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Post-Fukushima 'anti-radiation' pills condemned by scientists George Monbiot and Justin McCurry in Tokyo guardian.co.uk, Monday 21 November 2011 16.59 GMT Article history Green party distances itself from Dr Christopher Busby, a former spokesman promoting products following Japanese nuclear disaster The Green party's former science and technology spokesman is promoting anti-radiation pills to people in Japan affected by the Fukushima nuclear disaster, that leading scientists have condemned as "useless". Dr Christopher Busby, a visiting professor at the University of Ulster, is championing a series of expensive products and services which, he claims, will protect people in Japan from the effects of...

"In the first place God made idiots. This was for practice. Then he made school boards." In 1897 Mark Twain wrote that and it came to mind last week as I read former Cardiff School Board member, Francine Busby's editorial criticizing Rep. Brian Bilbray for supporting an effort to hold public schools in California accountable for the progress, or lack thereof, made by students with learning disabilities. She said, "One of the most-needed changes (is the need to) waive the requirement that test scores for students with learning disabilities … be included in determining the overall performance of a school."...

FORUM: Representatives need to support schools By: FRANCINE BUSBY In "Some schools excel, fail simultaneously" (Oct. 4), reporter Stacy Brandt exposed the no-win situation that our public schools have faced since the inception of "No Child Left Behind." ...thus allowing some schools to succeed under state standards, while they fail under the federal provisions of "No Child Left Behind." Every public school in the US is guaranteed to fail under "No Child Left Behind" because of the impossible goal of having every child performing at grade level by 2014. 20 high-performing schools in North County have already been classified as...

ENCINITAS — A fundraiser for Francine Busby, who is running for U.S. Congress, ended in chaos Friday night when sheriff's deputies responded to noise complaints and the party's hostess was arrested. Shari Barman, 60, was booked into Vista jail on suspicion of obstructing a peace officer and battery on a peace officer. She later was released. A court appearance has been set for Aug. 11 in Vista Superior Court. Busby, who spoke at the private reception, said the event was “no different” from hundreds of parties and fundraisers that she has attended. “This incident is regrettable because it was...

Here Are The Results of SurveyUSA Election Poll #10639 Geography Surveyed: CA 50th CD Data Collected: 11/01/2006 - 11/03/2006 Release Date: 11/04/2006 11:25 AM ET Sponsor: KGTV-TV San Diego Never Mind; Busby Fades at the Finish & Bilbray Holds CA50 for Republicans: Polling exclusively for KGTV-TV San Diego, SurveyUSA wrote on 9/13/06 that CA50 was "safe" for the GOP. Republican Brian Bilbray at that time had a 14 point lead, and appeared to be out of reach. Then, on 10/16/06, in the middle of the media coverage of Mark Foley, Democrat Francine Busby closed to within 2 points in SurveyUSA...

Just over three months ago, the special election to fill the vacancy left by congressman-turned-inmate Randy “Duke” Cunningham was a political rock concert. It was national news, big money poured in from both parties and Washington pundits touted it as a barometer of the national mood. That was then. 50TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT BY THE NUMBERSVoter registration: 44 percent: Republican 30 percent: Democratic 22 percent: Decline to state Republican Brian Bilbray won that June contest, defeating Democrat Francine Busby by slightly more than 4.5 percentage points. A comfortable margin, but not commanding, considering the Republican Party spent $5 million on Bilbray's...

Speaker of the House Nullified San Diego Congressional Race It appears the US media overlooked one of the great political stories of the year. In what is becoming something of a pattern, here’s a brief chronology: On June 6, 2006 Republican Brian Bilbray allegedly slightly outpolled Democrat Francine Busby in the special election for California’s 50th Congressional District, despite Busby’s lead in the polls going into the election. There were immediate cries of foul following the election due to major irregularities, including electronic voting machines sent out to the homes and cars of volunteers for up to 12 days prior...

