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Firms under scrutiny regarding certain bidding practices Antitrust and securities regulators are considering charges against a handful of large banks, bond insurers and some of their employees as part of an investigation into certain municipal-bond investments. Bank of America, UBS AG and bond insurer Financial Security Assurance Holdings Ltd. last month received notices from the Securities and Exchange Commission indicating civil enforcement action may be taken against them for potentially violating federal securities laws about bidding practices on contracts that manage municipal funds. The "Wells notices" sent by the SEC, which the companies disclosed in regulatory filings, also give the...

The FBI acknowledged Wednesday it improperly accessed Americans' telephone records, credit reports and Internet traffic in 2006, the fourth straight year of privacy abuses resulting from investigations aimed at tracking terrorists and spies. The breach occurred before the FBI enacted broad new reforms in March 2007 to prevent future lapses, FBI Director Robert Mueller said. And it was caused, in part, by banks, telecommunication companies and other private businesses giving the FBI more personal client data than was requested. Testifying at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Mueller raised the issue of the FBI's controversial use of so-called national security letters...

Iraqi Firings: Since 2000, Iraqi forces have fired on U.S. and British pilots 1,600 times. In 2002, Iraqi forces fired on U.S. and British pilots 406 times. Since September 18, just hours after Saddam promised to "allow the return of the United Nations inspectors without conditions" and expressed his desire "to remove any doubts that Iraq still possesses weapons of mass destruction," Iraqi forces have fired on U.S. and British pilots 67 times.

If Howard Dean, the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, has any sense at all, he will spend as long as it takes to fix this mess. Not only should he put America’s biggest labor and union supporter, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) on his speed dial, but he should park his butt on their front porch until they agree to see him. Because without their financial support and the votes of the ten million union members in America, Dean can forget about taking back the White House next year. See, for the last...

IRS wants all 2004 election year documents and e-mails it produced talking about political candidates (it's a major uberLIBERAL church). Because its FOX you'll have to go to the source to read the story.

DETROIT - Former Motown singing star and now-City Councilwoman Martha Reeves has been a strong advocate of stricter housing code enforcement, but a newspaper says it discovered multiple violations at her own properties. Inspectors found 25 code violations at one two-unit rental property, include two emergency infractions for lack of maintenance of fire doors, The Detroit News said Tuesday. Ten of Reeves' 15 vacant lots are deep in overgrown weeds, grass and trees, the newspaper said. It said three contained dumped electronic equipment, clothing, furniture and construction debris. In a written response, Reeves said she acquired most of the properties...

Eight workers at the city's Department of Water and Power have been arrested because they were unauthorized to work in the United States, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said. The agency arrested five people Tuesday and had previously arrested three others as part of a yearlong review of the utility's employment records by the agency and the utility itself. The workers held both blue collar and management jobs, according to an ICE statement. All had been with the company for at least three years and one made more than $100,000 a year. The joint investigation was part of a...

The former top labor leader in Los Angeles County was sentenced to three years of probation Friday and temporarily barred from raising political money after pleading guilty to state charges of conspiracy and violating campaign laws. Martin Ludlow also was fined $15,000 but with court fees that figure will reach about $45,000, Deputy District Attorney Max Huntsman said. State and federal prosecutors charged Ludlow with conspiring with a former union official to illegally divert more than $36,000 in union funds to help finance his successful 2003 City Council campaign. He resigned from the council last year to become head of...

2/28/2006 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- A couple of Airmen sat in the base food court chatting about their return to the United States the next day. Excited to be going home, they compared flight times. Meanwhile, 3 feet away, a third-country national took mental notes. He knew someone who would pay for flight information. The aircraft takeoff time happened to be the last piece of information that an Al Qaeda terrorist needed to coordinate a deadly attack, killing hundreds of servicemembers on a flight home. The scenario presented by Capt. David Quinlan, 379th Air Expeditionary Wing plans officer, isn’t...

