Obama Raised $52 Million last month

Democrat Barack Obama raised $52 million last month for his presidential campaign, more than twice as much as Republican rival John McCain in a significant boost to his financial cache for the fall contest. The Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee ended June with a combined total of $92.3 million in the bank. The figure represents a notable fundraising jump, especially for the DNC. Obama reported $72 million cash on hand and the DNC $20.3 million. But the Democrats still lag Republican John McCain’s presidential campaign and the Republican Party. Last week, McCain reported raising more than $22 million in June, which was his best month of the year. Together, the McCain campaign and the Republican National Committee began July with about $95 million in the bank.

The reason for the discrepancy, greater fundraising by Obama and the DNC but less money in the bank than McCain and the GOP, is because until now the DNC had spent much of its money, leaving little cash on hand.

New Strategies Reshape Public Policy

You probably haven’t heard the name Tim Gill, and that’s just the way he wants it. Carrie Earll, Senior Director of Issues Analysis for Focus on the Family explains, “Tim Gill is stealth. He’s under the radar. When he goes after a candidate he doesn’t make homosexuality the issue. He picks something else because he knows the issue of homosexuality is still risky among the electorate.” A Colorado native, Gill still calls Denver home. He made his millions in the 80s and 90s as the founder of the publishing software giant Quark, but in 2000, he moved to full-time philanthropy. Gill favors giving to main-stream charities like the Denver Aquarium. He ties the money to so-called “non-discrimination” policies and establishes himself as a community pillar. But it’s in the area of politics where his giving is starting to get the most attention.

The Loss of Secret files

More than 100 USB memory sticks, some containing secret information, have been lost or stolen from the Ministry of Defence since 2004, it has emerged. The department also admitted that more than 650 laptops had been stolen over the past four years – nearly double the figure previously claimed. The Liberal Democrats condemned the latest security breaches as evidence of”shocking incompetence”. But the MoD insisted its policies were “generally fit for purpose”. Previously the MoD had confirmed that 347 laptops were stolen between 2004 and 2007. The Mod said it has no idea on when, where and how the memory sticks were lost. Defence Secretary Des Browne issued revised figures after “anomalies in the reporting process” were discovered.

The official total is now 658 laptops stolen, with another 89 lost. Just 32 have been recovered. In a separate response, ministers said 121 of the department’s USB memory sticks had been taken or misplaced since 2004.

Some 26 of those went this year – including three which contained information classified as “secret” and 19 which were “restricted”.

The Man who tortured and killed

A man who killed his wife’s dog and threatened to kill her has been sentenced to six months in jail. William David Streeter, 29, of Cloyfin Park, Coleraine, was convicted of seven counts of animal cruelty and one of making threats to kill. The judge said it was one of the worst cases he had seen involving animals. Streeter hanged golden retriever Mac by his collar, kicked him with steel toe-capped boots and hit him with a boulder in October 2006. North Antrim Magistrates’ Court heard that he threatened to kill his wife two days after the dog’s death. The one-year-old pedigree dog died after Streeter put a choke chain around its neck and hanged it from a rafter in his garage. The dog suffered severe bruising and swelling to his back and head as well as two broken ribs. There was also evidence of bleeding on his brain and lungs.