Fat Tuesday
Called a Vigilante, Praised as a Newsman
By ALAN FEUER (NYT) 868 words
Published: July 28, 2004
Edward Caraballo went off to Afghanistan this April with a camera in his hand. His friends and colleagues say he was chasing the story of a lifetime: the shadowy tale of Jonathan Keith Idema, a former Green Beret who claims to have fought in the Afghan war.
Afghan prosecutors, however, say Mr. Caraballo did much more than follow the story. They contend that he joined forces with Mr. Idema in what amounted to a vigilante war against terrorism in the country.
Last week, Mr. Caraballo, Mr. Idema and another American, Brent Bennett, were charged in Kabul with running a private jail for terror suspects in Afghanistan. The three were arrested on July 5 after the police found eight Afghans being held prisoner in Mr. Idema's house.
The charges have shocked and angered Mr. Caraballo's peers and relatives, who adamantly insist that he is not a gun-slinging vigilante but an award-winning video journalist. They say he did not travel to Afghanistan to fight a private war against the Taliban or Al Qaeda, but to document a fascinating story.
''There's no doubt in my mind -- or in the minds of anyone who's ever worked with Ed -- that he's a first-class photojournalist,'' said Gary Scurka, who worked with Mr. Caraballo in the 1990's at WWOR, Channel 9 television in New York. ''Anyone who's trying to say that he's not a journalist or that he went over there to be a vigilante is simply mistaken. Ed is a very well recognized, award-winning journalist. I've won awards with Ed.''
Mr. Scurka said, for example, that he and Mr. Caraballo won an Emmy Award for a report on car-theft rings in Newark that they produced in 1990 and 1991. Tom Goodman, a spokesman for the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, which awards the Emmys, said Mr. Caraballo won a total of four in 1992 and 1993.
Others are taking a more distanced position. The Committee to Protect Journalists, a group in New York that often helps reporters in difficult situations, said it was not involved in Mr. Caraballo's defense.
''We're monitoring the case,'' said Wachuka Mungai, a spokeswoman for the group, ''but as of now, we haven't found any conclusive evidence that his arrest was linked to his work as a journalist. He may be a journalist, but as far as we can tell, his arrest doesn't have anything to do with journalism.''
Mr. Scurka said Mr. Caraballo was known around the newsroom as a talented and aggressive cameraman who ''really knew what he was doing.''
His work at WWOR, said Joe Collum, another colleague, included stories on drug gangs, the Mafia, day trading, police brutality and Russian sex slaves. ''The thing that always impressed me about Ed was his enthusiasm,'' Mr. Collum said. ''He was really enthused about the news.''
Mr. Scurka said he was so impressed with Mr. Caraballo that when he left WWOR to work for CBS News, he brought Mr. Caraballo along as a freelance cameraman.
It was Mr. Scurka who first introduced Mr. Caraballo to Mr. Idema, a former member of the Special Forces who was on active duty for three years in the 1970's and who has made something of a name for himself among journalists as an antiterrorism expert. Mr. Scurka said he introduced Mr. Caraballo to Mr. Idema about five years ago. Mr. Scurka met Mr. Idema himself in 1994 when he was sent on assignment by CBS News to North Carolina, where Mr. Idema was awaiting sentencing on a wire fraud charge.
''Ed's film is apparently about Idema's activities in Afghanistan,'' Mr. Scurka said. ''I don't know exactly what the project is, but the idea was to document what Keith Idema did back in 2001, and Ed went back to Afghanistan to talk with people and check out the environment.''
Mr. Caraballo's brother Richard said the film was based on a book, ''The Hunt for Bin Laden,'' by Robin Moore. Mr. Idema has said he co-wrote the book, the story of a Special Forces team assigned to capture Osama bin Laden.
''I'm here to tell you that my brother is not a gun-for-hire or a prison warden,'' Richard Caraballo said. ''He was just chasing a great story.''
Far from a thrill-seeker or a vigilante, he said, his brother was a gentle man with a 3-year-old daughter. ''Eddie is not a reckless person,'' he said. ''The only reason for why he put his life in such danger is that he had confidence in this guy's credentials,'' he added, referring to Mr. Idema.
Edward Caraballo had never worked in a war zone before, but his brother said the move made sense.
