Local GOP apologizes for turning 1,500 away from caucuses in Kennewick

TriCityHerald
Michelle Dupier

About 1,500 people were turned away from pooled Benton County caucuses in Kennewick by event organizers after rooms at the Three Rivers Convention Center reached capacity this morning.

Some potential caucus voters said they arrived at 9 a.m. to find the large hallways at the convention center packed to the rafters and were told no more people could enter the caucus rooms.

Ray Swenson, a Richland lawyer, criticized local GOP officials for poor organization and said the results today should be invalidated.

"I think it's illegal," Swenson shouted to a gathered crowd, many of whom were filming him with cell phone cameras. "The Republican party leadership is taking away our freedom."
Swenson told the Herald he may file a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the caucus results.

"I think it's unconstitutional," he said. "Our right to vote is the most fundamental right in the Constitution. ... This is exactly equal to walking into a polling place and being told, 'We've run out of ballots. We didn't expect this many people. Go home.'"

Benton County Republican Party members who organized the caucuses said they estimated 2,000 people would show up at the convention center, where most of the county's precincts caucused today.

But their jaws dropped when they saw an estimated 3,000 people packed into the convention center's hallways and spilling outside.

"We where overwhelmed," said Tony Benegas of West Richland, chairman of the Kennewick caucuses. "It's tough because it's all volunteers — nobody gets paid to do this."

Benegas said it quickly became apparent there weren't enough volunteers to check everyone in — which in most cases involved looking up their voter registration on a list provided by the county Auditor and helping them find their precinct number, and that the rooms they booked were filled to capacity.

And the party was under pressure to finish by 11:30 so that results could be tabulated and turned over to the state party.

"We did pull the leadership aside and said, 'What are we going to do?'" Benegas said.
The only choice apparent was to close the doors and turn an estimated 1,500 people away, he said.

"I am extremely sorry we could not accommodate everyone," he said. "I apologize to those folks who we had to turn away. We fit in as many as we could, but we had more than we could physically fit in the rooms."

For the full story, read Sunday's Herald and tricityherald.com.

Combating the Delphi Technique and Occupy Infiltration

Activist Post

The truth, however, is just the opposite. It is the General Assembly which is perhaps the most crippling aspect of Occupy today. It is the General Assembly which keeps Occupy protesters from articulating the tangible political demands which every movement needs. 

It is the General Assembly which mires the movement in endless discussions regarding what committees to form and who should serve on them. It is the General Assembly which keeps Occupy protesters bogged down in long drawn-out discussions of what to have for dinner instead of actually protesting.

Not only is the General Assembly crippling Occupy with inaction, it is in reality creating an oligarchical system of domination within the movement, which itself becomes merely a microcosm of the system they are attempting to oppose.

The General Assembly itself is based upon the theory of group consensus, which is itself a model of decision making adhered to within many international organizations like the United Nations and Codex Alimentarius, which I have researched at length. Consensus-based decision making as a political system is rooted in Communitarianism and psychological warfare. It is oligarchical in nature. Even when approached with the best of intentions, Consensus-based decision making tends toward the direction of oligarchy, particularly when large numbers of people are involved. In terms of real application, with any situation where time might be a factor, Consensus building equals paralysis.

As Webster Tarpley wrote in his article, “Occupy Wall Street: Who Wants To Hijack The Movement?”

The consensus method provides immense comfort to the predatory speculators of Wall Street, since it virtually guarantees that no potent and controversial strategy to break the power of finance capital can emerge. Indeed, it guarantees that absolutely nothing will be able to emerge in an emergency after a rapid turn in the overall situation. The US Congress is paralyzed by a minority, but the consensus rules of the general assembly mean that it can be paralyzed by a tiny clique bent on sabotage. In the background, the covert steering committee is busy creating a series of faits accomplis.

Sleuthing Stolen Election 2004: John Brakey and the "Hack and Stack"

International Endowment for Democracy
By David L. Griscom, Ph.D.

