THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
OFFICE OF THE U.S. TRUSTEE
David C. Farmer, Successor Trustee
vs.
Bobby N. Harmon
(Formerly Mary Lou Woo vs. Harmon and James Nicholson vs. Harmon)
CV05-00030 DAE/KSC
United States District Court, District of Hawaii
Judges: David A. Ezra; Kevin S. Chang
~ ~ ~
DEFENDANT’S WITNESS
JOSHUA GOTBAUM
Address to be determined.
Joshua Gotbaum is the Bankruptcy trustee in the Hawaiian Airlines bankruptcy.
Joshua Gotbaum became the first Chief Executive Officer of the September 11th Fund in October 2001. He was responsible for developing the organization and staff of the Fund, as well as the grant programs by which it was to distribute almost $500 million in contributions.
The September 11th Fund was established by The New York Community Trust and United Way of New York City to meet both the immediate and long term needs of the victims, families and communities affected by the terrorist attacks.
Josh worked on counter-terrorism and domestic preparedness in the US government. He served in the US Office of Management and Budget from 1997-2001, first as Executive Associate Director and then adding the job of Controller. During this period, he was for several years responsible for managing the counter-terrorism budget. Prior to joining OMB, Joshua Gotbaum was Assistant Secretary of Treasury for Economic Policy, serving then-Secretary Robert Rubin and then-Deputy Secretary Laurence Summers. He served as Assistant Secretary of Defense from 1994-1995.
Prior to joining the Department of Defense, Mr. Gotbaum was a partner and managing director of the New York investment bank of Lazard Freres & Co. He was affiliated with the firm, both in New York and London, from 1981-1994, providing advice in mergers and acquisition, corporate finance, bankruptcies and restructuring.
During 1977-1981, Mr. Gotbaum held various positions in the Carter Administration, both in the White House and the US Department of Energy.
Joshua Gotbaum and Joyce Helen Thornhill were married on September 24, 1989 at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden by Cantor Raymond Smolover, assisted by the Rev. Clay H. Turner, an Episcopal priest. Joyce Thornhill is the daughter of Mrs. Marvin N. Lougheed of Boones Mill, Va., and Herbert S. Thornhill of Montreal.
Mr. Gotbaum is a son of Victor H. Gotbaum of New York and Dr. Sarah C. Gotbaum of Chevy Chase, Md. Ms. Thornhill, who retained her name, was a vice president of J. P. Morgan & Company in New York at the time of their marriage. Her father is retired from the sales division of RBC Dominion Securities in Montreal. Her stepfather, Dr. Marvin Lougheed, who is also retired, was the founding medical director of the Cancer Center of Southwest Virginia in Roanoke.
Mr. Gotbaum's mother, a sociologist, was a consultant in public policy research and a trustee of the Group Health Association of Greater Washington. His father, the director of the Center for Labor Management Policy Studies at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, was the executive director of District Council 37 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
Joshua Gotbaum’s step-mother, Elizabeth Flower Gotbaum, was a vice president of the Prospect Group, a leveraged-buyout concern in New York.
* * * * *
“AIG: THE AMERICAN IDOL OF GREED!”
“CONFESSIONS OF A WHISTLEBLOWER”
“GOOGLING IN THE CATBIRD SEAT”
“SECRETS”
* * * * *
"Collateral Damage (Part 2): The Subprime Crisis and the Terrorist Attacks on September 11 2001"
By E.P. Heidner
Abstract: The U.S. Subprime and global financial crises of 2008 was the direct result of a covert monetary policy implemented by the U.S. financial institutional caretakers of the World War II Black Eagle Gold Fund. Major growth in this fund occurred in 1986 when the Reagan/Bush administration ousted Ferdinand Marcos and confiscated the Philippines holdings of Japanese pre-WWII treasury, buried in the Philippines due to the US Naval blockade of Japanese ports.
Not being able to publicly acknowledge the illegal confiscation of multiple national treasuries, US officials and their banker-agents have released major portions of this fund to the money market in excess of monetary demand, expanding the money supply by $3.5 to $7 trillion.
The individuals responsible for releasing this gold were also responsible for deliberately opening the subprime mortgage market to national banks, thus creating inflationary demand in the high risk, subprime housing market. In addition to the 'coincidence' that virtually all of the troubled mortgages which are at the source of the 2008 Economic Crisis seem to come from a timeframe and monetary growth spurt linked to the '9/11 bond dump' this report will document that the primary source of funds for the liar's loans and troubled subprime loans comes from banks that are in lock-step with the covert funding operations.
Given that these same individuals covertly financed the collapse of the Soviet Ruble in 1991 using these same funds, and then orchestrated the buy-out of key Russian industries for pennies on the US Dollar, this analysis provides evidence that a similar gambit is being made for the takeover of key US Industries....
http://www.scribd.com/doc/9421535/Collateral
http://epheidner.blogspot.com/
http://www.whistlersongs.blogspot.com
http://www.voy.com/129276/1355.html
~ ~ ~
NEW DISCOVERY (03-14-09):
From The Catbird’s Forum:
Date Posted: 16:29:57 03/14/09 Sat
Author: John Cameron, Australia
Subject: FIREFIGHTERS USA
IRREFUTABLE EVIDENCE--WTC 7 was IMPLODED just ask Larry Silverstein.
SECRECY THE MASK OF DECEIT. jc
FIREFIGHTERS USA
(Who do you trust GWBush serial throat liar or Sir Isaac Newton-Galileo proven laws gravity-suspension momentum etc.?)
(WHILST SECRECY PREVAILS DEMOCRACY WITHERS & FAILS jc.)
(This post comprehensively documented---)
http://firefightersfor911truth.org/?cat=11
This work is dedicated to Chief of Department Peter J. Ganci Jr. and his 342 fellow F.D.N.Y. members killed in action while trying to save others.
Summary of Evidence of Controlled Demolition at the World Trade Center (Expansive citations below)
This article appeared originally at www.FireFightersFor911Truth.org and is the intellectual property of David R. Wayne & Greg Garrison C2008 with all use permissions hereby granted provided that all copies include this notice of authorship.
The evidence summarized below proves conclusively that 3 World Trade Center buildings collapsed on 9/11/2001 as the result of controlled demolitions. It makes no attempt to determine why, or to imply by whom.
From a scientific standpoint, it is inadvisable to leap to conclusions because there are always scenarios we may not be prepared to imagine. In science, as in life, an open mind is a good thing. It is conceivable that there was a bio-threat airborne in the CIA undercover New York station in Building 7 capable of wiping out 20 million people if it wasn't immediately neutralized by the use of Thermate. Although that is unlikely, it remains possible and therefore, scientifically, it stands as an unknown, as do many other unknowns.---etc etc
CAVEAT REDEMPTOR
Respectfully,
John Cameron
Australia Associate member www.ae911truth.org RSVP
http://www.archive.org/details/inn
WILLIAM RODRIGUEZ: An American hero A 20-year employee at one of the World Trade Center buildings hit on September 11, 2001, Rodriguez risked his life in saving many people and was honored for his heroism. And then Rodriguez testified in closed session to the official 9-11 commission (Kean-Zelikow), but his story of what happened that day the explosions in the sub-basements seconds before the plane hit, was suppressed by those whose task it is to cover-up what really happened. Special thanks to INNWorld Report for airing Rodriquez crucial evidence that exposes the Bush administrations lies. (14 min. www.INNWorldreport.net 646-618-8223 or ReOpen911.org (call for a free DVD: 800 630-9912)
This movie is part of the collection: Open Source Movies
JENNINGS EVIDENCE WTC EXPLOSIONS
In case you hadn't heard yet Barry Jennings key witness to building 7 explosions died some weeks back?
No explanation of the cause of death has been released at this time....
The link is a brief overview of what he had said about his experience FYI...thanks to www.infowars.com
http://www.propagandamatrix.com/articles/September2008/170908Witness.htm
Key Witness to WTC 7 Explosions Dead at 53
Wednesday, Sept 17, 2008
Emergency coordinator and 9/11 witness Barry Jennings has passed away with controversy about WTC7 still hot– as the BBC hit piece and NIST report have been released to counter Jennings’ exclusive testimony of explosions inside Building 7.
http://www.voy.com/129276/1295.html
~ ~ ~
NEW DISCOVERY (12-24-08): More undisclosed conflicts of interest between Trustee David C. Farmer, James Nicholson, Steven Guttman, Joshua Gotbaum, Judith Neustadter Fuqua, Linda Lingle, Jack Abramoff, AIPAC, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Rahm Emanuel, Michael Mukasey, Bishop Estate, Goldman Sachs, Robert Rubin, Henry Paulson, The Nature Conservancy, Faye Kurren, Judge Barry Kurren, Judge David Ezra, OHA, Bernard Madoff, Robert Katz, etc.:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_yA8J-oGQk
http://www.kycbs.net/Jews-Control-America.mht
http://www.voy.com/129276/1273.html
~ ~ ~
NEW DISCOVERY (11-14-08):
Clinton officials to lead 3 departments' transition
New York, Nov 13, IRNA
US-Transition-The New York Times
President-elect Barack Obama on Wednesday named two former Clinton White House officials, Joshua Gotbaum and Michael J. Warren, to oversee the new administration's takeover of the Treasury Department as it manages the still-evolving $700 billion financial rescue plan.
Gotbaum, 57, the son of the New York labor leader Victor Gotbaum, worked briefly in the Carter administration before becoming a protege of the investment banker Felix G. Rohatyn at Lazard Freres & Company, The New York Times said.
He worked in the Clinton administration as an assistant secretary of defense, an assistant secretary of Treasury and controller of the Office of Management and Budget.
In a May 2001 essay for Government Executive magazine, Gotbaum reflected on the successes and limitations of bringing private-sector financial management to government programs.
"There is a debate on the standards for social insurance, national parks and other 'stewardship assets,'" he wrote.
"Here it is not at all clear that private sector standards make sense: Rather than auditing acres at Yosemite and exhibits at the Smithsonian, wouldn't resources be better used to audit cash at the Housing and Urban Development Department?"
After Sept. 11, 2001, Mr. Gotbaum ran the September 11th Fund, a charity established to help people and businesses hurt by the terrorist attacks.
He later oversaw the restructuring of the bankrupt Hawaiian Airlines.
In 2006, Gotbaum became an operating partner of the private equity firm Blue Wolf Capital Management. There, he helped restructure Platform Learning Inc., a company acquired by Blue Wolf that provides tutoring services under the No Child Left Behind program.