''He worked as a freelancer,'' he said. ''The fact that he turns up in Afghanistan freelancing on a documentary, there's no mystery here. It's the logical arc of a journalist's life.''
Photo: Edward Caraballo at a hearing last week in a courtroom in Kabul.
http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F30F12F639590C7B8EDDAE0894DC404482
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The Times Picayune
Musicians, revelers jam the Quarter, riverfront
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
By Jeff Duncan
Staff writer
The sounds of New Orleans returned to the city Tuesday as thousands of Carnival revelers packed the French Quarter and riverfront to celebrate Lundi Gras and enjoy the unseasonably warm weather.
At Spanish Plaza, trumpeter Irvin Mayfield entertained a bobbing mob of partyers under a bright blue sky.
Downriver, teen fiddler Amanda Shaw energized a throng of fans at Woldenberg Park.
A few blocks away in the French Quarter, the Original Camellia Jazz Band of New Orleans filled the air with trumpet blasts and banjo licks.
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-5/114111052868070.xml
King Zulu postpones reign but rides today
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
By Leslie Williams
Staff writer
The Algiers home of Larry A. Hammond, the man who was to be King Zulu this year, escaped Hurricane Katrina's floodwaters, but the storm hurled trees into his pool. Hurricane Rita followed, toppling more trees and damaging his home's roof.
Katrina ripped away all but two steps and the concrete porch of the 9th Ward home of his mother-in-law, Odile Phillips, and sent other relatives seeking refuge in Houston, Dallas and Atlanta.
Hammond's life in the past six months and his separation from those he holds in esteem begins to explain why he opted to postpone his reign as King Zulu this Carnival season and at today's parade -- why Zulu rolls sans king, queen and celebrated characters.
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/metro/index.ssf?/base/news-13/114111039168070.xml
Deadline nears for move off ships
But St. Bernard residents' lawsuit against FEMA still up in the air
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
By Susan Finch
Staff writer
The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Monday it will meet a Wednesday deadline to get more than 1,400 people, most of them first responders and their families in New Orleans and in St. Bernard Parish, out of emergency quarters on three cruise ships and into ready-to-occupy travel trailers or local hotel rooms.
But there could be a partial change in plans depending on the outcome of negotiations between FEMA lawyers and an attorney for St. Bernard residents who on Friday sued to force FEMA to keep one of the vessels, the Scotia Prince, berthed for another six months in Violet.
It's unclear whether the outcome of that suit also would affect Carnival Cruise Lines' Ecstasy and Sensation, which are moored in New Orleans. But Chalmette lawyer Michael Ginart Jr., who represents the St. Bernard plaintiffs, said he hopes to convince FEMA brass that the Scotia Prince is providing the storm-ravaged parish "special services, not just occupancy."
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-5/114111007768070.xml
Bill puts brakes on party switching
Lawmakers begin next agenda in B.R.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
By Ed Anderson
Capital bureau
BATON ROUGE -- A political candidate who qualifies under one party's banner would not be able to switch parties and requalify for the same office if a bill filed by a north Louisiana lawmaker becomes law.
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/capital/index.ssf?/base/news-3/114111043468070.xml
Proviso on housing aid worries Blanco
Shrinking of N.O. feared if spending restrictions stand
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
By Bill Walsh
Washington bureau
WASHINGTON -- Gov. Kathleen Blanco expressed concern Monday that language attached to the $4.2 billion President Bush recently proposed for additional housing recovery financing in southeastern Louisiana could radically alter the landscape in New Orleans.
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/washington/index.ssf?/base/news-1/114110992268070.xml
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Jeb Bush Asked to Explain Cruise Ship Deal
By HOPE YEN , 02.28.2006, 05:47 PM
A top House Democrat released e-mails Tuesday detailing Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's role in pushing a $236 million federal contract for Carnival Cruise Lines to house Hurricane Katrina victims.
In a letter, Rep. Henry Waxman of California called on Bush to explain his role in the award of the "lucrative contract," which was given to the Florida-based company without a full competitive bid process. The e-mails Waxman released were provided to Congress by Michael Brown, former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The Carnival Cruise Lines contract has turned out to be enormously expensive," Waxman wrote to Gov. Bush, the president's younger brother. "The e-mails from Mr. Brown provide the first confirmation of your involvement in the award of this contract and the first details of your contacts with Carnival and FEMA."
