John McCain offers his newest lurch today.

In a speech he is to give in Virginia Beach, McCain says 17 times that he will fight for America, according to his prepared remarks. He repeatedly calls himself a "fighter." And he's an experienced fighter who won't--like you know who--have to study up on issues before making command decisions.

Over and over in this new stump speech, McCain says he is ready to fight--for the country, for change, for a new direction, for the future, for the children, for justice for all. Seriously.

Times are tough, McCain notes, but America is worth fighting for. It needs a fighter like John McCain, who is a real fighter who has always been a fighter for America.

In other words, vote for the fight guy. Here's how the speech ends:

I know what hopelessness feels like. It's an enemy who defeats your will. I felt those things once before. I will never let them in again. I'm an American. And I choose to fight. Don't give up hope. Be strong. Have courage. And fight. Fight for a new direction for our country. Fight for what's right for America. Fight to clean up the mess of corruption, infighting and selfishness in Washington. Fight to get our economy out of the ditch and back in the lead. Fight for the ideals and character of a free people. Fight for our children's future. Fight for justice and opportunity for all. Stand up to defend our country from its enemies. Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight. America is worth fighting for. Nothing is inevitable here. We never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history.

Get the picture?

This new pitch doesn't even qualify as a Hail Mary. It seems not substantial enough to rate as a real play. It's as if McCain's handlers did a focus group and found that the one word undecided voters associate positively with McCain is "fighter." And that's all McCain's strategist have to work with.

That wouldn't be a shock. The latest ABC News/Washington Post poll is loaded with bad news for the McCainiacs. Not only is Obama up by 10 points among registered voters, but Obama is seen by more registered voters (55 percent) as a safe choice for president than McCain (50 percent). Worse for McCain, the poll shows that far more voters believe he is attacking his opponent rather than addressing the issues (59 percent) than those who feel the same about Obama (26 percent.) And McCain's favorable rating has in the past month dropped from 59 percent to 52 percent, while Obama's has gone up from 58 percent to 64 percent.

Which means McCain's blistering attacks against Obama have boomeranged. They have made him seem a candidate mired in mud. If the poll is accurate, then the McCain campaign cannot stick to this road. Though McCain promised die-hard (rabid, that is) supporters last week he would blast Obama with Bill Ayers at the final debate Wednesday night, it could well be counterproductive for him to do so.

What are his options, then? McCain and his advisers appear to believe it's to say the word "fight" over and over. To reprise the POW pitch and offer McCain to voters as a fighter. Rah, rah. Fight, team, fight. This seems rather pathetic. It is true that the first thing a candidate has to do when he's in a hole is to stop digging. But McCain may need a better ladder than this.

To those unaware of who Larry Sinclair is, Sinclair alleges that he
and Barack Obama had several drug and sex encounters on November 6, 7,
1999. The first encounter was in a limousine. Larry Sinclair came out
with a YouTube video in January 2008 after multiple unsuccessful attempts
in 2007 to contact the Obama Camp. Larry Sinclair has received incessant
personal attacks, death threats and incarceration in Delaware,
orchestrated by Joe Biden's son, the Attorney General of Delaware.

Larry Sinclair also alleges that he was contacted by Donald Young, the
gay choir director at TUCC, Obama's former church, shortly before
Young was murdered in December 2007. Larry Sinclair provided information
to the Chicago Police.

The Citizen Wells blog has covered the Larry Sinclair story more than
any other source. I met with Sinclair yesterday. We can corroborate
much of Larry Sinclair's story. After covering the Larry Sinclair
story all year, I can say without hesitation that Larry Sinclair has
much credibiliy. Barack Obama has no credibility.

For the first time publicly, Citizen Wells can make this statement:

Larry Sinclair could not have made up his story of the encounter with
Obama in November 1999. Why? Sinclair could not have had the details
of Obama's whereabouts when he first mentioned his story. Obama's
speaking engagement at NW Law School was not widely know until a few
months ago. I checked the internet archives and the law school
appearance did not show up. Barack Obama was at least in Chicago by
at least the morning of November 8, 1999.

Another point I would like to make is this. When I first began
investigating Sinclair's allegations in January 2008, they appeared
preposterous. I first checked the official Ilinois Senate records.
Obama was not present for the November 4, 1999 session. One thing led
to another, with all the attempts to silence Sinclair making his case
stronger. Now with all the knowledge of Obama, his past and his associations, Larry Sinclair's drug encounter fits nicely in the
puzzle picture that reveals the real Obama.

I just spoke to Sinclair. A young person took Sinclair's sign as he
was walking in, even though others held signs that said "NoBama".
Larry Sinclair is inside the Town Hall Meeting and will attempt to
ask a question.

Stay tuned.

Read more from Larry Sinclair here:

http://larrysinclair-0926.blogspot.com

So it would appear that the Islamist government of Turkey is now seeking to take control of Turkey's news service.  This is not entirely surprising given how previous administrations have done the same.  However it is obviously bad, as the current government doesn't like us very much and is determined to move Turkey out of its pro-Western orbit.

We can ony hope this helps convince the Turkish military to do its duty and intervene to save the Republic from these religious extremists. 

