Strickland camp sees 'deception'; challenger sees 'pathetic attacks'
Thursday, July 22, 2010 11:12 PM
By Mark Niquette and Darrel Rowland
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Gov. Ted Strickland is questioning the credibility of Republican challenger John Kasich's accounts about his work at Lehman Brothers, citing a new revelation that contradicts Kasich's previous statements.
Kasich's campaign said the allegations surrounding the newly divulged Kasich contact with Ohio's public pension systems are not true, calling them "more pathetic attacks from a failed governor."
Earlier this year, Kasich's campaign said the former congressman was involved only in arranging meetings for Lehman staffers on Feb. 28, 2002, with the Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund and Ohio Public Employees Retirement System. The campaign said that Kasich, a former managing director for Lehman, never approached any other Ohio government entity about doing business with Lehman.
But the State Teachers Retirement System told The Dispatch today that Kasich also personally called to pitch Lehman Brothers in mid-2002. Kasich said he doesn't remember the phone call, which Strickland questions.
"Was it a mistake or was it a decision to withhold full disclosure?" Strickland asked. "I don't know, but I think it is a question that is relevant and should be asked and there should be an explanation."
Editor's note: John Kasich avoided the question of his Tax Statements at a radio "TownHall" on WRFD 880 back in 2009
Aaron Pickrell, Strickland's campaign manager cited the new revelation as part of a "pattern of deception."
"With every story that has emerged about Congressman Kasich's time at Lehman Brothers, he has offered an excuse, mitigating his responsibility there, but he has refused to come clean with Ohioans," Pickrell said during a news conference at Strickland's Downtown campaign headquarters. "Given this repeated and consistent deception, it is clear that Congressman Kasich is hiding the truth."
Kasich said such charges represent "desperate tactics" by Strickland and wondered: "Do these folks have anything good to say about themselves?"
Kasich's explanation for the newly revealed call: "I don't remember the conversation. I don't even think it lasted 10 minutes from what I know. I'm saying I didn't know that it happened, or I would've told you."
Kasich staff members point out that they volunteered the fact two months ago that Kasich had contact with Ohio PERS, even though officials at that fund initially couldn't find any record of it. That shows that Kasich has nothing to hide, they say.
Alan Muench. of the teachers system real-estate investment division, said in an internal STRS e-mail: "John Kasich called me to try to pitch Lehman's brokerage services to sell our mall portfolio in mid-2002. It was less than a 10 min conversation."
The work eventually went to a Lehman competitor.
Why that contact was not divulged despite earlier requests by The Dispatch and others for information on all Kasich contacts with the pension fund was not immediately clear.
Strickland's campaign also pointed to records showing that Kasich introduced John Dwyer, who worked in Lehman's Chicago office, to Ohio's pension funds in 2002. The campaign said newly discovered records show that Dwyer tried to pitch "toxic assets" on Aug. 25, 2008, three weeks before Lehman filed for bankruptcy.
Lehman Brothers had to know at the time it was in trouble, so it was questionable to be pitching the investment, said Stephen Buser, a professor emeritus of finance at Ohio State University who spoke at the Strickland news conference.
But Kasich said he had no knowledge of the solicitation two years ago.
Strickland has hammered at Kasich's "Wall Street values" and the former congressman's lack of details about what he did and how much he made at Lehman Brothers, whose collapse helped fuel the country's financial crisis.
Kasich has defended his tenure at Lehman and uses part of his first television ad currently airing to say, "I didn't run Lehman Brothers."
Dispatch Senior Editor Joe Hallett contributed to this story.
mniquette@dispatch.com
drowland@dispatch.com
IDF morality exemplified at mosque
Report shows the ethical dilemmas faced by Israel.
07/23/2010 04:19
A report entitled “Gaza Operations Investigation: Second Update” was presented by Israel to the UN this week. It is a response to accusations of “war crimes” raised by the Goldstone Report in the wake of the 22-day-long Operation Cast Lead, which began in December 2008.
Peruse the 40-page report. It is posted in English on the Foreign Ministry’s Web site. Doing so will enhance your understanding of the ethical dilemmas faced by the State of Israel in its fight against terrorism. It will also boost your appreciation for the high moral standards of the IDF’s rules of engagement.
