In The Know: Are Politicians Failing Our Lobbyists?

Video compliments of The Onion

TARP Recipients Paid Out $114 Million for Politicking Last Year

OpenSecrets.org
Published by Communications on February 4, 2009

The companies that have been awarded taxpayers' money from Congress's bailout bill spent $77 million on lobbying and $37 million on federal campaign contributions, Center finds. The return on investment: 258,449 percent.

WASHINGTON--(This release has been corrected to reflect that Bank of America has received $45 billion, not $55 billion, from the TARP program. The $45 billion includes $10 billion that Merrill Lynch received before being acquired by Bank of America. An earlier version of this release incorrectly added Merrill Lynch's $10 billion to Bank of America's $45 billion. Adjustments to the figures in the original release are in bold below. In addition, the total number of TARP recipients that lobbied in 2008 is 26, rather than 25 as originally stated.) The struggling companies whose freewheeling business practices have contributed to the country's economic woes are getting a lucrative return on at least one of their investments. Beneficiaries of the $700 billion bailout package in the finance and automotive industries have spent a total of $114.2 million on lobbying in the past year and contributions toward the 2008 election, the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics has found. The companies' political activities have, in part, yielded them $295.2 billion from the federal government's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), an extraordinary return of 258,449 percent.

"Even in the best economic times, you won't find an investment with a greater payoff than what these companies have been getting," said Sheila Krumholz, the Center's executive director. "Some of the companies and industries that have received payments may now consider their contributions and lobbying to be the smartest investments they've made in years."

While the Treasury Department, not Congress, doles out TARP funds to specific institutions, congressional lawmakers had to authorize that money in the first place, and lawmakers will determine in the future whether to release more funds to prop up the U.S. economy. During the bill-writing process, members of Congress were able to specify to some extent where the money should go, and they have lobbied regulators to urge them to inject funds into specific banks and financial institutions, including those in lawmakers' own districts.

"Taxpayers hope their money is being allocated entirely on the merits, but with Congress controlling how much money the Treasury gets to hand out, it will be impossible to completely exclude politics from this process," Krumholz said.

~MORE~

.........zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZ*

No need searching the tubes today, Black Listed News widgit is sitting on my home page and this is the three articles that it referred to earlier today. It reminds me of an old friend that came into the antique shop almost every day. That's when my brother was still around. If business was slow, usually was, we would sit in the back room by the old pot belly stove drinking Blitz beer. Glen Dupont was a real character, and always had a story to tell. Everyday he would have a good news-bad news joke about the government or something, so one day he walked in, looked around and said "there's some good news and some bad news". We tried to ignore him, like we did when he was telling us about the 14 foot sturgeon he caught in the Columbia river. Yep, the good news is that there is no bad news. OK, is that it... Dupont?
Well, the bad news is that there is no news. It's hard to explain just why that was so funny but I'll never forget it. I hope that him and my brother still have a place to enjoy a cold beer and speak their mind...G:


Will the Rich Evolve Into A Different Species?

No men OR women needed: Scientists create sperm and eggs from stem cells

HSBC earned more than £650m in fees from work for Textron, US manufacturer of cluster weapons

Another good news-bad news joke:

At the Vatican, a cardinal approaches the pope.

Your holiness, I have some good news and some bad news.

You have a phone call, it's from Jesus.

This is a miracle cardinal, what's the bad news?

Well, the call is from Salt Lake City

Swine Flu is concentrated in the rural areas, while dwindling in the cities

The latest on this is that New York City has rescinded the demand that health care workers get mandatory H1N1 vaccinations. Also that in the larger cities the percentage of new flu cases has dropped dramatically from the spring numbers, with increased cases in the rural parts of the US.
My reference point is Billings Montana's KULR8 News which maintains excellent coverage of the local happenings.






By Sarah Gravlee
Oct 26, 2009

BILLINGS - Residents were turned away Monday afternoon as health officials ran out of the vaccine for the H1N1 virus.

Throngs of people poured into the Shrine Auditorium Monday at 1:00 p.m. to get the H1N1 vaccination, but this was just the end of what had been a long day of waiting. The first people in line arrived at about 9:00 a.m.

~Links~

Here's a previous artical about Billings MT.

Flu Map

Babyboomer perspective

And a little further left...

falseflagflu.com

fluscam.com

..........zzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

PBS Bill Moyers interviews Richard Goldstone

~VIDEO~

October 23, 2009

The UN Human Rights Council released a report on the recent fighting between Hamas and Israel in Gaza. While concluding that both Israel's military and Hamas likely committed war crimes during the fighting, the report was particularly harsh in its condemnation of Israel's actions, saying they were "a deliberately disproportionate attack designed to punish, humiliate, and terrorize a civilian population, radically diminish its local economic capacity both to work and to provide for itself, and to force upon it an ever increasing sense of dependency and vulnerability." A political firestorm ensued, and some of the criticism was aimed at the head of the investigative mission, Judge Richard Goldstone.

