Bhutto had "proof" state, spy agency rigging poll

By Simon Gardner / Reuters

KARACHI, Jan 1 - Benazir Bhutto was poised to reveal proof that Pakistan's election commission and shadowy spy agency were seeking to rig an upcoming general election the night she was assassinated, a top aide said on Tuesday.

Senator Latif Khosa, who authored a 160-page dossier with Bhutto documenting rigging tactics, said they ranged from intimidation to fake ballots, and were in some cases unwittingly funded by U.S. aid.

Bhutto had been due to give the report to two visiting U.S. lawmakers over dinner on Dec. 27, the day she was killed in a suicide bombing.

"The state agencies are manipulating the whole process," Khosa, a top Bhutto aide and head of her Pakistan People's Party election monitoring unit, told Reuters.
"There is rigging by the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence), the election commission and the previous government, which is still continuing to hold influence. They were on the rampage."
President Pervez Musharraf's spokesman Rashid Qureshi dismissed the claim as "ridiculous".
"It makes one laugh," he said. "The president has said a free, fair, transparent and peaceful election is essential, which forms part of his overall strategy for transforming Pakistan into a fully democratic (nation)."

"Benazir's coming back to Pakistan was part of a national reconciliation ordinance," he added. "Take it from me, it's going to be perhaps the best election that Pakistan has ever had."
Khosa said the report, entitled 'Yet another stain on the face of democracy', details how the spy agency was planning to issue 25,000 pre-stamped ballots for each of 108 candidates for national assembly seats in Punjab from the party that backs President Musharraf and formed his government.

INTIMIDATION
"They have used intimidatory tactics, they intimidated the returning officers into rejecting nomination papers ... they prevented candidates from submitting their nomination papers," Khosa said.

"This happened in Baluchistan and in the other central areas of Pakistan. It happened in Sindh."
He said the ISI also had a "mega computer" which could hack into any computer and was connected to the Election Commission's system.
Separately the commission had tried to manipulate the voting register by leaving millions of potential voters out, he added.

An initial draft list of voters published in June put the electorate at 52 million people, more than 20 million short, triggering a backlash from Musharraf's political opponents.
The Supreme Court ordered the commission to revise the list, and in October it raised the total to 80 million.

"The Election Commission is completely subservient to the government," Khosa said.
In the Election Commission's case, U.S. financial aid had been used in rigging, he added, stressing however he did not believe it was diverted military aid.

"She was going to give the dossier to two U.S. lawmakers simply because they happened to be visiting. It was then going to be made public," Khosa said.

"Benazir was supposed to hold a press conference. It was going to be distributed to everyone, but unfortunately that did not arise because she was assassinated."
(Editing by Roger Crabb)

Lender Lobbying Blitz Abetted Mortgage Mess

The below article highlights the 2 real culprits in the mortgage crisis. First, you have the big corporations with deep pockets such as Ameriquest. Second, and even more culpable, you have the politicians who are actually willing to listen.

I do not fault the consumers and subprime borrorers. My view is that laws are put in place to control primitave human impulses. It is human nature to want "more". Here, the greedy politicians and corporations dropped the ball by blatantly allowing the mortgage industry to act without limitations. The end result was that you had millions of borrowers wanting (and getting) "more"- (unfortuantely) more than they could actually afford.

In my view, every lender and every politician should be held accountable. Politicians should be forced to give back those donations and pass appropriate legislature. Lenders should be forced to re-write mortgages in a manner that would somehow allow the borrower-victims to keep their homes. I know this will never happen... just the sensless wishes of a Political Junkie...

Lender Lobbying Blitz Abetted Mortgage Mess Ameriquest Pressed For Changes in Laws; A Battle in New Jersey

by GLENN R. SIMPSON

During the housing boom, the subprime industry succeeded at more than just writing mortgages. It also shot down efforts by some states to curtail risky lending to borrowers with spotty credit.

Ameriquest Mortgage Co., until recently one of the nation's largest subprime lenders, was at the center of those battles. Working with a husband-and-wife team of Washington lobbyists, it handed out more than $20 million in political donations and played a big role in persuading legislators in New Jersey and Georgia to relax tough new laws. Those victories, in turn, helped blunt efforts by other states to crack down on reckless lending, critics of the industry contend.

See the Full Story HERE.

Obama on The Job!!!

This is the type of work Obama puts in, but you never hear about...


Web site on federal grants, loans and contracts debuts
By Gautham Nagesh

The Office of Management and Budget rolled out a new Web site Thursday that will provide information on all major federal grants, loans and contracts. The new site, dubbed USASpending.gov, is dedicated to improving transparency by providing the public with information on all major federal transactions. The launch fulfills one of the key requirements of the 2006 Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, which requires full disclosure on a Web site maintained by OMB of all organizations receiving more than $25,000 in federal funds. Sens. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla., co-sponsors of the legislation, applauded the announcement, which Obama called "an important milestone on the path to great government transparency." "We can't reduce waste, fraud and abuse without knowing how, where and why federal money is flowing out the door," Obama said. "This site will provide a window into the federal budget so all Americans can see how their tax dollars are being spent."

Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=38846&dcn=e_tcmg

Hillary's Blue "Magic"

The political phrase of the week is "Star Power". Barack set the tone when he broke out with Oprah. The results? Barack's poll numbers sky rocketed! Everyone else was quick to follow suit.

John Edwards came with his line up of B-listers. John McCain hit the streets with "hundreds of retired admirals and generals". McCain even went as far as to put on a "throwback" jersey- by showing up on the red carpet with Joe Lieberman. Speaking of jerseys, Hillary proudly sported her #32, boasting the endorsement of Ervin "Magic" Johnson. I guess the Clinton campaign thought this was a sure "slam dunk". I must say nice try... That is, the Clinton camp's thought process probably went something like this: 'hey Barack, you stole my women votes- I will still your male votes! I will even get the endorsement of a basketball player! Now I have rappers, ballers, basically, all the B-boys!...Take that!"

Hence, one may argue that Clinton came out with some "Blue Magic". But HELLO!!!! Did anyone bother to show the Clinton camp anything other than Magic's basketball highlight films? In particular, did anyone bother to show them some of the film from Magic's talk show days? All I will say is this, Magic is unable to electrify a crowed. He is unable to fill stadiums in the political arena. You give him a basketball, he's your man...You give him a microphone.....hmmmmm

An Oprah endorsement as compared to a Magic endorsement is like comparing Nas to Soulja Boi, Michael Jackson to Tito, or Beyonce' to those girls who got kicked out of Destiny's Child- there is simply no comparison. Thumbs up to Magic for being one of the few professional athletes to manage his money right....so what if someone advised him to get a financial planner. His endorsement means nothing to me. At most, its a slap in the face, that attempts to influence me (and all other black men) to vote for Hillary because Magic Johnson supports her. Now convincing me to eat a certain cereal, or to sport a certain pair of kicks is one thing, but don't put an athlete on T.V. in an attempt to earn my vote! Shame on you Hillary!

Clinton camp, heed to these words from the mouth of Tyrone Biggims: "You already have star power! You have Bill Clinton! Your job is to distinguish yourself by somehow letting the American people know that a vote for you, doesn't necessarily imply a vote for Bill. Find some way to do that, and you are good to go."

I guess Michael Jordan is somewhere betting on who will win the nomination. If Jordan is as good a gambler as they tell me, his bet is on Obama.