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hermes birkin 35cmFormer Sen. John Ensign of Nevada broke federal law, made false statements to the Federal Election Commission and obstructed a Senate Ethics Committee's investigation into his conduct, the panel said Thursday in a scathing report that sent the matter to the Justice Department for possible prosecution. The former Republican lawmaker "created a web of deceit that entangled and compromised numerous people," the committee said, adding that it had assembled enough evidence to warrant possible expulsion had Ensign not resigned. Ensign quit May 3, one day before he was to have testified under oath about an affair with the wife of a top aide, the aide's subsequent lobbying of Ensign's office, and a payment from Ensign's parents to the one-time aide's family. The committee asked the FEC to conduct its own investigation, concluding that Ensign made false statements to the agency about the payment to the former aide's family. The Senate committee hired former federal prosecutor Carol Elder Bruce to complete its investigation and relied on her findings in making the referrals to the Justice Department and FEC. Besides the legal issues, the committee revealed information about the affair itself, and efforts of those close to Ensign to get him to end it. "The special counsel is confident that the evidence that would have been presented in an adjudicatory hearing would have been substantial and sufficient to warrant the consideration of the sanction of expulsion," the report said. Coach Outlet The report added that while "concealment is part of the anatomy of an affair, the concealment conduct ... by Sen. Ensign exceeded the normal acts of discretion." The Ethics Committee chairwoman, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., told the Senate in a speech: "When Sen. Ensign resigned he said, and I quote, `I have not violated any law, rule or standard of conduct.' I want to go on record ... to say how strongly I disagree with that statement." The Senate cannot punish someone who is no longer serving, but the referrals ensure that investigations of Ensign will go on for some time. His lawyers had announced last December that the Justice Department was no longer targeting him. Coach Factory OutletEnsign has acknowledged an affair with Cynthia Hampton, a former campaign treasurer. She's the wife of Douglas Hampton, who was Ensign's administrative assistant. One major focus of the investigation was the payment, by Ensign's parents, of $96,000 to the Hampton family. The committee concluded that Ensign and his parents made false or misleading statements to the FEC about the money, which amounted to severance payments to Cynthia and Douglas Hampton. The committee also said the portion of the payment that was severance for Cynthia Hampton was an excessive and illegal campaign contribution because it exceeded federal limits. The second major focus was Ensign's connection to Douglas Hampton's work as a lobbyist for two Nevada firms after he left Ensign's staff. Federal law prohibits a senior Senate aide from lobbying the Senate for one year after ending employment. The report said Ensign conspired to violate the restriction, and aided and abetted Hampton's violations of the prohibition. Beyond those conclusions, the committee said that Ensign deleted documents and files after he knew they were likely to be subject of legal proceedings; and committed sexual discrimination against Ms. Hampton while she was an employee of his campaign committee. The report said the affair was unwelcome to her, even though she eventually agreed to it.Coach Handbags Ensign lawyers Robert Walker and Abbe Lowell said in a statement that the former senator is "confused and disappointed that the committee would consider his case and issue its report without waiting for and considering our submission, which it received yesterday." The statement also said: "The senator resigned just last week and we had asked the committee to allow a submission from us on several, obviously complicated issues. Given his resignation and announcement that he was not running for re-election, there does not seem to be any real reason for a rush to create a report that did not fully consider our submission and which did not allow us to follow up on any remaining issues." Ensign has admitted and apologized for his conduct, according to the statement, but "this is not the same as agreeing that he did or intended to violate any laws or rules." Coach Handbags Outlet The committee didn't hold back in revealing some aspects of Ensigns' affair. The Hamptons and the Ensigns had been longtime friends before the relationship began. "Sen. Ensign told Ms. Hampton that he wanted to marry her while they attended the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington," the report revealed. The day before Christmas 2007, the Hamptons went to the Ensigns' home and both the senator and Cynthia Hampton said the affair would stop. The senator wept and apologized. The couples, with their children, then celebrated Christmas together, the report said. But the affair did not end. Discount Coach Handbags On Feb. 16, 2008, a spiritual adviser to Ensign was called by Douglas Hampton, who had spotted the senator's car and Ms. Hampton's car at a hotel close to the Hamptons' neighborhood. The report said that the adviser called the senator and told him: "I know exactly where you are. I know exactly what you are doing. Put your pants on and go home." Ensign, the report said, replied, "I can't, I love her." Douglas Hampton has been indicted on charges of lobbying Ensign and his staff in violation of the one-year prohibition. He has pleaded not guilty. hermes birkin 35cm cheap hermes kelly bags cheap hermes birkin