~Message from the Dark Side~

If there was ever any doubt about who was running things during the George Duhbya Bu$h administration, Chainey re-assures us once more, as the voice from the shadows speaks with authority about Neoconservative power and world domination...G:

Swine Flu & The Tale of the 3 Doctors

Joseph Moshe Westwood Standoff



This is old news, dating back to Oct. 13 2009, when Dr. Joseph Moshe was arrested. A SWAT team showed up on his doorstep the morning after he called into the Dr. True Ott show on Republic Radio, asking who to contact regarding information that he had on the Swine Flu vaccine. Dr. Moshe hopped in his bug and ran for it, but was caught while being pursued by Police cars, helicopters, and government vehicles. Dr. Bill Deagle on Camelot Radio has done an excellent report on this. It begins after the break at 2:40 in the video below.



Where is he now? The last I've heard is from....Godlike Productions

"He is being held at the twin towers correctional facility and his next court date is 9/29/09 and this is is a rescheduled date it was originally 9/14/09 in LAX LA MUN COURT 142, doesn't sound like federal charges to me."

"The new date has him appearing at LAX SUPERIOR COURT Dept. D 8:30AM, again... this is more like a district court, for charges like drug possession or DUI... not anything the FBI would come up for you to"

Hat tip to Camelot Radio, Godlike Productions & the three Dr's

NWO & WHO causing a pandamic with H1N1 Vaccine

Well folks, as sentient human beans, we have the duty to check out wazzup with the swine flu vaccines that they are now giving the kids in the public schools all over the planet.

Here's what I found by accident today, when checking out the KURL8 News in Billings MT.
On Oct. 10th around 300 children were vaccinated for the H1N1 virus. Families lined up at the West High School Gymnasium to get their children the first round of the nasal mist immunization. So looking at an article from 9 days later, on Oct. 19th, the news is that "hundreds of Billings elementary school students called in sick Monday with flu-like symptoms".

School officials said most of the absences are due to the H1N1 virus. Officials also said 10 Billings elementary schools had at least 10% of its students out sick. There are currently no plans to close schools, but officials say they would consider closing and disinfecting schools if the percentage of sick students rises to 40%.
And todays news wasn't much better...Officials say Billings health care providers are seeing a dramatic increase in patients with swine flu symptoms.

I don't know how it's going on in the rest of the world, but if this small town is any indicator at all we could be in real trouble. It doesn't take a doctor to figure out that the vaccine is causing a contagious variety of flu to spread throughout our communities and, from what I can find out,
in addition to the public program, all American military forces will be vaccinated beginning in October.



Is this really a pandamic?

Some interesting satistics...

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 35 to 50 million Americans come down with the flu during each flu season.The CDC estimates that in the US more than 100,000 people are hospitalized and more more than 20,000 people die from the flu and its complications every year.

According to July WHO statistics, there have been 94,512 H1N1 cases worldwide, and 429 people have died from it. In the United States, 33,902 contracted H1N1, and 170 have died.

VACCINE INFORMATION STATEMENT

The Health Resources Service Administration
claims that "vacine information statements", VIS's must be provided with vaccinations, but these are not currently being provided. There is a federal law pertaining to this, and CDC agrees, and points the clinics and schools to their site, where you finally find this little message done by a typical gubmint debunker, which claims "Vaccine Information Statements (VIS): Myth Exposed!"


CDC Quote:

"MYTH:
A newly-licensed vaccine cannot be administered until a VIS is available for it.

FACT:
The law does not require that a vaccine be withheld if a VIS for it does not yet exist.

When a new vaccine is licensed, CDC creates a VIS for it as quickly as possible. But development of a VIS can be delayed for a number of reasons.

Until a VIS is available for a particular vaccine, a provider may use the manufacturer's package insert, written FAQs, or any other document – or produce their own information sheet – to inform patients about the benefits and risks of that vaccine.

Once a VIS is available it should be used; but providers should not delay use of a vaccine because of the absence of a VIS."

Criminalization of Social Networking Technology - Twitter, G20 Pittsburgh, & Iran -- Signs of the Times News

Criminalization of Social Networking Technology - Twitter, G20 Pittsburgh, & Iran -- Signs of the Times News: "http://www.sott.net/articles/show/195140-Criminalization-of-Social-Networking-Technology-Twitter-G20-Pittsburgh-Iran"

US nuclear dealings with UAE are under the radar

With just five days left in office, George Duhbya Bu$h signed a nuclear deal with the United Arab Emirates which lies directly across the historical Straights of Hormuz from Iran. Seems that this would be a grave dis-service to our new administration, but, Once More, it is painfully evident that the Corporate Government is still running the show...


Obama green lights nuclear deal with UAE

May 20th, 2009 - 9:40 pm EST By Sindh Today

Washington, May 21 (DPA) US President Barack Obama has signed off on an agreement authorising the United States to help the United Arab Emirates (UAE) develop nuclear power, the White House announced Wednesday.

The deal was originally agreed in the final days of former president George W. Bush’s term, but was then left to the Obama administration to decide whether to implement the agreement.

"I have determined that the performance of the agreement will promote, and will not constitute an unreasonable risk to, the common defence and security," Obama said in a statement.



