subject:"\[Hydro\]"

Title: Message



 

 

THE CHIEF MOTIVE OF THE BALKANS WAR
by R. Schleyer, Eugene, Oregon, USA".
Posted: 21 
March, 2000

  Ronald Schleyer has a master's degree in journalism from the University of 
  Montana. He is a former news writer and editor and has worked across the 
  northern half of the United States, as well as in Europe and the Middle 
  East. 
Many people suspect a deep strategic reason behind 
NATO's seemingly facile attack on the Federal Republic of 
Yugoslavia. In fact, there is a certain rationale for the Balkans war, a closely 
held view entertained by its instigators. They know this conflict as a necessary 
thrust in an ongoing, aggressive, long-term, strategic World War conceived 
almost a century ago by a British imperialist and cunning sophist of formidable 
rank. His name was Halford John Mackinder (1861-1947). Mackinder, a 
rather clever geographer with a murderous Mission, had an idea so beguiling 
that, even today it animates the likes of Madeleine Albright, Wesley Clark, 
Samuel R. Berger, William Cohen, Richard Holbrooke, and others who take what 
they imagine is an "intellectual" view of statecraft.Mackinder proudly 
defended British imperial power and is accurately characterized as an 
Imperialist. He was knighted for his contributions, chiefly intellectual, to its 
maintenance and advancement. However, Mackinder consciously directed his 
writings toward the U.S. audience right from the start because he deeply 
believed that his own theory called for this.Mackinder's homicidal 
geopolitics now lies at the core of U.S. military indoctrination (more on this 
below). The theory specifically cultivates the goal of subjugating the world. It 
postulates and persuasively argues the supposed necessity for continuous war of 
"enlightened" Seamen against"autocratic" Landsmen for domination of the 
Landsmen's "Heartland," thereby attaining the power to "command" the world! In a 
typically arrogant British manner, it claims all wisdom and innate "democratic 
ideals" for itself.The Serbians, of course, perceived NATO's countrywide 
rain of bombs on roads, bridges, industrial plants, schools, and hospitals as a 
grave and unbelievably insane crime, and often asserted that the war was 
"demented." They never suspected the war's rational explanation in longstanding 
westerngeopolitical strategy. It is true that the intellectual sham and 
humbug of the Heartland theory has been convincingly exposed in the English 
language only in academic circles. Still, it seems incredible that the 
professors at Belgrade University never discerned Yugoslavia's unfortunate place 
as the doormat of the Heartland until the bombs began to fall.It should 
be borne in mind that, in prosecuting Mackinder's "all for 
the Heartland" theory, Yugoslavia's enemies are philosophically ignorant. 
They think atomistically and abstractly and are utterly unaware that their 
conception of "democratic" (the title of Mackinder's principal work begins with 
this word) is thoroughly non-organic. Thus, they totally misconceive the true 
idea of the Nation-State, which is exhibited only in Continental philosophy. 
As is well known, the dominant American philosophy has been a bald-faced 
Pragmatism for more than a century. The country's leading lights were thus 
prepared to be deceived by Mackinder's mechanistic historical geography and 
clever sophistical powers in 1919 on first introduction to the Heartland theory. 
Hence they have entertained the mad professor's dangerous ideas over and over 
again, as proven by the periodic republication of Mackinder's writings over an 
eighty-year period, and now for the first time (see below) by the U.S. National 
Defense University.WORLD WAR AGAINST WORLD PEACE British 
intellectuals call Mackinder the "father of modern British geography." In 
"Democratic Ideals and Reality" (1919), with rhetorical skill and deft use of 
brilliantly constructed maps, Mackinder advanced his theory of geopolitical 
aggression, declaring a supposed necessity for continuous World War of maritime 
"democratic" against "national" land powers. Mackinder especially 
focused on East Europe for strategic control of what he called "The Heartland" 
and on the Heartland (including much of the territory of the Slavic nations) for 
domination of the "World Island" (Europe, the Near East, Asia, and Africa). Here 
is a characteristically catchy aphorism,taken from the book: "Who 
Rules East Europe Commands the HeartlandWho Rules the Heartland Commands the 
World-IslandWho Rules the World-Island Commands the World"Left-wing 
academic analysts who advised the Serbian people (e.g., Michel Collon, "Secret 
Strategies on Kosovo" (SMISAO #6 (1/99)) negligently failed to point out the 
ultimate danger of the geopolitical theory behind the decade-long aggression 
against Federal Yugoslavia. Though entering the intellectual life of the world 
as long ago as 1904, Mackinder's conceptions enjoyed a resurgence in United 
States milita

[Hydro] FIREFIGHT AT THE MEDAK POCKET

Title: Message



 

Subject: FIREFIGHT AT THE MEDAK POCKET 




  
  

  Original 
  URL: http://www.macleans.ca/xta-asp/storyview.asp?viewtype=browse&tpl=browse_frame&vpath=/2002/09/02/World/71190.shtml
   
  WorldSeptember 2, 2002 
  FIREFIGHT AT THE MEDAK POCKET 
  Ottawa will honour Canadians who took part in a little-known 
  battle 
  MICHAEL SNIDER with SEAN 
  M. MALONEY 
  

  

  

  In September, 1993, Canadian troops stationed in an area of Croatia 
  known as Vojna Krajina engaged in a fierce battle with Croatian forces 
  attacking a predominantly Serb enclave. The engagement, little known 
  outside of military circles, was not publicized by the Canadian 
  government, which was hesitant to draw attention to the increasing dangers 
  the country's troops were facing abroad. But this December, Ottawa will 
  finally honour the soldiers who took part in that firefight by presenting 
  them with a unit commendation. Maclean's tells the story of the battle: 
  PTE. SCOTT LeBLANC'S machine gun jackhammered against his shoulder as 
  he fired at the Croatian troops dug in 150 metres away. Grenades exploded 
  around him; bullets and orange tracer-fire screamed through the smoky air. 
  The Croatians hammered the Canadians for 15 hours straight -- thinking the 
  30 soldiers from the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry would 
  buckle and run like other UN peacekeepers had often done. But the 
  Canadians, members of one of three platoons making up the Patricia's 
  Charlie Company, held their ground. "They're trying to flank us," 
  LeBlanc's section leader barked, sending a jolt of adrenalin through 
  LeBlanc's exhausted body. Standing halfway out of his trench, the 
  19-year-old reservist swung his gun around and opened fire on the 
  Croatians. "We could see muzzle flashes and threw everything we had at 
  them," recalls LeBlanc, now a 28-year-old lieutenant who has just returned 
  from Afghanistan. "After that, everything got real quiet." 
  The fierce battle took place in September, 1993, about a year and a 
  half after Canadian peacekeepers had first arrived in the former 
  Yugoslavia. Vicious fighting and appalling acts of ethnic cleansing made 
  their task of disarming and separating the various combatants nearly 
  impossible. Especially volatile was one mountainous region of Croatia 
  called Vojna Krajina, or Military Frontier, home to an isolated pocket of 
  some 500,000 Serbs. Fiercely nationalistic, the Krajina Serbs began to 
  drive out Croats. But on Sept. 9, Croatian Commander Rahim Ademi launched 
  an attack to capture an area of Serb-controlled territory in Krajina 
  called the Medak Pocket. The UN, fearing that 400 Serbs living in four 
  unprotected villages in the area were at risk of being slaughtered by 
  Croatian troops, ordered the Patricia's into the area -- and into the 
  biggest firefight Canadian forces had been involved in since Korea. 
  Five months into a six-month tour of duty, the Canadians were led by 
  Lt.-Col. James Calvin, 41. The 875-man battle group was a patchwork of 
  regular and reserve soldiers. In fact, 70 per cent of the front line 
  soldiers were reservists -- a makeup that, Calvin says, could prove 
  dangerous in a war zone. "Reservists are just as long on valour and 
  courage," the now-retired Calvin told Maclean's from his home on Wolfe 
  Island, Ont., near Kingston. "But you can't expect one to do the same 
  things you expect from a regular soldier." 
  Still, after four months in the region, Calvin considered his force 
  seasoned, especially with his hand-picked group of platoon leaders, 
  including reservist Lt. Tyrone Green. The morning of Sept. 9 started 
  nicely enough for the Vancouver native in charge of 9 Platoon, Charlie 
  Company, with sunshine poking through the cracks in the boarded windows of 
  the platoon's quarters, a two-storey concrete building on the outskirts of 
  the Serb-held town of Medak. 
  But as Green dragged a razor across his chin, his morning shave was 
  interrupted by incoming artillery shells. With soap still clinging to his 
  face, Green, who is now a captain in charge of a Canadian Forces 
  recruiting office in Vancouver, grabbed his helmet and raced to his M-113 
  armoured personnel carrier. At one point he was knocked down when a shell 
  landed in a nearby ditch. He wasn't hurt, but four Canadians were injured 
  in the shelling. "We counted 500 or more shells by the end of the first 
  day," says Green. "About a dozen fell in our compound and one landed about 
  10 metres from the front door." 
  Not knowing where the shells were coming from, Green sent Sgt. Rudy 
  Bajema to establ

[Hydro] A War Only the White House Wants

Title: Message




  
  

  Published on Sunday, August 25, 2002 in the Toronto Sun 
  

  A War Only the White House Wants 
  

  by Eric Margolis
  
 
  