On a side note, if we in the US and EU go ahead with these crazy plans for the government to own the banks, we are going to see similar corruption.  When a democrat wins the White House, they will seek to pack the banks with their supporters and influence them to favor companies and industries they like, when the GOP wins, their supporters will get the government gravy.  Mark my words this will happen, its only a matter of time.

The crisis was caused by the largest leveraged asset bubble and credit bubble in the history of humanity were excessive leveraging and bubbles were not limited to housing in the US but also to housing in many other countries and excessive borrowing by financial institutions and some segments of the corporate sector and of the public sector in many and different economies: an housing bubble, a mortgage bubble, an equity bubble, a bond bubble, a credit bubble, a commodity bubble, a private equity bubble, a hedge funds bubble are all now bursting at once in the biggest real sector and financial sector deleveraging since the Great Depression.

At this point the recession train has left the station; the financial and banking crisis train has left the station. The delusion that the US and advanced economies contraction would be short and shallow – a V-shaped six month recession – has been replaced by the certainty that this will be a long and protracted U-shaped recession that may last at least two years in the US and close to two years in most of the rest of the world. And given the rising risk of a global systemic financial meltdown the probability that the outcome could become a decade long L-shaped recession – like the one experienced by Japan after the bursting of its real estate and equity bubble – cannot be ruled out.

http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini/253973/the_world_is_at_severe_risk_of_a_global_systemic_financial_meltdown_and_a_severe_global_depression

http://urlet.com/misspelled.profiles

A fool and his money are soon parted. The only thing is Mahathir is the fool and the money belongs to Malaysians. Mahathir made 20% in every project. He has real estate in Japan and billions of shares corruptly acquired. His 3 sons are worth US$8 billion. Where do they get this money? Of course, corruption. Mahathir is known as the Marcos of Malaysia, having enriched himself to the tune of billions. Mahathir’s 3 sons are sitting in the board of directors of more than 200 companies. They must have been educated in Harvard school of business and obtained distinctions? Or is it “you don’t know me you don’t do business in Malaysia” law that applies. Billions of ringgit of Employee’s Provident Funds and public Petronas funds were used to bail out his sons who made losses investing in every venture Mahathir thought he could make money. How unethical and corrupted!

He dared to shed crocodile tears during UMNO delegates meeting about the ills of corruption. Yet he is the most corrupt of all the prime ministers. A thief was crying thief and hopes people look the other way. Who dared to say anything when the thief was caught with his hands in the candy jar?

He had more foolishness than most people would believe. Billions were used to build two high rise Petronas buildings that benefit nobody. It now stands tall, a symbol of stupidity and irresponsibility, only adding to traffic jam. What is this reclamation of 10 islands off Kedah? Totally absurd and stupid. Of course his benefit was 20%. And the bridge across from Malacca to Sumatra across international waters? Why not build a bridge to the moon? He would get his 20%!

In Australia he is known as the recalcitrant ego maniac; in UK the corrupt bast---d because of his stupid purchase of the movie studio and the 290 million ringgit Lotus racing car plant and the shady Pergau dam loans from the UK. They were useless to UK and Mahathir still wanted to buy them. What about buying British reject submarines through his agent! The agent/ broker was designed to make millions out of Malaysian government. His purchase of UK battleships was at least 50% more than what others were paying. His purchase of 9 hospitals from UK lock, stock and barrel did not support his local architects or the industry and the British sent him obsolete medical equipment.

In the UK, Mahathir appeared in no less than 17 newspapers as a corrupt dictator. In Malaysia he was known as the (IBM) International Big Mouth. In Japan they call him the ’smallest one’ (brain size). In Pacific island the Santa Claus (giving advice left and right). In South America they call him the parrot (he talks a lot but does not know what it is about). In Manila the living Marcos. In Malaysia they were spending millions to lure tourists and he always talk rubbish scaring every foreigner away. “When he is dumb he is doubted a fool, when he opens his mouth it removes all doubt.”

Mahathir built highways without tender; his cronies got all the deals and the price double. The Langkawi airport runway was built at double the cost by his own company, Ekran.

The Malaysian nation has lost at least 30 billion dollars during his years of corrupt rule. One billion lost from the purchase of phantom skyhawk war planes nobody has ever seen (are they still in the Nevada desert USA?). 3 billion lost from the London tin scandal (Mahathir thought he could corner the London tin market without knowing the Americans had a stockpile! Stupidity at its best!). 6 billion Perwaja steel mill where nobody knew where the money went, 3 billion bank Bumiputra scandal where George Tan bribed all the bank officials to lend him the money. 6 billion forex lost by Bank Negara (the fool and his money are soon parted) and 6 billion to build three of the worlds tallest buildings (built by Japanese and Koreans and furniture imported from France - not Malaysia) and 1 billion lost from purchase of British warship including fees paid to the broker and under the table. Add the 10 billion he stole and 5 billion taken by Ministers.

There were fifty thousand of university students not given places in Malaysia, but were good enough for places overseas resulting in billion of dollars lost. The British and the Australians are thinking how stupid Malaysia can be. Malaysia’s best students are sent overseas raising their standards, while as in most countries the best are kept in local universities and the rejects sent overseas.

Every one of his politicians are sitting on the boards of tens of companies making thousands without any effort, lending their VIP names to borrow millions from local banks without collateral. Now these have become non performing loans. And Mahathir wanted 26 millions Malaysian to sacrifice for the folly of ONE man?

