PART .....
TO TUG AT OUR EMOTIONAL HEARTSTRINGS ...
SO AS TO DISTRACT US .....
IN THIS HOUR ....
OF OUR NATION'S NEED ....
WHERE WE FIND OURSELVES ....
"ADRIFT AT SEA" .....
Over there in Iraq .....
Without any leadership at the helm of OUR national government ...
Is that George W. Bush himself .....
Ought to read this book .....
AND THEN .....
Any national debate that we have on this subject of Iraq ....
And OUR alleged need to be over there ......
Should be based upon the documented AMERICAN HISTORY .....
That is contained .....
In just the first twenty or so pages .....
Of this one book .....
A history .....
That has to .....
And does begin .....
With his father ...
George H.W. "BIG" Bush .....
And "BIG" Bush's 100-HOUR WAR .....
To drive Saddam's Republican Guards back out of Kuwait ....
As a nation over here ...
And yes, I am subject to this myself ....
We have a tendency to never remember yesterday ....
As if "today" ....
Like Topsy .....
Just sprang to life, full-formed .....
When the sun rose over CORRUPT Washington, D.C. in the morning ....
And such is just not the case at all ...
At least not always .....
In the affairs of mankind ...
And especially over there in what is called .....
By us .....
In OUR arrogance ....
As if we were God's appointed label makers and affixers down here on this earth of OURS ....
The MIDDLE EAST ....
Which has nations in it ....
That were already in existence ....
And flourishing ....
When young ALEXANDER THE GREAT, ALTHOUGH NOT AS GREAT AS GEORGE W. BUSH .....
Made his rampage through that area .....
To satisfy his own massive ego .....
Which didn't do young ALEXANDER THE PENULTIMATE GREATEST .....
Much good at all ...
Since young Alexander died quite young ....
And so .....
In this debate that George W. Bush now wants to have on Iraq .....
Which I whole-heartedly endorse .....
George wants to completely skip over the actual history of how we got into Iraq .....
WHICH WAS IN A WAR OF HIS CHOICE .....
AND NOT A WAR OF NECESSITY FOR OUR AMERICA ....
And what George wants to do ...
Is to have a debate on OUR NATIONAL SECURITY ......
That has as its "base" ......
An emotional argument for "staying the course" .....
This "DAMAGED NATIONAL PSYCHE" psycho-babble .....
That George is now spouting ....
As opposed to a look at the history of wrong-headed decision-making .....
Primarily by Dick Cheney ....
And Donald "GASBAG" Rumsfeld .....
That has got us to where we are now .....
When you read this book Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq by Michael R. Gordon and General Bernard E. Trainor ......
And stop to consider the AMERICAN HISTORY ....
That is contained just within those opening pages .....
It becomes patently obvious ....
To all but a real, pure-goose fool like George, I would say .....
That this talk of "staying the course" ....
Is simply ridiculous .....
SINCE THERE NEVER WAS A "COURSE" .....
TO STAY .....
IN THE FIRST PLACE .....
A fact .....
That George W. Bush appears to be in complete denial of .....
And so ......
To all these Democrats out there .....
Who are simply shouting that we should pull out .....
What I think they should do .....
Is to read this book as well ...
And then tell us ....
The American people .....
How simply pulling out now ....
RATHER THAN TACTICALLY DIS-ENGAGING ....
AND PULLING BACK ....
AND CONTAINING IRAQ ....
Will solve anything now ....
And so .....
It is a fact .....
That in their collective stupidity ....
Which apparently knows no bounds ....
George W. Bush ....
And Dick Cheney ....
And Donald "GASBAG" Rumsfeld ....
And "CON-JOB CONNIE" (KILLER) Rice .....
HAVE BLUNDERED THIS NATION OF OURS ...
RIGHT INTO A DEEP PIT OF QUICKSAND .....
SOME EIGHT THOUSAND MILES ....
ACROSS AN OCEAN ....
FROM OUR HOMES AND HEARTHS ....
OUR KITH AND KIN .....
HERE IN OUR OWN COUNTRY .....
WHICH IS WHERE OUR ATTENTION BELONGS .....
UNTIL IT IS PERFECT OVER HERE .....
AT WHICH TIME ...
PERHAPS WE CAN THEN START THINKING ABOUT "PERFECTING" ANYBODY ELSE ...
And when you are in quicksand .....
The one thing that you should stop doing .....
Is blundering about any further .....
Since further blundering about ...
Which is all the strategy that George W. Bush now has to offer us in Iraq ....
Only sinks you down further ....
And so ...
But to stop sinking ....
So that you can hopefully begin to extricate yourself ....
And sometimes ....
It is too late for that ....
You have to stop moving .....
STRATEGIC INERTNESS, it is called .....
And there is where George W. Bush .....
And Dick Cheney .....
And Donald "GASBAG" Rumsfeld are now all completely worthless to us .....
As a nation ....
BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO VISION ....
TO SEE THIS REALITY ...
Blinded as they are ...
By their own egos ...
And their own ambitions ......
WHICH HAVE NOW LED US .....
OUR AMERICA .....
DEEP INTO THIS FOLLY ....
Of George W. Bush's WAR OF CHOICE .....
AND NOT NECESSITY .....
IN IRAQ ....
And so ....
And my advice to George W. Bush .....
Before he goes and feeds us any more malarky ....
About the "NEED" .....
For us to be in Iraq ....
And about letting down any alleged "reformists" .....
Anywhere in the world ....
WHICH IS PURE INVENTION ON HIS PART .....
TO TUG AT OUR EMOTIONAL HEARTSTRINGS ...
SO AS TO DISTRACT US .....
IN THIS HOUR ....
OF OUR NATION'S NEED ....
WHERE WE FIND OURSELVES ....
"ADRIFT AT SEA" .....
Over there in Iraq .....
Without any leadership at the helm of OUR national government ...
Is that George W. Bush himself .....
Ought to read this book .....
AND THEN .....
Any national debate that we have on this subject of Iraq ....
And OUR alleged need to be over there ......
Should be based upon the documented AMERICAN HISTORY .....
That is contained .....
In just the first twenty or so pages .....
Of this one book .....
A history .....
That has to .....
And does begin .....
With his father ...
George H.W. "BIG" Bush .....
And "BIG" Bush's 100-HOUR WAR .....
To drive Saddam's Republican Guards back out of Kuwait ....
As a nation over here ...
And yes, I am subject to this myself ....
We have a tendency to never remember yesterday ....
As if "today" ....
Like Topsy .....
Just sprang to life, full-formed .....
When the sun rose over CORRUPT Washington, D.C. in the morning ....
And such is just not the case at all ...
At least not always .....
In the affairs of mankind ...
And especially over there in what is called .....
By us .....
In OUR arrogance ....
As if we were God's appointed label makers and affixers down here on this earth of OURS ....
The MIDDLE EAST ....
Which has nations in it ....
That were already in existence ....
And flourishing ....
When young ALEXANDER THE GREAT, ALTHOUGH NOT AS GREAT AS GEORGE W. BUSH .....
Made his rampage through that area .....
To satisfy his own massive ego .....
Which didn't do young ALEXANDER THE PENULTIMATE GREATEST .....
Much good at all ...
Since young Alexander died quite young ....
And so .....
In this debate that George W. Bush now wants to have on Iraq .....
Which I whole-heartedly endorse .....
George wants to completely skip over the actual history of how we got into Iraq .....
WHICH WAS IN A WAR OF HIS CHOICE .....
AND NOT A WAR OF NECESSITY FOR OUR AMERICA ....
And what George wants to do ...
Is to have a debate on OUR NATIONAL SECURITY ......
That has as its "base" ......
An emotional argument for "staying the course" .....
This "DAMAGED NATIONAL PSYCHE" psycho-babble .....
That George is now spouting ....
As opposed to a look at the history of wrong-headed decision-making .....
Primarily by Dick Cheney ....
And Donald "GASBAG" Rumsfeld .....
That has got us to where we are now .....
When you read this book Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq by Michael R. Gordon and General Bernard E. Trainor ......
And stop to consider the AMERICAN HISTORY ....
That is contained just within those opening pages .....
It becomes patently obvious ....
To all but a real, pure-goose fool like George, I would say .....
That this talk of "staying the course" ....
Is simply ridiculous .....
SINCE THERE NEVER WAS A "COURSE" .....
TO STAY .....
IN THE FIRST PLACE .....
A fact .....
That George W. Bush appears to be in complete denial of .....
And so ......
To all these Democrats out there .....
Who are simply shouting that we should pull out .....
What I think they should do .....
Is to read this book as well ...
And then tell us ....
The American people .....
How simply pulling out now ....
RATHER THAN TACTICALLY DIS-ENGAGING ....
AND PULLING BACK ....
AND CONTAINING IRAQ ....
Will solve anything now ....
And so .....
It is a fact .....
That in their collective stupidity ....
Which apparently knows no bounds ....
George W. Bush ....
And Dick Cheney ....
And Donald "GASBAG" Rumsfeld ....
And "CON-JOB CONNIE" (KILLER) Rice .....
HAVE BLUNDERED THIS NATION OF OURS ...
RIGHT INTO A DEEP PIT OF QUICKSAND .....
SOME EIGHT THOUSAND MILES ....
ACROSS AN OCEAN ....
FROM OUR HOMES AND HEARTHS ....
OUR KITH AND KIN .....
HERE IN OUR OWN COUNTRY .....
WHICH IS WHERE OUR ATTENTION BELONGS .....
UNTIL IT IS PERFECT OVER HERE .....
AT WHICH TIME ...
PERHAPS WE CAN THEN START THINKING ABOUT "PERFECTING" ANYBODY ELSE ...
And when you are in quicksand .....
The one thing that you should stop doing .....
Is blundering about any further .....
Since further blundering about ...
Which is all the strategy that George W. Bush now has to offer us in Iraq ....
Only sinks you down further ....
And so ...
But to stop sinking ....
So that you can hopefully begin to extricate yourself ....
And sometimes ....
It is too late for that ....
You have to stop moving .....
STRATEGIC INERTNESS, it is called .....
And there is where George W. Bush .....
And Dick Cheney .....
And Donald "GASBAG" Rumsfeld are now all completely worthless to us .....
As a nation ....
BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO VISION ....
TO SEE THIS REALITY ...
Blinded as they are ...
By their own egos ...
And their own ambitions ......
WHICH HAVE NOW LED US .....
OUR AMERICA .....
DEEP INTO THIS FOLLY ....
Of George W. Bush's WAR OF CHOICE .....
AND NOT NECESSITY .....
IN IRAQ ....
And so ....
QUOTE(Livyjr @ Aug 28 2006, 07:37 AM)
"Bush needs more smart thinking, less gut reaction"
By DAVID G. MYERS
First published: Sunday, August 27, 2006
Bush also told journalist and author Bob Woodward that intuition was a key to his decision to launch the Iraq war:
"I'm a gut player."
"I rely on my instincts."
Bush still insists that he made the right decision, but most Americans now disagree.
David G. Myers, a social psychologist at Hope College in Michigan, is the author of "Intuition: Its Powers and Perils." He wrote this article for The Los Angeles Times.
By DAVID G. MYERS
First published: Sunday, August 27, 2006
Bush also told journalist and author Bob Woodward that intuition was a key to his decision to launch the Iraq war:
"I'm a gut player."
"I rely on my instincts."
Bush still insists that he made the right decision, but most Americans now disagree.
David G. Myers, a social psychologist at Hope College in Michigan, is the author of "Intuition: Its Powers and Perils." He wrote this article for The Los Angeles Times.
JULY, 2002
Sir Michael Boyce, the head of the British Defence Staff, described the two plans Franks had put before the White House.
The Americans, he told Blair, were considering the Generated Start, which involved a slow build-up of 250,000 troops, a seventy-two hour air campaign, and then a push to Baghdad from the south.
The second option was the Running Start, which would entail a continuous air campaign and could be kicked off with ground forces already in place in the region, perhaps as few as 18,000 troops.
The Running Start, Boyce reported, was a "hazardous option."
Boyce was not convinced that the United States had a workable military strategy.
He was not sure how the U.S. would respond if Saddam used WMD or if street fighting raged in the streets of Baghdad.
The British military, Boyce noted, still has a lot of questions.
WHILE BRITISH OFFICERS WERE WORRIED ABOUT THE STATE OF THE U.S. PLANNING, THE CIVILIANS IN BLAIR'S CABINET WERE MORE ASSURED.
IT WAS A FAITH-BASED CONFIDENCE GROUNDED ON THE ASSURANCE THAT BUSH WOULD NOT STAKE HIS PRESIDENCY ON A WAR WITH IRAQ UNLESS HE KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING.
SURELY, ARGUED JACK STRAW, THE BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY, THE UNITED STATES WOULD NOT TAKE THE MOMENTOUS STEP OF INVADING AND OCCUPYING IRAQ UNLESS IT WAS PERSUADED THAT IT HAD A WINNING PLAN.
- page 54, Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq by Michael R. Gordon and General Bernard E. Trainor ......
QUOTE(Livyjr @ Aug 28 2006, 05:03 PM)
WHILE BRITISH OFFICERS WERE WORRIED ABOUT THE STATE OF THE U.S. PLANNING, THE CIVILIANS IN BLAIR'S CABINET WERE MORE ASSURED.
IT WAS A FAITH-BASED CONFIDENCE GROUNDED ON THE ASSURANCE THAT BUSH WOULD NOT STAKE HIS PRESIDENCY ON A WAR WITH IRAQ UNLESS HE KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING.
SURELY, ARGUED JACK STRAW, THE BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY, THE UNITED STATES WOULD NOT TAKE THE MOMENTOUS STEP OF INVADING AND OCCUPYING IRAQ UNLESS IT WAS PERSUADED THAT IT HAD A WINNING PLAN.
- page 54, Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq by Michael R. Gordon and General Bernard E. Trainor ......
IT WAS A FAITH-BASED CONFIDENCE GROUNDED ON THE ASSURANCE THAT BUSH WOULD NOT STAKE HIS PRESIDENCY ON A WAR WITH IRAQ UNLESS HE KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING.
SURELY, ARGUED JACK STRAW, THE BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY, THE UNITED STATES WOULD NOT TAKE THE MOMENTOUS STEP OF INVADING AND OCCUPYING IRAQ UNLESS IT WAS PERSUADED THAT IT HAD A WINNING PLAN.
- page 54, Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq by Michael R. Gordon and General Bernard E. Trainor ......
QUOTE(Livyjr @ Aug 28 2006 @ 07:37 AM)
"Bush needs more smart thinking, less gut reaction"
By DAVID G. MYERS
First published: Sunday, August 27, 2006
Bush also told journalist and author Bob Woodward that intuition was a key to his decision to launch the Iraq war
"I'm a gut player"
"I rely on my instincts."
Bush still insists that he made the right decision, but most Americans now disagree.
David G. Myers, a social psychologist at Hope College in Michigan, is the author of "Intuition: Its Powers and Perils." He wrote this article for The Los Angeles Times.
By DAVID G. MYERS
First published: Sunday, August 27, 2006
Bush also told journalist and author Bob Woodward that intuition was a key to his decision to launch the Iraq war
"I'm a gut player"
"I rely on my instincts."
Bush still insists that he made the right decision, but most Americans now disagree.
David G. Myers, a social psychologist at Hope College in Michigan, is the author of "Intuition: Its Powers and Perils." He wrote this article for The Los Angeles Times.
WAR ....
AS A FAITH-BASED INITIATIVE ....
"40 killed as Shiites battle Iraqi forces"
By THASSIN ABDUL-KARAIM, Associated Press
Last updated: 5:26 p.m., Monday, August 28, 2006
DIWANIYAH, Iraq -- Shiite militiamen battled Iraqi forces for 12 hours Monday, leaving at least 40 people dead and underlining the government's difficulties as it tries to rein in the sectarian forces of an anti-U.S. cleric.