Late Wednesday afternoon, a "Manual Hand Count Request under the Election Recount Provision" was filed at the San Diego County Registrar of Voters office by CA-50 voter Barbara Gail Jacobson. The request is for a full manual hand count of all paper ballots and paper trails in the recent June 6th Busby/Bilbray special U.S. House election in which programmed, election-ready Diebold voting machines were sent home with poll workers for days prior to the election in apparent violation of new laws and provisions by both state and federal authorities. As California state election code requires that a candidate be named...

Brad Friedman Added to homepage Sun 18th Jun 2006, 09:43 AM No Confidence in the Busby/Bilbray Election I don't know how else to put it, but every voting machine used in last week's special election run-off for the U.S. House seat vacated by the disgraced Randy "Duke" Cunningham in California's 50th congressional district was illegal. By federal standards, rules and provisions and by California state rules, laws and provisions. And now, by the San Diego County Registrar of Voters own admission. More Discuss this topic (22 comments) · Posted by Wilms

When is a loss really a win? It's a common practice, trying to spin a political defeat into a victory. But in the case of the race to fill Randy "Duke" Cunningham's seat in the House of Representatives, the silver lining might not be that hard to find. snip NOW PAC organizers worked on the Busby campaign, reaching out to voters across the county. The NOW PAC put Hays in San Diego prior to the April 11 Special Election, and sent her and another organizer Monely Soltani there again in late May to work on the run-off vote, held concurrently...

This was one of the more politically significant weeks in recent history. A recap of the winners and losers: Click here

After a Republican victory in the hotly contested House runoff election, political analysts are pointing to a single sentence in a campaign ad as a key factor in the final days of the race. Democrat Francine Busby, accused during the campaign of taking a soft line on illegal immigration, was told by a man at a largely Hispanic rally that he wanted to help her campaign but didn't have voting papers. The man spoke in Spanish through an interpreter. Busby responded in English: "Everybody can help. You can all help. You don't need papers for voting, you don't need to...

Stop measuring for drapes, Nancy. If Democrats can’t win a special election for a seat left open by the guilty plea of a senior Republican congressman for bribery in a political environment that can politely be described as more sour than milk left on the counter for a week, how can they expect to win back control of the House of Representatives, handing the speakership to Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)? Democrats are claiming the fact that the Republican Party had to spend $5 million to assure victory for former Rep. Brian Bilbray in California’s GOP-friendly 50th congressional district is a sign...

The results from California's 50th district are now in - and Republican Brian Bilbray has defeated Democrat Francine Busby in the contest to complete the tenure of Duke Cunningham. This was Busby's third try at seizing the seat. She is now 0-for-3. The two will face off again in November, but it seems highly likely that the GOP will hold the seat.Pundits and partisans across the land have examined the returns to divine some kind of meaning from them. What did the voters tell us? Many answers have been offered - not all of them valid. Many people have seen...

A Republican won a special congressional election in Southern California yesterday – so why does the Times make it sound as if the Republicans got beat? Chief political reporter Adam Nagourney’s online filing Wednesday morning on last night's electoral victory by Republican Brian Bilbray begins: “A Republican former congressman slipped to victory in a special election here Tuesday, staving off what would have been a highly embarrassing Democratic victory in a solidly Republican district. National Republicans poured in nearly $5 million and dozens of campaign workers to help hold the seat for their party.”

SAN DIEGO -- U.S. Rep.-elect Brian Bilbray's reward for a hard-fought victory is a House seat for seven months — and another campaign against the same Democrat he vanquished in a special election to fill the seat vacated by disgraced former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham. While the candidates, and probably the issues, will be the same in November, there will be one major difference: Bilbray will be running as an incumbent. And that makes it even more of an uphill battle for school board member Francine Busby. Whether the race for a two-year term is as close as this week's...

The Democrats lost in San Diego last night in a special election many thought they would win. After all, the race was to fill a seat left vacant by a Republican congressman who had to resign when he pled guilty of corruption. President Bush’s approval rating in a California Field Poll this week is around 28% percent (the lowest in that poll’s history since just before President Nixon resigned in 1974). And in the first round of voting, the Democrat, Francine Busby got 44% of the vote and the Republican Brian Bilbray, a former congressman, led a big field of...