THE MALAYSIAN EMPIRE!

“Three of Mahathir’s children, namely Mirzan, Mokhzani and Mukhriz Mahathir - acted as directors in more than 200 companies in a short span of a few years.

“According to searches made at the Registry of Companies at the end of 1994, when Mahathir was the prime minister, Mirzan had interests in 98 companies, Mokhzani in 48 companies and Mukhriz in 67 companies.

MIRZAN MAHATHIR

Mirzan Mahathir the eldest son of Mahathir Mohamad is a director of at least eight companies traded on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange. His private company Peringkat Prestasi holds many of his investments including a large stake in Lion Corporation. But his main interest is Konsortium Perkapalan Bhd, a listed haulage and logistics company which controls almost half of Malaysia’s road freight market.

Searches made at the Registry of Companies at the end of 1994, show Mirzan had interests in 98 companies.

MUKHRIZ MAHATHIR

Mukhriz Mahathir the youngest son of Mahathir Mohamad, controls the listed Malaysian company Reliance Pacific, which operates a chain of two-star hotels around Malaysia, and is one of Malaysia’s biggest tour organizers. There are 22 active subsidiaries in Malaysia. One of them, Prime Heritage, has taken control of two adjacent hotels — 493 rooms in total — in Sydney, Australia. It also owns Sydney’s Royal Gardens Hotel. Another Malaysian company, Opcom Cables — Southeast Asia’s largest producer of high speed fiber optic cable — is jointly owned by Mukhriz, Mokhzani and Sweden’s Ericsson Cables AB.

Searches made at the Registry of Companies at the end of 1994, show Mukhriz had interests in 67 companies.

It has been published that Mukriz Mahathir is director of Taff Hotel Sdn Bhd one of the two companies awarded the Tanjung Jara Beach Hotel Sdn Bhd privatisation project by the Malaysian Government.

MOKHZANI MAHATHIR

Mokhzani Mahathir’s main business vehicle is the listed Tongkah Holdings of which he is chairman. It has at least 31 subsidiaries spread across a range of activities. The core focus however is health-care services, followed by manufacturing and stock broking. Tongkah has a 15-year contract to provide hospital support services to 19 government-owned hospitals in Malaysia, and a majority stake in Hospital Pantai, a listed operator of and supplier of services to private hospitals in Malaysia.

Searches made at the Registry of Companies at the end of 1994, show Mokhzani had interests in 48 companies.

It has been published that Mokhzani Mahathir is director of Tongkah Holdings Berhad one of the three companies awarded Hospital Support Services privatization project by the Malaysian Government.

This is history in continuation, if the father says nothing took place during his time in office. (If all of you can remember, this was Mahathir’s reply to Lim Kit Siang)

Mr. Corsi also has a copy of a document from the ODM party that outlines
their strategy during the election. The Citizen Wells blog received a
copy of this document in August 2008 that was leaked out of Kenya. The
document was published on this blog and can be viewed here:
http://citizenwells.wordpress.com/2008/08/20/obama-odm-action-plan-odm-document-january-20-2008-obama-campaign-mirrors-raila-odinga-campaign-ridicule-old-people-ethnic-tensions-violence/

Sean Hannity interviewed Jerome Corsi on his radio show last week. Mr.
Corsi had just arrived in London after being deported from Kenya:

Citizen Wells received a tip from commenter Marielle that a relative of
Senator Obama had been recently murdered in Kenya. Here are some exerpts
"Kenya: Senator Obama’s relative murdered - Is it a political message on things to come? Remembering the late democrat, Kennedy.
Posted by africanpress on October 10, 2008

News In Brief By Leo Odera Omolo 

A close relative of the US Democratic Party Presidential candidate Barrack Obama jnr was among the three fuel stations attendants who were mowed down with gun shots and killed by unknown gangsters"

"Mr Saleh is the son of Mr. Abdo Omar,  who is the brother of Sen Obama jnr surviving step grand mother Mama Sarah Obama.

Although the family is treating the incident as common robbery, Sarah Obama who attended the funeral of the late Saleh at Kendu Bay Muslim Cementry in Kendu-Bat Town, Rachuonyo district  broke her silency and said the family was targeted for elimination by unknown people with sinister motive and expressed fear that the killing has some element of political overtone, which could be related to his grand son’s latest campaign for the US presidency."

 
"The dispute almost led to violence, when the Kisumu Muslim youth violently attacked Mzee Omar in a bid to prevent him from taking the deceased’s body home for burial. Mzee Omar  was beaten savagedly when he tried to force his way into the morgue to collect his sons remains.."

Read more here:
http://africanpress.wordpress.com/2008/10/10/kenya-senator-obamas-relative-murdered-is-it-a-message-for-things-to-come-politically-remembering-kennedy/
Consider the following:

Barack Obama visited Kenya in 2006 and campaigned for his cousin, Raila Odinga, a member of the radical ODM party. Obama also criticized the Kenyan government. Obama's actions in Kenya are a possible violation of the Logan Act. Here is a video of Obama and Raila Odinga:

Here is an exerpt from the official Kenyan Government response to Obama's visit:

"RESPONSE TO AMERICAN SENATOR BARACK OBAMA’S POORLY INFORMED COMMENTS ABOUT TERRORISM, WANTED GENOCIDE CRIMINALS AND GOVERNANCE IN KENYA"

"Senator Barack Obama indicated that he was visiting Africa to help nurture relations between the continent and the United States. His mission, therefore, was warmly welcomed by the Government and the people of Kenya. The fact that he has roots in Kenya endeared him to the people of this country.

