6/23/07

Citizen Journalism HuffPo Style

Any takers from Connecticut's Blogoshere in helping in this Citizen Journalism project to provide coverage of the election campaigns?
OffTheBus:
HuffPost's Citizen Journalism Project Gets A Name, and Gets Rolling Here's an update on the exciting new citizen journalism project Huffington Post is launching. Read More
Just a quick explanation of what they are hoping to accomplish from Arianna Huffington:
At the end of March, I told you about the exciting new citizen journalism project Huffington Post is launching in partnership with NYU professor Jay Rosen and his experimental site, NewAssignment.Net. (If you missed it, read about it here and here).

It's time for an update. For starters, the project now has a name and an expected birth date.

We're calling it Off The Bus (OffTheBus.Net), a name that captures the essence of what we're looking to accomplish. Our disparate mix of citizen reporters won't be part of the mainstream pack covering the campaigns -- and will come at it from a wide range of different angles and perspectives, adding a new dimension to campaign journalism. Click here to sign up to become one of them.

In my travels, I've heard so many people express dissatisfaction with the way campaigns are covered -- especially with the obsession with the horse-race aspect of modern politics. Instead of looking at which candidate has made the most interesting national security proposal or who the candidates surround themselves with as advisers, we get endless discussions of who's up, who's down, who's gaining traction, and who's losing it. In short, the majority of today's political coverage has become a dissection of the latest polls. Reporters have become every bit as poll-driven as candidates.


Some Weekend Waterloo For You


Via mgarthoff at MLW:
It's been 7 years and we've yet to hear a word of accountability or responsibility from George W. Bush about Iraq. I guess I'll just have to put the words in his mouth. Please watch my new video. It took months to make and takes 3 minutes to watch. Enjoy.




Go rate mgarthoff's fine youtube effort...

6/22/07

Another Abrahmoff Republican Lawyering Up

Caught like a deer in the headlights...



Via the Daily Muck:

Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) filed papers with the House of Representatives establishing a legal defense fund earlier this week.

Federal investigators stepped up their probe of Feeney's ties to Jack Abramoff in April. Abramoff brought Feeney along on one of his infamous golf junkets to Scotland, this one in 2003. Feeney was one among three lawmakers on the trip -- the other two were ex-Reps. Bob Ney (R-OH) and Tom DeLay (R-TX).

Can anyone spare a few bucks to support another poor Republican criminal?

6/21/07

Illegal Domestic Spying Showdown

Via Think Progress:
The Senate Judiciary Committee just voted 13-3 to authorize chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) to issue subpoenas for documents related to the NSA warrantless surveillance program. Sens. Arlen Specter (R-PA), Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) voted with the Democrats on the committee to authorize the subpoenas for any legal opinions and advice the Bush administration has received regarding the NSA program.

The Center on Democracy & Technology has released a list of the seven “most wanted surveillance documents.” See the full list here.

The confrontation over the documents “could set the stage for a constitutional showdown over the separation of powers.” The Senate Judiciary Committee had previously scheduled to authorize subpoenas last week, but Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) blocked the Judiciary Committee from voting on the subpoenas.

On May 21, the Senate Judiciary Committee made at least its ninth formal request for the documents, but the Justice Department continued its stonewalling.

As more and more comes out about the NSA warrantless wiretapping surveillance program's infringements on your rights to privacy, the evidence is slowly piling up against the illegal actions of the bush administration in a system that has been twisted and corrupted by the GOP and is just another chapter in the story of how the cabal known as the bush administration has left the Constitution and the Bill of rights lying tattered on the floor of the White House.

Bush is the new "Teflon President"

If by Teflon President you mean he is toxic to Americans:
Via Mother Jones

Congresswoman Pat Schroeder was scrambling eggs, one day back in 1984, when she coined one of the most durable political metaphors of our time. Her 1984 description of Ronald Reagan as "the Teflon President" became instant vernacular, attaching itself to everyone from "Teflon Tony" Blair to "Teflon Don" John Gotti.

