Sjov med søvnløshed Blog

Udgivet: Søndag 15 Aug 2010, 00:00

Præsident Franklin D. Roosevelt, en politiker, hvis der nogensinde var en, var ikke tilbøjelig til at tro på politiske tilfældighed. "I politik," bemærkede han, "der sker ikke noget ved et uheld. Hvis det sker, kan du vædde på det var planlagt på den måde. "Det er sandsynligt, at præsident, der bragte nationen ud af den Store Depression og sikkert gennem World War II henviste til begivenheder på den store scene. Her i hustings af lokalpolitik, fortalelser og fadæser og utilsigtede konsekvenser er hverdagskost.

Den tilsyneladende fortsatte kamp for 13. Kongressen District Repræsentanternes Hus sæde har givet en strøm af forbløffelse og morskab for år, besat som den er blevet af skandalen og intraparty skændes.

Den seneste hændelse at give bagslag og kaste spektakulære politiske gnister i det 13. kom, da en kampagne aide til Demokratiske Rep Michael McMahon udgivet en liste foregav at være af republikanske rival Michael Grimm's jødiske og out-of-distriktet kampagne bidragydere. "Der er en masse jødisk penge, en masse penge fra folk i Florida og Manhattan, pensionister," den aide, tidligere Staten Island Advance reporter Jennifer Nelson, sagde.

Ms Nelson, som insisterede på listen skulle udelukkende for at fremhæve Grimms manglende opbakning blandt vælgere, der bor i det 13., synes i det mindste, at have været ramt af en bemærkelsesværdig tale om politisk tone døvhed og ikke anerkender, at intravenøse Udtrykket "jødiske penge" i en New York City kongressens kampagne kan tages som kode ord for noget skummelt.

Ms Nelson, som ikke opstille denne liste, men gjorde frigive det, var hurtigt og uden videre fyret.

Er kilden til penge bidraget til politiske kampagner en vigtig bekymring? undersøgelse software
Den Grimm lejren tabte ikke tid på at forsøge at konvertere klodset angreb ind i politisk hø, indgive en klage til Federal valgkommission og antydede dog skråtstillede, en eventuel anti-semitiske bias i McMahon rækker. Mr. McMahon hurtigt besvarede ilden, begræder klagen som en "billig shot" publicity stunt.

Hvisker for sammensværgelse FORKASTES

Den indignerede Grimm reaktion, som igen gav anledning til konspirationsteorier. Mr. Grimm's protektor er tidligere republikanske Borough President og politisk stærk mand Guy V. Molinari, som engang beskæftigede Ms Nelson. Nogle spekulerede åbenlyst hvis Ms Nelson kan være en dupe eller anden form for GOP sovende agent, og hvis dette kunne have været en politisk kneb, hvis ikke ligefrem sabotage. Dette begreb blev mødt med kraftig afslag fra begge lejre og fra Ms Nelson.

I betragtning af at skaden ser ud til at have været både begrænset og kontrolleret, har kampagnen campingvogne er begyndt at gå videre til hvad nye eventyr venter forude.

Politiske kampagner er lidt ligesom skinnende nye biler, der tilbydes af konkurrerende producenter. De er udsmykket med doodads og malet med utydelig ideer designet til at fange øjet eller fantasi af vælgerne. Men ligegyldigt hvordan de ser ud, de alle kører på penge. Masser af det. Spøgefugle har antydet, at hvis alle de politikere enige om at opdele de tilgængelige puljen af penge, ville der ikke være nok til at gå rundt. The humorist Will Rogers bemærkede engang, at "Politik er blevet så dyrt, at det tager en masse penge, selv at blive besejret."

Der er ironi i Mr. Rogers 'kommentar, men også mere end en lille sandhed. Det tager betydelig kontanter for at få ind i det politiske spil, selv på lokalt plan, og hvad med omkostningerne i åbningen afdelingskontorer og personale dem, og andragende forberedelse og reklamer, og hvad du har.

En kandidat har intet håb om at montere en troværdig kampagne uden først at have en stærk, velorganiseret og effektiv fundraising operation på plads.

Du skal blot overholde fundraising offentliggørelse regler kan holde en kandidat personale travlt.

Kongressens løb er reguleret af Federal valgkommission. Alle penge, om det var indsamlet via fundraising udvalg begivenheder, eller blot ankom som en check med posten, skal være omhyggeligt dokumenteret, specificeret og tegnede sig for til FEC.

Der er intet hemmeligt om disse poster. Ja, deres tilgængelighed er et vigtigt kontrol af de potentielt frække rolle ellers udokumenterede penge kan spille i en kampagne. Vi opfordrer dig til at se for dig selv.

Find de agentur på internettet på fec.gov .

Den FEC gør specificerede kvitteringer for hver kandidat let tilgængelige for offentligheden. Du kan finde en donor navn, adresse, arbejdsgiver, besættelse, og det samlede beløb den pågældende person har doneret i den aktuelle valget cyklus.

Donationer er ikke spores af etnicitet, men det er nemt for alle med tid, tålmodighed og en internetforbindelse for at drage slutninger fra selv et overfladisk blik på indtægterne.

Vi tog et kig på de seneste høvle af de tre store kandidater til Kongressen. Det blev snart klart, Grimm lejren gør, ja, har tilhængere med jødisk-klingende navne, hvoraf nogle bor uden for 13.. Men så gør de andre kandidater.

Også drysses blandt donorerne for alle de kandidater, er navne, der fremkalder Vesteuropa, Østeuropa, Mellemøsten, det indiske subkontinent og Det Fjerne Østen.

Vigtigheden af at tage del i den politiske proces i et demokrati er en gammel smule af visdom. Den græske filosof Platon bemærkes, at en af de sanktioner for at nægte at deltage i politik er, at du ender med at blive styret af dine underordnede. Så forstå, hvem og hvor en kandidat har base af finansiel støtte er et spørgsmål af legitim interesse i at engageret vælgerne.

At begrænse vores gennemgang af Donorjournaler til de store kandidater til Kongressen, var republikanere Michael Grimm og Michael Allegretti, og demokrat Michael McMahon, et spørgsmål om funktionalitet.

Vores undersøgelse involverede analyse af donorer, der er anført i den seneste krævede FEC kvartalsrapporter, udstationeret i juli.

