[CTRL] IMF: Outsourcing not draining jobs
-Caveat Lector- This won't help the IMF's credibility. - JR http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/business/10350190.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp Posted on Mon, Dec. 06, 2004 IMF: Outsourcing not draining jobsBloomberg News The movement of labor to India and other developing nations by U.S. corporations has little effect on jobless rates at home, International Monetary Fund economists say. "Even if outsourcing leads to some shedding of labor, the increased efficiency could lead to higher production and an expansion of employment in other lines of work," IMF economist Mary Amiti and Shang-Jin Wei, head of the IMF's trade unit, write in Finance and Development, a quarterly in-house magazine. The percentage of U.S. imports of private services, which includes labor outsourcing, from developing countries has grown to 32 percent in 2002, compared with 28 percent in 1992, the IMF said. Support for free trade among wealthy Americans has eroded on concern that opening markets helped trigger the 2.7 million lost jobs since George W. Bush took office in January 2001. In 2003, 28 percent of individuals earning more than $100,000 a year favored free trade, compared with 57 percent in 1999, the IMF said, citing a University of Maryland study. © 2004 Star-Telegram and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.http://www.dfw.com www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsâis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Vioxx Scandal Opens Door To Drug Safety Pandora's Box
-Caveat Lector- http://www.healthtalk.ca/vioxx_scandal_12032004_9099.php Vioxx "Scandal" Opens Door To Drug Safety Pandora's Box December 03, 2004 When Merck's arthritis drug Vioxx was withdrawn from the market in September, concerns over drug safety were pretty much under the radar for the most part, but not today. Today, the acting head of the Food and Drug Administration, Lester Crawford agreed to meet with a Republican lawmaker intent on getting to the bottom of the Vioxx scandal. Republican Sen. Charles Grassley, is concerned that a FDA whistleblower will be punished by his employer, the FDA, for opening a pandora's box. David Graham, the FDA whistleblower, told a Senate Finance Committee that his study earlier this year showed Vioxx increased the risk of heart attacks and strokes, compared to other similar painkillers. However, Graham said he faced intimidation within the FDA when he brought the results of his study to his superiors. Graham also told the committee that the FDA was "virtually incapable" of protecting the public from unsafe drugs. He also raised safety concerns over five other drugs on the market which he said could become the next Vioxx. Graham fears the FDA will retaliate by transferring out of the Office of Drug Safety for blowing the whistle. Grassley demanded the FDA respond to the allegations in a letter dated November 29. Crawford responded on Friday, indicating he takes all of the Senator's concerns seriously, and agreed to a meeting. "FDA will also continue to use a transparent process that not only respects the rights of all employees but also strives to facilitate a meaningful dialogue between employees at the agency and committee staff," said Crawford in his letter to Senator Grassley. www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Merck's Vioxx Liability Could Reach $38 Billion
-Caveat Lector- Merk will probably be acquired by another pharmaceutical in bankruptcy triggering golden parachutes for 150 perpetrators,excuse me, I meant executives. - JR http://www.forbes.com/2004/12/03/1203automarketscan13_print.html FORBESMerck's Vioxx Liability Could Reach $38 Billion 12.03.04, 2:31 PM ET The legal liability to Merck (nyse: MRK - news - people ) for the withdrawn arthritis drug Vioxx could be huge, according to Richard Evans, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, who cut his target price to $30 from $33. If all the patients who had heart attacks as a result of taking Vioxx were to receive an average-sized legal settlement, Evans wrote in a research report, Merck's liability could reach $38 billion. That assumes that 58,000 heart attacks could be linked to the drug, and that the average settlement would be $650,000. At current prices, Evans wrote, the company's share price assumes about $25 billion in risk. Evans, who rates Merck at "market perform," cautions that it's not yet clear whether trial lawyers can win settlements or at jury, but if they do the liability is likely to far exceed his previous estimates. Bernstein or its affiliates own 1% of Merck, which is a non-investment banking client of the bank. www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om ?tax0_SiteID=1JS=False Description: Binary data 1203automarketscan13.htmlsr=800x600cd=16lg=en-usje=yck=ytz=-5ct=lanhp=ntl= Description: Binary data m?ci=us-forbescg=0 Description: Binary data
[CTRL] Key Antigun Program Loses Direct Financing
-Caveat Lector- http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/02/politics/02guns.html?pagewanted=printposition= December 2, 2004 Key Antigun Program Loses Direct FinancingBy ERIC LICHTBLAU ASHINGTON, Dec. 1 - Congress has eliminated direct financing for a Justice Department program that has been the centerpiece of the Bush administration's efforts to prosecute black-market gun crimes. The move, which Congressional officials attributed to competing budget priorities, cuts federal grants to local and state law enforcement agencies in investigating and prosecuting crimes committed with guns. It also raises questions about the administration's ability to persuade the Republican-controlled Congress to support its legislative priorities, after Republicans last month blocked an intelligence overhaul backed by the White House. The administration had sought $45 million for local grants under the gun prosecution program, Project Safe Neighborhoods. That would have represented a sharp increase in grants for a program that President Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft have hailed as a critical way to crack down on gun trafficking and gun-related crimes. "If you use a gun illegally, you will do hard time," Mr. Bush is quoted as saying on the Web site for the neighborhoods program, www. projectsafeneighborhoods.com. But in passing a $388 billion spending bill on Nov. 20, Congress erased all the direct money sought for the program. A related program to track and intercept illegal purchases of guns by youngsters, for which the administration sought an additional $106 million, also received nothing in the final spending package, although the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which administers it, received an overall increase of $20 million. "We didn't specifically set aside any money for the program," a spokesman for the House Appropriations Committee, John Scofield, said. "But we think we've taken care of the need because we provided $900 million over what the administration asked for in other general assistance for states and locals." Most of those broader programs are not specifically tied to gun enforcement, but instead provide money for a variety of law enforcement problems like detaining illegal immigrants and gang violence and could be used to supplement gun programs, Mr. Scofield said, adding that the reduction in direct financing for the gun program "is the reality of a lean budget." "It's a matter of priorities," he said, "and there are going to be things you can fund and things you can't." A spokeswoman for the Justice Department, Monica Goodling, said that the department "was disappointed that Congress did not provide the full amount that President Bush sought" but would "continue to vigorously combat gun crime in America." The immediate effects of the cutback on gun investigations and prosecutions is unclear. Financing for other antigun programs related to Safe Neighborhoods remain intact, totaling $200 million, and administration officials said they would try to find money from elsewhere to offset the gap that Congress left. Indeed, Chris W. Cox, chief lobbyist for the National Rifle Association, which has been a major backer of the gun program as a way to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals, said he believed that financing in the federal pipeline and improved cooperation in place at the local, state and federal levels would allow the initiative to continue uninterrupted "whether or not there's a specific line-item." Gun control advocates and some law enforcement officials said they believed that the cutback sent a troubling message about the federal commitment to fighting gun crime and trafficking. "The administration has been touting this program as one of their great successes," John Lacey, an official with Americans for Gun Safety, said. "So the fact that they're letting this program just disappear speaks to the fact that either they are unwilling to combat gun crime or their promises on gun crime have been just empty rhetoric." Joe Vince, a former official at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms who is a private consultant on gun safety, said the elimination of important parts of the program suggested a lack of commitment to cracking down on crimes involving guns. "Across the country, cities are starting to see an increase in gun-related violent crimes, and Project Safe Neighborhoods was a way for local law enforcement to
[CTRL] Prince Bernhard, Father of Dutch Queen, Dies at 93
-Caveat Lector- Sounds harmless doesn't he? - JR http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/02/international/europe/02bernhard.html?pagewanted=printposition= December 2, 2004 Prince Bernhard, Father of Dutch Queen, Dies at 93By DOUGLAS MARTIN Prince Bernhard, a bon vivant and outspoken member of an ancient German royal family who became husband of one queen of the Netherlands and father of another, died yesterday at a hospital in Utrecht near Amsterdam. He was 93. The Royal House of the Netherlands said that in November he was diagnosed with cancer, which spread to his stomach and lungs. For six decades, Prince Bernhard lived at the royal palace in Soestdijk with his wife, Queen Juliana. His daughter Beatrix became queen in 1980. Juliana died this March at the age of 94. Prince Bernhard earned global prominence by helping to establish the World Wildlife Fund in 1961 and serving as its president until 1977. He used his many contacts to set up the annual Bilderberg conferences, an annual gathering of top business and political leaders to discuss great issues facing the Western Alliance. He emblazoned his dashing personality on his nation with his first official visit to the Netherlands in 1936 with his fiancée, the crown princess. He arrived in a powerful car, racing along the dikes until he was stopped by a policeman for exceeding the speed limit. The Dutch had expected a royal entourage, maybe a whole train. The young German prince wore a white carnation in his buttonhole. It soon became a popular decoration and within a few years would become a symbol of resistance against Nazi Germany. Prince Bernhard led that resistance after first being suspected of having Nazi sympathies, which he resolutely denied, despite his brief service in a German SS brigade. When the Nazis tried to portray the marriage as an alliance, Queen Wilhelmina, Juliana's mother, declared, "This is a marriage of my daughter to the man she loves. This is not the marriage of the Netherlands to Germany." The prince drove fast cars, skied fearlessly and rode his horses hard, but business was at least an equal passion. Not only did his business activities make him one of the richest members of European royalty, but his apparent acceptance in 1976 of a bribe of more than $1 million from Lockheed for steering business to the aerospace company, sparked an international scandal. Bernhard was born on June 29, 1911, in Jena, Germany, into the princely family of Lippe, which was founded in the 12th century by the first Prince Bernhard. The modern prince was named Bernhard Leopold Friedrich Eberhard Julius Kurt Karl Gottfried Peter Lippe-Biesterfeld of Lippe-Biesterfeld. His childhood was spent in the waning days of the splendor of German nobility. After World War I, German nobility had little left beyond a ruined castle or two. Bernhard studied the legal aspects of international trade at universities in Lausanne, Switzerland, Munich and Berlin, earning his law degree in Berlin. He joined the staff of the German chemical giant, I.G. Farben and worked at its offices in Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam. He met his future wife at the 1936 Olympic Winter Games in Bavaria. They were married on Jan. 7, 1937, in a simple Calvinist ceremony. The prince made a simple speech in fluent Dutch promising to study the country's culture and become a good Dutchman. At first, his mother-in-law, and certain of her subjects were publicly critical of his fast driving and absences from church, but his dignified, effective handling of a variety of government jobs quickly won him favor. Queen Wilhelmina appreciated his industriousness. "He wanted to earn his own living, and that was an idea of which I very much approved," she said in an interview with The New York Times in 1937. "Princes must work nowadays." In May 1940, Hitler invaded the Netherlands, and the prince joined the Dutch forces. He was with the last contingent to hold out in the province of Zeeland. He then headed the Dutch resistance from London where the Dutch government and Queen Wilhelmina resided in exile. His wife left for Canada with the couple's two daughters, Beatrix, who was born in 1938, and Irene, born in 1939. A third daughter, Margriet, was born in Canada in 1943, and a fourth royal daughter, Christina, followed in 1947. Bernhard is survived by all his daughters and more than 20 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, the Associated Press reported. During his last years, he
[CTRL] 9/11 Families Back Sensenbrenner in Intel Fight
-Caveat Lector- http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/12/2/03602.shtml 9/11 Families Back Sensenbrenner in Intel Fight Leaders of a group representing more than 300 family members of 9/11 victims urged Congress on Tuesday to scrap the intelligence reform bill because it doesn't include key provisions to secure the nation's borders against terrorist infiltration - the same objection raised by one of the bill's leading opponents, Wisconsin Rep. James Sensenbrenner. "No bill should pass the Senate, the House, anywhere, unless it contains immigration reform," said Joan Molinaro, the mother of a New York City firefighter killed on September 11 and a member of the group "9/11 Families for a Secure America." Holding up a picture of her son and then a picture of her two daughters, Molinaro testified: "You allowed the murder of my son. I will not allow you to kill my daughters." In quotes picked up by the Washington Times, she added, "You secure our borders, you keep my girls alive." Debra Burlingame, a spokeswoman for the group whose brother Charles piloted the jet that struck the Pentagon, said Wednesday that border enforcement is key to any intelligence reform bill. Explaining her opposition to the bill, Burlingame told WWRL Radio's Steve Malzberg and Karen Hunter that the immigration provisions were opposed by special interests in Washington. "The agricultural and construction businesses who employ [illegal aliens] have big lobbies in Washington," Burlingame said. "You have the banks, who get billions of dollars from illegal aliens because they use banks to wire money back home." "The biggest contributor of all are the immigration lawyers, whose entire income stream is derived from getting illegal aliens here and keeping them here," she said. Burlingame said that "tens of thousands of immigrants who come are undocumented people who are claiming asylum, but there is no space to detain them," forcing the release of 94 percent of that group into the general population. "One of the provisions that Rep. Sensenbrenner was trying to get was additional bed space so that was can hold them pending a hearing," she explained. Molinaro, Burlingame and other 9/11 familles who back Sensenbrenner's efforts have been largely ignored by the media, which has focused instead on other victim families aligned with 9/11 Commission Chairman Tom Kean, who strongly backs the bill. But Burlingame blasted Chairman Kean on Tuesday, saying he was wrong when he insisted that tighter border controls wouldn't have stopped the 9/11 hijackers. "He should read his own report," she said. 9/11 Families for a Secure America plans to launch a radio ad campaign praising key House Republicans for opposing the flawed intelligence bill www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Vioxx critic tied to fund?
-Caveat Lector- This just sounds like smart investing. Not like shorting based on inside information. - JR http://money.cnn.com/2004/12/02/news/fortune500/vioxx_fortune.reut/ Vioxx critic tied to fund?Fortune: Doctor who questioned arthritis drug was adviser to hedge fund that shorted Merck.December 2, 2004: 10:32 AM EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - A prominent cardiologist who became a chief critic of Merck Co.'s arthritis drug Vioxx several years before it was withdrawn has been an adviser to a hedge fund that shorted Merck's stock, according to a recent magazine article. Fortune said Dr. Eric Topol, chairman of cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic, began serving on the scientific advisory board of the $176 million Biomedical Value hedge fund long before Merck withdrew Vioxx in September. It said the fund is run by Great Point Partners of Greenwich, Conn. Great Point Partners said it could not immediately comment on the report. (For full story click here.) The article said the fund had performed strongly, in part by shorting Merck, and in a September 2004 performance summary had praised Topol for highlighting the dangers of Vioxx since 2002. Topol said in a statement that the Fortune article had used "innuendos and speculations" to challenge his credibility and that he had no knowledge of any investment by the fund in Merck and never discussed Vioxx with the fund. Copyright 2004 Reuters All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Find this article at: http://money.cnn.com/2004/12/02/news/fortune500/vioxx_fortune.reut SAVE THIS | EMAIL THIS | Close Check the box to include the list of links referenced in the article. www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Meteorologist Likens Fear of Global Warming to 'Religious Belief'
-Caveat Lector- http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=/Culture/archive/200412/CUL20041202a.html Meteorologist Likens Fear of Global Warming to 'Religious Belief'By Marc MoranoCNSNews.com Senior Staff WriterDecember 02, 2004Washington (CNSNews.com) - An MIT meteorologist Wednesday dismissed alarmist fears about human induced global warming as nothing more than 'religious beliefs.'"Do you believe in global warming? That is a religious question. So is the second part: Are you a skeptic or a believer?" said Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Richard Lindzen, in a speech to about 100 people at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C."Essentially if whatever you are told is alleged to be supported by 'all scientists,' you don't have to understand [the issue] anymore. You simply go back to treating it as a matter of religious belief," Lindzen said. His speech was titled, "Climate Alarmism: The Misuse of 'Science'" and was sponsored by the free market George C. Marshall Institute. Lindzen is a professor at MIT's Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences.Once a person becomes a believer of global warming, "you never have to defend this belief except to claim that you are supported by all scientists -- except for a handful of corrupted heretics," Lindzen added. According to Lindzen, climate "alarmists" have been trying to push the idea that there is scientific consensus on dire climate change."With respect to science, the assumption behind the [alarmist] consensus is science is the source of authority and that authority increases with the number of scientists [who agree.] But science is not primarily a source of authority. It is a particularly effective approach of inquiry and analysis. Skepticism is essential to science -- consensus is foreign," Lindzen said. Alarmist predictions of more hurricanes, the catastrophic rise in sea levels, the melting of the global poles and even the plunge into another ice age are not scientifically supported, Lindzen said."It leads to a situation where advocates want us to be afraid, when there is no basis for alarm. In response to the fear, they want us to do what they want," Lindzen said. Recent reports of a melting polar ice cap were dismissed by Lindzen as an example of the media taking advantage of the public's "scientific illiteracy." "The thing you have to remember about the Arctic is that it is an extremely variable part of the world," Lindzen said. "Although there is melting going [on] now, there has been a lot of melting that went on in the [19]30s and then there was freezing. So by isolating a section ... they are essentially taking people's ignorance of the past," he added.'Repetition makes people believe'The climate change debate has become corrupted by politics, the media and money, according to Lindzen."It's a sad story, where you have scientists making meaningless or ambiguous statements [about climate change]. They are then taken by advocates to the media who translate the statements into alarmist declarations. You then have politicians who respond to all of this by giving scientists more money," Lindzen said. "Agreement on anything is taken to infer agreement on everything. So if you make a statement that you agree that CO2 (carbon dioxide) is a greenhouse gas, you agree that the world is coming to an end," he added. "There can be little doubt that the language used to convey alarm has been sloppy at best," Lindzen said, citing Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbles and his famous observation that even a lie will be believed if enough people repeat it. "There is little question that repetition makes people believe things [for] which there may be no basis," Lindzen said. He believes the key to improving the science of climate change lies in altering the way scientists are funded. 'Alarm is the aim' "The research and support for research depends on the alarm," Lindzen told CNSNews.com following his speech. "The research itself often is very good, but by the time it gets through the filter of environmental advocates and the press innocent things begin to sound just as though they are the end of the world."The argument is no longer what models are correct -- they are not -- but rather whether their results are at all possible. One can rarely prove something to be impossible," he explained. Lindzen said scientists must be allowed to conclude that 'we don't have a problem." And if the answer turns out to be 'we don't have a problem,' we have to figure out a better reward than cutting off people's funding. It's as simple as that," he said. The only consensus that Lindzen said exists on the issue of climate change is the impact of the Kyoto Protocol, the international treaty to limit greenhouse gases, which the U.S. does not support.Kyoto itself will have no discernible effect on global warming regardless of what one believes about climate change," Lindzen said. "Claims to
[CTRL] Hmong Hunter Charged With 6 Murders Is Said to Be a Shaman
-Caveat Lector- http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/01/national/01hunter.html?pagewanted=printposition= December 1, 2004 Hmong Hunter Charged With 6 Murders Is Said to Be a ShamanBy STEPHEN KINZER T. PAUL, Nov. 30 - The man charged with murdering six other hunters and wounding two in Wisconsin last week is a Hmong shaman who has called on the spirit world in trances that last up to three hours, his family and friends say. The accused, Chai Soua Vang of St. Paul, seeks "the other world" when he tries to cure sick people or invoke divine protection for those who request it, said his friend and former hunting companion Ber Xiong. "He is a special person," Mr. Xiong said. "Chai speaks to the other side. He asks the spirits there to release people who are suffering on earth." Mr. Xiong said Mr. Vang, a 36-year-old truck driver, was one of about 100 shamans among St. Paul's immigrant community of some 25,000 Hmong from Laos. He said he had assisted Mr. Vang in several shamanistic ceremonies, most recently one two years ago at which an extended family asked him to assure its health and prosperity. "He danced on a small table for about two hours," said Mr. Xiong, an employee of an audio technology business in nearby Bloomington. "He was calling out the whole time, not to the people in the room, but to the other world. My job was to sit near the table and make sure he did not fall off." Mr. Xiong declined to identify anyone else who attended that ceremony or others where Mr. Vang participated. Like Mr. Vang, he is a Hmong immigrant, and many Hmong who know Mr. Vang have been reluctant to speak publicly. But in a brief interview, Mr. Vang's sister, Mai, confirmed that he was thought to have mystical powers. "He is a shaman," Ms. Vang said. "But I don't know how long he has been one." Cher Xee Vang, a prominent leader among the Hmong in Minnesota, said the suspect, to whom he is not closely related, had often participated in curing ceremonies. "Chai Vang is a shaman," Cher Xee Vang said. "When we needed him to cure the ill with traditional ways of healing, he would." The events that led to the charges against Mr. Vang occurred on Nov. 21 when, the authorities say, he was caught trespassing on private land in Wisconsin's North Woods, a popular destination for deer hunters in late November. The eight other hunters were all shot in an ensuing confrontation with him, the police say. On Monday, prosecutors formally charged Mr. Vang with six counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder. On Tuesday, handcuffed and wearing a prison-issued orange jumpsuit, he was taken to the basement of the county jail in Hayward, Wis., to hear the charges. Judge Norman L. Yackel of Sawyer County Circuit Court asked Mr. Vang if he understood them. "Yes," Mr. Vang responded. The hearing lasted only eight minutes. Judge Yackel, who cited security concerns in holding the hearing at the jail rather than at the courthouse across the street, set the next court date for Dec. 29. Security has been an issue here in St. Paul as well. With the help of the police, Mr. Vang's family, evidently concerned about its safety and weary of the publicity that the case has brought, has moved from its two-story home on the city's east side to an undisclosed location. It is unclear whether Mr. Vang's role as a shaman is in any way connected to the shootings. But Vincent Her, a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin who studies traditional Hmong culture, said he did not believe that shamans could go into a trance so deep that they would lose touch with the physical world, even in a situation of extreme stress. "That would make him or her unable to mediate between the two worlds, which is the core of the shaman's role," Mr. Her said. At a news conference in Milwaukee on Sunday, Steven Kohn, one of the three lawyers representing Mr. Vang, said the defense team was "looking into all facets in this case as far as defense is concerned." "That includes factual defenses, and it includes potential mental health or mental responsibility defenses," Mr. Kohn said. "This certainly seems not to be a whodunit, but a why." At the same news conference, Mr. Vang's eldest daughter, Kia, made a brief statement. "I don't know what my father did," she said. "I'm really shocked, and I don't know what to say." According to military records, Mr. Vang spent six years in the California Army National Guard. He was honorably
Re: [CTRL] Fw: Will Dems steal the WA governorship?
-Caveat Lector- Not a "Dead" constitution but a stable one. One that can only be changed by the Congress and states. If they were following original intent, we wouldn't have most of the "Patriot" Act and the other abominations. You and the public have been conned into believing that once the president declares a state of national emergency, the restrictions of the Constitution no longer apply.to arbitrary and patently unconstitutional actions of the government. It's the "living constitution" that is allowing the erection of a police state. You have no basis for complaining since you are championing the anti-constitution forces and making up strawmen to denigrate the real defenders of freedom and the constitution. JR - Original Message - From: flw2 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, December 01, 2004 12:20 PM Subject: Re: [CTRL] Fw: Will Dems steal the WA governorship? -Caveat Lector- This is so outrageous it certainly will be reversed on appeal if these tactics change the vote totals in favor of Gregoire. Judge Lum should be impeached and removed from office. This is a good example of the attitude too many judges have that they can ignore or overrule the law to reach a "desirable" result. That's the "living constitution" in action. - JRHa Ha. Guess the RepubliKrats prefer a 'dead' Constitution. Such as whenthey push through Police State anti freedom anti Bill of Rights travestieslike the Patriot Act and pro Taliban stuff like anti pornography obsessionsor banning pain killers for dying people.fl.ctrl.orgDECLARATION DISCLAIMER==CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandicscreeds are unwelcomed. Substanceâ?"not soap-boxingâ?"please! These aresordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'â?"with its many half-truths, mis-directions and outright fraudsâ?"is used politically by different groups withmajor and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought.That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, andalways suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives nocredence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.Archives Available at:http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/A HREF="">ctrlhttp://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/"ctrl/ATo subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]Om www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsâis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Fw: Will Dems steal the WA governorship?
-Caveat Lector- This is so outrageous it certainly will be reversed on appeal if these tactics change the vote totals in favor of Gregoire. Judge Lum should be impeached and removed from office.This is a good example of the attitude too many judges have that they can ignore or overrule the law to reach a "desirable" result. That's the "living constitution" in action. - JR Subscription only JOHN FUND ON THE TRAIL Florida NorthwestWill Democrats steal the Washington governorship?Monday, November 29, 2004 12:01 a.m.The country dodged a repeat of the 2000 Florida election debacle this year because George W. Bush's margin in the decisive state of Ohio was 136,000 votes. But the one out of 50 Americans who live in Washington state are living through a Florida-style nightmare, with Republican Dino Rossi clinging to a 42-vote lead over Democrat Christine Gregoire in the governor's race after a machine recount of 2.8 million ballots. In the latest example of why this country needs to clean up and clarify its sloppy election systems, Douglas firs substitute for palm trees as the backdrop. In Seattle's King County alone the vote counting so far has featured such anomalies as 10,000 ballots being mysteriously discovered nearly two weeks after Election Day, election officials "enhancing" hundreds of unreadable optical-scan ballots, and a judge allowing political partisans to selectively track down voters who cast questionable provisional ballots to see if they could turn them into valid votes. Ms. Gregoire gained several hundred votes through such maneuvers, so she has now declared her intention to pay for a hand recount of some of the state's precincts to see if she can take the lead. If a selective recount changes the overall winner, the state would pay for a laborious hand recount of all the votes The process could drag on past Christmas and might eventually have to be settled by the state Supreme Court. Gov. Gary Locke is scheduled to leave office on Jan. 12, but wags are already joking he shouldn't be pack his bags too soon. The trouble began when it became clear the race was so close it wouldn't be settled by the ballots counted on election night. Washington allows absentee ballots--used by 70% of the voters this year--to be counted as long as they are postmarked by Election Day. Thus everyone knew that the way late absentee and provisional votes (cast by people not on the registration rolls, and subject to later verification) were counted might wind up swinging the election. That set off a legal fracas over the 929 people in heavily Democratic King County whose provisional ballots hadn't been counted because of mismatched or missing signatures. Democrats demanded the names and addresses of those voters so they could contact them and correct the errors. County officials responded that in requiring that all 50 states offer provisional ballots Congress had stipulated that such votes remain private. Republican lawyers argued that having partisans scavenge for votes would increase the potential for fraud. But Superior Court Judge Dean Lum said such arguments weren't as important as the need to make sure every vote counted--an echo of Florida. A full 10 days after the election, while absentee votes were still being counted, he ordered election officials to give the names and addresses of the provisional voters to the Democratic Party. Judge Lum did express regret that the judiciary was being "whipsawed in the middle" of a bitter partisan dispute and asked to "micromanage an election." But then he proceeded to do precisely that by allowing partisan workers the opportunity to mine flawed ballots after the election, for the first time in the 20 years that Washington has used provisional ballots. Democrats spent the next three days knocking on doors and speed-dialing voters. Ryan Bianchi, communications assistant for Ms. Gregoire, made it clear how blatantly partisan the approach was. Democratic volunteers asked if voters had cast ballots for Ms. Gregoire. "If they say no, we just tell them to have a nice day," he told the Seattle Times. Only if they say yes, did the Democrats ask if they want to make their ballot valid. Republicans played catch-up by belatedly using their own phone banks to call up voters and identify ballots that might fall their way if made valid. In the end Democrats turned in some 600 written oaths from provisional voters and Republicans about 200. Those votes helped narrow Mr. Rossi's eventual lead to 261 votes as the late absentee votes were finally counted and the results certified on Nov. 17. Then the state began a mandatory machine recount. Once again, King County was the center of controversy. More than 700 previously uncounted ballots were added to the county's total after election officials "enhanced" them to better divine voter intent. When optical scan machines didn't accept ballots, workers would fill in ovals on
[CTRL] State has a role in family life, says minister
-Caveat Lector- The Nanny state http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/11/26/nhodg26.xml State has a role in family life, says ministerBy Rachel Sylvester(Filed: 26/11/2004) The government has the right to intervene in family life because there are social implications in the way parents bring up their children, one of Tony Blair's closest allies said yesterday. In an interview with The Telegraph, Margaret Hodge, the children's minister, said the state had always influenced young people's lives through schools and she wanted to extend that influence to the home. Margaret Hodge: 'If children are taken into care we have failed' "There is a proper role for the state in helping parents in the home," she said. "In the past, people got support from the extended family, now they are looking elsewhere. [The state can be] a force for good, enabling families to do the best for their children." Her comments, which reflect the tone of a speech she will make today to the Institute for Public Policy Research, will lead to "nanny state" claims. Ministers are under pressure over the hunting ban and proposals to ban smoking in most public places and control advertising of junk food to children. However, Mrs Hodge said government involvement in family life was justified because the state had to "pick up the pieces" when parenting went wrong. Educational outcomes were determined far more by what happened at home, for example, she said, than anything taught to children in schools. The NHS had to deal with the implications of mothers who feed their children an unhealthy diet and society had to pay the cost when young people with a bad upbringing turn to crime. "There are always tensions between the liberty of the individual and the wider interests of society but the state has a role," she said. "Parenting in the home is crucial." The aim was to avoid punitive intervention, she said. "If children are taken into care then we have failed, the state has to go in at the beginning and help." In her view, many parents want government advice on how to bring up their children. "You take home this little bundle of joy from the hospital and you don't know where to start. People want the state to help them." The Government is to launch a campaign to improve the way parents raise their offspring. The Department for Education and Skills will publish a booklet, which will be given to all new parents, telling them how to bring up their child. As well as information about child benefit and healthy diet, it will have "top tips" on reading with children, monitoring what they watch on television and talking to them about sex as they grow up. Mrs Hodge, who has four grown-up children and one granddaughter, is trying to enlist the help of soap opera producers with story lines about the importance of discipline, safety and education. A parenting helpline and a website will also be launched. The important thing is the quality rather than the quantity of the time parents spend with their children, she said. "If you are just watching the telly or chatting on the mobile phone rather than talking to your baby then your child is not going to prosper." Although she was reluctant to back Tony Blair's attack on "Sixties liberal values", she said discipline in the home was crucial. "I am a child of the Sixties, there were lots of freedoms given to me that I relished - women going out to work, the contraceptive pill - but parents have to set boundaries. We need to support parents in setting the boundaries." While stressing that the Government was determined not to repeat the Conservatives' disastrous "back to basics" campaign, she said ministers should not be afraid to take a moral lead. She broke with Labour tradition by saying that marriage was the best context for raising children. "Stability really matters for kids and people are more likely to stay together if they are married." But she insisted the state should not criticise unmarried parents or single mothers. The Government's 10-year strategy for child care will be published next week. Ministers are expected to promise big increases in nursery and child care places and parents will be offered up to a year off after the birth of a child, with a portion of the leave allocated to fathers. www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.
[CTRL] 'Suicide tree' toxin is 'perfect' murder weapon
-Caveat Lector- Does Arafat come to mind? http://www.newscientist.com/news/print.jsp?id=ns6701 'Suicide tree' toxin is 'perfect' murder weapon 15:5626November04 Exclusive from New Scientist Print Edition. Subscribe and get 4 free issues. A plant dubbed the suicide tree kills many more people in Indian communities than was previously thought. The warning comes from forensic toxicologists in India and France who have conducted a review of deaths caused by plant-derived poisons. Cerbera odollam, which grows across India and south-east Asia, is used by more people to commit suicide than any other plant, the toxicologists say. But they also warn that doctors, pathologists and coroners are failing to detect how often it is used to murder people. A team led by Yvan Gaillard of the Laboratory of Analytical Toxicology in La Voulte-sur-Rhône, France, documented more than 500 cases of fatal Cerbera poisoning between 1989 and 1999 in the south-west Indian state of Kerala alone. Half of Keralas plant poisoning deaths, and one in 10 of all fatal poisonings, are put down to Cerbera. But the true number of deaths due to Cerbera poisoning in Kerala could be twice that, the team estimates, as poisonings are difficult to identify by conventional means. Unnoticed homicides Using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry to examine autopsy tissues for traces of the plant, the team uncovered a number of homicides that would otherwise have gone unnoticed. This also suggests that some cases put down to suicide may actually have been murders, they say. Although the kernels of the tree have a bitter taste, this can be disguised if they are crushed and mixed with spicy food. They contain a potent heart toxin called cerberin, similar in structure to digoxin, found in the foxglove. Digoxin kills by blocking calcium ion channels in heart muscles, which disrupts the heartbeat. But while foxglove poisoning is well known to western toxicologists, Gaillard says pathologists would not be able to identify Cerbera poisoning unless there is evidence the victim had eaten the plant. It is the perfect murder, he says. Three-quarters of Cerbera victims are women. The team says that this may mean the plant is being used to kill young wives who do not meet the exacting standards of some Indian families. It is also likely that many cases of homicide using the plant go unnoticed in countries where it does not grow naturally. Journal reference: Journal of Ethnopharmacology (vol 95, p 123) James Randerson Return to news story © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd. www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsâis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om HG?hc=we10cd=1hv=6ce=uhb=DM540714DIDE71EN3n=vcon=CONTENT+CATEGORYseg=cmp=gp=fnl=pec=dcmp=ra=gn=ld=la=cv=c1=c2=c3=c4=customerid=vpc=09mn Description: Binary data
[CTRL] Carlyle leads pack for Chinese group
-Caveat Lector- http://www.thedeal.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=TheDeal/TDDArticle/TDPrinterFriendlyc=TDDArticlecid=1099927613506ArtID=1099927613506bn=/images/headers/PRIVATE_EQUITY.gif Carlyle leads pack for Chinese groupby Shu-Ching Jean Chen in Hong Kong Posted 12:00 EST, 25, Nov2004Washington D.C.-based Carlyle Group has been selected as preferred bidder to take a controlling stake in China's largest construction machinery developer, Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group Co. Ltd. for a reported price of as much as $400 million. But XCMG, as the central China-based company is known, said a deal still requires clearance from its 100% owner, the Xuzhou city government. "The city government is negotiating the final terms but we don't know whether it would approve it," said a company spokesman, who wouldn't comment on the likely sale price. Another source noted that talks are "at a very early stage." The city government wants to sell its stakes in 72 state-owned enterprises, including XCMG. Like nearby Shanghai and Beijing, it is attempting to reform lumbering state enterprises and lure foreign investment. Carlyle beat out eight preliminary bidders for XCMG, including XCMG's joint venture partner, Peoria, Ill.-based Caterpillar Inc.; the private equity arms of both J.P. Morgan Chase Co. and Citigroup Inc.; Warburg Pincus LLC; and American International Group Inc., all of New York. All eight initial bidders were from the U.S., the XCMG official said. The auction is being conducted by New York-based J.P. Morgan Chase Co. Deutsche Bank AG, which is based in Frankurt, is advising Carlyle. XCMG, founded in 1989, has 26 affiliates, including one listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. It has 13 joint ventures with foreign investors, including Caterpillar. It has also expanded overseas, mainly to developing markets in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. It recorded revenue of 11.2 billion renminbi ($1.35 billion) in the first six months of the year, up 60% from same period last year. In 2003, it made Rmb15.4 billion in revenue, up from Rmb9.3 billion a year earlier. The bid from Carlyle reflects the private equity group's stated ambition to assume control of big Chinese state-owned enterprises. The firm is also apparently exploring its options in South Korea. The world's fifth-largest shipping group, Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd., confirmed reports Thursday it has had contact with Carlyle. But spokesman Man Young Hur said only that "a working-level group" talked to Carlyle about terminal efficiency and that no merger or joint venture was imminent. Carlyle officials in South Korea were unavailable for comment, while later Thursday Reuters cited an Internet news site e-daily quoting Cho Yang-ho, chairman of the shipping group's de facto parent company, Korean Air, saying that the talks had ended. Jennifer Veale in Seoul contributed to this report Yesterday's Most Viewed Private Equity Stories After 17 years, KKR prepares exit Captain D's gets reeled in Bain leads $885M Dollarama buyout Carlyle leads pack for Chinese group Private Capital People: Nov. 23, 2004 Last Week's Most Viewed Private Equity Stories After 17 years, KKR prepares exit Bain leads $885M Dollarama buyout Carrols launches $450M recap Captain D's gets reeled in Private Capital People: Nov. 23, 2004 Not a Subscriber? Sign up today and start your free two-week trial. |HOME|SITEMAP|ABOUT US|CONTACT US|ADVERTISE|PRIVACY POLICY|TERMS AND CONDITIONS| ©Copyright 2004, The Deal, LLC. All rights reserved. Please send all technical questions, comments or concerns to the Webmaster.