However, during his public address at the University of Nairobi, Senator Obama made extremely disturbing statements on issues which it is clear, he was very poorly informed, and on which he chose to lecture the Government and the people of Kenya on how to manage our country."

 
"Dr. Alfred N. Mutua
PUBLIC COMMUNICATION SECRETARY &
GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON

August 31, 2006"
Watch Hannity and Colmes tonight on Fox and tell everyone you know to learn more about Obama and his Kenyans connections.

Obama violates the Logan Act:

http://obamaimpeachment.org

Speaking of which, there was a recent Doonesbury comic about McCain campaign lobbyists and the Bailouts....

(*--In the '80s in Ireland they had a joke: In Ireland a thatcher is someone who keeps a roof over your head; in Britain it's someone who takes it away!)

(**--Like it's a bad thing!!)

The court based its judgment on the premise that no one, including the president, is above the law; that public office is held on the basis of public trust; that the head of state must exercise presidential power in accordance with the rule of law and in compliance with his or her conscience and sense of integrity; that the presidential oath requires the president “to faithfully perform the duties and discharge the functions of the office of the president in accordance with the Constitution and the law.”

The court made this judgment in relation to a fundamental rights application lodged by several petitioners against Kumaratunga, the Asia Pacific Golf Course Ltd, Urban Development Authority, the Board of Investment and several directors. The court ordered Kumaratunga to pay 3 million rupees (US$27,700).

The court ruled that state authorities cannot merely argue that procedures have been followed when, despite procedural compliance, a violation of the public trust has taken place. Also, state officers cannot take cover under the actions and orders of their superiors, as such a defense is not afforded to state institutions or state actors.

This judgment is the first significant judicial intervention against the perceived absolute power of the executive presidency. This perceived power has played havoc on the political system as well as the legal system of Sri Lanka. All who abused power took cover under the defense of being directly or indirectly connected with the executive president who was perceived to be above the law.

The most obvious result of this was the politicization of all public institutions. The executive president directly, or through ministers or even persons completely outside the state structure, could manipulate every small corner of the public service and interfere with all institutions. Such interference and the rule of law came into direct conflict. However, there was no way to reassert the rule of law.

The first attempt to deal with this conflict was the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, which was adopted in 2001 almost unanimously by all parties. This amendment created a Constitutional Council, to be appointed by consensus of all political parties, which in turn had the power to appoint the commissions who had the powers of appointment, transfer, disciplinary control and dismissal of public servants belonging to various public institutions.

The Rajapakse regime halted the operation of this constitutional amendment by refusing to appoint members to the Constitutional Council, thereby removing the obstruction to the president’s use of absolute power. The refusal to implement the 17th Amendment indicated that the executive was prepared to ignore the Constitution itself.

After the failure of the 17th Amendment, aggrieved citizens found they had no way to challenge the completely arbitrary system that has imposed unbearable burdens on them.

One such burden is rampant corruption that has spread to every aspect of society. While extraordinary enrichment is seen among those close to the ruling regime, the rest of the people cannot get anything done unless they are willing to pay bribes or otherwise influence the powerful. Even daring to publicize corruption carries serious risks. The media in particular are harassed and coerced into silence, while the state media unscrupulously manipulates public space to suppress information.

The Supreme Court judgment will perhaps open new avenues to challenge the climate of suppression in which those who abuse the public trust virtually claim the right to engage in such abuse. The first ever judicial action to impose a punishment on a former president is of enormous significance. If this action is extended to other holders of public office – such as officials of the Urban Development Authority and the Board of Investment – and even to private parties, it can provide a framework to deal with some of society’s most intractable problems.

The court’s order to the Bribery and Corruption Commission to investigate all matters relating to the relevant transaction is also an important direction. Unfortunately, the commission is an inadequate instrument to effectively eliminate such behavior. If the doctrine of public trust is to be realized, it is essential to develop a commission with powers and resources enough to become an effective institution.

Many Sri Lankan observers have found that Hong Kong’s Independent Commission against Corruption provides a suitable model for effective corruption control. The acceptance of the doctrine of public trust demands institutional development that is capable of practical implementation of this doctrine.

Source:Former Sri Lankan president indicted

MANILA, Philippines—The $500-million NorthRail project and the contractor appointed by the Chinese government to undertake it are subject to Philippine courts and laws, the Court of Appeals (CA) has ruled.

In an 18-page decision dated Sept. 30, the appellate court’s Fifth Division dismissed China National Machinery and Equipment Corporation’s (CNMEC) motion questioning the Makati Regional Trial Court’s jurisdiction over itself and the contract to build a rail system from northern Metro Manila to central Luzon.

The Court of Appeals upheld the Makati RTC’s orders of May 15, 2007, and March 10, 2008, that set hearings to determine whether the NorthRail project by CNMEC should be stopped for being disadvantageous to the government and for displacing residents at project sites.

“Ostensibly, petitioner CNMEC failed to establish that it is an agent of the (People’s Republic of China or PROC) entitled to sovereign immunity from suit and that the assailed agreements exempted from complying with the requirements of the law,” the court said in its decision.

