Famous Maronites

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Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas Productions, Inc.President



Danny Thomas was born in Deerfield, Michigan, the fifth of ten children born of Maronite-Lebanese immigrants.
At age 10, he was selling newspapers on the street and candy in a burlesque theater. This theater experience inspired him to become an entertainer and comedian.

He quit school at 16 to find his place in show business. He married Rosemarie Mantell, whom he met while singing on the radio show "The Happy Hour Club." As the birth of their first child approached, Thomas was earning a precarious living. However, his career did begin to accelerate earning him major engagements in Chicago and New York.

He soon moved to California where he made five films and launched his Emmy Award winning show, "Make Room for Daddy." In partnership with Sheldon Leonard, he formed T & L Productions, which produced such television comedies as the "Andy Griffith Show" and the "Dick Van Dyke Show”. In 1966, he formed Thomas-Spelling Productions, a production company.

Thomas performed for five Presidents: Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson. He helped raise funds to build the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital center and raised $12 million annually to keep it operating.

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Naseeb Michael Saliba
Business Leader
Maronite-Lebanese 1997 Recipient



Naseeb Michael Saliba was born in 1914 in Ozark, Alabama. The son of Maronite-Lebanese immigrants, Mr. Saliba had a humble but loving upbringing. The Saliba family soon made their way west with stops in St. Louis and Salt Lake City, eventually settling in Los Angeles, California where he attended and graduated from Los Angeles High School in 1932.

After graduation, Saliba's entrepreneurial spirit took flight as he set off to Idaho to open a successful automobile dealership and garage. Not long after, Saliba sold the dealership and began buying and selling service (gasoline and repair) stations, which eventually lead him back to Los Angeles. After an untimely death of his brother, Saliba began his construction career by accepting a management position with his uncle's thriving construction firm.

Always the entrepreneur, Saliba set out to form his own firm in 1942, N. M. Saliba Company. N. M. Saliba Company soon became one of the most successful Heavy Construction companies on the Westcoast with operations in California, Nevada, Idaho, Arizona and Utah. The post war boom of the 1940's and 50's allowed N. M. Saliba Company to prosper. With a sense of accomplishment at hand, and humbleness, Mr. Saliba decided to retire at the young age of 42, in-order to spend more time with his wife Cleo and their family which was quickly beginning to grow. With construction in his blood, he was still involved in many l arge public works projects through his bonding and consulting capacities. He is responsible for many young contractors and engineers achieving success with their own firms.

In 1970, Saliba came out of retirement and formed Tutor-Saliba Corporation. Since its inception, Tutor-Saliba has established itself as one of the largest privately held international General Contracting firms in the world, with over $ 6 Billion in completed work including such notable projects as the San Diego Convention Center, Tom Bradley International Airport Terminal, the Los Angeles Metro Rail System, the San Francisco BART railway system, San Francisco International Airport Terminal and the Alameda Corridor project in Los Angeles. In 1994, the United States Army Corps of Engineers awarded Tutor-Saliba the coveted National Contractor of the Year for Civil Works Projects.

Mr. Saliba's ethical standards and moral character have brought a strength and solidarity not only to his personal life, but to his business and economic endeavors as well. A man if wisdom and commitment, Saliba's leadership is by example most evident in his ability to attract people of his character and build a strong and enduring organization based on service and integrity. In 1996, Mr. Saliba retired from Tutor-Saliba Corporation.

He is a man that is committed to God and puts family and friendship above all monetary possessions. He was a devoted and loving husband to his wife of 52 years, Cleo, whom he lost in 1993 and has instilled in his children those principles and values which reflect his own character. He loves and cares deeply for his children and their families. While his professional career is only one aspect of his life, albeit a most important one, his community, his state and his nation have all benefited from his unselfish giving. Mr. Saliba has received many accommodations from past Presidents, Governors and other Government Officials. In addition, he has been recognized by many world leaders throughout the Middle East for his accomplishments as an Arab-American.

Mr. and Mrs. Saliba's philanthropic contributions have allowed them to be Benefactors for many charitable organizations throughout the United States and Lebanon including Pepperdine University, University of Southern California, St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood, CA, Desert Hospital in Palm Desert, CA. St. Jude and the Balamund University in Lebanon. Mr. Saliba is a Trustee for many organizations including the Antiacion Orthodox Church of North America where he has received the Antonian Gold Medal, the highest award that can be bestowed upon layman by the Church. Today, Mr. Saliba enjoys his time with his many charitable commitments throughout the United States and is Chairman of the Board of his son's construction and engineering firm, Saliba Corporation.

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Ralph Nader (Consumer Advocate)



Ralph Nader (born February 27, 1934) is an American attorney and political activist. Issues he has promoted include consumer rights, feminism, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government. Nader has also been a critic of American foreign policy in recent decades, which he views as corporatist, imperialist, and contrary to the fundamental values of democracy and human rights. His activism has played a large part in the creation of many governmental and non-governmental organizations, such as the EPA, OSHA, Public Citizen, PIRGs and many more.

Nader ran for President of the United States three times (1996, 2000, 2004). In 1996 and 2000 he was the nominee of the Green Party; Winona LaDuke was his vice-presidential running mate. In 2004 he ran as an independent with Green activist Peter Miguel Camejo as his vice-presidential nominee.

Nader speaks many languages, including English, Arabic, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish [8].

Early career
Nader was born in Winsted, Connecticut. His parents, Nathra and Rose Nader, were Lebanese Christian immigrants, but Ralph Nader has refused to disclose the family's exact denomination.
He has three siblings:
Shafeek Nader, Ralph's older brother and the founder of the Shafeek Nader Trust for the Community Interest, died of prostate cancer in 1986.[2] Laura Nader Milleron, (a PhD holder and anthropology professor at the University of California, Berkeley).[3] Claire Nader (a PhD holder and founder of the Council for Responsible Genetics).[4] Nathra Nader was employed in a nearby textile mill and at one point owned a bakery and restaurant where he engaged customers in discussions of political issues.

Ralph graduated from Princeton University in 1955 and Harvard Law School in 1958. He served in the United States Army for six months in 1959, then began work as a lawyer in Hartford. Between 1961 and 1963, he was a Professor of History and Government at the University of Hartford. In 1964, Nader moved to Washington, D.C. [citation needed] and got a job working for then-Assistant Secretary of Labor Daniel Patrick Moynihan. He later did freelance writing for The Nation and the Christian Science Monitor. He also advised a Senate subcommittee on automobile safety. In the early 1980s, Nader spearheaded a powerful lobby against FDA approval allowing for mass-scale experimentation of artificial lens implants. In later years he has been writing for The Progressive Populist [citation needed].

Nader is known for his personal frugality and his objection to commercialism. Current Biography reported in 1986 that just before leaving the Army in 1959 Nader made one last visit to the Army post exchange where he purchased twelve pairs of shoes and four dozen sturdy cotton military issue socks. The report goes on to say that as of the mid-1980s Nader had not yet worn out those socks.

