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HavenWorks.com/business/archive/2006 |
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- Business Archive
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Military
- 
Money
- 
Law
- 
Politics
- "Interior,
Pentagon Faulted In Audits: Effort to Speed Defense
Contracts Wasted Millions." ... "The Defense Department paid two procurement
operations at the Department of the Interior to arrange for Pentagon purchases
totaling $1.7 billion that resulted in excessive fees and tens of millions
of dollars in waste, documents show." ... "Defense turned to Interior,
which manages federal lands and resources, in an effort to speed up its
contracting. Interior is one of several government agencies allowed to
manage contracts for other agencies in exchange for a fee." ... "But the
arrangement between Interior and Defense "routinely violated rules designed
to protect U.S. Government interests," according to draft audit documents
obtained by The Washington Post." ... "More than half of the contracts
examined were awarded without competition or without checks to determine
that the prices were reasonable, according to the audits by the inspectors
general for Defense (DOD) and Interior (DOI). Ninety-two percent of the
work reviewed was awarded without verifying that the contractors' cost
estimates were accurate; 96 percent was inadequately monitored." ... "They
examined 49 deals and concluded that 61 percent had evidence of "illegal
contracts, ill advised contracts, and various failings of contract administration
procedures."" ... "The Interior inspector general said Defense "could have
used these monies to purchase as many as 50,000 sets of body armor to protect
our soldiers."" (1, 2,
3)
-By Robert O'Harrow Jr. and Scott Higham
-WashingtonPost
Iran
- 
UN
- Military
- 
Technology
- Business
- Politics
- "Iran
Is Defiant, Vowing to U.N. It Will Continue Nuclear Efforts."
... "Iran on Sunday reacted defiantly to the United Nations Security Council
resolution imposing sanctions because of the country's nuclear program.
Iranian officials vowed to continue efforts to enrich uranium and warned
that the Security Council action would change Iran's relationship with
the United Nations nuclear monitoring agency." ... "The Security Council
voted unanimously on Saturday to impose sanctions on Iran banning the import
and export of materials and technology used in uranium enrichment, reprocessing
and ballistic missiles." ... "The Security Council on Saturday requested
that Mohamed ElBaradei, director of the United Nations' nuclear monitoring
agency, report to the Council within 60 days on whether Iran had complied
and suspended its enrichment program." -By Nazila
Fathi -NYTimes
Noteworthy
- 
Japan- 
US
- 
World
- 
Auto
- Technology
- 
Workers
- Politics
- 
History
- 
Fuel
- "Toyota’s
Sales Projections Show It Surpassing G.M.." ... "Toyota
Motor said today it plans to sell 9.34 million vehicles next year, a figure
that analysts said would put it ahead of troubled General Motors as the
world’s largest auto company." ... "Toyota reported global group sales
this year of 8.8 million cars and trucks, below G.M.’s 2006 sales forecast
of 9.2 million vehicles. But the figures released today showed the two
rival car giants on starkly different trajectories, with Toyota expecting
to add a half million vehicle sales next year, at a time when G.M. is shuttering
plants and laying off workers." ... "Surpassing G.M. would be a crowning
achievement for Toyota, a company that got its start in the 1930s by reverse-engineering
G.M. and Ford cars, and that spent decades catching up with Detroit. It
would also end G.M.’s 81-year reign over the global auto industry, and
mark another step in the rise of Asian carmakers." ... "Analysts also said
reaching the top would not exhaust Toyota’s opportunities for growth. They
said Toyota will continue to gain in the American market, where higher
gas prices have increased the popularity of smaller, more fuel-efficient
vehicles." ... "Toyota’s rise would also prove a victory of sorts for its
unique corporate culture, the so-called Toyota Way, which is rooted in
an obsession with craftsmanship and constant improvement, or “kaizen.”"
