Glasgow Airport Terrorist Attack - SUV Ramed Into Terminal - MyWayNews

Flaming Car Rams U.K. Airport; 2 Arrests
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Jun 30, 12:44 PM (ET)

By IAN STEWART

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) - Two men rammed a flaming sport utility vehicle into the main terminal of Glasgow airport Saturday, crashing into the glass doors at the entrance and sparking a fire, witnesses said. Police said two suspects were arrested.

The airport - Scotland's largest - was evacuated and all flights suspended, a day after British police thwarted a plot to bomb central London, discovering two cars abandoned with loads of gasoline, gas canisters and nails.

"One has to conclude ... these are linked," Dame Pauline Neville-Jones, former head of Britain's joint intelligence committee, told Sky News. "This is a very young government, and we may yet see further attacks."

Britain's prime minister, Gordon Brown, who took office only Wednesday, was being briefed on developments by his officials, Downing Street said.

In Glasgow, the green SUV barreled toward the building at full speed shortly after 3 p.m., hitting security barriers before crashing into the glass doors and exploding, witnesses said. Two men jumped out of the burning vehicle, one of them engulfed in flames, they said.

"The car came speeding past at about 30 mph. It was approaching the building quickly," said Scott Leeson, who was nearby at the time. "Then the driver swerved the car around so he could ram straight in to the door. He must have been trying to smash straight through."

Two men were arrested, Strathclyde Police spokeswoman Lisa O'Neil said.

Passengers fled running and screaming from the busy terminal, Margaret Hughes told the British Broadcasting Corp. "There was black smoke gushing out where the car had obviously been driven into the airport," she said.

Flames and black smoke rose from the vehicle outside the main entrance. Police said it was unclear if anyone was injured. Other passengers were stranded, with at least one airplane grounded on the runway, the BBC said.

The incident also comes exactly one week before the second anniversary of the July 7 bombings that killed 52 people.
Leeson said bollards - security posts outside the entrance - stopped the driver from barreling into the bustling terminal at Glasgow's airport.

"He's trying to get through the main door frame but the bollards have stopped him from going through. If he'd got through, he'd have killed hundreds, obviously," he said.

Leeson said only the nose of the vehicle made it inside the building. Richard Grey told the BBC that the vehicle was lodged into the center of the terminal's main entrance.
"The jeep is completely on fire and it exploded not long after. It exploded at the entrance to the terminal," witness Stephen Clarkson told the BBC. "It may have been an explosion of petrol in the tank because it was not a massive explosion."

Two men - one of them engulfed in flames - were in the SUV, witnesses told BBC News executive Helen Boaden, who was at the airport at time. She described the men as South Asian.

Clarkson described him as a large South Asian man. "His whole body was on fire.... He was just talking gibberish," he told the BBC.

"An Asian guy had been pulled out of the car by two police officers he was trying to fight off and they'd got him on the floor," Grey told the BBC.

Boaden said police "wrestled him to the ground - the fire was burning through his clothes - and finally put him out with a fire extinguisher."

Lesson said an airport officials did not think the incident was an accident.

"He said the men in the car got out and started throwing petrol about - that must be how it caught fire," he said.

Another witness, Fiona Tracey, described a "bang" coming from the SUV. The vehicle was on fire and "every now and again there was a bang coming off it. ... There was definitely a bang," she told Sky News television.

Grey said the car did not explode. "There were a few pops and bangs that seemed to be the tires and the petrol."

YouTube Has 60 Percent Of The Video Distribution Market

According to TechCrunch and Hitwise.com, YouTube, the famous online video distribution system, has 60 percent of the market as of May 2007.

YouTube is miles ahead of the next most popular video system, MySpace Videos, which has 16 percent of the market. Google Videos has about half that at third, with just over 7 percent of the market. As LeAnne Prescott, the research director for Hitwise has reported, YouTube's growth is not set to slow anytime soon:



YouTube's growth has not begun to slow yet this year. Hitwise traffic data shows that the market share of US visits to YouTube has increased by 70% when comparing January 2007 to May 2007 (this only includes site visits, not streams or streams from views on embedded videos). In comparison, the market share of visits to a custom category of 64 other video sites increased by only 8% in that period. As of May 2007, YouTube's market share was 50% greater than those 64 sites combined.

Note that the other players are well down the line, and some you've heard of aren't even listed, like BrightCove, Blip.tv, and Revver. They must be well down the list, because AOL Media has just .94 percent market share -- that's about 1 percent and AOL's a huge website. Yahoo Video's at 2.77 percent, and Break.com is at 1.33 percent.

What does this all mean? It means that if you want to make sure your video has a chance to be seen, use YouTube. There's a 60 percent higher possibility that your work will be seen by more than one person or two -- you and your friend -- if you use YouTube. Plus, add this fact, there are over 70 YouTube competitors around, which makes it even harder for any competitor to challenge YouTube for supremacy.

Why? Because YouTube's an established brand and any other competitor with a smaller reach and a less established brand has to cope with another new company's ability to draw new users. YouTube has so many users and visitors that it can stand to lose a few, whereas a smaller company would be harmed by such fluxuations.

NFL EUROPE DISCONTINUED - NFL INTERNATIONAL TO FOCUS ON GLOBAL IMPACT - NFlLMedia.com

From the NFL. The official press release annoucing the death of NFL Europe.

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
280 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
(212) 450-2000 * FAX (212) 681-7573
WWW.NFLMedia.com
Joe Browne, Executive Vice President-Communications
Greg Aiello, Vice President-Public Relations


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
6/29/07

NFL INTERNATIONAL TO FOCUS ON GLOBAL IMPACT:
NFL EUROPA DISCONTINUED

The NFL has determined that it will switch the focus of its international business strategy to
presenting the NFL to the widest possible global audience, including broader media visibility and the
staging of international regular-season games, and will discontinue NFL Europa.

“The time is right to re-focus the NFL’s strategy on initiatives with global impact, including worldwide
media coverage of our sport and the staging of live regular-season NFL games,” commented Mark
Waller, senior vice president of NFL International.

“We will continue to build our international fan base by taking advantage of technology and
customized digital media that make the NFL more accessible on a global scale than ever before and
through the regular-season game experience. NFL Europa has created thousands of passionate fans
who have supported that league and our sport for many years and we look forward to building on this
foundation as we begin this new phase of our international development.”

Last October, NFL owners passed a resolution to stage up to two international regular-season games
per season. The new international series will launch on Sunday, October 28 when the Miami
Dolphins host the New York Giants at London’s Wembley Stadium.

In addition to the 2007 game in the United Kingdom, the NFL is preparing to stage regular-season
games in future seasons in Germany, Mexico and Canada, with Germany being a strong candidate to
host a regular-season NFL game in 2008.

NFL Europa began in 1991 as the World League of American Football, with 10 teams competing in
the United States and Europe. After a two-year hiatus (1993-94) following the 1992 season, the
league returned in 1995 as a six-team, all-European venture, with five teams in Germany since 2005,
and has existed in that format through its final season in 2007.


# # #

Wonkette's Elizabeth (Liz) Glover Crashes Ken Mehlman's Roof Party - Video

Elizabeth Glover's a lot like me. She likes to bring her camcorder to big parties. She did so at this bash held for Republican Party head Ken Mehlman , who's stepping down after an interesting career. But what was more interesting was the camera and Elizabeth behind it. Take a look at the video:


Ken Mehlman Reception FINAL from elizabeth glover on Vimeo

Ken Mehlman Reception FINAL from elizabeth glover and Vimeo.

I Like Paris Hilton For The Same Reasons You Hate Paris Hilton

Jack Myers inspired me to write this short post because it's important for you to know why I think Paris Hilton is worth paying attention to. The reason is simple: she knows how to market herself and build attention. In a world where everyone is trying to do that in some way, or frustrated that they can't, Paris Hilton's figured out how to get herself known. Anyone in PR would be stupid not to pay attention to her, but guess what, that's what we get in some corners, dumb behavior.

But, as I wrote in my webpage article The Marketing of Paris Hilton" she holds a lesson for anyone in the attention-getting industry:

Paris Hilton is an international superstar. And what did Paris Hilton do? Well, nothing. "I came to New York when I was 16 years old, and I got invited to all of these parties all the time." Indeed, this was the case. Think about it for a second..or a minute. Paris Hilton is not an actress. She's not a politician. She's not an athlete. She's a young, attractive heiress with a yen for partying. And she did this in the media capital of World.

But even more, Paris made herself available to the people she met "out-and-about." Stars, agents, photographers, and anyone who was someone--and that was just about most of the people -- at an A-List party.

Then, just as Paris was planning to launch a TV show that has since become one of the most popular in America, the infamous "sex tape" video was released and became perhaps the most sought after amateur product on the Internet. Instead of reducing Paris' star status, it increased it dramatically. Now (and aided by the steamy Carl's Jr. commericial) Paris Hilton's name is the most looked up online according to the Lycos 50, which tracks the most popular keywords looked up. As of this writing -- June 13, 2005 -- It's currently ranked number one. It's been on the list for 82 weeks. Think about that. There are 52 weeks in a year. Double that is 104 weeks. That means Paris Hilton has been on the Lycos 50 Elite for almost two years. That's longer than all but a few established stars.

