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Wednesday, March 02, 2005

DISPATCH FROM DOWN UNDER

U.S. Soldier Fights To Keep Home While In Iraq
Wife Says Bank Threatens To Foreclose On Sergeant's House, Sell Belongings

UPDATED: 7:54 pm EST March 1, 2005

OSAWATOMIE, Kan. -- A Kansas soldier who is on active duty in Iraq is also fighting for his home.

A bank is trying to foreclose on Sgt. Steve Welter's house in Osawatomie, which is illegal. It is a violation of a 64-year-old federal law to foreclose on a soldier's property while he or she is at war.

Welter has been fighting in Iraq since September. Meanwhile, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage is threatening to foreclose on the house where his wife and three children live.

"And he's fighting in a war. And yet an American company is trying to take our home," said Keira Welter, Steve's wife.

The Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act reads in part: "No sale, foreclosure or seizure of property ... shall be valid if made during the period of military service."

http://www.wsoctv.com/family/4241413/detail.html

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On Aug. 12, 2004, Welter got his active duty orders for Iraq and he sent it to the mortgage company.

But Keira Welter said the letters and demands kept coming.

"The (Veterans Affairs) Housing unit of Kansas sent (Wells Fargo) the papers three weeks ago on a Thursday. The next Tuesday, they filed the foreclosure proceedings on us," Keira Welter said.

She's worried the family will lose more than the house.

"They want to sell everything ...They want to sell my house and all my possessions in it," Keira Welter said.

More Info: Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act
Video: Soldier Fights To Keep Home While At War

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Neil Bush & Crest - Another Profiteering Scheme

Evelyn Pringle

03/01/05 "Information Clearing House" - - Neil Bush, has a $60,000-a-year employment contract with a top adviser to a Washington-based consulting firm set up to help companies secure contracts in Iraq, according to the Nov 11, 2004 Financial Times.

Neil disclosed this employment during a divorce deposition on March 3, 2003. He testified that he was co-chairman of the Houston-based, Crest Investment Corporation, which invests in energy and other ventures, and said he received $15,000 every three months for a average 3 or 4 hours of work a week doing "miscellaneous consulting services."

"Such as?" his ex-wife's Attorney asked, "Such as answering phone calls when Jamal Daniel, the other co-chairman, called and asked for advice," Neil answered.

Crest's co-chairman, Daniel, sits on the advisory board of New Bridge Strategies, a firm set up in March
2003, just in time to cash in on the Iraq reconstruction contracts, by a group of businessmen with close ties to the Bush family, and both Bush administrations. The firm's chairman is Joe Allbaugh, who was W's campaign director in the 2000, and who was appointed Director of FEMA once Bush took office.

In addition to paying him for "consulting" work, Crest has provided funding for Neil's educational software company Ignite! In fact, Daniel sometimes introduces himself as a founding backer of the company, and has persuaded the families of prominent leaders in the Middle East to invest in Ignite, according to the Dec
11, 2003 Financial Times.

Overall, Crest goes to great lengths to show Neil how much it values his membership on the team. For instance, when Neil got remarried in 2004, Daniel held a wedding reception at his home, and Crest arranged a
5-year rent-free cottage for Neil and his new bride in Kennebunkport, Maine, so they could spend time near Mom & Pop Bush whenever they wanted to.

Another Jackpot - Thanks To Brother W

As usual, during his deposition, Neil forgot to mention a few facts about his earnings potential with Crest. First of all, he didn't mention that he attached his signature to letters soliciting business for New Bridge in obtaining contracts in Iraq, and two, that he attached his name as a reference for an extremely lucrative proposal submitted by Crest to obtain a lease on a parcel of property located on the island of Quintana, Texas, that will result in payments of at least $2 million a year to Crest.

When W took office in 2001, he vowed to make it easier for companies to build coastline facilities to store liquefied natural gas (LNG), a cooled and condensed form of natural gas, shipped in from countries around the world.

That promise sent US companies scrambling to secure coastline property on which to build the LNG processing facilities. One company looking to enter the market was Crest. Although the firm had no experience whatsoever in LNG processing, it had a very influential asset, a co-chairman by the name of Neil Bush.

http://207.44.245.159/article8185.htm

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