The fighting in this southern city dominated a bloody day that saw at least 20 other people killed in Baghdad, including 16 in a suicide bombing targeting the Interior Ministry complex.
The U.S. military announced that nine U.S. soldiers were killed over the weekend in and around Baghdad, eight by roadside bombs and one by gunfire.
Diwaniyah, 80 miles south of Baghdad, is a Shiite-dominated city where the influence of firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army has been gradually increasing.
The militia already runs a virtual parallel government in Sadr City, a slum in eastern Baghdad.
But the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, has found it difficult to control al-Sadr, whose movement holds 30 of the 275 seats in parliament and five Cabinet posts, and his forces.
Al-Sadr's backing also helped al-Maliki win the top job during painstaking negotiations within the Shiite alliance that led to the ouster of Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari.
Many Sunnis have expressed disappointment that al-Maliki's government has not moved to curb Shiite militias, especially the Mahdi Army, which have been blamed for much of the sectarian violence that has followed the Feb. 22 bombing of a Shiite mosque in Samarra.
A prominent hard-line Iraqi Sunni cleric, Harith al-Dhari, said Friday he was willing to meet with top Shiite religious leaders, part of an initiative to curb sectarian violence -- but also to press Shiite leaders into a response.
American forces also have been wary of confronting the militia, because of al-Sadr's clout over the government and his large following among majority Shiites.
Al-Sadr mounted two major uprisings against the American-led coalition in 2004 when U.S. authorities closed his newspaper and pushed an Iraqi judge into issuing an arrest warrant against him.
Sheikh Abdul-Razaq al-Nidawi, the manager of al-Sadr's office in Diwaniyah, told The Associated Press that trouble had been brewing since Saturday night when the Iraqi army arrested an al-Sadr supporter from the Jumhouri neighborhood.
On Sunday, the army raided the same place and "a gunfight erupted between them and the Mahdi Army," al-Nidawi said.
Army Capt. Fatik Aied said gunbattles broke out at about 11 p.m. Sunday south of Diwaniyah, when Iraqi soldiers conducted raids in three neighborhoods to flush out militiamen and seize weapons.
Al-Nidawi said "a big force of the army raided Jumhouri, Sadr and Askouri neighborhoods and clashes broke out (again) between the army and the Mahdi Army."
He said the raids took place early Monday.
Fighting continued for most of the day, as the army brought in extra troops from other cities to reinforce its soldiers, said Brig. Gen. Othman al-Farhoud, commander of the 8th Iraqi Army Division.
By evening, the militia had set up road checkpoints and taken over seven neighborhoods in the south and east of the city, while the Iraqi army was controlling the northern and western parts, Aied said.
Late Monday, the U.S.-led military command issued a statement in Baghdad that the Iraqi army and police "successfully fended off an attack by a large group of terrorists" in three districts of Diwaniyah after a 12-hour battle.
Since the three districts in contention are in the city's south, it was not immediately clear how to reconcile the U.S. statement with that of Aied, the Iraqi army captain.
Dr. Mohammed Abdul-Muhsen of the city's general hospital said 40 people had been killed -- 25 Iraqi soldiers, 10 civilians and five militiamen.
He said the hospital treated 75 wounded, but could not immediately give a breakdown.
Aied said the militiamen used rocket propelled-grenades and automatic assault rifles, and that at least 10 militiamen were arrested.
An indefinite vehicle ban was imposed in the city, said Adnan Abdu-Kadhim, a member of the provincial council.
Coalition forces were not involved in the fighting, but provided support with an aerial quick reaction force, using military helicopters as a show of force and to prevent possible attacks from rooftops, said Lt. Col. Dariusz Kacperczyk, a Polish military spokesman for the area.
Coalition quick reaction forces also were patrolling near the city, he said.
In the capital, a suicide car bomber slammed into a police checkpoint outside the Interior Ministry at midmorning, when traffic is usually heavy.
The blast could be heard more than a mile away, and smoke could be seen rising from the scene.
The blast killed 16 people, including 10 policemen, Police 1st Lt. Ahmed Mohammed Ali said.
He said 18 policemen were among the 47 people wounded.
Elsewhere in Baghdad, a suicide car bomber struck a line of cars waiting at a gas station in the southern neighborhood of Dora, killing three civilians and wounding 15, Lt. Ahmed Hameeed of the national police said.
Earlier in the day, a roadside bomb in the mainly Sunni western neighborhood of Jihad struck a car transporting five barber shop workers.
One person was killed and another four were seriously wounded, police Lt. Maitham Abdul-Razzaq said.
------
Associated Press writers Jalal Mudhar, Qassim Abdul-Zahra, Vijay Joshi and Elena Becatoros in Baghdad contributed to this report.
And for those of you out there who are following the candidacy of Tom Suozzi for Governor of the State of New York .....
This week, Tom will continue to spread his message of reform throughout New York.
Tonight at 8 PM in Buffalo, Tom will debate the Republican candidate for Governor, John Faso.
The debate will be aired on on WKBW Ch 7 in Buffalo, WTVH Ch 10 in Syracuse and WBNG Ch 12 in Binghamton.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, August 29th, Tom will participate in a roundtable in Rochester.
The event will air at 7:00 p.m. on WHAM Ch 13 in Rochester, WSYR Ch 9 in Syracuse, WWTI Ch 50 in Watertown, WIVT Ch 34 in Binghamton, and WETM Ch 18 in Elmira.
On Wednesday, August 30th, Tom will participate in the NY1 Statewide Town Hall Meeting from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
It will also be aired on Capitol News 9 in Albany, Syracuse and Rochester and Eliot Spitzer and John Faso are also scheduled to appear.
On Thursday, August 31st, at 7 PM, Tom will participate in a debate hosted by News 12, that will air on Long Island, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Westchester.
Tune in to see how there are real differences in the way that Tom wants to Fix Albany, cut taxes, fund our schools and renew our economy, and that voters have a real choice on September 12th.
Sincerely,
Team Suozzi
This week, Tom will continue to spread his message of reform throughout New York.
Tonight at 8 PM in Buffalo, Tom will debate the Republican candidate for Governor, John Faso.
The debate will be aired on on WKBW Ch 7 in Buffalo, WTVH Ch 10 in Syracuse and WBNG Ch 12 in Binghamton.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, August 29th, Tom will participate in a roundtable in Rochester.
The event will air at 7:00 p.m. on WHAM Ch 13 in Rochester, WSYR Ch 9 in Syracuse, WWTI Ch 50 in Watertown, WIVT Ch 34 in Binghamton, and WETM Ch 18 in Elmira.
On Wednesday, August 30th, Tom will participate in the NY1 Statewide Town Hall Meeting from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
It will also be aired on Capitol News 9 in Albany, Syracuse and Rochester and Eliot Spitzer and John Faso are also scheduled to appear.
On Thursday, August 31st, at 7 PM, Tom will participate in a debate hosted by News 12, that will air on Long Island, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Westchester.
Tune in to see how there are real differences in the way that Tom wants to Fix Albany, cut taxes, fund our schools and renew our economy, and that voters have a real choice on September 12th.
Sincerely,
Team Suozzi
Hey .....
Karl Rove .....
How about that American economy, now, will you?
Strongest in all the world .....
Is what I am hearing, anyway .....
And so .....
"Chill hits home sales - While 8 years of record closings ends, prices still show gain across region"
By KEVIN HARLIN, Business writer, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Tuesday, August 29, 2006
ALBANY -- New- and existing-home sales took their biggest one-month dip of the year in July as the Capital Region's run of eight consecutive record-setting years comes to an end.
Closed sales were down 15 percent in July over a year ago, the Greater Capital Association of Realtors Inc. reported Monday.
It was the fourth straight declining month.
John McNamara, president of the Albany-based trade association, predicted the year would still finish strong, though he expects the total number of deals to come in 5 percent to 8 percent below last year's pace.
Over the first seven months of the year, closed sales were down just 1 percent from 2005.
"The market is definitely moving away from being the sellers' market that it has been for several years," said McNamara, who also is president of Coldwell Banker Prime Properties Inc. in Colonie.
July still saw strong prices, though the rate of increase seems to be slowing.
GCAR's figures -- covering sales in parts of 11 counties -- show the median price climbing to $197,250 in July, up 7 percent from 12 months earlier.
The median -- the point at which half the homes cost more and half cost less -- was up 9 percent over the first seven months of the year, to $189,900.
In the Capital Region and beyond, buyers are taking longer to decide, and many sellers are reducing asking prices to avoid being stuck with two mortgages when they move.
Last week, the National Association of Realtors reported a 4.1 percent drop in July existing-homes sales nationwide, a 2-year sales low.
Meanwhile, the inventory of unsold homes climbed to a record high.
Nationwide, the median price last month was $230,000, up just 0.9 percent.
The national Realtors group said rising interest rates slowed sales.
A 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.48 percent last week, according to the weekly survey by Freddie Mac.
It was down slightly from 6.52 percent a week earlier, but up from 5.77 percent 12 months ago.
In the Capital Region, the housing market never took off as fast as it did in some places, such as California and Florida.
So market watchers say it doesn't have as far to fall.
The relatively stable state government, university and technology sectors keep unemployment low, helping keep the economy level, said Marisa DiNatale, an economist who follows upstate New York for the West Chester, Pa.-based economic research firm Moody's Economy.com.
"It's buffeted, but in general, the underlying fundamentals are strong," DiNatale said about the region's overall economy.
In Albany County, the number of deals fell for July even as the median price of those homes climbed 13 percent, to $213,000.
Saratoga County saw a steeper 17 percent decline in the number of deals, while the median stayed flat at about $265,000.
In Schenectady County, completed deals fell 15 percent in July, but the median price climbed 19 percent, to $166,000.
And closed deals fell 8 percent in Rensselaer County, while the median sale price was up 8 percent, to $172,000.
Harlin can be reached at 454-5442 or by e-mail at kharlin@timesunion.com.
Weaker sales, strong prices
Closed sales of single-family homes fell 15 percent in July over the year before, the largest single-month dip this year.
But median prices are still rising, up 7 percent in July and 9 percent year to date.
Median prices for July:
Capital Region $197,250 +7%
Albany County $213,000 +13%
Rensselaer County $172,000 +9%
Saratoga County $256,350 0%
Schenectady County $166,000 +19%
Source: Greater Capital Association of Realtors Inc.
Karl Rove .....
How about that American economy, now, will you?
Strongest in all the world .....
Is what I am hearing, anyway .....
And so .....
"Chill hits home sales - While 8 years of record closings ends, prices still show gain across region"
By KEVIN HARLIN, Business writer, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Tuesday, August 29, 2006
ALBANY -- New- and existing-home sales took their biggest one-month dip of the year in July as the Capital Region's run of eight consecutive record-setting years comes to an end.
Closed sales were down 15 percent in July over a year ago, the Greater Capital Association of Realtors Inc. reported Monday.
It was the fourth straight declining month.
John McNamara, president of the Albany-based trade association, predicted the year would still finish strong, though he expects the total number of deals to come in 5 percent to 8 percent below last year's pace.
Over the first seven months of the year, closed sales were down just 1 percent from 2005.
"The market is definitely moving away from being the sellers' market that it has been for several years," said McNamara, who also is president of Coldwell Banker Prime Properties Inc. in Colonie.
July still saw strong prices, though the rate of increase seems to be slowing.
GCAR's figures -- covering sales in parts of 11 counties -- show the median price climbing to $197,250 in July, up 7 percent from 12 months earlier.
The median -- the point at which half the homes cost more and half cost less -- was up 9 percent over the first seven months of the year, to $189,900.
In the Capital Region and beyond, buyers are taking longer to decide, and many sellers are reducing asking prices to avoid being stuck with two mortgages when they move.
Last week, the National Association of Realtors reported a 4.1 percent drop in July existing-homes sales nationwide, a 2-year sales low.
Meanwhile, the inventory of unsold homes climbed to a record high.
Nationwide, the median price last month was $230,000, up just 0.9 percent.
The national Realtors group said rising interest rates slowed sales.
A 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.48 percent last week, according to the weekly survey by Freddie Mac.
It was down slightly from 6.52 percent a week earlier, but up from 5.77 percent 12 months ago.
In the Capital Region, the housing market never took off as fast as it did in some places, such as California and Florida.
So market watchers say it doesn't have as far to fall.
The relatively stable state government, university and technology sectors keep unemployment low, helping keep the economy level, said Marisa DiNatale, an economist who follows upstate New York for the West Chester, Pa.-based economic research firm Moody's Economy.com.
"It's buffeted, but in general, the underlying fundamentals are strong," DiNatale said about the region's overall economy.
In Albany County, the number of deals fell for July even as the median price of those homes climbed 13 percent, to $213,000.
Saratoga County saw a steeper 17 percent decline in the number of deals, while the median stayed flat at about $265,000.
In Schenectady County, completed deals fell 15 percent in July, but the median price climbed 19 percent, to $166,000.
And closed deals fell 8 percent in Rensselaer County, while the median sale price was up 8 percent, to $172,000.
Harlin can be reached at 454-5442 or by e-mail at kharlin@timesunion.com.
Weaker sales, strong prices
Closed sales of single-family homes fell 15 percent in July over the year before, the largest single-month dip this year.
But median prices are still rising, up 7 percent in July and 9 percent year to date.
Median prices for July:
Capital Region $197,250 +7%
Albany County $213,000 +13%
Rensselaer County $172,000 +9%
Saratoga County $256,350 0%
Schenectady County $166,000 +19%
Source: Greater Capital Association of Realtors Inc.
And hey ...
What is this now?
People are picking on poor Hillary .....
Poor, poor Ms. Hillary .....
Who only wants the American Dream .....
For herself ...
The way ...
That George W. Bush ...
Got to have it ...
For himself .....
While more and more people .....
Not only here in OUR America ...
But in the world, as well .....
Get to have no dreams ...
ONLY CONTINUOUS NIGHTMARES .....
EVEN WHEN AWAKE ...
AND ESPECIALLY WHEN AWAKE ....
And so ....
Published on Monday, August 28, 2006 by CommonDreams.org
"Senator Hillary Clinton: All Show and No Substance"
by Sibel Edmonds & William Weaver
Recent surveys measuring public opinion and confidence in congress all arrived at the same conclusion: over seventy percent of Americans have lost faith and confidence in the United States Congress.
The public no longer trusts this body of politicians who were elected to represent the people and the peoples’ interests.
Instead, they now view these “representatives” as servants of special interest groups, corporations and high-powered lobbyists.
Americans are tired of watching and listening to elected officials who refrain from taking a strong stand on crucial issues, and who almost never state their positions with conviction and sincerity.
In the eyes of the nation these senators and representatives are nothing more than programmed publicity puppets, competing for face time in the media.
Common adjectives used by our citizens to describe these officials clearly reflect their sentiments:
* “spineless” .....
* “phony” .....
* “corrupt” ....
* “out of touch” .....
* “timid” ....
* “all show and no substance” .....
and the list goes on.
Why have we Americans lost confidence and faith in those elected?
Where and when did we go wrong; or perhaps more correctly, they go wrong?
What have these representatives done, or, failed to do, that arouses such anger and loathing in the very same constituents who voted them into office?
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is a perfect example; an elected senator who has served six years in her seat, never taking a strong stand in support of her constituents on any serious or controversial issue; a senator who has used her record-breaking TV public appearances to say “nothing”; a senator whose senate office adheres strictly to a motto of “See no Evil, Hear no Evil”; an elected official who has no record of conducting investigations into cases that are matters of great concern to her constituents and to our nation; a senator who has consistently stood quietly on the sidelines when the issues at hand demand public hearings – waiting to determine the direction of each blowing wind; a politician who has spent all her focus and energy on a campaign of shallow publicity glitz and her PR empire behind it.