Re: [CTRL] Fwd: Scalia: founding fathers never advocated the separation of ch...
-Caveat Lector- Prudy, I agree. Clarence Thomas would be an ideal choice for chief justice. JR - Original Message - From: Prudy L To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, November 28, 2004 2:47 PM Subject: Re: [CTRL] Fwd: Scalia: founding fathers never advocated the separation of ch... -Caveat Lector- In a message dated 11/27/2004 10:05:01 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Scalia was nominated to the nine-member Supreme Court in 1986 by president Ronald Reagan to fill the seat vacated by William Rehnquist, who became the chief justice after Warren Berger retired. Now, with speculation that Rehnquist is on the verge of retirement after a recent diagnosis of thyroid cancer, Scalia may be the leading candidate to take his place. And one wonders what the founding fathers might have thought of a judge of the Supreme Court who is all for religion in political life and a strong believer in nepotism as well. Won't he be the perfect successor to Rehnquist? Prudywww.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] The end of the age of oil?
-Caveat Lector- http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/printer-friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=41613 Friday, November 26, 2004 The end of the age of oil? Posted: November 26, 20041:00 a.m. Eastern By Chris Bennett ©2004WorldNetDaily.com According the Washington Post (June 6, 2004) , the world is on the verge of oil famine. BBC News declares "as certain as death and taxes, we shall one day be forced to learn to live without oil." Further, "people in middle age today can probably expect to be here" for the terminal oil shortages. CBS, NBC and ABC have all presented grim and frightening reports of rapacious oil executives, unfeeling consumers, gas-guzzling SUVs and declining oil stocks, mostly in the powder keg countries of the Middle East. The unmistakable conclusion: An energy disaster of epic proportions is just around the corner. Literally dozens of books and hundreds of websites paint a consistent and alarming picture of the decline of the American Empire and the end of the Age of Oil. Could this be true? Are we really sliding downhill into a future defined by scarce resources, alternative fuels and mandatory conservation a nightmare of strong governmental controls and diminished expectations? The surprising answer: No. The world has plenty of oil. According to the United States Geological Survey, the U.S. Department of Energy and many, many other reputable sources, we have sufficient oil resources for at least the next several hundred years, maybe longer. The costs of extraction will likely be higher, but scarcity? No. Without the emotional "the end of the world as we know it," paranoia from the traditional media, let's actually look at world oil reserves. Currently, the world's recognized reserves of oil are higher than at any time in history. And, contrary to conventional media hysteria, the world's clearly identified reserves are growing every year. The USGS reports in the "World Petroleum Assessment 2000" that world reserves of conventional crude oil total 3,000 billion barrels. This estimate is an increase from a similar estimate in 1994 of 2,400 billion barrels, up from 1,500 billion barrels in 1990. But this report considers only "liquid" or conventional oil oil that's accessible and readily available from underground reservoirs. This does not include highly viscous oils, oil-tar sand deposits or oil shale. The major media focuses with myopic intensity on conventional crude reserves, ignoring stunning reserves of oil located in tar sands and oil shale. At best, this is difficult to comprehend. For example, little media attention was accorded to the dramatic increases in Canadian oil reserves. A December 2003 report in Oil and Gas Journal notes that Canada's oil reserves now total more than 180 billion barrels of oil, with most found in economically recoverably oil-tar sand deposits. In contrast, Saudi Arabia's reserves are estimated at 264 billion barrels. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers sees the oil sand reservoir at a stunning 2,000 billion barrels of crude, of which 315 billion barrels is currently recoverable. This is oil economically viable at prices between $18 and $20 per barrel. World wide, recoverable reserves of oil found in oil sands are currently reported in excess of 1,000 billion barrels. But by far the largest potential reservoir of future oil is held in oil shale. The U.S. Department of Energy, in a March 2004 study, reports oil shale reserves in the United States alone of over 2,000 billion barrels. World wide, oil-shale reserves are estimated as high as 14,000 billion barrels. To put this in perspective, U.S. oil-shale reserves alone would be sufficient to provide 100 percent of U.S. crude oil consumed at current usage for over 200 years. Worldwide reserves of 14,000 billion barrels are sufficient to provide the world's crude oil requirements for at least several hundred years. The truth is, the history of oil prognostication is littered with scaremongers proclaiming false declarations of approaching oil famine. In fact, doom merchants have used oil as a vehicle for "end of the world" scenarios since before World War I. Consider: In 1914, the U.S. Bureau of Mines declared that the United States would run out of oil in 10 years. In 1939, the Department of the Interior predicted that oil reserves would last only 13 more years. In 1950, when the
[CTRL] Dan Rather. His first big lie for the NWO/.
-Caveat Lector- http://spot.acorn.net/jfkplace/09/fp.back_issues/05th_Issue/rather.html The following article originally appeared in the July 22, 1977 issue of "The Continuing Inquiry." Dan Rather Blinkedby Penn Jones, Jr The greatest criminal in this nation, we think, is a dishonest newsman. Newsmen have been given the highest gift a nation can give a group: a right. Newsmen have been given this right of freedom of the press and freedom of speech in the expectation they would report the truth as honestly as humanly possible. Ordinary criminals kill individuals, but dishonest newsmen are involved in killing a nation--in this case, this democracy. Which brings us to native Texan Dan Rather, a longtime Houstonian, and his new book, The Camera Never Blinks. Rather's book is somewhat like Jim Bishop's The Day Kennedy Was Shot. At least a month's work would be required to correct the many errors Jim Bishop and Rather each foist on the readers. We limit our criticisms of the Rather book to the sections dealing with CBS coverage of President Kennedy's visit to Dallas. Rather was chief of the Dallas bureau. The omissions, errors, distortions, and untruths in Rather's book are just too great and too numerous to be dismissed as unintentional inaccuracies or harmless forgetfulness. Back in Dallas after having been moved from there to New Orleans just a few weeks before President Kennedy's assassination, Rather played a major role that day in all the events for CBS. For a young newsman with such an important assignment on his hands, we find it strange that he would take a side trip that morning. Rather reports he went to Uvalde, Texas for an after-breakfast meeting with former Vice President John Nance Garner at his home there, but he doesn't mention the distances involved. He does not bother to tell his readers it was a six hundred mile round trip and that he was back in Dallas before the President's parade. That kind of timing would have required a jet, we think. Whose jet, Rather didn't say. Back in Dallas before noon, Rather says he discovered the most important film drop location on the Dallas motorcade route had been left unmanned. "...so I picked up a yellow grapefruit bag and..." went to the assignment which he says was only four blocks away. Somehow, according to Rather, on return it became five blocks. Actually it was nine blocks from the Dallas Times Herald building which was Rather's headquarters for the day. It seems to us Rather used tangled logic in picking a spot to catch film from a moving vehicle. Not content with Dealey Plaza where the cars actually slowed to four miles per hour, he opted to be on the opposite side of the Dealey Plaza railroad underpass--just out of the kill area, where he knew the cars would be traveling much faster than in Dealey Plaza. The motorcade was to end the parade at the underpass and speed on out to the Trade Mart which was the luncheon site. So Rather chose his position to catch this important film, but failed to tell us if he ever got the film. Failed to tell what the film showed. Rather selected a spot which required that he catch the film from a truck which would be traveling at least forty to fifty miles per hour. He does pause to tell that the press cars were placed well back in the motorcade and that this has subsequently been changed, after the assassination, so the press buses are now close to the President. He neglects to say the vehicles in the Dallas motorcade were jumbled, somehow, from their pre-planned and pre-numbered assignments.[1] If Rather picked a puzzling location to catch the film, he chose an even stranger route back to the Times Herald Building for which he says he headed "at a full run." Then, "I topped the railroad grading a few yards away and paused long enough to shade my eyes and look for the camera truck. It was nowhere in sight." The railroad dump is twenty-five feet high and there were then five sets of railroad tracks over that underpass. It seems likely the camera truck could have passed under Rather who was getting up on the tracks. But perhaps that strange detour was not really to search for the camera truck. We feel Rather's eyewitness information dictated that he run to the railroad yards, even from the opposite side from Dealey Plaza where all the people were located. The railroad tracks behind the picket fence are where people and police ran immediately after the shots were fired. Some people were honest enough to say they found men in the railroad track area who had guns,[2] and that some of the questionable characters flashed Secret Service credentials. The Secret Service has always insisted they had no men in the railroad area. So Dan Rather waited to catch film just out of the kill area, saw the President's car rush past him, and ran where eyewitnesses told the Warren Commission the gunmen were located. These witnesses were untrained,
[CTRL] Fw: Petition for a Marine
-Caveat Lector- - Original Message - From: Dwight Lorenz To: Undisclosed-Recipient:; Sent: Monday, November 22, 2004 10:28 AM Subject: Petition for a Marine Hi,Please sign if you believe, as I do, that this Marine was doing his job in a very nasty and dangerous combat situation. He saved the lives of his fellow Marines. Put yourself in HIS shoes and ask what would I have done?Thanks for your consideration and please pass this along.http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?as123 www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substancenot soap-boxingplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Bush Renews Migrant Pledge
-Caveat Lector- We have had a "guest worker" program for decades. Legal immigrants are issued a "green card" which allows them to work legally in the U.S. Every year, thousands of Mexicans get green cards many of them crop harvesters called braceros who follow the harvesting of crops from California and Texas as far north as Michigan.There is no need and no justification to legalize immigrants who broke our laws and may be terrorists or terrorists sympathizers. Bush is following this agenda as a sop to Mexico's Vincente Fox in return for his support and influence with Latin countries in passing the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) which is at the top of Bush's stealth agenda. This is also behind the move to include Mexican workers (legal and "legalized") in our Social Security program. - JR http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-bushfox22nov22,0,2947224.story?coll=la-home-headlines Bush Renews Migrant Pledge President tells Mexican leader Vicente Fox that he plans to push ahead with a measure to give illegal immigrants guest-worker status.By Peter Wallsten and Richard BoudreauxTimes Staff WritersNovember 22, 2004SANTIAGO, Chile President Bush vowed Sunday to push a plan that would allow undocumented immigrants to remain in the United States as guest workers even though it appears less likely to win backing in a Congress that grew more conservative in this month's elections. Bush made the commitment during a half-hour meeting with Mexican President Vicente Fox in the Chilean capital, where the two leaders are attending the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference. But neither Bush nor his aides could offer any details of where the plan stood on Capitol Hill."I told President Fox that I had campaigned on this issue," Bush told reporters as he sat with Fox in the Hyatt Regency hotel in an upscale Santiago neighborhood with views of the snow-capped Andes mountains."I made it very clear, my position that we need to make sure that where there's a willing worker and a willing employer, that that job ought to be filled legally in cases where Americans will not fill that job," Bush said.The encounter brought the two neighbors full circle on the most complex and contentious issue between them. Bush and Fox began their terms within months of each other, promising reforms to ease the flow of migrants across their more than 2,000-mile border. But the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, quickly pushed immigration off a Washington agenda that came to be dominated by security concerns.On Sunday, Bush conceded a point that Fox and his aides have been making: Legalizing the flow of large numbers of immigrants would free the U.S. Border Patrol to concentrate on terrorists, drug smugglers and other security threats. "We share a mutual concern to make sure our border is secure," Bush said. "One way to make sure the border is secure is to have reasonable immigration policies." He said he was undeterred by congressional opposition and intended to change minds by "working it.""I'm going to find supporters on the Hill and move it," he told reporters Sunday night, during a news conference with Chilean President Ricardo Lagos at the presidential palace.Asked about a letter sent to him by nearly two dozen lawmakers claiming the plan amounted to an amnesty program for undocumented workers, Bush said he was unfazed."I get letters all the time from people that are trying to steer me one way or the other when it comes to legislation," the president said. "But I'm going to move forward. In the letter, I noticed that they said, well, this is because they're objecting to the program because it's an amnesty program. It's not an amnesty program; it's a worker program."A senior U.S. official, who briefed reporters on condition that his name not be used, said the Bush administration had begun "consultations up on the Hill, and this is going to be part of the president's legislative agenda for this coming session of the Congress."Bush's plan, not yet written into a bill, would be the first overhaul of immigration rules in 18 years. It would allow three-year work visas for an undetermined number of the millions of illegal immigrants living in the U.S. Guest workers could then apply for permanent legal status, but their applications would have to include letters from employers stating that the migrants were filling jobs that could not be filled by U.S. citizens.Bush announced the plan in January, when it appeared that states with heavy Latino populations Florida, Nevada, New Mexico and Arizona would be crucial to his reelection. Campaign strategists hoped that having the president back a moderate immigration policy would boost his support among a fast-growing bloc of voters.But the plan quickly came under criticism from within Bush's party. Rather than alienate his conservative Republican base, the president did not pursue the issue in Congress
[CTRL] Spy deal stalls in House rebellion
-Caveat Lector- The "spy bill" was not delayed by opposition from the Pentagon. There was a massive flow of e-mails from conservatives to their Representatives objecting to the provision in the bill that would turn drivers' licenses (which can be obtained by illegal aliens) into a national I.D. card or internal passport. "The chairman of the Sept. 11 commission, Thomas Kean, the Republican former governor of New Jersey, said the lawmakers who blocked the vote should be held accountable by the public, and he blamed senior Pentagon officials, as well" The mission of Kean's 9/11 "coverup" commission was to obfuscate and confuse the record on what actually happened on 9/11 and flack for draconian police state measures like the national I.D. card. The families of 9/11 victims, who understandably will not abide the status quo, have been enlisted to help pressure Congress into passing this bill with the attitude, "do something, even if it's wrong." JR http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/government/v-printer/story/4208853p-4000541c.html Tacoma, WA - Sunday, November 21, 2004 Back to Regular Story Page Spy deal stalls in House rebellion GOP leaders defy White House SHERYL GAY STOLBERG AND CARL HULSE; The New York TimesLast updated: November 21st, 2004 02:40 AM (PST)WASHINGTON The House approved a $388 billion spending measure and left town Saturday without completing a reorganization of the nations intelligence agencies as a post-election congressional session was drawing to a ragged close. House Republican leaders blocked and appeared to kill a bill Saturday that would have enacted the major recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission, refusing to allow a vote on the legislation despite last-minute pleas from President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney to Republican lawmakers for a compromise before Congress adjourned for the year. The decision to block a vote on the landmark bill, which would have created the job of a Cabinet-level national intelligence director to oversee the CIA and the governments other spy agencies, came after what lawmakers from both parties described as a rebellion by a core of highly conservative House Republicans aligned with the Pentagon who were emboldened to stand up to their leadership and to the White House. The bill would have forced the Pentagon, which controls an estimated 80 percent of the governments $40 billion annual intelligence budget, to cede much of its authority on intelligence issues to the new national intelligence director. What you are seeing is the forces in favor of the status quo protecting their turf, whether it is Congress or in the bureaucracy, said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the chief Senate author of the failed compromise bill, in what amounted to a slap at her Republican counterparts in the House. The chairman of the Sept. 11 commission, Thomas Kean, the Republican former governor of New Jersey, said the lawmakers who blocked the vote should be held accountable by the public, and he blamed senior Pentagon officials, as well. I think theres no question that there are people in the Pentagon who want the status quo, and they fought very hard with their allies in Congress for the status quo, Kean said. The decision to block a vote was seen by the bills proponents and others in Congress as a surprising embarrassment to the president, who had personally intervened as late as Friday night to press rebellious House Republicans to agree on an intelligence bill, and to House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois, who had signaled that he wanted the legislation and was willing to overrule the opposition from within his ranks. Lawmakers voted 344-51 to adopt the measure that encompassed nine spending bills Congress failed to pass on time before the election, but not before Democrats assailed both the contents and the process of voting on a huge piece of legislation that few had digested. The nine appropriations bills that are wrapped into this early Thanksgiving turkey should have been dealt with by the House months ago, said Rep. David Obey of Wisconsin, the senior Democrat on the Appropriations Committee. Republicans credited the bill with holding the line on spending and said its approval would allow the new Congress to start fresh when it convened in January. It is a clean bill, it is a lean bill, it is within the budget limitations set by the House and set by the president, said Rep. C.W. Bill Young (R-Fla.), the outgoing chairman of the House spending panel. The Senate approved the spending bill
[CTRL] New push to 'get U.S. out of U.N.'
-Caveat Lector- http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/printer-friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=32232 Thursday, April 24, 2003 THE NEW WORLD DISORDERNew push to 'get U.S. out of U.N.' Congressmen ask for House floor vote during time of disdain for global body Posted: April 24, 20038:30 p.m. Eastern by Cheryl K. Chumley ©2003WorldNetDaily.com A concerted effort is underway to push Congress to consider the complete withdrawal of the United States from the United Nations. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, began the drive April 16 with a letter to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's office requesting that H.R. 1146, the American Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003, be brought to the floor for a vote rather than proceed through the normal committee process. The measure, introduced by Paul March 6, requests the United States cease further participation with the United Nations including funding. Telephone calls to DeLay's office seeking comment on the request were not returned. Coinciding with Paul's formal inquiry is an effort on the part of The Liberty Committee's executive director, Kent Snyder, to garner grass-roots support for the floor vote and ultimate passage of H.R. 1146. The Liberty Committee, a caucus of congressional members committed to upholding the provisions of the Constitution during the legislative process, has posted an Internet petition for activists seeking to give nationwide voice to Paul's measure. Titled "Just 15 Minutes to Answer America's Question About the United Nations," the petition implores the House to "spend [the same] 15 minutes to answer the question an increasing number of Americans are asking" about the relevancy of the world body as it "routinely spends (on) re-naming post offices." Latest H.R 1146-related developments aside, even the most ardent defenders of the Constitution and U.S. sovereignty interests caution against an over-exuberance on the part of like-minded U.N. opponents, explaining the chances of a favorable response from DeLay's office was likely dependant upon leadership's concern for the politics of the administration. "Just because there's a lot of anti-U.N. rhetoric doesn't mean people agree with my view that we shouldn't be in it," said Paul. "The administration may be just annoyed with the United Nations and they may not want an actual vote, and that [administration tone] would put pressure on the leadership" to refrain from addressing the issue with a floor vote. Paul also referred to what has been perceived by many opposed to blanket U.S. participation in the United Nations as the mixed signals that have emanated from the administration, by way of illustrating the need to maintain a realistic view of the likelihood of ultimate H.R. 1146 passage. While Pres. Bush is largely credited by U.N. opponents as rescinding the signature of former president Bill Clinton from the International Criminal Court document and as saving the United States from Kyoto Protocol mandates, he is also criticized for allowing the nation's re-entry into UNESCO, pledging a $60 million allotment. "This [floor vote] would be good for our position and for even those who don't want to get out of the United Nations but want to tone down [the support]," Paul said. "But as far as passing H.R. 1146, I don't see that anywhere in the foreseeable future. I think the debate has been really stirred up with Iraq, but I would think a clean vote to get us out of the United Nations is not likely to come up soon." Calmer still was the reaction from bill co-sponsor Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., who maintained it would be premature to comment on any possibility of H.R. 1146 receiving a floor vote, stating simply "we would welcome any action that would begin the debate," according to his spokeswoman, Sallie Taylor. Any debate would certainly prove contentious, given the steadfast opposition of such U.N. proponents as Timothy Wirth, president of the United Nations Foundation, and Rep. Sam Farr, D-Calif., both of whom view the rally-to-vote efforts contrary to the interests of the United States. "There's absolutely no way in the world that's going to happen," Wirth said, in regard to the chances of serious congressional consideration for H.R. 1146. "This piece of legislation has been brought by Ron Paul every year over the last 20 years and it never goes anywhere." Those who support such action, Wirth continued, are so few in number as to be considered a "fringe" element. Farr, who in
[CTRL] Nations Agree to Write Off Iraq's Debt
-Caveat Lector- http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4628939,00.html Nations Agree to Write Off Iraq's Debt Sunday November 21, 2004 5:01 PM AP Photo LON136 By JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press Writer PARIS (AP) - Major economic powers agreed in principle to write off billions of dollars of debt for Iraq, officials said Sunday, with France in particular agreeing to compromise as it seeks improved ties with the United States. The deal was reached at the Paris Club of creditor nations after overnight discussions that stretched into the early hours Sunday, said a well-placed official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Russia, the one country that still needed to sign off on the deal, gave its approval after all-day talks to write off 80 percent of Iraq's debts to Paris Club nations, a U.S. official in Berlin told Dow Jones Newswires. The official said the Paris Club was expected to make an official announcement Sunday evening. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said his country would be willing in principle to write off more than half of Iraq's $8 billion debt to Moscow through the Paris Club of 19 creditor nations. Putin told President Bush in a meeting Saturday ``that he was prepared to work with the United States, the other members of the Paris Club, as we review this issue in the next hours and days,'' said a senior U.S. official. They met at a 21-nation economic summit in Chile of Pacific Rim leaders. Bush said a Paris Club agreement was close, and he ``wanted to work with the Russians so that we could get the substantial debt reduction that we're looking for - 80 percent write-off,'' said the U.S. official. A large reduction in Iraq's debts to the group would mark a significant step in U.S. efforts to put the Iraqi economy back on its feet and be a boost for Bush as he embarks on his second term. It also would represent a considerable concession from France, just as French President Jacques Chirac's government is pushing to rebuild ties with Bush's administration that were damaged by disagreements over the U.S.-led Iraq war. France opposed the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. France had long argued that slashing Iraq's Paris Club debt by more than half would be unfair to other poorer nations that also are saddled with debts but do not have the potential wealth of oil-rich Iraq. ``How would you explain to these people that ... we are going to do more for Iraq than we have done in 10 years for the 37 poorest and most indebted countries in the world?'' Chirac said in June at a summit of the Group of Eight powers that Bush hosted. Germany, another opponent of the war, also had questioned whether a country with rich oil reserves should benefit from huge debt reduction. Iraq owes about $42 billion to Paris Club members, which include the United States, Canada, Russia, Japan, European nations and Australia. Iraq owes another $80 billion to Arab governments. Iraq has said that its overall foreign debt of $122 billion is hindering postwar reconstruction. The official who briefed the AP said the proposed 80 percent reduction would be a compromise for the United States, too, because it had sought support for wiping out as much as 95 percent. Germany's Finance Minister Hans Eichel has said the proposed deal would see 30 percent of Iraq's Paris Club debt written off immediately, another 30 percent in a second stage ``tied to a program of the International Monetary Fund'' and a further 20 percent ``linked to the success of this program.'' ^--- AP White House correspondent Terence Hunt contributed to this report from Santiago, Chile. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004 www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsâis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives
[CTRL] Ruling clarifies beating law
-Caveat Lector- Judges have been given too much power. Court rules should be made by state legislatures for state judges and by the Congress for federal judges. - JR http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/crime/v-printer/story/4204879p-3998231c.html Tacoma, WA - Saturday, November 20, 2004 Back to Regular Story Page Ruling clarifies beating law State high court decision opens way for hundreds to appeal convictions KAREN HUCKS; The News TribuneLast updated: November 20th, 2004 08:00 AM (PST)Two years ago, the Washington State Supreme Court effectively overturned a decades-old state law that said if you beat someone to death even if you dont mean for the person to die its murder. In a ruling this week, the court cleared up confusion and made it clear that its 2002 decision dates back to 1976. The new ruling clears the way for at least 250 prisoners to have their sentences or convictions overturned. In a unanimous opinion, Justice Barbara Madsen said 13 men one of them from Pierce County were convicted of a crime that didnt exist. Where a defendant is convicted of a nonexistent crime, the judgment and sentence is invalid on its face, Madsen wrote in a decision in the case of Pierce County resident Jesse Hinton. The decision means anyone convicted of second-degree felony murder between 1976, when the law was written, and 2003, when lawmakers rewrote it, likely can win a new trial or sentence. Even people who have finished their sentences might be able to end their community supervision early. Defense attorneys said the ruling means many people will get sentences that better fit their crimes. Prosecutors said it meant people convicted of killings during vicious beatings could be released sooner than they deserve. The part that upsets me is the complete focus on offender rights, without considering the full impact on victims and the safety of communities, Pierce County Prosecutor Gerry Horne said. What the hell happened to victims rights? They didnt like the law so they changed it, and its not their province to change laws. David Zuckerman, one of the defense attorneys in the Hinton case, said that what this decision means is that the punishment is going to fit the crime. There are prisoners who are currently serving sentences equivalent to those of intentional murder when theyre guilty of manslaughter. Since Washington became a state, there had been laws saying someone who killed another person during an assault was guilty of murder. Before 2003, the last writing of the law was in 1976 and said the killing must have taken place in furtherance of an assault, robbery or arson. That phrase caught the Supreme Courts attention. In its 5-4 decision in October 2002, in the case of Shawn Andress of King County, the court said that assault was too closely related to murder for the killing to have been committed in furtherance of the assault. The court said 1970s lawmakers couldnt have meant the law the way it had been interpreted for decades. In 2003, lawmakers hurriedly restored the law, passing a bill that says anyone who commits an assault that results in the victims death is guilty of second-degree murder. So, people can again be convicted of second-degree felony murder. But Thursdays Supreme Court decision said the 2003 law couldnt be applied retroactively. Jim Nagle, president of the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, estimated the latest ruling could affect at least 250 cases. In Pierce County, prosecutors know of at least 10 cases in which defendants are asking higher courts to re-examine their cases in light of the change. One is Peter Lindahl, who pleaded guilty to stabbing his girlfriend, Sheri Wolf, in 2000. Others are Carissa Marie Daniels, convicted of killing her 2-month-old baby, Damon, in 2000, and Omar Shepherd, convicted in the May 2001 stomping death of Thomas Flanick near the Tacoma Dome. There could be others, deputy prosecutor Kit Proctor said. Some offenders who could ask the court to re-evaluate their cases might decide not to because they could end up with longer sentences. If someone had originally been charged with a more serious crime but pleaded guilty to second-degree felony murder, reopening the case could allow prosecutors to file the more serious charge again. Jack Hill, the head of Pierce Countys Department of Assigned Counsel, said it could be hard for some people to decide whether to petition the courts for
[CTRL] Kerry Urges Democrats To Fight Values 'Assault'
-Caveat Lector- Has Kerry been assigned the task of making Hillary look like a moderate? http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A63697-2004Nov19?language=printer washingtonpost.com Kerry Urges Democrats To Fight Values 'Assault' E-Mail to Supporters Renews Battle Against Bush By Dan BalzWashington Post Staff WriterSaturday, November 20, 2004; Page A02 Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) signaled a return to partisan warfare with President Bush yesterday in an e-mail to supporters in which he accused the administration of preparing a "right-wing assault on values and ideals" and called on Democrats to fight back against what he labeled Bush's extreme agenda. Two weeks after delivering a generous concession speech that called for a lessening of the bitter partisanship that had marked the contest with Bush, Kerry picked up where the campaign left off and demonstrated his determination to be the leader of the opposition, in spite of his defeat. "Despite the words of cooperation and moderate-sounding promises, this administration is planning a right-wing assault on values and ideals we hold most deeply," Kerry said in the message that was sent to about 3 million supporters who had signed up on the Kerry Web site during the campaign. Kerry accused Bush of moving to eliminate debate and dissent from the State Department and CIA. He also charged that Bush's Cabinet was being remade "to rubber stamp policies that will undermine Social Security, balloon the deficit, avoid real reforms in health care and education, weaken homeland security and walk away from critical allies around the world." The senator from Massachusetts promised to introduce legislation to provide health care to every child -- a scaled-back version of his campaign plan for expanded access to health care coverage -- when the Senate convenes next year. He asked supporters to sign a pledge to help him in his quest to pass the legislation in a body firmly in the Republicans' control. The e-mail message represented a call to arms to Democrats. At a time when many Democrats are looking inward to examine the reasons for Bush's victory and to take stock of what they need to do to make their time in the political wilderness as short as possible, Kerry said Democrats should in no way give Bush a pass at the beginning of his second term. "This is not a time for Democrats to retreat and accommodate extremists on critical principles," he wrote. "It is a time to stand firm." Kerry's decision to challenge Bush so directly suggested that he hopes to return to the Senate as a much more aggressive and forceful legislator than he was in the years before he ran for president. By staking out health care as the first issue on his post-election agenda, Kerry showed he is also willing to tread on turf long claimed by other Democrats, particularly Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts's senior senator, in whose shadow Kerry has spent his entire Senate career. Kerry's message brought a quick end to the feel-good rhetoric that echoed from ceremonies marking the opening of former president Bill Clinton's library in Little Rock on Thursday. There, Bush and Clinton, along with former presidents Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush, shared praise of one another and offered up the symbolism of national unity and bipartisan cooperation. Kerry's campaign-style rhetoric also was a jarring contrast to his concession speech on the afternoon after the election, when he told his despondent supporters that, in a congratulatory telephone call to the president, the two rivals had talked about "the desperate need for unity and finding the common ground, coming together." Yesterday he told supporters that the Bush administration is hoping the opposition will disappear now that the election is over and said his message marks "the beginning of a second-term effort to hold the Bush administration accountable." Stephanie Cutter, who was Kerry's campaign communications director, said that, Kerry's concession speech notwithstanding, it is up to Bush to demonstrate his willingness to govern in a way that begins to unify the country. "I think the nation has lived through four years of divisive policies and politics, and the president has a lot to prove to the American people that he wants to reach across party lines and do what's best for the country," she said. "John Kerry's making clear that, although he is ready to work together on strengthening America, he is not going to sacrifice what's important, like affordable and accessible health care." Kerry noted that, while it is customary for a senator to seek a co-sponsor for legislation of the type he said he plans to introduce next year, he is reaching first to his base of Internet supporters for assistance. That was an indication that Kerry hopes to keep those supporters bound together behind him and his causes as he seeks to avoid the fate of other losing presidential candidates, whose
[CTRL] Air Force cracks down on Christian 'coercion'
-Caveat Lector- How early Bush deserts his (captive) base. - JR http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/printer-friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=41569 Sunday, November 21, 2004 FAITH UNDER FIREAir Force cracks downon Christian 'coercion'Academy tells cadets not to use Bible quotes, sharing faith may be intolerant Posted: November 21, 20041:00 a.m. Eastern ©2004WorldNetDaily.com In a move that echoes the recent decision of the U.S. Department of Defense to deny Boy Scouts use of military facilities, the U.S. Air Force Academy is warning Christian cadets to curb their faith. Officials at the Colorado Springs military college have instituted a new training program, Respecting the Spiritual Values of People, to teach the cadets, 90% of whom are from Protestant or Catholic backgrounds, tolerance toward non-Christians. The program follows an August survey that found complaints of religious bias. Lt. Gen. John Rosa, academy superintendent, gave the results of the survey to the school's Board of Visitors this past week. He said the survey showed pressure toward cadets based on their beliefs, and that half of the survey's respondents said they had heard religious slurs, comments or jokes while at the academy. "Some students had a feeling that 'If I'm not a Christian, I feel like I'm having Christianity crammed down my throat,"' Rosa said. Rosa cited Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" as an example of the problem being caused by Christians at the academy. When the film was playing locally, some cadets emailed members of their squadron suggesting they see it as a group. "People felt they were being coerced," Rosa says Thirty percent of the survey's non-Christian respondents believe Christian cadets receive preferential treatment a perception shared by only 10 percent of Christian respondents. More than half of the non-Christian participants indicated they had "not felt pressure to be involved in religion." The Air Force Academy came under fire early last year when allegations of sexual assault against female cadets were aired. Over 65 cadets said they had reported incidents, but their allegations were ignored and, in some cases, resulted in retaliation. General Rosa was installed as the new superintendent to make changes in the way female cadets were treated. The August survey found those reporting racial or sexually harassing jokes down from 90 percent to 56 percent. Now, cadets who are overzealous about religion are being targeted for transformation. Academy officials warned cadets this week against including Bible quotations at the bottom of their academy email messages, reported the Associated Press. "None of this (Bible or personal signature notes) is appropriate, and it says this in Air Force instructions," said Lt. Col. Laurent Fox, referring to a school-wide memo sent in September clarifying policies for using a government email account. At the Nov. 2 kickoff for the Respecting the Spiritual Values of People program, cadets were advised by head chaplain Michael Whittington to not hold Bible studies in their dormitories, but he was overruled by Commandant Brig. Gen. Johnny Weida. "Nobody really knows what the rules are," a source told the Colorado Springs Gazette. "Chaplain Whittington seems to understand this is a constitutional issue. No one else does. Discrimination against non-Christian cadets continues." A spokesperson for Rep. Joel Hefley, who represents Colorado Springs, supported the Bible studies and told the Gazette, "The motto of the nation cadets are trained to defend is 'In God We Trust'. They are serving under a flag that we pledge allegiance to under God. Religion does have a place at the academy." Longtime football coach Fisher DeBerry, who has said in 2000 he keeps a Bible in his office and prays with players, was told to take down a locker room banner that carried the "Competitor's Creed": "I am a Christian first and last. ... I am a member of Team Jesus Christ." He had hoisted the banner earlier in the week, he says, "as a motivation for his football players." The Denver Post reports academy officials have also removed a long-running ad from the academy's base newspaper, signed by hundreds of staff members and their families, that read, "We believe that Jesus Christ is the only real hope for the World." "We're getting rid of it because it could be construed as proselytizing and divisive," Col. Fox said. Gen. Rosa notes that cadets are
[CTRL] Vioxx Pain Could Spread to Medco
-Caveat Lector- This is obviously is what Merck had in mind when it spun MEDCO off as a separate entity essentially owned by Merck shareholders.At least there are hundreds of other PBM's to replace MEDCO. If this were a government program consumers (including honest pharmacists and pharmacies)would have nowhere to go when the inevitable corruption set in. - JR http://www.thestreet.com/pf/stocks/melissadavid/10195259.html Melissa DavisVioxx Pain Could Spread to MedcoBy Melissa DavisSenior Writer11/19/2004 7:21 AM ESTURL: http://www.thestreet.com/stocks/melissadavid/10195259.html Merck's (MRK:NYSE) withdrawn painkiller, Vioxx, could soon leave pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) Medco (MHS:NYSE) with its own headaches. Government officials have already accused Medco -- a former Merck subsidiary that was spun off to shareholders in August of 2003 -- of improperly favoring Merck brands like Vioxx and Zocor, a cholesterol treatment. They claim that Medco often switched patients from cheaper and potentially more appropriate drugs to Merck brands that generated lucrative rebates for the PBM. And they clearly suggest that Medco may have placed customers at risk in the process. "The primary reason Medco Health switches drugs is to enhance its revenue regardless of health plan costs -- or of any potential adverse or life-threatening clinical outcomes to patients associated with the switch," states a pending federal lawsuit against the company. Medco has denied the government's allegations. Moreover, prosecutors have never singled out Vioxx as a potentially unsafe drug. They filed their whistleblower complaint well before Merck decided this fall to pull Vioxx, following a study showing that the drug increased the risk of heart attacks and strokes in some patients. Still, concerns about Vioxx have been floating around for years. And Medco was still part of Merck for much of that time. "Did Medco know what Merck knew?" asks Mark Kleiman, a California lawyer who is monitoring the federal case against Medco. "I don't know. ... [But] there is a lot of evidence that Merck and Medco worked hand in glove." For its part, Merck claims that it withdrew Vioxx as soon as it realized its dangers. Meanwhile, Medco notes that it was hardly alone in distributing the popular painkiller. "Vioxx was a medicine that was on the preferred formularies of literally scores of PBMs and health care companies," says Medco spokeswoman Ann Smith. "Medco dispenses [Food and Drug Administration] -approved medications prescribed by physicians -- and we are very accurate and efficient at what we do." Smith's comments came on the same day that the FDA fielded harsh criticism from one of its own. David Graham, a veteran executive at the agency, warned Thursday about the agency's lax handling of the pharmaceutical industry -- and of Vioxx risks in particular -- during a special Senate hearing. "I would argue the FDA, as currently configured, is incapable of protecting America against another Vioxx," he stated. "We are virtually defenseless." Merck's stock slid 19 cents to $28.88 on Thursday, while Medco fell 49 cents to $38.47. Daring Duo Critics have raised concerns about both companies since they originally joined forces more than a decade ago. In a groundbreaking deal for the industry, Merck agreed in 1993 to pay $6 billion for Medco so that Merck could distribute -- as well as manufacture -- prescription medications. Drug analysts applauded the deal. But some PBM insiders immediately warned of conflicts. "You could have a situation where Medco becomes a warehouse full of Merck products," Henry Blissenbach, president of competing Diversified Pharmaceutical Services, told the Wall Street Journal upon news of the deal. Blissenbach went on to question whether Medco would evolve into "just a distribution arm" of Merck. Whistleblower lawsuits, focused in part on Medco's relationship with Merck, eventually followed. Under fire, the two companies finally parted ways last year. But their separation agreement came with strings attached. "Under the terms of the IPO," Business Week reported in mid-2002, "if Medco doesn't sell enough Merck products through the benefits plans it manages, it will have to pay the drug maker damages." By then, it seems, Medco was more accustomed to collecting money from Merck and other drug manufactures instead. During the late 1990s, the PBM scored more than $3 billion in manufacturer rebates for promoting certain drugs, according to court documents cited by The New York Times before last year's spinoff. The company "promoted Merck's own drugs especially vigorously," the Times documents stated. It favored, among others, "the Vioxx analgesic of Merck ahead of Celebrex from Pharmacia," the documents added. Celebrex, a Pfizer (PFE:NYSE) drug that chemically resembles Vioxx, hasn't been linked to serious cardiac risks. Scary Tune In June 2003, two
