Thursday, November 25, 2004
Exposed: Funding vote fraud -- a "five star" investigation
Hope you all had a fine Thanksgiving. If the following account is true, we may not that damned turkey hanging around for another four years.
Saudi money? For vote fraud-watchers, the article of the day must be Wayne Madsen's piece in the Online Journal. It is a must-read:
Other monies came from carefully-hidden Enron loot stashed away in the Cook Islands:
The article does not name names -- that is, Madsen's sources have not gone on the record. Not yet. But Madsen is a serious writer, his account is detailed, and his knowledge of parapolitical financing is solid. This is the sort of article that either changes history or proves to be a scarlet red herring.
My guess? I'll bet you three donuts that his sourcing amounts to more than mere scuttlebutt.
So pass Madsen's piece around. Let's all do what we can to solidify this research. For example...
I've tried some preliminary Googling on Five Star Trust (which is also spelled "5 Star Trust"). One citation goes to a court case listed here, involving one Marion Horn, Jr., a.k.a. "J.R. Horn," a one-time Republican candidate in Kentucky later convicted of wire fraud. (Also see here and here.) From what I can tell, the guy received a ridiculously attentuated sentence -- 18 months -- for a serious crime (one commentator mentioned the figure of "$1B") committed while on parole for a similar offense.
Eighteen months...! Isn't it nice to have friends?
Much of the above information came by way of the Diligizer Board, which seems to be a clearinghouse for information about shady operators in the financial world. On one page they take a brief look at an accused security fraudster named Howard E. Liner -- and just look at what pops up:
Mind you, truth becomes a particularly elusive commodity when we look into financial wheeler-dealers operating on this level. Please understand that, at this time, I have no idea if or how any of the above data connects to the allegations of election tampering. But right now, every little bit of research may prove useful.
In a previous article, I mentioned John Allen Paulos, the latest expert to note the foul odor surrounding this election. (I neglected to mention that Paulos wrote Innumeracy, one of my ladyfriend's favorite books.) Paulos felt uncomfortable with the conspiracy idea, because he did not see how so widespread a scheme could take place without one or two players getting talky. (Of course, people once made similar disparaging comments about Enron's plot against California.)
If Madsen's article proves true, Paulos' main objection has been met: Lips have indeed loosened.
If we really do have a conspiracy, what should we expect next? Well, these things tend to follow a predictable course. The corpses should pop up soon: "Mysterious "suicides" in underground parking structures, healthy men suffering heart attacks, that sort of thing. After that will come the Gerry Posner-esque debunkers who will smirk their most arrogant smirks at all of us "tin-foil-hat" guys.
Until then, we should have ourselves a nice little shit-storm. While it lasts, we must grab hold of any and all stray evidence that blows our way.
Saudi money? For vote fraud-watchers, the article of the day must be Wayne Madsen's piece in the Online Journal. It is a must-read:
November 25, 2004 -- According to informed sources in Washington and Houston, the Bush campaign spent some $29 million to pay polling place operatives around the country to rig the election for Bush. The operatives were posing as Homeland Security and FBI agents but were actually technicians familiar with Diebold, Sequoia, ES&S, Triad, Unilect, and Danaher Controls voting machines. These technicians reportedly hacked the systems to skew the results in favor of Bush.Madsen goes on to say that money for the operations was funnelled through a Saudi-linked financial entity based in Houston called Five Star Trust, which was also apparently used to fund both Bush and Bin Laden.
The leak about the money and the rigged election apparently came from technicians who were promised to be paid a certain amount for their work but the Bush campaign interlocutors reneged and some of the technicians are revealing the nature of the vote rigging program.
Other monies came from carefully-hidden Enron loot stashed away in the Cook Islands:
Cook Islands banks also handled some of the weapons smuggling financing of the Iran-Contra scandal. A former Justice Department attorney who helped prosecute the BCCI case said the use of the Cook Islands by the Bush reelection team indicates they wanted the bank arrangements to be a "quick folding tent" operation that would cease to exist when the election was over.Madsen goes on to detail the complex history of these Cook Island accounts, which apparently continue in the same inglorious money-laudering tradition of the Nugan/Hand bank.
The article does not name names -- that is, Madsen's sources have not gone on the record. Not yet. But Madsen is a serious writer, his account is detailed, and his knowledge of parapolitical financing is solid. This is the sort of article that either changes history or proves to be a scarlet red herring.