  NEW YORK -- U.S. forces are rapidly massing in the Arabian Gulf to 
  invade Iraq. Four heavy brigades have been positioned near Iraq, a huge 
  new air complex is now operational in Qatar and American special forces 
  are active in Iraqi Kurdistan. 
  The White House is hoping its threats of war will provoke a coup 
  against Saddam Hussein by the Iraqi Army. But if one does not come, the 
  George Bush administration shows every sign of plunging into an unprovoked 
  war that the rest of the world will view as blatant aggression. 
  Even America's closest allies are appalled by the tide of warmongering 
  and jingoism that has engulfed the United States. Bush's recently 
  proclaimed doctrine of "pre-emptive intervention" anywhere on Earth is 
  nothing less than a frightening revival of the old imperialist Brezhnev 
  Doctrine of 25 years ago that called for Soviet intervention wherever 
  socialism was threatened. 
  "Bush, himself the most intellectually backward American president of 
  my political lifetime, is surrounded by advisers whose bellicosity is 
  exceeded only by their political, military and diplomatic illiteracy." 
  Such were the stinging words of Gerald Kaufman, highly respected former 
  foreign affairs spokesman of Britain's ruling Labour party, America's 
  closest ally. 
  Bush's accelerating campaign to invade Iraq and turn it into another 
  U.S. oil protectorate is also provoking a storm of outrage across Europe, 
  the Mideast and Asia, where people believe pollution and climate change 
  are far bigger and more urgent threats than the bogeyman of Baghdad. 
  There are two important exceptions. First, Israel. Last week, Prime 
  Minister Ariel Sharon, sounding like he was giving orders to a 
  subordinate, demanded Bush speed up plans to attack Iraq. Right on cue, 
  American supporters of Sharon's far-right Likud party, led by the Bush 
  administration's Rasputin, Richard Perle, intensified their clamor to send 
  American GIs to fight Iraq. 
  Virtual monopoly on U.S. media 
  These bloodthirsty "neo-conservatives" - most of whom evaded military 
  service in their own country - dominate the Pentagon and exercise a 
  virtual monopoly on U.S. media commentary on the Mideast. They are 
  ardently backed by loony Armageddon-seekers of the Christian far right. 
  Senior Republican senator Chuck Hagel spoke for many when he asked if 
  Perle was so eager to attack, why didn't he join the first assault wave 
  against Baghdad. Brent Scowcroft, former national security adviser to 
  Bush's father, warned an attack on Iraq would be a disastrous mistake. 
  Meanwhile, in Congressional hearings last week, former UN arms 
  inspector Scott Ritter courageously stated what many Americans believe, 
  but dare not say: "A handful of ideologues have hijacked the national 
  security policy of the United States for their own ambitions." Ritter 
  insisted Iraq was totally disarmed and no threat to the U.S. or the 
  Mideast. The Bush administration - or, more precisely, the people pulling 
  its strings - does not want renewed inspections of Iraq, Ritter said, it 
  only wants war. 
  A torrent of propaganda, lies and half-truths about Iraq has been 
  pouring from the White House in a campaign reminiscent of old Soviet 
  agitprop. The government-appointed "defense" team representing accused 
  9/11 plot member Zacharias Moussaui reportedly urged him to falsely claim 
  Iraq was behind the attacks. Moussaui refused. The head of Czech 
  intelligence said there were no contacts in Prague between Iraq and 
  al-Qaida, a key Bush reason for attacking Saddam. CIA veterans and 
  European intelligence officials scoff at White House claims Iraq is a 
  threat to the world. 
  The other exception to worldwide outrage over America's Mideast 
  policies was Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida. In 1998, bin Laden carefully 
  outlined his grand strategy to: 1) liberate Palestine; 2) drive the U.S. 
  occupying troops from Saudi Arabia and 3) end the punishment of Iraq's 
  people. To attain these goals, bin Laden planned to provoke the U.S. into 
  a large number of fruitless military involvements that would wear it out 
  and bleed its military and financial power. 
  Afghanistan, which costs American taxpayers $5 billion monthly, is the 
  first step. Iraq, whose leader is hated by bin Laden - a hatred equally 
  returned by Saddam - will be No. 2. Then, Iran, Syria, Libya - all also on 
  Perle's hit list - and so on until a host of Lilliputian conflict

[Hydro] JDS insiders made $1B selling stock




http://www.canada.com/ottawa/story.asp?id={7DC8D0EF-9097-4FDD-98B3-567A4
FD78577}

==
JDS insiders made $1B selling stock 

Monday, August 26, 2002
ADVERTISEMENT 
 
  
TORONTO -- Fourteen JDS Uniphase Corp. insiders, including chief
executive Jozef Straus, racked up more than $1 billion US selling
company stock during the past 3 years, according to a tally by the New
York Times. 

"That is astonishing and unconscionable,'' Dennis Gartman, a veteran
trader and publisher of an influential daily market newsletter in
Suffolk, Va., said in an interview. 

"Fibre-optic parts maker JDS, based in Ottawa and San Jose, Calif., was
among 16 companies listed in which executives, and sometimes their
relatives, made millions of dollars, often by selling the stock just
before profit predictions were proved wrong, the Times reported. 

Among JDS executives named in the report, former CEO Kevin Kalkhoven had
net proceeds _ stock sales minus the cost of exercising stock options _
of $245.9 million, while Straus pulled in about $150 million in share
sales over the past 42 months. They ranked among the top 10
beneficiaries in the listing. 

JDS officials were not immediately available for comment. The New York
Times used data compiled by Thomson Financial and circulars from the
companies. 

The telecommunications industry, which includes Canadian giants Nortel
Networks Corp. of Brampton, Ont., and JDS, has been battered for almost
two years as customer spending and access to capital have tumbled.
Shares of JDS (TSX:JDU), for example, peaked at just above $200 Cdn in
early 2000. They closed Friday at $5.12 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. 

Nortel executives weren't on the list. 

Some industry observers, including Gartman, say insiders cashing out is
one indication that they don't have much faith in the company. "If you
believe in your company, you ought to be holding your shares,'' he said.


Among executives, directors and other insiders who benefited from
selling company stock was Philip Anschutz, director and chairman of the
executive committee of financially troubled Qwest Communications
International Inc.'s board. He ranked at the top of the list, with net
proceeds of $1.5 billion US. He was followed by former AT&T Corp. board
member John Malone, who netted $340 million. 

John Chambers, chief executive at San Jose-based Cisco Systems Inc., was
among the top 10 executives, with $223 million. In total, 13 executives,
directors and insiders of Cisco benefited before the technology bubble
burst, selling stock to collectively make more than $700 million. 

Executives at Comverse Technology Inc., Nextel Communications Inc. and
McLeodUSA Inc., the second-largest independent directory publisher in
the United States, also ranked among the top 10 beneficiaries. 

"Should we be surprised? No,'' Mr. Gartman said. "Is it wrong that they
sold that much? Absolutely.'' 

At the same time, Gartman doesn't feel a great deal of pity for
shareholders, many of whom hoped that stock prices would recover.
"Nobody made them stay,'' he said. "I'm a believer that you should put
stops in on trades.'' 

Nonetheless, when executives sell that many shares and reduce their
positions drastically, "it does lead me to believe that something was
remiss and that one would have wished they would have done otherwise,''
Gartman said. 

Bill Dimma, author of a new corporate governance book Excellence in the
Boardroom, said he has found the excessive number of options granted
over the past couple of years and the exercising and sale ``very
discouraging and very upsetting.'' 

Dimma is a believer that option plans should be changed. He says a
company should outperform its peer group or meet internal aggressive
targets before the options are handed over to the executives. 

He said executives who made vast sums of money over the past few years
did so as a result of excessive option grants. "They were free to sell
at the peak of the market, and insiders certainly have a better idea of
where that peak was than anybody else,'' he said. 

Like Gartman, he said the millions of dollars that executives, directors
and other insiders have made in the selling of stocks shows that they
"put personal greed ahead, whether they have faith in the company or
not.'' 

C Copyright 2002 Canadian Press 
 
 

THE END

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[Hydro] ARTICLES ON 9-11 AND U.S. IMPERIAL STRATEGY



**  FOR PICTURES FROM PORTLAND GO TO www.tenc.net  ** 

URL for this article: http://emperors-clothes.com/indict/911page.htm

Join our email list at http://emperors-clothes.com/f.htm Receive about
one article/day.

===
EMPEROR'S CLOTHES ARTICLES ON 9-11 * A GUIDE
[Originally posted 8 February 2002, revised & updated 25 July 2002]
===

(1) Evidence of high-level complicity in the actual events of 9-11 

(2) Osama Bin Laden's involvement in Western attacks on Afghanistan and
the Balkans. Evidence he never severed his ties with CIA.

(3) US/West European links to Islamic Fundamentalism

(4) Interviews related to 9-11 & Afghanistan

(5) Evidence that "Strategic Racism" is the method of the US/Euro
Empire. **This section is newly added!**

(6) What is the US/Euro Strategy in Central Asia? Is it based on oil
profits or on the remaking of the world to preemptively crush potential
resistance & guarantee hegemony? *This section reorganized with new
material!*

As we add to this page, we'll mark new material.

===
(1) EVIDENCE OF HIGH-LEVEL COMPLICITY IN THE EVENTS OF 9-11
===

The articles marked with asterisks are from our series, 'Guilty for
9-11: Bush, Rumsfeld, Myers." Several articles from that series remain
to be published.

 New, 1 July 2002 - 'POWERFUL EVIDENCE THAT AIR FORCE WAS MADE TO STAND
DOWN ON 9-11,' by John Flaherty & Jared Israel

* Section 1: 'Why Were None of the Hijacked Planes Intercepted?' 
[Posted 14 November 2001]
http://emperors-clothes.com/indict/indict-1.htm
Section 1 discusses the failure to scramble planes over Washington, D.C.
until after the Pentagon was hit. It also provides a general outline
which is useful because some material has not yet been posted.

* Section 2: 'Mr. Cheney's Cover Story'
[Posted 20 November 2001]
http://emperors-clothes.com/indict/indict-2.htm
Discusses Vice President Cheney's remarkable appearance September 16th
on "Meet the Press."

* Section 3: 'Bush in the Open' - Given that George Bush and his staff
knew a terrorist attack was underway *before* their motorcade left their
hotel (the Colony Beach and Tennis Resort) why did he show up at the
Booker School that day?
http://www.emperors-clothes.com/indict/indict-3.htm 

New! 1 July 2002
*Before 9-11, DC Air National Guard Website Promised 'Highest Possible
State Of Readiness...' - POWERFUL EVIDENCE THAT AIR FORCE WAS MADE TO
STAND DOWN ON 9-11 [Posted 18 November 2001, Revised 1 July 2002]
http://emperors-clothes.com/indict/update630.htm 

Frequently Asked Questions on 9-11
Includes: 'FAQ #1 - Nobody was prepared for 9-11' and 
'FAQ #2 - Dan Rather's Excellent New Fact.' (This is a must read!)
http://emperors-clothes.com/indict/faq.htm 

Canadian TV Airs Emperor's Clothes 'Guilty For 9-11' Evidence! by John
Flaherty [5 February 2002]
http://emperors-clothes.com/indict/deception.htm 

'Map & Timetable for American Airlines Flight 77'
[Posted 8 December 2001] http://emperors-clothes.com/images/maptime.htm

'Map of Andrews Air Force Base'
[Posted 20 November 2001]
http://emperors-clothes.com/indict/andrewsmap.htm

'Criminal Negligence or Treason?' Commentary on a 'NY Times' article.
This was the first article that we know of that pointed out the
implications of the failure to mount an air defense on September 11.
Written by Jared Israel in consultation with Emperor's Clothes writer
Illarion Bykov and Canadian Attorney Tiphaine Dickson. [Posted 15
September 2001] 
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/jared/treason.htm

'Operation Northwoods: Plan for Terror to Justify War'
A plan we know of through the Freedom of Information Act (how many such
plans are there that we *don't* know of?) developed by the Joint Chiefs
of Staff to stage anti-US terrorist attacks and blame them on Cuba.
Included possible killing of hundreds or thousands of US citizens (by
sinking a US military ship) and other people as well (Cuban refugees)
for which Castro would be blamed thus making the US the victim and
thereby justifying nuclear attack on Socialist states (!) With comments
by Jared Israel. Quotations are hyperlinked to the Northwoods document
which is here available as a pdf file and also in normal web page
format, for *much* easier reading. 
[Posted 10 December 2001]
http://emperors-clothes.com/images/north-int.htm