For at holde spilleregler selv, kiggede vi på de første 100 donorer om hver enkelt kandidat's liste. (Medmindre andet er angivet, når vi taler om procenter, vi taler kun om antallet af donorer, og ikke mængden disse donorer gav.)

Denne fremgangsmåde, mens upartisk, er ganske vist ikke videnskabeligt.

Vores begrænsede stikprøve giver plads for den mulighed, at nogle statistiske variation kunne findes ved stemmeoptællingen hver post, ikke blot de første 100. Vores mål her er ikke videnskab, men belysning.

Den eneste konklusion, vi er villige til at drage af denne undersøgelse er, at næste kongresmedlem fra det 13. sandsynligvis hedde Michael.

Her er nogle af vores observationer baseret på registreringer, vi kiggede på:

MICHAEL ALLEGRETTI

The Bay Ridge, Brooklyn indfødte trækker omkring 20 procent af sin finansielle støtte fra Staten Island på andenpladsen til Brooklyn, som tegner sig for 23 procent. Han nyder større støtte fra New Jersey beboere (17 procent) end fra New York samfund uden for New York City (11 procent).

Af sine otte Manhattan bagmænd, er tre advokater og to er i ejendomsbranchen. De andre er en investering bankmand, en arkitekt og en dot-com udøvende med et websted, der ikke synes at arbejde.

Erhverv at vises på Mr. Allegretti's donorer liste flere gange omfatter entreprenører, konsulenter, lobbyister og pensionister.

De erhverv af syv procent af donorernes kunne ikke bestemmes på grund af FEC modtagebevisernes enten var ufuldstændige eller posterne var vage.

Prisen for den længste distance af en kampagne donation check går til en Allegretti tilhænger, der er et finansieringsselskab konsulent på øen Guam.

Det gennemsnitlige bidrag til Allegretti kampagnen, beregnet ud fra vores prøve, er omkring 906 dollar.

MICHAEL GRIMM

Kandidaten gør en stor del af hans tjeneste i Marine Corps og FBI (lejlighedsvis lander i varmt vand for uautoriseret brug af deres symboler), men ikke så meget af hans New Springville rødder. Hans officielle kampagne biografi nævner ikke Staten Island på alle.

Kampagnen donation optegnelser synes at afspejle denne afstand. Indtægterne vi undersøgte angiver Staten Islanders udgør kun ni procent af donorerne er repræsenteret i juli 2010 FEC arkivering. Ønsker at blive bestanddele i Brooklyn tegner sig for 15 procent af donorerne undersøges i vores prøve. Resten af Mr. Grimm's donorer bor uden for 13..

Af donoren optegnelser vi kiggede på, er 22 procent fra Manhattan, og 28 procent af de kontroller, ankom fra andre fællesskaber i staten New York.

Af de tre kandidater, er Mr. Grimm tilsyneladende højt respekteret i sådanne monied New York steder som Rug og Scarsdale og White Plains, og byer i Nassau County.

Uanset dennes appel der har Grimm kampagnen været temmelig effektive til at ryste penge træet. Den gennemsnitlige donation i vores stikprøve var næsten $ 1.930 - mere end dobbelt så Mr. Grimm's rivaler.

De registreringer, vi kiggede på indikerer Mr. Grimm rejst $ 10,450 på Staten Island i perioden. Næsten 29 procent af dette beløb i dollar kom direkte fra hans politiske sponsor, Guy. V. Molinari. Også, to af de tre Virginia donationer til Grimms kampagnen kom fra Mr. Molinari politiske advokat / lobbyist datter, Susan, og hendes ligeledes ansat mand, Bill Paxon.

Vi lavede en undtagelse til vores metode i vores undersøgelse af Mr. Grimm's FEC papirer. En Brooklyn kopi centrum er opført som havende vandt $ 22,617.53 værd i naturalier bidrag til Grimms kampagnen. For at undgå skævvridning af resultaterne af vores undersøgelse, vi sprunget over for ikke-kontante donation tal i vores rapport om de første 100 registreringer vi kigget på, men erkender bidrag her.

MICHAEL McMahon

Af de tre store kandidater til Europa-Parlamentet sæde, Den Demokratiske etablerede Den, Mr. McMahon, en indfødt i Staten Island North Shore fællesskab af Stapleton, synes at have den bredeste base i det 13.. De registreringer, vi kiggede på foreslår halvdelen af sin donation kontrol kommer fra Staten Island, og yderligere 10 procent fra Brooklyn kvarterer af Bensonhurst, Gravesend, Dyker Heights, og Bay Ridge, som alle ligger inden for distriktets grænser.

De fleste af Mr. McMahon's out-of-distriktet støtte kommer fra forskellige samfund i New York state (10 procent) og New Jersey (11 procent). Bidragydere i Manhattan tegner sig for ni procent af donorerne, der er anført i juli FEC indgivelse; yderligere fem procent er fra Queens.

Blandt de McMahon donorer vi kiggede på, er 10 procent advokater, lige så mange er bankfolk. Tre på listen siger, at de er lobbyister, hvoraf to er fra Staten Island. Andre erhverv, der dukker op flere gange inkluderer hjemmegående, pensionister, lærere, fast ejendom sælgere, læger (seks procent af det samlede antal) og folk, der ellers er ansat i sundhedssektoren felter.

Den gennemsnitlige donation til McMahon kampagnen, beregnet fra vores prøve, var omkring 914 dollar.

En lang historie

Siden den dag politik og penge mødtes første gang, hver dollar nogensinde bidraget til en politisk kampagne har formentlig ankommet med en dagsorden i nogle vedlagte slags. Det er bare karakteren af spillet Platon beskrev: Mange mennesker engagere sig i politik, hvis overhovedet, kun i det omfang at stemme. Andre deltager yderligere og helt rigtigt ved at sætte deres penge hvor deres sympatier er.

Hvad vi ikke finde under vores besøg i FEC registrere bin er bevis for en klike. Der synes at være noget uheldige i rækken af individuelle donorer poster kiggede vi på, vi opdagede intet, der tyder på nogen etnisk tunneling eller snigende forsøg på at oversvømme nogle af de kampagner med penge i et forsøg på at beslaglægge indflydelse, eller andre mørke gerninger.

