Obama Donations: Raises $10.3 Million Online in Second Quarter

Obama Raises $10.3 Million Online in Second Quarter
by Jonathan Singer, Mon Jul 02, 2007 at 01:20:50 PM EST

You're reading these numbers first here at MyDD.

During the second quarter, Barack Obama brought in $10.3 million dollars online, or about a third of the $32.5 million he raised overall this quarter. This ups his total online haul for the year to $17.2 million. Both of these online fundraising numbers are very large and indeed are records for this point in the campaign.

Since the beginning of the campaign 110,000 people have given online to the Obama campaign, or more than 40 percent of his donors. For year year, 90 percent of the online donations to the Obama campaign have been in amounts of $100 dollars or less, and a half of the online donations have been in amounts of $25 or less.

We'll get you the numbers for other candidates as they're released, but if you're interested in reading a comparison between online fundraising numbers this cycle versus the previous one, Jerome has a very interesting take. Quickly, Howard Dean raised about $25 million online of the $50 million or so he raised over the course of 2003, so Obama appears to be on pace to top that online fundraising record by a fairly large margin (though Obama's offline contributions make up a larger proportion of his overall fundraising than did Dean's).

BREAKING NEWS - President Bush Commutes Scooter Libby Prison Sentence

All I can say is wow. It helps to have the President as a friend. But this is a bombshell, and I would think opens the door for futher questioning on the involvement of the White House in the outing of Valerie Flame.

Bush Commutes Libby Prison Sentence
By MATT APUZZO
The Associated Press
Monday, July 2, 2007; 5:56 PM


WASHINGTON -- President Bush commuted the sentence of former aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby Monday, sparing him from a 2 1/2-year prison term in the CIA leak case. Bush left intact a $250,000 fine and two years probation for Libby, according to a senior White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision had not been announced.

Bush's move came hours after a federal appeals panel ruled Libby could not delay his prison term in the CIA leak case. That decision put the pressure on the president, who had been sidestepping calls by Libby's allies to pardon the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney.

President Bush walks to the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, after returning from a trip to Kennebunkport, Maine, Monday, July 2, 2007. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson) (Lawrence Jackson - AP)
Statement by the President.

The United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit today rejected Lewis Libby's request to remain free on bail while pursuing his appeals for the serious convictions of perjury and obstruction of justice. As a result, Mr. Libby will be required to turn himself over to the Bureau of Prisons ...

Libby was convicted in March of lying to authorities and obstructing the investigation into the 2003 leak of CIA operative's identity. He was the highest-ranking White House official ordered to prison since the Iran-Contra affair.

Hillary Clinton, Stan Lee, and Peter Paul = Campaign Finance Problems

Peter Paul v. Senator Hillary Clinton is an Internet trail of past Clinton problems still unsolved, particularly one involving Senator Clinton's run for the New York Senate in 2000 and her involvement with Peter Paul.

The most recent history of this case had Paul v. Clinton issuing oral arguments in a LA-based California Appeals Court last Friday, September 7th. The court should rule next week if Senator Clinton has to return as a witness in this civil business fraud case.

But who's Peter Paul? Paul is an entrepreneur who worked to get Bill Clinton to join the then-new Stan Lee Media company as a rainmaker, and of which Paul was 66 percent owner in 2000.

But this case has two parts -- the business fraud portion (where Paul claims that Former President Bill Clinton was to be a part of Stan Lee Media, but didn't join the firm even though he alledgedly promised to do so as a quid-pro-quo for Paul's financing of the gala), and the campaign finance portion, which is described below.



Apparently, Hillary Clinton's campaign understated contributions from Mr. Paul totalling over $772,000. At first, the campaign claimed that they'd never heard of Peter Paul, then Senator Clinton claimed she'd met him , but never had conversations regarding his contribution to her Senate run.

The video evidence shows otherwise, as does this webpage containing her deposition and letter of thanks to Mr. Paul for hosting what's reported to be the largest private event ever held for a candidate running for office.

This new evidence could wreck her run for President.