Dr. David Griscom

Presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

In the wee hours of 3 November 2004, the day after Election Day, the CNN.com website showed an updated exit poll which had Kerry leading Bush nationally by 2.6%. But soon thereafter the vote counting equipment reported Bush ahead of Kerry by almost the mirror image: 2.8%. Simon & Baiman

Never before had the U.S. national exit polls been so wrong ...or WERE they?

On 11 November 2004, David Cobb and Michael Badnarik, the Green and Libertarian candidates for president, announced their intentions to file a formal demand for a recount of the ballots cast for president in the pivotal state of Ohio. This recount (conducted by Ohio SOS Kenneth Blackwell!) was officially terminated on 31 December 2005 after a recount of about 3% of the vote, which found 734 additional votes for Kerry and 449 additional votes for Bush.

Flash forward to 10 March 2006 the Associated Press told us that "[T]he third highest ranking employee at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections has been indicted on charges of mishandling ballots during the 2004 presidential election recount."

And flash once more to 24 January 2007: Two election workers in Ohio's most populous county were convicted of illegally rigging the 2004 presidential election recount, allegedly so they could avoid a more thorough review of the votes.

So, what was the big deal about failing to randomly select precincts for recounting?

The answer lies in John Brakey's "Hack and Stack."

Let us return to Election Day 2004. John Brakey is going about his duties as Democratic Cluster Captain for four precincts in a heavily Hispanic, 80%-non-Republican district of Tucson, Arizona. When he entered these polling places to collect "tear sheets" (carbon copies of the record of the names of voters issued ballots) he was met with hostility by poll workers at three of them, and he observed irregular things going on at these three stations throughout the day.

Finally, more than an hour after the polls were closed, John returned to the Pct 324 polling place (his home precinct) where, to the mutual shock of all concerned, he stumbled upon the poll workers apparently in the process of altering the records. These workers cursed and menaced John until he withdrew [see p. 132 in Mark Crispin Miller's book, Fooled Again - How the Right Stole the 2004 Election & Why They'll Steal the Next One Too (Unless We Stop Them)].

Fukushima: Far More 'Chronic and Lasting' Cesium Contamination Than Previously Believed

Common Dreams

Workers begin pouring cement onto the seabed at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant on Feb. 28. (Eiji Hori)

A "mind-boggling" amount of radioactive cesium, or twice the amount previously thought, may have spewed from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant after the March 11, 2011 meltdown, Japanese scientists said Wednesday.

Also, French scientists announced Tuesday that the amount of cesium released caused a chronic and lasting contamination of the environment. It was essential for Japan to maintain vigilant monitoring of fruit, milk, mushrooms, game and fish, they said.

According to the United States Geological Survey, it took only 18 days for the radioactive particles from Fukushima to circle the globe.

In Vermont, state officials have just confirmed finding trace amounts of Fukushima's cesium-134 and cesium-137. The state said they would continue the collection of samples from surface and drinking water, milk, vegetation and maple products.

* * *

The Asahi Shimbun, Japan's leading daily newspaper, reports:

A mind-boggling 40,000 trillion becquerels of radioactive cesium, or twice the amount previously thought, may have spewed from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant after the March 11 disaster, scientists say.

A mind-boggling 40,000 trillion becquerels of radioactive cesium, or twice the amount previously thought, may have spewed from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant after the March 11 disaster, scientists say.Michio Aoyama, a senior researcher at the Meteorological Research Institute, released the finding at a scientific symposium in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Feb. 28.

The figure, which represents about 20 percent of the discharge during the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster, is twice as large as previous estimates by research institutions both in Japan and overseas.

It was calculated on the basis of radioactive content of seawater sampled at 79 locations in the north Pacific and is thought to more accurately reflect reality than previous simulation results.

Scientists believe that around 30 percent of the radioactive substances discharged during the crisis ended up on land, while the rest fell on the sea.

Scott Brown calls on Harvard to cancel ‘one state’ conference

Boston Globe
Noah Bierman

Elizabeth Warren is being chastised by Scott Brown for teaching at Harvard.