Here are some documented illustrative examples:
James J. DiGeorgio and Carl Steubing died in ways no war veteran should.
They were subjected to illegal drug experimentation by employees of the Stratton Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Albany, New York; killed by servants of the very government they fought to protect.
Scores of other veterans were injured in these experiments, and only by the courage of whistleblowers Jeffrey Fudin and Anthony Mariano was any measure of justice achieved for these misdeeds.
One person was convicted of manslaughter, but investigations into other officials collapsed because of a lack of institutional nerve to follow the investigation to the end.
A scape-goated employee went to prison, while those who supervised, facilitated, and reaped the benefits of the lucrative, illegal drug testing went on to other VA positions with promotions and raises.
Between 2000 and June 2006, numerous contacts with Senator Hillary Clinton over the Stratton tragedy went unacknowledged, or glossed over, or shuffled around to various offices with no substantive action.
No less than five Clinton staff members heard presentations and received documentation about the experiments, and Senator Clinton herself is personally aware of the detailed facts of the case.
This personal knowledge did not translate into action, for though Senator Clinton carefully scripts her numerous public appearances to give the impression of caring and concern, her actions speak otherwise.
She noted "our nation made a pact with those who serve their country in the Armed Forces – a commitment that those who served would have access to quality health care through the VA hospital system . . . and they deserve to be treated as the best."
But while Senator Clinton was issuing such lofty statements and mugging for photo opportunities with active duty military, she did nothing about the systematic abuse and murder of veterans within her own constituency.
The Veterans Affairs Whistleblowers Coalition, and more recently the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition, sent numerous letters and e-mails and copious documentation, pleading for help from the Senator to investigate and address the crimes committed at Stratton, including unrelenting retaliation against the whistleblowers who brought these matters to public attention
Notably, the VAWBC recognized that the motivations and incentives that led to abuse at Stratton were present at many hospitals throughout the VA system, and that greed and poor management in the VA guaranteed that the events of Stratton would be repeated elsewhere.
The most vulnerable people, the sick and dying with nowhere to turn but to the VA, were exploited and killed by those tasked with their medical care, and their suffering and death were ignored by Senator Clinton.
It is doubly offensive that this woman sits on the Armed Services Committee, which, along with the Veterans Affairs Committee, has the duty to provide for the well-being of current and former military service members.
For all her posturing; for a senator who advertises herself as a hawk and pro military; how does she show it in action?
By abandoning our veterans and war heroes in need!
Senator Clinton’s failure concerning Stratton is not an isolated event; it is part of a pattern of studious avoidance of principled action in the face of serious government misconduct, and the refusal to come to the aid of those people who expose that misconduct.
When Bunnatine Greenhouse exposed extraordinary graft and impropriety in government contracting with Halliburton, when Sergeant Samuel Provance reported prisoner abuse and torture at Abu Ghraib, when Russ Tice disclosed violations of the Constitution by the National Security Agency, and when Jay Stroup, Thomas Bittler, Jim Griffin, and Ray Guagliardi exposed serious defects and negligence in the Transportation Security Administration that puts travelers at risk, Clinton did nothing.
No words of support, no calls for investigations, no efforts to prevent the lives and careers of whistleblowers from being destroyed.
Documents on numerous cases were shared with her office, offers to brief her and her staff have been made on many occasions, pleas for her to live up to the words she so casually utters, have all been ignored, or even ridiculed.
In her six years as senator she has done nothing but attempt to position herself for the presidency, done nothing but avoid acting out of principle and justice, done everything to offend no one.
We respect our opponents in much greater measure than we respect Senator Clinton, for with our opponents at least the fight is joined; at least they have the courage of their convictions, at least they place their bets in public.
But Senator Clinton, by trying to be something to everyone ends up being nothing to anyone.
Where she cannot act safely, she does not act.
The current times call for politicians to act with conviction and intelligence, not with cynical, calculated action in response to what opinion polls indicate.
If Senator Clinton cannot even come to the aid of constituent veterans being killed through grotesquely immoral and illegal medical experimentation, if she cannot commit herself to call for investigations of national security vulnerabilities that risk national catastrophe, if she cannot offer even moral support to those who disclose outrageous government incompetence and impropriety, is there anything that would prompt her to take a stance out of conviction?
Such a person has no business representing the people of this country.
Nothing stirs her soul except for her own selfish ambitions; ambitions that she places in front of the nation’s welfare.
Two weeks from today, New Yorkers will cast their vote to determine their upcoming democratic candidate.
We hope that they will ask themselves a few hard questions and consider their answers before they cast their vital votes.
Are they among those who are tired and disgusted with the current Congress, which has abdicated its duty and responsibility to the public at large?
Are they going to have “needed change and reform” in mind when voting for their next candidate?
Will they vote for someone with an established record of failure?
Or will they take a chance on new blood?
Are they going to take into consideration this incumbent’s misuse of “national security and terrorism”?
Will they reflect on her failures when presented with real issues threatening our security - brought to her by those on the front lines?
Will they consider having raised more money than any other democratic candidate a plus or a minus - questioning all she had to promise and everyone she had to sell out in order to raise those millions?
Will they simply ask, isn’t six years long enough?
Isn’t it time for a change?
Isn’t it time to give another democrat the opportunity to step up and become what we all long for – a true representative of the people?
We have confidence in the sophistication of our New Yorkers.
We believe they’ll say: “Ms. Clinton, fool us once, shame on you; fool us twice shame on us.”
Sibel Edmonds is the founder and director of National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC). Ms. Edmonds worked as a language specialist for the FBI. During her work with the bureau, she discovered and reported serious acts of security breaches, cover-ups, and intentional blocking of intelligence that had national security implications. After she reported these acts to FBI management, she was retaliated against by the FBI and ultimately fired in March 2002. Since that time, court proceedings on her case have been blocked by the assertion of “State Secret Privilege”; the Congress of the United States has been gagged and prevented from any discussion of her case through retroactive re-classification by the Department of Justice. Ms. Edmonds is fluent in Turkish, Farsi and Azerbaijani; and has a MA in Public Policy and International Commerce from George Mason University, and a BA in Criminal Justice and Psychology from George Washington University. PEN American Center awarded Ms. Edmonds the 2006 PEN/Newman's Own First Amendment Award.
Professor William Weaver is the senior advisor and a board member of National Security Whistleblowers Coalition. Mr. Weaver served in U.S. Army signals intelligence for eight years in Berlin and Augsburg, Germany, in the late 1970s and 1980s. He subsequently received his law degree and Ph.D. in politics from the University of Virginia, where he was on the editorial board of the Virginia Law Review. He is presently an Associate Professor of political science and an Associate in the Center for Law and Border Studies at the University of Texas at El Paso. He specializes in executive branch secrecy policy, governmental abuse, and law and bureaucracy. His articles have appeared in American Political Science Review, Political Science Quarterly, Virginia Law Review, Journal of Business Ethics, Organization and other journals. With co-author Robert Pallitto, his book Presidential Secrecy and the Law is forthcoming from Johns Hopkins University Press in the spring of 2007. His views and positions arising from his affiliation with the NSWBC do not reflect the sentiments of, or constitute and endorsement by, the University of Texas at El Paso.
What is this now?
People are picking on poor Hillary .....
Poor, poor Ms. Hillary .....
Who only wants the American Dream .....
For herself ...
The way ...
That George W. Bush ...
Got to have it ...
For himself .....
While more and more people .....
Not only here in OUR America ...
But in the world, as well .....
Get to have no dreams ...
ONLY CONTINUOUS NIGHTMARES .....
EVEN WHEN AWAKE ...
AND ESPECIALLY WHEN AWAKE ....
And so ....
Published on Monday, August 28, 2006 by CommonDreams.org
"Senator Hillary Clinton: All Show and No Substance"
by Sibel Edmonds & William Weaver
Recent surveys measuring public opinion and confidence in congress all arrived at the same conclusion: over seventy percent of Americans have lost faith and confidence in the United States Congress.
The public no longer trusts this body of politicians who were elected to represent the people and the peoples’ interests.
Instead, they now view these “representatives” as servants of special interest groups, corporations and high-powered lobbyists.
Americans are tired of watching and listening to elected officials who refrain from taking a strong stand on crucial issues, and who almost never state their positions with conviction and sincerity.
In the eyes of the nation these senators and representatives are nothing more than programmed publicity puppets, competing for face time in the media.
Common adjectives used by our citizens to describe these officials clearly reflect their sentiments:
* “spineless” .....
* “phony” .....
* “corrupt” ....
* “out of touch” .....
* “timid” ....
* “all show and no substance” .....
and the list goes on.
Why have we Americans lost confidence and faith in those elected?
Where and when did we go wrong; or perhaps more correctly, they go wrong?
What have these representatives done, or, failed to do, that arouses such anger and loathing in the very same constituents who voted them into office?
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is a perfect example; an elected senator who has served six years in her seat, never taking a strong stand in support of her constituents on any serious or controversial issue; a senator who has used her record-breaking TV public appearances to say “nothing”; a senator whose senate office adheres strictly to a motto of “See no Evil, Hear no Evil”; an elected official who has no record of conducting investigations into cases that are matters of great concern to her constituents and to our nation; a senator who has consistently stood quietly on the sidelines when the issues at hand demand public hearings – waiting to determine the direction of each blowing wind; a politician who has spent all her focus and energy on a campaign of shallow publicity glitz and her PR empire behind it.
Here are some documented illustrative examples:
James J. DiGeorgio and Carl Steubing died in ways no war veteran should.
They were subjected to illegal drug experimentation by employees of the Stratton Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Albany, New York; killed by servants of the very government they fought to protect.
Scores of other veterans were injured in these experiments, and only by the courage of whistleblowers Jeffrey Fudin and Anthony Mariano was any measure of justice achieved for these misdeeds.
One person was convicted of manslaughter, but investigations into other officials collapsed because of a lack of institutional nerve to follow the investigation to the end.
A scape-goated employee went to prison, while those who supervised, facilitated, and reaped the benefits of the lucrative, illegal drug testing went on to other VA positions with promotions and raises.
Between 2000 and June 2006, numerous contacts with Senator Hillary Clinton over the Stratton tragedy went unacknowledged, or glossed over, or shuffled around to various offices with no substantive action.
No less than five Clinton staff members heard presentations and received documentation about the experiments, and Senator Clinton herself is personally aware of the detailed facts of the case.
This personal knowledge did not translate into action, for though Senator Clinton carefully scripts her numerous public appearances to give the impression of caring and concern, her actions speak otherwise.
She noted "our nation made a pact with those who serve their country in the Armed Forces – a commitment that those who served would have access to quality health care through the VA hospital system . . . and they deserve to be treated as the best."
But while Senator Clinton was issuing such lofty statements and mugging for photo opportunities with active duty military, she did nothing about the systematic abuse and murder of veterans within her own constituency.
The Veterans Affairs Whistleblowers Coalition, and more recently the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition, sent numerous letters and e-mails and copious documentation, pleading for help from the Senator to investigate and address the crimes committed at Stratton, including unrelenting retaliation against the whistleblowers who brought these matters to public attention
Notably, the VAWBC recognized that the motivations and incentives that led to abuse at Stratton were present at many hospitals throughout the VA system, and that greed and poor management in the VA guaranteed that the events of Stratton would be repeated elsewhere.
The most vulnerable people, the sick and dying with nowhere to turn but to the VA, were exploited and killed by those tasked with their medical care, and their suffering and death were ignored by Senator Clinton.
It is doubly offensive that this woman sits on the Armed Services Committee, which, along with the Veterans Affairs Committee, has the duty to provide for the well-being of current and former military service members.
For all her posturing; for a senator who advertises herself as a hawk and pro military; how does she show it in action?
By abandoning our veterans and war heroes in need!
Senator Clinton’s failure concerning Stratton is not an isolated event; it is part of a pattern of studious avoidance of principled action in the face of serious government misconduct, and the refusal to come to the aid of those people who expose that misconduct.
When Bunnatine Greenhouse exposed extraordinary graft and impropriety in government contracting with Halliburton, when Sergeant Samuel Provance reported prisoner abuse and torture at Abu Ghraib, when Russ Tice disclosed violations of the Constitution by the National Security Agency, and when Jay Stroup, Thomas Bittler, Jim Griffin, and Ray Guagliardi exposed serious defects and negligence in the Transportation Security Administration that puts travelers at risk, Clinton did nothing.
No words of support, no calls for investigations, no efforts to prevent the lives and careers of whistleblowers from being destroyed.
Documents on numerous cases were shared with her office, offers to brief her and her staff have been made on many occasions, pleas for her to live up to the words she so casually utters, have all been ignored, or even ridiculed.
In her six years as senator she has done nothing but attempt to position herself for the presidency, done nothing but avoid acting out of principle and justice, done everything to offend no one.
We respect our opponents in much greater measure than we respect Senator Clinton, for with our opponents at least the fight is joined; at least they have the courage of their convictions, at least they place their bets in public.
But Senator Clinton, by trying to be something to everyone ends up being nothing to anyone.
Where she cannot act safely, she does not act.
The current times call for politicians to act with conviction and intelligence, not with cynical, calculated action in response to what opinion polls indicate.
If Senator Clinton cannot even come to the aid of constituent veterans being killed through grotesquely immoral and illegal medical experimentation, if she cannot commit herself to call for investigations of national security vulnerabilities that risk national catastrophe, if she cannot offer even moral support to those who disclose outrageous government incompetence and impropriety, is there anything that would prompt her to take a stance out of conviction?
Such a person has no business representing the people of this country.
Nothing stirs her soul except for her own selfish ambitions; ambitions that she places in front of the nation’s welfare.
Two weeks from today, New Yorkers will cast their vote to determine their upcoming democratic candidate.
We hope that they will ask themselves a few hard questions and consider their answers before they cast their vital votes.
Are they among those who are tired and disgusted with the current Congress, which has abdicated its duty and responsibility to the public at large?
Are they going to have “needed change and reform” in mind when voting for their next candidate?
Will they vote for someone with an established record of failure?
Or will they take a chance on new blood?
Are they going to take into consideration this incumbent’s misuse of “national security and terrorism”?
Will they reflect on her failures when presented with real issues threatening our security - brought to her by those on the front lines?
Will they consider having raised more money than any other democratic candidate a plus or a minus - questioning all she had to promise and everyone she had to sell out in order to raise those millions?
Will they simply ask, isn’t six years long enough?
Isn’t it time for a change?
Isn’t it time to give another democrat the opportunity to step up and become what we all long for – a true representative of the people?
We have confidence in the sophistication of our New Yorkers.
We believe they’ll say: “Ms. Clinton, fool us once, shame on you; fool us twice shame on us.”
Sibel Edmonds is the founder and director of National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC). Ms. Edmonds worked as a language specialist for the FBI. During her work with the bureau, she discovered and reported serious acts of security breaches, cover-ups, and intentional blocking of intelligence that had national security implications. After she reported these acts to FBI management, she was retaliated against by the FBI and ultimately fired in March 2002. Since that time, court proceedings on her case have been blocked by the assertion of “State Secret Privilege”; the Congress of the United States has been gagged and prevented from any discussion of her case through retroactive re-classification by the Department of Justice. Ms. Edmonds is fluent in Turkish, Farsi and Azerbaijani; and has a MA in Public Policy and International Commerce from George Mason University, and a BA in Criminal Justice and Psychology from George Washington University. PEN American Center awarded Ms. Edmonds the 2006 PEN/Newman's Own First Amendment Award.