The full story is captured below, and comes from the Hillary Clinton Accountablity Project:

Key leaders of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), including DNC Chair Ed Rendell, DNC Convention and DNC Chair Terry McAuliffe, DNC California Regional Chair Stephanie Berger, and former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Harold Ickes, recruited businessman Peter Paul as a major donor to the DNC.

They induced Paul to underwrite, host and produce fundraising events for the campaigns of Al Gore and Hillary Clinton in order to pursue his efforts to hire Bill Clinton when he left the White House.

Reportedly upon learning that Paul was going to be exposed by The Washington Post as having de-frauded Fidel Castro -- a felony -- Paul claims that they then conspired with the Clintons to hide Paul's various contributions from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the public, and obstructed the Federal investigation that led to the indictment of Hillary Clinton's finance director David Rosen.

Peter Paul's reported contributions to Democratic campaigns included the following:

1. After discussing with Peter Paul how he might best form a business arrangement with Bill Clinton, DNC Chair Ed Rendell persuaded Paul to commit $150,000 in Stan Lee Media stock to the DNC for Al Gore's presidential campaign. This contribution was made directly through Rendell, and was never reported to the FEC as a Memorandum Contribution as required by law.

2. Paul also agreed to underwrite and produce Al Gore's first major Hollywood fundraiser, which was held at the Beverly Hills Hotel on June 8, 2000 and attended by some 200 people. Ed Rendell attended with Gore, but the DNC never reported the "in kind" contribution made by Paul in paying all the expenses for the event to the FEC as required by law. [See the invitation]

3. Under the direction of DNC Regional Chair Stephanie Berger, Peter Paul made $150,000 in improvements to his house between May and June, 2000, in preparation for Paul and his business partner Stan Lee to host a DNC fundraiser that featured President Clinton and included a Clinton sleepover at Paul's house.

4. Encouraged by Rendell and DNC Chair Terry McAuliffe, Paul also made a commitment to donate $150,000 in Stan Lee Media stock to Hillary Clinton’s Senate campaign in order to host a VIP luncheon fund raiser for Hillary at Spago Restaurant on June 9, 2000. The event raised more than $20,000 in "hard money" for the campaign, including $2,000 from Paul's wife that has never been reported or returned. No Memorandum Contribution report of his commitment or any report of Paul's "in-kind" contribution of expenses for the luncheon fundraiser were ever filed with the FEC by Hillary's campaign.

5. Under the direction of DNC Regional Chair Stephanie Berger, Paul also underwrote the Gershman Tea Fundraiser for Hillary Clinton in Bel Air on June 9, 2000, an event attended by Hillary and her "friend" Susie Buell Thompson, Larry King, Melanie Griffith, Olivia Newton John, Morgan Fairchild, Sean Young, and many other celebrities. No report of Paul's "in-kind" contribution of expenses for the tea fund raiser were ever filed with the FEC by the DNC or Hillary's campaign.

6. With the encouragement of President Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Ed Rendell, Terrence McAuliffe, and Harold Ickes -- all of whom attended the event, Peter Paul produced and underwrote the Hollywood Gala Farewell to President Clinton fundraiser for Hillary Clinton's Senate campaign.

7. Rendell, Bill and Hillary Clinton persuaded Paul not to publicly contradict false statements that Hillary's Senate campaign made to the media regarding Paul's relationship with Hillary, Bill and the campaign. Rendell called Paul twice, on August 15 and 17, after stories in the Washington Post quoted a Hillary spokesman misrepresenting Paul's role in the campaign and the contributions he made in three separate fundraisers. Both Clintons wrote glowing personal letters to Paul on August 18, two days after permitting their spokesman to disparage Paul in the Post, as a message to Paul to go along with their deceptions in order to preserve his multi-million dollar investment in their relationship. [See Hillary letter, Bill letter]

8. DNC officials laundered Stan Lee's $100,000 contribution to Hillary’s campaign through the NY Senate 2000 Committee so that Hillary could pay the down payment to Gala concert producer Gary Smith. Stan Lee testified under oath in a deposition in February, 2005 that he never intended to make any contribution to the NY Senate 2000 Committee or Hillary's campaign, he merely borrowed $100,000 for that purpose from Stan Lee Media at Peter Paul's request on July 28, 2000, and that when the loan was due to be paid in November, 2000 to Stan Lee Media, Stan Lee made the payment by trading checks for $100,000 with Paul, normally a serious violation of election laws.

