Kul med Insomnia Blogg

Publicerad: Söndag 15 augusti 2010, 00:00

President Franklin D. Roosevelt, en politiker om det överhuvudtaget skulle en, var inte benägen att tro på politiska slumpen. "I politiken," anmärkte han, "ingenting händer av en slump. Om det händer kan du satsa det var planerat på det sättet. "Det är antagligen den president som förde nationen ut ur den stora depressionen och säkert genom andra världskriget var med hänvisning till händelserna på den stora scenen. Här i TALARTRIBUN lokala politiken, fadäser och misstag och oavsiktliga konsekvenser är vanligt.

Den till synes ständigt klättra till 13: e Congressional District representanthuset säte har lämnat en ström av förvåning och nöje i flera år, drabbat som det har genom skandal och intraparty käbbel.

Den senaste händelsen för att slå tillbaka och kasta spektakulära politiska gnistor i den 13: e kom när en kampanj medhjälpare till Demokratiska republiken Michael McMahon släppt en lista påstods vara av republikanska rival Michael Grimm judiska och utanför distriktet kampanj bidragsgivare. "Det finns en hel del judiska pengar, mycket pengar från människor i Florida och Manhattan, pensionärer," den aide, fd Staten Island Advance reporter Jennifer Nelson, sa.

Ms Nelson, som insisterade på listan skulle bara lyfta Grimm saknar stöd bland väljare som bor i den 13: e, verkar, åtminstone, ha drabbats av en märklig händelse en politisk ton dövhet och inte erkänner att injicering begreppet "judiska pengar" i ett New York City kongressens kampanj kan ses som kodord för något olycksbådande.

Ms Nelson, som inte sammanställa denna förteckning men släppa den, var snabbt och utan krus sköt.

Är källan till pengar bidrog till politiska kampanjer en viktig fråga? undersökning programvara
Den Grimm lägret förlorade ingen tid på att försöka konvertera den klumpiga angrepp i det politiska hö, ett klagomål till Federal Election Commission och antyder dock snett, för en eventuell antisemitiska fördomar i McMahon leden. Mr McMahon återvände snabbt eld, decrying klagomålet som en "billig shot" PR-trick.

WHISPERS för konspiration ogillas

De upprörda Grimm reaktion i sin tur gav upphov till konspirationsteorier. Mr Grimm beskyddare är förre republikanske stadsdelspresident och politiskt starke Guy V. Molinari, som en gång anställd Ms Nelson. Några undrade öppet om Ms Nelson kan vara en dupe, eller någon form av GOP sovande agent och om detta kan ha varit en akt av politiskt knep, om inte rent sabotage. Detta begrepp möttes av kraftfulla dementier från båda lägren och från Ms Nelson.

Med tanke på att skadorna verkar ha varit både begränsad och kontrollerad, har kampanjen husvagnar börjat går vidare till något nytt äventyr ligger framför oss.

Politiska kampanjer är lite som blänkande nya bilar som erbjuds av konkurrerande tillverkare. De är festooned med doodads och målade med otydliga idéer som syftar till att fånga eller fantasi väljarna. Men oavsett hur de ser ut, de alla springa på pengar. Massor av det. Viftar har föreslagit att om alla politiker överens om att dela upp det tillgängliga pott, skulle det inte räcka för att gå runt. Den humoristen Will Rogers konstaterade en gång att "Politik har blivit så dyr att det tar en massa pengar ens kan besegras."

Det finns ironi i Mr Rogers kommentar, men också mer än en liten sanning. Det tar lång pengar för att få i det politiska spelet, även på lokal nivå, vad med kostnader att öppna kontor och personal dem, och framställningen förberedelse och reklam och vad har du.

En kandidat har inget hopp om att montera en trovärdig kampanj utan att först ha en stark, välorganiserad och effektiv penninginsamling drift på plats.

Helt enkelt följer de penninginsamlingsevenemang utlämnande regler kan hålla en kandidat personal upptagen.

Kongressens lopp styrs av den federala valkommissionen. Alla pengar, oavsett om den samlats in via penninginsamlingsevenemang kommitté händelser, eller helt enkelt kom som en check med posten, måste vara noggrant dokumenterade, specificerade och redovisas till FEC.