Professor William Weaver is the senior advisor and a board member of National Security Whistleblowers Coalition. Mr. Weaver served in U.S. Army signals intelligence for eight years in Berlin and Augsburg, Germany, in the late 1970s and 1980s. He subsequently received his law degree and Ph.D. in politics from the University of Virginia, where he was on the editorial board of the Virginia Law Review. He is presently an Associate Professor of political science and an Associate in the Center for Law and Border Studies at the University of Texas at El Paso. He specializes in executive branch secrecy policy, governmental abuse, and law and bureaucracy. His articles have appeared in American Political Science Review, Political Science Quarterly, Virginia Law Review, Journal of Business Ethics, Organization and other journals. With co-author Robert Pallitto, his book Presidential Secrecy and the Law is forthcoming from Johns Hopkins University Press in the spring of 2007. His views and positions arising from his affiliation with the NSWBC do not reflect the sentiments of, or constitute and endorsement by, the University of Texas at El Paso.
Dumbing Down is Succeeding: We are becoming a Nation of Idiots
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060829/ap_on_re_us/sat_scores
Drop in SAT scores biggest in 31 years
By JUSTIN POPE, AP Education Writer
The high school class of 2006 recorded the sharpest drop in SAT scores in 31 years, a decline that the exam's owner, the College Board, said was partly due to some students taking the newly lengthened test only once instead of twice.
Fatigue wasn't to blame, the College Board insisted, even though this year's class was the first to take a new version of the exam which added an essay. It now takes an average of three hours and 45 minutes to complete the test, not counting breaks, up from three hours previously.
The results come several months after numerous colleges reported surprisingly low SAT scores for this year's incoming college freshmen. The nonprofit College Board, which had said scores would be down this year, released figures Tuesday showing combined critical reading and math skills fell seven points on average to 1021.
The average critical reading score fell from 508 to 503, while math dropped from 520 to 518. On the new SAT writing section, the class scored 497 on average, with girls scoring 11 points higher than boys.
A state-by-state breakdown of the results provided by the College Board can befound online at http://www.collegeboard.com/about/news_inf...06/reports.html.
In addition to the new writing section, the exam taken by the class of 2006 had other new features, including higher-level math and the elimination of analogies.
The College Board noted the drop in math scores amounts to one-fifth of one test question, and the reading to one-half of one question. But over about 1.5 million test-takers such drops are significant, and this was the biggest year-to-year decline since the class of 1975.
The results come two weeks after it was announced the class of 2006 had posted the biggest score increase in 20 years on the rival ACT exam. The ACT, which is also accepted by almost all colleges that require standardized tests, is generally more focused on material covered in high school classes than the SAT, which is more of a measure of general ability. But more students in traditional SAT states like Connecticut and New Jersey appear to be taking both exams to try to improve their applications to selective colleges.
The initial indication SAT scores were down this year prompted speculation students may have been tiring out toward the end of the marathon exam.
But in announcing the scores, the College Board said an analysis of 700,000 critical reading and math exams taken in the spring and fall of 2005 showed students were performing about the same early and late in the exam.
Instead, the College Board explained the drop by saying fewer students were taking the exam a second time, which typically boosts scores 30 points. The price of the test has risen from $28.50 to $41.50, though fees are sometimes waived.
Experts say the changeover in exams probably affected how students approached the test, and thus the scores. Students in the class of 2006 had the chance to take both the old SAT exam, until midway through their junior year, and the new SAT after that. If they did well the first time out, some may have opted to stand pat with those scores. Some colleges continued to accept scores from the old test during the bridge period.
"When a new test is introduced, students usually vary their test-taking behavior in a variety of ways and this affects scores," College Board President Gaston Caperton said in a news release.
On the SAT, boys' scores fell eight points from 513 to 505 in critical reading and from 538 to 536 in math. Girls' scores fell from 505 to 502 in reading and from 504 to 502 in math.
Average reading scores for black students rose 1 point from 433 to 434, while math scores fell two points from 431 to 429.
The College Board lists three categories for Hispanic students. Scores for Mexican-Americans rose three points overall, Puerto Ricans' fell two points and scores of students who identified themselves as "Other Hispanic" fell 11 points.
___
On the Net:
http://www.collegeboard.com
Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Questions or Comments
Privacy Policy -Terms of Service - Copyright/IP Policy - Ad Feedback
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060829/ap_on_re_us/sat_scores
Drop in SAT scores biggest in 31 years
By JUSTIN POPE, AP Education Writer
The high school class of 2006 recorded the sharpest drop in SAT scores in 31 years, a decline that the exam's owner, the College Board, said was partly due to some students taking the newly lengthened test only once instead of twice.
Fatigue wasn't to blame, the College Board insisted, even though this year's class was the first to take a new version of the exam which added an essay. It now takes an average of three hours and 45 minutes to complete the test, not counting breaks, up from three hours previously.
The results come several months after numerous colleges reported surprisingly low SAT scores for this year's incoming college freshmen. The nonprofit College Board, which had said scores would be down this year, released figures Tuesday showing combined critical reading and math skills fell seven points on average to 1021.
The average critical reading score fell from 508 to 503, while math dropped from 520 to 518. On the new SAT writing section, the class scored 497 on average, with girls scoring 11 points higher than boys.
A state-by-state breakdown of the results provided by the College Board can befound online at http://www.collegeboard.com/about/news_inf...06/reports.html.
In addition to the new writing section, the exam taken by the class of 2006 had other new features, including higher-level math and the elimination of analogies.
The College Board noted the drop in math scores amounts to one-fifth of one test question, and the reading to one-half of one question. But over about 1.5 million test-takers such drops are significant, and this was the biggest year-to-year decline since the class of 1975.
The results come two weeks after it was announced the class of 2006 had posted the biggest score increase in 20 years on the rival ACT exam. The ACT, which is also accepted by almost all colleges that require standardized tests, is generally more focused on material covered in high school classes than the SAT, which is more of a measure of general ability. But more students in traditional SAT states like Connecticut and New Jersey appear to be taking both exams to try to improve their applications to selective colleges.
The initial indication SAT scores were down this year prompted speculation students may have been tiring out toward the end of the marathon exam.
But in announcing the scores, the College Board said an analysis of 700,000 critical reading and math exams taken in the spring and fall of 2005 showed students were performing about the same early and late in the exam.
Instead, the College Board explained the drop by saying fewer students were taking the exam a second time, which typically boosts scores 30 points. The price of the test has risen from $28.50 to $41.50, though fees are sometimes waived.
Experts say the changeover in exams probably affected how students approached the test, and thus the scores. Students in the class of 2006 had the chance to take both the old SAT exam, until midway through their junior year, and the new SAT after that. If they did well the first time out, some may have opted to stand pat with those scores. Some colleges continued to accept scores from the old test during the bridge period.
"When a new test is introduced, students usually vary their test-taking behavior in a variety of ways and this affects scores," College Board President Gaston Caperton said in a news release.
On the SAT, boys' scores fell eight points from 513 to 505 in critical reading and from 538 to 536 in math. Girls' scores fell from 505 to 502 in reading and from 504 to 502 in math.
Average reading scores for black students rose 1 point from 433 to 434, while math scores fell two points from 431 to 429.
The College Board lists three categories for Hispanic students. Scores for Mexican-Americans rose three points overall, Puerto Ricans' fell two points and scores of students who identified themselves as "Other Hispanic" fell 11 points.
___
On the Net:
http://www.collegeboard.com
Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Questions or Comments
Privacy Policy -Terms of Service - Copyright/IP Policy - Ad Feedback
QUOTE(Snuffysmith @ Aug 29 2006, 09:52 AM)
Dumbing Down is Succeeding: We are becoming a Nation of Idiots
That happens in civilizations .....
There becomes a comfort in it ...
And there definitely is a threat to being an intellectual .....
And that has been so .....
Over quite a stretch of time now .....
Down here on this earth of OURS .....
As it is right now .....
In this day and age ...
Of Donald "GASBAG" Rumsfeld .....
And so .....
The "GASBAG" .....
Is one of those CORPORATE CEO types .....
Who has to be "TOP OF THE HEAP" in everything ......
To the point of where those that are allowed to surround them ...
Like Air Force General Richard Myers .....
Are toadies, and bootlickers and sycophants .....
With no minds of their own .....
And since these are the nation's "leaders" .....
Well ....
"Rumsfeld lashes out at Bush's critics"
By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer
2 hours, 6 minutes ago
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday the world faces "a new type of fascism" and likened critics of the Bush administration's war strategy to those who tried to appease the Nazis in the 1930s.
In unusually explicit terms, Rumsfeld portrayed the administration's critics as suffering from "moral or intellectual confusion" about what threatens the nation's security.
His remarks amounted to one of his most pointed defenses of President Bush' war policies and was among his toughest attacks on Bush's critics.
Speaking to several thousand veterans at the American Legion's national convention, Rumsfeld recited what he called the lessons of history, including the failure to confront Hitler.
He quoted Winston Churchill as observing that trying to accommodate Hitler was "a bit like feeding a crocodile, hoping it would eat you last."
"I recount this history because once again we face similar challenges in efforts to confront the rising threat of a new type of fascism," he said.
"Can we truly afford to believe that somehow, some way, vicious extremists can be appeased?" he asked.
"Can we truly afford to return to the destructive view that America — not the enemy — is the real source of the world's troubles?"
Rumsfeld spoke to the American Legion as part of a coordinated White House strategy, in advance of the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, to take the offensive against administration critics at a time of doubt about the future of Iraq and growing calls to withdraw U.S. troops.
Rumsfeld recalled a string of recent terrorist attacks, from 9/11 to deadly bombings in Bali, London and Madrid, and said it should be obvious to anyone that terrorists must be confronted, not appeased.
"But some seem not to have learned history's lessons," he said, adding that part of the problem is that the American news media have tended to emphasize the negative rather than the positive.
He said, for example, that more media attention was given to U.S. soldiers' abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib than to the fact that Sgt. 1st Class Paul Ray Smith received the Medal of Honor.
He did acknowledge that the U.S. military has its own "bad actors — the ones who dominate the headlines today — who don't live up to the standards of the oath and of our country."
But he added that they are a small percentage of the hundreds of thousands of troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Those who know the truth need to speak out against these kinds of myths and lies and distortions being told about our troops and about our country," he said.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was addressing the American Legion convention later Tuesday, and Bush is scheduled to speak here later in the week.
On Monday, Vice President Dick Cheney and Rumsfeld made separate addresses to the national convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Reno, Nev.
Rumsfeld made similar arguments in Reno about doubters of the administration's approach to fighting terrorism, saying too many in this country want to "blame America first" and ignore the enemy.
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., a former Army officer and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in an interview Tuesday that "no one has misread history more than" Rumsfeld.
"It's a political rant to cover up his incompetence," said Reed, a longtime critic of Rumsfeld's handling of the war.
Reed said he took particular exception to the implication that critics of Pentagon policies are unpatriotic, citing "scores of patriotic Americans of both parties who are highly critical of his handling of the Department of Defense."
Rumsfeld defended the war in Iraq, saying that while U.S. military tactics have changed as conditions on the ground have changed, the administration's war strategy has remained constant:
"to empower the Iraqi people to defend, govern and rebuild their own country."
In arguing against giving up in Iraq, he said people should know from history that wars are never easy.
"You know from experience that in every war — personally — there have been mistakes and setbacks and casualties," he said.
"War is," as Clemenceau said, `A series of catastrophes that results in victory'."
end quotes
If there is FASCISM in OUR world today .....
And I believe that there is ....
My money is on ......
Donald "GAS BAG" Rumsfeld ......
Being much more a part of that FASCISM .....
Than he is any kind of solution to it .....
And so ...
And Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island .....
"RIGHT ON!"
Is what I say .....
With regard to your comment on the monumental incompetence .....
Of this one man ...
This "GASBAG" Rumsfeld .....
Who has given us "STARSHIP TROOPERS" .....
From out of some space fantasy .....
That seems to be raging in his head ....
AS HIS "TRANSFORMATION PLAN" .....
For OUR American military ....
When what we needed .....
Over there in Iraq .....
Right from the get-go ...
Were troops and personnel .....
Trained in nation-building .....
BUT THE "GASBAG" OVERLOOKED ALL OF THAT .....
In what are laughingly called .....
This administration's "WAR PLANS" for Iraq .....
That have gotten us bogged down .....
In this quagmire .....
Over there in Iraq .....
That "GASBAG" Rumsfeld's incompetence as a Secretary of Defense .....
Is directly responsible for ....
And so ....
QUOTE(Livyjr @ Aug 29 2006, 03:28 PM)
"Rumsfeld lashes out at Bush's critics"
By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - In unusually explicit terms, Rumsfeld portrayed the administration's critics as suffering from "moral or intellectual confusion" about what threatens the nation's security.
"I recount this history because once again we face similar challenges in efforts to confront the rising threat of a new type of fascism," he said.
"Can we truly afford to return to the destructive view that America — not the enemy — is the real source of the world's troubles?"
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., a former Army officer and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in an interview Tuesday that "no one has misread history more than" Rumsfeld.
"It's a political rant to cover up his incompetence," said Reed, a longtime critic of Rumsfeld's handling of the war.
By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - In unusually explicit terms, Rumsfeld portrayed the administration's critics as suffering from "moral or intellectual confusion" about what threatens the nation's security.
"I recount this history because once again we face similar challenges in efforts to confront the rising threat of a new type of fascism," he said.
"Can we truly afford to return to the destructive view that America — not the enemy — is the real source of the world's troubles?"
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., a former Army officer and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in an interview Tuesday that "no one has misread history more than" Rumsfeld.
"It's a political rant to cover up his incompetence," said Reed, a longtime critic of Rumsfeld's handling of the war.
On September 10 (2001), Rumsfeld held a town meeting at the Pentagon to let officials know that he felt the MAIN THREAT to a more efficient and innovative defense structure was internal.
"THE TOPIC TODAY IS AN ADVERSARY THAT POSES A THREAT, A SERIOUS THREAT, TO THE SECURITY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA," Rumsfeld began.
"FROM A SINGLE CAPITAL, IT ATTEMPTS TO IMPOSE ITS DEMANDS ACROSS TIME ZONES, CONTINENTS, OCEANS AND BEYOND."
"WITH BRUTAL CONSISTENCY, IT STIFLES FREE THOUGHT AND CRUSHES NEW IDEAS."
"IT DISRUPTS THE DEFENSE OF THE UNITED STATES AND PLACES THE LIVES OF MEN AND WOMEN IN UNIFORM AT RISK ....."
"YOU MAY THINK I'M DESCRIBING ONE OF THE LAST DECREPIT DICTATORS OF THE WORLD."
"BUT THEIR DAY, TOO, IS ALMOST PAST, AND THEY CANNOT MATCH THE STRENGTH AND SIZE OF THIS ADVERSARY."
"THE ADVERSARY'S CLOSER TO HOME."
"IT'S THE PENTAGON BUREAUCRACY."
- Donald Rumsfeld, "Bureaucracy to Battlefield," speech, 10 September 2001, available from http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/2001/s...910-secdef.html , accessed 1 Nov. 2005
- - page 9, Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq by Michael R. Gordon and General Bernard E. Trainor ......
QUOTE(Livyjr @ Aug 29 2006, 03:28 PM)
And Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island .....
"RIGHT ON!"
Is what I say .....
With regard to your comment on the monumental incompetence .....
Of this one man ...
This "GASBAG" Rumsfeld .....
Who has given us "STARSHIP TROOPERS" .....
From out of some space fantasy .....
That seems to be raging in his head ....
AS HIS "TRANSFORMATION PLAN" .....
For OUR American military ....
When what we needed .....
Over there in Iraq .....
Right from the get-go ...
Were troops and personnel .....
Trained in nation-building .....
BUT THE "GASBAG" OVERLOOKED ALL OF THAT .....
In what are laughingly called .....
This administration's "WAR PLANS" for Iraq .....
That have gotten us bogged down .....
In this quagmire .....
Over there in Iraq .....
That "GASBAG" Rumsfeld's incompetence as a Secretary of Defense .....
Is directly responsible for ....
And so ....
"RIGHT ON!"
Is what I say .....
With regard to your comment on the monumental incompetence .....
Of this one man ...
This "GASBAG" Rumsfeld .....
Who has given us "STARSHIP TROOPERS" .....
From out of some space fantasy .....
That seems to be raging in his head ....
AS HIS "TRANSFORMATION PLAN" .....
For OUR American military ....
When what we needed .....
Over there in Iraq .....
Right from the get-go ...
Were troops and personnel .....
Trained in nation-building .....
BUT THE "GASBAG" OVERLOOKED ALL OF THAT .....
In what are laughingly called .....
This administration's "WAR PLANS" for Iraq .....
That have gotten us bogged down .....
In this quagmire .....
Over there in Iraq .....
That "GASBAG" Rumsfeld's incompetence as a Secretary of Defense .....
Is directly responsible for ....
And so ....
Rumsfeld had been receiving his daily CIA briefing shortly before the American Airlines plane plowed into the building on September 11.
Afterward, he had staked out a clear position on how the Bush team should respond.
The United States should take the fight to the Taliban and Al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan, BUT IT WOULD NOT END THERE.
The Pentagon needed to take an even more forceful step that would let its enemies know that the United States was now involved in a global war against the terrorists and the renegade states that helped them.
The U.S. needed to land a series of blows well beyond Afghanistan.
The question was where and when to strike.
The defense secretary's meeting had been called to ponder the war plan for another potential adversary.
General Richard B. Myers, the PLIABLE chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) who was picked by Rumsfeld because of his reputation as a team player, was there.
SO WAS PETER PACE, THE AMBITIOUS VICE CHAIRMAN WHO WAS ALREADY BEING TALKED ABOUT AS AN OFFICER WHO MIGHT FOLLOW IN MYER'S FOOTSTEPS.
Greg Newbold, the three-star general who served as chief operations deputy for the JCS, had the main assignment for the session.
He was to outline Central Command's OPLAN 1003-98, the military's contingency plan in the event of war with Iraq.
Newbold was armed with a pile of slides as the generals and Rumsfeld sat around a conference table.
As Newbold outlined the plan, which called for as many as 500,000 troops, IT WAS CLEAR THAT RUMSFELD WAS GROWING INCREASINGLY IRRITATED.
FOR RUMSFELD, THE PLAN REQUIRED TOO MANY TROOPS AND SUPPLIES AND TOOK FAR TOO LONG TO EXECUTE.
IT WAS, RUMSFELD DECLARED, THE PRODUCT OF OLD THINKING AND THE EMBODIMENT OF EVERYTHING THAT WAS WRONG WITH THE MILITARY.
MYERS ASKED RUMSFELD HOW MANY TROOPS HE THOUGHT MIGHT BE NEEDED.
THE DEFENSE SECRETARY SAID IN EXASPERATION THAT HE DID NOT SEE WHY MORE THAN 125,000 TROOPS WOULD BE REQUIRED AND EVEN THAT WAS PROBABLY TOO MANY.
RUMSFELD'S REACTION WAS DUTIFULLY PASSED ON TO THE UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND.
"My regret is at that at the time I did not say, 'Mr. Secretary, if you try to put a number on a mission like this you may cause enormous mistakes,' " Newbold later recalled.
"Give the military the task, give the military what you would like to see them do, and then let them come up with it."
"I WAS THE JUNIOR MILITARY MAN IN THE ROOM, BUT I REGRET NOT SAYING IT."
The 1003 plan was ripe for review and was based on the assumption that it would be Iraq that would start the fight.
Nonetheless, the plan, which had been regularly exercised in war games, reflected long-standing military principles about the force levels that were needed to defeat Iraq, control a population fo more than 24 million, and secure a nation the size of California with porous borders.
RUMSFELD'S NUMBERS, IN CONTRAST, SEEMED TO BE PULLED OUT OF THIN AIR.
HE HAD DISMISSED ONE OF THE MILITARY'S LONG-STANDING PLANS AND SUGGESTED HIS OWN FORCE LEVEL WITHOUT ANY OF THE GENERALS RAISING A CAUTIONARY FLAG.
- pages 3-5, Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq by Michael R. Gordon and General Bernard E. Trainor ......
And while we are on the seemingly endless subject .....
Of incompetence .....
In OUR national government
In this day and age of the BUSHCOS .....
We have .....
"Hey BROWNIE, YOU'RE DOING A HECK OF A JOB!"
"Ex-FEMA chief blames administration"
Tue Aug 29, 8:16 AM ET
WASHINGTON - Former FEMA Director Michael Brown, who lost his job because of Hurricane Katrina, said Tuesday his biggest regret a year later is that he wasn't candid enough about the lack of a coherent federal response plan.
"There was no plan."
"... Three years ago, we should have done catastrophic planning," Brown said, charging that the Bush administration and his department head, Michael Chertoff, "would not give me the money to do that kind of planning."
As levees broke down at Katrina's strike against New Orleans and people were forced from their homes, Brown said he sought futilely to get the 82nd Airborne Division into the city quickly.
Appearing on NBC's "Today" show, he was asked about positive statements he had made at the time about how Washington would come through for the storm victims, rather than leveling with the country about how bad the situation actually was.
"Those were White House talking points," Brown replied.
"And to this day, I think that was my biggest mistake."
Brown said that at many intervals during the week the storm hit, he found himself asking, "Where in the hell is the help?"
"I have to confess ... you want to protect the president when you're a political appointee," he said, "so you're torn between telling the absolute truth and relying on those talking points."
To this day, that is my biggest regret."
Brown said he had been made the scapegoat for the government's slow response "because I'm the low man on the totem pole."
He said he thought that President Bush and Chertoff, the homeland security secretary, should have shared in the blame.
He denied that he lacked qualifications to direct the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"That's just baloney."
"I spent more time in my career in local government and in state government and in emergency management experience," Brown said.
"But what I regret the most: I let the American public down."
"I am a fighter ... but for some reason, with Katrina crashing in on me, I didn't do it."
end quotes
This BUSHCO crowd is "faith-based" .....
So it don't need comprehensive plans .....
Being "faith-based" .....
Well ...
Like was the case with Iraq .....
You don't need plans .....
You just need faith ....
Like the British had in George W. Bush ...
When they signed on ....
As equal partners .....
In George W. Bush's IRAQ FIASCO ....
WHERE WE ARE NOW MIRED DOWN ....
FOR THE DURATION .....
And so ....
Of incompetence .....
In OUR national government
In this day and age of the BUSHCOS .....
We have .....
"Hey BROWNIE, YOU'RE DOING A HECK OF A JOB!"
"Ex-FEMA chief blames administration"
Tue Aug 29, 8:16 AM ET
WASHINGTON - Former FEMA Director Michael Brown, who lost his job because of Hurricane Katrina, said Tuesday his biggest regret a year later is that he wasn't candid enough about the lack of a coherent federal response plan.
"There was no plan."
"... Three years ago, we should have done catastrophic planning," Brown said, charging that the Bush administration and his department head, Michael Chertoff, "would not give me the money to do that kind of planning."
As levees broke down at Katrina's strike against New Orleans and people were forced from their homes, Brown said he sought futilely to get the 82nd Airborne Division into the city quickly.
Appearing on NBC's "Today" show, he was asked about positive statements he had made at the time about how Washington would come through for the storm victims, rather than leveling with the country about how bad the situation actually was.
"Those were White House talking points," Brown replied.
"And to this day, I think that was my biggest mistake."
Brown said that at many intervals during the week the storm hit, he found himself asking, "Where in the hell is the help?"
"I have to confess ... you want to protect the president when you're a political appointee," he said, "so you're torn between telling the absolute truth and relying on those talking points."
To this day, that is my biggest regret."
Brown said he had been made the scapegoat for the government's slow response "because I'm the low man on the totem pole."
He said he thought that President Bush and Chertoff, the homeland security secretary, should have shared in the blame.
He denied that he lacked qualifications to direct the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"That's just baloney."
"I spent more time in my career in local government and in state government and in emergency management experience," Brown said.
"But what I regret the most: I let the American public down."
"I am a fighter ... but for some reason, with Katrina crashing in on me, I didn't do it."
end quotes
This BUSHCO crowd is "faith-based" .....
So it don't need comprehensive plans .....
Being "faith-based" .....
Well ...
Like was the case with Iraq .....
You don't need plans .....
You just need faith ....
Like the British had in George W. Bush ...
When they signed on ....
As equal partners .....
In George W. Bush's IRAQ FIASCO ....
WHERE WE ARE NOW MIRED DOWN ....
FOR THE DURATION .....
And so ....
UNDER DONALD "GASBAG" RUMSFELD'S LACK OF LEADERSHIP ....
AND ABILITY ....
THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ....
DOWN THERE IN THE PENTAGON .....
IN WASHINGTON. D.C. .....
SHOULD BE RE-NAMED "FIASCO CENTRAL" .....
TO REFLECT REALITY DOWN THERE ....
UNDER "GASBAG" RUMSFELD ....
And so .....
AND ABILITY ....
THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ....
DOWN THERE IN THE PENTAGON .....
IN WASHINGTON. D.C. .....
SHOULD BE RE-NAMED "FIASCO CENTRAL" .....
TO REFLECT REALITY DOWN THERE ....
UNDER "GASBAG" RUMSFELD ....
And so .....
And then ....
Of course ....
There is always the economy ....
"Minutes: Fed feared hurting economy"
By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer
1 hour, 26 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Worries about short-term damage to the economy led Federal Reserve policy-makers at their August meeting to halt a more than two-year-old interest rate-raising campaign.
By taking a breather, the Fed would have time to assess the toll on economic activity and inflation of its 17 rate increases since 2004, according to minutes of the Fed's Aug. 8 meeting, released Tuesday.
It can take time for rate increases to work their way through the economy.
"The full effect of previous increases in interest rates on activity and prices probably had not yet been felt, and a pause was viewed as appropriate to limit the risks of tightening too much," the minutes said.
The Fed's goal is to push up rates to thwart inflation but not so much as to cripple economic activity.
It's a tricky task, economists say.
Fed chief Ben Bernanke and all but one of his central bank colleagues voted to hold the federal funds rate steady at 5.25 percent at the August meeting.
The funds rate, the interest banks charge each other on overnight loans, affects a variety of other interest rates charged to businesses and consumers.
It is the Fed's main tool to influence the economy.
The lone dissenter, Jeffrey Lacker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Va., favored another rate increase.
"He believed that further tightening was needed to bring inflation down more rapidly than would be the case if the policy rate were kept unchanged," the minutes said.
Even though nearly all the Fed members voted to leave the funds rate alone in August, many thought the decision to do so "was a close call" and that another rate increase "could well be needed" to fend off inflation, the minutes said.
Still, members expressed hope that the slowing economy would eventually lessen inflation pressures.
"Most members anticipated that inflation pressures quite possibly would ease gradually over coming quarters and the current stance of policy could well prove to be consistent with satisfactory economic performance," the minutes said.
Oil prices, which had surged to a new record high in mid-July, have retreated and are now hovering below $70 a barrel.
Fed policy-makers made clear that they would be keeping a close eye on inflation barometers.
Economic growth, meanwhile, slowed in the spring as the housing market lost steam and consumers and businesses alike tightened the belt.
Fed members also suggested they would be keeping close tabs on the housing slowdown, which has important implications for overall economic activity.
The Fed's next meeting on interest rates is Sept. 20.
Many economists believe the Fed will again leave rates unchanged, while others predict another rate increase.
After digesting the Fed minutes, Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, observed:
"In short, the (Fed) appears to think it has done enough, though it is far from certain."
At the August meeting, Fed policy-makers also discussed ways to improve their communications with Wall Street and Main Street.
That discussion will be resumed in the fall at the Fed's October meeting, the minutes said.
___
On the Net:
Federal Reserve: http://www.federalreserve.gov/
Of course ....
There is always the economy ....
"Minutes: Fed feared hurting economy"
By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer
1 hour, 26 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Worries about short-term damage to the economy led Federal Reserve policy-makers at their August meeting to halt a more than two-year-old interest rate-raising campaign.
By taking a breather, the Fed would have time to assess the toll on economic activity and inflation of its 17 rate increases since 2004, according to minutes of the Fed's Aug. 8 meeting, released Tuesday.
It can take time for rate increases to work their way through the economy.
"The full effect of previous increases in interest rates on activity and prices probably had not yet been felt, and a pause was viewed as appropriate to limit the risks of tightening too much," the minutes said.
The Fed's goal is to push up rates to thwart inflation but not so much as to cripple economic activity.
It's a tricky task, economists say.
Fed chief Ben Bernanke and all but one of his central bank colleagues voted to hold the federal funds rate steady at 5.25 percent at the August meeting.
The funds rate, the interest banks charge each other on overnight loans, affects a variety of other interest rates charged to businesses and consumers.
It is the Fed's main tool to influence the economy.
The lone dissenter, Jeffrey Lacker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Va., favored another rate increase.
"He believed that further tightening was needed to bring inflation down more rapidly than would be the case if the policy rate were kept unchanged," the minutes said.
Even though nearly all the Fed members voted to leave the funds rate alone in August, many thought the decision to do so "was a close call" and that another rate increase "could well be needed" to fend off inflation, the minutes said.
Still, members expressed hope that the slowing economy would eventually lessen inflation pressures.
"Most members anticipated that inflation pressures quite possibly would ease gradually over coming quarters and the current stance of policy could well prove to be consistent with satisfactory economic performance," the minutes said.
Oil prices, which had surged to a new record high in mid-July, have retreated and are now hovering below $70 a barrel.
Fed policy-makers made clear that they would be keeping a close eye on inflation barometers.
Economic growth, meanwhile, slowed in the spring as the housing market lost steam and consumers and businesses alike tightened the belt.
Fed members also suggested they would be keeping close tabs on the housing slowdown, which has important implications for overall economic activity.
The Fed's next meeting on interest rates is Sept. 20.
Many economists believe the Fed will again leave rates unchanged, while others predict another rate increase.
After digesting the Fed minutes, Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, observed:
"In short, the (Fed) appears to think it has done enough, though it is far from certain."
At the August meeting, Fed policy-makers also discussed ways to improve their communications with Wall Street and Main Street.
That discussion will be resumed in the fall at the Fed's October meeting, the minutes said.
___
On the Net:
Federal Reserve: http://www.federalreserve.gov/
And faith ....
We just have to have faith in George W. Bush ....
And that is that ....
And if we don't ....
He'll send out some goons ....
To bash us in the head .....
Until we do ....
And so ....
"New Chief Oversees a Less Visible Faith Office"
By Alan Cooperman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 25, 2006; Page A15
The White House announced Jay F. Hein's appointment at 6:30 p.m. on a Thursday three weeks ago, the kind of timing usually reserved for news the administration wants to bury.
Hein is the new director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, the third person since 2000 who has headed President Bush's effort to help religious groups win public funding to counsel addicts, mentor prisoners' children and provide other social services.
Before he took up his duties this week, the position had been vacant for more than two months.
To some supporters of the president's "faith-based initiative," those circumstances are a stark indicator of how low one of Bush's signature programs has fallen in the priorities of his second-term, wartime administration.
"It's part of a continuing story of ambivalence."
"It's hard to look at the evidence and see any real passion for the initiative from the White House," said J. David Kuo, a former deputy director of the White House's faith-based office.
Hein, 41, who moved from Indianapolis to Washington last week, is a born-again Christian who previously ran the Sagamore Institute for Policy Research, a small but well-respected Indiana think tank on civic issues.
He said in an interview that he is convinced of Bush's full support.
"I had 30 minutes of Oval Office time with the president before I accepted the position, and that spoke loudly to me about his personal interest in seeing this initiative made successful and that it remains a high priority on his desk," Hein said last week.
