Bob Gates - More of the shame (same)

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 11/8/06 at 1:22pm

Bob Gates served as a member of the board of directors of Parker Drilling Company. Do the math.

[Liverpool]

Posted: 11/8/06 at 1:27pm

its nice to see croneyism is alive and well in DC

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 11/8/06 at 3:39pm

A New Perspective on Iran?
November 8, 2006, 1:35 pm

Whatever else he may bring to his new job at the Pentagon, Robert Gates apparently holds a view on the highly sensitive subject of relations with Iran that hasn’t been embraced by all his new colleagues in the Bush administration.

At a White House news conference, President Bush made the stunning announcement that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is departing, to be replaced by Gates. That announcement will immediately focus attention on the views held by Gates, a longtime Washington national security hand who was a leading adviser to President Bush’s father during the first war with Iraq.

On at least one Persian Gulf issue, Gates has been associated with a different approach than the one now being pursued. In the summer of 2004, Gates and former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski co-chaired a task force sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations that argued for opening a dialogue with Iran. The task force’s report contended that the lack of American engagement with Iran had harmed American interests, and advocated direct talks with the Iranians. “Just as the United States has a constructive relationship with China (and earlier did so with the Soviet Union) while strongly opposing certain aspects of its internal and international policies, Washington should approach Iran with a readiness to explore areas of common interests while continuing to contest objectionable policy,” said the report, entitled “Iran: Time for a New Approach.”

Bush’s announcement of the change at the Pentagon seemed to be a direct contradiction to his contention last week that Rumsfeld would be saying on the job. But the president’s description of how the change took place made clear that the decision to replace Rumsfeld was already in the works as he made those comments. The president described the change not by saying that defense secretary had decided to leave, but by saying that “after a series of thoughtful conversations, Secretary Rumsfeld and I agreed” it was time for a change. –Gerald F. Seib



Source!

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 11/9/06 at 12:28pm

Gates tied to E-voting.


Posted on Wednesday, November 08, 2006 - 05:26 pm:

----------------------------------------------------------------
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld will resign, reportedly to be replaced by former CIA director Robert Gates. Did you know that Robert Gates was involved in the voting machine industry?

Gates was on the board of directors of VoteHere, a strange little company that was the biggest elections industry lobbyist for the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). VoteHere spent more money than ES&S, Diebold, and Sequoia combined to help ram HAVA through. And HAVA, of course, was a bill sponsored by by convicted Abramoff pal Bob Ney and K-street lobbyist buddy Steny Hoyer. HAVA put electronic voting on steroids.

You can find copies of the VoteHere lobbying forms here: http://sopr.senate.gov/cgi-win/m_opr_viewer.exe?DoFn=0

I can't get them to save to pdf, perhaps you can. Enter search terms in both "registrant" and "client" fields and put in terms "Rhoads" "Livingston" and "Votehere" (one at a time.). Then look at the gravy train while it was in the process of derailing American democracy.

I first became acquainted with VoteHere when I met a source, Dan Spillane, who is the wonderful guy that identified the Diebold source code modules for me after I found the Diebold files. He is the person who introduced me, and subsequently everyone else, to the odd role of The Election Center and R. Doug Lewis in the elections industry.

Spillane filled me in on The Livingston Group, VoteHere lobbyists, run by Bob Livingston -- the fellow that Hustler publisher Larry Flynt outed during the Bill Clinton blow job days. Larry Flynt offered a million dollars to anyone who could out a Republican congressman for adultery, and out popped peccadillos by Livingston.

Livingston couldn't live that one down, so he resigned his post as House Speaker-Elect and became a lobbyist -- but that's not all! He also launched a group called "Center for Democracy" which was going to "monitor elections." This group also featured several good old boys from the tobacco industry and some mining companies.

Former VoteHere test engineer Dan Spillane was looking into all this because he had been fired after he questioned the certification process on a touch-screen system in which he had identified 250 flaws. It was way back in November 2002 that Spillane told me, "The voting machine industry is a house of cards. And the certification and testing process is the bottom card in the house of cards."

But don't run out of the room to take a shower yet. There's more.

VoteHere, a company shilling cryptographic solutions and filled with NSA types (another director was Admiral Bill Owens), for some reason claims they were unable to prevent themselves from being hacked. In this alleged hack, VoteHere claims that someone stole their source code. Said source code was offered to me, an obvious attempt at entrapment which I refused to touch with a 10-foot pole.

Nevertheless, VoteHere claimed to the newspapers that they had supposedly "tracked" the hacker and had identified the hacker as an activist in the election reform community.

