SF Land Deal for Transbay Terminal Gets Record Price

San Francisco is enjoying an embarrassment of riches:


Wall Street is decimated, Main Street is angry and K Street is in an outright panic over the magnitude of thenation’s financial problems.  But San Francisco’s Mission Street is in a parallel universe setting an all time record land price for the right to build San Francisco’s newest signature tower—the 1,000 ft Transbay Transit Tower being built in conjunction with the new Transbay Transit Center (transbaycenter.org)


The price is said to be over $4,900 per square foot.  At that price, who needs more than 49 square miles of land?


See the below Hines release on the deal or visit the TJPA Web site http://transbaycenter.org/TransBay/content.aspx?id=1104 for additional information:.

When does a figther pilot run from an encounter?

Does John McCain really think Americans buy that he can help develop a Wall Street solution when he's not only stood for deregulation for decades but also admitted recently he doesn't get the economy? A fighter pilot only turns tail when he's lost hope.

But even this stunt about "suspending his campaign" can be used to distract from the issues. So now when November comes around, if and when the savvy Senator comes up short he's built an excuse in advance, right? This isn't merely political maneuvering: Finally we're seeing some real strategic planning from the former Navy Pilot "Country Club First" McCain; shame it's resulted in a transparent tactic that's not helping others.

So let's talk about why his support of deregulation (and the deregulation itself) was such a fiasco, shall we? Let's not forget issues matter, let's not be drawn into wondering how old a guy has to be to be called "the original" maverick, and let's not fall for a ploy to reduce the amount of time the media devotes to issues by canceling a debate that everybody but Senator McCain seems to be looking forward to.

Are men allowed at "Women for Obama" meetings?

Absolutely, as the blog-post at this link documents. Pictures and video from a recent "Women for Obama" get-together near the Twin Cities (in Northfield, the home of late Senator Paul Wellstone) - the speaker of the Minnesota State House of Representatives, Margaret Anderson Kelliher, even called in.

More than just "Women for Obama."

I hope the name never keeps anybody from attending. Look at the pictures... there were children present. This was literally dozens of people, lots of energy, lots of ideas, lots of commitment, synergy, and even though it was mostly women, there were a few men, too.

Conversation ranged from Wall Street deregulation and more general tax and economy topics to health care issues, community service, how to help Emily, the Obama Field organizer, cope with her long list of tasks in the office and on the phones and how to persuade the mainstream, commercial media to reform their tendencies by covering issues and facts during this election cycle rather than echoing talking points, which reinforces the effect of divisive old-school attack politics. (" 'Cause when they own the information, they can bend it how they want.")

The supply of beverages and treats seemed never-ending...

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Obama Campaign: The Debate Is On! - Calls McCain's Bluff

BREAKING NEWS from ABC - Obama campaign calls the bluff of the McCain camp, says the debate is on.

Sarah Palin In Polling Free Fall - 49 Percent Say She's Not Qualified

And now we're bracing for the newest NBC News / Wall Street Journal poll to come out at 3:30 PM PST, which according to Andrew Sullivan , will show that while 40 percent think Gov. Sarah Palin is qualified to be vice president, 49 percent don't think so.

McCain Asks Obama to Postpone Debate - Code For "I'm Not Ready"

Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain are set to debate this Friday in the first of three conversations, but now according to a "Breaking News" email I just got from CNN, John McCain says he wants to postpone the debate to "work on the economy".

In my view, that's a code-word for "I'm not ready" and I've not decided how I'm going to vote on the Bailout Proposal.

According to The Political Wire , McCain's the main swing vote in the Bailout Proposal:

Congressional leaders tell George Stephanopoulos that if Sen. John McCain doesn't support the Bush administration's $700 billion bank bailout plan, the plan won't pass. 

Said one lawmaker: "If McCain doesn't come out for this, it's over."

"A Democratic leadership source says that White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten has been told that Democratic votes will not be there if McCain votes no -- that there is no deal if McCain doesn't go along."