Clash with the automobile industry
In 1965 Nader released Unsafe at Any Speed, a study that purported to demonstrate unsafe engineering of many American automobiles, especially the Chevrolet Corvair and General Motors. GM tried to discredit Nader, hiring private detectives to tap his phones, investigate his past, and hiring prostitutes to trap him in a compromising situation.[5][6] GM failed to turn up any wrongdoing. Upon learning this, Nader successfully sued the company for invasion of privacy, forced it to publicly apologize, and used much of his $284,000 net settlement to expand his consumer rights efforts. Nader's lawsuit against GM was ultimately decided by the New York Court of Appeals, whose opinion in the case expanded tort law to cover "overzealous surveillance".[7] Ironically, a 1972 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration safety commission study conducted by Texas A&M university ultimately exonerated the Corvair and declared it possessed no greater potential for loss of control than its contemporaries in extreme situations.[8]

Activism
Hundreds of young activists, inspired by Nader's work, came to DC to help him with other projects. They came to be known as "Nader's Raiders" and, led by Nader, they investigated corruption throughout government, publishing dozens of books with their results:

Nader's Raiders (Federal Trade Commission)
Vanishing Air (National Air Pollution Control Administration)
The Chemical Feast (Food and Drug Administration)
The Interstate Commerce Omission (Interstate Commerce Commission)
Old Age (nursing homes)
The Water Lords (water pollution)
Who Runs Congress? (congress)
Whistle Blowing (punishment of whistle blowers)
The Big Boys (corporate executives)
Collision Course (Federal Aviation Administration)
No Contest (corporate lawyers)
Destroy the Forest (Destruction of ecosystems worldwide)
Operation:Nuclear (Making of a Nuclear Missile)

In 1971, Nader founded the NGO Public Citizen as an umbrella organization for these projects. Today, Public Citizen has over 140,000 members and numerous researchers investigating Congress, health, environmental, economic, and other issues. Their work is credited with helping to pass the Safe Drinking Water Act and Freedom of Information Act and prompting the creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

Non-profit organizations
  In 1980, Nader resigned as director of Public Citizen to work on other projects, especially campaigning against the believed dangers of large multinational corporations. He went on to start a variety of non-profit organizations:

Capitol Hill News Service
Citizen Advocacy Center
Congress Accountability Project
Consumer Task Force For Automotive Issues
Corporate Accountability Research Project
Disability Rights Center
Equal Justice Foundation
Foundation for Taxpayers and Consumer Rights
Georgia Legal Watch
National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform
National Coalition for Universities in the Public Interest
Pension Rights Center
PROD (truck safety)

Retired Professionals Action Group
The Shafeek Nader Trust for the Community Interest
1969: Center for the Study of Responsive Law
1970s: Public Interest Research Groups
1970: Center for Auto Safety
1970: Connecticut Citizen Action Group
1971: Aviation Consumer Action Project
1972: Clean Water Action Project
1972: Center for Women's Policy Studies
1980: Multinational Monitor (magazine covering multinational corporations)
1982: Trial Lawyers for Public Justice
1982: Essential Information (encourage citizen activism and do investigative journalism)
1983: Telecommunications Research and Action Center
1983: National Coalition for Universities in the Public Interest
1989: Princeton Project 55 (alumni public service)
1993: Appleseed Foundation (local change)
1994: Resource Consumption Alliance (conserve trees)
1995: Center for Insurance Research
1995: Consumer Project on Technology
1997?: Government Purchasing Project (encourage the government to purchase safe and healthy products)
1998: Center for Justice and Democracy
1998: Organization for Competitive Markets
1998: American Antitrust Institute (ensure fair competition)
1999?: Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest
1999?: Commercial Alert (protect family, community, and democracy from corporations)
2000: Congressional Accountability Project (fight corruption in Congress)
2001?: League of Fans (sports industry watchdog)
2001: Citizen Works (promote NGO cooperation, build grassroots support, and start new groups)
2001: Democracy Rising (hold rallies to educate and empower citizens)

Consumer advocacy, public interest, and civic action
Ralph Nader (right) appears with Bob McGrath on a 1988 Sesame Street episode, singing "People in Your Neighborhood". For the episode, Nader included a verse about consumer advocates, unique for a song featuring mail men and firefighters. Nader has since criticized the types of sponsors the show has accepted, such as McDonalds and Discovery Zone.

Because much of his early work involved advocacy to protect consumers (and workers) from unsafe products, Ralph Nader is often referred to as a "consumer advocate." This description should not be misunderstood to suggest that Nader is an advocate of consumption. On the contrary, his message of civic engagement (citizen activism in the public interest), like his harsh critique of "rapacious" corporations, calls for resistance to commercially-driven consumer culture. According to Nader, mass advertising creates artificial and often harmful desires [citation needed]. Nader's "consumer" should not be conceived as a free-spending shopper, but rather as an active participant in democratic institutions [citation needed]. For example, in his critique of television news as largely empty sensationalism, Nader acknowledges that most Americans may have been trained to behave as passive "consumers" of what passes for news, but Nader's call for engagement urges citizens to work together to organize community-based news production [citation needed].

Presidential campaigns
1972 Ralph Nader's name was invoked in 1972 as a desirable and worthy presidential candidate, but this "Draft Nader" effort had no ballot line to offer, nor did Nader authorize his name to appear on any ballot until 1982.

1980
Although Nader took no interest in running in 1980, he expressed the opinion that a victory by Ronald Reagan would be preferable to the reelection of Jimmy Carter. As he saw it, "Reagan is going to breed the biggest resurgence in nonpartisan citizen activism in history." This opinion may have foreshadowed his position in later elections, particularly in 2000.[9]

1990
Nader launched a third party around issues of citizen empowerment and consumer rights. He stated that the Democratic Party had become "so bankrupt, it doesn't matter if it wins any elections."[citation needed] He suggested a serious third party could address needs such as campaign-finance reform, worker and whistle-blower rights, government-sanctioned watchdog groups to oversee banks and insurance agencies, and class-action lawsuit reforms.

1992
Nader waged a minor write-in campaign in the 1992 New Hampshire primary and received about 6,300 votes.[10]

1996
Nader was drafted as a candidate for President of the United States on the Green Party ticket during the 1996 presidential election. He was not formally nominated by the Green Party USA, which was, at the time, the largest national Green group; instead he was nominated independently by various state Green parties (in some areas, he appeared on the ballot as an independent). However, many activists in the Green Party USA worked actively to campaign for Nader that year. Nader qualified for ballot status in relatively few states, garnering less than 1% of the vote, though the effort did make significant organizational gains for the party. He refused to raise or spend more than $5,000 on his campaign, presumably to avoid meeting the threshold for Federal Elections Commission reporting requirements; the unofficial Draft Nader committee could (and did) spend more than that, but was legally prevented from coordinating in any way with Nader himself.

