Former CIA official, contractor indicted
SAN DIEGO — The CIA's former No. 3 official was charged Tuesday with accepting lavish vacations, private jet flights and a job offer from his best friend, a defense contractor who in return is suspected of getting inside information that helped him win agency contracts.
A federal grand jury returned 11 counts of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering against Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, executive director of the CIA until he resigned in May, and San Diego defense contractor Brent Wilkes.
Foggo is the highest-ranking CIA officer to be charged with crimes allegedly committed while working for the agency. The charges grew from the bribery scandal that landed former U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham in prison.
These are some pretty serious charges, and their implications are heavy. This scandal represents some serious problems we have with our government which we Americans should take notice of and demand change, but most of the public will not pay attention unless sex is involved. So for those of you who do not pay attention to sexless scandals, there is this:
In addition, Wilkes spent more than $1,600 on prostitutes for himself and Cunningham at a Hawaiian resort in August 2003, the indictment alleges.
Needless to say this scandal reflects poorly on the CIA, but the Agency was already on my bad side with their extraordinary renditions that led to our country being responsible for torture:
EU Report Says Some Colluded With CIA
STRASBOURG, France (AP) - The European Parliament on Wednesday approved a report accusing Britain, Germany, Italy and other EU nations of turning a blind eye to CIA flights transporting terror suspects to secret prisons overseas in an apparent breach of EU human rights standards.
The report, concluding a yearlong high-profile investigation into CIA activities in Europe, gives no direct proof that the U.S. intelligence agency ran secret prisons in Europe, but accuses some governments of complicity with the U.S. secret renditions program.
Apparently, the CIA was helped by European countries in sending innocent people in Europe to other countries to be tortured. I guess I will be reconsidering any vacation plans that involve Europe because I haven't committed any terrorist acts and I don't like being electrocuted.
Speaking of terrorist acts, remember Osama bin Laden? Well, Bush still hasn't made any effort to catch the man behind 9/11, and now, during the House debate on the Iraq war, the Republican Minority Leader John Boehner finds himself agreeing with the terrorist who Bush has failed to bring to justice for the past five and a half years:
Wisdom of the ages invoked in Iraq debate
Boehner also quoted Osama bin Laden, the still-at-large al-Qaida terrorist leader behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
"He said, and I'll quote, 'I would like to tell you that that the war is for you or for us to win. If we win, it means your defeat and disgrace forever.'"
This is the same rhetoric we have heard for years from Republicans. Now most Americans would be ashamed to agree with bin Laden, but not Republicans. No, sir. They go to bin Laden for a lot of their quotes. Most people would not believe in the words of this most infamous terrorist, but Republicans seem to trust him. They listen to that liar and base their foreign policies on whatever he says.
Shame on them. Shame on them for agreeing with and following the words of bin Laden, and shame on them for their lack of shame in doing so.
Osama bin Laden is a terrorist, probably the worst thing a person can be. When are these Republicans going to learn that we should fight him and capture him, not quote him, be deceived by him, and use his words against some Americans while decieving other Americans?
John Boehner, instead of using bin Laden to support your idiotic ideas on how to deal with Iraq, perhaps you should be demanding that Bush fight the real war on terrorism and capture bin Laden. Then he won't be around for you to make the stupid mistake of quoting him.
To continue the topic of Republicans being wrong, Bush keeps talking about how well the American economy is doing despite the evidence:
U.S. Trade Deficit Sets Another Record
(AP) The U.S. trade deficit set a record for the fifth straight year in 2006, reflecting a huge jump in America's foreign oil bill and a record imbalance with China. The year ended with the December deficit increasing more than had been expected.
The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that the gap between what America sells abroad and what it imports rose to a record $763.6 billion last year, a 6.5 percent increase from the previous record of $716.7 billion set in 2005. For December, the deficit rose a bigger-than-expected 5.3 percent to $61.2 billion.
The Bush administration attributed the string of deficits to the United States outpacing other countries in terms of economic growth. Officials said that President Bush would continue to pursue a strategy of opening foreign markets to U.S. goods rather than erecting protectionist barriers to keep out imports.
Bush fails to see the forest for the trees. He is not dealing with the full picture. He keeps talking about how well the economy is doing, but he is only looking at one aspect of the economy to say that the economy is strong and ignoring the rest of the economy which is weak. While the rich get richer, the American poor are getting poorer, the middle class is becoming poor, and the nation is going further in debt than ever before. It is the same deceptive practice that burned Enron, and it will burn us too if we do not do something about it. Getting rid of Bush and his deceitful economic policies would be a good start.
Here is more Bush deception regarding the economy (and veterans):
Veterans Face Consecutive Budget Cuts
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration's budget assumes cuts to funding for veterans' health care two years from now - even as badly wounded troops returning from Iraq could overwhelm the system.
Bush is using the cuts, critics say, to help fulfill his pledge to balance the budget by 2012. But even administration allies say the numbers are not real and are being used to make the overall budget picture look better.
After an increase sought for next year, the Bush budget would turn current trends on their head. Even though the cost of providing medical care to veterans has been growing rapidly - by more than 10 percent in many years - White House budget documents assume consecutive cutbacks in 2009 and 2010 and a freeze thereafter.
The proposed cuts are unrealistic in light of recent VA budget trends - its medical care budget has risen every year for two decades and 83 percent in the six years since Bush took office - sowing suspicion that the White House is simply making them up to make its long-term deficit figures look better.
Either Bush is being deceitful about the cuts veterens healthcare to make his budget look good or he does not support the troops or both. In any case, it all furthers the notion that Bush is the worst president ever.
For the last news item and because it is Valentine's Day, I have an interesting story about this holiday:
Hindu, Muslim Groups Hold Protests In India On Valentine's Day
Hindu right wing activists and a radical Muslim women's group held protests in different parts of India Wednesday to protest Valentine's Day, news reports said.
About 150 members of the Hindu hardline Shiv Sena held at protest march at the main university campus in Delhi demanding a complete ban on such celebrations saying they had a "corrupting influence" on Indian youth, PTI news agency reported.
[...]
In Jaipur, capital of neighbouring Rajasthan state, members of several Hindu right wing groups kept a vigil on young couples romancing in parks and set fire to stacks of Valentine's Day cards and gifts while the police kept watch.
In Jammu and Kashmir state capital Srinagar, a radical Muslim women's group, the Dukhara-e-Millat, along with some other organizations raided gift shops and burnt cards and gifts, PTI reported.
"There is no place for Valentine's Day celebrations in Islamic society or Kashmiri culture as such events lead to immorality in society," Dukhtaran chief Aasiya Indrabi was quoted as saying.
[...]
"The day is a ploy on part of multinational companies to encourage consumerism and such celebrations are taking the country's youth away from their own traditions and culture," Delhi's Shiv Sena unit president Vijay Goel was quoted as saying.
So, just to be clear, Valentine's Day leads to "immorality in society", but raiding shops and burning the merchandise is okay?!
They might want to reconsider the idea that replacing such violent "traditions and culture" with a day that celebrates love is somehow a bad idea. Perhaps if they had a little celebration of love, they wouldn't feel the need for violence (if you know what I mean).
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