Paris' status as a celebrity is unquestioned. But the question is, what can a sports marketing specialist learn from this? The answer is everything.

To learn more, read my article.

But the bottom line is that the reasons I like Paris Hilton are the same one you hate her for. That's terrible. But when you wonder why you don't get noticed for the good work you do, think about your ill-will toward Paris Hilton and consider a change. You'll get what you want if you do.

COMMISSIONER GOODELL PRESS CONFERENCE - NFL Rookie Symposium

From NFL Media.com

COMMISSIONER GOODELL PRESS CONFERENCE
NFL Rookie Symposium
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida – June 25, 2007


Re: How the Symposium has lasted this long and the concern about
players in their first year...

RG: The focus for us is how do we make these guys better men. What can we do
to help prepare them for the decisions they will have to make as NFL players?
It’s a big transition from college, so I think we’re providing some tools for them.
The big focus for us is how do we expand on this, how do we make it better? It’s
a great start but we want to make sure that we continue to promote these
messages and give the players the kind of resources and tools they need to
make good choices.

Re: On the rookies and if they asked questions of him...

RG: Yes. I thought they were great. There were a lot of questions. They were
good questions, direct questions. I think that’s terrific and I’m glad they felt
comfortable enough to ask them.

Re: If this will help the players in the long term. Is the goal to help them no
matter what kind of career they have?

RG: The whole focus is how do we make these men better men, and how do we
make sure that they understand that the skills they learn here are life skills;
things that will help them throughout their lives and well beyond their NFL career.

Re: How the message on player conduct is getting across...

RG: I think we’re being more clear with them of what we expect. There is a
higher standard of behavior being that they are football players. The vast majority
of our players do understand; only a select few of our players don’t. They get a
lot of focus, they get a lot of attention, and it has a negative impact on the players
in our league and the NFL in general. I think they have a better understanding of
what we’re going expect from them in the future.

Q: Why do they have a better understanding?

RG: Because we reinforce it at every opportunity. We feel very strongly here. The
clubs are doing it at the club level and I think what we’ve done with the personal
conduct policy came out just great. There are not many people who are unaware
of what our standards are.

Re: Why some players still don’t seem to grasp it...
2

RG: I’d be naïve to think that everyone will understand it. We’re going to have to
make it a priority going forward. Again, we’re making players more aware of our
standards of behavior. Secondly, we’re giving them more tools and resources to
make sure that they can make those decisions, and hopefully that will have a
great impact.

Re: What you discussed with the players...

RG: Several things. I just tell them a little bit about my own background, being in
the league for 26 years. I told them about what I think is important with respect
to supporting the NFL shield. I did discuss personal conduct. I did talk about our
responsibility to them, and about the resources we’re providing to them. I spoke
to them about how important it is making their families proud in everything they
do both on and off of the field.

Re: The reaction of the players while he was speaking...

RG: I thought they were outstanding. It was a little difficult in the room to survey
every conversation. You could tell the players were engaged. They asked very
good questions, very responsive questions to what I had said, and I think they
listened very intently.

Re: The process in evaluating a violation of the policy...

RG: First we get the facts, and then once we’ve done that we make an evaluation
of where it sits in our personal conduct policy and make a determination.

Re: Overall goal of the symposium and this class of rookies...

RG: That we are concerned about them as men. Not only how they become
great NFL players but how they become great men. How they conduct
themselves appropriately for the remainder of their lives, not just in the National
Football League.

Re: How did the players ask questions? Did they raise their hand, stand up,
grab a microphone?

RG: They did both, they had a microphone. They asked a lot of questions about
the services they have available to them, what we could do to help them, am I
available, what is my perspective and how I go about making decisions. They
were very good questions.

Re: Your perception of how the fans perceive personal conduct issues...Do
you believe personal conduct is a problem in the fans’ eyes?

3
RG: The reaction I’m getting from the fans is quite supportive. We are standing
up; we are making sure our players are held to a higher standard. They want
that. People have put an awful lot of time, energy, money, into the National
Football League, and I want them to feel good about what they’re doing.

Re: Whether the symposium always has the same focus...

RG: We adapt the symposium to whatever the issues are at the time. We
obviously have adapted the agenda here to some extent to make sure it’s
responsive to issues that they may be facing, that they’re comfortable making the
transition to pro football from college football.

Re: Congressional hearing on retired players...

RG: The focus on retired players is that we have an obligation and a
responsibility to retired players. I think we’ve done some very positive things for
retired players and we’re considering doing some additional things that I think are
quite responsive to the issues. I’ve spent a fair amount of time listening to retired
players and listening to what the issues actually are. Both Gene and I will be
having a meeting with the retired players on July 24th to talk about some of the
ideas that we’ve been developing and hopefully we’ll be able to move this
forward. I think we’re being very responsive to our retired players and I
understand the interest in this. I hope were going to be seen in a very positive
light in terms of being responsive to this.

Re: The London Game and the loss of a home game for the Dolphins...

RG: I understand that and that’s why we’ve said all along that we’re going to
have a limited number of regular-season games overseas because we recognize
that it can be difficult for fans and they lose one of their eight regular-season
home games. It’s not going to happen on a frequent basis. Even if we did two a
year it wouldn’t happen frequently. On the other hand, any time a fan loses a
home game we understand it’s a negative. We’re glad it’s on television. It’s not
the same experience, but I think the club should be proud that their fans are
going to be able to see it on television and more importantly they’re expanding on
a global basis. Hopefully some good will come out of that. There’s not much I can
say other than that. The fact is they are losing a regular-season home game.

Re: Reaction to Pacman and Tank’s latest issues...

RG: We’re waiting to get the facts. They’re both under suspension right now so
we’ll look at the facts and take it under consideration. They understand, as part of
their suspension, that we’ll be evaluating every activity that is going on with them.
They understand that so we’ll take that under consideration.

Re: Hearing their names continually coming up in the news this
offseason...

RG: I would rather them be making good choices. They know that and knew that
when I met with them, and they each pledged to try to make good choices going
forward. We’re trying to do everything we can to support them to make choices. If
they don’t, that’s the decision they make and it will affect their future.

Re: Reaction to hearing these names again...

RG: Disappointment, more than anything else. Either they aren’t getting the
message or they don’t have the ability or the desire. It’s disappointing.

# # #

Joe Montana - Brady Quinn Needs To Work On Touch

In an interview with a Kirk Bolh , former SF 49ers, Chiefs, and Notre Dame QB Joe Montana said “He throws the ball vertically very well, but the touch things, he’s got some work to do. He tries to knock a few guys over.”

Brady would do well to listen to Joe, considered the greatest QB of our time. Montana also offered this about the Raiders JaMarcus Russell: "“He’s obviously got a tremendous arm, but I don’t know what he’s got happening in Oakland. That’s an uphill battle.”

But Bohl's didn't ask Joe why he believed this, making for an imcomplete conversation.

Paris Hilton Talks To Larry King on CNN

I'm watching Paris Hilton talking to Larry King on CNN. I think she did a good job and presented herself well. I actually feel sorry for her because she's both the product of and the victim of our stupidity over beautiful blonde - White - women. She's just living her life, but she's actually gotten used to the ills of people presented to her every day: the photogs, the tabloids, the ill-will from those who have no confidence in themselves.

Yikes!

Well, I'm rooting for her.

Debate Question: "Brownie" and Your Presidential Cabinet

http://zennie2005.blogspot.com - This is a question for the CNN / YouTube Debates and it's regarding the presidential candidates. Remember Michael Brown? "Brownie?" The man President Bush picked to head FEMA and became the poster child for government failure during the Katrina Disaster, and who had no qualifications for the job other than his loyalty to President Bush?

Will you hire your friends to run key government positions, or the best and the brightest? Or are you prepared to tell me that your friends are the best and the brightest?

Vloggerhood - Kenrg's Term Still Not Caught On

At the YouTube As One Meetup, Kenrg, claimed his term Vloggerhood would be all the rage. Here's the video where he introduces the term, which I like. But have you used it? Me? Nope.

Ken's got work to do!

Ann Coulter - John Edwards Assasination Comment Off The Charts

I just saw Ann Coulter's comment on YouTube and still can't believe that she said it. In the video's she's quoted on Good Morning America as saying that if she said anything about John Edwards in the future, she'd "wish he'd been killed in an assasination plot."

See it here:



My question is why did the Edwards camp choose to place this on YouTube? It's not a great way to follow up the Obama Girl Video, and the Clintons / Sopranos Video at all. Let's see, we've got Obama Girl, Sopranos, and ...Ann Coulter's Insult.

Ok.

Paris Hilton Released From Jail - Some Advice For Paris - Video

At 11:58 PM on Monday, June 25th, 2007, as I was checking website stats and watching CNN, CNN announced that Paris Hilton was being released from jail in LA County.

As I watched the events unfold, I could not help but think that "the system" had unknowingly planted the seed for a person who could become one of the most politically powerful people in the World...with just a bit of a push.

This video contains advice which, if Paris heeds it, will cause her to become that person. She's 22 years old and at the perfect place in her life to start political organizations and a political action committee and direct money toward elected officials that can effectively change the system for the better. If Paris does this, mark this day as the start of a new star in politics.