2000
Nader ran again in 2000 as the candidate of the Green Party of the United States, which had been formed in the wake of his 1996 campaign. According to a former Green Party activist, Nader and his associates, not the Green Party, were the driving force behind the 2000 campaign. That year, he received 2.74% of the popular vote, missing the 5% needed to qualify the Green Party for federally distributed public funding in the next election, the claimed purpose of his Presidential bid.[11]

Nader campaigned against the pervasiveness of corporate power and spoke on the need for campaign finance reform, environmental justice, universal healthcare, affordable housing, free education through college, workers' rights, legalization of commercial hemp, and a shift in taxes to place the burden more heavily on corporations than on the middle and lower classes. He opposed pollution credits and giveaways of publicly owned assets.

Nader's vice presidential running mate was Winona LaDuke, an environmental activist, and member of the Ojibwe tribe of Minnesota.

The extremely close race between the two major presidential candidates, Al Gore and George W. Bush, helped to create some additional controversy around the Nader campaign. Many Democratcs claimed that because Nader had no realistic chance of winning in the close election, that those who supported Nader should instead have voted for Gore and that a victory for Gore would have been preferable to a victory for George W. Bush. Many prominent liberal politicians, activists, and celebrities made this argument to voters in swing states, sometimes using the catch phrase "a vote for Nader is a vote for Bush". The Republican Leadership Council ran pro-Nader ads in a few states in a likely effort to split the "left" vote.[12] Nader and many of his supporters responded with the catch phrase "a vote for Gore is a vote for Bush", claiming that while Gore was perhaps marginally preferable to Bush, the differences between the two were not great enough to merit support of Gore.

When challenged with complaints that he was taking away votes from Al Gore, Nader replied that the voters who preferred Nader did not "belong" to Gore, and that it would be more accurate to say that Gore was trying to take away votes from Nader, by scaring voters into voting for the lesser of two evils. When Nader argued that he would hold the Democrats' "feet to the fire," he was suggesting that he wanted to move the Democratic Party in a more progressive direction.

However, at other moments Nader said that, because the Democratic Party had slid so low and had become so beholden to corporate power in his opinion, the Democratic Party deserved to go the way of the Whigs. Running as the Green Party's nominee in 2000, Nader indicated that he would support Green candidates who ran against even the most progressive Democrats, such as Paul Wellstone and Russ Feingold. Indeed, as some commentators pointed out, Nader's strategy seemed better suited to hurting Gore than helping himself. Instead of campaigning in states where the outcome seemed clear, Nader campaigned primarily in tight races, where he was less likely to gain votes - states where liberals would be more reluctant to vote for him, for fear of enabling a Bush victory. Pat Buchanan, on the other hand, focused his efforts on states where the outcome seemed clear.[13]

As it turned out, Nader's vote total exceeded Bush's margin over Gore in Florida (as did those of several other third party candidates) and in New Hampshire, leading some to speculate as to whether or not Nader and/or his supporters "cost Gore the Presidency."

Ralph Nader speaks out against the presidential debates at Washington University in St. Louis which he was excluded from on Oct 17, 2000. Nader's vote total in Florida was 97,488 where the final certified vote count had a margin of 537. A full manual recount of all uncounted ballots in Florida would have given Gore the victory regardless of Nader, but was not undertaken until long after the election results were certified, nor did Gore request it.[14] In New Hampshire, Nader garnered 22,198 votes, and the margin was less than this. Many analysts believed that a substantial number of Nader supporters would more likely have chosen Gore over Bush. If this is true, and enough of those supporters would have still shown up to the polls, and enough of those would have still have voted for President, and enough of those would have not voted for another Green Party or other third Party candidate, then Nader may have been a factor in the outcome of the election. Nader, both in his book Crashing the Party, and on his website, stated: "In the year 2000, exit polls reported that 25% of my voters would have voted for Bush, 38% would have voted for Gore and the rest would not have voted at all."[15] Nader also noted that in Florida 250,000 self-identified Democrats voted for Bush -- over twice the number of Florida voters he attracted.[16]

Nader supporters further countered that, instead of blaming Nader, Gore should accept responsibility because his own failure to win his home state of Tennessee was a "but-for cause" of Gore's loss. Nader supporters also maintained that the Democrats should handily have won the election against Bush (whom Nader referred to during the campaign as "a giant corporation masquerading as a human being"), with a better campaign or with a better candidate than Gore, who they say made a series of blunders throughout the campaign, including in his debates against George W. Bush. Nader supporters said that Gore's campaign themes were largely a creature of the "centrist" and corporate-supported Democratic Leadership Council, which had once been chaired by then-Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton. The U.S. presidential election, 2000 was hounded by the Florida situation, and some Nader supporters suggested that the Democrats should blame the Supreme Court for calling a halt to the Florida recount, thereby effectively declaring Bush the winner.

During a press conference in support of Peter Camejo for California Governor, pranksters hit Nader in the face with a pie.[17]

Anticipating the type of close election that in fact happened in Florida in 2000, some voters attempted to minimize the spoiler problem by engaging in strategic "vote-pairing," or so-called Nader trading, in which Nader-inclined voters in swing states would agree to vote for Gore in exchange for Gore-inclined voters in safe Bush states to vote for Nader. This strategic idea, which was championed by law professor Jamin Raskin, was based on the observation that, under the electoral college system, individual votes for a losing presidential candidate within a given state (or individual "surplus" votes for the winner within a state) are necessarily wasted. Even though "Nader trading" had the theoretical potential to allow Al Gore to win the election and at the same time to earn the Green Party the 5% that would lead to a possible award of FEC party convention funding, Nader himself declined to endorse the "vote-trading" idea in 2000. Nader and his campaign explained that they were running in every state and that they were encouraging voters to vote according to conscience.


Ironically, Greens in some states turned on supporters of David McReynolds, the Socialist Party USA candidate in the 2000 race, and used similar tactics to try to push McReynolds supporters to "get in line" and support Nader [citation needed]. (Despite what their supporters argued, there was no evidence that Nader and McReynolds had anything other than a 'friendly-foe' respect for each other.)

2004
Main article: Ralph Nader presidential campaign, 2004
Ralph Nader (right) with Dennis Kucinich.
Nader announced on December 24, 2003 that he would not run for president in 2004 on the Green Party ticket; however, he did not rule out running as an independent. On February 22, 2004, Nader announced on NBC's Meet the Press that he would indeed run for president as an independent, saying, "There's too much power and wealth in too few hands." Because of the controversies over vote-splitting in 2000, many Democrats urged Nader to abandon his candidacy. The Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Terry McAuliffe argued that Nader had a "distinguished career, fighting for working families" and McAuliffe "would hate to see part of his legacy being that he got us eight years of George Bush."


