Not gonna play Guess That Party?
Mayor Sheila Dixon was indicted Friday on charges that she accepted illegal gifts during her time as mayor and City Council president, including travel, fur coats and gift cards that she allegedly used for a holiday shopping spree.
A grand jury indicted Dixon on 12 counts, including four counts of perjury and two counts of theft over $500. She was also charged with theft under $500, fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary and misconduct in office.
The State Prosecutor's Office, which has been investigating corruption at City Hall for nearly three years, said Dixon received holiday gift cards for four years from several people. Prosecutors said the gift cards were to be distributed to needy families, but were instead used by Dixon to buy herself electronics, clothes and other merchandise and also handed out to members of her staff. That's great. You stay classy, Sheila...
"I am being unfairly accused," Dixon said in a statement. "Time will prove that I have done nothing wrong, and I am confident that I will be found innocent of these charges."
Dixon said she would not step down. "I will not let these charges deter me from keeping Baltimore on the path that we have set, or from carrying forward the significant progress we have made thus far," she said. Her kids must still need a Wii...
Posted by: Fred ||
01/10/2009 00:00 ||
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I saw the first report on CNN around 2:45 PM Eastern time yesterday. They didn't mention her party affiliation then, either. I'm guessing Reform Party...
A lawsuit that accused Vice President-elect Joe Biden's youngest son and brother of cheating a business partner out of money has been settled, an attorney said Friday.
A stipulation of settlement in the case against Hunter Biden, a former Washington lobbyist and son of Delaware's senior senator, and James Biden, the senator's brother, was filed late last month in New York state court.
Nicholas Gravante Jr., an attorney for the Bidens, said Friday that the settlement terms are confidential. In their response to the complaint, the Bidens denied any wrongdoing.
The lawsuit was over an effort led by the Bidens to take control of hedge funds run by the Paradigm Companies. A partner in the deal, Anthony Lotito Jr., claimed that the Bidens negotiated their own deal behind his back and cheated him out of money.
James Biden had past financial dealings with Lotito, the lawsuit said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/10/2009 00:00 ||
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Eager to shift the course of the government's financial sector bailout fund, President-elect Barack Obama and congressional Democrats want to apply greater scrutiny and a more defined mission to the beleaguered $700 billion rescue program.
The House could act as early as next week on a new tack for the Troubled Asset Relief Program that would set tougher conditions on recipients of the money, including limits on executive pay, and require the Treasury Department to use some of the money to reduce mortgage foreclosures.
At the same time, Obama's selection for treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, is broadening the program's goals, aiming to unfreeze credit for homeowners, consumers, small businesses and local governments.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/10/2009 00:00 ||
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The House could act as early as next week on a new tack for the Troubled Asset Relief Program that would set tougher conditions on recipients of the money, including limits on executive pay, and require the Treasury Department to use some of the money to reduce mortgage foreclosures.
Ready to try anew tack Cap'n?
Yes, Ensign: Pass the Word: Abandon ship, prepare to scuttle.
SPRINGFIELD -- A potentially troublesome new detail emerged about Roland Burris' controversial U.S. Senate appointment Thursday after a state House panel voted unanimously to recommend Gov. Blagojevich be impeached.
For the first time, Burris indicated that he asked Blagojevich's former chief of staff and college classmate, Lon Monk, to relay his interest in the Senate seat to the governor last July or September. "If you're close to the governor, you know, let him know I'm certainly interested in the seat," Burris said he told Monk.
And just how much were you interested?
That testimony appears to differ from an affidavit Burris submitted to the impeachment panel this week in which he stated he spoke to no "representatives" of the governor about the Senate post prior to Dec. 26.
Federal prosecutors, who identified Monk as "Lobbyist 1" in their criminal complaint against Blagojevich, indicated they tapped Monk's phone in November as Blagojevich moved to fill President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat.
Whether the new Monk detail poses any threat to Burris' efforts to persuade Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to allow him to be seated isn't clear, but Republicans on the state impeachment panel see a contradiction.