Paris has been through alot , from thinking she was going home under house arrest, to her medical condition and of course, the unfair and silly media misrepresentations of her. The 45-day sentence she received for driving on a suspended license and violating probation was deemed excessive by even representatives of the LA County Sherriff on CNN Monday night.

I really believe God caused this to happen for a specific reason. A window has been created that, if Paris steps into it, will lead to the kind of changes we need to see and could see in 10 years. She can be an effective force for those who are under-represented and powerless.

Senator Mike Gravel - "Why Hillary Scares Me" - Huffington Post

I just saw this at the Huffington Post -- linked to from the title post here - and had to re-post it. Wow, what a scathing article.

During one of the debates I mentioned that my fellow Democratic candidates scare me. Hillary's speech last week to the Take Back America conference gives me yet another reason to be afraid.

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In an indignant voice she decried the Bush administration's ''stunning record of secrecy and corruption, of cronyism run amok. . . It is everything our founders were afraid of, everything our Constitution was designed to prevent.'' Actually, our Constitution grants Congress the power to prevent these ills but Hillary and her colleagues weren't up to the task.

Our founders' legacy did not stop Hillary from voting for the Patriot Act and then supporting its renewal in 2006 despite revelations that the government was using it to infringe on the very liberties that our founders held sacred. Where was her commitment to our founders when she voted to gut our habeas corpus protections?

As for cronyism -- Hillary has repeatedly authorized billions that the Pentagon gave in no-bid contracts to Halliburton. Even though the Democrats have been in control of Congress for months, they still haven't summoned Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld and the other usual suspects to account for the missing millions in reconstruction funding.

When I think about how Congress enabled Bush's corruption and cronyism, I'm reminded of the lines from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar:


And why should Caesar be a tyrant then?
Poor man! I know he would not be a wolf,
But that he sees the Romans are but sheep:
He were no lion, were not Romans hinds.
In the same frightening speech, Hillary went on the blame the Iraqis for the mess in their country: "The American military has succeeded. It is the Iraqi government which has failed to make the tough decisions that are important for their own people.''

Let me get this straight. The Iraq disaster is not the fault of the delusional neo-cons, the greedy oil companies, or the gullible and cowardly Congressional warhawks. (Most senators including Clinton didn't even bother to read the 90-page National Intelligence Estimate). According to Hillary, the real culprit is the Iraqi government that we created virtually overnight and left to govern a fractured, impoverished society. Talk about blaming the victim!

Hillary, as an active supporter of the war, you are one of many Americans who are guilty. And now all Americans are left responsible, regardless of whether we supported or opposed he war. When we pull out, our hands will drip with the blood of the tens of thousands of American casualties and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi dead. The Iraqi government didn't start this, we did.

Of course we can continue to compartmentalize ourselves from the truth, remove the troops and blame the rubble on the Iraqis. We can feed the collective fantasy that our good intentions and heroic efforts were thwarted by the cowardice and incompetence of others. But if that's what we take from our experience in Iraq, we will never learn the true lessons and we will be condemned to repeat the same mistakes.

The inability to admit a mistake and assume responsibility is not just a morally bankrupt way to walk through life; it is a dangerous and deadly way to lead a nation. When I am president, I will open up all secret files relating to the Iraq war and expose all officials who lied to the public in promoting it. (That's right, Dick, your files too.) My Justice Department will prosecute everyone who lied under oath or ripped off the American taxpayer by exploiting the Iraq reconstruction effort. And I will pardon to no one.

Great Leaders - A Video Tribute - Barack Obama

This video is a tribute to all of the great leaders of the past: JFK, Malcolm X, Doroles Huerta, Confucius, Bobby Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Gloria Steinem, Barbara Jordan, and Gandhi, and to one great leader of our present and our future..Barack Obama. It features the pulsating music of Hans Zimmer.

A Really Good Hula-Hoop Woman

OK. This has no political significance, at least I don't think it does. It's one of those "I'm glad I've got my camcorder" moments. This woman was really working her Hula-Hoop for my camera at the Park Chalet restaurant on Ocean Beach in San Francisco.

I've always wanted to see someone really professionally "do" the Hula-Hoop. She turns it around her neck and all over the place. Check it out. It's short and sweet. Some mental candy for the stressed industrial culture we're in.

Zennie62 - My Channel Is Featured On YouTube Today

Well, to my surprise, my YouTube channel, "Zennie62" is one of the featured channels -- there are just four -- listed on YouTube as I write this on Sunday, June 24th, 2007 at 1:25 AM. I was so jazzed about this, I took a photo showing my current position, as it may not last by the time some of you see this!

It's a high honor to know that the YouTube editors like my 77 videos currently running. I also feel that because of this, I've got to do more videos with even better content. It's a challenge, but I'm up to it. I'm thinking of returning to my commentary segments that I did last year as well as more videos on local Oakland issues and more "mashup" videos.

I keep thinking I've not done that many videos - Renetto's got like 159 out there, so I've got an idea of what the benchmark is

I've got an uphill battle but the end results are worth it.

Thanks YouTube!

Paris Hilton - LA City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo's Wife Drove On Suspended License For Nine Years

Wow. LA City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, who wanted Paris Hilton to serve 45-days in jail for driving on a suspended license, now suffers from the public knoweldge that his own wife drove on a suspended license for nine years -- and counting. Here's the news report:

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The wife of the city's top prosecutor has an outstanding arrest warrant for failing to appear in court nine years ago on charges of driving without insurance, with a suspended licence and in an unregistered car.

City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo got Paris Hilton jailed for violating probation for driving with a suspended licence, then condemned her early release. Now, he says he's embarrassed about the outstanding warrant for his wife, Michelle, the Los Angeles Times reported yesterday.

Rocky Delgadillo said he didn't know about it until this week and has urged his wife to remedy the situation.

"My wife is embarrassed about this, and I am embarrassed as well," he said.

Well, should his wife receive the same treatment as Paris Hilton? This really brings home my point that Paris Hilton was being punished for being Paris Hilton.

Michael Moore - Hillary Clinton's Receives Large Sums Of Heath Care Industry Money

Filmmaker Michael Moore's new movie "Sicko" has received a lot of attention, and some of it because of his assertion that Senator Hillary Clinton receives more monetary support from the Health Care industry. That comment is captured in this video taken from the Hollywood Business show "Sunday Morning Shootout" hosted by Peter Guber and Peter Bart.

47 Hillary and Bill Clinton Case Witnesses Are Dead - MySpace Blog

Wow. This is a huge number. 47 people who can play key roles as witnesses in several cases involving Bill and Hillary Clinton -- particularly Whitewater -- are dead. The list includes James McDougal, Vince Foster, and James Wilson. This is a shocking total of fatalities. I got it from this MySpace Blogger, robynne


Clintons

This is what happens when you have dirt on the Clintons :

1 - James McDougal - Clinton 's convicted Whitewater partner died of an apparent heart attack, while in solitary confinement. He was a key witness in Ken Starr's investigation.

2 - Mary Mahoney - A former White House intern was murdered July 1997 at a Starbucks Coffee Shop in Georgetown . The murder happened just after she was to go public with her story of sexual harassment in the White House.

3 - Vince Foster - Former white House councilor, and colleague of
Hillary Clinton at Little Rock 's Rose Law firm. Died of a gunshot
wound to the head, ruled a suicide.

4 - Ron Brown - Secretary of Commerce and former DNC Chairman. Reported to have died by impact in a plane crash. A pathologist close to the investigation reported that there was a hole in the top of Brown's skull resembling a gunshot wound. At the time of his death Brown was being investigated, and spoke publicly of his willingness to cut a deal with prosecutors.

5 - C. Victor Raiser II and Montgomery Raiser, Major players in the
Clinton fund raising organization died in a private plane crash in
July 1992.

6 - Paul Tulley - Democratic National Committee Political Director
found dead in a hotel room in Little Rock, September 1992...
Described by Clinton as a "Dear friend and trusted advisor."

7- Ed Willey - Clinton fund raiser, found dead November 1993 deep in the woods in VA of a gunshot wound to the head. Ruled a suicide. Ed Willey died on the same day his wife Kathleen Willey claimed Bill Clinton groped her in the oval office in the White House. Ed Willey was involved in several Clinton fund raising events.

8 - Jerry Parks - Head of Clinton's gubernatorial security team in
Little Rock Gunned down in his car at a deserted intersection
outside Little Rock . Park's son said his father was building a
dossier on Clinton He allegedly threatened to reveal this
information. After he died the files were mysteriously removed from his house.

9 - James Bunch - Died from a gunshot suicide. It was reported
that he had a "Black Book" of people which contained names of
influential people who visited prostitutes in Texas and Arkansas

10 - James Wilson - Was found dead in May 1993 from an apparent hanging suicide. He was reported to have ties to Whitewater.

11- Kathy Ferguson, ex-wife of Arkansas Trooper Danny Ferguson, was found dead in May 1994, in her living room with a gunshot to her head. It was ruled a suicide even though there were several packed suitcases, as if she were going somewhere. Danny Ferguson was a co-defendant along with Bill Clinton in the Paula Jones lawsuit. Kathy Ferguson was a possible corroborating
witness for Paula Jones.

