WASHINGTON (AP) – The Obama administration launched a criminal investigation Monday into harsh questioning of detainees duringPresident George W. Bush's war on terrorism, revealingCIA interrogators' threats to kill one suspect's children and to force another to watch his mother sexually assaulted.
At the same time,President Barack Obama ordered changes in future interrogations, bringing in other agencies besides the CIA under the direction of theFBI and supervised by his own national security adviser. The administration pledged questioning would be controlled by the Army Field Manual, with strict rules on tactics, and said the White House would keep its hands off the professional investigators doing the work.
Despite the announcement of the criminal probe, several Obama spokesmen declared anew — as the president has repeatedly — that on the subject of detainee interrogation he "wants to look forward, not back" at Bush tactics. They took pains to say decisions on any prosecutions would be up toAttorney General Eric Holder, not the White House.
Monday's five-year-old report by the CIA's inspector general, newly declassified and released under a federal court's orders, described severe tactics used by interrogators on terror suspects after theSept. 11, 2001, attacks. Seeking information about possible further attacks, interrogators threatened one detainee with a gun and a power drill, choked another and tried to frighten still another with a mock execution of another prisoner.
Attorney General Holder said he had chosen a veteran prosecutor to determine whether any CIA officers or contractors should face criminal charges for crossing the line on rough but permissible tactics....
When he launched his presidential bid in February 2007, Barack Obama inspired millions and rallied the world with his pledge to “build a more hopeful America.” He told a cheering crowd in Springfield, Illinois, land of Lincoln, that he recognized “that there is a certain presumptuousness in this, a certain audacity to this announcement. I know that I have not spent a long time learning the ways of Washington, but I have been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington have to change.”
Two years later,Barack Obama declared his support for an entrenched U.S. Senator drowning in the decrepit old politics ofpay-for-play....(08-02-09)
WASHINGTON —Sen. Daniel Inouye’s staff contacted federal regulators last fall to ask about the bailout application of an ailing Hawaii bank that he had helped to establish and where he has invested the bulk of his personal wealth.
The firm’s losses were depleting its capital reserves. Its primary regulator, theFederal Deposit Insurance Corp.,already had decided that it didn’t meet the criteria for receiving a favorable recommendation and had forwarded the application to a council that reviewed marginal cases, according to agency documents.
Two weeks after the inquiry from Inouye’s office, Central Pacific announced that the Treasury would inject$135 million.... (06-30-09)
The New York Post reports that three former deputies to cityComptroller Bill Thompsonnow own or work at firms that earn millions of dollars in fees to invest the pension funds he oversees.
Government watchdogs blasted the ex-employees for seemingly exploiting their connections to get high-paying jobs and bring government cash to their private businesses.
Two of Thompson's former top pension managers,Josh Wolf-PowersandAdam Blumenthal,quit their city jobs and foundedBlue Wolf Capital Management in 2005.
The private equity firm landed contracts to invest $63 million of city pension funds - and will collect at least $1.2 million in fees, officials said....
Another of Thompson's closest aides, Horatio Sparkes, the ex- deputy comptroller for pension funds, left in 2006 to joinYucaipa Companies,an investment firm led by supermarket magnate andBill Clinton buddyRon Burkle.
Yucaipa already had a contract to invest $170 million in 2003, according to city documents. The company got new contracts last year to invest another $360 million for four citypension funds, documents indicate.
While total payments to Yucaipa were not disclosed, records show the company has raked in $9.5 million in fees from the $347 million it invests for the city's biggest pension fund -NYCERS.
Even if the deals follow the letter of the law, they reek of preferential treatment, watchdogs say.
"They use their insider knowledge and past relationships to gain an upper hand and make a wad of cash," said Dick Dadey, executive director of Citizens Union....
Thompson's office has come under scrutiny in a wideningpay-for- play probeby stateAttorney General Andrew Cuomo.
Cuomo and the Securities and Exchange Commission last monthindicted political adviserHank Morrisfor allegedly steering state pension-fund business to investment firms in exchange for kickbacks.Morris denies the charges.
The state scandal was linked to Thompson's office last week, when The Post revealed that Morris had pocketed a placement fee on an $85 million deal between NYCERS and Quadrangle, an investment firm headed bySteven Rattner,now the chief ofPresident Obama'sauto- bailout task force. (06-12-09)
The Federal Reserve Bank of New Yorkannounced today, with the full support of theTreasury Department, the formation of the AIG Credit Facility Trust. The Trust is being established for the sole benefit of the United States Treasury to hold the 77.9 percent equity interest inAmerican International Group, Inc.(AIG) that will be issued in connection with the previously announced credit facility extended to AIG.
Three independent trustees have been selected by the New York Fed, in close consultation with the Treasury Department, to oversee this equity interest in the best interests of theU.S. Treasury.They areJill M. Considine,former chairman of the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation;Chester B. Feldberg,former chairman ofBarclays Americas; andDouglas L. Foshee,president and chief executive officer ofEl Paso Corporation.