The state imposed a $140,000 penalty for what it called "willful, continuing, and egregious" violations of the price law... The Minnesota Commerce Department on Thursday announced plans to fine a gas station chain $140,000 for repeatedly selling gas below the state's legal minimum price. The fine against Midwest Oil of Minnesota is twice as large as any imposed on a company since 2001, when the state established a formula based on wholesale prices, fees and taxes to determine a daily floor for gas prices. Kevin Murphy, deputy commissioner of the department, called the violations "willful, continuing, and egregious and warrant...

Coal mine production reached the highest levels in history in recent years. In 2004 coal mining fatalities were near the lowest level in history with 28. Even with the recent high production, MSHA’s accident reduction efforts helped to keep the annual fatality totals nearly 50% lower in recent years compared with totals recorded in the early 1990s. 1. Clinton’s last year in office, 2000, there were 48 deaths in coal mines. In 2004, there were 28 2. The injury rate in 2000 was 6.64, in 2004 it was 5.00 3. Citations for safety violations in 2000: 58,285; Citations for violations...

Bush called more lenient on those facing serious safety violations WASHINGTON - Since the Bush administration took office in 2001, it has been more lenient toward mining companies facing serious safety violations, issuing fewer and smaller major fines and collecting less than half of the money that violators owed, a Knight Ridder Newspapers investigation has found. At one point last year, the Mine Safety and Health Administration fined a coal company a scant $440 for a "significant and substantial" violation that ended in the death of a Kentucky man. The firm, International Coal Group Inc., is the same company that...

The University of California's former No. 2 official, who resigned under a cloud last month, violated conflict-of-interest rules by helping to create a management job for a friend with whom she owned rental property, a UC investigation concluded Wednesday. In addition, UC investigators found that a subordinate for the former official, ex-Provost M.R.C. Greenwood, had improperly helped create an internship for Greenwood's son, though they couldn't find evidence he had done so at Greenwood's direction. The subordinate, university Vice President Winston Doby, 65, remains on administrative leave while UC auditors look into two other hires in which he was involved....

Justice Department investigating Harkin Why isn’t the Des Moines Register reporting it? Editorial by: Roger Wm. Hughes On Dec. 2, the Associated Press reported that Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) was under investigation for corruption connected to the Jack Abramoff scandal. However, The Des Moines Register has not printed a word about it. The Register failed to report for more than two weeks about the fact that Harkin finally admitted to breaking ethics laws by not reimbursing Jack Abramoff for the use of his skybox at the Washington D.C. MCI Center. As it turned out, a client of Abramoff's --...

San Joaquin County drug offenders increasingly opt for jail terms instead of accepting drug treatment under Proposition 36. And of those who opt for rehab, fewer are showing up for it, according to county data. Voters passed Proposition 36 in November 2000. The law offers nonviolent drug offenders -- such as those caught possessing drugs or paraphernalia -- treatment instead of jail time. The program lasts 12 months and allows two slip-ups.The drug offenders who refuse treatment are a minority in San Joaquin County. Of the 1,258 people eligible for Proposition 36 rehab during the last fiscal year, just 110...

Watchdog Group Accuses Sen. Florez of Extensive Election Law Violations Including Questionable Payments to Wife Thu Oct 13, 1:43 PM ET To: State Desk Contact: Ken Boehm of NLPC, 703-237-1970; Web: http://www.nlpc.org Dean Florez WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 /U.S. Newswire/ -- In a formal complaint filed Wednesday with the California Fair Political Practices Commission, a national ethics watchdog group detailed scores of violations of California's Political Reform Act by State Senator Dean Florez of Shafter. Ken Boehm, chairman of the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC), which filed the complaint, said, "Sen. Florez has filed campaign reports riddled with errors and...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2005 – One child was killed and another was injured when terrorists used them as human shields during coalition forces raids of three terrorist safe houses Sept. 20 in Mosul, Iraq's third largest city, officials in Baghdad reported today. Based on tips from concerned citizens and multiple intelligence sources, coalition forces raided two suspected safe houses to capture known terrorists operating in Mosul. The terrorists were believed to have senior al Qaeda connections in the city and northern Iraq, officials said. When coalition forces entered the first terrorist safe house, three terrorists attacked with small-arms fire. Coalition...

