USA Politics Thread - *No gun debate*

[m21man 0]

Quote[/b] ]Aberration as in psychiatric sense?

No, aberration as in the theory of natural selection.

[Akira 0]

Quote[/b] ]Aberration as in psychiatric sense?

No, aberration as in the theory of natural selection.

Actually the text books mean an "aberration" as in abnormal behavior of humans. Not quite in a clinical sense of the word, but certianly dipped in morality. They don't mean in a evolutionary sense, as they don't want to believe in evolution remember? They seem to want to imply to any gay high school students that are reading it that they are not normal, but they can be made normal.

[Bernadotte 0]

A voting irregularities site:  www.solarbus.org/stealyourelection

A study on exit poll discrepancies:  www.electoral-vote.com/info/exitpolls-1.pdf

[Colossus 2]

Colin Powell resigns!

Quote[/b] ]US Secretary of State Colin Powell has said he is resigning, according to unnamed US officials.

He will step down from his post once a successor is confirmed, ABC News reported.

Mr Powell was instrumental in trying to secure international backing for US-led military action in Iraq.

He was well respected within the international community, but seen as often being at odds with more hawkish members of the Bush administration.

Source: BBC News

ABC News

CNN

[billybob2002 0]

Quote[/b] ]Colin Powell resigns!

Surprised? The media for months have say he would step down if Bush gets re-elected. Now Ashcroft is a different story...

[Colossus 2]

Quote[/b] ]Colin Powell resigns!

Surprised?

Not really, just wanted you to know

[ralphwiggum 6]

probably feeling that the more he stays, the worse he'll be. although there has been speculations of Powell resigning before the election, he did issue a statement that it is not so.

on the lighter note:

http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/11/15/funny.money.ap/index.html

Quote[/b] ]GREENSBURG, Pennsylvania (AP) -- Charges have been dropped against a woman who paid for clothes with a fake $200 bill that featured President Bush's picture and the serial number DUBYA4U2001.

Westmoreland County prosecutors dropped all charges Friday against Deborah L. Trautwine, 51, after she paid the store in real currency.

Trautwine wasn't aware that the bill wasn't actual legal tender, said her attorney, Harry Smail Jr.

A clerk at a Fashion Bug clothing store also apparently was fooled by the funny money.

She gave Trautwine $100.58 in change following an August transaction.

There is no $200 denomination bill, even without Bush's picture on it.

The back of the phony bill depicted the White House with several signs erected on the front lawn, including those reading "We Like Broccoli" and "USA Deserves A Tax Cut."

[Ex-RoNiN 0]

What kind of training do staff get if they don't recognise notes with tenders that don't exist

[SpongeBob 0]

Quote[/b] ]Man sets himself on fire outside White House

By Associated Press

Monday, November 15, 2004WHITE HOUSE - A man has apparently tried to set himself on fire outside the White House fence.

Witnesses say the incident took place outside the Northwest gate. Uniformed Secret Service agents were seen rushing to surround the man, who had graying hair and glasses. He was heard screaming in pain.

TV cameras captured the aftermath. Smoke hung in the air around the man as paramedics rushed to provide aid. The man appeared to be clutching his hand in pain, but it's unclear how serious his burns are.

[theavonlady 2]

Quote[/b] ]Man sets himself on fire outside White House

He must've been skipping his therapy appointments.

Quote[/b] ]First post-therapy Kerry supporter speaks out publicly

Published Sunday, November 14, 2004 at 1:00 am

by Sean Salai

A post-therapy John Kerry supporter spoke out about her trauma treatment for the first time this weekend, saying Florida psychologist Douglas Schooler took her from the depths of despair over President Bush’s victory to a new lease on life.

