In other updates, apparently Mr. Stanley went to a hardware store and got flares which he then used as fake explosive devices.
Hostages Released From Clinton Office
BEVERLEY WANG - AP | November 30, 2007 04:33 PM EST |
ROCHESTER, N.H. — A deranged man wearing what appeared to be a bomb strapped to his chest walked into a Hillary Rodham Clinton campaign office Friday, took several hostages and demanded to speak to the candidate during a nearly four-hour standoff, authorities said.
The man released the last of the hostages as the afternoon wore on, but he remained in the office and was not immediately taken into custody.
Clinton was in the Washington area at the time, and extra security precautions were taken to protect the former first lady, who still has a Secret Service detail, said a law-enforcement official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the situation.
The man entered the simple storefront office along the town's main street around 1 p.m., ordered people onto the floor and then let a mother and her baby leave, said State Police Maj. Michael Hambrook.
About two hours later, a woman in a green sweater was led away from the building by a SWAT team member. Authorities, some carrying shields and guns, had the building surrounded, and laid wiring up to the building's entrance before the woman was released. It was unclear if the wiring helped authorities communicate with the suspect.
The office is one of many Clinton has around New Hampshire.
The suspect was an older man known around the town to be mentally unstable, the law enforcement official told the AP. He walked into the campaign office and opened his jacket, revealing what appeared to be a pipe bomb.
The law enforcement official said the man also demanded to speak with Clinton.
Witness Lettie Tzizik told television station WMUR of Manchester that she spoke to the woman who was released first and that she was crying, holding the infant.
"She said, 'You need to call 911. A man has just walked into the Clinton office, opened his coat and showed us a bomb strapped to his chest with duct tape," Tzizik said.
Clinton was scheduled to give an address at the Democratic National Committee meeting in Vienna, Va., Friday afternoon, but DNC Chairman Howard Dean announced from the podium that Clinton would not speak.
"We are in close contact with state and local authorities and are acting at their direction," Clinton said in a statement. "We will release additional details as appropriate."
Authorities sent a tactical bomb unit to assist local police, and the area was evacuated, Hambrook said. A nearby school was in lockdown.
The small Clinton office is located in the New England community's downtown area in a strip of several storefronts, and has large glass windows with a campaign sign out front. Police with guns drawn crouched behind cruisers across the street from the office.
Workers for Sen. Barack Obama's campaign office also evacuated, a campaign spokesman said. The office is four doors away from Clinton's. Staffers in John Edwards' office, a few buildings away, evacuated as well.
___
Associated Press writer Lara Jakes Jordan in Washington contributed to this report.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Le Web 3's Cathy Brooks, Part Two - What Is Le Web 3?
Cathy Brooks is my friend and the organizer of Le Web 3, December 11th - 12th in Paris France. We talked at Harry's on Fillmore in San Francisco in a two part video series. Part Two is above and Part One is here.
What is Le Web 3? Watch the video and visit the site here. For more information on the conference and questions for speakers, contact Cathy at cathy@leweb3.com
Le Web 3's Cathy Brooks, Part One - The Web and Blogging
Cathy Brooks is my friend and the organizer of Le Web 3, December 11th - 12th in Paris France. We talked at Harry's on Fillmore in San Francisco in a two part video series. Part One is above and Part two will appear in a separate post.
What is Le Web 3? Watch the video and visit the site here. For more information on the conference and questions for speakers, contact Cathy at cathy@leweb3.com
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Strong Day For The Dow Jones Industrial
After opening at 12,958.04, the Dow Jones skyrocketed by 331.01 points to finish at a respectful 13,289.45. When the state of the volatile market is considered, this is a positive step forward.
Bush Economic Adviser Hubbard Resigns
The unrelenting saga continues to mount for the embattled Bush administration.
Economic Council Deputy Nominated As Replacement
WASHINGTON (CBS) ― President Bush announced on Wednesday that Keith Hennessey is his pick to be chairman of the National Economic Council, replacing Al Hubbard, who is joining a growing line of top presidential advisers exiting the White House as the Bush administration heads into its final year.
Hennessey, who came to the White House in 2002, is Hubbard's deputy and also has been deputy to two previous directors of the council. He served as a top budget aide to Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., and worked for the Senate Budget Committee.
"Keith has been an important member of my White House team for more than five years," Bush said in a statement. "He has served as the deputy to three directors of the National Economic Council, and has worked on a broad range of economic policy issues."
Hubbard's departure comes as Bush faces one of the biggest economic challenges of his presidency, a severe slump in housing and a credit crisis that have roiled financial markets and triggered fears of a recession.
In a letter to the president, Hubbard said he was leaving the White House with mixed emotions. "Were it not for my strong desire to spend more time with my kids, I would not have considered departing," said Hubbard, the father of three.
Hubbard has helped direct White House policy on entitlement reform, energy security, climate change, housing and trade investment policy. Among other issues, Hubbard has been deeply involved in the debate over the State Children's Health Insurance Program and Bush's proposal for a major shift in tax policy to, for the first time, treat health insurance costs as taxable income.
"Al contributed his own ideas and also worked to ensure that all views were brought to the table and given fair analysis and debate," Bush said. "While many of the policies Al worked to develop are in place today, other policy initiatives, including Social Security reform and health care reform, have laid the foundation for policies I believe will be adopted in the future."
