Black Christian News

First AME Pastor Apologizes to Congregation for Alleged Misspending of Church Funds

2008-12-02T13:15:41Z

The pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles apologized to his congregants Sunday for any embarrassment caused by disclosures that he had used church credit cards for sizable personal expenses and had failed to pay federal taxes for several years.

]]> Pastor John J. Hunter, 51, used church credit cards to pay for at least $122,000 in personal expenses, including family vacations, clothes, jewelry, bikes and auto supplies, The Times reported Sunday. He and church finance officials said he had signed an agreement to repay the money and instituted stricter accounting policies, such as spending guidelines and more frequent audits, to guard against future problems.

Hunter also told The Times that he is working with federal tax officials to repay back taxes, penalties and interest amassed over 17 years, which have resulted in federal tax liens of more than $309,000 against himself and his wife, Denise Brown Hunter. He explained that he had legally opted out of the Social Security system several years ago, as ministers are allowed to do, but that the IRS had no record of it and assessed the taxes.

On Sunday, before more than 6,000 congregants at three services, Hunter acknowledged that he had made mistakes and that it was "disconcerting and embarrassing" to see private church matters aired publicly. But he assured his flock that he had done nothing criminal and was working to resolve the problems, and that the church remained financially strong.

"I stand not as a perfect servant but one who tries to be a faithful servant," Hunter said, drawing scattered applause and murmurs of approval from congregants at the 10 a.m. service. "Our church is in sound financial condition. We are solid, perhaps more so than we have ever been. Our future is bright."

Hunter took the helm of First AME, one of the oldest, largest and most prominent African American churches in L.A., in 2004 after the retirement of the Rev. Cecil L. "Chip" Murray. The church drew national, and even international, attention for its passionate social gospel that advocated political activism, social justice and assistance to the needy through church development of affordable housing, job training and other services.

Hunter's remarks drew mixed reactions.

"Am I disappointed that he used church credit cards for some personal expenses? The answer is obviously yes," said Kerman Maddox, a longtime church member and Los Angeles public relations executive. "Am I happy he took responsibility for it? Absolutely."

Maddox said the majority of church members supported Hunter and credited him with helping increase membership, among other things. On Sunday, more than 20 new members stepped to the front of the sanctuary and received blessings and welcome from Hunter and the congregation.

Dewey Rhodes, 54, an L.A. business consultant, said he trusted Hunter to do the right thing in resolving the issues. Rhodes said he had heard "buzz" about alleged financial improprieties since Hunter was appointed but had always dismissed them as groundless and did so again Sunday.

"He's an honest, straight-up person and wouldn't abuse anything," Rhodes said.

He added that Hunter was always at the church, preaching at three services each Sunday and looking in on choir practice, various church meetings and other activities. "He's the best."

Other congregants said they questioned how the credit card spending, which occurred between January 2005 and January 2008, could have slipped by church finance officials for so long. It finally surfaced this year during an independent audit and an investigation into Hunter's financial affairs by the Internal Revenue Service. IRS officials have declined to comment on the investigation.

"If there was any misuse of funds, I would be concerned," said Don Lee, a 60-year-old transit worker. "But I trust that our finance officials will take care of it."

Hunter's remarks did not satisfy everyone, however. One longtime member, who asked for anonymity to avoid retribution, said she had hoped that Hunter would have clearly apologized for his inappropriate credit card use rather than for the embarrassment caused the church. But Hunter more explicitly apologized for his "indiscretions and mistakes" at the noon service, said Irma Brown Dillon, a church finance official.

Another member, who asked to remain anonymous, said she was distressed by accounts of Hunter's spending when many of his congregants were poor.

"You are eating, wearing and driving our money," she said. "I am very hurt."

She said she would do her best to move forward.

"We could not be Christians without embracing forgiveness," she said. "But truth has to be part of forgiveness."

Source: LA Times

The "Homosexual" Bible Angers Christians

2008-12-02T13:10:00Z

A gay version of the Bible, in which God says it is better to be gay than straight, is to be published by an American film producer. New Mexico-based Revision Studios will publish The Princess Diana Bible - so named because of Diana's "many good works", it says - online at princessdianabible.com in spring 2009. A preview of Genesis is already available, in which instead of creating Adam and Eve, God creates Aida and Eve.

"And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Aida, and she slept: and he took one of her ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib, which the Lord God had taken from woman, made he another woman, and brought her unto the first. And Aida said, 'This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of me. Therefore shall a woman leave her mother, and shall cleave unto her wife: and they shall be one flesh.' And they were both naked, the woman and her wife, and were not ashamed."