So fast forwarding to the here & now we see

Nuclear Power Industry News

Company Anticipates NASDAQ Listing On or About October 9th, 2009

- By Stephen Heiser -

Thorium Power, Inc. (Mclean, VA), a leading developer of non-proliferative nuclear fuel technology and provider of comprehensive advisory services for civil nuclear energy programs, today announced that the Company's name change to Lightbridge Corporation has been formalized and its ticker symbol will temporarily change from "THPW" to "LTBG" effective at the opening of the market today, September 29th. The Company anticipates a listing on the NASDAQ Capital Market on or about October 9th, when the ticker symbol will become "LTBR."

Seth Grae, CEO for Lightbridge stated, "The name change to Lightbridge is a milestone event for us. We believe that the word 'Lightbridge" better represents who we are, our global product and service offerings, and the evolution of our company."

Lightbridge is a leading provider of nuclear energy consulting services worldwide and is developing next generation nuclear fuel technology that will significantly reduce nuclear waste and the threat of proliferation. The combination of two core businesses puts Lightbridge in a unique position to capitalize on the global nuclear renaissance and growing trend of pursuing cleaner and safer forms of nuclear energy. The Company has an unrivaled depth of talent with a roster of leading experts and advisors that have served in industry and governmental positions for decades.




A brief history of... Thorium Power, Inc. (Mclean, VA)

Development and deployment of fuel for Russian VVER-1000 nuclear reactors

July 28, 2005
Interview by: Alise Coen

Seth Grae, President of the nuclear fuel and development firm, Thorium Power, Inc., has been working with a group of Russian nuclear engineers, physicists and experts on a project to develop and deploy fuel for the Russian VVER-1000 nuclear reactors. Thorium Power, Inc. was founded in 1992 and began working on a cooperative Initiatives for Proliferation Prevent (IPP) grant project with the Kurchatov Institute in Moscow and the Brookhaven National Laboratory in 1993. The IPP project is supported by a "triangular" relationship of institutes: the US national lab contributes technical assistance to the project, the US industry partners adds commercial expertise and cost-sharing, and the Russian institution offers unique technologies or research capacities.
The Project:

By developing and deploying fuel for the Russian VVER-1000 nuclear reactors, the scientists aim to eliminate stockpiles of weapons-grade plutonium and ultimately produce electricity within Russia. VVER is a Russian acronym which stands for "Water modified, Water cooled" Energetic Reactor. The number '1000' indicates that the reactor emits 1,000 megawatts of electricity—enough to power over 1 million homes, according to Grae.

Most of the research and project implementation takes place at the Kurchatov Institute in Moscow. Other activities occur at MSZ Electrostal, which is the largest nuclear fuel manufacturing plant in Russia; the Bochvar Institute, a research institute for inorganic materials; and the Siberian Chemical Combine (SKhK), once known as Tomsk-7, located in the closed nuclear city of Seversk. This project has received three grants from the IPP grant program, totaling $1.5 million. The project has also received an additional $4 million from direct US government appropriations.

This project employs 527 former weapons scientists in Russia, of which 160 are full-time researchers. Many of the Russian scientists formerly built and designed nuclear weapons or weapons technologies for the Soviet Union. A significant proportion of the scientists also produced weapons-grade plutonium. Grae added that, prior to being engaged by the IPP project, many of the Russian scientists designed Russian nuclear reactors and, specifically, the cores for those reactors.





George Duhbya Bu$h six days after 911

Visiting the Washington Islamic Center to denounce a spate of anti-Muslim violence as "not the America I know," President Bush said that "Islam is peace." Muslims contribute much to the country, Bush said. "The Muslims are doctors, lawyers, law professors, members of the military, entrepreneurs, shopkeepers, moms and dads, and they need to be treated with respect."

Bush appeared at the Islamic Center on September 17 as offenses targeting
Muslims in the US appeared to be fueled by suspicions that Muslim fundamentalists orchestrated the terrorist strikes at the World Trade Center.

Balloon Boy confesses to media connections

Confessions Of A Patriot

I'm on my way to Washington DC to speak out on my opinions on world issues. My apologies for the old flying saucer balloon trick, but It did get me in the spotlight, and like it or not, I am currently more famous than Joe the Plumber, Newt Gingrinch, Sarah Palin, and all the other has beans that have been blathering Neoconservative lies about war, the banking industry, the insurance industry, the military-corpo-media-psy-op- complex, etc. etc.etc. etc.

So like it or not, I have political capitol and main stream media connections that have called me to action and you will be hearing from me on important issues like "Universal Health Care, Corporate Crimes, Accountability for crimes against humanity, Lobbyists, and the return of Free Enterprise to all of the people all of the time.

Have a good day...( :

Gunmen, Bombers Hit 5 Sites in Pakistan; 38 Die

Washington Post

By Karin Brulliard
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, October 15, 2009; 10:26 AM

ISLAMABAD, Oct. 15 -- Pakistan came under a deadly, staccato series of attacks Thursday that left at least 38 people dead and raised questions about the ability of the nation's security and intelligence agencies to thwart a rising Islamist insurgency.