12 - Bill Shelton - Arkansas State Trooper and fiancee of Kathy
Ferguson. Critical of the suicide ruling of his fiancee, he was
found dead in June, 1994 of a gunshot wound also ruled a suicide at the grave site of his fiancee.

13 - Gandy Baugh - Attorney for Clinton 's friend Dan Lassater, died by jumping out a window of a tall building January, 1994. His client was a convicted drug distributor.

14 - Florence Martin - Accountant & sub-contractor for the CIA, was related to the Barry Seal Mena Airport drug smuggling case. He died of three gunshot wounds.

15 - Suzanne Coleman - Reportedly had an affair with Clinton when he was Arkansas Attorney General. Died of a gunshot wound to the back of the head, ruled a suicide. Was pregnant at the time of her death.

16 - Paula Grober - Clinton 's speech interpreter for the deaf from
1978 until her death December 9, 1992. She died in a one car
accident.

17 - Danny Casolaro - Investigative reporter. Investigating Mena
Airport and Arkansas Development Finance Authority. He slit his
wrists, apparently, in the middle of his investigation.

18 - Paul Wilcher - Attorney investigating corruption at Mena Airport with Casolaro and the 1980 "October Surprise" was found dead on a toilet June 22, 1993 in his Washington DC apartment. Had delivered a report to Janet Reno three weeks before his death

19 - Jon Parnell Walker - Whitewater investigator for Resolution
Trust Corp. Jumped to his death from his Arlington , Virginia apartment balcony August15, 1993. He was investigating the Morgan Guarantee scandal.

20 - Barbara Wise - Commerce Department staffer. Worked closely with Ron Brown and John Huang. Cause of death unknown. Died November 29, 1996. Her bruised, nude body was found locked in her office at the Department of Commerce.

21- Charles Meissner - Assistant Secretary of Commerce who gave John Huang special security clearance, died shortly thereafter in a small plane crash.

22 - Dr. Stanley Heard - Chairman of the National Chiropractic Health Care Advisory Committee, died with his attorney Steve Dickson in a small plane crash. Dr. Heard, in addition to serving on Clinton 's advisory council personally treated Clinton 's mother, stepfather and brother.

23 - Barry Seal - Drug running pilot out of Mena Arkansas , death was no accident.

24 - Johnny Lawhorn Jr. - Mechanic, found a check made out to Bill
Clinton in the trunk of a car left at his repair shop. He was found
dead after his car had hit a utility pole.

25 - Stanley Huggins - Investigated Madison Guarantee. His death was a purported suicide and his report was never released.

26- Hershell Friday - Attorney and Clinton fund raiser died March 1, 1994 when his plane exploded.

27 - Kevin Ives and Don Henry - Known as "The boys on the track" case. Reports say the boys may have stumbled upon the Mena Arkansas airport drug operation. A controversial case, the initial report of death said, due to falling asleep on railroad tracks. Later reports claim the two boys had been slain before being placed on the tracks. Many linked to the case died before their testimony could come before a Grand Jury.

THE FOLLOWING PERSONS HAD INFORMATION ON THE IVES/HENRY CASE:

28 - Keith Coney - Died when his motorcycle slammed into the back of a truck, July 1988.

29 - Keith McMaskle - Died stabbed 113 times, Nov, 1988

30 - Gregory Collins - Died from a gunshot wound January 1989.

31 - Jeff Rhodes - He was shot, mutilated and found burned in a
trash dump in April 1989.

32 - James Milan - Found decapitated. However, the Coroner ruled his death was due to "natural causes."

33 - Jordan Kettleson - Was found shot to death in the front seat of his pickup truck in June 1990.

34 - Richard Winters - A suspect in the Ives / Henry deaths. He was killed in a set-up robbery July 1989.

>>>> > THE FOLLOWING CLINTON BODYGUARDS ARE DEAD:
>>>> > 36 - Major William S. Barkley Jr.
>>>> > 37 - Captain Scott J. Reynolds
>>>> > 38 - Sgt. Brian Hanley
>>>> > 39 - Sgt. Tim Sabel
>>>> > 40 - Major General William Robertson
>>>> > 41 - Col. William Densberger
>>>> > 42 - Col. Robert Kelly
>>>> > 43 - Spec. Gary Rhodes
>>>> > 44 - Steve Willis
>>>> > 45 - Robert Williams
>>>> > 46 - Conway LeBleu
>>>> > 47 - Todd McKeehan

Quite an impressive list! Pass this on. Let the public become aware of what happens to anyone who might damage the Clinton machine!

(ESPN's) "Tony (Kornheiser) Is Extremely Neurotic" - Joe Theisman On New “Monday Night Football”

Wow. I can understand that he's upset, but calling someone -- specifically ESPN's Tony Kornheiser "extremely neurotic" is a bit much. Well, it's one thing to say that in private conversation, but another to just hall off and make the comment before a media person. But Joe had a lot to say in this interview covered by MetroBostonNews.com . He dished more on Kornheiser saying "“Monday Night Football” cannot be an extension of “Pardon The Interruption,” because the game is too important."

The entire article by Christopher Price of Metro is below.....

Theismann Unplugged

Analyst sounds off on the Pats, Belichck and “Monday Night Football”
Former NFL quarterback Joe Theismann has never been shy about expressing his opinions. So when Metro caught up with him yesterday, it was no surprise the former Redskins quarterback and “Monday Night Football” analyst let fly on a number of topics, including what he thought about the Patriots’ offseason moves, Bill Belichick’s management style, whether or not Donovan McNabb should be worried and his feelings about being replaced on the “MNF” broadcasts by Ron Jaworski.

What are your thoughts about the Patriots’ moves this offseason?
I love them. It all starts with Mr. Kraft — I don’t think there’s anyone like Mr. Kraft. I have the utmost respect for him as a man, for the way he runs his organization. The way he entrusts his people with the responsibility of keeping this organization at the top … I look at the 49ers and the way they handled that situation. I think New England is the modern equivalent of that. You’ve got the best if not one of the top two or three coaches in the league in Bill [Belichick]. He’s the best at what he does.

You lose a Willie McGinest, you add an Adalius Thomas. You basically get a younger, bigger version of Willie. You have Junior [Seau] coming back healthy. Tedy [Bruschi] coming back healthy, hopefully, Rosevelt [Colvin] coming into his own. You’ve added the defensive linemen a few years ago. And even with Asante [Samuel] and his situation, the secondary is pretty solid, because that’s what you do. Bill believes that he can put the right people into the right situation and make them a Pro Bowler. You aren’t necessarily a Pro Bowler that has come to save a system.

Offensively, there isn’t anybody in football who doesn’t believe that this wasn’t a tight end offense a year ago. And that was the way it was going to be to be successful. The thing that really got Tom [Brady]… for six weeks, Tommy Brady was in a funk. As an aside, I’d like to congratulate him on fatherhood. I think it’s wonderful. Being a dad, this will be the greatest year of his life. I congratulate him and his girlfriend. But you look at what they’ve added. They added Kelley Washington, a big receiver who’s proven. You add Randy Moss … Randy gets a bad knock. Randy doesn’t deserve the criticism that he gets. I’ve known him since Day 1. I would have loved to have played with him. I would have lined up alongside Randy Moss any day, and twice on Sunday. You add Wes Welker, the leading receiver for the Dolphins a year ago. He fits the role of Troy Brown. And then you add Donte Stallworth. You’ve added size, you’ve added red zone production and you’ve added speed.

The biggest travesty of the 2006 season was the fact that Tom Brady was not selected to the Pro Bowl. Are you kidding me? I felt like he had — and had to have — his best year for them to get where to they got to. People forget they were four points from another Super Bowl — and they were going to win that one. I just feel like — and you have to put the qualifier out there that if everyone can stay healthy — I think they offensively become very, very difficult to defend, because offensively, they have the young running back. They have the best quarterback in football. Probably, there isn’t a receiver on that team that will catch more than 55 balls, the way I look at it. They’re probably going to be between 45 and 55, maybe five of them. They’re probably going to be in the low 60s, but they’re touchdown production will go up in the red zone.

What stands out the most about Belichick and the way he approaches the game?
Bill Belichick believes in his system and he puts it on his players to deliver, and if you don’t deliver, you won’t be here. If you’re not a New England Patriot type of player, you will not be a New England Patriot. He has a very specific idea as to what he’s looking for in that type of player.

I just think that defensively, there isn’t anybody better than him. As a head coach … the two things he does as a head coach is discipline and direction. And he cuts to the chase. There is no sugarcoating with him and his ballclub. He’s upfront. He tells you what he expects from you and he tells you how you’re going to do it.

How would you react if you were in Donovan McNabb’s situation? What if the Redskins came in and drafted a quarterback?
They did. I have walked in Donovan’s shoes. Tom Flick was a No. 2 pick when I was there. In 1981, we went 0-5, and they go out and get a quarterback. I was going to be traded to the Detroit Lions. The Redskins went out and drafted Tom Flick in the second round. Joe Gibbs was a second-year head coach. They were after his job.