It is all the more ironic, then, that our favorite metaphor for bad press that won't stick comes from a product whose toxic legacy will stick around forever. Teflon, it turns out, gets its nonstick properties from a toxic, nearly indestructible chemical called pfoa, or perfluorooctanoic acid. Used in thousands of products from cookware to kids' pajamas to takeout coffee cups, pfoa is a likely human carcinogen, according to a science panel commissioned by the Environmental Protection Agency. It shows up in dolphins off the Florida coast and polar bears in the Arctic; it is present, according to a range of studies, in the bloodstream of almost every American—and even in newborns (where it may be associated with decreased birth weight and head circumference). The nonprofit watchdog organization Environmental Working Group (ewg) calls pfoa and its close chemical relatives "the most persistent synthetic chemicals known to man." And although DuPont, the nation's sole Teflon manufacturer, likes to chirp that its product makes "cleanup a breeze," it is now becoming apparent that cleansing ourselves of pfoa is nearly impossible.

It is pretty apparent, given where they are finding the toxic effects, that both bush and Teflon are toxic to the entire world's population. (H/T cookie jill)

As a side note on this: If you are unfamiliar with the Environmental Working Group... They certainly deserve their day in the sun:

Via Dr. Z's Medical Report at Health Talk:

I’ve written a number of times about the importance of using sunscreen, and today there is important news about sunscreen products. An organization called The Environmental Working Group has released a report on their 18-month investigation of 783 sunscreen products with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or higher. And the results are shocking: “The analysis found that 84 percent of 785 sunscreen products with an SPF rating of 15 or higher offer inadequate protection from the sun’s harmful rays, or contain ingredients with safety concerns.”

The good news is that they also identified 128 products that offer very good sun protection with ingredients that present minimal health risks to users.

Because there are so many products involved, I can’t list either the “bad” ones or the “good” ones here. I urge you to visit the EWG Web site to get the full details.

They are a group that is doing some great work that the EPA should be doing (IMHO) but doesn't under the corrupt and coporate owned bush administration.

6/20/07

Think Joe, Sue and the DHS are keeping YOU safe?

Think again...

They can't even secure their own department, never mind you and I.

The Homeland Security Department, the lead U.S. agency for fighting cyber threats, suffered more than 800 hacker break-ins, virus outbreaks and other computer security problems over two years, senior officials acknowledged to Congress.

In one instance, hacker tools for stealing passwords and other files were found on two internal Homeland Security computer systems. The agency's headquarters sought forensic help from the department's own Security Operations Center and the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team it operates with Carnegie Mellon University.

In other cases, computer workstations in the Coast Guard and the Transportation Security Administration were infected with malicious software detected trying to communicate with outsiders; laptops were discovered missing; and agency Web sites suffered break-ins.

The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said such problems undermine the government's efforts to encourage companies and private organizations to improve cyber security.
Given their track record of exceptional oversight of homeland security, where real oversight is the exception, we are sure Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins will start to investigate what is going on. It is their job, ya know?
But the decision by Lieberman, the new chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, to back away from the committee's Katrina probe is already dismaying public-interest groups and others who hoped the Democratic victory in November would lead to more aggressive investigations of one of the White House’s most spectacular foul-ups.

Last year, when he was running for re-election in Connecticut, Lieberman was a vocal critic of the administration’s handling of Katrina. He was especially dismayed by its failure to turn over key records that could have shed light on internal White House deliberations about the hurricane, including those involving President Bush.

Asserting that there were “too many important questions that cannot be answered,” Lieberman and other committee Democrats complained in a statement last year that the panel “did not receive information or documents showing what actually was going on in the White House.”

And Joe supports more of this turning a blind eye to failure when he shows his support for Susan Collins re-election.
Susan Collins and Joe Lieberman have been complete and total failures at providing government oversight. They were -- and are -- the ranking Republican and Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that has done NOTHING to hold the Bush administration accountable for Iraq or Katrina or any other issue really.

Lieberman and Collins had the opportunity to rein Bush in -- and they didn't. They won't. They support Bush. They support his war in Iraq. No wonder Joe Lieberman thinks Collins is a great Senator. She's just like him.

