Excerpts from e-mails of WH gate crashers
By The Associated Press (AP) – 3 hours ago
Excepts from e-mails exchanged between Tareq and Michaele Salahi and Michele Jones, special assistant to the defense secretary, as part of their effort to obtain an invitation to the Obama administration's first state dinner last week.
Friday, Nov. 20, 4:15 p.m.
To the Salahis' attorney Paul Gardner from his office manager Rosalind Tyner.
Michele S. Jones just called regarding the state dinner at the White House for Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009. I need the following information from Tareq and Michaele Salahi immediately so she can submit their information before 5 p.m. today. Full name, Social Security number, date of birth, citizenship.
___
Friday, Nov. 20, 4:33 p.m.
From Tareq Salahi to Rosalind Tyner, Paul Gardner
Hi Team THANK YOU!!! We are very much looking forward to it!
(Salahi sends Social Security number, date of birth and citizenship for himself and his wife)
___
Friday, Nov. 20, 4:49 p.m.
From Michele Jones to Tareq Salahi
Hopefully I can get tickets for the arrival ceremony ... the state dinner is completely closed and has been for awhile. As soon as I know, I will contact you.
___
Monday, Nov. 23, 11 a.m.
From Tareq Salahi to Michele Jones
In preparations for tomorrow, do you know what time we would need to be there, and which entrance we should go through?
___
Monday, Nov. 23, 4:12 p.m.
From Michele Jones to Tareq Salahi
I am still hoping that I can get tickets for the arrival ceremony tomorrow. They do have your information in the event that extra tickets become available and will notify me immediately. I still haven't given up, but it doesn't seem likely.
___
Monday, Nov. 23, 4:51 p.m.
From Tareq Salahi to Michele Jones
By the way — I know for a fact that these persons are unable to attend the state dinner and the reception portion:
1.) Sen. Harry Reid and his wife (they have gone home early for Thanksgiving).
2.) Kuma Gupta and husband (unable to travel to D.C. tomorrow)
3.) Bob Stevens and his wife (top brass from Lockheed Martin)
___
Tuesday, Nov. 24, 8:46 a.m.
From Michele Jones to Tareq Salahi
The arrival ceremony (was scheduled to be outdoors) was canceled due to inclement weather. They are having a very small one inside the WH, very limited space. I am still working on tickets for tonight's dinner. I will call or e-mail as soon as I get word one way or another.
___
Wednesday, Nov. 25, 1:03 a.m.
From Michaele and Tareq Salahi to Michele Jones
Hi Michele,
You are an angel!
My cell phone battery died early this evening while we were in D.C. from our country home, so I just got your message now after driving back out. But obviously it worked out at the end.... We ended up going to the gate to check in at 6:30 p.m. to just check, in case it got approved, since we didn't know, and our name was indeed on the list! We are very grateful, and God bless you.
We just got home, and we had a very wonderful evening as you can imagine!
Look forward to seeing you very soon. Say when for dinner — we can't wait to see you and catch up and share memories of true lifetime.
___
Wednesday, Nov. 25, 1:38 p.m.
From Michele Jones to Tareq Salahi
Tareq,
You are most welcome! I here the smile in your e-mail and am delighted that you and Michaele had a wonderful time. :-)
Have an extraordinary Thanksgiving and many blessings to you both!
Much love,
Michele
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
By popular demand
Jury deadlocks in `Junior' Gotti racketeering case
By TOM HAYS (AP) – 8 hours ago
NEW YORK — A judge declared a mistrial Tuesday at the racketeering trial of John "Junior" Gotti after a jury failed to reach a verdict against the son of the notorious Gambino crime family mob boss — the case's fourth hung jury in five years.
The anonymous jurors deliberated 11 days before notifying the judge they were hopelessly deadlocked over racketeering conspiracy and murder charges. Prosecutors accused Gotti of ordering gangland hits to settle scores and of secretly pocketing drug money despite insisting he'd gone straight.
Shortly after 3 p.m. Tuesday, the jury sent U.S. District Judge Kevin P. Castel a note that read: "Judge Castel, we cannot reach a unanimous decision on any count. We are deadlocked. There is not one member of the jury who believes that we can reach a unanimous verdict on any count."