Det finns inget hemligt om dessa poster. Det är deras tillgänglighet en viktig kontroll av potentiellt busiga roll annars papperslösa pengar kan spela i en kampanj. Vi uppmuntrar dig att se själv.

Hitta byrån på webben på fec.gov .

Den FEC gör specificeras intäkter av varje kandidat tillgängliga för offentlig granskning. Du kan hitta en givarens namn, adress, arbetsgivare, yrke, och det sammanlagda beloppet personen har donerat under det aktuella valförfarandet.

Donationer är inte spåras av etnicitet, men det är lätt för vem som helst med tid, tålamod och en Internetanslutning för att dra slutsatser från och med en hastig blick på kvitton.

Vi tog en titt på den senaste tidens anmälningar från de tre stora kongressen kandidater. Det var snart klart att Grimm lägret gör faktiskt har supportrar med judisk-klingande namn, några av dem bor utanför 13. Men det gör de andra kandidaterna.

Även stänkte mellan givarna för alla kandidater är namn som väcker Västeuropa, Östeuropa, Mellanöstern, den indiska subkontinenten och Fjärran Östern.

Vikten av att delta i den politiska processen i en demokrati är en gammal bit av visdom. Den grekiske filosofen Platon noteras att en av de påföljder för att vägra delta i politiken är att man fram syfte att styras av dina underordnade. Så förstå vem och var en kandidat bas av ekonomiskt stöd är en fråga av legitimt intresse för engagerade väljare.

Att begränsa vår undersökning av givare poster till de stora kongressen kandidaterna var republikanerna Michael Grimm och Michael Allegretti, och demokraten Michael McMahon, en fråga om funktionalitet.

Vår undersökning involverade analys av givare som anges i de nödvändiga senaste FEC kvartalsrapporter, postat i juli.

För att hålla lika villkor och med, tittade vi på de första 100 givare om varje kandidat: s lista. (Om inte annat anges, när vi talar om procentsatser talar vi bara om antalet blodgivare, inte mängden dessa donatorer gav.)

Detta synsätt, samtidigt som opartisk, är förvisso inte vetenskaplig.

Vår begränsade urvalet ger utrymme för möjligheten att vissa statistiska variationen kan vara att avprickning alla poster, inte bara de första 100. Vårt mål här är inte vetenskap, utan belysning.

Den enda slutsats vi är villiga att dra av denna studie är att nästa kongressman från den 13: e är sannolikt att heta Michael.

Här är några av våra observationer, som bygger på de register vi tittade på:

MICHAEL ALLEGRETTI

The Bay Ridge, drar Brooklyn infödda cirka 20 procent av sitt ekonomiska stöd från Staten Island, endast till Brooklyn, som står för 23 procent. Han åtnjuter större stöd från New Jersey invånare (17 procent) än från New York samhällen utanför New York City (11 procent).

Av hans åtta Manhattan uppbackare är tre advokater och två är i fastighetsbranschen. De övriga är en bankrådgivare, en arkitekt och en dot-com verkställande med en webbplats som inte verkar fungera.

Yrken som visas på Mr Allegretti blodgivaren lista flera gånger omfatta byggande entreprenörer, konsulter, lobbyister och pensionärer.

De yrken på sju procent av givarna inte kunde bestämmas på grund av FEC Mottagningsbevisets antingen ofullständiga eller deklarationerna vaga.

Priset för de längsta sträcka som en kampanj donation kontroll går till en Allegretti anhängare som är ett finance-konsult på ön Guam.

Det genomsnittliga bidraget till Allegretti kampanj, beräknad utifrån vårt urval, är omkring $ 906.

MICHAEL GRIMM

Den kandidat gör en stor del av sin tjänst i marinkåren och FBI (ibland landar i hett vatten för otillåten användning av deras symboler), men inte så mycket av hans New Springville rötter. Hans officiella kampanjen biografi nämns inte Staten Island alls.

Kampanjen donation register tycks spegla denna sträcka. De intäkter som vi granskat tyder Staten Islanders står för bara nio procent av givarna representerade i juli 2010 FEC arkivering. Vill bli beståndsdelar i Brooklyn står för 15 procent av givarna undersökts i vårt urval. Resten av Mr Grimm's givare bor utanför 13.

Av givaren register vi tittade på, 22 procent är från Manhattan, och 28 procent av de kontroller som kom från andra samhällen i staten New York.