The film studio said it would also adapt and direct the revised Bible as a two-part mini-series, The Gay Old Testament and The Gay New Testament, once it is completed.

"There are many different versions of the Bible; I don't see why we can't have one," said Max Mitchell, who directed the science fiction comedy Horror in the Wind, in which an airborne formula invented by two biogeneticists reverses the world's sexual orientation.

"I got the idea for the Princess Diana Bible from Horror In The Wind," he added. "After the world becomes gay, religious people create The Princess Diana Bible, which says that gay is right and straight is a sin. Then they burn all the King James Bibles."

The move has already provoked upset among Christians, with the blogger Douglas Howe at the Idol Chatter site describing it as "inspired by a political agenda and one person's desire to contort not only the text but the very context of it to suit his own perspective".

There was also criticism on Mitchell's Princess Diana Bible site, where one commentator said the choice of title was "very disrespectful to the late Princess Diana ... It's just one more thing to link her to what many people believe is immoral. Sad, very sad indeed."

But Mitchell said: "There are 116 versions of the Bible, why is any of them better than ours?"

Source: The Guardian

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Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford Arrested on Bribery Charges

2008-12-02T13:05:44Z

The mayor of Alabama's largest city, Larry Langford, was arrested Monday on federal bribery and fraud charges connected to a multibillion-dollar sewer bond deal that has driven the surrounding county to the brink of bankruptcy.

]]> Federal prosecutors in Birmingham said Langford, Montgomery investment banker Bill Blount and lobbyist Al LaPierre were charged in the 101-count indictment released Monday. The charges also include money laundering and filing false tax returns.

Langford is accused of receiving $230,000 in bribes from Blount, some of them routed through LaPierre, to influence the bond deals while Langford was president of the Jefferson County Commission. Blount's firm made $7.1 million in fees from the bond work.

The three men have denied any wrongdoing in the face of similar allegations contained in a lawsuit by federal regulators.

Langford, 60, was taken into custody around 7 a.m. Monday, FBI spokesman Paul Daymond said. Langford was president of the Jefferson County Commission before he was elected mayor last year. Birmingham is in Jefferson County.

The county is trying to avoid filing what would be the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history over $3.2 billion in debt for sewer bonds, nearly double the record of $1.7 billion set in 1994 by Orange County, California.

Those bonds went sour as the mortgage crisis hit and banks tightened up on lending, sending credit costs for the bonds skyrocketing.

The Securities and Exchange Commission accused Langford in a lawsuit of taking more than $156,000 in undisclosed payments and benefits from Blount and routed through LaPierre.

David McKnight, an attorney for Blount, said Blount was on his way to Birmingham to surrender.

An attorney for LaPierre, Tommy Spina, told The Birmingham News that LaPierre would be surrendering later Monday. Spina did not immediately return a call for comment.

The mayor's chief of staff said city business would go on as usual.

Source: AP

Former Kwame Kilpatrick Aide, Christine Beatty, Pleads Guiilty in Scandal (Video)

2008-12-02T13:00:15Z

Stoic and publicly silent through months of a sex scandal, the woman whose relationship with former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick led to his downfall broke her silence Monday, shedding tears as she pleaded guilty. Christine Beatty, a former aide to the mayor, accepted a four-month jail sentence in exchange for admitting to obstruction of justice charges for her actions in a civil lawsuit brought by two police officers.]]> The officers claimed Kilpatrick retaliated against them when they suspected wrongdoing by members of his inner circle.

Sexually explicit text messages between Kilpatrick and Beatty, published in January by the Detroit Free Press, contradicted witness-stand denials they were having an affair. Both were married at the time.

"I lied under oath," Beatty told the judge, echoing the words Kilpatrick used during his own guilty plea in September.

"I did so with the intent to mislead the court and jury and to impede and obstruct the fair administration of justice," she said in pleading guilty to two felonies.

Beatty, 38, initially was unable to choke back tears. Wayne County Circuit Judge Timothy Kenny gave her a moment to compose herself.

Beatty's jail sentence will begin Jan. 5. With credit for good behavior, she could be free in 100 days.

Beatty, the mother of two young daughters who has since gotten divorced, had vigorously fought her case until Monday.

"It was time to get it over with, get on with her life, get it out of her children's lives," defense lawyer Mayer Morganroth said outside court. "Otherwise it goes on and on."

Beatty refused to speak to reporters as she left the court.

Kilpatrick, 38, pleaded guilty three months ago, resigned from office and was sentenced to 120 days in jail.

