ThinkFast: July 10, 2009
ThinkFast: July 10, 2009
American International Group (AIG), the insurance giant that has received tens of billions of dollars in government bailouts, “is preparing to pay millions of dollars more in bonuses to several dozen top corporate executives after an earlier round of payments four months ago set off a national furor.” AIG “has been pressing the federal government to bless the payments in hopes of shielding itself from renewed public outrage.”
Thousands of Iranian anti-government protesters commemorating an attack on students at Tehran University in 1999 “were attacked with batons and tear gas by security forces” yesterday as they tried to gather “for the first protests in about two weeks.” Demonstrators are also gearing up to protest “the second-term inauguration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which is expected next month.”
Confidential Pentagon test results reveal that the F-22 requires “more than 30 hours of maintenance for every hour in the skies, pushing its hourly cost of flying to more than $44,000.” Despite such shortcomings and Defense Secretary Robert Gates’s stated desire to end the F-22 program, committees in both houses Congress voted to continue funding the program last month after being lobbied by the manufacturer.
CIA Director Leon Panetta “has ordered an internal inquiry into the agency’s handling of a contentious and still highly classified intelligence program that has caused a heated dispute” between the CIA and Congress. The move “appears to be an implicit acknowledgment by the agency that it should have disclosed information about the post-9/11 secret program to Congress much earlier than it did.”
Sen. John Ensign’s (R-NV) lawyer revealed yesterday that Ensign’s parents gave $96,000 to the family of the former staffer with whom he had an affair. The lawyer, Paul Coggins, described the payments as two separate $12,000 gifts to each family member. Under U.S. tax laws, gifts of up to $12,000 are tax-exempt.
A new General Motors emerged from bankruptcy this morning “as lawyers finished an all-night paperwork session transferring the automaker’s good assets to a brand-new company controlled by the U.S. government.”
The Senate has postponed action on clean energy legislation until later this fall. “There are a number of committees that need a little more time,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said. “Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer said Reid’s decision allowed her to push off a self-imposed deadline of passing climate legislation until mid-September. “
The G8 summit pledged $20 billion over three years, $5 billion more than initially expected, to boost agricultural investment and fight hunger. “UN food agencies say more than 1bn people in the world are going hungry. A downward trend over last decades in the proportion of the world’s population suffering from hunger has been reversed, in part because of soaring food prices.”
Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL) will reportedly not seek election to the seat that he was appointed to by disgraced former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D). “Almost two months after his appointment, a Tribune poll found only 37 percent of voters wanted Burris to run. As of the spring, he raised $845 with more than $111,000 in debt, a campaign filing showed.”
And finally: Politico profiles the culinary prowess of John Podesta. “I consult cookbooks for ideas,” the Center for American Progress President and CEO explained. “Cooking is what I do to relax. … It’s much easier to see the fruits of your labor. It’s fun.” As for his specialties, Podesta said, “I make a pretty mean moussaka, pastitsio, baklava and spanakopita,” reeling off Greek dishes that are complicated.
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Republicans think govt spending is bad unless it is spending on an outdated, useless, expensive military boondoggle like the F22 or the illegal invasion of Iraq.
Try to spend a fraction of that to provide health insurance for poor people or get us using an energy source that isn’t controlled by dictators and they scream “socialism!”, as if they understood the meaning of the word.
July 10th, 2009 at 9:05 amAIG “has been pressing the federal government to bless the [bonus] payments in hopes of shielding itself from renewed public outrage.”
NO! Geithner, we’re watching you!
Confidential Pentagon test results reveal that the F-22 requires “more than 30 hours of maintenance for every hour in the skies, pushing its hourly cost of flying to more than $44,000.” Despite such shortcommings and Defense Secretary Robert Gates’s stated desire to end the F-22 program, committees in both houses Congress voted to continue funding the program last month after being lobbied by the manufacturer.
If this is any indication of the power of lobbyist to coerce congress critters to do their bidding, we’re screwed on healthcare.
PEACE
July 10th, 2009 at 9:07 amGood morning, campers.
TGIF!
AIG is preparing to pay out millions of $$$ in bonuses to execs.
July 10th, 2009 at 9:09 amThese people should not only NOT be paid bonuses, they should be fined millions of $$$ AND be sent to stiff prison sentences.
The F-22 requires 30 hours of maintenance for every 1 hour of flight time. Congress continues to fund program after being lobbied by the manufacturer.
Talk about a corporate welfare program. Your tax dollars at “work”
How dare AIG pay additional millions in executive bonuses!
July 10th, 2009 at 9:12 amThey really have no shame. Nothing is more important to them than the millions in their bank accounts — how much is enough?? It doesn’t matter what contracts are in place, and promises made — those deals were nullified months ago — they should be happy they are not in jail!!
AIG “preparing to pay millions of dollars more in bonuses” but “in hopes of shielding itself from renewed public outrage.” FAT CHANCE!
I’ve always thought that self-delusion was a promotable skill.
July 10th, 2009 at 9:13 amSen. John Ensign’s (R-NV) lawyer revealed yesterday that Ensign’s parents gave $96,000 to the family of the former staffer with whom he had an affair.
Yeah, Mom? Hey, it’s John. I’m in some pretty big trouble here. Could you & Dad fork over about a 100 grand to that little married staffer I’ve been porking?
What’s that? Oh, yeah, she’s married, too. In fact, her husband is also on my staff.
Why a 100 grand? Well, her & her husband say that’s what it’ll take to keep from getting this news in the press.
What’s this going to do to my Presidential ambitions? Well, I’m not sure, but I know what will happen if we don’t pay off that couple.
OK, Mom. Talk to Dad when he gets home, but remember, it’s only a $100,000, & I know you & Dad have always wanted me to be President.
Thanks, Mom. Love you, too. Buh-bye.
Today’s Republic…sticking things where they don’t belong. Lying about it first, & then asking your parents to bail you out of trouble.
I think our U.S.A. is best left in adult hands…
July 10th, 2009 at 9:14 amThe saga of the F-22 is typical — sadly typical to the nth degree.
July 10th, 2009 at 9:16 amThe plane is out of date, expensive and high-maintenance, but our representatives agree to keep it because they got a few thousand in campaign donations – or more.
At this period of time, this approval is more egregious, more outrageous and selfishly bold than any toilet seat or hammer purchase in the past.
From the Wall Street Journal:
AIG has already swallowed hundreds of billions of our tax dollars, has no value as of now, yet there is some consideration of paying out executive bonuses? I call complete and total bullshit!
PEACE
July 10th, 2009 at 9:17 amEveryone should continue the outrage. The AIG guys need a bonus like all Americans need cosmetic open-heart surgery. Stop paying bankers to be rish, ditch the F-22 and get some health care for everyone. Shut down Goldman Sachs, fire Geithner and tell Obama to stop with all the flowery theoretical rhetoric and go to work. That is what he gets paid for.
July 10th, 2009 at 9:20 amWhy aren’t these people at AIG being fired?
If the nation really does have a significant “ownership” stake in that company,
July 10th, 2009 at 9:23 amthen why is this stuff still going on?
and here’s watchpuppy with his irrelevant spam and omnipresent ignorance
July 10th, 2009 at 9:25 amwatchpuppy just can’t stop peeing on the carpet
some dogs are just too stupid to be trained
July 10th, 2009 at 9:29 amWatchdog, why on earth woudl you bring up South America and groping? Go back to licking your balls.
July 10th, 2009 at 9:29 amIt’s good to see that the resident psychic (psychotic) puppy can read the President’s thoughts. When it comes to presidential groping, ask Andrea Merkel about Bush’s hands-on style.
PEACE
July 10th, 2009 at 9:31 amHey watchdog, remember this little bit of visual groping? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qUVQDmLf7s
July 10th, 2009 at 9:34 amThe outrage is not that AIG may pay out huge bonuses–the outrage is that taxpayer money was used to bail out a company that failed.
July 10th, 2009 at 9:34 amAfter Pressure From Blue Dogs And Others, House Leaders Delay Unveiling Health Care Bill
We all knew this group was a problem, have to push back and have to keep pressure on the administration and the rest of the dems to do so.
They need our support and must hear that the repugs and blue does are wrong on this and blocking needed, widely supported change.
July 10th, 2009 at 9:34 amAmerican International Group (AIG), the insurance giant that has received tens of billions of dollars in government bailouts, “is preparing to pay millions of dollars more in bonuses to several dozen top corporate executives.
These “corporate executives” shouldn’t get bonuses. They should be terminated.
July 10th, 2009 at 9:34 amGM’s Fritz Henderson sounded schitzophrenic in his talk this morning. Our people are our greatest asset, but we had to let lots of them go. And those that remain, have to change fast.
America’s Sovereign Debt Fund has another affiliate, GM. Let’s hope it is managed better than other firms in the family, like AUG.
July 10th, 2009 at 9:35 amAs for pay for performance, AIG payments aren’t the first federal debacle:
Report Faults Performance Bonuses for Contractors
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/05/AR2009070502520.html
Pay-for-Performance System Under Heavy Fire
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/25/AR2009062503913.html?hpid=sec-nation
July 10th, 2009 at 9:38 amTalk about presidential groping…
Inquiring minds want to know why a homosexual prostitude, jeff gannon/guckert with a fake ID and press credentials was allowed to come and go overnight at the white house…
Is the the activity that started the “teabagging” movement? Must have been some serious gropin’ goin’ on over there.
And since, at the time, gannon/guckert was advertising his “services” on the Internet – why is there no outrage from repugs over misuse of public monies?
July 10th, 2009 at 9:39 amstateofthedivision
Is your pay for performance a link to the more about jeff gannon/guckert’s “service” at the white house?
July 10th, 2009 at 9:42 amThe F-22 is like Nigel Tufnall’s prized guitar: it will never be played and no one is allowed to even look at it, let alone point at it.
July 10th, 2009 at 9:44 amAIG “has been pressing the federal government to bless the payments in hopes of shielding itself from renewed public outrage.”
Try the pope. The Obama administration should not be providing cover for these crooks to give OUR money away to their incompetent officers.
July 10th, 2009 at 9:52 amAnd though those payments seem seem legal, strictly speaking, there’s also a hint that a man was fired, former Ensign friend Doug Hampton, because he was upset at Ensign screwing his wife. That sounds like litigation in the works, and that’s reflected in the Las Vegas Sun article:
In the interview, Hampton’s language indicated that a lawsuit is forthcoming.
The mainstream media is deflecting attention from the real heart of this story (which includes GROPING) – this is about sexual harassment and threatening to fire a man if he objects to his boss screwing his wife!
Real repug values there,folks!
July 10th, 2009 at 9:53 amAnother Joe Says:
Should we ask Ensign’s parents?
PEACE
July 10th, 2009 at 9:54 amOn the F22:
“committees in both houses Congress voted to continue funding the program last month after being lobbied by the manufacturer”
I’ve always thought that the US has the best government that money can buy. The US government serves corporate America, the citizens, well, not so much.
July 10th, 2009 at 9:57 amMorning watchdog.
July 10th, 2009 at 9:58 amCan I ask you a sort of personal question?
Thousands of Iranian anti-government protesters commemorating an attack on students at Tehran University in 1999 “were attacked with batons and tear gas by security forces” yesterday as they tried to gather “for the first protests in about two weeks.”
Let’s not forget these people. They only want what we want, a government that is responsive and honest. They aren’t terrorists who need to be nuked there so we don’t have to nuke them here, or freedom fighters who need us to nuke them to save them (depending on which way the foul wind is blowing over at Fox News).
Take a minute and follow the link over to KOS and check out the diary. It’s mostly pictures from yesterday’s protest. Scroll down most of the way and look at the pic of the protest sign of rosie the riveter in a head scarf. That says so much. They don’t hate us, they like us, and understand us much better than we understand them.
July 10th, 2009 at 9:58 amhttp://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/7/9/751788/-Tehran-Street-PhotosThe-Genie-is-Out-of-the-Bottle
Guess it was much more than sexual harrassment – must be other torts here.
REPUG THREATENS FRIEND OVER JOB BECAUSE SAID ELECTED OFFICIAL WANTS TO SCREW HIS BUDDY’S WIFE!
But the mainstream media and the repugs are trying to play this as blackmail and legit “severance” pay.
The blackmail was by that creep ensign!
July 10th, 2009 at 9:59 amjimmdcosh
FLAGGED for ad-spamming
Take your God damn privacy center, light it on fire, shove it up your ass!
July 10th, 2009 at 9:59 ammangy curr says:
We all know you teabag Flush Limpdick’s balls, butt must interupt the adults here?
July 10th, 2009 at 10:01 amBut check out the sustain on that one.
You would hear it, though, if it were playing.
July 10th, 2009 at 10:05 amSome puppies are just always gonna bark at leaves falling on the lawn. Ya can’t break ‘em of it.
July 10th, 2009 at 10:07 amOT: 6% of scientists are republicans.
July 10th, 2009 at 10:07 amOh noes! You just proved that science and truth have a liberal bias!
Now the trolls will always demand BOTH sides to every story on science — their side and the Truth.
July 10th, 2009 at 10:09 amAnd who does watchcur grope?
July 10th, 2009 at 10:10 amTimmee, Proud, or some other useless troll?
Even for watchcur that was post was extrremely stupid and quite ridiculous.
tony and lido
was post=last post:damn cataracts.
July 10th, 2009 at 10:11 amtony and lido
As noted yesterday, watchpup brings the paper home, but expecting him to read it is beyond it’s comprehension.
July 10th, 2009 at 10:12 amralph the wonder locust
faux calls that “fair and balanced”. It the truth isn’t “balanced” with a lie, it is unfair.
July 10th, 2009 at 10:13 amThe love affair is coming to an end, and the American people now see this Marxist for who he really is.
OH NO!!!
how can we possibly survive 3+ more years of this man???!!!
what shall we do???
July 10th, 2009 at 10:22 amHow about giving regular Americans ridiculous bonuses every six months. This is absolutely disgusting. These white collar criminals should be in jail, not getting richer and richer.
July 10th, 2009 at 10:24 amAmerican International Group (AIG), the insurance giant that has received tens of billions of dollars in government bailouts, “is preparing to pay millions of dollars more in bonuses to several dozen top corporate executives after an earlier round of payments four months ago set off a national furor.”
It’s the corporate . . i-mean American way .
July 10th, 2009 at 10:27 am“American International Group (AIG), the insurance giant that has received tens of billions of dollars in government bailouts, “is preparing to pay millions of dollars more in bonuses to several dozen top corporate executives.”
What is so hard about this. You make your company so large, that if it fails, the the global economy goes with it. Right? These guys did that. So their company is now indispensable. So they do deserve those bonuses right?
Why is it that people who government assistance in the form of food stamps, have to give their left leg to get the assistance, but when massive multi-national corporations get the assistance, they get bonuses on top of it?
Why are republicans protecting these hacks? “We can’t set salaries. It’s un-American.. yadd yadda yadda.”
Mr. President,
I’m not sure why you don’t want to enforce our laws, (torture, illegal wiretapping, massive financial fraud) but feel free to read over the Sherman anti-trust act. Once you do, you will see how to properly deal with these companies that are ‘too big to fail.’
If they are too big to fail, then they are too big to exist.
BUST THE TRUSTS!!!
July 10th, 2009 at 10:30 amRegarding the CIA, Panetta and Congress:
Although the topic of whatever program that sparked a flurry of activity within Panetta’s office and hushed whispers by a shocked and surprised contingient of both Democrats and Republicans in the House has been so far kept hush-hush, I feel we will know soon enough exactly just what the CIA was doing behind it’s own Director’s back and kept hidden from Congressional oversight for many years. The latest hint is that it pertains to former Vice President Dick Cheney’s personal CIA Execution Squad that was first reported by the New York Times and followed up by the New Yorker’s Seymour Hersh. I had hoped at the time that this story was not true but sadly I have learned over the last eight years to never underestimate the laws that Cheney is willing to break through some strange sense of entitlement and the continued assurances from those holding the linch-pin that he will never be made to face the consequences of his many criminal actions. Here’s a link to the HuffPo story:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/09/was-the-cia-hiding-cheney_n_228864.html
We have heard several times since this past January that Cheney still has several burrowed confidants at the CIA. Obama and Panetta seem unwilling to uphold the law and go after this scumbag. Are they afraid of his Death Squad? Have they been blackmailed by Cheney and pushed to look the other way? It sure makes a helluva lot of sense as to why this evil selfserving criminal hasn’t been brought to justice yet. If this is true and is made public there will be no recourse but to prosecute him. The American people have had enough of this man, he should spend the rest of his pathetic life in jail for the crimes that we know about and have ample evidence of, but THIS goes far beyond the pale. How many straws does our President, our CIA Director and our Attorney General think that this camel can handle before our Judicial system collapses?
July 10th, 2009 at 10:34 amWow, watchpuppy, that was really, really weak.
I didn’t think your reputation around here could sustain any further damage, but I was wrong.
July 10th, 2009 at 10:35 amNo it has more to do with kooky agendas like those posted here…
July 10th, 2009 at 10:36 amPardon me for butting in, but that doesn’t sound like it would be a very personal question.
Unless, of course, you work at the Heritage Foundation…
July 10th, 2009 at 10:37 amJeffboste
July 10th, 2009 at 10:38 amWhat do you do with all the data that you collect and what statistical tests do you employ when evaluating your data? Just wondering. My sense is that based on the number of respondents your sample sizes may be too small to be significant in anyway…
watchdog Says:
Does it have anything to do with the congressional report showing Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac are a major cause in this finical crises? Or that the EPA Admits Cap & Trade will not work?
You mean the minority Republican committee staff report written entirely to make the Wall Street banks look good?
Or the fact that your linked article says nothing at all about the EPA making such a statement. Lie much, dogpoop?
July 10th, 2009 at 10:39 amJeffboste Says:
Will GM continue to struggle as Car Manufacturer?
New poll: Will Jeffboste ever stop being such an annoying pillock?
July 10th, 2009 at 10:41 amIt’s time the Defense Department tighten its belt and do away with the F22. Watching hard earned taxpayer’s money being pissed away just makes no sense. Is Congress hoping to boost their stock prices by perpetuating this fraud? MAybe Congress should be prohibited from investing in Defense/Surveilence matters. Is this not a form of insider trading? They certainly have more priviledged knowledge.
July 10th, 2009 at 10:43 amWell I was going to point out that about the EPA thing but gummble-bee-itch seems to already handled that.
gummble-bee-itch: What about just a nice plate of baba ghanouj, a couple of stuffed grape leaves, an appropriate cheese or two…
July 10th, 2009 at 10:45 amNot a peep about obamas social security adm blowing millions of dollars on a big convention about nothing?
July 10th, 2009 at 10:46 amAIG is estimated to have negative equity. That means any bonus payments are an outright fleecing of the company, and its huge taxpayer obligations.
July 10th, 2009 at 10:47 amHi Republicans Love Facts
July 10th, 2009 at 10:49 amDo you mean the Nothing from the Neverending Story because that Nothing sure was Something….
Party before country? Yep!
July 10th, 2009 at 10:50 amRepublicans Love Facts Says:
Party before country? Yep!
Ah, the GOP mantra. It’s true, RLF. We’ve been putting up with that from your party for years.
July 10th, 2009 at 10:53 amdbadass, it sounds great. Maybe not for everyone, though.
July 10th, 2009 at 10:53 amMy AIG prediction: Millions more in bonuses will be paid. Everyone will scream. Nothing will be done about it. Business as usual.
July 10th, 2009 at 10:55 amRepublicans Loves Farts, can you be a little more specific? At least give us a clue about what the voices in your head are saying, a link, a reference to an actual story, something?
July 10th, 2009 at 10:57 amI see gum has his troll scalpel finely honed and his surgical arm limber.
The trolls are bleeding all over the carpet, though. It’s a good thing their blood is so thin it cleans up with water and a little Simple Green.
July 10th, 2009 at 10:58 amFound this on HuffPo this morning:
Philadelphia Private Swim Club Forces Out Black Children
Update: The public email and phone number for The Valley Swim Club is 215-947-0700 and info@thevalleyclub.com. The President of the club is John Duesler.
NBC reports that more than 60 African-American campers from Northeast Philadelphia were turned away from a private swim club because — according to John Duesler, President of The Valley Swim Club — “there was concern that a lot of kids would change the complexion … and the atmosphere of the club.”
Please note contact info at the top…go get ‘em, kids. These people shame all of us.
July 10th, 2009 at 10:58 amRepublicans Love Facts
You said “Party before country? Yep!”
You must be talking about Bush’s Interior department doing blow and getting blown by and with the oil companies that were supposed collecting revenue from.
Right? That’s what your talking about?
July 10th, 2009 at 11:02 amLeftside Annie Says:
Why no list of the exclusive ‘black only’ clubs? Shameful?
July 10th, 2009 at 11:22 amRepublicans Love Facts:
July 10th, 2009 at 11:30 amCheck into the membership rules through time at the marinas and yacht clubs in a certain small town on the coast of Maine…
More big bonuses for the top CEO’S that caused the problem…How quaint..Guess we will get another new’s blurb from President Obamas top inside guy “Geitner”..Something about contracts being honered my guess..Just more of the same….Time for me to take more time out’s..
Read somewhere this morning the FDA is pulling punches with small farmers and home growers…If I read all the stuff correctly, before I give my neighbors any of my snow peas I need to file papers on how every thing was grown and apply for inspections and approval..It do’s not apply to corprate growers because they are inspected sometimes by half the food inspecters we use to have 12 year’s ago..Jeebos all the crap and continued war funding is wareing me out…P. B. & J..
July 10th, 2009 at 11:33 amNice to see you admit this, Rebecca Lobo. But really, you fringe lunatic righties should try putting your country first instead of traitorously hoping that Osama bin Laden deploys and detonates a major weapon in the United States.
July 10th, 2009 at 11:56 amWhen will TP ban jimmymcdoshbag and Jeffboste?
July 10th, 2009 at 11:59 amI see our Republican friend still thinks that “Facts” is another word for “Pop-Tarts™”.
It’s really the only explanation that makes sense.
July 10th, 2009 at 12:10 pmAny Congressperson who does not publicly denounce this atrocity and block these bonuses needs to be voted out of office next term.
This is outrageous. Enough! The American public is dying economically. We need to fire everyone at AIG, not give them bonuses. Don’t you hear us Congress? We’re watching. Congress, you either shine or sink based on your response buddies. The public is in economic agony and we’ll bring you down with us if you refuse to stand up for us.
July 10th, 2009 at 12:22 pmRepublicans Love Facts Says:
Leftside Annie Says:
Why no list of the exclusive ‘black only’ clubs? Shameful?
Because, Republicans Love Racism, I’ve never heard of one.
Next…?
July 10th, 2009 at 12:29 pmThe Obama Unitary Executive looks remarkably Bushist:
House overwhelmingly rejects signing statement
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/house-overwhelming-rebukes-obama-signing-statement-2009-07-09.html
July 10th, 2009 at 12:48 pmI could support AIG executives getting bonuses – if, and only if, those bonuses are tied to repaying the American people the bailout money they received. I could support having an amount equal to 1% of the money repaid put into a bonuses account and divided up among the executives in any manner they see fit. Otherwise, shut up and do your work for the salary you are getting, which alone is more than most Americans get in multiple years of working.
July 10th, 2009 at 12:57 pmTotally off topic Alert:
sorry for the Ot but I’m trying to find info debunking Michele Bachman’s rant about Gangster Gov’t and GM dealership closures but I’m comming up short.
A little Help?!?!
July 10th, 2009 at 1:03 pmThe Sen. Ensign affair gets more bizzare with each passing day. By definintion nothing can be expected in return for money given as a gift. So far we have $96,000 paid by Ensign’s parents and $24,000 in a severance package by the Ensign campaign committee. We also have a kid on the payroll without portfolio. They have a name for this: corruption. And breaking the law. How can Ensign continue to serve now that he is entangled in illegal activities?
July 10th, 2009 at 1:30 pmHello to all. Let me introduce myself. I am a gay republican who hates myself, so want to go around and spread my misery to one and all. All I know how to do is start controversy – but I can tell that my pea-brain is no match for the intelligent reality based thinkers that make-up the share of the people on this site.
I have read all you have to say – and I agree, the conservatives are a bunch of kCock-suckers who can’t make it in a reality based world …so we had to create a world of illusion and confusion. I guess the reason I’m such a moron is because I was gang raped by a bunch of preachers from my church.
This is #1 in a series of Republican Love Facts
..It seems my charade worked. The other Hijacker has fled. If he comes back, I’ll be right behind him.
July 10th, 2009 at 1:42 pmThe following is all sourced from Wayne Madsen Report (.COM) where archive-search access requires a subscription fee, (details at website). Madsen is a premier investigative journalist, military-trained, ex-NSA intelligence operative, and from today’s whistle-blowers inside the Pentagon/CIA/NSA intelligence community, Madsen’s precise and exacting reports regularly rival and often beat the scoops of renowned investigators (appearing on the list of top journalists deemed ‘threats to secrecy’ and named in NSA Security’s journalist monitoring database as targets of communications intercepts and physical surveillance), including such as Seymour Hersh (New Yorker), Siobhan Gorman (WSJ), Scott Shane, James Risen and Eric Lichtblau (NYT), Phil McGowan (Baltimore Sun), and more. Yet, for news inside the WashDC beltway, Madsen (of ‘WMR‘) most consistently beats them all, In My Opinion, reading widely. (I’m here at TP, all right?)
So, to the (deep) backstory of AIG and why the news is reasonably unfathomable the way we see the news is:
( waynemadsenreport.com …/articles/20080918_2)
September 18, 2008 — AIG is “special case”
With the U.S. government now in control of AIG, the Bush family will breathe particularly easier. On June 20, 2005, WMR reported the following concerning the connection between Greenberg and the Bushes:
“The investigations of the secret Bush money tranches are coming to the fore as New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer focuses in on the scandal involving Maurice “Hank” Greenberg and the inflation of the worth of American International Group (AIG) through shady affiliates, including AIG reinsurer Coral Re of Barbados. Greenberg was the CEO of AIG but was forced to step down amid the Spitzer probe. …”
…
Cornelius V. Starr started AIG as “American Asiatic Underwriters” in 1919 in Shanghai. Starr moved AIG from Shanghai to New York after the Communists came to power in 1949. Ironically, AIG is back in China through its ownership of People’s Insurance Company of China. AIG also owns AIG Korea Insurance.
Ever since the days of Ken Starr’s uncle Cornelius, AIG has, on behalf of U.S. intelligence, kept tabs on rising players on the Asia political scene, particularly in China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other countries. The quid pro quo for AIG is that it has weathered the storms generated by Spitzer and the global financial melt down from the strong support from the U.S. government in return for permitting the mining of data from AIG’s insurance files by the CIA.
…
AIG’s chairman, before he was forced to resign amid scandal, was Maurice “Hank” Greenberg. In 1962, Greenberg was hired by AIG’s founder, Cornelius Vander Starr, the uncle of President Bill Clinton prosecutor Kenneth Starr, as the chief of AIG’s North American operations. Greenberg eventually took over as AIG’s chairman, as well as assuming the Chairmanship and CEO position of Starr’s other firm, C. V. Starr and Company. Greenberg retained control of C. V. Starr and Company after having stepped down as AIG’s chairman in 2005.
—
( … /articles/20090302 )
March 2, 2009 — AIG’s new $30 billion handout to protect a U.S. intelligence operation
Maybe with now the Third Bailout, it’s time to ask the hard questions about AIG.
The third bailout fund for AIG of 30 billion US dollars makes that insurance company the largest corporate recipient of federal funds, according to Bloomberg, which calculates its debt to the government at 70 billion dollars. AIG requested the third tranche, claiming that it could find no buyers for its Asian insurance operation, AIA.
This is patently untrue. In fact, China Life has shown strong interest in purchasing AIA’s (AIG’s Asian unit) assets in the Greater China region but, insurance industry insiders say, was rebuffed by AIG’s asking price, which was astronomical considering the company’s heavy debt burden. The transfer of AIA to the federal government, probably to protect sensitive private data that cannot be shared with foreign companies without igniting a major scandal, confirms suspicions long held about the ‘revolving door’ between AIG executives and the US intelligence agents.
Intelligence agencies in Japan, Indonesia and China have long suspected that AIG and its Asian unit, AIA, were heavily used as cover for placement of NOC agents, eavesdropping operations and for collecting private data unrelated to insurance matters on their nationals.
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Considering the estimated 60 billion in losses sustained by AIG thus far, the Obama administration has an obligation to disclose to both investors and taxpayers the extent of US intelligence manipulation of the insurance company – and whether Agency officials were involved in diverting funds from the company to finance ‘black operations’ or to line their own pockets. Did the Agency-based executives run AIG into the ground by funneling corporate funds into covert operations outside of congressional authority? [nota bene: Recent news items report on-going CIA "lies to" and "misleading" Congress's oversight.]
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( … /articles/20090325_4 )
March 26-27, 2009 — AIG’s airplane business and its ties to covert U.S. ops (publication date: Mar 25, 2009)
WMR previously reported on Sir Allen Stanford’s aviation fleet and its curious links to covert U.S. intelligence operations. [n.b.: 'Stanford' in recent news same as 'Madoff.'] American International Group (AIG) is also in the aviation business and its subsidiary, International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC), is one of the largest aircraft leasing businesses in the world.
Last year, ILFC’s CEO Steven Udvar-Hazy, a Hungarian emigre who founded ILFC in 1973, attempted to buy back ILFC from AIG.
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Questions remain as to why a company primarily involved in insurance would have taken over an aircraft leasing business that leases Airbus and Boeing passenger jet liners to airlines, the super wealthy, and Hollywood stars. The answer may be found in AIG’s classified files that would put the spotlight on AIG’s clandestine work for U.S. intelligence since the company’s founding in 1919 …. In 1992, Maurice “Hank” Greenberg took over majority shares in the company from Starr.
Greenberg, a close confidante of Henry Kissinger, was once considered by Clinton to head up the CIA after James Woolsey’s departure in 1995 and Greenberg named Kissinger as chairman of AIG’s International Advisory Board.
A check of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings show that ILFC leased aircraft to three large U.S. airlines that have been involved with various CIA and U.S. military operations for a number of years: World Airways, Tower Air, and Evergreen International Airlines.
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In 1975, upon the fall of Saigon to the North Vietnamese and Vietcong, World Airways was the last flight out of Saigon.
During the first Gulf War, the airline flew 300 flights into the Persian Gulf region, bringing in troops and supplied ….
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Tower Air was also used by the Pentagon to shuttle troops to the Persian Gulf during Desert Shield and Storm.
Evergreen International Airlines was part of a network of covert CIA airlines that was founded by George A. Doole, Jr., a veteran CIA agent. In the CIA’s network were Air America, Air Asia, Civil Air Transport, Intermountain Aviation, and Southern Air Transport. Pinal Air Park, near Marana, Arizona, was the base for Doole’s Evergreen International’s maintenance operation and a storage facility for 60 boneyard airliners, some of which may have been used after 9/11 for CIA detainee renditions.
From CIA airlines to covert operations using its American International Assurance Asian (AIA) unit as cover in Asia, AIG has plenty to answer for. Unfortunately, for the American taxpayers, those answers will be buried ….
July 10th, 2009 at 1:47 pmThank you .. admin
Sesli Chat Sesli Sohbet
July 10th, 2009 at 3:05 pmSesli Chat Sesli Sohbet
Sesli Chat Sesli sohbet
Israel orders 1st stealth F-35 squadron
Israel moved a step closer to receiving its first stealth fighter jets this week after the Israel Air Force submitted an official Letter of Request (LOR) to the Pentagon to purchase its first squadron of 25 F-35 stealth fighter jets.
How much is the U.S. taxpayer providing in subsidy?
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1246443770618&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
July 10th, 2009 at 7:00 pm(55) Regarding the CIA, Panetta and Congress:
Apparently this super-secret CIA program was intermittent, switched on whenever circumstances warranted, and then switched off, lying dormant in some CIA department, until something triggered it being switched on again…which actually accurately describes what a CIA special “operations” team would experience between assassination assignments, let’s say. (Although this intermittent CIA activity could involve some other CIA operation, even worse than assassinations, torture, illegal spying on U.S. citizens, although it’s hard to imagine what this might be).
One clue might be what was in the news around the time CIA director Leon Panetta learned of this CIA program. Something in the news which might indicate what triggered this dormant CIA program to be activated, thus coming to the attention of Panetta, a CIA program that he scuttled within 24 hours, leading him to inform Congress about it’s existence.
So, what was in the news about two months ago that might hint at what caused a dormant CIA program to be activated, a program created after the 9/11 attacks on orders of former CIA director George “Slam Dunk” Tenet, probably on orders of Dick Cheney and the neo-con Republicans in the Bush administration?
Something to do with Iran, maybe? Using covert CIA agents to destabilize Iran, similar to the reports that the Bush administration inserted CIA agents into Iran after the 9/11 attacks to map Iran’s nuclear facilities and work with sympathetic anti-Tehran Iranian tribes? Or something else, somewhere else?
Whatever, wherever, this super-secret CIA program, that was even deemed too sensitive to be reported to our representatives in Congress, will someday be revealed, as will all the criminal acts committed by Republicans over the past eight years will be revealed, just not anytime soon apparently.
July 10th, 2009 at 8:54 pm.
You’re not getting any baklava until you eat all your spanakopita. That’s final, Mister.
And then there’s funny news, for afters.
July 10th, 2009 at 11:37 pm.
If you’re going to commit a war crime, subcontract the job offshore:
Obama: No Grounds to Probe Afghan War Crimes
http://arisfreedomswitch.blogspot.com/2009/07/obama-no-grounds-to-probe-afghan-war.html
July 11th, 2009 at 12:48 am