He added that he had met Bush on one prior occasion, at a meeting two years ago of experts on AIDS policy.
Hein was an adviser to former Wisconsin governor Tommy Thompson ® and has worked closely in recent years with former senator Dan Coats (R-Ind.), who helped connect him to the White House.
Both Thompson and Coats were major players in the 1990s effort to overhaul welfare policy.
"Welfare reform was a government-centered question," Hein said.
"I believe the faith-based initiative is a natural extension from that work."
"The question is: How does society at large more effectively do those things -- relieving human suffering and equipping the poor to achieve greater self-sufficiency?"
Hein enters the administration as a deputy assistant to the president, a rung lower than that of his predecessors, H. James Towey and John J. DiIulio Jr.
He is not as well known as either Towey, who had worked closely with Mother Teresa, or DiIulio, one of the intellectual architects of Bush's "compassionate conservatism."
But White House officials said it would be wrong to read anything into the timing of Hein's appointment or his job title.
They noted that Towey also started as a deputy assistant to the president and was promoted after three years of White House service.
He resigned in April to become president of St. Vincent College, a Roman Catholic school in Latrobe, Pa.
"Since the Faith-Based and Community Initiative is one of the president's top priorities, we conducted an extensive search to ensure we found the right person to lead this important program," said White House press officer Emily A. Lawrimore, explaining the gap between Towey's June 2 departure and Hein's Aug. 3 appointment.
Coincidentally, Hein's first week on the job was the 10th anniversary of "Charitable Choice," a key predecessor of the faith-based initiative.
On Aug. 22, 1996, President Bill Clinton signed a bill designed to "end welfare as we know it" by, among other things, allowing states to use federal funds to pay religious groups to provide social services.
From the start, Charitable Choice was seen as a way to broaden the services available to single mothers, the homeless and impoverished elderly people.
But it was also controversial on church-state grounds, particularly because it allowed government-funded groups to hire and fire employees on the basis of religion.
During his first campaign for president, Bush promised to unleash "armies of compassion" by extending a charitable tax deduction to the 70 percent of taxpayers who do not itemize their deductions.
After taking office in 2001, he pushed other tax cuts through Congress but met resistance over his efforts to apply Charitable Choice to all federal social spending.
In the end, Bush issued executive orders to put the faith-based initiative into effect administratively, dropping his plan for major tax breaks to spur charitable giving.
One result, according to a study by the independent Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy, is that government grants to religious charities are rising, but grants to charities overall have been squeezed.
Another result, according to former administration officials, is that the office Hein occupies has become more of a coordinator of existing executive branch activities than a producer of bold new policies and legislation.
"What he needs to do is consolidate and put into practice a lot of things that have already been talked about," said Stanley Carlson-Thies, who worked in the faith-based office during Bush's first term.
In contrast to his sometimes-flamboyant predecessors, Hein is a "very orderly and businesslike person" who is well-suited to run the faith-based effort for the remaining 18 months of the Bush administration, said William A. Schambra, an expert on philanthropy at the Hudson Institute, a think tank where Hein once worked.
Because the faith-based office "has a very poor track record when it comes to getting legislation passed," Schambra said, Hein's task will be "to pull out of the wreckage of the faith-based initiative the pieces of it that really should be preserved as a legacy for the next Republican administration."
Hein agreed that "the initiative is well under way operationally."
"The policies are being implemented not only at Cabinet agencies but at the state and local level, as well," he said.
"So I'll be taking a policy wonk approach into the job."
We just have to have faith in George W. Bush ....
And that is that ....
And if we don't ....
He'll send out some goons ....
To bash us in the head .....
Until we do ....
And so ....
"New Chief Oversees a Less Visible Faith Office"
By Alan Cooperman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 25, 2006; Page A15
The White House announced Jay F. Hein's appointment at 6:30 p.m. on a Thursday three weeks ago, the kind of timing usually reserved for news the administration wants to bury.
Hein is the new director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, the third person since 2000 who has headed President Bush's effort to help religious groups win public funding to counsel addicts, mentor prisoners' children and provide other social services.
Before he took up his duties this week, the position had been vacant for more than two months.
To some supporters of the president's "faith-based initiative," those circumstances are a stark indicator of how low one of Bush's signature programs has fallen in the priorities of his second-term, wartime administration.
"It's part of a continuing story of ambivalence."
"It's hard to look at the evidence and see any real passion for the initiative from the White House," said J. David Kuo, a former deputy director of the White House's faith-based office.
Hein, 41, who moved from Indianapolis to Washington last week, is a born-again Christian who previously ran the Sagamore Institute for Policy Research, a small but well-respected Indiana think tank on civic issues.
He said in an interview that he is convinced of Bush's full support.
"I had 30 minutes of Oval Office time with the president before I accepted the position, and that spoke loudly to me about his personal interest in seeing this initiative made successful and that it remains a high priority on his desk," Hein said last week.
He added that he had met Bush on one prior occasion, at a meeting two years ago of experts on AIDS policy.
Hein was an adviser to former Wisconsin governor Tommy Thompson ® and has worked closely in recent years with former senator Dan Coats (R-Ind.), who helped connect him to the White House.
Both Thompson and Coats were major players in the 1990s effort to overhaul welfare policy.
"Welfare reform was a government-centered question," Hein said.
"I believe the faith-based initiative is a natural extension from that work."
"The question is: How does society at large more effectively do those things -- relieving human suffering and equipping the poor to achieve greater self-sufficiency?"
Hein enters the administration as a deputy assistant to the president, a rung lower than that of his predecessors, H. James Towey and John J. DiIulio Jr.
He is not as well known as either Towey, who had worked closely with Mother Teresa, or DiIulio, one of the intellectual architects of Bush's "compassionate conservatism."
But White House officials said it would be wrong to read anything into the timing of Hein's appointment or his job title.
They noted that Towey also started as a deputy assistant to the president and was promoted after three years of White House service.
He resigned in April to become president of St. Vincent College, a Roman Catholic school in Latrobe, Pa.
"Since the Faith-Based and Community Initiative is one of the president's top priorities, we conducted an extensive search to ensure we found the right person to lead this important program," said White House press officer Emily A. Lawrimore, explaining the gap between Towey's June 2 departure and Hein's Aug. 3 appointment.
Coincidentally, Hein's first week on the job was the 10th anniversary of "Charitable Choice," a key predecessor of the faith-based initiative.
On Aug. 22, 1996, President Bill Clinton signed a bill designed to "end welfare as we know it" by, among other things, allowing states to use federal funds to pay religious groups to provide social services.
From the start, Charitable Choice was seen as a way to broaden the services available to single mothers, the homeless and impoverished elderly people.
But it was also controversial on church-state grounds, particularly because it allowed government-funded groups to hire and fire employees on the basis of religion.
During his first campaign for president, Bush promised to unleash "armies of compassion" by extending a charitable tax deduction to the 70 percent of taxpayers who do not itemize their deductions.
After taking office in 2001, he pushed other tax cuts through Congress but met resistance over his efforts to apply Charitable Choice to all federal social spending.
In the end, Bush issued executive orders to put the faith-based initiative into effect administratively, dropping his plan for major tax breaks to spur charitable giving.
One result, according to a study by the independent Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy, is that government grants to religious charities are rising, but grants to charities overall have been squeezed.
Another result, according to former administration officials, is that the office Hein occupies has become more of a coordinator of existing executive branch activities than a producer of bold new policies and legislation.
"What he needs to do is consolidate and put into practice a lot of things that have already been talked about," said Stanley Carlson-Thies, who worked in the faith-based office during Bush's first term.
In contrast to his sometimes-flamboyant predecessors, Hein is a "very orderly and businesslike person" who is well-suited to run the faith-based effort for the remaining 18 months of the Bush administration, said William A. Schambra, an expert on philanthropy at the Hudson Institute, a think tank where Hein once worked.
Because the faith-based office "has a very poor track record when it comes to getting legislation passed," Schambra said, Hein's task will be "to pull out of the wreckage of the faith-based initiative the pieces of it that really should be preserved as a legacy for the next Republican administration."
Hein agreed that "the initiative is well under way operationally."
"The policies are being implemented not only at Cabinet agencies but at the state and local level, as well," he said.
"So I'll be taking a policy wonk approach into the job."
And politics ....
"Sweeney has 19-point lead over Gillibrand - With 10 weeks to go, incumbent has big, but not insurmountable edge, Siena poll spokesman says"
By TIM O'BRIEN, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Tuesday, August 29, 2006
TROY -- Incumbent U.S. Rep. John Sweeney holds a commanding 19-point lead over Democratic challenger Kirsten Gillibrand in a new Siena College poll released Monday.
In a race that has garnered national attention, the poll shows Sweeney a clear favorite in the 20th Congressional District race, with a 53 percent to 34 percent lead over Gillibrand 10 weeks before Election Day, said Steven Greenberg, spokesman for the Siena Research Institute.
The poll of 628 registered voters was conducted Aug. 21-23 and has a margin of error of 3.9 percentage points.
"This race is not over, but all things considered, I'd rather have a 19-point lead than a 19-point deficit," Greenberg said.
Sweeney said the poll confirms what he has long said, that the description of the race as close is inaccurate.
"It's gratifying, but it's not a particular surprise."
"It's consistent with every poll I've seen," he said.
"I've been saying since this campaign began: 'Show me a poll that says this campaign is as close as people say it is.' "
For her part, Gillibrand, who began the campaign as a relative unknown, saw good news in the fact that she has name recognition with 44 percent of those polled.
"I've always been known to be a challenger; the greatest effort we have to make is to get my name out," she said.
"I don't think people who follow these elections expect a challenger to be neck-and-neck this early."
"We expect we will continue to close the gap over the next 10 weeks."
In a district with 88,000 more Republicans than Democrats, Gillibrand has not made the inroads she needs among Republicans and independents, Greenberg said.
"Sweeney is cutting more into the Democrats than Gillibrand is to Republicans," he said.
"They have to bring Democrats home, they have to sway independents and they have to convince a number of Republicans."
"At this point, they have not been successful in doing that."
Sweeney leads Gillibrand 73 percent to 13 percent among Republicans, while she leads him 67 percent to 23 percent among Democrats.
Among independent voters, Sweeney leads 49 percent to 37 percent.
The poll shows Sweeney leading in every region of the district and among all age groups.
"She certainly has a shot, but it's an uphill shot," Greenberg said.
"She's got an uphill battle if she wants to pull this upset."
The poll focused on six issues, and Sweeney showed a large edge on half of them.
On the issues of fighting crime and homeland security, he was considered likely to do a better job by a 27-point margin.
On taxes, he had a 14-point advantage.
Gillibrand had a 5-point lead on health care and a 9-point lead on environmental issues.
Both received similar marks on education.
Both campaigns have been highly visible, with nearly half of voters saying they had seen or heard a Gillibrand commercial and 57 percent saying they had seen or heard a Sweeney ad.
Their chief comments about their opponents, however, resonated only with their bases.
The Sweeney camp's effort to claim Gillibrand was a longtime New York City resident did not sway many voters, with 64 percent saying it was not a factor in their decision.
Twenty-six percent said it would make them more likely to vote for Sweeney, while 8 percent said it would move them toward Gillibrand.
Gillibrand's argument that Sweeney is too close to President Bush was slightly more persuasive, but still a nonissue to most voters.
A total of 31 percent said it would make them more likely to vote for Gillibrand, 19 percent said it would increase the likelihood they would vote for Sweeney, but 48 percent said it would have no effect.
"The issue of him being too close to Bush moves voters more than the issue of her being too much of a New York City person," Greenberg said.
While Sweeney said he has a record of providing federal funds and being visible throughout the district, Gillibrand said she expects Sweeney's support to fall as she makes the case that he is on the wrong side of issues from the war in Iraq to Social Security to gas prices.
"All these issues are going to resonate with people when they know the facts," she said.
"People will know exactly where John Sweeney stands on these issues."
Sweeney argued that Gillibrand is trying to run a case out of the national Democratic playbook rather than based on local concerns.
"You can't represent people if you haven't shared their experiences," he said.
"My opponent simply doesn't have that base of knowledge."
It is difficult for a challenger to overcome a 19-point deficit, but Greenberg said it is not impossible.
Both candidates have done well raising money: Sweeney has raised $1.6 million to date, and Gillibrand collected $1.2 million, according to their last Federal Election Commission filing in July.
"There is still 10 weeks to go in this campaign," Greenberg said.
"Voters tend to pay more attention after Labor Day."
"Both candidates have enough money to get their message out on the air."
O'Brien can be reached at 454-5096 or by e-mail at tobrien@timesunion.com.
Voters' preferences
If the election for member of Congress from the 20th Congressional District was held tomorrow and the candidates were John Sweeney on the Republican line and Kirsten Gillibrand on the Democratic line, for whom would you vote?
TOTAL / DEMOCRAT / REPUBLICAN / INDEPENDENT/ OTHER
Sweeney 53% / 23% / 73% / 49%
Gillibrand 34% / 67% / 13% / 37%
Don't know 13% / 10% / 14% / 14%
Source: Siena Research Institute
Charges fail to resonate
The Sweeney campaign says that Kirsten Gillibrand is out of touch with voters in this area because she is a longtime New York City resident. Does this make you more likely to vote for John Sweeney, more likely to vote for Kirsten Gillibrand or does it have no effect on who you vote for?
More likely to vote for Sweeney -- 26%
More likely to vote for Gillibrand -- 8%
No effect on vote -- 64%
Don't know/no opinion -- 3%
The Gillibrand campaign says John Sweeney is out of step with his constituents and is too close to President Bush. Does this make you more likely to vote for Kirsten Gillibrand, more likely to vote for John Sweeney or does it have no effect on who you vote for?
More likely to vote for Gillibrand -- 31%
More likely to vote for Sweeney -- 19%
No effect on vote -- 48%
Don't know/no opinion -- 2%
Source: Siena Research Institute
end quotes
"HEY, JACKIE BOY, HEY, JOHNNIE" Sweeney has one of those "SPAGHETTI STRIP" legislative districts that the REPUBLICANS created for themselves .....
That essentially just follows a highway for miles and miles .....
And where there is a REPUBLICAN enclave .....
The SWEENEY DISTRICT swells to encompass it .....
And then shrinks back down to exclude Democrats .....
And so .....
The inbalance in numbers of enrollees .....
Between Republican ....
And Democrat ....
In "HEY, JACKIE BOY, HEY, JOHNNIE" Sweeney's "SPAGHETTI STRIP" legislative district .....
But as they say ....
"It ain't over till it's over ..."
And so ....
"Sweeney has 19-point lead over Gillibrand - With 10 weeks to go, incumbent has big, but not insurmountable edge, Siena poll spokesman says"
By TIM O'BRIEN, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Tuesday, August 29, 2006
TROY -- Incumbent U.S. Rep. John Sweeney holds a commanding 19-point lead over Democratic challenger Kirsten Gillibrand in a new Siena College poll released Monday.
In a race that has garnered national attention, the poll shows Sweeney a clear favorite in the 20th Congressional District race, with a 53 percent to 34 percent lead over Gillibrand 10 weeks before Election Day, said Steven Greenberg, spokesman for the Siena Research Institute.
The poll of 628 registered voters was conducted Aug. 21-23 and has a margin of error of 3.9 percentage points.
"This race is not over, but all things considered, I'd rather have a 19-point lead than a 19-point deficit," Greenberg said.
Sweeney said the poll confirms what he has long said, that the description of the race as close is inaccurate.
"It's gratifying, but it's not a particular surprise."
"It's consistent with every poll I've seen," he said.
"I've been saying since this campaign began: 'Show me a poll that says this campaign is as close as people say it is.' "
For her part, Gillibrand, who began the campaign as a relative unknown, saw good news in the fact that she has name recognition with 44 percent of those polled.