'Reader Says Emperor's Clothes Wrong on bin Laden, 9-11'
A very interesting debate.
[Posted 28 September 2001] http://emperors-clothes.com/letters/wrong.htm

'Russian Air Force Chief Says Official 9-11 Story Impossible' [Posted 13
September 2001] http://emperors-clothes.com/news/airf.htm

'911: Letting It Happen'
By Ken McCarthy
[Posted 1 February 2002] http://emperors-clothes.com/indict/coast.htm 

'9-ll: Ho-Hum, Nothing Urgent'
by George Szamuely
Research & documentation by Illarion Bykov and Jared Israel
http://emperors-clothes.com/indict/urgent.htm 

'Scrambled Messages'

[Hydro] Saudis Withdraw Billions of Dollars From US

2002-08-22 Thread Miroslav Antic

Title: Message



http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1028185908113&p=1012571727088Saudis Withdraw Billions of Dollars From USBy Roula 
KhalafThe Financial TimesTuesday, 20 August, 
2002Disgruntled Saudis have pulled tens of billions of dollars out of 
the US, signalling a deep alienation from America.One analyst said the 
total funds withdrawn by individual investors amount to $200bn. Other bankers 
put the figure nearer to $100bn.The US-Saudi alliance was put under 
severe strain after September 11, when 15 of the aeroplanes' 19 hijackers were 
Saudi nationals.Accusations that Saudi Arabia's austere brand of Islam 
breeds terrorism and its charities finance Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network 
have been perceived in the kingdom as attacks on Saudi society and its 
religion.An analyst from the Rand Corporation said at a Pentagon 
briefing this month that Saudi Arabia was the "kernel of evil", exacerbating 
concerns among the country's elite that they have become demonised in the US and 
their money is no longer safe there.As part of the fight against 
terrorism, the US and Saudi authorities have been monitoring the accounts of 
dozens of Saudi companies and individuals, a move that alarmed Saudi merchants. 
Youssef Ibrahim, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations working on 
a project re-examining US-Saudi relations, said Saudis had withdrawn at least 
$200bn from the US in recent months. He said the move has been driven by hawkish 
US commentators' calls for the freezing of Saudi assets.The trend, he 
added, can be expected to accelerate with last week's trillion-dollar lawsuit by 
relative of the victims of September 11. The lawsuit accuses several Saudi 
institutions and charities and three members of the royal family, including the 
defence minister, of financing terrorism.Details of Saudi investments in 
the US are sketchy but financial analysts believe they range between $400bn and 
$600bn. The funds are invested in private equity, the stock and bond markets and 
real estate. The figures include investments by members of the royal 
family.Investors are not thought to be closing down their US accounts. 
Instead they are moving money into European accounts. Bankers in London said the 
largest established Saudi investors did not yet seem to be following the 
trend.One said: "I'm sceptical about a mass exodus. But there was a lot 
of Saudi money with American banks that was not diversified, now they [the 
Saudis] are spreading their wings. Perhaps 30 per cent to 50 per cent of the 
money that was with US banks is seeking diversification."The Saudi money 
shifts may have contributed to the recent downward pressure on the 
dollar."People no longer have any confidence in the US economy or in US 
foreign policy," said Bishr Bakheet, a financial consultant in 
Riyadh."And if the latest lawsuit is not thrown out in court, it will 
mean no more Saudi money in the US."
THE END

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[Hydro] HM...HM

2002-08-21 Thread Miroslav Antic



1) "Women might be able to fake orgasms. But men can fake whole
relationships." (Sharon Stone) 

2) "Clinton lied. A man might forget where he parks or where he lives,
but he never forgets oral sex, no matter how bad it is." (Barbara Bush -
former US First Lady) 

3) "Ah, yes, divorce..., from the Latin word meaning to rip out a man's
genitals through his wallet." (Robin Williams) 

4) "Women need a reason to have sex. Men just need a place." (Billy
Crystal) 

5) "Instead of getting married again, I'm going to find a woman I don't
like and just give her a house." (Rod Stewart) 

6) "There are only two reasons to sit in the back row of an airplane:
Either you have diarrhea, or you're eager to meet people who do." (Henry
Kissenger - former US Secretary of State) 

7) "My girlfriend always laughs during sex - no matter what she's
reading." (Steve Jobs - Founder: Apple Computers) 

8) "My cousin just died. He was only 19. He got stung by a bee, the
natural enemy of a tightrope walker." (Dan Rather - News anchorman) 

9) "I saw a woman wearing a sweatshirt with 'Guess' on it. I
said,'Thyroid problem?" (Arnold Schwarzenegger) 

10) "Hockey is a sport for white men. Basketball is a sport for black
men. Golf is a sport for white men dressed like black pimps." ( Tiger
Woods) 

11) "Women complain about premenstrual syndrome, but I think it's the
only time of the month that I can be myself." (Roseanne) 

12) "According to a new survey, women say they feel more comfortable
undressing in front of men than they do undressing in front of other
women. They say that women are too judgmental, whereas, of course, men
are just grateful." (Robert De Niro) 

13) AND THE NUMBER ONE QUOTE IS: 
"See, the problem is that God gives men a brain and a penis, and only
enough blood to run one at a time." (Robin Williams)
 

THE END

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[Hydro] THE PRICE OF POWER IN CANADA

2002-08-21 Thread Miroslav Antic

Title: Message

Public-relations people get B.C. Liberals letter requesting
donations

By BRENT
JANG

Tuesday, August
13, 2002 – Page A4
VICTORIA -- A B.C. Liberal Party
fundraising letter is inviting people who work in public relations to
donate $10,000 apiece at the same time that the provincial government is
assessing contract proposals from the industry.
While large corporations have been generous, the letter says, "the
communications sector has never given its share."
From public relations and advertising to graphic design and marketing,
individuals working in those areas are asked to "demonstrate support for
the government's initiatives in opening this province for business."
New Democratic Party Leader Joy MacPhail called the invitation an
attempt to place pressure on companies to donate or risk losing out on
contract work for B.C.'s Liberal government led by Premier Gordon
Campbell.
"The timing just stinks. This letter makes it absolutely clear that
there's no line now between the Liberal Party and the government."
Ms. MacPhail said yesterday that the Liberals are cranking up their
"propaganda machine" in an effort to deflect criticism and promote
programs deemed by the government to be worthwhile.
Kelly Reichert, executive director for the B.C. Liberal Party,
dismissed the NDP concerns, saying the letter seeks support from anyone in
the communications field who believes in "lower personal income taxes, a
better business climate and more jobs for British Columbians."
He said there isn't anything suspicious about the letter, co-signed by
Patrick Kinsella, one of the key architects of the Liberals'
election-campaign strategy last year.
"The government does have an open tendering process, so whether
somebody donates would not help them in obtaining a government contract,"
Mr. Reichert said.
However, Ms. MacPhail said the Liberals are offering access to cabinet
ministers in exchange for a donation.
Besides making direct cash donations, public relations firms could
"build a fund-raising effort around an event or two -- events where we can
invite clients or others for an intimate lunch or dinner with a key
cabinet minister," the letter says.
A $2,000-a-plate dinner scheduled last month for Stan Hagen, the
province's Minister of Sustainable Resource Management, was cancelled
because many of those expected to attend were on summer holidays, the B.C.
Liberal Party said.
Mr. Reichert said it has been difficult to arrange meetings during the
summer.
Yesterday, a meeting scheduled between Mr. Kinsella and invited guests
to discuss fundraising ideas in the communications sector had to be
postponed because several expected participants were on
vacation.http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/PEstory/TGAM/20020813/UFUNDN/national/national/nationalTheNationHeadline_temp/13/13/14/
THE END

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[Hydro] DRUNK

2002-08-19 Thread Miroslav Antic




A man and his wife are awakened at 3 o'clock in the morning by a loud
pounding on the door. The man gets up and goes to the door where a
drunken stranger, standing in the pouring rain, is asking for a push.
"Not a chance," says the husband, "it is three o'clock in the morning!"
He slams the door and returns to bed. "Who was that?" asked his wife.
"Just some drunk guy asking for a push," he answers. "Did you help him?"
she asks. "No, I did not, it is three in the morning and it is pouring
out!" "Well, you have a short memory," says his wife. "Can't you
remember about three months ago when we broke down and those two guys
helped us? I think you should go and help him, and you should be ashamed
of yourself!" The man does as he is told, gets dressed, and goes out
into the pouring rain. He calls out into the dark, "Hello, are you still
there?" "Yes," comes back the answer. "Do you still need a push?" calls
out the husband. "Yes, please!" comes the reply from the dark. "Where
are you?" asks the husband. "Over here on the swing!" replies the drunk.

---

THE END

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[Hydro] Heavenly Admittance Policy

2002-08-16 Thread Miroslav Antic

Title: Message



 

Admittance Policy to Heaven

It was getting a little crowded in Heaven, so God decided to change the 
admittance policy. The new law was that, in order to get into Heaven, you had to 
have a real bummer of a day when you died. The policy would go into effect at 
noon the next day. 
The next day at 12:01am, the first person came to the gates of Heaven. The 
Angel at the gate, remembering the new policy, promptly said to the man, "Before 
I let you in, I need you to tell me how your day was going when you died." 
"No problem," the man said. "I came home to my 25th floor apartment on my 
lunch hour and caught my wife half naked. She appeared to be having an affair, 
but her lover was nowhere in sight. I immediately began searching for him. My 
wife was yelling at me as I searched the entire apartment. Just as I was about 
to give up, I happened to glance out onto my balcony and noticed that there was 
a man hanging off the edge by his fingertips! The nerve of that guy! Well, I ran 
out onto the balcony and stomped on his fingers until he fell to the ground. But 
wouldn't you know it, he landed in some trees and bushes that broke his fall and 
he didn't die. This ticked me off even more. In a rage, I went back inside to 
get the first thing could get my hands on to throw at him. Oddly enough, the 
first thing I thought of was the refrigerator. I unplugged it, pushed it out 
onto the balcony, and tipped it over the side. It plummeted 25 stories and 
crushed him. The excitement of the moment was so great that I had a heart attack 
and died almost instantly." 
The Angel sat back and thought a moment. Technically, the guy did have a bad 
day. It was a crime of passion. So, the Angel announced, "OK, sir. Welcome to 
the Kingdom of Heaven," and let him in.
 A few seconds later the next guy came up. The Angel said, "Before I can 
let you in, I need to hear about what your day was like when you died." 
"No problem," said the second man. "But you're not going to believe this. I 
was on the balcony of my 26th floor apartment doing my daily exercises. I had 
been under a lot of pressure so I was really pushing hard to relieve my stress. 
I guess I got a little carried away, slipped, and accidentally fell over the 
side! Luckily, I was able to catch myself by the fingertips on the balcony below 
mine. But all of a sudden this crazy man comes running out of his apartment, 
starts cussing, and stomps on my fingers. Well, of course I fell. I hit some 
trees and bushes at the bottom which broke my fall so I didn't die right away. 
As I'm laying there face up on the ground, unable to move, and in excruciating 
pain, I see this guy push his refrigerator, of all things, off the balcony. It 
falls the 25 floors and lands on top of me, killing me instantly." 
The Angel is quietly laughing to himself as the man finishes his story. "I 
could get used to this new policy," he thinks to himself. "Very well," the Angel 
announces. "Welcome to the Kingdom of Heaven," and he lets the man enter. 
A few seconds later, a third man comes up to the gate. The angel says, 
"Please tell me how you died." The third man says, "OK, picture this. I'm naked, 
hiding inside a refrigerator.
 