Av de tre kandidaterna är Mr Grimm uppenbarligen uppskattas i sådana monied New York platser som Råg och Scarsdale och White Plains, och städer i Nassau County.

Oavsett sitt överklagande där, har Grimm kampanjen varit mycket effektiv på att skaka pengar trädet. Den genomsnittliga donationen i vårt urval var nästan $ 1.930 - mer än dubbelt så Mr Grimm: s konkurrenter.

Den dokumentation som vi tittat på indikerar Mr Grimm upp $ 10.450 på Staten Island under perioden. Nästan 29 procent av dollarn belopp kom direkt från hans politiska sponsor, Guy. V. Molinari. Dessutom kom två av de tre Virginia donationer till Grimm kampanj från Mr Molinari politiska advokat / lobbyist dotter, Susan, och hennes likaledes anställd man, Bill Paxon.

Vi gjorde ett undantag från vår metod i vår undersökning av Mr Grimm's FEC papper. En Brooklyn kopia centrum är upptagen med och vann $ 22,617.53 värde av bidrag in natura till Grimm kampanjen. För att undvika snedvridning av resultaten av vår undersökning, hoppade vi över de icke-kontanta donation siffror i vår rapport om de första 100 posterna vi tittat på, men erkänner bidraget här.

MICHAEL McMahon

Av de tre stora kandidaterna till parlamentet sätet, Demokratiska sittande verkar Mr McMahon, född i Staten Island North Shore gemenskap Stapleton, att ha det bredaste bas i den 13: e. Den dokumentation som vi tittat på tyder på hälften av hans donation kontroller kommer från Staten Island, och ytterligare 10 procent från Brooklyn kvarter Bensonhurst, Gravesend, dyker Heights, och Bay Ridge, som alla ligger inom stadsdelens gränser.

De flesta av Mr McMahon's out-of-distriktet stödet kommer från olika samfund i staten New York (10 procent) och New Jersey (11 procent). Bidragande i Manhattan står för nio procent av givarna som anges i juli FEC inlämning, en annan fem procent kommer från Queens.

Bland de McMahon givare vi tittade på, 10 procent är konsulter, lika många är bankirer. Tre på listan säger att de är lobbyister, varav två från Staten Island. Andra yrken som visar upp flera gånger omfatta hemmafruarna, pensionärer, lärare, fastigheter säljare, läkare (sex procent av det totala antalet) och människor som annars arbetar inom hälso-och sjukvård fält.

Den genomsnittliga donationen till McMahon kampanj, beräknad utifrån vårt urval, var ungefär $ 914.

En lång historia

Eftersom dagen politik och pengar träffades, varje dollar någonsin bidragit till en politisk kampanj har troligen kommit med en agenda av några bifogade slag. Det är precis den typ av spel Platon beskrev: Många människor engagera sig i politiken, om den överhuvudtaget, endast i den mån att rösta. Andra delta ytterligare och helt riktigt genom att sätta sina pengar där deras sympatier.

Vad vi inte hittade under vårt besök i FEC registrera bin finns några tecken på en kabal. Det tycks inte finnas något skadlig i uppsättningen av enskilda givare poster vi tittade på, upptäckte vi något som tyder på någon etnisk tunneldrivning, eller smygande försök att träsket någon av de kampanjer med pengar i ett försök att gripa påverka, eller andra mörka gärningar.

Mark Twain skrev en gång: "Siffror ofta lura mig", skrev han, "särskilt när jag har anordnandet av dem [för] mig själv." Han tyckte om att gå längs med konstaterandet att världen lider av tre sorters lögner: "Lögner, förbannad lögn och statistik. "

Om du tittar tillräckligt länge på en himmel fylld med fluffiga moln du kommer så småningom att känna igen former och även ansikten i dem. Så det kan vara med statistik, där ihållande granskaren slutligen, kanske oundvikligt. dyker upp kontroversiella eller vad som verkar vara fel. Upptäckten kan visa sig vara korrekt, eller så kan det bli ett intrång i insinuationer.

Hursomhelst, att ordna siffror bevisa en punkt är en hal företag. Detta gäller särskilt i OORDNAD politik, som kan vara en elak och oförlåtande sport.