The only thing that Donovan has to concern himself with is staying healthy, because there isn’t anybody who can threaten Donovan McNabb. He’s one of the great quarterbacks in this game. I don’t throw the term “great” around lightly. He has really earned the moniker of greatness. His problem over the last two years has been injuries. Andy [Reid] has built the offense around Donovan’s ability. There are always areas he can improve in — throwing the ball over the middle. The shorter passes, he tends to jump and rush them a little bit, and he’s not as accurate as he can be. But he’s a great threat. I think they’ve added some weapons on the outside. And to go draft a young quarterback, that’s smart. That’s business. It’s what you have to do as a football team. In Donovan’s case, there’s so much being made about nothing, in my opinion. The addition of a young quarterback … this is a non-story. Donovan McNabb is the quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles. He’ll be the quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles until such time he chooses not to.

What’s your opinion of the new “Monday Night Football” crew?
I love Ronnie. We’ve been friends for a long, long time and I think the world of Ron. [But] I’m not happy with what happened. When you sit down in a meeting and they tell you that you’ve had your best year ever, and the ratings have gone up 50 percent and the executives don’t even talk to my boss and tell me that they didn’t like the fact that I talked about football, you have a little trouble trying to process how you could have done better. For Mike [Tirico] and Tony [Kornheiser] and Ron, it’ll be a learning process again, because Ron hasn’t done television. Tony is extremely neurotic. And I think Mike really settled in. I felt like the last six games we really settled in as a real solid team, all of us. And now, they’ll have to re-create that chemistry again. I’m disappointed, certainly I never expected it. But the people at ESPN understand how to deliver a product. I will say this — I believe, 100 percent that you cannot insult the football fan. “Monday Night Football” is about football, and I hope that they continue to deliver that product to the fan. “Monday Night Football” cannot be an extension of “Pardon The Interruption,” because the game is too important. That’s just the way I feel.

Why are you here in Boston?
About five years ago, I was diagnosed with a what’s called an enlarging prostate. Fifty percent of the guys over 50 have it and 90 percent of men over 80 have it. If you’re getting older, there’s a real good chance your prostate is going to grow. When somebody mentions something about the prostate to a guy — bang — cancer is the first thing that pops into your mind. My dad had the surgery about two years ago, so I talked to my doctor with my PSA test and asked about my options. About that time, GlaxoSmithKline came to me and said they have a drug called Avodart that shrinks the prostate. There are drugs that make you feel like you don’t have to go to the bathroom. There aren’t a lot of drugs that shrink it. And this is one that actually shrinks the prostate. And the size of my prostate is down, based on the exam, because I get a physical every year. I just had my last one 2½ months ago. So it’s something that I’ve become very conscious of. I’m encouraging guys to take the time to go to the doctors and get examined. That is what it is. You owe it to your family, you owe it to yourself and you owe it to the quality of your life.

I’d go to Foxborough, and the first thing I’d have to do is time myself from the booth to the bathroom and back, because through the course of that game, I knew I’d have to at some point run out during a commercial. And since I started taking the drug, it’s worked for me. That’s why I’m such a big advocate for it.

It’s the kind of thing that every guys, as he grows older, will probably end up facing. Everybody says, ‘Oh, Jeez, I don’t want the exam.’ I say, ‘Look. If I can talk about this thing publicly and openly, I would hope that a lot of guys out there would be able to go to their doctors, and in the privacy of their doctors office and have an examination.’ So if there is a problem, it can be detected early on. If there isn’t a problem, it puts your mind and your family’s mind at ease. If you wait, what’s the alternative? It’s not very pleasant. That’s why I got involved in the campaign. It’s time for guys to be very conscious of their health and go to the doctor.

I get a chance to talk to some of the urologists and some of the doctors in the area from a patient’s standpoint and tell them that maybe there are some other ways that they can ask the people to ask the question. When people go to the doctor — and we do it with the doctor, we do it with accountants and we do it with lawyers — we assume that they’re the supreme authority and we assume that they have all the answers to all our problems. What I say is that if I’m not feeling good and I don’t ask you to look at something, maybe you can say ‘Hey, maybe we should take a look at this too.’ So it’s an opportunity to be able to share, maybe from a patient’s perspective information with the doctors.

My Dad and I, when I was a kid, we used to sit around and talk about how my Little League game went, or my Pop Warner game or high school game. Now, we talk about our prostates. [laughter] That’s how time has moved on.

For more information on prostate education, check out www.prostatecare.com.

Brianna Keilar's Sole Anchor On CNN Today

I just turned on CNN and happened to see Brianna Keilar as the sole anchor. She's actually doing very well, versus the somewhat choppy first start she turned in.

Well, ok, she's sharing the "stage" with Don Lemon, but that's cool.

Nice to see her moving into place.

TMZ.com Shows It's Racism With 50 Cent / Fergie Comment

Today's TMZ.com put this photo up of 50 Cent and Sarah Ferguson, the Dutches of York. But then they add this comment:

Fitty and Fergie's meeting was the strangest red carpet pairing since Jimmie "JJ" Walker arrived to an award show with acidic blonde political commentard Ann Coulter.

Why? I think they looked nice together. But it shows you how much racism really is a mental illness. Some of the comments on TMZ.com were just plain psyco.

Yahoo!'s Appointment of Jerry Yang As CEO No Surprise To Me - My Idea!

This week, Yahoo! announced it was hiring -- or re-hiring -- co-founder Jerry Yang as CEO. The move comes as no surprise to me because I suggested it to a newly-minted Yahoo finance executive I was sitting next to on a Monday April 30th 2007 5 PM EST flight bound from New York City, where I was for the NFL Draft, to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he and I both live.

The conversation started because we were talking about the web and "Web 2.0". In the process of the talk, we both revealed our occupations. He was only with Yahoo for about three months to that point and had just come from a meeting regarding the then-new acquisition of Ad Bright, the online ad company, in New York. I said that one reason Google was way ahead of Yahoo! was that there were two recognizable founders at the center -- Larry Page and Sergi Brin. By contrast, Yahoo's founders were no where to be seen. I said the best way to recapture some attention and institutional memory was to bring back Jerry Yang.

After the conversation, the man said little. He was working on a massive Excel spreadsheet that explained Yahoo's ad inventory and revenue estimates. OK, I absorbed a lot of information. Hey, it was in my face, what could I do?

Yahoo's website is an enormous system containing over 100 million pages and several billion impressions. I was really surprised at just how large the site system and the company as a result, had become. And it may be the very reason for the problems it faces -- it's so big both in site and company structure that it's lost it's identity.

Can Jerry Yang bring Yahoo! back? Perhaps. But I think the first move should be to simplify what's there. Yahoo's all over the place and it's hard to see it in a coherent fashion. Google's website design provides a key, as it's many services are neatly separated and grouped so one does not get lost. This isn't true for Yahoo!'s site at all.

Yahoo! needs to find a new design formula that's easy and timeless and scaleable -- and stick with it.

NFL's Neil Glat Comes To Bay Area To See Stadium Sites - KCBS

NFL Officials See Possible 49ers Stadium Site in Santa Clara

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KCBS) -- A day after looking at San Francisco’s proposed site for a new 49ers stadium, NFL executives toured Santa Clara’s tentative stadium site.

On Monday San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom briefed league officials on his plan to keep the team in the city and build a new stadium at the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard along the bay. The site is on the federal Superfund list because of toxic pollution. City officials have said the shipyard can be cleaned up in time to open a new stadium in 2012.

"It could be a special place, but the devil is in the details,'' NFL senior vice president Neil Glat said.

Niners owners favor a theme park parking lot south of Santa Clara, although Great America park officials recently announced they oppose the plan. ``We're concerned about a loss of parking and the construction process to build a new stadium,'' said Stacy Frole, spokeswoman for Ohio-based Cedar Fair, which owns Great America.

The NFL cannot directly dictate where the 49ers build a new stadium, but historically the league has lent teams money for new arenas. Three-quarters of NFL teams also must approve a team's move.

``We expect that a new stadium will cost $854 million ... and that some of that will include an investment from the team ownership and hope some will come from a loan from the NFL,'' 49ers Spokeswoman Lisa Lang said.

The 49ers announced in November they were abandoning a decade-long attempt to build a stadium at Candlestick Point, its San Francisco home since 1971.

Hillary Clinton Song Of Choice? "Jack - U - Off" - Wonkette

Oh boy. This is a hoot. I saw this on Wonkette and had to post it in full.

Hill's Campaign Song Revealed!



Good choice, Hill! The American people are tired of the masturbator! Sing along with Hillary!

If your man ain’t no good Come on over 2 my neighborhood
We can jump in the sack and I’ll jack U off
Our Campaign Song [HillaryClinton.com]

Senator Barack Obama Outworks Senator Clinton in Senate - Stats Prove It

For all of those who pick at Senator Barack Obama for having little experience, he sure is a hard working Senator.

Since he entered the Senate in 2005, Barack Obama's sponsored 152 bills according to the Library of Congress , or about 76 each year. GovTrak says that his record of getting those bills out of committee is "average" but overall his record is miles ahead of his presidential challenger, Senator Hillary Clinton.

According to GovTrack, Senator Hillary Clinton has sponsored 308 bills since 2001, or about 44 each year. That breaks down to one sponsored bill every 8.29 days.

By contrast, Senator Barack Obama has a rate of one sponsored bill over every 4.8 days.



In other words, Senator Obama sponsors an average of one bill each week, where's Senator Clinton sponsors an average of one bill every two weeks.

