CLYBURN DELEGATION TO PORT-AU-PRINCE URGES HAITI TO ADDRESS VOTER DISENFRANCHISEMENT
WASHINGTON, DC—A bipartisan congressional delegation led by House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.) today called upon the United States government to withhold its endorsement of the validity of yesterday’s elections in Haiti until the Haitian government, assisted by international monitors, thoroughly investigates claims of fraud made by leading opposition candidates.
Clyburn led a 10-Member delegation to Port-au-Prince on Sunday to observe the national elections in Haiti. Haitian voters were choosing from among 18 candidates to replace President Réné Préval, whose term expires in February 2011. Haitians also voted for their choices for 11 vacant seats in the 30-member Senate and for all 99 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, which have been vacant since May. Parliamentary elections had been scheduled for February 28, 2010, but were postponed nine months in the wake of the devastating earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas on January 12.
In the wake of a demand from 13 presidential candidates for the elections to be annulled due to alleged fraud and abuse, Clyburn and his delegation released the following statement:
“We appreciate the great challenges that Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), with the help of the United Nations and the international community, had to overcome in organizing these elections after the devastating earthquake. The UN reported on Sunday that voting nationwide was largely without incident and that problems were limited to roughly 50 voting centers out of 1,500 nationwide. This report corresponds to the mostly peaceful and orderly situation that we saw on our firsthand visits to polling centers and our own conversations with election officials, monitors and voters.
“However, we have serious concerns about reports that thousands of voters were unable to cast ballots, several instances of which we observed, and more severe allegations of outright fraud. The call by 13 presidential candidates to annul the election results raises profound questions about the validity of these elections. The government of Haiti, aided by the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), must thoroughly investigate charges of ballot box stuffing and other attempts to manipulate the results and must determine whether fraud indeed took place and how it may have affected the results. If these egregious violations of election law were indeed limited to several dozen polling places nationwide, it is possible that the overall results may not be affected materially. At a minimum, the perpetrators of such acts of electoral fraud must be identified, arrested and prosecuted by the Haitian authorities.
“It is unfortunate that problems related to the issuance of new identity cards after the earthquake and the failure to adequately notify voters of new polling sites caused thousands of Haitians to be disenfranchised. Based on our conversations and reports from the U.S. Embassy and OAS, this was the greatest shortcoming of these elections. We regret that the CEP made no contingency for such voters to cast provisional ballots. It is important to determine whether any candidate gained an advantage from this situation, or if this problem affected supporters of all candidates.
“We recognize the importance of a new Haitian president and parliament being inaugurated when President Préval’s term ends on February 7, 2011. Haiti needs a legitimate, democratic government to guide its recovery from the earthquake and its development in a manner that is responsive to the needs and aspirations of the Haitian people. But we cannot be so eager to declare these elections a success that we prematurely pass judgment on whether they were indeed conducted in accord with international standards.
“The example of Kenya in 2007, taught us that premature declarations of valid elections can be counterproductive, undermine stability and lead to violence and political conflict, as well as call into question the legitimacy of the democratic process. We urge the U.S. government, the OAS and the UN to give full consideration to the charges of fraud and abuse and to await the result of any investigation before passing judgment on the conduct of Haiti’s elections. And we urge all candidates and the Haitian people to resolve their concerns in a peaceful manner.
“It may be that incidents of fraud were isolated and ultimately will have no material impact on the final result. Nevertheless, the call by 13 presidential candidates, including the leading opposition figures, to annul the elections is serious and demands full investigation before the international community passes judgment. We will watch closely in the days and weeks ahead as this investigation proceeds. Should the election results be found to be valid, we expect that the United States government will work with the OAS and UN to help the Haitian government correct the serious problems relating to the issuance of identity cards and notification of polling sites prior to runoff elections in January 2011.”
Rep. Clyburn was joined on the delegation to Haiti by Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas), Rep. Donna Christensen (D-V.I.), Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.), Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Rep. Laura Richardson (D-Calif.) and Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio). The nine Democrats are all Members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Rep. Fortenberry is a Member of the House Democracy Partnership, a commission of 20 Members of the House of Representatives that works to build stronger, more effective legislatures in 14 countries worldwide, including Haiti.
Election fraud in Haiti alleged by twelve presidential candidates
story and photo below by Reuters
written by Joseph Guyler Delva and Allyn Gaestel
PORT-AU-PRINCE – Twelve out of the 18 presidential candidates in Haiti's elections on Sunday demanded the vote be canceled, alleging widespread fraud.
The joint call was made following protests by voters unable to cast their ballots. It represented a serious blow to the credibility of the United Nations-supported elections.
The denunciation followed scenes of chaos and confusion at polling stations in the capital Port-au-Prince.
story below by CNN
The front-runner in Haiti's presidential race denounced Sunday's national elections, calling for a complete annulment of the vote due to irregularities and ballot-box stuffing.
"I am asking my country's citizens, I am asking the Conseil Electoral Provisor, the government, and I'm telling the international community that as the leading candidate I'm asking for the formal cancellation of the elections," Mirlande Manigat told CNN.
At the same time, at least five other presidential candidates were gathering at a hotel in Port-au-Prince for what the campaign of contender Michel Martally billed as a press conference "to denounce today's massive fraud all over the country."
"We have since this morning [witnessed] other elements which convince us that an operation is in play now in Haiti in order to jeopardize the election itself," Manigat said.
Her campaign manager, Wimine St. Pierre, told CNN that Manigat "is asking to void the election across the entire territory of the country because of irregularities and the ballot boxes were already stuffed with votes for Jude Celestin," the hand-picked candidate of outgoing President Rene Preval.
Polls opened early Sunday in Haiti as voters struggling to overcome January's massive earthquake and a spreading cholera epidemic cast their ballots for president and other lawmakers on the fragile island nation.
Haitians lined up at polling centers inside temporary shelters that are being used as classrooms 10 months after January's 7.0-magnitude earthquake destroyed many of the city's schools.
Voters have three ballots to fill out: a green one for president and blue and brown ballots to elect lawmakers to the Senate and parliament. Read more »
I disagree with the US Ambassador and the UN being in Haiti!!! They are liars and want to take over Haiti which will not happen. They think the Haitian people stupid; if they want Haiti to attack the US, France, and Canada it will happen! They don't know who they fooling with! We just watching for a little while and if they wont leave us alone we will raise HELL!!!!!
ianb1303
Just been up to Petion-ville and the drain cover's still missing. Can somebody go and put one on there please, it's annoying having to swerve round it. Nobody's bothered filling the holes in the road in or moving the rubble and junk cars either. I'm really disappointed in you all: I thought you people wanted to take action. Now get off your butts and fix the f&%king roads!!
sxCoy
Haiti has been hell for the last 185 years
nadoop
@ianb1303 You're ignorant and happy. Why don't you stick to what you actually know?
ianb1303
Anyway, day off work tomorrow; please keep the noise down tonight, I'm exhausted.You can riot if you want, but please remember to vote first, at least once or twice; didn't know Haiti had 200 million registered-voters. And if you must riot could you please pick the rubble up from the roadside and sort of throw it into the holes in the roads for me? Much appreciated, merci beaucoup lol
ianb1303
I just wish the Americans were interested/involved in clearing and fixing the f&#king roads..After all, it is all their old sh#t trucks, coaches, and tankers that's f#%king the roads up. Can we introduce a basic safety examination for all cars, buses, trucks, motorbikes, and tap-taps please? Then that'll get 90% of the sh#t if the road. Man, that Port Au Prince smog is really f%#king unhealthy...
kwahjuo
America's interest/involvement in Haiti is definitely not honorable, to say the least.
ianb1303
And I'm not being biased, mine is just the view of a complete outsider. It's very easy to be impartial when you have no influence in the matter.....All I want is the damned roads cleaning up and resurfacing please, as soon as possible cause my Toyota is getting destroyed.
Can someone find a drain cover for the southbound stretch of the Petion-ville road? There's one missing and putting branches in the hole isn't really a suitable replacement....
Surely, in a fair state, if whoever is elected invites Aristide back then that is their business; no other country could or should interfere! But I don't believe it would happen anyway, whoever is elected will fear that, should he invite him back, his newly-gained power would be usurped by the returning exile President. Nobody is going to go for "The Top Job" to give it away,even to a national hero....
ShlomoBarak
Rossier is just saying the truth. who is this guy to say that Aristide will stay in exile.
Do we pay our government taxes so they can send people in exile????
Almost all candidates are friends of Aristide or worked with him or promised to bring him back. Yes sure Aristide is the past!!!!!
ianb1303
Ah, I'm getting it now armchair politicians.... Bring back Aristide cause he thumbed his nose at the world and did things his way? So did Hitler, Stalin, Kruschev, Mao Tse-Tung, et al. Let's fetch them all back then, eh? And get the f%#kers to clean the damned rubble and roads up, while we all just sit here pining for "the good old days" instead of doing something about it!! The past is history; put it behind you, move on, and elect a "New Aristide" then. And clean the f#%king roads please!
nadoop
@ianb1303 You're ignorant and happy. Why don't you stick to what you actually know?
ianb1303
Do you know what? I don't care who you elect as long as someone clears the f&#king roads!! Another puncture today; thanks people, $300 more to Toyota dealers. I might as well just pay someone $250 to sweep the f&#king roads; its cheaper than new tires and good for the local economy......
nocrodomus
What I dont understand is what those country had to gain by making Haiti the way it is, I mean they dont have gold, oil or other useful things that these countries can use, so what is the point???.
nadoop
@nocrodomus Umm, you might want to do your research. Haiti is rich in gold and other minerals, and oil was discovered in the country since the 1930s, but this discovery was largely kept secret. As far as gold goes, look up Eurasian Minerals http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4ADBF_enUS269US269&q=Eurasian+Minerals+ and several other Canadian companies that have been acquired parts of Haiti's mines and have been in the country for a while now.
nocrodomus
@nadoop The same way there is gold and some oil on the D.R and there have been a lot of international mining corporation like the barrick gold on the D.R and still no one have tried to destroy the stability of the country because of that.
nadoop
@nocrodomus That's because the DR is fully compliant, hence the numerous foreign owned resorts / sweatshop factories / CAFTA-DR that the government willingly allowed into the country. This is the neoliberal agenda that the intellegent Haitian people have resisted.
If you notice, the Haitian government before Aristide (Duvalier) and after Aristide (Preval) were and fully compliant as well with the so-called international community as well.
nocrodomus
@nadoop The same way Brazil and China where compliant and now they call the shots in their region?
The same way Central American countries where in bad shape in the 80´s and now they are much better? You need to start from the bottom.
The reason DR is in the CAFTA-DR was because the President of the Dominican Republic fought for that to get in, Central American countries did not want DR on CAFTA. And Americans farmers didn't want CAFTA either.
nadoop
@nocrodomus China is different because it was never fully colonized, but did you know Mexico, too, was considered a regional power once it bowed down to the neo-liberal vultures? Now look at it now? Brazil is heading towards the same direction. Notice the attack on the poor like in Mexico? After 1991, when India sold its soul, all negative press against the country seized. Today, 80 percent of Indians live on about 50 US cents a day. The IMF / World Bank are not friends of sovereignty.
cruzander
@nadoop China is a colonizer, the British in China were merely a footnote. The Han Chinese empire has absorbed dozens of smaller and opposing tribes and some of them continue to live under it's rule.
nadoop
@nocrodomus Feel free to look up: St. Genevieve, Eurasian and Majescor, all Canadian mining companies that have been mining in Haiti.
I like this Hyppolite Pierre. He seems fair. We need more Haitian Americans to tell Haiti's history with objectivity.
cruzander
Funny that the Dominican Republic doesn't have these problems.
nadoop
@cruzander It's not funny - it's rather clear. The DR, like Mexico, Brazil, Jamaica, sold their souls to the neoliberal devil, while Independent Haitians continue to resist, and rightly so, as a threat to sovereignty (freedom). The DR is 80 percent tourism and so-called free trade zones (in other words sweatshops for multinational corporations) via CAFTA-DR, which mean if Europeans stop vacationing in the foreign-owned resorts in the DR, the economy would basically collapse. cruzander
All Caribbean countries are dependent on tourism and imports to support their populations. The idea that Haiti is a threat to anyone under circumstances other than a mass exodus of refugees is silly.
nadoop
@cruzander The notion that all Caribbean countries are dependent on tourism and imports to support their population is ignorantly false. Claiming such is to suggest domestic / localized infrastructure cannot be built to promote economic sovereignty. The Caribbean is targeted by the tourism industry, just as Hawaii is. You should consider staying out of grown folk's business, because you obviously fail to understand the motives behind the brutal and unjust foreign policy towards Haiti.
cruzander
@nadoop It could be built to support a population to a point. But that point has been surpassed due to "Neoliberal" pressures. As it has in most areas of the world where any interruption of massive trade infrastructure will kill people. Maybe you should try and understand my point before pre-supposing that people are ignorant. Such a stance is itself, ignorant.
nadoop
@cruzander Well, sorry, but I find your point to be rather ignorant. That's just how I see it, though. The fact is an influx of foreign owned resorts is not the answer for any country regardless if its Haiti or the United States. Tourism should be secondary for the sake of the well-being of a country. These people tend to work as servants to rich folks from the US, Australia, Canada, and Europe who spend thousands, much of which actually LEAVE the country and goes into the hands of the rich.
cruzander
@nadoop there are 656 people per square mile in Jamaica for example. The idea that this is a self sustaining model is nonsense. An influx of foreign produced goods is necessary for the viability of the nation without massive emigration. The fact that places like that are some of the most beautiful tourist destinations is an asset not a liability.
nadoop
@cruzander What is a self-sustaining model? I'm not sure if I get you. Do you mean how an influx of foreign produced goods from China and India have been good to America? No one is saying fair trade is bad, but this current model that's falsely portrayed as "free trade," is a fraud. I guess you missed it a few months ago when Bill Clinton apologized for forcing Haiti to accept 200,000 tons of US rice into the country, which nearly destroyed the county's rice sector.
cruzander
@nadoop No I'm saying that only so many humans can be supported per square mile of ariable land. The influx of foreign goods in this circumstance is not optional as it was in the United States, which held all the cards in the 50-60's. It is an absolute necessity to prevent massive starvation and death. I do however agree with you that it is in the long term not desirable to flood markets with cheap goods from abroad.
nadoop
@cruzander By the way, feel free to look for a video on youtube: IMF and Jamaica http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=IMF+and+Jamaica&aq=f and see what the IMF has destroyed Jamaica. Please don't let the white sandy beaches fool you. The multitude of social problems in Jamaica have been masked by those beautiful, European-owned white sandy beaches. It's funny because the beautiful white sandy beaches in my home country (Haiti) are never shown in the media.
And while you're at it, check out the crime statistics in the country.
cruzander
@nadoop once again I would point to population density for crime. When you pile people on top of one another, the social contract starts to break down. Many of these things are simply the result of prolonging the measures required to prevent the suffering inevitable in endless expansion of human populations.
nadoop
@cruzander Your population theory is interesting, but the main issue with Jamaica is poverty. A good majority of the crime is committed by the police. The police work for the elite.
cruzander
@nadoop The two are related. Overpopulation creates need creates poverty creates misery/corruption. The bottom line is that relative global wealth is finite. Even if you taxed all the rich people 100% tomorrow and redistributed it to the poor there are only so many humans that we can pile on our rock.
It's just another way of pushing the problem down the road.
nadoop
In countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, you'll see two prominent sectors: tourism and "free trade zones," better known as sweatshop factories and cash crops. These industries tend to push millions of peasants off their lands and into urban areas in search of survival. The foreign owned resorts pay the gov maybe 10 bucks per person and basically takes over the region. Sorry, I am absolutely opposed to this economic model - it's a fraud, not to mention it undermines sovereignty.
The Lavalas movement in Haiti was a threat to the neoliberal agenda, which is why the leader was kidnapped by the US / France / Canada and forced into exile in Africa, and the UN murdered and jailed several of the movement's leaders and killed many of the poor supporters. This current gov, however, is fully compliant with this agenda, and that's why the US has spent millions of dollars to sponsor this fraud of an election today, while excluding "thousands of parties".
Finally, the DR is still a poor country, hence the countless refugees who flee their paradise to go work as slaves in Puerto Rico and Cuba. You might want to research "Dominican boatpeople" to see the folks who are fleeing the DR, including some who resorted to eating their fellow companions to survive after being stuck at sea.
ianb1303
Aristide couldn't get home anyway; too much rubble and broken-down cars blocking the road!! Clean them all up and he might want to come home. Condoleezza Rice (let's at least spell her name right!) "threatening"? Yeah, about as threatening as Kermit the Frog! How Jamaica must have trembled when the US President sent his Office Cleaner there....
allianceFiLifeDotCom
Aristede agreed to go into exile, what a big fat lie. He was "kidnapped by the US Government" and forced out of the country. Jamaica tried to bring him closer to home and they send Condelizza Rice to threaten them...so now the man is in South Africa
ianb1303
@allianceFiLifeDotCom Hey, I agree with your viewpoint; the USA is the biggest threat to World Peace. I like the Americans even less than I like the French. Been searching for evidence of UN "atrocities" though; not found any evidence yet; but again, I'm not going to dispute your viewpoint on that. I like Haiti; f&#k what the rest of the world thinks!
evildevinity
@ianb1303 if you want evidence just go to the world court website and look at the open cases.
ianb1303
Okay, folks so the bottom line is; Nobody can explain how the UN is "an occupation force", Nobody can explain how rioting will make things better, Nobody can decide how to make the country a better place, and Nobody is going to clean the roads and rubble up. Fat lot of use you lot are then!! Go and become politicians and then you can get paid to talk about how it's all somebody elses fault; won't make any difference but at least you'll get paid for it! Or get off your butts and fix it! It's up to you!
nadoop
@ianb1303 The UN has been in Haiti since 2004 as an occupying force. The US serves as a proxy oppressor / occupier for the US, who basically runs the UN via the security council. The UN has repressed popular uprising in the country by way of murder, rape, and pillage. You're simply ignorant of the geo-political relationship between Haiti and foreign powers, and the mendacious media is promoting the UN as some goodwill org, when its nothing but a brutal and oppressive regime.
ianb1303
P.S. If you must riot over a proxy election can you please do it quietly? I'd like to get some sleep on Sunday before picking my way through the rubble and burning tires to get to work. Please have some consideration for your visitors....
nadoop
@ianb1303 Haitians have been peacefully demonstrating since 2004 against the UN and other foreign powers that kidnapped their highly revered President and forced him into exile. These demonstrators have been fired upon by the UN, while many of them have been murdered. In other words, they've made peaceful revolution impossible, so now violent revolution is inevitable. I seriously suggest you learn the facts before attempting to formulate an opinion on something you obviously know nothing about.
ianb1303
Yes, but it really is a beautiful mess. Take some time out, stand back, and just look. Ignore the dirt, the dust, the concrete jungle. Look around you and then think "How can I make this better?". I'll tell you now, the politicians won't, so think "I, not they". There's a big fat clue!! Oh yeah, and clean the f&#king roads up please, I got a puncture yesterday on some old f&#king rebar; cost me $300 for a new tire!
Leonnidik
This place is a historical mess, not just after the earthquake.
nadoop
@Leonnidik Yes, thanks to the US / Canada / France / UN / IMF / EU / World Bank / IAD Bank / NGO poverty pimps. If only you knew the crimes of committed by your government against the Haitian people, made possible by YOUR TAX DOLLARS.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Hundreds of police and soldiers surrounded one of Rio's most dangerous slums after the end of a sunset deadline offered to drug gang members holed up inside, though officials late Saturday did not indicate when they might invade.
A police spokesman emphasized to reporters the superior night-fighting capabilities of the troops and officers. A police battalion commander, however, said there was "zero" chance of a nighttime assault to take on the estimated 600 gang members.
In a week of widespread violence blamed on the drug gangs, authorities on Thursday took control of one slum once thought virtually impenetrable. More than 200 armed gang members fled that offensive and ran to the nearby Alemao complex of a dozen slums that are home to at least 85,000 people, followed by security forces on Friday.
Hundreds of police and soldiers manned positions outside Alemao, sheltering behind armored vehicles and exchanging intermittent, heavy gunfire with the gang members at many of the 44 entrances to the slum, its shacks packed along steep hills.
Many residents of Alemao could be seen streaming down the narrow alleyways Saturday carrying their belongings — chairs, washing machines, bags of clothing — hoping to avoid being caught in the crossfire of the looming invasion.
Police spokesman Henrique Lima Castro Saraiva said during the afternoon that the deadline for the gang members to surrender was "when the sun sets."
"We want them to turn themselves in peacefully," he said. "We do not want a bloodbath, but if they call us to war we will respond with force."
Saraiva said the gunmen would be no match for security forces in a pitched battle, saying they were "exhausted, hungry, thirsty, stressed out" and had not been able to bring in more ammunition.
He also said the soldiers and police were trained and equipped to fight at night. "We have superior manpower and firepower, and nighttime favors us not them," he said.
A police battalion commander, however, said fighting would come during the day.
"The probability of that being done is zero," commander Waldir Pires told reporters outside the slum when asked about a big night invasion.
He did not rule out, however, smaller nighttime incursions into the slum, and the Globo television network reported that at least one armored vehicle was inside the slum soon after night fell.
It was not clear how many gang members turned themselves over to police, though by mid-afternoon 16 men had accepted the police offer. One of them was allegedly the right-hand man to the leader of Alemao's drug traffickers, said Allan Turnowski, the chief of the investigative branch of the police. Two other men were shot and arrested as they tried to escape.
Six wives or girlfriends of traffickers also had been arrested, Turnowski said.
Ten inmates suspected of orchestrating vehicle burnings and mass robberies early in the week in a campaign meant to scare residents and warn law enforcement away from their turf were transferred to federal, maximum security prisons away from Rio, according to a spokesman for the Rio state public safety department.
Saturday's siege followed a night that saw intense exchanges of gunfire, filling the dark sky with bright streaks as bullets whizzed in and out of Alemao. Soldiers in camouflage, black-clad police from elite units and regular police held their ground at the entrances to the complex where more than 85,000 people live, according to the Brazilian government.
The standoff comes after a week of widespread violence in Rio, with more than 100 cars and buses set on fire and at least 35 deaths, mostly suspected traffickers.
Authorities say the gangs are reacting to a 2-year-old police campaign that has pushed the criminals out of slums where they have long ruled with impunity. It's an effort to secure Rio before the city hosts the finals of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.
Rio de Janeiro's governor, Sergio Cabral, has vowed repeatedly to break the back of drug gangs that have ruled hundreds of shantytowns in the city of 6 million people — and he and other officials say now is the turning point in that effort.
Vila Cruzeiro, a slum neighboring Alemao, was occupied by police Thursday. Video from Globo TV's helicopter that day showed about 200 heavily armed men running from Vila Cruzeiro across the green hilltop that separates it from Alemao.
A man who was born and raised in Vila Cruzeiro and still lives there with his mother said that "the peace we used to have is back now." He welcomed officers when they took the hillside, and wanted them to set up permanent posts to keep control of the community.
"Those of us who work, who are not involved with the (drug) traffic, we have nothing to fear," said the man, who didn't want to be identified for fear of retaliation, because he wasn't sure law enforcement would be able to hold on.
The human rights organization Amnesty International complained that police have been too heavy-handed.
"The police response has put communities at risk," Patrick Wilcken, Amnesty International's Brazil researcher, said in a statement. "The authorities must ensure that the security and well-being of the broader population comes first and foremost in any operation carried out in residential areas."
Many Rio residents seemed to welcome the aggressive stance, however, applauding as armored vehicles rolled by and voicing hope that a new push would reclaim areas of their city that had been lawless for years.
An information hot line where residents can pass on tips about the movements of drug traffickers received a record number of phone calls over the last few days, the coordinator, Zeca Borges, told the Rio newspaper O Globo.
"People are supporting the operation," he said.
A mother pushing her 1-year-old daughter in a stroller alongside Ipanema beach said she often thought police were too aggressive, but this time she supported the law enforcement takeover of the slums.
"I'm not one of these people who says you just have to shoot the criminals," said Flavia Tavares de Almeida. "But we have this beautiful city, with 99.9 percent of people who are just workers, and want to live their lives, and are being terrorized by these traffickers."
Cabral, the governor, said police taking the Vila Cruzeiro slum and preparing to enter Alemao was a sign of a new Rio.
"We have demonstrated to those who don't respect the law ... the pre-eminence of a democratic state governed by the law," he said. "Bringing peace to this population makes this a very important day for Rio."
Victory is assured for Egypt's ruling party in Sunday's parliamentary election, which is expected to shunt the opposition Muslim Brotherhood further to the margins of mainstream politics.
The Brotherhood is targeting 30 percent of the lower house where it won a fifth of seats in 2005 -- its best result -- but analysts say the government wants to squeeze its most vocal critic out of parliament before a presidential vote in 2011.
The election in which 508 seats are at stake, including for the first time 64 reserved for women, may offer a foretaste of how the government conducts the presidential poll.
President Hosni Mubarak, 82, has not said whether he will seek to extend his 29-year tenure. After he had gall-bladder surgery in March, speculation grew that he might step down.
If he does so, many Egyptians see a likely successor in his 46-year-old son Gamal, the ruling National Democratic Party's (NDP) policy chief. Gamal's allies include business leaders seeking further economic liberalization, resisted by the NDP's statist old guard.
Analysts say the next president will be an NDP stalwart who would preserve a peace treaty with Israel and close ties with Washington that have ensured billions of dollars in U.S. aid.
With the outcome of Sunday's vote in little doubt, the authorities may face a sterner challenge from a workforce frustrated with low pay and food inflation now at 22 percent. Several union protests have turned violent in recent years.
Online dissent has also grown, highlighting alleged abuses by security forces and publicizing calls for constitutional reform by Mohamed ElBaradei, former head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, without gelling into a coherent opposition movement.
"I can't change anything, because every time a project for change comes out, we all watch it desperately fail. Those who talk about change left the country and are sitting comfortably abroad," said Ghadeer, a 22-year-old arts graduate who only gave her first name.
The NDP says the electorate hands it crushing majorities because it is the natural party of government and voters approve policies which brought several years of strong economic growth.
"The party also has financial abilities that allow it to provide the services it promises, unlike the other parties," said a ruling party candidate in Cairo, Abdel Ghani Gamal.
TELEVISIONS, BLANKETS AND CASH
Critics say the NDP hogs the media, hands out gifts and pressures voters at polling stations.
State-owned newspaper Al Ahram listed methods voters use to get ink off fingers, such as rubbing them with orange peel, baking powder or herbs, so that they can cast multiple ballots.
A retired army colonel who asked not to be named said NDP campaigners in Cairo had been buying votes with television sets, blankets, 500 pounds ($87) in cash or even offers of state jobs.
"There was more popular trust in the 2005 election because it was supervised by judges. Now there is mistrust," said Hafez Abou Saeda of the Egyptian Organization of Human Rights. "There is more control of media. Fifteen channels have been shut down."
The government has rebuffed a call by Washington for international election monitors as unwelcome interference.
It says the voting will be free and fair, and blames sporadic pre-election violence on rivalry between candidates and clan loyalties. Clashes are common in Egyptian elections.
The NDP and the Brotherhood have swapped accusations of intimidation and violence, said to have included kidnappings and fights between rival groups using machetes, chains and knives.
Four people have already been killed and 30 wounded in electoral violence, according to the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights. Fourteen people were killed during the 2005 poll.
An Alexandria court sentenced 12 Brotherhood supporters to two years in prison on Thursday for using Islamist campaign slogans and the NDP has called on the public prosecutor to block Brotherhood candidates from running as independents.
The NDP is fielding far more candidates than there are seats available in an effort to crowd out the Brotherhood.
The Islamist movement skirts a ban on religious parties by running candidates as independents and has carved out a broad grass-roots following by offering health and social services.
Despite its substantial presence, it had scant influence on legislation during parliament's last five-year term and has made no gains in municipal or upper house elections since 2005.
Brotherhood leaders say it would be perilous to push it out of mainstream politics as this would play into the hands of more radical Islamists bent on overthrowing the government by force.
Huskies set NCAA women's basketball record for consecutive victories
story by Associated Press
STORRS, Conn. -- Connecticut set the NCAA women's basketball record for consecutive victories with its 82nd in a row, a 86-25 win over Howard on Friday night.
Maya Moore scored 20 points to help top-ranked UConn break its tie with Washington University in St. Louis, a Division III school, which won 81 straight between Feb. 20, 1998-Jan. 12, 2001.
UConn's last loss came in the national semifinals in 2008 to Stanford. The Huskies stand six wins short of matching the 88-straight victories set in the early 70s by the UCLA men's basketball team.
This was the first of three games in three days for UConn, which is hosting the World Vision Classic. UConn (4-0) will take on Lehigh on Saturday, and hosts LSU on Sunday. The Tigers beat Lehigh 74-63 in the first game Friday.
Freshmen Bria Hartley (16 points) and Stefanie Dolson (13 points) had their best games as Huskies.
Jerelle Gorham led Howard (2-4) with six points on two early 3-pointers.
Moore, who played just 22 minutes for UConn (4-0), moved within 77 points of the school's all-time scoring mark set by Tina Charles last season.
Connecticut opened a quick 9-0 lead, but Howard battled early and trailed just 12-8 6 1/2 minutes into the game.
That would be as close as the Bison would get.
UConn scored the next 12, eight coming from Hartley and the Huskies went on a 29-3 run that made it 41-11.
UConn led 52-16 at the half, and held Howard to just 20 percent shooting from the floor.
A 3-pointer from Moore capped an 11-0 run that began the second half and UConn cruised home. A Hartley 3-pointer put UConn up 52 at 70-18.
Hartley hit five of her first six shots from the field and Howard had no answer for Dolson, who seemed to post up for layups at will. Hartley and Moore each had 13 points at the half, and Dolson had 11.
Dolson and backup center Heather Buck had just 14 points combined coming into the game. Buck had eight on Friday.
Fresh off consecutive 39-0 seasons, the Huskies are now a 4-0 start that includes a 65-64 win over No. 2 Baylor. But most of the wins haven't been nearly that close. The Huskies came in with a 32-point average margin of victory during the streak.
UConn has now won 139 consecutive games against unranked opponents, and 239 against unranked opponents at home.
This was the 31st game during the streak in which the Huskies had more points at halftime (52) than their opponent had during the entire game.
WASHINGTON, DC – House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-SC) will lead a Congressional Delegation to Haiti to observe the national elections taking place on Sunday, November 28, 2010. As Haiti continues to struggle to recover from the earthquake that struck in January, the Members of Congress traveling to Haiti want to help ensure that the election is fair and successful.
Members of Congress joining Clyburn on the trip will be Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), Del. Donna Christian-Christiansen (D-VI), Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE), Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH), Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL), Rep. Laura Richardson (D-CA), and Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA).
The delegation is scheduled to arrive in Port-au-Prince on Sunday morning. After landing, they will receive a briefing on the elections from U.S. Ambassador to Haiti, Kenneth Merten, meet with senior officials from the Haitian government, and visit a voting center. In the afternoon, they will participate in a working lunch with several NGOs involved in overseeing the elections, visit another voting center, receive a situation report from the OAS-CARICOM Electoral Observation Mission in Haiti, and receive a final election briefing from a special representative to the United Nations Secretary General. At the conclusion of these scheduled events, the delegation will depart Port-au-Prince for Andrews Air Force Base on Sunday evening.
Chinese sculpter Lei Yixin works on the granite head that will cap the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial on the Mall. Photo Credit: Courtesy Of Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation Photo Read more »
WASHINGTON, DC – House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-SC) released the following statement commemorating Thanksgiving.
“Too often we are so consumed with the day-to-day aspects of our lives that we lose sight of what is truly important and take for granted the things for which we should be thankful. This Thanksgiving we should all take a few moments to reflect on all the blessings in our lives, and it is my hope and prayer that all Americans find some way to give back to our communities and remember the men and women whose service to our nation is keeping them away from home and families. I wish all Americans a very happy season of Thanksgiving.”
(AP) Westminster Abbey is seen in London, Thursday, Nov.18, 2010. Westminster Abbey emerged today as the firm favorite to be the venue of Prince William's wedding after being visited by his bride-to-be, Kate Middleton.The 28-year-old paid a brief visit last night to the Abbey, which has hosted the weddings of the Queen and Queen Mother and was where the funeral of William's mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, was held.However, the couple, who were today spending their first day apart since announcing their engagement, said they needed more time to make the final decision about where and when they make their vows.A St James's Palace spokesman said: 'Miss Middleton paid a short, private visit to Westminster Abbey in order to be able to consider it as an option.
A beloved American tradition, Thanksgiving Day offers us the opportunity to focus our thoughts on the grace that has been extended to our people and our country. This spirit brought together the newly arrived Pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe -- who had been living and thriving around Plymouth, Massachusetts for thousands of years -- in an autumn harvest feast centuries ago. This Thanksgiving Day, we reflect on the compassion and contributions of Native Americans, whose skill in agriculture helped the early colonists survive, and whose rich culture continues to add to our Nation's heritage. We also pause our normal pursuits on this day and join in a spirit of fellowship and gratitude for the year's bounties and blessings.
Thanksgiving Day is a time each year, dating back to our founding, when we lay aside the troubles and disagreements of the day and bow our heads in humble recognition of the providence bestowed upon our Nation. Amidst the uncertainty of a fledgling experiment in democracy, President George Washington declared the first Thanksgiving in America, recounting the blessings of tranquility, union, and plenty that shined upon our young country. In the dark days of the Civil War when the fate of our Union was in doubt, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a Thanksgiving Day, calling for "the Almighty hand" to heal and restore our Nation.
In confronting the challenges of our day, we must draw strength from the resolve of previous generations who faced their own struggles and take comfort in knowing a brighter day has always dawned on our great land. As we stand at the close of one year and look to the promise of the next, we lift up our hearts in gratitude to God for our many blessings, for one another, and for our Nation. This Thanksgiving Day, we remember that the freedoms and security we enjoy as Americans are protected by the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces. These patriots are willing to lay down their lives in our defense, and they and their families deserve our profound gratitude for their service and sacrifice.
This harvest season, we are also reminded of those experiencing the pangs of hunger or the hardship of economic insecurity. Let us return the kindness and generosity we have seen throughout the year by helping our fellow citizens weather the storms of our day.
As Americans gather for the time-honored Thanksgiving Day meal, let us rejoice in the abundance that graces our tables, in the simple gifts that mark our days, in the loved ones who enrich our lives, and in the gifts of a gracious God. Let us recall that our forebears met their challenges with hope and an unfailing spirit, and let us resolve to do the same.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 25, 2010, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage all the people of the United States to come together -- whether in our homes, places of worship, community centers, or any place of fellowship for friends and neighbors -- to give thanks for all we have received in the past year, to express appreciation to those whose lives enrich our own, and to share our bounty with others.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-third day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.
Radio One, Inc. (Nasdaq: ROIA and ROIAK) reported that the Company had received a letter from The NASDAQ Stock Market today advising the Company that its Class D shares, traded under the symbol ROIAK, had regained compliance with NASDAQ's minimum bid price listing requirements and were in good standing on The NASDAQ Global Market.
Provides up to $60,000 in exchange for two years of service in underserved communities
WASHINGTON, DC – House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-SC) today released the following statement after Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced a new application cycle for the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) that includes $290 million from the Affordable Care Act. Rep. Clyburn fought for the program’s inclusion in the health care reform legislation, which repays up to $60,000 of student loans for primary care medical, dental and mental health clinicians in exchange for a two-year commitment to serve underprivileged communities which often lack access to primary health care services. For more information on the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program, visit: http://nhsc.hrsa.gov/
“Many of our underserved communities do not have access to basic health care physicians who can diagnose and treat common ailments that prevent unnecessary trips to the emergency room and drive up health care costs. I wholeheartedly believe that by helping students repay their loans and requiring a two-year commitment to serve in these communities, those most in need will get the care they deserve and our health care costs will decrease in the long-term. I was proud to fight for this program’s inclusion in the health care reform legislation President Obama signed into law, and I commend Secretary Sebelius for making this funding available quickly.”
story by AP
written by Hyung-Jin Kim and Kwange-Tae Kim
INCHEON, South Korea – North and South Korea exchanged artillery fire Tuesday after the North shelled an island near their disputed sea border, killing at least two South Korean marines, setting dozens of buildings ablaze and sending civilians fleeing for shelter.
The clash, which put South Korea's military on high alert, was one of the rivals' most dramatic confrontations since the Korean War ended, and one of the few to put civilians at risk, though no nonmilitary deaths were immediately reported. Sixteen South Korean soldiers and three civilians were injured and the extent of casualties on the northern side was unknown.
The skirmish began when Pyongyang warned the South to halt military drills in the area, according to South Korean officials. When Seoul refused and began firing artillery into disputed waters, albeit away from the North Korean shore, the North retaliated by bombarding the small island of Yeonpyeong, which houses South Korean military installations and a small civilian population. Read more »
Tonight at 8:00 PM ET on Keith Olbermann's show on MSNBC I will meet for the very first time the man the health industry sent to Michigan to, in his words, "spy" and do "reconnaissance" so they could try to defame me and my movie ("We knew as much about him probably as he knows about himself").
Tonight I'll get to talk to former Humana and CIGNA health insurance executive Wendell Potter, the man who has bravely come forward to expose not just the hundreds of thousands they spent trying to destroy "Sicko," but more importantly how they profit in the billions from a system that kills 45,000 Americans a year who are uninsured.
Actually, it turns out tonight won't be the FIRST time I meet Wendell. He wrote this morning on his blog that he flew to the little village where I lived in Michigan to attend a screening I was having for the people in the area. He even walked into the reception we had beforehand and got his picture taken with me. His blog reads, in part:
"I need to apologize to Moore for the role I played in the insurance industry's public relations attack campaign against him and "Sicko," which was about the increasingly unfair and dysfunctional U.S. health care system...[W]hile I was still working for the insurance industry, I traveled as an industry spy...to attend the official U.S. premiere of Sicko on June 16, 2007. Moore and I actually met that day, although he doesn't know it. (I didn't tell him who I was or who I worked for.) The picture accompanying this blog, taken at a pre-screening reception by another movie-goer, shows me on Moore's left and my son, Alex, on his right. Alex, who has always been a big fan of Moore's, traveled with me on the reconnaissance mission. Moore even autographed a "Sicko" poster for Alex. It's quite a memento."
If you're free tonight, tune in to Keith's show. I know I'm looking forward to meeting the man who ran over my "baby."
A crowd of Cambodians are pushed onto a bridge on the last day of celebrations of a water festival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Monday, Nov. 22, 2010. Thousands of people celebrating a water festival on a small island in a Cambodian river stampeded Monday evening, killing at least 17 people, a hospital official said. Hundreds more were hurt as the crowd panicked and pushed over a bridge to the mainland.
story and photo by AP
written by Sopheng Cheang
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Thousands of Cambodians celebrating a water festival on an island in a river in the capital stampeded Monday night, leaving more than 330 people dead and hundreds injured. Some in the panicky crowd who tried to flee over a bridge were crushed underfoot or fell over its sides into the water.
Ambulances raced back and forth between the river and the hospitals for several hours after the stampede. Calmette Hospital, the capital's main medical facility, was filled to capacity with bodies as well as patients, some of whom had to be treated in hallways. Many of the injured appeared to be badly hurt, raising the prospect that the death toll could rise as local hospitals became overwhelmed.
Hours after the chaos, the dead and injured were still being taken away from the scene, while searchers looked for bodies of anyone who might have drowned. An Associated Press reporter saw one body floating in the river, and hundreds of shoes left behind on and around the bridge.
Prime Minister Hun Sen, in the third of three post-midnight live television broadcasts, said that 339 people had been killed and 329 injured. He described the chaos as the "biggest tragedy" to strike his country since the communist Khmer Rouge ruled in a reign of terror in the 1970s, and ordered an investigation.
Hun Sen declared Thursday would be a national day of mourning, and ordered all government ministries to fly the flag at half-staff.
Authorities had estimated that upward of 2 million people would descend on Phnom Penh for the three-day water festival, which marks the end of the rainy season and whose main attraction is traditional boat races along the river.
The last race ended early Monday evening, the last night of the holiday, and the panic started later on Koh Pich — Diamond Island — a long spit of land wedged in a fork in the river where a concert was being held. It was unclear how many people were on the island to celebrate the holiday, though the area appeared to be packed with people, as were the banks.
Soft drink vendor So Cheata said the trouble began when about 10 people fell unconscious in the press of the crowd. She said that set off a panic, which then turned into a stampede, with many people caught underfoot.
Information Minister Khieu Kanharith gave a similar account of the cause.
Seeking to escape the island, part of the crowd pushed onto a bridge, which also jammed up, with people falling under others and into the water. So Cheata said hundreds of hurt people lay on the ground afterward. Many appeared to be unconscious.
Cambodia is one of the region's poorer countries, and has an underdeveloped health system, with hospitals barely able to cope with daily medical demands.
Koh Pich used to host a slum community, but in recent years the poor have been evicted to make way for high-rise and commercial development, most yet to be realized.
Finally, Radio One wins bondholder approval to finish an important exchange. Tom Taylor, in his TRI newsletter, tells us that lets the Lanham-based urban radio giant proceed with amending its senior credit facility and finishing up business that's been stalled since July, when Radio One first tendered for its 2011 and 2013 notes.
Its effort to exchange those issues for dates with later maturities got stalled just shy of the 90% mark, and eventually its senior lenders blocked an interest payment in August. CEO Alfred Liggins kept negotiating and by last Friday afternoon the company had enough consents on the notes to finish the exchange.
WASHINGTON - The Department of Justice secured $3 billion in civil settlements and judgments in cases involving fraud against the government in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2010, Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division, announced today. This includes $2.5 billion in health care fraud recoveries—the largest in history—and represents the second largest annual recovery of civil fraud claims. Moreover, amounts recovered under the False Claims Act since January 2009 have eclipsed any previous two-year period with $5.4 billion in taxpayer dollars returned to federal programs and the Treasury. Recoveries since 1986, when Congress substantially strengthened the civil False Claims Act, now total more than $27 billion.
"Under Attorney General Eric Holder’s leadership, our aggressive pursuit of fraud under the False Claims Act has resulted in the largest two-year recovery of taxpayer dollars in the history of the Justice Department," Assistant Attorney General West said. "Nowhere is this more apparent than in our success in fighting health care fraud. Since January 2009, the Civil Division, together with the U.S. Attorneys’ offices, commenced more health care fraud investigations, secured larger fines and judgments, and recovered more taxpayer dollars lost to health care fraud than in any other two-year period."
Fighting fraud committed against public health care programs is a top priority for the Obama Administration. On May 20, 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder and Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced the creation of a new interagency task force, the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), to increase coordination and optimize criminal and civil enforcement. These efforts not only protect the Medicare Trust Fund for seniors and the Medicaid program for the country’s neediest citizens, they also result in higher quality health care at a more reasonable price.
The record health care fraud civil recoveries of $2.5 billion announced today made up 83 percent of the year’s total civil fraud recoveries. HHS reaped the biggest recoveries, largely attributable to its Medicare and Medicaid programs. Recoveries were also made by the Office of Personnel Management, which administers the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, the Department of Defense for its TRICARE insurance program and the Department of Veterans Affairs, among others.
Assistant Attorney General West noted that since January 2009, the Civil Division, together with the U.S. Attorneys’ offices, set a two-year record for health care fraud enforcement efforts, recovering $4.6 billion in taxpayer funds under the False Claims Act from health care providers and others in the industry, and securing 25 criminal convictions as well as more than $3 billion in fines, forfeitures, restitution and disgorgement under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA).
The False Claims Act cases successfully resolved this year not only included payment schemes implicating federal health care programs, but also wartime and other government procurement contracts; grants for small businesses, bullet-proof vests for law enforcement, and other purposes; federally insured mortgages; federal and Indian mineral leases; and many other federal programs.
Assistant Attorney General West commended the substantial efforts of the Civil Division’s career attorneys, the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, and the federal and state agencies that investigate and support False Claims Act prosecutions, remarking that "their dedication and the cooperation we enjoy allow us to bring all of our resources to bear in combating fraud against both the federal and state governments."
Most of the cases resulting in recoveries were brought to the government by whistleblowers under the False Claims Act, the federal government’s primary weapon in the battle against fraud. In 1986, Senator Charles Grassley and Representative Howard Berman led successful efforts in Congress to amend the False Claims Act to revise the statute’s qui tam (or whistleblower) provisions, which encourage whistleblowers to come forward with allegations of fraud. Assistant Attorney General West paid tribute to the 1986 amendments’ sponsors, saying: "Without their foresight, these recoveries would not have been possible." He also expressed his gratitude to Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Chairman of the Senate’s Judiciary Committee, and to Senator Grassley and Representative Berman for their support of the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009, which made additional improvements to the False Claims Act and other fraud statutes.
Of the $3 billion in settlements and judgments obtained in fiscal year 2010, over $2.3 billion was recovered in lawsuits filed under the False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions. Under these provisions, whistleblowers (known as "relators") – many of whom face considerable personal risk in coming forward with allegations of fraud –are entitled to recover between 15 and 30 percent of the proceeds of a successful suit. In fiscal year 2010, relators were awarded $385 million. Since 1986, when the qui tam provisions were strengthened by Congress, recoveries in qui tam cases have exceeded $18 billion, and relators have obtained more than $2.8 billion in awards.
Assistant Attorney General West also applauded Congress’ passage this past year of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which included additional provisions to aid the Government in redressing fraud on the nation’s health care system, and to promote incentives for whistleblowers to disclose fraud to the government. Among many other changes, the ACA amended the False Claims Act’s public disclosure provision and strengthened the provisions of the federal health care Anti-Kickback Statute.
Fiscal year 2010 also saw records for several types of health care fraud. A $2.3 billion settlement with Pfizer Inc. marked the largest health care fraud settlement in history. The $2.3 billion includes $669 million recovered under the federal False Claims Act, $1.3 billion in criminal fines and forfeitures, and $331 million in recoveries for state Medicaid programs and the District of Columbia. (These latter two amounts are not included in the total health care fraud recoveries announced today, which are limited to the federal government’s civil recoveries.) In addition, a $108 million settlement with The Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati and one of its former member hospitals, The Christ Hospital, was the largest ever under the health care Anti-Kickback Statute for the conduct of a single hospital.
The largest fiscal year 2010 False Claims Act recoveries came from the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, which accounted for $1.6 billion in settlements, including the $669 million from Pfizer Inc., $302 million from AstraZeneca, and $192.7 from Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation.
In addition to the civil health care fraud recoveries under the False Claims Act, the Civil Division’s Office of Consumer Litigation (OCL) brings civil and criminal actions for violations of the FDCA. Together with their partners in the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices around the country, OCL pursues such matters as the unlawful marketing of drugs and devices, fraud on the FDA, and the distribution of adulterated products. In fiscal year 2010, those efforts yielded more than $1.8 billion in criminal fines, forfeitures, restitution and disgorgement, the largest health care-related amount under the FDCA in department history. Since January 2009, OCL has successfully pursued cases resulting in 25 criminal convictions and more than $3 billion in fines, forfeitures, restitution and disgorgement.
In addition, the Civil Division continues to play a leading role in the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, created last November by President Obama to improve the federal government’s efforts to investigate and redress consumer and financial fraud. The Civil Division, in conjunction with its partners on the task force, is aggressively pursuing all manner of financial fraud schemes, including mortgage fraud, non-war related procurement fraud, and fraud involving the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and other economic stimulus funds. False Claims Act recoveries in these cases accounted for 11 percent of fiscal year 2010 recoveries, with $327.2 million in settlements and judgments.
The Civil Division also pursues fraud claims related to contracts in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. During fiscal year 2010, the Civil Division recovered $10.6 million in these cases. To date, settlements and judgments in procurement fraud cases involving the wars in Southwest Asia total $137.2 million. Of this amount, $114.7 million has been recovered since January 2009.
story by Al Jazeera
written by Sami Moubayed
photo by Reuters
This morning in the U.S. the much anticipated memoirs of former U.S. president George W. Bush, Decision Points, will go on sale for $35. Bush timed the release for just after the midterm elections in the U.S. to avoid the distraction of being asked for his views on candidates during the promotional tour.
For the past week, leaked passages from the book have appeared in the international media, revealing what went through the mind of the 43rd U.S. president — for example, after the terrorist attacks in New York on September 11, 2001. This controversial leader, loathed throughout the Arab and Muslim world, finally tells us why he waged two long wars on Afghanistan and Iraq and left crumbling states in his wake in Palestine, Pakistan, Lebanon and Sudan.
Bush is clearly unapologetic about all that he did, but in one of his speeches prior to the book release, he admitted that his biggest regret was not finding WMDs in Iraq. He also claimed he was misled by the CIA. Bush, who jokes that his domestic policy now constitutes nothing but taking out the trash and washing the dishes, relates a very distorted version of events during one of the worst chapters in Arab-U.S. relations.
Contrary to popular lore in the U.S. or what grassroots Arabs believed, the man was no fool and was not being manipulated by anybody — either in the U.S. or Israel. He had a clear objective in U.S.-Arab relations and knew exactly what he was doing when he promoted the "Saddam has WMDs" argument, sent his troops into Iraq, confined Yasser Arafat to an office in Ramallah, refused to punish Israel for any of its atrocities (memorably in Jenin) or allowed the Israeli army to mercilessly bomb the Gaza Strip weeks before he left the White House.
Publication of presidential memoirs is a long-held tradition in the U.S. ever since the Second World War, upheld by every president except John F. Kennedy, who was famously shot before completing his presidential term, in November 1963. No president has been as controversial as Bush, however, and certainly nobody else managed to single-handedly damage America's image in all four corners of the globe.
Despite brief appearances on one or two occasions, Bush let his former team do all the talking for him, notably his vice-president Dick Cheney, who has been ever-present in the media since, defending the unpopular policies of the Bush era.
Bush, however, was completely silent, sinking into oblivion as his two predecessors Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter graced the world stage; monitoring elections, mediating conflict and globe-trotting to meet with decision-makers. As recently as last month, an Associated Press poll showed that 55 per cent of Americans disapproved of Bush and blamed him, rather than Barack Obama, for the country's ongoing economic crisis. And it is precisely for this reason that Bush's memoirs have created such a buzz.
Among the notable passages in the Bush memoirs are his confession that he toyed with the idea of sacking Cheney in 2004, and that he approved the torture of Al Qaida prisoners because he believed it "saved lives". However, Bush says that the most difficult moment in his presidency was when rapper Kanye West said that he "doesn't care about black people" because of his timid response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Bush was heavily criticised for feeling "deeply insulted" by the remarks, whereas he should have been more devastated by the hurricane itself, which killed no less than 1,836 people and destroyed property worth $81 billion.
Much more to come
To date, however, no snippets have been released about the prelude to the Iraq War or the chaos that erupted there after March 2003. Nothing has been leaked either about Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib or Osama Bin Laden. We don't know what Bush will say about his handling of the Palestinian Intifada, the massive raid on Ramallah, or the suspicious death of Arafat.
What about the murder of Rafik Hariri, the Lebanese-Israeli war of 2006 or the Gaza war? The leaks have showed, however, that Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert asked Bush to bomb Syria in 2007, and that the U.S. president discussed the idea with his top officials, but backed out because "bombing of a sovereign state without warning or justification would greatly affect the prestige of the United States."
To learn more, we will have to buy the Bush memoirs and perhaps "fill in the blanks" once Julian Assange releases more classified material on his website, WikiLeaks. Only last week, the Australian announced that he would soon release secret documents related to Lebanon, a country that at one point in 2005 was a high priority for Bush and the neocons. In October, WikiLeaks showed that torture did indeed happen in Iraqi prisons, under the nose of U.S. officers who knew about it and turned a blind eye.
All Decision Points really tells us is that Bush apparently had no moral problem with prisoners being tortured, in either Guantanamo or Abu Ghraib. Understanding what happened during the Bush era would have been much easier had Arab leaders penned their memoirs too, telling their side of the story. They would no doubt have explained that their people were wronged and their countries were used and abused for eight long years by the Bush White House.
Lisbon, Portugal (CNN) -- President Barack Obama stood by new controversial screening measures Saturday, calling methods such as pat-downs and body scans necessary to assure airline safety.
Speaking at a NATO press conference in Lisbon, Portugal, the president called the balance between protecting travelers' rights and their security a "tough situation."
Per the new rules, travelers may be subject to full-body scans at 400 such machines in 69 airports nationwide. Those who voluntarily opt out -- as well as those who set off a scanning machine or a metal detector -- are subject to a pat-down. Some travelers have likened the pat-downs to groping.
The President said such methods are needed after what happened December 25, 2009, when Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab of Nigeria allegedly boarded a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit with a bomb hidden in his underwear. Abdulmutallab reportedly failed to set off the bomb, which metal detectors didn't detect, though his attempt led to airport screening procedures that have caused a holiday travel uproar.
"At this point, the Transportation Security Administration, in consultation with our counterterrorism experts, have indicated to me that the procedures that they've been putting in place are the only ones right now that they consider to be effective against the kind of threat that we saw in the Christmas Day bombing," said the President.
TSA officers can use "professional discretion" to determine whether individuals should be subject to further screening, according to a statement from the federal agency. Critics have called the procedures invasive, with Rutherford Institute President John Whitehead saying the agency "is forcing travelers to consent to a virtual strip search or allow an unknown officer to literally place his or her hands in your pants."
The President, while noting that he didn't have personal experience with the new security measures, said he understands "people's frustrations. He said he's asked TSA for assurances that "what we're doing is the only way to assure the American people's safety." He said that he has also told the federal agency's administrators that they must consider whether there are "less intrusive" ways to obtain the same goals.
"One of the most frustrating aspects of this fight against terrorism is that it has created a whole security apparatus around us that causes huge inconvenience for all of us," he said.
President Obama said that transportation security officials have a tough task, facing "enormous pressure" to prevent a terrorist attack.
In a public statement released Saturday, TSA Administrator John Pistole spelled out the new security measures and offered tips to those flying this Thanksgiving week.
"As you travel this holiday season, I want to remind you that TSA's mission is to ensure the safety of you the traveling public and we are committed to doing so efficiently, courteously and professionally," Pistole said.
In Portugal, the president vowed he'd try to find a way to make passengers feel more both comfortable and safe, whether it is through the current policies or with new ones.
"Every week I meet with my counterterrorism team and I'm constantly asking them whether -- is what we're doing absolutely necessary? Have we thought it through? Are there other ways of accomplishing it that meet the same objectives?" he said.
LISBON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama took time out from a NATO summit in Lisbon on Saturday to tout a new hybrid electric car which General Motors plans to roll out in Europe next year.
Obama found himself acting as salesman-in-chief for GM Opel's Ampera model just days after he declared in Washington that U.S. taxpayers would get their money back for saving GM in a bailout that was broadly unpopular.
Calling the Ampera an "example of GM technology," Obama said: "This is the future."
"This is a car made in America," he said after inspecting an Ampera at the convention center where he was wrapping up a two-day NATO summit. "We're going to start selling it in Europe."
GM last week was refloated as a public company amid heavy investor demand, and the White House sought to take credit for what it saw as a successful turnaround.
Public anger over the bailout, along with rescue packages for Wall Street banks, contributed to heavy losses for Obama's Democrats in the November 2 congressional election.
But the stock sale capped GM's recovery from near-collapse, thanks to a $50 billion government rescue.
A new study by The College Sport Research Institute at The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill has revealed disturbing information about the academic hurdles of college basketball players. According to the study, the graduation rates for NCAA Division I men's basketball players is 20 percentage points less than the average for full-time male students.
The study goes on to show that the gap grows even further in top-ranking conferences. The authors present evidence that there is a 30.8 percent graduation gap when leading conferences are considered separately.
Women are better off than men in the study. Female basketball players find that their graduation rates are still worse than their peers, but the gap is not as great as it is for the men. For women, there is a 6.2 percent differential overall and a 14.6 percentage point differential in top conferences.
