Free Republic

http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/

McLEAN, Va. - The courthouse files look like the Christmas list of a high-society fashion maven with a purse fetish: mink coats, jewelry, Faberge eggs, a Mercedes Benz and more than 100 handbags and wallets with designer names like Chanel, Hermes and Louis Vuitton. Those are among the items the FBI found at the Washington home of Harriette Walters, who until recently was an $81,000-a-year city tax official. Her salary was a pittance compared with the tens of millions of dollars prosecutors say she and at least five others stole in what may be the biggest embezzlement case in the...

In San Francisco's effort to pay the soaring cost for retiree health benefits, it's $500,000 down, $4.9 billion to go. The city, like most local governments and school districts in California, has put aside no money to cover the fast-growing cost of delivering on health care coverage promised to its workers once they hit retirement age. But in San Francisco, the financial liability hanging over the city is one of the heaviest in the state, thanks in part to the generosity of its employee health care benefits. "As this number keeps growing ... it can cripple our budget,'' said Supervisor...

The businessman, influential in Pakistani circles, also aided Boxer. WASHINGTON — A Pakistani immigrant who hosted fundraisers in Southern California for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is being sought by the FBI on charges that he funneled illegal contributions to Clinton's political action committee and Sen. Barbara Boxer's 2004 reelection campaign. Authorities say Northridge businessman Abdul Rehman Jinnah, 56, fled the country after an indictment accused him of engineering more than $50,000 in illegal donations to the Democratic committees. A business associate charged as a co-conspirator has entered a guilty plea and is scheduled to be sentenced in Los Angeles next...

Global Warming is a ReligionFebruary 2, 2007 BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Hey, try this headline. This is in the Scotsman, the UK Scotsman: "Russia to Analyze Yellow-Orange Snow in Siberia." What to a bet it's bears? What do you bet it's just bear urine? Everybody is out there just looking for a disaster because of global warming, they're out there looking for some sign that the apocalypse is here. It's bear pee. RUSH: Gary in Post Falls, Idaho. Welcome to the EIB Network, sir. CALLER: Good morning Rush. First time caller. Just two quick points on the global warming. RUSH: Yes,...

Prime Minister Stephen Harper once called the Kyoto accord a "socialist scheme" designed to suck money out of rich countries, according to a letter leaked Tuesday by the Liberals. The letter, posted on the federal Liberal party website, was apparently written by Harper in 2002, when he was leader of the now-defunct Canadian Alliance party. He was writing to party supporters, asking for money as he prepared to fight then-prime minister Jean Chrétien on the proposed Kyoto accord. "We're gearing up now for the biggest struggle our party has faced since you entrusted me with the leadership," Harper's letter says....

Miller mulls resignation in wake of fraud chargesCharges of altering checks to the federal government face the state House member Nikole Hannah-Jones, Staff Writer Miller State Rep. Paul Miller said Thursday that he has not decided whether he will resign his seat in the General Assembly after his arrest on felony charges of attempting to defraud the U.S. Department of Education. Miller said during a brief phone interview that he is in consultation with his attorney but that on the advice of counsel, he could not comment. In a short written statement, Miller reiterated that he would not speak about...

Seven people, including two affiliated with Limelight Films Inc., a film and TV distribution company, have been charged as part of a two-year investigation into allegations of drug trafficking, money laundering and arms dealing. Bruno D'Esclavelles, 45, chief executive of Limelight, and Alexander de Basseville, 35, who is affiliated with Limelight's parent, the Swiss firm ADB Swiss S.A., were arrested in Alexandria, Va., and charged with conspiracy to distribute the drug Ecstasy. Federal officials say de Basseville met several times over two years with undercover agents posing as international drug traffickers. De Basseville offered to launder drug money, supply weapons...

Aide says Jefferson cooked up schemeAssistant sentenced to 8 years in prison Saturday, May 27, 2006 By Bill Walsh Washington bureau ALEXANDRIA, VA. -- A former aide to U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, said Friday that it was the congressman's idea to solicit bribes to promote a telecommunications deal in West Africa that began as a legitimate business venture. "I've gone over it 10 million times in my head," Brett Pfeffer, 37, said at his sentencing in U.S. District Court. "I don't know why I didn't look him in the eye and say 'No.' " **SNIP** According to court...

