Voice of Freedom’s Weblog

FLOWSERVE CORPORATION TO PAY $4 MILLION PENALTY FOR KICKBACK PAYMENTS
TO THE IRAQI GOVERNMENT UNDER THE U.N. OIL FOR FOOD PROGRAM

WASHINGTON - Flowserve Corporation (Flowserve) has agreed to pay a $4 million penalty as part of an agreement with the U.S. government regarding charges brought in connection with an ongoing investigation related to the United Nations Oil for Food program, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division announced today.

The Department of Justice today filed an agreement with Flowserve Corporation, as well as a criminal information against a Flowserve subsidiary, Flowserve Pompes SAS (Flowserve Pompes), in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Information charges that Flowserve Pompes engaged in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to violate the books and records provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

According to the agreement, Flowserve has acknowledged responsibility for the actions of its subsidiary, whose employees and agents paid kickbacks to the Iraqi government in order to obtain contracts for the sale of large-scale water pumps and spare parts for use in Iraqi oil refineries. The agreement requires the company to cooperate fully with the Department’s ongoing Oil for Food investigations.

According to the criminal information and the agreement filed today, between July 2002 and February 2003, employees of Flowserve Pompes: paid a total of approximately $604,651 and offered to pay an additional $173,758 in kickbacks to the Iraqi government by inflating the price of contracts by approximately 10 percent before submitting them to the United Nations for approval; and concealed from the United Nations the fact that the contract prices contained a kickback to the Iraqi government.

In a related matter, Flowserve reached a settlement today with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under which it agreed to pay a $3 million civil penalty and approximately $3.5 million in disgorgement of all profits, including pre-judgment interest, in connection with contracts for which its subsidiary paid kickbacks to the Iraqi government. In total, Flowserve has agreed to pay approximately $10.5 million in penalties in the criminal and SEC cases.

In recognition of Flowserve’s thorough review of the improper payments and the company’s implementation of enhanced compliance policies and procedures, the Department has agreed to defer prosecution of Flowserve Pompes for three years. If Flowserve and Flowserve Pompes abide by the terms of the agreement, the Department will dismiss the Criminal Information.

The Oil for Food Program was established by the United Nations to enable Iraq to sell its oil for humanitarian purposes in the context of an extensive international sanctions regime. The program mandated that the proceeds of oil sales be deposited in a U.N. bank account and that those proceeds be used by the Iraqi government only to purchase humanitarian goods and services approved by the United Nations, such as food and medicine. Beginning in 2000, the Iraqi government began requiring companies wishing to sell humanitarian goods to government ministries to pay a kickback, often mischaracterized as an “after sales services fee,” to the government in order to be granted a contract. The amount of that fee was usually 10 percent of the contract price. Such payments were not permitted under the Oil for Food Program or other sanction regimes then in place.

The Department’s investigation of Flowserve is being conducted by the Fraud Section of the Criminal Division along with the FBI’s Washington Field Office. This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Stacey Luck with assistance from Assistant Chiefs William B. Jacobson and Robertson Park.

The Department acknowledges and expresses its appreciation of the significant, ongoing assistance provided by the Enforcement Division of the SEC in the Department’s Oil for Food investigations.

9-11 workers marching on Washington, how badly has Bush dealt with the event on which his entire presidency is predicated? The terrorists attacks have been used as a catalyst for so many disastrous policies — the war in Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, extraordinary rendition, warrantless wiretapping, ad nauseam - but the workers who left their jobs and families to help rescue and clean up are dying from the side effects, without help from the government. There’s been little federal leadership to get something built in the gaping hole at Ground Zero, and Bush has repeatedly reduced anti-terrorism funding for New York City. How has the 9-11 president gotten away with failing to actually deal with the fallout from 9/11 and those it affected? How many press outlets will cover the workers’ march?

I’ll tell ya, not many…here is my google search for 9-11 workers marching on Washington.