-By Martin Fackler -NYTimes
Food
- Business
- Law
- 
GOV
- Science
- Consumer
- Politics-
"Outbreaks
Reveal Food Safety Net's Holes: Produce Growers Balk
At Calls for Regulation." ... "First it was spinach. Then tomatoes. Now
possibly green onions." ... "Over the past three months, fresh produce
has been the culprit in one episode of food-borne illness after another,
the latest an E. coli outbreak that appears to be linked to green onions
served at Taco Bell restaurants in the Northeast. More than 60 people have
been sickened in that outbreak." ... "The patchwork of federal and state
regulations that is supposed to ensure food safety has become less effective
as the nation's produce supply has grown increasingly industrial. Three
months after the spinach scare, there is no agreement on what should be
done to reduce health risks from the nation's fruits and vegetables even
as each episode of illness has heightened a sense of urgency." ... "The
number of produce-related outbreaks of food-borne illness has increased
from about 40 in 1999 to 86 in 2004, according to the Center for Science
in the Public Interest. Americans are now more likely to get sick from
eating contaminated produce than from any other food item, the center said."
(1,
2,
3)
-By Annys Shin -WashingtonPost
Tom
Anderson - 
Alaska
- 
Texas
- Prison
- Money
- Politician
- "Anderson
indicted on seven counts: Federal bribery case centers
on link to prison firm lobbyist." ... "[Alaska Republican] State Rep. Tom
Anderson pleaded not guilty Friday to a series of federal charges accusing
him of selling his legislative office for $12,828 in bribes from a lobbyist
representing private prison interests." ... "Anderson, a 39-year-old Republican
who has represented Muldoon's District 19 since he was elected in 2002,
was ordered freed Friday by U.S. Magistrate Judge John Roberts on an unsecured
$10,000 bond after his arrest Thursday by FBI agents. Roberts said Anderson
could travel to Mexico on a previously scheduled vacation next week with
his wife, Republican state Rep. Lesil McGuire, who was elected to the state
Senate in November, and their infant son." ... "The 18-page indictment
against Anderson said the lobbyist was secretly recorded July 21, 2004,
boasting that for a price, Anderson would be "our boy in Juneau [Alaska's
capital]."" ... "A week later, the same lobbyist was recorded telling a
confidential informant, "If I was a Soviet spy and I was looking for a
legislator to recruit, (Anderson) would be the one I'd get." Anderson "needs
the money," the lobbyist said." ... "The government didn't charge the lobbyist.
He is identified only by the letter "A," but the facts in the case point
to Bill Bobrick of Anchorage, who represented Cornell Companies [Inc. of
Houston, Texas], a private prison firm Outside." -By
Richard Mauer, Lisa Demer, and Tom Kizzia -ADN.com
Government
- Legislative
- Money
- Military
- 
Health
- Food
- 
Elderly
- 
Calif
- "Some
Republicans Take a Scorched-Hill Tack: Leaving Budget
Decisions To Democrats Could Disrupt New Leadership's Agenda." ... "Like
a retreating army, Republicans are tearing up railroad track and planting
legislative land mines to make it harder for Democrats to govern when they
take power in Congress next month." ... "Already, the Republican leadership
has moved to saddle the new Democratic majority with responsibility for
resolving $463 billion in spending bills for the fiscal year that began
Oct. 1. And the departing chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee,
Rep. Bill Thomas (R., Calif.), has been demanding that the Democrat-crafted
2008 budget absorb most of the $13 billion in costs incurred from a decision
now to protect physician reimbursements under Medicare, the federal health-care
program for the elderly and disabled." ... "The unstated goal is to disrupt
the Democratic agenda and make it harder for the new majority to meet its
promise to reinstitute "pay-as-you-go" budget rules, under which new costs
or tax cuts must be offset to protect the deficit from growing." ... "The
collapse of the appropriations process will be felt soon in the Justice
and Commerce departments, food-safety agencies and veterans' health care."
... ""It's a demonstration of the irresponsibility of Republicans that
they would leave this country with this mess," said the next House speaker,
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.). "But we won, we will deal with it."" -By
David Rogers -WSJ.com
Global
- 
Climate
- 
Ocean
- Animal
- Food
- 
Environment
- Science
- 
People
- Business
- Politics
- "Some
happy that a family film flaunts dire facts." ...
"Michael Hirshfield has long struggled to get across his earnest but wonky
message: that global warming and overfishing are killing off the oceans'
food supply." ... "Then, along came the animated movie "Happy Feet" and,
voila, tens of millions of youngsters -- and their parents -- across the
country are suddenly aware that man-made problems are threatening the penguins
near the South Pole, and almost everything else in the South Seas." ...