Forty-four year old Karen of Boca Raton, a divorced mother of one who didn’t want her last name in print, called the trauma specialist’s intensive election therapy “profoundly effective†and described his hypnosis technique as “a healing process.â€

“I wasn’t sleeping,†Karen told the Boca Raton News in an interview. “I was very devastated and very astonished that people would re-elect this president. I was moody about the war and economic issues. I felt very unsettled and fearful. I thought, ‘Oh no, what will happen for four years?’â€

Karen, whose medical insurance covers the treatment, said she approached Schooler last week after finding herself unable to function publicly due to President Bush’s re-election.

“Dr. Schooler absolutely understood the pain this election caused me and he opened my mind to a new point of view,†Karen said. “You’re relaxed, he talks to you and you just come out of it feeling more positive and renewed. It took one session. He did some relaxation techniques and probably did some things I didn’t even realize.â€

A Schooler client for seven years, dating back to her divorce, Karen said the doctor helped her realize it had been unhealthy for her to expect Kerry to win.

“If I’d had time, I would have volunteered for Kerry, but I work full-time,†Karen said. “I was so invested emotionally, watching the debates, and was very disturbed whenever I heard a Marine has been killed. I thought Bush’s actions were war crimes. But I’m sleeping again since the therapy and have felt better ever since. I don’t know what will happen now, but I’m going to take it day by day and see what happens.â€

The Boca Raton News reported last week that more than 45 South Florida Kerry supporters sought psychological help after the Democratic candidate conceded to Bush on Nov. 3.

That number, including 20 patients treated by Schooler, had risen to more than 50 by the weekend.

“One woman I treated the other day said the election triggered other issues in her life,†Schooler said. “Stuff she had been working on for a long time became worse. That’s pretty common in trauma cases: A small thing like an election triggers longstanding mental problems.â€

In addition to Schooler’s one-shot hypnotherapy, more than 30 people have called the non-profit American Health Association at 561-361-9091 to sign up for free support group therapy.

Executive Director Rob Gordon said Friday that AHA’s first election support group is scheduled for after Thanksgiving.

The Boca-based charity, which has more than 500 professional and non-professional volunteers in Palm Beach and Broward counties, is offering the free sessions through the end of the year.

“I’ve been talking to people and coaching them on the phone,†Gordon said. “Most are older than 50 and their mental issues stem from the 2000 election.â€

Gordon said no one outside Florida had contacted AHA about treatment for the new form of trauma, which his organization has dubbed Post Election Selection Trauma (PEST).

“These unresolved issues from four years ago seem worst in Palm Beach County because this is where the pregnant chad scandal happened,†he said. “People here still think Bush was appointed, not elected. But I’m sure psychologists in California and maybe New York are also organizing group therapy sessions.â€

Since the Boca News broke the election therapy story on Monday, Gordon said he had been flooded by calls from Republicans who don’t take the trauma seriously. However, he said he received a phone call Friday afternoon from FOX News commentator Bill O’Reilly and expects to defend his diagnosis on The O’Reilly Factor next week.

A psychologist at the Boca-based Center for Group Counseling, whose spokeswoman last Monday was referring depressed Kerry voters to the Democratic National Committee, said he thinks AHA and Schooler are unethically using the Kerry supporters’ misery for self-promotion.

“The word ‘trauma’ is overused and I haven’t seen Kerry voters traumatized according to the existing definition,†said William A. Weitz, adult program manager. “Certainly we’ve had people discussing their responses to the election at regular support group meetings, but the idea you would use hypnosis on them doesn’t make sense to me.â€

Boca Mayor Steven L. Abrams, a Republican, said post-election therapy is “more of the same†in a city where people already spend tens of thousands of dollars a pop on plastic surgeons, beauticians and matchmakers.

“I do think it’s silly,†Abrams said.

“I also think these front-page conspiracy theories are silly. People are saying the election was fixed in Democratic counties that voted for Bush. But these are, like, the rural Democratic counties that have consistently cast tons of votes for Republican presidential candidates. That’s why they call them ‘Dixiecrats.’ One of the counties is literally Dixie County.â€

[billybob2002 0]

Quote[/b] ]Man sets himself on fire outside White House

By Associated Press

Allah is not going to save him from the pain....  