February 22, 2008
Office of the United States Attorney
District of Arizona

U.S. CONGRESSMAN AND ASSOCIATES INDICTED ON MULTIPLE COUNTS INCLUDING FRAUD, EXTORTION, AND MONEY LAUNDERING

WASHINGTON - Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division, and U.S. Attorney Diane J. Humetewa announced today that a federal grand jury in Tucson, Ariz. returned a 35-count indictment yesterday against Richard G. Renzi,  of Flagstaff, Ariz., the U.S. Representative from Arizona’s first congressional district; James W. Sandlin, of Sherman, Texas, a real estate investor and Renzi’s business associate; and Andrew Beardall, of Rockville, Md., Renzi’s business associate.

The indictment charges Renzi and Sandlin in 27 counts with honest services wire fraud, extortion and money laundering, and conspiracies to engage in these acts, based on Renzi’s active involvement in the sale of Sandlin’s property in Cochise County, Ariz. to a participant in a federal land exchange proposal. The indictment alleges that Renzi and Sandlin previously owned land together in Kingman, Ariz. and that in 2003, Sandlin bought out Renzi’s interest for $200,000 and a note for $800,000. The indictment further alleges that in 2005, at a time when Sandlin still owed Renzi $700,000 in principal on the note, Renzi insisted that two separate entities doing business in Arizona purchase Sandlin’s property in exchange for his support on land exchange legislation.

The indictment also alleges that Renzi failed to disclose to either entity Sandlin’s $700,000 debt to him; that after the second entity purchased Sandlin’s property, Renzi failed to disclose to that group the $733,000 he received from Sandlin at the commencement and close of escrow in the spring and fall of 2005; and that Renzi failed to disclose to Congress his earnings from Sandlin in his 2005 financial disclosure statement. Finally, the indictment traces the manner in which Renzi and Sandlin used the alleged proceeds of the above unlawful activities for their own personal and business use.

the remaining counts of the indictment charge Renzi and Beardall with violations of federal insurance laws, by embezzling over $400,000 in insurance premiums from the trust account of the Patriot Insurance Agency, Inc., a business owned by the Renzi family in Santa Cruz County, Ariz., to fund his first Congressional campaign in 2001 and 2002, and by subsequently making false statements to influence state regulatory investigations.

Public corruption creates a cynicism for government and unfairly stains legions of honest public servants,” said Alice S. Fisher, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division. “These charges represent allegations that Congressman Renzi defrauded the public of his unbiased, honest services as an elected official. The Department of Justice will continue to enforce the laws that protect the integrity of our government. I want to thank the agents of the FBI and IRS, as well as the trial attorneys from the Public Integrity Section and the Assistant U.S. Attorneys from Arizona for their diligence investigating this case.”

Among the allegations contained in the indictment, Congressman Renzi misused his public office by forcing a land sale that would financially benefit himself and a business associate, and in so doing, he betrayed the trust of the citizens of Arizona,” stated U.S. Attorney Diane J. Humetewa. “This indictment demonstrates a commitment by the Department of Justice to root out public corruption wherever it is found. This commitment is grounded in a system of justice where all individuals, regardless of office or title, will be held accountable before the law, and which holds our elected leaders in whom we entrust great confidence to the very highest standards of ethical conduct. I want to thank the investigative agents of the FBI and the IRS, as well as the prosecutors whose combined work and dedication resulted in this indictment.”

Richard George “Rick” Renzi (born June 11 1958)  has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 2003, representing Arizona’s 1st congressional district.

Renzi is currently under federal investigation for his involvement in a land-swap deal.[1][2]. On April 19, 2007, the FBI raided his family business, and he temporarily resigned from the House Intelligence Committee.[3] On April 27 Renzi denied printed claims he was considering resigning office;[4] however, on August 23, Renzi announced he would not be a candidate for re-election in 2008.

Lol, big Duh there, you won’t run in 2008?.