hermes birkinOsama bin Laden's family is taking center stage in the fallout over his death. Yesterday, the al Qaeda leader's sons denounced what they called their father's "arbitrary killing." Meanwhile, Pakistani officials believe one of bin Laden's sons--perhaps one known as "the Crown Prince of Terror"--may be missing after escaping from the U.S. raid. In a statement, bin Laden's sons questioned why their father "was not arrested and tried in a court of law so that the truth is revealed to the people of the world." It is not known how many of bin Laden's numerous sons (there are believed to be as many as 17) endorsed the statement. "We maintain that arbitrary killing is not a solution to political problems," the statement continued, adding that "justice must be seen to be done." President Obama has rejected suggestions that the killing was improper, telling "60 Minutes" that anyone who questioned whether bin Laden deserved his fate "needs to have their head examined." The sons' statement, which also called for bin Laden's three wives and several children to be released from custody, is said to have been prepared at the direction of Omar bin Laden, 30.hermes birkin handbags Omar bin Laden, a metals trader who has been living in Cairo, appears at pains to disassociate himself from his father's belief in political violence. "We want to remind the world that Omar bin Laden, the fourth-born son of our father, always disagreed with our father regarding any violence and always sent messages to our father, that he must change his ways and that no civilians should be attacked under any circumstances," the statement said. It continued: "Despite the difficulty of publicly disagreeing with our father, he never hesitated to condemn any violent attacks made by anyone, and expressed sorrow for the victims of any and all attacks." In a separate statement posted on a jihadist website yesterday, the sons accused President Obama of ordering "a criminal mission" that "obliterated an entire defenseless family ... contrary to the most basic human sentiment." hermes outletAnd they objected to the decision to bury their father at sea, which some Islamic scholars also have questioned. "It is unacceptable--humanely and religiously--to dispose of a person with such importance and status among his people, by throwing his body into the sea in that way, which demeans and humiliates his family and his supporters and which challenges religious provisions and feelings of hundreds of millions of Muslims," the statement read. Separately, ABC News reports that one of bin Laden's wives, who was captured in the U.S. raid, has told Pakistani investigators that one of the terror leader's sons escaped and is missing. Pakistani officials are said to have done a head count, and to believe it's true, though U.S. officials say they're confident no one escaped during or after the raid.cheap hermes birkin "Out of 21, one person is not accounted for," a Pakistani intelligence official told ABC. "I believe that's the son." Pakistani investigators are probing whether the son could be 22-year-old Hamza bin Laden, known as "The Crown Prince of Terror." Hamza was credited with writing a poem praising the 2005 London bombings, and was accused by Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto of attempting to assassinate her. Bhutto was killed by Islamic extremists in 2007. Bin Laden's wives are currently being questioned by Pakistani investigators in a safe house. It's not clear if U.S. officials will be given the chance to question them directly.hermes birkin bag birkin bag birkin handbag Nike outlet

hermes birkin 35cmA 9-year-old girl who disappeared while playing outside her suburban apartment building was raped, choked and murdered by a neighbor who claimed he had a "whiteout" and just "snapped," authorities said Tuesday. Police found the body of Skyler Kauffman in a trash bin behind the Souderton Gardens apartments about five hours after her mother reported her missing Monday evening. A 24-year-old neighbor, James Lee Troutman, was charged Tuesday with murder, kidnapping, rape and other offenses. Onlookers jeered as Troutman was led in and out of his arraignment at a courtroom across the street from the low-rise units where he and the victim lived. Troutman became a suspect after a detective canvassing the building spotted what appeared to be blood on his sneakers, Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said. The detective