 
THE END

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[Hydro] Phony Atrocity Stories

2002-08-15 Thread Miroslav Antic

Title: Message


100,000 Men 
and Boys, Machine-Gunned to Death!!Memo To: Sen. Kay 
Bailey Hutchison From: Jude WanniskiRe: Holy Cow!!!That's 
Genocide!!!Did you happen to read the letter in the NYTimes 
Tuesday about how Saddam Hussein in 1988 had "100,000 Kurdish men and boys 
rounded up, trucked to remote areas and machine-gunned to death, their bodies 
bulldozed into mass graves."? The reason I ask you of all people, Senator, is 
that I read in the Washington 
Post that you are eager to pre-emptively strike Iraq to deal with this 
monster, as soon as you have collected enough of a case against him. I had 
wondered if you put the Times letter from Human Rights Watch into your 
Evidence Envelope, as it certainly would persuade me we should kill as many 
Iraqis as it would take, with bombs and bullets, to rid the Middle East of his 
ugly presence. You know from my previous contacts with you and your capable 
staff that I consider you to be among the very best U.S. Senators, in the top 
ten if not the top five. So if these 100,000 machine-gunned men and boys are 
weighing on your decision, I think you can relax on that account. The 
story is pure bunk. I've looked into it and can tell you it never happened. The 
story actually began as a rumor picked up by two staff members of the Senate 
Foreign Relations Committee who were in Kurdistan at the time the Iran/Iraq war 
ended in August 1988. They reported hearing that 100,000 Iraqi Kurds were GASSED 
to death by Saddam's army in a matter of days, soon after he concluded his peace 
with Iran. The story was dopey to begin with as most of the Iraqi Kurds of 
fighting age had fought side-by-side with the Iraqi army. There were a small 
number of Iraqi rebels among the Kurds, who defected to the Iranians expecting 
Iran would win the war. Of the 2 million male Kurds in Iraq, more than half were 
too young or too old to be rounded up and machine-gunned, so we are talking 
about Saddam bumping off more than 10% of the relevant population in a matter of 
days. The rumor would not have gone very far, Senator, but Secretary of State 
George Shultz held a press conference 
and told the world that Saddam had GASSED 100,000 men and boys of fighting age. 
When asked how he knew, he said it was a secret! Our State Department 
essentially confirmed the stupid rumor without an investigation. In the 
years since, Human Rights Watch has conceded all those fellas could not have 
been killed by gas, which the Army War College tells me has a kill rate of only 
2% unless your head is in the oven. Having raised so much money, the Human 
Rights Watch folks had to come up with another theory, which is how they now 
happen to have been rounded up, machine-gunned to death, and bulldozed into mass 
graves. Fourteen years ago. The folks at the Army War College (who you should 
talk to, by the way) tell me only one "mass grave" was found, with 14 corpses, 
and there has been no other sign of the rest of the 100,000 bullet-riddled 
bodies. The reason Human Rights Watch say they were "trucked to remote areas" 
before being bulldozed into mass graves, one might suppose, is that modern 
technology can spot such doings by satellite, and no such disturbances of the 
land have been located. They REALLY must be remote because American 
newshounds sniffing around right after all this blood was supposed to have been 
spilled did not smell a thing. Milton Viorst of 
the Washington Post, who knows Kurdistan as well as any American 
journalist, rushed to the spot as soon as George Shultz loosed that bolt from 
the blue, and reported to his readers:From what I saw, I would conclude 
that if lethal gas was used, it was not used genocidally -- that is, for mass 
killing. The Kurds compose a fifth of the Iraqi population, and they are a 
tightly knit community. If there had been large-scale killing, it is likely they 
would know and tell the world.But neither I nor any Westerner I encountered 
heard such allegations. Nor did Kurdish society show discernible signs of 
tension. The northern cities, where the men wear Kurdish turbans and baggy 
pants, were as bustling as I had ever seen them. I talked to armed Kurds near 
the border, members of Iraqi military unites mobilized against the rebels.On 
the other hand, Iraq probably used gas of some kind in air attacks on rebel 
positions. Journalists visiting the Turkish camps saw refugees with blistered 
skin and irritated eyes, symptoms of gassing. But doctors sent by France, the 
United Nations and the Red Cross have said these symptoms could have been 
produced by a powerful, but nonlethal tear gas.Citing national security, Mr. 
Shultz has declined to submit the U.S. data to scrutiny, even by America's NATO 
allies, though State Department sources say it is the sort of information that 
the United States routinely shares with them. American officials acknowledge 
that Mr. Shultz's evidence, chiefly radio intercepts, may be subject to 
conflicting interpretat

[Hydro] AIRLINE INDUSTRY

2002-08-14 Thread Miroslav Antic



Subject: AIRLINE INDUSTRY 
 
Dear Sirs; 
 
I have the solution for the prevention of hijackings, and at the 
same time 
getting our airline industry back on its feet. 
 
Since men of the Muslim religion are not allowed to look at naked 
women, we 
should replace all of our female flight attendants with strippers. 
Muslims 
would be afraid to get on the planes for fear of seeing a naked 
woman, and 
of course, every businessman in this country would start flying 
again in 
hope of seeing a naked woman. We would have no more hijackings, and 
the 
airline industry would have record sales. 
 
Now why didn't Bush think of this? Why do I still have to do 
everything 
myself? 
 
Sincerely, 
 
Bill Clinton 
 
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
 
 
Subject: Da Pig 
 
Jean Chretien and his chauffeur were rolling down the highway when
suddenly they hit a pig crossing the road. They killed it instantly. 
 
Chretien told his driver: "Go to da farm over dere and hexplain to da
honer of da pig what happened." One hour later, he saw his driver coming

back from the farm, his clothes all wrinkled, a bottle of wine in one
hand and a cigar in the other. "What happen to you?" Chretien asked.
"Well, 
the farmer gave me a bottle of wine, his wife, the cigar and their 19
year old daughter made wild, passionate love to me." 
 
"My God! What did you tell dem?" asked Chretien. The driver answered:
"Good evening, I am Jean Chretien's chauffeur and I have just killed the

pig." 
 
 

THE END

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[Hydro] SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC WILL GOVERN SERBIA FROM THE HAGUE

2002-08-12 Thread Miroslav Antic

Title: Message



 

 
SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC WILL GOVERN SERBIA FROM 
THE HAGUE Socialist Party of Serbia is running 
the campaign to get rid of the ex in ex-presidentThe Socialist 
Party of Serbia started collecting signatures for the nomination of their 
leader, ex-President of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic, for the presidential 
elections in Serbia, which are to take place on September 29. The decision was 
made by the members of the party despited the current trial on Milosevic in the 
Hague and the resolution of the Central Electoral Committee in Belgrade, 
RTR-Vesti.Ru reported. The Central Electoral Committee has 
informed that Milosevic can never run for the presidency of Serbia, since he 
held this position twice: in 1990 and 1992. The initiative of the Socialist 
Party of Serbia contradicts the Constitution of the country, because one person 
cannot be re-elected for the position of the president three times in a row. 
However, the party is aware of this fact, although they say that the 
decision of the Central Electoral Committee regarding their refusal to register 
Milosevic an be appealed by the Supreme Court. The party is going to 
prove that it will be very easy for them to collect ten thousand signatures in 
Milosevic’s support, very shortly, by the middle of the current week. Milosevic 
is enjoying great popularity among the Serbian people, and his popularity is 
growing with his every speech. The so-called “opinion polls” conducted by the 
Serbian media are absolutely fake (they say that only four or five percent of 
the Serbian people support Milosevic). The most important thing for the 
Socialist Party of Serbia is to show how totally wrong the mass media is. What 
if they collect not ten thousand, but even more signatures and bring them to the 
Hague? Carla might choke over her breakfast then.  
Nominating someone for the presidency and collecting the requisite 
number of signatures is not at all a violation of the constitution. It will be 
up to the Central Electoral Committee to decide whether to register Milosevic or 
not. Izvestia reported that the electoral committee of 
Serbia had granted an official registration only to one candidacy: the chairman 
of the Serbian radical party Voislav Seselj. The leader of the Serbian Unity 
Party Borislav Pelevic and Yugoslavian Vice Premier Miroljub Labus have already 
collected the requisite number of signatures. Sergey Yugov 
PRAVDA.Ru http://english.pravda.ru/main/2002/08/12/34354.html 

THE END

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<>

[Hydro] Secrets of long life

2002-08-12 Thread Miroslav Antic



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2167316.stm

BBC News/Health

Friday, 2 August, 2002, 00:19 GMT 01:19 UK

   Scientists unravel secrets of long life

   By Richard Black
   BBC science correspondent

   Scientists in the United States have
   discovered three things which help predict how
   long someone is going to live.

   In a study published in the journal Science,
   they report that the length of a person's life is
   related to their body temperature, and to
   levels of two chemicals, insulin and DHEAS,
   circulating in the blood.

   On average, people
   who have a lower
   body temperature live
   longer, as do those
   with lower levels of
   insulin, and those with
   higher levels of
   DHEAS.

   The researchers are not entirely sure of
   the reasons behind this finding but
   experiments with animals suggest it may
   be to do with a lower metabolic rate.

   They say that unravelling the mechanisms
   behind the finding may lead to new ways
   of helping people to live longer.

   Of mice and men

   The suggested link between lifespan and
   metabolic rate comes from experiments
   in which animals are maintained on strict
   calorie-controlled diets.

   These animals tend to live longer than
   normal - up to 40% longer. They also
   have lower than average body
   temperature, low levels of insulin, and
   high levels of dehydroepiandrosterone
   sulphate (DHEAS).

   George Roth from the National Institute
   of Ageing in Baltimore in the United States
   has been working on a long-term study of
   factors affecting human lifespan.

   Called the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of
   Ageing, it has been running since 1958
   and has enrolled around 1,500 people.

   Longevity clues

   Following the lead given by the animal diet
   experiments, Dr Roth's team decided to
   analyse body temperature and levels of
   insulin and DHEAS in men enrolled in the
   Baltimore study.

   "Men with lower temperature and insulin
   and those maintaining higher DHEAS levels
   have greater survival than respective
   counterparts," he writes in the Science
   journal. At present, there are not enough
   data to say precisely how big these
   effects are.