Source: AP

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2008-12-02T12:56:00Z

Watch Top News Video from the Associated Press

Red Flags Fly High on Obama's Economic Team, by Earl Ofari Hutchinson

2008-12-02T12:55:19Z

Top Obama economic advisor Lawrence Summer is the consummate Wall Street, and yes another Clinton insider. His resume reads like a mini telephone book on the list of posts he's held in and out of every financial and government monetary agency imaginable.

]]> Any other time, Summers would and probably should be hailed as the apt go to guy for Obama to turn to for help in sorting out some of the economic mess. But Summer's role in helping create some of that economic mess raises one red flag.

That role has been lightly talked about. But simply revisiting the part he played in creating some of the havoc doesn't answer the even more compelling question and that's: Does Summers and indeed other Team Obama's economic advisors, all like Summers old Clinton hands, still see the prescription for financial health that they peddled to Bill Clinton as the same prescription for solving this crisis?

Much has already been made about how Bush and the Republicans eagerly cut sweetheart deals with financial industry lobbyists to gut lending and stock trading regulations, winked and nodded at the banks and brokerage houses as they engaged in an orgy of dubious stock swapping, buys, and trading, conned millions of homeowners into taking out catastrophic sub prime loans and watered down the oversight powers of government regulatory agencies.

Summers and Robert Rubin who both served as Clinton's Treasury secretaries lobbied Clinton and Congress hard in the late 1990s to dump most of the provisions of the decades old Glass-Steagall Act.

The Act was the 1930s Great Depression era measure that kept federally insured banks out of the go-go world of stock trading, exotic lending and financial speculation. It also set rigid standards for mortgage lending and strict oversight over banking practices.

The rationale for scrapping the Act was that U.S. banks and brokerage houses needed to have the restrictions snatched off to stay competitive with Asian and European bankers and financial traders. President Clinton bought the line. The revision bill passed with bipartisan support in 1999 and Clinton quickly signed it.

But that was only part of the financial deal cutting between the banks and Clinton and Congress. A year later Summers in tandem with then Texas GOP senator and Chair of the Senate Banking Committee Phil Gramm rammed through another "financial modernization" measure. This one took the wraps off government regulations that checked banks, insurance companies and brokerage houses from dumping billions into financial swaps (speculation) on commodities such as oil and food staples. The rationale was the same as that given for getting rid of Glass-Steagall and that was to keep the financial institutions as full profit centers with minimal to no government oversight accountability or investor, depositor and shareholder accountability.

The predictable quickly happened with the regulatory gloves off commercial banks, brokerage firms, hedge funds, institutional investors, pension funds and insurance companies could do whatever they wanted when it came to investing in each others businesses and marching in lock step with each other's financial operations. A buoyant Summers called the revamp of the financial industry as "the legislative foundation of the financial system of the 21st century".

The question that hangs precariously in the air is does Summers still think that the implosion of Wall Street which directly resulted from the terrible policies that he and other Clinton financial gurus orchestrated a decade ago and that has led to so much waste, misery and bickering is a fit model for righting the economic ship today? Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi evidently thinks so. She raised a red flag when she couldn't say enough good things about Summers and other former Clinton officials and the cast of Wall Street connected advisors that Team Obama's has put on public display.

Another red flag is that Obama's key economic players still may not have learned the right lessons from the havoc to the financial markets and damage to consumers the rush to give Wall Street a free rein created is Bill Clinton's reaction to the chaos. He has publicly said that he has no regrets over signing the deregulatory bill.

Still another red flag is the action of Senate Democrats. They helped to kill a bill in 2005 that would have re-imposed some constraints on the financial industry. The reason was the same as before; any limitation would stifle its ability to compete.

The final red flag that Obama's economic players may not be the right antidote for the crisis came from Obama. At his press conference unveiling the players, he assured that his team offered "sound judgment and fresh thinking" to deal with the dire economic peril. Time will tell on that one. But if the past is any predictor of things that can go wrong again, the red flags on Obama's economic team should fly high.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His forthcoming book is How Obama Won (Middle Passage Press January 2009)

Source: Huffington Post

President Bush Says He's Sorry for Economic Crisis that Has Cut Jobs, 401(k)s (Video)

2008-12-02T12:53:34Z

President George W. Bush expressed remorse that the global financial crisis has cost jobs and harmed retirement accounts and said he'll back more government intervention if needed to ease the recession.