Warren, 41, the other leader of the Treasury review team, is a Rhodes scholar who has worked as a strategic consultant to technology and finance companies for McKinsey & Company. In the Clinton administration, he was executive director of the National Economic Council.
He is the chief operating officer of Stonebridge International, a business consulting and government relations firm co-founded by Sandy Berger, President Bill Clinton's national security adviser.
The firm's Web site says it has helped a metals manufacturer navigate Russian politics and bureaucracy, a retailer win approval for an acquisition in China and a chemical company with European safety and environmental regulations.
The Obama transition team named two more former Clinton administration officials, Thomas E. Donilon and Wendy R. Sherman, to head the transition for the State Department.
Mr. Donilon, 53, assistant secretary of state for public affairs and State Department chief of staff under Mr. Clinton, is a partner in the law and lobbying firm O'Melveny and Myers. He is no longer a registered lobbyist, but he worked as one until 2005 for Fannie Mae, the government-backed mortgage giant whose failure this year contributed to the financial crisis.
Donilon has worked for decades at the top levels in Democratic presidential campaigns.
Ms. Sherman, 59, was counselor for the State Department and special adviser to Mr. Clinton on North Korea. She is a principal of the Albright Group and Albright Capital Management, consulting and investment firms founded by former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright.
Obama's transition team also named two Clinton officials, John P. White and Michele A. Flournoy, to oversee the takeover of the Defense Department.
Mr. White, 71, was deputy secretary of defense from 1995 to 1997 under President Clinton and assistant secretary of defense from 1977 to 1978 under President Jimmy Carter.
A former Marine lieutenant, he is a lecturer at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and a senior partner in Global Technology Partners, a firm founded by William J. Perry, defense secretary under Clinton that invests in military and technology companies.
Ms. Flournoy, 47, a deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and threat reduction in the Clinton administration, last year co- founded the nonprofit Center for a New American Security, a research organization closely associated with Obama's foreign policy team.
Last year, she helped write a paper urging a shift to "conditional engagement" in Iraq depending on the actions of the Iraqi government.
http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-239/0811133872171638.htm
See also: http://www.voy.com/129276/1263.html
~ ~ ~
MESSAGE SENT TO PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA’S TRANSITION TEAM
November 14, 2008
URGENT MESSAGE:
Joshua Gotbaum is unfit to serve in President-elect Barack Obama's transition team.
For some of the many legitimate reasons why, please see:
http://www.kycbs.net/CV05-00030-Witness-Gotbaum-Joshua.htm
http://www.kycbs.net/CV05-00030-Witness-Obama-Barack.htm
http://www.kycbs.net/JUSTICE.htm
Mahalo!
Bobby N. Harmon
~ ~ ~
NEW DISCOVERY (05-28-08): Undisclosed conflicts of interest between Randall Wulff, Larry Silverstein, U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, Joshua Gotbaum, David C. Farmer, Steven Guttman, Roy Hughes, Colbert Matsumoto, James Watanabe, J. Douglas Ing, Diane Hastert, Bert Kobayashi, Warren Price III, James Duca, Chubb Group, Marsh & McLennan, AIG, James T. Paul, Barack Obama, and others to be named upon discovery:
April 21, 2004
Wulff Chosen to Head 9/11 Panel
on WTC Loss
Attorney was picked by judge in New York to help
on panel determining value of damages
By Josh Richman, STAFF WRITER, The Oakland Tribune
An East Bay attorney and mediator will play a pivotal role in determining the amount of loss resulting from the World Trade Center's destruction at the hands of terrorists Sept. 11, 2001.
Randall W. Wulff of Piedmont was selected Tuesday by U.S. District Chief Judge Michael B. Mukasey of New York to be chief umpire on a three-person appraisal panel that will address reconstruction costs as well as rental value and business interruption damages. Hearings are expected to begin later this year.
The battle over the monetary costs of the World Trade Center's destruction, and who will be paid how much for those costs, has become almost as twisted as the wreckage of the towers. And the battle has turned somewhat political, with New York officials touting the rebuilding of Ground Zero as crucial to the region's economic recovery.
World Trade Center leaseholder Larry Silverstein claims his insurers owe him almost twice their policy limits -- as much as $6.8 billion -- based on a switch in insurance forms that he believes recognizes the two impacts by two hijacked jet airliners as two separate losses. His claim went to a six-man, six-woman federal jury Monday after a 10-week trial.
After the jury -- and those in future proceedings involving other members of Silverstein's jury pool -- has determined the extent of the insurers' liability, it'll be up to Wolff's panel to determine what the actual losses are.
Wulff was with San Francisco's Farella, Braun and Martel from 1974 -- first as a trial lawyer, and from 1994 on as a "neutral" mediator -- until 2000, when he cofounded Oakland's Wulff Quinby Sochynsky, which exclusively provides mediation, arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution services.
He has helped settle almost 2,000 cases in the past 15 years, including the recent $1.1 billion settlement of the California class action against Microsoft. He also has helped resolve monetary disputes related to renovation of the Oakland Arena and construction of other high-profile projects from ballparks to Las Vegas casinos. And he has authored, edited or co-edited books on alternative dispute resolution.
His firm's Web site says his daily fee is $9,500 for cases in the Bay Area or Sacramento, $11,000 for cases elsewhere.
Wulff holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Oregon, attended the Netherlands Institute of International Business and holds a law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.
http://www.wqsadr.com/articles.html
REFERENCES
A sample of names follows here. A lengthier list of specific references from counsel and parties in cases where Mr. Wulff has acted as mediator is also available upon request....
Hawaii
Diane D. Hastert, Esq.
Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
1600 Pauahi Tower, 1001 Bishop Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-531-8031
Bert T. Kobayashi, Esq.
Kobayashi, Sugita & Goda
First Hawaiian Center, Suite 2600
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-529-8700
Andrew Winer, Esq.
Winer Heheula & Devens
Pali Palms Plaza
970 North Kalaheo Ave, Suite A-300
Kailua, HI 96734
Telephone: 808-254-5855
David Schulmeister, Esq.
Cades Schutte Fleming & Wright
1000 Bishop Street, Suite 1000
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-521-9200
John T. Hoshibata, Esq.
Crabtree & Hoshibata
2300 Pauahi Tower
1001 Bishop Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-524-5644
Elton John Bain
Kessner Duca Umebayashi Bain & Matsunaga
19th Floor, Central Pacific Plaza
229 South King Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Warren Price III, Esq.
Price Okamoto Himeno & Lum
Ocean View Center
707 Richards Street, Suite 728
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-538-1113
Roy F. Hughes
Hughes & Taosaka
900 Pauahi Tower
1001 Bishop Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-526-9744
Brad S. Petrus
Tom Teetrus & Miller
The Arcade Building
212 Merchant Street, Suite 200
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-522-0800
Milton M. Yasunaga
Cades Schutte Law Firm
1000 Bishop Street, Suite 1200
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-521-9200
John T. Komeiji
Watanabe Ing & Komeiji
999 Bishop Street, 23rd Floor
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-544-8300
Roger Moseley
Moseley Biehl Tsugawa Lau & Muzzi
1100 Alakea Street, 23rd Floor
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-531-0490
James T. Paul, Esq.
Paul Johnson Park & Niles
Pacific Tower, 1001 Bishop St., Suite 1300
P.O.Box 4438
Honolulu, HI 96812
Telephone: 808-524-1212
James Lawhn
Oliver, Lau, Lawhn, Ogawa & Nakamura
707 Richards Street, Suite 600
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-533-3999
http://www.wqsadr.com/randallwwulff.html
~ ~ ~
NEW DISCOVERY (06/16/08):
Lawrence Franklin espionage scandal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
The Lawrence Franklin espionage scandal (also known as the AIPAC espionage scandal) refers to allegations that information regarding United States policy towards Iran was passed to Israel through Lawrence Franklin via staffers of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee [AIPAC].
Franklin, a former Defense Department employee, has pleaded guilty to several espionage-related charges and was sentenced in January 2006 to nearly thirteen years of prison. Two former AIPAC employees have also been indicted.
The investigation and prosecutions, which began in 1999, have attracted attention because critics of U.S. Israeli policy have claimed AIPAC has served as a conduit for Israel’s spying efforts with near impunity due to its powerful connections in Washington. Franklin's indictment mentioned but did not name several foreign diplomats, widely believed to be Israeli, as being involved with his efforts....
Continued at: http://www.kycbs.net/AIPAC.htm
See also: www.kycbs.net/Mossad.htm ; www.kycbs.net/Impeach-Bush.htm ; www.kycbs.net/CV05-00030-Witness-Farmer-David.htm ; www.kycbs.net/CV05-00030-Witness-Obama-Barack.htm; www.kycbs.net/CV05-00030-Witness-Clinton-Hillary.htm ; www.kycbs.net/CV05-00030-Witness-McCain-John.htm ; www.kycbs.net/CV05-00030-Witness-Guttman-Steven.htm
~ ~ ~
NEW DISCOVERY (06-04-08):
June 4, 2008
OBAMA WILL BE A GOOD FRIEND TO
ISRAEL, HILLARY CLINTON TELLS AIPAC
- OBAMA IS MY FRIEND
US presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton delivered an address to AIPAC in Washington on Wednesday morning.
Less than 24 hours after the Associated Press reported that Senator Barack Obama had clinched a sufficient number of delegates to claim the Democratic nomination, Clinton announced that it had been “an honor” for her “to contest this race with [him]” and that it was also an honor to call Obama her friend.
Clinton then stated that she knew “Obama will be a good friend to Israel” and that the presumptive Democratic nominee “shares [her] views” that the US stands with Israel “now and forever.”
The US presidential candidate opened her speech by praising the pro-Israel lobby group for engaging in the constitutionally protected activity of “exercising the right to petition,” and expressed her “pleasure” in representing “one of the largest Jewish constituencies” in her role as a senator from New York State.
Speaking in commemoration of Israel’s 60th anniversary, the senator lauded Israel by stating that the Jewish state’s story “demonstrates [that] democracy can flourish in the most difficult of environments.”
“What a remarkable 60 years it has been,” the former first lady said, noting that after nearly continual “trials and tears” since Israel’s independence, “the desert is blooming again.”
Turning to current threats faced by Israel, Clinton declared that “our hearts go out to residents of cities like Sderot,” who exist under a nearly continuous barrage of Kassam rocket attacks.