My guess? I'll bet you three donuts that his sourcing amounts to more than mere scuttlebutt.
So pass Madsen's piece around. Let's all do what we can to solidify this research. For example...
I've tried some preliminary Googling on Five Star Trust (which is also spelled "5 Star Trust"). One citation goes to a court case listed here, involving one Marion Horn, Jr., a.k.a. "J.R. Horn," a one-time Republican candidate in Kentucky later convicted of wire fraud. (Also see here and here.) From what I can tell, the guy received a ridiculously attentuated sentence -- 18 months -- for a serious crime (one commentator mentioned the figure of "$1B") committed while on parole for a similar offense.
Eighteen months...! Isn't it nice to have friends?
Much of the above information came by way of the Diligizer Board, which seems to be a clearinghouse for information about shady operators in the financial world. On one page they take a brief look at an accused security fraudster named Howard E. Liner -- and just look at what pops up:
He claims to be directly involved with VP Chaney and running actually the FED program. Mr. Liner pretends to be a former JAG and Military attorney. They are connected to Noir Intertrade, who shall be the commitment holder! They also mentioned the 5-Star Trust, the worlds richest trust with TRILLIONS (sorry forgot to ask the currency!!) on the account in Credit Suisse and UBS.Hmm. Did he just say trillions? It that's true, the allegation of Saudi involvement may well have substance.
Mind you, truth becomes a particularly elusive commodity when we look into financial wheeler-dealers operating on this level. Please understand that, at this time, I have no idea if or how any of the above data connects to the allegations of election tampering. But right now, every little bit of research may prove useful.
In a previous article, I mentioned John Allen Paulos, the latest expert to note the foul odor surrounding this election. (I neglected to mention that Paulos wrote Innumeracy, one of my ladyfriend's favorite books.) Paulos felt uncomfortable with the conspiracy idea, because he did not see how so widespread a scheme could take place without one or two players getting talky. (Of course, people once made similar disparaging comments about Enron's plot against California.)
If Madsen's article proves true, Paulos' main objection has been met: Lips have indeed loosened.
If we really do have a conspiracy, what should we expect next? Well, these things tend to follow a predictable course. The corpses should pop up soon: "Mysterious "suicides" in underground parking structures, healthy men suffering heart attacks, that sort of thing. After that will come the Gerry Posner-esque debunkers who will smirk their most arrogant smirks at all of us "tin-foil-hat" guys.
Until then, we should have ourselves a nice little shit-storm. While it lasts, we must grab hold of any and all stray evidence that blows our way.
.
.
.
What a break with that Wayne Madsen piece!!!
There has been more vote fraud stories from Ohio. One new bit of information about the Warren county (home of "media lockdown 2004"):
More voting questions raised
Thursday, November 25, 2004
Jon Craig
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
...Clifford O. Arnebeck, a Columbus attorney representing the Alliance for Democracy, said he has testimony from poll worker Liz Kent, of Warren County, asserting, "There was no way the actual vote could have been as reported."...
http://www.dispatch.com/election.php?story=dispatch/2004/11/25/20041125-D1-03.html
.
.
.
Also, I've discovered an egregious mis-truth by CBS -- reporting for the first time about the Ohio recount (the story is over 2 weeks old now):
The Ohio Recount May Not Take Place: CBS
Check it out at:
<<<< Newsclip Autopsy >>>> FOCUS: VOTERGATE
http://newsclipautopsy.blogspot.com/
.
.
.
.
.
What a break with that Wayne Madsen piece!!!
There has been more vote fraud stories from Ohio. One new bit of information about the Warren county (home of "media lockdown 2004"):
More voting questions raised
Thursday, November 25, 2004
Jon Craig
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
...Clifford O. Arnebeck, a Columbus attorney representing the Alliance for Democracy, said he has testimony from poll worker Liz Kent, of Warren County, asserting, "There was no way the actual vote could have been as reported."...
http://www.dispatch.com/election.php?story=dispatch/2004/11/25/20041125-D1-03.html
.
.
.
Also, I've discovered an egregious mis-truth by CBS -- reporting for the first time about the Ohio recount (the story is over 2 weeks old now):
The Ohio Recount May Not Take Place: CBS
Check it out at:
<<<< Newsclip Autopsy >>>> FOCUS: VOTERGATE
http://newsclipautopsy.blogspot.com/
.