[CTRL] Prince's blast at people who get above their station
-Caveat Lector- The "sustainable Prince" with an elitist attitude. - JR http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=520id=1327732004 print close Thu 18 Nov 2004 show images Elaine Day claims that she was forced out of her job.Picture: Michael Stephens/PAPrince's blast at people who get above their station KAREN MCVEIGH Key points Hereditary heir to British throne criticises those with 'ideas above their station' Such as former secretary, who is claiming unfair dismissal and sexual discrimination More unwelcome ructions from Clarence House for MonarchyKey quote"People think they can all be pop stars, high court judges, brilliant TV personalities or infinitely more competent heads of state without ever putting in the necessary work or having natural ability. This is the result of social utopianism which believes humanity can be genetically and socially engineered to contradict the lessons of history." - Prince CharlesStory in full PRINCE Charless latest pronouncement on British society - that its schools are imbued with a culture of "social utopianism" responsible for people getting ideas above their station - was laid bare at an employment tribunal yesterday. In a scathing memo, written to a third party in response to a request from a former Clarence House secretary for more training at work, Charles complained that young people nowadays think they can be pop stars, high court judges or even heads of state without putting in the work or having the "natural ability". The secretary in question, Elaine Day, was described in the memo by Charles as "so PC it frightens me rigid". Ms Day, who is claiming sex discrimination and unfair dismissal against the princes household, described it as "hierarchical and elitist", an institution run in an "Edwardian fashion" where everyone knew their place and those who did not were punished. A personal assistant to private secretaries at Clarence House for five years, Ms Day told the tribunal she was forced out earlier this year because she "rocked the boat at the palace". She said she was left "isolated and humiliated" after complaining about sexual harassment from her boss, assistant private secretary Paul Kefford. Clarence House has said it will "vigorously" contest the case, which is being heard in Croydon, south London, and is expected to last three days. The memo was written by the prince in response to a suggestion by Ms Day that personal assistants with university degrees should be given the opportunity to train to become private secretaries, the hearing was told. In the memo, the prince wrote: "What is wrong with everyone nowadays? "Why do they all seem to think they are qualified to do things far beyond their technical capabilities? "This is to do with the learning culture in schools as a consequence of a child-centred system which admits no failure. "People think they can all be pop stars, high court judges, brilliant TV personalities or infinitely more competent heads of state without ever putting in the necessary work or having natural ability. "This is the result of social utopianism which believes humanity can be genetically and socially engineered to contradict the lessons of history." The memo concludes: "What on earth am I to tell Elaine? She is so PC it frightens me rigid." The note, dated March 2003, was a response to a suggestion made by Ms Day to Mr Kefford. Ruth Downing, counsel for Ms Day, asked her what she understood it to mean. "I completely felt that people could not rise above their station," Ms Day replied. The secretary, from Belvedere, Kent, said a campaign of discrimination had been launched against her in an attempt to "remind her of her place" at Clarence House. Ms Day claimed the problems started after her former boss, Mark Bolland, then the princes deputy private secretary, left in August 2002 and she began working under Mr Kefford. She said that she felt "uncomfortable" as soon as she started working for Mr Kefford. "He would approach me from behind at the photocopier and put his hand on my back and rub it, He would also touch my arm and shoulders and that made me feel uneasy." She told the tribunal she was one of three female members of staff who were sexually harassed by the princes assistant private secretary. After an event in August 2002,
[CTRL] Genocide out of control yet still the UN refuses to act
-Caveat Lector- Get US out (of the UN) and the UN out of the U.S. - JR http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1326812004 print close Thu 18 Nov 2004 show images A Sudanese girl cradles her baby sister outside their hut in a refugee camp at Krinding, near the Chad border. Picture: Getty ImagesGenocide out of control yet still the UN refuses to act GETHIN CHAMBERLAIN Key points 35,000 die since UN first warned Sudanese government over its genocidal policy Situation in Darfur 'spiralling out of control' Critics say UN has failed to grasp urgency of situation in DarfurKey quote"Unless the Security Council backs up its earlier ultimatums with strong action, ethnic cleansing in Darfur will be consolidated. And hundreds of UN personnel will be on the ground helplessly watching as it happens." - Peter Takirambudde of Human Rights Watchs Africa divisionStory in full THE price of the United Nations procrastination over the genocide in Sudan is revealed today in stark human terms: 35,000 further deaths since the UN Security Council first warned Khartoum to clean up its act. As the 15-strong Security Council meets in special session in Nairobi today to debate Sudan, the crisis in Darfur is worse than on 30 July when the first resolution was approved by 13 votes to nil. Every five minutes, another person dies. UN staff say the Khartoum governments armed forces have continued to attack their own people. Refugees have been beaten while UN workers stand by helplessly. Women and children have been gunned down in Darfurs marketplaces. The worlds worst current humanitarian crisis is getting worse. The death toll has been notoriously difficult to tally, thanks, in large part, to the obstructiveness of the Sudanese government. A figure of 70,000 deaths has been mooted, but aid workers say that simply accounts for deaths as a result of military action. Yesterday, the British aid agency Save the Children took the plunge: its spokesman, Paul Hetherington, estimated that between 200,000 and 300,000 people had died since the start of the Darfur conflict. According to the UNs World Food Programme, about 10,000 people are dying every month. Since 13 May, when Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary General, wrote to Omer al-Bashir, Sudans president, urging him to disarm the Janjaweed militias, maintain the ceasefire, improve access for humanitarian workers and negotiate a settlement to the conflict in Darfur, 61,500 have died. Since 30 June, when Mr Annan arrived in Khartoum for the start of a three-day visit to see for himself the extent of the crisis, 46,000 people have died. Since 30 July, when the UN Security Council voted to take action against Sudan if it did not make progress on the pledges it had made to relieve the situation in Darfur, 36,000 people have died. Since 6 October, when Tony Blair stopped off in Khartoum and confidently announced he had secured a pledge from the Sudanese government to clean up its act and accept a five-point plan for action, including a force of several thousand African Union troops, 14,000 people have died. The situation in Darfur is spiralling out of control. Jan Pronk, Mr Annans special representative on Sudan, has warned the Security Council that the Khartoum government is losing control of its own forces and the Janjaweed militias that it used to do its dirty work. "It co-opted paramilitary forces and now it cannot count on their obedience," he said. "The border lines between the military, the paramilitary and the police are being blurred." Aid agencies say the UN must act swiftly and decisively if it is to halt the killing and turn around a situation that is slipping from its grasp. They also warn that the Sudanese government is continuing to defy the will of the UN. "The Sudanese government continues to terrorise its own citizens even in the face of the UN Security Council arriving in Africa," said Peter Takirambudde, the executive director of Human Rights Watchs Africa division. "Unless the Security Council backs up its earlier ultimatums with strong action, ethnic cleansing in Darfur will be consolidated. And hundreds of UN personnel will be on the ground helplessly watching as it happens." However, the chances of the Security Council taking decisive action against Sudan over the Darfur crisis are
[CTRL] Congress Told FDA Failed Public on Vioxx
-Caveat Lector- http://www.reuters.com/financeNewsArticle.jhtml?type=businessNewsstoryID=6857956 Print this article Close This Window Congress Told FDA Failed Public on VioxxThu Nov 18, 2004 02:37 PM ET By Lisa Richwine WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration failed the public in its oversight of Merck Co Inc.'s (MRK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) withdrawn painkiller Vioxx and is "incapable of protecting America" from another dangerous drug, an agency researcher told Congress on Thursday. David Graham, an FDA scientist who had warned about the heart risks of Vioxx, called the FDA's actions "a profound regulatory failure." Concerns about a possible link between Vioxx and heart problems were building during the drug's more than four years on the market. The FDA required a warning about heart risks but felt the drug's benefits made it worth keeping on the market. Merck Chief Executive Raymond Gilmartin said the company had believed wholeheartedly in Vioxx and had followed a rigorous scientific procedure every step of the way. "In fact, my wife was taking Vioxx, using Vioxx, up until the day we withdrew it from the market," Gilmartin told the Senate Finance Committee. Merck withdrew Vioxx, which was taken by millions of Americans, on Sept. 30 after a study showed the drug doubled heart attack and stroke risk. "I would argue the FDA as currently configured is incapable of protecting America against another Vioxx. We are virtually defenseless," said Graham, associate director for science in the FDA's Office of Drug Safety. Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, said he was concerned the FDA had a "far too cozy" relationship with drug companies and suggested an independent office of drug safety might be needed. Dr. Sandra Kweder, deputy director of the FDA's Office of New Drugs, said the agency "worked actively and vigorously with Merck to inform public health professionals of what was known regarding (cardiovascular risk) with Vioxx and to pursue further definitive investigations." Kweder also declined to fault Merck: "I believe that Merck acted responsibly once the problem was recognized." Graham told the committee he felt pressured by supervisors to water down his findings from a study of patient insurance records that Vioxx users had a 50 percent greater chance of heart attack and sudden cardiac death than people who took Pfizer Inc.'s (PFE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) rival medicine Celebrex. Graham named five medicines currently on the market that he believes need closer scrutiny for safety: Abbott Laboratories Inc.'s (ABT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) weight-loss drug Meridia, AstraZeneca Plc's (AZN.L: Quote, Profile, Research) cholesterol-lowering drug Crestor, Pfizer Inc.'s (PFE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) painkiller Bextra, Roche's (ROG.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) acne drug Accutane, and GlaxoSmithKline Plc's (GSK.L: Quote, Profile, Research) asthma drug Serevent. Kweder disagreed. "I do not have reason to believe that set of five drugs is specifically more concerning," she said. In a statement on Wednesday, acting FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford said Graham had violated long-standing procedures for publishing scientific findings when he submitted his research to a medical journal without FDA clearance. Grassley said Crawford's statement appeared intended to intimidate a witness on the eve of a hearing. Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican, urged fellow senators to keep an open mind, saying, "Today some are trying to punish one drug company for acting appropriately within the framework of our regulatory system." But Grassley said Vioxx was the second example this year of the FDA not respecting its own scientists. Another FDA reviewer, Dr. Andrew Mosholder, had warned that antidepressants were linked to suicidal behavior in pediatric patients, but supervisors initially kept him from making those views public. "Now we have scientists in this particular (Vioxx) case who are being harassed within the agency because of sticking to their own science," Grassley said. He also faulted Merck for aggressively marketing Vioxx for nearly two years between submitting results of a trial to the FDA in June of 2000 showing a higher incidence of cardiac problems with Vioxx, and the FDA approving a new label detailing those risks in April 2002.
[CTRL] TSA's Screener Partnership Program Ready For Airport Applicants
-Caveat Lector- Who will be held accountable? - JR http://www.tsa.gov/public/display?theme=44content=09000519800e0a74print=yes Print TSA's Screener Partnership Program Ready For Airport Applicants U. S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Transportation Security Administration FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - November 16, 2004TSA Press Office: (571) 227-2829 Facilities Seeking to Participate in the Program May Apply Starting November 19 The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) today announced that the agency is ready to accept applications from commercial airports that wish to participate in the Screening Partnership Program (SPP). This option will allow participants to choose security screeners employed by qualified private companies while maintaining TSA standards and government oversight. Under the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA), which created TSA in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, November 19, 2004 is the first day airports may apply to join the program. TSA assumed responsibility for aviation security in February 2002 and hired a federal work force to screen all passengers and baggage by the end of that year except at five airports that were allowed to have contract screeners under a pilot program. ATSA allows airport operators to apply to have screening performed by a contractor with federal oversight after the pilot program expires on November 18, 2004. This is an important local decision and were ready to work with any airport that prefers to have contractor screeners, said Rear Adm. David M. Stone, USN (Ret.), Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for TSA. An important objective is maintaining the same high level of security at any airport that seeks to opt-out of federal screening, and TSA is prepared to make that guarantee. Information on SPP, including the application, program guidance and frequently asked questions, can be obtained on TSAs Web site, www.tsa.gov under Spotlight. No deadline has been set for filing applications in order to provide airports maximum flexibility. The final decision on whether an airport is approved for the program rests with TSA. Airports that enter the program are not expected to begin making the transition to contract screeners before May 2005. Under the SPP, federal security directors (FSDs) and their staffs will continue to be responsible for security at the airport. An FSDs mission is to ensure security regardless of whether screening is done by contract or federal screeners. TSA is currently developing a list of qualified screening companies that may offer proposals to provide screening at individual airports. To qualify, companies must show financial capability and meet ATSA and other federal requirements that include providing screening services and protection equal to or greater than the federal government delivers and being owned and controlled by a U.S. citizen. TSA will ensure that screening companies meet federal standards. When an airport applies to the program, TSA will solicit proposals from qualified companies. Those proposals will be evaluated by TSA using these criteria: business management, technical merit, past performance and cost. We will start with a set of requirements and criteria that must be met, said Admiral Stone. Then, SPP operational plans will be tailored to meet specific needs of individual airports since each one is unique. At the request of the original five pilot airports, their screening contractors will continue to do screening for at least another year until those contracts can be competitively bid under the new Screening Partnership procedures. An evaluation earlier this year concluded there was little difference in the performance or cost of the private and federal screening forces. Private companies are screening at airports in San Francisco, Kansas City, Mo., Rochester, N.Y., Tupelo, Miss., and Jackson, Wyo. Admiral Stone noted that some airport officials have expressed concern about federal
[CTRL] TV Reporter May Be Jailed for Refusing to Disclose Source
-Caveat Lector- http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/18/business/media/19reportercnd.html?oref=loginpagewanted=printposition= November 18, 2004 TV Reporter May Be Jailed for Refusing to Disclose SourceBy PAM BELLUCK ROVIDENCE, R.I., Nov. 18 - A television reporter here was convicted of criminal contempt today for refusing to disclose who leaked him a Federal Bureau of Investigation videotape concerning an investigation of government corruption in Providence. Jim Taricani, a longtime investigative reporter for WJAR, the NBC affiliate in Providence, faces the possibility of up to six months in prison when he is sentenced on Dec. 9. Mr. Taricani would be one of only a handful of journalists to go to prison for refusing to identify the source of a news report. And his case is considered a bellwether because he is one of several reporters currently being investigated in connection with leaks of confidential information. The other cases involve, among others, a Central Intelligence Agency operative, Valerie Plame, and a government nuclear physicist, Wen Ho Lee. Mr. Taricani's case is the first of those cases to go to trial on criminal contempt charges. In the aftermath of his conviction, Senator Christopher Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, is hoping in the next few days to introduce a bill that will call for a national shield law, according to a spokesman for the senator, Marvin Fast. Shield laws, which are on the books in 31 states, protect journalists from having to disclose their confidential sources. "When I became a reporter 30 years ago, I never imagined that I would be put on trial and face the prospect of going to jail simply for doing my job," Mr. Taricani said outside the courthouse after Judge Ernest C. Torres, chief judge in the federal district court in Providence, pronounced him guilty. Mr. Taricani, a gray-haired 55-year-old who has won several awards, including four Emmy awards, added: "I wish all my sources could be on the record, but when people are afraid, a promise of confidentiality may be the only way to get the information to the public, and in some cases, to protect the well-being of the source. I made a promise to my source, which I intend to keep." Mr. Taricani, who had two heart attacks 18 years ago and received a heart transplant in 1996, said his major concern about the possibility of going to jail was whether his health could withstand imprisonment. But Judge Torres exhibited little sympathy for Mr. Taricani's condition. The judge said that while he was aware that Mr. Taricani "requires special care," he said that he was also aware that Mr. Taricani "has continued to live a very active life" and had "traveled abroad recently." Judge Torres said that there were prison hospitals that had "successfully managed the needs of heart transplant patients." Mr. Taricani was convicted in connection with a long-running federal investigation called Operation Plunderdome, which resulted in the conviction of at least nine city officials, including Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr., who was sentenced to 64 months for racketeering conspiracy and is currently in prison in Fort Dix, N.J. Mr. Cianci's top aide, Frank E. Corrente, was also convicted on corruption and racketeering charges, in part for taking a $1,000 bribe from a businessman who was acting as an F.B.I. informant and was secretly videotaping his transaction with Mr. Corrente. Someone gave Mr. Taricani a copy of that videotape, and his station broadcast it in February 2001, prompting Judge Torres to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate who leaked the tape to Mr. Taricani. After the prosecutor interviewed a number of people, all of whom denied they were the source, Judge Torres found Mr. Taricani in civil contempt in March. When that finding was upheld by an appeals court, Mr. Taricani was fined $1,000 for each day he continued to refuse to name his source. Two weeks ago, after Mr. Taricani had paid $85,000, for which he was reimbursed by his employer, Judge Torres said he was changing the civil contempt case into a criminal contempt case. Today, Judge Torres was stern and declarative. "The evidence," he said "is clear and overwhelming and undisputed." Copyright 2004The New York Times Company | Home | Privacy Policy | Search | Corrections | RSS | Help | Back to Top www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not
[CTRL] Public 'Defenseless' Against Unsafe Drugs
-Caveat Lector- http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/health/AP-Vioxx-Safety.html?pagewanted=printposition= November 18, 2004 Public 'Defenseless' Against Unsafe DrugsBy THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 11:11 p.m. ET WASHINGTON (AP) -- At least five medications now sold to consumers pose such risks that their sale should be limited or stopped, said a government drug reviewer who raised safety questions earlier about the arthritis drug Vioxx. In testimony Thursday before the Senate Finance Committee, Food and Drug Administration reviewer David Graham cited Meridia, Crestor, Accutane, Bextra and Serevent. Drug makers defended the use and safety of their products. Graham contended the country is ``virtually defenseless'' against a repeat of the Vioxx debacle. Dr. Steven Galson of the FDA rejected that comment as having ``no basis in fact.'' Merck Co. pulled Vioxx from the market on Sept. 30 after a study indicated the popular painkiller doubled the risk of heart attacks and stroke when taken for longer than 18 months. The committee chairman, Sen. Charles Grassley, suggested an independent board of drug safety may be needed to ensure the safety of medications after FDA approval. An ``awful lot of red flags'' were raised before Vioxx was withdrawn, said Grassley, R-Iowa., and the agency disdained, rather than listened to, its own reviewers. Graham contended that FDA has an inherent conflict of interest that triggers ``denial, rejection and heat'' when safety questions emerge about products it has approved. In his view, the five most worrisome drugs that demand speedy action: --Meridia, a weight-loss drug. He said the agency should consider whether its benefits outweigh the risks of higher blood pressure and stroke among people taking it. ``I don't think Meridia passes that test,'' Graham said. --Crestor, an anti-cholesterol drug. He said the government should evaluate the occurrence of renal failure and other serious side effects among people taking Crestor. Two of three other statin competitors prevent heart attack and stroke and do not cause renal failure, he said. --Accutane, an acne drug linked to birth defects. Graham said the drug represents a 20-year ``regulatory failure'' by the FDA and sales should be restricted immediately. --Bextra, a painkiller. Graham said the drug poses the same heart attack and stroke risk as Vioxx. He recommended designing studies to look at the drug's cardiovascular risks. --Serevent, an asthma treatment. He said the drug was shown, with 90 percent certainty in a long-term trial in England, to cause deaths due to asthma. GlaxoSmithKline, told by the FDA to do a large, clinical trial, begged off. ``We've got case reports of people dying, clutching their Serevent inhaler,'' Graham said. ``But Serevent is still on the market.'' Galson, acting director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said the agency already has taken steps to alert consumers to those drugs' safety concerns. That includes heightened warnings for Serevent; a tougher risk-management plan to ensure pregnant women don't use Accutane; and an upcoming advisory committee hearing regarding Bextra. ``Each of these do have special safety issues, but they're under evaluation and we're watching them carefully,'' Galson said. Tim Lindberg, a spokesman for Abbott Laboratories, said ``science continues to support the safe use of Meridia to treat obesity.'' AstraZeneca PLC, maker of Crestor, has confidence in the drug, spokeswoman Emily Denney said. ``To date, the FDA has not given us any indication of a major concern regarding Crestor,'' she said. Carolyn Glynn, spokeswoman for Roche Holdings AG, a maker of Accutane, acknowledged that the drug carries risk and said it is reserved for serious cases. ``This drug is extremely beneficial as long as it's used safely and appropriately,'' she said. Susan Bro, a Pfizer spokeswoman, said Bextra did not increase the risk of serious cardiovascular events in a recent analysis of nearly 8,000 arthritis patients who took the drug from six weeks to 52 weeks. She said Bextra has been found to be safe and effective when used as indicated. GlaxoSmithKline, maker of Serevent, issued a similar statement about its product. In his testimony, Graham said the FDA's Office of New Drugs unrealistically maintains a drug is safe unless reviewers establish with 95 percent certainty that it is not. That rule does not protect consumers,
[CTRL] Kerry Lost, But 'Scandal of Pro-Abortion Catholics' Continues,
-Caveat Lector- http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPrint.asp?Page=\Culture\archive\200411\CUL20041116b.html Kerry Lost, But 'Scandal of Pro-Abortion Catholics' Continues, Group SaysBy Susan JonesCNSNews.com Morning EditorNovember 16, 2004(CNSNews.com) - Sen. John F. Kerry lost the presidential election, but one of the controversies he inspired lives on. The American Life League published an ad in Tuesday's Washington Times, warning Catholics that "the scandal of pro-abortion Catholic public figures continues." Under a photograph of Sen. Kerry, the ad reads, "Even a loser's soul is worth saving." The text reminds Catholics that under Canon Law 915, "pro-abortion 'Catholics' like John Kerry must NOT be allowed to receive Holy Communion."The ad also notes that during this year's presidential campaign, only 10 of America's 186 Catholic bishops were "bold enough to warn Mr. Kerry that he would be denied the Eucharist in their dioceses."The ad's target audience is the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which is meeting this week in Washington."Now that the election is over, we pray [the bishops'] number one priority will be counseling and instructing John Kerry and the 69 other pro-abortion 'Catholic' politicians in Congress who scoff at God and scorn His Church-that if they obstinately persist in their support for abortion, they will be denied the body and blood of Christ in Holy Communion," the ad says."All American babies will be protected from abortion when the Eucharist is protected by all American bishops," the ad concludes. The tag line says, "You can't be Catholic and pro-abortion."In a press release announcing the ad, American Life League President Judie Brown said the issue will not vanish with Kerry's defeat: "The problem is not going away until all of the bishops in the country actively enforce the Church's clear teachings on this matter," Brown said.The American Life League's Crusade for the Defense of Our Catholic Church says its two-year campaign targeting pro-abortion 'Catholics' will continue -- "until all U.S. bishops uphold Church teachings.""The Catholic bishops are bound, by their vocation, to teach and defend the faith," said Brown. "This campaign has absolutely nothing to do with politics and everything to do with the clear and simple Catholic teaching that you cannot be both Catholic and pro-abortion." www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
Re: [CTRL] Rabbis Goal: The Kingdom of Israel
-Caveat Lector- If you think it's crap why do you forward it? JR - Original Message - From: iNFoWaRZ To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2004 1:51 AM Subject: Re: [CTRL] Rabbis Goal: The Kingdom of Israel -Caveat Lector-nobody cares what you think.take it up with the rabbis who wrote the crap.At 01:44 AM 11/17/2004, you wrote:I think you have a serious problem.JRwww.ctrl.orgDECLARATION DISCLAIMER==CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandicscreeds are unwelcomed. Substanceâ?"not soap-boxingâ?"please! These aresordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'â?"with its many half-truths, mis-directions and outright fraudsâ?"is used politically by different groups withmajor and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought.That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, andalways suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives nocredence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.Archives Available at:http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/A HREF="">ctrlhttp://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/"ctrl/ATo subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]Om www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsâis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
Re: [CTRL] Rabbis Goal: The Kingdom of Israel
-Caveat Lector- Here is what you get using the "link" in the article. "Temporary file not found. Display failed" My source is not an article but the government data base of public laws. JR - Original Message - From: iNFoWaRZ To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2004 1:59 AM Subject: Re: [CTRL] Rabbis Goal: The Kingdom of Israel -Caveat Lector- Apparently you didn't even read the source you quoted, because the article I posted was correct and your links confirm it.http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c102:4:./temp/~c102PaaJAu::Your m.o. Seems to be to step on your own feet.At 01:44 AM 11/17/2004, you wrote: Your m.o. seems to be making things up, then attributing them to someone knowing that most people won't check them out.The reference below to Public Law 102-14 is a good example. Here is what PL 105-14 really is.. H.J.RES.104 : To designate March 26, 1991, as "Education Day, U.S.A.".Sponsor: Rep Michel, Robert H. [IL-18] (introduced 1/31/1991) Cosponsors (225) Committees: House Post Office and Civil Service Latest Major Action: 3/20/1991 Became Public Law No: 102-14.www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
Re: [CTRL] Rabbis Goal: The Kingdom of Israel
-Caveat Lector- Your m.o. seems to be making things up, then attributing them to someone knowing that most people won't check them out. The reference below to Public Law 102-14 is a good example. Here is what PL 105-14 really is. . H.J.RES.104 : To designate March 26, 1991, as "Education Day, U.S.A.".Sponsor: Rep Michel, Robert H. [IL-18] (introduced 1/31/1991) Cosponsors (225) Committees: House Post Office and Civil Service Latest Major Action: 3/20/1991 Became Public Law No: 102-14. I think you have a serious problem. JR - Original Message - From: iNFoWaRZ To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2004 12:42 AM Subject: [CTRL] Rabbis Goal: The Kingdom of Israel -Caveat Lector- ...And America has secured the Israeli's Biblical Eastern Border on the Euphrates, in Iraq.War in Syria and Egypt is forthcoming. Fighting terrorism will be the excuse.Doubt it not.To The Conspiracy Theory Born By Arnaud de BorchgraveFirst Published October 18, 200411-16-4Excerpts: The Committee of Rabbis in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, writes, "Everyone who has faith in his heart ... will not countenance betrayal of the divine promise of the Jewish people." Professor Hillel Weiss, said Ma'ariv, spelled out what this meant: "The purpose of the armed struggle is to establish a Jewish state in all the territory that will be captured, from the River Euphrates [in Iraq] to the Egyptian River [Nile]." For good measure, Rabbi Haim Steinitz, writing on behalf of the rabbis of the Beit El settlement, explained, "In general, the Euphrates and the Nile are the main points of reference, as well as the Mediterranean and the Red Sea." That takes care of the western border. There is some dispute about the eastern border. Most West Bank rabbis say the Kingdom of Israel "should rest on the upper Syrian stretch of the Euphrates. Others, wrote Ma'ariv, "take a broader view with a border that runs down to the mouth of the Persian Gulf." One rabbi calls for the military conquest of all Arab countries. Even this was not enough for Rabbi Zelman Melamed, who wrote: "It is not impossible that the Jewish people will have the ability to threaten and put pressure on the entire world to accept our way. But even if we acquire the power to seize control of the world, that is not the way to realize the vision of complete redemption." Rabbi Yitzhak Ginsburg says he knows in the near future the Land of Israel is about to expand. "It is our duty to force ALL MANKIND to accept THE SEVEN NOAHIDE LAWS, and if not -- they will be killed." (Note: George H. W. Bush, signed into Public Law 102-14, 102nd Congress, that the United States of America was founded upon the Seven Universal Laws of Noah.) Well, George, the Founding Fathers would beg to differ.To read the full story: http://www.washingtontimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20041017-102451-5514r--iNFoWaRZIn oppostion to God, Israel seeks to take back the Kingdom that Jesus took from them:Jesus said unto the unbelieving Jews:Mat 21:42 Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Mat 21:43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. Given to what nation?And Jesus said unto His followers, the Christians:1Pe 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 1Pe 2:10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[CTRL] Lame Duck May Do Housekeeping
-Caveat Lector- Watchout for what they try to pass off as "housekeeping", like the FTAA? - JR http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A48182-2004Nov13?language=printer washingtonpost.com Lame Duck May Do Housekeeping Hill Reconvenes This Week to Polish Off Domestic Funding and Debt Ceiling By Dan MorganWashington Post Staff WriterSunday, November 14, 2004; Page A04 When Congress adjourned last month for the election, it appeared lawmakers would have more to do when they returned this week than haggle over how to fund federal domestic agencies in 2005. Republican leaders held out the possibility of using the "lame duck" session to revamp the intelligence community along lines suggested by the Sept. 11 commission, and perhaps limit class-action lawsuits, a priority for business groups. GOP officials have not abandoned those goals. But barring last-minute breakthroughs, prospects do not appear good that either will be enacted before the 108th Congress ends. House-Senate negotiators on the intelligence legislation acknowledged that time was running out. If so, the proposal will have to be restarted in the Congress that convenes in January. Some lawmakers also hope to reauthorize the government's main program for educating handicapped students, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Business lobbyists said last week they were urging lawmakers to attach the class-action bill to a big package of domestic spending legislation that must be enacted before Congress adjourns for the year, but they had received no guarantees. That leaves action on a mammoth $385 billion "omnibus" spending bill for the 2005 fiscal year that began Oct. 1 as the main order of business. The bill, still taking shape, will lump together a new foreign aid bill and as many as eight other bills funding every agency except the Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Defense and the District of Columbia. After years of rapid growth in many domestic programs, Congress this year agreed to strict limits on discretionary spending not related to defense or counterterrorism. The Bush administration budget called for an increase in domestic spending amounting to six-tenths of 1 percent. Congress, bowing to fiscal conservatives, went one better and called for a freeze. In effect, spending on popular domestic programs finally is being squeezed by the huge costs of fighting the war on terrorism at home and abroad. Congress approved a $391 billion defense spending bill for fiscal 2005, but the figure did not cover costs of the Iraq war. Congress in July approved $25 billion more for the war, and the administration is expected to seek as much as $75 billion in addition early next year. Adding to the fiscal pressure is the soaring budget deficit, which has pushed the federal government close to a $7.4 billion statutory limit on borrowing. Republican leaders plan to attach to the omnibus bill a provision increasing the debt ceiling by $700 billion to $800 billion, according to GOP sources. The funding constraints are squeezing NASA, Amtrak, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and other agencies. To save money -- and force the Bush administration to share the pain -- early versions of the annual spending bills slashed numerous White House priorities, including new funds for community colleges, the president's signature Millennium Challenge foreign aid program and even the American Masterpieces cultural program championed by Laura Bush. The challenge now, said Sean M. Spicer, spokesman for the House Budget Committee, is for Congress to maintain "self-control." That could be especially difficult after an election, he suggested. But a senior congressional aide said that "the election didn't change the fundamental problem: There's not enough money in these bills." Some key Republicans agree. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), who chairs the Appropriations Committee, said last month there was "an overwhelming need for more money" in the bills funding domestic spending. The House and Senate are working under a self-imposed $821.9 billion ceiling for all spending requiring annual appropriations. Enacted bills funding defense, homeland security and the District have used up $436 billion of that total. Senate versions of the domestic package contain $8 billion more spending than the House measure, as a result of accounting devices employed to pump up the bills to a level where they could win approval from senators on Stevens's committee. Under pressure from fiscal conservatives, however, most of the gimmicks -- other than one that will ensure help for elderly and poor people's winter heating bills -- will be dropped, sources said. To stay within the budget target and still pay for additional spending on
[CTRL] Fw: November 22 NIST Meeting
Title: November 22 NIST Meeting -Caveat Lector- - Original Message - From: Monica Gabrielle To: Press Distribution Cc: Sally Regenhard Sent: Friday, November 12, 2004 3:48 PM Subject: November 22 NIST Meeting For Immediate Release:11/12/04Below is a letter which was sent on behalf of Skyscraper Safety Campaign (SSC) to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) today. This also relates to an article that appeared in 11/12/04 edition of the NY Times (Unit Plans Closed Hearings on Collapse of the Towers By Jim Dwyer).The NIST investigation into the collapse of the WTC was initiated two years ago in large part due to the efforts of the family members and others who comprise the Skyscraper Safety Campaign (SSC). The SSC has been monitoring this investigation since its inception. The purpose of this investigation was to find out how and why the WTC collapsed. The mandate was to uncover the deadly mistakes, initiate change and create true reform to building codes, building practices, evacuation techniques, and emergency response protocols.As the NIST Investigation draws to an end, there is great concern that the public be aware of the facts and the process by which preliminary conclusions will be determined. There is also great concern that outside experts and theorists have the opportunity to present information and to be acknowledged. Finally, we are concerned that so much of the testimony and evidence remains secret, thus preventing other professionals and the public from being fully informed regarding the collapse of the WTC and the needless deaths of 2,700 human souls, including our dear loved ones.Skyscraper Safety CampaignSally Regenhard 718-671-7326 Monica Gabrielle 917-923-0556 (cell) ## NIST100 Bureau Drive, Stop 3460 Gaithersburg, MD 20899-3460ATT: Arden L. Bement, Jr., DirectorHratch G. Semerjian, Acting Director James Hill Shyam SunderMatthew Heyman, Chief of Staff Michael Rubin, NIST Counsel Dear Gentlemen:9/11 Families, members of the Skyscraper Safety Campaign (SSC) and their technical advisers are increasingly frustrated at the way NIST is conducting the ongoing World Trade Center Investigation. As of this week, NIST has announced that the key discussion in the upcoming NIST Federal Advisory meeting -- which is the debate on the building safety code change recommendations NIST is mandated to develop -- will be closed to the public. We believe that this decision by NIST reflects bad judgment and is possibly in violation of the Open Meetings Law.A decision by NIST to hold meetings in secrecy only breeds public distrust and mistrust. Whenever NIST holds a meeting, the presumption should be that the meeting is open to the public. Whenever NIST wants to have closed meetings, it should demonstrate the necessity for closing them. In SSC's opinion, NIST has not met this standard.This is not what the SSC fought so hard for. The transparency of this investigation was and is of the utmost concern to the SSC and its supporters, including members of Congress.On the second day of the last World Trade Center Investigation Federal Advisory meeting on October 19-20, 2004, there was a unanimous vote by all the Federal Advisers present to keep the next meeting, scheduled for November 22, open. The clear intent was to keep the discussion of building safety recommendations open to include public involvement. Even NIST attorney, Michael Rubin, stated that he could see no reason that such a discussion would legally qualify for closure. He mentioned two issues that could necessitate closure of such a meeting: national security concerns and commercial confidentiality. Neither, Mr. Rubin stated, appeared to apply in this case.The SSC totally rejects the notion that the discussion of possible recommendations needs to be closed to the public. Indeed, we see compelling legal and moral grounds as to why this meeting should remain open. The reason given (see [*] below) for closing this meeting is nothing more than a reiteration of the guarantees NIST is already assured of under its legislation. If NIST is precluded by this very same legislation from having their work product used as part of any litigation, why is it cited as a reason to close the meeting? What logic is there to protecting proprietary information for buildings and businesses that no longer exist? What argument can be made regarding any concern about recommendations, which pertain to code changes in regard to either the former or new WTC, as they were and still are exempt from compliance?Another concern of the SSC is that at the Oct 19-20 meeting, the SSC presented several position papers to the Federal Advisory Committee and to NIST officials for consideration. These papers were written in response to work completed by NIST to that date. What procedure is in place to accept such information to be reviewed by NIST and its Federal Advisory Committee? What