Hubbard's departure, by the end of the year, continues an exodus of key Bush aides and confidants. Earlier this month, Fran Townsend, Bush's terrorism adviser, announced she was stepping down after 4 1/2 years. Top aide Karl Rove, along with press secretary Tony Snow, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Undersecretary of State Karen Hughes, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and senior presidential adviser Dan Bartlett, have already left.
Hubbard, of Indiana, was a low-profile economic adviser to the president whose strength came from his closeness to Bush. The two both attended Harvard University together. Hubbard also has close ties with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. Hubbard accompanied Paulson on some of his trips to China to lend White House support to efforts to get China to reform its economy and narrow the huge trade imbalance between the two nations.
The National Economic Council was created in the Clinton administration to coordinate economic policy. The first NEC director was Robert Rubin, who went on to become Clinton's Treasury secretary.
Hubbard took the post at the beginning of Bush's second term, when the administration had high hopes for achieving success on a number of major issues such as addressing Social Security's funding problems and overhauling the tax code. However, as Bush became mired in problems involving the Iraq war, his domestic initiatives failed to make headway in Congress.
"Al brought to this job more than the creativity that he's known for," White House press secretary Dana Perino said. "He has a great booming laugh, but he also is a very honest broker when he works with everybody at the White House. Part of his role is to incorporate all of the thoughts and concerns and proactive ideas that members of the administration have."
Hubbard first met Bush when they were both attending Harvard's business school in the 1970s, getting MBA degrees. Hubbard, who later became president of E&A Industries, an Indianapolis investment firm, has owned and operated several businesses and served in the Bush-Quayle administration as executive director of a council on competitiveness. He has not yet announced his future plans.
Economic Council Deputy Nominated As Replacement
WASHINGTON (CBS) ― President Bush announced on Wednesday that Keith Hennessey is his pick to be chairman of the National Economic Council, replacing Al Hubbard, who is joining a growing line of top presidential advisers exiting the White House as the Bush administration heads into its final year.
Hennessey, who came to the White House in 2002, is Hubbard's deputy and also has been deputy to two previous directors of the council. He served as a top budget aide to Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., and worked for the Senate Budget Committee.
"Keith has been an important member of my White House team for more than five years," Bush said in a statement. "He has served as the deputy to three directors of the National Economic Council, and has worked on a broad range of economic policy issues."
Hubbard's departure comes as Bush faces one of the biggest economic challenges of his presidency, a severe slump in housing and a credit crisis that have roiled financial markets and triggered fears of a recession.
In a letter to the president, Hubbard said he was leaving the White House with mixed emotions. "Were it not for my strong desire to spend more time with my kids, I would not have considered departing," said Hubbard, the father of three.
Hubbard has helped direct White House policy on entitlement reform, energy security, climate change, housing and trade investment policy. Among other issues, Hubbard has been deeply involved in the debate over the State Children's Health Insurance Program and Bush's proposal for a major shift in tax policy to, for the first time, treat health insurance costs as taxable income.
"Al contributed his own ideas and also worked to ensure that all views were brought to the table and given fair analysis and debate," Bush said. "While many of the policies Al worked to develop are in place today, other policy initiatives, including Social Security reform and health care reform, have laid the foundation for policies I believe will be adopted in the future."
Hubbard's departure, by the end of the year, continues an exodus of key Bush aides and confidants. Earlier this month, Fran Townsend, Bush's terrorism adviser, announced she was stepping down after 4 1/2 years. Top aide Karl Rove, along with press secretary Tony Snow, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Undersecretary of State Karen Hughes, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and senior presidential adviser Dan Bartlett, have already left.
Hubbard, of Indiana, was a low-profile economic adviser to the president whose strength came from his closeness to Bush. The two both attended Harvard University together. Hubbard also has close ties with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. Hubbard accompanied Paulson on some of his trips to China to lend White House support to efforts to get China to reform its economy and narrow the huge trade imbalance between the two nations.
The National Economic Council was created in the Clinton administration to coordinate economic policy. The first NEC director was Robert Rubin, who went on to become Clinton's Treasury secretary.
Hubbard took the post at the beginning of Bush's second term, when the administration had high hopes for achieving success on a number of major issues such as addressing Social Security's funding problems and overhauling the tax code. However, as Bush became mired in problems involving the Iraq war, his domestic initiatives failed to make headway in Congress.
"Al brought to this job more than the creativity that he's known for," White House press secretary Dana Perino said. "He has a great booming laugh, but he also is a very honest broker when he works with everybody at the White House. Part of his role is to incorporate all of the thoughts and concerns and proactive ideas that members of the administration have."
Hubbard first met Bush when they were both attending Harvard's business school in the 1970s, getting MBA degrees. Hubbard, who later became president of E&A Industries, an Indianapolis investment firm, has owned and operated several businesses and served in the Bush-Quayle administration as executive director of a council on competitiveness. He has not yet announced his future plans.
CNN's Dave Bohrman Under Attack For CNN / YouTube "Iron Fist" Content Control
Some publications are attacking CNN's Washington Bureau Chief Dave Bohrman regarding his "iron fist" control over what videos are selected for the CNN / YouTube Republican Debate. Personally, I'm glad he's doing this, and my reason points to an issue highlighted by Mark Cuban about 10 days ago.
People are just plain mean.
Yep. Mean.
They use the Internet to take their issues out on people at a distance and the CNN / YouTube debates are no exception to this. If Bohrman were to let the people speak, the result would be totally imbalanced and absolutely insane. It would also render the Republican Party toast for this election cycle.
So Borhman's got a hard job. I'm personally confident he will pull through.
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