Fart Cloud Forms Over Congress

I knew I smelled something.

"Obama and his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, twisted arms at a festive White House luau for members of Congress Thursday night. Former vice president Al Gore worked the phones as well.... one by one, “undecideds’’ became “aye’’ votes.... Supporters and opponents agreed the legislation would lead to higher energy costs"

Related: Obama's Mega Man

Globalist Gore Gasses Up Harvard With Hot Fart Mist

The Boston Globe Cuts the Cheese

Now consider: "Climate Bill Passes in House by Seven Votes

“Last night at 3:09 a.m., House Democrats filed a 309-page amendment and denied Republican and Democrat amendments to the tune of the 224 that were submitted,” complained Republican Mike Pence of Indiana during the day’s three-hour debate. “What’s the hurry?”

The hurry is the ambitious Obama administration goal of passing climate legislation before global climate talks in Copenhagen in December.

If passed by the Senate, the American Clean Energy and Security Act would create a cap-and-trade program to reduce climate warming emissions.

"One of the last major pieces of legislation passed by a congress which never actually read the document was the US Patriot Act. And we know just how much of a body blow to the Constitution and Bill of Rights that was. This is a complete fraud, and will do nothing to actually help the environment.

It will, with what will be essentially a surcharge on energy you use, make certain individuals more filthy rich than they already are.

As reported in

http://warofillusions.wordpress.com/2009/03/30/obama-maurice-strong-al...

"The “privately-owned” Chicago Climate Exchange is heavily influenced by Obama cohorts Al Gore and Maurice Strong.

For years now Strong and Gore have been cashing in on that lucrative cottage industry known as man-made global warming.

Strong is on the board of directors of the Chicago Climate Exchange, Wikipedia-described as “the world’s first and North America’s only legally binding greenhouse gas emission registry reduction system for emission sources and offset projects in North America and Brazil.”

Gore, self-proclaimed Patron Saint of the Environment, buys his carbon off-sets from himself–the Generation Investment Management LLP, “an independent, private, owner-managed partnership established in 2004 with offices in London and Washington, D.C., of which he is both chairman and founding partner. The Generation Investment Management business has considerable influence over the major carbon credit trading firms that currently exist, including the Chicago Climate Exchange." -- Wake the Flock Up

"House Passes the 1,200-page Climate Bill that Congress was Not Allowed to Read"

"FLASHBACK - Beware of Cap and Trade Climate Bills

Even these cost projections may underestimate the true costs, because they assume no unpleasant surprises. But the world has already witnessed many unpleasant surprises with Europe's ongoing efforts to impose a cap and trade program under the Kyoto Protocol, the international climate treaty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In fact, European efforts have racked up significant costs while failing to reduce emissions.[5] Nearly every European country participating has higher emissions today than when the treaty was first signed in 1997. Further, despite ongoing criticism of the United States from Kyoto parties for failing to ratify the treaty, emissions in many of these nations are actually rising faster than in the United States.

"They knew two years ago that cap and trade makes money and does not improve the environment, and the House still passed it!" -- Wake the Flock Up

"Green Stimulus Money Costs More Jobs Than It Creates, Study Shows

Every “green job” created with government money in Spain over the last eight years came at the cost of 2.2 regular jobs, and only one in 10 of the newly created green jobs became a permanent job, says a new study released this month. The study draws parallels with the green jobs programs of the Obama administration. President Obama, in fact, has used Spain’s green initiative as a blueprint for how the United States should use federal funds to stimulate the economy. Obama's economic stimulus package,which Congress passed in February, allocates billions of dollars to the green jobs industry."

I have often noticed the disparity between the TENS of THOUSANDS of JOBS we are SHEDDING with the GREEN PROMISE of HUNDREDS!!!

See: Stimulus Windfall

The MSM's Fart-Misting Lies

Also see: THE GREEN AGENDA

June Swoon For Fart-Misters

Compare that with the agenda-pushing press coverage.

(Blog editor's note: the lying on this issue in particular -- the weather -- really is depressing. It proves you can't believe a word they say)

"House passes major energy-climate bill" by H. Josef Hebert and Dina Cappiello, Associated Press Writers | June 26, 2009

WASHINGTON --In a triumph for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House narrowly passed sweeping legislation Friday that calls for the nation's first limits on pollution linked to global warming and aims to usher in a new era of cleaner, yet more costly energy.

The vote was 219-212, capping months of negotiations and days of intense bargaining among Democrats. Republicans were overwhelmingly against the measure, arguing it would destroy jobs in the midst of a recession while burdening consumers with a new tax in the form of higher energy costs.

At the White House, Obama said the bill would create jobs, and added that with its vote, the House had put America on a path toward leading the way toward "creating a 21st century global economy."

The House's action fulfilled Speaker Nancy Pelosi's vow to clear major energy legislation before July 4.... Obama lobbied recalcitrant Democrats by phone from the White House as the House debate unfolded across several hours, and Al Gore posted a statement on his Web site saying the measure represents "an essential first step towards solving the climate crisis." The former vice president won a Nobel Peace Prize for his work drawing attention to the destructive potential of global warming.

Read: Once Again, Taxation Without Representation

On the House floor, Democrats hailed the legislation as historic, while Republicans said it would damage the economy without solving the nation's energy woes.

It is "the most important energy and environmental legislation in the history of our country," said Rep. Ed Markey of Massachusetts. "It sets a new course for our country, one that steers us away from foreign oil and towards a path of clean American energy."

Under the bill, the government would limit heat-trapping pollution from factories, refineries and power plants and issue allowances for polluters. Most of the allowances would be given away, but about 15 percent would be auctioned by bid and the proceeds used to defray higher energy costs for lower-income individuals and families....

Just what we need.

One of the biggest compromises involved the near total elimination of an administration plan to sell pollution permits and raise more than $600 billion over a decade -- money to finance continuation of a middle class tax cut. About 85 percent of the permits are to be given away rather than sold, a concession to energy companies and their allies....

Oh, THEY FARTED in your FACE, America!!!

Related: Obama's SBD

The final bill also contained concessions to satisfy farm-state lawmakers, ethanol producers, hydroelectric advocates, the nuclear industry and others, some of them so late that they were not made public until 3 a.m. on Friday.

This is DEMOCRACY, huh?

Supporters and opponents agreed the bill's result would be higher energy costs....

The White House and congressional Democrats argued the bill would create millions of "green jobs" as the nation shifts to greater reliance on renewable energy sources such as wind and solar and development of more fuel-efficient vehicles -- and away from use of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal....

PFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTT!!

This is GETTING the SMELL of the GLOBALIST ENDGAME, folks!!!!

--more--"

"House approves overhaul of environmental policy; Package means a big victory for Obama" by Susan Milligan, Globe Staff | June 27, 2009

WASHINGTON - The House last night narrowly approved a landmark overhaul of US environmental policy, handing President Obama a big political victory with a vote to dramatically limit greenhouse gases and fundamentally alter how the nation produces energy in coming decades.

By a 219-to-212 vote, a deeply divided chamber agreed to a sweeping package meant to reduce carbon dioxide pollution that is blamed for global warming, encourage cleaner power sources such as wind and solar, and mandate conservation measures for electric utilities, buildings, and household appliances.

WHAT global warming? G** damn!

“There’s a famous poem by Seamus Heaney, in which he says, ‘There’s a point in time where hope and history rhyme.’ I think we have now reached that on the issue of energy and global warming,’’ said Representative Edward Markey, a Malden Democrat who co-authored the 1,200-page bill.

Shaddup, shiller!

Related: Slow Saturday Special: Protecting Politicians

“This is it. This is the historic vote. This is the opportunity to create millions of jobs and reduce our dependency on foreign oil,’’ added Markey, reveling in his hard-fought victory on an issue that he has worked on for much of his 33 years on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Please STOP with the LYING FART MIST!!!

The intense fight over how aggressively to combat climate change now shifts to the Senate, where opponents promise to continue fighting legislation that they say will lead to higher energy prices and cost American jobs.

Yup.

Uncertainty about the final outcome of the proposed law, however, did not diminish the importance of last night’s vote.... Obama’s calls for significant change in climate and energy, healthcare, and financial regulation have been the centerpiece of his young presidency. A loss on the House climate bill would have sent a signal that Congress is unwilling to support the sort of culture-shaking shifts that Obama has sought.

Obama joined Democratic House leaders in making public appeals and private calls to lawmakers, looking to round up support for what proved to be a critically close vote. The president is eager to get global warming legislation approved before December, when he heads to Copenhagen for talks on an international climate change treaty.

Oh, so it's the AGENDA-PUSHING POLITICS not the PEOPLE he cares about!

I thought we elected change.

Obama quickly called last night’s victory a “bold and necessary step’’ and urged the Senate to join the House in approval. Markey and his cosponsor, Democratic Representative Henry Waxman of California, ran an intense, months-long lobbying campaign capped by a frenetic, final-week effort by the White House and House leadership.

Markey went door to door for months meeting with individual House members and made pleas to virtually every House caucus: the Progressive Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus, the New Democrats, the Hispanic Caucus, the Freshman Caucus, the Sophomore Caucus, and the Blue Dogs, a conservative Democratic group. Waxman and Markey also met with House Republicans, and ended up picking up eight members of the GOP conference in yesterday’s vote.

Yesterday callers to Congress were met with busy signals, as phone lines were literally jammed. Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island arrived on the House floor late in the afternoon to vote in favor after being absent for several weeks during substance-abuse treatment.

Obama and his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, twisted arms at a festive White House luau for members of Congress Thursday night. Former vice president Al Gore worked the phones as well, calling on his former Washington colleagues to make history. House leaders agreed to various amendments - such as one to give more authority in the proposed law to the Department of Agriculture, pleasing rural congressmen - to cobble together a broader coalition.

Exhausted and exhilarated after months of negotiations, Markey still hadn’t secured the votes as of early yesterday afternoon. But one by one, “undecideds’’ became “aye’’ votes, and the bill’s supporters prevailed. Yesterday morning, Representative Lloyd Doggett, Democrat of Texas, said he planned to vote against the bill, despite a personal effort by Obama at the luau.

“He talked about how he wanted to go to Copenhagen and some other places and show how we’re trying to change,’’ Doggett recalled Obama saying during their 10 minute talk. Less than an hour before the final vote yesterday, Doggett surprised many of his colleagues by announcing he would vote “aye.’’

Now THAT'S PRESSURE!!!

The measure would create a “cap and trade’’ system under which the US government would give or sell businesses allowances to pollute limited amounts. Companies could sell or trade those allowances, giving more flexibility to industries while controlling overall pollution.

Some $190 billion would be raised by selling the allowances to pollute; that money would then be directed toward clean energy technologies. Markey’s office estimates Massachusetts would get about $150 million in funds for energy efficiency and renewable fuels. The Bay State would also probably benefit from part of $20 billion directed at producing electric cars.

By looting fellow taxpayers? No thanks!

--more--"

So it is on to the stinky Senate, 'eh?

"Obama implores Senate to pass climate bill" by Charles Babington, Associated Press Writer | June 27, 2009

WASHINGTON --Hours after the House passed landmark legislation meant to curb greenhouse gas emissions and create an energy-efficient economy, President Barack Obama on Saturday urged senators to show courage and follow suit.

The sharply debated bill's fate is unclear in the Senate, and Obama used his weekly radio and Internet address to ratchet up pressure on the 100-seat chamber. "My call to every senator, as well as to every American, is this," he said. "We cannot be afraid of the future. And we must not be prisoners of the past. Don't believe the misinformation out there that suggests there is somehow a contradiction between investing in clean energy and economic growth."

In other words, BELIEVE HIS LYING, AGENDA-PUSHING ASS!

And I thought he was going to be honest about science.

The legislation would place the first national limits on emissions of greenhouse gases from major sources -- such as power plants, factories and oil refineries -- to reduce the gases linked to global climate change. It would also start moving the U.S. away from fossil fuels and toward cleaner power sources, like geothermal, wind, solar and more nuclear generators.

Not warming anymore so now it is "climate change," huh?

The complex bill, which totaled about 1,200 pages, would require the U.S. to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020 and by 83 percent by mid-century....

Which NO ONE READ!!

Deeper cuts will be needed globally to avert the most serious consequences of global warming, research suggests.

PFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTT!!!

I'm IMMUNE to the FEAR, 'kay!

That's what happens when you LIE WOLF all the time!

Opponents complain about the costs and say some industries will simply move their operations and jobs out of the U.S. to countries that don't control greenhouse-gas emissions. Supporters and opponents agreed the legislation would lead to higher energy costs. But they disagreed on the impact on consumers....

That's where my paper cut it:

The legislation would fundamentally change the way Americans produce and consume energy. Gas-guzzling cars would give way to smaller, more efficient models and smokestacks would be replaced by windmills and solar panels....

Right. That's why they want to build a biomass plant down the street!

The White House and congressional Democrats argued the bill would create millions of green jobs....

Tired of eating MSM s***, 'murkn?

This "amounts to the largest tax increase in American history under the guise of climate change," declared Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind.... Obama said the measure would cost the average American about the price of a postage stamp per day.

After the increase? I'd rather have the 45 cents.

In California alone, Obama said, 3,000 people will be employed to build a new solar plant that will create 1,000 permanent jobs.

Where are the MILLIONS of JOBS?

--more--"

You know, it would be NICE if the FART-MISTING F***S actually FOLLOWED THEIR OWN ADVICE!!!

"Region's team has an enviable record playing in D.C." by Peter Canellos, Globe Staff | June 30, 2009

WASHINGTON - The strength of the Boston-to-Washington axis can be measured by the 63 nonstop flights scheduled to leave Logan Airport today for one of the three airports in the Washington area. If the airports in Manchester, N.H., and Providence, both advertised as alternatives to Logan, are included, the number of daily departures to Washington swells to 98. By a conservative estimate, that’s enough seats for 8,000 people to go back and forth in a day.

What is the CARBON FOOTPRINT on all that AIR GALLOPING, huh?

YOU SEE why they get the VITRIOLIC ANGER, don't you?

The endurance of this link comes from three sources: the large numbers of New England academics called to Washington to oversee various policy offices; the vastly disproportionate influence of the Massachusetts delegation in the House and Senate; and the large industry of political consultants who cut their teeth in the precincts of Boston.

Oh, I love what we are sending to you, 'murka!

In Massachusetts, senators and representatives must climb through a dense and highly competitive political culture to reach their high office. But thanks to the dominance of the Democratic Party, they tend to stay in office for a long time, without much threat of a serious challenge.

Yeah, thanks.

Then there are the many political operatives who emerge from the Boston culture itself. The Dewey Square Group, named for where its leaders made their start, is just one of the many Washington consulting groups led by Bostonians. And numerous appointees from state and local governments in Massachusetts have been called to the Obama administration, where they joined the scores of academics from Harvard and other universities filling top posts in the State, Defense, and Justice departments.

How many flights are they making?

The Boston-to-Washington axis is only an advantage for Massachusetts, in money and prestige. It enhances Bay State institutions and businesses. It ensures that the New England viewpoint - forged in the Revolutionary era, strengthened by the ideological movements of the 19th century, and given new force with each wave of immigration over the last 150 years - has its proper place at the seat of power....

You can stop shoveling the self-adulating BS now, Pete!

--more--"

Final fart poot:

"US speeding up solar development in West" by Ken Ritter, Associated Press | June 30, 2009

LAS VEGAS - The federal government’s top land steward said yesterday that the United States will fast-track efforts to build solar power generating facilities on public space in six Western states....

US Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic Senate majority leader:

“We hear a lot about doing something about the environment. That’s what this is all about. We want to not be dependent on foreign oil. This will make America a more secure nation.’’

Harry, take a whiff:

PFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTT!!!!

Tell it to my frequent flier delegation!

--more--"

Fart-Mister Freeze Out

I normally wouldn't post a full blog post on this side; however, it is necessary to counteract the MSM lies on this issue.

"Global warming alarmists out in cold

IT'S snowing in April. Ice is spreading in Antarctica. The Great Barrier Reef is as healthy as ever.

And that's just the news of the past week. Truly, it never rains but it pours - and all over our global warming alarmists.

Time's up for this absurd scaremongering. The fears are being contradicted by the facts, and more so by the week.

Doubt it? Then here's a test.

Name just three clear signs the planet is warming as the alarmists claim it should. Just three. Chances are your "proofs" are in fact on my list of 10 Top Myths about global warming.

And if your "proofs" indeed turn out to be false, don't get angry with me.

Just ask yourself: Why do you still believe that man is heating the planet to hell? What evidence do you have?

So let's see if facts matter more to you than faith, and observations more than predictions.

MYTH 1

THE WORLD IS WARMING

Wrong. It is true the world did warm between 1975 and 1998, but even Professor David Karoly, one of our leading alarmists, admitted this week "temperatures have dropped" since - "both in surface temperatures and in atmospheric temperatures measured from satellites". In fact, the fall in temperatures from just 2002 has already wiped out half the warming our planet experienced last century. (Check data from Britain's Hadley Centre, NASA's Aqua satellite and the US National Climatic Data Centre.)

Some experts, such as Karoly, claim this proves nothing and the world will soon start warming again. Others, such as Professor Ian Plimer of Adelaide University, point out that so many years of cooling already contradict the theory that man's rapidly increasing gases must drive up temperatures ever faster.

But that's all theory. The question I've asked is: What signs can you actually see of the man-made warming that the alarmists predicted?

MYTH 2

THE POLAR CAPS ARE MELTING

Wrong. The British Antarctic Survey, working with NASA, last week confirmed ice around Antarctica has grown 100,000 sq km each decade for the past 30 years.

Long-term monitoring by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports the same: southern hemisphere ice has been expanding for decades.

As for the Arctic, wrong again.

The Arctic ice cap shrank badly two summers ago after years of steady decline, but has since largely recovered. Satellite data from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Centre this week shows the Arctic hasn't had this much April ice for at least seven years.

Norway's Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Centre says the ice is now within the standard deviation range for 1979 to 2007.

MYTH 3

WE'VE NEVER HAD SUCH A BAD DROUGHT

Wrong. A study released this month by the University of NSW Climate Change Research Centre confirms not only that we've had worse droughts, but this Big Dry is not caused by "global warming", whether man-made or not.

As the university's press release says: "The causes of southeastern Australia's longest, most severe and damaging droughts have been discovered, with the surprise finding that they originate far away in the Indian Ocean.

"A team of Australian scientists has detailed for the first time how a phenomenon known as the Indian Ocean Dipole - a variable and irregular cycle of warming and cooling of ocean water - dictates whether moisture-bearing winds are carried across the southern half of Australia."

MYTH 4

OUR CITIES HAVE NEVER BEEN HOTTER

Wrong. The alleged "record" temperature Melbourne set in January - 46.4 degrees - was in fact topped by the 47.2 degrees the city recorded in 1851. (See the Argus newspaper of February 8, 1851.)

And here's another curious thing: Despite all this warming we're alleged to have caused, Victoria's highest temperature on record remains the 50.7 degrees that hit Mildura 103 years ago.

South Australia's hottest day is still the 50.7 degrees Oodnadatta suffered 37 years ago. NSW's high is still the 50 degrees recorded 70 years ago.

What's more, not one of the world's seven continents has set a record high temperature since 1974. Europe's high remains the 50 degrees measured in Spain 128 years ago, before the invention of the first true car.

MYTH 5

THE SEAS ARE GETTING HOTTER

Wrong. If anything, the seas are getting colder. For five years, a network of 3175 automated bathythermographs has been deployed in the oceans by the Argo program, a collaboration between 50 agencies from 26 countries.

Warming believer Josh Willis, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, reluctantly concluded: "There has been a very slight cooling . . ."

MYTH 6

THE SEAS ARE RISING

Wrong. For almost three years, the seas have stopped rising, according to the Jason-1 satellite mission monitored by the University of Colorado.

That said, the seas have risen steadily and slowly for the past 10,000 years through natural warming, and will almost certainly resume soon.

But there is little sign of any accelerated rises, even off Tuvalu or the Maldives, islands often said to be most threatened with drowning.

Professor Nils-Axel Moerner, one of the world's most famous experts on sea levels, has studied the Maldives in particular and concluded there has been no net rise there for 1250 years.

Venice is still above water.

MYTH 7

CYCLONES ARE GETTING WORSE

Wrong. Ryan Maue of Florida State University recently measured the frequency, intensity and duration of all hurricanes and cyclones to compile an Accumulated Cyclone Energy Index.

His findings? The energy index is at its lowest level for more than 30 years.

The World Meteorological Organisation, in its latest statement on cyclones, said it was impossible to say if they were affected by man's gases: "Though there is evidence both for and against the existence of a detectable anthropogenic signal in the tropical cyclone climate record to date, no firm conclusion can be made on this point."

MYTH 8

THE GREAT BARRIER REEF IS DYING

Wrong. Yes, in 1999, Professor Ove Hoegh-Gulberg, our leading reef alarmist and administrator of more than $30 million in warming grants, did claim the reef was threatened by warming, and much had turned white.

But he then had to admit it had made a "surprising" recovery.

Yes, in 2006 he again warned high temperatures meant "between 30 and 40 per cent of coral on Queensland's Great Barrier Reef could die within a month".

But he later admitted this bleaching had "minimal impact". Yes, in 2007 he again warned that temperature changes of the kind caused by global warming were bleaching the reef.

But this month fellow Queensland University researchers admitted in a study that reef coral had once more made a "spectacular recovery", with "abundant corals re-established in a single year". The reef is blooming.

MYTH 9

OUR SNOW SEASONS ARE SHORTER

Wrong. Poor snow falls in 2003 set off a rash of headlines predicting warming doom. The CSIRO typically fed the hysteria by claiming global warming would strip resorts of up to a quarter of their snow by 2018.

Yet the past two years have been bumper seasons for Victoria's snow resorts, and this year could be just as good, with snow already falling in NSW and Victoria this past week.

MYTH 10

TSUNAMIS AND OTHER DISASTERS ARE GETTING WORSE

Are you insane? Tsunamis are in fact caused by earthquakes. Yet there was World Vision boss Tim Costello last week, claiming that Asia was a "region, thanks to climate change, that has far more cyclones, tsunamis, droughts".

Wrong, wrong and wrong, Tim. But what do facts matter now to a warming evangelist when the cause is so just?

And so any disaster is now blamed on man-made warming the way they once were on Satan. See for yourself on www.numberwatch.co.uk/warmlist.htm the full list, including kidney stones, volcanic eruptions, lousy wine, insomnia, bad tempers, Vampire moths and bubonic plagues. Nothing is too far-fetched to be seized upon by carpetbaggers and wild preachers as signs of a warming we can't actually see.

Not for nothing are polar bears the perfect symbol of this faith - bears said to be threatened by warming, when their numbers have in fact increased.

Bottom line: fewer people now die from extreme weather events, whether cyclones, floods or blinding heatwaves.

Read that in a study by Indur Goklany, who represented the US at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: "There is no signal in the mortality data to indicate increases in the overall frequencies or severities of extreme weather events, despite large increases in the population at risk."

So stop this crazy panic.

First step: check again your list of the signs you thought you saw of global warming. How many are true? What do you think, and why do you think it?

Yes, the world may resume warming in one year or 100. But it hasn't been warming as the alarmists said it must if man were to blame, and certainly not as the media breathlessly keeps claiming.

Best we all just settle down, then, and wait for the proof -- the real proof. After all, panicking over invisible things is so undignified, don't you think?

--MORE--"

Madoff Makes the Big House

The Globe proves what I have been saying all along with their "coverage."

"Madoff gets 150 years in prison; ‘Extraordinary evil’ cited by judge" by Beth Healy and Casey Ross, Globe Staff | June 30, 2009

NEW YORK - Investigators are still trying to determine its full scope....

--more--"

Well, since the Globe and government won't do the investigations, it's up to bloggers.

"Madoff was running a special type of "pump and dump" scheme. The source said Madoff would "pump money out of the system and dump it out to another place." When asked what that "other place" was, the source replied, "Israel."

"Bernie was operating a "pump and dump" scheme for a domestic and foreign intelligence agency." Asked to name the domestic agency, the source replied, "CIA." Asked about the foreign agency, the source claimed it was "the Russia-Israeli mob operating with Mossad.""

Of course, we already knew all this.

See: Boston Globe Stays Mum On Madoff

"Billionaire Madoff tied to intelligence agencies

16 June, 2009

No conspiracy charge by feds against Madoff is covering up links to domestic and foreign intelligence.

The failure of federal prosecutors to bring conspiracy charges against Bernard Madoff, the mega-billion dollar Ponzi scammer who pleaded guilty March 12 to eleven counts of fraud and other crimes in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, is providing cover to those who pulled the strings on Madoff's illegal operation.

Read more

WMR spoke to a former close aide to Madoff who related how he handled a number of transactions personally for Madoff. The source said that Madoff was running a special type of "pump and dump" scheme. The source said Madoff would "pump money out of the system and dump it out to another place." When asked what that "other place" was, the source replied, "Israel."

The source believes that no conspiracy charges were brought by the federal government against Madoff because it is the government and not necessarily Madoff that is trying to protect his "network and superiors."

Madoff's Chief Financial Officer was Frank DiPasquale, who is being represented by Marc Mukasey of Bracewell Giuliani. Mukasey's father is former Bush Attorney General Michael Mukasey. The U.S. judge handling the Madoff case, Denny Chin, is, according to informed legal sources in Manhattan, over his head in corruption.

WMR has learned how some of Madoff's international operations were conducted. At 3:30 pm every day Madoff Investment Securities employees would call banks in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, and tell them to "roll the accounts." That was insider language for "lend the money."

In some cases, money was moved to the Belize Bank, which was described by a Madoff insider as a "back side" for secretive banking operations in the Cayman Islands and Switzerland.

Madoff would also dispatch messengers to 55 Water Street in New York's financial district to pick up securities bearer bonds that could fit into an "Army duffle bag." Those types of transactions dramatically decreased for Madoff after 9/11.

The weekend following the Fourth of July, Madoff would sponsor a three-day bash for Madoff employees and "special guests" at Montauk on the eastern tip of Long Island. One of Madoff's special guests was Norman F. Levy, a billionaire who Madoff considered as a father figure. After his death, Levy's old firm continued to maintain an office at 885 Third Avenue in Manhattan, the same location as Madoff's firm. A Madoff insider speculated that Madoff may have been using Levy's company as a conduit for his business activities.

The annual Montauk conclave featured a dinner for Madoff's "special guests" on the Saturday evening at the Montauk Yacht Club. Madoff's "special guests" were kept segregated from the regular Madoff employees. The special guests were often found in a special place called the "money fund room."

In addition to Madoff's immediate family members, including his brother Peter, he also tended to surround himself with key individuals who were veteran officers of the U.S. military.

Madoff's London operation was handled out of a one-room small office located at 43 Newell Street. Every time Madoff visited the office, the London staff was extremely nervous. According to a Madoff insider, the Madoff London office was nothing more than a "front" operation. There may have also been some synergy between Madoff's London operations and American International Group (AIG), which reportedly is missing $500 billion from a similar small office pass-through operation in London.

Madoff's number one foreign destination was not England but France, where he maintained a luxurious estate in Provence.

Madoff routinely got his cash from the Bank of New York (BONY) and Chase. One favorite Bernie Madoff term was an "inch of fifties," which equates to $5,000.

The day before Madoff was arrested, he sent a "package" to Citibank's private banking facility at 850 Lexington Avenue. Usually when Madoff Securities sent out a "package," a set of documents in an 8 1/2 x 11 inch envelope authorizing electronic funds transfers, there was always a signed receipt from Citibank. One exception was "packages" personally sent by Madoff to Citibank. On December 10, Madoff sent a "package" to Citibank with no receipt from the private banking service. That evening Madoff attended the company's annual Christmas party, which had always been held on December 17. Madoff was reportedly not acting normal and his wife Ruth was trying to play the gregarious role normally handled by Madoff in previous parties. WMR's inside source believes that Madoff knew then that he was facing arrest the next day.

WMR has also learned that Madoff Securities was for sale in the late 1990s. One of the names mentioned in the potential sale is Ezra Merkin, also under investigation by the federal government's probe of Wall Street. WMR has learned that Madoff almost sold his firm for $1 billion. The potential purchaser, who was not identified, flipped a coin between buying Madoff or Charles Schwab. The purchaser opted for a potential purchase of Schwab.

Madoff often had a tense relationship with his family associates. In the mid-1990s, WMR was told of a particularly nasty exchange between Bernie and his brother Peter. Bernie allegedly told his brother, "When you see your name on the door, you can tell me what to do. Until then you have one percent of the stock so you can keep your fucking mouth shut."

When Peter's son Roger died of cancer at the age of 30, a cancer fund was established in Roger's name. Our source said that the fund for Bernie Madoff's late nephew was also defrauded. The source said, "Bernie would never do that to his nephew," adding, "Bernie was operating a "pump and dump" scheme for a domestic and foreign intelligence agency." Asked to name the domestic agency, the source replied, "CIA." Asked about the foreign agency, the source claimed it was "the Russia-Israeli mob operating with Mossad."

It is also reported that a number of key Madoff employees died suddenly from various causes, including what was described as "fast-acting cancer." The cancer victims included Madoff's 55-year old in-house lawyer and his "mid-fifties" computer software engineer. The woman who created Madoff's over-the-counter stock trading system was struck and killed by a bus while walking to Bloomingdale's in Manhattan.

One long-time Madoff employee told WMR that Bernie Madoff's father, Ralph Madoff, who worked as a New York plumber, once told the employee, "Never, never invest in Wall Street cause it's run by crooks and SOBs." Ralph Madoff told the employee to take his money and "buy books." In Bernie Madoff's case, the apple fell extremely far from the tree.

As a postscript, someone who worked with Madoff told WMR that he does not expect his old boss to live until his sentencing in June. The ex-employee believes that Madoff will not physically survive prison for very long. Given Madoff's extensive and murky intelligence links, there is every reason to believe the ex-employee is making the correct prediction.

More on Madoff operation emerges from insiders – WMR has been informed by former Madoff Investment Securities sources that jailed Ponzi scammer Bernard Madoff's wife Ruth revealed as early as September 2008 that her husband was "under great stress." However, the source also revealed that Mr. Madoff "thrived under great stress."

FBI investigators reportedly asked Madoff employees, after Madoff's arrest on December 11, 2008, whether Madoff had been "acting strange" before the arrest. Employees were also asked to provide the FBI with a psychological profile of Madoff.

A Madoff Investment Securities insider told WMR, "Bernie's mission was to keep the company he created alive with infusions from strangers. They turned out to suffer collateral damage." The source added, "Bernie could not give customers bad news."

Madoff insiders also described how the Ponzi scammer formed his company in 1961. Madoff began his firm with a mere $5,000 in capital.

Madoff was not able to gain a seat on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) because of the prohibitive cost of $250,000. Bypassing the NYSE, Madoff developed over-the-counter (OTC) trades and "back doored" trading into the NYSE. Madoff first used card punch machines in the OTC process, progressed to magnetic tape computers, and then employed newer, state-of-the-art technology.

WMR also learned that the computer systems engineer for Madoff who developed Madoff Investment Securities computerized trading system used proprietary software and, more oddly, proprietary hardware. In 1999, Madoff initiated the development of a top secret new trading system called Primex, which attracted the interest of NASDAQ, where Bernard Madoff served as chairman and his brother Peter had previously served as a board member. The computer engineer died a few years ago in her mid-fifties of what was described by a colleague as a "fast-acting" cancer.

WMR learned that Madoff was somewhat incensed about the high cost of gaining a seat on the NYSE. Actor Rick Jason, who co-starred with Vic Morrow in the TV series "Combat," actually had a seat on the NYSE that was bought for him by Jason's father. That made Madoff all the more determined to bypass the expensive NYSE seat requirement to carry out trades. Jason reportedly shot himself to death on October 16, 2000.

When Madoff was considering selling his firm to an unnamed suitor in the late 1990s, WMR was told by a firm insider that one reason Madoff was hesitant to sell was that even during that time frame he was concerned that if his company's books came under scrutiny from a sale that the company would "crash."

WMR also learned that a close associate of one of Madoff's top corporate officers was involved in trying to obtain a U.S. State Department contract for Halliburton, the firm once headed by former Vice President Dick Cheney. The individual in question reportedly was working with Halliburton's office in Baghdad, Iraq.

A Madoff firm source also revealed to WMR that American International Group's (AIG) London office, which reportedly lost some $500 billion, was engaged in an "economic warfare" scheme against countries of the former Soviet Union. The operations coincided with the funding by George Soros of various campaigns to oust governments in Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, and even Russia itself.

WMR also learned additional details of events that transpired the day before Madoff was arrested, December 10, 2008. Madoff unusually switched his firm's annual Christmas Party from its normal December 17 date to December 10. Not only was that seen as unusual by Madoff employees but so, too, was the fact that Madoff's two sons, Andrew, who ran a spin-off called Madoff Energy, and Mark, were not present at the party. Earlier in the day, both had reportedly spoken to FBI agents about their father's Ponzi scheme activities.

--MORE--"

Of course, don't worry too much for old Bernie. I hera Jews get treated pretty well in prison:

"Rabbi's jailhouse action in question; Resigns after link to bar mitzvah" by Cristian Salazar, Associated Press | June 25, 2009

NEW YORK - It was like any other bar mitzvah, complete with kosher food, singing, and a reading from the Torah - except that it was in a Manhattan jailhouse.

Security was provided at taxpayer expense by eight correctional officers working overtime. The proud father, a convicted felon who was an inmate, was permitted to swap his jail greens for more festive clothing. The 60 guests ate the catered food with metal forks and knives, chatted on cellphones, and heard Orthodox crooner Yaakov Shwekey.

Related: A Tale of Two Jails

Now the jailhouse bar mitzvah is at the center of criminal probes into allegations of special treatment of a handful of Jewish inmates and blatant departures from jail rules.

I don't make this stuff up.

This society is so Zio-centric it makes one ill when they see the totality of it.

A politically connected jail chaplain, Rabbi Leib Glanz, and one of the city’s highest-ranking uniformed correction officers resigned last week. Three other jail officials also have been disciplined, including the warden and the head of the city’s jail chaplains, for their role in allowing the bash, said Department of Correction spokesman Stephen Morello.

Yet, in some ways, by the time of the Dec. 30 bar mitzvah, the detention center known as the Tombs had become a place where Jews could expect to be treated well because of the real or perceived influence that Glanz wielded from his chaplain’s office at the jail, current and former corrections officers said.

That special treatment appeared to extend to the smallest of comforts: Searches of Jewish inmates’ cells would turn up unauthorized food like pistachios, rugelach, and pastrami sandwiches, former and current correction officers said....

I thought jail was supposed to be PUNISHMENT not a PARTY!

Patrick Ferraiuolo, the president of the Correction Captains’ Association, worked at the Tombs for 11 years until 2006 and said the uniformed ranks feared Glanz and would be wary of lodging complaints against him. “The perception there was that he had such strong political connections that they could be retaliated against,’’ Ferraiuolo said....

There was no answer at Glanz’s home phone in Brooklyn, where he is known as a major figure in the hard-line Satmar sect....

But that's only "perceived" power.

There were 11 Jewish inmates out of an average population of 852 at the Tombs in December, Morello said. There were more than 900 Jewish inmates among the more than 13,000 people in the city’s jails at the time.

--more--"

Another Russian Die Off

Related:

"New, high resolution version

Wake Up to the Real Deal. from Phillip Marlowe on Vimeo."

Secret Facts - Soviet & Jews"

Jewish Murderers Of The Russian Revolution The third Revolution was the Bolshevik uprising in Russia, of which this treatise focuses. The Bolshevik Revolution was financed by Jewish bankers, led by Jacob H Schiff of the Jewish Banking house, Kuhn, Loeb Co. Jews gained prominent roles in the Soviet government.

"Study links alcohol abuse to spike in Russian deaths" by Douglas Birch, Associated Press | June 26, 2009

MOSCOW - The tragic die-off was largely invisible outside of Russia, but devastated Russian society. The study is part of a long-running debate among public health scientists as to the causes of an unprecedented spike in mortality in the post-Soviet era.

Some researchers have blamed the crumbling of the Soviet healthcare system, increased smoking, changes in diet, or a loss of jobs that raised stress levels for the mysterious rise in deaths. Many others, such as Zaridze and his team, pin the blame on increased drinking....

--more--"

An Army Life

Reveille is at oh-500!

"Military academies see surge in applications" by Brian Witte, Associated Press | June 17, 2009

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Applications have surged at the nation’s three top military academies as tough economic times coincide with stepped-up recruiting efforts by the Army, Navy, and Air Force schools, making the prospect of free college and a steady job look sweeter.

Almost AS IF PLANNED, huh?

The recession has already helped drive higher military recruitment and retention. Stronger student response to recruiting campaigns by the three academies, who want to increase minority ranks in the officer corps, comes as the recession has reduced college scholarships, and other financial aid....

Colonel Deborah McDonald, director of admissions at West Point said students also mentioned economic reasons for wanting to attend, particularly in light of the recession’s effect on college funds....

Vice Admiral Jeffrey Fowler, the Naval Academy’s superintendent, said a big part of the increase in applications in Annapolis is due to the school’s summer seminar. The program brings students who have finished their junior year of high school to the academy for six days to show them what life would be like at the picturesque riverside campus....

The Naval Academy also has been reaching out to students in seventh and eighth grades to emphasize the importance of developing math and science skills to help raise chances of admission....

I thought ONLY TERRORISTS RECRUITED 13- and 14-year-olds!!!!!

--more--"

Then again, kid, that's where you will meet the girl of your dreams:

"For Army couple, rarest asset during deployment is time together; Married military officers strain to stay connected" by Hamza Hendawi, Associated Press | June 19, 2009

BAGHDAD - They still feel like newlyweds, five years into their marriage. A lucky couple?

No, Nathan and Jennifer Williams just haven’t seen much of each other.

Sounds like the perfect marriage. Probably why they are still together.

The Army captains have each been deployed twice to Iraq on 12-month tours - but in different locations. Back home, they spent at least another year apart because of training. All told, they have been together for two of their five years of marriage.

The Williamses are among thousands of military couples whose lives have been disrupted by multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Starting a family has been put on hold. And time alone together is precious....

All over LIES!

Stationed at different outposts in Baghdad 6 miles apart, they rarely had the chance to see each other in person - just once or twice a month....

Still, the Williamses are luckier than many military couples, particularly those who have lost loved ones in battle....

And starting this month, it’s a relative honeymoon....

In a series of interviews, they remained relatively upbeat about their lives, coping with the harsh demands of their jobs while not losing sight of what is needed to remain close. Rather than heading home to see family and friends, the Williamses are taking their mid-tour break in New Zealand and Australia next month so that they can have some time together....

For seven months, Nathan and his 150-member infantry company used a Saddam Hussein-era bomb shelter in a northern Baghdad district as their outpost while his wife was stationed on the other side of town at Camp Victory. Nathan worked an average of 16 to 18 hours a day. He had problems sleeping and survived mostly on cookies and energy drinks. He worried about his soldiers, mostly in their late teens or early 20s....

--more--"

He should worry about them:

"Artificial arm stirs hopes of wounded" by Steve Vogel, Washington Post | June 5, 2009

WASHINGTON - If the trial is successful, the robotic arm could restore a measure of freedom for injured veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a significantly higher proportion of whom have lost arms than in previous conflicts.

The device was developed by Deka Research and Development, the New Hampshire company whose founder, Dean Kamen, invented the Segway and various medical devices. Deka undertook the project 30 months ago as part of a $100 million program to revolutionize prosthetics sponsored by the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)....

The COST of BUSH (and now Obama) LIES will be felt for DECADES and BEYOND!!!!

About 22 percent of the 820 American troops injured in Iraq or Afghanistan who have suffered major amputation have lost arms. In Vietnam, it was about 4 percent, Downs said. The reason is ever-improving medical treatment in the field and speedy evacuations. "In Vietnam, the blast that would blow off your arm was usually able to damage your torso so much it would kill you," Downs said.

You know, I'm glad not as many guys are dying; however, was it NECESSARY to SEND THEM THERE on LIES? This ALL COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED!!!!!!

The DARPA project aims to bring arm prosthetics into the 21st century. The VA study is being conducted with DARPA under the direction of Linda Resnik at the VA Medical Center in Providence. Veterans fitted with the arm will provide feedback to help engineers refine the prototype.

They must be EXPECTING A LOT MORE THEN, huh?

Users control the arm via sensors embedded in a shoe, maneuvering it by putting pressure on different parts of the foot. Wires relay the signals to the arm, but future versions will be wireless.

Downs sometimes visits Walter Reed Army Medical Center to encourage soldiers who have lost arms, but he said he has tried not to oversell the Deka arm's potential.

"It's important not to get expectations too high when things are at this stage," he said.

Still, interest in the arm is growing. It was featured in a recent "60 Minutes" episode on CBS....

Amazing what the press can do when they set their minds to it, 'eh?

Maybe on day they will actually stop a war.

--more--"

At least you will get the cheers:

"Paralyzed Vt. veteran received with parade" by John Curran, Associated Press | June 28, 2009

HYDE PARK, VT. - For Private First Class Andrew Parker, it was a bittersweet homecoming: He was hailed as a hero, feted with a star-spangled parade, and showered with gifts at a welcome home ceremony.

He watched it all from a wheelchair.

Parker, a 21-year-old US Army cavalry scout, was paralyzed in November when a roadside bomb blew up the vehicle he was driving on patrol in Afghanistan.

Yesterday, after months of rehabilitation in Veterans Administration hospitals and a community fund-raising effort that added wheelchair-accessible accommodations to his parents’ house, the wounded warrior came home.

Of course, the MILITARY WOULDN'T PAY for it!!!! Too busy tossing bonuses at KBR for electrocuting soldiers.

Riding in his wheelchair in the back of a flatbed truck, a smiling Parker took in the flag-waving well-wishers and the hand-lettered signs - “For your sacrifice and our freedom’’ and “Thank you, Andrew’’ among them - on a 6-mile parade to Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7779....

In the bombing, Parker was thrown from the vehicle and landed on his head, breaking his neck. He was paralyzed from the chest down. He has movement in his arms, but his hands are severely injured. His injury triggered an outpouring of support in his small northern Vermont hometown.

Diane Marcoux-Laclair - Parker’s former kindergarten teacher - and others solicited donations and in-kind services so his parents could renovate their modest ranch house, turning a garage into a new living space with a wheelchair ramp, and a special shower, bed, and living area. All told, the work cost about $100,000....

And here this government tosses away TRILLIONS!!!! What a BETRAYAL!!!!!

--more--"

Of course, you may not hear the cheers at all, soldier:

A Brief Service For a Soldier

Airman Faces Up to Facebook

Off He Goes.... into that Wild Grey Jail Cell.... off he goes, outta the sun.

"Air Force member accused of child enticement, sending explicit texts" by Jenna Nierstedt, Globe Correspondent | June 6, 2009

An Air Force member based in Georgia was arrested and charged with child enticement after luring a 14-year-old girl from Stow to a hotel in Concord yesterday morning, according to authorities.

Airman First Class Christopher Stevens, 19, of Missouri, had flown to Massachusetts on Thursday evening from Robins Air Force Base in Georgia, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone and Stow Police Chief Mark Trefry said. Stevens then met the girl outside her home in Stow and brought her to a Concord hotel, the officials said in a statement.

Stevens and the victim had met over the Internet on Facebook, according to the statement.

Stow police were alerted at 11 p.m. on Thursday when the girl's parents called to report their daughter missing, the statement said. An initial investigation showed that the girl had agreed to meet a male outside her home at approximately 10 that evening.

Investigating the girl's cellphone records and laptop computer, members of the district attorney's Cyber Protection Unit found that the victim and Stevens had repeated conversations of a sexual nature on Facebook and through cellphone text messages, the officials said.

Authorities said they learned about the meeting at the hotel through the electronic records.

Stevens was arrested by state and Stow police at the hotel about 11:50 a.m. yesterday.

Stevens is to be arraigned Monday in Concord District Court, Leone said.

Assigned to the 52d Combat Communications Squadron at Robins, Stevens, who has been at the base for less than a year, could face a court-martial and a dishonorable discharge, said John Birdsong, chief of media operations in the public affairs office at Robins.

--more--"

Remember, our military is the best we got.

Facebook Destroys Families

No wonder it appears in a positive context in the agenda-pushing MSM so much!

"In the Facebook age, families spend less time together; Study cites a sizeable shift since 2006" by Barbara Ortutay, Associated Press | June 16, 2009

NEW YORK - Whether it's around the dinner table or just in front of the TV, US families say they are spending less time together.

The decline in family time coincides with a rise in Internet use and the popularity of social networks, though a new study stopped just short of assigning blame.

Michael Gilbert, a senior fellow at the Annenberg Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California, said people report spending less time with family members just as social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace are booming, along with the importance people place on them.

Five-year-old Facebook's active user base, for example, has surged to more than 200 million active users, up from 100 million last August. Meanwhile, more people say they are worried about how much time kids and teenagers spend online....

The advent of new technologies has, in some ways, always changed the way family members interact. Cellphones make it easier for parents to keep track of where their children are, while giving kids the kind of privacy they wouldn't have had in the days of landlines.

Television has cut into dinner time, and as TV sets became cheaper, they also multiplied, so that kids and parents no longer have to congregate in the living room to watch it. But Gilbert said the Internet is so engrossing and demands so much more attention than other technologies, that it can disrupt personal boundaries in ways other technologies wouldn't have....

Didn't they say the same about TV?

"It's not like television, where you can sit around with your family and watch," he said. The Internet, he noted, is mostly one-on-one.

Likely because they can afford more Web-connected gadgets, higher-income families reported greater loss of family time than those who make less money. And more women than men said they felt ignored by a family member using the Internet....

I'm sorry, what was that honey? I'm on the computer.

--more--"

Cahill the Corrupt

And he's the best we got around here.

"Cahill ally brokered pension fund deal; Fund-raiser takes home $2.3m fee" by Frank Phillips, Globe Staff | May 24, 2009

He is a close political ally and prodigious fund-raiser for state Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill. When a blue-chip New York financial firm was trying to persuade Cahill and his staff to award it a lucrative contract to manage state pension money, it hired Anthony S. Rust to push their cause.

In the end, the payday was a big one for everyone involved. Ivy Asset Management was awarded the contract in 2004 to manage $393 million in state pension funds, a deal that would net it about $18.3 million in fees, according to state records. Ivy paid Rust an estimated $2.3 million for brokering the deal, according to the records.

Rust's introduction to Ivy came through Cahill's closest political associate and close friend, Thomas F. Kelly, whose firm, CanAm Consultants, specializes in acting as a placement agent for financial firms seeking to manage public pension funds, according to a person briefed on the arrangement.

State campaign disclosures show that Cahill collected tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Rust and his family members, from Ivy executives, and from executives at Ivy's corporate parent, the Bank of New York - more than $41,000 in all.

There was nothing illegal about the financial arrangements between Cahill's office, Rust, and Ivy, but their actions echo controversies that are raging in state capitals across the nation.

Federal regulators and state investigators from New York to New Mexico are probing the way major public pension funds hand out contracts to manage billions of dollars in taxpayer money. What they're finding is that major money management firms often pay seven-figure fees to politically connected middlemen to help them in their bids, while at the same time showering public officials with campaign contributions.

And then LOSE all the MONEY: Mismanaging the Massachusetts Pension Fund

In Massachusetts, Cahill chairs the Pension Reserves Investment Management Board in his capacity as state treasurer, overseeing the $37 billion public pension fund. The fund is managed by private financial firms, who compete ferociously for the lucrative contracts that typically carry significant fees. As part of that competition, the firms often hire brokers, or middlemen, to help their cause....

Michael Travaglini, PRIM's executive director, strongly defended the integrity of the selection process for money managers. "I can speak to the integrity of our process," Travaglini said. "But why a firm would pay a third party? There are many times where we don't understand why, particularly in a process like ours, which is open and competitive."

He said, however, the use of middlemen is a legitimate practice....

Yup, the same guy who managed such losses got a raise -- a nice "$64,000 bonus on top of his $322,000 annual salary!"

Rust did not return repeated telephone calls placed to his cellphone; the number listed for his company, Newport Capital, has been disconnected.

Interesting.

Rust, according to state pension officials, has been active for well over a decade in public pension circles, representing financial firms seeking business from the state and city of Boston pension fund managers.

Rust was one of a half dozen people who met as often as every week in the Quincy office of the treasurer's brother-in-law, Anthony Falco, to map out political fund-raising plans, according to two people who were involved in Cahill's fund-raising operations. Cahill has been a prodigiously successful fund-raiser, building a $3 million political war chest. He has told associates he is ready to challenge fellow Democrat, Governor Deval Patrick, next year....

And he's our hope?

The contract with Ivy came during a particularly interesting juncture for the state pension system, as Cahill was among the first public pension overseers in the country to branch out into higher-risk investments like hedge funds and private equity companies in an attempt to increase returns. These money managers, in turn, fought hard for the Massachusetts business, which would then give them credibility to win business from funds in other states.

And so his friends could make $$$!

This is the TREASURER, huh? The one that is supposed to be SAFEGUARDING TAXPAYER $$$?

Rust's company appeared on a disclosure list of third party marketers that the Massachusetts PRIM board released to the Globe at the newspaper's request. Those marketers make multimillion-dollar fees by pitching investments to pension funds on behalf of private money managers - often hedge and private equity funds.

Cahill played an active role in the selection of Ivy as a member of the treasury selection committee, which is typical for Cahill but a departure from past practices. Previous state treasurers did not involve themselves in the selection process. Cahill pushed for the change in state investment policy that allowed the PRIM fund to invest $2 billion in pension proceeds in hedge funds. Cahill then sat on the nine-member selection committee that chose the money managers.

The list of third-party marketers helping financial firms secure Massachusetts pension investments shows that others with political cachet or inside connections, including a firm with ties to a member of the Kennedy clan, have served as middlemen with the Massachusetts pension system.

Oh, so FAT TED'S FRIENDS were BILKING the MASS. PENSION SYSTEM from the OTHER END, 'eh?

Included on that list is Kelly's firm CanAm Consultants. The documents provided to the Globe show CanAm Consultants has twice represented a client bidding on treasury business since Cahill took office in 2003. The clients were not awarded any work.

The list also includes Marwood Group, a firm run by Edward M. Kennedy Jr., the son of US Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Marwood Group served as a third party marketer for a $325 million allocation that PRIM assigned to Arden Asset Management to invest in hedge funds in April 2004. Arden did not return calls seeking comment. But if industry standards were followed, Marwood would have made over $3 million from $22.6 million in fees that Arden charged PRIM.

Ain't liberals grand?

Kennedy, who has been, politically, a low-key member of his famous family, declined to comment on his work on behalf of Arden. Although he only contributed $250 to Cahill's campaign coffers, Kennedy has attended numerous Cahill fund-raisers and a hosted Cahill and other pension finance experts at a clambake at the Kennedy compound shortly after the decision was made to invest with Arden in 2004, according to people who were there.

You smell something?

The value of Massachusetts pension money managed by Arden grew from $325 million to $556 million by 2007, according to state records. That included an allocation of another $81.7 million in 2005 and 2006.

In October 2005, the PRIM board chose EARNEST Partners, an Atlanta-based financial firm, to manage $250 million in pension money. EARNEST used Connors & Co. as a middleman on the deal. Paul F. Connors Jr. and his wife have contributed $12,000 to Cahill's campaign committee. Connors's director of marketing, Josephine Shea, a Quincy resident, is one of Cahill's chief fund-raisers and, along with Rust, attended the fund-raising strategy meetings at Falco's office. She has given $3,000 to the treasurer's political account.

The firm also employs Robert Q. Crane Jr., the son of the former state treasurer, and a Harvard classmate of Connors. Shea declined to comment. Connors did not return a call made to his office.

The mix of politics, campaign fund-raising, and public pension fund investments has raised serious questions - and in some cases, criminal allegations - in other states, particularly in New York. The attorney general there, Andrew Cuomo, has brought charges against political insiders in Albany he says were carrying out a "pay-to-play" scheme involving pension investments.

I'll give you a little clue: IT IS HAPPENING EVERWHERE!!

That's what passes for "politics" these days in AmeriKa!

Earlier this month, Cuomo pulled together prosecutors from 36 states, including Massachusetts, to participate in a telephone conference to discuss the issue.... Middlemen are legal, as are their significant fees, unless it can be proven that they were paid as bribes.

What's with the word games?

Still, the mix of campaign contributions and politically connected brokers calls into doubt Cahill's assertion that the PRIM selection process is devoid of political considerations....

--more--"

Part of a pattern, it would seem:

"Conference aid called ethics issue for Cahill; Series underwriters manage state's cash" by Andrea Estes, Globe Staff | June 1, 2009

A conference series run by Massachusetts state Treasurer Timothy Cahill with the goal of helping women manage their finances is raising ethical questions, not because of the subject matter, but because its high-dollar sponsors have a strong interest in currying favor with Cahill.

State Street Corp., Bank of America, and Barclays Bank are among the corporate sponsors that contribute $5,000 to $25,000 each - collectively up to $200,000 a year - which allows Cahill to operate the conferences and simultaneously raise his political profile.

They are all the same!

But the same financial institutions that underwrite the sessions also earn millions of dollars in fees from Cahill's office by handling the state's bond offerings or investing the state's pension fund....

Cahill was traveling on vacation last week and was unavailable for an interview, according to his spokeswoman. In a statement released by his office, Cahill did not address the ethical issues raised by the conferences in detail, but instead focused on the educational benefits of helping women learn about financial management.

Gee, I wonder who footed the bill for his vacation, taxpayers?

No "staycation" for him.

The financial companies, Cahill said, sponsor the conference voluntarily. "Their support has helped educate a diverse group of women and families across the state. The YWCA and my office are grateful for their partnership because without their support, we could not help these people who desperately need financial help during this extraordinarily difficult time," his statement said.

Cahill's spokeswoman, Francy Ronayne, said the companies "do not feel compelled to contribute for any reason other than to provide a public service. There is absolutely no conflict of interest."

Cahill opens each conference, appearing before the gathered investment executives and women. His website features 10 photographs of him posing with speakers, volunteers, and bankers at three money conferences, one in 2008 and two in 2009.

"It's a way to game the system," said Bill Buzenberg, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group the Center for Public Integrity.

Must all politicians be equivocating liars? Oh, right, job qualification one.

Buzenberg said the conference sponsorships are ethically questionable but legal under a loophole in the rules prohibiting "pay-to-play" schemes that have helped Wall Street businesses and banks win state municipal bond and investment work around the country.

The businesses, he said, "do it for a good cause. But they also do it for the purpose of political influence - to gain a great deal more money than it costs them. This is a way to remain in the good graces of the people who make these decisions."

Isn't that BRIBERY?

An advocate for ethics in state government said the practice raises some concerns. Pam Wilmot, executive director of Common Cause/Massachusetts, a nonprofit group, said she would be less worried by Cahill's conferences if there were a broader range of sponsors - not just companies that reap millions of dollars in fees from the treasurer's office.

"If the solicitation was to every single company in Massachusetts, regardless of their relationship with the department, it might be different," she said.

Treasury officials say they avoid any potential problems by having a nonprofit association, the YWCA of New England, collect the money and pay expenses. But it is Cahill's own political fund-raisers, which help fill his campaign coffers, that also solicit the conference donations from businesses, according to information provided by the YWCA.

From the proceeds of the conference sponsorships, the fund-raisers were paid more than $45,000 a year in 2007 and 2008, according to financial statements provided by the YWCA.

Virtually all of the donors do business with the treasury, which would not provide the total amount of fees paid to each company. But none of the businesses contacted by the Globe said they gave for any reason other than to help women, support the community, or win new customers.

Can't they just be honset about it?

Barclays was a first-time donor this year after taking over most of Lehman Bros., which gave $25,000 in previous years. Barclays's Boston office employs former House Ways and Means chairman Paul Haley and former state representative and treasury employee Patrick F. Landers III. The company has been an underwriter in several major state bond deals.

Your bailout money at work!

At one of the conferences held at Western New England College in 2006, Haley helped kick off the event by introducing Cahill. "Barclays Capital has been an active supporter of The Money Conference for several years and is a firm believer in its mission," wrote spokesman Brandon Ashcraft in an e-mailed statement. "We are committed to good corporate citizenship and giving back to the communities where we and our clients work and live."

Anne Pace, spokeswoman for Bank of America, said the bank sponsors the event to attract and serve customers. "For us it's about the customers," she said. "This is an opportunity to engage either with existing customers or potential customers. Not only are we trying to help educate consumers, the ultimate goal is that they will do their business with us."

Former state treasurer Shannon O'Brien, who launched the conferences a decade ago, said the treasury partnered with the YWCA and formed a separate fund-raising committee to avoid the appearance of impropriety. "When I came in, there had been a lot of scrutiny around 'pay to play' and municipal finance," she said. "We made it clear the fund-raising was separate and apart. We wanted to make sure no one was under any obligation."

As the practice continued under Cahill's oversight, the banks and investment firms have kicked in between $5,000 and $25,000 a year to sponsor the conferences, which were held this year in Framingham and Springfield. Last year two conferences were held - in Boston and Springfield. In 2007, there were three - in Springfield, Boston, and Worcester.

Most of the businesses handle the issuing of state bonds, which enable Massachusetts to borrow money for school construction and other capital projects. Typically businesses that handle bond issues earn $5 per $1,000 of bonds sold. A $300 million bond offering, for example, would generate fees of $1.5 million, divided among the underwriters.

I thought you might find this interesting: Barney Frank Benefited From State Debts

Some of the businesses invest money for the state's $37 billion Pension Reserves Investment Trust Fund, which funds state workers' pensions, or the treasurer's Deferred Compensation Plan, which allows state workers to save and invest a portion of their earnings. Those businesses earn management fees based on the amount they manage. Many hold state funds in money markets or both.

Some companies that had not done business with the treasury until recently just began sponsoring the event, according to records provided by the YWCA....

Because if you don't.... no contracts!

Andrew Gully, senior vice president of Sovereign Bank, which has contributed $15,000 a year, said in a statement that the bank has supported the conferences since 2003. "Over the years, thousands of women have had the opportunity to learn about issues ranging from mortgage and credit applications to investment and retirement strategies. We view it as a public service even that has been a great help to people working on their personal finances."

Then how about cutting some breaks on the foreclosures?

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Okay, that's two strikes, Timmy.

And here's the pitch....

"Cahill voted to double supporter's pension" by Sean P. Murphy and Frank Phillips, Globe Staff | June 10, 2009

A longtime political supporter and fund-raiser for state Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill is collecting the kind of lucrative pension typically reserved for public safety personnel such as police and prison guards, even though she held administrative jobs in the Norfolk County sheriff's office.

Cahill voted to approve the hazardous duty pension for Josephine E. Shea in 2000, while he was still Norfolk County treasurer and chairman of the Norfolk County Retirement Board, according to public records. Shea, who retired that year at age 49, has been collecting a pension now worth $47,000 a year, plus health-care insurance, paid by Norfolk county taxpayers....

That wouldn't be the SAME Josephine Shea that is one of his CHIEF FUND-RAISERS, would it (it is)?

Cahill declined to be interviewed. In a statement, he said he did not remember his July 26, 2000, vote approving Shea's retirement. "It was almost a decade ago, and I don't remember the specifics of the case," Cahill said in the statement.

Should you even be the treasurer then?

Shea has since embarked on a second career as a broker for firms seeking to invest state and county pension funds; her firm earned what is estimated to be a substantial fee for helping to arrange a deal for an investment management firm to handle $250 million from the Massachusetts pension fund, which is overseen by Cahill....

Oh, the INCESTUOUS STENCH of Massachushitts politics!! Ugh!

A Group 4 public safety pension of the type Shea received is one of the most lucrative prizes under state pension law, delivering hundreds of thousands of dollars in extra lifetime payments to retiring public employees who put their lives on the line every day. Police officers, firefighters, and prison guards are entitled to it.

Not her.

Many of them retire with weakened hearts or bad backs and stress borne of hazard on the job. Actuaries predict shorter life expectancy for them, compared to white-collar workers....

The five-member Norfolk County Retirement Board approved Shea's pension with no questions asked, minutes show. At the time, Cahill was chairman, and Shea was also a member of the board (and still is). Neither Cahill nor Shea recused themselves from the July 2000 vote, according to minutes of the meeting, which state that the vote was unanimous to approve a batch of pension requests, including Shea's.

Shea did not respond to written questions about her participation in the vote on her retirement. State conflict-of-interest law generally prohibits officials from voting on matters that affect their own financial interests....

Since when did Massachushitts politicians ever follow their own laws?

After she stopped working at the sheriff's office, Shea began work as a pension investment consultant for Connors & Co., a Georgia company that earns fees by matching investment companies with state and local pension funds. Shea is the firm's director of sales and marketing for New England.

In a 2000 letter to Cahill and her other colleagues on the Norfolk Retirement Board, Shea described her desire to continue working after her tenure with the sheriff's office. "Not one to sit idly, I subsequently became a consultant," she wrote.

And STARTED DOUBLE-DIPPING!!!!!

Paul F. Connors Jr. and his wife have been longtime contributors to Cahill's campaign committee, dating back to when he was first elected county treasurer.... Connors could not be reached yesterday; he has previously not responded to requests for comment about his firm's dealings in Massachusetts.

In October 2005, the state retirement board chose EARNEST Partners, an Atlanta-based financial firm, to manage $250 million in pension money. EARNEST used Connors & Co. as a broker on the deal. Cahill also chaired the selection committee that reviewed the proposals....

See above article.

Cahill served on the state pension board selection committee that recommended EARNEST and also voted for final approval. He has said he does not excuse himself from participating, even if his political supporters are involved, because he is not told which third-party brokers helped arrange an investment.

Oh, so everything is all right then? Pfffffttt!

Connors & Co. was the third-party marketer when money management firm Invesco was chosen by the Norfolk County Retirement Board to handle $3 million of its funds in 2005. The agreement called for Connors to get 25 percent of Invesco's advisory fee, which, if industry standards were followed, would be been as much as $90,000. Shea abstained from the vote.

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Of course, there is a little goodness in everyone:

"Cahill: Another bad gamble

Treasurer Timothy Cahill might have expected that the state’s bid to join the multistate Powerball lottery consortium would be rejected. After all, when he begged the Legislature for permission to join Powerball, he admitted that five competing New England states had nixed the proposal on a previous try. But Cahill, who touted the plan as a revenue-raiser worth $25 million to $40 million, neglected to notify the Legislature that a majority of the 30 participating states had voted down the bid May 27, according to the Boston Herald.

What, you also miss that one, Globe?

Then, there was still time to amend the state budget and remove the $25 million lawmakers had included in anticipated revenues. Now, the budget sitting on the governor’s desk is $25 million out of balance. Isn’t attention to such fiscal details just what we elect a treasurer to do?

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Well, if the Globe is criticizing you, you can't be all bad.