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tm....on_fire

Quote[/b] ]WASHINGTON - A man set himself afire Monday just outside a White House gate and repeatedly yelled "Allah Allah" as a Secret Service officer held him facedown on the sidewalk.

[billybob2002 0]

Condi= Sec. of State...

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=254647

Quote[/b] ]

National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice will be nominated to replace Colin Powell as secretary of state, ABC News has learned.

Senior administration sources confirmed that Rice would be Bush's choice. The news comes just hours after the White House announced Powell had submitted his resignation.

[Akira 0]

Condi= Sec. of State...

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=254647

Quote[/b] ]

National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice will be nominated to replace Colin Powell as secretary of state, ABC News has learned.

Senior administration sources confirmed that Rice would be Bush's choice. The news comes just hours after the White House announced Powell had submitted his resignation.

As the shake up in the CIA also shows, clearly Bush is solidifying power and getting rid of those that may be a voice of dissent or moderation. Senate Majority Leader Frist also stated that any Senator that takes control of the appointments committe must be willing to confirm Bush's appointees without question.

Now there will be nothing but Cheney/Bush "Yes" men at most levels of government, as they prepare to put through their legislative agenda, and with no ability to stop it, the Democrats are going to be screwed and be limited to symbolic showings and protests.

Healing? Ya right. This is going to only prove more decisive in the government and country as a whole as Bush and company prepare to push their "morals" and "values" upon the rest of the country.

Hold on. The fun is just beginning.

[bn880 5]

Right, so I am not sure if this is posted, but Michael Scheuer, the CIA man responsible for tracking/studying OBL has also resigned.

Basically he says a bunch of stuff I already knew and maybe said here, so I won't bore you to death as usual.

http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=46958

For safe keeping

Quote[/b] ]"after a cordial meeting with senior CIA officials on Tuesday, Scheuer decided that it would be in the best interests of the intelligence community and the country for him to resign in order to continue speaking publicly with regard to Osama Bin Laden, al-Qaida, and the 9-11 Commission Report."

[billybob2002 0]

Chirac strikes....

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1360889,00.html

Quote[/b] ]

Backing Bush has won you nothing, Chirac tells Britain

By Charles Bremner in Paris and Philip Webster, Political Editor

JACQUES CHIRAC dealt a blow to Tony Blair’s attempt to heal the wounds between the US and Europe last night by saying that the Prime Minister had won nothing for supporting the war against Iraq.

As Mr Blair used a keynote speech to present Britain as a “bridge across the Atlanticâ€, President Chirac doubted whether anyone could play the “honest brokerâ€. Speaking before he visits London on Thursday, he said that it was not in the nature of this Administration to return favours.

Mr Blair suffered another setback when Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State and the administration figure most trusted by Europe, resigned. There were doubts over whether his successor, possibly Condoleezza Rice, the National Security Adviser, would be as accommodating.

M Chirac, speaking to British journalists, including The Times, soon after General Powell’s announcement, revealed that he had urged Mr Blair to demand the relaunch of the Middle East peace process in return for backing the war.

“Well, Britain gave its support but I did not see anything in return. I’m not sure it is in the nature of our American friends at the moment to return favours systematically.â€

In other remarks that will sting the Bush Administration, he again outlined his vision of a “multipolar†world in which a united Europe would be equal with the US, and mocked Donald Rumsfeld, the US Defence Secretary, for his division of Europe into old and new.

M Chirac said that there would be no division between Britain and France.

“It is like that nice guy in America — what’s his name again? — who spoke about ‘old Europe’. It has no sense. It’s a lack of culture to imagine that. Imagining that there can be division between the British and French vision of Europe is as absurd as imagining that we are building Europe against the United States.â€

The comments underline the scale of the task facing Mr Blair as he tries to be a bridge between Europe and America, a job to which he devoted last night’s foreign policy speech at Guildhall in London.