Thank goodness our FBI worked to bring this case to an indictment, otherwise another “public official” would be bilking the public for who knows how long!!!

 Update:

Source: US Geological Survey (USGS), National Wildlife Health Center
official release [edited]
<http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/>

The condition in bats that is labeled ‘white-nose syndrome’ was first
noted among dead and hibernating bats within several caves near
Albany, New York in February 2007. During the late winter/early
spring of 2007, observation of bats with a white substance on their
noses was also accompanied by a bat die-off, with an estimated 90
percent mortality in one affected hibernaculum.

This winter [2007-2008], although substantial bat mortality has not
occurred, bat researchers have identified bats presenting with white
noses at hibernaculae in New York, Vermont, and Massachusetts. A
coordinated effort involving both state and Federal laboratories to
conduct postmortem evaluations of bats from sites harboring bats
presenting with white noses has been established.

Thus far, euthanized bats with and without white noses from affected
and unaffected sites have been examined, and laboratories are
standing by to receive additional specimens as mortalities occur. The
most noteworthy finding to date has been the poor body condition of
many of the bats examined — they had little or no subcutaneous white
fat stores. (more…)

In January, the Humane Society of the United States accused Westland/Hallmark of abusing “downed” cattle. The Humane Society released video that showed workers kicking cows, jabbing them near their eyes, ramming them with a forklift and shooting high-pressure water up their noses in an effort to force them to their feet for slaughter. Watch video of cows being abused »

Hillary Clinton Unveils Food Safety Plan

Following the largest beef recall in our nation’s history, Hillary Clinton highlighted a series of food safety proposals she would pursue as President. This recall is not an isolated case – it is yet another troubling reminder that our food supply is at risk. Each year, tens of millions of Americans contract food-borne illnesses every year; hundreds of thousands are hospitalized; and thousands die. And the risks are only growing. Last year alone, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) oversaw 21 recalls related to E. coli in meat, compared with just eight in 2006. One of those recalls involved more than 20 million pounds of ground beef that caused nearly 100 illnesses in the United States and Canada. In addition, yesterday’s recall by Hallmark/Westland is the second-largest supplier to the U.S. School Lunch program and a substantial supplier to other federal food and nutrition initiatives.

Hillary believes that American families should not have to worry about the safety of food on their dinner tables or in their children’s school lunches. That is why she has proposed common-sense – and long-overdue – food safety reforms, building on her work in the Senate. As President, she will: (more…)

Feds Urge Closure of Hurricane Trailers

STEPHEN PROTHERO:  …the United States is one of the most religious countries on earth, but Americans know nothing about religion, their own religions or the religions of other people.

There have been surveys done on this, not very many, but most Americans cannot name any of the Gospels. It’s about 50 percent, a little below, when you ask them to name a Gospel. Most don’t know that Genesis is the first book of the Hebrew Bible. Ten percent think that Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife. A sizeable minority think that Sodom and Gomorrah were a happily married biblical couple. This is the kind of stuff you get when you ask about the Bible, you ask about Judaism and Christianity.

If you shift over to religions outside of the Judeo-Christian canopy, it’s really quite astonishing. Americans will admit to a very high level of ignorance about Islam. There have been some surveys where people are asked: What do you know about Islam? Have you ever met a Muslim? Do you know anything about it? And Americans will typically run for the side of the survey that heads towards absolutely, positively nothing — that kind of response. There was a survey done of American teenagers, where the teenagers were asked simply to name the world’s religions, and half couldn’t name Judaism as a world religion. Half couldn’t name Buddhism as a world religion.

Now, religious illiteracy is a religious problem [even] inside religious communities. There’s a lot of writing among Jews about Jewish illiteracy. There’s a lot of hand-wringing since Vatican II among Catholics about Catholic illiteracy. Evangelicals are very worried about biblical illiteracy If you do Google searches on these kinds of terms, Jewish literacy, Catholic literacy, biblical literacy and illiteracy, you get a lot of hits.