SANTA ANA -- More than 50 former investors packed the courtroom Friday at the sentencing hearing for an Orange County man charged with running a $311-million fraud scheme over nearly two decades. Many were expected to testify against James P. Lewis Jr., who faces up to 30 years in prison for defrauding about 1,600 investors. Lewis, 59, pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering and one count of mail fraud last October after he was arrested in Houston in 2004 following a nationwide manhunt. Prosecutors agreed to drop 12 of 14 counts in exchange for the pleas. During the...

SERBIA was plunged into a political crisis last night after Brussels suspended talks leading to EU membership as punishment for failing to arrest one of the most wanted war criminals in Europe. The European Commission said that it was halting negotiations on closer links with Serbia after the deadline to deliver Ratko Mladic to the Hague war crimes tribunal passed on April 30 with the fugitive still in hiding. Relations between Belgrade and the international community plunged to new lows as Carla del Ponte, the chief war crimes prosecutor at the UN, declared that she had been misled by the...

Serbia must choose between its past and its present How hard can it be to arrest a man recognised wherever he goes, in a country roughly the size of Scotland? Vojislav Kostunica, the Serbian Prime Minister, has asked the international community to believe that if the man in question does not want to be found, the answer is, effectively, “impossible”. This answer is not acceptable. It is entirely appropriate that Belgrade’s failure to surrender Ratko Mladic to the UN war crimes tribunal as promised led yesterday to the suspension of talks with the EU on possible Serbian membership. Mr Kostunica...

Though Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Howard Dean is not known for being publicity-shy, a speech by the former Vermont governor at Harvard Law School Saturday was closed to the press. Dean laid out a strategy for Democratic victories in 2006 and 2008 elections, according to students in attendance. Although Dean addressed the media’s perception that Democrats have no plan or message, students in attendance said, the media itself was barred from the speech. “Governor Dean’s presentation...was not intended to be a open press event, but rather an opportunity to discuss with conference participants their role in the party and...

Washington, D.C. – Washington sources reported Tuesday that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is currently being investigated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for allegedly using an illegal pyramid scheme to market its 2005 revision of the USDA basic food groups chart. "The USDA's pyramid scheme encourages folks to invest large sums of money – in this case, into groceries – and recruit the people closest to them, usually family members, to hop on board with this pyramid system," said E. Carl Lindgren, an FTC investigator. "Pyramid schemes are proven to be nothing more than complex scams that...

SAN DIEGO – A report released by the San Diego pension system board Friday details how the city racked up a pension deficit estimated at $2 billion, saying the system's underfunding plan did not make sense. The 240-page report, prepared by the forensic accounting firm Navigant Consulting of Chicago, outlined the now-familiar decisions made by the city and the pension board that led to underfunding of the San Diego City Employees' Retirement System and the current fiscal crisis that grips the city. The consultants found that city underfunding schemes approved in 1996 and 2002 "did not make economic or actuarial...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Federal authorities arrested 11 people in connection with a sophisticated marriage fraud scheme that targeted Asians seeking U.S. citizenship. The arrests took place Tuesday in Los Angeles and Orange counties and the Bay Area, according to officials who described the operation as one of the biggest of its kind in the country. Chinese and Vietnamese nationals were charged up to $60,000 to marry American citizens to obtain green cards, authorities said. Couples were provided with fake wedding photographs, joint tax returns and even love letters. "Marriage fraud is not a new phenomenon but clearly this scheme...

Feds Indict 2 in Missile-Smuggling Scheme 47 minutes ago LOS ANGELES - A federal grand jury indicted two men Wednesday for allegedly conspiring to smuggle surface-to-air missiles into the United States for use abroad. Such missiles are designed to bring down aircraft. The U.S. attorney's office said the charges marked the first time a 2004 anti-terrorism law has been used. The law calls for a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years and the possibility of life in prison without parole if convicted. Chao Tung Wu, 51, and Yi Qing Chen, 41, are naturalized U.S. citizens born in China, authorities said....

