Diversão com insônia Blog

Publicado em: domingo, 15 de agosto de 2010, 00:00

O presidente Franklin D. Roosevelt, um político se alguma vez houve um, não era inclinado a acreditar no acaso político. "Em política", observou ele, "nada acontece por acaso. Se isso acontecer, você pode apostar que foi planejada dessa maneira. "É provável que o presidente que trouxe a nação fora da Grande Depressão e com segurança através da Segunda Guerra Mundial estava se referindo a eventos no grande palco. Aqui nos palanques da política local, gafes e erros e as consequências não intencionais são comuns.

A contínua disputa aparentemente para o 13 º Distrito Congressional da Câmara dos Representantes do banco previu um fluxo de espanto e diversão por anos, atormentado como tem sido por escândalos e disputas intrapartidárias.

O incidente mais recente para virar e atirar política espectacular faíscas no dia 13 veio quando um assessor de campanha para deputado democrata Michael McMahon lançou uma lista supostamente de seu rival republicano Michael Grimm judaica e fora de contribuintes da campanha do distrito. "Há um monte de dinheiro judeu, um monte de dinheiro de pessoas na Flórida e em Nova York, os aposentados", disse o assessor, o ex-repórter de Staten Island Advance Jennifer Nelson, disse.

Ms. Nelson, que insistiu que a lista deveria ser apenas para destacar a falta de Grimm de apoio entre os eleitores que vivem no dia 13, parece, no mínimo, ter sido vítima de um caso notável de surdez tom político e não reconhecer que a injeção o termo "dinheiro judeu" em uma campanha da cidade de Nova York no Congresso poderia ser tomado como palavras-código para algo sinistro.

Ms. Nelson, que não compilar a lista, mas que liberá-lo, e foi prontamente demitido sem a menor cerimônia.

É a fonte de dinheiro contribuiu para campanhas políticas uma preocupação importante? software inquérito
O campo de Grimm não perdeu tempo tentando converter o ataque desajeitado em viés político, a apresentação de uma queixa junto da Comissão Eleitoral Federal e insinuando, no entanto obliquamente, de um possível viés anti-semitas nas fileiras McMahon. Mr. McMahon rapidamente ao fogo, condenando a denúncia como um tiro "barato" golpe publicitário.

Sussurros da CONSPIRACY demitido

A reação indignada Grimm, por sua vez, deu origem a teorias da conspiração. patrono Mr. Grimm é o ex-presidente republicano Borough e político forte Guy V. Molinari, uma vez que empregado Ms. Nelson. Alguns questionavam abertamente se Ms. Nelson pode ser um joguete, ou algum tipo de GOP agente dorme e se isso poderia ter sido um ato de subterfúgio político, se não for aberta sabotagem. Essa idéia foi recebida com vigorosas negações de ambos os lados e de Ms. Nelson.

Dado que os danos parece ter sido limitados e controlados, as caravanas de campanha começaram a mover-se sobre o que quer que novas aventuras pela frente.

As campanhas políticas são um pouco como brilhante automóveis novos oferecidos por fabricantes concorrentes. Eles são enfeitados com brinquedinhos e pintado com as idéias indistinta projetado para capturar os olhos ou a imaginação dos eleitores. Mas não importa como eles olham, correm todos em dinheiro. Lotes do mesmo. Sacode têm sugerido que, se todos os políticos concordaram em dividir o pote de dinheiro disponível, não seria suficiente para ir ao redor. O humorista Will Rogers uma vez observou que "a política se tornou tão caro que ele tem um monte de dinheiro mesmo ser derrotado."

Há uma ironia no comentário do Sr. Rogers, mas também mais um pouco de verdade. É preciso dinheiro considerável para entrar no jogo político, mesmo a nível local, que com as despesas de abertura de filiais e pessoal deles, e preparação petição e publicidade, o que você tem.

