May 2002: Haim Saban funds the "Saban Center for Middle East Policy" at the Brookings Institute. One of the four stated research areas is "the implications of regime change in Iraq". Another task is providing "future policymakers with a better understanding of the complexities of the Middle East and the process of developing effective policies to deal with

them

In 2001, Haim Saban and News Corporation sold Fox Family Worldwide for $5.1 billion to The Walt Disney Company for ABC - the network was renamed ABC Family Channel. Saban made about $1.6 billion from this sale, making it the largest transaction between a company and a private citizen ever.

At least part of this money probably funded the Saban center. Its interesting becuase all of these things related to the Saban center all relate to Iraq regime change and the media. Its seems like the perfect place for propaganda generation related to Iraq.

None. They're all waiting for the unseen hand of the market to correct the lighting disequilibrium.

None. If the government would just leave it alone, it would screw itself in.

None. There is no need to change the light bulb. All the conditions for illumination are in place.

None, because, look! It's getting brighter! It's definitely getting brighter !!!

http://balkin.blogspot.com/2007/08/senate-passes-administration-bill.html

Saturday, August 04, 2007
Senate Passes Administration Bill
Marty Lederman

So much for the Democratic/DNI bill. Ancient history.

We're back to a White House-penned bill now.

Before the vote, the head of the Intelligence Committee, Jay Rockefeller, "excoriated" the White House bill, saying it

"provides a weak and practically nonexistent court review."

And then the Senate passed the bill, 60-28. (The bill reportedly is operative for only six months.)

House vote tomorrow. The Republican strategy? Comments such as this, from the chief Republican on the Judiciary Committee, Lamar Smith: "I hope that there are no attacks before we are able to effectively update this important act."

We'll update with a link to the bill when we receive it.

- - Posted 12:01 AM by Marty Lederman

It's not yet clear whether the House will be voting on the Democratic bill, or abandoning it and voting on the Administration bill as the Senate did.

The press isn't reporting the true story of the Senate vote.

Contrary to the following AP story, the Senate voted to give President Bush authority to eavesdrop on terrorists * AND ALSO NON-TERRORISTS * without warrants.

http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-senate-rollcall-terrorism,0,6750771,print.story

By The Associated Press

11:26 PM EDT, August 3, 2007

The 60-28 roll call by which the Senate voted to temporarily give President Bush expanded authority to eavesdrop on foreign terrorists without court warrants.

On this vote, a "yes" vote was a vote to give Bush that authority and a "no" vote was a vote to deny him that authority.

Voting "yes" were 16 Democrats, 43 Republicans and 1 independent.

Voting "no" were 27 Democrats, 0 Republicans and 1 independent.