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A federal grand jury indicted two Southern California men Wednesday with conspiracy to smuggle surface-to-air missiles into the United States. Such missiles are designed to bring down aircraft. The U.S. attorney's office said the charges against Chao Tung Wu, 51, of La Puente and Yi Qing Chen, 41, of Rosemead marked the first time a 2004 anti-terrorism statute has been used. The statute calls for a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years and the possibility of life in prison without parole if convicted. The men have been in custody since August when they were arrested as...

SANTA ANA, Calif. - A federal judge on Monday denied bail for two Chinese nationals accused of conspiring to steal sensitive documents on U.S. Navy warship technology and smuggle them to China. Tai Wang Mak, a broadcast and engineering director for the Phoenix North American Chinese Channel, and his wife, Fuk Heung Li, were arrested Oct. 28 in Los Angeles as they prepared to board a flight to China. In Li's luggage, authorities found a disk that contained information on U.S. technology designed to suppress the noise of submarine propulsion systems, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Deirdre Eliot. The disk had...

Who do unions benefit? By: RAY HAYNES Just why do we have government employee unions? We all know the story of the rise of unionism in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Our country was being run by robber barons, the capitalist exploiters who would abuse children for profit and allow people to die in substandard working conditions while they sat in the lap of luxury. Unions fought the evil employers, pushed for labor reforms, minimum wages, safe workplaces and, through their tireless effort, made sure that people received a fair day's wage for a fair day's work in a...

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - The FBI is looking for four more suspects involved in an alleged scheme to steal American Red Cross funds intended for victims of Hurricane Katrina, authorities said Friday. Elizabeth Ray, 48, Harold Oats, 26, David Candelaria, 37, and Marietta Snowden, 48, have not been arrested, but they were indicted Thursday along with eleven other Bakersfield residents suspected in the alleged wire fraud scheme, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Fresno. The eleven others were arrested earlier this month. Authorities believe the suspects submitted fake claims through a Katrina relief call center in Bakersfield. Seven of...

KIEV (AFP) - Controversy has enveloped the son of Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko for a second time in a week, amid reports that the 19-year-old owned the copyright to the lucrative trademarks of last year's "orange revolution." ADVERTISEMENT The new scandal erupted as the legal chief of Yushchenko's campaign tried to put to rest a controversy that flared last week, after local media reported that Yushchenko's eldest son, Andriy, appeared to be living beyond his declared means. "Andriy Yushchenko has author's rights to all political brands that were used during the 'orange revolution,'" Mykola Katerynchuk was quoted as saying during...

Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Criticizes Government on Sugar Import Decree KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -- Ukraine's top agriculture official criticized the government Wednesday for a decree he said would allow the import of thousands of tons of Brazilian sugar, calling the deal a suspicious scheme. ADVERTISEMENT Agriculture Minister Oleksandar Baranivsky said the decree allows state-run companies, including oil and gas company Naftogaz Ukraine, to import some 30,000 tons of processed sugar cane from Brazil in a deal worth tens of millions of dollars (euros). According to the decree, the deal is aimed at stabilizing sugar prices, which have risen sharply in recent...

Congress passed a multinational trade bill known as CAFTA last week, but not without a feverish late night vote marred by controversy and last-minute vote switching. Leaving aside the arguments for or against CAFTA itself, the process by which the bill ultimately passed should sicken every American who believes in representative government. Late-night arm-twisting by House leaders to get votes is of course nothing new. We witnessed far worse when Congress passed the ruinous Medicare prescription drug bill in the dead of night two years ago. Yet even after months of unprecedented wheeling and dealing by corporate lobbyists, congressional leaders,...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A federal judge sentenced a woman to 2 1/2 years in prison Monday for trying to export missile and fighter jet parts to her native China. In a deal with prosecutors, Xiuwen Liang, 34, pleaded guilty in 2003 to conspiracy to export defense items and attempted unlawful export. Her husband, 35-year-old Jinghua Zhuang, pleaded guilty to the same charges and also was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison in December 2003. Liang, who has been free on bail, must surrender by May. She will be deported after she completes her sentence. The couple was arrested...

FRENCH TOAST: George Soros lost the latest round of his 16-year battle with French regulators. Photo: Jim Alcorn Billionaire George Soros, the former investor and current philanthropist and political activist, failed yesterday to convince a French appeals court to overturn his 2002 conviction for insider trading. Soros, 74, is expected to take his conviction — related to the 1988 purchase and sale of shares in Societe Generale — to the equivalent of France's Supreme Court in an attempt to clear the sole blemish from his 40-year investment career. In 2002, a trial court in France found Soros used insider...

In the past several months as the debate over Social Security reform has taken center stage in the theater of the absurd that is modern American politics, the idea has been floated that the entire pay-as-you-go structure of this system closely resembles a Ponzi scheme, albeit one that is about to collapse. In reality, few people likely have any idea what a Ponzi scheme is, nor how closely America’s largest retirement system follows its tenets. As such, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission:http://www.sec.gov/answers/ponzi.htm “Ponzi schemes are a type of illegal pyramid scheme named for Charles Ponzi, who duped thousands...

When talking about Social Security reform, we need to make two points extremely clear: No one is going to end Social Security or reduce or take away any benefits you have earned over the years. And discussing other options is healthy for our country. Our Social Security system, in its current form, was designed for another era. It cannot meet the needs of today's demographics and it cannot support the benefits it has promised for tomorrow. A program that 50 years ago relied on 16 workers for each beneficiary now relies on three workers. And in less than 30 years...

President Bush must really be on to something with his proposals to reform Social Security. The liberals are circling the wagons and hunkering down for a desperate defense. You'd think these self-described "progressives" would be more receptive to an overhaul and modernization of a 70-year-old program that was designed during the Great Depression. This vehement opposition is over more than the mechanics. It's ideological. The left regards Social Security as the cornerstone of FDR's New Deal socialism. Privatizing it is nothing short of blasphemy. A Ponzi scheme can only survive as long as the number of suckers grows. With the...

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) - A grand jury indicted a former city councilwoman and seven other people Wednesday for an alleged real estate scheme that involved converting apartments into higher-priced condominiums without the required permits for the changes. Pamela Houchen, who resigned from the City Council in September, also was charged with corruption for allegedly concealing her ownership of an apartment building in a redevelopment district where she was prohibited from owning property under conflict-of-interest laws. The former councilwoman, a real estate broker who also has served as mayor, is charged with 11 counts of mail fraud and seven counts...

Twenty people were indicted by a federal grand jury in Austin this week and accused of running an elaborate real estate scheme in which they defrauded banks and mortgage lenders of about $15 million. Most of the people used their positions in the real estate business to buy dozens of houses and duplexes in and around Austin, create false appraisal and loan documents to fool financial institutions, then sell the properties to an associate at an inflated price, according to the indictment. That associate would then usually default on the loan, and the participants would share the profit with the...

The genius of not accepting the nomination Kerry's Brilliant Scheme: Roger Simon (the U.S. News writer, not the novelist/blogger) thinks Kerry's idea of not accepting the Democratic nomination at his party's convention--in order to accept it a month later--is "too dumb even for politics." If Kerry does not accept the nomination at his convention, how will he get anybody to watch it? The damn things are dull enough, but a convention without the presidential candidate accepting? Who would tune in to watch such a thing? And by giving up their audience, the Democrats will give up tons of free publicity....

Kerry's Brilliant Scheme The genius of not accepting the nomination. By Mickey Kaus Updated Wednesday, May 26, 2004, at 1:46 AM PT 1:58 A.M. Kerry's Brilliant Scheme: Roger Simon (the U.S. News writer, not the novelist/blogger) thinks Kerry's idea of not accepting the Democratic nomination at his party's convention--in order to accept it a month later--is "too dumb even for politics." If Kerry does not accept the nomination at his convention, how will he get anybody to watch it? The damn things are dull enough, but a convention without the presidential candidate accepting? Who would tune in to watch such...

Homes of several Atlanta-area residents were unexpectedly mortgaged by a Bedford County man being sought by Georgia authorities, investigators revealed today. David Glenn Helton, 56, falsely claiming power of attorney, obtained mortgages on homes and land under at least 12 different names without the awareness of the property owners, said Detective Sgt. Sam Bragg of the Bedford County Sheriff's Department. Helton is at large and was last known to be in the Knoxville area over the weekend, authorities said. The owners were unaware their properties had been mortgaged until foreclosure notices were received after Helton failed to make payments, said...

Amnesia 101 – Democrat Senator, John F. Kerry, professor The more things change, the more they remain the same. - Alphonse Karr Democrat presidential candidate, John F. Kerry, frequently speaks to the need of taking back America, insisting a regime change is necessary. Finally, I understand what Kerry is talking about when he speaks of change. He and his followers have actually come up with a revolutionary idea. They suggest for this election, President Bush and his political party leave the Democrat, presidential nominee's record and history alone. They submit, what happened to Kerry over numerous years on the national...

Amnesia 101 – Democrat Senator, John F. Kerry, professor The more things change, the more they remain the same. - Alphonse Karr Democrat presidential candidate, John F. Kerry, frequently speaks to the need of taking back America, insisting a regime change is necessary. Finally, I understand what Kerry is talking about when he speaks of change. He and his followers have actually come up with a revolutionary idea. They suggest for this election, President Bush and his political party leave the Democrat, presidential nominee's record and history alone. They submit, what happened to Kerry over numerous years on the national...

<p>LOS ANGELES (AP) - A woman who helped her former boyfriend, an ex-immigration agent, smuggled dozens of Filipinos into the United States was sentenced Monday to three years in prison.</p> <p>Rita Cunanan, 43, of North Hills, pleaded guilty in October to charges of conspiracy and bringing illegal aliens into the country.</p>

STRATEGIC USE OF PUBLIC INFORMATION TO BECOME EVER-MORE CRITICAL IN BUILDING SUPPORT FOR UNITED NATIONS, UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL TELLS FOURTH COMMITTEE War in Iraq Was Foremost of Mounting Challenges Facing Organization, He Says, Outlining Department’s New Structure, Operational Model At a time of mounting challenges, such as those posed by the Iraq crisis, the strategic use of public information would become increasingly critical in building public support for the United Nations, Under-Secretary-General Shashi Tharoor told the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) this afternoon, as he introduced the Secretary-General’s report on questions relating to information. Outlining the changes in the Department of...

The Philippines and China have signed a $1-billion bilateral currency swap that would enable the Philippines to avail up to 10 percent of the facility under the Chang Mai Initiative. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the People’s Bank of China formally signed the agreement after months of negotiations, giving the Philippines access to draw from the facility should it need to do so. According to BSP Governor Rafael Buenaventura, the agreement was a one-way swap where the Philippines would exchange the peso equivalent that China would convert to renminbi (its currency) and then into dollars. The Chang Mai...

Health Care: Presidential candidate Dick Gephardt thinks his health care plan will help him beat George Bush next year. Better ask small businesses about that.Millions of small businesses in America employ over 80 million people. So whenever a major presidential candidate comes out with an idea that could cost them billions of dollars or make them cut jobs, they pay attention.Gephardt's plan is one of those. He calls it a "stimulus" to the economy, one that would create jobs. Sounds great. Who wouldn't want health coverage for the 41 million Americans who have none, more jobs and a bigger economy?But...

Local News: Wednesday, May 01, 2002 Robbers earn extra cash by taking orders at Starbucks By Janet BurkittSeattle Times Snohomish County reporter The man and woman who robbed a Monroe Starbucks yesterday morning apparently weren't satisfied with what they found in the safe. After cleaning it out, they worked the store's drive-up window for about a half-hour, pocketing the cash, Monroe police say. About 5 a.m., the woman, believed to be about 24 years old, walked up to an employee who was setting up tables outside the Starbucks on U.S. Highway 2 and asked if she could use the...