In contrast to Obama, who expressed a deep commitment to Israel’s security, the New York senator also made mention of Israel’s security barrier. She recalled her visit to the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo, where she witnessed the barrier “protecting families.” She went on to say that she has “spoken up for the right of Israeli families to have that protective fence.”
At the close of her speech, Clinton outlined what she considered to be three important points of her Middle East and Israel foreign policy.
First, she stressed the importance of continued US support for Israel, including the 2 billion dollars of US military aid [a.k.a. US Taxpayers’ aid] given annually and cautioned against pressuring Israel to make unilateral concessions or implement “made in America” solutions to the conflict.
Secondly, she said that “no nuclear weapons for Iran” with its “president who denies the Holocaust” must be a central component of American policy in the region. Clinton reiterated her previous calls to have the US Congress define the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terror organization.
Lastly, Clinton stressed the importance of standing up against “hatred and anti-Semitism wherever they are found” and said that “every fair-thinking person must be concerned.”
Continuing to highlight the fight against anti-Semitism, she said that the “debacle at Durban” should never be repeated and even went as far to say that perhaps the “US should boycott” the so-called Durban II conference should it contain anti-Semitism rhetoric.
Despite her opponent Barack Obama having claimed victory on Tuesday evening, Senator Clinton made no mention of it, nor did she hint at conceding her campaign.
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=13574
~ ~ ~
June 6, 2008
Top Pro-Abortion Group Emily's List Endorses
Barack Obama for President
by Steven Ertelt, Editor, www.LifeNews.com
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Another top pro-abortion group says it's in Barack Obama's corner in his battle for the White House against John McCain. Emily's List released a statement today saying it is behind Obama now that he has virtually wrapped up the Democratic nomination.
Ellen R. Malcolm, the president of the group, released a statement today saying she supports the pro-abortion senator.
"Now that the primaries have concluded, I wholeheartedly congratulate Sen. Barack Obama. He has inspired millions of Americans and shown that he is more than ready to take on Sen. John McCain," she said.
"The differences between Sens. Obama and McCain dwarf the nuanced policy differences between Obama and Clinton," she added. "We can never forget what John McCain stands for: a steadfast determination to overturn Roe vs. Wade."
"I know that EMILY’s List members, like all Democrats, will be unified in our determination to undo the damage created by George W. Bush and the Republicans," she added. "I am confident that our party will come together to take the White House in November."
Emily's List had endorsed Hillary Clinton in the Democratic Party and it condemned fellow abortion advocates NARAL when the latter group came out in support of Obama just weeks ago.
Malcolm's group, also ran advertisements against Obama during the primaries that upset Planned Parenthood and other abortion activists who know Obama is just as pro-abortion as Clinton.
Malcolm displayed that affection for Clinton in the statement, that read more like a farewell message for Clinton than an endorsement of Obama.
Ultimately, Malcolm admitted she knows Clinton "will use that power to help Democrats, including Sen. Obama, win."
During the primary campaign, Obama came under criticism from Ramona Oliver, communications director for EMILY's List, who complained he is all flash and no substance and that he wouldn't do as well if he were a woman.
"All of the substance, all of the work, all of the policies, all of the accomplishments probably don't come off as flashy," she says of the comparison between Clinton's image and Obama's.
~ ~ ~
NEW DISCOVERY (06-04-08):
June 4, 2008
Obama backers hope for visit
Months ago, he said he wanted to return to Hawai'i after campaign
By DERRICK DePLEDGE, Advertiser Government Writer
Local volunteers for U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois are hoping he comes to Hawai'i now that he has likely clinched the Democratic presidential nomination.
Obama, who was born here and graduated from Punahou School, missed his annual holiday visit with family last year because of his campaign schedule. He told local reporters before the February caucuses he wanted to return to the Islands after the nomination campaign was over.
Obama has campaigned in every state except Hawai'i and Alaska.
Last night, in a victory speech in Minnesota — site of the rival GOP national convention in September — Obama dedicated the historic moment to his maternal grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, a retired bank vice president who lives at a Beretania Street apartment.
Obama described Dunham as someone who "poured everything she had into me, and who helped to make me the man I am today. Tonight is for her."
Andy Winer, an attorney and Democratic strategist involved with the local Obama campaign, said a personal visit or campaign stop is on the table now that Obama likely has the nomination. Unconfirmed news media reports last month speculated Obama might visit as part of a biographical tour of his life.
His maternal grandfather, Stanley Dunham, who fought in World War II, is buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl. Maya Soetoro-Ng, his sister and a history teacher at La Pietra Hawai'i School for Girls, lives here with her husband, Konrad, and their daughter.
Dunham, his grandmother, has declined interview requests. "Thank you for thinking of me," she said yesterday.
"I don't think that they're in a position yet to announce what they're going to be doing as far as plans for the general" election, Winer said of the Obama campaign. "We're certainly hoping that he decides to come out here, though."
Obama would be favored to take Hawai'i's four electoral votes in November over U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican nominee. Hawai'i has been a reliably blue state in presidential elections since statehood. The only Republican presidential candidates who have won here are Richard Nixon in 1972 and Ronald Reagan in 1984.
Winer said local Obama volunteers will continue to raise money and build grassroots support. Obama has raised about $1 million in the Islands, which activists believe is unprecedented for a presidential campaign, and helped draw a record 37,500 people to the caucuses.
'Historic day' for state
Local volunteers will also provide some support for the Obama campaign in likely swing states in the West such as Nevada, Oregon and Washington, where there are many Hawai'i transplants. Volunteers made thousands of telephone calls to former Hawai'i residents living in Nevada before the Nevada caucuses in January.
"Hawai'i should be very proud of having a presidential nominee. It's obviously a historic day for the state to have somebody born and raised as one of the presidential candidates," Winer said. "Locally, we look forward to supporting his presidential campaign in any way that we can."
In Hawai'i, Democrats will have to repair any lingering rifts between Obama loyalists and supporters of U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York. Unity was a theme of the party's state convention last month, but, behind the scenes, some emotions are still raw.
"It's going to take some effort on the part of supporters of both candidates to unite after a long and tough primary," said Brian Schatz, the new state party chairman who was active in the local Obama campaign. "What we have going for us, as a party, is that we've had an extraordinary gift of these two candidates that have generated unprecedented enthusiasm.
"If we are able to combine our forces, we're going to see a Democratic president."
Richard Port, a Democratic national committeeman and former party chairman who is a superdelegate, said, for now, he is staying with Clinton. Even on the day Obama captured enough delegates for the nomination, Clinton won the primary in South Dakota.
"It concerns me that she's winning so many of the states when the media has been pounding her," Port said. "I'm going to support the nominee. And if it is Barack, I'm going to support him. But I have real concerns about the current situation."
Obama won 14 of Hawai'i's delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August through the party's caucuses in February. Clinton won six delegates. Obama also secured endorsements of seven of the state's nine superdelegates to the convention. Hawai'i has 29 delegates to the convention in all.
GOP not impressed
Willes Lee, the Hawai'i Republican Party chairman, described the Democratic nomination campaign as divisive and said millions of "voters in his own party don't believe he is fit to be commander in chief."
"Mr. Obama might be able to fool the Democratic Party about his lack of judgment and experience but he won't be so fortunate with the majority of Americans in November," Lee said in a statement. "His policies of raising taxes on small businesses and families are the wrong type of change for America. John McCain is the trusted and experienced leader that will protect our country, grow our economy, and bring the right type of change that Americans desire."
State Senate Minority Leader Fred Hemmings, R-25th (Kailua, Waimanalo, Hawai'i Kai), said local Democrats celebrating Obama's delegate victory are being hypocritical. He said Democrats backed a bill, which became law after Gov. Linda Lingle's veto was overriden, that would commit Hawai'i to join a compact with other states to elect the president by national popular vote instead of the Electoral College.
Hawai'i's electoral votes would go to the winner of the popular vote, not the winner in the Islands. Hemmings said Clinton won the majority of the votes in the primaries and caucuses nationally while Obama took the most delegates.
He called it a "typical politically correct contradiction" for local Democrats to champion Obama while at the same time backing the national popular vote in electing presidents.
"Obviously, they have created a mess for themselves in their primary elections," Hemmings said. "I'm surprised they haven't tried to blame it on President Bush."
Jacce Mikulanec, a local Obama volunteer and state House staffer, is elated that the nomination campaign is over.
"It seems like this process has been going on for a long time, and now it's finally over," he said. "I think America chose the right candidate. And I think Hawai'i chose the right candidate. I think over the next few days, the party is going to come together, and the country is going to come together."
~ ~ ~
NEW DISCOVERY (05-10-08): Barack Obama outlines plans to debate John McCain, and says questioning McCain’s role in the “Keating Five” savings and loan affair is “fair game”:
May 10, 2008
Obama outlines plans for
race against McCain
By CHARLES BABINGTON and SARA KUGLER, Associated Press Writers
BEND, Ore. - Barack Obama began sketching the outlines of his expected presidential contest against Republican John McCain on Saturday, saying the fall election will be more about specific plans and priorities than about questions of political ideology or who is more patriotic.
Barely mentioning Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama said he was open to campaigning with McCain in "town hall" events. But he also warned that controversial issues such as McCain's ties to the Keating Five savings and loan scandal are fair game, and he called McCain's proposal for a temporary halt in the federal gasoline tax a pander and a gimmick....
Speaking with reporters in Bend, Ore., Obama brushed aside suggestions that the fall campaign may be largely about his race, liberalism or patriotism.
"In a contest between myself and John McCain," he said, "there is going to be a very clear choice on policy that I don't think is going to have to do with ideology and who theoretically is more liberal or who's more conservative. I think it is going to have to do with who has a plan to provide relief to people when it comes to their gas prices, who has a real plan to make sure that everybody has health insurance, who's got a real plan to deal with college affordability."
"So rather than an abstract set of questions about, 'Is he too liberal, is he too conservative, how do voters handle an African American, et cetera,' I think this is going to be a very concrete contest around very specific plans for how we improve the lives of Americans and our vision for the future," he said.
Obama said he realizes he must continue introducing himself to millions of Americans who do not know him well, and acknowledged that some question his patriotism because he no longer wears a lapel flag pin.
He said the test of patriotism "is whether we are true to the ideals and values upon which this country was founded," and willing to fight for them "even when it's politically inconvenient."
Obama said McCain has received "a free pass" while he and Clinton have battled for months.
McCain, he said, "has a straight-talker image, but it's not clear that lately he's been following through on that image. I mean, this gas tax holiday was a pander. He didn't even have a way of paying for it."