'Culture of Corruption' Failed Democrats in House Race by Robert Novak Posted Jun 07, 2006 For all the hype and the money spent on the race between former Rep. Brian Bilbray (R) and Francine Busby (D), Busby, in her loss to Bilbray, failed to exceed significantly the percentage won here by John Kerry in 2004. This is significant, because although she will have another shot at Bilbray in November, the turnout should have favored her yesterday, since Republicans had no other races to drive their turnout and Democrats had a gubernatorial primary. The outcome proves that even with corrupt former...

Washington -- (06-07) 09:19 PDT The tsunami of disapproval toward President Bush and the Republican Party that Democrats hope will carry them to a House majority in November was not strong enough to ride a Democrat to victory Tuesday in a House election in San Diego. Republican Brian Bilbray received 49 percent of the vote, while Democrat Francine Busby received 45 percent in a special election to fill the seat of Randy "Duke'' Cunningham, who resigned and is now in prison after admitting he accepted millions of dollars in bribes. It was a strong showing by a Democrat in a...

Republicans claimed victory in the California special election early Wednesday morning as former Rep. Brian Bilbray led Democrat Francine Busby by four points with 96 percent of precincts reporting. The 50th District race Tuesday was a runoff pitting the top two finishers from an April election to replace disgraced former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R) and was billed as a bellwether for the upcoming general election in November, where Democrats hope they have the wind at their backs and a chance to retake Congress. But that wind wasn’t enough Tuesday in solidly-Republican San Diego, where Bilbray secured nearly 50 percent...

A former Republican congressman narrowly beat his Democratic rival early Wednesday for the right to fill the House seat once held by imprisoned Randy "Duke" Cunningham, a race closely watched as a possible early barometer of next fall's vote. Republican Brian Bilbray emerged victorious after a costly and contentious race against Democrat Francine Busby, a local school board member who ran against Cunningham in 2004. With 90 percent of precincts reporting, Bilbray had 56,016 votes or 49.5 percent. Busby trailed with 51,202 votes or 45 percent. "I think that we're going back to Washington," Bilbray told a cheering crowd of...

Busby & Bilbray Vote Early In 50th District Race Last Updated: 06-05-06 at 7:16PM Republican Brian Bilbray and Democrat Francine Busby stopped by the County Registrar's Office early Monday to cast a ballot for themselves. The latest polls show the two are in a dead heat for the 50th District congressional seat. With his wife and daughter in tow, former congressman-turned-lobbyist Bilbray stolled into the registrar's office and voted for himself to replace fallen representative Randy "Duke" Cunningham. About an hour later, Democratic contender and Cardiff School District board member Busby voted for herself in her quest to finish Cunningham's...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f9vbngizSI Francine Busby Democrat congressional candidate in 50th Congressional District of California may have told more truth than a candidate can say especially if someone has a tape recorder running. "Everybody can help, yeah, absolutely, you can all help," Busby replied, according to the tape. "You don't need papers for voting, you don't need to be a registered voter to help." will go down in history as the dumbest thing ever said 4 days before an election.

LOS ANGELES—In a last-minute move to help Republican chances in the too-close-to call special U.S. House election in California’s 50th District (San Diego) on June 6, both President Bush and Rep. Darrell Issa (R.-Calif.) weighed in strongly this weekend for GOP nominee Brian Bilbray. In a recorded telephone message to Republican households in the district that became vacant when Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R.-Calif.) quit in disgrace earlier this year, the President called on voters to vote for Bilbray, who represented a neighboring district from 1994-2000, and describes the moderate GOPer as an ally in the war on terror. The...

CARLSBAD, Calif. - Republicans seized on Democrat Francine Busby's comments that sounded like encouragement for illegal immigrants to help her campaign as the GOP sought an edge in the final hours of a surprisingly close House race. Immigration looms large in the runoff election Tuesday in the San Diego-area district some 30 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. Busby's remarks, and her subsequent explanation that she misspoke, has drawn much of the attention in the race's last days. Speaking to a largely Hispanic audience last Thursday, Busby faced a Spanish-speaking questioner who said he wanted to help her campaign but lacked...