How did we end up with this untenable situation? ctblogger has been keeping tabs on who is to blame:
Hugh Bailey nails it.
Local Democrats must be so proud. James Amann, Bill Finch, Paul Ganim: their hard work is going toward bringing control of the U.S. Senate back to Republicans.

Surprising no one, Sen. Joe Lieberman has announced he will campaign and raise money for his good friend Sen. Susan Collins, of Maine. Collins is a Republican, and if she wins next year, it could go a long way toward putting her party back in control of the Senate.

Elections have consequences. Congress is this year finally holding hearings and trying to get answers from a White House that rules by executive fiat. President Bush will be gone after next year's election, but investigators will be sorting through the wreckage of his presidency for years. Restoring to power a party dedicated to looking the other way is bad for the country.

[...]

Lieberman can argue that he's only repaying Collins' favor to him last year. It's true, she came to Connecticut and did what she could to help her fellow ranking member on the Senate's committee on homeland security. But for Collins, there was no downside. Win or lose, Lieberman or Ned Lamont, the Connecticut senator was going to caucus with the Democrats. Collins' seat, though, is a toss-up, and should she win, it could deal a severe blow to Democrats' chances of holding onto the Senate.

[...]

We'll never know what kind of senator Ned Lamont would have made, but we can be sure he wouldn't have spent time and money campaigning for Republicans. Elections have consequences, and all local Democrats who stuck with Lieberman and turned against their own party should be reminded of what their support has brought them — no oversight, no meaningful investigations from his committee and active support for Republicans. Thanks again, guys.

Don't forget those who stuck with Joe...don't EVER forget.

Tip to T-Party for the heads-up.

Lots of people in the Blogosphere are watching this irrational behaviour, and we will never forget:

When Bill Clinton rushed to Connecticut to try to save Lieberman's doomed bid for renomination, and then followed that up after the reactionary senator was defeated in the Democratic party by going on air with Larry King and equating the Lieberman and Lamont-- "My view is Connecticut is an unmitigated blessing for the Democrats because Lieberman has said if he wins he's going to vote with us to organize the Senate"-- low information voters in Connecticut got the signal that the race was no big deal. Now treacherous Democrats who supported or tacitly supported Lieberman-- Schumer, Reid, Obama, Clinton, Landrieu, Pryor-- have to contend with that treachery themselves. Landrieu has already felt the sting when Lieberman, as head of the committee dealing with Katrina reconstruction sided with the Bush Regime and left her almost certain to be defeated next year.

But helping the GOP defeat Landrieu isn't the only payback Lieberman has for Rove, Bush and Cheney for coming to his rescue in the general election last year. Even beyond voting with Republicans in the Senate over and over, and declaring he would likely endorse a Republican for president-- McCain, as big a warmonger as himself, being his first choice-- he has now started endorsing vulnerable Republican senators for re-election. His only consideration seems to be that they support Bush's Iraq occupation.
And that is why there is absolutely nothing bipartisan about Joe NEOCON Lieberman... Joe has one agenda, and one agenda only. WARMONGERING:

Last year, in the heat of the senate primary, I was talking to an old friend in Iowa and hastily summarized my disgust with Lieberman in one word: warmonger. My friend thought that my choice of words was particularly strong, which gave me pause. Was I being unfair to Lieberman? As is evident in the video above, from this past Sunday, apparently not.

So I ask a question that has already been answered: Is Joe Lieberman really a warmonger? Sadly, yes:

war·mon·ger noun
: one who urges or attempts to stir up war

But the problem here is that in order for Joe to work his warmonger's agenda he has to support candidates, and their policies, that have exhibited the highest levels of incompetence in their judgement and, often, have purposely failed to do their jobs of providing real oversight. Bush and Collins are examples of that unending support that Joe stretches well past what would be considered typically partisan behaviour and well into the realms of gross negligence in regards to providing security to our nation's citizens.

Bombing Iran, Joe? FUCK YOU WARMONGER!

Kicking you and your bush supporters off of the Department of Homeland Security Committee would certainly do more to improve our nation's security than any agenda you offer.