The McCain campaign noted that Obama, as an Illinois state senator, once voted for a temporary gas tax suspension. Obama now says he made a mistake.
Obama was asked Saturday if the fall campaign might touch on the 1987 Keating Five scandal, in which the Senate Ethics Committee said McCain used "poor judgment" for allegedly pressing regulators to go easy on the owner of a failed Arizona savings and loan who was also a campaign contributor.
Obama said there is no doubt the Keating Five case is "germane to the presidency."
"I can't quarrel with the American people wanting to know more about that," he said....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080510/ap_on_el_pr/democrats
~ ~ ~
NEW DISCOVERY (04-22-08): David Farmer’s undisclosed connections with AIPAC and Senator Barack Obama:
From Exhibit: “CONNECTING THE DIRTY DOTS TO AIPAC”:
David C. Farmer, Successor-Trustee vs. Harmon
(Formerly Woo vs. Harmon & Nicholson vs. Harmon)
CV05-00030 DAE KSC
U.S. District Court For the District of Hawaii
Judges: David A. Ezra; Kevin S. Chang
—
DEFENDANT’S EXHIBIT
—
A few words of explanation:
In his "MEMORANDUM IN OPPOSITION TO DEBTOR'S MOTION FOR ORDER TO DISAPPROVE APPOINTMENT OF DAVID C. FARMER AS SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE", filed with the Court on August 24, 2007, the Trustee's attorney, Steven Guttman, Esq., of the law firm, Kessner Umebayashi Bain & Matsunaga, stated to the Court:
"... Harmon is once again attempting to create issues of conflict where none exist by attempting to draw connections between phantom dots."...
Mr. Guttman does not elaborate beyond this simple statement of HIS PERSONAL OPINION, as to WHICH of the thousands of connections I have cited that he wishes the Court to accept, without question, as being merely "phantom dots". In other court filings, Mr. Guttman has characterized my Motions as consisting of "conspiracy theories" -- again with no specific references.
Despite these unnamed "phantom dots" and "conspiracy theories", the Court has blithely and unquestionably gone along with Mr. Guttman's opinions and has repeatedly denied ALL Motions that I have made. In fact, both Courts involved have ruled that the Court Clerk shall not accept any future filings from me without the Courts' prior approval - which it has repeatedly declined to give.
Therefore, due to the fact that I continue to discover new, material FACTS almost daily, I am preparing a set of NEW EXHIBITS in which I intend to document the financial, professional, personal, and political connections between the many various entities involved in this case....
LEARN MORE ABOUT AIPAC:
http://www.stopaipac.org/spystory.htm
http://jews4obama2008.wordpress.com/
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com
www.hadassah.org/education/content/influentials_israel.asp
http://www.jewishaz.com/jewishnews/021108/hawaii.shtml
http://www.tbrnews.org/Archives/a1721.htm
http://www.antiwar.com/cole/?articleid=3467
http://www.philipweiss.org/mondoweiss/2007/06/lfow.html
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=AIPAC
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/01/03/6138/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zidtiC-UPNU
http://www.franklingate.com/aipac-cheney.htm
http://www.kycbs.net/AIPAC-Obama.mht
http://www.kycbs.net/AIPAC-Bush-Abramoff-Greenberg.mht
http://www.kycbs.net/AIPAC-Mische-7-11-7.mht
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vwV6O5AGKyw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8gHmJUa720
http://ifamericaknew.com/us_ints/mc-aipac.html
http://www.antiwar.com/glantz/?articleid=9697
www.literarylotus.com/2007/12/wimr-brian-schatz.html
http://www.kycbs.net/AIPAC-Lingle-Abramoff-Brownstein.mht
~ ~ ~
http://www.midweek.com/content/paina/image_full/2090/
http://www.greatergoodtelevision.com/gallery/v/RadioGuests/
~ ~ ~
NEW DISCOVERY (05-04-08): David Farmer’s undisclosed connections with AIPAC, Linda Lingle and Barack Obama:
April 1, 2008
Murdoch’s Daughter Hosts
Obama Fund-Raiser
By Michael Luo
Insert a new twist to the political parlor game that involves following the moves of Rupert Murdoch and his clan: his daughter, Elisabeth, is hosting at her London home a fund-raiser for Senator Barack Obama.
Ms. Murdoch is one of a slew of “event chairs,” which also includes Gwyneth Paltrow, for the April 28 event at Ms. Murdoch’s home in Notting Hill. David Blood, who runs an investment fund with former Vice President Al Gore that specializes in environmentally-friendly companies, is also listed as an “event host.”
A contribution of $2,300 offers access to the V.I.P. reception; attendance to the main event only requires a $1,000 donation.
Mr. Murdoch, of course, is chairman of the News Corporation, which includes under its umbrella Fox News and the New York Post. Mr. Murdoch had a much-discussed rapprochement with Mrs. Clinton two years ago, when the Post endorsed Mrs. Clinton in her Senate campaign and he held a fund-raiser for her. Last year, he even contributed $2,300 to her presidential campaign.
But the Post endorsed Mr. Obama just before the crush of states that voted on Feb. 5 in a bruising editorial that excoriated Mrs. Clinton, causing media observers to declare that the honeymoon was over for this political odd couple.
Ms. Murdoch, 39, is Mr. Murdoch’s second daughter, one of three children from Mr. Murdoch’s second marriage, who as a group represent the locus of where the betting over who might succeed him has centered.
She holds dual citizenship in the United States and Britain and left British Sky Broadcasting, in which News Corporation is a major investor and she was managing director of Sky Networks, in 2000 to start her own media company, Shine Ltd. She is married to Matthew Freud—great-grandson of Sigmund Freud—a prominent public relations executive in London.
Reached on his boat floating in the Tobago Cays today, Mr. Freud said not much should be read into his wife’s role as a host.
“I don’t think you can interpret the event as anything other than she is enthusiastic about Obama’s campaign,” Mr. Freud said.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/01/
~ ~ ~
December 7, 2007
Oprah Winfrey Presents: Barack Obama
Examining the Transitive Property of a Media Mogul's Endorsement
By NITYA VENKATARAMAN
In the world of retail, there's star power, there's celebrity endorsement and then there's Oprah Winfrey. Her Midas touch saves names from anonymity, best sellers from dusty storerooms and favorite things from Internet obscurity.
But as Winfrey has long chosen abstinence in the arena of political endorsements and campaign-trail theater, her capital remains untested. Until now.
In May, Winfrey affirmed her support for Sen. Barack Obama's presidential candidacy to Larry King, describing Obama's leadership as "worth me going out on a limb for." In September, the media titan feted Obama at a California fundraiser, raking in more than $3 million for the Illinois senator's White House bid.
And this weekend, Winfrey hits the trail with the Democratic candidate, making appearances alongside Obama in Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire. Though Winfrey made a third-quarter contribution to Obama's primary bid, she acknowledged that because of contribution limits, "my money isn't going to make any difference to him. I think that my value to him, my support of him, is probably worth more than a check."
Cashing In on 'The Oprah Effect'
Political science professor Matt Baum, who published a research paper "The Oprah Effect" for a 2006 study, described Winfrey as a "nonpartisan, above-the-fray, trusted source for women" who politically "has been difficult to pigeonhole," which Baum said, "furthers her ability to come into it now."
Acknowledging the power of Winfrey's glitter, Baum believes that ultimately she'll have little effect on whether or not Obama can harness the numbers necessary to seize the Democratic presidential nomination.
"By virtue of having endorsed Obama, she's no longer above the fray -- she's in the fray," said Baum, a decision he said could erode Winfrey's capital, since she probably has "more credibility than any other celebrity that lives."...
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=3965092&page=1
~ ~ ~
September 26, 2007
Hsu raised big money
for Clinton supporters
Candidates she courted benefit
By Scott Helman, Boston Globe
Disgraced fund-raiser Norman Hsu did a lot more than just pump $850,000 into Hillary Clinton's campaign bank account: He also raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for local, state, and federal candidates who have endorsed Clinton or whose support she courted.
A major fund-raiser for Democrats since 2003, Hsu became one of Clinton's biggest bundlers - gathering scores of individual checks and sending them to her campaign. But since revelations last month that Hsu was a fugitive in a 15-year-old California fraud case, Clinton has said she would return the $850,000 she has taken from him and his associates.
In at least some cases, Clinton or her aides directly channeled contributions from Hsu and his network to other politicians supportive of her presidential campaign, according to interviews and campaign finance records. There is nothing illegal about one politician steering wealthy contributors to another, but the New York senator's close ties to Hsu have become an embarrassment for her and her campaign.
Last fall, as the Nevada governor's race was heating up, Clinton agreed to help raise money for Democrat Dina Titus, a prominent party leader in a state that holds a key early presidential caucus. Clinton arranged for Hsu, at the time a little-known New York apparel executive with no apparent reason to take interest in Nevada politics, to give Titus $5,000 on Nov. 3, according to a person with knowledge of Clinton's fund-raising.
And in February, when former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack ended his own White House bid, he was about $450,000 in the red. A month after dropping out, Vilsack endorsed Clinton, and Clinton agreed to help him retire his debts. (Both insisted there was no quid pro quo.)
Over the next few months, some of Clinton's biggest fund-raisers gave Vilsack checks, including Hsu, who kicked in the maximum allowable contribution, $2,300, on May 3 after attending an event organized by Clinton's campaign, Newsweek reported this month. An associate of Hsu's, Paul Su, chipped in $1,000 on the same day.
In other cases, Clinton helped direct Hsu's money to influential politicians who have yet to endorse her but hail from key presidential primary states. Clinton raised at least $6,000 from Hsu and his network last year for Governor John Lynch of New Hampshire, according to Lynch aides. Lynch has no plans to endorse anyone before the state's crucial January primary, aides said.
And at least some of the $17,000 that Governor Jennifer Granholm of Michigan collected from Hsu and his associates in 2005 and 2006 stems from a Nov. 29, 2005, fund-raising reception for her hosted by Steven Rattner, a New York investment firm executive and major Clinton donor seen as a candidate for US Treasury secretary if Clinton wins. Granholm's office said she has not made an endorsement decision.
Clinton's campaign acknowledged that they urged Hsu to give to fellow Democrats.
"We frequently encourage supporters of ours to donate to other Democrats - Mr. Hsu was no exception," Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson said in an e-mail.