A spokesman for Bush's office, Russell Schweiss, called any charges of impropriety baseless.
"The governor's involvement was merely facilitating contact with a corporate citizen of Florida that was seeking to provide immediate housing relief," Schweiss said. "Any assertion the governor had to do with any contracting negotiations or further action by FEMA is unfounded."
The Sept. 3 deal with Carnival for three full-service cruise ships - which sat half-empty for weeks in the Gulf Coast - has been criticized by lawmakers of both parties as a prime example of wasted spending in Hurricane Katrina-related contracts.
The contract, which leased the ships for six months, expires this week.
A preliminary review by Homeland Security inspector general Richard Skinner earlier this month found the decision to award the contract "was reasonable under the urgent circumstances," although an investigation of the deal's specific terms was continuing.
According to Waxman, Bush forwarded to Brown, then the FEMA director, an e-mail from a Carnival advertising executive proposing that the company's ships be used for housing two days after the Aug. 29 storm.
The Carnival official, Ric Cooper, has been a major political donor to the Florida and national Republican parties, including $65,000 to the state GOP in 2002, and $50,00 to the RNC in 2004, Waxman said.
Less than three hours later, Brown replied to Cooper, saying he thought it was a "great idea."
"One of my HQ folks working the housing issue is going to contact you directly," Brown wrote. "If you haven't heard from them by close of business tomorrow, please call me on my cell phone ...Thanks. MDB"
On Sept. 1, Cooper then appealed to Brown and Brad Gair, FEMA's housing area command director, to speed along its consideration of Carnival's bid, saying the company needed to make plans accordingly.
After Gair replied that he had done all he could and the matter was now in the hands of FEMA contracting, Brown expressed impatience. "Why? Why isn't this red tape being cut?" he wrote, two days before the deal was finally handed to Carnival.
Waxman, the top Democrat on the House Government Reform Committee, called on Bush to provide a timeline of his contacts with Carnival and Brown as well as other documents relating to the Carnival proposal.
Carnival officials have defended the deal, saying the company will not make extra profit because the $236 million price covers the revenue it would normally receive for up to 120,000 passengers it could book.
A spokeswoman for Carnival, Jennifer De La Cruz, called the charges a "baseless controversy" that is "old news."
"The ships have played an effective and critical role in housing and feeding thousands of people who desperately needed help and we are extremely gratified to have been there for them," she said.
http://www.forbes.com/entrepreneurs/feeds/ap/2006/02/28/ap2559857.html
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The city does look good. It's nice to see. No matter what anyone says, Mayor Nigan did a great job. He should be allowed to finish it. He has the knowledge and experience to get New Orleans though the next season. He also is demanding about replacing the wetlands. I like Nigan.
Mardi Gras comes home to New Orleans
By Howard Reich
Tribune arts critic
Published February 28, 2006, 8:47 PM CST
NEW ORLEANS -- For a few precious hours, old New Orleans was back. Elaborate floats streamed down Canal Street, brass bands blasted in the French Quarter and Mardi Gras Indians chanted and danced in the neighborhoods Tuesday.
Even the ubiquitous Southern Comfort billboards announced the city's defiant optimism: "Nothing cancels Mardi Gras. Nothing,"
To those who love this city, Mardi Gras 2006 was as much celebration as homecoming, a jubilant affirmation that not even the wrath of Hurricane Katrina could blow away the city's age-old cultural traditions.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-060228mardigras,1,4277109.story?coll=chi-news-hed
For Toussaint, 'Our New Orleans' Lives On
World Cafe, February 28, 2006 · Legendary New Orleans musician and producer Allen Toussaint has played a major role in Our New Orleans, a benefit album recorded in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Since the 1950s, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has played an integral role in the "Nawlins" musical community.
While in his early 20s, after already making a splash on the New Orleans music scene Toussaint accumulated a string of hits for Minit Records, producing, writing, arranging and often performing on tracks by people like Ernie K-Doe, Irma Thomas and the Neville Brothers. Toussaint cut his first solo record for RCA in 1958, with more to follow.