   The average human body temperature is
   around 37 degrees Celsius but individuals
   differ by around a degree.

   The men in the Baltimore study are not
   on diets. So something else must be
   keeping body temperature and insulin
   down, and DHEAS up, in the men who are
   living longer.

   "It could be genetic, it could be something
   else in their lifestyle apart from diet," Dr
   Roth told the BBC. "If we can learn what
   these individuals are doing then perhaps
   we could help the rest of us to live longer,
   too."

  

THE END

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[Hydro] Signs

2002-08-11 Thread Miroslav Antic


THE END

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<>

[Hydro] 'The High Priests of Globalisation'

2002-08-11 Thread Miroslav Antic

Title: Message



'The High Priests of Globalisation'Will 
Hutton 
The transatlantic power élite's secretive Bilderberg 
Conferences & related research - from Bristol, England 
Statesman or Terrorist? Henry Kissinger is one of the key 
'war on terrorism' gurus... whilst being considered for extradition to Chile for 
his role in CIA project FUBELT, the 1973 murder of General Schneider and coup 
d'etat. Is he the 
best person to promote a 'War on Terrorism'??? Will Kissinger come clean.. 
or use his Kissinger Associates contacts to start World War III? 

Resource page on the 'War on 
Terrorism'What does The Bible say? When and how will the shit 
hit the fan?U.S.A. - global terrorism central - Mercenaries with close connections to the U.S. 
administrationComedian Bill Hicks on the elite: The Global Elite [mp3 
audio file]Magic Mountains of the Mind - The Economist's 
Elite Conference GuideDid an occult/criminal syndicate take over the US 
government when president John F. Kennedy was assassinated? The 'military 
industrial complex' president Eisenhower warned the world of in 1961 is using fear, lies and 
information warfare to get its way 
http://www.bilderberg.org/
THE END

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[Hydro] Bits of odd Wisdom....

2002-08-10 Thread Miroslav Antic



***
I am in shape. Round is a shape.
***
Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician.

***
Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember, amateurs built the ark,
professionals built the Titanic.

***
Conscience is what hurts when everything else feels so good.

***
Talk is cheap because supply exceeds demand.

***
Even if you are on the right track,
you'll get run over if you just sit there.

***
Politicians and diapers have one thing in common.
They should both be changed regularly and for the
same reason.

***
An optimist thinks that this is the best possible world.
A pessimist fears that this is true.

**
There will always be death and taxes; however,
death doesn't get worse every year.

***
In just two days, tomorrow will be yesterday.

***
Dijon vu --
the same mustard as before.

***
I am a nutritional overachiever.

***
I am having an out of money experience.

***
I plan on living forever. So far, so good.

***
Practice safe eating --
always use condiments.

***
A day without sunshine is like night.

***
If marriage were outlawed,
only outlaws would have in-laws.

***
It's frustrating when you know all the answers,
but nobody bothers to ask you the questions.
***
The real art of conversation is not only to
say the right thing at the right time,
but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing
at the tempting moment.

***
Brain cells come and brain cells go,
but fat cells live forever.
***
Age doesn't always bring wisdom.
Sometimes age comes alone.
***
Life not only begins at forty,
it also begins to show.
**
You don't stop laughing because you grow old,
you grow old because you stopped laughing.
...

THE END

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[Hydro] Srdja Trifkovic's NEWS & VIEWS UNFIT TO PRINT

2002-08-10 Thread Miroslav Antic

Title: Message



 

August 2, 2002

THE EUROPEAN UNION'S LOOMING ACCOUNTING 
SCANDALby Srdja Trifkovic


If you think that Enron is the biggest accounting 
scandal of our time, and that the most culpable creative bookkeepers are to be 
found in America, think again. Think really big, big beyond any single 
corporation, like Brussels, like the European Union. And it is in Brussels that 
you'll find the most brazen attempt at cover-up, with the whistle-blower exposed 
to the full wrath of the uncontrollable bureaucratic Leviathan. 
Not many Americans are aware—as most cynical 
Europeans are—that about one half the European Union's budget is wasted on the 
Common Agricultural Policy, a fundamentally flawed program of pork-barrel 
subsidies for farmers encouraged to produce things that have no buyers, or not 
to produce them. Furthermore, billions are simply misspent as intended. About 5% 
of the entire EU budget, five billion dollars, is lost to straightforward 
fraud--from non-existent tobacco farms to imaginary decontamination plans to 
help deal with Chernobyl--while another 5% or so is misappropriated, and not 
spent on the programs for which it was designated. One-tenth of the Union's 
budget which the European Court of Auditors accepts is misspent amounts to 
almost 10 billion dollars a year. 
It is puzzling that the U.S. media are not reacting 
as yet to the news that the European Commission's former chief accountant--hired 
with the specific brief to overhaul accounting procedures—has been punished and 
vilified for claiming that the EU's one hundred billion dollar (ó98bn) annual 
budget is "massively open to fraud," even though a report from independent 
auditors backed many of her claims. 
The Spanish-born Marta Andreasen first came into 
prominence when she was suspended on full pay in May when she refused to sign 
the EU's accounts for 2001. "During the time I have been here I have been able 
to establish that the system . . . is vulnerable, involving risk of errors and 
fraud," she stated in a letter addressed to the Commission's President Romano 
Prodi of Italy on May 7. She added that there was an "urgent need" to replace 
the in-house controls with outside agencies mandated in the private sector that 
"allow transparency and accountability in the management of funds." She also 
urged the Commission to carry out an independent audit of the inflow and outflow 
of funds. 
In an ad hominem response that did not address the 
fundamentals of Marta Andraesen's claim, the European Commission dismissed her 
allegations as "old complaints" and criticized her performance in her job. A 
statement from Michaele Schreyer, the EU budget commissioner, described the 
appointment of Ms. Andreasen as a "mistake" and claimed she "rapidly generated 
extreme ill feeling in essential relationships" with colleagues. 
On August 1 she responded to the slight with an 
even more embarrassing barrage, describing the Commission's current financial 
regulations as "out of control" and declaring that fraud was harder to track in 
Brussels than in Enron or WorldCom. According to her statement to the media, 
there were "serious and glaring shortcomings" in parts of the budget management 
process and a "dangerous failing at the heart of the system" because of a 
"complete lack of compliance with basic and minimum accounting 
standards": 

  
  Unlike the issues surrounding Enron and WorldCom, 
  where you can at least trace transactions and accounts, you cannot do so 
  within the E.U. accounts as there is no system in place for tracing 
  adjustments and changes to figures presented. 

Paradoxically, her case has been indirectly 
supported by the Commission itself which has under its control a number of 
bodies that are supposed to be responsible for combating fraud, but their record 
is abysmal. The main one, UCLAF, according to the Commission's own findings, had 
"no standard system under which proceedings were opened, pursued and concluded"; 
the filing system was so chaotic that it "failed to meet the minimum 
requirements for criminal evidence"; the figures it produced on fraud were 
"incomplete and misleading"; and the Court of Auditors refers to cases where 
documents were "withheld or destroyed." 
Corruption and fraud are generally much more 
prevalent across the EU than they are in Great Britain or the United States for 
three main reasons. The standards of probity and honesty in pubic affairs are 
much higher in the English-speaking world than they are in countries such as 
France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece, or Ireland. Second, the administrative 
and financial arrangements in the EU lend themselves to misappropriation and 
misuse. Furthermore, the communautaire camouflage conceals a competition for 
resources that is still largely a national contest. National governments don't 
mind the malpractices for as long as they benefit their coffers and harm others. 
But most importantly, the structure of the EU is bur

[Hydro] Water everywhere and not a drop to drink (for free)

2002-08-10 Thread Miroslav Antic

Title: Message



 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/print/2002/08/020809071640.htmReprinted 
from ScienceDaily Magazine 
...Source: 
Dartmouth Medical SchoolDate Posted:    Friday, August 09, 
2002Web Address:   http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/08/020809071640.htm"Drink 
At Least 8 Glasses Of Water A Day" -- Really?Hanover, NH -- It 
has become accepted wisdom: "Drink at least eight glasses of water a day!" Not 
necessarily, says a DMSphysician Heinz Valtin, MD. The universal advice that 
has made guzzling water a national pastime is more urban myth thanmedical 
dogma and appears to lack scientific proof, he found.In an invited 
review published online by the American Journal of Physiology August 8, Valtin, 
professor emeritus of physiology atDartmouth Medical School, reports no 
supporting evidence to back this popular counsel, commonly known as "8 x 8" (for 
eight,eight-ounce glasses). The review will also appear in a later issue of 
the journal.Valtin, a kidney specialist and author of two widely used 
textbooks on the kidney and water balance, sought to find the origin ofthis 
dictum and to examine the scientific evidence, if any, that might support it. He 
observes that we see the exhortationeverywhere: from health writers, 
nutritionists, even physicians. Valtin doubts its validity. Indeed, he finds it, 
"difficult to believe thatevolution left us with a chronic water deficit 
that needs to be compensated by forcing a high fluid intake."The 8 x 8 
rule is slavishly followed. Everywhere, people carry bottles of water, 
constantly sipping from them; it is acceptable todrink water anywhere, 
anytime. A pamphlet distributed at one southern California university even 
counsels its students to "carry awater bottle with you. Drink often while 
sitting in class..."How did the obsession start? Is there any scientific 
evidence that supports the recommendation? Does the habit promote 
goodhealth? Might it be harmful?Valtin thinks the notion may have 
started when the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council 
recommendedapproximately "1 milliliter of water for each calorie of food," 
which would amount to roughly two to two-and-a-half quarts per day(64 to 80 
ounces). Although in its next sentence, the Board stated "most of this quantity 
is contained in prepared foods," that lastsentence may have been missed, so 
that the recommendation was erroneously interpreted as how much water one should 
drinkeach day.He found no scientific studies in support of 8 x 8. 
Rather, surveys of fluid intake on healthy adults of both genders, published 
aspeer-reviewed documents, strongly suggest that such large amounts are not 
needed. His conclusion is supported by publishedstudies showing that 
caffeinated drinks, such as most coffee, tea and soft drinks, may indeed be 
counted toward the daily total. Healso points to the quantity of published 
experiments that attest to the capability of the human body for maintaining 
proper waterbalance.Valtin emphasizes that his conclusion is limited 
to healthy adults in a temperate climate leading a largely sedentary existence 
--precisely, he points out, the population and conditions that the "at 
least" in 8 x 8 refers to. At the same time, he stresses that largeintakes 
of fluid, equal to and greater than 8 x 8, are advisable for the treatment or 
prevention of some diseases, such as kidneystones, as well as under special 
circumstances, such as strenuous physical activity, long airplane flights or hot 
weather. But barringthose exceptions, he concludes that we are currently 
drinking enough and possibly even more than enough.Despite the dearth of 
compelling evidence, then, What's the harm? "The fact is that, potentially, 
there is harm even in water,"explains Valtin. Even modest increases in fluid 
intake can result in "water intoxication" if one's kidneys are unable to 
excreteenough water (urine). Such instances are not unheard of, and they 
have led to mental confusion and even death in athletes, inteenagers after 
ingesting the recreational drug Ecstasy, and in ordinary patients.And he 
lists other disadvantages of a high water intake: (a) possible exposure to 
pollutants, especially if sustained over manyyears; (b) frequent urination, 
which can be both inconvenient and embarrassing; (c) expense, for those who 
satisfy the 8 x 8requirements with bottled water; and (d) feelings of guilt 
for not achieving 8 x 8.Other claims discredited by scientific evidence 
that Valtin discusses include:Thirst Is Too Late. It is often stated 
that by the time people are thirsty, they are already dehydrated. On the 
contrary, thirst beginswhen the concentration of blood (an accurate 
indicator of our state of hydration) has risen by less than two percent, whereas 
mostexperts would define dehydration as beginning when that concentration 
has risen by at least five percent.Dark Urine Means Dehydration. At 
normal urinary volume and color, the concentration of