“Ergo, it must submit itself to our jurisdiction and abide by our rules and regulations,” it said.

The CNMEC had argued—in an April 2006 motion to dismiss—that the Makati court had no jurisdiction over it since it was an agent of the sovereign Chinese government.

It also said that court had no jurisdiction over the NorthRail project since it was supposedly an executive agreement between the Philippine and Chinese governments.

The court undermined the Chinese contractor’s arguments.

“The NorthRail project or agreement is not an agreement between states, i.e., PROC and the Philippine governments, but between petitioner CNMEC, a juridical entity and NorthRail,” it said.

“Likewise, a scrutiny of the NorthRail contract and the loan agreement reveals that local laws should apply to them instead of international law,” it added.

The appellate court also said CNMEC wasn’t recognized as an agent of the Chinese government by the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The Fifth Division is made up of chair Associate Justice Remedios Salazar-Fernando and members, Associate Justices Rosalinda Asuncion-Vicente and Ramon Bato Jr.

Lawyers Harry Roque and Joel Butuyan and people’s organizations had filed a case for the annulment of the NorthRail contract against Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, among others, assailing the project as unconstitutional, illegal and immoral.

On March 17, 2006, the Makati RTC set the hearings on Roque’s and the others’ plea to stop the project.

MANILA, Philippines—Faced with rising energy costs and the possibility of a power shortage by 2010, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago has filed Senate Bill 2665 “mandating the immediate re-commissioning and commercial operation of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plan (BNPP).”

“Given the increasingly prohibitive costs of the present sources of energy and the unreliability of wind, solar and other alternative sources, there is a need to revisit and utilize the nuclear power option,” Santiago said in the bill she filed on Oct. 7.

She said the BNPP was capable of producing 620 megawatts, “enough to power the islands of the Visayas.”

==========

My Take:

For God's sake Ms. Senator.  Don't use the Visayan people for your own political end.   Please find time to read numerous studies about the wind and solar power reliability, and discern that what u are saying in this news item is total ignorance.  Mismong ka-isla mo na si Gov. Perez ang nagpopromote nun.  Ni wala ka ngang ingay sa isyu ng coal fired power plant sa inyong Iloilo City eh, tapos ngyon eh, mgdadakdak ka na naman tungkol sa nuclear power.

Nuclear power plant is not the safest source of power, specially if it will be placed in the Philippines and operated by such a corrupt government like ours, and with a kind of armed forces like ours around.  Hay naku, the possibilities of accident because of corruption (tinipid na materyales etc.), and the military take-overs (we have a rich coup history here) are always there, putting millions of Pinoy lives in great danger.  At ano ang kapalit?  Power?  Are you sure that the cost of electricity will go down because of your nuclear plant?  Ow cmon Ms. Senator, dont treat us like an idiot.

Alaska's senior senator's indictment was predictable, given the perfect storm of political controversy over the past few years and the intensity of hatred among his political enemies.  When the VECO investigation became public a few years ago, the word among many of us on the street was, "They're really after Ted Stevens."  We didn't know how they would nail him, but we knew why.  He has seniority, he has power, he has respect, he has brought a lot of federal money to Alaska, and he is a conservative Republican.

We couldn't believe that he was in the pocket of VECO--he was too smart for that, and he really doesn't need the money.  The amount wasn't even worth the risk--about $50,000 unreported per year, over a few years time.  And yet rumors abounded.  The Anchorage Daily News, never a friend of Stevens, did their best to feed the rumor mill.  And why not?  The ADN's parent organization, the California-based McClatchy Company does not favor strong conservative leadership for Alaskans.

Then came the "Bridge to Nowhere," a media coup by the opposition to Ketchikan's bridge to Gravina island.  Although there are logical arguments for the bridge, the media blitz took up the sound bite that echoed across the nation.  Ted was villified because his earmark nearly allowed an over-priced bridge to be built.  In the eyes of the American public, Ted was toast.

The Charges

As might be expected, the indictment of Senator Stevens is well written and the substance of each charge is clear, however the case for each charge is weak.  Stevens doesn't need the money, so there is no basis for a financial motive, and his reputation for hard work and honesty is above average in Congress.  The disclosure forms required by Senate rules are complicated, and it may be hard not to miss some items, but that responsibility comes with the job.  With Stevens' 44 years of experience in Congress and the fact that he and his wife are both attorneys, they shouldn't have walked into this type of trouble.

Stevens, however is not alone.  Financial reporting forms are completed by thousands of politicians nationwide every year. Disclosure offenses are rarely prosecuted, even though inaccuracies may not be unusual. According to Dennis Thompson in Ethics in Congress,

[l]ike mail fraud and income tax evasion, disclosure offenses are sometimes used to reinforce charges that investigators regard as more serious but for which they have less conclusive evidence.

So why has Stevens been targeted?  Stevens, arguably one of the most important political figures in congress, aroused the ire of nearly every liberal group in the country--especially environmentalists and others who would lock up Alaska's resources and trash her economy.

In his August 4th column, Walter E. Williams summarizes the power of environmental groups in Congress:

The average individual American has little or no clout with Congress and can be safely ignored. But it's a different story with groups such as Environmental Defense Fund, Sierra Club and The Nature Conservancy. When they speak, Congress listens.  Unlike the average American, they are well organized, loaded with cash and well positioned to be a disobedient congressman's worse nightmare.