Several of his earlier tunes became instrumental standards, including "Whipped Cream" which was the Herb Alpert hit also used as the theme for television's <>The Dating Game. In the 1970s, Toussaint produced some of the most influential recordings of the time, including Dr. John's "Right Place, Wrong Time" and Labelle's "Lady Marmalade."
Through new recordings from the likes of Irma Thomas, Dr. John, Buckwheat Zydeco and more, Our New Orleans reflects on what the city once was, what it became after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the flood, and what the future holds.
Toussaint contributes two tracks, his solo piano rendition of "Tipitina and Me" and the rhythmic "Yes We Can Can." The album opens with "Yes We Can Can," produced by the great Joe Henry.
The song, written in the '70s, has now reached an almost anthemic status, as Toussaint urgently sings: "Now is the time for all good men/ To get together with one another/ Oh yes we can, I know we can can."
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5238047
Pop star Britney Spears celebrates Mardi Gras in New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Britney Spears spent part of Mardi Gras with a group of students whose lives were upended when hurricane Katrina devastated the area six months ago.
Standing in the French Quarter surrounded by St. Catherine of Siena School dancers wearing Gatorettes uniforms, the 24-year-old pop star, a Louisiana native, talked on ABC's Good Morning America Tuesday of her recent "surprise" meeting with four students from Our Lady of Mount Carmel School of New Orleans.
http://www.canada.com/topics/entertainment/story.html?id=3408466d-703e-493e-843c-e98a60d51429&k=7849
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DUBAI FUNDS NEIL BUSH'S COMPANY
Monday, February 27, 2006 - FreeMarketNews.com
LINKED NEWS ANALYSIS
Investors from the United Arab Emirates helped fund the $23 million Neil Bush raised for Ignite!, the learning systems company that holds lucrative No Child Left Behind Act contracts in Florida and Texas. The "Cow" is an Ignite! portable computer designed to work in a classroom, providing interactive instruction aimed at improving students' scores on standardized tests. If you loved Billy Carter and "Billy Beer," you're certain to love Neil Bush and the "Ignite! Cow."
http://www.freemarketnews.com/WorldNews.asp?nid=8389
Investors from the United Arab Emirates helped fund the $23 million Neil Bush raised for Ignite!, the learning systems company that holds lucrative No Child Left Behind Act contracts in Florida and Texas. The "Cow" is an Ignite! portable computer designed to work in a classroom, providing interactive instruction aimed at improving students' scores on standardized tests. If you loved Billy Carter and "Billy Beer," you're certain to love Neil Bush and the "Ignite! Cow."
Neil Bush's frequent travels to Dubai are documented by Datamatix, a Dubai-based information technology company that has featured Neil Bush as a speaker. The Datamatix website features several prominent photographs of Neil Bush addressing a Dubai conference, identifying Neil Bush as "the brother of U.S. President George Bush."
Dubai's Datamatix appears to be bipartisan, as the company's website also shows Dubai appearances of various Democratic Party luminaries including Al Gore (with and without a beard), Sandy Berger – the National Security Adviser under President Clinton who achieved fame by stuffing classified documents in his socks – and Howard Dean, the current Democratic National Committee chairman. The site also shows photographs of Tipper Gore and John Sununu receiving "Token of Appreciation" awards in Dubai from Datamatix. Anti-Bush Internet websites have been touting the Neil Bush connection with Dubai for months, although the story has been largely shut out of the mainstream media. (See Debbie Schlussel's Feb. 23, 2006, column, "Something's Rotten in Dubai.")
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/printer-friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=49012
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The News Secretary
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National Baseball HOF adds Negro Leagues picks
03:06 AM CST on Tuesday, February 28, 2006
By GERRY FRALEY / The Dallas Morning News
The National Baseball Hall of Fame tried to right a long-standing wrong Monday by bringing in a group of 17 from the Negro Leagues and pre-Negro Leagues.
The class featured the first woman Hall of Famer: Effa Manley, who owned and operated the highly successful Newark Eagles for 12 years.
Four Texans were elected: catcher Biz Mackey of Eagle Pass; catcher Louis Santop of Tyler; left-hander Andy Cooper of Waco and outfielder Willard Brown of Houston.