[CTRL] WHO Recommends Smallpox Virus Alteration
-Caveat Lector- Opening Pandora's Box - JR Yahoo! Health Search All Yahoo! Health Health Centers Encyclopedia Drug Index Health News Ask the Expert Clinical Trials Alternative Medicinefor Quicklinks: Health Centers Encyclopedia Drug Index Health Health News Associated Press Associated Press All Associated Press News WHO Recommends Smallpox Virus Alteration November 11, 2004 03:38:53 PM PST , Associated Press An influential World Health Organization (news - web sites) committee is sending shock waves through the scientific community with its recommendation that researchers be permitted to conduct genetic-engineering experiments with the smallpox virus. The idea is to be able to better combat a disease that is considered a leading bioterror threat though it was publicly eradicated 25 years ago. The WHO had previously opposed such work for fear that a "superbug" might emerge. Because the disease is so deadly, the WHO has even at times recommended destroying the world's two known smallpox stockpiles, located in secure labs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (news - web sites) in Atlanta and in the former Soviet Union. The recommended policy shift has reignited a debate over whether such research will help or hinder bioterrorism defenses. The World Health Assembly the ruling body of the 192-nation WHO would make a final decision on whether to approve the experiments, which would include splicing a "marker" gene into the smallpox virus so its spread can be better tracked in the laboratory. The WHO committee said inserting the marker gene wouldn't make the disease any more dangerous, and that allowing such experimentation would speed depletion of the remaining smallpox virus stocks. It has been U.S. policy to refrain from genetically engineering smallpox, but that would undoubtedly change if the WHO endorses such research. "It's absolutely the right decision," said Dr. Ken Alibek, a former top scientist in the Soviet biological weapons program who said the Soviets covertly developed smallpox as a weapon in the 1980s. Alibek, who defected to the U.S. in 1992 and now teaches at George Mason University, said it's now possible to genetically engineer smallpox to render current vaccines useless. "The bad guys already know how to do it," Alibek said. "So why prohibit legitimate researchers to do research for protection." Other scientist argue that such research has little value and is too risky. "We have seen no evidence of a threat that would justify this research," says Sujatha Byravan, Executive Director of the Council for Responsible Genetics, a Boston nonprofit. "A decade ago, the WHO was planning to destroy the world's last remaining samples. Today, it is proposing to tinker with the virus in ways that could produce an even more lethal smallpox strain. This is a devastating step backwards." Smallpox has plagued humans for centuries, and it's believed to have killed more people than all wars and epidemics combined. Death typically follows massive hemorrhaging. A similar debate was set off last year when researcher Mark Buller of Saint Louis University announced that he had genetically engineered a mousepox virus that was designed to evade vaccines. Buller created the superbug to figure out how to defeat it, a key goal of the government's anti-terrorism plan. He designed a two-drug cocktail that promises to defeat the exceptionally deadly virus. Buller said similar smallpox protections could be developed if researchers were free to experiment responsibly with genetic engineering. Mousepox is a close
[CTRL] : Press Release For Dissemination - Mark Zaid Lou Michels
-Caveat Lector- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, November 11, 2004 For further info contact: Mark S. Zaid, Esq. [EMAIL PROTECTED] John Michels, Jr.,Esq. [EMAIL PROTECTED] Defense DepartmentEmbarks On Dissinformation Campaign ConcerningAnthrax Vaccination Program Involuntary Vaccinations Must Stop For A Minimum Of Three To Four Months In Order For The Government To Comply With Court Order WASHINGTON, D.C. -- On October 27, 2004, the Honorable Emmet Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia vacated an Order issued by the Food Drug Administration and imposed a permanent injunction prohibitingthe Department of Defensefrom administering the anthrax vaccine without informed consent or a presidential waiver. This second injunction followed Judge Sullivan's earlier decision ofDecember 22, 2003, that the anthrax vaccine was investigational and unlicensed for its intended purpose toprotect against inhalational exposure. Since the imposition of a permanent injunctionthe Department of Defense has led a disinformation campaign to downplay the significance of the Court's decision, particularly regarding the length of time the injunction will remain in place. These efforts, which are made amidstconvenient FDA silence,do a great disservice to the loyal men and women who are attempting to protect the United States of American in military and civilian positions. "DoD is trying to equate Judge Sullivan's granting a permanent injunction with his earlier decision granting a preliminary injunction, but that's simply wishful thinking," said Mark S. Zaid, Esq. of the Washington, D.C. Law Firm of Krieger Zaid, PLLC,one of two lawyers who brought the lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs. "In fact, given the state of the medical and scientific evidence, it will be extremely difficult for FDA to make a proper case that the vaccine has any effectiveness against inhalation anthrax. That means the vaccine stays an investigational drug and it cannot be used by the military without informed consent or a presidential waiver," Zaid added. The Court found that the FDA failed to allow for public comment when it decided to ignore the recommendations of its own expert panel and determined the vaccine was properly licensed for inhalation anthrax. In addition to the Court's new findings, Judge Sullivan also explicitly incorporated his earlier findings that the vaccine was never licensed for inhalation anthrax, and that the FDA and DoD authorized the use of an experimental drug on service members. "The upshot of the court's ruling on October 27, 2004, is that the anthrax vaccination program violated federal law from 1998 forward, at a minimum. Any order to submit to anthrax vaccination during the entire existence of the program was illegal, said the plaintiffs' co-counsel John Michels, a partner in the Chicago office of McGuireWoods, LLP. "The soldiers that DoD discharged for refusing to take the shots are entitled to back pay and allowances from the date they were removed from paid status to the point where DoD properly decides what to do with them. In fairness to the hundreds of service members who were wrongfully separated from active duty, DoD should begin processing each one for compensation and reinstatement, particularly if it wants to avoid congressional involvement," added Michels. Both lawyers noted that the stockpiling of anthrax vaccine currently in progress is being done with a product that is untested and unapproved as a preventative measure against inhalation anthrax, the most likely type of anthrax to be used in a terrorist attack. They also commented that the DoD's statements thatJudge Sullivan's order does notchallenge the "safety or efficacy" of the vaccine are deliberately misleading. "Vaccines are licensed only when they are proved to be both safe and effective. The court's ruling that the vaccine is not licensedgoes to the heart of the matters of safety and efficacy for this vaccine. In fact, the license for the vaccine and the original FDA expert panel both recommended against widespread inoculation with the product", said Michels. In addition to those service members who were wrongfully discharged, the plaintiffs' attorneys said that they are aware of hundreds of other service members who left active duty or the active reserves to avoid the vaccine, and many others who developed serious and debilitating illnesses immediately after receiving the shots. Whether these individuals will be allowed back into their units or receive proper compensation for illnesses caused by an experimental drug is probably up to the Veterans Administration and the National Guard or Reserve leadership. Additional legal action on behalf of those who were disciplined and who have fallen ill from the vaccine is currently being prepared. The lawsuit was filed under pseudonyms on March 18, 2003, by six plaintiffs (and other similarly
[CTRL] Calif. Co. To Make Anthrax Shots
-Caveat Lector- VaxGen receives no payment until the vaccine is delivered, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson told reporters. (Except for the $102.1 million Thompson's agency has already given them. Vaxgen also gets the avantage of government RD evidently provided at no charge. If Vaxgen is being treated like Bioport, the DOD has indemnified it against any liability). - JR http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/11/05/terror/printable653927.shtml Calif. Co. To Make Anthrax ShotsWASHINGTON, Nov. 5, 2004The government said Thursday it is purchasing 75 million doses of a new generation anthrax vaccine under an $877.5 million contract the first awarded through a federal program to develop and stockpile antidotes to biological and chemical weapons. The five-year contract with VaxGen Inc. will provide enough vaccine to treat roughly 25 million people. The company expects to begin delivery by 2006. According to the contract, the first 25 million vaccine doses would be delivered within two years and the balance within three years, said Lance K. Gordon, the company's president. The doses will be added to U.S. reserves to protect against a terrorist attack using anthrax spores. VaxGen receives no payment until the vaccine is delivered, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson told reporters. "The company is putting a lot at risk to be involved in this. But we also are doing a giant service to companies like VaxGen" by providing incentives to make the vaccines, Thompson said. "It is going to make America a lot safer." President Bush signed the new program, called Project BioShield, into law on July 21 with the promise of spending $5.6 billion to develop remedies against possible bioweapons. VaxGen of Brisbane, Calif., was one of two biotechnology company competing for the HHS contract to develop the new anthrax vaccine. The company still needs to obtain licensing from the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA will review the company's vaccine production and individual lot testing to ensure the anthrax vaccine is safe and effective. The existing vaccine is manufactured by Lansing, Mich.-based BioPort Corp. for the Pentagon under a $245 million contract. In a statement, BioPort said HHS also had decided to include a minimum of 5 million doses of its vaccine in the national stockpile. "We share Secretary Thompson's stated objective of securing a sufficient stockpile of safe and effective vaccines to protect the American public against a future bioterrorist attack," Bioport chief executive Bob Kramer said. "We believe the most meaningful way to achieve that important goal is for the national stockpile to include products from multiple suppliers, due to performance risks associated with any single product or single manufacturer." In response to a federal judge's order in late October, the Pentagon halted the mandatory vaccinations for the military six shots spaced over 18 months. The military would decide for itself whether to switch to the VaxGen product, but could not use it before the product is licensed, an HHS spokesman said. VaxGen's product is expected to require no more than three shots. The latest technology uses a purified recombinant protein to coax the body's immune system to produce antibodies to battle anthrax toxins. Laboratory, animal research has confirmed the vaccine is effective and clinical trials involving 580 people have shown its safety in humans. Gordon, VaxGen's president, said immune responses will be monitored to ensure they exceed what is needed to protect against anthrax. Studies also will confirm how long the stockpiled vaccine would remain effective. VaxGen already has received $20.9 million from the National Institute Allergy and Infectious Diseases to take its anthrax vaccine candidate into early stage clinical trials. The product leverages a decade of research, including work by the Department of Defense. Last October, the company received $80.3 million to continue clinical trials, test the vaccine in animals and make 3 million doses. © MMIV The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Feedback Terms of Service Privacy Statement www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsâis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
[CTRL] Financial adviser: Arafat
-Caveat Lector- I guess this means they located Arafat's money before they prounced him dead. JR http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/printer-friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=41385 Wednesday, November 10, 2004 TROUBLE IN THE HOLY LANDFinancial adviser: Arafat owns nothingAide says ailing despot 'has no personal property anywhere in the world' Posted: November 10, 20045:00 p.m. Eastern ©2004WorldNetDaily.com Yasser Arafat's financial adviser is claiming the ailing Palestinian leader owns no property this despite estimates the despot is worth many billions of dollars. Appearing on Al-Arabiya TV, based in Dubai, Muhammad Rashid claims he knows nothing about an Arafat will. The interview was translated and posted on the Internet by the Middle East Media Research Institute TV Monitor Project, or MEMRI TV. "To my knowledge and I am responsible for these words the ailing brother Abu Ammar [Arafat] has no personal property anywhere in the world," Rashid says, "not a tent, nor a house, nor a building, nor a farm. I have worked with President Arafat for the past 25 years and he has no bank account that could be called a personal account, in the name of Yasser Arafat." Though the size of Arafat's fortune is not public knowledge, estimates have run between several hundred million dollars to $6 billion. Most of the funds are in foreign accounts and are thought to consist of money given the Palestinian Authority by European and Arab nations. Rashid begins to cry during his next respond, wiping tears from his eyes: "In all honesty, I cannot imagine the period after the president. I maintain a deep faith in Allah and in the prayers of all the people worldwide for the president. I know nothing about a will, and I ask you to excuse me from talking about this issue." www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsâis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Doctor in anthrax probe gets probation for assaults
-Caveat Lector- http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-nj--anthraxprobe1106nov06,0,368277,print.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire News Sports Business Entertainment Photos Shopping NY Newsday.com Doctor in anthrax probe gets probation for assaults November 6, 2004, 4:23 PM EST'Leucken' newdptb POINT PLEASANT BEACH, N.J. (AP) _ A doctor whose Jersey Shore home was searched last summer as part of an investigation into the 2001 anthrax attacks has pleaded guilty to assaulting his wife and stepdaughter. Dr. Kenneth Berry was sentenced to two years probation and fined $1,000 Friday by Municipal Judge James A. Liguori. As part of his plea, Berry dropped countercharges of assault against his wife, Tana Luecken-Berry, and 18-year-old stepdaughter Dara Luecken. Berry did not address the court at his sentencing. His lawyer, Clifford Lazzaro of Newark, said his client regretted what happened and attributed it to the stress caused by FBI searches of Berry's home in upstate New York and the summer home in the Chadwick section of Dover Township owned by his parents. "I think the events of the day caused this unfortunate incident to occur. My client was obviously under a great deal of pressure," Lazzaro said, adding, "It doesn't excuse my client's behavior." Federal agents searched the homes on Aug. 5. The assaults occurred the same day at the White Sands Motel where Berry, his wife and stepdaughter were taken during the search. Shortly after the raids, Berry was fired from his job as an emergency room physician at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Luecken-Berry has filed a permanent restraining order against her husband, The Star-Ledger of Newark reported in Saturday's editions. Berry has not been charged in the anthrax attacks. He founded an organization in 1997 that trains medical professionals to respond to chemical and biological attacks. FBI spokesman Joseph Paris said the agency is still conducting the anthrax investigation, but would not comment on Berry's involvement in the case. Lazzaro told The Associated Press last month that no evidence was found that would link Berry to the anthrax mailings and that he would be exonerated. Five people died and 17 were sickened in the fall of 2001 in the anthrax mailings that targeted government and media officials. The attacks unsettled a nation already reeling from the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsâis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om NS?ci=703di=d010pg=ai= Description: Binary data
[CTRL] Grant provides $3.5 million for anthrax vaccine study in Seattle
-Caveat Lector- http://www.freep.com/news/statewire/sw106657_20041102.htm Grant provides $3.5 million for anthrax vaccine study in Seattle November 2, 2004, 6:01 AM SEATTLE (AP) -- A research team has been awarded a $3.5 million federal grant to use a molecular detective technique to study and potentially improve the military's anthrax vaccine. Anthrax bacteria can be used as a bioterrorism or germ warfare agent. Lansing, Mich.-based BioPort Corp. has a $245 million contract with the Pentagon to supply the military with anthrax vaccine. On Oct. 27, a federal judge ordered a halt to the mandatory anthrax vaccination program for U.S. military personnel. Bioport uses the decades-old technique of filtering killed bacteria. It is administered in six injections over 18 months and must be repeated regularly to maintain immunity. The grant to the Benaroya Research Institute was one of 14 announced Monday in a $74 million program by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to develop better vaccines or medications for use against infectious agents. The team headed by Dr. Gerald T. Nepom, director of the private, nonprofit institute at Virginia Mason Hospital, has developed artificial molecules called "tetramers" for the anthrax vaccine research. Service personnel sued the Defense Department, arguing that the vaccine was rushed through approval before the Iraq war and saying evidence indicates it has caused immune illnesses in a significant number of soldiers. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has maintained that the "vaccine is safe and effective," but many scientists view it as crude and cumbersome to administer. Nepom and Dr. William W. Kwok, principal investigator on the Benaroya project, say their engineered molecule provides a streamlined, more accurate test that could soon point the way to a www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Bin Laden to states: Don't vote for Bush
-Caveat Lector- This raises an interesting question. Was the misinterpretation deliberate to mask a direct threat against the individualstates bin Laden was making in the U.S. fearing a reaction favorable to Bush. Whatever else they are, those who wrote bin Laden's speech are not stupid. This has all the earmarks of a psyop operation intended to provoke a predictable reaction favorable to Bush. Bin Laden was created by the CIA. Is he still under its control? If clearly understood as a threat to the states, most Americans would react with anger at a foreign attempt to influence our election and do the opposite of what bin Laden seems to be demanding. But why would bin Laden want Bush returned to office? Here it gets a little complicated. It has been suggested Bush and his policies against Islamic terrorists have been a valuable recruiting tool forbin Ladenwhich he wants to continue. On the other hand perhaps bin Laden and Al qaeda really are tools of the CIA. His lauding of Mohamad Atta as the mastrmind of 9/11 is contrary to mountains of evidence compiled by independent researchers but is intended to ratify the work of fiction known as the report of the 9/11 Commission absolving elements of the U.S. government of complicity in the 9/11 attacks. There is a lot in the bin Laden speech. It remains to be seen what impact, if any, it has on the election. JR http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/printer-friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=41211 Sunday, October 31, 2004 GLOBAL JIHADBin Laden to states: Don't vote for BushSpeech mistranslated by most media as threat against foreign countries Posted: October 31, 20049:06 p.m. Eastern ©2004WorldNetDaily.com The tape of Osama bin Laden that was aired Friday on Al-Jazeera included a specific threat to "each U.S. state," designed to influence the outcome of Tuesday's election, according to the Arabic translators at the prestigious Middle East Media Research Center. The U.S. media have mistranslated the words "ay wilaya" (which means "each U.S. state") to mean a "country" or "nation" other than the U.S., says MEMRI, while in reality bin Laden's threat was directed specifically at each individual U.S. state. MEMRI specializes in translating Middle Eastern documents, speeches and the like for Western consumption. Translated correctly, bin Laden's speech suggests some knowledge of the U.S. electoral college system. In fact, notes MEMRI, in one section of his speech where he harshly criticizes President Bush, bin Laden states: "Any U.S. state that does not toy with our security automatically guarantees its own security." The Islamist website Al-Qal'a explained what this sentence meant: "This message was a warning to every U.S. state separately. When he [bin Laden] said, 'Every state will be determining its own security, and will be responsible for its choice,' it means that any U.S. state that will choose to vote for the white thug Bush as president has chosen to fight us, and we will consider it our enemy, and any state that will vote against Bush has chosen to make peace with us, and we will not characterize it as an enemy. By this characterization, Sheikh Osama wants to drive a wedge in the American body, to weaken it, and he wants to divide the American people itself between enemies of Islam and the Muslims, and those who fight for us, so that he doesn't treat all American people as if they're the same. This letter will have great implications inside the American society, part of which are connected to the American elections, and part of which are connected to what will come after the elections." While bin Laden threatened each U.S. state, he also offered an election deal to the American voters a sort of amnesty for states that don't vote for Bush, similar to the ultimatum he directed toward Europe in April, in which he offered a truce. The Islamist website Al-Islah explains: "Some people ask 'what's new in this tape?' [The answer is that] this tape is the second of its kind, after the previous tape of the Sheikh [Osama bin Laden], in which he offered a truce to the Europeans a few months ago, and it is a completion of this move, and it brings together the complementary elements of politics and religion, political savvy and force, the sword and justice. The Sheikh reminds the West in this tape of the great Islamic civilization and pure Islamic religion, and of Islamic justice ..." Analysis of the speech by MEMRI's president, Yigal Carmon, reveals the absence "of common Islamist themes that are relevant to the month of Ramadan, which for fundamentalists like bin Laden
[CTRL] Merck Falls as E-Mails Suggest Vioxx Smoking Gun
-Caveat Lector- I hope someone is keeping track of the short sales on the NYSE and AMEX as well as the puts in the future markets. Someone could be making millions on the fall of this stock. At least one analyst is suggesting Merck stock is a good buy (opportunity) at its current price. (Someone has to cover those short sales.) - JR http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNewsstoryID=6680076section=news Print This Article Close This Window Merck Falls as E-Mails Suggest Vioxx Smoking GunMon November 01, 2004 04:28 PM ET By Ransdell Pierson NEW YORK (Reuters) - Merck Co. Inc.'s Vioxx recall is mushrooming into a product-liability nightmare that erased another $23 billion of the company's valuation on Monday, but analysts said it will likely withstand the crisis. Merck shares fell as much as 10.5 percent after the Wall Street Journal published e-mails from company officials that suggested Merck knew about the heart-attack risks of the arthritis drug years before the recall. The stock has fallen almost 38 percent since Vioxx was recalled on Sept. 30, its lowest since November 1995. The shares closed down $3.03, or 9.7 percent, at $28.28 on Monday. "If the e-mails actually exist and say what they are purported to say, they appear at least superficially to be a smoking gun that lawyers could pull up as evidence against Merck," said Trevor Polischuk, a drug analyst for Orbimed Advisors. Polischuk said the e-mails will encourage more patients to sue Merck, claiming the $2.5 billion-a-year drug harmed them. "But it will probably be very difficult for plaintiffs to prove Vioxx hurt them because many patients probably had pre-existing heart problems," said Polischuk. He said Merck shares have been "oversold," and are now an opportunity at a price that represents a 30 percent discount to stocks of rivals -- based on projected company earnings. An estimated 20 million Americans have taken Vioxx since it was launched in 1999 because it caused fewer ulcers and gastrointestinal problems than standard arthritis treatments. The Journal said an e-mail dated March 9, 2000 suggested Merck recognized Vioxx increased heart risk. The e-mail -- written by research chief Edward Scolnick -- said cardiovascular events "are clearly there." The article said another e-mail, written years ago by Merck research executive Alise Reicin, suggested people at high risk be excluded from a trial so the rate of cardiovascular problems of Vioxx patients and others "would not be evident." Merck recalled Vioxx after it was shown to double the risk of heart attack and strokes in patients that had taken it for over 18 months to prevent recurrence of colon polyps. On Friday, Merck -- citing documents that had been made public -- issued a statement saying it acted "responsibly and appropriately" in developing and marketing Vioxx. A Merck spokeswoman declined to comment on the stock decline, or say whether its comments on Friday referred to the e-mails described in the Journal. Mehta Partners analyst Shaojing Tong said the e-mails suggest Merck withheld information. He said the company's financial liabilities could approach the $16 billion already paid out by drug maker Wyeth following its 1997 recall of two diet drugs used in the "fen-phen" diet cocktail. "I previously had no reason to suspect misconduct by Merck. But the e-mails move things one step closer to fen-phen in terms of misconduct and hiding facts," Tong said. Tong said the company's now-decimated share price probably assumes the company will eventually pay out $5 billion in Vioxx liabilities. "If it becomes clear that the payout will grow to $15 billion or so, the share price could fall another 5 or 10 percent," Tong added. Jon Fisher, fund manager at Fifth Third Bank, said there is no reliable way to predict future product-liability costs. "If it rises to $50 billion, Merck's stock could go a lot lower," said Fisher, who added it might wind up being only a fraction that amount. Fisher, whose bank owns 2.5 million shares of Merck, said
[CTRL] ABOUT KERRY'S DISCHARGE
-Caveat Lector- http://michellemalkin.com/archives/000661.htm ABOUT KERRY'S DISCHARGE By Michelle Malkin · October 13, 2004 05:20 AM A front-page story in this morning's New York Sun by Thomas Lipscomb points to a document indicating that John Kerry initially received a less than honorable discharge from the U.S. Naval Reserves: An official Navy document on Senator Kerry's campaign Web site listed as Mr. Kerry's "Honorable Discharge from the Reserves" opens a door on a well kept secret about his military service. The document is a form cover letter in the name of the Carter administration's secretary of the Navy, W. Graham Claytor. It describes Mr. Kerry's discharge as being subsequent to the review of "a board of officers." This in it self is unusual. There is nothing about an ordinary honorable discharge action in the Navy that requires a review by a board of officers. According to the secretary of the Navy's document, the "authority of reference" this board was using in considering Mr. Kerry's record was "Title 10, U.S. Code Section 1162 and 1163. "This section refers to the grounds for involuntary separation from the service. What was being reviewed, then, was Mr. Kerry's involuntary separation from the service. And it couldn't have been an honorable discharge, or there would have been no point in any review at all. The review was likely held to improve Mr. Kerry's status of discharge from a less than honorable discharge to an honorable discharge. A Kerry campaign spokesman, David Wade, was asked whether Mr. Kerry had ever been a victim of an attempt to deny him an honorable discharge. There has been no response to that inquiry. The document is dated February 16, 1978. But Mr. Kerry's military commitment began with his six-year enlistment contract with the Navy on February 18, 1966. His commitment should have terminated in 1972. It is highly unlikely that either the man who at that time was a Vietnam Veterans Against the War leader, John Kerry, requested or the Navy accepted an additional six year reserve commitment. And the Claytor document indicates proceedings to reverse a less than honorable discharge that took place sometime prior to February 1978. www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsâis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Kerry's non-honorable discharge
-Caveat Lector- http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/printer-friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=41200 Sunday, October 31, 2004 Kerry's non-honorable dischargeExclusive: Earl Lively makes solid case senator left Navy under a cloud Posted: October 31, 20041:00 a.m. Eastern By Earl Lively ©2004 There is overwhelming evidence that the Navy gave John Kerry either a dishonorable discharge or an undesirable discharge which is the equivalent of a dishonorable discharge without the felony conviction and that, as a result of such discharge, he was stripped of all of his famous but questionable Navy awards and medals. And the kicker? The evidence is on his website! Kerry's oh-so-clever handlers evidently depended on the ignorance of the public and the press about military records when they posted his 1978 "Honorable Discharge from the Reserves" on his site as part of a carefully selected partial release of his Navy records (the Navy says it is still withholding about 100 records). However, one diligent researcher, Thomas Lipscomb, saw through the scam and exposed it in a New York Sun story on October 13. Predictably, the major media has shunned the story. What Mr. Lipscomb noticed (and I overlooked when I first read the document) was the date of the posted discharge, Feb. 16, 1978. This was six years after Kerry's six-year (1966-1972) commitment to the Navy ended. The anti-war detractor of our military did not re-up for another six-year term in 1972, so why the delay of his discharge? The only logical conclusion is that the 1978 honorable discharge was a second discharge given to replace an earlier undesirable discharge under less-than-honorable conditions, as unfit for military service. I was a colonel assigned as Director of Operations of Headquarters, Texas Air National Guard when George W. Bush was a lieutenant in the Air Guard. Since 1999, I have been besieged by the media, from the London Guardian to CBS's Sixty Minutes, NBC, the Boston Globe, and others, with allegations and questions about Lt. Bush's service in and discharge from the Texas Air National Guard and USAF. I recently appeared on Fox Friends twice to shoot down CBS's phony memos about Lt. Bush and allegations about his discharge. In the interest of fairness and equal time, it is time scrutiny of John Kerry's discharge(s) is demanded. The Navy is stonewalling Freedom of Information Act requests by Judicial Watch for the rest of Kerry's records not surprising, because ever since the Tailhook flap, the Navy has had a P.C. virus. Feminist Rep. Patricia Schroeder (D-CO) figuratively castrated the Navy's top brass, and the Navy cringed from political correctness. Pressure and morale at the top was so low that the Chief of Naval Operations committed suicide. The Navy doesn't want to admit it succumbed to political pressure to restore honors stripped from a discredited turncoat. In hiding the truth, the Navy Department dishonors even the lowest-ranking sailor who ever swabbed a deck. Senator Kerry has said that his medal certificates were reissued because he lost them (and his dog ate his homework, I suppose). Rewards are certified in one's permanent personnel record jacket. If you lose a medal, you can get a replacement medal if your records show the award. The only way awards would have to be reissued is if they were rescinded and deleted from your records. And this narrows the possibilities down to a dishonorable discharge or an undesirable discharge. As Mr. Lipscomb noted, "There is one odd coincidence that gives some weight to the possibility that Mr. Kerry was dishonorably discharged. (W)hen a dishonorable discharge is issued, all pay benefits, and allowances, and all medals and honors are revoked as well. And five months after Mr. Kerry joined the U.S. Senate in 1985, on one single day, June 4, all of Mr. Kerry's medals were reissued." Military sources tell me that an undesirable discharge under other-than-honorable conditions would also result in a loss of benefits and awards. Kerry could have received a dishonorable discharge, but that would have required a court martial and a felony conviction that might be harder to conceal, so the undesirable discharge is more likely. The experience of my thirty-plus years in the Navy, U.S. Air Force, and Air National Guard tells me that the late-issued honorable discharge was obviously a cover-up whitewash. Ditto for the re-issuance of Kerry's medals shortly after he became a member of the
[CTRL] Harbor-UCLA unit will test anthrax vaccine
-Caveat Lector- http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/articles/1147661.html SAVE THIS | EMAIL THIS | Close Sunday, October 31, 2004 Harbor-UCLA unit will test anthrax vaccine VaxGen hopes for contract with nation's bioterrorism protection program.By Lee Peterson Daily Breeze A local vaccine research center is testing a new-generation anthrax vaccine hoped to be safer and easier to use than a version the U.S. military has been ordered to stop forcing on its troops. Ten to 12 sites around the United States are testing the dosage requirements and safety of an experimental anthrax vaccine made by VaxGen, a Brisbane, Calif., company that hopes to sign a deal this week to provide 75 million doses to the federal government for its bioterrorism protection program. The doses would be given to civilians, if needed. Anthrax attacks in the mail in the fall of 2001 killed five people and made at least 17 others ill. VaxGen is waiting to hear about the contract to supply the government with the vaccine. The company last year received an $80 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to develop the new anthrax vaccine. VaxGen has received more than $100 million in grants to work on the vaccine. One of the study sites working with VaxGen is the UCLA Center for Vaccine Research, at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center near Torrance. Of the roughly 500 subjects in the clinical trial nationally, 45 local residents are participating. A federal judge last week ruled that the Defense Department must stop its mandatory vaccination program because the Food and Drug Administration improperly approved the vaccine made by BioPort for general use, The Washington Post reported. While BioPort has defended its vaccine as safe and effective, some service members have refused the vaccine, which is given in a series of six injections over 18 months, and produces immunity to the anthrax bacteria. It's hoped that the VaxGen version can be given in only three injections. The trial that LA Biomed is participating in involves testing the response to two doses. Susan Partridge, associate director of the UCLA Vaccine Research Center, said the trial started locally in May, and there were no problems signing up the 45 healthy subjects. If there are more local residents who are interested, she said the center anticipates conducting additional clinical trials with the same vaccine, starting in spring 2005. The VaxGen version is known as a "recombinant protective antigen," and is supposed to be less prone to side effects because it is made from a single, purified protein, its makers have said. It's hoped that the new vaccine could be used both as a preventive measure given before any exposure to anthrax, and as a post-exposure treatment. "It's a national priority to develop a safer and easier-to-administer anthrax vaccine both for the military and the general public," said Dr. Joel Ward, director of the UCLA Vaccine Research Center. So far, he said the center has seen no untoward effects in local subjects who have been vaccinated. Find this article at: http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/articles/1147661.html SAVE THIS | EMAIL THIS | Close Check the box to include the list of links referenced in the article. www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always
[CTRL] Part of 9/11 Report Remains Unreleased;
-Caveat Lector- When combined with the released portion of the report, it will be a strong contender for this year'sPulitzer Prize in fiction. - JR http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/30/politics/30panel.html?oref=loginpagewanted=printposition= October 30, 2004 Part of 9/11 Report Remains Unreleased; An Inquiry Is BegunBy JIM DWYER ne last chapter of the investigation by the Sept. 11 commission, a supplement completed more than two months ago, has not yet been made public by the Justice Department, and officials say it is unlikely to be released before the presidential election, even though that had been a major goal of deadlines set for the panel. Drawing from this unpublished part of the inquiry, the commission quietly asked the inspectors general at the Departments of Defense and Transportation to review what it had determined were broadly inaccurate accounts provided by several civil and military officials about efforts to track and chase the hijacked aircraft on Sept. 11. David Barnes, a spokesman with the Department of Transportation, said yesterday that if the reviews found wrongdoing, the inspector general could recommend administrative penalties or ask federal prosecutors to begin a criminal investigation. "The investigation is ongoing,'' Mr. Barnes said, "and we don't know when it will be done." In testimony before the commission, officials had described a quick response to the hijackings that narrowly missed intercepting some of the planes, but the commission's investigators later determined from documentary evidence that none of the military planes were anywhere near the four airliners. In addition, officials at the Federal Aviation Administration testified that they had notified the military within a few minutes of each hijacking, but the investigation found that tape recordings contradicted that assertion. The commission, in its final report, said that the true picture "did not reflect discredit" on individuals, but that unreliable testimony about the events had made it harder to understand the problems. Besides the pursuit of the hijacked planes, the supplement, a monograph 60 to 70 pages long, revisits other subjects in the commission's final report of July - telephone calls made from the hijacked airplanes, airline security and orders issued that morning by President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney - and provides additional detail or context, former commission members said. The monograph also finds shortcomings in the Transportation Security Administration, the agency formed to buttress airline security after the hijackings, said Bob Kerrey, the former Democratic senator from Nebraska and a commission member. Mr. Kerrey suggested that presidential politics were behind the delay in the report's release, but a spokesman for the Justice Department, Mark Corallo, said that an ordinary review of the material for national security clearance was complicated when the commission shut down in August. "It's unlikely in the next few weeks," Mr. Corallo said of when the supplement would be released. "It was a real legal quandary." The monograph was submitted to the Justice Department just as the commission's term expired on Aug. 21, a date selected by Congress after long negotiations to avoid bringing out the commission's report at the height of the presidential campaign.It arrived not only as the commission became legally defunct, but also as many commission members and the staff lost their security clearances, Mr. Corallo said. That meant no one from the commission could discuss with the Justice Department lawyers how to edit material that needed to be changed for security reasons, he said. "Had the commission gotten it to them two or three days before the deadline, they could have resolved any issue in minutes, as they usually do," Mr. Corallo said. As a result of these complications, the supplement is the first of the commission's documents to be completely controlled by the Bush administration. While the commission was still in business, it was able to exert pressure on the White House when all 10 members, 5 Democrats and 5 Republicans, simply issued a public request for cooperation. "I am surprised that the process has dragged on this long, and I think it's inappropriate," Richard Ben-Veniste, a Democrat on the commission, said. "It is longer than any other review of written material." Discussions on the monograph's fate are being held between the Office
[CTRL] Vaccine maker to put facility, new jobs in Frederick (Bioport)