6/19/07

Republican Campaign Chairman Busted Distributing Cocaine

Via Josh Marshall at TPM, Rudy Giuiliani's campaign Chairman in South Carolina is busted for dsitributing coke:
Hmmmm. I'm used to Republicans getting indicted, but not for dealing coke.

SC State Treasurer Thomas Ravenel indicted for conspiracy to distribute crack.

A video of the pusher, Ravenel, endorsing his boss:



We always told you it was right-wing crack they were smoking. Proof positive that it is true.

[update] MSNBC has more details on this:
The investigation into Ravenel arose from a drug case last year in Charleston, Lloyd said. State Law Enforcement Division Chief Robert Stewart said his agents were aware of the allegations before Ravenel was elected in November, but didn't have enough information to pursue criminal charges until they turned the case over to the FBI in April.

Ravenel and Miller, who is in custody, each face on charge of distribution of cocaine, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

"The investigation is just beginning," Lloyd said.

Gov. Mark Sanford suspended Ravenel immediately based on the serious nature of the charge. The governor said he would name an interim treasurer soon.

Gov. Mark Sandford endorsed Ravenel for the Treasurer job in the last campaign.

As for his support of the Giuiliani campaign:
Scott Malyerck, Ravenel's spokesman, said his boss traveled with Giuliani, Gov. Mark Sanford and Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom in a fly-around geared to fiscal issues several months ago and became impressed with his views on spending, taxation and free trade.

"It's a matter of (compatible) philosophies," Malyerck said of the alliance.

There has been no comment from Giuliani or Sanford on whether Ravenel spent unusually long amounts of time the bathroom on the flight, or if they had a smoking section for them all to enjoy some right-wing crack together.

Abu Ghraib: The Unrated Story

Do not watch or click through on any of the links in this diary if you can't stomach torture, abuse, death, sexual abuse and degradation, etc. and NOT SAFE FOR WORK!

Sy Hersh has talked a bit about abuses at Abu Ghraib, but this time he gets the story from the General that investigatd the abuse, and General Taguba says that the investigation was blocked from going up the chain of command:
Taguba also knew that senior officials in Rumsfeld’s office and elsewhere in the Pentagon had been given a graphic account of the pictures from Abu Ghraib, and told of their potential strategic significance, within days of the first complaint. On January 13, 2004, a military policeman named Joseph Darby gave the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division (C.I.D.) a CD full of images of abuse. Two days later, General Craddock and Vice-Admiral Timothy Keating, the director of the Joint Staff of the J.C.S., were e-mailed a summary of the abuses depicted on the CD. It said that approximately ten soldiers were shown, involved in acts that included:

Having male detainees pose nude while female guards pointed at their genitals; having female detainees exposing themselves to the guards; having detainees perform indecent acts with each other; and guards physically assaulting detainees by beating and dragging them with choker chains.

Taguba said, “You didn’t need to ‘see’ anything—just take the secure e-mail traffic at face value.”

I learned from Taguba that the first wave of materials included descriptions of the sexual humiliation of a father with his son, who were both detainees. Several of these images, including one of an Iraqi woman detainee baring her breasts, have since surfaced; others have not. (Taguba’s report noted that photographs and videos were being held by the C.I.D. because of ongoing criminal investigations and their “extremely sensitive nature.”) Taguba said that he saw “a video of a male American soldier in uniform sodomizing a female detainee.” The video was not made public in any of the subsequent court proceedings, nor has there been any public government mention of it. Such images would have added an even more inflammatory element to the outcry over Abu Ghraib. “It’s bad enough that there were photographs of Arab men wearing women’s panties,” Taguba said.


Via Salon, and don't bother to click through if you don't have the stomach for this stuff, and needless to say NOT SAFE FOR WORK:

279 photographs and 19 videos from the Army's internal investigation record a harrowing three months of detainee abuse inside the notorious prison -- and make clear that many of those responsible have yet to be held accountable.

snip

The 10 galleries of photo and video evidence appear chronologically in the left column, followed by an additional Salon report on prosecutions for abuse and an overview of Pentagon investigations and other resources.

