Corrupt Politicians and Tools of the Gulen Movement
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Monday, July 25, 2011
Markowitz fined $20,000 for FREE trips to Turkey.
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| Marty and Jamie Markowitz loving the "good life" all paid for by others July 25, 2011, 1:06 pm Markowitz Fined $20,000 for Wife’s Free Overseas Trips By LIZ ROBBINS Brooklyn Borough President’s OfficeMarty and Jamie Markowitz in 2008. Updated, 3:54 p.m. | When Brooklyn’s borough president, Marty Markowitz, took trips to Turkey and the Netherlands on official city business several years ago, he also accepted free travel expenses for his wife, Jamie Markowitz. The city’s Conflicts of Interest Board deemed it an ethical violation and fined him $20,000, according to the findings released on Monday. (See below.) The travel covered two trips to Turkey, one in 2007 and another in 2009, and a trip to the Netherlands in 2009, which the board estimated were worth at least $11,000, though not substantially more in free travel expenses for Mrs. Markowitz. “By accepting travel expenses for his wife for each trip,” the board said in its findings, Mr. Markowitz “used his position as a public servant for private or personal advantage. Simply put, his wife was able to travel with him abroad — for free.” This is the second ethics fine Mr. Markowitz has racked up this year. In February, the board docked him $2,000 for using his chief of staff as his lawyer at a 2009 real estate closing. The first trip to Turkey, in August 2007, was made by the borough president to promote Brooklyn tourism, and the Turkish government paid some of Ms. Markowitz’s expenses, the ethics board reported. The trip to the Netherlands, in March 2009, was to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s sailing to New York, and the Dutch government paid for her expenses after a member of the delegation of eight New Yorkers dropped out. A nonprofit association, the Federation of Turkish American Associations, paid for the third trip to Turkey in November 2009, which was to develop Brooklyn’s sister-city status with Izmir. Mr. Markowitz, said in a phone interview on Monday that he would pay the fine, but he called it a “terrible decision,” and said that the Conflicts of Interest Board had “very narrow vision” when making it. He said that neither he nor his wife received any personal benefit from the trips, specifically the two to Turkey. “I had a real role -– my wife and I visited mosques, schools, youth centers,” he said. “When they bring you over, it’s not vacation -– they make you work.” The board maintained that Ms. Markowitz, 53, is not an official staff member of the borough president’s office. But Mr. Markowitz, 66, said that it was part of his duty as borough president, representing a city with a diverse international population, to bring his wife because that it is protocol for other countries that invite foreign dignitaries. “I am mayor of Brooklyn, no I am not mayor, I am the borough president,” he said, correcting himself. “But when you are in a foreign country, they look upon the job a little differently. They see me as the chief executive officer of the city of Brooklyn.” The board said that at one point in his testimony, he referred to his wife as “the first lady of Brooklyn.” He quibbled with the board’s finding that expenses for accommodations and meals -– specifically in the Netherlands -– should have been divided. “When you go to a hotel, the price is for double occupancy,” he said. “And how do you break it up when you go to buffets that are sponsored by governments?” The Conflicts of Interest Board cited a New York City Charter provision that states that “no public servant shall use or attempt to use his or her position as a public servant to obtain any financial gain, contract, license, privilege or other private or personal advantage, direct or indirect, for the public servant or any person or firm associated with the public servant.” The board had originally recommended that Mr. Markowitz be fined $30,000 ($10,000 for each violation, which at the time was the maximum penalty allowed). But in May, Judge Kevin F. Casey of the city’s Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings recommended that Mr. Markowitz be fined $3,000 for the 2007 Turkey trip; $7,000 for the Netherlands trip; and $10,000 for the 2009 Turkey trip. He recommended the highest fine for the last trip because Mr. Markowitz was by then on notice that it would be a violation to accept such expenses. The board followed the judge’s lead. Mr. Markowitz said the ruling would make him change his decisions. “It means if we are to get invited by a foreign country, if I choose to go because it helps Brooklyn, obviously if my wife joins me, we will have to pay for her. I don’t agree.” He added: “I thought I was doing the right thing, and I still believe it.” “I felt, No. 1, I have no conflict of interest, I was not doing business with private entities that do business with New York city, and I was not using a dollar of taxpayers money. I see it as an extension of my job.” He added: “Some guys get into trouble traveling without their wives. I get into trouble traveling with my wife.” DV.load('http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/227791-markowitz-ethics-fine.js', { width: 480, height: 600, sidebar: false, text: false, container: "#DV-viewer-227791-markowitz-ethics-fine" });  |
Saturday, July 9, 2011
American Politicians make trip to Turkey as guests of Gulen's Tuskon group
Ozkur Yildiz, President of the Western Turkic American Council shows up at ANOTHER Gulen sponsored event.