"The blockbuster film, the top box-office hit for the past three weekends,
is about emperor penguins struggling to survive with a depleted food supply,
and one tap-dancing penguin's epic search to learn what is causing the
colony's fish to disappear." ... "A study published recently in the journal
Science predicted that if overfishing of depleted seafood populations continued
at current rates, the world would run out of commercial stocks by 2048."
-By John Donnelly
-Boston/Globe
US
- 
Iraq
- 
Afghanistan
- Government
- Military
- Technology
- Money
- Politics
- People
- 
Flying
- Vehicles
- 
Alabama
- "U.S.
Army Battling To Save Equipment: Gear Piles Up at
Depots, Awaiting Repair." ... "Field upon field of more than 1,000 battered
M1 tanks, howitzers and other armored vehicles sit amid weeds here at the
15,000-acre Anniston Army Depot [Alabama] -- the idle, hulking formations
symbolic of an Army that is wearing out faster than it is being rebuilt."
... "The Army and Marine Corps have sunk more than 40 percent of their
ground combat equipment into the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according
to government data. An estimated $17 billion-plus worth of military equipment
is destroyed or worn out each year, blasted by bombs, ground down by desert
sand and used up to nine times the rate in times of peace. The gear is
piling up at depots such as Anniston, waiting to be repaired." ... "The
depletion of major equipment such as tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles,
and especially helicopters and armored Humvees has left many military units
in the United States without adequate training gear, officials say. Partly
as a result of the shortages, many U.S. units are rated "unready" to deploy,
officials say, raising alarm in Congress and concern among military leaders
at a time when Iraq strategy is under review by the White House and the
bipartisan Iraq Study Group." ... "Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, the Army's
chief of staff, is lobbying hard for more money to repair what he calls
the "holes" in his force, saying current war funding is inadequate to make
the Army "well." Asked in a congressional hearing this past summer whether
he was comfortable with the readiness levels of non-deployed Army units,
Schoomaker replied: "No."" ... "Despite the work piling up, the Army's
depots have been operating at about half their capacity because of a lack
of funding for repairs." -By Ann Scott Tyson
-WashingtonPost
US
- Government
- Iraq
- Military
- 
Intelligence
- 
Privacy
- Environment
- Health
- Seniors
- Drugs
- Oil
- Industry
- Legal
- History
- 
Missouri
- "Democrats
are set to subpoena: The new majority is expected
to hold hearings on military spending and the Iraq war -- just for starters."
... "[Missouri Democrat] Rep. Ike Skelton knows what he will do in one
of his first acts as chairman of the Armed Services Committee in the Democratic-led
House: resurrect the subcommittee on oversight and investigations." ...
"The panel was disbanded by the Republicans after they won control of Congress
in 1994. Now, Skelton (D-Mo.) intends to use it as a forum to probe Pentagon
spending and the Bush administration's conduct of the Iraq war." ... "With
control of every committee in Congress starting in January, the new majority
will inherit broad powers to subpoena and investigate. And that is expected
to translate into wide-ranging and contentious hearings." ... "The agenda
is likely to be dominated by the Iraq war, but could include probes into
the Bush administration's warrantless surveillance, environmental policies
and new prescription-drug program for seniors. Industries, such as oil
companies, could also come under closer scrutiny." ... ""This could be
remembered as a historically unique period in which an administration got
immunity from Congress to engage in errors with impunity," said Charles
Tiefer, a University of Baltimore law professor and a former House counsel."
... "Democrats are expected to bore into the Iraq war, including review
of no-bid contracts for reconstruction, intelligence failures and decisions
to ignore the advice of military commanders about troop levels." (1, 2)
-By Richard B. Schmitt and Richard Simon
-LAtimes
2006
Election - Government
- Money
- Abortion
- Health
- Stem
Cells - Science
- "GOP
already starts the 'blame game' over its big losses."
... "Dick Armey, former House majority leader and an architect of the Republicans'
1994 takeover of Congress, told National Public Radio's Diane Rehm that
the GOP had become the big government party. "They actually grew the government,"
he said." ... "The Republican Majority for Choice, a lobbying group for
Republicans who support abortion rights and embryonic stem cell research,
blamed the losses Tuesday on Iraq and "social extremism," Co-chairwoman
Jennifer Stockman said. "Moderates have been alienated for years. This
was the last straw."" -By Emily Bazar
-USATODAY
US
- Iraq
- Military
- People
- 
TV
- Money
- Oil
- Politics
- Japan
- 
New
York
- "Rupert
Murdoch -- who once predicted Iraq war could lead to $20/barrel oil --described
war casualties as "minute"." ... "On November 6,
News Corp. chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch reportedly said at a conference
in Tokyo [Japan] that U.S. casualties in Iraq, "by the terms of any previous
war are quite minute," as the weblog Democratic Underground noted.