Ted Stevens has been a "disobedient" Senator. He has a history of fighting hard for Alaskans, he is pro-resource development, and knows how to get things done in congress. And he doesn't kow-tow to the environmentalists.

Bring in the Colorado Model

This is all reminiscent of an article by Fred Barnes in the weekly standard on July 21st, The Colorado Model; The Democrats Plan for Turning Red States Blue. Barnes describes a highly organized and coordinated plan to change the course of elections through rumors, accusations, demands for investigations, possible charges of corruption by Republican incumbents, and then well-funded campaign blitzes to tip the scales in favor of the Democrats.  He writes,

Last January, a "confidential" memo from a Democratic political consultant outlined an ambitious scheme for spending $11.7 million in Colorado this year to crush Republicans. The money would come from rich liberal donors in the state and would be spent primarily on defeating Senate candidate Bob Schaffer ($5.1 million) and Representative Marilyn Musgrave ($2.6 million), who are loathed by liberals for sponsoring a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. The overarching aim: Lock in Democratic control of Colorado for years to come.

The Denver Post elaborates on the plan in their article, Colorado Democratic scheme called ingenious:

The umbrella over a cadre of 30-plus loosely affiliated organizations is called the Colorado Democracy Alliance, and at its helm are some of the best-known donors in state and national politics, including millionaire activists Tim Gill and Pat Stryker.

The ever-evolving network of nonprofits, advocacy groups and 527 committees that benefits from the alliance forms an alternative political universe that allows progressive power brokers to direct money more efficiently and effectively than ever before — and almost entirely out of the public eye.The model, which appears to legally skirt federal regulations that prevent coordination between candidate campaigns and issue groups, has proved so successful at turning a red state blue that it could cause nationwide change as 18 other states prepare to adopt it.

We are seeing something like this plan in operation in Alaska right now.  Although there is no chapter of the Democratic Alliance in Alaska, the well-coordinated moves against Sen. Ted Stevens show a high degree of organization.

Ted Stevens's opponent in the primary election was Vic Vickers, a recent import from Florida who had no real input in the election except to throw mud at Stevens.  Vickers has since disappeared from sight.  Most folks in Alaska believe Vickers was a democrat plant whose job was to throw mud at Stevens.

Stevens's democrat opponent, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, meanwhile, is saved the appearance of a negative campaign as he gathers funds from wealthy Democrat donors from outside the state, including moveon.org, Harry Reid, Barack Obama, Maria Cantwell, Joe Biden, Tony Podesta, Joannie Mitchell, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, Jane Fonda, Barbara Boxer and others--all opposed to any development in ANWR and the rest of Alaska.

Recently, the Democratic party has begun a well-funded, full-blown media smear against Stevens.

The Trial

Now, in the middle of Stevens' trial we see confirmation that the Department of Justice is indeed a partisan agency.  Suspect is the timing of the indictment, the release of additional information about Stevens between the indictment and the beginning of the trial, lack of adequate preparation by the department, attempted covering of evidence that would tend to exonerate Stevens, and now the attempt to gather more evidence against Stevens even after the prosecution has finished presenting their case.

If they didn't have all the information they needed, then they had no business filing the case immediately before Stevens's election.  We can only hope this case is resolved in a timely manner, allowing Stevens the luxury of campaigning without the burden of a criminal trial that looks more like a kangaroo court every day.

Alaskans support Stevens

The price for effectively representing Alaska is high.  For the first time, Stevens is in a fight for his political life--the result of a carefully coordinated and executed perfect political storm.

But his opponents may have miscalculated the popularity of Stevens.  Even if convicted, Stevens could still win the election; if exonerated, Democrats could have done enough damage to their reputation to keep Alaska a red state for a long time.

Well now you can!:

Nader, Obama, McCain Presidential Debate

Gonzalez, Biden, Palin Vice Presidential Debate

In total, at least six major intrusions — two of them using the same group of IP addresses originating from China — have been detected at the World Bank since the summer of 2007, with the most recent breach occurring just last month.

In a frantic midnight e-mail to colleagues, the bank’s senior technology manager referred to the situation as an “unprecedented crisis.” In fact, it may be the worst security breach ever at a global financial institution. And it has left bank officials scrambling to try to understand the nature of the year-long cyber-assault, while also trying to keep the news from leaking to the public.

[...]

While it remains unclear how much data has been pilfered from the bank, it’s a lot. According to internal memos, “a minimum of 18 servers have been compromised,” including some of the bank’s most sensitive systems — ranging from the bank’s security and password server to a Human Resources server “that contains scanned images of staff documents.”

McNasty (John McCain) and (Barack Obama) Osama.