The Al-Maqadmah mosque incident, mentioned in the report, is a case in point. On January 3, 2009, a number of Palestinian civilians were killed by an IDF missile that struck the entrance to the house of prayer in Beit Lahiya. Justice Richard Goldstone’s “Report of the UN Human Rights Council Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict” accused Israel of possible war crimes related to these deaths. After an exhaustive investigation, however, the IDF found that the missile strike had been directed at two terrorists observed firing Kassam rockets at Israeli cities in the South. The other casualties were both unintended and unforeseeable.
Read the entire story
Photo: Associated Press
By JERUSALEM POST EDITORIAL 07/23/2010 04:19
A report entitled “Gaza Operations Investigation: Second Update” was presented by Israel to the UN this week. It is a response to accusations of “war crimes” raised by the Goldstone Report in the wake of the 22-day-long Operation Cast Lead, which began in December 2008.
Peruse the 40-page report. It is posted in English on the Foreign Ministry’s Web site. Doing so will enhance your understanding of the ethical dilemmas faced by the State of Israel in its fight against terrorism. It will also boost your appreciation for the high moral standards of the IDF’s rules of engagement.
The Al-Maqadmah mosque incident, mentioned in the report, is a case in point. On January 3, 2009, a number of Palestinian civilians were killed by an IDF missile that struck the entrance to the house of prayer in Beit Lahiya. Justice Richard Goldstone’s “Report of the UN Human Rights Council Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict” accused Israel of possible war crimes related to these deaths. After an exhaustive investigation, however, the IDF found that the missile strike had been directed at two terrorists observed firing Kassam rockets at Israeli cities in the South. The other casualties were both unintended and unforeseeable.
Read the entire story
Study: Cap and Trade Could Cost 1.9 Million Jobs
Wednesday, 21 Jul 2010 02:12 PM
Newsmax.com
The proposed Kerry-Lieberman cap-and-trade bill could cost 1.9 million jobs and slash the U.S. gross domestic product by up to $2.1 trillion, according to an analysis released today.
The proposal, known as the American Power Act and facing stiff Republican opposition, also would increase residential electricity prices up to 42 percent and gasoline prices up to 18 percent, according to the analysis released today by the American Council for Capital Formation and the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council.
The study, which the Science Applications International Corp. did based on assumptions provided by the capital and small business groups, assesses the bill’s impact on manufacturing, jobs, energy prices, and the overall U.S. economy. The two groups released national data and plan to unveil state-specific analyses for all 50 U.S. states in the coming days, according to a news release.
Read the entire story
Banksters revealed again
Newsvine.com
By Dylan Ratigan
Doc Holliday said, "My hypocrisy knows no bounds" in the movie Tombstone. The same apparently is true for our current crop of Bankster Politicians, many of whom today voted against extending unemployment benefits even after they voted in 2008 for a bank bailout.
Yes, these Corporate Communists not only voted for billion dollar bailouts for companies that were about to fail due to their own terrible decisions, but then subsequently have done nothing to prevent the ongoing and future theft. By destroying this very tenant of capitalism -- that the losers actually lose so that new ideas, people, companies can become winners -- they have now crippled our economy and kept millions out of work.
Now when faced with giving a pittance of support to many of the same people tossed from employment by their cronyism, they have all of a sudden found ideology. Of course, considering that many of these Bankster Politicians are going to lose their jobs for this, they will try to make excuses like the following:
Unemployment needs to be paid for out of current spending
And for some reason the bank bailouts did not? But even letting bygones be bygones, I have a suggestion -- let's use clawbacks to pay for unemployment, considering this financial crisis (a) was caused by these people and (b) is why there are no jobs.
But unemployment pays people not to work
Well, bailing out these banks is even worse -- it's the government literally paying people ungodly sums to destroy our country. Like I've said before, there's a reason why banking is an unpaid job in Monopoly -- it is basically a utility rendered unprofitable by modern technology. These bailed-out banks are dangerous casinos gambling with the well-being of America, and America is losing. Mind you, I don't even agree with the current unemployment program in this country. I believe people should have to volunteer for a non-profit for 10-20 hours a week to qualify for unemployment. However, our vote-loving politicians like to keep their jobs by giving future generation's money away for nothing in return.