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"I'm sorry it's happening, of course," Bush said in a wide-ranging interview with ABC's "World News," which was airing Monday. "Obviously I don't like the idea of people losing jobs, or being worried about their 401(k)s. On the other hand, the American people got to know that we will safeguard the system. I mean, we're in. And if we need to be in more, we will."

WATCH VIDEO HERE

The U.S. economy fell into a recession in December 2007, the National Bureau of Economic Research reported on Monday. Many economists believe the current downturn will last until the middle of 2009 and will be the most severe slump since the 1981-82 recession.

On the war in Iraq, Bush said the biggest regret of his presidency was the "intelligence failure" regarding the extent of the Saddam Husseinthreat to the United States. With the support of Congress, Bush ordered the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 -- a decision largely justified on grounds -- later proved false -- that Saddam was building weapons of mass destruction.

Asked if he would have ordered the U.S.-led invasion if intelligence reports had accurately indicated that Saddam did not have the weapons, Bush replied: "You know, that's an interesting question. That is a do-over that I can't do. It's hard for me to speculate."

During a discussion about what Americans should know about what it is like to be president, Bush was asked what he was most unprepared for going into the office.

"I think I was unprepared for war," he said. "In other words, I didn't campaign and say, `Please vote for me, I'll be able to handle an attack.' In other words, I didn't anticipate war. Presidents -- one of the things about the modern presidency is that the unexpected will happen."

On the presidential election, Bush called Barack Obama's victory a "repudiation of Republicans."

"I'm sure some people voted for Barack Obama because of me," said Bush, who leaves office with low approval ratings. "I think most people voted for Barack Obama because they decided they wanted him to be in their living room for the next four years explaining policy. In other words, they made a conscious choice to put him in as president."

As he leaves office, Bush said he felt responsible for the economic downturn because it's occurring on his watch, but he added: "I think when the history of this period is written, people will realize a lot of the decisions that were made on Wall Street took place over a decade or so" before he became president.

He said he would like to see "instant liquidity" in the markets given the extent of the financial rescue plan, yet he understands that fear has paralyzed the markets.

"It is hard for the average citizen to understand how frozen the system became and how over-leveraged the system became," Bush said. "And so what we're watching is the de-leveraging of our financial markets, which is obviously affecting the growth of the economy."

Last week, the Bush administration and the Federal Reserve pledged $800 billion to break through blockades on credit cards, auto loans, mortgages and other borrowing. The latest moves raised U.S. commitments to contain the financial crisis to nearly $7 trillion -- though no one thinks the government will actually spend that much.

The figures include loans that are expected to be repaid, loan authorities to back mortgages, purchases of stock in banks, guarantees to support loans among banks and pledges backing other transactions.

"This economy will recover," Bush said in the interview conducted last Wednesday at the Camp David, Md., presidential retreat. "And when it recovers, many of the assets backed by the government now will be redeemed, and we will -- could conceivably -- make money off of some of the holdings."

Later in the interview, he said: "I can't guarantee that we'll get all our money back, but it's conceivable we could."

Source: AP

JPMorgan Cutting 9,200 Jobs at Washington Mutual

2008-12-02T12:50:32Z

JPMorgan Chase & Co. said Monday it will cut a total of 9,200 jobs at Washington Mutual, which it acquired Sept. 25 after Washington Mutual became the nation's largest bank to fail amid the ongoing credit crisis. ]]> Of the 9,200 jobs being eliminated as JPMorgan integrates Washington Mutual, 4,000 will be cut by the end of January, a JPMorgan spokesman said. The remaining 5,200 employees will remain with JPMorgan through a transition period, but will lose their positions by the end of 2009.

Those 5,200 employees who stay on as transition workers will receive double their salary retroactive to Oct. 1 until their last day on the job, and be entitled to severance packages, the spokesman said.

Washington Mutual had between 41,500 and 42,000 employees nationwide when JPMorgan took over the bank at the end of September.

JPMorgan acquired most of Washington Mutual's assets from federal regulators in September after the Seattle-based bank failed amid the ongoing credit crisis that saw other banks struggle as well, such as Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., which filed for bankruptcy protection, and Wachovia Corp., which agreed to be sold to Wells Fargo & Co.

Washington Mutual was weighed down by its deep exposure to the crumbling mortgage market, which has been the hardest hit area of the markets since the middle of 2007. As mortgages increasingly defaulted beginning in 2007, Washington Mutual was forced to set aside billions of dollars to cover losses.

Shares of JPMorgan fell $5.54, or 17.5 percent, to $26.12 in Monday trading as the broader market tumbled as investors continue to worry about the sagging economy.