They are the same person and heres why,

Behind the normalcy of every elections charades this one is worst due to the obvious economic stand point of our Country, and every country following our path, neither candidate has any proposed solution besides bullshit, changing there minds, suggesting more bailouts and borrowing, suggesting impossible methods, definitly not suggesting change. But not only that huge issue, but also the issue of the North American Union; The joining of Canada, US, and Mexico, under one currency system of the Amero following in the footsteps of the European Union, which is crazy if this shit happens it will deflate our constitution and rights as Americans among many other horrible reasons on why thats going to be a terrible thing. This issue was discussed and proposed in the House with videos that are so easily accesible through the internet I don't understand why this is such an unbelievable theory, Ron Paul has discussed it publicly throughout his campaign, and it was actually brought to the attention of Candidate Barack Obama, but as he let the question sink in and possibly took the information feeding through a headset to advise him what to do that would be corporately viable to his cause and wallet, haha. But he did actually just star at the ground, pumps up his crowd, and says he hasn't seen enough evidence, and even has the nerve to call it a conspiracy theory. John McCain of course had the same out look. Issue number 2, foreign policy? is there one thats gonna be proposed? Are you goes actually gonna talk about these things? Our relations with other countries? The fact that we have our military troops in 130 different countries? AND, the fact that we dont have any money to finance these operations, it's ultimatly being financed by the American Household, we will be taxed to death because of our Governments doing. Issue 3, the right to keep our Individual Liberties, Many of you do not know the issue of net neutrality and constriction of the internet and other means of freedom, its also being discussed behind the scenes, but not with the front men. See Internet Freedoms Blog. Issue 4, We still a major concern for global warming? It didn't just go away with the popularity of the Al Gore documentary, it's still here and no means are being suggested at all between either party, yes they say the help spawn helpful organizations, and hybrid cars, Hybrid cars are way to fucking expensive for the average person. Which Obama, playing the "common man" like many politicans like to pull in his seat in elections, he's not common as he claims; the guys rich too, he made about 7 million with his books and t-shirts, he may be considered a minority in our society, which some may relate to easily, fact of the matter is him being from another race isn't gonna change anything, you think he's not gonna succumb to the modern curruptions of politics, corporatism, and greed?! The only thing that changes is most people overlook his inexperiences, and other downfalls; like him, although a great speaker never answering a question with a solution but with just his pulling of his talent to pump a crowd and speak loudly, and just associate him with the "Change of a different race in office" or just wanna be apart of a historical event. But in our times, we can't elect somebody for those reasons, we need someone that will seriously tackle the real issues, and is abuntly clear these 2 candidates wont, the just avoid them by any means necessary including the excluding the independent candidates to take part in the Debates. A country with our status, it's extremely dangerous to be vulnerable. They evade the same questions, say the same thing, act the same, they are the stratigically selected candidates that will play well with the big money that funds there trail. Besides the petty insignifigance, they have exactly the same responses on the real issues.

Either way with these two we're fucked,

A.) John McCain might die, then we have Palin at international meetings, and I have more experience in my ass (Alaska? come on!)

B.) John McCain will go crazy power hungry, snap back into his families traditional neo-conservative military mode. Live up to the McNasty, throw out our nukes everywhere.

C.) John McCain will send tons more troops to Iraq, waste our money, get us attacked, and loose a war he started. Probably ending up with our country in a civil war and Palin's taking office, while he'd be missing and ending up in a prison overseas.

D.) Obama would spawn 1,000 of organizations in attempt to help Americans, with money we don't have, taxes will be high, He'll end up involved in some sex scandal, he'll go to international meetings talk his ass off about nothing and make us seem even dumber then others think we are.

E.) Obama wont do anything at all in office, allowing bills to be passed that destroy our constitutional rights, his healthcare plan will fail, and maybe he'll make small profit deals with out countries. 

F.) Obama will start his own clothing company, make millions. And transform from being a socialist into a dictator.

G.) Obama will live up to his former terrorist connections, and ultimately be working with the other side, in attempt to destroy our country, Move his office back to Kenya.

H.) John McCain and Barack Obama, will succumb to the Globalist and Corporate plan, we will be under the Amero, We will literally go into a great depression with increases inflation due to our dependency on the illegal and inappropriate Federal Reserve, Neither will tax cut on Big Businesses leading the almost complete control of corporate america, there will not be change, and pretty much it will keep going down hill, wars, poverty, and two dishonest people.

An article at LA Times Article

Have the ability say you had no part in the upcoming disasters, and did what you believe in. Vote Independent 2008. Bobbarr2008.com votenader.org

-CAM/REEKS

The New York Times has a fantastic article (a bit on the long side at four pages, but I highly recommend reading the entire article) about Michael Cantrell, an engineer for the Army Space and Missile Defense Command.  It provides a fascinating study in the circumstances and thinking that brings about the bureaucratic largess that now has become commonplace and prosaic, as well as the ease of perverting the system when it seems nearly every other actor in government is driven by similar goals.  The NYT describes their own article best:

"Mr. [Michael] Cantrell’s story, by contrast [to Jack Abramoff and Randy Cunningham], pieced together from federal documents and dozens of interviews, is a remarkable account of how a little-known, midlevel Defense Department insider who spent his entire career in Alabama skillfully gamed the system" to the sound of a wasted $350 million.

Michael Cantrell directly lobbied (against his employer's regulations) for his missile defense projects to Congress, with powerful members of Congress and Senators at his side, defending him and protecting him, even when the Pentagon was not interested in the project.  Even had the Pentagon been interested, much of the money was not even being spent in service of the project.