Federal prosecutors in New York unsealed a separate criminal complaint against Hsu on Thursday, charging him with breaking campaign finance laws by giving to Clinton and other candidates in other people's names and with running a "massive" Ponzi scheme to defraud investors out of more than $60 million.
Clinton's critics have said that her relationship to Hsu dredges up memories of the fund-raising scandals that dogged her husband, Bill, in the White House in the 1990s. Hillary Clinton has sought to limit the damage by vowing more thorough background checks on major donors.
A spokesman for Hsu, Robert Emmers, declined to comment.
Campaign finance records show numerous contributions from Hsu and his associates to Clinton supporters.
In New Hampshire, Senate President Sylvia Larsen's Democratic Caucus committee received $5,000 from Hsu in September 2006; Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan collected more than $20,000 from Hsu and his associates; Senator Mark Pryor of Arkansas took in about $11,000; and Senator Dianne Feinstein of California received at least $17,000.
Hsu and his network also gave nearly $50,000 to Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa. Harkin has not endorsed anyone, but his wife, Ruth, is a major Clinton backer.
In addition, Hsu and his associates have contributed tens of thousands of dollars to state and local Democratic Party organizations and candidates around the country, including more than $100,000 to Governor Eliot Spitzer of New York and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo of New York, both of whom have endorsed Clinton. On Feb. 21, Hsu dipped into Chicago city politics, giving $3,500 to Alderman Danny Solis, the brother of Patti Solis Doyle, Clinton's campaign manager.
Hsu is hardly the only "Hillraiser" - donors who raise at least $100,000 for Clinton - to have spread his or her largesse in key primary states. For example, Elaine Schuster of Chestnut Hill, one of Clinton's biggest supporters in Massachusetts, gave $5,000 in October 2006 to Chet Culver, then a Democratic candidate for governor of Iowa. Culver is now governor but has not endorsed anyone in the presidential race.
Clinton said in a National Public Radio interview last week that Hsu's past was "a rude awakening to all of us - I mean, not only in my campaign, but the dozens of campaigns going back to, I guess, 2003 and '04 who, you know, took contributions. None of us caught this and we all ran searches."
But the Los Angeles Times reported earlier this month that a California businessman had warned the campaign about Hsu in June and that a Clinton aide dismissed the concerns. "I can tell you with 100 [percent] certainty that Norman Hsu is NOT involved in a ponzi scheme. He is COMPLETELY legit," Samantha Wolf, Clinton's former West Coast campaign finance director, wrote in an e-mail to a California Democratic Party official, the Times reported.
Other Democratic presidential hopefuls have collected money from Hsu and his network, including Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, and Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico. But Clinton has been by far the biggest beneficiary of Hsu, who was reportedly trying to establish himself as one of her elite fund-raisers by pulling in more than $1 million.
Most recipients of his contributions have said they will return the money or donate it to charity....
See also:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT9xHP8ITwc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W05NRa-l1ls
~ ~ ~
Senator Barack Obama has supported The Nature Conservancy’s projects in Illinois:
Conservancy Applauds Congressional Appropriations Bill for Shawnee National Forest
Congressional Action Demonstrates Commitment to
Protecting Important Natural Area in Illinois
CHICAGO—One of Illinois’ largest natural areas is expected to get even bigger with the FY ’06 Interior Appropriations Bill recently approved by Congress that designates $250,000 for Shawnee National Forest.
This funding will enable the U.S. Forest Service to acquire land within the purchase boundaries of the forest from willing sellers.
“The Nature Conservancy applauds Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Barack Obama (D-IL) for helping to ensure funding for important conservation work in Southern Illinois,” said Carl Becker, associate state director of conservation programs for The Nature Conservancy in Illinois....
The Shawnee National Forest is the largest publicly owned body of land in the state, but less than one-third of the acreage within its authorized boundaries is national forest system land.
Since 2001, The Nature Conservancy has acquired and then conveyed 180 acres of strategically located land in the western part of the forest to the U.S. Forest Service. The Nature Conservancy currently owns 382 acres within the forest.
“Our goal is to create a 100,000-acre block within the forest that is a safe haven for nesting songbirds,” said Mike Baltz, The Nature Conservancy’s Southern Illinois projects director.
The Shawnee National Forest is one of the most biologically diverse areas of Illinois. More than 500 species of wildlife have been recorded within the forest, including the endangered Indiana bat and six other federally listed threatened or endangered species....
~ ~ ~
January 2, 2007
Obama’s dirty-money Hawaii connection
Hawai`i Free Press, by Andrew Walden
Barack Hussein Obama is the closest Democrats can come to electing a foreign Muslim President of the United States without actually violating the constitutional requirement that American Presidents be native-born.
Obama’s nomination would follow in the footsteps of 2004 Democrat presidential candidate John Forbes Kerry, whose French-language Swiss boarding school education made him the closest thing to a European socialist able to run for President of the US without violating the constitution.
Not only does Obama’s name sound like some kind of sick Islamist joke on America—a candidate whose moniker invokes both Saddam Hussein and Osama bin-Laden—but he would be the first madrassa-educated American President. Moreover Obama is subject to a standing order of death to any Muslim who abandons Islam as Obama formally did when he finally joined Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ in the early 1990s just prior to his first political campaign.
While it is tempting to dismiss Obama as a lightweight who is peaking too early in the election season, comparisons with another Democrat presidential candidate—Bill Clinton—should give pause to any who might dismiss his candidacy as a fad. The Clinton parallels include early dirty-money backing from Hawaii Democrats.
Obama, born in Honolulu in 1961, has not only a Muslim father, the late Barack Hussein Obama Sr. of Kenya, but a Muslim step-father as well. His first father left when Obama was two. His mother divorced and soon remarried Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian oil manager. Obama’s first campaign book is titled, “Dreams from My Father: A story of race and inheritance.”
The new family moved to Jakarta Indonesia in 1967 when Obama was six. Indonesia was still reeling from a Muslim war with the Maoists leading to the death of between 300,000 and 1 million Indonesians.
According to a March 2004 Salon.com article by Scott Turow, Obama in Jakarta spent "two years in a Muslim school, then two more in a Catholic school." He was then sent back to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandmother and attend the private secular Punahou School from grade five through high school graduation.
Growing up without a father in the house is not Obama’s only Clinton common denominator. There’s drug abuse too. In Dreams from My Father, Obama writes about smoking marijuana and snorting cocaine during his teenage years.
Obama studied for two years at California’s Occidental College then continuing at Columbia University, where he majored in political science with a specialization in international relations. He also studied for three years at Harvard Law School.
Occidental, Columbia and Harvard are all places where conservative students and faculty are denied academic freedom.
Obama’s life: Raised in Muslim lands and educated in Muslim schools, then sent to a secular high school serving the children of Hawaii’s Democrat-controlled political and business elite. Graduating to secular US colleges run by academic leftists. Not a pretty picture, as Obama himself explains in a June 28, 2006 speech:
“I was not raised in a particularly religious household, as undoubtedly many in the audience were. My father, who returned to Kenya when I was just two, was born Muslim but as an adult became an atheist. My mother, whose parents were non-practicing Baptists and Methodists, was probably one of the most spiritual and kindest people I've ever known, but grew up with a healthy skepticism of organized religion herself. As a consequence, so did I.”
Beyond corrupt Hawaii Democrats, leftist academia and cultural secularism, Obama has another Clinton characteristic: shady land deals. A standard method for bankrolling the lifestyle of up-and-coming Democrat politicians, in Obama’s case his associate in the deal is already indicted by a federal grand jury. The December 24 ChicagoTribune documents Obama’s relationship with political fundraiser Antoin ‘Tony’ Rezko and Illinois businessman Joseph Aramanda —both of whom are named in a federal investigation of bribery of Illinois state officials. Rezko was indicted by a federal grand jury in October and Aramanda is named as an un-indicted co-conspirator.
According to the Tribune, “Rezko, a real-estate and fast-food entrepreneur, has emerged as a central figure in a series of state government corruption scandals. He began cultivating a friendship with Obama around 1990, becoming a key fundraiser…".
In June 2005, even as Rezko was widely reported to be under federal investigation, the Tribune reports, “Obama bought a $1.65 million South Side home on the same day that Rezko's wife purchased the adjoining garden lot for $625,000. Obama and Rezko then engaged in a series of private transactions to redivide and improve their adjoining parcels.”
Obama’s corrupt backers in Illinois’ seamy and fetid political swamps are matched only by the unsavory gaggle of politically-connected supporters assembling to back his candidacy in Hawaii. Obama’s Hawaii support comes from a group of Democrat politicos around former Governor John Waihee.
~ ~ ~
NEW DISCOVERY (08/14/08): David Farmer’s undisclosed relationships with Marsh & McLennan; Mercer Consulting Services; Aloha Airlines; Hawaiian Airlines; Earl Anzai; Lyn Anzai; Joshua Gotbaum; AIPAC; Ben Cayetano; Linda Lingle; others:
March 17, 2002
Dead air deal rankles Aloha
By Susan Hooper, Honolulu Advertiser
The proposed merger between the state's two local airlines foundered because Hawaiian Airlines wanted to change the terms of the agreement, including eliminating the Houston consulting firm coordinating the deal, the chief executive of Aloha Airlines said in a statement today.
Hawaiian's proposal also would have given Hawaiian chairman John Adams the top spots in the merged airline, eliminating Greg Brenneman, the TurnWorks executive who had been orchestrating the merger, according to Glenn Zander, Aloha's president and chief executive officer.
"Aloha could not accept Hawaiian's new proposal because in our judgment, it was not in the best interest of the state, the traveling public or Aloha's shareholders and employees," Zander said.
The details emerged a day after Hawaiian said it was pulling out of the deal because it did not wish to extend what it called an April 18 "outside date for completing the merger." It said increasing costs and risks of the deal were factors.
The announcement surprised many in the state, including employees of both airlines and state legislators who as late as last Tuesday had held a hearing on the merger.
Today, Zander said Hawaiian's action was "regrettable" and said members of Aloha's board of directors voted unanimously to reject Hawaiian's proposal. He also praised Brenneman and TurnWorks for their work on the merger.
Hawaiian spokesman Keoni Wagner said tonight, "We don't necessarily agree with Aloha's characterization of the negotiations, but we also choose not to discuss publicly what would otherwise be private conversations."
The apparent power grab by Adams came even though he and his affiliated companies would have been the financial winners if the merger had gone through. Adams stood to receive assets valued at about $109 million. Adams, his companies and other Hawaiian shareholders also would have held a 52 percent stake in the new airline.