When it comes to getting those pieces of legislation out of committee, again, Senator Obama tops Senator Clinton. Senator Obama's "out of committee" rate is considered "average" according to GovTrack, but Senator Hillary Clinton's rate is not just ranked as "poor" but "very poor."

This raises the question of how effective Senator Clinton will be as president if she's not successful in getting bills out of committee.

CNN Shows It's Anti-Obama Bias Again Today - Issues Don Lemon To Do Hit

CNN -- every working to downplay the shining star that is Senator Barack Obama along with the USA Today -- has shown it's anti-Obama bias again today. In a segment on the appearance of Senator Obama and Gov. Bill Richardson at the "Take Back America" rally, CNN devoted over 30 second to Richardson's more reasoned statements, while giving Senator Obama just 10 seconds and showing him in what were obviously closing statements of excitement.

Then, anchor Don Lemon is instructed to read a teleprompter which reports that Richardson crticized all the presidential candidates, "including Obama."

CNN's presidential coverage is just plain biased and terrible.

Shocking Boing 747 Beach Runway Landing

Taking a break from politics for one post, we have this spectacular landing of a 747 onto a runway placed right next to a beach where people walk and a major street. It's the most up-close and shocking video of its kind I've ever seen. The plane is just too close.

June 17th USA Today / Gallup Poll Rigged - Redone To Place Clinton Ahead

Question: Why are you a Democrat? Click for answers here.

OK. Get this. Just get this. Two weeks ago, Senator Barack Obama was tied -- that's right, tied -- with Senator Hillary Clinton for the 2008 Democratic Presidential race in the then latest USA Today / Gallup Poll. Now, USA Today / Gallup didn't do a poll in May, and certainly not two weeks apart, but this new one says that Senator Clinton has a large lead.

What?

The critical eye would have a question. I've got several. But the bottom line is the second round of polling was rigged. Why? Because someone didn't like the outcome and doesn't want Senator Barack Obama to win, so they immediately ordered another poll and worked to obtain results they wanted to see.

The poll effort was rigged. That's right, rigged.

You can't even find the poll on the Gallup website. How in the hell can you explain the supposed "double-digit lead" Senator Clinton has, but then she's behind in South Carolina? That observation about the black vote being the reason is pure bull shit.

Don't believe it because there's no proof for it.

This is what the USA Today's "Gallup Guru" , Frank Newport, reported in his blog - the smoking gun, in part, is here:

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Clinton, Obama, immigration and Russian attitudes

New polling data from several survey organizations – including pending data from Gallup -- make it clear that Sen. Hillary Clinton is maintaining or strengthening her lead for the presidential nomination over Sen. Barack Obama among Democrats. Our early June USA Today/Gallup poll showed the two tied, as discussed here and here. But that finding apparently did not signify a significant change in the structure of the race. The latest polls from the Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg and Wall Street Journal/NBC show Clinton in her accustomed role as leader when Democrats are asked whom they want to be their party’s nominee. It looks as if the June 1-3 USA Today/Gallup poll either picked up a short term change, or as noted here, was a function of unusual sampling which happened to pick up Democrats who were more pro-Obama than the underlying population.

We have a Gallup poll now in the field, with results to be reported early next week. Preliminary indications are that this poll will find Clinton back in her typical leadership position as she has been for the most part this year.

What? In other words, Whoops! We can't believe the outcome, so we've got to talk to a new set of people and get the outcome we want. We can't -- just can't -- be forced to report that Senator Obama is tied with Senator Clinton.

What the Gallup Guru does not explain is why they did a new poll so close after the first one, and without having done a poll two weeks before?

I'll tell you why. Because USA Today and CNN are reporting these polls and don't want Senator Barack Obama to win the Democratic race for the White House.

They don't want a president who happens to be Black, and so they're trying to engineer a win for Senator Clinton. First, CNN consistently focuses on the race issue, then reports any small seemingly negative information about Senator Obama. Any positive information is either downplayed or avoided altogether, or rigged, as in the case of this polling process.

I think the USA Today, CNN, and Gallup all should appologize to Senator Barack Obama. I seriously doubt Frank Newport just decided to do a new poll -- the USA Today paid him to do a new poll because they didn't like the outcome of the first one.

That's crass. Noam Chomsky was right in his classic work "Manufacturing Consent" -- the old media (USA Today) is trying to manipulate the public.

They have to explain the South Carolina poll as well as why the Mason-Dixon pollsters shared their error data, where the USA Today / Gallup Poll people did not. One can argue that the latest USA Today Gallup Poll has a huge margin of error considering the games they play with these polls. This is totally irresponsible on the part of USA Today and Gallup.

Why Are You A Democrat? - Democrats Give Their Reasons

I asked this question to Democrats attending a Democratic Party fundraiser in San Francisco earlier this year. I got a variety of responses but all seem to center around the theme of equality and social justice.

I was so inspired in part by this and by the support for Barack Obama that I purchased the music from Buffalo Springfield "For What It's Worth" and used it as the back music for this two minute video. Take a look. Why are you a Democrat?

Seattle Seahawks / Holmgren To Intall Offense Pre-Shift System

"Pre-shifting", or what was called "The Multiple Offense" is being installed by Settle Seahawk's coach Mike Holmgren for the 2008 season. This was reported and buried deep in an article on the Seattle Defense, and which appears below. But in my view, the writer missed the real story.

The strategy has been around since the turn of the 20th Century, but was used as a standard strategy by Dallas Cowboys Coach, the late Tom Landry during his 30-years as head coach. The idea is simply to have the offense "shirt" or move from one formation to the other before the ball is snapped. But the only West Coast / Walsh Offense team to use this until now has been the Tampa Bay Bucs under Jon Gruden.

There' a balance that has to be established between shifting and reading keys after the snap.

_________________________________________

Hawks' defense eager to step up for second Super Bowl run
By CLARE FARNSWORTH
P-I REPORTER

KIRKLAND -- It has been a defensive offseason for the Seahawks.

In the wake of the disappointment that was failing to defend their NFC championship in January, the club signed defensive end Patrick Kerney and safeties Deon Grant and Brian Russell as free agents in March.

April brought the NFL draft, which delivered cornerback Josh Wilson, defensive tackle Brandon Mebane and defensive end Baraka Atkins.

During the post-draft minicamp in May and June minicamp, these players helped lead a surge of rejuvenation that at times confused and stifled the Seahawks offense -- the team's signature unit since coach Mike Holmgren arrived in 1999.

The events of the past 3 1/2 months have been enough to foster the notion that if the defense can rank among the NFL's top 10, the Seahawks have a chance to return to the Super Bowl for the second time in three seasons.

Top 10? Why stop there, says the smile that washes across the face of Pro Bowl linebacker Julian Peterson.

"Seattle is known for its offense, but we want to eventually make it so the defense is what holds the team together," Peterson said Thursday after the team's final minicamp practice. "That's what we're striving to be -- we want to be one of the top five defenses in the league. We have the talent to do that."

Now that is saying something.

The Seahawks have not finished among the top 10 in defense since 1997, and have done it only three times in the past 15 seasons. They were 19th last season -- down from No. 16 during their Super Bowl run in 2005 -- when a seemingly endless avalanche of deep pass plays and long runs doomed the Seahawks to mediocrity, and too often came in critical situations.

"We were OK, at times, but not nearly consistent enough," Holmgren said. "They have a real chance to be better, and we have to be. It's a huge challenge."

Said Peterson, "We're just going to hold up our end on the defense and let the offense continue to do what they do."

But all this concentration on the defense might be masking the real key to the team's success in 2007 -- that offense, which is another year older and replacing several more pieces of the cohesive unit that used to be among the most productive in the league.

During the two-minute drill that ended Thursday's practice, a fiery Holmgren admonished his No. 1 unit after an unblocked defensive lineman was allowed a clear path to quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. On the very next play, fill-in center Pat Ross and Hasselbeck botched the center exchange.

Holmgren gave the first unit another chance, only to have another fumbled snap.

It is asking too much for this up-tempo offense to function as efficiently in June -- or even early September -- as it always seems to by season's end. Especially since Pro Bowl left tackle Walter Jones and leading rusher Shaun Alexander were absent Thursday, when starting center Chris Spencer also saw his first, though limited, contact of the offseason after having postseason shoulder surgery.

But is it expecting too much to just get the ball into Hasselbeck's hands?

The offense worked extensively during this minicamp on pre-snap movement, which is designed to throw new wrinkles at defenses this season and also hold the attention of veteran players and coaches.

"If I find myself kind of standing at practice and going, 'Oh boy, if I have to look at that play one more time I'm going to faint,' then I know it's kind of time to throw in some new stuff," Holmgren said.

"It's healthy to stimulate the veterans that we have and get them thinking, so it's not just business as usual," he said. "And adding things to our repertoire is healthy, as long as it helps us."

Wrinkles aside, the offense that takes the field when training camp practices begin July 28 will not be the same seamless unit that led the Seahawks to three consecutive NFC West titles.

Spencer, left guard Rob Sims and a yet-to-be-determined right guard will man the interior of the line -- Spencer as a full-time replacement for the retired Robbie Tobeck and Sims as the latest option to try to make everyone forget about Steve Hutchinson's departure in free agency last offseason.