Capsules of the 17 people elected Monday to the Hall of Fame by a special committee on the Negro Leagues and the pre-Negro League. Information comes from the Hall of Fame Web site (www.baseballhalloffame.org):
Negro Leagues Players (7)
Ray Brown: Born Feb. 23, 1908, in Alger, Ohio. Died Feb. 8, 1965, in Dayton, Ohio. Batted right. Threw right. A starting pitcher from 1931-1945, pitching exclusively for the Homestead Grays starting in 1932 and helping the team win eight Negro National League pennants in nine years from 1937-1945. Ranks second in career winning percentage (.704), fifth in wins (105) and ninth in shutouts (13). Had a 3.20 career ERA.
Willard Brown: Born June 26, 1915, in Shreveport, La. Died Aug. 4, 1996, in Houston. Batted right. Threw right. Played 15 seasons in the Negro Leagues, five seasons in the minors, and 10 seasons in Puerto Rico. In the Negro Leagues, had a .351 career batting average, an on-base average of .374, and a .576 slugging average. Played on five pennant-winning teams (1937, 1939-1942, 1946 Kansas City Monarchs) and one world championship team (1942 Kansas City Monarchs). Brown was the only member of the new Hall class who played in the majors. An outfielder, he hit .179 with one home run in 21 games for the St. Louis Browns in 1947.
Andy Cooper: Born April 24, 1898, in Waco, Texas. Died June 3, 1941, in Waco, Texas. Batted right. Threw left. Pitched 19 of 22 seasons in the Negro Leagues, including nine years with the Detroit Stars and 10 with the Monarchs. Had more than 10 wins seven times, had a 116-57 career record and was the Negro National League career saves leader with 29.
Biz Mackey: Born July 27, 1897, in Eagle Pass, Texas. Died Sept. 22, 1965, in Los Angeles, Calif. Batted both. Threw right. Caught 24 seasons between 1920-47, primarily with the Hilldale Giants, Philadelphia Stars, Newark Eagles, Indianapolis ABCs and Baltimore/Washington Elite Giants. Also made brief appearances with the Baltimore Black Sox and Homestead Grays. Had .329 career average, batting .418 with Indianapolis in 1922 and .413 with Hilldale in 1923 and .426 with Hilldale in 1930. Sixth in career RBIs with 412 and seventh in total bases with 1,389. Managed the Newark Eagles in 1946 when they won the Negro League World Series.
Mule Suttles: Born March 31, 1900, in Blocton, Ala. Died July 9, 1966, in Newark, N.J. A first baseman/outfielder who had a .327 career average for the Newark Eagles, Chicago American Giants, Birmingham Black Barons and other teams. Played in 1921 and from 1923-44, hitting .300 or higher 13 times. Managed the Newark Eagles at the end of his playing career.
Cristobal Torriente: Born Nov. 16, 1893, in Cienfuegos, Cuba. Died April 11, 1938, in New York. Batted left. Threw left. An outfielder who spent 17 seasons in black baseball with the Cuban Stars (West), All Nations, Chicago American Giants, Detroit Stars, Kansas City Monarchs, and the Cleveland Cubs. Had .339 career average in the Negro Leagues, including a .432 average in 1920. Hit .300 or higher eight times and 11th among Negro Leaguers career RBIs with 309.
Jud Wilson: Born Feb. 28, 1894, in Remington, Va. Died June 24, 1963, in Washington, D.C. Batted Left. Threw right. Played from 1922-1945 with the Baltimore Black Sox (nine years), Homestead Grays (seven years), Pittsburgh Crawfords and Philadelphia Stars (eight years). Started as a third baseman, then moved to first. Had .351 career batting average, among the top five in Negro Leagues history, .421 on-base percentage and .507 slugging percentage. Hit .300 or higher 16 times, including his first 14 seasons, and hit .400 or higher four times.
Pre-Negro Leagues Players (5)
Frank Grant: Born Aug. 1, 1865, in Pittsfield, Mass. Died May 27, 1937, in New York. Starting in 1886, Grant played six consecutive seasons in organized baseball. Primarily a second baseman, he began with Meriden (Conn.) of the Eastern League, then joined the International League's Buffalo Bisons, where he stayed until 1888. In 1889 and 1891 he played for all-Black teams in the minor leagues, and in 1890 he starred for the Harrisburg Ponies of the Pennsylvania State League and the Atlantic Association (Double-A). He the IL in 1887 with 11 homers and 49 extra-base hits.