ConAgra Foods is expected to plead guilty this week to violating the federal Clean Water Act for not reporting warm water discharges from its Hastings flour mill near the Vermillion River, a trophy trout stream. The Department of Justice this month accused the Omaha-based food producer of failing to report and maintain records about the temperature of water it discharged into the Vermillion, a tributary of the Mississippi River. Under a plea agreement reached earlier this month, ConAgra will pay a $138,513 fine and will donate an additional $110,000 to the National Park Foundation and the Friends of the Mississippi...

MOSCOW (AP) - Russian diplomats told members of a commission investigating alleged abuses of the U.N. oil-for-food program Thursday that Russian companies did not violate sanctions against Iraq while participating in the program, the Foreign Ministry said. The commission members, led by former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, met with Foreign Ministry officials during their third visit to Russia while investigating the scandal-tainted humanitarian program. The Russians told the commission that "our companies, as they have officially informed the Foreign Ministry, acted in strict accordance with (U.N. sanctions against Iraq) and with Russian law," the ministry said in a...

BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Four major agricultural companies and a nonprofit organization were sued in federal court Wednesday by Canyon County commissioners, accused of conspiring to hire and harbor illegal immigrants. The lawsuit in U.S. District Court contends the four companies - Modesto, Calif.-based Harris Moran Seed Co., Syngenta Seeds, Sorrento Lactalis and Swift Beef Co. - and the nonprofit Idaho Migrant Council have violated the federal Racketeering influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, which was designed to target the mafia. Canyon County in southwestern Idaho alleges it's been damaged by an "illegal immigrant hiring scheme," paying millions of dollars for...

A British tabloid – The Sun – has published pictures of genocidal maniac Saddam Hussein in his underwear and the progressives around the world are aghast! Mind you, the reaction on the Arab street isn’t outrage. In fact, many in Kuwait, Iran and Iraq think that humiliation and embarrassment are quite appropriate for the “Butcher of Baghdad.” Those who are affected by the “outrage” are all about the perception. Political correctness – this time hiding behind the Geneva Conventions – exposes its absurdity once again. Granted, the use – in this case The Sun’s publication – of photographs defaming prisoners...

The media is having a field day with Tom Delay these days. If you have seen the news or read a paper the past few days, you have heard "Delay" and "ethics violations" or "scandal" at least a dozen times. The supposed violations consist of a trip to Russia paid by business interests in 1997 and Delay's wife and daughter being paid by political action and campaign committees. What most people don't realize is that many members of Congress have family members working for political campaigns or lobbying firms. Let's look at just one prominent example: Senate Democrat Leader Harry...

The United Nations has chosen a group of nations which will decide the agenda for its next Human Rights Commission meeting. The only problem is that three of those nations are human rights abusers themselves. The U.N. has chosen Cuba, Zimbabwe and Saudi Arabia to join the “Working Group on Situations,” which will plan the course for effectively dealing with human rights violations. The panel also includes Hungary and the Netherlands. The U.S. State Department has denounced the choices of Cuba and Zimbabwe, which Secretary Condoleeza Rice called “outposts of tyranny” in her confirmation hearings. “The United States believes that...

Chairwoman Haigh, committee members, good morning. My name is Jason Mercier and I am a budget analyst for the Evergreen Freedom Foundation. I'd like to thank Rep. Nixon for the invitation to testify today on HB 1134, creating a public records advocate and records clearinghouse. My duties at EFF include requesting public records, and I am also frequently contacted by the public with questions on how to make public records requests. These experiences and the research I have conducted on public records laws from other states have led me to conclude that creating a public records advocate and public records...

As soon as Mark (pseudonym) walked into his Women in Literature class, his professor handed him a note stating the following: It has come to my attention that your comments to other students sitting near you in our Women in Literature (sic) have been both critical of the class subject matter, derogatory of the ideas other students are contributing to class discussion, and crudely dismissive of issues I have raised. At first, Mark could not believe he was being described as “crudely dismissive” by his professor. After all, she talked about her private life in class and published a book...