He further stated: "I believe it was right to go in there. I believe that
certainly the execution that has followed that has included many mistakes.
But that's easy to say after the event." Murdoch, whose conservative media
empire includes Fox News Channel, the New York Post, and The Weekly
Standard, vocally supported the war in 2003, citing potential economic
benefits. As of November 3, according to CNN,
a total of 2,836 U.S. soldiers have been killed since the invasion of Iraq
in March 2003." -MediaMatters.org
2006
Election - Money
- Phone- Law
- "It's
a Candidate Calling. Again." ... "Republicans Deny
Subterfuge as Phone Barrages Anger Voters." ... "This year's heavy volume
of automated political phone calls has infuriated countless voters and
triggered sharp complaints from Democrats, who say the Republican Party
has crossed the line in bombarding households with recorded attacks on
candidates in tight House races nationwide." ... "Some voters, sick of
interrupted dinners and evenings, say they will punish the offending parties
by opposing them in today's [2006] elections. But critics say Republicans
crafted the messages to delude voters --especially those who hang up quickly
-- into thinking that Democrats placed the calls." ... "Democrats cited
federal records indicating that the NRCC recently spent about $600,000
in at least 45 contested House districts for robo-calls, which are among
the least expensive campaign tools." ... "Many voters hang up as soon as
a robo-call begins -- without waiting for the criticisms or the NRCC sign-off
at the end -- so they think it was placed by the Democratic candidate named
at the start, said Sarah Feinberg, spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional
Campaign Committee." ... "Democrats also cited Federal Communications Commission
guidelines saying the originators of automated calls must identify themselves
at the beginning of each call. Republican Party lawyers, however, said
the requirement does not apply to political nonprofit organizations. They
rebuffed a "cease and desist" letter sent yesterday by the DCCC." (1, 2)
-By Charles Babington and Alec MacGillis with contributions
by Jonathan Weisman, Dale Russakoff, and Michael Powell -WashingtonPost
Ney- 
Abramoff
- Money
- Politics
- 
Ohio
- "Ney
Says He’ll Resign From House." ... "Rep. Bob Ney,
facing certain expulsion from the House after being convicted of two felonies
in relation to the Jack Abramoff scandal, said on Friday he will resign
by the end of the day." ... "Ney’s corruption case was detailed in Justice
Department documents released in September, and they revealed a five-year
association with Abramoff that included taking trips to Scotland, luxury
sports suite tickets and gambling chips from a foreign businessman." ...
"In return for these favors, Ney tried to give Abramoff clients favorable
treatment." ... "In the plea document, Ney says he accepted free trips,
including a $160,000 excursion to play golf in Scotland in 2002; a $7,200
gambling vacation in New Orleans in 2003; and a $3,500 vacation in Lake
George, N.Y., that same year, with lobbyists picking up the tab in each
case." ... "Ney also accepted thousands in gambling chips at a British
casino. He had a staffer carry $5,000 in cash through U.S. Customs so he
wouldn’t have to report tens of thousands in winnings from the casino."
-By Martin Kady II -CQ.com
Gay
- Military
- 
Entertainment
- Money
- Law
- "RNC
Accepts Money From Army Porn Movie Distributor."
... "Despite running an attack ad accusing a Democratic senatorial candidate
of accepting money from "porn movie producers," the Republican National
Committee itself has accepted several donations over the past few years
from the president of a large pornographic movie distribution company."
... "Marina Pacific Distributors calls itself "the leader in adult video
distribution." Included in the movies for sale on their Web site are videos
made by "Active Duty Productions." Active Duty, as their name suggests,
has cast active duty soldiers in some of their films but not without serious
consequences for the soldiers." ... "Three Fort Bragg soldiers were found
guilty and sentenced to prison in separate courts-martial earlier this
year for appearing in pornographic videos made by Active Duty." -By
Maddy Sauer -ABCNEWS.com
Sherwood
- Secret
- Money
- Politics
- 
Pennsylvania
- Election
2006 - "Rep.
paying ex-mistress about $500K." ... "A Republican
congressman [Don Sherwood of Pennsylvania] accused of abusing his ex-mistress
agreed to pay her about $500,000 in a settlement last year that contained
a powerful incentive for her to keep quiet until after Election Day, a
person familiar with the terms of the deal told The Associated Press."