-Caveat Lector- http://www.gazette.net/200444/business/news/243116-1.html#top »Home Vaccine maker to put facility, new jobs in Frederick by Kevin M. SmithStaff Writer Oct. 29, 2004 After scouting locations in Maryland, Virginia and Michigan for 14 months, anthrax vaccine-maker BioPort of Lansing, Mich., has settled on Frederick for its new manufacturing plant and warehouse, bringing more than 100 jobs, state officials say. Operating in Frederick under the name Advanced BioSolutions, BioPort's 145,000-square-foot manufacturing facility and 56,000-square-foot warehousing space will be in the Wedgewood 4 complex, just off the Buckeystown Pike, south of Interstate 270, according to filings with the planning commission. Aris Melissaratos, secretary of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, confirmed that BioPort has closed on its new building. The facilities are expected to create between 100 and 150 jobs immediately, with an average salary in the manufacturing facility of $60,000, according to Marie Keegin, director of the Frederick County Office of Economic Development. BioPort expects the facility will expand and add jobs, Keegin and Melissaratos said. "This is really still a work in progress," Melissaratos said. "Anytime you talk about 100 jobs, you can usually look at doubling or tripling those numbers down the road. I'm very optimistic, very bullish about these things." Frederick, home to the manufacturing facility of MedImmune Inc. of Gaithersburg, plus other biotech companies such as DynPort, will host 44 biotech companies and facilities with the addition of the BioPort plant, the nation's only manufacturer of anthrax vaccine. "We're elated that BioPort has chosen Frederick," Keegin said. BioPort looked at several sites in Maryland, but the "Frederick County government has worked with this company very hard in the permitting process to get them here," she said. BioPort officials did not return several phone calls seeking comment. The county has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state, and officials hope BioPort's endeavor will alleviate traffic on I-270, as it draws county residents who now commute elsewhere. "This is a great, great development for our area," said Richard Griffin, director of economic development for the city of Frederick. "Thirty to 40 percent of the [employed] in Frederick commute down I-270 to D.C. and into Northern Virginia. A lot of those people would love to be working here." Keegin pointed to the higher education rates of Frederick's workers as an important tool in recruiting businesses. "We have an extremely well-educated commuter population that would like to work where they live," Keegin said. "Thirty-eight percent of Frederick commuters are out-commuters." BioPort, a rapidly growing biotech firm founded in 1998, employs more than 300 people and already has a Maryland presence in Antex Biologics of Gaithersburg, which it acquired in 2003 after Antex filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March of that year. Strategically, the new Frederick venture will help BioPort's two subsidiaries, Antex and Advanced BioSolutions, complement each other and take advantage of their proximity to Fort Detrick and its medical research endeavors. "We're fortunate to have Fort Detrick" as a recruiting feature, Keegin said. Melissaratos said the county's low unemployment rate was actually used as an enticement, as it showed the county to have a well-educated workforce. He also pointed to what he called "cluster strength" in biotech recruiting efforts: proximity to Fort Detrick, other federal facilities and the University of Maryland Biotech Institute, plus training programs at Montgomery and Prince George's colleges appropriate for the workforce needed. "What [Advanced BioSystems] will be doing relies a lot on Project BioShield as a funding source, so certainly marketing Fort Detrick, [the National Institutes of Health] and the workforce helped," Melissaratos said. Return to top Copyright © 2004 The Gazette - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic
[CTRL] Star of 'Kerry's team' backs Bush on TV
-Caveat Lector- Kerry a baseball fan? I don't think so. - JR http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/printer-friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=41160 This is a WorldNetDaily printer-friendly version of the article which follows. To view this item online, visit http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=41160 Thursday, October 28, 2004 COUNTDOWN TO ELECTION DAYStar of 'Kerry's team'backs Bush on TVCurt Schilling surprises 'Good Morning America' with endorsement Posted: October 28, 200412:48 p.m. Eastern ©2004WorldNetDaily.com Although the Boston Red Sox might be regarded as "John Kerry's team," the president has a vocal supporter in star pitcher Curt Schilling, who endorsed Bush today in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America." Curt Schilling Sitting alongside he wife, Shonda, Schilling unexpectedly signed off the discussion about last night's historic World Series victory over the St. Louis Cardinals with: "Make sure you tell everybody to vote, and vote Bush next week." The Republican National Committee quickly seized on the quote and distributed it to its massive e-mail list. Schilling, speaking to Gibson via a satellite feed from Fenway Park in Boston, also put in a plug for U.S. troops in Iraq. The host referred to the 37-year-old pitcher as a "warrior" for winning his past two starts despite a serious ankle injury that easily could have sidelined him. Schilling objected to the characterization, insisting it's the members of the U.S. military serving the nation in Iraq who deserve that title. The conversation that led to the endorsement went like this: Gibson: "Well, well said, Curt and Shonda. You both have certainly lifelong membership now in the Red Sox nation. It was a great thing to watch, and I think everybody whether they were great Red Sox fans or not had to admire what this team did. It was extraordinary, and one of the great stories of sport. And sport always produces such great stories. Curt, Shonda, great to have you with us. Congratulations." Curt and Shonda Schilling: "Thank You." Curt Schilling: "And make sure you tell everybody to vote, and vote Bush next week." Clearly surprised, Gibson chuckled and shook his head, commenting, "Alright, well, something else that divides the nation ... ." Schilling also has not been shy about declaring his Christian faith. After pitching on a bloody ankle to defeat the New York Yankees in an American League Championship game, he gave credit to God, explaining that in his first, unsuccessful start of the series he relied on his own strength, while in the just-concluded outing he relied on "the Lord." Meanwhile, on the campaign trail, Kerry appeared at a morning rally in Toledo, Ohio, in a Red Sox cap. Early in the campaign, he recalled, according to the Associated Press, someone phoned a radio talk show and said, "John Kerry won't be president until the Red Sox win the World Series." The Massachusetts senator exclaimed, "Well, we're on our way!" President Bush made a phone call to the team's owner and president and thanked Schilling for the endorsement. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said: "This is a long time coming and he shares in their excitement at winning the World Series." Kerry said he's "been rooting for this day since I was a kid." "This Red Sox team came back against all odds and showed America what heart is," said Kerry. "In 2004, the Red Sox are America's team." Earlier in the campaign, however, Kerry might have lost a few votes among the Red Sox faithful. "We've been waiting since 1918 for the Boston Red Sox to win the World Series," he said in Michigan, "and ... if I had a choice between the White House and the World Series this year, I'm going to take the White House. How's that?" During the second presidential debate, Kerry said, "The president, I don't think, is living in a world of reality with respect to the environment. Now, if you're a Red Sox fan, that's OK. But if you're a president, it's not." Some also have questioned Kerry's credentials as a fan, noting his expressed admiration for non-existent player "Manny Ortez" and his statement that Eddie Yost was his favorite Red Sox player, even though Yost never played for Boston. www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot
[CTRL] Russia tied to Iraq's missing arms
-Caveat Lector- http://www.washingtontimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20041028-122637-6257r The Washington Timeswww.washingtontimes.com Russia tied to Iraq's missing armsBy Bill GertzTHE WASHINGTON TIMESPublished October 28, 2004 Russian special forces troops moved many of Saddam Hussein's weapons and related goods out of Iraq and into Syria in the weeks before the March 2003 U.S. military operation, The Washington Times has learned. John A. Shaw, the deputy undersecretary of defense for international technology security, said in an interview that he believes the Russian troops, working with Iraqi intelligence, "almost certainly" removed the high-explosive material that went missing from the Al-Qaqaa facility, south of Baghdad. "The Russians brought in, just before the war got started, a whole series of military units," Mr. Shaw said. "Their main job was to shred all evidence of any of the contractual arrangements they had with the Iraqis. The others were transportation units." Mr. Shaw, who was in charge of cataloging the tons of conventional arms provided to Iraq by foreign suppliers, said he recently obtained reliable information on the arms-dispersal program from two European intelligence services that have detailed knowledge of the Russian-Iraqi weapons collaboration. Most of Saddam's most powerful arms were systematically separated from other arms like mortars, bombs and rockets, and sent to Syria and Lebanon, and possibly to Iran, he said. The Russian involvement in helping disperse Saddam's weapons, including some 380 tons of RDX and HMX, is still being investigated, Mr. Shaw said. The RDX and HMX, which are used to manufacture high-explosive and nuclear weapons, are probably of Russian origin, he said. Pentagon spokesman Larry DiRita could not be reached for comment. The disappearance of the material was reported in a letter Oct. 10 from the Iraqi government to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Disclosure of the missing explosives Monday in a New York Times story was used by the Democratic presidential campaign of Sen. John Kerry, who accused the Bush administration of failing to secure the material. Al-Qaqaa, a known Iraqi weapons site, was monitored closely, Mr. Shaw said. "That was such a pivotal location, Number 1, that the mere fact of [special explosives] disappearing was impossible," Mr. Shaw said. "And Number 2, if the stuff disappeared, it had to have gone before we got there." The Pentagon disclosed yesterday that the Al-Qaqaa facility was defended by Fedayeen Saddam, Special Republican Guard and other Iraqi military units during the conflict. U.S. forces defeated the defenders around April 3 and found the gates to the facility open, the Pentagon said in a statement yesterday. A military unit in charge of searching for weapons, the Army's 75th Exploitation Task Force, then inspected Al-Qaqaa on May 8, May 11 and May 27, 2003, and found no high explosives that had been monitored in the past by the IAEA. The Pentagon said there was no evidence of large-scale movement of explosives from the facility after April 6. "The movement of 377 tons of heavy ordnance would have required dozens of heavy trucks and equipment moving along the same roadways as U.S. combat divisions occupied continually for weeks prior to and subsequent to the 3rd Infantry Division's arrival at the facility," the statement said. The statement also said that the material may have been removed from the site by Saddam's regime. According to the Pentagon, U.N. arms inspectors sealed the explosives at Al-Qaqaa in January 2003 and revisited the site in March and noted that the seals were not broken. It is not known whether the inspectors saw the explosives in March. The U.N. team left the country before the U.S.-led invasion began March 20, 2003. A second defense official said documents on the Russian support to Iraq reveal that Saddam's government paid the Kremlin for the special forces to provide security for Iraq's Russian arms and to conduct counterintelligence activities designed to prevent U.S. and Western intelligence services from learning about the arms pipeline through Syria. The Russian arms-removal program was initiated after Yevgeny Primakov, the former Russian intelligence chief, could not persuade Saddam to give in to U.S. and Western demands, this official said. A small portion of Iraq's 650,000 tons to 1 million
[CTRL] Terrorist Case Lawyer Denies Charges
-Caveat Lector- http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A3625-2004Oct27?language=printer washingtonpost.com Terrorist Case Lawyer Denies Charges Attorney Testifies She Did Not Help Smuggle Messages to Islamic Group By Gail ApplesonReutersThursday, October 28, 2004; Page A15 NEW YORK, Oct. 27 -- A U.S. lawyer accused of helping a radical Muslim cleric smuggle terrorist messages out of prison wept in court Wednesday after being asked whether she would repeat her actions. Lynne Stewart, 65, known for representing unpopular, poor and minority clients, took the stand for a third day in Manhattan federal court to rebut charges she let imprisoned felon Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman communicate with terrorists. She denies that she supported terrorism and maintains she was only representing a client being held incommunicado. Stewart, who could face 15 years in prison if convicted of providing "material support" to terrorists, was asked by her attorney Michael Tigar if she would take the same steps if she could go back in time. "I'm diminished by the loss of clientele. My family has suffered tremendously," she said, her voice breaking. "I don't know if I would." Tigar then asked if she had broken a legal duty to the United States. "I would like to think I would do it because of a duty owed to the client," she said. "I do not believe I ever violated any command, any restriction of the United States of America." Abdel Rahman, an Egyptian convicted in 1995 of conspiring to attack U.S. targets, is serving a life sentence. Prosecutors say the plot included the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and plans to attack the United Nations. The case has caused concern among some defense lawyers who see it as an effort by the Bush administration to scare them and chip away at attorney-client confidentiality in the name of combating terrorism. Stewart is charged with lying to the government by signing and then violating agreements to abide by special prison restrictions aimed at stopping Abdel Rahman from sending messages that could result in terrorism. The rules limited the cleric's access to mail, the news media, telephones and visitors. Among the allegations is that Stewart gave a Reuters correspondent a statement issued by the cleric in 2000 saying he had withdrawn his support for the Islamic Group's cease-fire in Egypt. That correspondent was subpoenaed in the case. Prosecutors say the Islamic Group is a terrorist organization and the cleric is its spiritual leader. During her testimony, Stewart said she believed a "bubble" in the language of the restrictions gave her leeway to disseminate the statement. She said she understood she was permitted to do the necessary legal work to "vigorously defend Abdel Rahman, who was held incommunicado and without a voice." "Did you think your client wanted people to pick up the guns and start shooting?" Tigar asked. "No," Stewart said. © 2004 The Washington Post Company www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsâis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om imp.gif?client=ca-washingtonpost_454x190event=noscript Description: Binary data uc.GIF?1.13wpostwpostnoscript Description: Binary data
[CTRL] Michigan anthrax vaccine producer still making vaccine for now
-Caveat Lector- http://www.freep.com/news/statewire/sw106418_20041028.htm Michigan anthrax vaccine producer still making vaccine for now October 28, 2004, 12:33 PM WASHINGTON (AP) -- BioPort Corp., the Michigan-based maker of an anthrax vaccine, said Thursday it won't feel any immediate effect from a federal judge's order to halt a mandatory anthrax vaccination program for U.S. troops. BioPort spokeswoman Kim Brennen Root said the company is continuing to produce the anthrax vaccine under its contract with the Pentagon, which runs through 2006. BioPort, which is based in Lansing, Mich., is the nation's sole supplier of the anthrax vaccine. Wednesday's ruling was the second time in a year that U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan has ordered the military to stop requiring anthrax vaccines for U.S. military personnel. Sullivan said the Food and Drug Administration violated its own procedures when it gave final approval to the vaccine last year because it failed to give the public an adequate opportunity to comment. Virginia Stephanakis, a spokeswoman for the Pentagon's vaccine program, said the ruling "hit us very suddenly and very unexpectedly." The Pentagon on Wednesday halted mandatory anthrax vaccinations until further notice but noted the court didn't question the safety or effectiveness of the vaccine. Root said the vaccine has a two-year shelf life, so the Pentagon can store some supplies for later use if the vaccine program is restarted. Root said the shelf life of the vaccine will likely be extended to three years this winter. -- On the Net: BioPort Corp.: http://www.bioport.com U.S. Department of Defense vaccination program: http://www.anthrax.osd.mil www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] TSA Takes Over Security Threat Assessments On Non-U.S. Citizens Seeking Flight School Training
-Caveat Lector- Protecting against another Project Bojinka nine years too late. - JR http://www.tsa.gov/public/display?theme=44content=09000519800d8df4print=yes Print TSA Takes Over Security Threat Assessments On Non-U.S. Citizens Seeking Flight School Training U. S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Transportation Security Administration FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - October 22, 2004TSA Press Office: (571) 227-2829 Agency also expands program scope to include non-commercial pilot candidates LONG BEACH, CALIF. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) today announced it is now requiring security threat assessments for non-U.S. citizens seeking training at U.S. flight schools, regardless of the type and size of the aircraft. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the Aviation and Transportation Security Act mandated the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct threat assessments for non-U.S. citizens who sought training on aircraft weighing 12,500 pounds or more including commercial aircraft. Vision 100 Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act transferred this responsibility from Justice to TSA as of October 5, 2004. September 11th taught us that terrorists exploited the use of U.S flight schools, said Rear Adm. David M. Stone, USN (Ret.), Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for TSA. Fortifying security by knowing who trains at these schools is an integral part of our mission to secure the homeland. The program is designed to prevent terrorists from receiving pilot training from flight schools. As a prerequisite to flight training, non-U.S. citizens must provide to TSA fingerprints, biographical information, including full name, passport and visa information, and training specifics such as the type of aircraft the candidate seeks instruction to operate. In addition to security assessments, TSAs new initiative will: Streamline the threat assessment process from 45 to 30 days for most applicants, and 5 days for some Require flight schools to submit a students photograph to TSA to ensure the student reporting for flight training is the same individual who successfully completed a security threat assessment Implement an application fee of $130 for the security threat assessment Require flight schools to provide security awareness training for appropriate staff on an annual basis. To help fulfill this requirement, TSA plans to offer an on-line course on the agencys Web site within a few weeks. Beginning this week, TSA will accept applications for non-U.S. citizens seeking flight training in aircraft weighing 12,500 pounds or less who do not currently hold a FAA or foreign pilots certificate. Starting on December 19, 2004, TSA will accept applications for all non-U.S. citizens who seek training in aircraft weighing 12,500 pounds or less, including those who already have an airmans certificate and seeking additional training for a new certificate and/or rating. ### www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsâis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Fw: Another Kerry whopper
-Caveat Lector- The man has no shame. I guess he figures the media will cove rup for him - JR - Original Message - From: spiker To: Recipient list suppressed Sent: Tuesday, October 26, 2004 11:50 AM Subject: Another Kerry whopper Last Saturday Senator Kerry said that Christopher Reeve called him to thank him for mentioning him in the debate on Friday night. The Senator said "you could hear the emotion in his voice."Timeline: · Reeve went into a coma on Thursday night, Oct. 7th.· Debate mention of Reeve was on Friday night, Oct. 8th.· Kerry statement that he talked with Reeves Saturday Oct. 9th.· Reeve died on Sunday Oct. 10th without regaining consciousness.One may think that this would be a big deal and that it would be all over the news in the past two or three days.I expect that if (God forbid) Kerry is elected, that he will be able to channel and discuss policy with Lincoln and the other JFK.Also yesterday, Senator Edwards said to a high school group that if Kerry would have been president, Christopher Reeve would still be alive. What does Dr. Edwards know that all the other doctors and scientists don't know??Now imagine if either Bush or Chaney would have said something so stupid.This "LIE" is as big as Gore inventing the Internet. www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsâis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Ohio Provisional Ballot Ruling Reversed
-Caveat Lector- http://www.dhonline.com/articles/2004/10/23/ap/headlines/d85th4280.txt Sunday, October 24, 2004Last modified Saturday, October 23, 2004 10:05 PM PDT Ohio Provisional Ballot Ruling ReversedBy JOE KAY CINCINNATI - A federal appeals court ruled Saturday that provisional ballots Ohio voters cast outside their own precincts should not be counted, throwing out a lower-court decision that said such ballots are valid as long as they are cast in the correct county.The ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals supports an order issued by Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell. Democrats contend the Republican official's rules are too restrictive and allege they are intended to suppress the vote. Ohio Democrats on Saturday night decided not to file an appeal in the case, one of the first major tests of how such ballots will be handled in a close election. Polls show that the race between President Bush and Sen. John Kerry in the key swing state is too close to call.Federal judges in several states have issued varying rulings on the issue of provisional ballots, which are intended to be backups for eligible voters whose names do not appear on the rolls. Saturday's ruling was the first time a federal appeals court has weighed in.The state's Democrats had filed a lawsuit challenging Blackwell's directive instructing county elections boards not to give ballots to voters who come to the wrong precinct and to send them to the correct polling place on Election Day.Blackwell has said allowing voters to cast a ballot wherever they show up, even if they're not registered to vote there, is a recipe for Election Day chaos.The Ohio Democratic Party and a coalition of labor and voter rights groups had argued that Blackwell's order discriminated against the poor and minorities, who tend to move more frequently.U.S. District Judge James Carr on Oct. 14 blocked Blackwell's directive, ruling that Ohio voters who show up at the wrong polling place still can cast ballots as long as they are in the county where they are registered. Blackwell appealed to the 6th Circuit."Today's ruling reaffirms Secretary Blackwell's understanding of the law," Blackwell spokesman Carlo LoParo said in a statement. "Unfortunately the frivolous lawsuits filed by the Ohio Democratic Party and its allies have needlessly wasted the valuable time of election officials across the state as they prepare for this important election."Democrats said Saturday they were disappointed by the ruling but were ready to move on with election preparations."To avoid any confusion, we are not going to appeal this ruling," David Sullivan, voter protection coordinator for the Ohio Democratic Party, said in a statement. "That way we can ensure that voters and election officials understand that voters must be in the proper polling place before casting a vote."The 6th Circuit did rule that the Democrats had a right to file the lawsuit. Lawyers for the Department of Justice on Friday had filed a brief in support of Blackwell saying Ohio Democrats weren't legally entitled to challenge Blackwell's position.Similar court battles are under way in other states. In Florida, a federal judge ruled Thursday that the state must reject provisional ballots if they are cast in the wrong precinct.In Michigan, a federal judge said those ballots must be counted if cast by voters at the wrong precinct but in the right city, township or village. That decision also has been appealed to the 6th Circuit, but the appellate court has yet to issue a ruling in that case.In Missouri and Colorado, judges have ruled that votes in the wrong place don't have to be counted.Provisional ballots are not counted until after the election. They are set aside and inspected by Democratic
[CTRL] Science turns monkeys into drones Humans are next, genetic experts say
-Caveat Lector- http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=14314591-ee96-440f-8c83-11a9822d3d42 Science turns monkeys into drones Humans are next, genetic experts say Lois Rogers The Times, London Sunday, October 17, 2004 CREDIT: Manish Swarup, the Associated Press A gene 'switch' can make rhesus monkeys compliant. LONDON - Scientists have discovered a way of manipulating a gene that turns animals into drones that do not become bored with repetitive tasks. The experiments, conducted on monkeys, are the first to demonstrate that animal behaviour can be permanently changed, turning the subjects from aggressive to "compliant" creatures. The genes are identical in humans and although the discovery could help to treat depression and other types of mental illness, it will raise images of the Epsilon caste from Aldous Huxley's futuristic novel Brave New World. The experiments -- detailed in the journal Nature Neuroscience this month -- involved blocking the effect of a gene called D2 in a particular part of the brain. This cut off the link between the rhesus monkeys' motivation and reward. Instead of speeding up with the approach of a deadline or the prospect of a "treat," the monkeys in the experiment could be made to work just as enthusiastically for long periods. The scientists say the identical technique would apply to humans. "Most people are motivated to work hard and well only by the expectation of reward, whether it's a paycheque or a word of praise," said Barry Richmond, a government neurobiologist at the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health, who led the project. "We found we could remove that link and create a situation where repetitive, hard work would continue without any reward." The experiments involved getting rhesus monkeys to operate levers in response to colour changes on screens in front of them. Normally they work hardest and fastest with the fewest mistakes if they think a reward for the "work" is imminent. However, Mr. Richmond's team found that they could make the monkeys work their hardest and fastest all the time, without any complaint or sign of slacking, just by manipulating D2 so that they forgot about the expectation of reward. The original purpose of the research was to find ways of treating mental illness, but the technicalities of permanently altering human behaviour by gene manipulation are currently too complex, he said. However, he and other scientists acknowledge that methods of manipulating human physical and psychological traits are just around the corner, and the technology will emerge first as a lucrative add-on available from in vitro fertilization clinics. "There's no doubt we will be able to influence behaviour," said Julian Savulescu, a professor of ethics at Oxford University. "Genetically manipulating people to become slaves is not in their interests, but there are other changes that might be. We have to make choices about what makes a good life for an individual." In a presentation at a Royal Society meeting titled Designing Babies: What the Future Holds, Yuri Verlinsky, a scientist from the University of Chicago who is at the forefront of embryo manipulation, said: "As infertility customers are investing so much time, money and effort into having a baby, shouldn't they have a healthy one and what is to stop them picking a baby for its physical and psychological traits?" Gregory Stock, author of Redesigning Humans and an ethics specialist from the University of California, agrees. "I don't think these kind of interventions are exactly round the corner, they are a few years away, but I don't think they are going to be stopped by legislation," he said. ©The Ottawa Citizen 2004 Copyright © 2004 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest Global Communications Corp. All rights reserved.Optimized for browser versions 4.0 and higher. www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsâis used politically by
[CTRL] Lansing-based firm working on shigella vaccine (Vioport)
-Caveat Lector- http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041024/NEWS01/410240354/1001/newstemplate=printart This is a printer friendly version of an article from Lansing State Journal. To print this article open the file menu and choose Print. Published October 24, 2004Lansing-based firm working on shigella vaccineBioPort division in Maryland says sales years away By Stefanie Murray Lansing State Journal The seriousness of the recent shigella outbreak was no surprise to Lansing's BioPort Corp., which has been working on a vaccine for the bacteria for several years. BioPort's Maryland-based research and development subsidiary, Antex Biologics Inc., completed the first phase of clinical testing of an oral shigella vaccine last year, said Antex President Dr. W. James Jackson. Shigella is a germ that causes shigellosis, a gastrointestinal illness whose symptoms include diarrhea and vomiting. Antex soon will begin manufacturing the vaccine for further testing, but federal approval is years away. Other companies also are working on a vaccine. Even when a vaccine is complete, officials are unsure how important it will become here. "One of the things that is clear is that shigella is not a prominent illness in this country," said BioPort spokeswoman Kim Brennen Root. "The vaccine that we are working on primarily has a market in the third world or underdeveloped countries." Shigella is one of the leading causes of early childhood death in the developing world, Jackson said. Worldwide, there are about 165 million cases of shigellosis a year and 1.1 million deaths, according to the World Health Organization. In the United States, the vaccine would be marketed to the military and global travelers. About 18,000 cases of shigella infection are reported annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 69 percent of all shigellosis cases involve children younger than 5. "There very well could be a pediatric market (in the United States) for such a vaccine," Jackson said. But health officials say discussions about who might need the vaccine are years away. "The question would be: Are they going to suggest it be given to everyone or just certain populations?" said Dr. Gary Kirk, division director of immunization with the Michigan Department of Community Health. "It really is too premature to know right now." Kirk said immunization recommendations would likely come from the CDC and World Health Organization when - and if - a shigella vaccine is approved. Contact Stefanie Murray at 377-1016 or [EMAIL PROTECTED].Copyright 2004 Lansing State Journal Use of this site signifies your agreement to the Terms of Service (updated 12.20.02) www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Anthrax Figure Wins a Round on News Sources
-Caveat Lector- This could put pressure on some of the government shills and spin doctors in the news media. More trouble for Judith Miller and the NYT?- JR http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/22/politics/22anthrax.html?oref=loginth=pagewanted=printposition= October 22, 2004 Anthrax Figure Wins a Round on News SourcesBy SCOTT SHANE ASHINGTON, Oct. 21 - In a development that could undercut reporters' ability to obtain confidential information, Justice Department officials agreed Thursday to distribute to dozens of federal investigators in the 2001 anthrax case a document they can sign to release journalists from pledges of confidentiality. Lawyers for Steven J. Hatfill, a former Army bioterrorism expert, had sought the releases as a step toward questioning reporters about their sources in the case. Dr. Hatfill, who has been described by Attorney General John Ashcroft as a "person of interest'' in the anthrax investigation, is suing the government over leaks of a variety of information suggesting his guilt. Experts on journalism and the law said the releases - first used in another case, involving a leak of the identity of Valerie Plame, an undercover officer for the Central Intelligence Agency - could erode government employees' confidence that they can provide information to reporters without fear of being later identified and punished. These experts said being presented such a form could pose an excruciating dilemma for news sources. If they refuse to sign, superiors may suspect that they were the source of a leak. If they did leak information and then do sign, they risk being identified by the reporter as the source. Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said it was "ridiculous" to think that waivers sent by the Justice Department to its employees would be viewed as voluntary. "The ultimate result of this,'' Ms. Dalglish said, "will be that in the future, less information will get to the public.'' The experts said the use of release forms in the Hatfill case suggested that the practice of asking people whom reporters may have promised anonymity to then permit the release of their names could become routine. Documents filed by Dr. Hatfill's lawyers already refer to the forms as "Plame waivers," as if they were an established legal tool. Justice Department lawyers said Thursday that under the new agreement, they would send the release forms, beginning in about four weeks, to at least 80 people who have worked on the government's investigation of the anthrax-laced letters that killed 5 people in the fall of 2001 and made at least 17 others ill. The list of those who are to receive the forms includes Mr. Ashcroft and Robert S. Mueller, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as numerous F.B.I. agents, postal inspectors and federal prosecutors. The releases will be accompanied by a letter advising the recipients that signing them is voluntary. Waivers that are signed will be passed on to Dr. Hatfill's lawyers, who can then present them to reporters in an effort to persuade them to disclose who gave them information about Dr. Hatfill. Reggie B. Walton, the federal district judge overseeing the Hatfill case, first allowed the plaintiff's lawyers to question reporters last March. But they have not yet sought to do so, maintaining that case law first required them to exhaust all other routes before pursuing journalists. At a hearing Thursday before Judge Walton, Justice Department lawyers and Dr. Hatfill's portrayed the waivers as a compromise that would advance proceedings in the lawsuit without interfering with the criminal investigation of the anthrax case by requiring depositions from a large number of investigators. "All that's affected by the waiver is a private promise of confidentiality," said Mark A. Grannis, a Washington lawyer who is representing Dr. Hatfill. "We want that waived precisely so that we don't have to depose investigators but can get the information from reporters." Elizabeth J. Shapiro, a lawyer in the Justice Department's civil division, called the decision to distribute the release forms to anthrax investigators "an extraordinary concession." "We will work as fast as we can,'' Ms. Shapiro added, "to get these waivers to our people and back to the plaintiff's counsel." As a "person of interest'' in the anthrax case, Dr. Hatfill, 50, of Washington, was trailed by F.B.I. surveillance teams for
[CTRL] Despots, Deposits Directors
-Caveat Lector- http://www.law.com/jsp/printerfriendly.jsp?c=LawArticlet=PrinterFriendlyArticlecid=1098217036489 Select 'Print' in your browser menu to print this document.©2004 Law.comPage printed from: http://www.law.com Back to ArticleDespots, Deposits DirectorsPaul BravermanThe American Lawyer10-22-2004In January 2003, Steven Pfeiffer was elected chairman of Fulbright Jaworski. Pfeiffer, a partner in the firm's Washington, D.C., office, became the first person outside Houston to hold the position. The firm's press release also noted his position on the board of Riggs National Corp., the parent company of Riggs Bank. A few blocks down Pennsylvania Avenue from Pfeiffer's office, U.S. Senate investigators were already looking hard at Riggs because of reports that money deposited in the bank had been used by the 9/11 terrorists. The probe would soon include charges that the bank had evaded an international freeze when it sent millions to client Augusto Pinochet, the former Chilean dictator. Last summer, the Senate issued a report on the Riggs/Pinochet connection, which noted the role Pfeiffer played in the payments. One eager reader was Baltasar Garzon, Spain's crusading magistrate-judge, who has pursued Pinochet for years. In September, Garzon issued a criminal complaint against Pfeiffer and others for money laundering. Garzon asked the U.S. Department of Justice to freeze Pfeiffer's assets until he posts a bond and answers questions about the payments. (By mid-October Justice had not responded to the request.) In addition, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C., has opened a criminal inquiry into the Riggs matter, and Pfeiffer has been named in a shareholder derivative suit. The relationship between Pinochet and the soon-to-be-defunct Riggs dates to the 1970s, when Riggs made "vast sums" by financing Pinochet's arms deals, says Peter Kornbluh, author of "The Pinochet File." The Senate report, by its subcommittee on investigations, details how Riggs' leadership "accepted millions of dollars in deposits from him with no serious inquiry into the source of his wealth ... set up offshore shell corporations ... altered the names of his personal account to disguise his ownership ... [and] concealed the existence of the Pinochet accounts" from federal regulators. The report lays out a chronology: In 1998 Garzon indicted Pinochet for genocide and torture, and froze his bank accounts throughout the world. At the time, Pinochet had as much as $8 million on deposit at Riggs. In May 2001, acting on that order, a Bermuda bank froze its Pinochet accounts. That same day, Riggs withdrew $500,000 of Pinochet's money, and sent him 10 cashier's checks for $50,000 each by overnight delivery. A few days later a Riggs executive asked Pfeiffer, an international finance specialist, to look into the bank's obligations regarding the Pinochet accounts. Andres Rigo, a senior adviser with Fulbright, wrote a memo that discussed Pinochet's legal troubles throughout the world. Pfeiffer forwarded Rigo's memo to the bank's general counsel with a letter describing it as an overview of "attempts to freeze and/or seize General Pinochet's assets," as well as efforts by Garzon to locate Pinochet's assets in the United States. Pfeiffer told Senate investigators that he didn't tell the other directors, and didn't raise any concerns with bank officials because he assumed that due diligence had been performed when the accounts were opened. But the bank had already been cited by the OCC because high-risk accounts "were not being appropriately identified, documented, and monitored." Several months later, Riggs again sent Pinochet 10 cashier's checks for $50,000 each, and again in April 2002. In March 2002 the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Treasury Department agency charged with enforcing money laundering and bank secrecy laws, learned about the Pinochet accounts. It began to investigate and pressured Riggs to close the accounts. In June the bank again queried Pfeiffer: If we close the accounts, can we send the money to Pinochet, or does it have to be turned over to a court? Pfeiffer's answer is unknown. He refused to answer questions from Senate investigators, and he declined to speak to The American Lawyer, both times citing attorney-client privilege. But a month later, according to the Senate report, Riggs closed Pinochet's accounts and sent him the balance -- more than $5 million. "If he knew that the bank had violated an
[CTRL] Fw: John Edwards, the Silky Pony fixes his hair
-Caveat Lector- - Original Message - From: spiker To: Recipient list suppressed Sent: Friday, October 22, 2004 4:59 PM Subject: John Edwards, the "Silky Pony" fixes his hair This is a several minute video of John Edwards fixing his hair!!! Incredible!! You have to see this to believe it. http://slate.msn.com/id/2108216/slideshow/2108085/entry/2108087/speed/ www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] S.E.C. Warns It May Act On Ex-Officer Of Citigroup
-Caveat Lector- What is going on at Citigroup Robert Rubin? It almost sounds like the Mafia is running things.. - JR http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/23/business/23citigroup.html?oref=loginpagewanted=printposition= October 23, 2004 S.E.C. Warns It May Act On Ex-Officer Of CitigroupBy LANDON THOMAS Jr. Citigroup said yesterday that federal regulators had warned the bank that an investigation of its asset management unit could result in an enforcement action against the executive who ran the division until this week. The Securities and Exchange Commission has sent a Wells notice - a letter warning that an individual or company will probably face a civil complaint from the commission - to Thomas W. Jones, who had run Citigroup asset management, the fund management arm of the bank, since 1998. The notice caps a difficult week for Charles O. Prince, Citigroup's chief executive, who has been taking pains to prove to regulators as well as to investors that Citigroup, a mammoth financial institution with offices and businesses that span the globe, can at the same time run a clean ship. On Wednesday, Mr. Jones and two other senior bank executives were forced to resign by Mr. Prince after an internal review concluded that they were responsible for a breakdown in oversight at Citigroup's private banking operations in Japan. In September, Japanese regulators barred Citigroup's private banking business from operating in the country, citing inadequate internal controls to prevent fraudulent trades and money laundering. Robert B. Willumstad, the president of Citigroup, said yesterday in an e-mail message sent to employees that neither the "Wells notice nor the underlying investigation had anything to do with Tom's leaving the company." Mr. Willumstad added that Citigroup had informed regulators in November 2003 of the infractions, which included an inappropriate and undisclosed payment made to Citigroup asset management by an outside vendor. For Mr. Jones, a respected executive with over 20 years of experience working at the top levels of financial services firms, the notice is a troubling epilogue to a long career at Citigroup. His path to the upper reaches of Citigroup's executive suite was an unusual one. As a student at Cornell in 1969, Mr. Jones led an armed takeover of the student union building to protest the university's policies toward its black students as well as the Vietnam War, an action that led to his being featured in Newsweek. He eventually graduated from Cornell, and after top posts at John Hancock, TIAA-CREF and Salomon Brothers, he joined Citigroup. At the time of his dismissal, Mr. Jones was responsible for $490 billion under management at Citigroup asset management. Mr. Jones could not be reached for comment. On the surface, the S.E.C. investigation would seem to pale in comparison to the other regulatory run-ins that Citigroup has encountered over the last three years. All the same, it raises some uncomfortable questions with regard to the quality of executive decision making at the top tier of Citigroup's business units. Between 1997 and 1999, Mr. Jones decided to bring in house the bank's transfer agency operations, a business that documents the ownership of securities within the firm's mutual funds. The initiative was aimed at reducing fund fees, a goal Citigroup executives say was met. Subsequently, Mr. Jones and other executives within the unit decided to pass on a portion of the agency business to an outside vendor, the First Data Corporation. The agreement with First Data included a revenue guarantee of $16 million that was paid to Citigroup asset management but that was not passed on to its mutual funds as it should have been. Nor were the payments ever disclosed. Citigroup is repaying the amount to its funds with interest although it has offered no explanation as to why it received such a revenue guarantee. While Citigroup itself received a notice in July, securities lawyers said yesterday that the payment and the nondisclosure were at the heart of the S.E.C. investigation. "The fact that only individuals are being charged makes it more likely that it's the improper payment and not back-office record-keeping violations, that the S.E.C. is investigating," said Thomas Dewey, a former S.E.C. lawyer at the law firm of Dewey Pegno Kramarsky. A lower-level Citigroup executive working in its compliance division and a former employee who worked in the bank's
[CTRL] A.I.G. Says It Is Target of Midwest Inquiry