The attacks began about 9 a.m. in Lahore, the bustling capital of the Punjabi heartland, with what appeared to be coordinated attacks on police installations. The attacks paralyzed the city, Pakistan's cultural hub, and riveted a nation that has been engulfed in deadly attacks over the past 11 days.

US drone attack kills 4 in Pakistan

PRESS TV

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 02:35:32 GMT

At least four people have been killed in a new US drone attack targeting a house in northwestern Pakistan, a security official says.

An unnamed security official was quoted by AFP on Wednesday as saying that the pre-dawn strike targeted the house of an Afghan refugee in Dandey Darpa Khel in the North Waziristan region near the Afghan border.

Six other people were wounded in the strike, officials said.

Hillary in Russia ~ Pootie in China

Russian Minister Rejects Iran Sanctions

NY Times

By MARK LANDLER
Published: October 13, 2009

MOSCOW — Threatening Iran with harsh new sanctions to advance negotiations over its nuclear program would be “counterproductive,” Russia’s foreign minister said Tuesday, throwing cold water on the Obama administration’s hopes that Russia had been persuaded to cooperate with its effort to intensify the global pressure on Tehran.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Moscow on Tuesday.
The minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, said after meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton here that diplomacy should be given a chance to work, particularly after a meeting in Geneva this month in which the Iranian government said it would allow United Nations inspectors to visit a clandestine nuclear enrichment facility near the holy city of Qum.

“At the current stage, all forces should be thrown at supporting the negotiating process,” he said. “Threats, sanctions, and threats of pressure in the current situation, we are convinced, would be counterproductive.”

Meanwhile in China

Putin visits China: $5.5 bln in deals expected

Russia Times

13 October, 2009

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is leading a high-powered delegation to China which is sealing deals worth more than $5 billion in energy, infrastructure and telecoms.


Propeller The delegation comprises more than one hundred senior Russian business leaders. They are hoping to win a bigger slice of one of the world’s largest markets.

Putin was greeted by his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao on his arrival, with two way trade and energy agreements worth $3.5 billion already signed.

During his visit he is also scheduled to meet with China’s President Hu Jintao, and take part in a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on Wednesday.

Gazprom CEO, Aleksey Miller, has announced on Tuesday that China and Russia have agreed on ramping up gas supplies to the booming Asian economic powerhouse.

Russia is looking to expand machinery exports to China, but also to increase yuan-ruble trade, which soared to 58 billion dollars in 2008 from just over 9 billion in 2002. So, it’s obvious the growth of trade between the two countries is tremendous.

This comes following recent rumors that Gulf states are going to try to dump the dollar, perhaps with Russia and China joining in, as the currency used for oil transactions.

John McPain: $ame lame game his claim to fame

Alan Grayson: "If the President has a BLT tomorrow, the Republicans will try to ban bacon."

Mr. Grayson goes to Washington. Mr. Grayson speaks truth to power on the floor of the house. See Mr. Grayson Speak. Speak Speak Speak. Mr. Grayson speaks for the majority of the people. Hear them listen. Listen Listen Listen. The people like Mr. Grayson and have contributions to send. $end $end $end. This makes Mr. Grayson happy. Happy Happy Happy, which makes Steney f*#@ing Hoyer, Boner, Liebrrman, McPain, Grasstlie, and other such corporate gubmint lackies very sad. $ad $ad Sad...

Bwawhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaah!!!

Medicare Astroturf Scammers & Robot Phone Calls

I got another one of those robot phone calls today, you know, the kind that you can't talk back to. It was from the The Coalition for Medicare Choices representing an insurance racket called Healthcare Advantage. Being on medicare myself, and just plain curious, I didn't hang upright away, so I was informed that Obama's healthcare plan is cutting funds to these programs and to press 1 to join the coalition. Instead of hanging up I waited to see what would happen, and it repeated the message, leaving me somewhat frustrated that I couldn't at least express my thoughts on the matter. Oh well, I'll get on the tubes and see wazzup.....zzzzzZZZZ*

Oh, so that's what got their underwear hiked up in Cheney country. Check this out...Heehehehehehehehehehehehehe*

Health plan stocks sink as Senate bill gets boost

MarketWatch
Oct. 8, 2009, 11:37 a.m. EDT By Laura Mandaro

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Shares of private providers of health-care plans dropped sharply on Thursday. Late Wednesday, the Congressional Budget Office said the Senate Finance Committee's health-care reform legislation will cost $829 billion over 10 years -- lower than President Barack Obama's desired cap of $900 billion -- and reduce the budget deficit.

WellPoint Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!wlp/quotes/nls/wlp (WLP 44.72, -2.94, -6.17%) shares were the biggest decliner on the S&P 500 /quotes/comstock/21z!i1:in\x (SPX 1,066, +8.71, +0.82%) , dropping more than 6%.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!unh/quotes/nls/unh (UNH 24.14, -0.92, -3.65%) shares sank 5.2%,

Aetna, Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!aet/quotes/nls/aet (AET 25.75, -1.31, -4.84%) lost 4.5%

and Humana, Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!hum/quotes/nls/hum (HUM 35.98, -1.92, -5.07%) slid 4.3%.