"Mr. Cantrell and his deputy, Mr. [Doug] Ennis, visited Kodiak Island on the afternoon of the inaugural test launching in November 1998. The Air Force had substituted other equipment for Mr. Cantrell’s payload. The two men, armed with a cooler filled with Miller Lite beer, watched the launching from a trailer, emerging just in time to see the missile burn an orange streak into the sky. They had hidden out to avoid any local newspaper reporters who might discover that Mr. Cantrell’s missile parts — the justification for millions of dollars in spending — were not even being tested. “There is no way we can explain this,” Mr. Cantrell remembered telling Mr. Ennis."

Over time, Mr. Cantrell decided to expand his operation beyond just providing funding for the project that would keep him employed.

"“The contractors are making a killing,” Mr. Cantrell recalled thinking at the meeting, in 2000. “The lobbyists are getting their fees, and the contractors and lobbyists are writing out campaign checks to the politicians. Everybody is making money here — except us.” Within months, Mr. Cantrell began getting personal checks from contractors and later returned to the airport with Mr. Ennis to pick up a briefcase stuffed with $75,000. The two men eventually collected more than $1.6 million in kickbacks, through 2007, prompting them to plead guilty this year to corruption charges."

For the $350 million of money wasted on a project the Pentagon did not want, to contractors who provided no service, and to fund facilities that performed no unique function, Mr. Cantrell and Mr. Ennis pocketed $1.6 million.  I actually wish the government kept all their money in a big vault, and defending against embezzlement just meant keeping people from breaking in.  At least in that case, if someone wanted to steal $1.6 million, taxpayers would only lose $1.6 million.  The way things are arranged now, we don't even get half a cent for our corruption dollar. The article reveals just how logical and, above all else, easy stealing and wasting millions of government dollars is.  You really have to pity the suckers who still make their money the old-fashioned way.  As many of the Popes and Cardinals learned during the Renaissance, and especially under Popes Sixtus IV, Innocent VIII, and Alexander VI, attaching yourself as a parasite to a corrupted bureaucracy is much easier and far more lucrative. Of course, Mr. Cantrell and Mr. Ennis were eventually apprehended and have pleaded guilty, so we can rest safely knowing that the son of a dairy farmer who grew up to be the source of all corruption in Washington can no longer do us any harm.  Ignore the star-studded line-up of names that participated in Mr. Cantrell's larceny:  Currently being tried Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) [it's like you can't practice corruption in America without Ted Stevens being involved somehow], Senator Trent Lott (R-MS), Representative Curt Weldon (R-PA, 1987-2007), Senator Richard C. Shelby (R-AL), Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME), Representative C.W. Bill 'The Most Senior Republican in the House' Young (R-FL), and former Representative James Longley (R-ME, 1995-1997).  These young, naive legislators were victims of Mr. Cantrell's smooth-talking engineer ways. Shockingly, Mr. Cantrell's lawyer voices my thoughts almost exactly:

“What they did may have been a scandal,” said Walter E. Braswell, Mr. Ennis’s lawyer, referring to the actions of his client and Mr. Cantrell. “But even more grotesque is the way defense procurement has disintegrated into an incestuous relationship between the military, politicians and contractors.”

... and the cow goes moo

Tuesday we reported that individual Congressmen were intimidated into voting "Yes" on the $700 billion Wall Street rip off.

(There are a lot of *other* things in that bill that are much worse than the money being stolen...

more on that later.)

Yesterday, Wednesday, we heard from a man whose career was based on arranging for massive loans to governments and institutions that couldn't possibly pay them back in order to gain control over them.

He described his role as government-sponsored and corporate-employed economic "hitman."

Today we hear from the former governor of Minnesota about how the CIA has its own permanent office in the governor's office.

http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/429.html

http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/429.html

[/caption]

The Caribbean Countries rank like so "Country - 2008 rank, 2007 rank" :

• St. Lucia - 21, 24
• Barbados - 22, 23
• St. Vincent and the Grenadines - 28, 30 
• Dominica - 33, 37
• Cuba - 65, 61
• Suriname - 72, 72
• Trinidad - 72, 79
• Grenada - NO DATA, 79 (not sure what happened there. This is the reverse of what usually obtains.)
• Jamaica - 96, 84
• Belize - 109, 99
• Guyana - 126, 123 
• Haiti - 177, 177

There were a total of 180 countries on the list. As usual most caribbean states aren't even listed! In all fairness though, they do have something of an explanation for this.

• Corruption Perception List for 2008
• Hi-res Map of world showing CPI

Spare the rod, spoil the child, destroy the economy...

“Parents are suddenly saying ‘no’ and their kids are saying, ‘What do you mean?’ ” said Robert D. Manning, an economist at the Rochester Institute of Technology and author of “Credit Card Nation.”

*

Family therapists, teachers and parents tell anecdotes about teenagers who are badly rattled by the news, in denial, or both. A daughter is shaken as her mother calls for an emergency family meeting. The son of a Wall Street financier whose fortune has collapsed tauntingly tells his father he can take care of himself: he will sell more marijuana.

*

And while many had debit and credit cards, some were hard pressed to explain the difference. “I don’t understand why I got charged for an overdraft,” one junior said. One girl admitted to having once run up $5,000 on her credit card. Lesson learned! Now she rarely uses the card. “ I make my mom buy it!” she said.

*

Wendy Postle said her teenagers have become angrier and more argumentative about money. “They seem so selfish,” she said. She wondered whether the fault was hers, whether that early lavishness was a parental failing.

Does this mean I won't get a new car for my Sweet 16?!?!?????