Deion Branch has moved to the flanker spot that opened when leading receiver Darrell Jackson was traded to the San Francisco 49ers during the draft. D.J. Hackett will replace Branch as the split end. Marcus Pollard and his 35-year-old body will try to supply what Jerramy Stevens couldn't -- consistent production from the tight end spot.

Regardless of the system and its past success, that is a lot of turnover for one offseason.

The suddenly defensive-minded Seahawks just can't allow it to create turmoil.

Paris Hilton Had Bad DUI Lawyer - No Communication

I just ran accross this blog that essentially says that had Paris Hilton enjoyed better communication with her lawyers, she would have likely stayed out of jail.

This New Jersey law firm, working to draw clients itself, explains that poor attorney / client comunication was the reason for her jail time and that a responsible lawyer would make sure their client was following the law and staying out of trouble.

Anonymous Internet Trolls Sued By Yale Women

I learned of this from TechCrunch , where Michael Arrington wrote "Although the case may well turn into an argument in relation to free speech online, it’s difficult to sympathize with the trolls. Free speech does need to be defended but it must be respected; with any power comes responsibility. Slandering people anonymously, particularly where that slander has direct consequences is a step too far."

I totally agree, yet there are people who pose as Anonymous Internet Trolls and lurk on sites like The Daily Kos , and seem to delight in trying to be insulting and hurful, and they do so behind a fake name and generally with no other website to track them down at.

I call them cowards who would not say what they write to anyone in public, and be considered pretty fucked up if they did.

As a Barack Obama supporter, I've got some weird comments; so many that after the last one, I elected to disallow comments from all but registered Blogger users.

According to Reuters,.. after facing lewd comments and threats by posters, two women at Yale Law School filed a suit on June 8 in U.S. District Court in New Haven, Connecticut, that includes subpoenas for 28 anonymous users of the site, which has generated more than 7 million posts since 2004.

According to court documents, a user on the site named "STANFORDtroll" began a thread in 2005 seeking to warn Yale students about one of the women in the suit, entitled "Stupid Bitch to Enter Yale Law." Another threatened to rape and sodomize her, the documents said.

The plaintiff, a respected Stanford University graduate identified only as "Doe I" in the lawsuit, learned of the Internet attack in the summer of 2005 before moving to Yale in Connecticut. The posts gradually became more menacing.

Some posts made false claims about her academic record and urged users to warn law firms, or accused her of bribing Yale officials to gain admission and of forming a lesbian relationship with a Yale administrator, the court papers said.

This news certainly should come as welcome to bloggers like Kathy Sierra, who was the target of death threats by Anonymous Internet Trolls, some of which took to wildly insulting and scary methods of hurting her with words and pictures, and for no reason -- no good reason that is.

I for one do no allow Anonymous Internet Trolls to write on this blog save for the occasional person who's trying to make money by adding a link to some program they sponsor. I'm fine with that. But in other cases, forget it. I want names. I want you to be known so we can have the authorities track you down.

Now, someone reading that last sentence might cringe, thinking about the many politically motivated blogs that need to protect their writers. Hey, I've got no problem with protecting righfully subversive political figures, but that's where a need for a community of people who really protect these figures is needed. Look, if a government wants to find even a "blogger in hiding" it can do it; a system -- a social system to keep these change-agents protected, even if it means getting them out of the country itself and to America, is needed.

My point is that we have so many Anonymous Internet Trolls running around they've spoiled the soup for the nice and respectful bloggers. Perhaps we have to remove the good with the bad as the community does not seem to want to police itself.

We've got to do it for them.

Bonnie Piesse Is "Aunt Beru" From Star Wars Episode II and Episode III

Actress Bonnie Piesse appeared at WonderCon in San Francisco and was kind enough to listen to my stupid question regarding her time playing "Aunt Beru" in Star Wars Episode II and Star Wars Episode III. In our conversation Bonnie explains that the baby she held was in fact not real, but was made to feel like a real baby.



She also offered that George Lucas, who directed and produced the movies, was relaxed and easy to work with. Finally, Bonnie talks about her music and her album which is set to debut in late 2007.

The Bill Clinton / Hillary Clinton / Ron Burkle Memos

The bottom line is that Bill Clinton's had this unchecked investment organization that has paid the Clinton's over $1,000 in payments. That same company invests Worldwide. Because the Clinton's are being paid, it does seem like influnce-peddling. Indeed, it's hard to argue against such a claim. But the bottom line is that poltiicians are still paying for access. This must end -- please.


YUCAIPA COMPANIES: “POSTER CHILD
FOR THE ILLS OF POLITICAL DONATIONS AND BUSINESS”
Yucaipa is a holding company that invests across a wide range of industries—from groceries to logistics to
magazine distribution. Ronald Burkle, chairman of Yucaipa, has been a multi-million fundraiser and donor for
Bill and Hillary Clinton and in Bill Clinton’s post-presidency, Burkle has emerged as a close friend and rain-
maker for the Clintons – and the friendship has been prosperous for both.

“The mainstream business press beats up on [Burkle], essentially for buying access and
influence among politicians and leaders of the pension funds that invest with him
(FORBES included). ‘I basically became the poster child for the ills of political donations
and business. It’s preposterous!’ Burkle protests.” [Forbes, 12/11/06]

BILL CLINTON AND YUCAIPA

2006: Bill Clinton Has Guaranteed Payments “Over $1,000” From Yucaipa And Has Invested In Several
Yucaipa Funds. Hillary’s financial disclosure report indicates that Bill Clinton has “over $1,000” in guaranteed
payments from Yucaipa Global Holdings. Because the Clintons are not required to report the actual amount or
any range of income that is more specific than “over $1,000” we do not know how much Bill has been compen-
sated. Through WJC International Investments GP, Bill Clinton invests in Yucaipa Global Holdings and Yu-
caipa Global Partnership. The Yucaipa Global Partnership Fund “invests in securities of corporations that con-
duct significant operations in foreign countries.” Clinton reported interest income between $201-$1,000 from
Yucaipa Global Holdings and between $1,001-$2,500 from Yucaipa Global Partnership Fund. [2006 Sen. Clinton
Senate Financial Disclosure Report; 6, 8]

2005: Bill Clinton Has Guaranteed Payments “Over $1,000” From Yucaipa And Has Invested In Several
Yucaipa Funds. Hillary Clinton’s Senate annual financial-disclosure statement for 2005 show Bill Clinton re-
ceiving ‘guaranteed’ partnership payments from the Yucaipa Global Opportunities Fund I LLC of ‘over
$1,000.’ A spokesman for Bill Clinton said he owns a one-third share of that fund. The two other Yucaipa
funds involving the former president the Yucaipa American Fund and the Yucaipa Corporate Initiative Fund
aren’t listed on Hillary Clinton’s disclosure form. Bill Clinton’s spokesman said he would only receive remu-
neration from those two funds if they meet certain investment benchmarks. Since he hasn’t received any mon-
ies from them, no disclosure is required, the spokesman said.” [Wall Street Journal, 5/2/07]

∞ WSJ: Bill Clinton May Receive Millions From Yucaipa. “After leaving the White House, Bill Clinton
became a senior adviser to Yucaipa and involved in three of its investment funds. When Clinton joined
Yucaipa in 2002, the company said he would ‘provide counsel’ and ‘participate in events related to the
funds and provide advice in the development of potential investments.’ Neither Yucaipa nor Mr. Clinton
has released full details about the former president’s compensation. Some observers have estimated he
could make millions of dollars or more from his Yucaipa connection. [Wall Street Journal, 5/2/07]

YUCAIPA BUSINESS DEALS

TRUCKING DEAL: BILL CLINTON HOOKS BURKLE UP WITH HOFFA, TEAMSTERS

Bill Clinton Assisted Billionaire Hillary Clinton Bundler Ron Burkle In A Controversial Effort To Take
Over The Car Hauling Business. Los Angeles billionaire Ron Burkle has stirred up controversy with his ef-
fort to take control of a big chunk of the nation’s car-hauling business, with some help from Bill Clinton. In
2006 two investment funds in Burkle’s Yucaipa Cos. bought big holdings of Allied Holdings Inc. debt, making
Yucaipa the largest unsecured creditor of the company, which sought bankruptcy-court protection in 2005. Ear-

lier this year, Yucaipa gained control of Performance Transportation Services, another big car hauler. Allied and
Performance together account for an estimated 50 percent of the new vehicles hauled by truck in the U.S. The
International Brotherhood of Teamsters agreed to back a 15 percent wage cut for those workers. By bringing
Burkle together with teamsters boss James Hoffa, Bill Clinton helped to pave the way for the two sides to work
together in the effort to reorganize Allied and bring it out of bankruptcy proceedings. [Wall Street Journal, 5/2/07]

∞ Lawsuit Says Yucaipa Interfered With Teamsters To Push Own Reorganization Plan. Now, a fed-
eral lawsuit filed in Atlanta by some union members, three Allied directors and several outside investors
alleges Yucaipa interfered in Allied’s talks with the Teamsters as a way to push through its own reor-
ganization plan. They also say that as an owner of a major Allied competitor, Yucaipa has a conflict of
interest and is looking to gain an improper amount of market power in the car-hauling business. In the
Allied matter, Burkle has credited President Clinton with persuading Hoffa to work with Yucaipa as a un-
ion-friendly employer a feat that Burkle said he couldn’t have pulled off on his own. Teamster and Yu-
caipa officials say that in 2003 Clinton suggested to Hoffa that he look to Yucaipa if any companies em-
ploying Teamsters got into financial trouble.” [Wall Street Journal, 5/2/07]

