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Obama Poster Scares Oldheads
By now you have most definitely seen the image in the photo at right, which the Daily news Clout column mentioned today. Apparently, it makes Barack Obama look like a totalitarian leader to people over the age of 35 or so, since they are not familiar Shepard Fairey’s Obey posters, what this is obviously a total homage to. And, hey, what do you know! The poster is designed by Shepard Fairey, the “Andre the Giant has a posse” artist. (There are obviously other artsy Obama posters that kinda look like this as well.) Even though this poster is pretty much the least annoying thing about supporters of Barack Obama, people are upset and angry about it. They find it creepy, even though it’s about 100 times less creepy that Obama just making shit up in his ads and a million billion trillion times less creepy than anything John McCain or Hillary Clinton will ever do. Of course, most people don’t make rational decisions, so I will not be surprised if this poster is directly responsible for President John McCain. Clout: Obama mania: Is this 2008 … or 1984? [Daily News] |
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Some say that I, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, should have spent Easter weekend in Chappaqua, writing my withdrawal speech and preparing for my return to the Senate. They ask why I stay in the ’08 race when Obama has an insurmountable lead in states, delegates, and popular vote. My strategy is for victory in the 2012 presidential election. I will continue to pursue several lines of attack on Obama including denouncing his experience, blaming him for the fiascoes in Michigan & Florida, and even praising our Republican rival Senator John McCain as more patriotic and experienced than Obama. My goal is to do extensive damage to Obama to ensure that he looses the general election in ’08 and pave the way for my eventual election in 2012! It’s a HILLARYOUS strategy, but I will be president by any means necessary.
Buying Obama - The Auchi Connection
Tracing the trail of Iraqi born billionaire Nadhmi Auchi indicates Rezko’s deals may include a money trail leading back to Saddam Hussein oil for food program.
A 2004 Pentagon report described Auchi, “who, behind the facade of legitimate business, served as Saddam Hussein’s principal international financial manipulator and bag man.”
Auchi prospered in Saddam’s regime collecting “commissions” on sale of weapons and other goods to Iraq in the 1980s and 1990s.
A recent Pentagon report accuses Auchi of “unlawful activities working closely with Iraqi intelligence operatives to … arrange for significant theft from the U.N. Oil-for-Food Program to smuggle weapons and dual-use technology into Iraq,” and to “organize an elaborate scheme to take over and control the post-war cellular phone system in Iraq.”
At Saddam’s insistence a scheme orchestrated by Auchi appropriated billions of dollars from America through America’s Oil for Food program into Auchi’s bank account. These transactions passed through Banque Nationale de (BNP) from its 1995 inception until 2001 through Auchi’s General Mediterranean Holdings Company (GMHC) which was the largest private shareholder in Paris.
Auchi’s General Mediterranean Holdings has connections in Iraq which lead right back to Tony Rezko.
Auchi’s company helped finance a 250 megawatt power plant in the Kurdish town of Chamchamal, Iraq, teaming up with Rezko and Iraq’s former Minister of Electricity, Aiham Alsamarrae. In December, 2006 Alsamarrae was accused of graft and is being charged in a $2 billion Iraqi reconstruction corruption case. Alsamarrae is a Chicago resident with dual US-Iraqi citizenship -an embarrassing connection for the war critic Obama. Alsamarrae is now living in his Chicago mansion.
Writing in Human Events, March 3, 2008, John Batchelor reports on an Alsammarae-Obama-Rezko connection:
“…in April 2005, one month before Mr. Alsammarae left his post, his Ministry of Electricity signed a contract for $50 million with Companion Security to provide training to Iraqis to guard electrical plants by flying them to Illinois for classes.
“Companion Security was headed by a former Chicago policeman with a troubled history, Daniel T. Frawley, in partnership with Mr. Rezko and in association with Daniel Mahru, the lawyer for the original contract and Mr. Rezko’s former business partner. In April 2006, Mr. Frawley entered negotiations with Governor Rod Blagojevich’s staff to lease a military facility in Illinois to be a training camp. In August 2006, Mr. Frawley started negotiations with Mr. Obama’s U.S. Senate staff to complete the contract….
“The timeline of Companion discussions in 2006 is important to note: April 2006 Frawley speaks to governor’s office; August 2006 Frawley speaks to senator’s office; October 2006 indictment of Rezko revealed; October 2006 Rezko arrested upon return from Syria; October 2006 Alsammarae convicted in Baghdad and makes his first escape attempt; December 2006 Alsammarae escapes from Baghdad. …
“(In 2004) Mr. Auchi traveled by private aircraft to Midway Airport in Chicago and then to a fete at the Four Season Hotel, where he met with his business partner in Chicago real estate, Mr. Rezko, as well as with Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Also present that night, according to a fresh report by James Bone and Dominic Kennedy of the London Times, was State Senator Barack Obama, who had recently won the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate seat….”
The Obama Connection
Recently the London Times reported that Auchi had been a business partner of Rezko since 2003 and between April 2005 and 2007 loaned Rezko at least $18 million.
On February 1 the London Times reports uncovering, “state documents in Illinois recording that Fintrade Services, a Panamanian company, lent money to (an) Obama fundraiser in May 2005. Fintrade’s directors include Ibtisam Auchi, the name of Mr. Auchi’s wife.”
“A company related to Mr. Auchi, who has a conviction for corruption in France, registered the loan to Mr. Obama’s bagman Antoin ‘Tony’ Rezko on May, 23 2005. Mr. Auchi says the loan, through the Panamanian company Fintrade Services SA, was for $3.5 million.