Well, by golly, there must have been a few folks listening to Olbermann last night, not to mention what Congressman Alan Grayson had to say the other day...( :

These corporate crooks have been stirring up the astroturf crowd for sometime now...

Elderly used as front in letter-writing campaign 'Grass-roots' effort looks more like Astroturf

By Ken Johnson
kjohnson@eagletribune.com

Across Massachusetts, senior citizens are writing letters to newspapers demanding that their representatives in Congress protect a form of health insurance called Medicare Advantage.

At least that's what newspaper editors are supposed to think.

Some of those seniors are unaware that they have sent any such letters to newspapers. Some of them hadn't even heard of Medicare Advantage.

"I did not write a letter to the editor. It's not from me," said Gloria Gosselin, 75, of Lawrence.

Gosselin's name was on one of three strikingly similar letters touting the Medicare Advantage program that were sent to The Eagle-Tribune.

Writers of letters to the editor are routinely contacted by newspapers to make sure letters are legitimate. In this case, they weren't.

All three of the purported authors of the letters said they had no idea their names were being used to advocate for the health insurance program.

The letters were, in fact, composed and sent by the Boston office of a national political consulting firm attempting to create the appearance of a "grass-roots" movement for Medicare Advantage.

American Police Force Ends Bid for Hardin Jail

VIDEO By NEWS KULR

Story Published: Oct 9, 2009 at 2:49 PM MDT

Story Updated: Oct 9, 2009 at 5:26 PM MDT


BILLINGS - A California company drops its proposal to take over the Hardin jail. The news comes just days before the Montana Attorney General's deadline for American Police Force to hand over critical information concerning the group's previous business ventures.

Attorney General Steve Bullock also demanded the group identify their current owners, which is something that was never revealed to the public.

American Police Force spokeswoman Becky Shay said Friday the deal with Hardin had "gone sour" after press revelations about the criminal past of company founder Michael Hilton. Hilton has a history of fraud and theft going back at least two decades. He signed a contract in September to take over the jail and run local law enforcement but it was never ratified.

KULR-8 News currently has reporters on the scene of a news conference related to the unraveling of the contract between American Police Force and Two Rivers Authority. Stay tuned to the KULR-8 First News at Five, the KULR-8 News at Six and Ten for the latest developments on this story

US 'will' disregard borders in terrorist hunt, says Obama

blacklistednews.com

Source: Press TV

Afghanistan and Pakistan are not the Pentagon's sole targets in its war on terror, says Obama adding that the US will not hesitate to attack anywhere it deems a threat.

US President Barack Obama, speaking at the Counterterrorism Center in McLean Virginia on Tuesday, pledged that the US would target al-Qaeda "wherever they take root" and do everything to wipe out safe havens, where Osama bin Laden's network can plot against the United States.

"The United States and our partners have sent an unmistakable message: We will target al-Qaida wherever they take root," he said, Xinhua reported.

The US president cited East Africa, Southeast Asia, Europe and the Persian Gulf in addition to Afghanistan and Pakistan, as the hotbeds for terrorist activities and what he called threats against Washington.

Obama's speech was reminiscent of his predecessor George W. Bush's notorious 'Bush doctrine', which says the United States has 'the right' to launch preemptive strikes on countries that pose a threat to the US security.

"We will not yield in our pursuit; and we are developing the capacity and the cooperation to deny a safe haven to any who threaten America and its allies," said Obama.

With its primary mission to synchronize the fight on terrorism, the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) was established in 2001 on the hills of the 9/11 attacks on the US soil.

The center, a government agency under the Director of National Intelligence, coordinate and share data with US government departments and agencies and US foreign partners.

Religious Right Wingnuts in the Military

Lawyer sues to end Dallas group's 'threat' prayers


Dallas News

11:42 PM CDT on Sunday, October 4, 2009

By DIANE JENNINGS / The Dallas Morning News
djennings@dallasnews.com

A former military lawyer who served in the Reagan White House and worked for Ross Perot is suing a Dallas-based religious organization in a case that could test the limits of free speech and prayer.

Mikey Weinstein, founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, said he wants Gordon Klingenschmitt, a former U.S. Navy chaplain, to "stop asking Jesus to plunder my fields ... seize my assets, kill me and my family then wipe away our descendants for 10 generations."

The suit also asks the court to stop the defendants – Klingenschmitt and Jim Ammerman, the founder of the Dallas-based Chaplaincy of Full Gospel Churches – from "encouraging, soliciting, directing, abetting or attempting to induce others to engage in similar conduct."

Weinstein, 54, said his family has received death threats, had a swastika emblazoned on their home in New Mexico, animal carcasses left on their doorstep and feces thrown at the house.

Weinstein, who is Jewish, said the harassment started several years ago when he began protesting Christian proselytizing at his alma mater, the Air Force Academy. Weinstein started his foundation shortly after that to battle the influence of extremist evangelical Christians in the armed forces.

MORE

~ALSO~

Navy Chaplain Gordon James Klingenschmitt Guilty Of Disobeying an Order

Navy Chaplain Guilty Of Disobeying an Order

By Alan Cooperman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, September 15, 2006

A Navy court decided yesterday to reprimand and dock the pay of an evangelical Protestant chaplain after finding him guilty of disobeying an order by appearing in uniform at a political protest in front of the White House in March.