The Prime Minister, aware that Mr Powell’s departure would be received with apprehension by European governments, bluntly told the US Administration to reach out to Europe and enlist its support in the war against terrorism.

“Multilateralism that works should be its aim. I have no sympathy for unilateralism for its own sake,†he said.

Mr Blair also said that Europe had a big opportunity because the US realised that lasting security against terrorism could not be provided by conventional military force but required a commitment to democracy and freedom.

Democracy was the meeting point for Europe and America. He was not advocating military solutions to achieve it but Europe and America should work together to bring democracy to places denied it.

He balanced his warning to the Americans by telling Europe that it was not sensible to ridicule US arguments or parody their political leaders.

Mr Blair hinted that he understood the difficulties, even before M Chirac’s intervention. He said that Britain’s role could be a bridge, a pivot or even a “damn high wireâ€.

M Chirac, whose visit to Britain concludes the Entente Cordiale anniversary celebrations, said: “I am not sure, with America as it is these days, that it would be easy for someone, even the British, to be an honest broker.â€

[kerosene 0]

Its seems like a pretty fair assesment. One of Blairs big things was that he could excercise some influence over Bush, so that was why it would be good to be in the war, as his position wouldnt be as valid if he was criticising from the outside.

But hes got no influence, hes right as long as he agrees with Bush, he didnt get listened to when Britain was against disbanding the Iraqi army and he's unlikley to get listened to on anything else.

Oh, and British military chiefs now want the Blackwatch troops pulled out early, although the government probably wont oblige. Gotta show the americans we're "serious" about Iraq.

[Akira 0]

Tom Ridge has resigned. Most likely in order to move up into Bush's New Improved More Conservative More Loyal Cabinent .

[shinRaiden 0]

WA State Gov. race

Currently the open contested Governors race in Washington state is too close to call. The vote margin as of last night was 158 votes, with an average voter turnout of 81.47% statewide. The election is supposed to be certified tomorrow, but unless one of the candidates gets a margin of more than 2000 votes and 1/2 of 1%, we get a recount.

Seattle Partisian Insinuator

Quote[/b] ]

The best news for Gregoire yesterday was the announcement that King County expected to have about 10,000 more ballots than previously estimated. Gregoire holds a strong lead in King County.

Republicans with the state party and the Rossi campaign yesterday acknowledged that has them worried.

"It changes the math in the race," said Chris Vance, chairman of the state Republican Party. "Dino was looking like a pretty sure winner. Now it's looking too close to call."

If the current trends hold, Vance predicted, whoever wins will have a margin of fewer than 1,000 votes.

...

Early yesterday, King County projected it had 11,000 ballots left to count. By the afternoon, they'd boosted that projection to 21,000. Logan said the county had underestimated how many voters would return their absentee ballots (which now looks to be 87 percent or 88 percent, he said) and how many provisional ballots would be approved (now looking like 84 percent).

"We were pretty shocked to find out just two days before certification," said Mary Lane, Rossi's spokeswoman.

Asked if she's crying foul on the projection change, Lane said the campaign isn't sure what to make of the news. "It just raises questions about transparency," she said.

She said she didn't know whether the campaign would explore legal measures to check into the substantial change. "Anything's possible right now," she said.

Still, after they heard about the jump in King County ballots, Rossi's backers expected to end the day at least a couple thousand votes behind Gregoire, she said.

...

King County tallied nearly 17,000 ballots yesterday, leaving about 4,000 left to count. Officials estimate that another 5,475 ballots are left in other counties where Gregoire leads, including 3,200 in Whatcom County and 2,000 in Thurston County.

The remaining 12,191 are in counties where Rossi holds leads of widely varying margins.

...

Ian Crowley, a 50-year-old Central District resident, vouched for his own ballot at the King County elections office yesterday. He said Gregoire's campaign notified him during the weekend that there was a problem with his provisional ballot.

"It couldn't be any tighter," Crowley said. "This is probably the only time in my life ... I really felt that I and whoever else went through the process, (that) it really matters."