Source: AP

Big Bling Thanks from the President-Elect to his First Lady

2008-12-02T11:30:46Z

When Barack Obama took to the stage on election night, he was careful to court the dog lovers of the world by telling them he'd be buying his daughters a puppy. What he neglected to mention was the gift that he'd be giving his wife, Michelle.

]]> How, you might well have wondered, does a President-elect reward his first lady for putting up with two years of non-stop campaigning, and at least another four in the White House?

Well, now we know: he does it with a £20,000 piece of jewellery, crafted from the world's most expensive metal: rhodium. Rhodium?

The "Harmony" ring that Obama has ordered for his wife has been designed by the A-list Italian jewellery designer Giovanni Bosco, who's now busy knocking the thing into shape and encrusting it with diamonds before Inauguration Day rolls around on 20 January. Even dearer than those diamonds, however, will be the rhodium ring itself.

A hard metal from the platinum family, rhodium is mostly mined in South Africa and Russia, though only 25 tons of the stuff are extracted each year, most of which is put to work in aircraft spark plugs, precision optical instruments, LCD television screens and catalytic converters. Its typical worth is around £5,000 per ounce, hence the ring's estimated £20,000 price tag. Historically, when silver, gold and platinum simply didn't say "I love you", "Congratulations", or "I'm loaded" loud enough, rhodium has done the trick. Used in the world's most expensive pens and, indeed, to plate the Queen's crown jewels, rhodium was also the only metal sufficient to mark Paul McCartney's lifelong contribution to music. In 1979, the former Beatle was awarded a rhodium-plated disc by GuinnessWorld Records for being the bestselling songwriter and recording artist of all time. The Harmony ring, which Bosco's spokespeople call the company's "top of the range piece", is so sumptuous that even the jeweller will not disclose its true cost.

President-elect Obama's tastes are relatively restrained - he wears a functional watch, a simple wedding ring and sleek but unremarkable suits. His wife's sartorial success on the campaign trail wasn't achieved by spending big. In fact, her outfits are a solid mix of designer and off-the-rack, many found not on Fifth Avenue, but online at Jcrew.com. Not for Michelle the $70,000 outfits of Cindy McCain, nor the $150,000 shopping bills of Sarah Palin.

On the other hand, the First-Lady-in-waiting is not averse to a bit of bling, and has frequently been compared to that other White House style icon, Jackie Kennedy, whose jewellery continues to inspire knock-off collections to this day. (Fancy the look of a Jacqueline Kennedy Wedding Bracelet featuring 18 Simulated Pearls, 25 Swarovski Crystals and platinum plating? That'll be $99, thank you very much).

Michelle has occasionally invoked the style of Jackie with a string of faux pearls, made her distinctive brooches a staple of her public appearances and, on election night, complemented her controversial Narciso Rodriguez dress with diamond drop earrings and glittering silver bangles.

The rhodium ring, a gift truly fit for a First Lady, will make an impressive addition to her jewellery box.

Source: The Independent

Obama From Change Agent to Pragmatist

2008-12-02T09:00:15Z

The selection of experienced centrists -- Hillary Rodham Clinton, Robert Gates and James L. Jones -- to head President-elect Barack Obama's national security team points to the possibility that on Iraq, the incoming commander-in-chief may take a more measured path to ending American military involvement than he described during the presidential campaign.

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Obama's choices signal a more pragmatic, less ideological approach to asserting American leadership in the world. In announcing on Monday that Clinton is his choice for secretary of state and that Gates has agreed to remain as defense secretary -- with Jones as national security adviser in the White House -- Obama said he has intentionally surrounded himself with "strong personalities and strong opinions." And he made clear that when push comes to shove, he will be the one to make the tough calls.

Gates in particular has opposed setting a hard deadline for removing U.S. forces from Iraq, but he also has emphasized the need to transition the U.S. military mission from combat to support for Iraqi forces. And Gates shares Obama's view that some resources now in Iraq should be shifted to Afghanistan.

Obama will likely rely on Jones, who spent 40 years in the Marine Corps but has never served in the executive branch of government, to lay the groundwork by melding the views of Clinton and Gates.

In an Associated Press interview shortly after Obama's announcement in Chicago, Jones he feels well prepared for his expected role in building consensus among the key players on national security.

"I've always felt that the more senior I got, even in the military, the more important is the art of making people feel like they own part of the problem and also part of the solution. Raising consensus is important," he said.

"At the end of the day, when you need a decision you need to be able to go to the boss and say, `Okay, here is how things line up and here are the options and here's my recommendation and what do you want to do?'"