then searched his apartment and found bloody clothes in a closet, Ferman said. Detectives also found a pool of blood in the basement of the complex. They later found Skyler's body wrapped in a comforter in a parking lot trash bin, Ferman said. Troutman eventually admitted to authorities that he strangled the girl with his hands and that her head hit the basement floor "a couple of times at least," according to the criminal complaint. Investigators said Troutman told them that "it was like whiteout" and that he "snapped." hermes birkin An autopsy showed Skyler, for whom an Amber Alert had been issued, died of asphyxia and blunt-force trauma, Ferman said. Troutman did not enter a plea at his arraignment or speak, except to acknowledge the charges. He is being held without bail. He had been taken to the courthouse in a police SUV, and two police officers escorted him nearly 20 feet to its door. He was shackled and hid his face with his hands. Across the street, a crowd of nearly 50 people yelled at him and screamed obscenities as he was led inside.hermes birkin handbags It was an unusual scene for Souderton, a borough about 30 miles north of Philadelphia that is surrounded by farm fields and newer upscale housing developments, residents said. "The last thing I would have thought is that they would find this child dead. This is a safe little community," said Wendy Hansen, a 47-year-old mother of three girls who lives a couple of blocks away. "We're not going to tolerate this. ... It could have been any of our kids." Josh Piston, 21, lives in the apartment building and knew Skyler, who shared a unit with her mother and grandmother. He described her as "a good kid" and "very rambunctious." The suspect moved into the complex with his fiancee two or three months ago, Piston said, but he did not know them well. "They were quiet, kept to themselves," he said. hermes outletSkyler's mother reported her missing around 7 p.m. Monday after she failed to come home for dinner. Police responded and began searching the area. Troutman's fiancee told detectives that she was home Monday evening around 5:45 p.m. when she heard screams and cries of protest coming from somewhere in the building. Troutman was not home at the time, she said. When she reached him on his cellphone to tell him about the screams, "he responded that he hoped 'everything's OK,'" according to the complaint. Troutman returned home shortly after 6 p.m. and said he had been exercising, the fiancee told investigators. Authorities said Troutman and Skyler had also crossed paths about three weeks ago. Skyler and a friend were near Troutman's apartment on April 18 and needed to use the bathroom. He invited them in, but they got spooked when they saw pictures of naked women on the walls, according to the complaint. cheap hermes birkin Troutman then made a lewd comment, and the girls ran to leave, authorities said. Their parents reported the incident to police, but no charges were filed, a decision Ferman defended on Tuesday. She also dismissed questions about whether the Amber Alert procedure went smoothly. Some media outlets reported a delay in receiving the notification. "Everyone did what they were supposed to," Ferman said. "The crime took place very quickly, and the body was disposed of very quickly, and I can't say that there was anything anyone else could have done that would have been able to prevent this tragic event." hermes birkin bag birkin bag birkin handbag Nike outlet

hermes birkinNewt Gingrich, the House speaker who led a national GOP resurgence in the 1990s before facing ethics questions and resigning, is running for president. Gingrich's announcement, made on social networking websites Monday, came after months of public flirting with a bid. He enters a slow-to-form GOP presidential field that has left some Republicans craving more options as they search for a nominee strong enough to credibly challenge President Barack Obama. The former Georgia congressman, well-known to most Republicans, brings to the race a years-in-the-making political machine with ties to early nominating states as well as a network of supporters and donors. But his personal baggage — he's acknowledged marital infidelity and has had two divorces — could hinder his chances of winning the party's presidential nomination more than a decade after leaving the House. Still, he spoke confidently of wide support. "I have been humbled by all the encouragement you have given me to run," Gingrich said in a Facebook posting that urged supporters to watch Fox News Channel on Wednesday. "I will be on to talk about my run for president of the United States." Gingrich, 67, has spent months raising money, assembling a campaign team and visiting early primary-season states. He already has opened a headquarters in a suburb of Atlanta, and he will make his first speech as a candidate on Friday to the Georgia Republican Party Convention. He is trying to position himself in the race as a policy heavyweight who used his time in Congress to overhaul welfare, balance the federal budget and cut taxes. Earlier this year, he outlined an energy policy overhaul, proposed an Environmental Solutions Agency to replace the Environmental Protection Agency and described Obama's policies as a "war on American energy."hermes birkin handbags Gingrich is among the field's best-known candidates; only 14 percent of Republican or GOP-leaning voters said they didn't know him in an Associated Press-GfK poll in March. Among Republicans and those who lean toward that party, 61 percent had a favorable opinion of him. So far, several Republicans have formed campaign exploratory committees, including former Govs. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania. And several others, including Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, are considering running. "The more the better," Daniels told reporters in Indianapolis when asked about Gingrich. He said the former speaker's announcement would not affect his own decision. hermes outletGingrich abruptly left office in 1999 after seeing his popularity plummet and Republicans lose big in midterm elections a year earlier. Since then, he has patched together a mini-empire of business and not-for-profit ventures and has pocketed hefty fees for writing books, making speeches and appearing as a contributor on Fox News, which last week ended his contract because of his expected candidacy. He's spent decades building lists of supporters and donors, earning goodwill among activists and advising his party leaders on political strategy. His tax-exempt American Solutions for Winning the Future is a money-making powerhouse, bringing in $13.7 million last year, according to financial disclosures. A sizable chunk of that money has been used to ferry Gingrich around the country on a charter jet to appearances that have kept him in the public spotlight. His presidential bid could be the culmination of a political career that began with his election to Congress in 1978. More than a dozen years later, Gingrich led House Republicans to power in the 1994 elections with a "Contract With America," the first time the GOP had won control in four decades. While in power, he used the political action campaign GOPAC to recruit, train and finance Republican candidates for offices from the House of Representatives to city halls.cheap hermes birkin But Gingrich's tenure at the helm of the House was turbulent. A budget showdown with Democratic President Bill Clinton led to partial shutdowns of the federal government in 1995 and 1996. Gingrich shouldered much of the political blame at the time but now argues that the tactic led to deep cuts to federal spending and set the stage for welfare reform. He spent much of his time in office dogged by ethics complaints. Nearly all, brought by Democrats, were dismissed. But his Republican-led House reprimanded him in 1997 after he admitted misleading congressional investigators probing allegations that he misused tax-exempt dollars for a college class. Gingrich agreed to pay a $300,000 penalty — unprecedented at the time — to repay taxpayers for the cost of probe. The Republican-led House committee never concluded whether tax laws were violated, and the IRS later cleared the organization involved. hermes birkin bagGingrich also was accused of hypocrisy for having an affair with a congressional aide while he was criticizing Clinton's own relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. He divorced his second wife and married the aide, Callista Bisek. Now Callista Gingrich, she is closely involved in his political activities. Recently, he's been highlighting his conversion to Catholicism and has said he has sought God's forgiveness. In an interview with a Christian broadcaster, Gingrich said his focus on his job contributed to his infidelity and the failure of his two previous marriages. "If the primary concern of the American people is my past, my candidacy would be irrelevant," Gingrich told one interviewer. Still, his record of infidelity could be a problem with social conservatives who will play a significant role in selecting the Republican nominee, particularly in early nominating states such as Iowa and South Carolina. Even so, Gingrich has indicated he'll compete in both, hoping Republicans overlook his past personal problems and give him credit for being married to his current wife for more than a decade. birkin bag birkin handbag Nike outlet

hermes birkinAn anti-violence march that began in a central state with a few hundred people and gathered thousands over a four-day trek reached Mexico's capital Sunday, led by a poet whose son was killed by suspected drug traffickers. An estimated 20,000 people poured into the main Zocalo square in Mexico City, wearing white T-shirts saying "enough bloodshed" and carrying photos of poet Javier Sicilia's slain son. A few hundred people set off from Cuernavaca in the central state of Morelos on Thursday, marching silently along the 50-mile (80-kilometer) route. City officials said the march swelled to at least 20,000 after the bulk of protesters joined in Mexico City. In a speech that drew deafening cheers, Sicilia demanded the resignation of Public Safety Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna, lashing