"I've always been known to be a challenger; the greatest effort we have to make is to get my name out," she said.
"I don't think people who follow these elections expect a challenger to be neck-and-neck this early."
"We expect we will continue to close the gap over the next 10 weeks."
In a district with 88,000 more Republicans than Democrats, Gillibrand has not made the inroads she needs among Republicans and independents, Greenberg said.
"Sweeney is cutting more into the Democrats than Gillibrand is to Republicans," he said.
"They have to bring Democrats home, they have to sway independents and they have to convince a number of Republicans."
"At this point, they have not been successful in doing that."
Sweeney leads Gillibrand 73 percent to 13 percent among Republicans, while she leads him 67 percent to 23 percent among Democrats.
Among independent voters, Sweeney leads 49 percent to 37 percent.
The poll shows Sweeney leading in every region of the district and among all age groups.
"She certainly has a shot, but it's an uphill shot," Greenberg said.
"She's got an uphill battle if she wants to pull this upset."
The poll focused on six issues, and Sweeney showed a large edge on half of them.
On the issues of fighting crime and homeland security, he was considered likely to do a better job by a 27-point margin.
On taxes, he had a 14-point advantage.
Gillibrand had a 5-point lead on health care and a 9-point lead on environmental issues.
Both received similar marks on education.
Both campaigns have been highly visible, with nearly half of voters saying they had seen or heard a Gillibrand commercial and 57 percent saying they had seen or heard a Sweeney ad.
Their chief comments about their opponents, however, resonated only with their bases.
The Sweeney camp's effort to claim Gillibrand was a longtime New York City resident did not sway many voters, with 64 percent saying it was not a factor in their decision.
Twenty-six percent said it would make them more likely to vote for Sweeney, while 8 percent said it would move them toward Gillibrand.
Gillibrand's argument that Sweeney is too close to President Bush was slightly more persuasive, but still a nonissue to most voters.
A total of 31 percent said it would make them more likely to vote for Gillibrand, 19 percent said it would increase the likelihood they would vote for Sweeney, but 48 percent said it would have no effect.
"The issue of him being too close to Bush moves voters more than the issue of her being too much of a New York City person," Greenberg said.
While Sweeney said he has a record of providing federal funds and being visible throughout the district, Gillibrand said she expects Sweeney's support to fall as she makes the case that he is on the wrong side of issues from the war in Iraq to Social Security to gas prices.
"All these issues are going to resonate with people when they know the facts," she said.
"People will know exactly where John Sweeney stands on these issues."
Sweeney argued that Gillibrand is trying to run a case out of the national Democratic playbook rather than based on local concerns.
"You can't represent people if you haven't shared their experiences," he said.
"My opponent simply doesn't have that base of knowledge."
It is difficult for a challenger to overcome a 19-point deficit, but Greenberg said it is not impossible.
Both candidates have done well raising money: Sweeney has raised $1.6 million to date, and Gillibrand collected $1.2 million, according to their last Federal Election Commission filing in July.
"There is still 10 weeks to go in this campaign," Greenberg said.
"Voters tend to pay more attention after Labor Day."
"Both candidates have enough money to get their message out on the air."
O'Brien can be reached at 454-5096 or by e-mail at tobrien@timesunion.com.
Voters' preferences
If the election for member of Congress from the 20th Congressional District was held tomorrow and the candidates were John Sweeney on the Republican line and Kirsten Gillibrand on the Democratic line, for whom would you vote?
TOTAL / DEMOCRAT / REPUBLICAN / INDEPENDENT/ OTHER
Sweeney 53% / 23% / 73% / 49%
Gillibrand 34% / 67% / 13% / 37%
Don't know 13% / 10% / 14% / 14%
Source: Siena Research Institute
Charges fail to resonate
The Sweeney campaign says that Kirsten Gillibrand is out of touch with voters in this area because she is a longtime New York City resident. Does this make you more likely to vote for John Sweeney, more likely to vote for Kirsten Gillibrand or does it have no effect on who you vote for?
More likely to vote for Sweeney -- 26%
More likely to vote for Gillibrand -- 8%
No effect on vote -- 64%
Don't know/no opinion -- 3%
The Gillibrand campaign says John Sweeney is out of step with his constituents and is too close to President Bush. Does this make you more likely to vote for Kirsten Gillibrand, more likely to vote for John Sweeney or does it have no effect on who you vote for?
More likely to vote for Gillibrand -- 31%
More likely to vote for Sweeney -- 19%
No effect on vote -- 48%
Don't know/no opinion -- 2%
Source: Siena Research Institute
end quotes
"HEY, JACKIE BOY, HEY, JOHNNIE" Sweeney has one of those "SPAGHETTI STRIP" legislative districts that the REPUBLICANS created for themselves .....
That essentially just follows a highway for miles and miles .....
And where there is a REPUBLICAN enclave .....
The SWEENEY DISTRICT swells to encompass it .....
And then shrinks back down to exclude Democrats .....
And so .....
The inbalance in numbers of enrollees .....
Between Republican ....
And Democrat ....
In "HEY, JACKIE BOY, HEY, JOHNNIE" Sweeney's "SPAGHETTI STRIP" legislative district .....
But as they say ....
"It ain't over till it's over ..."
And so ....
http://www.antiwar.com/roberts/?articleid=9626
August 30, 2006
The Five Morons Revisited
by Paul Craig Roberts
When the neocons launched the Bush administration's invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and announced plans for invading Syria and Iran, I labeled Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and Rice "the Five Morons." With the passage of time, I see that I overestimated their mental capabilities.
The "cakewalk" war has now lasted longer than World War II with Nazi Germany, and no end is in sight. It has cost the U.S. taxpayers $310 billion in out-of-pocket costs, with many additional hundreds of billions coming due in veterans' medical bills and other expenses yet to be paid.
To carry on this pointless war, which has achieved nothing but death, destruction, and hatred of America, Bush has had to call up inactive reserves who long ago completed their active-duty service to their country and have managed to get on with their lives. It is well known that the older one gets the harder it is to find employment or the energy to restart a mothballed business. But Bush is too busy saving us from terrorism to care about people's lives.
Despite the lack of U.S. troops and Bush's inability to prevail in Afghanistan and Iraq, neocons in Bush's government are working around the clock to instigate war with Iran and Syria.
I thought that I had Rumsfeld pegged as the complete dolt, but I was stunned when I read Associated Press reporter Robert Burns' account of what Rumsfeld told 200 Navy aviators in a question and answer session at Fallon Naval Air Station on Aug. 28. "The thing that keeps me up at night," said Rumsfeld, is the success of terrorist groups in "manipulating the media."
Rumsfeld told the pilots that terrorists "are actively manipulating the media in this country" by falsely blaming U.S. troops for civilian deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan. All that "collateral damage" we hear about, the tens of thousands of dead and maimed civilians, is just terrorist propaganda. "The enemy lies constantly … and with impunity…. The enemy is so much better at communicating." Rumsfeld made similar remarks to the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Reno, Nevada, where he was presented the Dwight D. Eisenhower Distinguished Service Award. Eisenhower must be rolling over in his grave.
Now I get it. When Fox News' Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly assured us that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction that would be used against us if we didn't strike first, they were being manipulated by Osama bin Laden, who used America to get rid of the secular Saddam Hussein and to create a new training and recruitment ground for al-Qaeda and fundamentalist fanatics.
When the New York Times let Judith Miller serve as a propagandist for war with Iraq, the Times was being manipulated by Muslim terrorists, not by neocons.
When CNN and columnists like Ann Coulter and Michelle Malkin reassure us that we will win the war unless we pull out prematurely, they are being manipulated by terrorists. Finally I understand what the Weekly Standard, National Review, the Wall Street Journal editorial page, the American Enterprise Institute, and the online site FrontPageMag are all about.
The terrorists are so clever at manipulation that Americans cannot perceive that we have been sucked deep into a war that is creating the Islamic fundamentalism we so desperately fear.
Obviously, I misjudged Rumsfeld's intelligence. Anyone who can figure out the Muslim conspiracy is off the charts. What I can't figure is why Rumsfeld is willing for America to continue to be sucked in. Don't tell me that terrorists are manipulating Rumsfeld, too!
I keep waiting for the money appeal from AIPAC. I already know what it is going to say: "Although AIPAC is undisputedly the most powerful lobby in America and can determine with impunity the fate of every elected official, we cannot match the terrorists' ability to manipulate the media. Polls show that terrorists' manipulation of the U.S. media is causing American support for the war to dwindle away. Please send more millions to counter the terrorists' control of the American media. We are winning in the Middle East but losing at home."
One of the lessons one learns in life is that things are not always what they seem to be. Before I watched Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer's National Press Club broadcast on C-SPAN (Aug. 28), I regarded AIPAC as Israel's friend and promoter. Now I realize that I was wrong. As the two distinguished professors made perfectly clear, anyone who cares about the survival of Israel should scorn the bribes, threats, and blandishments of AIPAC.
AIPAC led the Israeli government onto a path where diplomacy is no longer a tool that Israel can use. Instead, Israel relies on Mao's dictum that "power comes out of the barrel of a gun," or from a bulldozer that knocks down Palestinians' homes, uproots their olive groves, and enrages Muslims at Israel's inhumanity. Backed into a corner with no tool but violence, Israel faces hundreds of millions of increasingly angry Muslims.
If Bush were a true friend of Israel, he would never have let Israel again destroy Lebanon, this time under the pretext of striking at Hezbollah.
AIPAC and Bush have allowed, or caused, Israel to do itself so much damage in the eyes of Muslims and the wider world that a peaceful resolution in the Middle East is no longer in people's thoughts. With the mighty U.S. military checked in Iraq by a handful of Sunnis, and the mighty Israeli army checked in Lebanon by a handful of Hezbollah, violence is unlikely to settle the matter in a way that neocons in the U.S. and hardliners in Israel would like.
The only hope is that Bush and Olmert miraculously turn into grown men, admit their mistakes, apologize, send reparations, and commit to winning acceptance of Israel and America based on their good behavior. It would be nice to see in operation some of the superior morality that the two claim.
Considering their extraordinary hubris and self-righteousness, nothing like this can possibly happen. Israel, the U.S., and the Muslim world will continue to bleed.
August 30, 2006
The Five Morons Revisited
by Paul Craig Roberts
When the neocons launched the Bush administration's invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and announced plans for invading Syria and Iran, I labeled Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and Rice "the Five Morons." With the passage of time, I see that I overestimated their mental capabilities.
The "cakewalk" war has now lasted longer than World War II with Nazi Germany, and no end is in sight. It has cost the U.S. taxpayers $310 billion in out-of-pocket costs, with many additional hundreds of billions coming due in veterans' medical bills and other expenses yet to be paid.
To carry on this pointless war, which has achieved nothing but death, destruction, and hatred of America, Bush has had to call up inactive reserves who long ago completed their active-duty service to their country and have managed to get on with their lives. It is well known that the older one gets the harder it is to find employment or the energy to restart a mothballed business. But Bush is too busy saving us from terrorism to care about people's lives.
Despite the lack of U.S. troops and Bush's inability to prevail in Afghanistan and Iraq, neocons in Bush's government are working around the clock to instigate war with Iran and Syria.
I thought that I had Rumsfeld pegged as the complete dolt, but I was stunned when I read Associated Press reporter Robert Burns' account of what Rumsfeld told 200 Navy aviators in a question and answer session at Fallon Naval Air Station on Aug. 28. "The thing that keeps me up at night," said Rumsfeld, is the success of terrorist groups in "manipulating the media."
Rumsfeld told the pilots that terrorists "are actively manipulating the media in this country" by falsely blaming U.S. troops for civilian deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan. All that "collateral damage" we hear about, the tens of thousands of dead and maimed civilians, is just terrorist propaganda. "The enemy lies constantly … and with impunity…. The enemy is so much better at communicating." Rumsfeld made similar remarks to the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Reno, Nevada, where he was presented the Dwight D. Eisenhower Distinguished Service Award. Eisenhower must be rolling over in his grave.
Now I get it. When Fox News' Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly assured us that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction that would be used against us if we didn't strike first, they were being manipulated by Osama bin Laden, who used America to get rid of the secular Saddam Hussein and to create a new training and recruitment ground for al-Qaeda and fundamentalist fanatics.
When the New York Times let Judith Miller serve as a propagandist for war with Iraq, the Times was being manipulated by Muslim terrorists, not by neocons.
When CNN and columnists like Ann Coulter and Michelle Malkin reassure us that we will win the war unless we pull out prematurely, they are being manipulated by terrorists. Finally I understand what the Weekly Standard, National Review, the Wall Street Journal editorial page, the American Enterprise Institute, and the online site FrontPageMag are all about.
The terrorists are so clever at manipulation that Americans cannot perceive that we have been sucked deep into a war that is creating the Islamic fundamentalism we so desperately fear.
Obviously, I misjudged Rumsfeld's intelligence. Anyone who can figure out the Muslim conspiracy is off the charts. What I can't figure is why Rumsfeld is willing for America to continue to be sucked in. Don't tell me that terrorists are manipulating Rumsfeld, too!
I keep waiting for the money appeal from AIPAC. I already know what it is going to say: "Although AIPAC is undisputedly the most powerful lobby in America and can determine with impunity the fate of every elected official, we cannot match the terrorists' ability to manipulate the media. Polls show that terrorists' manipulation of the U.S. media is causing American support for the war to dwindle away. Please send more millions to counter the terrorists' control of the American media. We are winning in the Middle East but losing at home."
One of the lessons one learns in life is that things are not always what they seem to be. Before I watched Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer's National Press Club broadcast on C-SPAN (Aug. 28), I regarded AIPAC as Israel's friend and promoter. Now I realize that I was wrong. As the two distinguished professors made perfectly clear, anyone who cares about the survival of Israel should scorn the bribes, threats, and blandishments of AIPAC.
AIPAC led the Israeli government onto a path where diplomacy is no longer a tool that Israel can use. Instead, Israel relies on Mao's dictum that "power comes out of the barrel of a gun," or from a bulldozer that knocks down Palestinians' homes, uproots their olive groves, and enrages Muslims at Israel's inhumanity. Backed into a corner with no tool but violence, Israel faces hundreds of millions of increasingly angry Muslims.
If Bush were a true friend of Israel, he would never have let Israel again destroy Lebanon, this time under the pretext of striking at Hezbollah.
AIPAC and Bush have allowed, or caused, Israel to do itself so much damage in the eyes of Muslims and the wider world that a peaceful resolution in the Middle East is no longer in people's thoughts. With the mighty U.S. military checked in Iraq by a handful of Sunnis, and the mighty Israeli army checked in Lebanon by a handful of Hezbollah, violence is unlikely to settle the matter in a way that neocons in the U.S. and hardliners in Israel would like.
The only hope is that Bush and Olmert miraculously turn into grown men, admit their mistakes, apologize, send reparations, and commit to winning acceptance of Israel and America based on their good behavior. It would be nice to see in operation some of the superior morality that the two claim.
Considering their extraordinary hubris and self-righteousness, nothing like this can possibly happen. Israel, the U.S., and the Muslim world will continue to bleed.
QUOTATIONS FOR THE DAY
"[PRESIDENT BUSH] DIDN'T HAVE ANY PHILOSOPHY WHEN HE WENT IN, AND THEY HANDED IT TO HIM -- THESE GUYS WITH ... YOU KNOW, THE GUYS YOU USED TO MAKE FUN OF AT SCHOOL, THE PENCILNECKS, THE INTELLECTUALS, THE GUYS YOU NEVER TRUSTED."
--TV personality Chris Matthews; cited in Jonathan Chait, 'Traitor' (New Republic, August 29)
http://www.tnr.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20060904&s=diarist090406
'THE WEST IS BEING RUN, MORE OR LESS, BY THE MOST INCOMPETENT GENERATION OF MIDDLE AGED WHITE MEN SINCE THE 6TH CENTURY.'