9. Rendell and Clinton staffers continued working through October to keep Paul "on the reservation" until after the election. They failed to show Paul the campaign's fraudulent October 15 report to the FEC, which hid Paul as Hillary's largest contributor, and avoided asking Paul for any accounting or designation of his donative intent. By so doing, they conspired to have Paul aid and abet their fraudulent FEC report.

10. Starting on August 15, 2000, Hillary Clinton led a coverup of her own actions, those of President Clinton, and those of DNC leaders regarding the contributions of Peter Paul. The Clintons induced Paul to aid and abet Hillary's false statements to the media and the FEC, and caused three false reports to be filed with the FEC that intentionally hid the identity of her largest contributor and the true amount of his contributions. Even after being served with a civil suit, a demand letter, an FEC complaint, the publication of syndicated news columns by Robert Novak, and an ABC 20/20 expose detailing Paul's allegations, Hillary, her campaign Treasurer Grossman, and her lawyer David Kendall all continued the coverup by causing a third fraudulent report to be filed on July 30, 2001. This false report was filed in direct response to a specific FEC inquiry regarding the accounting of the Hollywood Gala.


Since that time, Hillary has deflected any accountability from herself, Bill Clinton and her Finance Treasurer, Andrew Grossman, by misleading Federal Investigators during the investigation that led to the indictment of David Rosen. Ed Rendell, now the Governor of Pennsylvania, has misrepresented his role in these events to the media according to Peter Paul.

Paul also says that former DNC-Chair Terry McAuliffe misrepresented his own actions to Justice Department officials to whom Paul had detailed McAuliffe's role. The Rosen jury ruled that David Rosen was not culpable for the fraudulent FEC reports filed by Hillary Clinton's campaign, because he had no legal duty to make any reports and in fact did not sign any reports to the FEC. This decision in no way alters the uncontested fact that three FEC reports made by Hillary's 2000 Senate campaign were in fact fraudulent. They remain uncorrected, and the illegal contribution omitted from those reports of more than $1.2 million, according to the FBI, has not been refunded as required by law.

Further investigation by the Justice Department and the Senate Ethics Committee is required to determine the full extent to which Hillary's campaign and DNC leaders may have misled federal investigators and obstructed justice.

Here's the video evidence:



This video just surfaced April 11th of this year 2007 because according to the website it was withheld from being presented as evidence since 2001.

The site reads: "This tape was withheld by the U.S. Attorney in New York from 2001 until April 11, 2007, when it was released to Paul's attorneys at the US Justice Foundation, depriving three federal investigations of this evidence of Hillary Clinton's role in the campaign finance frauds for which her finance director David Rosen was indicted in 2005."

This is the full transcript of the video which you saw above -- "SL" is Stan Lee; HRC is Hillary Rodham Clinton; PP is Peter Paul.