Alabama : Sessions (R) Yes; Shelby (R) Yes.
Alaska : Murkowski (R) Yes; Stevens (R) Yes.
Arizona : Kyl (R) Yes; McCain (R) Not Voting.
Arkansas : Lincoln (D) Yes; Pryor (D) Yes.
California : Boxer (D) Not Voting; Feinstein (D) Yes.
Colorado : Allard (R) Yes; Salazar (D) Yes.
Connecticut: Dodd (D) No; Lieberman (I) Yes.
Delaware : Biden (D) No; Carper (D) Yes.
Florida : Martinez (R) Yes; Nelson (D) Yes.
Georgia : Chambliss (R) Yes; Isakson (R) Yes.
Hawaii : Akaka (D) No; Inouye (D) Yes.
Idaho : Craig (R) Yes; Crapo (R) Yes.
Illinois : Durbin (D) No; Obama (D) No.
Indiana : Bayh (D) Yes; Lugar (R) Not Voting.
Iowa : Grassley (R) Yes; Harkin (D) Not Voting.
Kansas : Brownback (R) Yes; Roberts (R) Yes.
Kentucky : Bunning (R) Not Voting; McConnell (R) Yes.
Louisiana : Landrieu (D) Yes; Vitter (R) Yes.
Maine : Collins (R) Yes; Snowe (R) Yes.
Maryland : Cardin (D) No; Mikulski (D) Yes.
Massachusetts : Kennedy (D) No; Kerry (D) Not Voting.
Michigan : Levin (D) No; Stabenow (D) No.
Minnesota : Coleman (R) Yes; Klobuchar (D) Yes.
Mississippi : Cochran (R) Yes; Lott (R) Not Voting.
Missouri : Bond (R) Yes; McCaskill (D) Yes.
Montana : Baucus (D) No; Tester (D) No.
Nebraska : Hagel (R) Yes; Nelson (D) Yes.
Nevada : Ensign (R) Yes; Reid (D) No.
New Hampshire : Gregg (R) Not Voting; Sununu (R) Yes.
New Jersey : Lautenberg (D) No; Menendez (D) No.
New Mexico : Bingaman (D) No; Domenici (R) Yes.
New York : Clinton (D) No; Schumer (D) No.
North Carolina : Burr (R) Yes; Dole (R) Yes.
North Dakota : Conrad (D) Yes; Dorgan (D) Not Voting.
Ohio : Brown (D) No; Voinovich (R) Yes.
Oklahoma : Coburn (R) Yes; Inhofe (R) Yes.
Oregon : Smith (R) Yes; Wyden (D) No.
Pennsylvania : Casey (D) Yes; Specter (R) Yes.
Rhode Island : Reed (D) No; Whitehouse (D) No.
South Carolina : DeMint (R) Yes; Graham (R) Yes.
South Dakota : Johnson (D) Not Voting; Thune (R) Yes.
Tennessee : Alexander (R) Not Voting; Corker (R) Yes.
Texas : Cornyn (R) Yes; Hutchison (R) Yes.
Utah : Bennett (R) Yes; Hatch (R) Yes.
Vermont : Leahy (D) No; Sanders (I) No.
Virginia : Warner (R) Yes; Webb (D) Yes.
Washington : Cantwell (D) No; Murray (D) Not Voting.
West Virginia : Byrd (D) No; Rockefeller (D) No.
Wisconsin : Feingold (D) No; Kohl (D) No.
Wyoming : Barrasso (R) Yes; Enzi (R) Yes.

You didn't provide a link for that info on Haim Saban but good catch. I found some info on the man but let me just say this up front. The Israeli Lobby sees which way the wind is blowing in this country. They have always played both sides but will court and curry favor with the Democrats more now that it looks like they will be in power for the forseeable future. If Democratic politicians take their money, (although AIPAC itself doesn't give money to political campaigns) that is money not going to the GOP. Will they be beholden to the Israeli Lobby? Some more than others. I never vote for DiFi anymore but she keeps getting elected. That will change (she's retiring) but it will take time and patience to get the centrists out of the Democratic party and back into the GOP where they belong (see Ché Pasa's two posts). This is a war of attrition that will take longer then the "GWOT". I'd shoot myself before I'd vote for Ron Paul for a number of reasons. His foreign policy ideas are just as dangerous as the neocon's. In my opinion, he couldn't care less if the Israelis and their Iranian and Arab enemies in the region blew themselves to kingdom come. A bipolar opposite of the neocons and just as lacking in nuance, statecraft or diplomatic acumen and twice as naive. If only Kucinich had a chance. As unfair as it is, neither of them do. As I posted earlier, contingency plans for redeployment or drawdown/withdrawal from Iraq are already in the discussion and brainstorming stages.

http://abuaardvark.typepad.com/abuaardvark/2007/08/yesterdays-even.html

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Haim_Saban

The Israeli Lobby/ London Review of Books

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n06/print/mear01_.html

Haim Saban, predatory media mogul

http://www.economist.com/people/displayStory.cfm?story_id=2101163

Haim Saban’s Deal-Making in a Nazi Concentration Camp

By Abu Spinoza

Media mogul Haim Saban boasts of making mergers and acquisition deals in a former concentration camp. Saban, who is a multi-billionaire media baron, is one of the key supporters of Israel. He is also a leading financier of “liberal” Democratic politicians in the United States. He recently told the New York Times how he conducted business deals while visiting Dachau, a Nazi concentration camp, without any sense of shame...

http://www.pressaction.com/news/weblog/full_article/spinoza09092004/

http://www.spinwatch.org/content/view/272/8/

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1854213,00.html