Vi instämmer i stora Platons krav på allemansrätten deltagande i den politiska processen, men vill gärna tro att han numera kan innefatta en uppmaning: "Se dig för."

Republikanska kongressen kandidat Ben Quayle fredag kväll for ut på hans politiska fiender och media för vad han beskrev som sitt samordnade "försök att mörda min karaktär."

Den 33-årige son till förre vicepresident Dan Quayle belägrades av kontroverser denna vecka efter Nik Richie, outed grundare av den nu nerlagda DirtyScottsdale.com, Quayle som en av de ursprungliga skaparna av oanständig, kön tema webbplats lampooning Scottsdale är rockig nattlivet.

Sajten, som lanserades i mars 2007, senare förvandlats till den nationella skvaller webbplatsen TheDirty.com.

I en eldig uttalande kampanj supportrar, Quayle, som främjar sig själv som en familj-värden konservativa, kräver Richie en "smut gårdfarihandlare." Men Quayle medger att han har känt Richie sedan 2005, presenterade honom för en immateriell politisk advokat i 2007 att införliva Dirty Scottsdale, och postat en handfull "fiktiva satiriska kommentarer" till platsen samma år.

"Det är fantastiskt att medierna kommer att ta en tillfällig bekantskap och förvandla det till något riktigt solkig, med ord en smut gårdfarihandlare till nominellt värde, säger Quayle, som körs i trånga 24 augusti GOP primära för Arizona 3. District . "Men jag kommer inte tillbaka och jag kommer fortsätta kämpa för vår framtid."

Quayle, en advokat som driver ett litet Scottsdale värdepappersföretag, har upprepade gånger påpekat att Dirty Scottsdale existerar inte längre. Men bloggare avslöjade nyligen tidiga texter från webbplatsen skriven av "Brock Landers," namnet på en fiktiv porrstjärna i 1997 flick "Boogie Nights" och pseudonym som Richie säger användes av Quayle.

"Han är 100 procent utan tvekan Brock Landers," Richie berättade POLITIKER.

Landers "inlägg är skrivna glimten i ögat. I en, skriver han: "Jag är hög dricka vatten som är lätt för ögonen. Dessutom är min moraliska kompass så trasiga jag knappt kan hitta på parkeringen. Lång historia kort, på en skala från 1-till-10, jag är awesome. "

I en annan: "När jag tog av min tröja, och damerna såg en skymt av min mejslade kroppsbyggnad, var jag summariskt mobbad som om jag var medlem i Menudo under puertoricanska Day Parade i New York."

Andra är mer grafiskt.

I ett halv dussin lokala och nationella TV-intervjuer den här veckan, har Quayle förklarade med eftertryck: "Jag är inte Brock Landers." Men han har inte förnekat att använda pseudonym, och Richie sa bara två bloggare hade förmågan att skriva ursprungliga innehållet på plats i 2007: Richie och Brock Landers.

Under hela hans uttalande till kampanj uppbackare, porträtterar Quayle sig själv som ett offer, sade han varit "attackerade, baktalade och kletade" med en "störtflod av förolämpningar, lögner snedvridningar och rykten."

"Som en Quayle, medan det aldrig känns bra, jag är van vid denna typ av orättvis behandling, sade han, utan tvekan en hänvisning till sin far som i egenskap av vicepresident var hånad av media och sena talk värdar show för stavfel "potatis" och andra fadäser.

Den yngre Quayle, som vissa har sagt är en spottande bild av sin far, har kritiserat medier för att rapportera att han först förnekade senare erkände sin inblandning med Dirty Scottsdale. Och han håller fast vid sitt "historia har dock förblivit konsekvent" sedan han var först knuten till platsen denna vecka.

"Jag är inte en medskapare, en av grundarna Jag har inte heller någon anknytning till den aktuella webbplatsen (TheDirty.com)", skriver han, men det är viktigt att påpeka att han inte gör samma påstående om den ursprungliga webbplats, Dirty Scottsdale, som han skrev.

Quayle har påstått att en av hans motståndare i 10-väg primära, fd Paradise Valley borgmästare Vernon Parker, har konspirerat med Richie. Och Quayle pekade på rapporter i media tyder Richie hade deltagit i en Parker fundraiser tidigare i år hemma hos kandidatens politiska strateg, Jason Rose.