TARP was to keep people working
Really? Well then it's done a terrible job of keeping people working, because unemployment is actually getting worse. The only place it's actually saved "us" is in the imaginary crony-ist utopia of those who benefited. Their jobs plan is a lucky few of you cleaning the pools built with their $145 billion in 2010 bonuses.
TARP was just a loan and has been paid back, with interest
I suggest you all familiarize with THE BIG TARP LIE... and make sure the politicians and media that continue to spout it become familiar as well.
But I was lied to about TARP
Then do your job. Those people who lied to you were often under oath. They should be investigated and put in jail if found guilty.
So without further ado, I present to you the list of today's Banksters -- those who voted "Yes" for Bankster billions and "No" for their victims. Please check to see if your Senator is on the list:
BANKSTER PARTY
Lamar Alexander, B-Tenn.
Robert Bennett, B-Utah
Christopher Bond, B-Mo.
Richard Burr, B-N.C.
Saxby Chambliss, B-Ga.
Thomas Coburn, B-Okla.
Bob Corker, B-Tenn.
John Cornyn, B-Texas
John Ensign, B-Nev.
Lindsey Graham, B-S.C.
Charles Grassley, B-Iowa
Judd Gregg, B-N.H.
Orrin Hatch, B-Utah
Kay Hutchison, B-Texas
John Isakson B-Ga.
Jon Kyl, B-Ariz.
Richard Lugar, B-Ind.
Mel Martinez, B-Fla.
John McCain, B-Ariz.
Mitch McConnell, B-Ky.
Lisa Murkowski, B-Ark.
Ben Nelson, B-Neb.
John Thune, B-S.D.
George Voinovich, B-Ohio
Doc Holliday said, "My hypocrisy knows no bounds" in the movie Tombstone. The same apparently is true for our current crop of Bankster Politicians, many of whom today voted against extending unemployment benefits even after they voted in 2008 for a bank bailout.
Yes, these Corporate Communists not only voted for billion dollar bailouts for companies that were about to fail due to their own terrible decisions, but then subsequently have done nothing to prevent the ongoing and future theft. By destroying this very tenant of capitalism -- that the losers actually lose so that new ideas, people, companies can become winners -- they have now crippled our economy and kept millions out of work.
Now when faced with giving a pittance of support to many of the same people tossed from employment by their cronyism, they have all of a sudden found ideology. Of course, considering that many of these Bankster Politicians are going to lose their jobs for this, they will try to make excuses like the following:
Unemployment needs to be paid for out of current spending
And for some reason the bank bailouts did not? But even letting bygones be bygones, I have a suggestion -- let's use clawbacks to pay for unemployment, considering this financial crisis (a) was caused by these people and (b) is why there are no jobs.
But unemployment pays people not to work
Well, bailing out these banks is even worse -- it's the government literally paying people ungodly sums to destroy our country. Like I've said before, there's a reason why banking is an unpaid job in Monopoly -- it is basically a utility rendered unprofitable by modern technology. These bailed-out banks are dangerous casinos gambling with the well-being of America, and America is losing. Mind you, I don't even agree with the current unemployment program in this country. I believe people should have to volunteer for a non-profit for 10-20 hours a week to qualify for unemployment. However, our vote-loving politicians like to keep their jobs by giving future generation's money away for nothing in return.
TARP was to keep people working
Really? Well then it's done a terrible job of keeping people working, because unemployment is actually getting worse. The only place it's actually saved "us" is in the imaginary crony-ist utopia of those who benefited. Their jobs plan is a lucky few of you cleaning the pools built with their $145 billion in 2010 bonuses.
TARP was just a loan and has been paid back, with interest
I suggest you all familiarize with THE BIG TARP LIE... and make sure the politicians and media that continue to spout it become familiar as well.
But I was lied to about TARP
Then do your job. Those people who lied to you were often under oath. They should be investigated and put in jail if found guilty.
So without further ado, I present to you the list of today's Banksters -- those who voted "Yes" for Bankster billions and "No" for their victims. Please check to see if your Senator is on the list:
BANKSTER PARTY
Lamar Alexander, B-Tenn.
Robert Bennett, B-Utah
Christopher Bond, B-Mo.
Richard Burr, B-N.C.