"There is an inconsistency between his testimony and the affidavit," said state Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs). "I'll leave it to Sen. Reid to determine what value that has to their process."
Burris' lawyer, Timothy Wright, said it was improper to consider Monk a "representative" of the governor -- the language used in Burris' affidavit -- since Monk no longer was on the state payroll when he and Burris spoke last year.
Burris "was talking to him as a friend and expressing his interest," Wright said. "He wasn't talking to him as a representative of the governor."
Just friendship, that's all. It's the Chicago way ...
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) did not weigh in on whether Burris had passed the test to lay claim to the state's vacant Senate seat. "Roland Burris has now testified, and we will carefully review that testimony," Durbin said.
The full state House is expected to vote today on the panel's recommendation to impeach Blagojevich. Blagojevich's office blasted the 21-0 panel vote, calling the outcome a "foregone conclusion" and predicting a "much different" outcome in the state Senate, where a trial would be held. "The governor believes that the impeachment proceedings were flawed, biased and did not follow the rules of law," the Blagojevich statement said.
#1
Burris is retired and owes over 1 million smackers on previous campaigns.
Quite was run up running against Blagojevich.
I'm of the opinion it was a favor to an honest but broke pol. to alibi himself against charges he wanted to sell the office. (I gave it to a guy with no money... come on...)
At first glance, the town of Edwardsville, Ala., with a population of 194 people, might raise a few eyebrows with its bid to receive $375 million from the economic stimulus package being assembled by Barack Obama and lawmakers in Congress.
The tiny town, located near the Georgia border and 26 miles from the nearest "big city" of Anniston (population: 24,276), added 33 proposalsabout two thirds of them related to "green" energyto the list of "ready- to- go" projects assembled by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Total sum: $375,076,200.
That comes out to nearly $2 million per Edwardsville resident, although E. D. Phillips, the town's representative to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, says the projects would affect a wider region that comprises about 80,000 people. That number includes residents of nearby rural areas that aren't already incorporated into towns, along with the residents of Talladega Springs (population: 124), which partnered with Edwardsville and local municipal utilities on the projects.
There's certainly no denying that Edwardsville has big ambitions. Through the various proposals, which include a renewable energy museum, scenic railroad, and vineyards, these small Alabama communities envision themselves becoming a cutting-edge demonstration project for energy sustainability and a hub for tourism. Edwardsville. Come for the energy museum, stay for the hookworm...
"I know we look like some little Podunk town, and by the census, we are," Phillips says. "But we really think we've done some amazingly progressive things in the past two years." Our trailer parks now have that there e-lectricity...
The town's proposals began to develop more than two years ago, when Phillips and another town official became intrigued by the argument that renewable energy could create a rural renaissance. If any community needed economic revival, it was Edwardsvilleeven before the recession. At 28.7 percent, the town's poverty level was nearly equal to that of Nepal and more than twice the national average, according to the 2000 census.
Along with the more traditional proposals to replace streetlights with solar-powered lights (cost: $3,479,200), to install solar panels on the town hall (cost: $77,000), and to build solar-powered recharging stations for electric golf carts and vehicles (cost: $620,000), Edwardsville and Talladega Springs have assembled a set of even more far-reaching projects.
An outlay of $50.4 million, for example, would go toward installing water pipelines beneath roads to soak up the sun's rays, transferring heat. That technology is currently being used in the Netherlands, which found that while the cost of installation was double that of normal gas heating, the system halved the amount of energy required. And since sumbuddy else'll pay fer it, why not?
With big dreams, however, come big price tags.
"Do you know how hard it is to fund some of these projects when your tax base is so low?" Phillips says. "So we just breathed this sigh of relief when we found out about the stimulus package . . . especially when it had a focus on renewable energy." I had to buy me a new drool bucket...
