GOP Sen. Tom Coburn reprimanded for role in John Ensign affair

WASHINGTON - The Senate Ethics Committee publicly admonished Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., on Friday for improperly meeting with a lobbyist and former aide to Sen. John Ensign, the Nevada Republican who resigned from the Senate after having an affair with the aide?s wife.

The qualified reprimand was for failing to avoid the ban on having former staff-turned-lobbyists meet with officials. It falls short of a censure or criminal violation. But the committee said it was "improper conduct" for Coburn to meet with Douglas Hampton, the former aide who tried to work as a lobbyist after the affair forced him out of Ensign?s office.

The Senate has a one-year prohibition on senior staff seeking to influence their former colleagues, and the ethics committee previously accused Ensign of conspiring to violate the ban by helping to set up clients for Hampton. The rule applies to former officials and was set as a way to shut the revolving door between lobbyists and Capitol Hill.

"Senators are obligated to meet a high standard," the committee wrote in a letter signed by all six members of the panel, which is equally represented by Democrats and Republicans.

The committee also admonished Bret Bernhardt, the chief of staff to Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., for meeting with Hampton and arranging a meeting with DeMint.

A statement from Coburn?s office called the admonishment "gratuitous," noting that Coburn had cooperated fully with the committee?s investigation and that Hampton had been just seven weeks shy of clearing the cooling-off period.

"It is unfortunate the committee has impugned Dr. Coburn for their failure to provide workable guidance for a law that was passed nearly five years ago," said Coburn communications director John Hart.

DeMint?s office stood by Bernhardt as a respected senior staff member who "continues to serve with honor and integrity," said DeMint spokesman Wesley Denton.

Ensign?s nearly yearlong affair and its fallout ricocheted across Washington, resulting in a Justice Department investigation - and ultimately Ensign?s decision last year to resign from office.

Once Ensign in 2009 disclosed the affair with Cynthia Hampton, who had also worked for him at his campaign office but had since left his employment, Douglas Hampton acknowledged having lobbied his former Senate colleagues as he tried to get new work - a violation of the one-year ban.

Hampton was indicted by federal prosecutors on charges related to the revolving-door lobbyist ban, but has reportedly reached a plea agreement in advance of a trial scheduled for this year, according to Las Vegas newspapers.

As the affair was unfolding, Coburn played a pivotal role, offering personal counsel to both men. Coburn lived with Ensign and other Christian conservative members of Congress in the building known as the C Street house, where men often hold prayer meetings.

In Friday?s letter, the committee noted that Coburn and Bernhardt had personal relationships with Hampton and thus would have understood his status would violate the ban. Bernhardt and Hampton had occasionally met for Bible study.

Senate investigators looked at an array of events around the affair, including the decision by Ensign?s parents to give the Hamptons and their children nearly $100,000 when the couple left the senator?s employment.

Days before Ensign was scheduled to appear before the ethics committee, he resigned.

The committee?s action is expected to be its last in the case.

(c)2012 Tribune Co. Distributed by MCT Information Services

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Your Credit Ratings History's Relevance For Finance Companies ...

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Consumer credit scores are in simple terms a particular person's report on their aptitude to reliably take care of consumer debt. Loan providers exploit consumer credit reviews as well as rating models to help figure out the financial risk of offering a loan to credit seekers. Borrowers who've proved a sturdy and repeated history of responsible getting credit and repayment are likely to get hold of higher than average loan sums in addition to significantly better percentage rates and terms in comparison with people who may have failed to satisfy loan repayments vigilantly and in full.

Credit scores will be influenced by a selection of score factors that help suggest to the service provider what sort of borrower the consumer has actually proven to be previously. Features that affect ones credit ratings background can include funding profile, loan-to-account balance proportions, prompt installment payments, county court judgements, wages, and much more. Loan merchants are in the enterprise of lending funds. Having said that, prior to lending to an individual, the finance company wants to determine the financial risk to reward rate offered by funding the customer's personal loan requirements. The lower the potential risk the client poses, the greater the negotiating authority she or he has. Customers that have a bad credit score are generally subject to the whims of the supplier as to whether or not they will pick up credit, and also whether or not it'll be made available with manageable repayment terms and interest rates. Usually, below-average credit clients pay back far more.

Regretably, the majority of consumers are uneducated concerning just how consumer credit ratings are measured. Generally customers start out crafting their own credit rating very early in adult life, prior to when many are actually equipped for that job. Young men and women are often naive when it comes to exactly how radically their finances are altered courtesy of generating bad or good credit. That isn't a worry for some individuals up until the time it will come time to purchase a home or even an auto, and that is when a trip to a low credit score service might well be advantageous.

An individual in need of a mortgage loan on a new house could actually see somewhat varying home loan deals contingent on whether he has a first-rate or unfavorable credit ranking. Buyers with impressive credit ratings could possibly come across decreased upfront loan expenses. They're also very likely to end up with an enhanced rate of interest with their financing. Just one half to full percentage point of interest fees for a conventional mortgage can certainly have an enormous financial impact.

Throughout the life of a mortgage loan, a buyer could potentially perhaps save tens of thousands in interest charges merely by finding one half to 1 per cent improved price for the home finance loan. Provisions are frequently more beneficial at the same time. The whole thing refers to bargaining strength. A consumer having a positive credit ranking is empowered to bargain beneficially with lending companies simply because he / she presents reduced associated risk. A consumer with adverse credit finds less options of willing creditors along with minimized negotiating strength.

Martin writes for ADM Online who offer loans to UK residents with good or poor credit ratings.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012 at 1:53 pm and is filed under Loans. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Which of WWE's young lions could become king?

In the jungle, there can only be one king. But there have never been any shortage of challengers to the lofty throne occupied by the likes of John Cena, Randy Orton, WWE Champion CM Punk and Triple H in the land of WWE. Those alpha males have managed to keep a firm hold on the top spot thus far, but we at WWE.com feel the winds of change stirring in the jungle.

The recent influx of talent into the WWE roster has been impossible to ignore, and so has the impact of that talent. These young Superstars and Divas are doing more than winning matches, they?re distinguishing themselves in their first weeks out, and the opportunity for new kings to step up and make a name for themselves has never been riper. Far be it from us to predict the future, but don?t be surprised if some of these upstarts reach for the brass ring sooner rather than later. Through their charisma, their style or their sheer brute strength, these are the six young lions (and one lioness) who are best suited to become the new kings of the squared circle.

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30 days for Dharun Ravi in Rutgers suicide case

The former student was convicted for his role in harassing Tyler Clementi, who committed suicide after Ravi used a webcam to spy on him.

By Geoff Mulvihill,?The Associated Press / May 21, 2012

Dharun Ravi stands alone in a New Brunswick, N.J., courtroom Monday following a sentencing hearing for his conviction in using a webcam to invade the privacy of his roommate, Tyler Clementi, and another man in their college dorm room.

Lee Celano/REUTERS

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A former Rutgers University student who used a webcam to spy on his gay roommate was sentenced Monday to just 30 days in jail ? a punishment that disappointed some activists but came as a relief to others who feared he would be made a scapegoat for his fellow freshman's suicide.

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Dharun Ravi, 20, could have gotten 10 years behind bars for his part in a case that burst onto front pages when Tyler Clementi threw himself to his death off the George Washington Bridge.

Instead, Superior Court Judge Glenn Berman gave Ravi a month in jail, placed him on three years' probation and ordered him to get counseling and pay $10,000 toward a program to help victims of hate crimes.

"Our society has every right to expect zero tolerance for intolerance," the judge said.

RECOMMENDED:?Tyler Clementi and cyberbullying: how courts ruled in five other cases

Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan said he will appeal the sentence, calling it insufficient.

The tear-filled sentencing touched on many of the issues that made the case heart-wrenching and legally complicated: anti-gay bullying, teen suicide, hate-crime laws in the fast-changing Internet age, and the uses and abuses of technology in the hands of young people.

Ravi did not speak in court but shed tears as his mother pleaded with the judge not to send him to prison. Afterward, Ravi, his family and his lawyers left court without comment. He is expected to appeal his conviction.

In handing down the sentence, the judge quoted an email from Clementi himself describing Ravi's conduct as "wildly inappropriate."

At the same time, Berman pointed out that Ravi was not charged in Clementi's suicide. He said Ravi has spent 20 months in "exile" since his arrest. And he suggested "hate crime" is a misnomer for what Ravi was convicted of: "I do not believe he hated Tyler Clementi."

He also said he has examined the bias intimidation laws in 39 states and found that New Jersey's is among the broadest. Most, he said, are used only to increase the sentences of people convicted of violent crimes.

The judge said he would recommend Ravi not be deported to his native India. Deportation is still a possibility, but a sentence of a year or more would have been more likely to trigger it.

Prosecutors had asked that Ravi be sent to prison; they did not say how much time he should get other than that it did not have to be the maximum. If prosecutors appeal the sentence, Ravi may not have to report to jail on May 31 as ordered.

New Jersey gay rights organization Garden State Equality expressed disappointment with the punishment. In a statement, chairman Steven Goldstein suggested that while the maximum would have been an act of "vengeance," 30 days was too light.

"This was not merely a childhood prank gone awry," Goldstein said.

Bill Dobbs, a New York gay rights activist who has long argued that hate-crime laws can be dangerous, said he believes the judge gave a short sentence in part in response to a backlash against the prosecution that became visible in recent weeks, including at a rally last week at New Jersey's Statehouse, where hundreds of people called for leniency.

"Law and order cannot solve social problems," he said. "If you put too much pressure on one person, you can crush someone on the receiving end."

Marc Poirier, a professor at Seton Hall Law School, said the judge skillfully found a middle ground. "Having no jail time would have been interpreted as being a slap on the wrist," he said. And a sentence of five to 10 years would be "out of control."

The case began in September 2010, when Ravi's randomly assigned roommate asked Ravi for the dorm room alone so that he and a guest could have privacy. Ravi went to a friend's room, and they used a computer to watch Clementi and another man kissing.

They told others about it through instant messages and tweets, with Ravi boasting: "I saw him making out with a dude. Yay."

When Clementi asked for privacy again two days later, Ravi agreed, then told friends how to access his webcam. But this time, the camera was not on when the guest came over. There was testimony both that Clementi unplugged it and that Ravi himself put it to sleep.

The next night, Clementi ? who learned he had been spied on ? committed suicide at age 18, leaving behind a final Facebook update: "jumping off the gw bridge, sorry."

Gay-rights activists held up Clementi as an example of the consequences of bullying gays. President Barack Obama himself weighed in on the tragedy.

Ravi was convicted in March of invasion of privacy, bias intimidation on the basis of sexual orientation ? an offense widely referred to as a hate crime ? and trying to cover his tracks by destroying text messages and tweets and tampering with a witness.

As for Clementi's suicide, his mother, Jane Clementi, told the judge she didn't know exactly why her son killed himself. And Ravi's lawyers argued that the trial was not fair because the judge did not give them details from Clementi's computer that may have explained it.

Ravi is being "demonized by the gay community, and they're associating whatever he did with the death of Tyler," said lawyer Steven Altman.

Clementi's father, Joe Clementi, told the judge that Ravi deserved to be punished, saying the young man saw his son as undeserving of basic human decency. The elder Clementi said Ravi "still does not get it" and has no remorse.

Ravi's mother, Sabitha Ravi, said in court that her son "doesn't have any hatred in his heart toward anybody."

"Dharun's dreams are shattered and he has been living in hell for the past 20 months," she said through tears, recounting how he has lost more than 20 pounds from an already-thin frame and how he only finds comfort with his little brother and his dog.

Before the trial, prosecutors had offered Ravi a plea bargain that called for no prison time. He turned it down.

RECOMMENDED:?Tyler Clementi and cyberbullying: how courts ruled in five other cases

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Ban on advertising new and old property price ... - Real Estate Japan

Moves are underway to lift the ban that prohibits advertising the former price of a secondhand property or land alongside it?s new and reduced price.

Currently, this form of advertising can only be used on brand new construction less than two years old, and which has never been occupied.? Certain terms relating to the length of time advertised also apply. It is expected that the law will change this summer to allow advertisements for secondhand properties and land to use the same method.

The ban on ?double pricing? for brand new properties was only lifted after the crash of the bubble economy when developers were left with an enormous stock of unsold apartments.

Following the Lehman Shock in 2008, developers were often seen advertising 5 million Yen discounts on unsold units, which gave rise to the term ?outlet mansions?. This gave consumers a sense of bargain and sales were positive.

Meanwhile, the secondary property market remains in a slump. While one might assume that allowing double pricing advertisements would help the secondary market as well, property brokers, however, are not so eager to see the ban lifted.

Why?

?The advertised price on secondary properties is considered to be the reference point for the start of negotiations. It is the price at which the vendor wants to sell, but the listing price is only the final selling price in very rare cases.? ? Major real estate brokerage.

President Yuki Kazuto of Urinushi-no-mikata sales brokerage said that the average difference between the listed price and final selling price is as much as 10%.? According to research by Tokyo Kantei, the average difference between the listing and selling price for secondary properties in greater Tokyo for the last three years has ranged from 6.6 to 10.2%.

Tokyo Kantei believes that ?double price? advertising may lead buyers to think that the seller will lower their price even further and could cause restrained buying or further demands of price reductions.

However, advertising the old and new prices can spur some movement in the market. Kazuto believes that by showing the amount of the price reduction, buyers may feel that they still have some room for negotiation.

The future effects are uncertain and many major real estate brokerages are taking a wait-and-see stance.

Source: Shukan Diamond, May 9, 2012.

Editor?s Note: Zoe Ward is the publisher of Japan Property Central and has extensive experience in the Tokyo real estate market, working for some of the advertising agents on Real Estate Japan. Photos courtesy of Zoe Ward.

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Are you looking to buy property in Japan? Search Tokyo real estate for sale. Property for sale in Japan.

Tokyo Apartments For Sale | Tokyo Apartments For Rent | Real Estate Japan

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Wis. recall leaders struggle to gain momentum

MADISON, Wis. (AP) ? Amid signs that the effort to oust Republican Gov. Scott Walker is losing ground, Wisconsin Democrats and union leaders are preparing a fundraising and get-out-the-vote push to regain momentum in the final weeks before the June recall election.

Opponents of Walker are concerned that the governor, aided by a huge influx of money from conservative supporters nationwide, has opened a lead in a race that had been dead even in the polls.

Walker, who has raised $25 million, has been blanketing Wisconsin with broadcast advertising touting his handling of the economy. His Democratic opponent, Tom Barrett, who did not win his party's primary until May 8, has raised only $1 million and not been able to match the blitz. The most recent public poll on the race released last week showed Walker leading by 6 points.

"I feel like Walker does have the momentum," said Michael Brown, who was among those who organized the petition drive that netted more than 900,000 signatures to force the recall vote. "It's up to the people of Wisconsin to push back."

The effort to recall Walker, which began after he successfully pushed to remove the collective bargaining power of public employee unions, has become a nationally watched battle over worker rights.

Democratic strategists say Barrett can still rebound with a new surge of advertising and volunteer work before the June 5 vote.

"Last week was the first week that the Walker and Barrett campaigns, and their allies, were at spending parity on television," said Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Mike Tate. "We are, internally, seeing things start to move in our direction in a very substantial way."

