O HELL NAWL !

AlterNet: How to Rig an Election: Confessions of a Republican Operative

How to Rig an Election: Confessions of a Republican Operative
By Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet
Posted on January 17, 2008, Printed on January 17, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/story/74030/

Allen Raymond worked inside Republican election circles for years, until he was convicted of illegally jamming telephone lines to New Hampshire Democratic Party offices on Election Day in 2002. After serving five months in jail, he and co-author Ian Spiegelman wrote How to Rig An Election, Confessions of a Republican Operative. The book details Raymond’s rise in GOP campaign circles; the attitude, tactics and strategies used to win; and how the RNC asked his firm to jam Democratic phone lines, but would not defend him in court after Democrats fought back and pressed court charges. AlterNet’s Steven Rosenfeld interviewed Raymond about his political education, GOP tactics and his take on the current presidential field.

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HighBeam Research

DEA Agents Sue Over ‘American Gangster’

From:
AP Online
Date:
January 16, 2008
Author:
DAVID B. CARUSO

See more articles from AP Online

A group of retired federal drug enforcement agents sued NBC Universal on Wednesday, saying the movie “American Gangster” falsely portrayed them as villains in the story of a Harlem heroin trafficker.

The suit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, claims that the movie defamed hundreds of DEA agents and New York City police officers by claiming at the end that Frank Lucas’ collaboration with prosecutors “led to the convictions of three-quarters of New York City’s Drug Enforcement Agency.”

Lucas, played by Denzel Washington in the film, became a government informant after his conviction in 1975, and his tips led to the prosecutions of several fellow drug dealers.

According to the lawsuit, no DEA agents or New York City police officers were ever convicted as a result of tips provided by Lucas.

“This is absolutely off the wall,” said Dominic Amorosa, a prosecutor in the federal case against Lucas in 1975 who now represents the DEA agents. “I don’t know what these people were thinking, but they are going to pay for it.”

A Universal Pictures spokesman, Michael Moses, said in a written statement that the lawsuit is “entirely without merit.”

“‘American Gangster’ does not defame these or any federal agents,” he said, adding that the corrupt law enforcers depicted in the film were supposed to be New York police officers, not DEA agents.

In a Dec. 7 letter to Amorosa, NBC Universal Senior Vice President David Burg called the film a “fictionalized work,” although at other times Universal spokesmen have said they have “every confidence that the material facts are conveyed truthfully.”

Former DEA agents Jack Toal, Gregory Korniloff and Louis Diaz filed the class-action suit on behalf of themselves and 400 other agents who worked in the city between 1973 and 1985. They asked for at least $50 million in punitive damages.

“Most of the movie is not true,” said Toal, who identified himself as one of the agents who worked with Lucas after he became an informant. “If they had said, ‘This is based on a false story,’ it would have been a lot better.”

A DEA spokesman in Washington, Garrison Courtney, declined to comment, other than to confirm that none of its agents were ever charged with wrongdoing in the case.

New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said he wasn’t aware of any NYPD officers ever prosecuted in connection with Lucas.

“Hollywood is famous for distorting reality,” Browne wrote in an e-mail. He brushed off the idea that the department would get involved in the case. “If we sued every time the movies made reality unrecognizable, there would be time for nothing else.”

Korniloff said in the suit that he was a lead agent assigned to the case and was present when agents and police officers raided Lucas’ home in Teaneck, N.J. in 1975 _ a scene depicted in “American Gangster.”

In the Ridley Scott film, which was released in November and also featured Russell Crowe and Josh Brolin, corrupt narcotics agents shoot the drug dealer’s dog, assault his wife and brazenly steal currency stashed in the house while making the arrest.

The suit said that in real life, the search was carried out legally; nearly $585,000 in currency was seized in accordance with a valid search warrant.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. For permission to reuse this article, contact Copyright Clearance Center.

HighBeam Research.

Bush Sets Windfall for Co-ops in City – January 17, 2008 – The New York Sun

Bush Sets Windfall for Co-ops in City

By BRADLEY HOPE
Staff Reporter of the Sun
January 17, 2008

A little-noticed provision in President Bush’s plan to alleviate homeowners’ mortgage debt will provide a windfall for cooperatives across the city.

The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 will allow co-ops to raise the rents for retail tenants — equaling hundreds of millions of dollars across the city — enabling the buildings to hire doormen, complete capital projects, and even stop charging apartment owners monthly maintenance fees, according to lawyers, managing agents, and co-op board members.

For years, co-ops in popular neighborhoods were forced to offer below-market rents to stores that leased space in their buildings to meet the requirements of the Internal Revenue Service’s 80/20 law, which stipulated that no more than 20% of the co-op’s gross income could come from non-shareholder sources. If the building crossed the 20% threshold, shareholders would forfeit their ability to deduct property taxes and the interest on mortgages.

Bush Sets Windfall for Co-ops in City – January 17, 2008 – The New York Sun.