Mark Twain skrev engang: "Tal ofte lokke mig," skrev han, "især når jeg har formidling af dem [at] mig selv." Han kunne godt lide at gå langs den iagttagelse, at verden lider af tre slags usandheder: "Løgne, forbandede løgne og statistik. "

Hvis du kigger længe nok på en himmel fyldt med fluffy skyer vil du til sidst begynde at genkende former og endda ansigter i dem. Så det kan være med statistikker, hvor den vedvarende undersøgeren endelig, måske uundgåeligt. dukker op kontroverser eller hvad der synes at være forseelser. Opdagelsen kan vise sig at være korrekt, eller det kan blive en ulovlig indtrængen i insinuationer.

Uanset hvad, arrangere numre til at bevise et punkt er en glat forretning. Dette er især tilfældet i den ru-og tumler af politik, som kan være en middelværdi og nådesløs sport.

Vi er enige med de store Platon's opfordring til Everyman's deltagelse i den politiske proces, men vil gerne tro, han kunne i dag omfatter en formaning: ". Se dine skridt"

Republikanske kongressens kandidat Ben Quayle fredag aften langet ud efter hans politiske fjender og medierne for, hvad han beskrev som "koordineret indsats for at myrde min karakter."

Den 33-årige søn af den tidligere vicepræsident Dan Quayle blev belejret af kontroverser i denne uge efter Nik Richie, grundlæggeren af den nu hedengangne DirtyScottsdale.com, outed Quayle som en af de oprindelige skabere af frække, sex-tema hjemmeside afsløring Scottsdale's trashy natklub scene.

Sitet blev lanceret i marts 2007, senere forvandlet til den nationale sladder site TheDirty.com.

I en flammende erklæring til kampagne tilhængere, Quayle, der fremmer sig selv som en familie-værdier konservativ, kalder Richie en "smut Hosekræmmeren." Men Quayle indrømmer han har kendt Richie siden 2005, præsenterede ham for en intellektuel ejendomsret politisk advokat i 2007 til at indarbejde beskidt Scottsdale, og sendt en håndfuld "fiktive satiriske kommentarer" til det websted, samme år.

"Det er forbløffende, at medierne vil tage en tilfældig bekendt og gøre det til noget tarvelige, idet ord en smut Hosekræmmeren til pålydende værdi," sagde Quayle, der kører i de overfyldte 24 august GOP primære for Arizona's 3. District . "Men jeg vil ikke ned igen, og jeg vil fortsætte med at kæmpe for vores fremtid."

Quayle, en advokat, der driver en lille Scottsdale investeringsselskab, har gentagne gange påpeget, at Dirty Scottsdale ikke eksisterer længere. Men bloggere for nylig gravet tidlige skrifter fra stedet skrevet af "Brock Landers," navnet på en fiktiv pornostjerne i 1997 svirp "Boogie Nights", og pseudonymet at Richie siger blev brugt af Quayle.

"Han er 100 pct uden tvivl Brock Landers," Richie fortalte politisk.

Landers 'indlæg er skrevet tungen i kinden. I den ene, skriver han: "Jeg er høj drikke vand, der er let for øjnene. Plus, min moralske kompas, så brydes jeg kan næsten ikke finde på parkeringspladsen. Lang historie kort, på en skala fra 1-til-10, jeg awesome. "

I en anden: "Når jeg tog min skjorte, og damerne fangede et glimt af min mejslet fysik, blev jeg summarisk mobbet som jeg var medlem i Menudo løbet af Puerto Rico Day Parade i NYC."

Andre er mere grafisk.

I en halv snes lokale og nationale tv-interviews i denne uge, har Quayle eftertrykkeligt udtalt: "Jeg er ikke Brock Landers." Men han har ikke nægtet brug af pennen navn, og Richie sagde kun to bloggere havde evnen til at skrive oprindelige indhold på site i 2007: Richie og Brock Landers.

Igennem hans redegørelse til kampagne bagmænd, skildrer Quayle sig selv som et offer, siger, at han har været "overfaldet, udskældte og smurte" med en "spærreild af fornærmelser, løgne fordrejninger og rygter."

"Som en Quayle, mens det aldrig føles godt er jeg vant til denne type uretfærdig behandling," sagde han, uden tvivl en henvisning til sin far, der som vicepræsident blev hånet af medierne og de sene nattetimer talkshow værter for stavefejl "kartoffel" og andre fortalelser.

De yngre Quayle, der nogle har sagt, er en spytte billede af sin far, har kritiseret medier for at rapportere, at han først benægtede senere indrømmede sit engagement med Dirty Scottsdale. Og han fastholder sin "historie er forblevet sammenhængende", siden han første gang var knyttet til stedet i denne uge.

"Jeg er ikke en medskaber, en co-grundlægger heller ikke jeg har nogen tilknytning til den nuværende hjemmeside (TheDirty.com)," skriver han, selvom det er vigtigt at påpege, at han ikke gør det samme krav omkring den oprindelige site, Dirty Scottsdale, hvor han skrev.

Quayle har påstået, at en af hans modstandere i den 10-måde primær, tidligere Paradise Valley borgmester Vernon Parker, er blevet konspirere med Richie. Og Quayle pegede på mediernes forlydender Richie havde deltaget i et Parker fundraiser tidligere på året hjemme hos ansøgerens politiske strateg Jason Rose.

Men begge parter benægtet, at de arbejder sammen. Richie sagde, at han var i Californien på det tidspunkt, hvor fundraiser og ikke deltog.

En pensioneret New Jersey Superior Court dommer med en historie af stående op til politisk pres formentlig vil blive navngivet skærmen, som vil sørge for, Gloucester County selvejere i overensstemmelse med den åbne Offentlige møder lov, ifølge en politisk advokat er involveret i en retssag mod bestyrelsen .

John A. Sweeney, der var opgaven dommer i Burlington County fra 1992 til 2008, vil blive anbefalet som skærmen, sagde Mark Cimino, der indgav en retssag om, at de grundejere uretmæssigt godkendte bonusser, der blev oprettet stillinger, og bosatte retssager i lukkede sessioner. Cimino repræsenteret David Burnett af Clayton, en tidligere direktør i amtet republikanske forretningsudvalget.