As part of their trip to Turkey, a group of US Congressmen was hosted by TUSKON on June 12. Dana Rohrabacher,Jeff Duncan, Jim Costa, Louie Gohmert, Russ Carnahan and Ted Poe were in the group.
http://www.tuskonus.org/tuskon.php?c=1&s=&e=240
Well Well, what do we have here? Ozgur Yildiz (The Incredible Shrinking Yildiz) President of the West Turkic American Council is also in this picture. He is 4th from the R in the back row. To refresh our readers on Ozgur Yildiz, here is a link to the Hawaii Free Press and his blunders he made with the Hawaii Senate. Ozgur orignially came to the USA as a teacher for the Gulenist ran Sonoran Science Academies in Arizona. And is now one of the Gulenist Turkish lobbyists (in between gaining and losing weight)
http://www.hawaiifreepress.com/main/ArticlesMain/tabid/56/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/3925/Did-Sen-Mike-Gabbard-get-hoaxed-by-fake-Turkic-President.aspx
These Gulen guys get around.
As their HocaEfendi has instructed:
" You must work into the arteries of the system until you reach all power centers"
Gulen politicians in Missouri, the Gateway Science Academy press conference with Mayor Slay
Reporters from local radio, print and television stations gathered at Gateway Science Academy of St. Louis for a press conference on April 21st, during which Mayor Francis Slay announced the opening of three new charter schools in the St. Louis Area. The Mayor greeted reporters from KSDK, KMOV, KWMU and the St. Louis Post Dispatch (INCLUDE LINKS) to advocate school choice for parents in the city of St. Louis. “It’s about quality choice for parents”, he said, adding praise for the accomplishments Gateway Science Academy has achieved since it’s opening in August of 2010. Gateway Science Academy is one of 21 charter schools operating in the St. Louis area. Mayor Slay looks to charter schools to stop the exodus of families from the city, stating St. Louis has seen 29,000 people leave the city since the 2000, according numbers from the U.S. Census. GSA hosted the event in the school lobby during a regular, busy class day for students. Parents, city representatives, press, and agents from universities listened attentively as representatives from the three new schools detailed their plans for success. After the press conference, Principal Cengiz Karatas took Mayor Slay and the media on a tour of the building, highlighting the strong learning environment GSA has established in such a short time.
We will give Mayor Slay some slack, we believe he is unaware of the Gulen Movement at the time of this press conference. Today he has been enlightened about this group.
Harmony School of Political Science, New Gulen Charter School seeks donations
worthy cause (snicker giggles) please go to this website:
http://hspaustin.org/
Soner, et al , Good luck with trying to fill that school with American students and we are sure you will have a huge grand opening with many American Politicians in attendance (NOT!)
Harmony Parent the TRUTH: Albuquerque School of Excellence, Turkey trip for ...
Harmony Parent the TRUTH: Albuquerque School of Excellence, Turkey trip for ...: " Mayor Berry invited ASE 8th grade students to be involved in the blueprint planing for Albuquerque for the next 25 years. Thank you ..."
Friday, July 8, 2011
Gulen Politicians-Charter Schools, Public Risk, and Political Gain
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| Oops, forgot Soner Tarim, Cosmos Foundation et al are trying to re package the Gulen Harmony Science Academies as the new HARMONY PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Good luck with that one!! |
Charter Schools, Public Risk, Political Gain and the Gulen Harmony Science Academies.http://www.ennisdailynews.com/?p=12821
Stunning, jaw dropping hypocrisy! The conservative Republican Texas legislature, in Senate Bill 1, passed in June, will guarantee the bonds sold by the private owners of charter schools. Privately owned charter schools, for example, Harmony Charter Schools, will be authorized by the state of Texas to sell bonds to construct new school buildings. The state will guarantee them by giving charter schools access to the Permanent School Fund. Isn’t this the Wall Street model …. privatize the profits and socialize the loses. Newly minted AAA rated financial instruments will be bundled to hedge fund managers and other “investors.” Hundreds of thousands of dollars will be made by bond rating agencies and financial institutions that put these bond offerings together.