-Caveat Lector- Is a criminal network running these super-size corporations? - JR http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/22/business/22insure.html?pagewanted=printposition= October 22, 2004 A.I.G. Says It Is Target of Midwest InquiryBy JOSEPH B. TREASTER Already under scrutiny from regulators in Washington and New York, the American International Group disclosed yesterday that it was the target of a federal grand jury investigation over its role in helping a Midwest cellphone distributor cover up millions in business losses. The investigation is the latest salvo aimed at American International, or A.I.G., the world's largest insurance company. Last week, two of its executives pleaded guilty to bid-rigging charges brought by the New York State attorney general, Eliot Spitzer. In the cellphone case, in Indiana, A.I.G. agreed a year ago to pay $10 million to settle a Securities and Exchange Commission complaint that it provided a contract for the distributor, Brightpoint Inc. of Plainfield, Ind., that had the appearance of insurance but was merely an exchange of money. The deal allowed Brightpoint to reduce its losses for 1998 by nearly $12 million. A.I.G. did not admit wrongdoing in the settlement. The new investigation concerns such "income smoothing" products marketed by A.I.G., the company said. In a conference call with investors and analysts yesterday, Maurice R. Greenberg, the sometimes feisty 79-year-old chief executive of A.I.G., was more subdued than usual, showing the strain of the investigative blows. "I cannot explain why this arose now," Mr. Greenberg said. The timing of federal prosecutors' notification of the latest investigation, he said, was "certainly not by accident, given that we are putting out earnings today." "It's strange," Mr. Greenberg went on. "We do business all over the world, and the place we're having the most difficulty is right here in the United States." The investigation by Mr. Spitzer, who is widely considered to be seeking higher office, and similar ones by Connecticut's attorney general and California's insurance regulator have already begun to change the way the industry does business. Richard Blumenthal, the Connecticut attorney general, said yesterday that he was preparing several new laws on insurance regulation to present to the state legislature. And industry experts say that they expect Congress, which has already held a series of hearings on the state-regulated insurance industry, to follow up on the latest accusations. The insurance broker at the center of Mr. Spitzer's inquiry, Marsh McLennan, had its credit ratings cut three levels yesterday by Standard Poor's. Willis Group Holdings, the third-largest insurance broker, said yesterday that it was ending a lucrative and decades-old practice of compensation for brokers that had been at the heart of the investigations. In the payment system that Willis is abandoning, brokers took money for increasing the sales and profitability of insurance companies that they ostensibly recommend to corporations without bias. Mr. Spitzer and other investigators say these payments create an inherent conflict of interest and are at the heart of the sham-bidding and steering-of-business accusations against Marsh McLennan. Mr. Spitzer sued Marsh, the world's biggest insurance broker, last week. In a conference call with investors and analysts, Joseph J. Plumeri, the chief executive of Willis, said that an internal investigation, begun after subpoenas were received from Mr. Spitzer in the spring, had so far found no evidence of bid rigging at his company. But he said Willis was immediately ending the agreements in the United States and Canada and phasing them out in the rest of the world by the end of the year because of customer complaints. " 'We don't like these things; you should get rid of them,' " Mr. Plumeri said customers told him. "That's what we're doing." Mr. Plumeri said the payments brought Willis $160 million in revenue last year, equal to nearly 8 percent of the company's total sales of $2.07 billion. But he said about half of the payments were for services the broker provided, like claims processing, that Willis would continue to provide at a flat fee. Marsh said a day after it was sued that it was halting its payment agreements, often referred to as contingency fees or placement service agreements. Marsh said its agreements yielded $845 million of the $6.9 billion it
[CTRL] Deal on Trump Debt Includes Bankruptcy
-Caveat Lector- "Reality" for the Donald? No wonder he needs a day job on TV. - JR October 22, 2004 Deal on Trump Debt Includes BankruptcyBy BLOOMBERG NEWS y Bloomberg News Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts Inc. said yesterday that it had reached an agreement with bondholders that would reduce its debt through a bankruptcy and leave Donald J. Trump in charge. The agreement would reduce the company's $1.8 billion debt by $400 million as part of a filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, expected by the end of November, Trump Hotels said. A planned $400 million investment from Mr. Trump, the company's chairman and chief executive, and a Credit Suisse First Boston unit fell apart in September. Bondholders agreed to swap their debt for $74 million in cash, $395 million in common stock and $1.25 billion in new 10-year notes with an interest rate of 8.5 percent, the company said. Mr. Trump, 58, would retain his positions, while his equity stake would be cut to 27 percent from 56 percent. He would invest $71.4 million in the restructured company by converting $16.4 million of company bonds he owns into common stock and buying $55 million in equity with cash. Copyright 2004The New York Times Company | Home | Privacy Policy | Search | Corrections | RSS | Help | Back to Top www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Memos Warned of Billing Fraud by Firm in Iraq
-Caveat Lector- It seems everywhere we look there is corruption. Is this a sign of the moral degeneration of America? - JR http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/23/politics/23whistle.html?pagewanted=printposition= October 23, 2004CORRUPTION ACCUSATIONS Memos Warned of Billing Fraud by Firm in IraqBy ERIK ECKHOLM anagers of a security firm that won large contracts in Iraq warned their bosses in February of what they called a pattern of fraudulent billing practices, internal company memorandums suggest. The memorandums, written primarily by two company managers, charged that the security firm, Custer Battles, repeatedly billed the occupation authorities for nonexistent services or at grossly inflated prices. The company, which quickly grew to garner security contracts worth $100 million in little more than a year, denies the charges. It argues that the managers confused sincere attempts to document jobs done in a hurry, in a war zone, with deliberate deception and that the company provided all contracted services for the agreed-upon price. The memos and a lawsuit filed by former employees cite several specific instances, including billing the Coalition Provisional Authority $157,000 for a helicopter pad that in fact cost $95,000, and repainting forklifts abandoned by Baghdad Airways and then charging the authority thousands of dollars a month, claiming that the forklifts were leased. One of the managers was later fired by the company and is part of a lawsuit charging Custer Battles with defrauding the federal government of tens of millions of dollars. The other manager, who has since been appointed to a high-level position with the company, recently declared that after further research, he believed that any questionable practices were the fault of a few individuals and had not been condoned by the owners. On Sept. 30, the Pentagon, concerned by the allegations raised by the employees, barred Custer Battles from receiving further military contracts, and it has withheld at least $10 million in payments to the company. The company is appealing the ban. The charges swirling around Custer Battles in part reflect a problem that American government auditors have acknowledged: the inability of the Iraq occupation authority, particularly in its first year, to monitor properly the performance of hundreds of companies, large and small, that flocked to Baghdad seeking contracts for everything from building materials to armed guards. The memorandums, provided by a lawyer for the managers who filed the lawsuit against Custer Battles, charge that the company submitted invoices from supposed subcontractors or suppliers that - unbeknownst to the American officials who paid the final tab - were virtual shells, newly created by Custer Battles executives and their partners. Custer Battles, founded in 2001 by Scott Custer and Michael Battles, both in their 30's, says it has about 700 employees. Pete Baldwin, then the Iraq facilities manager, wrote in a Feb. 2 memorandum that in one typical invoice, Custer Battles claimed that one of its shell companies had installed a helicopter pad for $157,000. In fact, Custer Battles had hired a different company to build the pad for $95,000, he asserted. He wrote that "every line item on that invoice," which was submitted for a total of $250,000, was just as "false, fabricated, inflated." Mr. Baldwin wrote that he had repeatedly informed Mr. Custer, the company co-owner, of similar practices, but to no avail. A lawyer for Custer Battles, Richard Sauber, said that Mr. Custer had subsequently brought accountants to Iraq to clear up incomplete books but that they had not found fraud. Mr. Baldwin said in the memorandum that after he began raising alarms, an executive with the company tried to fire him. Mr. Baldwin was given notice on Feb. 20 - he has said because of his charges of fraud. Larry Robbins, a lawyer for Custer Battles, says he was fired for "incompetence.'' Last week, documents unsealed by the Justice Department disclosed that two former managers of Custer Battles, including Mr. Baldwin, had brought a civil suit under the federal whistle-blower act charging the company with fraud. The company called those charges baseless and the work of "a competitor and a disgruntled employee." The two former managers could win million of dollars in rewards if the charges hold up. In a memorandum dated Feb. 28, 2004, Peter Miskovich, who was manager of the
[CTRL] Mortgage Debt Not Big Burden, Greenspan Says
-Caveat Lector- Greenspan is the proverbial Dutch boy holding his finger in the dyke trying to stem the catastrophic flood. - JR http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/20/business/20debt.html?pagewanted=printposition= October 20, 2004 Mortgage Debt Not Big Burden, Greenspan SaysBy EDMUND L. ANDREWS ASHINGTON, Oct. 19 - Alan Greenspan on Tuesday defended one of the most tangible results of his tenure as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board: the big increase in homeowner debt. In his most detailed discussion yet on the subject, Mr. Greenspan disputed analysts who worry that home buyers have become swept up in a speculative housing bubble that the Fed is partly responsible for creating. While he acknowledged that consumer debt has risen "especially steeply" in the last five years, he said family finances were still in "reasonably good shape." Mortgage debt and housing prices have both soared since 2001, in part because the Federal Reserve pushed borrowing costs to their lowest levels since the 1950's. With interest rates now rising, a growing number of economists worry that many home buyers will face higher monthly debt payments in an economic environment that could cause house prices to fall. In a speech here to a convention of community bankers, Mr. Greenspan said fears of a speculative bubble in housing prices were exaggerated, because people cannot buy and sell their own homes as easily as stock market speculators can buy and sell stock. The biggest risk of a housing bubble, he said, would be among people who buy second homes and vacation homes. But those kinds of purchases accounted for only 11 percent of new mortgages in 2003. The Fed chairman also contended that many measures of household debt overstate the size of debt burdens. While home mortgages have soared, the values of the properties have climbed as well, he said. "Taking into account this higher level of assets,'' Mr. Greenspan said, "all in all the household sector seems to be in reasonably good financial shape with only modest evidence of an increased level of household financial strain." But a growing number of private economists are skeptical, arguing that the Fed has contributed to an overvalued housing market. Goldman Sachs, in a report entitled "Trouble Brews in the Housing Market," estimated last week that nationwide housing prices are now about 10 percent higher than the level justified by current interest rates and household incomes. The report also warned that the supply of new housing is growing much more rapidly than demand in many areas. Home buyers, meanwhile, "appear to have developed a speculative mind-set" with wildly inflated expectations about future price increases. Kathleen Bostjancic, a senior economist at Merrill Lynch in New York, said Mr. Greenspan was glossing over the risks of a housing bubble, particularly one focused in high-price areas on the East and West Coasts, similar to the stock market bubble that collapsed four years ago. "He talks about how housing doesn't lend itself to being a bubble because it's harder to trade houses and you have to live in a home," Ms. Bostjancic said. "But on the other hand, it's happening in the U.K. and it has happened in Japan. It also happened here in the Northeastern United States in the early 90's. There is a precedent for housing bubbles in the U.S. on a regional basis." Ms. Bostjancic also noted that about 20 percent of consumer debt is adjustable-rate financing, and about 40 percent of new home mortgages have adjustable rates. Even though many adjustable loans have limits on rate increases and often lock in fixed rates for several years initially, monthly payments on such loans will eventually go up as interest rates climb higher. And home buyers right now face higher interest rates immediately, crimping demand. Mr. Greenspan said that consumers do not appear overwhelmed by their debt loads and that many homeowners had used home-equity loans to pay down more expensive kinds of consumer debt, particularly credit card balances. The so-called financial obligations ratio, a broad measure of the mandatory monthly household payments, has climbed sharply since the early 1990's and peaked at 18.5 percent of disposable income in 2002. Since then, the ratio has declined slightly to 18 percent. But Mr. Greenspan acknowledged that homeowners and renters alike are using more of their income than before to cover credit card debt. Dean Baker, director of the Center
[CTRL] Citigroup Forces Resignations of 3 Senior Executives
-Caveat Lector- Senior executives aka fall guys purged. - Of course Robert Rubin knew nothing about this. - JR October 20, 2004 Citigroup Forces Resignations of 3 Senior ExecutivesBy LANDON THOMAS Jr. hree senior executives at Citigroup were forced to resign yesterday as Charles O. Prince, the firm's chief executive, delivered on a promise to improve the bank's sullied reputation in the aftermath of its private banking operations being shut down in Japan last month. The three who resigned are Deryck C. Maughan, the chairman of Citigroup's extensive international operations; Thomas W. Jones, the head of the bank's asset management division; and Peter Scaturro, the chief executive of private banking. All were members of the firm's management committee and their departures represent the most significant exodus of top executives since Mr. Prince succeeded Sanford I. Weill as chief executive a little more than a year ago. The dismissals were announced in an internal e-mail message sent to Citigroup employees yesterday evening. The message stated that the asset management and private banking units of the bank would report immediately to Robert B. Willumstad, president and chief operating officer of Citigroup. Last month, Citigroup was forced to close its private banking operations in Japan after regulators found that a lack of internal controls enabled certain employees to engage in fraudulent transactions. Mr. Prince and the bank, already facing the prospect of suits from Enron creditors and charges of irregular bond trades in Britain, then hired Eugene Ludwig, a former comptroller of the currency at the United States Treasury, to conduct an internal review of the matter. According to a person briefed on the review, its conclusion was that Mr. Jones, Mr. Scaturro and Mr. Maughan should be held responsible for lack of oversight in Japan. Mr. Jones, Mr. Scaturro and Mr. Maughan could not be reached for comment late yesterday. Mr. Scaturro reported to Mr. Jones, and the two executives had broad responsibility for the bank's private banking operations in Japan. The departure of Mr. Maughan, whose responsibility for the Japan operations was less direct, underscores the depth to which Mr. Prince is willing to burrow into Citigroup's executive suite in his drive to enforce a culture of accountability at the sprawling financial institution. Mr. Maughan's departure could be seen as all the more embarrassing because he styled himself as a Japan expert of sorts. He is a trustee of the Japan Society in New York and worked in Japan as a fast-rising executive at Salomon Brothers in the 1980's. Until recently, he was responsible for all of Citigroup's business in Japan. He was also recently knighted. Mr. Maughan's stature at the bank derived in large part from his close relationship with Mr. Weill, who remains chairman. Mr. Maughan has frequently socialized with Mr. Weill and is a trustee with him at Carnegie Hall. And, though the dismissals bore the stamp of Mr. Prince, a lawyer who for years worked alongside Mr. Weill as to build Citigroup into a financial colossus, they were completed with the full knowledge of the board and Mr. Weill, a person close to the board said yesterday. In recent months, Mr. Prince has become increasingly frustrated with the seeming drumbeat of ethical and regulatory lapses at Citigroup. On a recent conference call with analysts he said that such behavior would be dealt with in the near future. "I just want to make it very clear to all of you that for all of us, examples like that are simply not acceptable," he said, referring to the sanctions in Japan, while adding that action had been taken and that there would be "more to come." Mr. Jones's corporate roots also date back to Salomon Brothers, where he was the head of the investment bank's asset management unit. Although the closing of the bank's private banking operations in Japan will barely dent the bank's net profits, which were $17 billion last year, the ignominy of the world's largest financial institution having its private bankers expelled from such an important market, together with the other regulatory lapses, has cast a pall over the bank and its stock price. Citigroup's stock has been a weak performer during Mr. Prince's reign and the resulting low valuation has made all the harder for the bank to make the acquisitions that were Mr. Weill's trademark and that analysts say are necessary to keep the
[CTRL] Connecticut Issues Subpoenas to Insurers
-Caveat Lector- With pension funds of large corporations under scrutiny, Illegal actions in large insurance companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac being investigated. CitiGroup caught in fraud; Kerry and Bush may being vying for the title of the Herbert Hoover of 2005. - JR http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/20/business/20insure.html?pagewanted=printposition= October 20, 2004 Connecticut Issues Subpoenas to InsurersBy JOSEPH B. TREASTER ew efforts to investigate the insurance industry emerged yesterday as the Connecticut attorney general issued subpoenas to big health insurers and providers of employee benefits and auto insurance. And California officials took steps to end what regulators have called misleading practices by insurance brokers. In Connecticut, the home of Aetna, one of the nation's largest health insurers, and a base for Cigna and Anthem, Richard Blumenthal, the attorney general, said he was seeking details on price-rigging and price-fixing, particularly among brokers, agents and health care and auto insurers. "There is mounting and important information that justifies a more intensive investigative effort,'' Mr. Blumenthal said. In California, John Garamendi, the insurance commissioner, said he planned to propose a regulation today to require brokers to disclose fully the fees they receive. The state regulation would be the first official measure to change the way the industry operates since Eliot Spitzer, the New York attorney general, asserted last week that incentive fees to brokers were causing "widespread corruption'' in the industry. Mr. Spitzer's inquiry is expanding, and investigators say they are now looking at employee benefits and auto insurance after initially focusing on commercial insurance. Yet while some companies that sell both employee benefits and health insurance, like Aetna, have received subpoenas from Mr. Spitzer, the investigation by Mr. Blumenthal appears to break new ground by focusing directly on health coverage. Mr. Blumenthal would not name the companies he had ordered to provide information, but he said he was "looking for evidence of bid-rigging, price-fixing, any anticompetitive activity'' among health insurers, their brokers and others "and we have some evidence of it already.'' A spokesman for Aetna, David Carter, said that as of late yesterday the company had not received a subpoena. Concerns that regulators had turned their focus to health insurance rattled the stock market yesterday. Shares of health insurers tumbled: the UnitedHealth Group fell more than 9 percent, to $66.50; Aetna fell 12 percent, to $86.17; and Cigna fell 10 percent, to $59.73. Share prices of big insurance brokers also continued their slide. Marsh McLennan fell another 5.7 percent yesterday, closing at $24.10. Marsh's stock price has plunged 48 percent in the four days since Mr. Spitzer announced a lawsuit against the company. Shares of Marsh's rival, Aon, fell 9.7 percent, to $19.20. The leader of the insurance industry, the American International Group, also fell, leading the Dow Jones industrial average lower. Shares of A.I.G. fell 3.3 percent, to $57.70. Incentive fees to brokers, called placement service agreements or contingency fees, are at the heart of Mr. Spitzer's suit. Last week, Marsh said it would halt such payments, and two insurers, A.I.G. and Ace of Bermuda, said they would no longer be party to such arrangements. But state laws and regulations are vague or silent over whether such payments for volume and profitability are legitimate. Mr. Garamendi's proposal, which must undergo a public hearing and review by California's Office of Administrative Law, would require brokers "to disclose all material facts surrounding the broker's receipt of income from a third party.'' Until Mr. Spitzer's accusations, Marsh and other brokers had reported on their Web sites that they received payment from insurers, but they provided no details. Some brokers said they would give more information if asked, but some corporate customers said that even then they received few details. The avowed role of a broker is to provide the best coverage for corporate customers at the best price. In exchange, brokers receive a fee or commission from the corporate buyer of the insurance. Mr. Spitzer was led to investigate after a phone call last spring that raised questions whether payments to brokers from both sides of a deal represented an inherent conflict of interest. Both Mr. Blumenthal and Mr.
[CTRL] No Flu Vaccine Shortage At Capitol
-Caveat Lector- We are all equal. Some are just more equal than others. Things are normal in D.C. Just lie, no questions will be asked! - JR http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A46325-2004Oct19?language=printer washingtonpost.com No Flu Vaccine Shortage At Capitol Hill's Doctor Urges Members to Get Shots By Charles Babington and David BrownWashington Post Staff WritersWednesday, October 20, 2004; Page A01 While many Americans search in vain for flu shots, members and employees of Congress are able to obtain them quickly and at no charge from the Capitol's attending physician, who has urged all 535 lawmakers to get the vaccines even if they are young and healthy. The physician's office has dispensed nearly 2,000 flu shots this fall, and doses remained available yesterday. That is a steep drop from last year's 9,000 shots, a spokesman for attending physician John F. Eisold said, because many congressional employees have voluntarily abided by federal guidelines that call for this season's limited supply to go mainly to the elderly, the very young, pregnant women, long-term-care patients and people with chronic illnesses. But people of all ages who are credentialed to work in the Capitol can get a shot by saying they meet the guidelines, with no further questions asked, said the spokesman, who cited office policy in demanding anonymity. "We leave it up to people to read the guidelines" issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and then to state whether they want the shot, Eisold's spokesman said. "We don't ask. We trust people. . . . Most of the people have been very good." The policy applies to thousands of legislative staffers, police officers, construction workers, restaurant employees, journalists and others who work in the Capitol complex. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (Tenn.), a heart surgeon, sent letters urging his 99 colleagues to get the shots because they mingle and shake hands with so many people, his spokeswoman, Amy Call, said. She said she did not know how many senators have taken his advice. Eisold "is a big believer that members of Congress are at high risk, because they shake hands with a lot of people" and then visit veterans centers and other concentrations of susceptible people, his spokesman said. Because lawmakers can be both victims and spreaders of flu, he said, Eisold urged all 535 to get the shots. The practice appears to directly contravene the instruction being given by the government's executive branch. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson reiterated the Bush administration's guidelines at a news conference yesterday afternoon at his department's headquarters at the foot of Capitol Hill. "What we are telling people is: If you are not in a priority category, do not get the shot," he said. "If you are one of the doctors who got vaccine in the early shipments, please do not give it to people who are not in one of the classifications I have just spelled out." Thompson was accompanied by officials from the departments of Justice, Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security; the surgeon general; the directors of the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration; and two executives of Aventis Pasteur, the sole maker of injectable influenza vaccine still available for the U.S. market this season. The White House medical unit is giving flu shots only to staff members "meeting the CDC guidelines," said Trent D. Duffy of the press office. The target populations for flu vaccination, as described by the CDC guidelines, include people older than 65, children 6 months to 23 months in age, people ages 2 to 64 with chronic illnesses, medical workers directly involved in patient care and several smaller "risk groups." The office of the Capitol's attending physician began dispensing the vaccine as soon as it arrived on Sept. 30, the spokesman said. After the CDC announced on Oct. 5 the guidelines addressing the shortage, he said, the office began asking applicants to read the guidelines and to decide whether they wanted a flu shot. Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.), who is 50, said he got a flu shot as soon as it was available, "before I knew there was a problem." Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.), 62, said in an interview yesterday: "I haven't done it yet, but I want to. We're not in the priority category" set by the CDC. "But I think the [Capitol's] doctor makes a good case. We can pick it up and spread it" through interactions with constituents. Thompson called the news conference in part to announce another small addition to the vaccine supply: 2.6 million more doses that Aventis Pasteur will deliver in January. Aventis Pasteur, the vaccine division of a European pharmaceutical company, is one of two firms currently licensed to sell injectable vaccine in the United States. The other one, Chiron Corp. of California, made about 48 million doses at a British plant outside
[CTRL] Hear No Evil, See No Evil, And Speak No Evil
-Caveat Lector- http://www.americandaily.com/article/5478 Hear No Evil, See No Evil, And Speak No Evil By JB Williams (10/20/04) The American people cant get the most important answers if nobody will ask the questions While the mainstream press is busy playing partisan politics, overtly or covertly endorsing their candidate via bogus headlines, irrelevant invented stories backed by forged documents or biased coverage of world events, the main questions go unasked and unanswered If John Kerry is the war hero he claims to be, why is he the only candidate who has not signed form 180, releasing all his military records? Kerry claims that all records are released and posted on his web-site. But the Navy has publicly stated that isnt true. Tim Russert asked Kerry months ago if he would sign form 180, and though Kerry said he would, he never has, and nobody has asked the question since, not even FOX Why?There are holes you could drive a truck through in Kerrys online account, most importantly, the hole leaving open the question of why it took Kerry until March of 2001 to negotiate an honorable discharge from the Navy? Who is asking this question?Then there are the questions surrounding his affiliation with socialist billionaire financier George Soros, and his band of unsavory brothers? Questions surrounding where all that money is coming from, and for what purpose? Kerry has spoken about special interest control of Washington for years, yet his bid for the White House would be non-existent without enormous funding from the special interests of union bosses and international billionaire socialists? Where are the questions? Kerry promoted McCain-Feingold, as did George Soros, but then both exploited the loophole in that bill before the ink was even dry, leading to the first billion dollar election in world history, and marking the first time in US history when a President may be chosen by international socialists, and foreign money funneled through 527s. Wheres the question?Kerry says Bush went into Iraq for oil. But since the end of major combat operations in Iraq more than a year ago, Iraqi oil production has been at an all time high. Meanwhile, our oil prices are at a record high. Wheres the oil? Who is driving up oil prices leading up to this election, and for what purpose, Bush? It doesnt add up, wheres the question?Kerry says Iraq is the wrong war at the wrong time. Why? Because it exposed the UN led oil for food scam that enriched France, Germany and Russia, which explains why all three blocked UN support for enforcing the 17 broken UN resolutions? Kerry says he will return to doing business as usual with these so-called (corrupt) friends of America. If these are Americas friends, Im dying to know who our enemies are. Where does the money trail end? Where are all the inherent questions?Only FOX News Network is investigating and reporting the UN oil for food scandal. Why?The DNC is being caught red-handed every day, attempting to load the ballot boxes with fraudulent voters, everyone knows it, but nobody is asking the question They have more than 25,000 attorneys organized and spread out across the battleground states to challenge each individual voter denied access for lack of proper registration, or for appearing on a felon list. Why? Do we want felons and unknown voters choosing our President? They insisted upon outside international oversight of this election, oversight by individuals known to have socialist ideals and an anti-America pro-Kerry agenda. Where are the questions?Sandy Berger was to be a top Kerry administration official until he was caught stealing secret documents from the national archive. What happened after that? Where is this story now and where are the questions?CBS was caught participating in a fraudulent effort to smear a sitting President, they were caught using forged documents in this effort, and communicating with the Kerry campaign during the effort. Yet nobody has been charged, nobody has been fired, the Kerry camp has not been disqualified from the race, and ABC and NBC news anchors have framed the story as a White House attempt to smear Dan Rather. Is anyone asking the questions?We are 2 weeks from what could be the most important election in national history, and only days ago, Kerry for the first time provided a list of 50 some legislative initiatives authored or co-authored by him during his 20 year Senate career. What he forgot to mention is that not one of
[CTRL] Vaccine Poker
-Caveat Lector- http://www.axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/printer_12808.shtml From AxisofLogic.com Health/MedicineVaccine PokerBy Dr. Marc SiegelOct 20, 2004, 16:02 Instead of spending all its vaccine money on the production of near-useless bioterror vaccines, the government should increase the availability of a vaccine for influenza that might actually save lives. With the announcement that 50 million influenza vaccines from the British manufacturer Chiron won't be available in the United States this year because of possible contamination, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has been put in a quandary, its credibility once again damaged. From pushing the yearly flu vaccine accelerator pedal, urging everyone to get a shot, it suddenly has had to slam on the brakes. "Take a deep breath, this is not an emergency," Dr. Julie Gerberding, the agency's director said, trying to ward off a stampede of shot-seekers. But such attempts are bound to fall flat, especially with the elderly, who need the vaccine to protect them from serious illness and death. One of the main reasons a shortage like this can occur is because drug manufacturers are not eager to produce vaccines in the first place. This is why there are only two major flu vaccine makers Chiron and Aventis worldwide. Without a patent to insure high prices, the profit margins for "generic" vaccines is narrow. Plus, proper sterilization methods are quite expensive and cut further into the profit margin. Forget altruism, or concern for patients; drug companies are not eager to make a product they can't make a lot of money on. The only way to ensure adequate supplies and reserves is for the government to step in and subsidize the manufacturing of vaccines. Yet last year Congress approved only half the $100 million requested to develop better flu vaccines and improve the distribution system. Instead of worrying about the flu, our government has been busy spending millions stockpiling over a million doses of anthrax vaccine (with no use for it in the foreseeable future), and more than 200,000 doses of smallpox vaccine (without a single case occurring here since 1949). These actions were taken so that the Department of Homeland Security can look like it takes the threat of biological agents seriously. A bioterror attack would likely affect only hundreds, or at the worst thousands, yet the expensive preparations are for millions of potential victims. BioPort makes the only anthrax vaccine, an unwieldy six-dose process that many military recruits have complained gives them a flu-like syndrome. But fearing an anthrax attack since 2001, Congress has contracted with this company for millions of dollars in vaccine production. Since the vaccine is perishable, and there is no anthrax, most of what is produced is thrown away. Similarly, panicked over smallpox in 2002 and 2003, the government purchased 291,400 doses of the antiquated live virus vaccine, which was found to have significant side-effects, including heart problems. Ultimately, only 38,549 people were vaccinated and more than 250,000 doses were discarded. Meanwhile, influenza kills approximately 40,000 people in the United States every year and hospitalizes more than 200,000. The CDC has asserted that at least 185 million Americans are at sufficiently high risk to warrant their getting the flu vaccine. This number includes those in contact with high-risk patients with chronic illnesses, pregnancy, asthma, advanced age. Flu is passed easily from person to person by airborne droplets. Hand washing and staying away from sick people offers some protection, but vaccine offers the most protection. As of this writing, the supply of vaccine available this year is only about 54 million doses. The CDC has been begging Aventis to produce more, but the company has agreed to produce only 1 million additional doses. Is this all they can make, or all they will make? No one I've spoken to at the manufacturer has been able to give me a straight answer to that question. Instead of spending all its vaccine money on the production of all but useless bioterror vaccines, the government, through a more prudent flu subsidy, could increase the availability of a vaccine that might actually save lives. Dr. Marc Siegel is an internist and clinical associate professor of medicine and a fellow in the Master Scholars Society at New York University. http://www.alternet.org/envirohealth/20220/ www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER ==
[CTRL] Kerry: U.S. deaths justified if on U.N. mission
-Caveat Lector- http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/printer-friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=41012 Wednesday, October 20, 2004 COUNTDOWN TO ELECTION DAYKerry: U.S. deaths justified if on U.N. missionIn 1994, senator said troops die in vain if it's part of unilateral effort Posted: October 20, 20043:00 p.m. Eastern ©2004WorldNetDaily.com Ten years ago, Sen. John Kerry said the deaths of U.S. military personnel are justified if they are engaged in a United Nations effort, but not if they die while fighting in a unilateral operation. The comment was made while discussing the possibility of U.S. troops being killed in Bosnia, the Washington Post reported: "If you mean dying in the course of the United Nations effort, yes, it is worth that. If you mean dying American troops unilaterally going in with some false presumption that we can affect the outcome, the answer is unequivocally no." Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee, has been critical of President Bush invading Iraq without the assistance and buy-in of certain European countries, even though the U.S.-led coalition includes over 30 nations. Bush has criticized his opponent for his insistence that any U.S. military operation pass a "global test" before being conducted. Kerry detractors have criticized what they characterize as his need to get U.N. permission to use military force. "What it means, practically, is that you always go to the lowest common denominator," Tom Donnelly, a defense expert at the American Enterprise Institute, told the Post. "So whatever the least willing member of the coalition is willing to do, that defines the policy." www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsâis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Kerry Goes Beyond Some of Bush Positions
-Caveat Lector- For the NYT I think this is called an admisssion against interest. - JR http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/19/politics/campaign/19facts.html?oref=loginpagewanted=printposition= October 19, 2004FACT CHECK Kerry Goes Beyond Some of Bush PositionsBy DAVID E. ROSENBAUM and DAVID M. HALBFINGER ASHINGTON, Oct. 18 - After weeks of facing attacks that his campaign and outside commentators called distortions, Senator John Kerry has begun criticizing President Bush on Social Security and the draft in a manner that reaches far beyond Mr. Bush's positions. Mr. Kerry may also have exaggerated the president's responsibility for the shortage of flu vaccine. On Social Security, Mr. Kerry said over the weekend that Mr. Bush planned a "January surprise" that could cost retirees up to 45 percent of their monthly checks. On the draft, Mr. Kerry told The Des Moines Register last week that there was "the great potential of the draft" if Mr. Bush won a second term. And on the vaccine, Mr. Kerry has maintained for days that the president ignored warnings of a shortage. "As John Kerry loses momentum and slips in the polls," a spokesman for the Bush campaign, Steve Schmidt, said, "he's grasping at issues in the headlines and makes a series of false and baseless attacks." The truth is that Mr. Bush has promised not to cut the Social Security benefits of current retirees or those nearing retirement age. He said flatly in the debate on Wednesday that he had no plans to reinstate military conscription. And as for the vaccine shortage, experts say Congress is as much to blame as the president for allowing domestic manufacturers to stop production. In his years in the Senate, Mr. Kerry apparently never addressed the matter, either. A campaign spokesman, David Wade, said Mr. Kerry had not changed tactics but had simply seized on issues at the top of the news to illustrate that Mr. Bush "refuses to take the blame for anything" and "consistently misleads the American people on important issues." Social Security Mr. Kerry's accusation on Social Security grew out of an article on Sunday in The New York Times Magazine in which the president was quoted as telling a group of Republican donors at a private meeting last month, "I'm going to come out strong after my swearing-in with fundamental tax reform, tort reform, privatizing of Social Security." Mr. Schmidt said Mr. Bush had been misquoted and had never used the word "privatization" to describe his policy. At a church in Columbus, Ohio, on Sunday, Mr. Kerry jumped on the passage. "The president's privatization plan for Social Security is another way of saying to our seniors that the promise of security is going to be broken," he said. "Even the president's own economic advisers say that this'll blow a $2 trillion hole in Social Security." He asserted that the plan could cost retirees "up to $500 a month" that would otherwise be spent "for food, for clothing, for a grandchild." For decades, Democrats have found mileage in painting Republicans as threats to Social Security. Since his 2000 campaign, Mr. Bush has advocated allowing workers to put some of their Social Security tax money into personal retirement accounts that could be invested in the private markets. The theory is that Social Security payments would be reduced but that the shortfall would be more than offset by the increased earnings over the years from the private investments. Mr. Bush has never endorsed a specific plan and has insisted that benefits for current retirees and people near retirement age would never be reduced. A policy specialist on Mr. Kerry's campaign staff, Jason Furman, said Mr. Kerry was relying on a study this year by the Congressional Budget Office of one of three plans developed by a commission that Mr. Bush established in 2001 to study establishing personal accounts under Social Security. This plan was also analyzed this year in the annual Economic Report of the President. Mr. Furman said it was fair for Mr. Kerry to use figures from this plan, even though the president has not embraced it, because it was the only one that staff experts in Congress and the White House had analyzed. The analyses showed that the plan would cost the government $2 trillion - the number Mr. Kerry used - to keep paying benefits to retirees while part of workers' taxes went to their personal accounts. The analyses also showed that a 34-year-old now earning the median national income could
[CTRL] Fw: WHAT JOHN KERRY DID TO ME - by Craig Roberts