Den 27. juli, besluttede Superior Court dommer Francis J. Orlando Jr., opgaven dommer i Camden County, en skærm var nødvendig for at se alle Demokratiske bonde bord og rapportere tilbage til ham. Han sagde, at grundejere havde overtrådt møder handling, også kendt som Sunshine lov, selv efter retssagen blev indgivet.

Det var en sjælden dom, der er udstedt efter en klage panel bedt Orlando for at se, om der var "et mønster" af overtrædelser retssagen citeret 50 tilfælde.

Orlando spurgte Cimino og Michael Sullivan, advokat for grundejere, at blive enige om navnene på pensionerede dommere, der kunne tjene som skærm til seks måneder. Orlando vil overveje Sweeney's navn August 16. Cimino sagde selvejere havde indvilget i at betale for overvågningen.

Sullivan kunne ikke nået for kommentarer.

Cimino sagde begge sider havde valgt Sweeney på grund af hans "store integritet" og hans "erfaring med" den åbne offentlige møder Act.

Selvom Sweeney begyndte sin karriere som en demokrat, som en advokat for Gov James J. Florio i 1990 og senere som en forsamlingsmand, Cimino sagde partitilhørsforhold var ikke et problem. "Det handler om beskikkelse af en person, der er retfærdig," sagde han.

Cimino bemærkes, at i 1995, Sweeney afvist en anmodning fra en indflydelsesrig Demokratiske senator til at skifte en afgørelse, han havde udstedt. Senator Thomas P. Foy kaldet Sweeney hjem til at sige at han var bange for, at hans firma, Hill International, vil gå konkurs efter dommeren fastslog, at det havde misligholdt 7.600 tusind dollars i lån. Sweeney recused sig fra sagen, og derefter vidnede om opkaldet.

Ti år senere, han beordrede staten Attorney General's Office til at løslade 330 timer optagelser det havde hemmeligt optaget i løbet af en to-årig kriminel sonde ind i JCA, en politisk tilsluttet ingeniørfirma, der holdt millioner af dollars i no-bud offentlige kontrakter. Båndene indeholdt Samtaler med bemærkelsesværdige politiske skikkelser, deriblandt den tidligere Camden County Demokratiske formand George Norcross III, tidligere Burlington County Demokratiske formanden R. Louis Gallagher Jr., nu Superior Court dommer John Harrington, og Palmyra embedsmænd.

Cimino sagde Sweeney havde haft ret til at gøre det muligt for offentligheden at høre bånd.

Kontakt personalet forfatter Jan Hefler på 856-779-3224 eller jhefler@phillynews.com .

Hæren oberstløjtnant Jon Jackson blev taget fra domstolen efter ambulance torsdag, efter at han kollapsede.

Bryan Broyles, vice-chef forsvarer for de militære forsøg på Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, sagde han forventer det samme jury vil senere tage sagen op, og at Jackson agter at opholde sig på som Omar Khadr's Pentagon-udpeget advokat. Jackson er den eneste advokat har tilladelse til at tale for Khadr, der affyrede to amerikanske civile politiske advokater under pretrial høringer.

The Khadr sag er blevet holdt op for mere end fire år af juridiske udfordringer og forandringer til offshore for at retsforfølge formodede terrorister. Retssagen, som forventes at tage omkring en måned, er den første på Guantanamo under præsident Obama.

- Associated Press

DOMSTOLE

ACORN's appel af finansieringen cut nægtet

En føderal appeldomstol fredag kastede en beslutning, som var afskåret Kongressen fra kildeskat midler fra Sammenslutningen af lokale organisationer for Reform Now (ACORN), aktivisten gruppen kørt til ruin af skandale og økonomisk elendighed.

Den herskende fra den amerikanske appelret for 2. Circuit i Manhattan vendt en afgørelse truffet af en US District dommer i Brooklyn, der findes Kongressen havde overtrådt gruppens rettigheder ved at straffe den uden en retssag.

Kongres afbrød ACORN's føderal finansiering sidste år som reaktion på påstande gruppen involveret i vælgerregistrering bedrageri og underslæb og overtrådt skattefri status i nogle af dets datterselskaber ved at engagere sig i partipolitisk politiske aktiviteter.

CNN Washington Præsidiets morgen hastighed læst af tophistorier gør nyhederne fra rundt om i landet og verden.

WASHINGTON / POLITISKE
For de seneste politiske nyheder: www.CNNPolitics.com

CNN: Obama at underskrive lovforslaget om godkendelse 600 millioner dollar til sikkerheden ved grænserne
Præsident Barack Obama vil underskrive et lovforslag fredag, der giver 600 millioner dollar i nødhjælp med til at sikre den amerikansk-mexicanske grænse. En dag tidligere, to senatorer - Demokrater Charles Schumer fra New York og Ben Cardin of Maryland - vendt tilbage fra deres August fordybning at give kammer's godkendelse af regningen. Repræsentanternes Hus har allerede godkendt foranstaltning.

CNN: Petraeus wants to set record straight on July 2011
One of the key goals of the new commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus, is to try to settle the debate on the significance of the July 2011 date, according to an International Security Assistance Force official familiar with Petraeus' thinking.

Washington Post: Pentagon push to phase out top brass causing much consternation
Of all the spending cuts and budget battles the Pentagon is confronting, none is causing more angst than Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates's vow to start getting rid of generals and admirals. By almost any measure, the military is more top-heavy an institution than it has been for decades. Today, there are 40 four-star generals and admirals – one more than in 1971, during the Vietnam War, even though the number of active-duty troops has shrunk by almost half. The number of active-duty generals and admirals of all rank, meanwhile, has increased by about 13 percent since 1996.

CNN: Obama to visit Gulf Coast to assess economic impact on businesses
President Barack Obama and his family will travel to the Gulf Coast this weekend to support businesses that rely on tourists but have been devastated by the oil disaster. The family will leave Saturday morning for Panama City Beach, Florida.