.
.
Finally, some clarity and perspective on the "red state/blue state" maps.
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/election/
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/election/
I want to believe, I really do, but the Madsen story smells of a hoax to me: the payoffs, technicians, Saudis, the Enron connection, the Cook Islands; it's all too perfect, like it was written as part of a pot-boiler. I hope Madsen is not being led down the river; and I want to see more...
It's fascinating to see someone else on this blog exercising critical thinking skills. Yes, the silly Madsen story is a hoax. What gives the game away are the familiar tropes--Enron, corpses, suicides, etc. Of course, the "informed sources" are unnamed: they don't exist. The funny part is the rest of the nonsense. Rightwing conspiracy nuts were always screaming about the mountain of dead bodies surrounding the HilBillies' various scams. It's difficult to take seriously all of the cloak-and-dagger stuff regarding Bubba's supposed drug-running scheme, but at least the bodies were real. Were they murder victims? Who murdered them? A few too many young, healthy people committed suicide under circumstances that left their friends and relatives baffled. Still, it's all very hard to swallow. Well, as the junior Senator from New York has often put it: The evidence is gone and you can't prove a thing. For the record, Bill Clinton is certainly a crook, but it's hard to imagine him ordering "hits."
Enron: the Enron crooks ran wild under Clinton and were sent to jail under Bush. The fantasists here regard it as a Republican scandal?!
If there are any murders and suicides connected with Bush, they exist solely in the imaginations of his detractors.
Yes, Jim McDougall suffered a heart attack. He was, however, another Clinton crony. You keep confusing Bubba's real crimes with the ones you fabricate involving Bush.
What nobody here has done is show me a single example of a county result --in ANY--state that warrants a closer look. All these super-villains hacking away...where are the anomalies. Tell me what county produced a result that suggests the kind of tampering you've been raving about. C'mon, now--we've waited long enough. Put up or shut up.
I've listened to lots of ranting for weeks now, and I've yet to encounter anything that survived even cursory analysis. We had the ludicrous Kathy Dopp inventing absurd "expected vote" numbers. She is a fool; her numbers made no sense. We had Mike Hout, a Berkeley sociologist, wondering about three Democratic counties in Florida. He now agrees with me that nothing is out of line and any "projections" that called for Bush to receive 13,000 fewer votes in Broward (given the larger turnout and the more intense GOP effort this time) were just wrong.
So, this blog has presented reams of wild conspiracy theories and tall tales. I've yet to see anything that passes the smell test. Why are you not just a bunch of disgruntled lefties for whom fantasy has replaced reality?
Enron: the Enron crooks ran wild under Clinton and were sent to jail under Bush. The fantasists here regard it as a Republican scandal?!
If there are any murders and suicides connected with Bush, they exist solely in the imaginations of his detractors.
Yes, Jim McDougall suffered a heart attack. He was, however, another Clinton crony. You keep confusing Bubba's real crimes with the ones you fabricate involving Bush.
What nobody here has done is show me a single example of a county result --in ANY--state that warrants a closer look. All these super-villains hacking away...where are the anomalies. Tell me what county produced a result that suggests the kind of tampering you've been raving about. C'mon, now--we've waited long enough. Put up or shut up.
I've listened to lots of ranting for weeks now, and I've yet to encounter anything that survived even cursory analysis. We had the ludicrous Kathy Dopp inventing absurd "expected vote" numbers. She is a fool; her numbers made no sense. We had Mike Hout, a Berkeley sociologist, wondering about three Democratic counties in Florida. He now agrees with me that nothing is out of line and any "projections" that called for Bush to receive 13,000 fewer votes in Broward (given the larger turnout and the more intense GOP effort this time) were just wrong.
So, this blog has presented reams of wild conspiracy theories and tall tales. I've yet to see anything that passes the smell test. Why are you not just a bunch of disgruntled lefties for whom fantasy has replaced reality?
pomer, the problem is the exit polls. The probabilities of the swing for Bush are impossible. The vote count has to have been doctored. Until the perpetrators talk, conspiracy theories will abound.
Well, you're exactly right: the problem is the exit polls. The nonsensical fable spun by Madsen contains such gems as one about the "lockdown" of polling places in Warren County, Ohio. Oooh, those evil Bush agents must have been up to something to give Bush 72% of the vote. Last time, he got 48,318 votes to Gore's 19,142, which is, uh, 72%. Bubba must have clobbered the hapless Dole in 1996. Let's see: Dole-33,210; Clinton-17,089 (that's 66% for a guy who was never in the race). If you didn't know better, you'd swear Warren County was a Republican stronghold.