SL: Don’t ask, just accept the thanks!
HC: No, no, whatever it is that you are doing, is it ok that I thank you? (Laughs)
I think it’s tremendous. We’re having a good time trying to help out.
HRC: Well, I’m very appreciative and it sounds fabulous. I got a full report from Kelly uh today when she got back and she told me everything that you’re doing. And it just sounds like it’s going to be a great event!
PP: I think this is worthy of the kind of title that we’re giving it as THE Hollywood gala salute to president William Jefferson Clinton.
HC: Oh, that’s wonderful!
PP: And I think that the community shows up will be a tremendous accolade to the kind of impact that he’s had on Hollywood during your collective administration.
(:51)
HC: Oh I thank you for that. I think that so many positive things have happened and we just have to keep working to extend and expand it. I’m just very much looking forward to it ‘cause I think it’s not only going to be successful, I think it’s going to be fun!
PP: We certainly hope so. And Aaron and all of us are working diligently to make sure that it’s going to be a lot of fun and that you will enjoy it.
HC: Now, I understood that you were going to be parachuting in, Peter, is that wrong?
PP: Yes, and I’m going to be carrying these flares with me—the red white blue—on a parasail. But you have to catch me! (Laughter)
HC: And I heard Stan was going to be shot out of a cannon (laughing)
SL: And towards Europe! It’s the only way they’ll get rid of me.
AT: Mrs. Clinton? You wouldn’t believe. I saved some of the messages from people that are coming. Like Jimmy Smits, Rosie O’Donnell, the Judds. They leave messages that go over five minutes on the machine. The only reason why they’re doing it is because of you. They only care about you. That it means more to them than anything. Like the Steenburgens, Danson are calling from back East. They wanna sell tickets. It’s like the most unbelievable response on your behalf. Isn’t that great!?
(2:10)
HC: Oh, Aaron! Thank you!
SL: I thought myself that it was because we were offering everyone a free comic book but I guess I was wrong.
Aw, I think that’s a big draw myself. It’s certainly the reason I’m coming.
SL: Aha. Bless your heart!
HC: And you know, Aaron, I’m sooo grateful because I know how hard you’ve worked on it because it’s your constant effort and outreach You know, I talked with Cher(?) and she was just great! Said she was really so excited. And I hadn’t talked to her so you must have done a really good job selling it to her.
SL: Well, he tells me it’s because he was promised to him that he’ll be the next Secretary of State!
HC: You weren’t supposed to tell anybody that, Aaron!
(Laughing)
AT: I thought it was our secret.
HC: Well, Stan, what we haven’t told you is that you’re going to be the next Secretary of Defense.
SL: Well, I expected that.
HC: Well, the superheroes are a lot cheaper than the missile defense system.
(Laughter)
SL: Hillary, you’re wonderful!
(3:16)
AT: We’ve got people like Cher and others that have really never done anything before that are like coming out in full force knowing this is for your Senate race, it’s unbelievable.
HC: I’m just thrilled. I’ll check in with you from time to time because I know that putting something like this together is challenging even when people are enthusiastic and looking forward to doing it. It’s still, there’s so much work that’s involved.
SL: But in your case, it’s very gratifying. You know, my wife wants us to move to New York so that we can vote for you.
HC: This is a very good plan!
(Laughing)
(3:50)
Maybe we could get a great migration, a country caravan, of literally tens of thousands of people. I think that sounds like our next big project.
SL: I don’t wanna say that it’s happening, but if you tried to hire a moving van right now in L.A., you couldn’t get one.
(Laughter)
4:18
PP: Well, we did lobby for the X-men vote and all of the X-men have agreed to—because they’re all NY residents—so all the X-men will be voting for you.
HC: That’s great!
(Laughter) SL: Oh, yeah, you’ve got the mutant vote right around the world.
HC: Well, some people think I’m the mutant candidate so I should have it.
(Laughter)
AT: One other thing I wanted to tell you—a couple people confirmed today that like I’ve never been able to get in all my events—like Brad Pitt and Nicholas Cage—are some of the people coming to give tributes.
HC: Oh, wow. That’s fabulous! Oh, Aaron, this is going to be so terrific. Well, you just let me know if there’s anything that I need to do. And I know you and Kelly talk all the time, so she’ll be the person to convey whatever I need. But I just wanted to call and personally thank all of you. And I’m glad you are all together so I could tell you just how much this means to me.
End of call.

In this video below, Stan Lee clams that he did not donate money to the Clinton campaign...



This is a huge problem and it comes right on the heels of Senator Obama's record and legal fundraising totals, which have scared the heck out of the Clinton camp. To me, it seems that there were a lot of players with divergent agendas leading to a complex set of deals, which in turn may run counter to campaign finance laws.

