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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: American Spirit who wrote (11680)	7/4/2007 11:37:41 AM
From: Ann Corrigan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 224755

Clinton's Chief Strategist Is Accused of Illegal Eavesdropping By Sara Kugler Associated Press July 4, 2007 NEW YORK, July 3 -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's chief strategist is being accused of illegal eavesdropping in a lawsuit that alleges he and his polling firm monitored the personal e-mails of a former associate who started a rival company. Mitchell E. Markel, a former vice president at Penn, Schoen & Berland, claims in the lawsuit that the firm began monitoring all messages sent from his personal BlackBerry device nearly a month after he had resigned and become president of his new business. The suit claims that Mark Penn, who is Clinton's chief strategist and pollster, knew about and approved of the monitoring, which the suit says violates federal wiretapping laws. Penn, Schoen & Berland, which has helped elect clients such as former president Bill Clinton and New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, is accused of hacking into Markel's BlackBerry and rigging his e-mail accounts to send copies of his e-mail to another account that the firm had set up. The suit says the BlackBerry that Markel used was always his own, never the property of his former employer. The lawsuit was filed Friday in State Supreme Court in Manhattan. Markel learned his e-mail was being monitored from a prior lawsuit because the suit quotes e-mail conversations they were having about doing business with clients of their former firm.

To: American Spirit who wrote (11680)	7/4/2007 1:16:06 PM
From: tonto	Respond to of 224755

Liar, more than half are not making the money you posted. Violence in Iraq is on the rise, but it is more directed against troops and some civilians employes as police. The US elections and the political shift in Washington will, for the foreseable future, not change much in Iraq. There is still a need for large numbers of support personnel, either for contractors working for the armed forces or for private contractors undertaking project in Iraq. There are ongoing opportunities in thousands of support jobs with hundreds of large US companies involved in a range of security, logistics and non military operations. The main types of jobs available are shown on the left. But if your speciality is not on there, don't worry, it is difficult to find a skill that is not being used in this operation. All the jobs are outstandingly well paid with salaries ranging from $ 60,000 to $ 175,000 a year, depending on age, qualifications and experience. in addition there are costs of living allowances and free transport from the USA, there and back. Former Armed Forces service personnel is especially welcome.

To: American Spirit who wrote (11680)	7/4/2007 1:26:50 PM
From: tonto	Respond to of 224755

Al Gore's son has been reported arrested with drugs in his Prius... breaking story. Too bad.

To: American Spirit who wrote (11680)	7/4/2007 1:33:59 PM
From: tonto	Respond to of 224755

Turns out AS once again was lying about the facts. No where does the article state what the employees are paid, AS is a proven liar that could not just post the facts. If you go to the LA Times article you will see that many are foreigners, are Iraqis, as well as US citizens. Private contractors outnumber U.S. troops in Iraq New U.S. data show how heavily the Bush administration has relied on corporations to carry out the occupation of the war-torn nation. By T. Christian Miller, Times Staff Writer July 4, 2007 The number of U.S.-paid private contractors in Iraq now exceeds that of American combat troops, newly released figures show, raising fresh questions about the privatization of the war effort and the government's capacity to carry out military and rebuilding campaigns. More than 180,000 civilians — including Americans, foreigners and Iraqis — are working in Iraq under U.S. contracts, according to State and Defense department figures obtained by the Los Angeles Times. Including the recent troop buildup, 160,000 soldiers and a few thousand civilian government employees are stationed in Iraq. The total number of private contractors, far higher than previously reported, shows how heavily the Bush administration has relied on corporations to carry out the occupation of Iraq — a mission criticized as being undermanned. "These numbers are big," said Peter Singer, a Brookings Institution scholar who has written on military contracting. "They illustrate better than anything that we went in without enough troops. This is not the coalition of the willing. It's the coalition of the billing." The numbers include at least 21,000 Americans, 43,000 foreign contractors and about 118,000 Iraqis — all employed in Iraq by U.S. tax dollars, according to the most recent government data. The array of private workers promises to be a factor in debates on a range of policy issues, including the privatization of military jobs and the number of Iraqi refugees allowed to resettle in the U.S. But there are also signs that even those mounting numbers may not capture the full picture. Private security contractors, who are hired to protect government officials and buildings, were not fully counted in the survey, according to industry and government officials. Continuing uncertainty over the numbers of armed contractors drew special criticism from military experts. "We don't have control of all the coalition guns in Iraq. That's dangerous for our country," said William Nash, a retired Army general and reconstruction expert. The Pentagon "is hiring guns. You can rationalize it all you want, but that's obscene." Although private companies have played a role in conflicts since the American Revolution, the U.S. has relied more on contractors in Iraq than in any other war, according to military experts. Contractors perform functions including construction, security and weapons system maintenance. Military officials say contractors cut costs while allowing troops to focus on fighting rather than on other tasks. "The only reason we have contractors is to support the war fighter," said Gary Motsek, the assistant deputy undersecretary of Defense who oversees contractors. "Fundamentally, they're supporting the mission as required." But critics worry that troops and their missions could be jeopardized if contractors, functioning outside the military's command and control, refuse to make deliveries of vital supplies under fire. At one point in 2004, for example, U.S. forces were put on food rations when drivers balked at taking supplies into a combat zone. Adding an element of potential confusion, no single agency keeps track of the number or location of contractors. In response to demands from Congress, the U.S. Central Command began a census last year of the number of contractors working on U.S. and Iraqi bases to determine how much food, water and shelter was needed. That census, provided to The Times under the Freedom of Information Act, shows about 130,000 contractors and subcontractors of different nationalities working at U.S. and Iraqi military bases. However, U.S. military officials acknowledged that the census did not include other government agencies, including the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department.