On June 21, 2004, Nader announced that Peter Camejo, a former two-time gubernatorial candidate of the California Green Party, would be his vice presidential running mate. Shortly thereafter, Nader announced that he would accept (although he was not actively seeking) the endorsement, but not nomination, of the Greens as their presidential candidate. Later in June, however, the national convention of the Green Party of the United States rejected Nader, whose supporters were voting for "nobody" (a.k.a. Ralph Nader), as a candidate in favor of David Cobb, an attorney and Green Party activist. Nader's failure to take the Green Party's nomination meant that he could not take advantage of the Green Party's ballot access in 22 states, and that he would have to achieve ballot access there independently. Despite having chosen to run outside of the Green Party, Nader professed outrage at the Green Party's "strange" choice, terming the party a "cabal."[18]

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Paul Anka vows to give ‘everything’



A teen idol of the 1950s, and a powerful performer, singer and composer since then, Paul Anka touched down in Beirut last night, the 55-year-old’s first visit to the country of his ancestry.

“I’m very happy to be back home,” said the Canadian-born turned American citizen who is in Lebanon to perform songs from his four decades in music.

This year Anka celebrates his 40th year in show business and he is still going strong with the release of his 123rd album, featuring duets of old and new material with Celine Dion, Barry Gibb, Frank Sinatra and Tom Jones, among others.

“I’m going to give the Lebanese everything,” he said of his concert tomorrow night. Despite the long haul from Los Angeles and a delay in Paris, Anka was in good spirits at a news conference at the Marriott hotel last night, minutes after his arrival. Demonstrating his enthusiasm to be here, the first words out of his mouth were kefack, mabsout (how are you, happy?), and a list of his favourite dishes, including, kibbe, kousa and tabouleh.

“He’s probably the most famous Lebanese in the world and no one knows it,” said Naji Baz of Buzz Productions, the organisers of the event. Anka’s face, especially the lines around his eyes, may betray his age, but the boyish charm was turned on strong as he spoke passionately about his music, his long and successful career, and his wish to make this trip to Lebanon memorable. Fingering his worry beads, a collection of which he has picked up from his travels, Anka recounted that his family lived in Lebanon in the 1960s and his brother attended school here, but, at that time, his career was taking off and he was touring the world. “I always wanted to come but in the 60s I was busy and then the war happened in the 1970s. I’ve been waiting for the right moment to present itself and now it has.”

Anka now has over 700 hits to his credit including You Are My Destiny, Let Me Get to Know You and My Way, recorded by Frank Sinatra (for whom it was originally written), Elvis Presley and the Sex Pistols’ Sid Vicious. Anka described the rejuvenation of his songs as a connection to a “timeless melody”. His performance at the Beirut Hall ­ a replica of his Las Vegas show, with 14 musicians and 30 singers ­ will be the concert of his lifetime, “because it was my mother’s dream”.

Anka, whose grandparents emigrated to Canada, was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario. His career was launched at 16 with Diana, dedicated to Diana Ayoub, a fellow Lebanese-Canadian four years his senior who he was in love with. Over the years, he has been honoured as one of Billboard magazine’s most successful artists in history, elected into 0 the songwriters’ hall of fame, and had the chevalier in the order of arts and letters bestowed on him by the French government.

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Khalil Gibran (1883-1931)



Gibran Khalil Gibran was born on January 6, 1883, to the Maronite family of Gibran in Bsharri, a mountainous area in Northern Lebanon. His mother Kamila Rahmeh was thirty when she begot Gibran from her third husband Khalil Gibran, who proved to be an irresponsible husband leading the family to poverty. Gibran had a half-brother six years older than him called Peter and two younger sisters, Mariana and Sultana, whom he was deeply attached to throughout his life, along with his mother. Kamila’s family came from a prestigious religious background, which imbued the uneducated mother with a strong will and later on helped her raise up the family on her own in the U.S. Growing up in the lush region of Bsharri, Gibran proved to be a solitary and pensive child who relished the natural surroundings of the cascading falls, the rugged cliffs and the neighboring green cedars, the beauty of which emerged as a dramatic and symbolic influence to his drawings and writings.

Being laden with poverty, he did not receive any formal education or learning, which was limited to regular visits to a village priest who doctrined him with the essentials of religion and the Bible, alongside Syriac and Arabic languages. Recognizing Gibran’s inquisitive and alert nature, the priest began teaching him the rudiments of alphabet and language, opening up to Gibran the world of history, science, and language. During these early days, Gibran began developing ideas that would later form some of his major works. In particular, Gibran conceived of The Prophet at this time. At the age of ten, Gibran fell off a cliff, wounding his left shoulder, which remained weak for the rest of his life ever since this incident. To relocate the shoulder, his family strapped it to a cross and wrapped it up for forty days, a symbolic incident reminiscent of Christ’s wanderings in the wilderness and which remained etched in Gibran’s memory.

At the age of eight, Khalil Gibran, Gibran's father, was accused of tax evasion and was sent to prison as the Ottomon authorities confiscated the Gibrans’ property and left them homeless. The family went to live with relatives for a while; however, the strong-willed mother decided that the family should immigrate to the U.S., seeking a better life and following in suit to Gibran’s uncle who immigrated earlier. The father was released in 1894, but being an irresponsible head of the family he was undecided about immigration and remained behind in Lebanon.

On June 25, 1895, the Gibrans embarked on a voyage to the American shores of New York.

The Gibrans settled in Boston’s South End, which at the time hosted the second largest Syrian community in the U.S. following New York. The culturally diverse area felt familiar to Kamila, who was comforted by the familiar spoken Arabic, and the widespread Arab customs. Kamila, now the bread-earner of the family, began to work as a peddler on the impoverished streets of South End Boston. At the time, peddling was the major source of income for most Syrian immigrants, who were negatively portrayed due to their unconventional Arab ways and their supposed idleness.

In the school, a registration mistake altered his name forever by shortening it to Kahlil Gibran, which remained unchanged till the rest of his life despite repeated attempts at restoring his full name. Gibran entered school on September 30, 1895, merely two months after his arrival in the U.S. Having no formal education, he was placed in an ungraded class reserved for immigrant children, who had to learn English from scratch. Gibran caught the eye of his teachers with his sketches and drawings, a hobby he had started during his childhood in Lebanon. Gibran's curiosity led him to the cultural side of Boston, which exposed him to the rich world of the theatre, Opera and artistic Galleries. Prodded by the cultural scenes around him and through his artistic drawings, Gibran caught the attention of his teachers at the public school, who saw an artistic future for the Syrian boy. They contacted Fred Holland Day, an artist and a supporter of artists who opened up Gibran’s cultural world and set him on the road to artistic fame.

