Monday, July 02, 2007

Instead Of PriceLine, Well, Don't Use PriceLine

PriceLine. You know. It's the online hotel and travel website best known for being represented by William Shatner of Star Trek. But I've had a bad experience with PriceLine and because of it I can just tell you I consider it to be a fraud, period.

It's better to use a firm like Hotel Reservations.com, which promises Cheap Hotelsbut without the bait-and switch that Priceline gives you. In a matter of time, maybe Shat will switch to Hotel Reservations.com.

Why not?

Don't you think it's better than going to PriceLine and signing up for a hotel you're supposed to get, only to have another one?

Geez!

Well that's what happened to me. I'll never forget it and it explains all of those websites that label PriceLine as a fraud. Watch out there!

Think I'm kidding?

Look at this:

Today I had some real fun and wrote formal complaints against priceline at

- The Federal Trade Commission(FTC)
- The FBI Internet Fraud Complaints Center (FICC)
- The National Fraud Center
- National Internet Fraud Watch (NFIC).
- The Better Business Bureau of Conneticut
- First National Bank of Omaha

So what happend? I just experienced fraud on the internet.

My frist mistake was that I decided to try something new by purchasing a hotel stay through priceline (confirmation number 63260917). However, I was also charged a $15 additional 'travel insurance' fee even when I did not requested it. I contacted priceline and was only verbally abused by a person who called himself agent 7399. After spending almost one hour on the phone (mostly on hold and in a maze of recorded messages), they refused to refund anything and was extremely abusive. The first 'agent' also refused to transfer me to a manager and stated that only a colleague was available. This person was equally rude and did not let me finish a single sentence and 'told me off' in no uncertain terms...

It quickly became clear that this was pure intimidation and fraud and the 45+ minutes on hold was clearly designed to discourage any requests for refunds.

Instead, agent #7399 claimed that I had selected to buy the travel insurance. I asked him how he could make such a claim, when I called him within 20 minutes after receiving an email confirmation about the overcharges. He simply told me that they had good systems and I should 'trust him'.

In short, I was taken subjected to a $15 theft and was being yelled at for simply protesting.

I am not an investor activist yet, but I will become one if needed...


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.

Sunday, July 01, 2007

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.

Saturday, June 30, 2007

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.


# # #

Friday, June 29, 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.