... "The settlement, reached in November 2005, called for Cynthia Ore to
be paid in installments, according to a person who spoke on condition of
anonymity because the deal is confidential. She has received less than
half the money so far, and will not get the rest until after the Nov. 7
election [2006], the person said Thursday." ... "A confidentiality clause
requires Ore to forfeit some of the money if she talks publicly about the
case, according to this person and two other people familiar with elements
of the case." -By Michael Rubinkam
-AP via -Yahoo
Energy
- Money
- Politics
- 
Accounting
- 
MA
- "U.S.
Drops Bid Over Royalties From Chevron." ... "The
Interior Department has dropped claims that the Chevron Corporation systematically
underpaid the government for natural gas produced in the Gulf of Mexico,
a decision that could allow energy companies to avoid paying hundreds of
millions of dollars in royalties." ... "The agency had ordered Chevron
to pay $6 million in additional royalties but could have sought tens of
millions more had it prevailed. The decision also sets a precedent that
could make it easier for oil and gas companies to lower the value of what
they pump each year from federal property and thus their payments to the
government." ... "The reversal in the case, which involves Chevron’s accounting
of natural gas sales to a company it partly owned, has renewed criticism
that the Bush administration is reluctant to confront oil and gas companies
and is lax in collecting royalties." ... "In return for the right to drill
on federal lands and in federal waters, energy companies are required to
pay the government a share of their proceeds. " ... "Administration officials
knew that dozens of companies had incorrectly claimed exemptions from royalties
since 2003, but they waited until December 2005 to send letters demanding
about $500 million in repayments." ... "In February, the Interior Department
acknowledged that oil companies could escape more than $7 billion in payments
because of mistakes in leases signed in the 1990s." ... "In addition, four
government auditors last month publicly accused the Interior Department
of blocking their efforts to recover more than $30 million from the Shell
Oil Corporation, the Kerr-McGee Corporation and other major companies."
... "“This latest revelation proves that the Bush administration is incapable
of preventing big oil companies from cheating taxpayers,” said Representative
Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts, a senior Democrat on the House Committee
on Resources. “The public has been systematically fleeced out of royalties
that these companies owe for the privilege of drilling for oil and gas
on lands belonging to all of us.”" (1, 2)
-By Edmund L. Andrews
-NYTimes
US
- 
Italy
- 
Weldon
- Government
- Military
- Money
- Pennsylvania
- "Italian
Arms Contractor and a Pennsylvania Congressman Share Close Ties."
... "In November at the five-star Hotel Splendido overlooking the harbor
in Portofino, a playground of the Italian rich, [Pennsylvania Republican]
Representative Curt Weldon was the center of attention." ... "The second-ranking
Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, Mr. Weldon was a main
speaker at a conference sponsored in part by the Italian military giant
Finmeccanica. At the gathering of Italian, British and American political
leaders, Mr. Weldon, of Pennsylvania, spoke on behalf of Italian arms makers
who were seeking a bigger share of Pentagon contracts." ... "Taxpayers
paid for Mr. Weldon’s stay. He received a $1,153 daily expense allowance
from the federal government and flew over on a military jet." ... "For
Mr. Weldon, the conference was a victory lap. After several years of promoting
Italian military contractors, the Italians had scored some big victories
at the Pentagon. But Mr. Weldon’s efforts were equally beneficial for his
district, his family, his friends and his campaign coffers." ... "His daughter
Kim, 29, a former social worker, was hired by AgustaWestland, the Finmeccanica
subsidiary that won the Marine One contract, shortly after her father’s
speech in Portofino. Kim Weldon’s work is to set up booths at trade shows
and perform public relations." ... "More than 10 Americans at Finmeccanica
subsidiaries in the United States, along with their spouses, were among