On Friday, a judge ordered King County to give state Democrats a list of the names of 929 voters whose provisional ballots were to be disqualified because their signatures did not match those on record. Since then, they've sought to track down any such voters who live in Democratic neighborhoods.

Republicans are doing the same thing in counties that lean toward Rossi, many of which voluntarily gave the party the list of names. In some cases, the GOP is driving such voters by van to county headquarters to appeal any rejection, Vance said. Vance said he didn't know how many provisional votes the party might help restore.

So long as they're willing to pay for it, candidates and political parties can demand a recount after the secretary of state certifies the results Dec. 2. For a machine recount, the cost is 15 cents per vote. For a hand count, it's 25 cents.

These are some hilarious editorial cartoons of the 'Rise of Consul Bushius Dubbia'.

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

[denoir 0]

Currently the open contested Governors race in Washington state is too close to call. The vote margin as of last night was 158 votes, with an average voter turnout of 81.47% statewide. The election is supposed to be certified tomorrow, but unless one of the candidates gets a margin of more than 2000 votes and 1/2 of 1%, we get a recount.

Wouldn't it be smarter to hold a re-election? A margin of 158 votes should be well within the margin of error of basically any counting method - meaning basically that you can get a different result for each recount.

[Akira 0]

Quote[/b] ]Right-wing moralists launch censor war

America’s freedom of speech is under attack. Mickey Mouse and Private Ryan had better watch out, says Ros Davidson in Los Angeles

WHAT do Tom Hanks, sex researcher Alfred Kinsey, U2’s Bono, Janet Jackson’s boobs and Mickey Mouse have in common? They’re all targets in an attack on American popular culture, which is accelerating following George Bush’s re-election.

E-mail complaints from angry right-wing viewers are flooding federal regulators this weekend following the unedited broadcast on Remembrance Day of the film Saving Private Ryan.

In fact, one third of the local TV stations affiliated with national network ABC, owned by Disney, refused to air the critically acclaimed second world war blockbuster because it contains swear words. The Oscar-winning film about D-Day, directed by Steven Spielberg, also includes graphic, realistic violence.

The 66 stations, from Boston to Detroit and Honolulu, said they feared sanctions from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for airing “profanity†during prime evening hours. That was despite the fact that ABC had promised to cover any fine by the commission, whose members are appointed by its president.

“ABC crossed the line by airing at least 20 ‘f’ words and 12 ‘s’ words during prime-time viewing hours!,†says the evangelical group American Family Association, which claims it has 2.3 million members and is one of the groups leading the revamped charge against “immoralityâ€. “We believe ABC should have aired their salute to heroes without violating broadcast decency laws,†it said.

Each TV station could face a fine of Å18,000 if found to have aired “indecent†material. Under long-standing guide lines, profanity is banned from 6am to 10pm on America’s publicly owned broadcast channels, but not on cable channels.

“It would clearly have been our preference to run the movie,†says Ray Cole, president of Citadel Communications, which owns three of the stations. “We think it is a patriotic, artistic tribute to our fighting forces.â€

Senator John McCain, a one-time POW in Vietnam, introduced Saving Private Ryan on Thursday. A maverick Republican and a former presidential candidate, he spent much of Thursday trying to stem the desertions. The film is nowhere near indecent, he says angrily.

Initially, only 20 stations were expected to opt out. The 1998 movie has been shown twice before on ABC, to some complaints from viewers but without TV stations baling.

Previously, regulators have permitted some programmes with swearing to be aired when the language is justified artistically by the context. According to an agreement between Spielberg and the television network ABC, the film could not be edited for artistic reasons.

Thursday’s widespread reaction worries cultural observers because of America’s constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech and because ownership of TV and radio outlets has become dramatically consolidated in recent years.