Jake Tapper: "Senior Democrats on the Hill are worried that Sen. McCain will 'demagogue' the bill, continue to voice opposition to it, use it to run against both Wall Street and Congress, as well as to distance himself from the Bush White House. Democrats worry McCain will not only vote against the bill, he will provide cover for other Republicans to do so, leaving Democrats holding the bag for the Bush administration's deeply unpopular proposal."

Update: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tells The Hill that McCain will support the bailout effort.

Update II: CNN reports McCain denied Reid's claim and that he hasn't decided if he'll support the bill. 

If I were Barack, I'd say no and let him twist in the wind.

Laura Bush Says Sarah Palin Does Not Have Foreign Policy Experience

Well, so much for the ridiculous spin about the Alaska Air National Guard being foreign policy experience for Gov. Sarah Palin because First Lady Laura Bush just laid that to rest with this statement : 

"Of course she doesn't have that. You know, that's not been her role," she continued, "But I think she is a very quick study, and fortunately John McCain does have that sort of experience."

That flies in the face of the McCain campaign's claim that Palin has any foreign policy experience at all, and takes away a major foundation of the manchurian candidate's facade.   

Washington Post Poll Shows Likely Voters Backing Obama By Wide Margin

As I've written in the recent past, when likely voters tend to be Republican. What does it say when the majority tilt toward the Democratic Candidate? Well that's what's happening in today's Washington Post poll. See below:

Turmoil in the financial industry and growing pessimism about the economy have altered the shape of the presidential race, giving Democratic nominee Barack Obama the first clear lead of the general-election campaign over Republican John McCain, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News national poll.


Just 9 percent of those surveyed rated the economy as good or excellent, the first time that number has been in single digits since the days just before the 1992 election. Just 14 percent said the country is heading in the right direction, equaling the record low on that question in polls dating back to 1973.


More voters trust Obama to deal with the economy, and he currently has a big edge as the candidate who is more in tune with the economic problems Americans now face. He also has a double-digit advantage on handling the current problems on Wall Street, and as a result, there has been a rise in his overall support. The poll found that, among likely voters, Obama now leads McCain by 52 percent to 43 percent. Two weeks ago, in the days immediately following the Republican National Convention, the race was essentially even, with McCain at 49 percent and Obama at 47 percent.


As a point of comparison, neither of the last two Democratic nominees -- John F. Kerry in 2004 or Al Gore in 2000 -- recorded support above 50 percent in a pre-election poll by the Post and ABC News.

McCain Campaign Manager's Firm Paid By Freddie Mac Even As McCain Claims No Connection

Wow, how the connections line up. According to the New York Times and Newsweek, as Senator John McCain claimed that his campaign manager has has no business with or didn't benefit from Freddie Mac and Fanny Mae, we have this new news: Rick Davis' firm had a contract with Freddie Mac as recently as last month.

Here's the NYT account:

WASHINGTON — One of the giant mortgage companies at the heart of the credit crisis paid $15,000 a month from the end of 2005 through last month to a firm owned by Senator John McCain’s campaign manager, according to two people with direct knowledge of the arrangement.

The disclosure undercuts a statement by Mr. McCain on Sunday night that the campaign manager, Rick Davis, had had no involvement with the company for the last several years.

Mr. Davis’s firm received the payments from the company, Freddie Mac, until it was taken over by the government this month along with Fannie Mae, the other big mortgage lender whose deteriorating finances helped precipitate the cascading problems on Wall Street, the people said.

They said they did not recall Mr. Davis’s doing much substantive work for the company in return for the money, other than speak to a political action committee of high-ranking employees in October 2006 on the approaching midterm Congressional elections. They said Mr. Davis’s firm, Davis & Manafort, had been kept on the payroll because of Mr. Davis’s close ties to Mr. McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, who by 2006 was widely expected to run again for the White House.

Mr. Davis took a leave from Davis & Manafort for the presidential campaign, but as a partner and equity-holder continues to benefit from its income. No one at Davis & Manafort other than Mr. Davis was involved in efforts on Freddie Mac’s behalf, the people familiar with the arrangement said.

And this is Newsweeks account, which is blistering:

Since 2006, the federally sponsored mortgage giant Freddie Mac has paid at least $345,000 to the lobbying and consulting firm of John McCain's campaign manager Rick Davis, according to two sources familiar with the arrangement.

Freddie Mac had previously paid an advocacy group run by Davis, called the Homeownership Alliance, $30,000 a month until the end of 2005, when that group was dissolved. That relationship was the subject of a New York Times story Monday, which drew angry denunciations from the McCain campaign. McCain and his aides have vehemently objected to suggestions that Davis has ties to Freddie Mac—an especially sensitive issue given that the Republican presidential candidate has blamed "the lobbyists, politicians and bureaucrats" for the mortgage crisis that recently prompted the Bush administration to take over both Freddie Mac and its companion, Fannie Mae, and put them under federal conservatorship.

But neither the Times story—nor the McCain campaign—revealed that Davis's lobbying firm, Davis Manafort, based in Washington, D.C., continued to receive $15,000 a month from Freddie Mac until last month—long after the Homeownership Alliance had been terminated. The two sources, who requested anonymity discussing sensitive information, told NEWSWEEK that Davis himself approached Freddie Mac in 2006 and asked for a new consulting arrangement that would allow his firm to continue to be paid. The arrangement was approved by Hollis McLoughlin, Freddie Mac's senior vice president for external relations, because "he [Davis] was John McCain's campaign manager and it was felt you couldn't say no," said one of the sources. [McLoughlin did not return phone calls].

When asked about his own campaign manager's associations with the mortgage giants, McCain, in an interview with CNBC Sunday night, said that Davis "has had nothing to do" with the Homeownship Alliance since it disbanded and "I'll be glad to have his record examined by anybody who wants to look at it." (The Homeownership Alliance was set up and funded by both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to promote the goal of home ownership and counter efforts to impose tighter regulations on the two federally sponsored entities.)

Davis, in a conference call arranged by the McCain campaign on Monday, said "it's been over three years since there's been any activity in this area and since I had any contact with those folks." Davis also said he "had a severed leave of absence" from his lobbying and consulting firm, and "I've taken no compensation from my firm for 18 months." (A campaign spokesman said that Davis receives no partnership distribution under his arrangement).

It is not unusual for major corporations to enter into consulting retainers so that individuals could be available if needed. And the two sources stressed that Davis at no time made any threats or demands on Freddie Mac. But the sources indicated that Freddie Mac seldom called on Davis or the firm. On one occasion, Davis was asked to attend a meeting of the firm's political action committee during the 2006 campaign in order to give the Republican Party's perspective on the upcoming elections. In addition, Davis did meet with McLoughlin for breakfast on "one or two" occasions. Other than that, one source said, Davis "doesn't do anything" for Freddie Mac. The firm "doesn't even talk to him." In addition, Freddie Mac has had no contact with Davis Manafort other than receiving monthly invoices from the firm and paying them. But the money could be perceived as helping Freddie Mac ensure a good relationship with one of McCain's top aides in the event that he became president. The payments, along with other lobbying and consulting contracts, are expected to be terminated by the new federal overseers, the sources said.

The problem with deregulation: Where do we go from here?

In case you wonder if deregulation is the pivotal policy that led to the collapse on Wall Street, here's a quick, easily-grasped explanation that should help you grasp why that lofty "ideal" has failed in our never-quite-ideal real world. Are you surprised that some have tried to use the crisis for their own political or financial gain?

In what other industry would you have confidence enough to let the people with the most to gain act without regulation? Would car companies be so concerned with passenger safety without regulation? Would you want doctors to practice unregulated- no assurance they’d act with YOUR best interest in mind? Lawyers? Accountants? Toy Manufacturers? Food processors? I’m not suggesting there’s nothing good about a free-market economy, nor am I suggesting every insurance company or investment firm is run by greedy executives, but there have been snake-oil salesmen preying upon the unwary since before the dawn of history as nearly as I can determine.

We left foxes guarding the chicken coop. It's time for a carefully considered change.

• END Golden Parachutes -- Taxpayer dollars should not be used to reward the irresponsible, greedy Wall Street executives who lobbied for deregulation and engineered this disaster. Those who have earned millions must return their salaries as a starting point... imagine if that money might be used to PAY those loans down.

• TAXPAYERS, Not Just Wall Street -- Any bailout plan must include a payback strategy for taxpayers who are footing the bill and aid to innocent homeowners who are facing foreclosure.

• Bipartisan Oversight -- $700,000,000,000 is a staggering amount of money involved, and since it's coming from taxes the source MANDATES bipartisan expert oversight to ensure accountability.

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Richard Cabrera Files Fraudulent Report: Chevron Claim

The "Richard Cabrera Report" is the basis for the much-used number "$16 billion" as the cost of Ecuador's lawsuit against Chevron. Now, Chevron representatives hammered this claim for the following reasons:

1. Cabrera manipulated and altered findings to justify false conclusions, including backdating photos;

2. He presented no evidence of pollution by Texaco Petroleum, erroneously assigning $1.4 billion in remediation costs to pits he did not visit and do not exist;

3. He presented no evidence to support cancer claims - neither identifying a single individual nor including a single medical report;

4. He did not take a single drinking water sample to establish contamination, yet he assigned $428 million in damages to be paid to improve Ecuador's potable water system;

5. Plaintiffs helped Cabrera compile the report, accompanying and assisting him on field trips, influencing the content of his report by providing him methodological tools such as questionable surveys and pre-written reports to use as report exhibits;

Item number 5 is key, because it's another example of how the government of Ecuador has been assisting the lawsuit against Chevron. Finding evidence to support this claim has been hard but this is one more item.

Ecuador Lawyer Pablo Fajardo Says Chevron Ecuador Case Could End In 2011

This is new and extraordinary news, considering that both sides expected a ruling this year. Well, someone's going to have to finance Steve Donziger for another three years!

By Mercedes Alvaro - Dow Jones Newswires, September 16, 2008: 5:47 PM

QUITO - (Dow Jones)- A five-year-old environmental-damage trial in Ecuador against U.S. oil company Chevron Corp. (CVX) could take at least two or three more years, lawyers said Tuesday.

The delay is expected after objections to an April report from a court- appointed expert were received by a court in Lago Agrio.

The report prepared by Richard Cabrera, a geologist and environmental consultant, recommended that Chevron pay at least $8.3 billion, and maybe as much as $16 billion, in compensation for environmental damage in Ecuador.

Chevron is facing the lawsuit in Ecuador for alleged contamination by its Texaco unit in the Amazon region of Lago Agrio. The company is accused of having used out-of-date technology that led to environmental damage.

The complaint was launched in 1993 in a lawsuit in New York courts, which ruled that the case should be tried in Ecuador. In May 2003, several indigenous groups filed a lawsuit against the company in Lago Agrio (Nueva Loja).

The judge is expected to give Cabrera a reasonable timeframe to answer the objections from both Chevron and the plaintiffs.

Pablo Fajardo, one of the plaintiffs lawyers, told Dow Jones Newswires that he expects a final decision in 2011.

Chevron on Monday submitted its objections to Cabrera's report, saying that it contains "fabricated and erroneous evidence," exaggerated claims for damages and "was developed in collusion with the plaintiffs and their attorneys."

The company urged the court to reject Cabrera's report and accused him of manipulating and altering findings to justify false conclusions, including backdating photos.

The aim, said the company, is to make Chevron liable for all the environmental impact caused solely by Ecuadorian state oil company Petroecuador during 18-plus years of operation of the concession.

Meanwhile, the plaintiffs submitted their objections on Tuesday.

Fajardo said the plaintiffs are asking Cabrera to calculate the amount of damage to water supplies, and other damages.

Chevron has said several times that it has met all the requirements for environmental cleanup that were agreed upon with Petroecuador.

Chevron also has said that in 1998 Petroecuador released the U.S.-based company from any liabilities regarding cleanup efforts.

The plaintiffs said that this release isn't from individual claims and that the so-called "cleaned up" pits remain contaminated.