Another Slip-Up on the Air, Another Apology – New York Times

TV Sports
Another Slip-Up on the Air, Another Apology
By RICHARD SANDOMIR
Published: January 17, 2008

It was late in Connecticut’s 81-65 win over St. John’s on Jan. 8 when the ESPN analyst Bucky Waters grew euphoric over the nine steals by Jerome Dyson, the Huskies’ sophomore guard.
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Walt Unks/The Herald Sun, via Associated Press

Bucky Waters

“I bet there weren’t any hubcaps left in the parking lot,” he said, adding later that Dyson “just stole everything — fillings, hubcaps, the works.”

After the game, while extolling Dyson’s defensive work, Waters went too far with his analogies.

•

“It was a holdup, it was a mugging, and I don’t know if he’s going out after this and hit a couple of convenience stores or not, but he had some night here,” he told viewers watching the game on SportsNet New York and MyTV 9 in Connecticut.

Another Slip-Up on the Air, Another Apology – New York Times.

No Warning Shots Fired !: Black Leaders…You’re Fired !

Excerpted and Reposted . Post all messages to: Min. Paul Scott’s blog is nowarningshotsfired.com He can be reached at (919) 451-8283

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Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Black Leaders…You’re Fired !

Dear Black Leader,

As the unofficial self- appointed representative of the people whom you are supposed to work for, I have a bit of bad news. As of MLK Day 2008….You’re Fired!!!

It’s not that we don’t appreciate your hard work and dedication in fighting for our civil rights and everything. We know your bio, which you always share with us anytime we ask you what have you done for us, lately. We know about the marches, the demonstrations, the police dogs and the jail stays. But that history is lost on this generation. They are desensitized to the “going to jail thing.” My cousin Clyde, the Klepto can do a 10 year bid standing on one hand. As far as the police dogs, Lil Tyrone has to deal with stray pitbulls everyday coming home from school. So the tales from the past just don’t move Black folks like they used to.

Accounting is concerned about the expense account that you’ve been runnin’ up. They say that you have been abusing the company’s Bank of Harlem Black Card. Is it really necessary to wear $2000 Brooks Brothers suits and $1500 Itallian leather shoes, everyday while the people you work for get their clothes from WalMart and Pick and Pay? (Work rule # 4081, never out dress the boss.) And how about the first class airline tickets and the 5 star hotels? Also, the board of directors thinks that the $5000 honorarium that you charge historically Black colleges for 45 minutes of your wisdom is a little excessive. Especially when you are going to ask the strugglin’ college kids to break you off $28.99 for your latest hardback after the lecture?

My “peeps” in the street are also tired of seeing you flossin’ on C-Span more than they see you in tha hood, homie. They want you to step your rap game up and come with something a little fresher than a remixed “IHave a Dream” speech, every year. At least Jay Z and them can bust a funky freestyle off the top of their heads. And stop criticizing their spinning rims and platinum teeth when you are bling blingin’ more than they are. And for the record, they said that they ain’t gonna stop using the “n” word as long as you keep referring to Black folks as “minorities” and”colored people.” The Boyz in the Hood want a chance to shine on the cover of Ebony and on the radio, too. My boy, Tre said that he was in the newspaper one time and his mom’s said that he looked real good dunking the basketball in the Cross City Championship of ‘95. He once dropped some serious science after the Jena 6 thing in the middle of Mr Luther’s Barber Shop and got a standing ovation and a free hair cut! Brotha’s got some real talk for the people but NPR won’t holla at him, though.

The interns who have been running around getting your coffee and filing your papers for the last 20 years are getting tired of being passed over for promotions. Word around the break room is that they are planning a hostile takeover if changes aren’t made soon. I know that you always thought that the main threat to your job would come from the Conservative cats on the 5th Floor who you play golf with every weekend but you underestimated the Brotha in the Red, Black and GreenT-Shirt that you had in the field picking up garbage. You didn’t know that the old school Public Enemy pumpin’ in his IPod headphones and the books on Garvyism that he was reading during his lunch break would give him grand ideas about taking over the company.

We tried to get your pension straight, but funny thing, no one in Human Resources remembers hiring you. It must have happened during the race riots of ‘69 when the Brothas were handlin’ their business in the streets. When the smoke cleared all the rest of the Brothas were doing long prison sentences but you were at the front of the line to be the first negro to integrate Whiteman and Liverpool Inc.

To find a suitable replacement we have decided to launch our own reality show “America’s Next Black Leader” and we will be going through hoods across America with a camcorder to see who is actually out there feeding the people, fighting the power and doing all of the other things that you preached to us that we should be doing for the last 40 years.

So we thank you for your years of service and we know that you will have no problem finding a new job with your white corporate sponsors.

Best Wishes

Min. Paul Scott

Min. Paul Scott’s blog is nowarningshotsfired.com He can be reached at (919) 451-8283

 Source: No Warning Shots Fired !: Black Leaders…You’re Fired !.