--Commentator Tony Blankley; in his 'The Bacteria of Stupidity' (Washington Times, August 30)
http://www.washtimes.com/functions/print.p...29-091620-7859r
'THE AVERAGE COUPLE ENGAGES IN 20 MINUTES OF CONVERSATION A DAY.'
--According to Mary Louise Floyd, author of "Retired with Husband: Superwoman's New Challenge"; cited in Marilyn Gardner, 'Making Marriage Work after Retirement' (Christian Science Monitor, August 30)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0830/p15s01-lifp.htm
"WHEREVER YOU ARE, DEATH WILL FIND YOU, EVEN IN THE LOOMING TOWER."
--From the fourth sura of the Koran: cited in Mark Follman, 'The Road to 9/11 and Beyond' (Salon, August 29)
http://www.salon.com/books/review/2006/08/...ower/print.html
"[PRESIDENT BUSH] DIDN'T HAVE ANY PHILOSOPHY WHEN HE WENT IN, AND THEY HANDED IT TO HIM -- THESE GUYS WITH ... YOU KNOW, THE GUYS YOU USED TO MAKE FUN OF AT SCHOOL, THE PENCILNECKS, THE INTELLECTUALS, THE GUYS YOU NEVER TRUSTED."
--TV personality Chris Matthews; cited in Jonathan Chait, 'Traitor' (New Republic, August 29)
http://www.tnr.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20060904&s=diarist090406
'THE WEST IS BEING RUN, MORE OR LESS, BY THE MOST INCOMPETENT GENERATION OF MIDDLE AGED WHITE MEN SINCE THE 6TH CENTURY.'
--Commentator Tony Blankley; in his 'The Bacteria of Stupidity' (Washington Times, August 30)
http://www.washtimes.com/functions/print.p...29-091620-7859r
'THE AVERAGE COUPLE ENGAGES IN 20 MINUTES OF CONVERSATION A DAY.'
--According to Mary Louise Floyd, author of "Retired with Husband: Superwoman's New Challenge"; cited in Marilyn Gardner, 'Making Marriage Work after Retirement' (Christian Science Monitor, August 30)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0830/p15s01-lifp.htm
"WHEREVER YOU ARE, DEATH WILL FIND YOU, EVEN IN THE LOOMING TOWER."
--From the fourth sura of the Koran: cited in Mark Follman, 'The Road to 9/11 and Beyond' (Salon, August 29)
http://www.salon.com/books/review/2006/08/...ower/print.html
QUOTE(Snuffysmith @ Aug 30 2006, 08:24 AM)
http://www.antiwar.com/roberts/?articleid=9626
August 30, 2006
The Five Morons Revisited
by Paul Craig Roberts
August 30, 2006
The Five Morons Revisited
by Paul Craig Roberts
What an article, Snuf ......
What an article .....
It is one of the more lucid that I have read concerning this fisaco ......
Which came directly out of FIASCO CENTRALE ....
Down there in "GASBAG" Rumsfeld's PENTACLE .....
In Washington. D.C. .....
Thanks for posting that in here .....
That is one of those "MUST READ AND CONSIDER" articles .....
Since we are now getting barraged by a large load of crap coming out of the HOT AIR PASSAGES of "GAS BAG" Rumsfeld .....
HOT AIR that is intended to make us all look weak on national defense .....
When reality appears to be .....
That the "GASBAG" has gone round the bend .....
And is off in LA LA LAND somewhere .....
WITH THE LOTUS EATERS IN THE VFW FOR HIS COMPANY ......
Fighting Hitler ....
And Mussolini .....
On the DARK SIDE OF THE MOON .....
With ray guns ....
And spaceships ....
For control of Venus ....
And Mars ....
And so .....
And for all of you out there who have been faithfully following the campaign of Tom Suozzi ......
To be the next Governor .....
Of the State of New York ....
We have ....
Dear Friend,
Tom launched a new campaign blog this week at http://blog.tomsuozzi.com/
Tom's blog will provide updates, highlight Tom's activities and feature the latest news from the campaign trail.
There will also be audio and video clips from events around the state.
This blog is about getting Tom's message to the people (and perhaps the cows).
Check it out at http://blog.tomsuozzi.com/
Sincerely,
Team Suozzi
PS. Tom will participate in the NY1 Statewide Town Hall Meeting from 7 to 8:30 p.m. It will also be aired on Capitol News 9 in Albany, Syracuse and Rochester and Eliot Spitzer and John Faso are also scheduled to appear.
Tomorrow, August 31st, at 7 PM, Tom will participate in a debate hosted by News 12, that will air on Long Island, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Westchester.
To be the next Governor .....
Of the State of New York ....
We have ....
Dear Friend,
Tom launched a new campaign blog this week at http://blog.tomsuozzi.com/
Tom's blog will provide updates, highlight Tom's activities and feature the latest news from the campaign trail.
There will also be audio and video clips from events around the state.
This blog is about getting Tom's message to the people (and perhaps the cows).
Check it out at http://blog.tomsuozzi.com/
Sincerely,
Team Suozzi
PS. Tom will participate in the NY1 Statewide Town Hall Meeting from 7 to 8:30 p.m. It will also be aired on Capitol News 9 in Albany, Syracuse and Rochester and Eliot Spitzer and John Faso are also scheduled to appear.
Tomorrow, August 31st, at 7 PM, Tom will participate in a debate hosted by News 12, that will air on Long Island, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Westchester.
QUOTE(Livyjr @ Aug 8 2006, 06:12 PM)
And speaking about the "CHIP FAB" boondoggle .....
Up here in "HEY, JACKIE BOY, HEY, JOHNNIE" Sweeney territory ....
Where CORPORATE WELFARE ....
In huge amounts ....
Is felt ....
To be in the NATIONAL INTEREST ....
BECAUSE CORPORATIONS ....
ARE AMERICA ....
And so ....
"County leader douses pipe plan - Chairman of Saratoga Board of Supervisors says Albany's hopes to sell water to chip plant 'too late'"
By BRIAN NEARING, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Saturday, August 5, 2006
ALBANY -- An idea to build a 20-mile aqueduct to bring water from Albany to a planned computer chip manufacturing plant in Saratoga County may just be a multimillion-dollar pipe dream.
The chairman of the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors was cool Friday to reports that Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings is eyeing a pipeline plan for the 1 million gallons of water or more needed each day by the Advanced Micro Devices plant in the Luther Forest Technology Campus.
"These types of conversations should have started years ago if they were interested," said board Chairman Harry Guthiel.
"It is too late at this point."
"They are way, way behind."
Under Saratoga County's plan, it would pump water from the Hudson River in Moreau, process it in a water treatment plant and pipe it 27 miles to the technology park.
Under the Saratoga County plan, AMD is expected to buy up to 3 million gallons of water daily.
In May, the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors agreed to supply $15 million needed to guarantee the water supply to AMD plant.
Brian Nearing can be reached at 454-5094 or by e-mail at bnearing@timesunion.com.
end quotes
Of course ....
The water in the Hudson River ....
Has already been allocated .....
As to "taking" .....
A long time ago now ....
Because the Hudson River ....
Is a tidal estuary ....
And salt water comes up the river, as a result ....
So that taking 3 MILLION GALLONS ....
Out of the river .....
Up in Moreau ....
Is going to have an adverse impact ....
On already established communities ....
Further down the river ....
Who already rely upon the Hudson River .....
For their drinking water .....
And so .....
IN TYPICAL CORRUPT NEW YORK STATE FASHION ....
These "PLAYERS" .....
Up here in SWEENEY COUNTRY ....
Have already committed OUR tax money ....
To this CORPORATE WELFARE SCHEME ....
Without bothering .....
To see ....
If there is capacity ....
In the Hudson River .....
That would allow them ...
To take out 3 MILLION GALLONS .....
And it is our bet up here .....
That the SWEENEY CROWD ....
Involved in this CORPORATE WELFARE SCHEME ....
Will try to sell out the downstate communities ...
By simply taking that water ...
And screw all of them down there ....
If the salt water moves further up the river ...
As a result ....
And so ....
POWER POLITICS ....
At its finest ....
Here in REPUBLICAN George Pataki's ....
CORRUPT EMPIRE ....
Of New York ....
And so ...
Up here in "HEY, JACKIE BOY, HEY, JOHNNIE" Sweeney territory ....
Where CORPORATE WELFARE ....
In huge amounts ....
Is felt ....
To be in the NATIONAL INTEREST ....
BECAUSE CORPORATIONS ....
ARE AMERICA ....
And so ....
"County leader douses pipe plan - Chairman of Saratoga Board of Supervisors says Albany's hopes to sell water to chip plant 'too late'"
By BRIAN NEARING, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Saturday, August 5, 2006
ALBANY -- An idea to build a 20-mile aqueduct to bring water from Albany to a planned computer chip manufacturing plant in Saratoga County may just be a multimillion-dollar pipe dream.
The chairman of the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors was cool Friday to reports that Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings is eyeing a pipeline plan for the 1 million gallons of water or more needed each day by the Advanced Micro Devices plant in the Luther Forest Technology Campus.
"These types of conversations should have started years ago if they were interested," said board Chairman Harry Guthiel.
"It is too late at this point."
"They are way, way behind."
Under Saratoga County's plan, it would pump water from the Hudson River in Moreau, process it in a water treatment plant and pipe it 27 miles to the technology park.
Under the Saratoga County plan, AMD is expected to buy up to 3 million gallons of water daily.
In May, the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors agreed to supply $15 million needed to guarantee the water supply to AMD plant.
Brian Nearing can be reached at 454-5094 or by e-mail at bnearing@timesunion.com.
end quotes
Of course ....
The water in the Hudson River ....
Has already been allocated .....
As to "taking" .....
A long time ago now ....
Because the Hudson River ....
Is a tidal estuary ....
And salt water comes up the river, as a result ....
So that taking 3 MILLION GALLONS ....
Out of the river .....
Up in Moreau ....
Is going to have an adverse impact ....
On already established communities ....
Further down the river ....
Who already rely upon the Hudson River .....
For their drinking water .....
And so .....
IN TYPICAL CORRUPT NEW YORK STATE FASHION ....
These "PLAYERS" .....
Up here in SWEENEY COUNTRY ....
Have already committed OUR tax money ....
To this CORPORATE WELFARE SCHEME ....
Without bothering .....
To see ....
If there is capacity ....
In the Hudson River .....
That would allow them ...
To take out 3 MILLION GALLONS .....
And it is our bet up here .....
That the SWEENEY CROWD ....
Involved in this CORPORATE WELFARE SCHEME ....
Will try to sell out the downstate communities ...
By simply taking that water ...
And screw all of them down there ....
If the salt water moves further up the river ...
As a result ....
And so ....
POWER POLITICS ....
At its finest ....
Here in REPUBLICAN George Pataki's ....
CORRUPT EMPIRE ....
Of New York ....
And so ...
And the CHIP FAB BOONDOGGLE in the corrupt State of New York .....
Moves right on along .....
Siphoning gobs of money .....
Out of the taxpayer's pockets .....
TO ENRICH THIS ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES CORPORATION ....
AT OUR EXPENSE ....
And so ....
"Saratoga County water project goes out to bid in fall - Board's Tuesday night OK of environmental statement clears way"
By KENNETH C. CROWE II, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Wednesday, August 30, 2006
SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Saratoga County's $76 million water project will go out to bid this fall after the county Board of Supervisors approved the project's final environmental impact statement Tuesday.
The board's approval gets the project past a major hurdle to ensure there will be water to sell to Advanced Micro Devices for its planned computer chip factory in the Luther Forest Technology Campus.
"We still have to do the bidding," said Supervisor Raymond Callanan, R-Ballston, the chairman of the county Water Committee.
Callanan said the water project is on track for its expected completion by 2008.
The county still does not have any signed contracts with customers for the water.
The supervisors voted, 18-2, to pass the FEIS, with three supervisors absent.
The negative votes were cast by Supervisor Cheryl Keyrouse, D-Saratoga Springs, and Supervisor Joanne Yepsen, D-Saratoga Springs.
"As part of my best effort to represent the people of Saratoga Springs who elected me, as well as every other city official based on a platform opposing the county water plan, I am voting today in opposition to the resolutions regarding the water project at our special meeting of the Board of Supervisors," Yepsen said in a statement distributed after the vote.
Keyrouse distributed comments from the Committee for a Safe and Financially Feasible County Water System, which criticized the response made by the county's engineers to issues raised by people critical of the project.
By the same 18-2 vote, the supervisors awarded a $109,808 contract to the project engineers, Malcolm Pirnie and C.T. Male, both of Colonie, to conduct the bidding.
They also authorized pursuing right-of-way acquisitions for the 28-mile pipeline from the upper Hudson River in Moreau to the technology campus in Malta and Moreau.
A $10,000 contract amendment for the engineering work was approved to change electric line requirements for the project.
This could amount to close to $1 million in savings by tapping into an electric line near the water pump station in Moreau instead of building a new electric service line.
Callanan said attempting to get a right-of-way for trails along the project would hinder the primary purpose of getting the pipeline built.
He said he did not know if the county would return to the trails issue.
Callanan also said that a decision was made to use ductile iron pipe for the project instead of steel as there would be better competitive bidding for the project.
Board of Supervisors Chairman Harry Gutheil, R-Moreau, said appointments to a revived county Water Authority would not be made until September.
The authority is to take ownership of the project.
Kenneth C. Crowe II can be reached at 581-8438 or by e-mail at kcrowe@timesunion.com.
QUOTE(Snuffysmith @ Aug 30 2006, 10:50 AM)
QUOTATIONS FOR THE DAY
"[PRESIDENT BUSH] DIDN'T HAVE ANY PHILOSOPHY WHEN HE WENT IN, AND THEY HANDED IT TO HIM -- THESE GUYS WITH ... YOU KNOW, THE GUYS YOU USED TO MAKE FUN OF AT SCHOOL, THE PENCILNECKS, THE INTELLECTUALS, THE GUYS YOU NEVER TRUSTED."
--TV personality Chris Matthews; cited in Jonathan Chait, 'Traitor' (New Republic, August 29)
http://www.tnr.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20060904&s=diarist090406
"[PRESIDENT BUSH] DIDN'T HAVE ANY PHILOSOPHY WHEN HE WENT IN, AND THEY HANDED IT TO HIM -- THESE GUYS WITH ... YOU KNOW, THE GUYS YOU USED TO MAKE FUN OF AT SCHOOL, THE PENCILNECKS, THE INTELLECTUALS, THE GUYS YOU NEVER TRUSTED."
--TV personality Chris Matthews; cited in Jonathan Chait, 'Traitor' (New Republic, August 29)
http://www.tnr.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20060904&s=diarist090406
Actually, the BUSHCO PRIME .....
Was being manipulated by himself .....
By this INNER VISION .....
THAT HAD HIM AS A WORLD LEADER .....
In what was nothing more than a fantasy ...
In his own mind .....
And because George was the "BOSS" ....
Others around him ....
WHO WANTED POWER FOR THEMSELVES .....
Like DONALD "GASBAG" RUMSFELD ....
And ZALMAY KHALILZAD .....
And TOMMY FRANKS .....
Preyed on George's delusions ....
And fed George's delusions ....
With delusions of their own .....
And so .....
Whether any of them is an intellectual ...
Is highly in doubt ...
And it is highly insulting ....
To real intellectuals .....
To call Tommy Franks one, anyway .....
And I don't know about PENCILNECKS .....
As a descriptive term .....
For either Tommy Franks ....
THE "YES MAN" GENERAL ....
OR "GASBAG" RUMSFELD .....
THE REAL COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF .....
Of OUR United States Military .....
If truth be told ...
But PINHEADS works for me .....
With respect to the pair of them ....
And so ....
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.