Remember the rating firms that provided AAA ratings, paid for by Wall Street, for worthless mortgage backed securities. The Texas taxpayer will now be on the hook for this private sector school financing scheme. The relevant section of SB 1 states, “Senate Bill 1. Sec. 45.052. GUARANTEE. (a) On approval by the commissioner, bonds issued under Subchapter A by a school district or Chapter 53 for a charter district, including refunding bonds, are guaranteed by the corpus and income of the Permanent School Fund. There is more. Harmony Charter Schools is the largest charter school chain in the state boasting of 36 schools. Don’t let them tell you charter schools are public schools, they are not. Public schools don’t have the luxury of “encouraging” a child to leave because they might jeopardize the school’s test scores. Charter schools game the system by inflating their successes through a process called “dumping”. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) acknowledges that Charter schools “dump” low performing students and students with special needs. They push these students out of their school. Dr. Ed Fuller has been quoted saying, “It’s not hard to be ‘exemplary’ if you lose all the kids who aren’t performing”. Harmony schools “lose” an extraordinarily high number, about 50 percent, of their students in grades 6 through 8 according to Fuller, a University of Texas-Austin researcher. Charter schools do not out perform our public schools. They create havoc. Charter schools that have closed still owe the state 21 million dollars because they exaggerated their enrollment numbers. Besides their “dumping” policies, Harmony Charter schools have been associated with the Gulan Islamic movement. Harmony does not teach Islam in the schools, but their Gulan associations are undeniable according to University of Oregon’s Joshua Hendrick, Ph.D. His research extensively studied the Gulanists and their worldwide operations.
Under the radar of the American public, the Gulan Islamic movement has been quietly advancing its presence in the United States through the establishment of charter schools by their acolytes. Texas politicians are well aware of this movement. Gulanists continue to build their political cover by targeting, influencing, and giving gifts and trips to Turkey to our politicians. Fethullah Gulan, left Turkey under threat by the Turkish government for his attempts to establish an Islamic government and some consider him the contemporary Islamic version of American evangelist Billy Graham. The Gulan movement goes beyond charter schools. Their public relations strategy incorporates the establishment of “cultural centers” and “interfaith dialog” centers. They are extremely well funded and politically connected. Cosmos Foundation, Inc., owners of Harmony Schools hired Jennifer Sarver, of BursonMarsteller, one of the world’s largest public relation firms. Karen Hughes is Global Vice-Chair of BursonMarsteller. This is a very expensive and high powered public relation effort. Followers of the Gulan Movement operate banks, educational institutions, media, and business networks in more than 100 countries around the world.
The Cosmos Foundation, Inc. which operates the Harmony schools filed for 1,157 visas applications (H1-Bs) since 2001. It has brought 731 administrators and teachers from Turkey using H1-Bs surpassing all other secondary education providers nationwide. Immigration of teachers from Turkey under the H1B visa program is allowed if a qualified American teacher cannot be found. Questions abound regarding the qualifications of these Turkish teachers as well as Harmony’s sincerity in attracting and hiring qualified American teachers. All the principals of Harmony schools just happen to be Turkish men. Contracting, maintenance, and a plethora of vendor contracts (food service, uniforms, books, furniture, etc.) which by law should go to the lowest bidder are in question. It has been reported that local Texas businesses have been shut out and bids awarded to Turkish owned firms. Large capital improvements and new building construction projects will be financed by Harmony bond initiatives, awarded to Turkish construction firms, and insured by the state, meaning … you. These contracts represent tens of millions of dollars.
Here’s the right wing Republican plan: Put the public school system under relentless attack for political, ideological, and financial gain. Selectively target public schools in the inner cities where poverty is the norm and low performance is a problem and portray every public school in the same light. You know the propaganda is coming when they start talking about “government run schools”, “competition”, “choice”, and “21st century skills”. A recent New York Times article by the conservative David Brooks uses the language of the propagandist when he speaks of the school “reform movement” or the “reformers”…. a detestable perversion of the English language in the context that they use it. These right wing extremists corrupt the language; undermine our traditional public schools for profit and political advantage.
Thomas Jefferson once wrote, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and will never be”. Texas state government has seen to it that we rank almost at the bottom of the nation in public school funding (48th). Our public school teachers, staff, and administrators deserve better by virtue of their performance and the indispensible value they add to our community. Let me be clear. I am not in any way against privately funded faith based schools. However, Harmony Charter Schools and other charters, funded by taxpayer’s dollars, by their own doing, have raised serious questions about their practices at many levels not the least of which is the promotion of a particular religion and culture directly or indirectly. Finally, the Texas taxpayer should not bear the risk associated with the creation and issuance financial instruments for the private sector…. never, never, never.
Michael Hight is a retired pharmaceutical executive. His education includes a Bachelor’s degree in microbiology, with graduate studies in political science and additional courses in business management abroad. He can be reached at mich...@sbcglobal.net.
Gulen Politicians- Flock to Magnolia Science Academy - A Gulen Charter School: Magnolia Science Academy, the HYPE and MARKETING n...
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Sunday, July 3, 2011
Harmony Parent the TRUTH: Gulen's Harmony Science Academy, ready to puke? re...
Harmony Parent the TRUTH: Gulen's Harmony Science Academy, ready to puke? re...: "MORE HERE http://www.peytonwolcott.com/TX_TCSA_Delisi_Cash_2011Lege.html TEXAS SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE MEMBERS S cheduled to preside at ..."
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