Lebanese-American philosophical essayist, novelist, mystical poet, and artist. Gibran's works were especially influential in the American popular culture in the 1960s. In 1904 Gibran had his first art exhibition in Boston. From 1908 to 1910 he studied art in Paris with August Rodin. In 1912 he settled in New York, where he devoted himself to writing and painting. Gibran's early works were written in Arabic, and from 1918 he published mostly in English. In 1920 he founded a society for Arab writers, Mahgar (al-Mahgar). Among its members were Mikha'il Na'ima (1889-1988), Iliya Abu Madi (1889-1957), Nasib Arida (1887-1946), Nadra Haddad (1881-1950), and Ilyas Abu Sabaka (1903-47). Gibran died in New York on April 10, 1931. Among his best-known works is THE PROPHET, a book of 26 poetic essays, which has been translated into over 20 languages. The Prophet, who has lived in a foreign city 12 years, is about to board a ship that will take him home. He is stopped by a group of people, whom he teaches the mysteries of life. Selected works:

ARA'IS AL MURUDJ, 1906
STONEFOLDS, 1907
ON THE THRESHOLD, 1907
AL-ARWAH AL-MUTAMARRIDA, 1908
DAILY BREAD, 1910
FIRES, 1912
AL-AJNIHA AL-MUTAKASSIRAH [The broken wings], 1912
DAM'AH WA-IBTISAMAH [A Tear and a Smile], 1914
THE MADMAN, 1918
AL-MAWAKIB [The Procession], 1919
THE FORERUNNER, 1920
SPIRITS REBELLIOUS, 1920
THE PROPHET, 1923
SAND AND FOAM, 1926
JESUS, THE SON OF MAN, 1928
THE EARTH GODS, 1931
GARDEN OF THE PROPHET, 1933
THE DEATH OF THE PROPHET, 1933
TEARS AND LAUGHTER, 1947
NYMPHS OF THE VALLEY, 1948

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James Zogby



Not to be confused with John Zogby.

James ("Jim") J. Zogby, PhD, is the founder and president of the Washington, D.C.-based Arab American Institute, which conducts policy research and engages in political advocacy for the Arab American community. In 2001, Zogby was elected to the Executive Committee of the United States Democratic National Committee (DNC).

Zogby is also a senior analyst with the polling firm Zogby International, founded and managed by his brother John Zogby, and is a prominent lecturer and scholar on Middle East issues.

Education and early career
After receiving a bachelor's degree from Le Moyne College, Zogby earned his PhD in Islamic studies from Temple University, in 1975. In 1976, at Princeton University, he was a National Endowment for the Humanities post-doctoral fellow.

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Zogby was a founding member and leader of the Palestine Human Rights Campaign, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, and Save Lebanon, Inc., the latter a private non-profit, humanitarian relief organizations which raise funds health care for Palestinian and Lebanese victims of war, and other social welfare projects in Lebanon

Tapped by Vice-President Gore
As co-president of Builders for Peace, Zogby promoted US business investment in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Then United States Vice President Al Gore tapped Zogby to help lead the effort in 1993, following the signing of the Israeli-Palestinian peace accord in Washington. The next year, Zogby led a US delegation to the signing of the agreement in Cairo, Egypt, along with his Builders co-president, former US Congressman Mel Levine.

Writing and advocacy
Since 1992, Zogby has written a weekly column on American politics for major Arab newspapers,'Washington Watch', and authored a number of books, including What Ethnic Americans Really Think and What Arabs Think: Values, Beliefs and Concerns. He also blogs at The Huffington Post.

In 1995, Zogby was elected as co-convener of the National Democratic Ethnic Coordinating Council (NDECC). Zogby also serves on the Human Rights Watch Middle East Advisory Committee and on the national advisory boards of the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Forum, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Zogby's family came to the U.S. from Lebanon. He is married to Eileen Patricia McMahon and is the father of five children.

Quotes
"I feel like Sisyphus. He would roll the stone up the hill and when it came down he would roll it back up again. What Camus did not tell us is that every time he rolled it back up he got stronger -- and smarter."[1] James Zogby (2002)

"Throughout the past two weeks, both sides of the conflict have referred to an old proverb, “Things must get worse, before they can get better,” ignoring that, most often, “things only get worse.” More relevant is the old Lebanese adage, “no victor, no vanquished.”" 31July06 [2]

Ballot access
The Nader campaign failed to gain a spot on a number of state ballots, and faced legal challenges to its efforts in a number of states. In some cases, state officials found large numbers of submitted voter petitions invalid. While Nader campaign officials blamed Democratic legal challenges for their difficulties in getting Nader's name on the ballot, the difficulties faced by petition-gatherers were also a significant factor - there were far fewer people in 2004 eager to sign petitions for Ralph Nader, and petition-gatherers complained that they often received verbal abuse from people they solicited. One of Nader's California organizers observed that "paid signature gatherers did not work for more than a week or two. They all quit. They said it was too abusive."[19]

On April 5, 2004, Nader failed in an attempt to get on the Oregon ballot. "Unwritten rules" disqualified over 700 valid voter signatures, all of which had already been verified by county elections officers, who themselves signed and dated every sheet with an affidavit of authenticity (often with a county seal as well). This subtraction left Nader 218 short of the 15,306 needed. He vowed to gather the necessary signatures in a petition drive. Secretary of State Bill Bradbury disqualified many of his signatures as fraudulent; the Marion County Circuit Court ruled that this action was unconstitutional as the criteria for Bradbury's disqualifications were based upon "unwritten rules" not found in electoral code, but the state Supreme Court ultimately reversed this ruling. Nader appealed this decision to the US Supreme Court, but a decision did not arrive before the 2004 election.

Nader failed to gain a place on the Massachusetts ballot, though his efforts to do so faced no Democratic legal challenges (Kerry's ability to win his home state was never in doubt). Nader fell some 1500 signatures short of the state's 10,000 signature requirement, and his campaign blasted the state's electoral requirements as arcane.[20]

Nader also failed to gather the requisite 153,035 signatures to place on the California ballot. The campaign submitted an estimated 83,000 signatures. The Nader campaign briefly flirted with the idea of convincing the California Green Party to nominate Nader instead of David Cobb. This proved infeasible, however.[21]

On August 19, 2004, the Illinois State Board of Elections ruled that Nader lacked enough valid signatures to qualify for access on the state ballot.[22] Nader appealed the ruling, claiming that Illinois's requirement of 25,000 valid signatures was an onerous burden on third-party candidates, and that the petition deadline was too early in the year. This suit was rejected by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly, who found that "Illinois' petition deadline and signature requirements . . . did not impose a severe burden on persons like Nader seeking to pursue an independent presidential candidacy."[23] The Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed this decision on September 22, 2004.[24] The court, headed by Judge Richard Posner pointedly noted that Nader could have filed his suit in February, just after declaring his candidacy, and contended that, given Illinois's population of 12 million, a signature requirement of 25,000 was not onerous.[25]

On September 18, 2004, the Florida Supreme Court ordered that Nader be included on the 2004 ballot in Florida as the Reform Party candidate. The court rejected the arguments that the Reform Party did not meet the requirements of the Florida election code for access to the ballot — that the party must be a "national party" and that it must have nominated its candidate in a "national convention" — and therefore Nader should have attempted to file as an independent candidate. Specifically, the court ruled that the term "national party" must be interpreted as broadly as possible. The Reform Party has a ballot line in only some U.S. states.