Pursuant to the terms of the Trust Agreement, the trustees will have absolute discretion and control over the AIG stock, subject only to the terms of the Trust Agreement, and will exercise all rights, powers and privileges of a shareholder of AIG. The trustees will not sit on the board of directors of AIG. Day-to-day management of AIG will remain with the persons charged with such management.
To avoid possible conflicts with the New York Fed’s supervisory and monetary policy functions, the Trust has been structured so that the New York Fed cannot exercise any discretion or control over the voting and consent rights associated with the equity interest in AIG. The New York Fed will, however, continue to monitor closely the financial operations of AIG in connection with its role as lender....
WASHINGTON (Reuters) –President Barack Obama hopes to tone down the partisan warfare that often surrounds selections to the Supreme Court, but that won't be easy with interest groups bracing for a fight over issues likeabortion.
Obama has been weighing a short list of mostly women for a seat on the nine-member high court that decides such issues as abortion and the death penalty as well as business and property rights cases. The court's members are appointed for life but require Senate confirmation.
The pick, expected to be announced later this month, is unlikely to change the court's ideological makeup since Obama, a Democrat, is expected to pick a liberal in the mold of retiring justice David Souter.
Some experts think Obama, a former lecturer inconstitutional law, may seek someone with the intellectual firepower and personality to go to toe-to-toe with two of the court's most conservative members, Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito. Though well regarded for his intellect, Souter is relatively low-key...
Noting that Obama, a former senator, voted against Republican PresidentGeorge W. Bush's two Supreme Court nominees, John Roberts and Samuel Alito, Volokh said it is unrealistic for Obama to expect conservatives to "engage in unilateral disarmament."
Solicitor General Elena Kagan, who argues for the government before the Supreme Court, and two federal appeals court judges --Sonia Sotomayor and Diane Wood -- are among those under consideration by Obama, according to a source familiar with his thinking.
Also in the mix are Michigan DemocraticGovernor Jennifer Granholm,Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, and California Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno. Many analysts believe Obama will pick a woman to join the only other female justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. (05-17-09)
The master recommends extending terms of the expiring trustees since they're doing such a good job!
A court-appointed master for the Kamehameha Schools is recommending a one-year extension for trusteeRobert Kihune, whose term ends next month.
In a 117-page report filed with the state Probate Court last month, attorneyDavid Fairbanks also recommended a one-year extension for trusteeDiane Plotts and two-year extensions for board membersDouglas Ing andNainoa Thompson. Kihune, a retired Navy vice admiral, will step down June 30 after having served on Kamehameha School's board since 2000.
A Probate Court-appointed trustee screening committee recently named three finalists to replace Kihune. They included state Department of Hawaiian Homes Lands ChairmanMicah Kane, state Community Development Authority Executive DirectorAnthony Ching and former Kamehameha Schools executive and ex-DHHL ChairmanRay Soon.
Deputy Attorney General Hugh Jones, whose office serves as the legal guardian for the estate, had no comment, saying he has not yet completed his review of Fairbanks' recommendations.
Kamehameha Schools, which was established by the 1883 will of Princess Pauahi Bishop, is a nonprofit charitable trust that educates Hawaiian children.
It is one of the nation's largest charities and is Hawai'i's largest private landowner, with more than 360,000 acres.
In addition to extending current trustees' terms, Fairbanks also recommended that future board members receive a 10-year term.
Trustees earn about $90,000 a year.
Fairbanks said he was satisfied with the progress made by Kamehameha CEODee Jay Mailer and her management team but expressed concern about continuity within Kamehameha's boardroom in light of the recent financial challenges faced by the trust.
His report noted thatthe value of the trust's endowment dropped by 20.4 percentfrom$9.44 billionon June 30, 2008, to$7.36 billionon Dec. 31, 2008, as a result of the global financial downturn and the national economy. (Not to mentiongreed, mismanagement and political manipulation!) (05-09-09)
Homeland Security takes a back-seat to protecting politicians and their well-paid lobbyists!
It's reported that federal prosecutors will ask that espionage charges be dropped against two high-profile AIPAC lobbyists for stealing and selling US military secrets to foreign interests. The reasons? New court rulings, they say, will make it difficult to win convictions without disclosing to the general public the secrets they stole, how they stole them, who helped them steal these secrets, to whom were they sold, etc. Perhaps I'm missing the point somewhere, but isn't it the exact purpose of the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute alleged acts of espionage and treason ... regardless of whether or not a judge and jury decides to convict? And, if these secrets have already been stolen and sold to foreign interests, why shouldn't U.S. citizens be allowed to know what these secrets were and exactly who were involved? (05-01-09)
Did the Bush administration use torture to try to establish a false link between Iraq and Al-Qaeda ... (and to coverup the true identities of the real 9-11 terrorists)? The truth about terror!