The Terri Schindler Schiavo Daily Threads are created month to month as we watch local and national news regarding Terri and her family. Since Terri's supporters are in every time zone, you may see something FIRST. Please share news with us that you don't see here already. Now, why would you want to do that? Terri's Daily Thread for September/October of 2004 was viewed over 15,000 times. Terri's November Daily Thread was viewed over 6,000 times. December's thread is over 3,000 views. More and more good folks are finding out about Terri and that judicial tyranny would take her life,...

An HISD teacher's assistant is fired for his punishment of two autistic kids. Ten-year-old Mohammad McNeil is supposed to be in school, but neither he nor his eight-year-old brother has been to class since last Thursday, after a teacher's aide allegedly stuffed the kids into the bathroom at Gross Elementary as a punishment for misbehaving. Their father, Travis McNeil, said, "That's not even punishment, that's more like persecution. That's exactly what it is. You know, that's like persecution. Nobody's kid should be put up to that." Travis says the incident was especially traumatic because both kids are learning disabled. Ishmal...

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - An Egyptian man who served as an imam at an Orange County mosque was arrested on immigration violations, federal officials said Friday. Wagdy Mohamed Ghoneim was arrested Thursday morning at his home in Anaheim, said Lori Haley, spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He was held without bail at a federal detention facility pending an immigration court hearing next week. Ghoneim worked as an imam at the Islamic Institute of Orange County in Anaheim, Haley said. She described the pending charges against him as "administrative" but did not elaborate. A call to his defense attorney,...

Pinellas Pasco, Group 18, Judicial Candidate George Greer uses a previous quote as if current by the former Florida Supreme Court's Chief Justice Harry Lee Anstead as a political endorsement of himself, in a recent "numbering in the thousands" absentee ballot mailer. The quote says: "Only those judges who have demonstrated the highest judicial competence and personal character can receive this award, and you have distinguished yourself among the judiciary by having been selected twice to receive this honor ... You are truly a credit to the judicial branch." Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Harry Lee Anstead At the request...

UNITED NATIONS - Before a vast assembly of world leaders, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) on Tuesday criticized the violation of basic laws around the globe — from cold-blooded massacres and prisoner abuses in Iraq (news - web sites) to the seizing of children in Russia and widespread rape in Sudan. "Today the rule of law is at risk around the world," Annan said. "Again and again, we see fundamental laws shamelessly disregarded — those that ordain respect for innocent life, for civilians, for the vulnerable — especially children." President Bush (news - web sites) and Iraq's...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - A Fresno assemblywoman, her campaign committee and campaign treasurer were fined $23,000 Thursday by the state's elections watchdog for violating contribution disclosure requirements. The Fair Political Practices Commission said Assemblywoman Sarah Reyes, her Friends of Sarah Reyes campaign committee and campaign treasurer Gustavo Corona failed to properly disclose $80,000 in donations made to other Democrats and $105,000 in late contributions received by the campaign in 2000. Reyes acknowledged the violations in a stipulation that she signed on July 12. --- On the Net: www.fppc.ca.gov/agendas

ATF Agents Arrest 14 In Multistate OperationRENO, Nev. -- John A. Torres, Special Agent In Charge of the San Francisco Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), announced today that ATF agents in California, Nevada, Idaho, Utah and Washington State participated in the arrests of 14 people after a federal grand jury returned indictments charging them with federal firearms violations.All of the defendants were charged with dealing firearms without a license, illegal sales of firearms, possession of unregistered firearms, and possession of firearms by prohibited persons. One of those arrested, Laquan J. Abdulrahim of...

Violations alleged in Senate race Mike Madden Argus Leader Washington Bureau published: 05/13/2004 Thune, Daschle camps trade accusations about breaking campaign law WASHINGTON - Forget about lawn signs and television commercials. The latest weapon in the South Dakota Senate race is a law book. With new campaign finance rules in place for the first time in almost three decades, political strategists hope to exploit alleged violations by their rivals to gain an edge in the contest, which may be the tightest Senate race in the nation. Now, aides to Republican candidate John Thune say fliers mailed to advertise this month's...