Although the world is now sadly familiar with images of naked, hooded prisoners in scenes of horrifying humiliation and abuse, this is the first time that the full dossier of the Army's own photographic evidence of the scandal has been made public. Most of the photos have already been seen, but the Army's own analysis of the story behind the photos has never been fully told. It is a shocking, night-by-night record of three months inside Abu Ghraib's notorious cellblock 1A, and it tells the story, in more graphic detail than ever before, of the rampant abuse of prisoners there. The annotated archive also includes new details about the role of the CIA, military intelligence and the CID itself in abuse captured by cameras in the fall of 2003.

News you will never see from American news reporters on American Networks:

(Do not watch if you can't stomach torture, abuse, death, sexual abuse and degradation, etc. and NOT SAFE FOR WORK!)

On Wednesday 16 February 2006, Australian public broadcaster SBS current affairs program DATELINE telecast a segment featuring 60 new photos of the torture inflicted on prisoners in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. These photos were secured by court order - the ACLU figures prominently in the report - but these photos haven't yet been shown in the media anywhere in the United States.

These files are all hosted on a server located in the United States to speed access for US viewers. If you do know how to use BitTorrent, please download the appropriate BitTorrent file and use that.



HIGH torrent: Link, MEDIUM torrent: Link, LOW torrent: Link


High download: Link, Mirror


Medium download: Link, Mirror


Low download: Link, Mirror



Like Chris shays said: "It isn't torture... It's just a sex ring."

Shays: "Then the next question is, well what has the US done? Well it has been accused of doing torture. That's what it's been accused of. Now I've seen what happened in Abu Ghraib, and Abu Ghraib was not torture, it was outrageous, outrageous involvement of National Guard troops from Maryland who were involved in a sex ring and they took pictures of soldiers who were naked. And they did other things that were just outrageous. But it wasn't torture."




If you think rape, fathers and sons being sexually humiliated together, or beating someone to death is part of typical sex, Shays, then I feel sorry for your family... Living with you must be torture.

6/18/07

The Dishonest CONservative Trap

Mike the Mad Biologist points to a few interesting diaries in his "Sunday Links" that are worth a read , But I wanted to excerpt a little from this one:

The most important thing to take away from all of this (IMHO) is at the end of Perlstein's diary, a capsulized version of some things Brad Delong has written, on honest and dishonest Conservative Bloggers and concerning how to rate their honesty and , more importantly, what argument to expect from many dishonest CONservative Bloggers down the road.

Finally, Brad runs a brilliant rant by John Emerson on the moral cunning of conservatives that eloquently expresses why we call conservatism "the big con." He explains how "honest conservatives of the class of 2007" - the ones who only thought to turn away from Bush when it became obvious both was destroying the Republicans and the conservative project and empowering the Demorats and the liberal project - will use the public's memory of Bush's disasters to, well, destroy the Democrats and the liberal project. And, most importantly, points out that the media will let them get away with it. Read it, tuck it in your memory file, and, two years hence, when President ClinEdwardsObamaTon finds him/herself forced to govern with his/her hands tied behind his/her back, remember you read it here (or, if your smart enough to read Brad, there) first:

I think that when the "honest conservatives" reject Bush they're just setting up their assault on the Democratic president they expect to see elected next year. Their way of digging themselves out from under the Bush disaster (and obscuring their own massive role in that disaster) will be to swear that "Never again can an American President be allowed that kind of free hand!" This will justify their fighting the new Democratic President tooth and nail for every inch of ground.

For example, Bush's politicization of the career staff in Justice and elsewhere was a very bad thing, no? And certainly this kind of thing has to stop, no? So we will forbid the new Democratic President to interfere with career personnel, with the result that all of the political hacks Bush put in civil service positions will be untouchable. (When that happens, can we expect the media to understand what's going on? No, of course not....)

Now that they've stolen the horse, they're going to lock the barn door. It's just like January 2001: once Bush was inaugurated, the media and the Republicans decided that sabotage by impeachment and Gingrichian nastiness are really very bad things after all.


This little trap is already hitting the wingnutosphere and it is something that we, in the left, must begin to confront head on before it sets into the right-tilted media dialogue and handcuffs left candidates from fixing many of the problems, caused by bush and their dishonest cheerleaders, once they take office.