Castel notified the jury that he was declaring a mistrial, and applause erupted in the courtroom among Gotti supporters. Once the jury left the courtroom, Gotti hugged his attorney. Whether he would be granted bail was to be decided at a hearing later Tuesday.
Victoria Gotti, Gotti's sister, tearfully said outside court: "We're ravaged. We're beaten down, but we're not broken."
Asked about a possibility of another trial, she said: "Just let it go. We're no organized crime family. We're a family. That's all we are."
Three previous trials in the same Manhattan courthouse — alleging the 45-year-old Gotti orchestrated a kidnapping and attempted murder plot against Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa — ended in hung juries in 2005 and 2006.
Prosecutors in the latest case renewed the Sliwa accusation, but also raised the stakes by alleging that Gotti left behind a trail of bodies while following in the footsteps of the late John "Dapper Don" Gotti. Claims by the Don's eldest son that he quit the Mafia in 1999 were preposterous, they said.
"It makes no sense," Assistant U.S. Attorney James Trezevant said in closing arguments. "He never, never quit that life."
In his closing argument, Gotti's lawyer recounted how Gotti, while visiting his imprisoned-for-life father, confided that he didn't have the stomach for La Cosa Nostra.
"It's not working for me, and it's not working for my kids," attorney Charles Carnesi quoted his client as saying.
Carnesi also attacked the prosecution's turncoat witnesses. He argued they were willing to tell lies about Gotti to reduce their own prison sentences.
The government's star witness was John Alite, a Gambino enforcer who testified about the younger Gotti's rise through the family ranks — and about his violent temper. He claimed Gotti once shot a man for mocking the size of his handgun.
"Is this big enough?" Alite quoted Gotti as saying as he grabbed a nearby rifle and shot the man in the hip.
Alite told jurors that Gotti drafted him for a 1990 hit — the victim was an associate who had dared to ignore one of his father's orders — in the parking garage of the World Trade Center. He also said the defendant repeatedly urged him to earn his organized crime stripes by killing a childhood friend of Alite who was telling people that he was selling drugs for Gotti.
"John Gotti Jr. kept saying to me in '88: `You didn't kill this kid yet, you didn't shoot him, you didn't do this.' ... He wanted me to kill him," Alite said.
The trial was punctuated by hysterical outbursts. With the jury on a lunch break and Alite leaving the witness stand, Gotti lost it: A deputy U.S. marshal told a prosecutor that he saw him mouth the words: "I'll kill you" to Alite. When Alite responded, Gotti erupted, shouting: "You're a punk! You're a dog! You're a dog! You always were a dog your whole life, you punk dog."
Gotti's mother, also named Victoria, erupted another time with the jury absent, screaming out to her son, "They're railroading you! They're doing to you what they did to your father!"
Her husband, like their son, had a knack for evading convictions on a variety of mob indictments brought against him, earning him his other nickname, "Teflon Don." He finally was convicted in 1992 of murder and racketeering and died in prison.
By TOM HAYS (AP) – 8 hours ago
NEW YORK — A judge declared a mistrial Tuesday at the racketeering trial of John "Junior" Gotti after a jury failed to reach a verdict against the son of the notorious Gambino crime family mob boss — the case's fourth hung jury in five years.
The anonymous jurors deliberated 11 days before notifying the judge they were hopelessly deadlocked over racketeering conspiracy and murder charges. Prosecutors accused Gotti of ordering gangland hits to settle scores and of secretly pocketing drug money despite insisting he'd gone straight.
Shortly after 3 p.m. Tuesday, the jury sent U.S. District Judge Kevin P. Castel a note that read: "Judge Castel, we cannot reach a unanimous decision on any count. We are deadlocked. There is not one member of the jury who believes that we can reach a unanimous verdict on any count."
Castel notified the jury that he was declaring a mistrial, and applause erupted in the courtroom among Gotti supporters. Once the jury left the courtroom, Gotti hugged his attorney. Whether he would be granted bail was to be decided at a hearing later Tuesday.
Victoria Gotti, Gotti's sister, tearfully said outside court: "We're ravaged. We're beaten down, but we're not broken."