~AND~

Gordon James Klingenschmitt is a former naval chaplain who, in Nov. 2008 says, unfortunately, the Secular Coalition for America will eventually get its way. "There is a day coming in the end times when the military will be forced to be atheistic because, in order for the eventual man who is the man of sin -- the Anti-Christ -- as it is describe in the Bible, for him to come to power and to stamp out Christianity around the globe, he's going to need a good strong atheist military," he contends. "That is the first step toward Armageddon, and I'm concerned about that. And I pray that President (elect) Obama is not foolish enough to lead us down that road."

~SO~

Here's a little more "religious right wingnut" history

Well, needless to mention, religion and politics don't mix. If the religious leaders want to have anything to say about the war, they should trade in their robe for a pair of jack boots and get out there on the front lines, like the old days in Europe where the pope rode out in front of the army...G:

Montana jail entrepreneur ordered to appear in California court

Billings Gazette

MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press Monday, October 5, 2009

BILLINGS - A California judge has ordered American Police Force figure Michael Hilton - a felon with a history of fraud seeking to operate an empty Montana jail - to appear in court on Oct. 27 over an outstanding judgment in a fraud lawsuit.

The Oct. 2 order follows a proposal by American Police Force, Hilton's newly minted California company, to take over and run a 464-bed jail in Hardin, Mont.


In this Friday, Sept. 25, 2009 picture, Michael Hilton stands outside the city offices after meeting with Hardin, Mont. officials. Hilton pitched himself to the city as a military veteran turned private sector entrepreneur - a California defense contractor with extensive government contracts who promised to turn the rural city's empty jail into a cash cow. But now a much different picture of Hilton is emerging from public documents and interviews with his associates and legal adversaries. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)

The judgment in the case is among several against Hilton totaling more than $1.1 million. In that case, Hilton lured investors to sink money into an assisted living complex in Southern California that was never built.

Hilton also spent several years in state prison in California in the 1990s.
Hardin built its jail in 2007 as an economic development project, but has been unable to fill it.

UPDATE: American Police Force changes their name

APF spokesperson Becky Shay expresses concerns for her own safety

APF spokesperson holds emotional press conference; lawyer quits project

Billings Gazette

TOM LUTEY Of The Gazette Staff October 2, 2009 7:40 pm

A sobbing spokeswoman for the secretive company occupying the Hardin jail welcomed an investigation by Montana's attorney general Friday and expressed concerns for her own safety amid rumors about her company.

Becky Shay, in a 45-minute, wide-ranging press conference during which she occasionally broke into tears, said the California-based American Police Force welcomed an information request made Thursday by Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock.

Meanwhile, an attorney involved in the project cut ties with APF Friday and a second company, once named as a subcontractor, denied any involvement.

Shay said she hadn't been formally served papers by the attorney general, who said he is concerned that APF might be violating the Montana Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act. APF has reached a multimillion-dollar agreement with Hardin's economic development arm, Two Rivers Authority, to run the empty Hardin jail, built two years ago to house inmates under contract. She said she had read of Bullock's request in the news media.

Shay mentioned the attorney general's request almost as a two-minute side note in a press conference that revealed that the former Billings Gazette reporter and new face of APF fears for her safety.

"A lot of work I've done has been to calm down or at least try to counteract comments from people I consider to be fear mongers," Shay said. "What has happened in the interim, however, is those people's friends around the nation have been in contact with me or tried to access me. I realize I'm being pretty vague so that we don't support or incite these people. I don't want my words to be taken out of context to further inflame the tensions that I'm working under."

More from Billings

Video

More Legal Issues for APF: Kulr8.com





...zzzZZZ*...Hmmm, wag the dog? One would think that if the APF is an illegitimate front that the FBI, would be on it like flies on a cow patty. If the AFP is a legit front the sheeple in Montana have been decieved by the shadow government, who is hoping all this buzz on the innertubes will quietly go away...

Report Says Iran Has Data to Make a Nuclear Bomb

NY Times

By WILLIAM J. BROAD and DAVID E. SANGER
Published: October 3, 2009

Senior staff members of the United Nations nuclear agency have concluded in a confidential analysis that Iran has acquired “sufficient information to be able to design and produce a workable” atom bomb.

The report by experts in the International Atomic Energy Agency stresses in its introduction that its conclusions are tentative and subject to further confirmation of the evidence, which it says came from intelligence agencies and its own investigations.

But the report’s conclusions, described by senior European officials, go well beyond the public positions taken by several governments, including the United States.

Two years ago, American intelligence agencies published a detailed report concluding that Tehran halted its efforts to design a nuclear weapon in 2003. But in recent months, Britain has joined France, Germany and Israel in disputing that conclusion, saying the work has been resumed.

A senior American official said last week that the United States was now re-evaluating its 2007 conclusions.

The atomic agency’s report also presents evidence that beyond improving upon bomb-making information gathered from rogue nuclear experts around the world, Iran has done extensive research and testing on how to fashion the components of a weapon. It does not say how far that work has progressed.