But the angle of approach for me in this project was the civic and political side. Instead of seeing religious illiteracy as a religious problem for religious people, I’m looking at it as a civic problem and I’m looking at it from two angles. The first is the domestic angle, where we have politics now where we used to have one religious party and now we have two religious parties, in the sense that Democrats have now joined Republicans in deciding that it’s smart to talk about God and it’s smart to talk about faith because that’s the way you get elected.

So basically we have a politics where politicians on both sides are being encouraged to talk about religion, about their own faith, but also to connect their public policy initiatives to religious ideas, particularly to biblical ideas and Jewish and Christian ideas. Hillary Clinton now, when she talks about immigration, she’s quite likely to talk about the Good Samaritan story and to say why do I think that an immigration bill, where we have to turn in people who come over the border illegally, why do I think that’s wrong? Well, because of the Good Samaritan story. You know, we’re supposed to treat foreigners in a good way. We’re supposed to treat them like our neighbors, according to the Bible.

In this kind of politics, it seems to me that it’s imperative for citizens to know something about religion. How can you engage a politician who is rightly or wrongly invoking the Bible or invoking religion for political purposes on issues like gay marriage or abortion or the environment or poverty or euthanasia or capital punishment or war without knowing something about religion yourself?

We shouldn’t have a politics that is so infused with religion. Europeans, apparently, get along perfectly without it. Why do we have to be different? This is a violation in some way of at least the spirit of the First Amendment if not the letter of the First Amendment.

And my response is, well, that’s all well and good, but we have the country that we have and people are going to be talking about religion on television. Politicians are going to be invoking religious reasons for their public policy stances, and we, as citizens and as journalists and academics, should know something about religion so we can engage them, and also so we can — I think, in some cases — so we can flush out the demagogues who have a kind of religious invocation where they’re sort of invoking God or invoking religion without actually having a religious argument underneath that invocation. So that’s the domestic side.

The international side, to me, is even more urgent. This is where we have a situation like Madeline Albright observed in her book, The Mighty and the Almighty. When she was secretary of state under [President] Clinton, she had a couple dozen economic advisers she could call any time of the day or night when she wanted to figure out what was going on with the economy of some country, or the political situation. But she didn’t have anybody that she could call up and say explain to me this Sunni-Shiite thing, or what’s going on in Afghanistan with religion, or in Kashmir do people really care about Hinduism and Islam there and is that operative? Or, what’s going on with the civil war in Sri Lanka between Hindus and Buddhists? I thought Buddhists were nice to each other; I didn’t think that they liked to kill people for religious reasons.

She also observed that there’s no requirement for ambassadors to countries that have substantial religious populations, that they know anything about that religion. There’s neither a prerequisite nor a policy for having U.S. ambassadors to Middle Eastern countries, for example, have any training in Islam or to know one salient difference between Sunnis and Shiites; or for the ambassador to India to know anything about Hinduism whatsoever….

…I’m of the party that doesn’t believe the culture wars are really raging out there around religion in ordinary America. I think that it’s the conflict narrative imperative of journalism that breeds the false assumption that culture wars are really rife.

So I think there’s a perception that that’s what’s going to happen in the public schools, that it’s going to be like a Christopher Hitchens and a Jerry Falwell in the classroom, and they’re going to be talking about stuff. And, of course, if that were my proposal, I would not propose it. But my proposal is that we would read the Sermon on the Mount and say this is a very influential text in world history and it was not delivered by Billy Graham, as a third of Americans believe the Sermon on the Mount was delivered by and that we should know what it says because it’s the sort of thing that politicians appeal to, that John Edwards appeals to when he talks about poverty, and that pacifists have appealed to when they talk about “Blessed are the peacemakers,” and you can’t understand the history of American pacifism without understanding that text.
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/723/what-americans-should-but-dont–know-about-religion

This was sent to me by one of our readers, M. Winters:

One day a florist goes to a barber for a haircut.  After the cut he asked about his bill and the barber replies, ‘I cannot accept money from you. I’m doing community service this week.’  The florist was pleased and left the shop.