out at the government for failing to curb Mexico's relentless drug violence despite the deployment of thousands of soldiers and federal police to cartel strongholds across the country. "If we have walked and arrived here in silence it's because our pain is so great and so profound, and the horror that causes it so immense, that there are no words to describe it," Sicilia said. "We still believe that it is possible to the country to be reborn and rise from ruin and show the agents of death that the sons and daughters of this country are standing up." Gruesome violence has surged in the region southwest of Mexico City since drug kingpin Arturo Beltran Leyva died in a December 2009 shootout with marines in Cuernavaca, leading to the splintering of his cartel. Rivals have routinely hung mutilated bodies from bridges along highways connecting Mexico City, Cuernavaca and the Pacific resort city of Acapulco.hermes birkin handbags Similar turf fighting has claimed more than 34,600 lives nationwide since President Felipe Calderon deployed federal forces in 2006 to battle cartels. An unprecedented number of drug bosses have been captured or killed, leading to the splintering of their cartels and fighting that has reached horrific levels, including the discovery last month of secret graves with hundreds of bodies in the northern states of Tamaulipas and Durango. "Where were the political parties, the mayors, the governors, the federal authorities, the army, the navy, the church, the lawmakers, the businessmen — where were we all — when the highways of Tamaulipas turned into death traps for defenseless men and women?" Sicilia said in his speech. The vast majority of drug-related homicides remain unsolved, provoking widespread anger over the inefficiency of Mexico's overwhelmed and corrupt police. hermes outletAmong those marching were relatives of Marisela Escobedo, a woman who was killed in northern Chihuahua state while protesting in front of government offices to demand justice for her slain daughter, another case that provoked national furor. The poet's son, Juan Francisco Sicilia, was killed in Cuernavaca on March 28 along with six other people. Three alleged drug gang members have been arrested in the killings. Investigators say some of those killed may have had a run-in with the suspects days before the attack but that Sicilia was not involved. Some marchers had T-shirts that read "We are all Juan." Others had signs reading "Marisela Escobedo is here." birkin bag Sicilia demanded to know why Calderon "decided to send the army into the streets in an absurd war that has cost us 40,000 lives and left thousands of Mexicans abandoned to fear and uncertainty." Hours before the marchers reached Mexico City, federal police announced the capture of a suspected drug gang leader in Morelos. cheap hermes victoria bags cheap hermes belts cheap hermes wallets

cheap hermes birkin bagsIf we can agree on even one conclusion from the past two decades, let it be this: US foreign policy must raise the bar (substantially) for military intervention – and raise the ante (dramatically) to support the kind of real economic development that stabilizes volatile states and enables democratic freedoms. Conventional wisdom on Libya reads like the traditional blend of fuzzy-headed idealism and ham-fisted naiveté: To protect Libya's freedom-seeking people, let's pound strategic targets with laser-guided ordnance, try to avoid civilian targets that Muammar Qaddafi's troops are hiding in, and see if he leaves voluntarily. Summing up this magical-thinking foreign policy, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton declared that "Colonel Qaddafi must go, now, without further violence and bloodshed." This decisive-sounding spin started two months ago – when hope officially became a strategy. The limits of American power lie not in our ability to wish tyrants away, or to deploy military assets – even now – but in our commitment to back up civil society in struggling nations with the tools for self-sustaining economic growth and wealth of their own creation. ANOTHER VIEW: Swift action in Libya vs. years of delay in Darfur: What gives?hermes birkin It's time for the administration to step back and define its standards for intervention in the immediate term, a path for successful outcomes in struggling states like Libya, and a coherent strategy for global stability that includes serious economic development work. Think tanks think 'tanks'This won't be easy in Washington, where some think tanks just think 'tanks,' and others invoke abstractions (ideology, culture, religion) as the "root causes" of global instability. But it's just possible that, more fundamental than any clash of civilizations, what we're seeing is a clash of generations driven by rebels with a very practical cause. Rebels who are saying (in so many words), "Find me a job!" hermes birkin handbagsIn unstable states like Libya, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Iraq, Congo and Sudan, people under 20 are now over half of the total population. Think about that. Half a