The report, titled “Possible Military Dimensions of Iran’s Nuclear Program,” was produced in consultation with a range of nuclear weapons experts inside and outside the agency. It draws a picture of a complex program, run by Iran’s Ministry of Defense, “aimed at the development of a nuclear payload to be delivered using the Shahab 3 missile system,” Iran’s medium-range missile, which can strike the Middle East and parts of Europe. The program, according to the report, apparently began in early 2002.

More of the same

Well, I think that we've heard this, at least one time, before. The old "Iran has knowledge on how to make a nucular bomb" story. It's been out of the bag for a long long time and anyone who uses the Google can find information on how make one. The difficult part is how to enrich enough uranium to make it work. Recently Iran has agreed to send enriched uranium to Russia, and to open its newly revealed uranium enrichment plant near Qum to international inspection in the next two weeks and to send most of its openly declared enriched uranium outside Iran to be turned into fuel for a small reactor that produces medical isotopes.

A little history from the papa Bu$h invasion of Iraq in 1990

Physics for future presidents


Physics 10: Physics for Future Presidents. Spring 2006. Professor Richard A. Muller. The most interesting and important topics in physics, stressing conceptual understanding rather than math, with applications to current events. Topics covered may vary and may include energy and conservation, radioactivity, nuclear physics, the Theory of Relativity, lasers, explosions, earthquakes, superconductors, and quantum physics. [courses] [physics10] [spring2006] Credits: lecturer:Professor Richard A. Muller, producers:Educational Technology Services

Blackwater type US Training Center proposed for Hardin MT ?

Blackwater training center at Mayock NC

A section of text on the APF site refers to the company's "U.S. Training Center," and matches word-for-word text from the Web site for Xe, formerly Blackwater. That company's U.S. Training Center is touted as the largest facility of its kind.
APF has proposed a 15 acre training facility alongside the existing prison.

Independent Record

By RUFFIN PREVOST Billings Gazette | Posted: Saturday, September 19, 2009 12:00 am

BILLINGS - Public records available from state and federal courts and from Web site registrations have raised new questions about a company contracted to operate a detention facility in Hardin, as well as a potential supplier of police equipment to the venture.

Local officials have released almost no details on American Police Force, and company representatives have been tight-lipped, leaving everyone from Hardin residents to a New Zealand blogger turning to the Internet for answers.

Separate research efforts by The Billings Gazette and others turned up connections and similarities between the APF Web site and sites for other little-known defense procurement companies.

All of the Web sites share similarities in design, and some include exactly the same phrases, which was a red flag to Kevin Flaherty, an American blogger living in New Zealand who writes about private military contractors.

Flaherty, owner of the Cryptogon blog, said that plans by APF to provide Hardin with a homeless shelter, computers for schools, free meals for the needy and an animal shelter "read like something out of The Onion," a satirical newspaper.

Flaherty said his online research revealed "a lot of weirdness to chase down."

Public records show that the APF Web site, americanpolicegroup.com, was first registered on May 15, about two weeks after an effort by the Two Rivers Authority to pursue prisoners from Guantanamo Bay made national headlines.

A section of text on the APF site refers to the company's "U.S. Training Center," and matches word-for-word text from the Web site for Xe, formerly Blackwater. That company's U.S. Training Center is touted as the largest facility of its kind.

APF representatives have said that their company is a subsidiary of an undisclosed parent corporation founded in 1984. Blackwater was started in 1997.

Public Internet records show that the APF Web site is one of six hosted on a single Web server, including a site for Defense Product Solutions.

Both share the same double-eagle logo, and the same company, Purepoint Design, developed both Web sites. No one answered a call to Purepoint's office in Newport Beach, Calif.

A section of text on the Defense Product Solutions Web site matches word-for-word text found on Web sites for Allied Defense Systems and Defense Logistic Services, all promising a similarly exhaustive range of military products and services.

Public records for those companies and others with similar Web sites - including Defense Contracting and Consulting and Worldwide Military Exchange - all show connections to Edward Angelino, a government contractor in Huntington Beach, Calif.

Angelino said that he is not an owner of APF and has had not met with anyone from Hardin, but added that he has been in discussions with APF over the past four months about supplying police and prison gear for use at the Hardin facility.

"Our role is simply, if we land a contract, to provide some supplies to the guards themselves and what they need," he said, adding that there is "nothing concrete, nothing in writing" with APF.

According to documents filed in connection with a civil lawsuit in Superior Court of California in Orange County, Angelino graduated from Al-Roda High School in Kuwait City, Kuwait, and is a U.S. citizen.

Sometimes referred to in court documents by the first name "Emad," Angelino lists on his resume degrees in electrical engineering from California State University, Fresno, and engineering management from the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Public government procurement records show that he has serviced tens of millions of dollars in federal contracts, supplying everything from sporting goods to turbine parts to police gear.

Angelino said APF is a separate entity, and that the only company he operates, Allied Defense Systems, has been in business since 2005.

He said that he had "no idea" why there are similarities between Web sites for his company and APF.