-Caveat Lector- Source:News With Viewshttp://www.newswithviews.com/WHAT JOHN KERRY DID TO ME http://www.newswithviews.com/Craig/roberts.htmBy Craig Roberts mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]October 18, 2004 Theres an old saying: What goes around, comes around. Simply put, what one does to others eventually comes back to haunt them. It is normally used in a negative context. In these last few weeks before the election of 2004, John Kerry is beginning to reap the rewards of the above statement. Besides the various groups that have come forward to condemn him, there is another group that the media ignores as much as it can. It is the group of guys like me, Vietnam vets who have been forced to live our lives under the stigma of negativism, hate, and total disrespect normally reserved for enemies of the country. It is the guys like me that, from the very day we returned from Southeast Asia, have had to launch into the rest of our lives and drive on, trying as much as possible to suffer the slings and arrows of the communist-backed anti-war crowd and the continuing aftermath of all they have done. Kerry was a leader in this movement. For each and every one of us who survived Vietnam, where we simply did our jobs and tried to serve our country with honor, it has been a continuing battle ever since to live through the atmosphere of condemnation and accusations cast upon us by such as John Kerry, Jane Fonda, Tom Hayden and their gang of communist misfits. It is rather late for Kerry to step forward, render a salute and announce reporting for duty. Kerry now is trying to use his Vietnam service as a political springboard, and the sad thing is that there are many people who think this automatically qualifies him as a hero. The problem lies with us veterans who know the truth. Four months in Vietnam does not qualify one to tout a great deal of combat experience. In fact, four months in the infantry barely qualified one to stand watch alone or take point on a patrol. Kerry, using the Three Heart Rule wherein one could be transferred out of the combat zone after three Purple Hearts were awarded, found a way to leave the country as soon as possible, leaving his crew and shipmates behind. The Swiftboat Veterans for Truth have already addressed this issue and the lack of evidence clouding the issuance of the medals themselves. I am more concerned with what he did after he came home. It is in those days and weeks and months that he stabbed me and every other Vietnam vet in the back and twisted the knife whose blade was forged on the anvil of deceit and beaten with a hammer of lies. Then he left the knife in our backs where it remains to this day. It is the same knife that is still in the backs of our children who are serving today, a legacy directly traceable to the anti-military movement of the 60s. I was a young Marine grunt in 1965-66. I landed with the famous 9th Marine Regiment at Da Nang in July of 1965, and served as an automatic rifleman in an infantry company until February 1966, when I then became a snipera job I didnt really want at the time, but Marines do not question orders. I finished my tour with a medevac flight back to the world at the end of May of 1966 and spent six months in the hospital in San Diego recovering from wounds. It was here that I saw a daily infusion of real heroes, guys who were missing limbs, suffered grievous and paralyzing wounds, and barely hung onto life while fighting tropical diseases we didnt even have names for. My own wounds consisted of a punji stake in my right calf, shrapnel wounds in both legs, coupled with amoebic dysentery and ulcerative colitis and malaria. No one there had received Purple Hearts for scratches, nor did they want any. We were the generation of baby boomers that grew up after World War II on a diet of gung ho patriotic John Wayne movies, who used to dress up in our dads old uniforms and medals and play army. We saw the Victory at Sea series showing the ticker tape parades and brass bands and smiling and waving crowds that our parents experienced in 1945. But now it was different. There were no bands, no parades, no ticker tape, and no smiling, cheering crowds. It was like you were in the jungle or rice paddies one day, then home a couple of days later where no one seemed to know there was a war going on or at least didnt seem to care. Still, we were glad to be home and did the best we could to get on with our lives. We could live without bands and parades and heroes welcomes Then along comes John Kerry. I remember when I first heard of Vietnam Veterans Against the War and wondered who in the heck these morons and cowards were. Obviously they must be draftees, dope smoking hippies from San Franciso that got drafted and sent to Vietnam, whining and complaining all the way there and back. So who wants to listen to them? Evidently Congress did. John F. Kerry, wearing a green
[CTRL] Fw: STILL SCAMMING SOCIAL SECURITY
-Caveat Lector- The following article was originally published in March of 2001/ The only thing that has changed is the amount of IOU's (bonds) in the "trust funds." This represents the amount of social security taxes collected that the Congress has spent on non-social security items. It is now close to $3 trillion. MEDIUM RARE By Jim Rarey March 25, 2001 STILL SCAMMING SOCIAL SECURITY Amid much fanfare, the report of the Old Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance Trustees Report (OASDI) was issued recently. Headlines on wire service reports and news articles in the kept media trumpeted the extension of the solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund to the year 2038, one year later than previously estimated. However, a summary of the report (found at www.ssa.gov/OACT/TR01tr_IIA.html) reveals this interpretation to be nothing but smoke and mirrors. The trustees considered three possibilities (high cost, intermediate cost, and low cost). The version released to the news media was the intermediate cost scenario. It projected the exhaustion of the trust fund(s) in 2038. What is generally referred to as the Social Security Trust Fund is actually a combination of two trust funds, Old Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability Insurance (DI) trust funds. At the end of year 2000, the combined assets of the two funds were $1.049 trillion. The assets are projected to grow to $3.088 trillion by 2010. The report does identify those assets as special (non-marketable) interest bearing government bonds. However, the reader is left on his own to realize that those bonds must be redeemed either from the general fund, increased payroll taxes, lowered benefits, or a combination of the three. The program actually runs out of money to pay all benefits when tax collections are less than benefits paid. At that point, bonds must be redeemed to pay the difference. That point arrives much earlier than 2038 even under the optimistic intermediate version. Annual costs would exceed tax revenue beginning in 2016 The report provides estimates of the depletion of the trust funds under high cost assumptions. These take into consideration possible changes in cost (benefit) projections. However, it does not deal with the very real possibility of lower tax collections due to economic conditions. In this writers opinion, the crisis will arrive around the year 2010 when a combination of higher benefits and lower tax receipts will require additional money be pumped into the programs. In the interim, between this year and 2010, over two trillion dollars in excess payroll taxes will have been spent on a combination of buying back bonds from the public and other government programs. The day of reckoning is much closer than they want us to believe. And the Medicare program is in even deeper trouble. Permission is granted to reproduce this article in its entirety. The author is a free lance writer based in Romulus, Michigan. He is a former newspaper editor and investigative reporter, a retired customs administrator and accountant, and a student of history and the U.S. Constitution. If you would like to receive Medium Rare articles directly, please contact us at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Although not necessary, we would appreciate an indication of the city and/or state or country (If outside the USA) in which you are located to give us an idea as to where our message is being received. www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsâis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Space age plan to tame might of hurricanes
-Caveat Lector- http://observer.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,5035732-102275,00.html Space age plan to tame might of hurricanes Microwave radiation and controlled oil slicks could change the path and sap the power of tropical stormsRobin McKie, science editorSunday October 10, 2004 The ObserverScientists are developing techniques aimed at taming the power of the world's most devastating storms. The project, backed by funds from Nasa, would involve seeding clouds, coating seas with biodegradable 'slicks' and even beaming microwave radiation from orbiting power stations to slow or even halt hurricanes. Controlling these great, rolling tempests - known as hurricanes in the Atlantic, typhoons in the western Pacific and cyclones in the eastern Pacific - is now considered an urgent priority. Last month Hurricane Ivan killed more than 70 people and destroyed thousands of homes, miles of roads, swaths of vegetation and scores of hotels as it swept over Grenada, Jamaica, Tobago, the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and finally Cuba. Three similar recent storms caused the same kind of devastation, and meteorologists predict the next two decades will see increases in numbers and severity of hurricanes. Global warming is likely to worsen the problem. 'Nothing stands in the way of hurricanes,' says Ross Hoffman, in the current issue of Scientific American. 'But must these fearful forces be forever beyond our control?' The answer is 'no', he adds, for one day they could be controlled thanks to developments in computing, satellite technology and material sciences. Backed by Nasa funds, his team of scientists at Atmospheric and Environmental Research, a research and development consulting firm, have created computer simulations of past hurricanes, including Hurricane Iniki which caused enormous damage to the Hawaiian island Kauai in 1992, and Hurricane Andrew, which devastated south Florida in the same year. To their surprise they found that by making only relatively small changes to temperatures and other meteorological variables they could induce major alterations in its path and behaviour. Slight tinkering sent Iniki on a route that missed Kauai, for example. 'The question is: how can such perturbations be achieved?' asks Hoffman. The team has proposed several answers. One is to coat the ocean in front of a hurricane with a biodegradable oil which would slow the evaporation of water from the sea surface, depriving the developing storm of its sustenance. Another technique is to seed the eyes of hurricanes with silver iodide crystals, speeding formation of ice from water vapour. Spread by aircraft, these seed clouds could cause hurricanes to dissipate, although the group acknowledges that early tests have been only partially successful. The ultimate technique would be the construction of a flotilla of orbiting power stations that would collect the Sun's rays and beam them to Earth as microwave radiation. These satellites are considered a promising, non-polluting energy source for the future, but could also be used to heat the sea and air around hurricanes, altering their paths and dissipating their energy. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004 www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsâis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Kerry at Senate Hearing
-Caveat Lector- Senator William Fulbright invited John Kerry to testify at a hearing of his Foreign Relations Committee of which he was the chairman. Kerry was the sole witness. John O'neil, one of the leaders of the Swift Boat Vets for Truth, requested to be heard at the same hearing but was denied. http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Fulbright-Hearing The Legislative Proposals Relating to the War in Southeast Asia, more commonly known as the Fulbright Hearing, was a hearing of Foreign Relations Committee of the United States Senate held on April 22, 1971 regarding continued U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Democratic Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, was the chairman of the committee and presided over the hearing, which consisted of testimony from the sole witness, John Kerry. Kerry gave a prepared open statement and later was asked questions by the Senators. It was at this hearing, during his testimony that John Kerry asked the question "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die in Vietnam? How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?" More recently, during the 2004 United States presidential campaign, come critics of Senator Kerry, have focused current media attention on this long past Senate hearing and have alleged that parts of his testimony that day portrayed American war veterans of that era in an unduly harsh light. Committee members Jacob K. Javits (Republican New York) Clifford P. Case (Republican New Jersey) George D. Aiken, (Republican Vermont) J. William Fulbright (Democrat Arkansas) Claiborne Pell (Democrat Rhode Island) William Symington (Democrat Missouri) The hearing Opening statementThe first action of the hearing is Fulbright's call to order and the opening statement. Fulbright was a Democrat and his opening statement was very sympathetic to Kerry's views: ...I believe they deserve to be heard and listened to by the Congress and by the officials in the executive branch and by the public generally. You have a perspective that those in the Government who make our Nation's policy do no always have and I am sure that your testimony today will be helpful to the committee in its consideration of the proposals before us... Fulbright also mentions the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, where the court ruled that Vietnam Veterans Against the War, the group for which Kerry was a leader and spokesman, did not have a constitutional right to use the National Mall: ...I regret that. It seems to me to be but another instance of an insensitivity of our Government to the tragic effects of this war upon our people. I want also to congratulate Mr. Kerry, you, and your associates upon the restraint that you have shown, certainly in the hearing the other day when there were a great many of your people here. I think you conducted yourselves in a most commendable manner throughout this week. Whenever people gather there is always a tendency for some of the more emotional ones to do things which are even against their own interests. I think you deserve much of the credit because I understand you are one of the leaders of this group... Kerry's testimonyAfter a brief supportive statement from Javits, Kerry begins reading his prepared opening statement. After thanking each member of the committee by name, Kerry states: I would like to say for the record, and also for the men behind me who are also wearing the uniforms and their medals, that my sitting here is really symbolic. I am not here as John Kerry. I am here as one member of the group of veterans in this country, and were it possible for all of them to sit at this table they would be here and have the same kind of testimony. "The men behind me" refers to members of VVAW and others who came to the committee to hear Kerry testify, which by all accounts was very crowded with supporters and media. Kerry also mentions the short time he had to prepare: I would simply like to speak in very general terms. I apologize if my statement is general because I received notification yesterday you would hear me and I am afraid because of the injunction I was up most of the night and haven't had a great deal of chance to prepare. Kerry then delivers a most important part of his testimony explaining the Winter Soldier Investigation, which took place earlier that year in Detroit, Michigan. This part of the testimony is the most controversial: ...I would like to talk, representing all those veterans, and say that several months ago in Detroit, we had an investigation at which over 150 honorably discharged and many very highly decorated veterans testified to war crimes committed in Southeast Asia, not isolated incidents but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command. It is impossible to describe to you exactly what did happen in Detroit, the emotions in the room, the feelings of the men who were
[CTRL] Patients fill Vioxx vacancy Doctors debate value of other treatments
-Caveat Lector- http://www.news-journalonline.com/cgi-bin/printme.asp Originally appeared on News-Journal Online athttp://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Local/03AreaEAST01101704.htm | Patients fill Vioxx vacancy Doctors debate value of other treatments By RAY WEISS Staff Writer Last update: October 17, 2004 Monica Frey doesn't know what's worse, the pain or the uncertainty. Like millions of arthritis sufferers, she was a long-time user of Vioxx, the popular painkiller that was pulled from the market two weeks ago because of an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. On her doctor's recommendation, Frey, 57, switched in February from Vioxx to Bextra, another in a family of anti-inflammatory drugs that also includes Celebrex. Now she wonders if Bextra is safe. Did you know? Just as a promising new drug can send a stock price soaring, a recall or negative findings in a study can devastate a pharmaceutical company's outlook, especially if the product represents a large part of the company's revenue. Here are three examples of once-popular drugs that fell out of favor: ·Lipobay/Baycol, distributed by Bayer, muscle discomfort linked to at least 40 deaths worldwide. The drug represented a 2 percent share of Bayer's total revenue. The company's stock dropped 20 percent in one month after the medication was pulled from shelves in August 2001. ·Prempro, manufactured by Wyeth, connected to cancer, strokes and heart attacks. The medication was halted from distribution in July 2002, resulting in a 15 percent stock drop. It had represented 15 percent of Wyeth's sales. ·Vioxx, manufactured by Merck, garnered 11 percent of the company's total revenue. Within two days of the September announcement it was being pulled, Merck's stock took a 26 percent drop. SOURCES: The companies,Telerate and The Associated Press For refunds Vioxx users can get reimbursed for unused medication. For refunds, Merck and Co., the manufacturer, is asking users to mail back the unused drug in the original container, along with a pharmacy receipt, to: NNC Group, Merck Returns, 2670 Executive Drive, Indianapolis, IN 46241. A note with the patient's name, address and phone number should be included. The company will reimburse the cost of the full prescription plus regular shipping. More instructions and information are available on the Internet at www.vioxx.com and www.merck.com or by calling (888) 368-4699. Doctors are being asked to send back samples, and pharmacists will be contacted by Merck representatives on returning unsold inventory. SOURCE: The Associated Press "I'm so worried. I'm afraid to take it," she said, given her family's history of heart disease. "I'm sure in a few weeks, they'll say it's not good either." Frey decided not to take any kind of Cox-2 inhibitor after the Vioxx announcement on Sept. 30 by the manufacturer, Merck Co. "But every bone in my body hurt. So I went back on it yesterday, a half dose," she said of Bextra. "It's a question of pain or this: health concerns." The Food and Drug Administration approved Vioxx in 1999 to help reduce pain and inflammation caused by osteoarthritis. A current long-term Vioxx study by Merck into the drug's colon cancer-prevention qualities backfired, revealing what past studies also
[CTRL] Fw: SwiftVets E-Newsletter - October 15, 2004
Title: SwiftVets e-Newsletter -Caveat Lector- - Original Message - From: Swift Vets and POWs for Truth To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, October 16, 2004 12:23 AM Subject: SwiftVets E-Newsletter - October 15, 2004 E-Newsletter October 15, 2004 Today's News Swift Vet John O'Neill Responds to ABC's Nightline "While I have a tremendous amount of respect for Ted Koppel and ABC News I was appalled to learn that ABC News would go to the lengths of traveling to Vietnam to interview three Viet Cong communists in yet a third attempt by ABC to corroborate John Kerry's version of the events that took place on February 28th, 1969. "I would only ask the American people: 'Who do you trust more, three members of a communist regime that tortured and killed our American troops or a group of more than 280 highly decorated American veterans, who proudly served their country and are now responsible members of their respective communities?' "The number of veterans who support John Kerry's accounts of his military service would not fill one Swift Boat. But instead of sitting down to interview some of the 280 plus members of our Swift Boat organization, ABC News chose to travel to Vietnam taking extraordinary and highly suspect steps to find someone to corroborate John Kerry's story." John O'Neill commanded John Kerry's Swift Boat after Kerry left Vietnam and is a member of Swift Vets and POWs for Truth. Swift Vets Air Two Ads With Largest-to-Date $3 Million Ad Buy Swift Vets and POWs for Truth released two new ads yesterday, which will run in the final weeks of the presidential campaign. This $3.14 million ad buy on national cable stations and in the states of Ohio, Colorado and New Mexico is the largest in the Swift Vets' history. In Ohio alone, $2 million of the advertising dollars will be spent in the coming weeks. The two latest ads feature more than 75 Swift Vets united in their battle to know the truth about John Kerry. The first ad entitled, They Served, portrays the men who banded together to tell the whole story about John Kerry. The second ad entitled, Why?, features Swift Boat Veterans and POWs posing questions about John Kerry's record. In Why?, former POW and recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor Bud Day, addresses a critical question to Senator John Kerry: "How can you expect our sons and daughters to follow you, when you condemned their fathers and grandfathers?" These commercials raise the question of John Kerry's fitness for office. He betrayed us once, what will keep him from doing it again? Check out both of the new commercials at: www.swiftvets.com. Kerry Supporters Try to Silence"StolenHonor" The Kerry camp is at it again. After trying -- unsuccessfully -- to block the publication of "Unfit for Command," his supporters are now working to force Sinclair Broadcasting Group to pull back from plans to air the documentary film "Stolen Honor" on its 62 nationwide affiliates later this month. Swift Vets and POWs for Truth needs you to respond to this effort to silence the voice of the POWs. Please contact a Sinclair affiliate in your area to support their to get the truth out about John Kerry by airing this important film. You can find a list of Sinclair stations on their website at www.sbgi.net/business/television.shtml. Progress Update Swift Vets and POWs Surpass $5 million in Online Contributions! Earlier this week, we received the contribution that pushed us over $5 million from our website! To date, 72,478 donors have given $5,072,527. In addition, more than 60,000 people are now receiving our newsletters and action alerts. Great job, but let's make one final push down the homestretch! Recent Coverage Delaware County TimesVeterans Kerry dishonored need to be heard (Oct. 13) The Comfort Inn in Philadelphia is no Four Seasons, but it's a whole lot better than the Hanoi Hilton where Mike Cronin spent six years of his life. The Hanoi Hilton is the name American prisoners of war in Vietnam gave the prison where they were held, interrogated and tortured by their jailers. Cronin, a Navy pilot, was one of those prisoners. So were Jim Warner and Ken Cordier. They all came in to Philadelphia Sunday night to get ready for a press conference they had planned for the next morning to talk about their beef
[CTRL] Lawmakers Question Merck, FDA Over Vioxx
-Caveat Lector- http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=businessNewsstoryID=6518051 Print this article Close This Window Lawmakers Question Merck, FDA Over VioxxFri Oct 15, 2004 06:11 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A leading U.S. Senate Republican this week demanded internal documents from Merck Co. Inc. (MRK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) that could answer questions about the company's interaction with U.S. regulators over its arthritis drug Vioxx. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley called for the information on Thursday as part of an investigation into the safety monitoring of the medication, which the company pulled from the market after it was shown to cause heart problems. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Merck had an agreement where the agency would "give the drug company a head's up when the federal agency planned to publish a drug study that might negatively affect the drug company," Grassley said is a statement on Friday. Merck spokesman Tony Plohoros said the Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-based drug maker "intends to cooperate fully with Senator Grassley's inquiry." FDA spokeswoman Crystal Rice said the agency had no comment on the letter. Grassley, an Iowa Republican, cited e-mails from Dr. Anne Trontell, FDA's deputy director of drug safety, that questioned the efforts of FDA scientist David Graham, who concluded that patients taking Vioxx had a higher risk of heart attacks and sudden cardiac death than those on Pfizer Inc.'s (PFE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) rival medicine Celebrex. In those those e-mails, Trontell said the company needed to know about the results before they became public, according to Grassley. Trontell could not be immediately reached by phone and did not immediately reply to an e-mail request for comment. Graham, reached by telephone, said he could not comment on the letter. "Given the 'agreement' between the FDA and Merck, as well as the timing of events surrounding Merck's withdrawal of Vioxx, many questions come to mind, specifically: who knew what and when?," Grassley wrote in a letter dated October 14 and sent to Merck's President and Chief Executive Officer, Raymond Gilmartin. Last week Grassley interviewed Graham, the associate director for science in the FDA's Office of Drug Safety, who said he felt intimidated by others at the agency when he tried to get his research published, according to the senator. Merck shares closed up 31 cents, or about 1 percent at $30.50 on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, a day when drug stocks closed up about 0.38 percent, or $1.11, on the American Stock Exchange Pharmaceutical Index. © Copyright Reuters 2004. All rights reserved. Any copying, re-publication or re-distribution of Reuters content or of any content used on this site, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without prior written consent of Reuters. Quotes and other data are provided for your personal information only, and are not intended for trading purposes. Reuters, the members of its Group and its data providers shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the quotes or other data, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. © Reuters 2004. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world. Close This Window www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsâis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To
[CTRL] Fox moves to fire accuser
-Caveat Lector- New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com Fox moves to fire accuser BY ADAM NICHOLSDAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Saturday, October 16th, 2004 Scandal-hit Fox News moved yesterday to fire an employee who says she was sexually harassed by Bill O'Reilly - but wants a judge to declare the canning isn't retribution. Andrea Mackris, 33, said she was served legal papers about her termination by a man lying in wait for her at her Manhattan apartment building. The documents said Fox had asked a judge to let the TV station dump her from a $93,200-a-year job as associate producer on "The O'Reilly Factor" - and to rule that the firing was not in retaliation for her accusations about the show's host. Mackris sued O'Reilly and Fox News on Wednesday, saying her boss had made "disgusting" phone calls to her. O'Reilly sued Mackris the same day, alleging extortion. "I was walking into my apartment and there was a man hiding inside my building," Mackris told CNN's Anderson Cooper last night. "I don't have a doorman. He had somehow got into my building and he was hiding behind my stairwell. He said, 'Oh, you're her.' He hit me in the chest with the papers and said, 'You're served.'" "They're threatening me. They're frightening me," Mackris said. "Yes, I'm rattled, but I'm really strong." Mackris' lawyer Benedict Morelli also was served with the papers. He said, "They want the right to fire my client and for a court to find that firing nondiscriminatory. "They will never get that right. They sued their own employee. Have you ever heard of anyone suing their own employee? Can you believe that? "It'll be considered next week, but there is no way I'll let it happen." Mackris claims O'Reilly, a best-selling author and writer, started making sexual comments to her back in 2001. She said they escalated after she returned to Fox News after a short stint at CNN this year. She claims his remarks included telling her to use a vibrator, tales about his sexual conquests and his "amazing" endowment, and three phone sex calls in which he told of fantasies involving her. In their countersuit, O'Reilly and Fox News say Mackris and her lawyer tried to extort $60 million in return for her dropping the harassment case. O'Reilly has said he has been instructed not to speak about the issue. His lawyers did not return phone calls yesterday. www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] The price for being fussy
-Caveat Lector- http://washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20041014-084642-7681r.htm The Washington Timeswww.washingtontimes.com The price for being fussyBy Scott GottliebPublished October 15, 2004 It is looking more and more like the violations that led British drug authorities to nix half the U.S. supply of flu vaccine were mostly process problems, not widespread contamination of shots. In other words, the company that made the vaccine was not trying hard enough to keep its factory proficient and pristine. The British have always had a reputation for being fussy, but what works for selling range rovers and raincoats is not considerate policy if it means a lifesaving vaccine will be kept from patients who do not have an alternative. The facts will emerge after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration finishes its own inspection of the plant. Right now, nearly half of the nation's expected supply of flu vaccine is not available this winter because the British government suspended the manufacturing license at the factory in Liverpool that makes it. The British drug authority, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, said it found vaccines with abnormally high levels of bacteria in them. But according to testimony from Chiron Corporation, the American biotech firm that makes the vaccine, and word seeping out from British drug authorities, Chiron "failed to conduct operations in accordance with Good Manufacturing Practice regulations of the United Kingdom," according to the company's statement to Congress. In other words, the plant did not have enough controls to ensure that vaccines remained free from contamination. Early word is that only a very small portion of the 50 million doses were actually contaminated. So, why hold up the entire shipment? The British are likely to argue that they cannot tell where in their production process the problems are coming from. Since they cannot find where the contamination is happening, they cannot certify the safety of any of the finished product. True, these are serious concerns. After all, the product here is a vaccine that people will be injecting into their bodies. But these kinds of process problems are far different from finding widespread evidence of tainted shots. British regulators had a public-health obligation to salvage whatever shots could be unsoiled while they continued to fix the plant and look for the root cause of the problems. In some cases, even contaminated vaccines can be refiltered and cleaned. The alternative is that Americans will surely die of flu this winter because they could not get a vaccine. Now, even if the American regulators are able to salvage some of the uncontaminated vaccines or clean up tainted shots, releasing them on the heels of the rash British action would be a tough sell. Liability concerns would keep Chiron from wanting the unapproved lots used. And the FDA would still face a tough challenge convincing people the shots are really safe and people should take them. It did not have to be this way. Confronted with manufacturing problems, the action that the FDA takes is always weighed against its public-health impact. If closing an important drug production line means people will go without lifesaving medicine, the FDA forces the factory to operate under very close regulatory supervision while it fixes the problems. But it lets drug production continue. This was evidenced most recently in the FDA's exhaustive efforts to bring the American Red Cross into compliance. What was the agency going to do, turn off the U.S. blood supply? The FDA also did a lot of handholding with BioPort when it was having troubling bringing its plant into pristine shape. BioPort, as the sole manufacturer of anthrax vaccine, was a vital national-security asset. In deciding what kind of enforcement action to take against a firm that falls out of compliance, the FDA sometimes seeks an injunction, which is a court order that tells the company not to do it again. The court order also raises the stakes if there are additional violations by threatening legal action. In the United States, when the issue at stake is availability of an important medical product, reason prevails. Not in the United Kingdom. The emerging perception is that the British were nitpicky here because they could afford to be. They had no skin in this game. A full 90 percent of the vaccines that were coming out of the mothballed plant were
[CTRL] Pfizer's Vioxx Problem
-Caveat Lector- http://www.forbes.com/2004/10/15/cx_mh_1015bextra_print.html Pharmaceuticals Pfizer's Vioxx Problem Matthew Herper, 10.15.04, 1:04 PM ET The withdrawal of the arthritis drug Vioxx two weeks ago was a disaster for Merck. But it also put rival Pfizer in a fix. Pfizer markets two medicines that are in the same class as Vioxx--pain medicines designed not to cause stomach problems. For Celebrex, the world's top-selling pain drug, Pfizer (nyse: PFE - news - people ) has reams of data supporting the argument that the drug does not carry the same risks of heart attack and stroke that resulted in Vioxx's withdrawal. "I think there are strong data to support the safety of Celebrex," says Daniel Solomon, a researcher at Harvard's Brigham Women's Hospital. Andrew Whelton, an adjunct professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University, calls it "the safest of all the anti-inflammatories on the marketplace." But the matter is murkier for Bextra, Pfizer's second arthritis drug. Bextra is likely to bring in $1.2 billion this year. There, some small studies indicate that a risk could exist. The risks emerged from two studies of patients undergoing heart surgery. The patients received either standard of care or a combination of Bextra and Dynastat, an experimental painkiller that is basically an injectable version of Bextra. In both the first previously published study and a new one Pfizer has now disclosed, patients who got Bextra and Dynastat had more heart attacks and strokes than those who didn't. "With two pieces of data [indicating increased heart attack and stroke], I probably wouldn't use Bextra," says Solomon. Not everyone agrees. Open heart surgery "is a very specialized surgery," argues Mitch Gandelman, a Pfizer vice president. "These are patients who are very ill." Whelton, who has done clinical research for Pfizer, concurs and notes that the patients in these studies didn't get a comparable anti-inflammatory drug, which may also have had a heart effect. And just because the drug is a risk for heart patients does not mean that it will have an impact on the health of other patients undergoing surgery. "Why deny the people who've got knee replacement?" asks William White, a professor of medicine at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington who has conducted clinical trial work for Pfizer. But Whelton does say it might be fair for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to stick precautionary language about heart patients on Bextra's label. Timothy Anderson, an analyst at Prudential, does not think that the new data represents good news. If the new data did result in a change to Bextra's label, Anderson wrote in a note to investors this morning, that could call into question the sales for Celebrex and Bextra, which will together account for some $4.5 billion, or almost 9%, of Pfizer's sales next year. www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om ?tax0_SiteID=1JS=False Description: Binary data cx_mh_1015bextra.htmlsr=800x600cd=16lg=en-usje=yck=ytz=-4ct=lanhp=ntl= Description: Binary data m?ci=us-forbescg=0 Description: Binary data
[CTRL] Flu shot rules carry penalty
-Caveat Lector- This is a psy op to let the people know that not following the orders of healath officials can be prsecuted as a crime. This one is directed at doctors and others who dispense the vaccine. However, laws are already in place to make it a crime to refuse to take a vaccine if health authorities say it is mandatory. Is this vaccine the right one for the strain of flu that will hit the country. Remeber last year they had the wrong one but didn't tell us until after flu season. Deciding which strain to provide vaccine for is not an exact science. - JR http://www.detnews.com/2004/health/0410/15/c01-304807.htm Friday, October 15, 2004 Flu shot rules carry penalty Mich. health care providers who give vaccines to anyone not high-risk could face prosecution. By Gary Heinlein, and Oralandar Brand-Williams / The Detroit News Related reportsFlu shots to be in short supply Q A: Why a shortage? Who gets shots? What do you know about the flu? : Facts and myths, vaccination information, nasal spray vs. flu shot comparison Beating the flu: Questions and answers With smaller flu vaccine supply, Michigan health officials stress prevention Antiviral drug information Related WebcastsSee the videos, read the transcripts Flu or cold? The influenza vaccine: A weapon against the flu The influenza virus: Understanding your enemy Comment on this storySend this story to a friendGet Home Delivery LANSING State Health Director Janet Olszewski issued an emergency order late Thursday prohibiting use of this years scarce flu vaccine for anyone not in one of the high-risk groups. Health care providers violating the order could face prosecution and misdemeanor criminal penalties. Health officials said the action an abrupt change from the departments recent policy of voluntary compliance is the result of some disturbing news regarding compliance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines on rationing flu shots. Weve certainly had wonderful cooperation from a lot of health care providers and organizations ... but in the last 24 hours there also have been anecdotal reports that some doctors and other providers are not following the CDC guidelines, said health department spokesman T.J. Bucholz. We issued this order not to panic anyone, but to make sure the vaccine gets to those who need it most. Risk groups, for whom flu inoculations are reserved, include children younger than two, seniors older than 65, the chronically ill and patient-care workers. The U.S. and Michigan face severe flu vaccine shortages this year because of the temporary closure of a British lab, Chiron Corp., that was a major maker. Its one of just two firms that produce the concoction. Health officials expect the state and country to receive no more than half the number of doses normally used in a flu season. The Centers for Disease Control plan to redirect the limited supply to areas of the nation where its most needed. Michigans health department and its network of county agencies have come up with rough estimates that Michigan has 3.4 million people in the priority groups for flu shots, but only 1.7 million to 2 million doses of vaccine available in the state. Gene Mychalowych of West Bloomfield, a 70-year-old retired businessman, is still waiting to get a flu shot. Hes been to three clinics in Oakland County seeking a vaccination to no avail. But Mychalowych doesnt agree with the states crackdown. I think the people who created the shortage should be charged with the crime, he said. Flu shots have always been available. Public officials should be held liable. Why did they allow the shortage to occur anyway? Detroiter Lottie Zdilla, in her 70s, says she has to wait at least two more weeks to find out if the citys Herman Keifer clinic will have flu shots available. She agrees with the states crackdown. They need to save them for elderly people, Zdilla said. Its such a great shortage and there are a lot of senior citizens out there who really need (the shots. Roughly 1,000 people die every year in Michigan of influenza, most of them senior citizens. Its uncertain how much more of the federal supply of vaccine if any more will come to Michigan. Were actually quite fortunate. There are some states that have no vaccine at all, and we assume theyll become priorities for the CDC, Bucholz said. California has vaccine only in Los Angeles County. So for now, were going to work within the parameters we already have. Michigan is one of a growing number of states whose health officials have issued directives barring use of flu vaccine for anyone not in the high-risk groups. Such orders are issued, and carry the force of law, during medical emergencies. Its Olszewskis third such order as health director. Last year, she prohibited the sale of imported prairie dogs and other unusual pets
[CTRL] Saddam bankrolled Palestinian terrorists
-Caveat Lector- http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1199662004 print close Fri 15 Oct 2004 show images US investigators discovered that Saddam Hussein, pictured in court, bankrolled the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine through the UN oil-for-food programme with the help of a Syrian company acting as a front.Picture: Getty ImagesSaddam bankrolled Palestinian terrorists FRASER NELSON POLITICAL EDITOR Key points Documents show Saddam funded Palestinian terrorist group Syrian business front funded terrorists through UN oil-for-food programme 1991 tape reveals Saddam wanted to use biological weapons against Israel Story in full SADDAM Husseins links to terrorism have been proven by documents showing he helped to fund the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The PFLP, whose history of terrorism dates back to the "black September" hijackings of 1970, was personally vetted by Saddam to receive oil vouchers worth £40 million. The deal has been uncovered by US investigators, trawling millions of pages of documents showing a network of diplomats bribed by Saddams regimes, and political parties who qualified for backhanded payments from Baghdad. The Iraq Survey Group (ISG), which is still working its way through 20,000 boxes of documents from Saddams Baath party discovered only recently, found a list of pressure groups bankrolled by Saddam. Using the United Nations own oil-for-food scheme - ironically intended as a sanction to control the behaviour of his dictatorship - Saddam gave Awad Ammora Partners, a Syrian company, two million barrels of oil. Documents handed over to US authorities by a former Iraqi oil minister only four months ago show that this was a front for the PFLP - which was then embarked on a spate of car bombings aimed at Israeli officials. The Iraqi records show only one six-month period - suggesting the payments could go on for much longer. While some allocations to the likes of Russian political parties were not cashed in, the PFLP oil deal was carried out in full. Since its inception after the Six-Day War of 1967, the PFLP has been dedicated to violence - and for this reason split from the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) when it accepted the peace process. Its first atrocity came in September 1970 when its members hijacked four aircraft bound for the United States. All planes were blown up on the ground after the passengers were evacuated. A hijacking at Lod airport in Israel two years later left 24 dead. It is now devoted to thwarting the "roadmap" plan for peace in the Middle East - recently mainly through a campaign of car bombs. While the PLO has been rehabilitated into the political process, the PFLP has remained opposed to it. On Wednesday, it issued a statement saying it had joined forces with Hamas, the main Palestinian terrorist group, in a machine gun attack on a busload of Israeli soldiers. Earlier last week, it launched a rocket attack at an Israeli kibbutz. Interviews from Iraqi officials captured by US troops confirm that Saddam saw himself as the potential "liberator" of Palestine. Taped conversations have been uncovered from 1991 saying he wanted to deploy biological warfare on "the Israeli cities - all of them". Debriefings from Iraqi regime members have also disclosed that "Saddam was conscious of Israels WMD arsenal and saw Israel as a formidable challenge". Three years ago, Saddam gave a speech on Iraqi television saying "there can never be stability, security of peace in the Middle East so long as there are immigrant Jews in the land of Palestine". His financial support also extended to Abu Al-Abbas, leader of the Palestinian Liberation Front - another terrorist group - who was allocated 11.5 million barrels of oil. The PLO is also named as a main beneficiary from Saddams scheme - receiving four million barrels under its own name and five million barrels for its "political bureau". The cash was again passed through Syria, a known conduit for Palestinian terror organisations.This article: http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1199662004 Middle East conflict: http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=13 Iraq: http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=404 Websites: Israeli
[CTRL] Kerry's devious use of Mary Chaney.