Men båda parterna bestred att de arbetar tillsammans. Richie sa att han var i Kalifornien vid tidpunkten för fundraiser och deltog därför inte.

En pensionerad New Jersey Superior Court domare med en historia av att stå upp för politiska påtryckningar förmodligen kommer heta övervaka vilka som kommer att se till Gloucester County självägande bönder följa den öppna offentliga möten lagen, enligt en politisk advokat som deltar i en process mot styrelsen .

John A. Sweeney, som var uppdraget domare i Burlington County från 1992 till 2008, kommer att rekommenderas, eftersom skärmen, säger Mark Cimino, som lämnat in en stämningsansökan avseende att självägande bönder felaktigt godkänt bonusar, skapade lägen, och bosatte rättsfall i slutna sessioner. Cimino representerade David Burnett av Clayton, en före detta chef för länets republikanska verkställande utskottet.

Den 27 juli beslutade Superior Court Judge Francis J. Orlando Jr, överlåtelse domaren i Camden County, en bildskärm behövdes för att titta på alla-demokratiska självägande ombord och rapportera tillbaka till honom. Han sa att självägande bönder hade kränkt mötena agera, även kallad Sunshine lag, även efter rättegången lämnades in.

Det var en sällsynt beslut, som utfärdats efter ett överklagande panel bad Orlando för att se om det fanns "ett mönster" överträdelser, rättegången hänvisas till 50 instanser.

Orlando frågade Cimino och Michael Sullivan, ombudet för självägande bönder, att enas om namnen på pensionerade domare som kan tjäna som bildskärmen för sex månader. Orlando kommer att överväga Sweeney namn 16 augusti. Cimino sade självägande bönder hade accepterat att betala för övervakningen.

Sullivan kunde inte nås för en kommentar.

Cimino sade båda sidor hade valt Sweeney grund av hans "stor integritet" och hans "erfarenhet av att hantera" den öppna offentliga möten lagen.

Även Sweeney började sin karriär som demokrat, som ett ombud Gov James J. Florio 1990 och senare som en assemblyman, sade Cimino partitillhörighet inte var en fråga. "Det handlar om att utse någon som är rättvist, sade han.

Cimino noteras att 1995, avvisade Sweeney en begäran från en inflytelserik Demokratisk senator för att ändra ett beslut han hade utfärdat. Sen Thomas P. Foy heter Sweeney hem för att säga att han var rädd att hans företag, Hill International, skulle gå i konkurs efter att domaren ansåg att den hade försummat $ 7.600.000 i lån. Sweeney jäv sig från målet och sedan vittnade om samtalet.

Tio år senare beordrade han statens allmänna åklagaren att frige 330 timmars inspelningar hade i hemlighet tejpad under en två-årig kriminell sond i JCA, ett politiskt ansluten ingenjörsföretag som höll miljoner dollar i no-bud statliga kontrakt. Banden inkluderade samtal med framstående politiker, inklusive tidigare Camden County Demokratiska ordförande George Norcross III, tidigare Burlington County Demokratiska ordföranden R. Louis Gallagher Jr, nu-Superior Court Judge John Harrington, och Palmyra tjänstemän.

Cimino sade Sweeney hade rätt att ge allmänheten möjlighet att höra banden.

Kontakta personalen författaren Jan Hefler på 856-779-3224 eller jhefler@phillynews.com .

Army Lt Col Jon Jackson togs från domstolen med ambulans torsdag efter att han kollapsade.

Bryan Broyles, the deputy chief defense counsel for the military trials at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, said he expects the same jury will later pick up the case and that Jackson intends to stay on as Omar Khadr's Pentagon-appointed attorney. Jackson is the only attorney authorized to speak for Khadr, who fired two American civilian political lawyers during pretrial hearings.

The Khadr case has been held up for more than four years by legal challenges and changes to the offshore system for prosecuting alleged terrorists. The trial, which is expected to take about a month, is the first at Guantanamo under President Obama.

– Associated Press

COURTS

ACORN's appeal of funding cut denied

A federal appeals court on Friday threw out a decision that had barred Congress from withholding funds from the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), the activist group driven to ruin by scandal and financial woes.

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 unionen: KPI översikter utfrågning om Yankees biljett skandal
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.”

NATIONELL
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
there.

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.