Carlsbad, Calif. -- Republicans seized on Democrat Francine Busby's comments that sounded like encouragement for illegal aliens to help her campaign as the GOP sought an edge in the final hours of a surprisingly close House race. Immigration looms large in the runoff election Tuesday in the San Diego-area district some 30 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. Busby's remarks, and her subsequent explanation that she misspoke, has drawn much of the attention in the race's last days. Speaking to a largely Hispanic audience last Thursday, Busby faced a Spanish-speaking questioner who said he wanted to help her campaign but lacked...

Can you call tomorrow to help score the first 2006 victory? We've identified thousands of Busby supporters—but we need to make sure they vote. Can you sign up to make a few reminder calls on Tuesday? Sign me up! Dear MoveOn member, Tomorrow is Election Day in California's 50th Congressional District, where progressive Francine Busby is looking for the last few hundred votes to win. The national Republican Party has spent over $4 million desperately trying to beat her. They've even tried to drive a wedge between Busby and us by mentioning your work in one of their ads.1 We're...

By-election defeat could signal disaster for Bush By Tim Reid The Republicans are alarmed after polls show that voters may turn against them in one of their strongholds A US by-election tomorrow to replace a jailed Congressman in a traditionally safe Republican seat is too close to call, an alarming sign for President Bush and his party ahead of November’s mid-term elections.

Bilbray Hopes To Make Splash On Election Day California’s Primary Election is just days away. Also on Tuesday’s ballot, one race will be decided -- it is the 50th District short-term special election. According to a 10News/Survey USA Poll, the race is neck and neck. Republican Brian Bilbray has with 47 percent of the vote, while Democrat Francine Busby has 45 percent of the vote. Voter turnout will be key in the winner of the seat once held by Randy “Duke” Cunningham. With less than a week to go until the election to replace Cunningham, the countdown is on. In...

If an election can turn on a sentence, this could be the one: “You don't need papers for voting.” On Thursday night, Francine Busby, the Democratic candidate for the 50th Congressional District, was speaking before a largely Latino crowd in Escondido when she uttered those words. She said yesterday she simply misspoke. But someone taped it and a recording began circulating yesterday. After she made that statement at the meeting, Busby immediately said: “You don't need to be a registered voter to help (the campaign).” She said that subsequent statement was to clarify what she meant. The recording, which was...

Oh, yes, she did. Francine Busby, the Democratic candidate in Tuesday’s CA-50 special election has been caught on tape telling a Spanish-speaking audience “You don’t need papers for voting.” Responding to a question from a translator about how to help her campaign, Francine Busby also told non-English-speaking volunteers that they don’t need to be registered voters to help the campaign. --snip-- Not a surprise.

The Associated Press WASHINGTON - Immigration and its politically controversial cousin, amnesty, are co-starring in the closing act of a House race with national implications, a close and costly production in Republican-friendly San Diego. In a conservative district roughly 30 miles from the Mexican border, Democrat Francine Busby is under attack from Republican Brian Bilbray and the House GOP, depicted as an advocate of amnesty for illegal immigrants. "Busby even said she would protest making English our official language," says a GOP party ad. "Even worse, Busby opposes tougher visa regulations that would make it harder for terrorists to enter...

From San Diego BREAKING NEWS: Francine Busby Seeking Campaign Help From Illegal Aliens Candidate caught on tape, "You don't need papers for voting." SAN DIEGO, CA (June 2, 2006) -- Francine Busby has been caught on tape soliciting campaign help from illegal aliens in San Diego County. At a campaign event last night in Escondido, Busby was asked in Spanish whether someone could help even though they “do not have papers.” Busby responds affirmatively, stating “Everybody can help, yeah, absolutely, everyone can help. You don’t need papers for voting, you don’t need to be a registered voter to help.” “At...