Under terms of the original merger, the shareholders of privately owned Aloha Airlines — many of them relatives of the company founders — would have gotten 28 percent of the merged airline, worth an estimated $56 million.
TurnWorks would have received a 20 percent stake in the company.
For more than a year, Aloha and its consultant have viewed TurnWorks and Brenneman as essential to the success of the merger, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission last month that outlined how the merger came about.
Aloha's consultant, Mercer Management, initially approached Brenneman in February 2001 asking whether he wanted to invest in the airline. In July, Brenneman, a former top executive with Continental Airlines, met further with Mercer to discuss a possible investment and subsequent merger with Hawaiian.
Hawaiian officials, contacted in August, initially appeared cool to the idea but after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and subsequent downturn in travel, they agreed to "discuss a possible merger involving the two airlines and TurnWorks," according to the documents.
On Sept. 22, according to the documents, Mercer and senior management officials of Aloha and Hawaiian met and Mercer proposed that both airlines should continue to include Brenneman and TurnWorks in the merger discussions as Brenneman "was likely to be an important factor in creating an agreement between the two airlines, leading the integration efforts, and running the combined carrier and in generating maximum value for shareholders of both companies."
On Sept. 25, the documents say, all parties agreed to proceed with merger talks. They also agreed "that the involvement of TurnWorks and Brenneman would be an important factor in consummating a deal, as past efforts to combine the two airlines were not successful."
TurnWorks officials said in a statement today, "We were surprised and disappointed (by Hawaiian's decision) ... The failure to extend the timetable essentially precludes completing this complex transaction....
The abrupt end to the merger, which was announced Dec. 19, leaves the future of the two airlines and of Hawai'i's interisland airline market uncertain. In announcing the deal three months ago, executives with both airlines said they needed to merge because conditions in the airline industry — and in the interisland market in particular — had made it impossible for them to survive separately.
After the Sept. 11 attacks, both airlines lost tens of thousands of dollars a day and furloughed hundreds of workers. In recent weeks, as the Mainland economy has recovered, there have been signs of improvement in the local airline market.
Still, documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission show that Aloha is financially more vulnerable than Hawaiian. The privately held airline has more debt on its books and reported a $1.25 million loss at the end of the third quarter Sept. 30. The airline also has smaller and older aircraft and fewer flights to the Mainland.
Today Zander said Aloha has its own business plan to move ahead "on a stand-alone basis." Aloha spokesman Stu Glauberman said Zander will be meeting with Aloha's employees' union executives tomorrow.
Before the announcements over the weekend, the two airlines had been working on a joint application to take advantage of a special antitrust exemption granted by Congress last November to cooperate on some operations, such as routes, scheduling and pricing....
Gov. Ben Cayetano had been a supporter of the merger and said today, "The failure of the merger had nothing to do with the U.S. Department of Justice, the state Legislature or public opposition. This was a business decision that we will have to accept. The state administration will do its best to try to assure that Hawai'i will continue to have two viable interisland carriers."
State Sen. Ron Menor, D-18th (Mililani, Waipahu, Crestview), chairman of the Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing Committee, had opposed the merger and his committee took part in statewide hearings....
The mood among workers at Honolulu's interisland terminal was split between the two airlines today, with Aloha employees grim-faced and in no mood to talk about the failed merger, and Hawaiian employees buoyant.
Baggage handlers outside the Hawaiian half of the terminal this afternoon burst into ebullient giggles when asked how they and their co-workers felt about the merger being called off.
"We still have our jobs!" said Thad Estrada, one of the Hawaiian handlers. "Everybody is pretty happy right now. There had been a lot of stress lately, and then today, even though all the schedules and everything are still the same, everybody is smiling. It sure makes the day go better."...
Outside the terminal, Tammy Castro of Mililani and Diane Halemano of Makakilo grew tired of driving around the airport while waiting to pick up relatives, and parked in a lot to talk until their cell phones rang.
"Did you see about the merger?" Castro said. "Oh, I am so happy."
Castro said she'd signed a petition earlier, asking that the merger be stopped.
"They'd have a monopoly on the fares, and we'd have no one else to go to," she said. "We need a choice. People would lose their jobs and we already have enough unemployment. Besides," she added. "No offense, but I just love Aloha."
~ ~ ~
NEW DISCOVERY (05-08-08): David Farmer’s undisclosed conflicts of interest with Hawaiian Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines’ Chairman and CEO, Mark Dunkerley:
May 10, 2004
Hawaiian Airlines' president in holding pattern
By Debbie Sokei, Advertiser Staff Writer
The future of the man credited in large part with turning Hawaiian Airlines into a profitable venture once again will be up to the group that wins the bidding to take over the airline.
Forty-year-old Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian's president and chief operating officer, joined the airline in January 2003 after a career with British Airways and Belgian carrier Sabena Airlines.
Since Dunkerley joined Hawaiian, the carrier has posted 12 consecutive months of operating profits and has ranked as the nation's No. 1 on-time airline for the past five months.
But while Hawaiian's path appears clear and on track to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September, Dunkerley's future remains in limbo.
"You'd like to think when the new owners come in and the current management team is doing a good job, you would think they would keep them," said Bill Oliver, consultant with the Boyd Group, a Colorado-based airline consulting firm. "Unfortunately, that is not always the case."
Several bidders have proposed to take Hawaiian out of bankruptcy, and one plan will be chosen by Federal Bankruptcy Judge Robert Faris on Aug. 31.
Hawaiian filed for bankruptcy in March 2003 after the airline failed to reach agreement with Boeing Capital Corp. on lowering the cost of leases for Hawaiian's planes.
Corporate Recovery Group LLC, a Wyoming-based turnaround company and one of the bidders, said it will bring in its own management team if its plan is selected.
Bruce Nobles, former CEO of Hawaiian and a member of CRG, said he hasn't had the opportunity to talk to Dunkerley about staying on should that company prevail. "It's premature for me to speculate if he will be part of the team," Nobles said.
Hawaiian Holdings Inc., the parent company of Hawaiian Airlines, and Vx Capital Inc., a San Francisco-based airline investment company, are also proposing to take over the airlines.
Both investor groups have said they would retain Dunkerley.
Stephen Compagni Portis, a partner in Vx Capital, said Dunkerley has an impressive track record.
"If we are going to make an investment of $30 million, we need to be highly confident in the man who is going to lead this airline going forward as CEO," Portis said. "In a short period of time, Dunkerley has achieved some very impressive top-line revenues and bottom-line profitability."
Steadier performance
Hawaiian reported operating profit of $77.5 million and net loss of $49.5 million for 2003, compared with an operating loss of $52.2 million and a net loss of $57.4 million in 2002. The company also reported positive cash flow of $87 million for 2003, compared with $71 million the year before.
John Adams, chairman of Hawaiian Holdings, hired Dunkerley when Adams was the CEO of the airline before the bankruptcy filing. Dunkerley would be promoted to CEO under Hawaiian Holdings' reorganization proposal.
A shadow, however, hangs over Adams' bid to regain control of Hawaiian Airlines. The SEC is investigating Adams and Hawaiian Holdings for a $25 million stock buy-back program offered in May 2002 that critics said enriched Adams and his companies.
The buy-back program was one of the reasons that Hawaiian ended up under Chapter 11 protection and why the court appointed a trustee, Josh Gotbaum, to oversee the airline.
Given past events, Dunkerley's loyalty to Gotbaum might come into question. But Gotbaum has nothing but praise for Dunkerley's performance and leadership.
"As COO, Mark has done a superb job at both developing a vision for Hawaiian Airlines and bringing the management team together to implement it," Gotbaum said.
Despite his apparent support for Dunkerley, Gotbaum declined an Advertiser request to interview Dunkerley for this story. He said he did not want investors to think the airline management team is siding with any particular bidder.
Experienced manager
Dunkerley is a licensed commercial pilot with a bachelor's degree from the London School of Economics and a master's degree in aeronautics from the Cranfield Institute of Technology in the United Kingdom. His first position in aviation came as assistant to the CEO of Miami International Airport from 1985 until 1989.
Dunkerley then worked for 10 years at British Airways in various management positions, including three years as senior vice president for the airline's Latin America and Caribbean division.
In 1999 and 2000, Dunkerley served as president and chief operating officer at Worldwide Flight Services, a Dallas-based airport ground service provider. A year later, Dunkerley moved to Belgium, Brussels, where he was chief operating officer of Sabena Airlines Group before joining Hawaiian.
Jim Donovan, spokesman for Panda Travel Inc., one of Hawaiian's vendors and creditors, said Dunkerley has been able to establish a positive relationship with his employees, even with the severe cost-cutting that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
"Mark has done a very good job in building trust," Donovan said. "If you have trust and teamwork, you have a real good chance of success."
Some Hawaiian Airlines employees, who spoke to The Advertiser on condition of anonymity after an edict issued by Gotbaum barring employees from talking to the media, said Dunkerley is liked by the rank-and-file. He has an open-door policy and a positive, "hands-on leadership style," they said.
Robert Winner, committee chairman of the clerical unit of the International Association of Machinists union, echoed the workers' generally positive take on Dunkerley.
"I have worked for the company for 35 years and I have never seen the president of the company come down and work on the ramp loading and unloading bags like he has," Winner said. "He also worked with the cleaners, the employees at the lowest level. I think he gained a lot of respect from the employees for doing that."
Skeptic speaks out
The praise, however, is far from unanimous. Jeff Lilley, a pilot for Hawaiian Airlines, said the company's success wasn't Dunkerley's doing.
"He might be a fine COO, but he's not the reason why we are where we're at today," Lilley said. "The success of the airline was put in place a few years ago under the leadership of Paul Casey, his management team, the acquisition of the fuel-efficient aircraft fleet, the excellent product the employees are putting out and the rebound of tourists coming to Hawai'i."
Dunkerley's part in Adams' management team, who some workers and Hawaiian Holdings shareholders still blame for the company's bankruptcy, could also cast a cloud over his prospects.
Even if Dunkerley isn't retained, an improving economy and growing numbers of tourists arriving in the Islands would suggest the airline will continue on an even keel.
"I don't think the profitability of the airline is going to turn whether he is there or not," said bankruptcy attorney David Farmer, who previously did legal work for a Hawaiian creditor.
"There are so many external factors — world events, the political climate — that will have a great deal (of impact) on Hawaiian's position in the market. It's all about hope and best guesses."