Presumed guilty until proven innocent! Held indefinitely without a trial! Tortured false confessions! Maimed and murdered in secret operations bythe CIA! Is this what our elected officials and theU.S. Department of Justice believe our Constitution and human rights conventions are all about? (04-28-09)
TheHenry Paulson bailout bill probably would never have gotten out of the Senate alive if his old employer,Goldman Sachs, had not given it a big green push! Watch the eye-opening video and see how the birdseed flowed into the pockets of theObama andMcCain campaigns, and how it may have influenced votes for the billions ofbailout cash. (04-15-09)
Back in 1999, the Gramm, Leach, Blily Act was signed, allowing for major bank and insurance deregulations. Only 8 Senators voted against it... Today, some very wise owls are saying that much of today's economic problems can be traced back to this Act and to the vulture nests ofPhil Gramm and friends... (03-25-09)
FormerBank of Hawaii Chief ExecutiveMichael O'Neill reportedly is one of the candidates being considered for a position on the board of directors at financially troubledCitigroup Inc. ... Is it a coincidence, or a conspiracy, thatBarack Obama just happens to have connections with a whole flock of bailed-out Wall Street vultures in this picture? We report; you decide! (03-14-08)
Where are the billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars going to bail out the greedy vultures ofWall Street? Sh-h-h, it's a big secret! (But...for a little hint, fly over and take a gander at the vultures in the halls ofAIG!) (03-03-09)
From"Sir" Allen Stanford'salleged $8 billion CD sticky wicket toBernie Maddoff's $50 billion decades-long scam, each new day brings another round of financial madness - yet no one person or government agency seems to be moving fast to find a cure. But theSecurities and Exchange Commission's Inspector General,David Kotz,is all ears for one group with answers:Wall Street's whistleblowers.Dare we hold our breath? (02-24-09)
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain of the Southern District of New York has provisionally granted bankrupt Delphi Corp. permission to end health care and life insurance benefits for its retired salaried workers as of April. Is this another portend of the type of relief the bailout of Wall Street billionaires will bring to Main Street laborers? (02-24-09)
Halliburton Whistleblower Requests Your Help To Protect Taxpayers.
Bunny Greenhouse, the former Procurement Executive and highest-ranking Army Corps of Engineers civilian procurement official whoblew the whistle onHalliburton/KBR,has an urgent message to protect taxpayers regarding the $600 billion "economic stimulus package" that Congress is debating. Fly there now to lend your voice by contacting your Senators and Representatives! (02/06/09)
KBR wins contract despite criminal probe of deaths
WASHINGTON - Defense contractorKBAmR Inc.has been awarded a $35 million Pentagon contract involving major electric work in Iraq, even as it is under criminal investigation in the electrocution deaths of at least two U.S. soldiers in Iraq. KBR was previously owned byHalliburton Co., the oil services conglomerate that former Vice PresidentDick Cheney once led. Separately, court papers filed in Houston on Friday show KBR is preparing to plead guilty to federal bribery charges for promising and paying tens of millions of dollars in bribes to officials in Nigeria in exchange for engineering and construction contracts between 1995 and 2004. But that's only the beginning... (02/06/09)
WASHINGTON – From coast to coast, pro-lifers are marking the 36th anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions, which legalized abortion for any reason, even as a method of birth control.
Since 1973, these decisions have resulted in the death of more than 50 million unborn children.
"We mourn the deaths of 50 million unborn babies that were the tragic consequence of these decisions," said Wanda Franz, Ph.D., president of National Right to Life. "Sadly, under the Obama Administration, we can expect a radical agenda which would cause this number to increase dramatically."
In consultation with a coalition of pro-abortion groups, which submitted a 55-page outline of pro-abortion policies to the Obama transition team, the Obama Administration has an agenda designed to repeal many, if not all, of the pro-life policies in place at the state and federal level.
Through their extreme agenda, the Administration wants to fund organizations that perform and promote abortion; force employer health insurance plans to cover abortion; force hospitals and health care professionals to provide abortions; and enact the so-called "Freedom of Choice Act" – a bill that would invalidate virtually all state and federal laws restricting abortion, including parental notification laws, and which would make partial-birth abortion legal again.... (01-22-09)
Someone is lying. According to Obama's Kenyan (paternal) grandmother, as well as his half-brother and half-sister, Barack Hussein Obama was born in Kenya, not in Hawaii as President-elect Obama claims. Well, maybe it won't be a big issue once his honest and "transparent" crew members are in place: Hillary Clinton ...Leon Panetta ...Eric Holder ...Timothy Geithner ...Joshua Gotbaum ...Robert Gates ...Eric Shinseki ...etc. ... No???
"I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts."
A brand new nest is being built with solid twigs from the old nest, along with fresh new materials gathered as fast as we can! Please visit us soon, and often, for the latest spectacular views from The Catbird Seat!
Stand atop the mountains and let your spirit soar with the hawks and the clouds and the freshening wind. Stand and marvel at this earthly gem, which shines with splendor and casts its aura of blue-green into the endless universe. Stand and see that all is within His control and know that it is good to be alive!
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