But those on both sides agree that getting voters to the polls will be more important that swaying the undecided, who may only amount to a few percent of the electorate.

"Who can get their base to turn out ?that's it right there," said Brown.

Tate said Democrats have prepared a "huge, well-funded" turnout operation that will deliver more votes to Barrett than he received in the 2010 governor's race, when he lost to Walker by 5 percentage points.

The Democratic National Committee said Monday it has sent $1.4 million to Wisconsin in the 2012 election cycle and is tapping its organization to turn out votes for Barrett.

DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz plans to host a fundraiser for Barrett on May 30. Another Democratic heavy hitter, former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, whose spokesman said has already raised $50,000 for the campaign and worked to get Democrats to vote early, is also hosting a Barrett fundraiser that day.

Meanwhile, Republican volunteers contacted 200,000 voters over the weekend on top of 2 million calls they had made since January, said Wisconsin Republican Party spokesman Ben Sparks.

"Voter turnout is obviously a focus in the final two weeks of this recall election," Sparks said.

Some unions that were at the forefront of the recall effort have provided only limited help for Barrett, who defeated Democratic candidates who were favored by labor. Unions that spent nearly $11 million on state Senate recalls last year have yet to air an ad on behalf of Barrett.

One union coalition, We Are Wisconsin, has invested in mailings and has built a statewide field campaign with 29 offices, said spokesman Kelly Steele.

Turnout should be high. A poll released last week by Marquette University Law School poll found that 91 percent of Republicans said they were "absolutely certain" to vote, compared with 83 percent of Democrats and independents.

Barrett, the mayor of Milwaukee, said Monday he remained "very confident" he'll win, and that with Walker's financial advantage he should be "crushing me."

"But we're not seeing that," Barrett said. "We're not seeing that, we're not feeling that, we're not hearing that."

Barrett on Monday continued to try to raise questions about Walker's ethics. He called on Walker to release more details about his involvement with an investigation of alleged political abuses that has centered on former aides.

Walker dismissed it as a "desperate attempt from a desperate campaign."

Barrett's campaign has also targeted state job losses during Walker's term and national Republican policies that allegedly amount to a "war on women."

Walker has pounded away at his central message --that his conservative policies are saving taxpayers money and have put the state on sounder financial ground.

"We've laid a positive foundation for success," he said Monday at a Madison company that was announcing it was adding about 100 jobs.

Brown, the activist who helped launch the recall drive, said Walker's money appeared to be winning over voters.

"It is frustrating for me to witness, but there is still two weeks left."

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PST: Drogba leaving Chelsea, possibly for Shanghai

His last touch won a European Championship. Now, Didier Drogba is gone.

Chelsea?s talisman confirmed the news today, telling the magazine France Football ?I am preparing for my leap into the unknown. It?s going to be another adventure.?

Even though it?s been three years since I said I wanted to leave, I find it hard to admit that it?s over with this club ? especially as I did not feel like this. But I could not see myself sitting on the bench to watch others play when the club plans to set up a new team.

Speculation linking Didier Drogba to Shanghai Shenhua rests on shakier ground (no player quotes to affirm that one); regardless, Drogba is set to leave Europe?s champions with Fernando Torres as the top No. 9 on their depth chart.

Hey, Blues? There?s still time. Tell Didier?s not destined for the bench. The guy was kinda good on Saturday. You may want to reevaluate.

If this really is goodbye, Drogba leaves Chelsea having scored 157 all-competition goals over his eight years at Stamford Bridge. He was a part of teams that won three Premier Leagues, four FA Cups, two League Cups and (or course) one Champions League.

And,?unfortunately?for us, there?s almost no chance he?ll come to MLS. If he?s going to be guided out of London, Drogba seems intent on making it worth his financial while.

Dear Mr. Zuckerberg: Please take the money I just gave you, buy the San Jose Earthquakes, and pay Didier Drogba $10 million per year to play in MLS. I?m a shareholder! You have to listen!