The Clintons need to welcome a full vetting of this issue so the American People are informed and we can move on. I also causion readers doing research to be compete in their look; because some right-wing interest have taken up this case as a kind of cause, it's easy to just dismiss it, but that would be a mistake.

UPDATE: I just located this video by "Doug From Upland" called "Hillary's Greatest Nemesis" and it explains in detail the events leading to the civil lawsuit coming to LA Superior Court this year. It also includes a segment on how the mainstream media protects Senator Clinton.

This is the video:



Stay tuned to this Bat Channel for more updates.

Paul Begala - Barack Obama Numbers "A Really Big Deal"

Senator Barack Obama's recently annouced second quarter fundraising total of $32.5 million has raised the eyebrows of many and even caused CNN's "The Situation Room" Poltical Analyst Paul Bagala to gush "This is a really big deal. Most people don't realize how important this (his donation total for the second quater) is....Senator Obama has enough money to do what he wants to do."

And that comes from a Clinton supporter.

William Shatner On Kirk's Death In Star Trek: Generations - Video

I just found a site called " Bring Back Kirk.com " which calls for Paramount to bring Star Trek's Captain Kirk back from the dead, where he was left after Star Trek: Generations. As part of this effort, they have this video where Shatner's talking about his objection to the plan to have Kirk killed. It's an insight into the kind of thinking that Shatner says Paramount had in making their decision.

Shatner Responds: The Death Of Captain Kirk

Senator Barack Obama Raises A Record $32 Million!

I think this is proof of the success of the Barack Obama for President movement. It's the perfect counterpoint to all of the weird poll numbers and Anti-Barack Obama behavior on the part of CNN to name one major media problem. Now, CNN's forced to report good news about Senator Obama. Period.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Barack Obama outraised Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton by $10 million in second-quarter contributions that can be spent on the Democratic presidential primary contest, aided by the contributions of 154,000 individual donors.

Obama's campaign on Sunday reported raising at least $31 million for the primary contest and an extra $1.5 million for the general election from April through June, a record for a Democratic candidate.

Clinton's campaign announced late Sunday that she had raised $21 million for the primary. With general election contributions added, aides said her total sum would be "in the range" of $27 million. Candidates can only use general election money if they win their party's nomination.

Obama's whopping amount ensures his place as a top contender for the Democratic nomination. It steals the spotlight from Clinton, his main rival. And it establishes the two of them as the fundraising juggernauts of the entire presidential field.

"Together, we have built the largest grass-roots campaign in history for this stage of a presidential race," Obama said in a statement Sunday. "That's the kind of movement that can change the special interest-driven politics in Washington and transform our country. And it's just the beginning."

The Clinton campaign would not divulge its number of donors.

Meanwhile, Democrat John Edwards raised more than $9 million from April through June and relied on nearly 100,000 donors during the first half of the year.

The fundraising total met the campaign's stated goal but was about $5 million less than what he took in during the first three months of the year. The campaign has said it is on track to raise $40 million by the Iowa caucuses in January.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson was at Edward's heels, with his campaign reporting more than $7 million raised. But Edwards' six-month total was $23 million, compared with more than $13 million for Richardson.

"Democrats are clearly engaging the public and expanding the donor base," Edwards deputy campaign manager Jonathan Prince said Sunday in reaction to Obama's fundraising.

He said the aim of the Edwards campaign was to attract more contributors by holding more small donor events to build a grass-roots network. "We feel we are exactly where we need to be," Edwards adviser Joe Trippi said. "This is not a money race, it's a race to win the nomination."

Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., on Sunday reported raising $3.25 million in the quarter for his presidential campaign, bringing his total raised this year to $7.3 million. Dodd last quarter also transferred $4.7 million from his Senate campaign account. His campaign said he had $6.5 million cash on hand at the end of the quarter.

The figures that some campaigns released Sunday are estimates. Details of how much the campaigns raised and spent in the latest period will not be available until the candidates file financial reports with the Federal Election Commission by July 15.

While several Democrats revealed their total sums, Republicans were not expected to announce their figures until Monday or later in the week.