Pete Hill: Born Oct. 12, 1880, in Pittsburgh. Died Nov. 26, 1951, in Buffalo, N.Y. A top power hitter, his playing career began in 1899 with the Pittsburgh Keystones and extended through 1926. He played with many of the top pre-1920 teams, including the Leland Giants and Chicago American Giants. Hill managed near the end of his career with the Milwaukee Bears.
Jose Mendez: Born March 19, 1887, in Cardenas, Matanzas, Cuba. Died Oct. 31, 1928, in Havana. Played from 1908-26 and managed the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro National League from 1920-26. A right-handed pitcher, he barnstormed with the Cuban Stars in 1909 and twice had 11-game winning streaks, while reportedly compiling a 44-2 record against all levels of competition. In Cuban winter competition in November 1908, he had 25-inning scoreless streak against the Cincinnati Reds, including a one-hit shutout (a ninth-inning single by Miller Huggins). Was 76-28 from 1908-20 in Cuban competition and in 1939 was elected to the inaugural class in the Cuban Hall of Fame.
Louis Santop: Born Jan. 17, 1890, in Tyler, Texas. Died Jan. 22, 1942, in Philadelphia. A 6-foot-4 power hitter who played from 1909-26, was the starting catcher for the Philadelphia Giants, New York Lincoln Giants, Brooklyn Royal Giants and Hilldale Daisies. In 1917 in a three-game series against a major league all-star team, Santop had six hits off Chief Bender and Bullet Joe Bush. Had .324 Negro Leagues batting average at the end of his career.
Ben Taylor: Born July 1, 1888, in Anderson, S.C. Died Jan. 24, 1953, in Baltimore. A pitcher who converted to first base, he played from 1908-1929. He spent nine years with the Indianapolis ABCs starting in 1914, interrupted when he served in 1919 as manager of the New York Bacharach Giants. Known as "Old Reliable" for sure hands and clutch hitting. Was a manager, coach and umpire through the early 1940s.
Negro League Executives (4)
Effa Manley: Born March 27, 1897, in Philadelphia. Died April 16, 1981, in Los Angeles. Co-owned the Newark Eagles with her husband, Abe, handling scheduling, travel, payroll, promotions and contracts from 1936-1947. Active in the civil rights movement, she used the team to promote an Anti-Lynching Day at Ruppert Stadium In Newark, N.J. The Eagles, whose players included Hall of Famers Monte Irvin and Larry Doby, won the Negro Leagues World Series in 1946. She co-authored a book in 1973 on black baseball.
Alex Pompez: Born May 14, 1890, in Key West, Fla. Died March 14, 1974, in New York. Was an owner and league executive from 1916-50, then became a scout and director of international scouting for the New York and San Francisco Giants. He signed the Negro National League's first Puerto Rican, Dominican, Venezuelan, and Panamanian players. The roster of talent he introduced to the Negro and major leagues included future Hall of Famers Orlando Cepeda, Martin Dihigo, Juan Marichal, and Willie McCovey.
Cum Posey: Born June 20, 1890, in Homestand, Pa. Died March 28, 1946, in Pittsburgh. He was principal owner of the Homestead Grays during a baseball career from 1911-46 in which he was a player, manager, owner and club official. He played for the semipro Grays in 1911 and took control of the team in 1920. Accused of raiding other teams, he had 11 of 18 Negro Leagues Hall of Famers prior to this election playing for him.
J.L. Wilkinson: Born May 14, 1878, in Algona, Iowa. Died Aug. 21, 1964, in Kansas City, Mo. Wilkinson, who was white, was principal owner of the Kansas City Monarchs from 1920-48, who won the Negro National League in 1923, 1924, 1926 and 1929, and the Negro American League from 1937-42 and in 1946. The Monarchs won the Negro World Series in 1924 and 1942. Among his players were Jackie Robinson, Ernie Banks, Elston Howard, Cool Papa Bell, Bill Foster, Satchel Paige, Bullet Rogan, Hilton Smith, Turkey Stearnes and Willie Wells.