Loren Thompson, chief operating officer of the Lexington Institute, a Washington research group, said the combination of Clinton, Gates and Jones appears to fit well with Obama's pledge to be pragmatic when it comes to decisions about the use of military force and in building overseas alliances.

"The tone is centrist and non-ideological, which is quite a change from the Bush administration," he said.

In his younger days in the Marine Corps, Jones, 64, was known to some as "the Hawk" -- not as a reflection of his defense views but as a comment on the prominence of his nose. Today he is widely seen as nonpartisan; during the campaign he informally advised both Obama and John McCain.

Gates, while closely associated with a Republican administration, also has served in the White House during Democratic presidencies. At his news conference Monday, Obama said he didn't ask Gates to remain at thePentagon because of his party affiliation, although he has promised to have a Republican in his Cabinet.

"The point here is that I didn't going around checking people's political registration," Obama said. "What I was most concerned with was whether or not they can serve the interests of the American people."

The president-elect said he was parting ways with recent practice by assembling a diverse group of national security leaders.

"One of the dangers in a White House, based on my reading of history, is that you get wrapped up in group-think and everybody agrees with everything and there's no discussion and there are no dissenting views," he said. "So I am going to be welcoming a vigorous debate inside the White House.

"But understand, I will be setting policy as president. I will be responsible for the vision that this team carries out, and I will expect them to implement that vision once decisions are made."

Obama said he intends to stick to his campaign pledge to get U.S. combat forces out of Iraq within 16 months of taking office. But he also appeared to leave himself some wiggle room on the timetable.

"I believe that 16 months is the right timeframe," he said. "But as I have said consistently, I will listen to the recommendations of my commanders. And my number one priority is making sure that our troops remain safe in this transition phase and that the Iraqi people are well served by a government that is taking on increased responsibility for its own security."

In the AP interview, Jones said that the role of energy -- including U.S. dependence on foreign sources of oil -- deserves to play a bigger part in the U.S. government's national security deliberations and decision making. That meshes with one of the main messages Obama trumpeted during his campaign.

"National security is a broader portfolio in the 21st century than just the National Security Council, the State Department and the Defense Department," Jones said. "It's got to include energy."

Jones stressed that even though gasoline prices have fallen dramatically in recent weeks, the Obama administration can be expected to keep a sharp focus on seeking a long-term energy security policy.

"We're in an energy crisis. It would be foolish to take our eye off the ball and say we don't have an energy crisis anymore. We do," he said. "It's part of the national security portfolio and it will be treated as such. The breadth of national security issues is going to widen and we'll try to put together a National Security Council team that reflects that new reality."

Source: AP

Current Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice Says She Won't Give Hillary Clinton Too Much Advice

2008-12-02T08:55:08Z

Happily contemplating another woman as the top U.S. diplomat, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Monday she will offer advice, privately, and then get out of the way.

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"She won't -- and you won't -- hear from me again," Rice said on the day President-elect Barack Obama named Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to be the next secretary of state. "I will certainly not make the effort to comment on everything that is done."

Rice, in London on a farewell tour, said there's a lot to recommend the U.S. system of four-year presidential terms, and thus relatively short tours of duty for Cabinet ministers.

"You'll be a very hard act to follow," British Foreign Secretary David Miliband told her.

Rice also noted that Clinton would be the third woman among the last four people to be U.S. secretary of state. That fourth occupant of the job, Colin Powell, "was a black man, so white men are trailing pretty badly," Rice said. The third woman, Madeleine Albright, served during the administration of Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton.

The job is one of the most visible in the world, a distinction Rice has clearly enjoyed but also found confining.

"I am very fond of her, I think she has worked very hard on behalf of the country, I think she really comported herself well in the (Democratic presidential) campaign," Rice said of Clinton, who lost a tense nominating contest to Obama earlier this year.

Rice spoke to Clinton before she left Washington on Sunday, her spokesman said. Rice briefed Clinton on the aftermath of a terrorist rampage in India that has forced Rice to rearrange what had been planned as a low-stress European valedictory for a diplomat much better liked in European capitals than her boss.

Rice is scrapping much of the trip, including an evening in Rome, and flying to India to express direct U.S. condolences for the deaths of more than 170 people.

Obama did not announce his national security Cabinet until Monday, but Clinton had been the presumptive choice for weeks.

"She possesses an extraordinary intelligence and toughness, and a remarkable work ethic," Obama said in making it official. "She is an American of tremendous stature who will have my complete confidence, who knows many of the world's leaders, who will command respect in every capital and who will clearly have the ability to advance our interests around the world."