Saxby Chambliss, B-Ga.
Thomas Coburn, B-Okla.
Bob Corker, B-Tenn.
John Cornyn, B-Texas
John Ensign, B-Nev.
Lindsey Graham, B-S.C.
Charles Grassley, B-Iowa
Judd Gregg, B-N.H.
Orrin Hatch, B-Utah
Kay Hutchison, B-Texas
John Isakson B-Ga.
Jon Kyl, B-Ariz.
Richard Lugar, B-Ind.
Mel Martinez, B-Fla.
John McCain, B-Ariz.
Mitch McConnell, B-Ky.
Lisa Murkowski, B-Ark.
Ben Nelson, B-Neb.
John Thune, B-S.D.
George Voinovich, B-Ohio
Gordon Brown Admits that Saddam Hussein was overthrown as an obstacle toward a New World Order
SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS!!!
Mark Matheny
In a recent statement Gordon Brown admits that the globalists needed to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein in order to continue in their agenda of bringing in a New World Order.
Youtube
Gordon Brown: "I think that is a very important message to learn: that nothing was going to be perfect in a situation where we were in the midst of creating the - if you like, the institutions and the practices of a new world."
Sir Roderic Lyne: "... and the American objective of Regime change, which had always been their policy, indeed under the previous administration, under pressure of an American military deadline?"
Gordon Brown: "Our position was not that. Our position was to support action so that the will of the international community - that Saddam Hussein disclose and dispose of weapons - be reinforced. And at the back of my mind was this sense that, if the international community did not act here, then the international community would find it difficult to gain credibility for acting in other areas, and this New World Order that we were trying to create was being put at risk."
Mark Matheny
In a recent statement Gordon Brown admits that the globalists needed to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein in order to continue in their agenda of bringing in a New World Order.
Youtube
Gordon Brown: "I think that is a very important message to learn: that nothing was going to be perfect in a situation where we were in the midst of creating the - if you like, the institutions and the practices of a new world."
Sir Roderic Lyne: "... and the American objective of Regime change, which had always been their policy, indeed under the previous administration, under pressure of an American military deadline?"
Gordon Brown: "Our position was not that. Our position was to support action so that the will of the international community - that Saddam Hussein disclose and dispose of weapons - be reinforced. And at the back of my mind was this sense that, if the international community did not act here, then the international community would find it difficult to gain credibility for acting in other areas, and this New World Order that we were trying to create was being put at risk."
Economic Meltdown: The Final Stage
Infowars.com
In the financial life of every culture built upon faulty monetary policy, there are points at which the thin thread of economic faith; the thread that ties the entire failing system together, the thread made tangible by the hopes (and sometimes ignorance) of the general populace, finally snaps. From Ancient Rome, to Weimar Germany, to Argentina, to modern day America, no society fueled by unsustainable debt and fiat inflation can duck the ‘Fiscal Reaper’ for very long. The U.S. alone has survived since the early 1970’s (after Nixon removed the last vestiges of the gold standard) on nothing but questionable credit practices and baseless optimism, but there is a limit to the power of fantasy. This is a fact that most mainstream financial analysts and some in the American public refuse to grasp. Mere belief in the enduring nature of the marketplace is not enough; the fundamentals must also support that belief.
Read the entire article
In the financial life of every culture built upon faulty monetary policy, there are points at which the thin thread of economic faith; the thread that ties the entire failing system together, the thread made tangible by the hopes (and sometimes ignorance) of the general populace, finally snaps. From Ancient Rome, to Weimar Germany, to Argentina, to modern day America, no society fueled by unsustainable debt and fiat inflation can duck the ‘Fiscal Reaper’ for very long. The U.S. alone has survived since the early 1970’s (after Nixon removed the last vestiges of the gold standard) on nothing but questionable credit practices and baseless optimism, but there is a limit to the power of fantasy. This is a fact that most mainstream financial analysts and some in the American public refuse to grasp. Mere belief in the enduring nature of the marketplace is not enough; the fundamentals must also support that belief.
Read the entire article
Video Shows USDA Official Saying She Didn't Give 'Full Force' of Help to White Farmer
Shown here is USDA Georgia official Shirley Sherrod. (YouTube)
FOXNews.com
Days after the NAACP clashed with Tea Party members over allegations of racism, a video has surfaced showing an Agriculture Department official regaling an NAACP audience with a story about how she withheld help to a white farmer facing bankruptcy -- video that now has forced the official to resign.