Republican US Senator Scott Brown is calling on Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government to cancel a conference on a “one-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“I want to condemn in the strongest possible terms Harvard’s sponsorship of a conference exploring a ‘one-state solution’ to the Israel-Palestinian conflict,” he said in a statement. “This is dangerous thinking that gives comfort to Israel’s enemies who view the ‘one-state solution’ as a euphemism for eliminating Israel as a Jewish state. Harvard may have a right to do this, but that doesn’t make it right to do it. The University should cancel this conference.”

The Globe reported this morning that the conference has drawn criticism from the Anti-Defamation league, which said it has dangerous implications for Israel. The ADL has not called on Harvard to cancel the conference, but has instead asked Harvard President Drew Faust to denounce its theme.

Continue reading below

The conference organizer, Ahmed Moor, a first-year student, told the Globe that the conference is intended to discuss ways that all residents of the region enjoy human rights. The Kennedy School told the Globe that the conference is student organized, but received modest funding from the school’s student government and the event’s website will use the school’s name and logo.

Brown, facing a reelection challenge from Elizabeth Warren, has made the Democrat’s ties to Harvard University a centerpiece in his strategy to label her an out-of-touch elitist. Warren teaches at Harvard Law School.

Brown even made a reference to elitism in his in his statement attacking the conference.
“Academic elites need to understand that their ideas have real world consequences well beyond the comforts of the ivory tower, and the last thing Israel needs is Harvard legitimizing a terribly misguided idea,” he said.

Warren’s campaign, in a statement, would not say whether she agrees with calls to denounce or cancel the conference.

“Elizabeth was unaware of this conference, but she is a strong supporter of the steadfast relationship between Israel and the United States, and she firmly believes in a two-state solution,” spokeswoman Alethea Harney said.

Coincidentally, Brown will be hosting students from the Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics at his Boston office on Monday. A flier from the school advertises “a private off-the-record meeting and discussion with study group students on the new dynamics shaping 2012 politics in the wake of 2010’s historic wave election.”

Obama: US Support for Israel 'Sacrosanct'

Israel National News
Gavriel Queenann

US President Barack Obama on Thursday called US support for Israel "sacrosanct" and vowed to ensure the Jewish state retains its "military superiority."

Obama's comments come ahead of a March 5 meeting at the White House with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is making a full court press to ensure US commitment to decisive action against Iran's nuclear program.

Netanyahu has gone on record saying Obama's sanctions regimine is "not working" to deter Iran from seeking nuclear weapons, a sentiment echoed by senior US intelligence officials.

"One of our long-term goals in that region is to make sure that the sacrosanct commitment that we make to Israel's security is not only a matter of providing them the military capabilities they need, not only providing the sort of qualitative military edge that they need in a very tough neighborhood," Obama said on Thursday at a fund raiser in New York.

The United States also should co-operate with Israel "to try to bring about a peace in the region that can be lasting", Obama said. "And that is a challenge."

During Obama's speech a woman yelled, "Use your leadership! No war in Iran!"

Obama responded, "Nobody's announced a war, young lady. You're jumping the gun a little bit."

The Netanyahu-Obama meeting coincides with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference, at which both leaders – and Obama's potential GOP rivals in the 2012 presidential elections – are expected to speak.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) earlier this week made an aggressive pre-buttal against potential attacks on President Barack Obama during the AIPAC conference, which analysts say is a part of Obama's push to shore up his weak Israel credentials.

The DNC is concerned that Obama's policy on Israel – with whom relations are at a startling nadir – will become a major point of contention and open the door to attacks by Republican candidates seeking to capitalize on Israel as a talking point in their campaigns.

America's Jewish vote, while small, is concentrated in key electoral college states where victory in previous elections has been hotly contested, or achieved by mere thousands of votes.

Israel has also become a major issue for pro-Israel Americans, with divisions between Washington and Jerusalem over Iran's nuclear program leading to sharp questioning of senior officials in the Obama administration by US lawmakers.

Leaks by the Obama administration compromising Israel's standing in its face-off with Iran, and potentially compromising Israeli military plans, have also backfired on the White House and created a perception of active hostility towards Jerusalem.

So has the growing perception that administration officials – seeking to break the ice with Tehran amid the nuclear standoff – are giving both Jerusalem and Riyadh the cold shoulder.