Posted by: Fred ||
01/10/2009 00:00 ||
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Enterprise is a long way from Edwardsville. Still, I'd consider moving there if they can pull this off. I have a proposal to make high-quality fertilizer from horse and chicken poop and to capyure the methane to use for heating. A little bit of chemistry and I could make ethylene.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
01/10/2009 16:13 Comments ||
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain said on Friday that China was an all-weather friend to Pakistan and there was no need to worry as long as Beijing was there to support Islamabad.
The former premier had hosted a dinner in honour of Chinese Ambassador Lou Zhaohui being awarded the Hilal-e-Quaid-e-Azam, the highest civil honour in the country. Shujaat said that the award symbolised the extraordinary personal commitment of the ambassador and his efforts in cementing Sino-Pak relations. The ambassador said that China and Pakistan had enjoyed traditional friendship, while the leaderships of both countries had played their role in strengthening bilateral ties.
Sino-Pak friendship is sweeter than honey, higher than the Himalayas and deeper than the Arabian Sea. I just did my job and would leave no stone unturned in cementing these relations, he said.
The PML-Q and its leadership played a pivotal role in cementing people-to-people contacts while Shujaat and Mushahid also played a role in bridging ties between the PML-Q and the Communist Party of China. We hope for a bright future of Pak-China friendship, he added
Posted by: john frum ||
01/10/2009 07:37 ||
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Sino-Pak friendship is sweeter than honey, higher than the Himalayas and deeper than the Arabian Sea.
President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday conferred one of Pakistan's highest civilian honours on US Vice President-elect Joseph Biden in recognition of his "consistent support for democracy and socio-economic development" in the country.
The ceremony for conferring the Hilal-i-Pakistan award, which was held at the presidency here, was attended by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and US Ambassador Anne W Patterson.
The citation for the award said Biden was being recognised for his "consistent support for democracy and socio-economic development in Pakistan and for his outstanding contribution to the strengthening of US-Pakistan relations".
The citation for the award said Biden was being recognised for his "consistent support for democracy and socio-economic development in Pakistan and for his outstanding contribution to the strengthening of US-Pakistan relations"
Biden, as a Senator, co-sponsored the Biden-Kerry-Lugar legislation for expanding socio-economic aid to Pakistan USD 15 billion over next five fiscal years besides advocating an additional USD 7.5 billion over the subsequent five years. They get billions of our money, Joe gets a swell award. You're welcome, Joe...
The bill calls for tripling non-military aid to Pakistan to 1.5 billion dollars annually during 2009-13 while making military aid conditional on certification that Pakistani security forces were working to prevent al-Qaida and its allies from operating in Pakistan or launching attacks into Afghanistan from its territory.
Earlier on January 5, Zardari had conferred top civilian honour 'Hilal-i-Quaid-i-Azam' on US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher for his role in promoting "stable, broad-based and long-term" bilateral ties.
Posted by: john frum ||
01/10/2009 00:00 ||
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In some ways, it's like being decorated with a Red Star of Lenin by the Soviets.
#4
Pakistan gave the same Hilal(cresent)-i-Pakistan award to the Chinese ambassador, but it didn't do them much good as there was no cash coughed up. Guess they weren't as impressed by gaudy baubles as Joe is.
#5
USD 15 billion over next five fiscal years besides advocating an additional USD 7.5 billion over the subsequent five years.
So Biden proposes US aid pay for the entire defence budget of Pakistan ($4.4B in 2008). Is Pakistan covered under TARP (vast sums spent w/ no oversight or expectations of results).
Posted by: ed ||
01/10/2009 8:32 Comments ||
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$15 billion and he only gets a medal? Didn't learn much in the Senate.
#14
heard in a stage whisper: "I didn't know he was Asian?"
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/10/2009 16:11 Comments ||
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I was going to ask if we have to give Zardari the Presidential Medal of Freedom now, but I looked up who has gotten them during Bush's administration and there are a few that leave me depressed. For instance, in 2004:
Doris Day (actress and singer)
Estee Lauder (entrepreneur)
Rita Moreno (actress, dancer and singer)
Arnold Palmer (professional golfer)
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