Shirley Sherrod, the department's Georgia director of Rural Development, is shown in the clip describing "the first time I was faced with having to help a white farmer save his farm." Sherrod,
the department's Georgia director of Rural Development, is shown in the clip describing "the first time I was faced with having to help a white farmer save his farm." Sherrod, who is black, claimed the farmer took a long time trying to show he was "superior" to her. The audience laughed as she described how she determined his fate.
"He had to come to me for help. What he didn't know while he was taking all that time trying to show me he was superior to me was I was trying to decide just how much help I was going to give him," she said. "I was struggling with the fact that so many black people have lost their farmland and here I was faced with having to help a white person save their land -- so I didn't give him the full force of what I could do. I did enough."
The Agriculture Department announced Monday, shortly after FoxNews.com published its initial report on the video, that Sherrod had resigned.
"There is zero tolerance for discrimination at USDA, and I strongly condemn any act of discrimination against any person," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a written statement. "We have been working hard through the past 18 months to reverse the checkered civil rights history at the department and take the issue of fairness and equality very seriously.
The NAACP released a statement late Monday condemning Sherrod's admission.
"We are appalled by her actions, just as we are with abuses of power against farmers of color and female farmers," the statement said.
"Her actions were shameful," it continued. "While she went on to explain in the story that she ultimately realized her mistake, as well as the common predicament of working people of all races, she gave no indication she had attempted to right the wrong she had done to this man."
Sherrod explained in the video that, at the time, she assumed the state or national Department of Agriculture had referred the white farmer to her. In order to ensure that the farmer could report back that she was indeed helpful, she said she took him to see "one of his own" -- a white lawyer.
"I figured that if I take him to one of them, that his own kind would take care of him," she said.
The point of the story wasn't entirely clear; only an excerpt of the speech is included in the video clip.
"It was revealed to me that it's about poor versus those who have," she said, suggesting she had learned that race is less important.
The video clip was first posted by BigGovernment.com. The clip is dated March 27 from an NAACP Freedom Fund banquet.
The clip adds to the firestorm of debate over the NAACP's decision to approve a resolution at its convention last week accusing some Tea Party activists of racism -- a charge Tea Party leaders deny.
In a second clip from the same event posted online, Sherrod appeared to urge black job seekers to find work at the Department of Agriculture because the federal government won't lay people off.
"There are jobs at USDA and many times there are no people of color to fill those jobs because we shy away from agriculture. We hear the word agriculture and think, why are we working in the fields?" she said. "You've heard of a lot of layoffs. Have you heard of anybody in the federal government losing their job? That's all I need to say."
Corn, Soybeans Decline as Rain Eases U.S. Harvest Concerns
Businessweek.com
July 20 (Bloomberg) -- Corn fell, extending the biggest loss in seven weeks, and soybeans declined as a forecast for rain in parts of the U.S. eased concern about yield losses on dry weather in the world’s largest grower of both crops.
December-delivery declined as much as 1.1 percent to $3.895 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade and was at $3.92 a bushel at 10:34 a.m. Singapore time.
“The driest corn and soybeans in central Illinois are experiencing substantial rainfall,” T-Storm Weather LLC in Chicago said in a report. Rains may also spread across the drier areas of Indiana, Ohio and Michigan, it said.
Prices were “weighed down by forecasts of rain for U.S. crops and expectations of excellent U.S. crop conditions,” Commonwealth Bank of Australia said in a report e-mailed today.
Illinois and three other states accounted for 30 percent of the nation’s last harvest of both crops, according to January report of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
About 72 percent of the U.S. corn crop was in good to excellent conditions as of July 18, compared with 73 percent a week earlier and 71 percent a year ago, the USDA said yesterday.
Sixty-seven percent of the soybean crop was rated good to excellent up from 65 percent a week earlier, it said.
Soybeans for November-delivery were little changed at $9.7075 a bushel in Chicago at 10:33 a.m. Singapore time, after losing as much as 0.4 percent earlier.