Um candidato não tem nenhuma esperança de montar uma campanha credível, sem antes ter uma poderosa operação bem organizada e eficiente de captação de recursos no local.

Basta cumprir as regras de divulgação de angariação de fundos pode manter pessoal de um candidato ocupado.

corridas no Congresso estão reguladas pela Comissão Federal Eleitoral. Todo o dinheiro, se foi recolhida através de eventos comissão de angariação de fundos, ou simplesmente chegou como um cheque pelo correio, deve ser meticulosamente documentado, discriminados e contabilizados para o FEC.

Não há nada secreto sobre esses registros. Na verdade, a sua disponibilidade é essencial um controlo sobre o papel potencialmente malicioso dinheiro de outra forma irregular pode jogar em uma campanha. Nós encorajamos você a veja por si mesmo.

Encontre a agência na Web em fec.gov .

A FEC faz os recibos discriminados de todos os candidatos disponíveis para o escrutínio público. Você pode encontrar o nome de um doador, endereço, empregador, a ocupação, e que o montante acumulado a pessoa que doou durante o ciclo eleitoral em curso.

As doações não são controladas por etnia, mas é fácil para qualquer pessoa com tempo, paciência e uma conexão à Internet para tirar conclusões a partir de um olhar superficial, mesmo em receitas.

Nós demos uma olhada no arquivamentos recente pelos três principais candidatos ao Congresso. Logo ficou claro que o campo de Grimm, de fato, tem adeptos com nomes de judeus-som, alguns dos quais vivem fora dos 13. Mas assim como os outros candidatos.

Também espalhados entre os doadores de todos os candidatos são nomes que evocam a Europa Ocidental, Europa Oriental, Oriente Médio, o subcontinente indiano e Extremo Oriente.

A importância de participar no processo político de uma democracia é um pouco antigo da sabedoria. O filósofo grego Platão observou que uma das sanções por se recusar a participar da política é que você acaba sendo governado por seus inferiores. Assim, compreender o que e onde a base de um candidato do apoio financeiro é uma questão de legítimo interesse para os eleitores envolvidos.

Limitando o exame de registos de dadores para os principais candidatos do Congresso, os republicanos Michael Grimm e Michael Allegretti, eo democrata Michael McMahon, era uma questão de praticidade.

Nossa investigação envolveu a análise dos doadores listados nas mais recentes relatórios exigidos FEC trimestral, publicado em julho.

Para manter o campo de jogo mesmo, olhamos para os 100 primeiros na lista de doadores de cada candidato. (A menos que indicado de outra forma, quando nos referimos a percentagens, estamos a falar apenas sobre o número de doadores, e não a quantidade dos doadores deu.)

Essa abordagem, embora imparcial, é certo que não científica.

Nossa amostra limitada deixa espaço para a possibilidade de que alguma variação estatística pode ser encontrada através da contagem todos os registros, não apenas os 100 primeiros. Nosso objetivo aqui não é ciência, mas a iluminação.

A única conclusão que estamos dispostos a retirar deste estudo é que o congressista do próximo dia 13 é provável que seja chamado Michael.

Aqui estão algumas das nossas observações, com base nos registros que nós olhamos:

MICHAEL Allegretti

O Bay Ridge, Brooklyn natal atrai cerca de 20 por cento do seu apoio financeiro de Staten Island, perdendo apenas para o Brooklyn, que representa 23 por cento. Ele goza de um maior apoio dos residentes de New Jersey (17 por cento) do que de comunidades fora New York New York City (11 por cento).

Dos seus oito patrocinadores Manhattan, três advogados e dois estão no negócio imobiliário. Os outros são um banqueiro de investimento, um arquiteto e um executivo pontocom com um web site que não parecem funcionar.

Ocupações que aparecem na lista de doadores Mr. Allegretti várias vezes incluem empreiteiros, consultores, lobistas e aposentados.

As ocupações de sete por cento dos doadores não pôde ser determinado porque as formas de recepção FEC eram incompletos ou as entradas eram vagas.