Clinton's nomination as secretary of state is another milestone for a former first lady who was the first to win elective office, the first to run for president herself and now the first to be chosen for a Cabinet position.

"I know that she will bring enormous energy and intellect and skill to the position," Rice told reporters in London. "Most important, I know her to be somebody who has what you need most in this job, which is a deep love for the United States of America and for its values, respect for differences that we may have with friends and allies, but always recognizing that the core of who we are as Americans unites us with very many around the world, particularly Great Britain," Rice said.

Rice's two-day London visit is almost certainly her last as secretary, and closes a circle begun with her first trip abroad shortly after taking the job in 2005. She made London her first stop on a European get-acquainted tour that was intended to turn the page on bad blood between the Bush administration and European allies angry about the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Things did get better, and Rice cooperated with European powers on several diplomatic projects. The Bush administration counts the evolution of Kosovo into an independent nation as one success story, and cooperation with European powers on Iran another. Rice dropped the Bush administration's previous bans on negotiations with Iran in hopes of coaxing the regime to back down on its nuclear program. That hasn't worked, but Rice got points with formerly quarrelsome allies for trying.

Rice has more goodbyes Tuesday in Brussels, where she sees NATO allies. The United States has a long-standing beef with some NATO nations over reluctance to send large numbers of fighting forces toAfghanistan, but the dispute has been cordial. The same is true for an emerging difference over engagement with Russia following last summer's war with Georgia.

The United States wants to take any cooperation with Russia very slowly, and to avoid overtly military partnerships.

Source: AP

President Bush: "I Was Unprepared for War"

2008-12-02T08:53:15Z

President George W. Bush confessed he was "unprepared for war" and that the lowest point of his presidency was his administration's mistake on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

]]> "The biggest regret of all the presidency has to have been the intelligence failure in Iraq," the outgoing Commander-in-Chief said in an interview with ABC's Charlie Gibson broadcast Monday night.

The outgoing President nonetheless believes that America will triumph in that war. "I believe we can win," he said. "I'm going to do what it takes to win in Iraq."

Bush made the candid comments in an "exit interview" with Gibson. In the interview, Bush reflected on his time in the Oval Office and looked toward his life post-presidency. He also weighed in on Barack Obama's victory after he ran a campaign that heavily criticized Bush's policies. "I think [the election] was a repudiation of Republicans," Bush said. "And I'm sure some people voted for Barack Obama because of me."

For all his acknowledged failings as President, Bush joked that he is indifferent to the judgment of history. "I'll be frank with you. I don't spend a lot of time really worrying about short-term history," he said. "I guess I don't worry about long-term history, either, since I'm not going to be around to read it."

Source: NBC Chicago

India Demanding Pakistan to Hand Over Terror Suspects

2008-12-02T08:50:23Z

India picked up intelligence in recent months that terrorists were plotting attacks against Mumbai targets, an official said Tuesday, as the government demanded that Islamabad hand over suspected terrorists believed living in Pakistan.

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A list of about 20 people -- including India's most-wanted man -- was submitted to Pakistan's high commissioner to India on Monday night, said India's foreign minister, Pranab Mukherjee.

India has already demanded Pakistan take "strong action" against those responsible for the attacks, and the U.S. has pressured Islamabad to cooperate in the investigation. America's chief diplomat,Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, will visit India on Wednesday.

The diplomatic wrangling comes as the government faces widespread accusations of security and intelligence failures after suspected Muslim militants carried out a three-day attack across India's financial capital, killing 172 people and wounding 239.

The only surviving attacker has told police that he and the other nine gunmen had trained for months in camps in Pakistan operated by the banned Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba.

India's foreign intelligence agency received information as recently as September that Pakistan-based terrorists were plotting attacks against Mumbai targets, according to a government intelligence official familiar with the matter.

The information was then relayed to domestic security authorities, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to talk publicly about the details. But it's unclear what, if anything, the government did with the intelligence after that.

The famous Taj Mahal hotel, scene of much of the bloodshed, had tightened its security with metal detectors and other measures in the weeks before the attacks, after being warned of a possible threat.

But the security precautions "could not have stopped what took place," Ratan Tata, chairman of the company that owns the hotel, told CNN. "They (the gunmen) didn't come through that entrance. They came from somewhere in the back."

A day after soldiers finishing removed the last bodies from the hotel, where the standoff finally ended Saturday morning, wood boards covered its marble latticework and seafront entrance as plain-clothed police searched for evidence.