As a result – with Obama’s re-election anxieties running high – Netanyahu is seen as being in a rare power position as he heads to Washington.

Iran is expected to be the central issue in Netanyahu’s talks with Obama on Monday.

Israeli Security forces spray foul smelling liquid on a funeral procession in Hebron

On Friday, February 24, 2012, a demonstration against the closure of Shuhada Street to Palestinian pedestrians and vehicles was held in Hebron. Shortly before it ended, and completely unrelated to it, the Fanun family was preparing to lay ‘Abd al-Mun’im Fanun, who died the day before, to rest in the Muslim cemetery in Tel Rumeida. The way to the cemetery passes near where the demonstration was taking place. Before the funeral procession arrived at the cemetery, it encountered border police and army forces. The family tried to talk to the border police officers who were at the scene so that they would allow the procession to reach the cemetery, but to no avail. A few minutes later, a security force vehicle sprayed a foul smelling liquid (“skunk”) on the demonstrators, who had remained on the street, and on the deceased’s body and the mourners.

U.S.-Backed Libyan Rebels Cage Black Africans in Zoo, Force Feed them Flags

Russia Today

A shocking video has appeared on the Internet showing Libyan rebels torturing a group of black Africans. People with their hands bound are shown being locked in a zoo-like cage and allegedly forced to eat the old Libyan flag.

­“Eat the flag, you dog. Patience you dog, patience. God is Great,” screams a voice off-camera in the video uploaded to YouTube last week, which also made its way onto LiveLeak.com.

The torturers are also shown making the group of captive black Africans stand up with pieces of green cloth still in their mouths and apparently forcing them start jumping.

A number of people are shown standing outside the cage watching the atrocity.

After Muammar Gaddafi was killed, hundreds of migrant workers from neighboring states were imprisoned by fighters allied to the new interim authorities.

They accuse the black Africans of having been mercenaries for the late ruler.

In the course of the fighting to topple Gaddafi last year, sub-Saharan African migrants and refugees “became targets of stigma, discrimination and violence,” the human rights group Amnesty International said last month.

“At the beginning of the crisis, there was vastly exaggerated propaganda for which the highest level of the National Transitional Council should take some responsibility because they largely contributed to that unfounded propaganda,” said Donatella Rovera, Amnesty’s senior crisis response advisor.

Some of the black migrants managed to flee into neighboring Mali and Niger, but more than 5,000 were detained. They face mass execution, beatings, and revenge killings, according to an Al Jazeera report published back in September.

Before the Libyan uprising broke out, the country hosted about a million black African workers, many of them employed in domestic work, construction, trash collection and other low-wage jobs.

Human Rights Investigations (HRI) suspect Libyan rebels of ethnic cleansing of the black population of the country, particularly in the city of Tawergha.

SUVs of Death: Commandos Want Missiles in Their Trucks

Wired
Spencer Ackerman

An SUV is loaded onto a C-17 headed for Haiti.

This is the counterterrorist car chase of the future.

Somewhere in East Africa or the southern Arabian peninsula, several years from now, an unassuming SUV drives off the road and rolls down its window. From the passenger seat, there’s a blast as a missile shoots into the air. It careens as far as 60 miles, in pursuit of terrorists traveling in their own SUVs, who’ll never see the light truck that launched it.

This is a future that the U.S. Special Operations Command wants as it fights the nation’s shadow wars in places like Somalia and Yemen. A new solicitation seeks what it calls a “Medium Range Precision Strike System.” Obscured within that anodyne phrase is an ambitious weapons system optimized for stealthy strikes with minimal footprints — for those times when a drone strike just isn’t the right tool for the job.

The missile system the commandos want fits into a “light, commercially available truck.” The whole thing has to be completely self-contained within the SUV, weighing no more than 900 lbs. — as much as five 180 lb. dudes, sans gear — and no longer than 200 inches. “All cables, power sources, fire control and any other required accessories” have to be packed in as well, because the missile system has to open fire from the open road. You might want to call shotgun.

Ron Paul versus Hillary Clinton, Foreign Affairs Hearing Feb 29, 2012