Heavy rain was also hampering rescue efforts and officials said power had been severed in the city

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Indonesia quake death toll may be thousands

Dave has been following the saga of Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), who incited a GOP uproar this week after charging that the Republicans’ health reform strategy is to let the sick “die quickly.” The comment caused GOP leaders to threaten an anti-Grayson resolution, to be introduced if Grayson failed to apologize for his remarks. Roll Call has the tale of the apology, delivered Wednesday afternoon on the House floor: After speaking extensively to the press, Grayson came to the floor with an apology, but not for the Republican Party. “I would like to apologize,” he said. “I would like to apologize to the dead.” No word yet of the GOP response. – You can follow TWI on Twitter and Facebook .

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Grayson Apologizes

Don't fall for fraud Sydney Morning Herald … Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Delia Rickard. With that in mind, here's our dirty dozen – the 12 telltale signs it's a scam . …

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Don’t fall for fraud – Sydney Morning Herald

Spring Lake man accused of scam Asbury Park Press And it sold stock to at least 200 investors, promising in one case a return of 10 percent within two months of the investment , along with a stake in the … and more

He was practically a fixture on Capitol Hill during the Wall Street bailout debate and subsequent oversight discussions. But Ken Lewis, CEO of Bank of America, is set to retire at the end of the year. Lewis and BoA have been in hot water over their government-backed deal to acquire the failing Merrill Lynch in December. At the time of the deal, Merrill was set to pay $5.8 billion in employee bonuses — bonuses that BoA executives didn’t reveal to their shareholders, who approved the buyout. The saga didn’t escape Democratic leaders on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, whose ongoing investigation of the deal has gained public prominence with several Capitol Hill hearings. Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.), who chairs the panel, issued a statement Wednesday warning Lewis’s that the probe will continue despite the changing of the guard. Our investigation has uncovered troubling facts about Bank of America’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch, and Mr. Lewis was at the center of this controversy. We hope that Bank of America’s new leadership will quickly repay American taxpayers and help us finally resolve unanswered questioned about this merger.

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Bank of America’s Ken Lewis to Retire

Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) is holding off on his resolution slamming Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) for his “die quickly” remarks, explaining that Republicans “would give Congressman Grayson an opportunity to do the right thing and recognize the comments that he made were disrespectful to the House and to the decorum.” Why’d Price introduce the resolution? “That was the avenue that was defined by the Democrats in charge when someone breaches the decorum,” Price said. “So we chose the same vehicle.” Isn’t there a problem here? Price, like 166 other Republicans , voted against the Wilson resolution. Meanwhile, the NRCC has set up a fund dedicated to whatever GOP candidate gets in the race against Grayson.

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Tom Price: We’ll Scrap Grayson Resolution If He Apologizes

In Geneva, where the U.S. delegation has arrived in advance of tomorrow’s multilateral negotiation with Iran’s nuclear program, senior U.S. diplomats set expectations for the talks in a background briefing for reporters . The key points: the disclosure of the hidden nuclear facility at Qom has “strengthened the sense of purpose and unity amongst the 5+1 group,” an anonymous diplomat said, referring to the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, China and Russia. The talks must “establish whether the Iranians are ready to engage on the nuclear issue” and the Iranians must offer both “concrete steps toward transparency” and  “practical, tangible steps to build confidence in Iranian intentions.” The diplo said that the process can’t be “talks just for the sake of talks,” and Iran has to move “pretty quickly” build that confidence. I think it’s pretty safe to predict that this is going to be an extraordinarily difficult process. I doubt that it’s going to be measured in terms of one meeting, although we’ll see how the Iranians approach the meeting tomorrow. That’s a way of saying that the talks will establish either that there’s a basis for further diplomatic engagement — predicated on Iranian disclosure — or that the Iranians are not interested in disclosure and the P5+1 will consider more punitive measures like sanctions. So, what specifically does Iran have to begin to provide the P5+1? One, as I mentioned, is to fulfill their obligations to the IAEA on Qom, on the clandestine facility. They also have an obligation to be transparent about their entire nuclear program. In the past there was a period of time where they applied the Additional Protocol, which allowed for wider inspections by the IAEA in Iran. That’s certainly an example of the kind of thing that would help restore confidence. But the bottom line is we need to see — not just we, but the international community needs to see — actions, not just words. Particularly in light of the most recent revelation. At the same time, in addition to increased transparency, as I said, concrete steps to build confidence in the program too, whether it’s based on the proposal that we’ve had on the table for some time that begins with freeze-for-freeze or other kinds of ideas, but there have to be measureable results.

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Previewing Tomorrow’s High-Stakes Negotiations With Iran

The Michigan Messenger reports that Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D-Mich.) has notified state employees that they will be temporarily laid off at the stroke of midnight if the legislature does not pass a budget by the end of the day. Follow events as they develop here .

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Michigan State Government Set to Shut Down at Midnight

The Associated Press Couples allege Ponzi-like adoption scam by NY man The Associated Press In a traditional Ponzi scheme, early investors are paid “proceeds” from a scam investment with money raked in from later investors. … and more

Don’t worry America, Sweden is with you in Afghanistan. The surge is on . Sweden wants to send more troops to Afghanistan after an assessment by the Armed Forces concluded that the current force of 500 soldiers is too small. The Swedish military wants instead to boost the number of troops on the ground in Afghanistan to 630 by 2011, according to Sveriges Television (SVT). Sweden, you’ll note, isn’t even a NATO country. The increased troop commitment comes as European Union defense ministers decide that they’ll wait until after the results of the election become “known” — like they’re not now ? — before considering their own increases, probably around October 5-7.

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The Swedes Surge Into Afghanistan

Maybe now we’ll finally get to find out where the high court’s newest justice, Sonia Sotomayor, really stands when it comes to whether the Second Amendment guarantees individual citizens a “right to bear arms.” That was a contentious issue at her confirmation hearings , with Republican gun enthusiasts warning that she doesn’t support gun ownership as a “fundamental right.” Democrats — and Sotomayor — argued that she’d never had the opportunity to rule on the issue.  In one case, she’d held that the Second Amendment did not forbid states from regulating gun possession, but she’d ruled based on her reading of what Supreme Court precedent required, she said. Today, the court announced it would take a new gun case, McDonald v. Chicago , that will directly address the issue that’s so far been left undecided: whether the Second Amendment provides a “fundamental right” that states must respect. The Chicago law at issue in this case bans virtually all handguns. A previous ruling from the Supreme Court, Heller v. District of Columbia , struck down a similar ban but applied only to the federal government’s authority to regulate handguns.

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SCOTUS to Hear Chicago Gun Ban Case

John Cook at Gawker is going after Sarah Palin for collaborating with Lynn Vincent on her forthcoming book “Going Rogue.” As Charles Johnson noted , and as I reported back in May, Vincent has previously collaborated on political book with Robert Stacy McCain, a former Washington Times reporter who was characterized by a former co-worker as an “ill-tempered racist,” and was quoted as once saying that “reasonable people” react to images of interracial couples with “altogether natural revulsion.” I called up McCain, whom I know pretty well from years of covering the conservative movement, to ask about the connection. McCain, who is traveling through Clay County, Ky., reporting on the possible murder of a Census worker, laughed at the Gawker post. “Are they linking me?” he said. “Can they send me some traffic?” McCain brushed aside the charges as smears against a good journalist. “Lynn Vincent has known me since 1981 or 1982, when we went to college in Alabama,” said McCain. “People are making assumptions about me and Lynn Vincent based on bullshit they read on the Internet the same way they made assumptions about Clay County, Ky. She is a person who is a lot more progressive about her views than a lot of people who don’t know her would give her credit for. It was her idea to write ‘Donkey Cons’–she asked me to help her because I’m knowledgable about political history. She was the organizer of the project, she had the agent, she made the executive decisions.” McCain does have his own connections to Palin. During the 2008 campaign he “briefly encountered her in Shippensburg, Pa.,” he recalled. “She autographed my notebook. She gave me a wink and a nod, little knowing that she was speaking to an agent of the Vlaams Belang.” Earlier this year McCain got an exclusive quote from Palin, via email, about rumors that she was divorcing her husband Todd. “Have you seen Todd?” said Palin. “I may be just a renegade hockey mom, but I’m not blind!” “Any accusation against me, I can always plead insanity,” McCain said. “Whatever you say about me, I will always say I’m crazy.” McCain admitted that he has made himself “vulnerable to guilt by association smears” because he’ll “send an email without thinking” about what’s in it. For a long time, he was not allowed to talk about the rumors that dogged his Washington Times career. “I spent years biting my tongue while this stuff went viral over the Internet,” said McCain. “I’ve just learned to live with a bad reputation.” On the interracial couples story: “I know lots of interracial couples. They’re attributing that to me based on something they don’t know anything about.” McCain predicted that the whole story would “blow over in two days,” and that it was a shame that the Internet had “empowered a lot of people empowered a lot of third-rate morons who think they’re journalists.” “It’s just going to be some asterisk in Sarah Palin’s Wikipedia page,” said McCain. – You can follow TWI on Twitter and Facebook .

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Robert Stacy McCain Responds to Gawker, Defends Palin Collaborator Lynn Vincent

The Senate finance panel just shot down an amendment to the committee’s health reform bill that would have required beneficiaries of Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program to show a photo ID in order to enroll. Sen. Charles Grassley (Iowa), the senior Republican on the Finance Committee and sponsor of the proposal, said the new ID requirement is necessary to prevent identity theft. Democrats disagreed, arguing that it would create an additional barrier preventing the nation’s poorest citizens from accessing care. Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) characterized the Grassley proposal as “a solution in search of a problem.” Similar requirements, he said, have kept citizens from getting Medicaid coverage for years, particularly on Indian reservations where the poverty is endemic and ID documents scarce. The fraud in Medicaid is not patient fraud, but provider fraud, added Bingaman, a former attorney general who claimed to have plenty of experience tackling the problem. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) echoed those concerns, wondering aloud how many kids have photo IDs? “This puts children at risk,” he concluded. There is good reason for the Democrats’ concerns. A 2005 law created strict new proof-of citizenship requirements for Medicaid eligibility, forcing potential beneficiaries to produce original-copy citizenship and identification documents. Sponsors said the change was designed to protect taxpayers by preventing illegal aliens from accessing the federal-state program. But Medicaid directors nationwide have said the hurdles have kept many more citizens than illegals from receiving coverage . The committee vote to kill the Grassley amendment was 1o to 13, strictly along party lines.

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Finance Panel Fends Off New Photo ID Requirement in Medicaid and CHIP

According to The New York Times, Ambassador Peter Galbraith, the top U.S. official on the United Nations’ Afghanistan mission, has been fired after urging his colleagues — and especially his boss Kai Eide — to take a harder line on addressing the election fraud that marred last month’s presidential election. It’s hard to improve on this graf: Reaction was swift from the campaign of Abdullah Abdullah, the former Afghan foreign minister who finished second to Mr. Karzai in the Aug. 20 election and who would face him again if the recount and fraud review were to lead to a runoff. “By firing someone like Peter Galbraith from his post, it is the first sign that fraud is victorious over the law,” said Salih Mohammad Registani, the deputy campaign manager for Mr. Abdullah. Over the last several days, the U.S. has joined the U.N. in acquiescing to the election fraud.

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Karzai Steals an Election and Peter Galbraith Pays the Price

As Kate pointed out a few weeks back, the Environmental Protection Agency earlier this month stalled 79 applications for new surface mines in the Appalachian Mountains, citing concerns that those operations would harm local water quality. Today, the agency went a step further, announcing in a letter to the U.S. Corps of Engineers that all 79 permits will be subject to more thorough review. From EPA’s statement, via Ken Ward Jr. at The Charleston Gazette: EPA’s letter today confirms that all 79 permits initially identified on September 11 must undergo additional evaluation by EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers. EPA’s final list was transmitted in a letter to the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) Jo-Ellen Darcy.  The 79 permits represent all of the backlogged surface coal mining projects under review by the Army Corps of Engineers. After a careful evaluation of these surface coal mining projects, EPA determined that each of them, as currently proposed, is likely to result in significant harm to water quality and the environment and are therefore not consistent with requirements of the [Clean Water Act]. As Ward points out, this doesn’t mean that the 79 projects will be rejected. But they could be altered if the EPA — which has been a more aggressive environmental watchdog under this administration than under the last — determines that they do indeed violate the Clean Water Act. Environmental groups were quick to applaud the decision. Mary Anne Hitt, deputy director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign, issued a statement saying the further review “will surely prove that this most destructive form of coal mining is incompatible with clean water.”

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EPA to Conduct Full Reviews of Stalled Mountaintop Mining Permits

Sheriff Warns Of Scam WKSR … check from Chapman's Tire. Similar scams have also been reported in Loretto as well as Mississippi, and police believe Bishop may be behind them all. … and more

Looking for a chimney sweep before winter hits? Belmont Citizen-Herald This scam is occurring in the area, and with the fall and winter seasons approaching and many consumers having their chimneys cleaned, it is important to … Beverly Bee Beverly Citizen all 2 news articles

The Senate Finance Committee this morning shot down an amendment, offered by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), that would have explicitly prohibited federal funds from subsidizing abortion coverage under plans purchased on a new insurance marketplace, dubbed the exchange, which would be created under the committee’s health reform bill. The Hatch amendment would have allowed women to buy abortion coverage through unsubsidized supplemental plans, called riders. Hatch said it would simply codify the so-called Hyde amendment , which already prohibits federal funding of abortions, but must be renewed each year through the appropriations process. “That’s not asking a lot,” Hatch said. “It’s not trying to change the law.” But that argument didn’t fly with most Democrats. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) said, “As a woman, I find it offensive. This is an unprecedented restriction on people who pay for their own health insurance.” And Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont), emphasizing that his bill already prohibits federal funding of abortions, said the Hatch amendment is “discrimination against women to have them get a rider for a private plan.” The amendment failed 10 to 13.

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Stabenow ‘Offended’ by Abortion Amendment

One week after Marin Cogan wrote a spot-on profile of Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), the punchy freshman Democrat fulfilled her prediction that he would be “the first member to bring the blogosphere’s in-your-face style to Capitol Hill.” He gave a short floor speech on health care where he summed up the GOP’s as “Don’t get sick, and if you do get sick, die quickly.” The National Republican Congressional Committee has relentlessly hammered Grayson (a target in 2010) since then, aided by TV personalities who have been dutifully asking Democrats if they’ll condemn him. The NRCC looks to be winning a PR victory, at least — The Washington Post gives Grayson on-the-one-hand-on-the-other-hand coverage, comparing him to Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.). This seems like the wrong comparison. In June, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) said that Democratic health care reform might lead to seniors getting “put to death.” There’s your comparison. It’ll be interesting to see how Grayson plays this.

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NRCC Pushes Alan Grayson ‘Controversy’

Although court-watchers were predicting that the Supreme Court would decide yesterday whether to hear the appeal from a group of Chinese Muslim detainees at Guantanamo Bay claiming the right to be released into the United States, the high court apparently decided not to decide, at least for now. Lyle Denniston at SCOTUSblog writes that the justices could still take up the case next week. The court yesterday also put off deciding whether the U.S. government has to release photos of detainee abuse, as the American Civil Liberties Union is arguing in its Freedom of Information Act case against the Defense Department.  The court could decide whether to hear that case on Oct. 9. SCOTUSblog has listed here all ten cases the court yesterday decided to review.

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SCOTUS Takes No Action on Uighurs’ Case or Abuse Photos

Gen. Raymond Odierno is testifying before the House Armed Services Committee, the first time he’s addressed the panel, about the Iraq mission he commands. “I believe we are now in reach of our goals,” he said. Iraq is slowly reestablishing diplomatic and economic ties with its neighbors, and has begun implementing a “long-term strategic partnership” with the U.S. through the Strategic Framework Agreement that governs an ultimate U.S. political and economic commitment to Iraq and the Status of Forces Agreement that governs ultimate U.S. departure. All U.S. military actions in Iraq now occur “by, with and through” the Iraqi security forces, “within the framework of the security agreement.” Odierno praised the departure of U.S. combat forces from Iraqi cities on June 30 as a “major milestone” whose “positive psychological impact has been profound.” He called the Iraqi security forces capable. Nine months after implementing the security agreement and three months after leaving the cities “we continue to make consistent…progress,” Odierno said. Reduced attacks “of all types” to levels not seen since the “summer of 2003.” He’s got charts! Overall attacks have decreased 85 percent over the last two years, to 594 in August of 2009. “Ethno-sectarian deaths” have decreased 77 percent. Only 19 ethno-sectarian incidents over Ramadan 2009, compared to 978 in 2006. There are “high-profile attacks” that continue, but Odierno brings out stats to show their decline even after June 30. “There was a clear security lapse on 19 August in Baghdad, but I do not believe it was the result of any systematic security problems,” Odierno said, referring to massive Baghdad bombings occurring that day, saying the government “responded effectively … enabled by U.S. forces, and they continue to reassess their security posture.” Extremist efforts to re-spark sectarian violence  “have failed.” “You can honestly feel a difference” amongst the people in Baghdad, Odierno said. Lots of praise for the Iraqi security force training effort. Iraqis conducting “more and more precision intelligence-driven operations,” much of which are “unilateral,” and even rely on their own “human and technical intelligence.” Strides in Iraqi counterterrorism operations, particularly with Iraqi special operations forces. Al-Qaeda in Iraq has been “reduced” to a “small, ideological core.” They’re still in the north, hoping to go back to Anbar and Baghdad. But he’s working with Iraqi security force to “deny extremist safe havens and reduce the flow of foreign fighters and lethal aid into Iraq.” The Sons of Iraq ex-insurgent militiamen program appears to be going well, with 5000 more transitioning into government jobs, thanks to the government “understanding its importance … to building trust between Sunnis and the government.” The Maliki government says the SOI will be integrated by the end of the year, aspirationally, although Odierno said he doesn’t believe the government will meet the deadline. Security is “not yet enduring,” with “drivers of instability” remaining. Odierno said “we cannot focus on immediate and traditional security threats alone” as Iraq rebuilds its institutions and must look at challenges like “communal and factional struggles for resources” and government incapacity. The January elections are “critical for determining the path Iraq will take in the future.” Parliament needs to figure out quickly what form the elections will take, such as open lists of candidates or the closed-list system that resulted in big factional blocs elected over the last two elections. Decades of “infrastructural neglect” require “substantial capital investment.” There has been “some progress” in developing a “culture of accountability,” though government corruption remains high. Still disputed internal boundaries in the north between Arabs and Kurds that al-Qaeda seeks to exploit; Odierno “strongly support[s]” United Nations mediation. Now: about that withdrawal. “Eleven months from now, our commission will end,” leaving an advisory & training and “limited” counterterrorism mission coordinated with Iraqis. By Aug. 31, 2010, there will be six Advisory and Assistance Brigades of about 50,000 troops. The drawdown — 124,000 troops and eleven combat brigades today, going down to 120,000 by October’s end — will “sustain stability,” he pledged. Gotten rid of 200 bases and will continue to close them, as well as gotten rid of about 30,000 contractors. Six headquarters elements of Odierno’s command will consolidate to three by August. He said he’ll still need the emergency commanders’ piggybank known as CERP. “I cannot overstate the importance of information operations” continuing in order to prevent insurgent messages from taking root, Odierno said. “The way we drawdown our forces will influence … the nature of the new Iraq,” he added. “Success will be defined by our ability to support Iraq’s developing institutional capacity, from governance to economics.” “Strategic goal remains to foster a long-term partnership with a sovereign, stable Iraq,” Odierno concluded. “I’m confident in the way ahead.”

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Odierno Updates Congress on Iraq, Says He’s ‘Confident in the Way Ahead’

After a late evening of animated debate Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee is gathering once more this morning for what Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) has promised will be another marathon day discussing amendments to the panel’s proposal for health reform. The amendment process has been something like organized chaos. Originally, Finance Committee members introduced 564 amendments, though Baucus incorporated many of those into the bill even before the markup process began. Others are overlapping, and so can be combined. Many more will never see the light of day. Through yesterday, the committee has considered 81 separate amendments, 23 of them Tuesday alone. Baucus has divided the amendments into three broad categories: health care delivery, coverage and financing. Today the focus will be on the last, though lawmakers can also introduce proposals addressing the other two. Baucus hopes to pass a complete bill out of the committee this week in order to bring it to the floor next week. Among the most contentious amendments will be one hiking the threshold at which high-cost health plans would be slapped with an excise tax — a central device for funding the expanded coverage under the bill. The original Baucus proposal applied the tax to individual plans costing more than $8,000 and family plans costing more than $21,000. Though that tax would hit the insurance companies, critics warn that those companies would simply pass the costs on to patients, creating problems of affordability — particularly for those in high-risk jobs (firefighters, coal miners, etc.), who tend to have high-cost plans because they often need more care than other workers. Heeding those critics, Baucus last week upped the thresholds to $8,750 for individuals and $23,000 for families. That hasn’t satisfied everyone, however, and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) is pushing an amendment to hike those floors further, to $9,800 and $25,000 respectively. Kerry just spoke on his amendment, then withdrew it, saying he hopes to work out a behind-the-scenes compromise with Baucus “to find the sweet spot” that will provide revenue to fund the larger bill without harming blue-collar workers in high-cost plans. Stay tuned…

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Finance Panel Takes On Health Reform, Day Six

Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) are set to roll out long-awaited climate legislation this morning. The two senators, who chair the Senate’s Environment and Public Works and Foreign Relations committees, respectively, are releasing their cap-and-trade bill more than three months after its House counterpart passed in June. All indications are that the bill will be slightly stronger than the House version. Kate Sheppard obtained a leaked draft (PDF) of the Senate bill that would mandate a 20-percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2020, as opposed to the 17-percent target set by the House. The long-term targets of the two bills — including an 83-percent emissions reduction by 2050 — are largely the same. The Senate bill will also address concerns over the cooperation of China and India, a sticking point in the debate thus far. Today’s rollout will highlight the national security benefits of the legislation, as Kerry and Boxer will be joined by a retired Navy admiral and a U.S. Army Afghan war veteran. Kerry’s very presence as a lead sponsor of the bill marks a shift from the House debate, when the legislation was crafted and debated almost exclusively by members of the Energy and Commerce Committee. But Kerry also emphasized the environmental and economic advantages of his bill in a column in Politico today. And he didn’t shy away from the game-changing nature of the legislation. “The Clean Jobs and American Power Act is aimed at no less than the reinvention of the way America produces and uses energy,” he wrote. The Environment and Public Works Committee will now take up debate on the legislation, which will eventually be merged with an energy bill passed by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in June — a bill that left many environmentalists disappointed. Boxer and Kerry’s draft, on the other hand, is sure to please environmental advocates, with its aggressive targets and retained authority for the Environmental Protection Agency. But given the difficulty of passing progressive health care reform in the Senate — and predictions that climate legislation will be even more contentious — few believe that a bill this strong will be able to clear the Senate floor.

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Boxer, Kerry to Unveil Climate Bill Today

Lisa Lerer has the scoop : the athletics company “will relinquish its spot on the board of directors at the Chamber of Commerce to protest the business lobby’s opposition to climate-change legislation.” “We believe that on the issue of climate change the Chamber has not represented the diversity of perspective held by the board of directors,” the company says in a statement obtained by POLITICO. “Therefore, we have decided to resign our board of directors position.” The conservative Chamber has been a powerful force in the climate change and health care debates, even (perhaps especially) though its spokespeople are less camera-obsessed than, say, conservative pundits.

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Nike Quits the Chamber of Commerce

Globe and Mail Calgarian accused in Ponzi scheme wants to clear his name. Canada.com Earlier this month, the RCMP charged Sorenson and Milowe Brost, 55, in a complex investment fraud alleged to have bilked some 3000 people across North … Ponzi suspect Brost 'anxious' for court battle Calgary Herald Gold lured investors to firms worldwide Vancouver Sun Suspect in Canada's largest Ponzi scheme arrested CBC.ca Metro Canada – Calgary

$13 Million Oil Scam Alleged in Texas Courthouse News Service Harris hired a sales team “to make unsolicited telephone calls to prospective investors,” and send out glossy brochures showing an ” investment calculator” … and more

What it takes to make money online by playing investment game program Ecommerce Journal You need to stay objective and focus on those scam signs that define cycle up or down trends. Many new players will jump into investment game program …

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What it takes to make money online by playing investment game program – Ecommerce Journal

JOHANNESBURG, Dec 9 (IPS) – South Africa has made progress in the fight against corruption, but more needs to be done to eradicate the vice, say analysts – this as the world marks International Anti-Corruption Day, Friday. “There have been efforts …

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CORRUPTION-SOUTH AFRICA: Some Good News – and Some Bad – Inter Press Service

Former bank official tied to loan scam Cape Cod Times She created the loan applications and forged the signatures herself, then got a credit check from a different department in the bank, court records say. … Former Seamen's VP faces theft charges Cape Cod Times all 5 news articles

Stanford slapped by judge New York Post Stanford, accused in a $7 billion investment scam , failed in a London court to tap into a directors-and-officers insurance policy at Lloyd's of London. … and more

Vets should guard against this scam Kansas City Star And it's a good idea to double- check the phone number or source of the e-mail to ensure you are dealing with a legitimate company or group. … and more

Accused scammer headed to the slammer News Enterprise By BOB WHITE ELIZABETHTOWN – An Elizabethtown man with a history relating to investment scams and who still faces trial on similar charges brought against …

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Accused scammer headed to the slammer – News Enterprise

Freeville man avoids apparent big- check swindle Ithaca Journal “Really and truly that's the way (to tell a scam ).” Don Decker of Freeville was able to determine that a check for $900 he received for a tent and three … and more

Aiken Public Safety investigates check washing NBC Augusta AIKEN, SC – People in Aiken County may be the victims of a check scam and not even know it. Officers say they stole checks from mailboxes, … Three arrested after washed checks turn up in Aiken WRDW-TV all 2 news articles

It’s only been a few hours since the Senate Finance Committee killed two separate proposals to create a public insurance plan as part of the year’s health reforms. But some Democrats are already vowing to take up the fight again when the bill hits the Senate floor. Here’s the newly released statement from Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.): I am disappointed the Senate Finance Committee rejected amendments offered by Senator Rockefeller and Senator Schumer to include a public health insurance option in its health care reform legislation.  I have strongly supported a public health insurance option from the start as a way to increase competition in the health care industry and drive down costs.  A public health insurance option is key to ensuring every American is able to afford health insurance and without it, I don’t see how we will bring real reform to the system.  I will continue to work with my colleagues to include a public option in the bill when it comes to the Senate floor.

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Feingold Urging Public Option

CBC.ca Gold lured investors to firms worldwide Vancouver Sun In Honduras, Merendon Jewellery is the public face of Sorenson, a Calgarian sought by Mounties in an alleged investment scam . … Suspect in Canada's largest Ponzi scheme arrested CBC.ca all 60 news articles

One of the lower-key workshops at the How to Take Back America conference was “How to Deal With Vote Fraud, the Census, and ACORN,” where Republican pols Kris Kobach and Ed Martin talked about the threat groups like ACORN posed to elections. (Kobach is running for Secretary of State in Kansas; Martin is running for Congress in Missouri.) A key exchange came near the end, when Dave Johnson, an Alabama activist, asked what worried conservatives could do about the “invasive” questions in the decennial survey. Video after the jump.

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Republican Politicians Say There’s Reason to Fear the Census

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), one of two Democrats who’s expressed worry about the president’s use of advisers who haven’t been approved by the Senate, has scheduled Constitution subcommittee hearings on the matter. The Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution has scheduled a hearing on “Examining the History and Legality of Executive Branch ‘Czars’” for Tuesday, October 6, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. in Room 226 of the Senate Dirksen Office Building. No word yet on which experts will appear, but you’d be hard pressed to find a D.C. conservative or libertarian who’d turn it down.

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Finally, a Senate Hearing on ‘Czars’

KBND New Check Scam KBND Bend Police are warning residents to beware of a new check scam . A local resident received a bogus check in the amount of $2900 in response to a grant she …

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New Check Scam – KBND

Veterans: Beware of the latest financial scams Kansas City Star And it's a good idea to double- check the phone number or source of the e-mail to ensure you are dealing with a legitimate company or group. WE'VE GOT YOUR BACK Veterans have a new foe: scammers REPORT A SCAM Allentown Morning Call all 18 news articles

Postal Inspectors Crack Down On Check Fraud Scheme WMFD.com The United States Postal Inspection Service is seeing an increase in reports of check fraud schemes across the country. The latest scam is the Mystery …

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Postal Inspectors Crack Down On Check Fraud Scheme – WMFD.com

The Senate Finance Committee just voted down the second and last public option amendment expected to be offered during the panel’s markup of health reform legislation. The proposal, sponsored by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), would have created a public plan to compete with private insurers on a newly formed marketplace, called the exchange. The vote was 10 to 13, with three Democrats — Sens. Max Baucus (Mont.), Kent Conrad (N.D.) and Blanche Lincoln (Ark.) — opposing the proposal. Democratic Sens. Bill Nelson (Fla.) and Tom Carper (Del.), who voted against a similar proposal offered earlier in the day, both supported Schumer’s amendment. We are tracking all of today’s developments on our Senate Public Option Scoreboard .

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Senate Finance Committee Kills Schumer Public Option Amendment

Yesterday, TWI’s David Weigel appeared on MSNBC’s “The Ed Show” to talk about his reporting on this past weekend’s “How to Take Back America” conference in St. Louis. In case you missed it, you can watch the video after the jump. Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News , World News , and News about the Economy – You can follow TWI on Twitter and Facebook .

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David Weigel and Ed Schultz Talk About ‘How to Take Back America’

Even as the Senate Finance Committee just shot down a long-debated proposal to create a public insurance plan, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, is predicting a victory for the proposal on the Senate floor, according to The Iowa Independent , TWI’s sister site. “Why shouldn’t we have a public option,” Harkin said during an interview on “The Bill Press Radio Show.” “We have the votes.” Harkin’s reasoning seems to be that, with polls showing rising support for the public option, it’ll be politically tough for lawmakers — particularly conservative-leaning Democrats — to vote against it. “Those in the minority can offer amendments to take it out, and then we’ll see where the votes are,” Harkin said.

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Harkin: Public Option Can Pass Senate

New Bill Protects Senior Investors Senior-Spectrum … or switching the investment product actually sold from the one that was marketed. “This legislation will toughen penalties on those who scam and defraud …

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New Bill Protects Senior Investors – Senior-Spectrum

New Zealand Herald Madoff Trustee to Sue Sons, Other Relatives Newsinferno.com Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities is the investment firm that served as a ”front” for the scam , noted CNN. The disgraced financier apologized at his … Madoff relatives may face $198 million suit CNNMoney.com The Madoff Scam : Meet The Liquidator CBS News Madoff Trustee Irving Picard: Let Madoff's Sons Go Bankrupt (VIDEO) Huffington Post (blog) AFP all 197 news articles

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and committee members Christopher Dodd (D-Ct.), Russell Feingold (D-Wis.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) are expected to introduced in the Senate today a bill that would repeal the immunity granted to telecommunications companies under the FISA Amendments Act (FAA) passed last year. The immunity provisions ensured the dismissal of several court cases pending against companies that helped the Bush administration engage in illegal warrantless wiretapping. The Retroactive Immunity Repeal Act would eliminate that immunity. The American Civil Liberties Union, which is still challenging the constitutionality of the FAA in federal court, not surprisingly came out today with this statement from Michael Macleod-Ball, Acting Director of the ACLU’s Washington office, in favor of the new bill: Passing both the FISA Amendments Act last year and the telecom immunity provision within it was a huge blow to Americans’ privacy. The grant of immunity to giant telecommunications companies was a grievous insult to the concept of privacy in America and we welcome the effort to reinstate Americans’ ability to challenge government spying and malfeasance. We urge Congress to repeal the immunity provision of the FISA Amendments Act quickly. Otherwise, Americans may never learn the truth about what the companies and the government did with our private communications.

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Bill Introduced to Repeal Telecom Immunity

The vote was 8 to 15, with five Democrats — Sens. Max Baucus (Mont.), Kent Conrad (N.D.), Blanche Lincoln (Ark.), Bill Nelson (Fla.) and Tom Carper (Del.) — voting against the measure proposed by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.). The committee has moved immediately to a second public option proposal, this one sponsored by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.). We are tracking all of today’s developments on our Senate Public Option Scoreboard .

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Senate Finance Committee Kills First of Two Public Option Amendments

Citing the unlikeliness that the public option could pass on the Senate floor,  Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) just announced that he’ll vote against an amendment to create a public plan. “I can count, and no one has shown me how we can get 60 votes with a public option in the bill,” Baucus said. The Montana Democrat said there’s little doubt that the public option would pressure private insurers to become more affordable, “but my first job is to get this bill across the finish line.” Amendment sponsor Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), though, isn’t buying the argument. Rockefeller, who chairs the Finance Committee’s health subpanel, said Democrats shouldn’t support a bill just for the sake of passing something. “I don’t like that philosophy,” he said.

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Citing Pragmatism, Baucus Will Vote Against Public Option

This is some extremely shoddy journalism from Mickey Kaus. The Slate blogger asks if “ACORN chicanery” elected Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), who won a razor-thin 2008 race for the U.S. Senate after eight months of legal challenges. Kaus links a “tactfully phrased Minneapolis Star Tribune story” to argue that fraudulent votes might have stolen the election for Franken. ACORN claimed to have registered 48,000 new Minnesota voters. If just 1% were ineligible but cast ballots, or had ballots cast for them illegally, and survived the recount process … that’s 480 votes, almost certainly overwhelmingly cast for Franken. Let’s look at this. First, the story Kaus links to is actually a column by the conservative Katherine Kersten, whom the paper refers to as “a Twin Cities writer and speaker,” and who limns the column with attacks on the “liberal agenda.” Kersten has no proof that any illegitimate votes were cast, only that “Minnesota’s laws on proof of voter eligibility are notoriously loose.” Second, “surviving the recount process” in Minnesota was more difficult than it sounds now. Ballots were counted once and recounted twice, and challenged ballots were counted in a hearing that was streamed live. Republicans had a lot of time, and a lot of incentive, to make the cause that thousands of ballots were illegitimate. They made their case. They narrowly lost. Franken doesn’t have to face voters again until 2014, so the attempt to smear him here is just a way of draining the ACORN story for all it’s worth and casting illegitimacy on the Democrats’ Senate majority. It’s one thing for, say, Newsmax to engage in this; I am mystified as to why Kaus would do it. From arguing that the 2000 election was stolen from Al Gore by blocked recounts to arguing that ACORN maybe, kinda-sorta, might have registered an illegal voter in Minnesota. Strange. UPDATE: Todd Herman, who runs new media at the RNC, heartily endorses the ACORN-Franken conspiracy.

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Smearing Sen. Al Franken