Nader faced an uphill battle to achieve ballot access in Pennsylvania. Although his campaign claimed to have turned in over 50,000 signatures by the August deadline, the Democratic Party launched legal challenges. A series of Commonwealth Court decisions in the fall of 2004 came to a final conclusion on September 2, 2004. On that day, the state's highest Court ruled that Nader could not appear on Pennsylvania's ballot as an Independent candidate, as he was seeking the Reform Party's nomination elsewhere.[26]. When the Nader campaign moved to block the examination of its signatures, Pennsylvania Judge James Garner Collins rejected it, declaring that the campaign's plea "tortured the law."[27] Pennsylvania brought the Nader campaign another black eye: Nader was sued by a lawyer representing homeless people in the state who claimed that they had been hired to gather signatures, but not paid for their efforts.[28]

Nader also fell short of gaining the 3,711 signatures necessary to appear on the ballot in Hawaii. More than half of the 7,000 signatures submitted by the campaign were determined to be invalid or incomplete by state officials.[29]

In the general election, Nader appeared on the ballot in thirty-four states and the District of Columbia, notably fewer than his Libertarian counterpart, Michael Badnarik. Ballot access ultimately became one of the most significant issues of the Nader campaign; in his concession speech, Nader characterized ballot access as a "civil liberties issue" and noted that Democratic attempts to challenge his ballot access were rejected in the "overwhelming majority" of state courts.

Effect on major-party candidates 
The expectation among many analysts was that Nader's candidacy would benefit Bush by taking more votes from Kerry than from Bush. A Republican organization in Michigan worked to gather petition signatures to place Nader on the Michigan ballot after Democratic Party lawyers defeated Nader's effort to appear on the Michigan ballot as the Reform Party's nominee.[30]

In Arizona, according to an article by Max Blumenthal that appeared in The American Prospect and on AlterNet, a company called Voters Outreach of America, headed by a former executive director of the Arizona Republican Party, Nathan Sproul, had been involved in gathering Nader signatures [31][32] Mr. Blumenthal's article was based this on interviews with petition-gatherers in Arizona, notably Michael Arno and Derek Lee. Arno, co-owner of a Republican consulting firm, told Blumenthal that he had declined repeated requests by Nader to petition for him, referring Nader instead to Jenny Breslyn, who was simultaneously gathering petitions for Protect America Now - a petition to restrict the availability of public benefits to undocumented immigrants. Lee had heard from several peers that petition-gatherers were simultaneously seeking signatures for Nader and signatures for the anti-immigrant initiative. News of the seeming collusion of Nader and right-wing anti-immigrant advocates incensed many Democratic Party activists [33].

Democratic Party groups urging voters to worry about the so-called "spoiler effect", such as "Up for Victory", were formed specifically to dissuade people from voting for Nader and to knock him off the ballot in as many states as possible. These groups, as well as some journalists, pointed to FEC filings showing that the Nader campaign had accepted campaign contributions from several individual donors who were also contributing to Bush's campaign, including a donation from one individual who had helped to fund televised advertisements by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth that attacked Kerry's military service record in the Vietnam War and Kerry's subsequent activity in the 1970s as a leader of the antiwar group Vietnam Veterans Against the War. Nader's campaign countered that John Kerry had received far more money in 2004 from individual Republican donors than Nader had, and that Nader was in fact not accepting organized Republican help.

In Florida and several other states, Nader's ballot access came because of his nomination by the Reform Party. The Reform Party nominee in 2000 had been conservative Pat Buchanan; some anti-Nader Democrats took this as evidence that Nader was being helped by supporters of Bush, but many conservatives had left the Reform Party after Buchanan's poor showing in 2000.

A group of Nader's supporters from 2000 endorsed Vote to Stop Bush, a statement urging voters in swing states to vote for Kerry, in order to prevent a second term for President George W. Bush. Even Nader's running mate in 1996 and 2000, Winona LaDuke, endorsed Kerry, as did filmmaker Michael Moore, who had championed Nader in the 2000 campaign. Another approach was taken by (the now offline) "RalphPlease.org", which gathered conditional contributions, pledges to donate to Public Citizen if Nader would withdraw from the race. Nader responded by complaining that he had not been invited to the premiere of Fahrenheit 9/11 and by calling Moore fat.[34]

The Nader campaign contended that the donations it received were given by "people who agree with him on the issues and want him to get his message out to the public." Nader also responded to such claims by pointing out that Democratic opponent John Kerry received $10.7 million dollars from donors who also contributed to Bush or to some other Republican candidate - nearly 100 times that of the $111,700 Nader received.

A significant number of progressives criticized Mr. Nader for trying to change the electoral system through an impractical presidential campaign, pointing out that independent or third-party presidential candidates are highly unlikely to win an election under the current system. Supporters of Ralph Nader often countered that an alternative presidential bid can be extremely valuable (for example, by raising important issues and enhancing an otherwise money-dominated and inane political dialogue), regardless of the ultimate number of votes the candidate receives. Some Democrats, including Howard Dean, argued that Nader should not run for president but should instead concentrate on promoting fairer ballot access laws, campaign finance reform, and alternative voting methods. However, Nader's supporters thought that such pleas were insincere and off the mark. For several decades, Nader has been a leading advocate of fairer ballot access, campaign finance reform, and more representative election systems. Nader's first published law review article, "Do Third Parties Have A Chance?" (co-authored with Theodore Jacobs and published in the Harvard Law Record, October 9, 1958) was on ballot access reform, and Nader has founded several important organizations (including Public Citizen) dedicated to election law reform. Nader has also been one of the champions of including the so-called "NOTA" (none of the above) option on election ballots, to increase voter choice; a 1994 "In the Public Interest" piece by Nader laid out the case for NOTA.[35]

Democrats respond that aside from writing some articles, and the campaign finance reform work of "Public Citizen", Nader is in a position to commit his extensive personal wealth and status among independent and minor party supporters behind the major election law reform interest groups such as Fair Vote and Ballot Access News, or even use a state's Initiative & Refrendum process to push for fairer ballot access laws, Instant Runoff Voting or proportional representation. Democrats argue that Nader's success with consumer advocacy, versus election law reform suggests that Nader is only tenuously interested in such reforms and prefers running vanity campaigns.

Personal finances
It is unknown how Nader amassed his fortune. According to the mandatory financial disclosure report that he filed with the Federal Election Commission in 2000, he then owned more than $3 million worth of stocks and mutual fund shares; his single largest holding was more than $1 million worth of stock in Cisco Systems, Inc.[37] Nader's total net worth is between $4.1 million and $5 million. The largest recipients of Nader's donations have ranged anywhere from Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGS) to other non-profit organizations.

Unofficial appearances
Ralph Nader was portrayed in an episode of The Simpsons that aired after the 2000 presidential election in which he is portrayed as a clandestine member of the Springfield Republican Party and is thanked for all the fine work he has done for the Republicans. He appeared on Da Ali G Show, where interviewer Ali G persuaded him to try out his rapping skills. He is portrayed in Tom Robbin's 1980 novel Still Life with Woodpecker as Princess Leigh-Cheri's love interest.