Honolulu Advertiser, May 10, 2004
~ ~ ~
May 8, 2008
Hawaiian CEO sells $2M in stock
By Rick Daysog, Advertiser Staff Writer
Hawaiian Airlines Chief Executive Officer Mark Dunkerley sold about $2 million in company stock this month, the company disclosed in a regulatory filing.
According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Dunk-erley sold 200,000 shares at $8.59 a share on May 2 and another 33,570 at $8.45 per share that same day.
The company said Dunkerley continues to own a "significant amount of the company's equity."
The sale — Dunkerley's first since he joined the company in 2002 — leaves the CEO with 225,000 shares of restricted stock. He also has options to purchase another 1.6 million shares.
Hawaiian Holdings Inc., the airline's parent, said Dunkerley was restricted in his ability to sell shares of the company's common stock to specific trading windows, and he chose to do so now for personal financial-planning reasons.
The company said that most of the stock sold, or 200,000 shares, were obtained by Dunkerley after he exercised a stock option granted to him in 2002. Those options were part of an incentive package to retain the executive when the airline was under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Hawaiian Holdings said.
The option allowed Dunkerley to buy the 200,000 shares at $2.10 each. In selling the shares for $8.59 each, Dunkerley netted $6.49 a share, or a total of about $1.3 million.
Hawaiian's shares closed at $7.10, down 33 cents yesterday on the American Stock Exchange.
April 13, 2008
Hawaii CEOs average $2.3M in pay
By Rick Daysog, Advertiser Staff Writer
It's getting more expensive to send off a CEO than to keep one.
The abrupt resignations of the top executives of Central Pacific Financial Corp. and Hawaiian Telcom Inc. this year is going to cost those companies hundreds of thousand of dollars more than what they paid the CEOs last year.
Despite losing $5.8 million last year because of problem loans to California homebuilders, Central Pacific said it will pay CEO Clint Arnoldus $5 million, or more than five times his 2007 pay of $983,149, when he retires at year's end.
Hawaiian Telcom Inc. gave ousted CEO Michael Ruley a $1.2 million severance package, which includes $20,000 for personal travel, $22,000 for his family's health coverage and reimbursement of up to 6 percent for the real estate broker commission on the sale of his Kahala home. During Ruley's tenure, the company lost tens of millions of dollars and thousands of residential telephone customers, and is being investigated by the state Public Utilities Commission for poor service.
"This has nothing to do with the circumstances of their leaving," said Linda Lampkin, research director with ERI Economic Research Institute, which conducts executive pay and cost-of-living studies for employers. "Even though they may be leaving on less than ideal situations, the companies are bound by what the executives' contracts say."
The severance packages for Ruley and Arnoldus were among the key highlights of an Advertiser review of the pay policies of Hawai'i's publicly traded companies. The study, based on filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Hawai'i's eight largest companies, found that the average pay for a local CEO rose nearly 4.5 percent to $2.3 million last year from $2.2 million in 2006.
The 2007 average was equivalent to $6,525 per day and is more than 29 times the state's median household income.
Five of the 10 CEOs in this year's survey received pay raises but just two received a bonus last year. The bulk of the pay increases came in the form of stock options and other forms of compensation that aim to tie the executives' pay to company performance.
To be sure, the state's top bosses earned far less than their Mainland counterparts. According to ERI, CEOs of the nation's largest publicly traded companies saw their compensation increase by 20.5 percent last year to $18.8 million. The pay increase came as the companies' revenues grew by just 2.8 percent, ERI said.
For the third year in a row, Alexander & Baldwin's Allen Doane was the highest paid executive in Hawai'i, with a pay package of $8.6 million. That was up about 12.4 percent from his 2006 pay of $7.6 million.
Most of Doane's increase was performance-based as the company's stock price increased 19 percent and its earnings jumped 16 percent. A&B added that it returned $81 million to its shareholders last year in the form of dividends (non-taxable, thanks to Bush baby?) and stock buybacks.
Doane was followed by David Cole, CEO of Maui Land & Pineapple Co., whose 2007 pay more than doubled to $4.1 million. In its proxy statement, Maui Pine said its board gave Cole more than a $1 million to compensate him for the loss in value of his stock options.
Most companies would not comment on their CEO's pay and referred The Advertiser to filings with the SEC. Here's a snapshot of what those filings say:
Bank of Hawaii Corp. Chief Executive Allan Landon took home $2.6 million last year, which was up 15.9 percent from the previous year. Under Landon's stewardship, the company enjoyed healthy growth increase and benefited from its cost-cutting efforts.
Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc.'s CEO Constance Lau's 2007 compensation fell 53.7 percent to $1.7 million. But her 2006 package was skewed by a $2.2 million, one-time gain she received when she transferred her pension plan from HEI's American Saving Bank subsidiary to the parent company's plan.
Morton Kinzler, Barnwell Industries Inc.'s longtime CEO, saw his pay decline by 21.2 percent to $1.2 million while Dustin Shindo, chief executive of startup Hoku Scientific Inc., earned $745,462, which represents a 41.2 percent raise from the previous year.
Hawaiian Airlines Inc. CEO Mark Dunkerley saw his pay decrease by 5.8 percent to $2.3 million in a year in which Hawaiian won an $80 million judgment against go! airlines and signed a $4.4 billion deal to acquire 24 Airbus wide-body jets over the next 15 years.
~ ~ ~
NEW DISCOVERY (05-04-08): Undisclosed conflicts of interest between Randall Wulff, Larry Silverstein, U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, David C. Farmer, Steven Guttman, Roy Hughes, Colbert Matsumoto, James Watanabe, J. Douglas Ing, Diane Hastert, Bert Kobayashi, Warren Price III, James Duca, Chubb Group, Marsh & McLennan, AIG, and others:
April 21, 2004
Wulff Chosen to Head 9/11 Panel
on WTC Loss
Attorney was picked by judge in New York to help
on panel determining value of damages
By Josh Richman, STAFF WRITER, The Oakland Tribune
An East Bay attorney and mediator will play a pivotal role in determining the amount of loss resulting from the World Trade Center's destruction at the hands of terrorists Sept. 11, 2001.
Randall W. Wulff of Piedmont was selected Tuesday by U.S. District Chief Judge Michael B. Mukasey of New York to be chief umpire on a three-person appraisal panel that will address reconstruction costs as well as rental value and business interruption damages. Hearings are expected to begin later this year.
The battle over the monetary costs of the World Trade Center's destruction, and who will be paid how much for those costs, has become almost as twisted as the wreckage of the towers. And the battle has turned somewhat political, with New York officials touting the rebuilding of Ground Zero as crucial to the region's economic recovery.
World Trade Center leaseholder Larry Silverstein claims his insurers owe him almost twice their policy limits -- as much as $6.8 billion -- based on a switch in insurance forms that he believes recognizes the two impacts by two hijacked jet airliners as two separate losses. His claim went to a six-man, six-woman federal jury Monday after a 10-week trial.
After the jury -- and those in future proceedings involving other members of Silverstein's jury pool -- has determined the extent of the insurers' liability, it'll be up to Wolff's panel to determine what the actual losses are.
Wulff was with San Francisco's Farella, Braun and Martel from 1974 -- first as a trial lawyer, and from 1994 on as a "neutral" mediator -- until 2000, when he cofounded Oakland's Wulff Quinby Sochynsky, which exclusively provides mediation, arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution services.
He has helped settle almost 2,000 cases in the past 15 years, including the recent $1.1 billion settlement of the California class action against Microsoft. He also has helped resolve monetary disputes related to renovation of the Oakland Arena and construction of other high-profile projects from ballparks to Las Vegas casinos. And he has authored, edited or co-edited books on alternative dispute resolution.
His firm's Web site says his daily fee is $9,500 for cases in the Bay Area or Sacramento, $11,000 for cases elsewhere.
Wulff holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Oregon, attended the Netherlands Institute of International Business and holds a law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.
http://www.wqsadr.com/articles.html
REFERENCES
A sample of names follows here. A lengthier list of specific references from counsel and parties in cases where Mr. Wulff has acted as mediator is also available upon request....
Hawaii
Diane D. Hastert, Esq.
Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
1600 Pauahi Tower, 1001 Bishop Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-531-8031
Bert T. Kobayashi, Esq.
Kobayashi, Sugita & Goda
First Hawaiian Center, Suite 2600
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-529-8700
Andrew Winer, Esq.
Winer Heheula & Devens
Pali Palms Plaza
970 North Kalaheo Ave, Suite A-300
Kailua, HI 96734
Telephone: 808-254-5855
David Schulmeister, Esq.
Cades Schutte Fleming & Wright
1000 Bishop Street, Suite 1000
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-521-9200
John T. Hoshibata, Esq.
Crabtree & Hoshibata
2300 Pauahi Tower
1001 Bishop Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-524-5644
Elton John Bain
Kessner Duca Umebayashi Bain & Matsunaga
19th Floor, Central Pacific Plaza
229 South King Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Warren Price III, Esq.
Price Okamoto Himeno & Lum
Ocean View Center
707 Richards Street, Suite 728
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-538-1113
Roy F. Hughes
Hughes & Taosaka
900 Pauahi Tower
1001 Bishop Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-526-9744
Brad S. Petrus
Tom Teetrus & Miller
The Arcade Building
212 Merchant Street, Suite 200
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-522-0800
Milton M. Yasunaga
Cades Schutte Law Firm
1000 Bishop Street, Suite 1200
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-521-9200
John T. Komeiji
Watanabe Ing & Komeiji
999 Bishop Street, 23rd Floor
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-544-8300
Roger Moseley
Moseley Biehl Tsugawa Lau & Muzzi
1100 Alakea Street, 23rd Floor
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-531-0490
James T. Paul, Esq.
Paul Johnson Park & Niles
Pacific Tower, 1001 Bishop St., Suite 1300
P.O.Box 4438
Honolulu, HI 96812
Telephone: 808-524-1212
James Lawhn
Oliver, Lau, Lawhn, Ogawa & Nakamura
707 Richards Street, Suite 600
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-533-3999
http://www.wqsadr.com/randallwwulff.html
~ ~ ~
NEW DISCOVERY (04-25-08): Joshua Gotbaum’s connection to Blue Wolf Capital and The Nature Conservancy:
January 5, 2007
New York Times - Joshua Gotbaum has joined Blue Wolf Capital Management, a private equity firm based in New York, as an operating partner. Mr. Gotbaum recently managed Hawaiian Airlines as a Chapter 11 bankruptcy trustee. He held several positions during the Clinton administration and was chief executive of the September 11 Fund, a charity.
www.kycbs.net/NatureConservancy.htm
~ ~ ~
NEW DISCOVERY (04-25-08): Joshua Gotbaum’s connection to AIPAC.