O prêmio para a mais longa distância percorrida por um cheque de doação de campanha vai até um apoiador Allegretti, que é um consultor de finanças, na ilha de Guam.

A contribuição média para a campanha Allegretti, calculados a partir de nossa amostra, é de cerca de US $ 906.

MICHAEL GRIMM

O candidato faz muito do seu serviço no Corpo de Fuzileiros Navais e do FBI (ocasionalmente pouso na água quente para uso não autorizado de seus símbolos), mas não tanto das suas raízes de Nova Springville. Sua biografia oficial de campanha não menciona Staten Island em tudo.

Os registros de doação de campanha parecem refletir essa distância. As receitas foram examinados indicam Staten Islanders representam apenas nove por cento dos doadores representados na apresentação FEC julho de 2010. Deseja-se constituintes do Brooklyn representam 15 por cento dos doadores analisados em nossa amostra. O resto dos doadores Mr. Grimm vive fora da 13.

Dos registos de dadores nós olhamos, 22 por cento são de Manhattan, e 28 por cento dos controlos chegaram de outras comunidades no Estado de Nova York.

Dos três candidatos, o Sr. Grimm é aparentemente altamente considerado em tais lugares endinheirados de Nova Iorque como Rye e Scarsdale e White Plains, e as cidades no condado de Nassau.

Seja qual for o seu apelo lá, a campanha Grimm tem sido bastante eficaz em agitar a árvore do dinheiro. A doação média de nossa amostra foi de quase 1930 dólares - mais que o dobro dos rivais Mr. Grimm.

Os registros indicam que olhou para o Sr. Grimm levantou $ 10.450 em Staten Island durante o período. Cerca de 29 por cento desse valor em dólar veio diretamente de seu padrinho político, Guy. V. Molinari. Além disso, dois dos três Virginia doações para a campanha Grimm veio de advogado político do Sr. Molinari / lobista filha, Susan, e seu marido, empregado da mesma forma, Bill Paxon.

Fizemos uma exceção para o nosso método em nossa pesquisa de artigos Mr. Grimm FEC. Um centro de cópia Brooklyn está listada como tendo doado US $ 22,617.53 valor das contribuições em espécie para a campanha de Grimm. Para evitar a distorção dos resultados de nossa pesquisa, nós saltamos sobre os valores em numerário doação em nosso relatório sobre os primeiros 100 registros de nós olhamos, mas reconhecer a contribuição aqui.

MICHAEL MCMAHON

Dos três principais candidatos para a cadeira na Câmara, a democrata histórico, Mr. McMahon, um nativo do norte de Staten Island Shore comunidade de Stapleton, parece ter a mais ampla base no dia 13. Os registros sugerem que nós olhamos metade dos controlos sua doação vem de Staten Island, e outros 10 por cento dos bairros de Brooklyn Bensonhurst, Gravesend, Dyker Heights, e Bay Ridge, todos os que se encontram dentro dos limites do distrito.

A maioria de Mr. McMahon's out-of-distrito de apoio vem de várias comunidades do estado de Nova York (10 por cento) e New Jersey (11 por cento). Contribuintes em Manhattan representam nove por cento dos doadores listados no arquivamento FEC julho, outra de cinco por cento são de Queens.

Entre os doadores McMahon nós olhamos, 10 por cento são advogados, um número igual são os banqueiros. Três da lista dizem que são intrigantes, dois dos quais são de Staten Island. Outras ocupações que aparecem várias vezes incluir donas de casa, aposentados, professores, vendedores imobiliários; médicos (seis por cento do total) e as pessoas de outra forma utilizada nos campos de cuidados de saúde.

A média de doação para a campanha de McMahon, calculados a partir de nossa amostra, foi cerca de US $ 914.