Asked about a possibility of another trial, she said: "Just let it go. We're no organized crime family. We're a family. That's all we are."
Three previous trials in the same Manhattan courthouse — alleging the 45-year-old Gotti orchestrated a kidnapping and attempted murder plot against Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa — ended in hung juries in 2005 and 2006.
Prosecutors in the latest case renewed the Sliwa accusation, but also raised the stakes by alleging that Gotti left behind a trail of bodies while following in the footsteps of the late John "Dapper Don" Gotti. Claims by the Don's eldest son that he quit the Mafia in 1999 were preposterous, they said.
"It makes no sense," Assistant U.S. Attorney James Trezevant said in closing arguments. "He never, never quit that life."
In his closing argument, Gotti's lawyer recounted how Gotti, while visiting his imprisoned-for-life father, confided that he didn't have the stomach for La Cosa Nostra.
"It's not working for me, and it's not working for my kids," attorney Charles Carnesi quoted his client as saying.
Carnesi also attacked the prosecution's turncoat witnesses. He argued they were willing to tell lies about Gotti to reduce their own prison sentences.
The government's star witness was John Alite, a Gambino enforcer who testified about the younger Gotti's rise through the family ranks — and about his violent temper. He claimed Gotti once shot a man for mocking the size of his handgun.
"Is this big enough?" Alite quoted Gotti as saying as he grabbed a nearby rifle and shot the man in the hip.
Alite told jurors that Gotti drafted him for a 1990 hit — the victim was an associate who had dared to ignore one of his father's orders — in the parking garage of the World Trade Center. He also said the defendant repeatedly urged him to earn his organized crime stripes by killing a childhood friend of Alite who was telling people that he was selling drugs for Gotti.
"John Gotti Jr. kept saying to me in '88: `You didn't kill this kid yet, you didn't shoot him, you didn't do this.' ... He wanted me to kill him," Alite said.
The trial was punctuated by hysterical outbursts. With the jury on a lunch break and Alite leaving the witness stand, Gotti lost it: A deputy U.S. marshal told a prosecutor that he saw him mouth the words: "I'll kill you" to Alite. When Alite responded, Gotti erupted, shouting: "You're a punk! You're a dog! You're a dog! You always were a dog your whole life, you punk dog."
Gotti's mother, also named Victoria, erupted another time with the jury absent, screaming out to her son, "They're railroading you! They're doing to you what they did to your father!"
Her husband, like their son, had a knack for evading convictions on a variety of mob indictments brought against him, earning him his other nickname, "Teflon Don." He finally was convicted in 1992 of murder and racketeering and died in prison.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
As the ‘gift’ is given
I am not pleased with the need to focus conscious thought so as to not allow the mindset of popular coined sayings, mindless mental habit, and present or past circumstance . . . to steal, rob, and destroy the joy of the ‘present’. ‘Different Day, Same S--- ' . . . You know the sayings . . . The thought now is; to be conscious, aware, and proactive . . . not operate from a numb, drone like, automated response or reaction to the seeming dislike for the ‘present’. When a 'gift' is given and received to someone with an expectation of a particular or specific 'gift', there is a detailed facial expression. Expectation . . . The moment that the receiver’s expectation is not met there is a physical reaction in the facial features. An expression on the face feeds the giver immediate detailed information about the receiver’s internal response.
Facial expressions are nonverbal communication. The role of facial expressions in person-to-person interactions provides commentary and illustration about verbal communications. Expressions provide another mode for understanding the private, hidden side of the inner person, a side that may not be accessible in the form of verbalization.
Many relationships begin from the image above. There is an immediate expectation that the on-looker has despite the absence of person-to-person communication. Why do we continue in relationships that consist of the image, and the image alone . . .? Besides the obvious . . . Why do we continue in relationships that have no visible feet to walk, no arms, no hands, no head, no brain, no mouth, no lips, no eyes, no heart . . .