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Today's housing market like 1991-92 - Inside Real Estate News

Vote in a poll at the end of this blog

Lane Hornung's recent statements on the Front Range housing market has led to a debate about where the local market is heading.

In the spring of 1991, a woman called me at the Rocky Mountain News, complaining that she was tired of Realtors saying now is the time to buy.

She had bought a home in Denver just before the collapse in the mid-to-late 1980s, which was then the worst housing market in the metro area since the Great Depression.

Colorado was one of the so-called COLT states that also included Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas, whose economies and housing markets had been hammered by falling energy prices.

The Denver-area housing market was horribly overbuilt on speculation that oil prices were headed for $65 a barrel from around $30. Instead, they plummeted, briefly falling below $10.

HUD once Denver?s largest landlord

Thousands of people left Colorado for states where there were still jobs, such as California. While at the?Rocky, I broke a story that the ?U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development was Denver?s largest landlord, because it owned many foreclosures. The Rocky used to run a weekly listing of HUD properties that was thicker than today?s Denver Post.

The irate caller had taken a check to the closing when she sold her home in Denver, because the sales price was less than her mortgage. She left Denver, moved East and bought a home in Washington, D.C. The real estate gods were not smiling on her. The nation was gripped in a recession when she sold her home in D.C., and once again she lost money when selling her house, before returning to Denver.

At the time, I was quoting people such as Dennis Hipp, president of a company called Perry & Butler, and Bill Moore, owner of Moore and Co., the largest locally owned realty firm in Denver at the time, who said that now is a good time to buy and people will be kicking themselves down the road if they passed on the unique opportunity to buy.

After all, mortgage rates were low at 9.5 percent ? the first time in a decade they had been below 10 percent ?and homes were selling below the cost of building them.

The average home in the Denver area in May 1991 sold for $97,925, the equivalent of $165,426 in today?s dollars.

The woman, however, was having none of it. She assured me that she was not even going to consider buying a home until prices fell at least another 20 percent.

I told Hipp about my conversation.

Timing is difficult

He said he hoped she landed the bargain she was hoping for, but she thought she was wrong. Hipp added that it is incredibly hard to time the market. Despite what so many people believe, Realtors do not set the price of houses, he said. The market is set by the market, Hipp said. That is, ?home prices are determined by what a willing buyer pays a willing seller. While Realtors tend to be ?half-full? glass people, no matter how bullish they are, they lack the power to drive up prices, he said.

Yet, at that time in history, Hipp and other were prescient.

Market on a tear

A year later, the average price of a home sold in the Denver area was $105,418, the equivalent of $172,880 in today?s dollars. Demand out-stripped price appraction. In the first five months of 1992, 12,051 homes closed, a 28 percent increase from the 9,408 in 1991.

?Homes are still reasonably priced,? I quoted Hipp as saying at the time. ?We?re seeing more multiple offers, sometimes with people offering more than the asking price.?

Sounds like today?s market.

Hornung strikes a nerve

I thought of this recently after I published a question-and-answer article with Lane Hornung, CEO, President and Co-founder of 8z Real Estate.

Hornung provided consumer tips for prospective buyers in the current market, who increasingly are being out-bid for homes. He cautioned that the conditions of incredibly low supply and increased demand may not last, but they are the reality of today?s market. Many would-be buyers are disappointed after being out-bid multiple times.

A reader named Peter, who seems sophisticated and intelligent on financial matters, ?responded in a missive that he found it ?shameful? that brokers are such cheerleaders.

Peter, who is renting a million-dollar home for far less than what it would take to buy it, went on to write that he gives the market?s recent bounce another six to 12 months. After that, he sees a double-dip, which is when home prices retreated to new lows. He also thinks a recession and possibly even a depression, are waiting in the wings.

Shaky home sales foundation?

?Stop feeding the real estate greed and learn from recent history,? Peter wrote. ?Your belief is that the recovery is here and the market has bottomed. That is the new buyers? belief and that I believe is built off a very false premise.?