The building was the last to be cleared, following the five-star Oberoi hotel, a Jewish center, and other sites struck in this city of 18 million.

On Monday, this kinetic financial and entertainment hub began returning to normal, as children returned to school, shopkeepers open their businesses and restaurants began serving again.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has promised to strengthen maritime and air security and look into creating a new federal investigative agency, met Tuesday with top security aides to review any government lapses.

Among the prisoners sought by India is Dawood Ibrahim -- a powerful gangster, the alleged mastermind of 1993 Mumbai bombings, and India's most-wanted man.

Also included is Masood Azhar, a terror suspect freed from an Indian prison in exchange for the release of hostages aboard an Indian Airlines aircraft hijacked on Christmas Day 1999.

Pakistan would consider India's request and respond after receiving the list, said Pakistani Information Minister Sherry Rehman.

"We must try to dampen down the discourse of conflict and work toward regional peace," she said.

While the cross-border rhetoric between Pakistan and India has increased since the attacks, both countries -- by their often-bellicose standards -- carefully refrained from making statements that could quickly lead to a buildup of troops along their already militarized frontier.

In India, Pakistan's high commissioner met with foreign ministry officials late Monday and was told that "elements from Pakistan" had carried out the attacks.

The commissioner was told that India "expects that strong action would be taken against those elements," said foreign ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash.

Pakistan has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said Monday the gunmen were "non-state actors," and the government has proposed a joint investigation.

With the investigation still under way, and FBI and Scotland Yard teams assisting, more details emerged about the suspects and the attacks.

The sole surviving attacker, Ajmal Qasab, told police his group trained over about six months in camps operated by Lashkar in Pakistan, learning close-combat techniques, hostage-taking, handling of explosives, satellite navigation, and high-seas survival skills, according to two Indian security officials familiar with the investigation. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the details.

Lashkar was outlawed in Pakistan under pressure from the U.S. in 2002, a year after Washington and Britainlisted it a terrorist group.

Qasab told investigators the militants hijacked an Indian vessel and killed three crew members, keeping the captain alive long enough to guide them into Mumbai, the two security officials said.

The men, ages 18-28, then came ashore in a dinghy at two different Mumbai areas before slipping into the city in two teams, officials said.

The gunmen hired two separate taxis after reaching Mumbai, planting bombs that later exploded in each vehicle, officials said. Two more unexploded bombs were found outside the Taj Mahal hotel.

The gunmen struck at several sites, including a train station, where they mowed down police and passers-by; the Jewish center; and the two luxury hotels, representing the city's wealth and tourism, reportedly seeking out Westerners.

The 19 foreigners killed were Americans, Germans, Canadians, Israelis and nationals from Britain, Italy, Mexico, Japan, China, Thailand, Australia, Singapore and Mexico.

Source: AP

IAEA Frustrated Over Lack of Transparency in Iran, Syria

2008-12-02T08:45:29Z

The International Atomic Energy Agency is holding a two-day meeting to examine reports on the alleged nuclear activities of Iran and Syria, both of which has sparked international concern. In comments before the commission on Thursday, agency chief Mohammed ElBaradei said neither country had done enough to assuage concerns about their programs.

]]> He urged Iran to clarify a number of issues about its nuclear program and to stop obstructing an IAEA probe into intelligence materials that the United States says shows the country studied how to design atomic bombs.

"There remain a number of outstanding issues, relevant to the alleged studies and associated questions identified in my last report to the board which give rise to concern and need to be clarified in order to exclude the existence of a possible military dimension to Iran's nuclear program. Regrettably, the agency has not been able to make substantive progress on these issues," he said.

Western nations fear Iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb. But Tehran insists the purpose of its nuclear enrichment program is to make energy.

This undated image released during a briefing by senior US officials shows alleged Syrian nuclear reactor built with North Korean help, which was hit by Israeli strike ElBaradei said also Syria has failed to clear suspicion that a desert site bombed by Israel last year was a nuclear reactor.

"As I stated in the report, while it cannot be excluded that the building in question was intended for non-nuclear use, the features of the building, along with the availability of adequate pumping capacity of cooling water, are similar to what may be found in connection with a reactor site," he said. In light of this, it is important that Syria provide the agency with documentation in support of its statements concerning the nature and function of the destroyed building."

In remarks to reporters earlier this week, the head of Syria's atomic energy commission ruled out follow-up visits to the site by IAEA experts. The IAEA's board has nonetheless approved a Syrian demand for technical assistance in planning a civilian nuclear power plant over U.S. objections.

Source: VOA News