population with no hope of legitimate livelihood. As more young men compete for income in jobless economies, enormous social pressures build, exacerbated by intensifying urbanization – fertile ground for instability, insurgency, and terrorism to gain root. No doubt this new global generation is persecuted by regimes that are inept, corrupt, and brutal. But how would even the most benign of governments "run" a country under such conditions? Countries with a demographic youth spike and no economic growth are becoming ungovernable. That has led to aggressive Taliban recruitment in South Asia, adolescent soldiers recruited to carry conflict across sub-Saharan borders, and ongoing tensions in the Palestinian territories. Yemen, which fed the origins of Al Qaeda, will triple in population by 2033 – with more of its youth competing for income and survival. Just a few years ago, a raid in the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar traced 52 young militants based there to Darnah, a single small town on the coast of Libya – 44 of whom had volunteered for suicide missions. hermes outlet There will be more of these desperate young men. And yes, there will be blood. There's strong evidence that youth without jobs equals social instability: Fully 80 percent of the large-scale civil conflicts that erupted in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s happened in countries where at least 60 percent of the population was under 30. That, in turn, means our military will get the call: Almost every instance of Western military intervention abroad since 1960 has occurred in a developing country that had recently suffered "state failure" – meaning revolutionary or ethnic war, genocide, or disruptive regime change. That was the story in Vietnam in the '60s, Lebanon in the '80s, Somalia in the '90s, and Afghanistan today. In every case, US forces were eventually brought in for combat, peacekeeping, evacuation, or protection. IN PICTURES: Libya conflict The alternative? US engagement has to be less a matter of military mobilization after the fact a€“ and more a matrix of deliberately targeted and self-sustaining agricultural, industrial, and trade-building programs, in the spirit of a Marshall Plan for unstable states.cheap hermes birkin Right now, Congress (at our behest) still devotes 22 percent of the federal budget to military spending, while funding for economic development, governance, support of civil society and overall foreign assistance totals a pathetic 1 percent. We actually invest 11 percent less in real dollars on international programs than we did at the height of the cold war in 1985. Yet the global threats we face now are far broader and more complex. Since our demographic destiny means more uprisings and stalemates like Libya – of even more ferocious intensity – the only (and more cost-effective) way to win the global future and minimize future security risks is to recognize and fund the quieter but pivotal role that self-sustaining economic development plays in global security – not to mention the positive impact it has on the way wealthy nations are perceived in the Islamic world. Freedom isn't remote-controlledThe hard work of freedom simply can't be done with a drone. It means standing with the Libyan people in ways that serve to stabilize the situation – in the real spade work of teaching better agricultural practices; improving water and sanitation; and promoting health, education, property rights, and microenterprise – all of the quieter, less telegenic, and harder work that targets economic growth on the ground, not laser-guided bombs from the air. hermes birkin bagFortunately, economically successful nations with broad-gauged enterprise become more secure and stable societies, less prone to extremism. The data suggest that countries with prosperous economies are four times more likely to be free of political and civil oppression and civil unrest than countries that remain closed. Wealthy nations should act as if their own security depends less on military intervention, and more on enabling the sustainable prosperity of their poorer neighbors. Because increasingly it will. We have, since John F. Kennedy, been imbued with a sense that we should "bear any burden" in support of liberty. That burden is not simply the ability to shoulder a weapon, but to show leadership in support of the fundamentals of self-sustaining economic growth for the next generation. The longer Washington's elite lack all conviction about the power of real economic engagement – and the real limits of military intervention – the more often we'll continue to box ourselves into magical foreign policy corners. The situation in Libya is just the latest "stalemate" that was decades in the making. Until we change the game, they will keep happening. Mark Lange is a former presidential speechwriter and adviser to the US Agency for International Development, to whose staff he is indebted for many of the studies cited here. Get the best of Monitor opinion. Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter here. birkin bag Nike outlet cheap nike shoes store