Most likely MOVE AMERICA FORWARD is behind this "case" ... and what a bunch of CORRUPT folks they are
California Scheming
MAF's roots can be traced back to California's gubernatorial recall, which put movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger into office. In November 2003, one month after the recall election, the Daily News of Los Angeles interviewed Sacramento-based political consultant Sal Russo. He characterized the recall campaign he and other Republican strategists had organized and funded as a near-unstoppable, grassroots tour de force. "We took on the political establishment and won, and they feel empowered," said Russo of the 120,000 recall supporters in his database. "They want to be involved. . . . We'll change the name to something like 'Move America Forward,'" and go national, he predicted.
A week later, the Web site address MoveAmericaForward.com was registered to Russo's right-leaning political consulting/public affairs firm, Russo Marsh & Rogers. The firm had previously registered and designed the Web site DumpBarbaraLee.com, part of a vitriolic campaign against Representative Lee, the only member of Congress to vote against a wide-ranging "war on terror" resolution in the aftermath of the September 2001 attacks. Russo Marsh & Rogers' political work includes consulting for the Recall Gray Davis campaign, media work for businessman Bill Simon's 2002 California gubernatorial run, and directing the election campaigns of such Republican notables as U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, New York Governor George Pataki, then-New Jersey Governor Christie Todd Whitman, and U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch's short-lived presidential run in 2000.
In May 2004, MAF was publicly launched. "There has seldom been a more important time in our nation's history for the people of America to stand up and proclaim our love for this great nation and the ideal of freedom," declared former California state representative, GOP consultant and self-described "taxpayer hero" Howard Kaloogian, who serves as MAF's chair. MAF's main objectives are "rebuffing the constant and escalating attacks on our military and the war against terrorism by the shamelessly biased liberal news media, building public support and resolve for the continuation of our efforts to eradicate terrorist networks . . . [and] demonstrating our support and appreciation for the heroic men and women of our armed forces."
Move America Forward's Sal Russo ran tax shelters and bilked campaign donors out of $200,000. Oh, and then there's the little thing about Russo and Simon being in bed with a major drug trafficker, something they still can't explain:
As for Kaloogian, his motives are pretty simple. Bashing the UN, Michael Moore and immigrants -- the Racist Right's favorite punching bags -- is the only way a nebishy former one-term backbencher in the state assembly who can't get elected to dogcatcher (Kaloogian was smashed in the 2004 GOP senatorial primary) can keep himself in the limelight.
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial]Baghdad, Turkey
Baghdad photo scandal[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial]<small> Wikipedia</small>[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial] <small> </small><small> </small> [/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Arial] <small> </small>[/FONT]
</td></tr> <tr> <td align="justify" valign="middle" width="100%">[FONT=Verdana,Arial]March 28, 2006
On March 28th 2006, Howard Kaloogian's campaign website contained a photograph which he claims to have recently taken in downtown Baghdad. It was accompanied by the description:[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]"We took this photo of downtown Baghdad while we were in Iraq. Iraq (including Baghdad) is much more calm and stable than what many people believe it to be. But, each day the news media finds any violence occurring in the country and screams and shouts about it - in part because many journalists are opposed to the U.S. effort to fight terrorism."[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Upon further analysis by members of a discussion forum on Democratic Underground, it was found that this photo was actually a fake photo of Baghdad, because it was most likely taken in Istanbul, Turkey.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Many inconsistencies, including the following, were found:[/FONT]
[/FONT]<center>[FONT=Verdana,Arial]
[/FONT]</center>[FONT=Verdana,Arial]
<b><big>See also:</big></b>
Fake photo of Baghdad used to bolster GOP's claims?
by anthonyLA, Daily Kos Howard Kaloogian (R) has posted a photograph on his campaign website which he claims to have recently taken in downtown Baghdad, to show how "calm" and "stable" the city was during his visit.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Arial]Check out the photo under the fold. I am no photographic expert, but to me, this does not appear to be a photo of Baghdad (or even Iraq) at all.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Here's why I think this photo was not taken in Iraq:[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]1) The signs are all in Roman script. (the signs that read edo, 2.Noter, etc.) Where's the arabic?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]2) The couple holding hands in the front, right side of the picture. First, the fact that they are walking down the street holding hands makes me think this is not from Baghdad. Second, look at the woman's top (shirt). It has spaghetti strap sleeves (shoulders exposed) and is awfully tight for Iraq.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Am I crazy, or is this not of Baghdad at all?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Check out the photo on Kaloogian's site here:[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]http://www.kaloogianforcongress.com/...[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]This is extremely important because Kaloogian is claiming that Iraq is much more calm and stable than most Americans believe. His direct quote: "We took this photo of dowtown Baghdad while we were in Iraq. Iraq (including Baghdad) is much more calm and stable than what many people believe it to be. But, each day the news media finds any violence occurring in the country and screams and shouts about it - in part because many journalists are opposed to the U.S. effort to fight terrorism."[/FONT]
</td></tr></tbody></table>
California Scheming
MAF's roots can be traced back to California's gubernatorial recall, which put movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger into office. In November 2003, one month after the recall election, the Daily News of Los Angeles interviewed Sacramento-based political consultant Sal Russo. He characterized the recall campaign he and other Republican strategists had organized and funded as a near-unstoppable, grassroots tour de force. "We took on the political establishment and won, and they feel empowered," said Russo of the 120,000 recall supporters in his database. "They want to be involved. . . . We'll change the name to something like 'Move America Forward,'" and go national, he predicted.