[Hydro] Interventionism: Courageous and Cowardly

2002-08-09 Thread Miroslav Antic

Title: Message

Interventionism: Courageous and Cowardly
by Adam Young
A few days ago,
former President Bill Clinton gave a speech to a Canadian Jewish group in my
home town of Toronto. Before the audience, he declared that "The Israelis know that if the Iraqi or the Iranian Army came
across the Jordan River, I would personally grab a rifle, get in a ditch and
fight and die."
Not
surprisingly, this evinced reactions ranging from appaluse, to disbelief, to
embarrassment, to cynicism. The statist chorus was given by war veterans, such
as Earl Murray, first vice commander of the American Legion Post in Harlem, who
declared it a "slap in the face" and resurrected Clinton’s draft dodger past as
a criticism, "He had his chance to serve his country, and he avoided it." One
New York Democratic Congressman, Anthony Weiner, however, expressed his belief
in Clinton’s sincerity, and predicted that "when Israel has had its wars there
have always been thousands of Americans that have made alliyah to go participate
in that war. Maybe Bill Clinton will be one of them." And an unnamed Republican
Congressional aide added, "He just wants to be loved. Is that so
wrong?"
As the
Congressman pointed out there is a long history of foreigners voluntarily
joining other countries' armed forces. Just a few examples are, for instance,
the nearly 3000 Americans who volunteered as Stalinist pawns in the Abraham
Lincoln Brigade, as well as hundreds of Canadians in the Mackenzie-Papineau
Battalion, to fight alongside rapists and murderers in defense of the brutal
second Spanish Republic. Thousands of Canadians joined the Union invasion of the
South, and Canadians also joined the US invasion of Vietnam. Germans and other
Europeans fought in the American secession from Britain. And, of course, a
certain young American volunteered to fight for the Taliban.
But not in all
the hysteria over Clinton’s newfound love affair with personal combat has there
been mention that his statement, like his youthful draft dodging refusal to go
off and murder innocent Vietnamese civilians, was, at least, a moral and
principled position. Here he is, declaring to the world, his intention to
voluntarily commit his own property to a cause he deems just and right, even
though many conservatives ridiculed this as just another piece of Clinton
pandering and deception. If he is sincere, and Clinton may not know himself,
even know for sure, his statement raises the key issue of our time, namely the
coercive nature of statism, militarism, and foreign intervention, and their
denial of the citizen’s self-determination over his own life.
If an individual
decides he wants to leave his country and join the armed forces of another, and
he is accepted, by what right can anyone restrain this person from acting? He
has expressed his free will to dispose of his property – his own life – in the
way he has decided he wants to. If he wants to fight and die for what might or
might not be a foolish cause, and no arguments can change his mind once he has
made it, it’s his choice and his alone. This type of foreign "interventionism"
can at least be morally defended, as it is based on the voluntary principle. And
it is this same commitment to voluntary means that defines the libertarian
society against the militaristic and totalitarian one.
In contrast to
the libertarian credo, are those conservatives who in the wake of 9/11, instead
of calling for renewed freedom, called for Americans to surrender their rights
and liberties and advocated the totalitarian measures of conscription and
economic stimulus through inflation and increased military spending? In the face
of terrorism, many conservatives expressed sentiments that denied individual
self-determination and conflated the people and the country with the state. 9/11
resurrected calls by the Buckleyites for their all-purpose solution to every
social problem: conscription (or what they call "national service").
The moral
character of the up-and-coming generation is deemed by them to be less than
those of the past? Conscription is the answer. Race relations are bad?
Conscription is the answer. High unemployment? Conscription is the answer. Its
not a little bit strange that those who advocate conscription always argue that
it’s necessary in order to train the younger generations to value freedom and be
willing to die to protect it. But conscription, militarism, and the general
statism that accompany them deny individual self-determination and individual
freedom, while at the same time providing a method for more domestic looting of
taxpayers and a means to intervene by force around the world. Instead of as
their fellow citizens, the statists see Americans as the fodder and resources
for their war machine, and interpreted 9/11 to serve a new burst of domestic
looting and foreign meddling by the state.
In contrast to
the courageous form of voluntary intervening where the indi

[Hydro] Canada shuns deal to shield U.S. troops

2002-08-08 Thread Miroslav Antic



The Bush administration has also asked America's neighbor and ally
Canada to sign a bilateral agreement granting U.S. citizens accused of
war crimes immunity from arrest and prosecution by the ICC. The American
proposal was not welcomed by Canadian officials, who termed it
"unnecessary."

Carl Schwenger, spokesman for Canada's Foreign Affairs Department
stated: "We don't share the U.S. concerns.  Democratic, law-abiding
states have nothing to fear from the ICC, which has rigorous safeguards
to protect against any frivolous investigations."


===

Ottawa Citizen
August 8, 2002 Thursday

Canada shuns deal to shield U.S. troops
U.S. wants others to vow not to send its soldiers to new war crimes
court

James Baxter

   Canada has been asked by the United States to sign an agreement that
it will not turn over American military personnel to the newly formed
International Criminal Court for war-crimes trials, Canadian officials
have confirmed.

   Canada has yet to give an official response, but a Foreign Affairs
spokesman said the U.S. request is unnecessary.

   The move is part of the U.S. government's continuing efforts to
insulate its military from the court, from which the Bush administration
withdrew in June.  Since then the administration has sought bilateral
anti-extradition treaties with court members, including Canada, aimed at
preventing U.S. soldiers and peacekeepers from being turned over to the
court in The Hague.

   "Canada and other countries have been approached by the U.S. to
conclude bilateral agreements regarding the jurisdiction of the
International Criminal Court," said Carl Schwenger, spokesman for the
Foreign Affairs Department.  "We don't share the U.S. concerns.
Democratic, law-abiding states have nothing to fear from the ICC, which
has rigorous safeguards to protect against any frivolous
investigations."

   The court was established in July in order to prosecute individuals
for war crimes and genocide when national governments refuse to act.

   To date, only Israel and Romania have agreed to the U.S. requests and
Canadian officials made clear that they believe giving blanket immunity
to U.S. military personnel is unnecessary, since the court only has
jurisdiction when a country refuses to conduct an investigation into
alleged war crimes.

   But the U.S. remains unconvinced and last week passed the American
Servicemembers Protection Act, dubbed sarcastically in international
circles as the "Invade the Hague Act."

   The act, passed by Congress, calls on the U.S. to use "all means
necessary" to keep U.S. personnel from being forced to stand trial
before the court in the Netherlands. The act's strong wording, taken to
its extreme, could sanction a military raid on another country to
extricate a U.S. serviceman being threatened with prosecution.

   Experts in international law said the U.S. reaction is "dramatic
overkill" aimed at pandering to right-wing isolationists, who fear U.S.
sovereignty is being eroded by international institutions such as the
United Nations and World Trade Organization.

   Mr. Schwenger did not comment on U.S. motives, but agreed the
bilateral agreements and the U.S. act are unnecessary.

   "If the U.S. enforces its own criminal laws against its citizens, the
ICC will never take jurisdiction over an American citizen," Mr.
Schwenger said.

   Still, he said Canada doesn't believe the U.S. would unlawfully
violate the territorial integrity of another country in order to prevent
it from fulfilling its legal obligations to the court.

   Mr. Schwenger also said Canada intends to continue "efforts to
encourage widespread ratification and implementation of the treaty and
that it is committed to maintain a dialogue with Washington on any
legitimate concerns it may have with respect to the court."

__

THE END

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[Hydro] Canadian economy may be slowing: analysts

2002-08-08 Thread Miroslav Antic

Title: Message


Canadian economy may be slowing: 
analysts Last Updated Thu, 08 Aug 2002 
17:42:54 
OTTAWA - There's growing evidence that the Canadian economy – 
which had been holding up well against its struggling U.S. counterpart – may now 
be showing signs of a significant slowdown, according to some economists. 


  
  
Is the Canadian economy 
  finally reflecting U.S. weakness?The latest 
piece of economic data to buttress that view came Thursday morning from the Ivey 
Purchasing Managers Index. The index measures purchases, employment, 
inventories, supplier deliveries and prices by major Canadian purchasers in the 
public and private sectors. 
For the month of July, the index dropped to 46.5. The decline was unexpected 
– economists had been looking for a reading of 53. (Any number below 50 
signifies that purchases were lower than the previous month). 
BMO Nesbitt Burns chief economist Sherry Cooper said the July reading could 
signal trouble for the Canadian economy. "This is the first drop in expenditures 
since January, signaling that growth is nowhere near as robust as earlier this 
year," she wrote in a morning commentary. 
Cooper said other indicators also point to trouble ahead. "The federal 
government budget surplus has all but vanished, owing to a marked decline in tax 
revenues. Corporate, income and capital gains tax revenues have fallen sharply 
in the past year. In addition, the earnings and revenue disappointments at large 
Canadian retailers such as The Bay, Zellers and Sears Canada may be early 
indicators of consumer belt tightening." 
Standard & Poor's MMS technical analyst Katherine Beattie agrees that the 
Ivey report shows that the Canadian economy is slowing, "which is not surprising 
given the U.S. economic data of late has been very weak." 


  RELATED STORY: U.S. wholesale inflation 
  falls 0.2 per cent in JulyShe told the 
Canadian Press news agency that Thursday's U.S. wholesale inflation 
numbers, which showed prices falling in July, underline the weakness south of 
the border. "Deflation isn't good for anything," she said. "The report adds 
credibility to the slowing of the U.S. economy." 
Still, some data suggest that the economic picture is not all doom-and-gloom. 
Statistics Canada reported Thursday that its help-wanted index rose for the 
sixth month in a row, signifying that businesses are still ramping up hiring. 
And Garry Stamm, a retail analyst with Stamm Economic Research, told CBC 
Business News Thursday that he thinks consumer spending in Canada remains 
strong. "There isn't any reduction in consumer spending to speak of, or any 
downside trend that's evident as of yet," he said. "Employment continues to grow 
and grow well in a stable fashion. Second, the weekly earnings, which is your 
pay packet, remains on the upside at roughly the rate of inflation. So the 
consumer is quite strong in that respect." 
Still, there's general agreement that the overall economic picture for Canada 
is not as rosy as it was earlier this year. The Bank of Canada is now widely 
expected to refrain from raising interest rates again when it issues its next 
policy announcement in early September. 