Los Angeles Times: Working for Grandma Waters on Capitol Hill
Many people who encounter Mikael Moore, the chief of staff for Rep. Maxine Waters, see a typical Capitol Hill aide: a young, serious, BlackBerry-toting workaholic in a business suit with an intense belief in the importance of his work. If they know he is also Waters' grandson, making him a rarity in Congress, it is not because he talks about it much, if at all. Moore's family ties to the powerful Los Angeles Democrat became better known last week when the House Ethics Committee noted their relationship in charging Waters with ethics violations for her work on behalf of a minority-owned bank during the 2008 financial crisis. He was not accused of any wrongdoing.

CNN: Rangel dismisses critics, pledges tough re-election fight
US Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-New York, under fire for alleged financial wrongdoing and harming the credibility of Congress, renewed his demand Thursday for a hearing before the House ethics committee. The beleaguered 20-term congressman, stumping for votes in his Harlem district, also dismissed his upcoming Democratic primary opponents and pledged to run a tough re-election race over the next month.

CNN: CNN Poll shows big similarities between 2010, 1994
When it comes to the political landscape three months before the midterm elections take place, is everything that's old new again? A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey paints a picture that is markedly similar to that of August, 1994, when few people predicted that in only three short months the Republican Party would snatch 54 seats from the Democrats and wrestle control of the House from the beleaguered party.

Bloomberg: Palin Joins Armey as Republicans Aid Tea Party Takeover
The pitch came at the end of Rand Paul's conference call with 2,000 potential supporters: Go online to donate to Paul, the Kentucky Republican Senate candidate who is courting Tea Party activists. Or press seven to give $25 to FreedomWorks, the advocacy organization headed by former House Majority Leader Dick Armey that sponsored the July 13 call, said Matt Kibbe, the group's president. Even as candidates such as Paul tout their anti- establishment credentials, much of their financial clout comes from veteran Republicans such as Armey, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint and onetime US Representative Chris Chocola, who aim to reshape their party.

The Hill: Ron Paul could play spoiler in 2012 race
Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), a two-time presidential contender, could wreak havoc for Republicans if he decides to make a third-party or independent bid for president in 2012. New numbers from Public Policy Polling show Paul winning 13 percent of the vote in a hypothetical three-way general election contest with President Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R).

CQ Politics: DeMint's New Focus: Directing Dollars To Favored Candidates
Sen. Jim DeMint ran up a successful record with the candidates he endorsed in Republican primaries. Now he's shifting his focus to the general election and preparing to support his favored Senate nominees with new and expanded fundraising initiatives.

Albany Times Union: CPI schedules hearing on Yankees ticket scandal
The Commission on Public Integrity has scheduled a public hearing at 9:30 am Tuesday at its offices in downtown Albany into the Yankees tickets mess involving Gov. David Paterson and his troublesome aide David Johnson. In early March, the CPI released a notice of reasonable cause that concluded Paterson had testified falsely under oath about the effort to obtain the World Series tickets and an alleged subsequent effort to paper it over with a backdated check. Paterson responded by saying the commission was being unfair.

Charleston Post and Courier: SC to spend $2.4 million on weight loss surgeries for state workers
South Carolina lawmakers think they can ultimately save cash by paying up-front for 100 obese state workers to have weight loss surgery that can cost up to $24,000 a pop. The state Budget and Control Board voted today to approve a pilot program, authorized by the state Legislature, to spend $2.4 million on gastric bypass and Lap-Band surgery for the state's heaviest employees, under the state health plan. The surgeries will be offered after Jan. 1 and be divided among the state's regions on a first come, first served basis.

Denver Post: Bennet, Romanoff join hands, shift target to GOP's Buck
Sen. Michael Bennet used a Democratic unity rally to take his first detailed shots Thursday against his Republican opponent, calling Ken Buck out on Social Security, student loans and tax breaks for the wealthy.

Houston Chronicle: Governor's race more like 'game of chicken'
Suggesting his opponent has something to hide, Gov. Rick Perry said Thursday he will not budge on his refusal to debate unless Democrat Bill White releases more income tax returns. The Republican governor said he will not meet with newspaper editorial boards, either – the same approach he took in the GOP primary. White hit back, saying his financial records are more readily available than Perry's and that he will be happy to debate an empty chair if necessary. He said Perry's “handlers” simply do not want him to answer questions.

Las Vegas Sun: No more Mr. Meek: Reid forces Sandoval's hand with challenge
The governor's race has so far been Brian Sandoval's to lose. While Rory Reid leads in fundraising, by more than $2 million at last count, Sandoval has consistently led in the polls by double-digit margins. On Wednesday, during the candidates' first appearance together, Reid attempted to abruptly change the dynamic of the race with an uncharacteristically bold maneuver. Reid, the Democrat, and Sandoval, the Republican, were scheduled to deliver separate keynote speeches to the Nevada Subcontractors Association. Instead, Reid stepped up to the stage and challenged a stunned Sandoval to a debate.

New York Post: Sen. Lautenberg, 86, has gone totally Gaga
Apparently, Pat Boone was busy. New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg – the oldest living US senator – is planning to host a fundraiser at a Lady Gaga concert in Washington, DC, it was reported yesterday. The 86 year-old “Little Monster,” as Gaga calls her fans, sent an e-mail to his supporters inviting them to the “Senator Frank R. Lautenberg & Lady Gaga – the Monster Ball Tour” on Sept. 7 at the Verizon Center.

Miami Herald: Hispanic backlash over law targeting migrants
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill McCollum sought damage control Thursday as prominent Hispanic supporters fumed over him spearheading legislation that's even tougher than Arizona's new crackdown on illegal immigration. McCollum hastily arranged a conference call with his Hispanic leadership team late Thursday, calling them the “backbone” of his campaign and acknowledging that they had concerns about his stance.

St. Petersburg Times: Jeff Greene brushes off raucous party boat tales
[Jeff] Greene tends to get testy when reporters ask him about celebrity pals like Tyson and Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss or what Vanity Fair called a Moroccan “love den” in one of his California mansions. Nor does he hide his annoyance when reporters ask him about former Summerwind employees describing the yacht as a party palace. Or about Summerwind allegedly damaging reefs in Belize or visiting the normally off-limits Cuba (first described as a Jewish humanitarian mission and later as a stop for repairs). “There's a million people not working in Florida. Why are we talking about the yacht all the time?” Greene said in a recent interview. “I care too much about my country to spend all my time talking about a yacht and Mike Tyson. Nobody cares about that except you.” Kendrick Meek says he cares and so do Florida voters.