For some reason, it was decided that I should be investigated for this "hack" of VoteHere -- nevermind that I can't remember how to change the password on my own laptop. Therefore I was interviewed by the Secret Service several times about this. Curiously, they never seemed to ask any questions about VoteHere, only my role in finding the Diebold files and publishing the Diebold memos.

This nonsense eventually culminated in a gag order and a letter from the U.S. Attorney to appear in front of a federal grand jury with information on all the visitors to the Black Box Voting Web site. (As if they couldn't get that in less dramatic ways in post-Patriot Act America).

Attorney Lowell Finley went to bat for me on this. A reporter named George Howland from the Seattle Weekly got wind of it. When it hit the press, the investigation stopped.

VoteHere never sold any voting machines that I can find, but apparently did set up some deals to embed its cryptography into some voting systems. We found memos in the Diebold trash about VoteHere's crypto-crap, and Maryland Director of Elections Linda Lamone shows up in VoteHere-related letters. Sequoia Voting Systems signed an agreement with VoteHere, but its not clear to me whether they ever did anything about it.

Robert Gates stepped away from VoteHere shortly before he showed up in Chapter 8 of my book, Black Box Voting, in a short bit about the VoteHere company history. You can read that here: http://www.blackboxvoting.org/bbv_chapter-8.pdf

I don't know about you, but I'd rather use a paper, pencil, and count by hand at the polling place than have former CIA director Robert Gates fooling around with my vote.

But that's just me.

-- Bev Harris
Founder, Black Box Voting
Source!

[SNAFU]

Posted: 11/9/06 at 12:58pm

Ah, Daddy's croney sent in to clean up Georgie Boy's mess.

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 1:32pm

Democrats Unlikely to Block Gates Nomination for Pentagon

The Associated Press

Tuesday 21 November 2006

Washington - When Robert Gates testifies before a Senate panel in two weeks, Democrats will voice their opposition to administration war policies and gauge Gates' willingness to change them. But they probably won't stand in his way to becoming the next defense secretary.

Democrats have begun lining up behind Gates, indicating they are inclined to vote for him if he meets two general criteria: He agrees a new approach in Iraq is needed and demonstrates he will hold sufficient political clout at the White House.

"We really do have to get a strong signal that he has been given a free hand to make whatever changes he thinks appropriate, and that within the administration he will have unimpeded access to the president," said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., in an interview Tuesday. "Those things are critical to success."

The senators say they are not immediately opposing Gates largely because his confirmation would lead to the departure of Donald Rumsfeld, the Pentagon chief who led the U.S. invasion in Iraq and staunchly defended the war even as public approval plummeted.

The initial support of Bush's nominee comes even though Gates is the same man once accused of distorting intelligence for political reasons - a primary charge Democrats level against the Bush administration in the war in Iraq.

In 1991, 31 Democrats voted against confirming Gates as CIA director, citing charges he had pressured intelligence analysts to develop conclusions that fit President Reagan's policies and turned a blind eye to the Iran-Contra scandal, in which arms were sold to the Iranians and the cash used to supply the Nicaraguan Contra rebels.

Twelve of the senators who rejected Gates 15 years ago remain today, including Carl Levin, D-Mich., Joseph Biden, D-Del., and Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.

Also not working in Gates' favor is a career built more on ending the Cold War than on Middle East expertise, and his lack of experience managing a budget and staff as large as the Pentagon's, the government's biggest.

But when Bush announced Gates' nomination on Nov. 8, Democrats began extending their support. Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who will be majority leader next year, and Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, who will head the panel that oversees the Pentagon's budget, said they hoped Gates would be swiftly confirmed, while Biden said he was inclined to vote for him.

Reed and other Democrats say they will focus more of their attention on Gates' views of Iraq than his dealings in the intelligence.

"I will be watching the upcoming confirmation process very carefully to discern whether Mr. Gates has the capacity to both listen to and lead our military in a new direction," said Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn.

Inouye, who with Sen. Ted Stevens met with Gates on Monday, said he had known Gates for at least 30 years and that he would vote for him as he did in 1991. He said he and Stevens, R-Alaska, top members of the defense appropriations subcommittee, used the meeting to assure Gates he would not play politics with military funding.

"I expect him to be confirmed," Inouye said.

Other Democrats - including Levin, who next year will chair the Armed Services Committee, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy - are holding their cards close on Gates but say they are eager to see if he is willing to advocate a new Iraq policy. Clinton, D-N.Y., and Kennedy, D-Mass., are expected to meet with Gates in the next few weeks.

"The one thing he has going for him ... is that we want the change to take place very quickly," said Reid. "So it's to our interest to have this change at the head of the Defense Department as soon as possible."

According to an AP-Ipsos poll released Tuesday, only 31% of Americans approve of Bush's handling of Iraq.