-Caveat Lector- Kerry's devious use of Mary Chaney Sometimes we don't give politicians credit for how devious they really can be. John Kerry's apparently gratuitous mention of Dick Cheney's daughter at first appears to be just a thoughtless reference which included the fact that Cheney's daughter is a lesbian. But let's look at his whole answer to the question which (paraphrased) was is homosexuality a conscious choice or is one born with it. The gay community contends it is innate, that one is born withit although it may take time to manifest itself. What Kerry was doing was reaching out to the gay community to let them know he supports their view. The devious part is that he used Mary Cheneyto support that view even though she has not taken any position on that issue, at least publicly. I'm sure Kerry and his campaign managers thought that was brilliant because anyone attacking the position that it is innate, would also be attacking Cheney's daughter.They may have realized there would be some flakfrom mentioning Cheney's daughter but their spin machine couldminimize that. The gay community would get the message. If Mary Cheney had taken a position on the question, there might have been some justification for quoting her. But she hasn't and what Kerry did was a cynical ploy to reassure the gay community by implying Mary Cheney supported that position when he had no idea what her position would be. This is not only dishonest, it is proof that Kerry will say anything he thinks will help him get elected. There is also a strong implication that Kerry had been tipped off that question would be asked. . www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
[CTRL] Reeve doubted embryonic stem-cell research
-Caveat Lector- http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/printer-friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=40887 Wednesday, October 13, 2004 COUNTDOWN TO ELECTION DAYReeve doubted embryonic stem-cell researchSaid they're 'not able to do much about chronic injuries' Posted: October 13, 20041:00 a.m. Eastern ©2004WorldNetDaily.com Sen. John Kerry's presidential campaign has used the death of Christopher Reeve to highlight its differences with President Bush over embryonic stem-cell research, but the actor himself expressed doubt over the ability of the cells to treat chronic injuries such as the paralysis he suffered from a horse-rising accident nearly a decade ago. Reeve, a leading advocate for finding a cure for spinal cord injuries, died Sunday night, shortly after Kerry mentioned his name in Friday night's debate to argue for federal funding of the controversial research, which opponents, such as President Bush, argue destroys human life. In an interview earlier this year, however, Readers' Digest asked Reeve, "What's your position on embryonic stem-cell research?" "I advocate it because I think scientists should be free to pursue every possible avenue," Reeve said. "It appears though, at the moment, that embryonic stem cells are effective in treating acute injuries and are not able to do much about chronic injuries." Nevertheless, vice presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards made a startling campaign promise Monday during a speech at a high school in Newton, Iowa. "We will stop juvenile diabetes, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and other debilitating diseases," Edwards said, referring to federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research. " ... When John Kerry is president, people like Christopher Reeve are going get up out of that wheelchair and walk again." But as a citizen questioner, Elizabeth Long, pointed out in Friday's town-hall style debate, it's the adult stem cells, requiring no destruction of human life, that actually have yielded remarkable results and show the most promise. Long asked Kerry: "Thousands of people have already been cured or treated by the use of adult stem cells or umbilical-cord stem cells. However, no one has been cured by using embryonic stem cells. Wouldn't it be wise to use stem cells obtained without the destruction of an embryo?" In his response, Kerry said scientists have told him "we have the option" of curing Parkinson's, diabetes and spinal-cord injuries using embryonic stem cells. But Princeton University Professor Robert P. George insists no scientists not even those most aggresively in favor of the research that destroys embryos have ever told Kerry any such thing. "What Kerry has done here is told the big lie about embryonic stem cells," George said in a column for National Review Online. The claim is "outrageous," he said. "No one knows when or even whether or not human embryonic stem cells will be therapeutically useful in treating any major disease or injury." George said there are profound and perhaps insurmountable problems with the therapeutic use of the cells. He emphasizes, despite what the Kerry campaign has said, there is no federal ban on embryonic stem-cell research. Yet the studies that have been funded with state and private money have not even yielded clinical trials. At the same time, stem cells from adults or umbilical cords have yielded remarkable results. "For months now, the Kerry campaign and its surrogates, such as Ron Reagan Jr., have cruelly led suffering people to believe that cures for their diseases are just around the corner," George said. "All we have to do is replace Bush with Kerry, open the federal funding spigot, and presto! The blind see and the lame walk!" The Kerry campaign's "hyping of embryo-destructive research for political gain is the cruelest and most shameful episode in the story of the 2004 election," George said. In the Reader's Digest interview, Reeve was asked, "How have political decisions slowed stem cell research?" "The religious right has had quite an influence on the debate," he said. "I don't think that's appropriate. When we're setting public policy, no one segment of society deserves the only seat at the table. That's the way it's set in the Constitution. So debate all we want, hear from everybody. And then allow our representatives to weigh the factors and make laws that are going to be ethically sound, moral, responsible, but not the result
[CTRL] Vioxx Withdrawal Highlights Potential Problems With Prescription Drug Advertising
-Caveat Lector- http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=14899# Vioxx Withdrawal Highlights Potential Problems With Prescription Drug Advertising13 Oct 2004With Merck's recent withdrawal of arthritis medication Vioxx from the market, "prescription drug promotions of all kinds -- the celebrity pitches, the glossy television and magazine ads, the freebies to doctors -- are likely to come under new scrutiny as patients, researchers and consumer groups question both their honesty and their ultimate public cost," the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising "helped boost Vioxx sales to astounding heights," with Merck spending $49 million on ads for the drug from January through July, according to the Inquirer. Between 1996 -- the year prior to FDA's relaxing of TV and radio prescription drug ad rules -- and 2003, the drug industry's direct-to-consumer ad spending increased from $791 million to $3.2 billion, according to IMS Health, the Inquirer reports. In 2003, industry promotional spending, including consumer advertising, no-cost drug samples, "educational" trips and drug representative visits to physicians, totaled $25 billion. During roughly the same period, prescription drug expenses increased two to five times more than spending on hospital care and physician services, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Connection Between Ad Spending, Consumer BuyingSome critics say that it is "no coincidence ... that as promotional spending soars, so does spending on drugs -- by consumers who are both paying higher drug prices and being encouraged to buy drugs they never used before," the Inquirer reports (Vrazo, Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/10). Many physicians say that when a patient requests a prescription drug by name, they are "unlikely to say no ... as long as it does not seem wholly inappropriate for the condition," partly because they are "too pressed for time" to explore alternatives and "do not want to alienate patients who can take their business elsewhere," the New York Times reports. Mary Frank, a family physician in California, said that some patients also favor prescription drugs over OTC medications because health plans generally cover prescriptions. Presidential Candidates' PositionsDemocratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry's (Mass.) campaign "blames the ad-driven demand for pushing up spending on pricey drugs, which contribute to double-digit inflation in the nation's health care costs," the Times reports. Megan Hauck, deputy policy director for President Bush's re-election campaign, said Democrats are "exaggerating the issue" because a 2002 Government Accountability Office report found the drug industry spent "far more" on no-cost drug samples than on direct-to-consumer ads, according to the Times. Changes in Regulations ProposedFDA is considering a proposal to allow drug makers to simplify magazine and newspaper ads to make them "more reader-friendly," according to the Times. Under the proposal, drug companies would be able to summarize the most important or most common side effects in large type; currently, they must list detailed data about benefits and risks, which are often printed in small type (Elliott/Ives, New York Times, 10/12). http://www.kaisernetwork.org Save time! Get the latest medical news in your email every week with our newsletter. Send your press releases to [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as
[CTRL] Tehran John: Pro-Iranian lobby funding Kerry
-Caveat Lector- http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/printer-friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=40911 Thursday, October 14, 2004 COUNTDOWN TO ELECTION DAYTehran John: Pro-Iranian lobby funding KerryWhistleblowers disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars given candidate Posted: October 14, 20041:00 a.m. Eastern By Aaron Klein ©2004WorldNetDaily.com Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been given to Kerry from the pro-Iranian lobby, possibly influencing the presidential candidate's startling call to provide Tehran with the nuclear fuel it seeks, according to Iran's Student Movement Coordination Committee for Democracy chairman Aryo Pirouznia. With top Iranian officials openly calling for the development of nuclear weapons within the next four months and overwhelming intelligence indicating Iran is seeking to create a nuclear arsenal, Kerry has been insisting as president he would provide Tehran with nuclear fuel as long as it is used for peaceful purposes only, a position that has many Middle East analysts baffled. During the first presidential debate, Kerry said, "I think the United States should have offered the opportunity to provide the nuclear fuel, test them, see whether or not they were actually looking for it for peaceful purposes." The same policy of accommodation toward Iran's nuclear aspirations is clearly outlined on Kerry's campaign website as well. Under the heading: "Prevent Iran From Developing Nuclear Weapons," the Kerry campaign states: "Iran claims that its nuclear program is only to meet its domestic energy needs. John Kerry's proposal would call their bluff by organizing a group of states to offer Iran the nuclear fuel they need for peaceful purposes and take back the spent fuel so they cannot divert it to build a weapon. If Iran does not accept this offer, their true motivations will be clear ..." Pirouznia, who is holding a press conference in Washington, D.C., this morning, is disclosing the details of Kerry's financial ties to backers of the mullah government in Iran that have been seeking to moderate America's harsh line with regard to Tehran's nuclear aspirations. Most prominent among them is Hassan Nemazee, 54, an investment banker based in New York who has joined the board of the American-Iranian Council, a U.S. lobbying group that consistently has supported lifting U.S. sanctions on Iran and accommodating the Tehran regime. Nemazee has raised more than $100,000 for the senator's campaign. Nominated to become U.S. ambassador to Argentina by President Clinton in 1999, Nemazee eventually withdrew his nomination after a former partner raised allegations of business improprieties, WND previously reported. As well, a Nemazee friend in Silicon Valley, Faraj Aalaei, has raised between $50,000 and $100,000 for the Kerry campaign. Last year, Aalaei married a 35-year-old recent immigrant from Iran named Susan Akbarpour, who has also raised between $50,000 and $100,000 for the campaign. In just six years since coming to the United States on a tourist visa from Iran, Akbarpour has started a newspaper, a magazine, and, most recently, a trade association whose goal is to get sanctions lifted and promote U.S. business and investment in Iran. Kerry has embraced the political agenda of Akbarpour and other wealthy Iranian-Americans lobbying for Tehran. Aside from nuclear accommodation, other key positions include ending the finger printing of Iranian visitors to the U.S; expanding "family reunion" visas to allow extended family members of Iranians living in the U.S. to immigrate here legally and in large numbers; offering a "dialogue" with the hard-line, terrorist-supporting clerics in Tehran; and help Iran join the World Trade Organization. Pirouznia will be working closely with Dr. Jerome Corsi, co-author of the New York Times best selling "Unfit to Command," on a new book about the Iranian-Kerry connection titled, "Atomic Islam," which will be published by WND Books in 2005. "America is incredibly popular with the Iranian masses, so this is a grave mistake for a short-term benefit," Pirouznia says. "To the regime, [Kerry's policy] sends a message that America is willing to make a deal despite the blood of Americans who were murdered in Dhahran [Saudi Arabia] and are being killed today in Iraq by so-called foreign elements. And to Iranians, it shows that the old establishment may be back in power, a return to the Carter era." Dr. Corsi said, "Not
[CTRL] Judge Holds Second Reporter in Contempt
-Caveat Lector- http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-4548744,00.html Bush Defends Presidency Against Kerry5:16 am Excerpts From Bush-Kerry Debate in Tempe5:16 am Topics During the Presidential Debate5:16 am Schwarzenegger Lauds Movie Crew on Jobs5:01 am Voters Offer Views on Bush-Kerry Debate5:01 am Bush, Kerry Duel Over Health Care Plans5:01 am Fire in Basement of Capitol Building5:01 am Electrician Accused of Killing Millionaire4:46 am Drug Agents Seize Onetime Kennedy Sailboat4:46 am Oregon Opens Probe of Voter Fraud Charges4:46 am From the Associated Press Judge Holds Second Reporter in Contempt Wednesday October 13, 2004 10:01 PM By CURT ANDERSON Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - A second reporter was held in contempt Wednesday by a federal judge for refusing to reveal confidential sources before a grand jury investigating the leak of an undercover CIA officer's identity. U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan ordered Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper jailed for up to 18 months and the magazine fined $1,000 a day for refusing to comply with a grand jury subpoena seeking the testimony. Hogan suspended the jail time and fine pending the outcome of an appeal. The ruling was nearly identical to one issued last week by Hogan in the case of Judith Miller, a reporter for The New York Times who is also refusing to name her sources. Miller and Cooper, both represented by lawyer Floyd Abrams, are expected to join together in appealing their cases on First Amendment grounds. ``No reporter in the United States should have to go to jail for simply doing their job,'' said Cooper, who is Time's White House correspondent. Hogan repeatedly has cited the Supreme Court in ruling that reporters do not enjoy special protection from providing testimony to grand juries unless they can show prosecutorial harassment or bad faith. Hogan said he could find no evidence of either on the part of U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, who was appointed special prosecutor in the investigation. ``I'm convinced this is not a fishing expedition or an improper exercise of prosecutorial authority,'' Hogan said. The investigation concerns whether a crime was committed when someone leaked the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame, whose name was published by syndicated columnist Robert Novak on July 14, 2003. The column appeared after Plame's husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, wrote a newspaper opinion column criticizing President Bush's claim that Iraq had sought uranium in Niger - a claim the CIA had asked Wilson to check out. Wilson has said he believes his wife's name was leaked as payback for his outspokenness. Disclosure of the identity of an undercover intelligence officer can be a federal crime, if prosecutors can show the leak was intentional and the leaker knew about the officer's secret status. Novak, who cited two senior administration officials as his sources, has refused to say whether he has testified or been subpoenaed. Fitzgerald declined comment Wednesday. Prosecutors have interviewed President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary of State Colin Powell and other current or former administration officials in the investigation. At least five reporters have been subpoenaed. In August, Cooper agreed to provide limited testimony about a conversation he had with Lewis ``Scooter'' Libby, Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, after Libby released Cooper from his promise of confidentiality. Fitzgerald then issued a second, broader subpoena seeking the names of other sources. ``The prosecutor came back a few days later and basically asked for everything in my notebook,'' Cooper said. Abrams said he expected legal filings in the appeals of both Miller and Cooper to be completed by Nov. 10 before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which would then likely schedule an oral argument. That means the CIA leak criminal investigation, which began in September 2003, could drag on into early 2005. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004 www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion
[CTRL] Mystery Surrounds Kerry's Navy Discharge
-Caveat Lector- http://www.nysun.com/pf.php?id=3107 As a result of meeting with the enemy and then advocating the enemy's position, Kerry should have been prosecuted for treason, sufferd forfeiture of all pay, allowances and awards, served a long sentence in the brig and received a bad conduct discharge. While that didn't happen, in now appears Kerry may have received a less than honorable discharge that was later changed to an honorable discharge by a Board of Review at the direction of President Jimmie Carter. October 13, 2004 Edition Section: National Printer-Friendly Version Mystery Surrounds Kerry's Navy Discharge BY THOMAS LIPSCOMB - Special to the SunOctober 13, 2004URL: http://www.nysun.com/article/3107 An official Navy document on Senator Kerry's campaign Web site listed as Mr. Kerry's "Honorable Discharge from the Reserves" opens a door on a well kept secret about his military service. The document is a form cover letter in the name of the Carter administration's secretary of the Navy, W. Graham Claytor. It describes Mr. Kerry's discharge as being subsequent to the review of "a board of officers." This in it self is unusual. There is nothing about an ordinary honorable discharge action in the Navy that requires a review by a board of officers. According to the secretary of the Navy's document, the "authority of reference" this board was using in considering Mr. Kerry's record was "Title 10, U.S. Code Section 1162 and 1163. "This section refers to the grounds for involuntary separation from the service. What was being reviewed, then, was Mr. Kerry's involuntary separation from the service. And it couldn't have been an honorable discharge, or there would have been no point in any review at all. The review was likely held to improve Mr. Kerry's status of discharge from a less than honorable discharge to an honorable discharge. A Kerry campaign spokesman, David Wade, was asked whether Mr. Kerry had ever been a victim of an attempt to deny him an honorable discharge. There has been no response to that inquiry. The document is dated February 16, 1978. But Mr. Kerry's military commitment began with his six-year enlistment contract with the Navy on February 18, 1966. His commitment should have terminated in 1972. It is highly unlikely that either the man who at that time was a Vietnam Veterans Against the War leader, John Kerry, requested or the Navy accepted an additional six year reserve commitment. And the Claytor document indicates proceedings to reverse a less than honorable discharge that took place sometime prior to February 1978. The most routine time for Mr. Kerry's discharge would have been at the end of his six-year obligation, in 1972. But how was it most likely to have come about? NBC's release this March of some of the Nixon White House tapes about Mr. Kerry show a great deal of interest in Mr. Kerry by Nixon and his executive staff, including, perhaps most importantly, Nixon's special counsel, Charles Colson. In a meeting the day after Mr. Kerry's Senate testimony, April 23, 1971, Mr. Colson attacks Mr. Kerry as a "complete opportunist...We'll keep hitting him, Mr. President." Mr. Colson was still on the case two months later, according to a memo he wrote on June 15,1971, that was brought to the surface by the Houston Chronicle. "Let's destroy this young demagogue before he becomes another Ralph Nader." Nixon had been a naval officer in World War II. Mr. Colson was a former Marine captain. Mr. Colson had been prodded to find "dirt" on Mr. Kerry, but reported that he couldn't find any. The Nixon administration ran FBI surveillance on Mr. Kerry from September 1970 until August 1972. Finding grounds for an other than honorable discharge, however, for a leader of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, given his numerous activities while still a reserve officer of the Navy, was easier than finding "dirt." For example, while America was still at war, Mr. Kerry had met with the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong delegation to the Paris Peace talks in May 1970 and then held a demonstration in July 1971 in Washington to try to get Congress to accept the enemy's seven point peace proposal without a single change. Woodrow Wilson threw Eugene Debs, a former presidential candidate, in prison just for demonstrating for peace negotiations with Germany during World War I. No court overturned his imprisonment. He had to receive a pardon from President Harding. Mr. Colson refused to answer any questions about his activities regarding Mr. Kerry during his time in the Nixon White House. The secretary of the Navy at the time during the Nixon presidency is the current chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Warner. A spokesman for the senator, John Ullyot, said, "Senator Warner has no recollection that would either confirm or challenge any representation that Senator Kerry received a less than honorable
[CTRL] Litmus test for Sureme Court judges
-Caveat Lector- In the debate yesterday the two presidential candidates were asked if they had a "litmus" test for Supreme Court Justices. President Bush said he had none. Although John Kerry did not call it a litmus test, he said he would not nominate a judge who would vote to overturn "Roe vs Wade" the Supreme Court Decision that made abortion on demand legal. However, there is one test that should be put to judges at all levels. The following is a revised version of an article I first published December 1, 2000 before the court handed down its decision in the Florida election controversy. (A separate article was written about those decisions which I will repost.) MEDIUM RARE By Jim Rarey April 6, 2003 THE LIVING CONSTITUTION FRAUD There is no better example of the success of the big lie technique than the perception in legal circles and the general population that the Supreme Court has the power to interpret the Constitution. In many law schools, law students are taught that the famous Marbury v. Madison Supreme Court case conferred that power on the court. Nothing could be further from the truth. True, that case established the principal of judicial review of congressional statutes, by the court, as implied in the supremacy clause in Article V of the Constitution. That clause grants supremacy to the laws of the United States made in pursuance (to the Constitution). Implied is the fact that some body must make a judgment as to the constitutionality of the laws. The Supreme Court, as a neutral party relative to the legislative and executive branches was the logical arbiter. Regardless of the claims of the anti-constitutionalists, Marbury v. Madison did not give the court the right or power to change the original meaning of the Constitution. That was only to be done through the amendment process contained within the Constitution itself. At issue in Marbury v. Madison was the jurisdiction of the court itself. The Congress had attempted to change the courts jurisdiction between original and appellate as spelled out in Article III of the Constitution and clarified in the eleventh amendment. In striking down that statute, the court said to allow Congress to make those changes would, make a mockery of the Constitution. The decision also reaffirmed the Congress power to regulate and make exceptions to the courts appellate powers found in that same clause in Article III. The Constitutions restrictions on the powers of the Executive and Congress did not sit well with many of the financial elite and aristocracy in the country. An ultimately successful campaign was begun to convince the American public that it was more important for the courts to arrive at a fair result rather than follow the technicalities of a document that was out of date soon after its adoption. It was argued that courts (especially the Supreme Court) should consider the Constitution as a living document that would change with societal needs through time. They claimed the amending process within the Constitution itself was too cumbersome and the job of keeping the Constitution up to date belongs with the courts. This necessarily required the courts to decide what was fair and then find some rationale to support those decisions. Through time this concept of a living Constitution was accepted in law schools and primarily through appointments by FDR became the predominant philosophy of the Supreme Court. It has prevailed ever since then through successive judicial appointments by all presidents following FDR. No longer would the intent of the founding fathers and the states that ratified the Constitution to limit the power of the United States (central government) be observed. The guiding principle was to be the fairness of the judicial pronouncements. At that point we ceased being a constitutional republic governed by law, and moved toward a democracy where the majority could vote away the rights (protected by the Constitution) of minorities. Of course the problem was, and is, that the only votes that count are those of the nine members of the Supreme Court. One of the main vehicles for implementing the living Constitution by the courts has been the bastardization of what is known as the Commerce Clause. The framers gave the federal government the power to regulate interstate commerce. The intent was to keep the several states from imposing tariffs on goods coming in from another state, thus making the country one large free trade area. The courts have reinterpreted that clause to mean the federal government can control every facet of goods that have crossed a state boundary including how it is used, or prohibiting its use, by the owner One of the earlier travesties resulting from this interpretation was a case where the court ruled an elevator operator in the Empire State building was invo
[CTRL] THE SELECTED PRESIDENT?
-Caveat Lector- MEDIUM RARE By Jim Rarey November 24, 2002 THE SELECTED PRESIDENT? Some may consider this article a defense of President Bush and the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS). It is not. It is a defense of the U.S. Constitution, which appears to be on its deathbed. In August of 2000, this writer opined on the Free Republic website that Gore would be the lesser of two evils in voting for president. The rationale for that statement was that we know where Gore wants to take the country (total control by the federal government) and although Bush has the same goal, he would encounter little opposition from Republicans because he was perceived as a conservative. The flaming was immediate and vicious. To this day, little criticism of Republicans is allowed on that website supposedly dedicated to the constitution and freedom. For years the author has been railing against the concept of a living constitution which can be reinterpreted without amending it, in order to reach a desirable result. No such power has been granted to the courts (including the SCOTUS). It has been usurped. The implied power in the supremacy clause is for the court to APPLY the constitution to the laws (statutes) to determine if they comply with the original intent and meaning of the constitution as amended. So brainwashed and dumbed down as to the meaning of the constitution is the public that the congress, executive and courts have been able to convince them that emergency powers are not subject to the original constraints of the constitution. When the court, in one of its rare instances, follows the original meaning and intent, the decision is met with derision and contempt. Such was the case in the decision that decided the presidency in the year 2000. In the Florida 2000 case the court held (correctly in a minority concurring opinion) that the provision in Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution (Each State shall appoint in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress:) meant the legislature and not the state government which would have included the courts and executive. Theruling therefore said the attempt by the State Supreme Court to change the deadlines established by the legislature was unconstitutional. This was a part of the decsion that halted the recount holding that recounting votes in only four counties violated the equal protection clause in the Constitution because all counties (or none) should be recounted. With that decision, the court handed the presidency to Bush by a 7-2 vote. The 5-4 vote was on the question of which of two deadlines (established by the legislature) should be honored. The question was moot anyway since both deadlines had passed. The canard that Bush was "selected" by a 5-4 vote of "conservatives" is just that, a lie. It was the 7-2 vote that gave Bush Floridas electoral votes and the presidency. However, when the exact same issue was presented to the U.S. Supreme Court in the New Jersey case this year, the court refused to hear an appeal, in effect upholding the ruling of the State Supreme Court that it had the authority to override the state law established by the legislature in the interest of "fairness." Although a different section of the constitution was involved (senators not presidents), the issue was identical. Article I, Section 4 reads: The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof, but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators. (The exception for senators was because at that time, before adoption of the seventeenth amendment, they were chosen by the state legislatures.) What does all this prove about the SCOTUS? Only that it will use original intent when it suits its purpose and ignore or trash the constitution when it doesnt. The derisive use of such expressions as, the selected president and resident Bush reflect only on those who use them and mock the Constitution and the Office of the President, not the person himself. www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsâis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not
[CTRL] Top Kerry Donor Faces Iranian Propaganda Allegations
-Caveat Lector- http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPrint.asp?Page=\Politics\archive\200410\POL20041012c.html Top Kerry Donor Faces Iranian Propaganda Allegations By Marc MoranoCNSNews.com Senior Staff WriterOctober 12, 2004(CNSNews.com) - A pro-democracy Iranian group based in the United States accuses a top fund-raiser for Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry of aiding radical Iranian clerics. The Kerry fund-raiser is scheduled to be deposed in a civil lawsuit next week involving accusations that he has served as an agent for the Islamic government of Iran. A group of Iranian expatriates, the Student Movement Coordinating Committee for Democracy in Iran (SMCCDI), and two American authors plan to hold a press conference this week to discuss the Iranian regime's influence on Sen. John Kerry's presidential campaign. The event will take place Thursday at the National Press Club.SMCCDI has alleged that Kerry presidential campaign fund-raiser Hassan Nemazee, a New York-based investment banker, has used his position to advance the agenda of the Islamic Republic of Iran.That agenda includes normalizing relations between Iran and the United States and opening trade and investment, according to SMCCDI. The group has called Nemazee one of "Iran's American propagandists."Nemazee has denied charges that he served as an agent for Iran's government, and he has filed a $10-million civil lawsuit in Texas against SMCCDDI's coordinator, Aryo Pirouznia, alleging defamation of character. Pirouznia has counter-sued Nemazee, and Nemazee is scheduled to give a deposition next week. "Perhaps because [Nemazee] knows the suit would embarrass the Democrat nominee, Nemazee has sought to postpone if not avoid answering questions about his suit in a deposition. Thanks to [SMCCDI's] counter-suit, faith in democracy, and a clear-headed judge in Texas who refused [Nemazee's] delay, SMCCDI is going public with the evidence," read SMCCDI's press release for Thursday's press conference. Author and political scientist Jerome Corsi, who plans to attend Thursday's press conference, told CNSNews.com, "The Democratic Party and John Kerry have been funded by pro-mullah groups who have Israel as their sworn enemy. They are funding insurgents to go against our troops in Iraq, and John Kerry wants to give them nuclear fuel." Corsi, co-author of the best-selling book Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry, is working on another book called Atomic Islam: Iran, Oil, Terrorism and the Democratic Party. WorldNetDaily Books plans to publish it in 2005."Nemazee is one of Kerry's top fund-raisers. He is listed on Kerry's website as a top tier fund-raiser," Corsi said. "Nemazee has raised over half-a-million dollars for Kerry. He has been at all kinds of events for Kerry, and Kerry is proposing normalizing relations with Iran and giving Iran nuclear fuel," he added. Kerry called for normalizing relations with Iran in December 2003 in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations: "As president, I will be prepared early on to explore areas of mutual interest with Iran, just as I was prepared to normalize relations with Vietnam a decade ago," Kerry said.The U.S. State Department consistently has labeled Iran as a leading state sponsor of terrorism, and human rights groups have accused the Iranian government of human rights abuses. The Bush administration opposes normalizing relations with Iran and also has denied nuclear fuel to the country. In the first presidential debate in Miami on September 30, Kerry said, "I think the United States should have offered the opportunity to provide [Iran] nuclear fuel, test them, see whether or not they were actually looking for it for peaceful purposes." Corsi said Kerry's policy could prove very dangerous to the U.S."Trusting the Iranians not to make bombs when they have been funding Hezbollah and Hamas for a quarter century is like thinking [Japan's former Emperor] Tojo was not going to attack the United States when he had a chance," Corsi said. Ken Timmerman, author of several books on the Middle East, believes that Kerry "has adopted many of the positions that Tehran's lobbyists in America are trying to champion.""Mr. Kerry has not only adopted the policies that the Islamic government in Tehran would like to see pursued by the U.S., he has accepted money by their lobbyists and has been the featured speaker at prominent fund-raising events," Timmerman told CNSNews.com. Iran and its ability to produce nuclear weapons has been raised during the presidential campaign; and on Tuesday, TehranTimes.com quoted the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Hassan Rowhani, as saying that Iran no longer has to abide by the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty if the West "tries to deprive it of its legitimate nuclear rights." www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational
[CTRL] Education official concerned about homeschooling popularity
-Caveat Lector- "I don't know why they score so high," Nicholas said. "But historically, students who are homeschooled usually have exceptionally high scores on those tests." Duh! Wouldn't it have something to do with what and how they are taught? - JR http://www.sunherald.com/mld/thesunherald/9891859.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp Posted on Mon, Oct. 11, 2004 Education official concerned about homeschooling popularityAssociated Press MERIDIAN, Miss. - A state education official says she's concerned about the growing popularity of homeschooling in Mississippi. Peggy Peterson, director of compulsory school attendance enforcement with the Mississippi Department of Education, said she fears that some children may not be receiving top quality education instruction from their parents. Mississippi Department of Education statistics show that the number of families homeschooling in the state has increased since 1999, when officials began monitoring enrollment. A total of 11,063 Mississippi children were homeschooled last year, up from 8,768 in May 1999. Lauderdale County alone had 281 families homeschooling their children in May of this year. Peterson said some parents have done a good job of educating their children, "but I am concerned about the ones who are not qualified to teach their children." Peterson's office is the only one with the state Department of Education that has anything to do with homeschooling. Families that homeschool their children must register with their county's school attendance officer; the officer, in turn, reports to Peterson's office. Peterson, a former president of the Mississippi Association of Educators, said some states require parents who teach their children to have a certain level of education. She said there was no such requirement in Mississippi. "Mississippi has the most lenient homeschool laws in the nation," Peterson said. Joseph and Mary Beth Hallman of Lauderdale County homeschool their son and daughter. They said they wanted to make sure their children receive the best education possible. "No one cares more about our children than we do," said Mary Beth Hallman, whose two children have never attended a public or private school. "And it is a privilege to teach them at home." Hannah, 14, is a ninth-grader; Benjamin, 12, is a seventh-grader. Their classroom is the family living room, where their parents teach reading, math, religion and other subjects. The Hallmans are on the advisory board for the Meridian Christian Home Educators, one of two homeschool groups in Lauderdale County. Members include about 125 families and about 400 students. Sarah Nicholas, a spokeswoman for the state College Board, said homeschool students often score higher than public school students on the American College Test and the Scholastic Aptitude Test - two national, standardized tests used for college admissions. "I don't know why they score so high," Nicholas said. "But historically, students who are homeschooled usually have exceptionally high scores on those tests." --- Information from: The Meridian Star, http://www.meridianstar.com © 2004 AP Wire and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.http://www.sunherald.com www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsâis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=""ctrl/A
[CTRL] Vioxx was OKd for kids
-Caveat Lector- http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-hsviox034002902oct11,0,5269483,print.story?coll=ny-health-headlines News Sports Business Entertainment Photos Shopping NY Newsday.com PROBLEMS WITH PAINKILLER Vioxx was OKd for kids Merck announced drug was approved for children weeks before recall and years after reports of heart risks BY DELTHIA RICKSSTAFF WRITEROctober 11, 2004Weeks before pharmaceutical giant Merck Co. sent seismic waves through the medical community, pulling its painkiller Vioxx off the market, it announced the drug had been approved for children.Few drugs are available for those younger than 18 with debilitating rheumatoid disorders. And Merck announced with some fanfare on Sept. 8 that the federal Food and Drug Administration had approved Vioxx for pediatric use, based on research that ran three months. A longer Merck-sponsored study in adults showed the drug increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes, a finding that ended the five-year pharmaceutical run of Vioxx late last month.The little pill was a multibillion-dollar earner for the company, bringing in $2.5 billion last year alone.But Merck and the FDA had strong hints about the drug's cardiovascular risks as early as 1999. And even as product liability lawyers were advertising for Vioxx victims on the radio and Internet, the company went ahead with the pediatric test."The information [about heart risks] was on the label, and it was for all dosing levels," said Anita Larsen, a spokeswoman for Merck, referring to the fine-print package insert that accompanies all prescription drugs, which, studies have shown, are rarely read.Larsen said the label information was based on scientific data reported in 2001. Still, had the company not withdrawn the drug, it is likely that youngsters could have been taking it for years.No signs in pediatric studyOfficials at the Arthritis Foundation, the nation's leading advocacy group for people with rheumatoid diseases, did not fault the FDA's approval of Vioxx for children. Dr. John Klippel, a rheumatologist and president of the foundation, said that FDA approval of Vioxx for children was based solely on the three-month pediatric study and that nothing in it hinted at heart problems."Vioxx wasn't approved long enough for children so that it would have caused a problem in kids," he said.The study that doomed Vioxx was aimed at determining how well the medication prevented colon polyps, intestinal growths that can sometimes flare into full-blown tumors.The study began in November 2000 and was halted prematurely last month when researchers discovered that patients on the medication had double the risk of cardiovascular disorders compared with people on placebos. Merck's Larsen said an additional reason for that study was to examine the drug's potential for heart attack and stroke.Yet the company embarked on the pediatric study two years later already aware it was researching cardiovascular problems - as well as polyps - in adults."This was something we really wanted to examine," Larsen said of the drug's potential to cause cardiovascular problems. Still, evidence against Vioxx began arriving from numerous quarters.Dr. Garret FitzGerald, a cardiologist at the University of Pennsylvania, underscored that heart risks related to Vioxx were evident as early as 1999, the year Vioxx was federally approved. He published a scientific paper about the dangers in 2001. And last week, in a study released early by the New England Journal of Medicine, he said the entire class of drugs - COX-2 inhibitors - are potentially lethal.Dr. Steven Nissen, the Cleveland Clinic's vice chairman of cardiology, told Newsday that Merck and the FDA knew about the risks again in 2001 because he had pointed to them as a member of an FDA heart and kidney advisory panel.Nissen had discovered a higher risk of cardiovascular problems in a group of arthritis patients on Vioxx compared with another on naproxen, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, or NSAID. Vioxx, unlike older NSAIDs, was designed to act only on pain and inflammation - and not cause stomach problems, for which NSAIDs are notorious."What we were saying to the medical community is that we see a problem, and we think it needs more study," Nissen said. "But it was very controversial, and we got a lot of flak for it."Merck revised the Vioxx label in 2001, warning patients of increased cardiovascular risks.Results out before approvalThe FDA's Dr. David Graham examined the medical records of more than 1 million adults on Vioxx and also found evidence of
[CTRL] Distressed Fannie Mae Hires a Top Defender
-Caveat Lector- Sounds like criminal charges at Fannie Mae. If Fannie Mae goes down it could take the whole eonomy with it. - JR washingtonpost.com MONDAY MORNING Monday, October 11, 2004; Page E02 Distressed Fannie Mae Hires a Top Defender Chalk up another troubled corporate client for veteran defense lawyer Robert S. Bennett. Last week District-based mortgage giant Fannie Mae hired him to help stave off Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission investigations into its accounting practices. Bennett, 65, a partner in the Washington office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher Flom, in recent years has developed a lucrative specialty of representing companies ensnared in financial scandals. He and other Skadden partners also run interference for French bank BNP Paribas, disgraced energy trader Enron Corp., rehabilitation hospital chain HealthSouth Corp., audit firm KPMG LLP, and the Allbritton family of Riggs Bank fame. In all, Bennett said, his team in Washington has nearly 65 lawyers -- including longtime partners Carl S. Rauh and Alan Kriegel and former SEC enforcement deputy Colleen P. Mahoney -- plus 60 legal assistants. But the affable former prosecutor may be best known to a wider audience for his defense of President Bill Clinton in a sexual harassment lawsuit that ultimately helped lead to Clinton's impeachment. "When representing companies it is a very nuanced practice, because you have so many constituencies: regulators, law enforcement people, shareholders, boards of directors and board committees," Bennett said. "You have to deal with all these things fairly quickly, because if you don't, the franchise can be seriously jeopardized." -- Carrie Johnson © 2004 The Washington Post Company www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsâis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om imp.gif?client=ca-washingtonpost_454x190event=noscript Description: Binary data
[CTRL] The Vioxx warning
-Caveat Lector- http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2004/10/10/the_vioxx_warning?mode=PF THIS STORY HAS BEEN FORMATTED FOR EASY PRINTING The Vioxx warning October 10, 2004 FOR FOUR years, researchers have been pointing to disturbing signs that the popular painkilling drug Vioxx causes heart attacks and strokes with long-term use. Last week the pharmaceutical giant Merck voluntarily withdrew the drug from the market after a recent study confirmed this side effect. The rise and fall of Vioxx highlights the need for longer studies before the Food and Drug Administration approves new medications that will often be taken by patients for extended periods of time and lack the urgency of life-saving treatments. At $2.5 billion in annual sales, Vioxx is the biggest-selling drug any company has ever recalled. In its five-year history it became widely prescribed as a painkiller for arthritis patients, since it did not cause ulcers or stomach bleeding. The study that confirmed its link to cardiovascular problems was actually designed to determine whether Vioxx might also prevent the recurrence of colon polyps that could become cancerous. But critics of the drug had long voiced the suspicion that it caused heart problems. In a 2000 study, Vioxx did somewhat better than another, generic painkiller in not causing ulcers or gastrointestinal bleeding. When that study also showed more nonfatal heart attacks in Vioxx patients than in those taking the other drug, Merck attributed the difference to a heart-protective effect it said the other drug had. By 2002, the FDA had seen enough evidence of heart-related problems with Vioxx to require a label warning. It should have also required a thorough study at that point. In the test of Vioxx as a preventer of colon polyps, the heart problems emerged after 18 months of daily use. The testing that led to the drug's original approval lasted just 12 months. The most immediate task for the FDA is to order long-term studies of possible cardiovascular problems in users of prescription painkillers similar to Vioxx, such as Celebrex. But after the Vioxx recall and others in recent years, the agency should also examine whether it is letting medications come onto the market before their long-term effects have been sufficiently tested. Critics of the FDA in the pharmaceutical industry and Congress often take the agency to task for delaying unnecessarily the approval of new drugs. While that criticism might be valid in the case of life-saving or life-extending drugs for patients with cancer or other extreme conditions, the only reason for speedy approval of drugs like Vioxx, which simply improve on other painkillers, is to give the maker a longer period under patent protection. However, there is a risk that a short trial period will not detect side effects in drugs for chronic conditions that might be taken by some patients for years. Patients with cardiovascular problems worsened by Vioxx have paid for that rush to market. © Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company www.ctrl.org DECLARATION DISCLAIMER == CTRL is a discussion informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substanceânot soap-boxingâplease! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'âwith its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright fraudsâis used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ A HREF=""ctrl/A To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om s=800x600c=16j=1.3v=Yk=Ybw=800bh=360ct=lanhp=N[AQE] Description: Binary data