Recently, while attending Universal Lending?s 30th anniversary celebration, I sat next to man who had been a mortgage and real estate broker for more more than three decades.

I asked him if he thought the housing market had hit bottom, or the dreaded other shoe would kick the market?s butt.

?Anything is possible,? he told me. ?Could home prices double-dip and fall another 10 percent or 20 percent? They could. But I don?t think they will.?

Modest appreciation predicted

He thought the odds were far greater than the Denver-area housing market in the next few years will enjoy modest appreciation, of perhaps 4 percent or 5 percent, if the annual inflation rate continues to hover around 2 percent.

That would have a big impact on the market, he predicted, because in two or three years, many homeowners who are itching to sell their homes, but can?t because they are still under water, will be able to sell them and move-up.

Back in the 1991-1992 era, I used to do get a call every Tuesday morning from a radio reporter, who would ask me about the real estate market.?I told him exactly the same thing ? my best guess was that home values would slightly out-pace inflation.

I was wrong. Home prices registered double-digit price increases, almost unabated for the next 15 years, although the market never got as crazy as once-high flying markets such as Phoenix and Las Vegas, before succumbing to the first national real estate downturn since the Great Depression.

I?m wondering what other people think.

Vote in the poll at the bottom of this blog and feel free to leave a comment.

Have a story idea or a real estate news tip? Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com. InsideRealEstateNews is sponsored by Universal Lending, Land Title Guarantee Co. and 8z Real Estate.

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Prosecutors seek life for Bali bombing suspect

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) ? Prosecutors said Monday an Indonesian militant known as the "Demolition Man" should spend the rest of his life in prison for helping to build the car bomb used in the 2002 Bali nightclub attacks.

Umar Patek, a leading member of the al-Qaida-linked network Jemaah Islamiyah, is the last key suspect to be tried in the blasts that killed 202 people, thrusting Indonesia onto the frontlines in the war on terror.

Many of the victims were foreign tourists, including 88 Australians and seven Americans.

Lead prosecutor Bambang Suharijadi told the West Jakarta District Court the 45-year-old militant should get a life term. He said Patek was guilty of illegal weapons possession, helping and concealing terrorist acts, immigration violations and premeditated murder.

"Because of him, many innocent lives were lost. Others suffered physical disabilities and the loss of their livelihoods and dignity," he said, adding Indonesia's economy also suffered, as did its reputation internationally as being a safe place to visit.

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, has been hit by a string of terrorist attacks targeting a restaurants, glitzy hotels and a Western embassy since the Oct. 12, 2002, attack. But all have been far less deadly, in part, security experts say, because a relentless crackdown on Jemaah Islamiyah has largely decimated its ranks.

Wearing a white robe, Patek, whose real name is Hisyam bin Alizein, sat quietly as he listened to prosecutors explain why they decided to push for life in prison and not the maximum penalty of death by firing squad.

Suharijadi said prosecutors took into consideration Patek's cooperative attitude during the trial, as well as expressions of remorse and apologies offered to both foreign and local victims and their families.

A verdict is not expected until next month and judges can ignore the recommendation. Some analysts expect a 20-year sentence, or less.

Patek, who was arrested last year in Pakistan, has denied playing a major role in assembling the massive car bomb that was the largest bomb used in the attack. He said that job fell to Jemaah Islamiyah bomb-making masterminds, Azahari bin Husin and Dulmatin, both of whom have since been killed in police raids.

The militant also insisted he was against the bombings from the start but didn't dare to speak out. They were meant, in theory, to avenge Western policies in the Palestinian territories. Patek said he saw no connection between the original mission, fighting against the oppression of fellow Muslims, and the target, partying tourists.

After Monday's hearing, he stopped quickly to talk to reporters, apologizing once again not to the victims, but also his government.

Patek and his lawyers will respond to the prosecution's sentencing demand next week.