“It’s self-censorship,†says BJ Bullert, a communications scholar at the University of Washington. “There’s a climate of intimidation, especially in response to the election. It’s a new kind of cold war, and it comes from the top, from George Bush and Karl Rove.â€

The national mood is different now, and not just because of the election results. “Moral values†were cited by 22% of Americans as the top issue in the November 2 vote, according to pollsters.

In September, regulators fined CBS Å299,000 for the live broadcast in January in which singer Janet Jackson’s breast was bared briefly during half-time at the Super Bowl . Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction†prompted accusations of immorality from conservative activists, some viewers, members of Congress and commentators.

Rove, Bush’s top political adviser, says: “I think people are concerned about the coarseness of our culture, about what they see on TV and in movies.â€

Former Richard Nixon speechwriter William Safire, a columnist with The New York Times, describes it as the “social political event of the past yearâ€. Conservative Christian groups, including the American Family Association, are also rallying against the new film Kinsey, released this weekend to critical acclaim, and starring Liam Neeson and Laura Linney.

The ideas in the film, directed by Oscar-winner Bill Condon who also made Gods And Monsters, promote pre-marital sex, which leads to abortion and Aids, claims the group Catholic Exchange.

Kinsey is a gripping and “brutally honest, uncompromising and non-judgemental†look at the controversial university researcher who revolutionised cultural attitudes towards sex in the 1940s and 1950s, said a CNN reviewer.

Robert Knight, of the curiously named Concerned Women for America, told Associated Press recently that Kinsey was akin to the notorious Nazi pseudo- scientist Dr Josef Mengele.

Knight backtracked on the comparison on Friday, but his reaction indicates the seriousness of America’s culture wars.

The American Family Association also calls for a general boycott of Disney, because the company has encouraged gays to visit its theme parks, and of food giant Procter & Gamble for hiring gays.

Two months after the Janet Jackson incident, which also involved singer Justin Timberlake, NBC ran up against the FCC. Rock star Bono, from the band U2, said “f***†during the live broadcast of the Golden Globe Awards.

Recalled less often, say critics of the culture wars, is the record fine of Å652,000 for Rupert Murdoch’s Fox network for the heterosexual reality programme, Married By America. At issue were prime-time scenes in which “party-goers lick whipped cream from strippers’ bodies†and two female strippers spanked a man on all fours wearing only his underwear, said the commission complaint.

The silence over Fox’s fine, from those who tout “moral valuesâ€, is hypocritical, says a column by Frank Rich in today’s New York Times. Fox News has become controversial for its right-wing commentary and popularity in “red†or pro-Bush America.

Another indication of the red culture scare is the action of one of the US’s newly elected politicians, Tom Coburn, a senator from Oklahoma, says Rich. As a state-elected politician, he attacked NBC in 1997 for encouraging “irresponsible sexual behaviour†and for taking “network TV to an all-time low with full-frontal nudity, violence and profanityâ€. His anger was prompted by the prime-time airing of another Spielberg film, Schindler’s List, about the Holocaust.

Follow-Up

[Iblis 0]

Usually they won't hold a re-election. Most states only provide for elections in certian years etc. Technically you only need 1 more vote than the other guy to win. I don't know the law in Washington, but I figure they'll do a couple of recounts and certify after that. Usually states only hold special elections for deaths or resignations where there's no provision for an appointment to fill the office until the next election.

If you look at New Jersey, Gov. McGreevey waited until after a special election could be held to formally resign. In this way he assured that the head of the state legislature would be appointed governor who happens to be a memeber of his party.

[shinRaiden 0]

The Republican candidate for Washington State Governor has gone from 158 votes under last night, to 304 votes over tonight. There are still 5483 ballots to be counted along with probably a few thousand more provisionals waiting verification.

-edit-

Further update from state GOP party:

Quote[/b] ]

To begin with, we learned yesterday that King County dramatically underestimated the number of ballots still to be counted. While this is disturbing, it is not illegal. We have observers watching everything happening within King County.

What is more disturbing is the fact that King County is planning on counting provisional ballots even when the signature doesn’t match the signature of the voter on file! We went to court today and unsuccessfully challenged this process.