Roger Hedgecock, talk show host on KOGO AM600 in San Diego, is playing a recording made covertly at a meeting last night. The meeting was an event held by the Francine Busby campaign. Busby is the Democrat candidate for California's 50th Congressional District, vacated by disgraced crook Republican Randy "Duke" Cunningham. The meeting was with an audience of Hispanic attendees and only Spanish-language media was invited. Busby addressed them through an interpreter. On the tape, a man is heard saying that he didn't "have papers" and asking how he could help. Busby replies, in part, "You can all help. You...

SAN DIEGO -- Arizona Sen. John McCain on Tuesday canceled an appearance for a Republican congressional candidate who has attacked his opponent for supporting McCain's immigration bill. McCain, R-Ariz., was scheduled to speak Wednesday at a breakfast fundraiser for Brian Bilbray, who is locked in a close runoff race with Democrat Francine Busby for the San Diego-area seat left vacant by disgraced former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham. The event was expected to raise at least $65,000. The winner of the June 6 special election will fill the remaining seven months left in Cunningham's term. In an e-mail sent to the...

"In a private conversation he had with the vice president before the luncheon, Bilbray said he told Cheney the No. 1 message he wanted Cheney to carry back to the president was 'no amnesty for illegal immigrants.' "Bilbray said that when he said that to Cheney, who did not speak with reporters Tuesday, the vice president 'said tactfully, "I hope you are on the conference committee that discusses immigration with the Senate."'"

SAN DIEGO -- It is now more than just mudslinging in the race for the 50th Congressional District. Wednesday, the Democratic Party called for an investigation into allegations of perjury and voter fraud against Republican candidate Brian Bilbray. Democrats said the proof is in property records from three homes and Bilbray’s declaration of candidacy. These are serious allegations against a man who has run a campaign saying San Diego is and always will be his home. The ad states San Diego is the home where Republican congressional candidate Bilbray said he lives. “I live in Carlsbad, taking care of my...

You know what our mission is -- to drive to victory on November 7 by using our online strength to give key Democratic candidates grassroots help they couldn't even imagine getting in the past. This week, we're focusing on a handful of races across the nation that are absolutely critical to the environment. We're out to take back the Congress and defeat Republican candidates who have sold out the environment whenever it really counts. Support pro-environment Democratic candidates now. Yesterday, we helped raise tens of thousands of dollars for three critical House challengers: Ron Klein in Florida, Francine Busby in...

Latest poll has Busby, Bilbray tied at 45% each in race to succeed ex-Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham.

A parade of prominent national Republicans traipsing to San Diego County to raise money for Republican congressional candidate Brian Bilbray begins today with a visit by House Speaker Dennis Hastert. Bilbray is locked in a tight runoff campaign race with Democrat Francine Busby to fill the remainder of Republican Randy “Duke” Cunningham's term. Cunningham resigned and was sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy and tax evasion charges related to accepting bribes. Hastert, of Illinois, will be the featured attraction this morning at a Bilbray fundraising reception at the La Jolla Marriott. Vice President Dick Cheney will highlight...

Federal lobbyist and former Congressman Brian Bilbray, the Republican, is LOSING to liberal school teacher Francine Busby, the Democrat in a “safe� GOP seat as conservatives nationally, and in this coastal San Diego County district are fed up with ‘big government’ Republicanism. I just got off of the phone with Bill Hauf. The overwhelming majority of FR readers will be unfamiliar with who that is – Hauf is one of the conservative candidates who ran in the large field to replace ‘Duke’ Cunningham in Congress. Hauf, who ran a principled campaign on the issues, didn’t fare as well as he...

SAN DIEGO - The baroque process of picking a replacement for jailed Republican Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham has made California's 50th Congressional District inscrutable. It will be deciphered by the evening of June 6. On April 11, the district voted on 18 candidates - 14 of them Republicans. If one had received more than 50 percent, he or she would have Cunningham's seat, at least until this November's election. Democrat Francine Busby, 55, a women's studies lecturer who in 2004 won 36 percent running against Cunningham, finished first, but with only 43.7 percent, about what Bill Clinton, Al Gore and...