San Jose Mercury News: Boxer says voters 'grumpy' about sputtering economy
Facing the toughest re-election fight of her career, three-term US Sen. Barbara Boxer attributed her sagging approval rating to voters who are “grumpy” about the sputtering economy and an opponent, Republican nominee Carly Fiorina, who “doesn't have a job” and spends her time “going around the state trashing me in every way possible.”

NATIONAL
For the latest national news: www.CNN.com

CNN: WikiLeaks preparing to release 15,000 more Afghanistan documents
The founder of WikiLeaks said Thursday the whistle-blower website is preparing to release another roughly 15,000 documents about the war in Afghanistan. “We are about halfway through them,” Julian Assange told reporters in London, England. “This is a very expensive process.” The Pentagon on Thursday warned WikiLeaks against releasing more documents. “It would compound a mistake that has already put far too many lives at risk,” said Geoff Morrell, deputy assistant secretary of defense for public affairs.

CNN: Israeli, arrested at airport, is suspect in Michigan killings
A 33-year-old Israeli citizen was charged with assault with intent to murder in Michigan Thursday in connection with 18 stabbings that left five people dead across three states, according to a Michigan prosecutor. Elias Abuelazam was arrested Wednesday night at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia. Abuelazam was trying to board a flight to Israel when he was taken into custody, police said Thursday.

CNN: Judge gives green light for same-sex marriage in California
A federal judge ruled on Thursday to allow same-sex couples to marry in California, starting on August 18, handing another victory to supporters of gay rights in a case that both sides have said is likely to end up in the US Supreme Court. Chief US District Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage last week, ruling that voter-approved Proposition 8 violates the US Constitution. Walker had issued a temporary stay on his decision, which on Thursday he said he would lift.

Boston Globe: Patients' files left at public dump
Four Massachusetts community hospitals are investigating how thousands of patient health records, some containing Social Security numbers and sensitive medical diagnoses, ended up in a pile at a public dump. The unshredded records included pathology reports with patients' names, addresses, and results of breast, bone, and skin cancer tests, as well as the results of lab work following miscarriages.

CNN: Blagojevich jury agrees on two counts, but not on others
A federal jury weighing the fate of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich in his corruption trial told the judge on Thursday it has reached unanimous agreement on two of the 24 counts, but cannot agree on 11 others and has yet to consider the rest.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/08/12/illinois.blagojevich.jury/index.html

INTERNATIONAL
For the latest international news: http://edition.cnn.com

CNN: Defense attorney for Gitmo's youngest detainee hospitalized
The defense political lawyer for Omar Khadr, accused of assembling and planting roadside bombs targeting American troops in Afghanistan, collapsed during testimony Thursday and was hospitalized. It was unclear whether Lt. Col. Jon Jackson's illness will delay the terrorism trial.

Wall Street Journal: Pakistan Fight Stalls for US
The US military has stopped lobbying Pakistan to help root out one of the biggest militant threats to coalition forces in Afghanistan, US officials say, acknowledging that the failure to win better help from Islamabad threatens to damage a linchpin of their Afghan strategy. Until recently, the US had been pressing Islamabad to launch major operations against the Haqqani network, a militant group connected to al Qaeda that controls a key border region where US defense and intelligence officials believe Osama bin Laden has hidden. …But military officials have decided that pressing Pakistan for help against the group—as much as it is needed—is counterproductive.

CNN: Pakistani president finally visits flood-affected areas
At the peak of Pakistan's relentless downpours, a year's worth of rain fell in a day, disrupting the lives of 15 million men, women and children across the country. They might have otherwise have been celebrating fast-breaking feasts every evening during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. And in two days, they might have celebrated independence – Pakistan was partitioned off from India on August 14, 1947, a date observed with immense national pride. Instead, Pakistanis this year will be surrounded by the effects of the worst natural calamity since its creation, immersed literally in a uniquely dynamic disaster unlike anything they have seen before. Thursday, almost two weeks into the crisis, President Asif Ali Zardari finally got a firsthand look.

Jerusalem Post: Israel aims to be space superpower
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is set to approve an ambitious plan to turn Israel into a satellite superpower. According to details obtained by The Jerusalem Post, the aim is to increase sales of Israeli space platforms to nearly $8 billion a year. The multi-year plan calls for the government to annually increase support for space research and development by several hundred million shekels. This investment would focus on new platforms – primarily Israel's niche market in “mini satellites” – intended to yield billions in sales.

CNN: Myanmar junta sets election date of Nov. 7
Myanmar will hold general elections on November 7, the Myanmar National Radio announced Friday. The vote will be the first since 1990 when Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's party won a landslide victory – a result that the country's military junta refused to recognize. Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has been under military rule since 1962.

New York Times: Iran Shows What It Says Is Murder Confession
Iranian state television has broadcast what it portrayed as a murder confession by a woman who had been sentenced to death by stoning on adultery charges, in an unusual effort to deflect criticism of a case that has drawn international protests and an offer of asylum from the president of Brazil. The woman's videotaped statement, broadcast Wednesday night, was part of an extraordinary prime-time program — including interviews with a prosecutor and the woman's friends and family — that suggested that the international uproar had put Iranian officials on the defensive, and left them struggling to defend their case for both domestic and international audiences.

Bloomberg: Canada Navy Boards Sri Lankan Ship at Sea With 490 Aboard
Canada's Navy boarded a cargo ship carrying possible Sri Lankan refugees off the coast of British Columbia to determine whether any criminals or terrorists are on board, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said.

BUSINESS
For the latest business news: www.CNNMoney.com

CNNMoney: BP pays $50 million to settle safety citations
Federal regulators said Thursday that BP will pay a record $50.6 million fine for failing to correct safety issues at its Texas City refinery, where an explosion in 2005 killed 15 workers and injured scores more.

BBC News: Eurozone due to post positive GDP
Growth figures due to be released for the Eurozone area are expected to show signs of recovery, despite the region being rocked by the Greek debt crisis. Germany, France and Spain are all set to publish details of their gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter of the year.