the biggest contributors to Mr. Weldon’s campaign in 2006. Their combined
donations of $20,400 edged out donations from American giants like Boeing
and Lockheed Martin." -By Leslie Wayne with contributions
by David Johnston -NYTimes
Ken
Calvert
- 
Gay
- Government
- Transportation
- 
Real
Estate - Money
- Law
- California
- "Running
for Their Lives." ... "Ken Calvert, a Republican
representative from California, was caught in a car with a prostitute during
his first term but, after putting out campaign literature implying that
his Democratic opponent was gay, held on to his seat. Last year Calvert
and a business partner bought a four-acre parcel of land in Riverside County
for $550,000; after securing federal funds for the expansion of a nearby
freeway interchange, along with federal money to support commercial development
in the area, they sold the property for nearly $1 million. But Democrats
say they are not running a serious challenger against Calvert, because
the seat leans strongly Republican." -By Juliet Eilperin
-TheAtlantic.com
Money- Consumer
- History
- "Exxon
Mobile posts $10.49B profit." ... "Oil industry behemoth
Exxon Mobil Corp. said Thursday its third-quarter earnings rose to $10.49
billion, the second-largest quarterly profit ever recorded by a publicly
traded U.S. company." ... "The report comes as high crude prices this year
have fueled record profits in the oil industry, triggering an outcry from
consumers who were being asked to pay about $3 a gallon for gasoline in
early August." ... "The largest quarterly profit ever was Exxon Mobil's
$10.71 billion profit in the fourth quarter of 2005." ... "They may beat
that next quarter, said Howard Silverblatt Standard & Poor's Senior
Index Analyst. "Then in all likelihood they will be at that $40 billion
mark for the year." That would put the company on track for the highest
annual profit ever by a U.S. company. Exxon Mobil holds that record with
a 2005 profit of $36.1 billion." -By Steve Quinn
-AP via -DenverPost.com
Renzi
- Phoenix
- 
Arizona
- Real
Estate - Money
- Politics
- 
Law
Enforcement - "Lawmaker's
Influence in Land Deals Probed." ... "U.S. prosecutors
in Arizona have opened a preliminary investigation into whether [Republican]
Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) twice pressured landowners to buy a 480-acre
parcel owned by his former business partner, a major backer of Renzi's
political campaign, according to federal law enforcement sources." ...
"The deal ultimately netted the business partner a $3 million profit, according
to Arizona land records." ... "The Arizona transaction has drawn the interest
of the U.S. attorney's office and the FBI's Phoenix field office. Three
law enforcement officials said both are investigating Renzi's involvement
in two land deals -- one of which was not completed -- designed to put
the 480 acres under federal protection from development in exchange for
land more fit for commercial development." ... "According to sources, the
investigation is focusing on whether, in exchange for political contributions
and business support, James Sandlin received special treatment from Renzi
for a parcel of land that earned him a $3 million profit." ... "Sandlin
bought into Renzi's real estate firm in 2001, then paid about $200,000
for half the business and, after he was elected to Congress, $1 million
to $5 million for the rest." ... "Investigators want to know whether Renzi
twice attempted to arrange deals for Sandlin, including once by proposing
legislation, two sources with knowledge of the investigations said." -By
Jonathan Weisman and Dan Eggen -WashingtonPost
Renzi
- Arizona
- Legislation
- Politics
- International
- Money
- 
Family
- Military
- Communications- 
Virginia
- "Congressman
From Arizona Is the Focus of an Inquiry." ... "Federal
authorities in Arizona have opened an inquiry into whether [Arizona Republican]
Representative Rick Renzi introduced legislation that benefited a military
contractor that employs his father, law enforcement officials said Tuesday."
... "Mr. Renzi, 48, a Republican who represents the First Congressional
District, is a former insurance executive and real estate investor who
was first elected in 2002. Almost from the start, he has been a target
of citizen watchdog groups who have accused him of ethical laxity in office."