When the barber goes to open his shop the next morning there is a ‘thank you’ card and a dozen roses waiting for him at his door.

Later, a cop comes in for a haircut, and when he tries to pay his bill, the barber again replies, ‘I cannot accept money from you.  I’m doing community service this week.’  The cop is happy and leaves the shop.

The next morning when the barber goes to open up there is a ‘thank you’ card and a dozen donuts waiting for him at his door.

Later that day, a college professor comes in for a haircut, and when he tries to pay his bill, the barber again replies, ‘I cannot accept money from you.  I’m doing community service this week.’ The professor is very happy and leaves the shop.

The next morning when the barber opens his shop, there is a ‘thank you’ card and a dozen different books, such as ‘How to Improve Your Business’ and ‘Becoming More Successful.

‘Then, a Congressman comes in for a haircut, and when he goes to pay his bill the barber again replies, ‘I cannot accept money from you.  I’m doing community service this week.’  The Congressman is very happy and leaves the shop.

The next morning when the barber goes to open up, there are a dozen Congressmen lined up waiting for a free haircut.

And that, my friends, illustrates the fundamental difference between the citizens of our country and the members of our Congress.

Vote carefully this year

JACKSON, Miss. - A state lawmaker wants to ban restaurants from serving food to obese customers — but please, don’t be offended. He says he never even expected his plan to become law.

I was trying to shed a little light on the number one problem in Mississippi,” said Republican Rep. John Read of Gautier, who acknowledges that at 5-foot-11 and 230 pounds, he’d probably have a tough time under his own bill.

…Al Stamps, who owns a restaurant in Jackson, said it is “absurd” for the state to consider telling him which customers he can’t serve. He and his wife, Kim, do a bustling lunch business at Cool Al’s, which serves big burgers - beef or veggie - and specialty foods like “Sassy Momma Sweet Potato Fries.”

“There is a better way to deal with health issues than to impose those kind of regulations,” Al Stamps said. “I’m sorry - you can’t do it by treating adults like children and telling them what they can and cannot eat.”

Aw, geeze another republican that wants to stop somebody from doing something that is not illegal, and wants to police the population using OUR government as it driving force.

Downed cattle (cattle that cannot stand or walk because of illness) are not supposed to go into our food chain. That’s exactly how Mad Cow Disease made it into people. But, greed once again rules the day and downer cattle are in fact being led to slaughter, in a horrific fashion I might add.

…Schools are scrambling to pull downer meat off the menu because cows are being abused, and even Agricultural Secretary Ed Schafers issues a statement on downer cow brutality (Watch the Whistleblower video on this issue!!!):

“I am deeply concerned about the allegations made regarding inhumane handling of non-ambulatory disabled cattle in a federally inspected slaughter establishment…. We are confident in our inspection system and the food safety regulations that ensure the safety and wholesomeness of the food supply. Among the federal safeguards in place, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) prohibits non-ambulatory disabled cattle and cattle tissue identified as specified risk materials for use in human food.

USDA study published in August 2004 that found that downer cows had three times more E. coli O15:H7 than other cows. We worry about abused cows, or dogs and cats being poisoned by the Chinese, but do we worry about feeding cow shit to our kids?…

Marler Blog tell us subscribing to Marler Blog keeps you up on what is going on in the food industry, and it does…how many people know this information about Downer Cattle other than the few that do keep up with the food and disease industries.

There are already laws against this treatment of sick animals. Contact your State Reps and Congressmen and let them know that you will not stand for the abuse of sick and dying animals, and the slaughter of sick and downed animals for human consumption. Tell them that you will spread the word about this abuse until they take action and do something to stop these sick and dying animals being abused and slaughtered for human consumption.