Uma longa história

Desde o dia que a política eo dinheiro pela primeira vez, cada dólar que nunca contribuíram para uma campanha política, provavelmente, chegou com uma agenda de algum tipo em anexo. Isso é apenas a natureza do jogo foi Platão descreve: Muitas pessoas se envolver em política, se de todo, apenas na medida da votação. Outros participar mais e de forma correcta, colocando o seu dinheiro onde estão as suas simpatias.

O que não encontramos durante a nossa visita ao bin registro FEC é nenhuma evidência de uma conspiração. Não parece ser nada desagradável no conjunto de registros de doadores individuais que nós olhamos, descobrimos nada que sugira qualquer tunneling étnica, ou tenta furtivamente para qualquer pântano das campanhas com o dinheiro em um esforço para aproveitar a influência, ou outros fatos obscuros.

Mark Twain certa vez escreveu: "Os números muitas vezes enganam-me", escreveu ele, "especialmente quando eu tenho o arranjo delas [para] a mim mesmo." Gostava de passar ao longo da observação de que o mundo sofre três tipos de mentiras: "mentiras, mentiras deslavadas e estatísticas ".

Se você olhar o tempo suficiente em um céu cheio de nuvens fofas que você acabará por começar a reconhecer as formas e até mesmo rostos deles. Assim pode ser com as estatísticas, quando o examinador persistente, finalmente, talvez inevitável. vira para cima ou controvérsia que parece ser a ilegalidade. A descoberta pode revelar-se correto, ou pode tornar-se uma transgressão em insinuações.

De qualquer maneira, os números de arranjar para provar um ponto é um negócio escorregadio. Isto é particularmente verdade em bruto e queda da política, que pode ser um esporte média e implacável.

Nós concordamos com o apelo do grande Platão para everyman participação no processo político, mas gosto de pensar que ele pode hoje em dia incluem uma advertência: "Cuidado com a etapa."

Do candidato republicano Ben Quayle sexta-feira atacou seus adversários políticos e da mídia para o que ele descreveu como seu "esforço coordenado para assassinar o meu caráter."

O filho de 33 anos do ex-vice-presidente Dan Quayle foi cercada de polêmica nesta semana depois de Nik Richie, o fundador da DirtyScottsdale.com extinta, outed Quayle como um dos criadores originais do atrevido, sexo com temas website satirizando cena do nightclub Scottsdale trashy.

O site, lançado em março de 2007, mais tarde se transformou no site de fofocas TheDirty.com nacional.

Em um comunicado ardente aos apoiadores da campanha, Quayle, que promove a si mesmo como uma família de valores conservadores, chama Richie um mascate "obscenidade". Quayle Mas admite que conhece Richie, desde 2005, apresentou-o a um advogado especializado em propriedade intelectual, político, em 2007, para incorporar Dirty Scottsdale, e colocaram um punhado de "ficção comentários satíricos" para o site do mesmo ano.

"É surpreendente que a mídia terá um conhecimento casual e transformá-lo em algo de mau gosto, levando a palavra de um vendedor de carvão no valor de cara", disse Quayle, que está em execução no aglomerado agosto primário GOP 24 para 3 Arizona Distrito . "Mas eu não vou desistir e vou continuar a lutar pelo nosso futuro."

Quayle, um advogado, que dirige uma pequena empresa de investimento Scottsdale, tem salientado que Dirty Scottsdale não existe mais. Mas blogueiros recentemente unearthed primeiros escritos a partir do site escrita por "Brock Landers", o nome de uma estrela pornô de ficção no filme de 1997 "Boogie Nights" e pseudónimo que Richie diz que foi usado por Quayle.

"Ele é 100 por cento sem dúvida Brock Landers," disse Richie POLITICO.

Landers posts são escritos em tom de gozação. Em uma delas, ele escreve: "Eu sou bebida de altura de água que é fácil sobre os olhos. Além disso, a minha bússola moral está tão quebrado que eu mal consigo encontrar o estacionamento. Longa história curta, numa escala de 1 a 10, eu sou terrível ".