... "Law enforcement officials said that the most serious accusation involved
Mr. Renzi’s sponsorship of legislation in 2003 that appeared to indirectly
benefit the ManTech International Corporation, a communications company
based in Virginia that employs Mr. Renzi’s father, Eugene, a retired Army
general, as executive vice president." -By David Johnston
-NYTimes
Renzi
- Arizona- Real
Estate - Money
- Politics
- Government
- Legislation
- "Officials
scrutinize Ariz. land deal." ... "A land deal involving
Rep. Rick Renzi, R-Ariz. [Republican-Arizona], is being scrutinized by
the U.S. attorney's office in Arizona, a law enforcement official in Washington
said Tuesday." ... "Records and officials involved in the October 2005
deal say Renzi helped promote the sale of land that netted a former business
partner $4.5 million." ... "The property eventually was to be part of a
swap in which potential buyers could exchange it for land owned by the
federal government. And while Renzi's business partner, James Sandlin,
made money off the land sale, Renzi never introduced legislation in Congress
to complete the swap for the new owners." ... "State records indicate that
Renzi and Sandlin were partners in a real estate development firm dating
back to at least 2002. It is unclear whether the two still have a business
relationship." -By Jennifer Talhelm with contributions
by Arthur H. Rotstein -AP
via -BostonGlobe
Secret
- 
Electronic
- Voting
Machines - Company
- Hackers
- Technology
- Election
2006 - Politics
- 
Maryland
- "Electronic
Voting Machines Could Skew Elections: Researchers,
Candidates Have Little Confidence in Machines Designed to Make Elections
Easier to Call." ... "Cheryl Kagan, a former Maryland Democratic legislator,
was shocked when she opened her mail Wednesday morning." ... "Inside, she
discovered three computer discs. With them was an anonymous letter saying
the discs contained the secret source code for vote-counting that could
be used to alter the votes cast through Maryland's new electronic voting
machines." ... ""My understanding is that with these disks a malicious
person could skew the outcome of an election," Kagan said." ... "Diebold,
the company that makes the voting machines, told ABC News, "These discs
do not alter the security of the Diebold touch-screen system in any way,"
because election workers can set their own passwords." ... "But ABC News
has obtained an independent report commissioned by the state of Maryland
and conducted by Science Applications International Corporation revealing
that the original Diebold factory passwords are still being used on many
voting machines." ... "The SAIC study also shows myriad other security
flaws, including administrative over-ride passwords that cannot be changed
by local officials but can be used by hackers or those who have seen the
discs." (1, 2)
-By Jake Tapper, Rebecca Abrahams, and Eduardo Sunol
-ABCNEWS.com
John
E Sweeney - 
Jack
Abramoff - 
Tony
Rudy - Politician
- 
Trip
- 
Northern
Mariana Islands - US
- New
York - Law
US
- 
Russia
- Weldon
- Family
- Government
- Money
- Law
- Energy
- Politics
- Pennsylvania
- "Weldon's
Ties to Serbian Businessman Part of Probe." ... "Officials
at the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade were surprised three years ago to be invited
to a luncheon in honor of visiting Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa. [Republican-Pennsylvania]),
hosted by Bogoljub Karic, a wealthy Serbian businessman who had been barred
from visiting or trading with the United States because of his close ties
to former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic." ... "Weldon "was visiting
solely because of Karic," whom he was trying to get off the U.S. blacklist,
a former senior embassy official familiar with the visit concluded. "It
seemed odd" at the time, because Karic had no obvious tie to Weldon's district
outside Philadelphia [Pennsylvania], and Weldon should have known the embassy
was shunning contacts with him, the official said." ... "What the embassy
apparently did not know is that the Karic family that year signed a contract
with Weldon's daughter, Karen, and a business partner that called for monthly
payments of $20,000 for "management, government and public relations,"
according to a copy of the March 2003 contract. In all, the family paid
Karen Weldon's firm $133,858 that year for efforts she undertook to set
up a foundation for it." ... "Curt Weldon's visit and that deal are under
investigation by the FBI, according to a law enforcement source familiar
with the probe. His efforts to assist clients of his daughter's consulting
firm in their dealings with the federal government are the focus of that
probe, according to sources familiar with it." ... "Besides looking at
Weldon's Karic connection, the FBI is examining the lawmaker's contacts
with a Russian-managed oil and gas company, Itera International Energy
Corp., the sources said." (1,
2)
-By R. Jeffrey Smith and Carol D. Leonnig -with contributions
by Lucy Shackelford and Madonna Lebling -WashingtonPost
US
- Government
- Money
- Politics
- Legislators
- Election
2006 - TV
- 
Radio
- Ads- 
Washington
- Virginia
- 
Indiana
- 
Connecticut
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Military
- "Dems
using hourly wage issue against GOP rivals." ...