There are now investigations into at least 20 government agencies that may have been illegally politicized by the criminal bush administration and we need arguments that will allow us to bring impartiality and true bipartisan ethics back to those agencies.

The Office of Special Counsel, which has already recommended that GSA chief Lurita Doan be suspended or fired for participating in partisan activities while on the job, is now moving forward with its investigation of nearly 20 other administration agencies.

Eighteen agencies have been asked by the Office of Special Counsel to preserve electronic information dating back to January 2001 as part of its government wide investigation into alleged violations of the law that limits political activity in federal agencies.

The OSC task force investigating the claims has asked agencies, including the General Services Administration, to preserve all e-mail records, calendar information, phone logs and hard drives going back to the beginning of the Bush administration. The task force is headed by deputy OSC special counsel James Byrne.

The White House has admitted that roughly 20 agencies have received a PowerPoint briefing created by Karl Rove’s office “that included slides listing Democratic and Republican seats the White House viewed as vulnerable in 2008, a map of contested Senate seats and other information on 2008 election strategy.”

Politicization of the federal government has been illegal for decades. The 1939 Hatch Act specifically prohibits partisan campaign or electoral activities on federal government property, including federal agencies. But in 2005, Ken Mehlman, formerly one of Bush’s top political advisers, outlined the White House’s strategy of utilizing government resources for partisan gain:

One of the things that can happen in Washington when you work in an agency is that you forget who sent you there. And it’s important to remind people that you’re George Bush people. … If there’s one empire I want built, it’s the George Bush empire. [One Party Country, p. 102]

With that imperial partisanship in mind, the Bush White House has engaged in an unprecedented quest to politicize the federal government, giving briefings and PowerPoint presentations everywhere from the Interior Department to NASA on how to secure Republican victories. Said one Interior Department manager, “We were constantly being reminded about how our decisions could affect electoral results” (One Party Country, p. 103). Bush loyalists in federal agencies have also helped generate millions for favored political candidates.


After bush and his incompetent and unethical administration are dumped in the '08 elections, the left cannot afford to be stuck in a position where we have conceded GOP talking points to the media that leave us unable to resolve these serious problems.

Just be careful what you write about this topic, as you certainly don't want to re-enforce this wingnutty GOP talking point.

6/17/07

One Million Blogs for Peace



The Pledge
I believe in the immediate withdrawal of all foreign combat troops from the nation of Iraq. I believe in using my blog, in whole or in part, as a tool toward this end.




The horrors of communist healthcare


You cannot believe my shock and disgust while reading about the horrors of communist healthcare over in that corner of Blogtopia. (Y,SCTP!)

You will be disguted too.

Republican Terrorist Partner Arrested in Spain?

Brian David Anderson was arrested in Spain in March, but you don't hear a thing as his ties to the card carrying Republican Al Qaeda terrorist Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari are going unreported in the American MSM. Hundreds of people defrauded, MILLIONS in fraud, terrorism ties, BUT nothing from the MSM.


Brian David Anderson was arrested in Spain in March. This guy was supposedly running a ponzi scheme and was picked up after defrauding hundreds of people out of millions of dollars.
A Canadian under investigation in British Columbia and Ontario for allegedly scamming millions from investors was arrested in Spain yesterday for his suspected role in financing terrorist training camps.

Spanish police said they had arrested businessman Brian David Anderson at a Madrid hotel for his alleged involvement in financing terrorist camps in Afghanistan.

The arrest followed a joint investigation led by the FBI, which arrested Mr. Anderson's business partner, Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari of New York, on terror financing charges last month.

Remember the Republican terrorist, Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari? (AKA Michael Mixon)

Ok... So the terrorism part first:

Terrorism charges brought Friday against the administrator of a loan investment program claimed that he secretly tried to send $152,000 to the Middle East to buy equipment such as night vision goggles for a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan.

Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari, 53, of Ardsley, N.Y., pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in Manhattan to an indictment accusing him of terrorism financing, material support of terrorism and other charges. The charges carried a potential penalty of 95 years in prison.
But would you really believe me if I told you he was a Republican?
CBS News has confirmed that Alishtari is a donor to the Republican Party, as he claims on his curriculum vitae. Alishtari gave $15,500 to the National Republican Campaign Committee between 2002 and 2004, according to Federal Election Commission records. That amount includes $13,000 in 2003, a year when he claims to have been named NRCC New York State Businessman of the Year.

Alishtari also claims to be a lifetime member of the National Republican Senate Committee's Inner Circle, which the NRCC describes as "an impressive cross-section of American society – community leaders, business executives, entrepreneurs, retirees, and sports and entertainment celebrities – all of whom hold a deep interest in our nation's prosperity and security."
The Republican party needs to be placed on "The List" of terrorist related organizations and watched very carefully.

It is pretty apparent that the FBI and Homeland Security are wasting their time watching us liberal/peacenik/Quaker/progressive/etc. types. Just ask Ken Krayeske...

Thank you to those that got this story moving originally. Raw Story, Crooks and Liars, and Josh Marshall, whose his readers have been dig, dig, digging.

snip

This story should have had legs of its own... What the heck was the NY Post doing trying to pass this guy off as a "Peace Activist"?

"A Westchester businessman and purported peace activist was nabbed by the feds for allegedly plotting to funnel more than $150,000 to terrorists at training camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan."
Peace activist my ass! This guy is so up to his eyeballs in the GOP and full of it.
As it turned out Alishtari actually donated more than the originally reported $15,500 to the Republican party coffers... About $35,000.00 in total.

Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari, indicted two weeks ago for financing terrorists in Afghanistan among other charges, gave more than $35,000 to Republican campaign committees, not $15,000 as was reported earlier.

A $20,000 contribution from Alishtari to the National Republican Senatorial Committee on August 29th, 2003, was not previously reported because his name was misspelled ("Allshtari") on the NRSC's disclosure form to the Federal Election Commission (unfortunately, such misspellings are fairly frequent). Alishtari's online CV stated that he was named an "Inner Circle Member for Life" of the NRSC.

As for Anderson's accused involvement in terrorism funding with the Republican terrorist, they haven't released much on that yet, but it appears like Alishtari may have been planning on using his ponzi scheme investments for more terrorist funding, "IF" I am reading this correctly:

The connection between Mr. Anderson's alleged investment scheme and terrorist financing surfaced at a hearing held on Feb. 26, when the commission introduced as evidence the U.S. allegations. The Ontario Securities Commission has also accused Mr. Anderson of violating provincial securities law.

snip

At least $25,000 was transferred from a New York bank account to an account in Montreal "with the intent that the funds be used to provide material support to terrorists," the U.S. prosecutors said, adding the money was to be used for, among other things, the purchase of night-vision goggles.

The indictment says Mr. Alishtari transferred the money "in exchange for payment," suggesting his alleged involvement in the scheme may have been motivated by profit rather than support for the terrorist cause.

The indictment also accuses Mr. Alishtari of committing a "massive fraud" by operating a loan program called the Flat Electronic Data Interchange, which was part of Mr. Anderson's Alpha Program.


Anderson supposedly used a pressure sales pitch and had reportedly tried to bilk people out of their money, sometimes as much as $125,000.00 from marks, in the "Alpha Program" in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, London and Portland, as well as in Canada.

I am wondering why we have heard so little of this card carrying Republican terrorist and his partner in crime in the American MSM considering the amounts of money and terorism charges involved?

Well, except for Keith Olberman on Countdown, (h/t ctblogger) who gave Alishtari the Bronze when his terrorist links first broke in February:



[update] Welcome to Crooks & Liars, Knoxviews, and Buzzflash readers that came by to check this out.

As was pointed out by standingup at EpluribusMedia: Anderson is a Baptist minister and it is notable that they targeted many Baptist parishoners to be fleeced in their ponzi scheme. But sadly, this doesn't follow the MSMs' carefully scripted storyline that the "The Democrats support Terrorists" and the crickets chirp all throughout the media.

Any more news on Paris Hilton? 'Cause the world really needs more of that. sigh