Em outra: "Quando eu tirei minha camisa, e as senhoras um vislumbre do meu físico vigoroso, fui sumariamente cercado como se eu fosse um membro do Menudo durante o desfile do Dia de Porto Rico em Nova York."

Outros são mais gráficas.

Em meia dúzia de locais e nacionais, entrevistas de televisão esta semana, Quayle declarou enfaticamente: "Eu não sou Brock Landers." Mas ele não negou ter usado o nome da pena, e Richie disse que apenas dois blogueiros tinham a capacidade de postar conteúdo original da site em 2007: Richie e Brock Landers.

Ao longo de sua declaração de apoiadores da campanha, Quayle retrata-se como uma vítima, dizendo que ele foi "atacado, difamado e caluniado" por uma barragem "de insultos, mentiras e distorções rumores."

"Como Quayle, embora nunca se sente bem, estou habituado a este tipo de tratamento injusto", disse ele, sem dúvida, uma referência ao seu pai, que como vice-presidente foi ridicularizado pela mídia e pelos anfitriões tardios da mostra de conversa de erro ortográfico "batata" e outras gafes.

O Quayle mais jovens, que alguns disseram é um cara de seu pai, criticou os meios de comunicação para comunicar que ele primeiro negou, posteriormente, admitiu o seu envolvimento com Dirty Scottsdale. E ele mantém a sua história "tem-se mantido consistente" desde que foi ligado ao site esta semana.

"Eu não sou um co-criador, co-fundador nem tenho qualquer afiliação com o site atual (TheDirty.com)", escreve ele, mas é importante ressaltar que ele não faz a mesma afirmação sobre o original site, Dirty Scottsdale, para os quais ele escreveu.

Quayle tem alegado que um dos seus adversários nos 10 vias primárias, o ex-prefeito de Paradise Valley Vernon Parker, foi conspirar com Richie. Quayle e apontou para reportagens sugerindo que Richie havia assistido a um fundraiser Parker no início deste ano na casa de estrategista político do candidato, Jason Rose.

Mas ambas as partes negaram que eles estão trabalhando juntos. Richie disse que estava na Califórnia no momento do fundraiser e não compareceu.

Um aposentado de Nova Jersey juiz do Tribunal Superior, com uma história de pé à pressão política provavelmente será nomeado o monitor que irá certificar-se proprietários de terra do condado de Gloucester cumprir as reuniões abertas Public Act, de acordo com um advogado de políticos envolvidos em uma ação judicial contra a Câmara .

A. John Sweeney, que era o juiz a atribuição de Burlington County 1992-2008, será recomendado que o monitor, disse Mark Cimino, que entrou com uma ação alegando que os proprietários de terra aprovou indevidamente prémios, criados cargos, e estabeleceu-se em processos judiciais fechado sessões. Cimino representado David Burnett de Clayton, ex-diretor do concelho republicano do Comitê Executivo.

Em 27 de julho, juiz da Corte Superior Francis J. Orlando Jr., o juiz atribuição em Camden County, decidiu um monitor foi necessário para assistir a bordo freeholder todos os democratas e relatório de volta para ele. Ele disse que os proprietários de terra tinham violado o ato reuniões, também conhecida como a Lei Sunshine, mesmo após o processo foi arquivado.

Foi uma decisão rara, emitido após um painel de apelações Orlando pediu para ver se existia um "padrão" de violações, o processo já 50 casos.

Orlando perguntou Cimino e Michael Sullivan, o advogado dos proprietários de terra, para chegar a acordo sobre os nomes dos juízes aposentados que poderiam servir como monitor para seis meses. Orlando irá considerar o nome de Sweeney 16 de agosto. Cimino disse que a proprietários de terra tinha concordado em pagar para o acompanhamento.

Sullivan não pôde ser encontrado para comentar o assunto.