I was inspired by a blog that had this photograph in the heading. The name of the piece is; Why Do Men Love Assets - By Zettler Clay. The read was not especially thought provoking. It was interesting to see all the comments the writer received. I was focused on the photo and its lack of any other physical attributes. I have been hard pressed to complete the thoughts that go along with this topic. I care for my Dad. He has dementia. I began this post sitting in the backyard, on a particular sunny morning/afternoon, (in the city,SF) disturbed by the fact that I was not able to accept the 'gift' of the 'present' . . . I strongly believe that the depression of that moment was not enough to foreshadow the fact that again, I, am the recipient of the 'present' . . . I know that by mere observation that there was not a soul that could attest to the fact that I am again the recipient of any 'gift', let alone the 'gift' of 'life' . . . That morning has relevance to me. It is the time that conscious thought became outward expression . . . accepting the 'opportunity' . . . 'looking' at 'now' . . . , and accepting 'it', 'today', as a 'gift' as it was intended to be received ! I was more upset with my focus, or lack thereof, than similar moments in times past. The effort that was needed to focus on other than 'yesterday's' events, and 'tomorrows' desires was compelling me, I struggled . . . I began to feel anger, deep down within . . . I had to fight with it . . . I was immersed in that feeling/emotion for a good part of the rest of that day. I can now, as I write, still taste that struggle . . . I have come to fight against the mindset that was so pronounced that day. I had to fight to not give my disposition to the; 'Different Day, Same S---' attitude . . . I have to remove the .exe program for that set of thoughts, and delete the fragmented files and programs, and correct/repair the file permissions. . . (Yea, Mac & Windows user) I needed to rewrite that program to execute: Different Day, Same 'Gift'.exe . . .
What we see when we look at what we want/like has a different set of processes that result, in a completely different operating system, exacting programs that have a completely different purpose, and all together different set of goals . . . I speak of the thought immediately after the eye focuses and transmits the image to the brain. A screen capture of the neurons firing and a caption come to mind . . . (Maybe another T-Shirt . . .!) A child's face on Christmas/Birthday anticipating receiving a ‘gift’ . . . The satisfaction on a face that 'is' receiving the very thing he/she wanted or desired . . . Imagine God, or any person looking at the facial expression I emitted this particular day. As I awoke to the 'gift' of the 'present' and He sees less than what a child's face produces on any 'gift' 'receiving' occasion . . . Or, the look on a face that has achieved or meet with considerable satisfaction some thing, some goal, or a specific expectation . . . How terrible is that, to so dislike the 'present' that you have it written all over your face, first thing in the morning . . . How cool would it be to be a cheerful recipient of this 'present' like a child on Christmas Day . . . Glad . . . Excited . . . Ready . . . Willing . . . Able . . .
When we are looking at what we want there is a specific, discerning look on our face. When I next look at the 'gift' of the day, the 'present', I want my expression to exclusively exude, Gratefulness, Joy, love, Grace, Mercy . . .
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
The 'Gift'
Today I am in the process of stetting up a blog for one of my daughters. Basha is one of two of my daughters. Basha and Asha are the inspiration for B-Sharp. I want to utilize the captive attention of 'social media' on youth of today. I want to encourage them to look and observe and learn the 'social environment' that fuels their thoughts. Basha is 11 and Asha is 13 years of age. Basha attends a after school program that operates away from the school campus. She is excited to attend the program after coming home from school. Basha recently was chosen to be a assistant to the instructor in the program. I am encouraging her to chronicle her experience in this program. I want her to be able to see yesterday, today and tomorrow. Recently she was excited to tell me that she would be participating in praise and worship at Faith Community Worship Center of San Ramon. We spoke about it a few nights before she was to be a part of service. Her excitement and enthusiasm is inspiring. Basha's enthusiasm and excitement is from within. I would gladly take credit for it but that would be overriding and overlooking a special part of her very own character and its development. As a father, a christian, I know that today's distractions for a child are too numerous to name. I am grateful to interact with her and use the experiences to teach her to 'be sharp' and look at the present in 3D. For as Po, of Kung Fu Panda was told by Oogway; 'You are too concerned about what was and what will be'. There is a saying: . . . yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present. Looking at today as a present appeals to me. I often find that the experience with my daughters bring me to that very focus. Today is a gift . . . As I work harder focusing on the task at hand I too have to learn that today, the present, is a 'gift'.
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