Written by CBC News Online staff 
THE END

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[Hydro] George Bush Channels George Orwell

Title: Message



George Bush 
Channels George Orwell Daniel Kurtzman, AlterNetJuly 30, 
2002
Here's a question for constitutional scholars: Can a sitting president be 
charged with plagiarism? 

As President Bush wages his war against terrorism and moves to create a huge 
homeland security apparatus, he appears to be borrowing heavily, if not ripping 
off ideas outright, from George Orwell. The work in question is 1984, the 
prophetic novel about a government that controls the masses by spreading 
propaganda, cracking down on subversive thought and altering history to suit its 
needs. It was intended to be read as a warning about the evils of 
totalitarianism -- not a how-to manual. 

Granted, we're a long way from resembling the kind of authoritarian state 
Orwell depicted, but some of the similarities are starting to get a bit eerie. 

Permanent War 

In 1984, the state remained perpetually at war against a vague and ever- 
changing enemy. The war took place largely in the abstract, but it served as a 
convenient vehicle to fuel hatred, nurture fear and justify the regime's 
autocratic practices. 

Bush's war against terrorism has become almost as amorphous. Although we are 
told the president's resolve is steady and the mission clear, we seem to know 
less and less about the enemy we are fighting. What began as a war against Osama 
bin Laden and al Qaeda quickly morphed into a war against Afghanistan, followed 
by dire warnings about an "Axis of Evil," the targeting of terrorists in some 50 
to 60 countries, and now the beginnings of a major campaign against Iraq. 
Exactly what will constitute success in this war remains unclear, but the one 
thing the Bush administration has made certain is that the war will continue 
"indefinitely." 

Ministry Of Truth 

Serving as the propaganda arm of the ruling party in 1984, the Ministry of 
Truth not only spread lies to suit its strategic goals, but constantly rewrote 
and falsified history. It is a practice that has become increasingly commonplace 
in the Bush White House, where presidential transcripts are routinely sanitized 
to remove the president's gaffes, accounts of intelligence warnings prior to 
Sept. 11 get spottier with each retelling, and the facts surrounding Bush's past 
financial dealings are subject to continual revision. 

The Bush administration has been surprisingly up front about its intentions 
of propagating falsehoods. In February, for example, the Pentagon announced a 
plan to create an Office of Strategic Influence to provide false news and 
information abroad to help manipulate public opinion and further its military 
objectives. Following a public outcry, the Pentagon said it would close the 
office -- news that would have sounded more convincing had it not come from a 
place that just announced it was planning to spread misinformation. 

Infallible Leader 

An omnipresent and all-powerful leader, Big Brother commanded the total, 
unquestioning support of the people. He was both adored and feared, and no one 
dared speak out against him, lest they be met by the wrath of the state. 

President Bush may not be as menacing a figure, but he has hardly concealed 
his desire for greater powers. Never mind that he has mentioned -- on no fewer 
than three occasions -- how much easier things would be if he were dictator. By 
abandoning many of the checks and balances established in the Constitution to 
keep any one branch of government from becoming too powerful, Bush has already 
achieved the greatest expansion of executive powers since Nixon. His approval 
ratings remain remarkably high, and his minions have worked hard to cultivate an 
image of infallibility. Nowhere was that more apparent than during a recent 
commencement address Bush gave at Ohio State, where students were threatened 
with arrest and expulsion if they protested the speech. They were ordered to 
give him a "thunderous ovation," and they did. 

Big Brother Is Watching 

The ever-watchful eye of Big Brother kept constant tabs on the citizens of 
Orwell's totalitarian state, using two-way telescreens to monitor people's every 
move while simultaneously broadcasting party propaganda. 

While that technology may not have arrived yet, public video surveillance has 
become all the rage in law enforcement, with cameras being deployed everywhere 
from sporting events to public beaches. The Bush administration has also 
announced plans to recruit millions of Americans to form a corps of citizen 
spies who will serve as "extra eyes and ears for law enforcement," reporting any 
suspicious activity as part of a program dubbed Operation TIPS -- Terrorism 
Information and Prevention System. 

And thanks to the hastily passed USA Patriot Act, the Justice Department has 
sweeping new powers to monitor phone conversations, Internet usage, business 
transactions and library reading records. Best of all, law enforcement need not 
be burdened any longer with such inconveniences as probable ca

[Hydro] Cruise ship death puzzles man's kin




Royal Caribbean's version of events doesn't ring true, grieving family
of Canadian says

Esther Persaud's nightmare began when she went to Toronto's airport to
welcome her son back from a Caribbean vacation and he didn't arrive.

After nearly two days of dread, the worst fears of Ms. Persaud and her
family were confirmed.

A Toronto Police officer came to the door to tell her that her son
O'Neil Persaud, 31, had died on board a cruise ship bound for St. Thomas
in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

But O'Neil hadn't gone on a cruise. He was supposed to be staying at an
all-inclusive resort on the island of St. Maarten.

And that was only the beginning of the mystery.

Two weeks later, the Persauds do not know how O'Neil died or even when
his body will be returned so they can arrange a funeral.

"We have already lost our son and now we are being tortured by the
waiting," Ms. Persaud said yesterday.

Worst of all, every day has brought new and conflicting reports about
how O'Neil might have died. None of them are consistent with the happy
and stable man the Persaud family and friends knew.

The official statement from Royal Caribbean Cruises said Mr. Persaud
began to "behave erratically and violently" on the evening of July 19,
after the 3,100 passenger ship Adventure of the Seas sailed from Dutch
St. Maarten. The cruise line considered Mr. Persaud a stowaway from
Guyana.

The report said that they handcuffed him to put him in a holding cell,
he knocked out one of crew members and kicked another in the face.
Locking himself in a bathroom, he pulled plumbing from the wall and
smashed a mirror.

He "withstood two cans of pepper spray with no effect," then "attempted
to set a fire," then "placed a rope around his neck and attempted to
hang himself," the cruise line's statement said.

According to the cruise line, Mr. Persaud died while crew members were
trying to hold him down so the ship's doctor could give him a sedative.

"This makes him sound like the Incredible Hulk. O'Neil was not
aggressive," Lionel Persaud, his father, said. Mr. Persaud believes
"they are trying to hide this so it doesn't have an impact on tourism.
We don't believe the story that they are giving the media."

Family friend Elaine Richardson remembers O'Neil's enthusiasm as he
planned the vacation and also doubts the cruise line's story.

"They're saying this is an accidental death but, I'm sorry . . . It just
does not add up. He was the kind of guy who would always have a laugh
and a joke even when he was having a bad day," Ms. Richardson said.

At 5 feet 7 inches tall, O'Neil was hardly an incredible hulk, although
he had a penchant for adventure.

A photo in the family's printing store shows him next to a Formula One
racing car. A sponsor who does business with the Persauds' Lasting
Impressions printing company let him test drive in a promotion for a
race a year ago.

The Persauds came to Toronto from Guyana in 1975, when O'Neil was 4.
They started a screen printing business that became a family concern,
with O'Neil becoming the graphic designer and his brother Nigel the
accountant.

"We depended on him," Mr. Persaud said in the office of the small shop
in an industrial strip in Scarborough, where the smell of printing ink
mingled this week with the fragrance of memorial flower bouquets sent by
many family friends.

It was not unusual for O'Neil, who was single and lived alone, to travel
by himelf, Ms. Persaud said.

"He just takes off," she said. He had toured Europe and been to other
Caribbean islands. He had also lived for a year in Korea teaching
English and trying to learn Korean. Ms. Richardson said O'Neil told her
he was happy to get a chance to relax before the typically hectic fall
business season. He signed up for the week at the all-inclusive Great
Bay Resort because it was offering a room upgrade and no single
supplement because summer is the off-season in St. Maarten.

A spokesman for the resort said Mr. Persaud had arrived on July 14 and
had last been in his room on the afternoon of Friday the 19th. His
clothes were still on hangers, a pair of sneakers was in the closet and
his duffel bag was still in the room.

At that point certainty ends.

A report in the local newspaper St. Thomas Source a said the cruise line
has video surveillance tapes of Mr. Persaud boarding the Adventure of
the Seas with an unidentified couple on Friday afternoon.

"As a rule passengers can't bring guests on board," said Michael
Sheehin, spokesman for Royal Caribbean in Miami. He said newspaper
reports about the case have been inaccurate.

Royal Caribbean has heightened security since Sept. 11 and issues all
passengers photo identification cards they must swipe through a reader
before they can board the ship, Mr. Sheehin said.

The ship sailed for St. Thomas at 6 p.m. During the night, crew members
found O'Neil; he was handcuffed and taken to a holding cell.

Although local newspapers in St. Thomas reported crew members held Mr.
Persaud down while a shi

[Hydro] The Crash of 1929



The edited version of this article was published by United Press
International (UPI):

http://www.upi.com



The Crash of 1929

Sam Vaknin

UPI Senior Business Correspondent

Skopje, Macedonia


Claud Cockburn, writing for the "Times of London" from New-York,
described the irrational exuberance that gripped the nation just prior
to the Great Depression. As Europe wallowed in post-war malaise, America
seemed to have discovered a new economy, the secret of uninterrupted
growth and prosperity, the fount of transforming technology:

"The atmosphere of the great boom was savagely exciting, but there were
times when a person with my European background felt alarmingly lonely.
He would have liked to believe, as these people believed, in the eternal
upswing of the big bull market or else to meet just one person with whom
he might discuss some general doubts without being regarded as an
imbecile or a person of deliberately evil intent-some kind of anarchist,
perhaps."

The greatest analysts with the most impeccable credentials and track
records failed to predict the forthcoming crash and the unprecedented
economic depression that followed it. Irving Fisher, a preeminent
economist, who, according to his biographer-son, Irving Norton Fisher,
lost the equivalent of $140 million in today's money in the crash, made
a series of soothing predictions. On October 22 he uttered these
avuncular statements: "Quotations have not caught up with real values as
yet ... (There is) no cause for a slump ... The market has not been
inflated but merely readjusted..."

Even as the market convulsed on Black Thursday, October 24, 1929 and on
Black Tuesday, October 29 - the New York Times wrote: "Rally at close
cheers brokers, bankers optimistic".

In an editorial on October 26, it blasted rabid speculators and
compliant
analysts: ``We shall hear considerably less in the future of those newly
invented conceptions of finance which revised the principles of
political economy with a view solely to fitting the stock market's
vagaries.'' But it ended thus: "(The Federal Reserve has) insured the
soundness of the business situation when the speculative markets went on
the rocks.''