~ ~ ~
Executive Office for United States Trustees
Washington, D.C.
Office of Research and Planning
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
October 30, 2001
U.S. TRUSTEE PROGRAM LAUNCHES
BANKRUPTCY CIVIL ENFORCEMENT INITIATIVE
WASHINGTON, D.C.--The United States Trustee Program has launched an initiative to more aggressively use existing civil enforcement methods to curb abuse of the bankruptcy system, Martha Davis, Acting Director of the Executive Office for United States Trustees, announced today.
"Effective case administration is vital to ensure the American public that the bankruptcy system provides relief for honest but unfortunate debtors overcome by serious financial difficulties," Davis stated. "The Civil Enforcement Initiative emanates from the U.S. Trustee Program's long-standing commitment to enforce the Nation's bankruptcy laws and explore other meaningful strategies to bolster public confidence in the integrity and effectiveness of the bankruptcy system."
"The priorities of the initiative will require a concerted effort nationwide to use existing tools in a way that best accomplishes tangible results and improvements for case administration," Davis continued. "Many of our offices use such strategies today and we hope to build upon their experience. By focusing our resources on these priorities, we also seek to address some of the concerns that have been at the forefront of debate in recent years both before Congress and in other public venues. In the end, this is very much a community effort that will require communication and cooperation with private bankruptcy trustees and with the bankruptcy bench and bar."
These are the priorities of the Civil Enforcement Initiative:
Ensuring that Chapter 7 is not abused and that Chapter 7 debtors are held accountable.
Chapter 7 debtors who do not comply with the law will have their cases converted or dismissed, or their bankruptcy discharges denied or revoked. Enforcement measures include motions to dismiss Chapter 7 cases under 11 U.S.C. §§ 707(a) and 707(b), and complaints to bar or defer discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 727.
Protecting consumer debtors, creditors, and others who are victimized by those who mislead or misinform debtors, make false representations in connection with a bankruptcy case, or otherwise abuse the bankruptcy process.
Attorneys and bankruptcy petition preparers (non-attorneys who prepare bankruptcy documents for a fee) must engage in full disclosure, be free of conflicts of interest, and engage in ethical practices. Enforcement measures include motions for sanctions, contempt of court, and disgorgement under 11 U.S.C. § 329 for misconduct by attorneys, and complaints and motions under 11 U.S.C. § 110 for misconduct by bankruptcy petition preparers....
Fighting fraud and abuse by making criminal referrals and assisting United States Attorneys in criminal prosecutions.
The U.S. Trustee Program is a component of the Justice Department that oversees the administration of bankruptcy cases and intervenes in court to enforce the bankruptcy laws. There are 21 regions in the Program, each headed by a U.S. Trustee appointed by the Attorney General.
The Civil Enforcement Initiative took effect Oct. 1, 2001, with the start of the federal government's 2002 fiscal year. Previous U.S. Trustee Program initiatives have focused on issues such as enhancing the supervision of private trustees who administer Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases, increasing the efficiency and speed of Chapter 7 case administration....
Contact:
Jane Limprecht, Public Information Officer
Executive Office for U.S. Trustees
(202) 305-7411
www.usdoj.gov/ust/eo/public_affairs/press/docs/pr20011030.htm
~ ~ ~
Agencies Still Falling Short on E-FOIA Compliance
OMB Watcher
It's been four years since the passage of the Electronic Freedom of Information Act (E-FOIA), and two years since OMB Watch's first report critical of agencies' implementation of the requirements of the Amendment. A follow-up report released in January, "A People Armed?," finds that many agencies are still falling short when it comes to providing meaningful and consistent electronic access to government information.
In recent testimony before the Subcommittee on Government Management, Information and Technology of the House Committee on Government Reform, the report's author, Patrice McDermott of OMB Watch, reiterated the importance of E-FOIA as a fundamental aspect of access to information and government accountability. "It is essential that the public be able to understand how the government organizes itself and its records in order for the public to be able to truly hold government accountable," McDermott stated.
McDermott also expressed concern about recent attempts to carve out sections of the Freedom of Information Act and E-FOIA on what are largely baseless claims of unspecified security risks, and the ensuing potential for electronic technology to become used for limiting access, rather than promoting it.
The hearing on "Agency Response to the Electronic Freedom of Information Act" held on June 14th had two panels. The government panel was composed of Joshua Gotbaum, Executive Associate Director and Controller, Office of Management and Budget; Ethan Posner, Deputy Associate Attorney General, Department of Justice; and Henry J. McIntyre, Director, Directorate for the Freedom of Information Security and Review, Department of Justice.
The other members of the non-government panel were Lucy Dalglish, Executive Director, Reporters' Committee for Freedom of the Press; and Ian Marquand, Freedom of Information Chair, Society of Professional Journalists.
~ ~ ~
January 11, 2002
Anzai recuses self
in airlines merger
The attorney general's
wife is counsel for
Hawaiian Airlines
By Lyn Danninger, Honolulu Star-Bulletin
State attorney general Earl Anzai said yesterday he has completely recused himself from oversight of the proposed merger of Hawaii's airlines because his wife is legal counsel for Hawaiian Airlines and worked on the merger.
"It was done at the very beginning. I'm not that stupid," he said. "I have not been in a single meeting or seen a single document."
As vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary for Hawaiian Airlines, Anzai's wife, Lyn, would have played a key role in the due diligence phase and other activities related the merger.
But she has not had any direct role in negotiations with the Attorney General's office, spokesman for Hawaiian Airlines Keoni Wagner said.
The state Attorney General's office will likely play a bigger role in any approval of the Hawaiian-Aloha merger than federal regulators.
Anzai said potential conflicts of interest are not unusual and he has always recused himself from past cases in order to avoid any appearance of a conflict.
Questions regarding potential conflicts of interest were first raised as far back as Anzai's legislative confirmation hearing to become attorney general. At one time, his wife had also worked as an in-house attorney for Kamehameha School which was then under investigation by the Attorney General's office.
http://starbulletin.com/2002/01/11/business/index3.html
~ ~ ~
Hawaiian Airlines, et al v. Gotbaum, et al
Case Number:
1:2005cv00403
Filed:
June 23, 2005
Court:
Hawaii District Court
Office:
Hawaii Office [ Court Info ]
Presiding Judge:
Referring Judge:
Nature of Suit:
Bankruptcy - Appeal
Cause:
28:0158 Notice of Appeal re Bankruptcy Matter (BAP)
Jury Demanded By:
None
~ ~ ~
Joshua Gotbaum is expected to testify with regard to his business, professional, personal and political relationships with George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Bruce Bennett, Carol Muranaka, Michael Boyd, The Boyd Group, Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate; Dee Jay Mailer; Boeing Co.; Lockheed Martin; Carlyle Group; EG&G Technical Services; John Garibaldi; Steve Case; Suzanne Case; Jeffrey Case; Ed Case; Linda Lingle; Robert Fishman; Diane Plotts; Robert K.U. Kihune; Lyn Anzai; Earl Anzai; Kazu Hayashida, Mark Bennett; James Duca, Robert Kessner, Steven Guttman, Kessner Duca Umebayashi Bain & Matsunaga; Steven Jay Katzman, Curtis Ching, Gayle Lau, James B. Nicholson, Carol Muranaka, Judge Robert Faris Judge Kevin Chang; Judge David Ezra; Judge Barry Kurren; Faye Kurren; Henry Kissinger; Robert Maxwell; The United Way; Robert Rubin; Goldman Sachs; The Carlyle Group, Bilderberg, Marsh & McLennan, Mercer Human Resource Consulting, John McCain, John Waihee, Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard & McPherson, John Dasburg, Henry Paulson, Mark McConaghy, Alberto Gonzales, Joshua Bolten, David Farmer, Laurence Summers, Brook Hart, Robert Miller, Mesa Airlines, Larry Silverstein, Hillary Clinton, Randall Wulff, John F. Lehman, Hawaii Superferry, Blue Wolf Capital Management, Crystal Rose, Mark Dunkerley, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and other entities to be determined upon discovery.
Internet References:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,62888,00.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,47362,00.html
www.kycbs.net/Gotbaum-911-Fund.mht
www.larouchepub.com/other/2006/3317rohatyn_fascist.html
http://corporatecrimereporter.com/deferredreport.htm
www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/12/04/bribery/
http://copy_bilderberg.tripod.com/1999.htm
www.wanttoknow.info/9-11cover-up
www.roberts-partners.com/false_claims_cases_index.html
www.conspiracyplanet.com/channel.cfm?ChannelID=75
www.whatreallyhappened.com/911flaw.html
www.serendipity.li/wot/911_coverup_falling_apart.htm
www.globalresearch.ca/articles/LYN406A.html
http://tvnewslies.org/html/9_11_facts.html
http://mparent7777.livejournal.com/2005/07/15/
http://flyertalk.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-467966.html
http://www.senate.gov/~govt-aff/gotbaum_bio.htm
http://www.nationalcenter.org/dos7128.htm
www.kycbs.net/911-COVERUP-2.htm
www.kycbs.net/911-COVERUP-3.htm
www.kycbs.net/Axis-of-Evil.htm
www.kycbs.net/Bankruptcy-Buzzards.htm
www.kycbs.net/CarlyleGroup.htm
www.kycbs.net/GoldmanSachs.htm
www.kycbs.net/Hawaiian-Air.htm
www.kycbs.net/Hawaii-Superferry.htm
www.kycbs.net/Kissinger-of-Death.htm
www.kycbs.net/Lazard-Freres.htm
www.kycbs.net/LockheedMartin.htm
www.kycbs.net/Orange-County.htm
www.kycbs.net/OUST-vs-Harmon.htm
www.kycbs.net/Power-Vampires.htm
www.kycbs.net/PunaConnection.htm
TO GO TO THE WOO VS. HARMON WITNESS INDEX
www.kycbs.net/CV05-00030-Witness-Index.htm
* * * * *
CHRONOLOGY
June 17, 2006: Originally posted on www.the-catbird-seat.net
March 13, 2007: Judge David Ezra signs Order to shut down website
September 4, 2009: Latest update on www.kycbs.net
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THE CATBIRD SEAT ARCHIVES
The Catbird Seat Archives: 2000-2002
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