Wheat Falls
September delivery wheat fell 0.7 percent to $5.78 a bushel in Chicago. Wheat’s 14-day relative strength index, a gauge whether a commodity is overbought or oversold, has been above 70 since July 6, a level some traders use as a signal that prices are poised to decline.
“Steep losses in corn prices and a correction from a recent rally weighed on prices,” Commonwealth Bank said. Still, the bank said news remains mostly supportive” of prices, including the expanding drought in Russia and Kazakhstan and exports from the U.S.
Russia, the world’s third-largest wheat grower in the 2009-2010 season may reduce export of grains should crop losses caused by drought deepen, the nation’s Grain Union President Arkady Zlochevsky told reporters yesterday.
Rain in Canada last week added to excessive soil moisture in the nation’s main growing regions, the Canadian Wheat Board said. Canada was ranked the second-largest wheat exporter in the 2009-2010 season by the USDA.
The areas seeded with wheat fell 7.1 percent to 22.7 million acres from a year earlier as wet weather kept farmers out of fields, Statistics Canada said in June. The next survey due in August may show flooding caused further cuts, it said.
Wheat for export inspected at U.S. ports rose 57 percent to 22.449 million bushels in the week ended July 15, from a week earlier, the USDA said yesterday.
July 20 (Bloomberg) -- Corn fell, extending the biggest loss in seven weeks, and soybeans declined as a forecast for rain in parts of the U.S. eased concern about yield losses on dry weather in the world’s largest grower of both crops.
December-delivery declined as much as 1.1 percent to $3.895 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade and was at $3.92 a bushel at 10:34 a.m. Singapore time.
“The driest corn and soybeans in central Illinois are experiencing substantial rainfall,” T-Storm Weather LLC in Chicago said in a report. Rains may also spread across the drier areas of Indiana, Ohio and Michigan, it said.
Prices were “weighed down by forecasts of rain for U.S. crops and expectations of excellent U.S. crop conditions,” Commonwealth Bank of Australia said in a report e-mailed today.
Illinois and three other states accounted for 30 percent of the nation’s last harvest of both crops, according to January report of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
About 72 percent of the U.S. corn crop was in good to excellent conditions as of July 18, compared with 73 percent a week earlier and 71 percent a year ago, the USDA said yesterday.
Sixty-seven percent of the soybean crop was rated good to excellent up from 65 percent a week earlier, it said.
Soybeans for November-delivery were little changed at $9.7075 a bushel in Chicago at 10:33 a.m. Singapore time, after losing as much as 0.4 percent earlier.
Wheat Falls
September delivery wheat fell 0.7 percent to $5.78 a bushel in Chicago. Wheat’s 14-day relative strength index, a gauge whether a commodity is overbought or oversold, has been above 70 since July 6, a level some traders use as a signal that prices are poised to decline.
“Steep losses in corn prices and a correction from a recent rally weighed on prices,” Commonwealth Bank said. Still, the bank said news remains mostly supportive” of prices, including the expanding drought in Russia and Kazakhstan and exports from the U.S.
Russia, the world’s third-largest wheat grower in the 2009-2010 season may reduce export of grains should crop losses caused by drought deepen, the nation’s Grain Union President Arkady Zlochevsky told reporters yesterday.
Rain in Canada last week added to excessive soil moisture in the nation’s main growing regions, the Canadian Wheat Board said. Canada was ranked the second-largest wheat exporter in the 2009-2010 season by the USDA.
The areas seeded with wheat fell 7.1 percent to 22.7 million acres from a year earlier as wet weather kept farmers out of fields, Statistics Canada said in June. The next survey due in August may show flooding caused further cuts, it said.
Wheat for export inspected at U.S. ports rose 57 percent to 22.449 million bushels in the week ended July 15, from a week earlier, the USDA said yesterday.
A hidden world, growing beyond control
By Dana Priest and William M. Arkin
Washington Post
The top-secret world the government created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has become so large, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies do the same work.
These are some of the findings of a two-year investigation by The Washington Post that discovered what amounts to an alternative geography of the United States, a Top Secret America hidden from public view and lacking in thorough oversight. After nine years of unprecedented spending and growth, the result is that the system put in place to keep the United States safe is so massive that its effectiveness is impossible to determine.