On March 22, 2002, during the debate over McCain-Feingold, John Kerry said, “The American people have become almost numb to these kinds of staggering figures, and they have come to expect fund-raising records to be broken with each election cycle.” He continued, “What is far worse for our democracy is that the public also believes that this money buys access and influence that average citizens don't have.... We can't go on leaving our citizens with the impression that the only kind of influence left in American politics is the kind you wield with a checkbook.” source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4487131/ What a difference...

<p>In the name of national security, dozens of people in Arizona have been arrested or detained on charges unrelated to terrorism.</p> <p>The Muslims and Middle Easterners have been rounded up by Arizona's Joint Terrorism Task Force and charged with visa violations, fraud and other offenses that have little to do with national security.</p>

BACKGROUND:    On June 24, 2002, President Bush set forth the conditions that the Palestinian Arabs must fulfill in order to merit U.S. support for the creation of a Palestinian Arab state. Among the major obligations are that the Palestinian Arabs must "dismantle the terrorist infrastructure," "end incitement," "elect new leaders not compromised by terror," and unequivocally embrace democracy and free market economics. None of those conditions were fulfilled.    In March 2003, Yasir Arafat chose Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), the number two man in the PLO since the 1960s, as the new prime minister of the Palestinian Authority. Mazen took...

July 21, 2003 Contact: (212-481-1500)   Palestinian Arab Violations ofPresident Bush's "Road Map" Plan A Survey of Week #12: July 15, 2003 - July 21, 2003   BACKGROUND:    On June 24, 2002, President Bush set forth the conditions that the Palestinian Arabs must fulfill in order to merit U.S. support for the creation of a Palestinian Arab state. Among the major obligations are that the Palestinian Arabs must "dismantle the terrorist infrastructure," "end incitement," "elect new leaders not compromised by terror," and unequivocally embrace democracy and free market economics. None of those conditions were fulfilled.    In March 2003, Yasir...

<p>SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A young man's confession that led to his murder conviction was given involuntarily, in violation of his Miranda rights, and should have been deemed inadmissible, the California Supreme Court ruled Monday.</p> <p>Kenneth Ray Neal's confession to murder should have been prohibited because he was badgered by a detective from the Tulare County Sheriff's Office, the state's high court said, reversing Neal's conviction. His nine requests to speak with a lawyer before the confessions had also been rebuffed.</p>

News Release The Zionist Organization of America Jacob & Libby Goodman ZOA House Phone: 212-481-1500 4 East 34th St. New York, NY 10016 Fax: 212-481-1515 e-mail: email@zoa.org Web Site: www.zoa.org July 8, 2003 Contact: (212-481-1500)   Palestinian Arab Violations ofPresident Bush's "Road Map" PlanA Survey of Week #10: July 1, 2003 - July 7, 2003   BACKGROUND:     On June 24, 2002, President Bush set forth the conditions that the Palestinian Arabs must fulfill in order to merit U.S. support for the creation of a Palestinian Arab state. Among the major obligations are that the Palestinian Arabs must "dismantle...

<p>As much as one-third of the tax-exempt National Education Association's yearly $271 million income goes toward politically related activities, according to union documents filed with the Internal Revenue Service.</p> <p>The documents show that the 2.7 million-member teacher's union spends millions annually to field what one critic calls an "army of campaign workers," while maintaining that it spends nothing on politics.</p>

U.N.'s Blix Says Iraq Smuggled Arms-Related Goods Tue January 14, 2003 08:29 AM ET LONDON (Reuters) - Chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix has said his teams in Iraq have uncovered weapons-related smuggling but it was unclear if the goods were linked to weapons of mass destruction. Currency traders said the dollar slipped briefly on the report, coming close to a three-year low against the euro and testing the day's low against the safe-haven Swiss franc. "We have found several cases where it is clear that Iraq has imported weapons-related material in violation of the prohibitions of the Security Council,"...