Mickey Kaus: Clinton-Burkle-Hoffa Deal Has Implications If Hillary Is President. Kaus wrote, “Yucaipa
arranged for Clinton to make a speech at a Teamsters conference in 2003, and later Clinton urged Teamsters
President James Hoffa Jr. to trust Burkle and present him with possible deals. Result: This spring Yucaipa paid
$100 million to buy a controlling stake in Allied Holdings, a trucking outfit in bankruptcy proceedings. ‘Clinton
got it to the point where Hoffa actually helped us with that deal, something I couldn’t have gotten on my own,’
Burkle says. So Hoffa helps Clinton with a deal that makes Clinton and Burkle money. And if Hoffa needs
something in a few years from President Hillary Clinton’s White House ...” [Mickey Kaus, Slate, 12/28/06]

INVESTMENTS IN ASTROLOGICAL SOFTWARE AND DISTRIBTION OF PLAYBOY

Recent Yucaipa Investments Have Included Alliance Entertainment Corp. And Source Interlink. Accord-
ing to the Philadelphia Inquirer, “Alliance Entertainment Corp., Florida, is a music and magazine distributor.
Yucaipa paid an estimated $130 million for the company in 1999, and traded the firm for stock worth more than
$300 million in 2005 to Source Interlink Cos., leaving Yucaipa as Source Interlink’s largest shareholder.” [Phila-
delphia Inquirer, 3/26/06]

MATRIX SOFTWARE

Matrix Software, Part Of Alliance Entertainment, Is The Leading Astrological Software Provider. “Ma-
trix Software is the leading developer and publisher of specialty astrological software for use on personal PC’s.
Founded in 1977 Matrix is one of the oldest continuously operating PC software companies in existence today.
Matrix Software became a part of Alliance Entertainment in 1995 when it was purchased with its sister com-
pany All Media Guide (AMG). Today Matrix catalog of more than sixty programs are used by astrologers, and
the astrologically curious in over 119 countries. The Matrix Oracle online is one of the most visited astrology
sites on the web.” [Alliance Entertainment website, accessed 5/23/07]

SOURCE INTERLINK

Source Interlink Renewed Full Distribution And Marketing Agreements With Playboy. A Source Interlink
press release included, under the heading “Recent Business Highlights”: “The Company renewed full distribu-
tion and marketing services agreements with Playboy Enterprises International, Inc. and Scientific American,
Inc. for the international marketplace. [PR Newswier, 4/17/06]


Source Interlink Secured Exclusive Distribution Of All Magazines To And Borders Stores... In a May
2007 Source Interlink press release, Michael Duckworth, chairman of Source Interlink, commented “We are
very pleased to have been selected by Borders Group as its exclusive supplier of magazines and we consider
this to be an outstanding opportunity to help expand the category. We look forward to working with the com-
pany and our publisher partners to enhance the customer experience at newsstands.” [Source interlink press release,
11/04/05, accessed 5/23/07; Source interlink press release, 5/7/07, accessed 5/23/07]

...And Penthouse Sales Grew At Borders. Mediaweek wrote, “Penthouse has stopped taking ads with strong
sexual content, resulting in a 4.1 percent drop in ad pages year to date, according to the Mediaweek Magazine
Monitor. But circulation has increased. The title is back at many more Borders and Barnes & Noble outlets, and
paid and verified circ was up 2.9 percent, to 366,024, in the six months ended June 30, according to the Audit
Bureau of Circulations.” [Mediaweek, 10/9/06]

DEAL WITH CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RETIREMENT SYSTEM

2006: Calpers: We Chose To Invest In Yucaipa Funds Because Of Their Track Record, Commitment To
Disadvantaged Communities. The New York Times wrote, “The California Public Employees Retirement
System, often called Calpers, is a major investor in the two domestic funds of Yucaipa, committing $400 mil-
lion since 2002 with an option to invest another $275 million, according to public records. Calpers officials said
they chose to invest with Yucaipa because it has a stellar track record and it invests in communities that have
trouble attracting other investment capital.” [New York Times, 4/23/06]

2002: Experts: Bill Clinton Is Worth $5 Million A Year To Raise Investment Funds From Unions. The
New York Post wrote, “Bill Clinton has landed a real job. And if the ex-president rakes in enough cash for the
coffers of Yucaipa Cos., a group of investment funds based in Los Angeles, his pay could top $5 million a year,
experts estimated. ‘He can get that [$5 million] and more,’ said one. ‘He’s worth it.’ The fund managers want
Clinton to help raise $1.5 billion, mainly from the nation’s $400 billion in union pension funds.” [New York Post,
4/12/02]

∞ Success Raising Funds From Unions Motivated Creation Of The Second Domestic Fund. The New
York Times wrote, “The two funds started by Yucaipa first got their start last year when the California
Public Employees’ Retirement System, one of the nation’s largest and most influential pension plans, ap-
proved a $475 million initiative to invest in blighted urban and rural communities throughout the state.
The retirement system then picked 11 investment firms as partners with the hope it would spur develop-
ment in areas ignored by venture capitalists. Yucaipa was allotted $200 million by the retirement system
and set up a fund. But Mr. Burkle liked the idea enough to start another fund, the American Fund, which
has raised $560 million from state and union pensions.” [New York Times, 4/11/02]

2004: Data Showed Zero Return From Yucaipa Funds. The New York Times wrote, “Mr. Scheer also said
that the information would help settle longstanding questions about whether some investment partnerships were
favored because they had cultivated relationships with politicians and celebrities. A family of private invest-
ment partnerships created by the Yucaipa Companies, for instance, sometimes sponsors appearances by former
President Bill Clinton at conferences for pension trustees. The new data show that Calpers paid fees around $8.6
million to three Yucaipa investment partnerships in 2003. The return from those partnerships was zero.” [New
York Times, 12/8/04]


Burkle Won No-Auction Deals From CALPERS, Leaned On Ties To Influential Politicians. Forbes wrote,
“In 2000 Burkle decided to launch a few private equity funds aimed at big no-auction deals (he has been the
sole bidder in 75% of his transactions), and he brandished a well-honed talent for mixing business and politics.
California’s then $165 billion state pension plan, Calpers, committed $760 million to Burkle’s funds. More
scorn for Burkle: In the mid-1990s he had contributed money to the campaigns of Governor Gray Davis, San
Francisco’s former mayor Willie Brown (his former lawyer) and State Treasurer Philip Angelides, and later
Brown and Angelides joined the Calpers board. ‘How were we supposed to know in the mid-1990s that Willie
Brown was going to be on the board of Calpers?’ he says. You would never have guessed unless maybe you
knew that Willie Brown was about as well-connected as any politician in California’s history.” [Forbes, 12/11/06]

∞ CALPERS Board Drew Criticism For Awarding Investment Deal To Yucaipa Despite Ties To The
Company and Burkle. “Bob Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies, a consumer
watchdog group in Los Angeles, said he is concerned that CalPERS board members are ‘in the position
of voting to invest with people who have made campaign contributions. I think there’s a problem with
that.’ [...] Nine of the board’s 13 members are elected officials. Six are elected to the board directly by
current and former state employees, and three more seats are held by San Francisco Mayor Brown, State
Treasurer Phil Angelides and State Controller Kathleen Connell. [AP, 7/18/02]

∞ Key CalPERS Decision Makers Received Campaign Contributions. “State records show that Brown,
Angelides and Connell all received campaign contributions from supermarket magnate Ron Burkle, his
wife or his companies. All three later voted to invest hundreds of millions with Burkle’s Yucaipa
Co...Paul Sanford at the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington, D.C., a nonpartisan group that
tracks money in politics, said those who had received money from Burkle should have recused them-
selves. ‘That doesn’t even seem like a close call,’ he said.” [AP, 7/18/02]

CLINTON APPOINTEE STEERS BURKLE TOWARDS (BUNGLED) FEMA CONTRACT

Burkle Firm, AmeriCold Logistics, Won FEMA Contract With James Lee Witt’s Help. USA Today wrote,
“A firm headed by former Federal Emergency Management Agency director James Lee Witt helped a Georgia
company win federal contracts worth up to $85 million in work related to Hurricane Katrina and other major
2005 storms, interviews and government records show. James Lee Witt Associates received $40,000 in lobby-
ing fees this year for representing Atlanta-based AmeriCold Logistics, one of the nation’s largest cold-storage
companies, federal records show. As part of the lobbying effort, Witt’s firm arranged a meeting between FEMA
officials and AmeriCold last spring, before the start of the hurricane season, Witt spokesman Barry Scanlon
said.” According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, “AmeriCold Logistics, Atlanta, is the nation’s largest cold-
storage company. Yucaipa paid $145 million for 21 percent of AmeriCold in 2004.” [Philadelphia Inquirer, 3/26/06;
USA TODAY, 10/13/05]