CNNMoney: GM getting a new CEO – again
General Motors is getting its fourth CEO in just under 18 months, as the company announced that Ed Whitacre will leave the post Sept. 1, to be succeeded by another auto industry outsider, former Nextel Communications CEO Dan Akerson. The move comes on the same day the automaker reported its best quarterly profit in six years, and with a filing expected within days to detail plans to bring the company public again.

CNNMoney: A surprise tax cut for the (almost) rich
Worried about your taxes going up next year? They might for some high earners. But some not-quite-rich taxpayers could end up with a surprise tax cut. If the Bush tax cuts expire for the nation's top earners, people making a pinch less than the wealthiest Americans, who don't quite qualify for the new top two tax brackets, could find themselves in an even lower bracket next year.

In Case You Missed It

CNN's Barbara Starr looks at whether Pakistan's government can withstand the crisis created by widespread flooding.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2010/08/12/starr.us.pakistan.aid.cnn

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LONDON (AFP) – A political lawyer for an Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning in the Islamic republic told a British daily she was tortured before confessing on state television to involvement in her husband's murder.

Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani's political lawyer told The Guardian newspaper on Thursday that his client, a 43-year-old mother of two, was forced to give the interview, recorded in Tabriz prison where she has been held for the past four years.

“She was severely beaten up and tortured until she accepted to appear in front of camera,” political lawyer Houtan Kian said on the newspaper's website.

The political lawyer said he feared the Iranian authorities would act quickly to carry out the death sentence, which was reportedly commuted to hanging after an international outcry against her sentencing last month.

The Guardian gave no details of where the political lawyer was speaking.

Another of her political lawyers, Mohammad Mostafaie, fled Iran this month and is now in Norway after Iranian officials issued an arrest warrant for him and detained his wife.

The sentence against Mohammadi-Ashtiani was initially for “having an illicit relationship outside marriage,” which drew condemnation from many countries.

But in the interview broadcast on state television, she said that a man with whom she was acquainted had offered to kill her husband and she let him carry out the crime.

In a separate interview with The Guardian last week, she said she had been acquitted of murder, “but the man who actually killed my husband was identified and imprisoned but he is not sentenced to death.”

The television interview of the woman in Muslim face-covering was aired on Wednesday night during a political broadcast condemning Western “propaganda” over her case as part of pressure on Tehran over its nuclear programme.

The chief justice of East Azerbaijan province, where the alleged murder took place in 2006, told the TV show that Mohammadi-Ashtiani injected her husband with a substance that made him unconscious before the killer electrocuted him.

Iranian officials have maintained the death sentence was for murder, although initial reports said she was acquitted of that charge and convicted for “having an illicit relationship outside marriage.”

The stoning sentence has been temporarily suspended by Iranian judiciary chief Sadeq Larijani.

The British foreign ministry said it was “appalled” by the televised confession and “deeply concerned by her political lawyer's claim that the confession was a result of torture”.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman added: “We have urged the Iranian authorities to undertake a thorough review of her case and call on them to comply with the international human rights obligations they have independently signed up to.”

On Thursday, Amnesty International criticised both the television interview and the Iranian authorities.

“Televised 'confessions' have repeatedly been used by the authorities to incriminate individuals in custody. Many have later retracted these 'confessions,' stating they were coerced to make them,” it said in a statement.

“Statements made in such televised exchanges should have no bearing on Iran's legal system, or the call to review her case. This latest video shows nothing more than the lack of evidence against Sakineh Ashtiani.”

Amnesty said a response to a defence request for a judicial review of the case is expected on or around August 15.

“It appears that Iran?s authorities have orchestrated this 'confession' following the call for a judicial review and now appear to be inventing new charges of murdering her husband,” it said.

“If the judiciary in Iran is to be taken seriously, this 'confession' needs to be disregarded and assurances given that it will not affect the review of her case,” said Amnesty.

When famed Texas trial political lawyer John O'Quinn skidded off a Houston parkway in a speeding SUV and
slammed into a tree last October, he left behind a mixed legacy.

He had won billions of dollars for clients but incurred
rebukes from bar groups for ethical misconduct. Ex-clients and
employees said he had cheated them, but he also handed over
massive contributions to multiple good causes.

In the last five years of his life, he had collected more
than 800 classic cars. And that's now the source of one of the
most bitter disputes his death has provoked.

What the twice-divorced political lawyer didn't leave behind was a
single sheet of paper that would have bequeathed to his longtime
companion the 28 cars she says he meant her to have.

Even with a private marriage ceremony she says occurred, a
wedding ring and her reputation as his wife, this brilliant
political lawyer never filed a simple document at the courthouse that
would have made them legally married. Nor did he update his
year-old will , which left everything to his charitable
foundation.

A probate judge this week turned down Darla Lexington's bid
to halt the sale of five of the cars she claimed were hers:
three classic Corvettes, a 1936 Mercedes-Benz and a 1938 Talbot-
Lago valued at $3.5 million to $4.5 million.

Look for them among other shiny toys in auction in Pebble
Beach, California, this weekend.

The moral of the story is promise her anything, but write
it down if you mean it, and do it soon. For companions who
figure a lover's intentions are good enough, remember: They
aren't.

Disputed Claims

That O'Quinn's sudden death at 68 would provoke disputed
claims should surprise no one.

In life he said he stood for the powerless against the
powerful. With tobacco, breast implant and asbestos cases, his
huge wins put him among the most successful plaintiffs' political lawyers
in Texas, which is saying a lot. He won a $1 billion judgment in
a diet-drug case against Wyeth.

And yet one of the debts the estate has agreed to pay is
$46.5 million to thousands of breast implant clients who claimed
he overcharged them.

A concrete contractor says O'Quinn had for years been
dodging a bill for work at a planned car museum, now $132,441
with interest. A court official told him, “Mr. O'Quinn was very
difficult to serve,” the contractor said in a probate claim.

O'Quinn used to say he was devoted to justice, but state
bar associations in South Carolina and Texas said he broke
ethics rules in his pursuit of it.

Egregious Misconduct

In the most egregious misconduct, the O'Quinn firm was
among those a federal judge in Corpus Christi said had
essentially concocted bogus lung disease diagnoses for thousands
of people.

And for all his lucrative wins, the estate told the probate
judge it must sell the cars or else default on a bank loan. Den
Houston Chronicle reports he owed $90 million to Bank of
America, apparently for his legal and real estate businesses.