Pre Negro Leagues Executive (1)
Sol White: Born June 12, 1868, in Bellaire, Ohio. Died Aug. 26, 1955, in Central Islip, N.Y. An infielder who played from 1887 until the early 1900s, he was with all-black teams in the official minor leagues from 1889-1891, batting .324 or higher each season. He co-founded the Philadelphia Giants in 1902 and co-owned, managed and played for his team for eight years. He wrote "Sol White's History of Colored Baseball," published in 1907, the first history of black baseball. He managed through 1926 and also wrote about baseball for newspapers that included the Cleveland Advocate, the Amsterdam News, the New York Age and the Pittsburgh Courier.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/baseball/mlb/stories/022806dnspomlbhalloffame.c506e5c.html
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Frankebstein neds to be banned. It's more than silly. This hour always gets morbid.
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UAE, Carlyle Group, Bushes & Terrorism: Strange Mix
by J. Grant Swank, Jr.
Feb 28, 2006
Washington's "name" people and world leaders reap billions on the "war on terrorism." Could this likewise involve the present UAE – US 21 ports sneak?
And could US President George W. Bush reap his own billions from the "war?"
Note: The quiet, no-noise Carlyle Group, a worldwide private equity investment company founded in 1987 with more than $30 billion of capital, is alleged to have connections to the Middle East.
Both father and son George Bush belong and belonged to it. Other well-known personages such as Colin Powell, James Baker, John Major, and George Soros also gather yield from the Group.
The Group specializes in Aerospace, Defense, Automotive, Consumer, Industrial, Energy, Power, Real Estate, Technology, Business Services, Telecommunication, Transportation and Media. Its involvement focuses on interests related to political activity, some calling it political arbitrage.
So how do political personal riches equate to membership in the Group? How do the 800 members benefit from its billions, that sum equating to $37.5 million apiece? After all, Group's offices are positioned on Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and Capitol Building, not far from the FBI Building.
Some of the Group's contractors relate to the US military, for example, an artillery project, aerospace and defense industries.
Craig Unger's book, "House of Bush, House of Saud," informs that Saudi Arabia inserted 1.4 billion to companies tied to father and son George Bush. Ninety percent of that money was contracted to BDM, defense contractor, such firm owned by the Group.
"Among the companies Carlyle owns are those which make equipment, vehicles and munitions for the US military, and its celebrity employees have long served an ingenious dual purpose, helping encourage investments from the very wealthy while also smoothing the path for Carlyle's defense firms," state Oliver Burkeman and Julian Borger of The Guardian.
"Since the start of the ‘war on terrorism,' the firm has taken on an added significance. Carlyle has become the thread which indirectly links American military policy in Afghanistan to the personal financial fortunes of its celebrity employees, not least the current president's father.
"Until earlier this month, Carlyle provided another curious link to the Afghan crisis: among the firm's multi-million-dollar investors were members of Osama bin Laden family. The bin Laden tie to the Group was more than six years."
http://www.postchronicle.com/news/security/article_2128425.shtml
Connecting Dubai Ports World, the Carlyle Group, CSX, John Snow, and David Sanborn
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
by A BuzzFlash Reader
Dear Buzz,
Remember these two names: John Snow and David Sanborn. Then remember these three companies: Carlyle Group, CSX, and Dubai Ports World.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
PART OF CSX -- namely, CSX Lines -- was sold to ...drum roll, please.... The Carlyle Group, early in Feb. 2003, for $300 million.
One of the biggest customers of CSX Lines is the US military.
John Snow, the CEO of CSX, was appointed Treasury Secretary by Bush jr. on Feb. 7, 2003.
Read about this cozy deal at:
http://www.bridgedeck.org/mmp_news_archive/
2002/mmp_news021219.html
and at: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12239,919897,00.html
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
David Sanborn was an executive with CSX and, then, a senior Dubai Ports World executive whom Bush appointed last month to be the new administrator of the Maritime Administration of the Transportation Department. Sanborn worked as Dubai Ports World's director of operations for Europe and Latin America.
Gee, d'ya think Sanborn greased the skids for Dubai Ports
http://www.buzzflash.com/analysis/06/02/ana06011.html
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Enough. New Orleans looks great. It was nice seeing it at this time of year.
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