"Democratic challengers in more than two-dozen House and Senate races are
attacking Republicans in Congress for taking pay raises while voting against
a minimum wage increase." ... "The attacks are contained in television
and radio ads running from Washington state to Virginia. In some races,
such as House contests in Indiana and Connecticut, Democrats also link
pay raises to Republican votes against combat bonuses for U.S. troops fighting
in Iraq and Afghanistan." ... "Most members of Congress currently earn
$165,200 a year; top leaders earn more. That's $31,600 more than in 1997,
when the federal minimum wage was raised to the current $5.15 an hour.
Unless legislators act during a lame-duck session after [2006] Election
Day, lawmakers who will be part of the Congress that convenes in January
will get an automatic 2% raise to $168,504." -By Andrea
Stone -USATODAY
US
- Russia
- Energy
- Weldon
- Money
- Law
- Politics- PA
- 
Florida
- "FBI
raids four homes, two offices in Weldon probe." ...
"FBI agents investigating U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon (R., Pa. [Republican, Pennsylvania])
conducted six raids this morning - including at the homes of his daughter
and a longtime friend." ... "In Center City [Pennsylvania], agents searched
the law office of John Gallagher, a Weldon friend who has conducted extensive
business in Russia and former Soviet Republics." ... "In Media [Pennsylvania],
agents searched the offices of the public relations firm formed by Weldon's
longtime friend Charles P. Sexton Jr., and the congressman's daughter,
Karen." ... "Sexton and Karen Weldon formed Solutions North America in
2002, and won $1 million in contracts from two Russian energy firms and
a Serbian family with ties to Slobodan Milosevic." ... "FBI agents in Jacksonville,
Fla. [Florida], raided the office of one of the Russian energy firms, Itera,
and a private residence whose connection to the investigation was not disclosed."
... "" -By John Shiffman, Mitch Lipka and Patrick
Kerkstra -Philly.com
Government
- 
Terrorism
- Prisons
- Law
- Enforcement
- Money
- Politics
- 
Colorado
- "Supermax
Staffing Too Low To Be Safe: Arbitrator Finds Problems
At Prison That Holds Moussaoui, Unabomber." ... "Staffing at the Supermax
prison has gotten so low that job hazards have increased for correctional
officers watching over the nation's worst terrorists, an arbitrator has
ruled." ... "The arbitrator stopped short of ordering the Bureau of Prisons
to hire more staff, but union officials representing Supermax officers
said the ruling would bolster their argument to Congress for more prison
funding." ... ""If the most maximum security federal penitentiary is indeed
understaffed, what is happening across the entire Bureau of Prisons as
far as staffing levels?" asked [Colorado Democrat] state Rep. Buffie McFadyen,
who testified for the union at an arbitration hearing in May. Her district
includes Supermax and 11 other state and federal prisons."
-AP via
-CBSNews
Abramoff
- Norquist
- 
Rove
- Money
- Government- 
Newspaper
- Op-Ed
- Politics
- "Report
Says Nonprofits Sold Influence to Abramoff." ...
"Five conservative nonprofit organizations, including one run by prominent
Republican Grover Norquist, "appear to have perpetrated a fraud" on taxpayers
by selling their clout to lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Senate investigators
said in a report issued yesterday." ... "The report includes previously
unreleased e-mails between the now-disgraced lobbyist and officers of the
nonprofit groups, showing that Abramoff funneled money from his clients
to the groups. In exchange, the groups, among other things, produced ostensibly
independent newspaper op-ed columns or news releases that favored the clients'
positions." ... "Officers of the groups "were generally available to carry
out Mr. Abramoff's requests for help with his clients in exchange for cash
payments," said the report, issued by the Senate Finance Committee." ...
"The Senate report released yesterday states that the nonprofit groups
probably violated their tax-exempt status "by laundering payments and then
disbursing funds at Mr. Abramoff's direction; taking payments in exchange
for writing newspaper columns or press releases that put Mr. Abramoff's
clients in a favorable light; introducing Mr. Abramoff's clients to government
officials in exchange for payment; and agreeing to act as a front organization
for congressional trips paid for by Mr. Abramoff's clients."" ... "The
report bolstered earlier revelations that Abramoff laundered money through
the nonprofits to pay for congressional trips and paid Norquist to arrange
meetings for Abramoff's clients with government officials including White
House senior adviser Karl Rove." (1, 2)
-By James V