Democrats say they are impressed by Gates' willingness to work with their party. Gates is a member of the Aspen Strategy Group, a bipartisan group of former senior U.S. officials and policy experts who meet regularly to discuss international affairs. Also, before being nominated by Bush, Gates was a member of a high-profile bipartisan panel assessing options in Iraq.

Reed, a senior member of the Armed Services panel, on Tuesday called Gates a "realistic voice on foreign affairs and somebody who deliberately tries to draw upon a cross section of views." He said he also was impressed Gates was willing to step out of private life to take on the challenge of Iraq.

"Those are all good qualities. There's a huge task facing him," Reed said.

Norman Ornstein, a political scientist at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, said he was not surprised. To oppose Gates or focus too much on his past at the CIA would be to pick the wrong battle with Bush if Democrats want Iraq policy to change, he said.

"I think they'll want to look forward," Ornstein said.


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Source!

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 9:52am

LOL!

(Newly appointed)Defense Secretary Robert Gates just three weeks on the job, told lawmakers, "I would confess I'm no expert on Iraq." Later, asked about reaching the right balance between American and Iraqi forces, he told the panel he was "no expert on military matters."

It's good to know Bush appointed a suitable replacement. I guess at least he has some experience in oil.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 10:02am

mejusthatejewsgaysandmyselfmostofall, maybe you should start your own revolutionary party. i mean since the gop is all about jews and cronyism and the democrats are too scared of the jews to stand up to them, the time must be right for you to lead a violent overthrow of this corrupt system and instill some good old fashioned sharia law. maybe it might be enough just to get people focussed on the real enemy of peace and justice in this world: the jews. hey, if people focus on them, they probably won't have time to go after the gays...at least until they're down with the jews.

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 10:13am

Papa, I don't have to do anything. I'm not sure if you have been following the news lately, but your Bushman is getting whacked. The GOP is not all about Jews, they are all about OIL. You are right about Democrats.

The real enemy is not Jews. The real enemy is people like you. Ignorant, self-righteous and overbearing. It's time to admit you and the GOP was completely WRONG. On every count. I don't have to worry or hope any more for change. It's coming my friend. Myself and the rest of the tin-foil-hat-wearin, tree huggin', bleeding hearts have been right every step of the way. We are not trying to get in bed with terrorists (though some of them are quite hot) and we are not trying to destroy the American way of life.

I posted (to much criticism) months ago about Bush's intentions of attacking Iran. It's clear now. I stated Condi Rice is a liar. She is, and seemingly proves it everyday.

At this point we have no choice to but listen to the left. The right has been wrong every step of the way.

Updated On: 1/12/07 at 10:13 AM

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 10:19am

you keep typing, but it all looks like "jews are the root cause of all evil in the world."

good luck with getting your message across. i hope that you and mahmoud are very happy together.

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 10:22am

That's because you are Jewish and it is the only defense you have. Anti-Semitism. Oh boo hoo.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 10:27am

Papa is not Jewish.

He is about as Jewish as I am Catholic.

You know what happens when you assume things about people.
Updated On: 1/12/07 at 10:27 AM

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 10:29am

Oh.............. he's not Jewish, but has had Jewish in him. It all makes sense now.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 10:31am

and cue mejusthatejewsgaysandmyselfmostofall's next favorite attempted slur wherein he (she? it?) levels a charge of homosexuality against me (as if it's the worst thing in the world) sounding for all intents and purposes like a garden variety redneck homophobe...or just a self loathing homosexual who has yet to make peace with himself and accept who he is (which explains why his relationships inevitably fizzle and leave him with bww as the only outlet for his rage and hatred).

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 10:32am

Uhhhh yeah.

That makes a lot of sense.

Just admit a mistake a move on.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 10:32am

wow, i was typing it when he posted, but it's like f*cking clockwork, huh?

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 10:33am

By the way, I am Jewish, but at times have had a little bit of Catholic, Christian, and a few other denominations in me!

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 10:34am

Dude, I’m happily engaged. I’m actually house shopping with my man right now. We just got back from an amazing vacation. Love isn’t easy I know that, but this is the last place I would go to deal with that. You are the “married” straight guy on the gayest message board on the web.
Updated On: 1/12/07 at 10:34 AM

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 10:45am

the bww ot board is the gayest message board on the web? the gayest? really?

it's ok, mejusthatejewsgaysandmyselfmostofall, you don't have to make up stories for us. in fact it'll be much healthier for you in the long run to start trying to find ways to tell the truth if not to other people, at least to yourself.

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 10:53am

Yea,, I'm single. Any boys wanna meet?

[StageManager2]

Posted: 1/12/07 at 3:48pm

Way to change the subject, papa.

Updated On: 1/12/07 at 03:48 PM