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Philip Charles Habib


Philip Charles Habib (February 25, 1920–May 25, 1992) was an American career diplomat known for work in Vietnam and the Middle East. The New York Times in observing his passing described him as "the outstanding professional diplomat of his generation in the United States".

Habib was born in Brooklyn and raised there in section of the borough known as Bensonhurst, by Lebanese Maronite Christian parents. He worked as a shipping clerk before starting his undergraduate study at the College of Forestry and Wildlife and Range Sciences at the University of Idaho. After graduating in 1942, he served in the Army until 1946 and attained the rank of captain. He continued his education in an agricultural economics Ph.D. program at University of California, Berkeley, graduating in 1952. There he happened across a flyer advertising the State Department entrance exam, which he sat and passed.

Beginning in 1949, his foreign service career took him to Canada, New Zealand, South Korea, and South Vietnam. He held the State Dept. position of Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs from 1967-1969 and was part of the Vietnamese peace talk delegation in 1968. Habib acquired increasingly important posts, serving as Ambassador to South Korea (1971-1974), Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (1974-1976), and Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs (1976-1978). He retired after suffering a second heart attack, but soon returned back, in 1979, as a special advisor and, in 1981, as a special envoy sent to defuse the conflict in Lebanon by Ronald Reagan. Habib negotiated a peace that lasted temporarily and for his efforts was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1982. In March 1986, Reagan appointed Habib as a special envoy to Central America with the intention of resolving the conflict in Nicaragua. Five months later he quit the job.

While on vacation in Puligny-Montrachet, France, Habib suffered a heart attack and died.

In 2006, Habib will be featured on a United States postage stamp, one of a block of four featuring prominent diplomats [1].

Warren Zevon wrote the song "The Envoy" in honor of Habib.

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Spencer Abraham



10th United States Secretary of Energy
In office
January 20, 2001 – February 1, 2005
Preceded by Bill Richardson
Succeeded by Samuel Bodman
Born July 12, 1952
East Lansing, Michigan
Political party Republican


Edward Spencer Abraham (born June 12, 1952 in East Lansing, Michigan) is an American politician, of Lebanese Christian extraction. He had served as the 10th United States Secretary of Energy, serving under President George W. Bush. In 2006, Spencer Abraham was named director of Areva Inc., the US subsidiary of the French nuclear energy company [1].

Education and family
Spencer Abraham and his wife, Jane (current Co-Chairman of the Michigan Republican Party), have three children, a son and twin girls. He holds a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Harvard University, and is a 1974 Honors College graduate of Michigan State University and is a native of East Lansing, Michigan. His parents were Lebanese immigrants. While at Harvard Law School, Abraham founded the official journal of the Federalist Society, the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. [1]

Republican Party service
Before his election to the Senate, Abraham was a law professor at Thomas M. Cooley Law School. He was chairman of the Michigan Republican Party from 1983 to 1990. He was deputy chief of staff for Vice President Dan Quayle from 1990 to 1991. He later served as co-chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) from 1991 to 1993. Previously,

United States Senate
Prior to becoming Energy Secretary, Abraham represented Michigan in the United States Senate from 1995 to 2001, as the only Arab American in that chamber. He served on the Budget, Commerce, Science and Transportation, Judiciary, and Small Business Committees. He also chaired two subcommittees: Manufacturing and Competitiveness, and Immigration. Abraham authored the "H1B Visa in Global and National Commerce Act", establishing a federal framework for on-line contracts and signatures; the "Government Paperwork Elimination Act", and the "Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act", which protects Internet domain names for businesses and persons against copyright and trademark infringements. He was defeated for reelection to the Senate in 2000 for a second term by Debbie Stabenow.

According to the New York Times State Republicans attributed the loss (defeat by Debbie Stabenow) to "often scathing advertisements by a wide range of special interest groups, including advertisements that criticized Mr. Abraham's support for a relaxation of some immigration restrictions"[2]. During the campaign the Federation for American Immigration Reform ran ads asking: "Why is Senator Spencer Abraham trying to make it easier for terrorists like Osama bin Laden to export their war of terror to any city street in America?" [3][4][5]. The media denounced these commercials as "vengeful" [6]. Abraham was a consistent advocate of Open Borders and worked relentlessly to weaken immigration controls and regulations. For example, in 1997 he received the Congressional Award from the National Council of La Raza [7]. In May of 2002, the Washington Monthly published an article titled "Borderline Insanity" [8]. This article explains how Stuart Andersen, the immigration policy director for Abraham, successfully sabotaged a foreign student tracking system and a "entry/exit" visa tracking system. According to the article, both systems could well have prevented the attacks of September 11th.

U.S. Energy Secretary
Abraham was given the position of Secretary of Energy by the incoming Bush administration, a post he stayed at for the first Bush term. On November 15, 2004, Abraham announced that he would resign from the position of Secretary of Energy, which took effect with the swearing in of his successor Samuel W. Bodman on February 1, 2005.

On February 14, 2005 The Toronto Star reported that Abraham was on a short list of candidates for American ambassador to Canada to replace Paul Cellucci.

In July 2005, Abraham's wife, Jane, announced that after some consideration she would not be a candidate for the U.S. Senate to challenge Debbie Stabenow. Michigan Republicans had attempted to recruit Mrs. Abraham to run against the first-term Stabenow, who had defeated her husband in 2000.

Hoover Institution
Abraham is now a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, an influential conservative think tank based at Stanford University.

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Stephen Bracks



Stephen Bracks (born October 15, 1954), Australian politician, has been Premier of Victoria since 1999. He was born in Ballarat, where his family owns a fashion business. He was educated at St Patrick's College and Ballarat College of Advanced Education (now the University of Ballarat), where he graduated in business studies and education.

Bracks, the first Catholic Labor Premier of Victoria since 1932, is of Lebanese descent. His paternal grandfather, whose family name was Brax, came to Australia as a child from Zahle in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon in the 1890s.[1]

Early career
From 1976 to 1981 Bracks was a school commerce teacher. During the 1980s he worked in local government in Ballarat and then as Executive Director of the Ballarat Education Centre. While in these positions he twice (1985 and 1988) contested the seat of Ballarat North in the Victorian Legislative Assembly for the Australian Labor Party.

In 1989 Bracks was appointed statewide manager of Victorian state government employment programs, under the Labor government of John Cain. He then became an advisor to Cain, and to Cain's successor as Premier, Joan Kirner. Here he was able to witness from the inside the collapse of the Labor government following the economic and budgetary crisis which began in 1988. This experience gave Bracks a very conservative and cautious view of economic management in government.

Following the defeat of the Kirner government by the Liberal leader Jeff Kennett in late 1992, Bracks became Executive Director of the Victorian Printing Industry Training Board. He quit this post in 1994 when Kirner resigned from Parliament and Bracks was elected for Kirner's seat of Williamstown in the western suburbs of Melbourne, where he now lives with his wife Terry and their three children.