Here's what everyone's concerned about: Washington Post Poll Director Richard Morin, a Democrat, pooh-poohs Dick Morris's assertion that Democrats tampered with the exit polls. Asked how much credence he put in stories that Democrats knew the location of the exit polls, Morin replied,"Not much...But the identities of the precincts is a closely guarded secret. Also, interviewers were instructed to randomly select voters as they left their polling places...Possible? Yes. Probable? Absent real evidence, I think not."
A few questions arise: We know the exit polls that had Kerry winning 60 to 40 in Pennsylvania and 58 to 41 in New Hampshire were totally off the wall. So, how were those results obtained? If you think that Kerry figured to win Pennsylvania by a million votes, you're nuts. Yet, you have an exit poll suggesting just that.
Michael Barone, senior political analyst at the U.S. News & World Report, believes that the close exit polls in solid Bush states can only be explained by tampering.
One thing is undisputed: the people distributing the questionnaires outside the polling places are untrained volunteers, not professionals.
Another matter is ideological slant of the firm that conducted the exit surveys, Edison/Mitofsky. Even though we disagree on policy issues, can't we both acknowledge that this outfit has some serious 'splainin' to do? Morris wants them thoroughly investigated. I say, why the hell not?
Here's what everyone's concerned about: Washington Post Poll Director Richard Morin, a Democrat, pooh-poohs Dick Morris's assertion that Democrats tampered with the exit polls. Asked how much credence he put in stories that Democrats knew the location of the exit polls, Morin replied,"Not much...But the identities of the precincts is a closely guarded secret. Also, interviewers were instructed to randomly select voters as they left their polling places...Possible? Yes. Probable? Absent real evidence, I think not."
A few questions arise: We know the exit polls that had Kerry winning 60 to 40 in Pennsylvania and 58 to 41 in New Hampshire were totally off the wall. So, how were those results obtained? If you think that Kerry figured to win Pennsylvania by a million votes, you're nuts. Yet, you have an exit poll suggesting just that.
Michael Barone, senior political analyst at the U.S. News & World Report, believes that the close exit polls in solid Bush states can only be explained by tampering.
One thing is undisputed: the people distributing the questionnaires outside the polling places are untrained volunteers, not professionals.
Another matter is ideological slant of the firm that conducted the exit surveys, Edison/Mitofsky. Even though we disagree on policy issues, can't we both acknowledge that this outfit has some serious 'splainin' to do? Morris wants them thoroughly investigated. I say, why the hell not?
Here's an account of the procedure for exit polling during the 2004 presidential election:
http://www.mysterypollster.com/main/2004/11/exit_polls_what.html
"One or sometimes two interviewers will report to each sampled precinct. They will stand outside and attempt to randomly select roughly 100 voters during the day as they exit from voting. The interviewer will accomplish this task by counting voters as they leave the polling place and selecting every voter at a specific interval (every 10th or 20th voter, for example). The interval is chosen so that approximately 100 interviews will be spread evenly over the course of the day.
When a voter refuses to participate, the interviewer records their gender, race and approximate age. This data allow the exit pollsters to do statistical corrections for any bias in gender, race and age that might result from refusals.
The interviewer will give respondents a 5 1/2 by 8 1/2 card to fill out that will include approximately 25 questions (see an example from the New Hampshire primary here). Respondents fill out the survey privately then put the completed survey in a clearly marked "ballot box” so they know their identities cannot be tracked and their answers remain confidential."
Notice that the sampling is done "randomly". Now, if there was a "conspiracy" with exit poll workers, why are their NO accounts of improper procedures with exit polling. Keep in mind that this maliciousness among exit polling personel would have to have been widespread, since the discrepancies overwhelmingly skew in one direction for most states. Now, compare this lack of evidence to the widespread evidence of voting irregularies nationwide (especially in the states of Florida and Ohio).