A week later, the Web site address MoveAmericaForward.com was registered to Russo's right-leaning political consulting/public affairs firm, Russo Marsh & Rogers. The firm had previously registered and designed the Web site DumpBarbaraLee.com, part of a vitriolic campaign against Representative Lee, the only member of Congress to vote against a wide-ranging "war on terror" resolution in the aftermath of the September 2001 attacks. Russo Marsh & Rogers' political work includes consulting for the Recall Gray Davis campaign, media work for businessman Bill Simon's 2002 California gubernatorial run, and directing the election campaigns of such Republican notables as U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, New York Governor George Pataki, then-New Jersey Governor Christie Todd Whitman, and U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch's short-lived presidential run in 2000.
In May 2004, MAF was publicly launched. "There has seldom been a more important time in our nation's history for the people of America to stand up and proclaim our love for this great nation and the ideal of freedom," declared former California state representative, GOP consultant and self-described "taxpayer hero" Howard Kaloogian, who serves as MAF's chair. MAF's main objectives are "rebuffing the constant and escalating attacks on our military and the war against terrorism by the shamelessly biased liberal news media, building public support and resolve for the continuation of our efforts to eradicate terrorist networks . . . [and] demonstrating our support and appreciation for the heroic men and women of our armed forces."
Move America Forward's Sal Russo ran tax shelters and bilked campaign donors out of $200,000. Oh, and then there's the little thing about Russo and Simon being in bed with a major drug trafficker, something they still can't explain:
Simon struggles with an explanation for why he, a former federal prosecutor, did not know that the company president with whom he was going into business, Paul Edward Hindelang, was in fact a convicted major drug trafficker....
The Weekly engaged in an amusing e-mail exchange with Russo, who finally refused to answer when asked why Simon was not suing Deloitte for failing to red-flag Hindelang's criminal past in its report.
(Deloitte is Simon's accounting firm, by the way). So why is a guy who bilked donors, did business with drug traffickers and was successfully sued by his former clients coordinating a demagogic campaign accusing the UN of corruption? Could it be, um, money? Nah. The Weekly engaged in an amusing e-mail exchange with Russo, who finally refused to answer when asked why Simon was not suing Deloitte for failing to red-flag Hindelang's criminal past in its report.
As for Kaloogian, his motives are pretty simple. Bashing the UN, Michael Moore and immigrants -- the Racist Right's favorite punching bags -- is the only way a nebishy former one-term backbencher in the state assembly who can't get elected to dogcatcher (Kaloogian was smashed in the 2004 GOP senatorial primary) can keep himself in the limelight.
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial]Baghdad, Turkey
Baghdad photo scandal[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial]<small> Wikipedia</small>[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial] <small> </small><small> </small> [/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Arial] <small> </small>[/FONT]
<table border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="3" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" valign="top" width="100%">
</td></tr> <tr> <td align="justify" valign="middle" width="100%">[FONT=Verdana,Arial]March 28, 2006On March 28th 2006, Howard Kaloogian's campaign website contained a photograph which he claims to have recently taken in downtown Baghdad. It was accompanied by the description:[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]"We took this photo of downtown Baghdad while we were in Iraq. Iraq (including Baghdad) is much more calm and stable than what many people believe it to be. But, each day the news media finds any violence occurring in the country and screams and shouts about it - in part because many journalists are opposed to the U.S. effort to fight terrorism."[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Upon further analysis by members of a discussion forum on Democratic Underground, it was found that this photo was actually a fake photo of Baghdad, because it was most likely taken in Istanbul, Turkey.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Many inconsistencies, including the following, were found:[/FONT]
- [FONT=Verdana,Arial]
[*]Many signs are written in Turkish, but none in Arabic
[*]Women are seen wearing revealing (western) clothes
[*]Taxi cabs are similar to those seen in Istanbul
[*]Uniquely Turkish traffic signs are present
[*]Signs of businesses based solely in Turkey are present [/FONT]
[/FONT]<center>[FONT=Verdana,Arial]
<b><big>See also:</big></b>
Fake photo of Baghdad used to bolster GOP's claims?
by anthonyLA, Daily Kos Howard Kaloogian (R) has posted a photograph on his campaign website which he claims to have recently taken in downtown Baghdad, to show how "calm" and "stable" the city was during his visit.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Arial]Check out the photo under the fold. I am no photographic expert, but to me, this does not appear to be a photo of Baghdad (or even Iraq) at all.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Here's why I think this photo was not taken in Iraq:[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]1) The signs are all in Roman script. (the signs that read edo, 2.Noter, etc.) Where's the arabic?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]2) The couple holding hands in the front, right side of the picture. First, the fact that they are walking down the street holding hands makes me think this is not from Baghdad. Second, look at the woman's top (shirt). It has spaghetti strap sleeves (shoulders exposed) and is awfully tight for Iraq.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Am I crazy, or is this not of Baghdad at all?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]Check out the photo on Kaloogian's site here:[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]http://www.kaloogianforcongress.com/...[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial]This is extremely important because Kaloogian is claiming that Iraq is much more calm and stable than most Americans believe. His direct quote: "We took this photo of dowtown Baghdad while we were in Iraq. Iraq (including Baghdad) is much more calm and stable than what many people believe it to be. But, each day the news media finds any violence occurring in the country and screams and shouts about it - in part because many journalists are opposed to the U.S. effort to fight terrorism."[/FONT]
</td></tr></tbody></table>
ucking::happyass:
