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

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (56848)	12/12/2008 11:18:01 PM
From: longnshort	3 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 224718

obama is a crook like Clinton, what is wrong with you democrats

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (56848)	12/13/2008 7:23:47 AM
From: lorne	3 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 224718

Oh no ken! say it aint so..Another corrupt democrat?..and a abama adviser. 'PONZI SCHEME' AT CITI SUIT SLAMS RUBIN By PAUL THARP December 4, 2008 nypost.com A new Citigroup scandal is engulfing Robert Rubin and his former disciple Chuck Prince for their roles in an alleged Ponzi-style scheme that's now choking world banking. Director Rubin and ousted CEO Prince - and their lieutenants over the past five years - are named in a federal lawsuit for an alleged complex cover-up of toxic securities that spread across the globe, wiping out trillions of dollars in their destructive paths. Investor-plaintiffs in the suit accuse Citi management of overseeing the repackaging of unmarketable collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) that no one wanted - and then reselling them to Citi and hiding the poisonous exposure off the books in shell entities. The lawsuit said that when the bottom fell out of the shaky assets in the past year, Citi's stock collapsed, wiping out more than $122 billion of shareholder value. However, Rubin and other top insiders were able to keep Citi shares afloat until they could cash out more than $150 million for themselves in "suspicious" stock sales "calculated to maximize the personal benefits from undisclosed inside information," the lawsuit said. The latest troubles for Rubin, Prince and others emerged in a 500-page investigation by Citigroup investors represented by law firm Kirby McInerney. The probe was used to amend and add new details to a blanket investor lawsuit filed against Citigroup a year ago. The amended suit called the actions of Citi leaders "a quasi-Ponzi scheme" to hide troubles - and keep Citi stock afloat while insiders unloaded about 3 million shares between Jan. 1, 2004 and Feb. 22, 2008 for huge profits. In addition to Citigroup, Rubin and Prince, the complaint names Vice Chairman Lewis Kaden, ex-CFO Sallie Krawcheck and her successor CFO Gary Crittenden. Rubin cleared $30.6 million on his stock sales, while Prince got $26.5 million, former COO Robert Druskin got nearly $32 million and former Global Wealth Management unit chief Todd Thomson got $25.7 million, the suit said. Citi denied the allegations and said it "will defend against it vigorously."

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (56848)	12/13/2008 9:18:47 AM
From: longnshort	1 Recommendation Respond to of 224718

Obama and the Rev Wright will be pushing this story next week. Zimbabwe: Cholera introduced by West Dec 13 07:23 AM US/Eastern HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - The Zimbabwean government on Saturday accused the West of deliberately starting the country's cholera epidemic, stepping up a war of words with the regime's critics as the humanitarian crisis deepened. The state-run Herald newspaper said comments by the U.S. ambassador that the U.S. had been preparing for the outbreak raised suspicions the West had waged "serious biological chemical war." Zimbabwean officials often blame their country's troubles on the West. Their stranglehold on most sources of news to which ordinary Zimbabweans have access makes such rhetoric an important tool for a regime struggling to hold onto power. After the first cholera cases, U.S. and other aid workers braced for the waterborne disease to spread quickly in an economically ravaged country where the sewage system and medical care have collapsed. Zimbabwe also faces a hunger crisis, the world's highest inflation and shortages of both the most basic necessities and the cash to buy them. The Herald quoted the information minister, Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, as blaming cholera on "serious biological chemical war ... a genocidal onslaught on the people of Zimbabwe by the British." "Cholera is a calculated racist terrorist attack on Zimbabwe by the unrepentant former colonial power which has enlisted support from its American and Western allies so that they invade the country," Ndlovu was quoted as saying. Experts, however, blame the epidemic on Zimbabwe's economic collapse. The World Health Organization said Friday the death toll was at 792 and that the number of cholera cases that have been reported since the outbreak began in August was now 16,700. The epidemic has reached a fatality rate of 4.7 percent. To be under control it would have to be less than 1 percent, WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib said Friday. Aid agencies have warned that the outbreak could worsen with the onset of the rainy season and the disease has already spread to Zimbabwe's neighbors. President Robert Mugabe claimed Thursday that his government, with the help of international agencies, had contained the epidemic. That sparked accusations he was out of touch with his people's suffering. Zimbabwe's decline began in 2000, when Mugabe began an often violent campaign to seize white-owned farms and give them to blacks; most of the land ended up in the hands of his cronies, and production has dropped. Hungry Zimbabweans scrounge for corn kernels spilled from trucks carrying the harvest to market in a nation that once exported food. Zimbabwe once had among the best health care systems in sub-Saharan Africa. Now most hospitals have been forced to close their doors as they can no longer afford drugs, equipment or wages for their staff. Officials are also unable to afford spare parts and chemicals for water systems. Mugabe has ruled his country since its 1980 independence from Britain and refused to leave office following disputed elections in March. U.S. President George W. Bush, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have called recently for the 84-year-old leader to step down.

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (56848)	12/17/2008 10:08:59 PM
From: Hope Praytochange	2 Recommendations Respond to of 224718

From Palm Beach to Wall Street, Bernard L. Madoff’s wealth and reputation permeated high society. The man allegedly behind a $50 billion Ponzi scheme also had a considerable presence in Washington, contributing hundreds of thousands of dollars to politicians and lobbying firms. The Center for Responsive Politics has found that Mr. Madoff and his wife, Ruth, have given $238,200 to federal candidates, parties and committees since 1991, with Democrats getting 88 percent of that. “Madoff made a fortune, and he played politics with some of that money,” the nonpartisan interest group said on its Web site, OpenSecrets.org. Mr. Madoff gave extensively to some of his favorite politicians, including Charles E. Schumer, the Democratic Senator from New York; and Ron Wyden, the Democratic Senator from Oregon. Both lawmakers are members of the powerful Senate Finance Commmitee. Overall, Mr. Madoff and other individuals at his company, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, gave $372,100 in campaign contributions since 1991, with 89 percent to Democrats. But that’s not all: The firm also spent $590,000 on lobbying in the last 11 years, all but $10,000 of it with the lobbying firm of Lent, Scrivner & Roth. DealBook took a look at the lobbying records, which showed that Mr. Madoff had his K-Street crew lobby the Securities and Exchange Commission and members of both houses of Congress. The lobbying issues included public ownership of equity markets, securities transaction fees and stock exchange mergers — topics that appear to relate to his firm’s market-making business, which is separate from its asset-management unit. (He also paid to lobby the National Park Service in relation to funding for the Lower East Side Tenement Museum in New York City.) The latest filing shows that Mr. Madoff’s lobbying interests include market regulation, and specifically, the consolidation of certain regulatory functions.