That is why Dr. Freeman is right to point out that "counting error" is just as valid a hypothesis to "exit polling error" (error, for example, where democrats are oversampled). Furthermore, Dr. Freeman concludes (even with his revised analyses) that it is statistically impossible that the discrepancies in Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania was due to "random error". Noone yet has refuted this claim. However, the media and even Mitofsky (who helped run the exit polling) still insist that it was an oversampling of Democrats -- WITHOUT ANY PROOF OR EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER. Note, too, that when someone refuses to complete an exit poll survey, they're party affiliation is not known (obviously) -- therefore, how can one determine (without evidence of fraud) if there was an oversampling of democrats??!!!
The "onus of proof" is squarely on the shoulders of Mitofsky and the ones who suggest that exit polling was flawed.
I'm sure Collin Powell would agree with me. ;>)
They are investigating the matter now. It will be interesting to see what they come up with.
http://www.mysterypollster.com/main/2004/11/exit_polls_what.html
"One or sometimes two interviewers will report to each sampled precinct. They will stand outside and attempt to randomly select roughly 100 voters during the day as they exit from voting. The interviewer will accomplish this task by counting voters as they leave the polling place and selecting every voter at a specific interval (every 10th or 20th voter, for example). The interval is chosen so that approximately 100 interviews will be spread evenly over the course of the day.
When a voter refuses to participate, the interviewer records their gender, race and approximate age. This data allow the exit pollsters to do statistical corrections for any bias in gender, race and age that might result from refusals.
The interviewer will give respondents a 5 1/2 by 8 1/2 card to fill out that will include approximately 25 questions (see an example from the New Hampshire primary here). Respondents fill out the survey privately then put the completed survey in a clearly marked "ballot box” so they know their identities cannot be tracked and their answers remain confidential."
Notice that the sampling is done "randomly". Now, if there was a "conspiracy" with exit poll workers, why are their NO accounts of improper procedures with exit polling. Keep in mind that this maliciousness among exit polling personel would have to have been widespread, since the discrepancies overwhelmingly skew in one direction for most states. Now, compare this lack of evidence to the widespread evidence of voting irregularies nationwide (especially in the states of Florida and Ohio).
That is why Dr. Freeman is right to point out that "counting error" is just as valid a hypothesis to "exit polling error" (error, for example, where democrats are oversampled). Furthermore, Dr. Freeman concludes (even with his revised analyses) that it is statistically impossible that the discrepancies in Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania was due to "random error". Noone yet has refuted this claim. However, the media and even Mitofsky (who helped run the exit polling) still insist that it was an oversampling of Democrats -- WITHOUT ANY PROOF OR EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER. Note, too, that when someone refuses to complete an exit poll survey, they're party affiliation is not known (obviously) -- therefore, how can one determine (without evidence of fraud) if there was an oversampling of democrats??!!!
The "onus of proof" is squarely on the shoulders of Mitofsky and the ones who suggest that exit polling was flawed.
I'm sure Collin Powell would agree with me. ;>)
They are investigating the matter now. It will be interesting to see what they come up with.
Those of you coming to this page from Buzzflash will probably want to catch the updates. Go to the blog title at the top and click on "Cannonfire" or go to http://cannonfire.blogspot.com.
The Madsen thing is slightly maddening. Half the time I think he has grabbed hold of the biggest story of the century, while the other half I think he's been fed a massive dose of disinfo.
The Madsen thing is slightly maddening. Half the time I think he has grabbed hold of the biggest story of the century, while the other half I think he's been fed a massive dose of disinfo.
Madsen hasn't been fed anything--he's a nut. He's making up this silly crap. Or, just possibly, he's selling something and he thinks he's found some marks.
I enjoyed your information on investment fraud. I have a investment fraud blog if you want to check it out.
Very cool blog you got! I just added you to my bookmarks!
I have a great article resource you might want to check out.
I have a great article resource you might want to check out.
Cool blog you have. I have a make extra money related site. Check it out if you get a chance. The URL is make extra money
I have recently started reading blogs and came across your blog about home business work at home and wanted to let you know that it must take time and dedication keeping a blog going. I have a website about home business work at home and it keeps me really busy. Looking at all these blogs I think I may need to start my own blog one day. Keep up the good work. One day blogs may replace TV and newspapers for those of us who spend our time on the internet.
Hey, you have a great blog here! I'm definitely going to bookmark you!
I have a envelope from home work
site/blog. It pretty much covers envelope from home work
related stuff.
Come and check it out if you get time :-)
Post a Comment
<< Home
I have a envelope from home work
site/blog. It pretty much covers envelope from home work
related stuff.
Come and check it out if you get time :-)