Also in Grays Harbor County, there was an error in compiling data, which accidentally counted some precincts twice. The county recounted all the ballots and Dino lost roughly 300 votes. This situation is unclear and we are looking into it strenuously.

33 vote margin, 6152 registered ballots remaining, the Greys Harbor county mentioned above is currently at 48+% for Rossi. With the revised numbers, the projection at current percentages shows Rossi picking up ~3300 more votes, with the Democrat Christine Gregoire getting ~2720 for a final margin of about 580 votes. This is well under the minimum needed for a recount, that's estimated to take about 4 days, but no recount in sate history has ultimately changed the winner.

In the 34 counties Rossi is winning, he leads 57.57% to 40.13%. In the 5 counties Gregoire leads, she leads only 55.85% to 41.54%.

[Akira 0]

she leads only 55.85% to 41.54%.

Only?

That's only slightly less than your own candidate is leading elsewhere.

Interesting spin.

[ralphwiggum 6]

Quote[/b] ]Man sets himself on fire outside White House

By Associated Press

Allah is not going to save him from the pain....  

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tm....on_fire

Quote[/b] ]WASHINGTON - A man set himself afire Monday just outside a White House gate and repeatedly yelled "Allah Allah" as a Secret Service officer held him facedown on the sidewalk.

maybe you should learn to wait before making some comments that will earn you nothing but a bad reputation.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/11/16/man.afire/index.html

Quote[/b] ]WASHINGTON (CNN) -- An FBI informant who set himself on fire in a suicide attempt Monday has been upgraded to serious condition at Washington Hospital Center, a spokesman said. He tried to ignite himself in front of the White House.

The FBI refused to discuss the matter.

Government sources confirmed Mohamed Alanssi has been an FBI informant for several years, as he claimed in a letter sent to The Washington Post. In that letter, Alanssi threatened to commit suicide because, he said, he was unhappy with the way the FBI treated him.

Alanssi had recently conducted several interviews with the Post about his life as an informant. He did so after his name was leaked to the media -- an action that he said resulted in harassment of his family in Yemen.

The government sources said Alanssi was a key informant in the arrest of Mohammed Al Moayad, a fellow Yemeni who was taken into custody last year in a sting operation in Frankfurt, Germany.

Facing charges in the United States, Moayad is accused of raising funds and providing material support for terrorist organizations. Alanssi was scheduled to testify in January at Moayad's trial in New York.

The sources said a claim by Alanssi that the FBI paid him $100,000 last year for his efforts is "about right."

In his letter to the Post, he said he had wanted to see his family, which still resides in Yemen, before testifying. He claimed the FBI agent in charge of his case ignored "my request to see my family. He doesn't care about mine and my family's lives."

The government sources said Alanssi's request was not ignored and that several options were proposed to him. They said one possibility was having him meet his family not in Yemen but in another country they refused to name for "security reasons."

Alanssi saw it differently, saying in his letter, "At the end this is the reward from FBI for my cooperate (sic) with them for capturing the bad people who linked with Al-Qaeda."

Officials said Alanssi first came to the United States from Yemen on July 23, 2001, arriving on a tourist visa in New York, and left on January 7, 2002. When he returned from Yemen on October 21, 2002, he was met at New York's JFK Airport by the FBI, which took custody of him, took his Yemeni passport and granted him "humanitarian parole."

Such unusual status is generally given to people who are in the United States for urgent medical reasons but may also be granted to someone who will provide a "significant public benefit," which sources said could include assisting law enforcement agencies.

[billybob2002 0]

Quote[/b] ]maybe you should learn to wait before making some comments that will earn you nothing but a bad reputation.

You mean like what people do in the Iraq thread....

I already have a bad rep., I'm just increasing it. Furthermore, setting yourself on fire and screaming "Allah" is not right thing to do (imho). Why did not he try to get somebody from Congress to help him? Somebody would of have helped him.