State politics
Early Days

Bracks was immediately elected to Labor front bench, as Shadow Minister for Employment, Industrial Relations and Tourism. In 1996, after Labor under John Brumby was again defeated, he became Shadow Treasurer. In March 1999, when it became apparent that Labor was headed for another defeat under Brumby's leadership, Brumby resigned and Bracks was elected Opposition Leader.

First term as Premier
Aside from Jeff Kennett himself political observers were almost unanimous that Bracks had no chance of defeating Kennett at the November 1999 election: polls gave Kennett a 60% popularity rating. Bracks and his senior colleagues (particularly Brumby, who comes from Bendigo) campaigned heavily in regional areas, accusing Kennett of ignoring regional communities. In response, voters in regional areas deserted the Kennett Government and Labor gained from 29 seats to 42, with the Liberals and their National Party allies retaining 43 and three falling to rural independents. With no party having a clear majority, the independents agreed to support a minority Labor government.

Former leader Brumby, appointed Treasurer, was regarded as a major part of the government's success. He and the Deputy Premier, John Thwaites, and the Attorney-General, Rob Hulls, were regarded as the reallicy in the Bracks government.

The major criticism of Bracks and his government was that their insistence on consultation stood in the way of effective, proactive government. Bracks, according to critics, achieved little, and lost the excitement of constant change that was characteristic of the Kennett years. The talents of some of the more junior ministers in the government were also questioned. Nevertheless Bracks got through his first term without major mishaps, and his popularity undiminished.

Second term as Premier
Labor won the 2002 election in a landslide, taking 62 seats out of 88 in the Legislative Assembly, and for the first time in Victorian history, a slim but clear majority in the Legislative Council as well. While this was the greatest victory Labor had ever had in a Victorian state election, it brought with it considerable risks. With majorities in both houses Bracks could no longer cite his weak parliamentary position as an excuse for inaction. The trade unions, who traditionally feel a strong sense of ownership of Labor state governments, began to be more assertive and inflexible during 2003 and 2004.

On August 28 2002, Bracks in conjuntion with then NSW counterpart Bob Carr, opened the Mowamba aqueduct between Jindabyne and Dalgety, to divert 38 gigalitres of water a year from Jindabyne dam to the Snowy and Murray rivers. The ten year plan cost $300millionAUD with Victoria and NSW splitting the costs. Melbourne Water has stated that within 50 years there will be 20 percent less water going into Victorian reservoirs. [1]

In May 2003 Bracks broke an election promise and announced that the proposed Scoresby Freeway in Melbourne's eastern suburbs would be a tollway rather than a freeway, as promised at the 2002 elections. As well as risking the a loss of support in marginal seats in eastern Melbourne, this decision brought about a furious response from the Howard Federal government, which cut off federal funding for the project on the grounds that the Bracks government had reneged on the terms of the federal-state funding agreement. The decision seems to have been on the recommendation of Brumby, who was concerned with the state's budgetary position.

Steve Bracks at a Vietnam Veterans Day ceremony, August 2006 This backflip, whilst seen by many as an opportunity for the Liberals to make ground, saw the then leader of the Liberals, Robert Doyle, adopt a much-criticised policy of half tolls, which was later overturned by his successor, Ted Baillieu.

On December 14 2000, Steve Bracks released a document outlining his government's intent to introduce the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001. Laws under which individuals could be jailed for six months and/or fined $6,000, and organisations fined $30,000 for "vilifying individuals on the basis of race or religion."

The extraordinarily broad law would allow for the prosecution of virtually anything including name-calling, verbal or written statements, gestures, the wearing of symbols or uniforms, or anything else which a "reasonable observer" could interpret as an offense to a "racial or religious group." It would cover statements or activities, even in private homes and the burden of proof would be on the accused to prove that he or she was innocent. And accusations could be made by a "third party, - not even the person who was offended."

In 2005 Bracks announced that Victorian cattlemen would be banned from using Victorias "High Plains" to graze cattle ending a 170 year tradition. Stockmen had been fearing this decision since 1984, when a labor government excised land to create the Alpine National Park. 300 cattlemen rode horses down Bourke street in protest. Victorian National Party leader Peter Ryan was quoted as saying that Bracks had "killed the man from Snowy river", a reference to the Banjo Paterson poem "The Man from Snowy River."

Bracks's government has achieved one of Victorian Labor's longest-held goals by a complete reform of the state's system for electing its upper house. The introduction of proportional representation, with eight five-member regions replacing the current single-member constituencies, will likely result in minor parties such as the Greens and DLP winning seats in this house, with a high chance they will hold the balance of power in anything other than a landslide to one party or other. Illustrating the historic importance Labor assigns to the changes, in a speech to a conference celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Eureka Stockade "another victory for the aspirations of Eureka",[2] and has described the changes as "his proudest achievement".[3]

The staging of the 2006 Commonwealth Games, generally viewed as a success (albeit an expensive one) was viewed as a plus for Bracks and the government. In some respects, the state political situation reflects the federal one, though with the other major party in charge. With times reasonably good, a perception arguably reinforced by an extensive government advertising campaign selling the virtues of Victoria to Victorians,[4] polls indicated little interest in change, although towards the end of the election campaign polling indicated that the Liberals under Baillieu were closing the gap.

Following a pre-1999 election commitment by the government to consider the feasibility of introducing fast rail services to regional centres, and the completion of related feasibility studies, in 2000 the government approved funding to upgrade rail lines to provide fast rail passenger services between Melbourne and Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong and Traralgon. The Victorian auditor general noted that in spite of $750 million spent, "We found that the delivery of more frequent fast rail services in the Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo corridors by the agreed dates was not achieved." "In total, the journey time outcomes will be more modest than we would have expected with only a minority of travellers likely to benefit from significant journey time improvements. These outcomes occur because giving some passengers full express services means bypassing often large numbers of passengers at intermediate stations along the corridors."

Bracks is a keen follower of Australian rules football, supporting the Geelong Football Club. His wife, Terry, is the number one female ticket holder for the Melbourne Football Club.

Third term as Premier
The election campaign was a relatively low-key affair, with the Government and Bracks largely running on their record as Premier, as well as their plans to tackle infrastructure issues in their third term. Bracks' image loomed large in Labor's election advertising. Liberal attacks concentrated on the slow process of infrastructure development under Bracks (notably on water supply issues relating to the severe drought affecting Victoria in the election leadup), and new Liberal leader Ted Baillieu promised to start construction on a range of new infrastructure initiatives, including a new dam on the Maribyrnong River and a desalination plant. Labor's broken election promise on Eastlink was also expected to be a factor in some seats in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne.

On 25 November 2006, Steve Bracks won his third election, comfortably defeating Baillieu to secure a third term, with a slightly reduced majority in the Lower House. This marks only the second time that the Victorian Labor Party has won a third term in office, and sets Steve Bracks well on the road to becoming Labor's longest-serving Premier. His third term Cabinet was sworn in on 1 December 2006 and he is also the Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Multicultural Affairs.