These Funds from Auchi’s loan helped finance a complex series of transactions between Rezko and Democratic Presidential candidate Illinois Senator Barack Obama involving the 2005 purchase of Obama’s Chicago mansion and Rezko’s purchase of an adjoining landlocked parcel.
Rezko claims he paid “full market price” and Obama apparently received a “discount” of several hundred thousand dollars for his parcel. Rezko then improved his parcel to benefit Obama.
Instead of handing cash to Obama, Rezko handed Obama a preferential price for property. This is the same form of “honest graft” and preferential treatment that sent former Illinois Governor Otto Kerner to jail over 30 years ago, see United States v. Isaacs, 493 F.2d 1124 (7th Cir. 1974).
The Chicago Sun-Times recently reported that Mr. Rezko, around the same general period he was wheeling with Obama, also provided a preferential price for a property purchase by U. S. Representative Luis Gutierrez.
Instead of transferring cash to buy influence, Rezko was engaging in structured property transactions and preferential treatment of public officials to confer significant financial benefits on them, far above the legal limits of any legitimate political contribution permitted by federal law.
Rezko was a key early-money fund raiser in Obama’s state Senate campaigns. and Rezko’s relationship with Barack Obama goes back to at least 1990, when Obama’s law firm did work relating to a Rezko housing development.
Rezko as a major mob figure is not known for civic-mindedness or desire for good government.
At a March 3 news conference in San Antonio, Texas, Chicago-based reporters peppered Obama with some of the questions the national news corps has avoided for over a year. Obama claims he had already answered the questions in the Chicago media. He said: “These requests, I think, could just go on forever. At some point, what we need to try to do is respond to what’s pertinent.”
Dana Milbank of the Washington Post wrote:
“Reporters, however, had a different idea of what was pertinent, and the questions about Rezko, NAFTA and other unpleasant subjects continued to come. An aide called out ‘last question,’ and Obama made his move for the exit — only for reporters to shout after him in protest. ‘C’mon, guys,’ he pleaded. ‘I just answered, like, eight questions.’”
Holy nonsensical unfunny comment, batman!
“Of course, most people don’t make rational decisions, so I will not be surprised if this poster is directly responsible for President John McCain.” With this type statement, I’m not surprised you find most people don’t make rational decisions.
Auchi? what tortured logic.It is ok if we have a black president, get over it.
Hillary Clinton all the way. We already have a President who got away with far too much due to a lack of journalism. This media love affair they are having with Obama will put us with the same scenario. All this slick is fun but our economy is awful and we need Hillary to get us out of this.
I’m under 35 and have never heard of Shepard Fairey’s Obey posters, but have read 1984. Guess I must be an Old Head trapped in a young person’s body… or something.
It’s so easy to make allegations of connections between shady characters and Barack Obama (or anyone else, for that matter). No proof is ever offered, because none is needed: you just keep repeating the same fabricated claims over and over, and those wanting to believe them will do so- and even pass along the same unsubstantiated charges as God’s word, because they saw it in print, or so-and-so said so.
The rest of us, sickened by seven years of the same approach from Bush and Cheney, and several months of the same lies from Hillary Clinton, know better. It’s called spin.
Most of us are intelligent enough to know the difference between lie, spin, and truth.
How can anyone still believe anything Hillary Clinton or Bill Clinton say? It has been proven often that they lie, are unscrupulous, and care more about self-aggrandizement than the U.S.A. Are Hillary supporters deaf, and dumb?
I don’t think she respects the American people. If she did, she wouldn’t patronize us, lie to us, and say the same old thing politicians have been saying for years “Do away with poverty.” Yeah Hillary, right.
We haven’t had a true leader in so long, I can’t remember any. Hillary is the most divisive politician in memory.
Hillary’s health plan, which she had a huge chance to implement, turned out to be a flop… doesn’t anyone remember that?
Hillary accused Obama of plagiarism — as if he’s supposed to credit King, Kennedy and Lincoln, yet she simultaneously copyies many of Obama’s own speech lines without crediting him. Eg: Him: Yes We Can/Her: Yes We Will … and a dozen more.
She’s lethal and scares the youknowwhat outta me.
If she wins, she will be the president we deserve.
D-Mac, what’s really creepy is your posting and comments - completely irrational and revealing a depth of ignorance and hatred that is stunning and unfortunately all too frequent on the net. It least it’s out in the open for all to see.
D-Mac, what’s really creepy is your posting and comments - completely irrational and revealing a depth of ignorance and hatred that is stunning and unfortunately all too frequent on the net. It least it’s out in the open for all to see.
D-Mac, what’s really creepy is your posting and comments - completely irrational and revealing a depth of ignorance and hatred that is stunning and unfortunately all too frequent on the net. It least it’s out in the open for all to see.
Just read the entire Clout article. That part about Boy George keeping his powder dry and climbing on a fence is freaking hilarious.
I hate bloggers… especially this one… get a life… get off the computer and find a woman (your age)… and not a mail order woman either… and after you’ve taken the edge off, GO VOTE FOR OBAMA!!!! Hillary can’t even manage her primary campaign money… neither can McCain… Y’all make me sick… and I hate I clicked this link…
I’m over 35 and don’t find this poster creepy. I do find people who post the same thing three times to be creepy, however.
Er, over the age 35? Excuse me Mr. Snarky Younghead Writer Twerp, but Andre the Giant has had a posse since 1986. The 35 year olds of today were only 13 when it came out, and you hadn’t lost your baby teeth yet, if you were even alive. If you want to make fun of the unhipness of adults, at least do so with some counter culture that doesn’t belong to their generation. What is it that you underground whippersnappers are into these days? “Two Women, One Cup”? Yeah, why don’t you go with that.