Angelino is named in state and federal civil lawsuits dating back to 2004, including one dispute stemming from a $17 million contract to provide police gear to U.S. troops and Iraqi police.

Owners of a business that employed Angelino got a temporary restraining order, and later an injunction, barring him from acting on behalf of the company, said Ira Rivin, an Orange County attorney for the plaintiffs.

"Our claim was that Mr. Angelino was attempting to take over the company for himself," Rivin said, adding that the case was settled on the day it was scheduled to go to trial. He did not disclose details of the settlement.

Angelino also was named in a federal civil suit in Kentucky filed by U.S. Cavalry, the distributor of police equipment in that same contract. Company executives declined to comment specifically on that case, which also was settled.

The complaint alleges that the company Angelino had managed failed to honor the terms of a joint-venture with U.S. Cavalry, resulting in additional costs and logistical complications.

In answers to both complaints, Angelino states that he was attempting to work with U.S. Cavalry to ensure compliance with an existing contract after his employers failed to follow through on promises to finance the deal.

U.S. Cavalry, a supplier for 35 years of uniforms and other gear for military and law enforcement, was able to successfully complete the contract, said Dennis Garvey, the company's chief operating officer.

Garvey said that a lack of oversight by overwhelmed federal supply-chain workers has created a gold rush to fulfill contracts for homeland security and in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Since 9/11, many small companies "became very proficient in tracking out contract opportunities and worrying later about how they were going to fulfill them," Garvey said, adding that many other small contractors are competent and reputable.

"But a lot of small companies, if they run into trouble and get caught not playing by the rules, can close down and open up under another name next week," he said.

"There's a lot of people attracted by all the money being spent, and the normal due diligence done on some contracts is often not as tightly controlled as you would expect," he said.

Posted in State-and-regional on Saturday, September 19, 2009 12:00 am | Tags: Hardin Jail

Alan Grayson on the Ed Schultz Show: Response Has Been "Overwhelmingly Positive"

Alan Grayson on Youtube

Montana attorney general probes secretive American Police Force

USA Today

Posted by Doug Stanglin at 10:57 AM/ET

We posted an item yesterday about a secretive California security company called American Police Force that was set to take over operation of a never-used jail in Hardin, Mont.

APF raised eyebrows in town after Mercedes SUVs belonging to the company arrived bearing decals that read, "City of Hardin Police Department."

The company, and the city's economic development arm that has negotiated a deal with APF, refused to give details about its plans, including where it expects to get prisoners to put in the jail.

Today comes word from The Billings Gazette, which has been following the story closely, that Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock has launched an investigation into APF to find out what's going on.

That came after the newspaper and the Associated Press published stories saying that Michael Hilton, the apparent founder of APF who claims to be a military veteran, has a lengthy criminal record and has served time in prison in California.

The attorney general has sent a nine-page demand letter to Becky Shay, a former Gazette reporter who is now spokesman for APF. The paper says Shay did not respond immediately to its inquiries.

According to the document, Bullock is launching a civil investigation to determine if APF is violating the Montana Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act.

Bullock is demanding that the company provide proof for some of the claims on its website, such as having contracts with the U.S. government and operations in all 50 states.

The newspaper says it has turned up no record of APF contracting with the federal government.

Bullock also requested a copy of the agreement between APF and Two Rivers Authority, the Hardin economic development arm that built the white elephant jail two years ago.

The Gazette also reports that the state's three-man congressional delegation and the governor have raised concerns about APF project.

(Photos: Left, of MIchael Hilton, and right, of police decal, by Matthew Brown, AP)

, October 02, 2009



Video compliments of KURL8.com,Billings MT

Rep. Alan Grayson sets Repugs straight on Health Care

GET SICK! DIE QUICKLY! Republican Health Care Plan Revealed



Rep Alan Grayson: Republicans Are "Knuckle-Dragging Neanderthals"





Yee haw* I've just been itchin to see what Grayson would say about universal healthcare. A day late and a dollar $hort, but still, I feel better just knowing that there's someone besides Dennis Kucinich with enough balls to confront these money grubbin, what should I call them? Lieberwienerman wannabees!

Is American Police Force a Blackwater Front Group?

~click to enlarge~

Exposed: American Police Force Is A Blackwater Front Group

Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Thursday, October 1, 2009

UPDATE: The American Police Force website page which clearly states that they run the Blackwater-controlled U.S. Training Center is back online here.

American Police Force, the paramilitary unit patrolling a small town in Montana, has been exposed as being a front group for the disgraced private military contractor Blackwater, now called “Xe”.

The American Police Force website, on a page that has swiftly been deleted but remains cached here, states that APF runs the “U.S. Training Center,” which proves “a wide range of instruction and training for all types of law enforcement organizations, from basic firearms training to complex SWAT tactics,” according to the website.

The Blackwater website carries on its contact page the following address, underneath the logo for U.S. Training Center.





So, I guess that the infamous Michael Hilton, or whoever he is, may be perhaps, a go between for XE, and the heroine, Becky Shay, is still the PR person for APF? ...Where does it go from here?

Only the shadow knows...G:

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