The investigation's other findings include:
* Some 1,271 government organizations and 1,931 private companies work on programs related to counterterrorism, homeland security and intelligence in about 10,000 locations across the United States.
* An estimated 854,000 people, nearly 1.5 times as many people as live in Washington, D.C., hold top-secret security clearances.
* In Washington and the surrounding area, 33 building complexes for top-secret intelligence work are under construction or have been built since September 2001. Together they occupy the equivalent of almost three Pentagons or 22 U.S. Capitol buildings - about 17 million square feet of space.
* Many security and intelligence agencies do the same work, creating redundancy and waste. For example, 51 federal organizations and military commands, operating in 15 U.S. cities, track the flow of money to and from terrorist networks.
* Analysts who make sense of documents and conversations obtained by foreign and domestic spying share their judgment by publishing 50,000 intelligence reports each year - a volume so large that many are routinely ignored.
These are not academic issues; lack of focus, not lack of resources, was at the heart of the Fort Hood shooting that left 13 dead, as well as the Christmas Day bomb attempt thwarted not by the thousands of analysts employed to find lone terrorists but by an alert airline passenger who saw smoke coming from his seatmate.
They are also issues that greatly concern some of the people in charge of the nation's security.
Read the entire article
The top-secret world the government created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has become so large, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies do the same work.
These are some of the findings of a two-year investigation by The Washington Post that discovered what amounts to an alternative geography of the United States, a Top Secret America hidden from public view and lacking in thorough oversight. After nine years of unprecedented spending and growth, the result is that the system put in place to keep the United States safe is so massive that its effectiveness is impossible to determine.
The investigation's other findings include:
* Some 1,271 government organizations and 1,931 private companies work on programs related to counterterrorism, homeland security and intelligence in about 10,000 locations across the United States.
* An estimated 854,000 people, nearly 1.5 times as many people as live in Washington, D.C., hold top-secret security clearances.
* In Washington and the surrounding area, 33 building complexes for top-secret intelligence work are under construction or have been built since September 2001. Together they occupy the equivalent of almost three Pentagons or 22 U.S. Capitol buildings - about 17 million square feet of space.
* Many security and intelligence agencies do the same work, creating redundancy and waste. For example, 51 federal organizations and military commands, operating in 15 U.S. cities, track the flow of money to and from terrorist networks.
* Analysts who make sense of documents and conversations obtained by foreign and domestic spying share their judgment by publishing 50,000 intelligence reports each year - a volume so large that many are routinely ignored.
These are not academic issues; lack of focus, not lack of resources, was at the heart of the Fort Hood shooting that left 13 dead, as well as the Christmas Day bomb attempt thwarted not by the thousands of analysts employed to find lone terrorists but by an alert airline passenger who saw smoke coming from his seatmate.
They are also issues that greatly concern some of the people in charge of the nation's security.
Read the entire article
Study finds drugs, chemicals in Ohio River
Dozens of chemicals and pharmaceuticals - antidepressants, veterinary hormones, even cocaine - have been detected in the Ohio River.
News.Cincinatti.com
By James Bruggers
Researchers who conducted the study that found the substances, however, downplayed the potential effects for the 5 million people along the 981-mile river who use it for drinking water. The contaminants, they said, are in extremely low concentrations.
But outside scientists who reviewed the data noted that some of the pollutants have been tied to feminization of male fish, effects that should serve as a warning to people.
"When we see something this basic being altered in fish, we should be concerned about what it's doing to our own health," said biologist Peter DeFur, a research associate professor at Virginia Commonwealth University who specializes in chemical contaminants in the environment and was not involved in the study.
Read the entire report
News.Cincinatti.com
By James Bruggers
Researchers who conducted the study that found the substances, however, downplayed the potential effects for the 5 million people along the 981-mile river who use it for drinking water. The contaminants, they said, are in extremely low concentrations.
But outside scientists who reviewed the data noted that some of the pollutants have been tied to feminization of male fish, effects that should serve as a warning to people.
"When we see something this basic being altered in fish, we should be concerned about what it's doing to our own health," said biologist Peter DeFur, a research associate professor at Virginia Commonwealth University who specializes in chemical contaminants in the environment and was not involved in the study.