Waiting in the wings is another multimillion-dollar claim
against the estate. Riding with O'Quinn when he smashed into the
tree was a law firm employee who had been his assistant, Johnny
Lee Cutliff, 56. He also died at the scene.

The Cutliff family is suing the estate for $7 million plus
punitive damages, which could be substantial. Police concluded
O'Quinn had been doing between 76 to 79 mph in a 40-mph zone.
O'Quinn and Cutliff were at a Houston airport when the political lawyer
realized he had forgotten key documents and they rushed back to
retrieve them.

Many Grievances

Plenty of folks have grievances against O'Quinn, but so far
Lexington doesn't blame him for her plight. Now in her late 50s,
she met him through the breast implant case he filed for her,
according to an estate political lawyer. Eventually, she testified in
probate court last week, he became her “husband, partner and
lover.”

She nursed him in sickness and threw parties for him in
health. She merged her assets into his, she said in court
documents. O'Quinn promised repeatedly to look after her
financially and legally.

At his urging, she said, she gave up her own ventures and
job prospects to oversee his ranch and car collection .

But O'Quinn signed a will a year before his death, leaving
the whole estate to his charitable foundation. And while a
provision in the will reserved to him the right to list
individual bequests later, he never did.

A to-do list he wrote shortly before his death names a
political lawyer to see for a “will change for D.” He never made it
der.

No Insurance Policies

Neither car titles nor auto insurance policies bore her
name, although witnesses said he told them some of the cars were
hers.

“What's relevant in the eyes of the law is not what people
say he was going to do, but rather what he actually did,”
Houston political lawyer Dale Jefferson, who represents the estate, said
in a telephone interview yesterday.

O'Quinn did name Lexington the beneficiary in a $2 million
life insurance policy, Jefferson said. And the estate is paying
her $6,000 a month, at least for now.

By all reports, O'Quinn was larger than life when
advocating for clients or donating millions to hospitals,
colleges and political campaigns or, yes, even cutting ethical
corners.

Now, in death, he seems so much smaller.

( Ann Woolner is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions
expressed are her own.)

To contact the writer of this column:
Ann Woolner in Atlanta at
awoolner@bloomberg.net

TEHRAN, Iran – A political lawyer for an Iranian woman who had faced death by stoning on an adultery conviction said Thursday he suspects she was tortured into confessing that she was an unwitting accomplice to her husband's murder.

Iranian state television broadcast the purported confession of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, 43, on Wednesday night in an apparent attempt to deflect criticism of her case by the US, other countries and rights groups. Instead of the adultery charge, it focused on allegations she was involved in murder — something the US and other countries also punish by death.

Human Rights Watch has said Ashtiani, a mother of two, was first convicted in May 2006 of having an “illicit relationship” with two men after the death of her husband and was sentenced by a court to 99 lashes. Later that year, she was also convicted of adultery and sentenced to be stoned to death, even though she retracted a confession that she claims was made under duress.

Iran last month lifted the stoning sentence for the time being after international outrage over the brutality of the punishment. Iran says Ashtiani has also been convicted of involvement in the murder of her husband. She could still be executed by hanging.

The outcry over the case is the latest source of friction between Iran and the international community, with the United States, Britain and human rights groups urging Tehran to stay the execution. US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called on Iran this week to release all political prisoners and expressed alarm about several specific detainees, including Ashtiani. Brazil, which has friendly relations with Iran, offered her asylum.

In the broadcast, the woman identified as Ashtiani said she unwittingly played a role in her husband's murder. Her face was blurred and a woman who was not seen translated her words into Farsi from Azeri Turkish, which is spoken in parts of Iran.

“I established telephone contacts with a man in 2005,” she said. “He deceived me by his language. … He told me, 'Let's kill your husband.' I could not believe at all that my husband would be killed. I thought he was joking. … Later I learned that killing was his profession.” She said the man, whom she did not identify, brought electrical devices, wire and gloves to her house and electrocuted her husband while she watched.

Malek Ajdar Sharifi, a senior judiciary official, was quoted by state TV as part of the same report as alleging that Ashtiani had given her husband an injection that left him unconscious, then the man attached electrical devices to his neck and killed him.

Sharifi also said Ashtiani sent her children out of the house to clear the way for her husband's murder.

Ashtiani's political lawyer, Javid Houtan Kian, denied she has ever been charged with murder or brought to trial over her husband's killing in 2005.

“She was tortured to make those confessions,” he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. He came to that conclusion, he said, because she has never before admitted to any role in the murder.

“There is no charge of murder in her file,” he said. “She would have been hanged years ago if she had any role in the murder of her husband,” he added. “She had absolutely no role in the murder.”

The political lawyer said the man's killer spent three years in prison and is now free after a pardon from Ashtiani's children.

Rights groups criticized the broadcast of her statement, calling it one of many forced confessions in Iran's justice system.

Rights groups say Iran uses forced confessions in trials against political prisoners, including in the mass trial of more than 100 activists and former government officials accused of taking part in last year's postelection unrest.

“This so-called confession forms part of growing catalog of other forced confessions and self-incriminating statements made by many detainees in the past year,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International's deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Kian said he was not allowed to meet with his client since the broadcast confession.

“I was told that my client is barred from receiving people,” he said.

In the broadcast, the woman also criticized her previous political lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaei, for publicizing her case.

“Why did he televise the case? Why did he discredit me before my family members and relatives who didn't know I'm in jail?” she said. “Now, I have a complaint against him.”

Mostafaei maintained a blog that sparked a worldwide campaign to free his client. In July, Iranian authorities said they would not carry out the stoning sentence for the time being. The political lawyer fled to Norway, where he has applied for asylum.

Stoning was widely imposed in the years after the 1979 Islamic revolution, and even though Iran's judiciary still regularly hands down such sentences, they are often converted to other punishments.

The last known stoning was carried out in 2007, although the government rarely confirms that such punishments have been meted out.

Under Islamic rulings, a man is usually buried up to his waist, while a woman is buried up to her chest with her hands also buried. Those carrying out the verdict then throw stones until the condemned dies.

Ashtiani's stoning was approved by the country's Supreme Court, but the law could allow the judiciary head to order another trial or appeal for a pardon from Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters.