Second Opinion Clears Prominent Birther Rep. John Campbell, Two Others In Access Selling Charge
February 4, 2011 No CommentThe House Republicans are back in charge, and that means no ethical violations will ever be found among the party faithful. As a reporter, I occasionally had to work on these ethics stories, and it’s the same as it ever was: There is literally almost nothing congress critters can’t get away wit h: The House Ethics Committee issued a report last month with evidence that campaign donors were offered one-on-one meetings with Members of Congress, that senior Congressional staff participated in nearly every fundraising activity a Member conducted, and that a lobbyist discussed both a legislative concern and a fundraising event with a Member’s chief of staff. The committee found nothing wrong with any of it. Although the House Ethics Manual forbids the use of official resources to support campaign or political activities, the case of the three lawmakers who came under scrutiny demonstrates how closely intermingled those activities can sometimes be. Last month, the Ethics Committee issued a report on the fundraising efforts of Reps. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), Tom Price (R-Ga.) and John Campbell (R-Calif.) and concluded that, contrary to the judgment of the independent Office of Congressional Ethics, “each Member’s fundraising activities raised no appearances of impropriety. Nor did they violate any law or other applicable standards of conduct in connection with their fundraising activities.” The OCE, reviewing the same facts, had concluded that some of the fundraising activities the Members had engaged in “gave the appearance that special treatment or access was provided to donors or that contributions were linked to an official act.” For example, the committee report includes e-mails from Crowley’s fundraising consultant thanking a financial industry lobbyist “for helping out Crowley for Congress and JOE PAC” and offering times and dates when the Congressman is available for a one-on-one meeting. Similarly, a fundraiser for Campbell sent an e-mail to a corporate donor asking for a contribution and noting that “Congressman Campbell wanted me to see if you are available to do a 1-on-1 coffee or lunch with him. He prefers these to big events. Is there any way you can do $1k or even $500 to help him out?” The invitation included a broad window of times the Congressman would be available during two weeks Congress was in session. In an interview with Roll Call, Campbell spokesman Chris Bognanno defended the meetings, saying “these coffees are not just one-on-one and the vast majority are not with donors — the Congressman likes coffee. He likes to go to coffee houses and drink coffee.” The meetings “are both of an official nature and of a political nature. … They are one-on-one or two-on-one or a group will come and talk to him” about an issue, and on some occasions “there are some that are fundraising that are set up with the fundraiser.”
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Brussels summit demands transition towards democracy but fails to call for immediate removal of President Hosni Mubarak European leaders today called for an immediate transition to “broad-based” government in Egypt, but declined to demand the quick resignation of President Hosni Mubarak amid divisions over how to view the Cairo regime. An EU summit in Brussels wrestled over a response to the drama unfolding in Cairo, with David Cameron urging more robust action on the Middle East in line with Washington, while leaders such as Silvio Berlusconi of Italy offered effusive praise of the Egyptian strongman and suggested Mubarak should continue in office. The summit called on the Mubarak regime “to meet the aspirations of the Egyptian people with political reform, not repression” and for “an orderly transition to broad-based government. This transition process must start now.” The statement included a veiled threat of sanctions or withholding of aid to Egypt and also focused on the EU’s potential medium-term role in democracy-building projects in Egypt rather than on the immediate crisis. Catherine Ashton, the EU’s foreign policy chief who has come under renewed criticism for her low-profile role in the biggest foreign policy crisis since she assumed her position 15 months ago, was instructed to go to Cairo and come up with a package helping to organise free and fair elections. She is expected to go within a fortnight. British officials said Cameron was keen to get the summit to deliver a blunt response to Mubarak. But the summit statement did not mention the Egyptian leader’s name. Cameron said: “Egypt and its regime would lose any remaining credibility and support it has in the eyes of the watching world if state-sponsored violence or the hiring of thugs” was used. His comments contrasted strongly with Berlusconi, who said Mubarak could remain in office while Egypt made the transition towards “a more democratic system”. “For all the west, starting with the United States, [Mubarak] has always been considered a wisest man and a point of reference. Compared to a population of 80 million, the number of people on the streets is really low,” he said. Ashton spoke by telephone yesterday to the Egyptian vice-president, Omar Suleiman, and reported that he was talking to the opposition and “moving towards some kind of national dialogue”. “It is about change, it is about moving, it is about responding,” said Ashton. “We’ve been very clear in everything we said that it’s for the Egyptian people and government to move forward together. It’s absolutely essential we see the movement necessary for people to feel confident that there is a plan in place.” Martin Schulz, the leader of the centre-left in the European parliament, lambasted the EU for its perceived weakness. “On foreign policy issues, the EU too often behaves like a frightened rabbit in the headlights of a car,” he said. “The EU summit should make a clear statement that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s time is up. They need to be much tougher and make it clear that Europe will not tolerate Mubarak clinging desperately to office.” European Union Egypt Hosni Mubarak Middle East Obama administration David Cameron Silvio Berlusconi Ian Traynor guardian.co.uk
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Egyptian president has cash in British and Swiss banks plus UK and US property President Hosni Mubarak’s family fortune could be as much as $70bn (£43.5bn) according to analysis by Middle East experts, with much of his wealth in British and Swiss banks or tied up in real estate in London, New York, Los Angeles and along expensive tracts of the Red Sea coast. After 30 years as president and many more as a senior military official, Mubarak has had access to investment deals that have generated hundreds of millions of pounds in profits. Most of those gains have been taken offshore and deposited in secret bank accounts or invested in upmarket homes and hotels. According to a report last year in the Arabic newspaper Al Khabar, Mubarak has properties in Manhattan and exclusive Beverly Hills addresses on Rodeo Drive. His sons, Gamal and Alaa, are also billionaires. A protest outside Gamal’s ostentatious home at 28 Wilton Place in Belgravia, central London, highlighted the family’s appetite for western trophy assets. Amaney Jamal, a political science professor at Princeton University, said the estimate of $40bn-70bn was comparable with the vast wealth of leaders in other Gulf countries. “The business ventures from his military and government service accumulated to his personal wealth,” she told ABC news. “There was a lot of corruption in this regime and stifling of public resources for personal gain. “This is the pattern of other Middle Eastern dictators so their wealth will not be taken during a transition. These leaders plan on this.” Al Khabar said it understood the Mubaraks kept much of their wealth offshore in the Swiss bank UBS and the Bank of Scotland, part of Lloyds Banking Group, although this information could be at least 10 years old. There are only sketchy details of exactly where the Mubaraks have generated their wealth and its final destination. Christopher Davidson, professor of Middle East politics at Durham University, said Mubarak, his wife, Suzanne, and two sons were able to accumulate wealth through a number of business partnerships with foreign investors and companies, dating back to when he was in the military and in a position to benefit from corporate corruption. He said most Gulf states required foreigners give a local business partner a 51% stake in start-up ventures. In Egypt, the figure is commonly nearer 20%, but still gives politicians and close allies in the military a source of huge profits with no initial outlay and little risk. “Almost every project needs a sponsor and Mubarak was well-placed to take advantage of any deals on offer,” he said. “Much of his money is in Swiss bank accounts and London property. These are the favourites of Middle Eastern leaders and there is no reason to think Mubarak is any different. Gamal’s Wilton Place home is likely to be the tip of the iceberg.” Al Khabar named a series of major western companies that, partnered with the Mubarak family, generated an estimated $15m a year in profits. Aladdin Elaasar, author of The Last Pharaoh: Mubarak and the Uncertain Future of Egypt in the Obama Age, said the Mubaraks own several residences in Egypt, some inherited from previous presidents and the monarchy, and others the president has commissioned. Hotels and land around the Sharm el-Sheikh tourist resort are also a source of Mubarak family wealth. Hosni Mubarak Egypt Middle East Phillip Inman guardian.co.uk
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Tens of thousands of people have staged protests against Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, in Alexandria, on what activists have dubbed his “day of departure”. An Al Jazeera producer said the crowds had gathered on Friday at the Qaed Ibrahim mosque in the centre of Egypt’s second city, which sits on the Mediterranean coast.
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Correspondents from the Guardian, Der Spiegel and El País report from around the region on reaction to protests in Egypt Here’s another set of interviews with reporters from a group of media organisations who have teamed up with the Guardian to provide comprehensive coverage of the seismic events in Egypt and the shockwaves they are sending through the region. Today, we hear from correspondents with El País and Der Spiegel, as well as Guardian journalists. Jordan: Martin Chulov of the Guardian in Amman “There is a mood to give the king and the new government a bit more time … People will watch to see whether the king does have the capacity to push the reforms that he’s promising because if he doesn’t the situation here will turn very quickly. So far, so calm. The atmosphere doesn’t seem to be nearly as ripe as it was in Tunis or in Egypt but people do share similar frustrations. For now they are quietly confident that they can achieve what they want without taking to the street and forcing revolution.” Egypt: Enric González of El País in Cairo “Things are much quieter than yesterday when we were sometimes running for our lives and the situation was chaotic in the square … The majority of regular people who are not going to the square are watching TV very anxiously. They cannot buy tomatoes or eggs and they can’t go to work and they are waiting for something to happen. They want some normality. The Tiananmen [square] option is still open, although it’s very unlikely. Inside the regime, they are probably trying to cook up a solution that allows some normality for a country that cannot wait much longer.” Egypt: Volkhard Windfuhr of Der Spiegel in Cairo “There is a general sigh of relief [from protesters that protests today have been non-violent]. People feel that the so-far silent unarmed majority has now become the victors. They really gave a heavy blow — maybe a fatal blow — to an oppressive regime. That’s the feeling, although there are still obstacles to overcome … The army knows it will no longer be the only backbone of Egypt once the political reforms are put into effect — not in the way they have been — but I do think the vast majority of Egyptians are certain that the army will not play a negative role in the days to come.” Yemen: Tom Finn of the Guardian in Sana’a “People here are very aware of what’s happening in Egypt and are following the news very closely. But while people watch it, they don’t really seem to draw parallels with Yemen. The people I have spoken to don’t see any similarities between Mubarak and Saleh. I think there’s a lot more support for Saleh in Yemen than there is for Mubarak in Egypt.” Egypt Middle East Sam Jones guardian.co.uk
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Jonathan Freedland has Riazat Butt and Jon Henley in the studio for another instalment of the Week in review . The panel begin by discussing the 10 days of violence in Egypt that’s left the country on the brink. How will the revolution taking place before our very eyes affect the region – and a watching world? Middle East editor Ian Black shares his thoughts. Also in the podcast, we talk lies, damn lies, and botched statistics. David Schneider gives his take on the much-vaunted police crime map, which crashed shortly after its launch. Plus, with hundreds of millions spent in the final days of English football’s transfer window – we wonder whether the pampered millionaires of the Premier League will remain forever insulated from the economic chill. Finally, the Guardian’s resident HBO expert Steve Busfield gives us the skinny on Boardwalk Empire as we try to tackle the question tormenting Guardianistas everywhere: It could be the greatest TV channel of all time, but is it worth selling your liberal soul to Rupert Murdoch to get Sky Atlantic? Jonathan Freedland Ben Green Riazat Butt Jon Henley Steve Busfield Ian Black
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Hundreds of thousands of protesters have turned out across Egypt to demand that Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, step down. The protests in Cairo centred on Tahrir Square, where multitudes gathered in a largely peaceful demonstration. Protests were also held in the cities of Alexandria, Mahalla and Giza. Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher has more.
Continue reading …Tamer Shaaban’s video, a snapshot of the Egypt protests on Jan. 25, has accumulated nearly 2 million views on YouTube. via Huffington Post : Despite the attempt by the Egyptian government to shut down the Internet throughout the country, a a harrowing video montage of home video from the chaotic streets of Cairo. has surfaced on YouTube The protests began on Tuesday, January 25, when thousands of people blocked the streets to sound off about unemployment, government corruption, and the autocratic rule of President Hosni Mubarak, who has been in office for thirty years. The protests were inspired, in part, by the recent uprising in Tunisia, which began because of widespread anger over corruption and unemployment and ended with the ousting of president and strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The video was created by Tamer Shaaban, described on YouTube as “another Egyptian who’s had enough.”
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Guardian reporters have hair-raising encounters with the Egyptian security forces and an angry mob The soldier appeared helpful at first, offering to walk us through to Cairo’s Tahrir Square as we attempted to cover the latest protests on what had been dubbed Mubarak’s “day of departure”. But it was not the square that we were being led to but the ministry of the interior. The next soldier, outside the ministry’s main door was not so friendly. He ordered us to kneel facing a wall with our hands behind our heads, an order that was quickly countermanded by another soldier. The soldiers were disciplined but firm, demanding to know who we were, querying a passport stamp for the Rafah border crossing into Gaza; others for Tunisia and Afghanistan. Soon there were more of us sitting with our backs against a wall: a freelance journalist from New Zealand, another Briton, a Dane and an Italian, and three students. Next came two officers in plain clothes, less friendly than the enlisted troops. “Israeli?” asked one of the plain clothes men. No, British, we replied. Our phones were taken despite our best efforts to hide them. The Dane’s bag was searched, as well as those belonging to the three students, who were French. The man who ordered us to kneel was sat by an armoured personnel carrier. With a flourish he took out five or six sets of handcuffs and racked them on a bar behind a metal shield. My colleague Jack Shenker’s packet of Strepsils attracted sudden suspicion. A soldier took them from my hand, demanding to know what they are. State television has been reporting that foreigners were directing the protests in Tahrir Square; that they have been handing out drugs to those occupying it and that the foreign press was telling lies. That is the background to our detention in a city fast descending into anarchy and mutual suspicion. It was also clear that the army had been given orders to harass us. What happened to this reporter and his colleague is far from unique. In the last few days, in what appears to be a co-ordinated campaign, journalists have been arrested, beaten, threatened, even stabbed. Cameras have been taken and broken, crews set upon, rooms and offices raided. Outside the interior ministry, the mood relaxed somewhat. Some of the young soldiers spoke English. We talked about football and the Hollywood star Russell Crowe. They gave us crisps and cigarettes, allowing us to stand one at a time to stretch. One of the soldiers warned us about the senior man in plain clothes, telling us that he’s “mad” and that we were unlucky to walk into the wrong checkpoint. “I’ll make a deal with you,” Ahmad, the “mad” officer said, after an hour and a half: “I’ll let you go but I’m afraid for you.” He repeated this several times. “You come near the square again things won’t be so good next time. Do you understand? Go far away from here.” A soldier walked us to the edge of their cordon and waved us out. It was then that our problems really began. Hailing a taxi, we were stopped immediately by an armed group. Two men jumped into the car. One took our passports while the other cradled a large machete. Behind us two men jumped up onto the bumper. Within minutes we were taken to another group of soldiers who released us after once again checking our documents. We tried again to head back to the hotel, but in the midst of a contested revolution this was no mean feat. The city reeked of paranoia and violence. Every hundred yards or so someone from the groups along the road – men with knives and scaffold poles – put their body in front of the car to stop us and demanded to see our passports. Another soldier prevented us reaching the hotel and sent us in another direction. We could see the building where we were staying close to Tahrir Square but suddenly we found ourselves among a crowd of Mubarak supporters. There was a tank 100m distant, but we were where the heaviest clashes of the day before took place, beneath a series of overlapping underpasses leading to the 6 October bridge. It remains perhaps the most dangerous spot in the city for foreign journalists. We reversed quickly, in the knowledge that these were the same groups who had been beating up reporters, and found ourselves immediately surrounded by a new crowd. The same barked questions were fired our way. By now we had decided to try an escape the city centre and head to another hotel in Zamalek, on the river’s other side. More men got into our car. They said they were leading us to the hotel but in Arabic we understood them to be saying they would take us to the army once again, this time to the defence ministry. We were questioned once more, this time by soldiers at the state-run TV station, getting more scared and frustrated in the knowledge that we were within a couple of hundred metres of our destination and relative safety. We were not there yet. Between us and the hotel, on the main roads lay pro-Mubarak crowds. An Egyptian journalist, being held along with his luggage, asked for an escort to the hotel. He was visibly as alarmed as we both felt. We asked the senior officer on the scene three times but he shrugged his shoulders and refused us. Instead a group of the neighbouring vigilantes walked us back down tiny, dirty back alleys guarded by young men with swords and knives and clubs, who upon seeing us accompanied by their neighbours smiled and welcomed us. We finally felt secure for the first time in several hours. Egypt Middle East Journalist safety Press freedom Newspapers & magazines Newspapers Peter Beaumont guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …It’s not radical Islam that worries the US – it’s independence | Noam Chomsky
February 4, 2011 No CommentThe nature of any regime it backs in the Arab world is secondary to control. Subjects are ignored until they break their chains ‘The Arab world is on fire,” al-Jazeera reported last week, while throughout the region, western allies “are quickly losing their influence”. The shock wave was set in motion by the dramatic uprising in Tunisia that drove out a western-backed dictator, with reverberations especially in Egypt, where demonstrators overwhelmed a dictator’s brutal police. Observers compared it to the toppling of Russian domains in 1989, but there are important differences. Crucially, no Mikhail Gorbachev exists among the great powers that support the Arab dictators. Rather, Washington and its allies keep to the well-established principle that democracy is acceptable only insofar as it conforms to strategic and economic objectives: fine in enemy territory (up to a point), but not in our backyard, please, unless properly tamed. One 1989 comparison has some validity: Romania , where Washington maintained its support for Nicolae Ceausescu, the most vicious of the east European dictators, until the allegiance became untenable. Then Washington hailed his overthrow while the past was
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