Friends, I wanted to write to you and thank you in the aftermath of the Special Election for the 50th Congressional District. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we were unable to claim victory in this past Tuesday’s Special Election. The good news is that we managed to keep the anti-war liberal Democrat, Francine Busby, below 50% - and therefore kept her from winning this seat outright. Spending over a million dollars in the final few weeks, the liberal, anti-war extremists were dealt a stunning blow. There will now be a runoff election in June between the top two finishers....

Within hours of her first-place finish in the conservative 50th Congressional District's special election Tuesday, Democrat Francine Busby got an early-morning call from Sen. Dianne Feinstein. "She wanted to know what she could do to help," said Busby, who now faces a June 6 runoff, most likely against former California Rep. Brian Bilbray, who most recently worked as a lobbyist in Washington. Although Bilbray led fellow Republican Eric Roach by about 900 votes with all precincts reporting from election day, San Diego County election officials still have to count about 10,000 late, absentee and provisional ballots. Updated results aren't expected...

NORTH COUNTY ---- Even before Brian Bilbray appeared to clinch a narrow victory Tuesday over 13 other Republican rivals to run against Democrat Francine Busby in eight short weeks to replace disgraced former Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham, supporters called on the field to "unite" behind Bilbray's candidacy. But a day later, it appeared that unity could be slow in coming. Eric Roach, Bilbray's nearest Republican rival, said Wednesday through campaign managers that he might ask for a recount of votes cast in the sprawling 50th District ---- a move that would delay Republican solidarity in the weeks of campaigning left...

Last night Democratic candidate Francine Busby failed to reach the 50% + 1 mark in her quest to take the seat formerly held by Republican Duke Cunningham. She finished in the low- to mid-40's.Judging by the early reports on the election, the media is going to spin this as a good development for the Democrats in their quest to take the House. I could not disagree more.The election will go to a June runoff, but this seems to me to have been the Democrats' only real chance at this seat. GOP candidates pulled in a majority of the vote...

California Democrat Francine Busby's first-place showing in Round 1 of Tuesday's special congressional race may give her party a jolt of optimism in its quest to retake the House in November. But come the June 6 runoff, analysts say, reality will set in: The seat she seeks to occupy, the one vacated by the now-imprisoned Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R), represents a strong Republican district and the odds are steep against her in a two-person race against a Republican. The GOP has a 15-point registration advantage in the San Diego district. In at least the past 40 years, the Democrats have...

It won't be official until June, but Democrat Francine Busby--championed by MoveOn.org, Daily Kos, et al.--appears headed for defeat in her bid for California's 50th Congressional District, left vacant by the resignation of Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham. Although Busby finished first in yesterday's special election, she failed to break 50%, which means she will face a runoff against the second-place finisher. If current results hold, that will be former congressman Brian Bilbray, who has 15.15% of the vote. Busby won 43.92% of the vote as of the latest tally, but she was one of only two Democrats on the ballot...

Republican former Rep. Brian Bilbray (Calif.) will face Democrat Francine Busby in a June 6 runoff to replace convicted former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R) in California's 50th District, according to unofficial results.Bilbray, one of 14 Republicans in yesterday's primary field, narrowly edged political newcomer Eric Roach, a wealthy investor who spent $1.8 million on his special-election campaign.Busby, a school board member who lost to Cunningham in 2004, won 44 percent of the vote in this predominantly Republican district, but it will be a steep challenge for her to overcome a distinct disadvantage among registered Democrats to win the runoff.Busby...

Busby outpaces GOP pack, falls short of outright win Republican Bilbray appears headed for June 6 runoff election By John Marelius UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER Democrat Francine Busby speaks at her Election Night party at the D Street Bar and Grill in Encinitas. SAN DIEGO – Democrat Francine Busby easily led the field of 18 candidates seeking to replace disgraced former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham Tuesday and will face a June 6 runoff, apparently with Republican Brian Bilbray. Bilbray, a former San Diego congressman, clung to a slim lead over businessman Eric Roach with most of the ballots tabulated. The returns...