Cimino disse que ambos os lados tinham escolhido Sweeney por causa de sua integridade "grande" e sua "experiência em lidar com o" Open Reuniões Públicas lei.

Embora Sweeney começou sua carreira como um democrata, como um advogado do governador James J. Florio em 1990 e depois como deputado, disse Cimino filiação partidária não era um problema. "É sobre a nomeação de alguém que é justo", disse ele.

Cimino notar que, em 1995, Sweeney rejeitou um pedido de um influente senador democrata para mudar uma decisão que tinha emitido. O senador Thomas P. Sweeney Foy chamado home quer dizer que ele estava com medo que a sua empresa, Hill International, iria à falência depois que o juiz decidiu que ele tinha optado em US $ 7,6 milhões em empréstimos. Sweeney recused do caso e, em seguida, testemunhou sobre a chamada.

Dez anos depois, ele ordenou que o escritório do Attorney General do estado a liberação de 330 horas de gravações que tinha gravado secretamente durante uma investigação de dois anos criminal em JCA, uma empresa de engenharia politicamente conectados que realizou milhões de dólares em contratos governamentais sem licitação. As fitas incluiu conversas com notáveis personalidades políticas, incluindo o antigo presidente democrata do condado de Camden Norcross George III, o ex-presidente democrata do condado de Burlington R. Louis Gallagher Jr., agora juiz do Tribunal Superior John Harrington, funcionários e Palmyra.

Cimino, disse Sweeney tinha razão para que o público a ouvir as fitas.

Contatar o escritor Jan Hefler em 856-779-3224 ou jhefler@phillynews.com .

O tenente-coronel Jon Jackson foi levado pela ambulância do tribunal quinta-feira após desmaiar.

Bryan Broyles, o advogado de defesa vice-chefe para os julgamentos militares em Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, disse que espera que o mesmo júri, mais tarde, pegar o caso e que Jackson pretende permanecer como advogado designado pelo Pentágono Omar Khadr. Jackson é o único advogado autorizado a falar de Khadr, que disparou dois civis americanos advogados políticos durante as audiências de julgamento.

O caso de Khadr foi realizada por mais de quatro anos de desafios legais e alterações no sistema offshore para julgar supostos terroristas. O julgamento, que deverá ter cerca de um mês, é o primeiro de Guantánamo, sob a presidência de Obama.

- Associated Press

TRIBUNAIS

do recurso ACORN de cortar o financiamento negado

Um tribunal de apelações federal na sexta-feira jogou fora uma decisão que havia impedido o Congresso de reter os fundos da Associação de Organizações Comunitárias para a Reforma Agora (Acorn), o grupo ativista conduzido à ruína por escândalos e problemas financeiros.

The ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in Manhattan reversed a decision by a US district judge in Brooklyn that found Congress had violated the group's rights by punishing it without a trial.

Congress cut off ACORN's federal funding last year in response to allegations the group engaged in voter registration fraud and embezzlement and violated the tax-exempt status of some of its affiliates by engaging in partisan political activities.

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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 audiência em horários Yankees escândalo bilhete
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.”

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

CNN: WikiLeaks preparing to release 15,000 more Afghanistan documents
O fundador do site WikiLeaks nesta quinta-feira o delator se prepara para lançar outro cerca de 15 mil documentos sobre a guerra no Afeganistão. “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

INTERNACIONAL
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
fundação.

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
poderosa. 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
de pessoas.

And for all his lucrative wins, the estate told the probate
judge it must sell the cars or else default on a bank loan. O
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
de saúde. She merged her assets into his, she said in court
documentos. 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
ali.

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.)

Para contatar o escritor desta coluna:
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 manteve um blog, que desencadeou uma campanha mundial para libertar seu cliente. 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.

Sob as regras islâmicas, um homem é geralmente enterrada até a cintura, enquanto a mulher está enterrado até o peito com as mãos também enterrado. Aqueles que realizam o veredicto depois atirar pedras, até o condenado morre.

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.