Caddo probes alleged testing violations Melody Brumble / The Times Posted on April 16, 2003 Walnut Hill Elementary/Middle School Principal Albert Hardison is on leave while Caddo school officials investigate alleged standardized test security violations. Officials learned of the possible problem March 9, the Sunday before testing, and sent monitors to ensure nothing inappropriate occurred to void student scores, said Marlene Ritter, Caddo schools general education director. Now officials are looking into what led to the allegations. "We are not now considering voiding the tests of a single (Walnut Hill) student. If we void tests, it will be for the...

See this thread for Iraqi foreign minister's comments regarding treatment of captured Americans.

<p>Regulators charged investment banker Frank Quattrone with violating a series of securities rules as he pushed to land clients for Credit Suisse First Boston.</p> <p>The National Association of Securities Dealers alleged that Quattrone improperly enticed clients by offering them the opportunity to buy shares in potentially lucrative IPOs and by promising that analysts who were supposed to be independent would provide favorable research.</p>

US accused of persistent rights violations at Camp X-Ray By Andrew Buncombe in Washington 11 January 2003 The Bush administration was accused of violating human rights afforded by the Geneva conventions yesterday by persistently refusing to allow 600 prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay access to lawyers, the courts or relatives. The British government was also criticised for failing to protect the rights of the eight Britons among the prisoners. A year after the Pentagon first began transferring al-Qa'ida and Taliban suspects to the US naval base on the south-east tip of Cuba, human rights campaigners and lawyers have accused...

Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - The first full day on the job for the first woman ever to lead her political party in the U.S. House of Representatives began under a cloud Friday over allegations of campaign fundraising violations by California Democrat Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi, who voted in favor of the McCain-Feingold bill to change the nation's campaign finance laws, is the subject of a formal complaint with the Federal Elections Commission, and other election law experts claim the new House minority leader flat out broke the law in her pursuit of campaign cash for her fellow House Democrats. It's also...

Reno Blocks Effort to Stop Vote Fraud Chuck Noe, NewsMax.com Saturday, Nov. 2, 2002 ****************************************************************************************************************************************** Former Attorney General Janet Reno launched a full-scale legal action Friday in Miami to prevent an independent committee from monitoring Tuesday's elections. Reno, acting as a plaintiff and represented by Al Gore's 2000 election lawyer Kendall Coffey, sought and received an emergency injunction to prevent The Emergency Committee to Stop Bill McBride from sending independent poll watchers to precincts in Miami-Dade. A "liberal Democrat" judge sided with Reno and banned the organization's poll watchers from trying to curb Florida's notorious election fraud. Miami-Dade Judge Eleanor...

Gas looks like secret KGB tool Experts say use may have broken international law By FRED WEIR in Moscow and DAVE GOLDINER in New YorkDAILY NEWS WRITERS Woman wipes her eyes in front of Moscow theater, scene of hostage siege. Details of bungled rescue have made Russians increasingly angry and have raised questions as to whether Russia violated international law. An unidentified former theater hostage embraces her father outside a hospital clinic in Moscow yesterday. The powerful gas used to end the Moscow theater siege was probably a top-secret KGB chemical weapon, and some experts hinted yesterday that Russia...

BAGHDAD, Oct 16 (AFP) - Iraq on Wednesday accused Iran of violating their ceasefire agreement 53 times in 75 days this year, in a message to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. Baghdad charged in the message, delivered by Iraqi envoy to the United Nations Mohamed Al-Duri, that "Iran has violated 53 times the ceasefire between July 4 and August 20," according to the state INA news agency. Iraq and Iran have yet to sign a formal peace treaty 14 years after the end of their 1980-88 conflict, which cost about one million lives. They maintain relations at the charge d'affairs...

What is this thing called sovereignty? It is the supreme power of a state by which it rules over its land and its citizenry. Well, here we are in the 21st century, having witnessed every form of government that humanity's imagination has been capable of conceiving. And still we speak of sovereignty, but do we know of what we speak? Sovereignty - that which gives to kings and emperors the right to tell their subjects what to do and how to arrange their affairs. Sovereignty - that which permits nations to tell other nations to remain behind certain borders and...