Read the entire report
Tea Party expels Williams, affiliate group
Mark Williams
UPI.comWASHINGTON, July 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. Tea Party coalition has expelled the Tea Party Express over Mark Williams' satirical letter from "Colored People" to Abraham Lincoln, a spokesman says.
"We have expelled Tea Party Express and Mark Williams from the National Tea Party Federation because of the letter that he wrote," National Tea Party spokesman David Webb said Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation."
In the letter he posted on his blog, Williams, a conservative radio talk show host, wrote in what he called the voice of slaves: "Mr. Lincoln, you were the greatest racist ever. We had a great gig. Three squares, room and board, all our decisions made by the 'massa' in the house.
"We Coloreds have taken a vote and decided that we don't cotton to that whole emancipation thing. Freedom means having to work for real, think for ourselves, and take consequences along with the rewards. That is just far too much to ask of us Colored People and we demand that it stop!"
The racist rantings appeared as the national Tea Party denied any racism beyond fringe elements within the organization in response to an NAACP resolution calling on Tea Party leaders to "repudiate those in their ranks who use racist language in their signs and speeches."
Williams had been a Tea Party star, attracting to his rallies among other national figures Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and 2008 candidate for vice president who some see as a White House contender in 2012.
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Netanyahu, Mubarak to discuss peace talks
UPI.com
JERUSALEM, July 18 (UPI) -- Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu headed for Egypt Sunday to talk with President Hosni Mubarak about Palestinians, officials said.
The two planned to discuss possible direct Israeli negotiations with Palestinians, as well as Gaza crossings in the wake of Israel's recent decision to lift most restrictions on goods entering the Gaza Strip, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Government sources told the Post Saturday night they were hopeful direct talks would resume soon, despite Palestinian statements there would be no direct talks unless Israel accepts the pre-1967 lines as the future border of a Palestinian state, and agrees to foreign troops in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Abbas is under Arab pressure to reject direct talks, the Post said.
JERUSALEM, July 18 (UPI) -- Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu headed for Egypt Sunday to talk with President Hosni Mubarak about Palestinians, officials said.
The two planned to discuss possible direct Israeli negotiations with Palestinians, as well as Gaza crossings in the wake of Israel's recent decision to lift most restrictions on goods entering the Gaza Strip, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Government sources told the Post Saturday night they were hopeful direct talks would resume soon, despite Palestinian statements there would be no direct talks unless Israel accepts the pre-1967 lines as the future border of a Palestinian state, and agrees to foreign troops in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Abbas is under Arab pressure to reject direct talks, the Post said.
Censorship Alert: Obama Deception Illegally Removed from You Tube
Made to look like a hack, Thought Police Block Mega-Viral Anti-Establishment Documentary After More than a Year of Dominating Viewcounts, Ranking #1 in Search Engines and Waking Up Millions to the False Left-Right Paradigm Perpetuated by Obama
Aaron Dykes
Infowars.com
July 18, 2010
Alex Jones is on high-alert after someone managed to compromise the “ChangeDaChannel” You Tube account and criminally remove the most-viewed version of “The Obama Deception” available online, which had more than 6.5 million views and whose URL link ranked among the top of all “Obama” related searches.
The channel’s owner was tipped-off about the breach, and was subsequently able to change the password and prevent further deletions of Alex Jones and other patriot documentaries. Both he and members of the Infowars staff believe the video could have only been pulled from behind the scenes at Google or by a government-level cybersecurity admin with access to YouTube records, as the passwords were carefully guarded and unlikely to be guessed at.
Watch the full HD version here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VebOTc-7shU
Read the entire story
Infowars.com
July 18, 2010
Alex Jones is on high-alert after someone managed to compromise the “ChangeDaChannel” You Tube account and criminally remove the most-viewed version of “The Obama Deception” available online, which had more than 6.5 million views and whose URL link ranked among the top of all “Obama” related searches.
The channel’s owner was tipped-off about the breach, and was subsequently able to change the password and prevent further deletions of Alex Jones and other patriot documentaries. Both he and members of the Infowars staff believe the video could have only been pulled from behind the scenes at Google or by a government-level cybersecurity admin with access to YouTube records, as the passwords were carefully guarded and unlikely to be guessed at.
Watch the full HD version here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VebOTc-7shU
Read the entire story
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