For Obama, vaulting ahead of Clinton in the money race is an important achievement. Despite broad public interest in Obama's candidacy, he trails the New York senator and former first lady in national polls. Polls show the contest to be closer in some key early states and Obama is leading in South Carolina.

Obama aides on Sunday downplayed the polls, but the campaign has begun running biographical ads in Iowa to better acquaint voters with the candidate.

"While voters have a distinctly positive feeling about Barack, they don't have a great depth of knowledge about his life and history of leadership in Illinois and Washington," campaign manager David Plouffe wrote Sunday in an e-mail to supporters. "As we educate voters about Barack, we have strong reason to believe that our already impressive support in the early states will solidify and slowly build later in the year."

In announcing their fundraising totals on Sunday, the Obama campaign moved to ensure that his success would dominate the political news cycle as Clinton embarked on a three-day tour of Iowa with her husband, former President Bill Clinton. The campaign trip is the first time the Clintons have campaigned together in the state.

"Hillary has had a couple of good weeks, but there's nothing like killing momentum for Obama to come in with these unbelievably high fundraising numbers," said Jenny Backus, a Democratic consultant who is not aligned in the presidential contests.

At this point in the campaign, fundraising figures can act as an easy measure of candidate strength and create tiers of contenders based on their ability to amass money.

Other financial tallies can be as telling. That includes a campaign's spending rate, the size of the average donations and how much money can be used in the primary races and how much could only be tapped for the general election.

Several leading candidates in both parties have raised money for both the primary and general elections. The total numbers are misleading, however, because general election money cannot be used unless the candidate becomes the nominee. Early in the year, Obama raised more than Clinton in primary dollars.

Clinton aides have said she would raise "in the range" of $27 million in the April-through-June period in both general and primary election dollars.

Only Republican George W. Bush, in each presidential campaign, raised comparable amounts in the second quarter of the year before the general election. The single-quarter record is $35.1 million, by Bush from April through June in 2003. Clinton captured the first quarter Democratic record with $26 million, covering the first three months of this year. Clinton also transferred $10 million from her Senate campaign account in the first quarter.

Among Republicans, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's campaign has said he will fall short of the $20.7 million raised in earlier in the year.

Rudy Giuliani was expected to exceed his first quarter total of $16 million. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., was struggling to match the $13.8 million he took in during the first quarter.

Hillary is 44 - Anti-Barack Obama Blog Is Down - May Have Come From Clinton's Staff

Hillary is 44 - Anti-Barack Obama Blog Is Down - May Have Come From Clinton's Staff

UPDATE - Hillary is 44 Must Shut Down

An anti-Barack Obama blog called "Hillary is 44" and specifically designed to float negative information about Senator Barack Obama is down.

I learned about the blog from this post over at the Beltway Blogroll:

...an anonymous supporter of Clinton getting some attention for a blog that is unfriendly toward Obama. The site, dubbed Hillary Is 44 because of its goal of seeing her elected as the 44th president, has been online since mid-April but is getting noticed now because it merited a critical mention in an OpinionJournal column about Clinton by Peggy Noonan. ...Noonan provided no evidence to support her suggestion that Hillary Is 44 is somehow part of the Clinton campaign, and the site includes a statement that it is not affiliated with Clinton's presidential team. But the Obama incident earlier this year shows that some connection, however remote and perhaps unknown to the campaign, is plausible.

It also wouldn't be the first time that purportedly independent blogs have caused problems for their preferred candidates. Such blog scandals surfaced last year in Connecticut, Maryland, Minnesota, Texas and Virginia.

Stephen Bainbridge, a law professor at the University of California at Los Angeles, noted of Hillary Is 44, "The anonymity of the site raises a legitimate inference that there is some connection to the campaign."

Well I went to the site Hillary is 44.org , and it's down. What this means is anyone's guess. My read is that someone from the Clinton campaign feared being outed and took it down.

Glasgow Airport Terrorist Attack - SUV Ramed Into Terminal - MyWayNews

Flaming Car Rams U.K. Airport; 2 Arrests
Email this Story

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.