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Dominican election in dispute after apparent win

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) ? A governing party official appeared to have scored a first-round win in the Dominican Republic's presidential election but supporters of his main opponent complained of vote-buying and other forms of fraud and said they would challenge the results.

Danilo Medina of the current president's Dominican Liberation Party received just over 51 percent of Sunday's vote with 83 percent of the ballots counted, according to the Caribbean country's Electoral Commission. His main rival, former President Hipolito Mejia of the Dominican Revolutionary Party, had nearly 47 percent. The winner needed more than 50 percent to avoid a runoff.

Medina said he was confident he would win, but that the Electoral Commission would keep scrutinizing ballots through the night. He thanked a crowd of supporters and sent them home.

"We will celebrate in a big way tomorrow," he said.

Mejia did not concede and questioned the results as did others in his party. Luis Abinader, his vice presidential candidate, said the Dominican Revolutionary Party would present a report detailing irregularities on Monday.

"We are going to defend democracy," Abinader said. "We are going to show the country what really has happened today."

Mejia's representative on the Electoral Commission accused the ruling party of fraud, saying the former president should have received many more votes than the results reflected. "We all know what party the director of the Electoral Commission belongs to," he said at a news conference.

The balloting appeared orderly in general but there were widespread reports that backers of both parties were offering people payments of about $15 to vote for their candidate or to turn over their voting cards and withhold their vote. Campaign officials denied the allegations.

Observers from the Organization of American States confirmed incidents of vote-buying but not enough to taint the overall results of what was otherwise a "successful," election, said the head of the mission, Tabare Vazquez, a former president of Uruguay.

The candidates were vying to succeed President Leonel Fernandez, who spent $2.6 billion on such major infrastructure projects as a subway system, hospitals and roads to modernize a country that is the top tourist destination in the Caribbean but remains largely poor. Fernandez was barred by the Constitution from running for a third consecutive term.

Many voters conceded that Medina, a 60-year-old economist and stalwart of the Dominican Liberation Party, wasn't a particularly exciting candidate, but said they were eager for stability in a country with a history of economic and political turmoil.

"I don't want major change," said Amauris Chang, a 59-year-old shop owner. "I want the country to grow and I want it to be peaceful, and I think that's a common idea among people who are civilized."

Six candidates were running for president, but Medina's only real opponent was Mejia, who lost his bid for a second presidential term in 2004 because of a deep economic crisis sparked by the collapse of three banks.

Mejia and his Dominican Revolutionary Party have a devoted following. Supporters of the 71-year-old garrulous populist sought to portray some of the public works spending as wasteful and benefiting backers of the president, and insisted he wasn't to blame for the 2004 economic crisis.

"The crisis could have happened to any government. It had nothing to do with Hipolito Mejia," said 62-year-old maintenance man Alonso Calcano.

Demetrio Espinosa, a 60-year-old jobless resident of the capital's Colonial district, said Mejia understands the needs of poor people like him. He said most people can't afford to be treated in the new hospitals nor do they need a subway if they don't have a job.

"They made a lot of their friends into millionaires and spent the public's money," Espinosa said of the ruling party.

Besides president, Dominicans were electing a vice president from a field that included the heavily favored first lady, Margarita Cedeno de Fernandez, and seven members of the Chamber of Deputies who will represent people who have settled overseas. Tens of thousands were expected to cast ballots in places with large numbers of Dominicans, including New York, New Jersey, Florida and Puerto Rico.

Both presidential candidates proposed to increase spending on education and to do what they can to create jobs in a country of 10 million people that is largely dependent on tourism and where unemployment is officially about 14 percent, though the vast majority of workers are in the poorly paid informal sector. The typical salary for those who do have regular jobs is around $260 a month.

The Dominican Republic has also become an important route for drug smugglers seeking to reach the U.S. through nearby Puerto Rico and there are widespread concerns about the influence of drug trafficking. The candidates also traded accusations of incompetence and corruption.

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