Compare this to Alan Greenspan Congressional testimony this summer:
"While bubbles that burst are scarcely benign, the consequences need not
be catastrophic for the economy ... (The Depression was brought on by)
ensuing failures of policy".

Investors, their equity leveraged with bank and broker loans, crowded
into stocks of exciting "new technologies", such as the radio and mass
electrification. The bull market - especially in issues of public
utilities - was fueled by "mergers, new groupings, combinations and good
earnings" and by corporate purchasing for "employee stock funds".

Cautionary voices - such as Paul Warburg, the influential banker, Roger
Babson, the "Prophet of Loss" and Alexander Noyes, the eternal Cassandra
from the New York Times - were derided. The number of brokerage accounts
doubled between March 1927 and March 1929.

When the market corrected by 8 percent between March 18-27 - following a
Fed induced credit crunch and a series of mysterious closed-door
sessions of the Fed's board - bankers rushed in. The New York Times
reported: ``Responsible bankers agree that stocks should now be
supported, having reached a level that makes them attractive.'' By
August, the market was up 35 percent on its March lows. But it reached a
peak on September 3 and it was downhill since then.

On October 19, five days before "Black Thursday", Business Week
published this sanguine prognosis:

"Now, of course, the crucial weaknesses of such periods -- price
inflation, heavy inventories, over-extension of commercial credit -- are
totally absent. The security market seems to be suffering only an attack
of stock indigestion... There is additional reassurance in the fact
that, should business show any further signs of fatigue, the banking
system is in a good position now to administer any needed credit tonic
from its excellent Reserve supply."

The crash unfolded gradually. Black Thursday actually ended with an
inspiring rally. Friday and Saturday  - trading ceased only on Sundays -
witnessed an upswing followed by mild profit taking. The market dropped
12.8 percent on Monday, with Winston Churchill watching from the
visitors' gallery - incurring a loss of $10-14 billion.

The Wall Street Journal warned naive investors:

"Many are looking for technical corrective reactions from time to time,
but do not expect these to disturb the upward trend for any prolonged
period."

The market plummeted another 11.7 percent the next day - though trading
ended with an impressive rally from the lows. October 31 was a good day
with a "vigorous, buoyant rally from bell to bell". Even Rockefeller
joined the myriad buyers. Shares soared. It seemed that the worst was
over.

The New York Times was optimistic:

"It is thought that stocks will become stabilized at their actual worth
levels, some

[Hydro] Water - Food for Thought!!!

Title: Message



 

 
Subject: Importance of Water!Be 
SURE you get all the way to the bottom of this!   Importance of water, are you drinking enough? We all know that water 
is important but I've never seen it written down like this before. 
75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated.   In 37% of 
Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for 
hunger. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as much as 
3%. One glass of water shuts down midnight hunger pangs for almost 
100% of the dieters studied in a U-Washington study. Lack of water 
is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue. Preliminary research indicates 
that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint 
pain for up to 80% of sufferers. A mere 2% drop in body water can 
trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty 
focusing on the computer screen or Drinking 5 glasses of water daily 
decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of 
breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer. 
Are you drinking the amount of water you should every day?   (No kidding, all of 
the above is true.) Of course, too much water 
may have strange side effects (see picture below) 
       
THE END

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[Hydro] Financial Definitions

Title: Message



 

FYE ( 
For Your Education).
Mike  
---
 
From the exciting world of finance: 
 
Definitions: 
 
EBITDA: earnings before I tricked damn auditor. 

EBIT: earnings before irregularities and tampering. 

CEO: chief embezzlement officer. 
NAV: normal Anderson valuation. 
FRS: fantasy reporting standards. 
P/E: parole entitlement. 
EPS: eventual prison sentence. 
BULL MARKET -- A random market movement causing an 
investor to 
mistake 
himself for a financial genius. 
BEAR MARKET -- A 6 to 18-month period when the kids 
get no allowance, 
the wife gets no jewelry, and the husband gets no 
sex. 
MOMENTUM INVESTING -- The fine art of buying high 
and selling low. 
VALUE INVESTING -- The art of buying low and 
selling lower. 
P/E RATIO -- The percentage of investors wetting 
their pants as the 
market keeps crashing. 
BROKER -- What my broker has made me. 
"BUY, BUY" -- A flight attendant making market 
recommendations as you 
step off the plane. 
STANDARD & POOR -- Your life in a nutshell. 

STOCK ANALYST -- Idiot who just downgraded your 
stock. 
STOCK SPLIT -- When your ex-wife and her lawyer 
split your assets 
equally between themselves. 
FINANCIAL PLANNER -- A guy who actually remembers 
his wallet when he 
runs to the 7-11 for toilet paper and cigarettes. 

MARKET CORRECTION -- The day after you buy stocks. 

CASH FLOW -- The movement your money makes as it 
disappears down the 
toilet. 
YAHOO -- What you yell after selling it to some 
poor sucker for $240 
per share. 
WINDOWS 2000 -- What you jump out of when you're 
the sucker that 
bought 
Yahoo @ $240 per share. 
INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR -- Past year investor who's 
now locked up in a 
nuthouse. 
PROFIT -- Religious guy who talks to God. 

 
THE END

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[Hydro] ALIVE, BUT DEAD

2002-08-01 Thread Miroslav Antic

Title: Message



ALIVE, BUT DEADOver 100 
American soldiers missing in Afghanistan. US Department of State still ignores 
the factUS authorities treat American soldiers at war in Afghanistan 
the same way they treat prisoners in Guantanamo: both can’t rely upon protection 
guaranteed by the US Constitution. American judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly 
rendered a decision according to which people imprisoned in Guantanamo can’t 
enjoy protection guaranteed by the US judicial system. The decision is an 
obvious triumph of the George W. Bush administration. Attorneys speaking on 
behalf of the prisoners affirmed that their clients have the right to know what 
they are charged with. At the same time, they insisted that the people have the 
right to appeal against the legitimacy of their imprisonment in Guantanamo in a 
US Court. The situation regarding the imprisoned Taliban is perfectly 
clear; it is of no use to hope that the US Justice will be well-disposed toward 
them. However, the situation should be quite different when citizens of your own 
country are left to the mercy of fate. The losses of US servicemen in 
Afghanistan make up about 100 people, who are considered missing. Russian 
newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets informs that US authorities do not 
conceal information about the number of missing people; on the contrary, they 
don't even help them. Member of the RF Presidential Commission for 
Internees and Missing Persons Leonid Biryukov returned from his business trip in 
Kabul a week ago. In an initerview, he stated that over 100 Americans are 
missing in Afghanistan and have given up every hope that the US authorities 
would pay attention to their problem. Leonid Biryukov says, “I held negotiations 
with the Afghanistan Ministers for Internal Affairs and Defense, who constantly 
repeated that number of Americans missing in Afghanistan was considerable.” 
At that, the Afghani ministers are surprised not only with purposeful 
suppression of information by the US authorities, but with no interest from the 
US Department of State concerning the fate of the American soldiers. In 
Biryukov’s words, the incumbent Afghanistan government has not yet received a 
single official or unofficial inquiry concerning the 100 American soldiers 
missing after military operations in Kabul and Kandahar. The ministers also say 
that no attempts have been made to obtain information using special services as 
well. Dmitry Chirkin PRAVDA.Ru http://english.pravda.ru/main/2002/08/01/33677.html
THE END

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[Hydro] America Forced Me Out, Says Robinson

Title: Message




  
  

  Published on Wednesday, July 31, 2002 in the Guardian of London 
  

  America Forced Me Out, Says 
  Robinson 
  

  by Oliver Burkeman in New York
  
 
  

  The UN's outgoing human rights commissioner, Mary Robinson, says she 
  was prevented from continuing in the job because of pressure from the US, 
  which she has accused of neglecting human rights during the war against 
  terrorism. 
  "I am not somebody just to walk away," Ms Robinson said. "If I had been 
  hard-pressed, I would have stayed, [but] there seems to have been strong 
  resistance from just one country." 
  Her remarks 
  came a week after the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, announced her 
  replacement, a veteran Brazilian diplomat described yesterday as "somebody 
  who doesn't run afoul of the big powers". 
  Ms Robinson, 57, a former Irish president and only the second person to 
  hold the post of high commissioner for human rights, has been a vocal 
  critic of the US since September 11 - not least over Washington's decision 
  against granting prisoner of war status to the detainees at Guantanamo Bay 
  in Cuba. 
  "I believe that the emphasis has been on the war on terrorism, and that 
  there has been a blurring of the edges and a lack of precision," Ms 
  Robinson said in an interview with Reuters. "A lack of precision means a 
  lack of protection." 
  The climate had become "much more difficult for human rights", she 
  said. 
  Tension between the commissioner and the Bush administration pre-date 
  military action in Afghanistan, and turned particularly rancorous over the 
  world conference against racism in Durban, South Africa, which almost 
  collapsed under the weight of a Syrian-led campaign for delegates to 
  declare Israel a racist state. 
  But this is the first time Ms Robinson has blamed Mr Annan's decision 
  not to extend her tenure on lobbying by Washington. 
  Her replacement, Sergio Vieira de Mello, a career UN diplomat with a 
  background in humanitarian relief and peacekeeping, seems certain to adopt 
  a less outspoken style. 
  "He's a very diplomatic operator, somebody who doesn't run afoul of the 
  big powers," a UN official told the Guardian. "And somebody who is very 
  effective in that way up to now." 
  Asked if Mr Vieira de Mello was expected to avoid confrontation with 
  the US, the official said: "The short answer is yes, and the long answer 
  is yes." 
  But a spokesman for the secretary general said Mr Annan had taken the 
  decision not to reappoint Ms Robinson "independently". 
  "It's not one state or one body of states saying this is what we want - 
  otherwise, frankly, you'd have a very different-looking UN," he said. 
  © Guardian Newspapers Limited 
2002
THE END

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[Hydro] More than 235 million affected by Indian power blackout

Title: Message


More than 235 million affected by 
Indian power blackout Last Updated Wed, 
31 Jul 2002 18:07:46 
NEW DELHI - Authorities are trying to restore electricity to 
five states in India after one of the biggest blackouts in years left more than 
235 million people without power. 
Hospital services were suspended, trains stopped running and factories closed 
in the central and western parts of the country. 
The blackout happened after Madhya Pradesh state tried to pull more power 
from the national grid than the network could handle. 


Written by CBC News Online staff 
THE END

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[Hydro] Questions presented by Iraq to the Security Council




* Questions presented by Iraq to the Security Council

 Baghdad 25, July 2002

 Questions presented by Iraq's Foreign Minister to the UN Secretary
General in the session of talks on March 7, 2002 and demanded the
Security Council answer on them.

  1 - What is your vision and assessment to what we have reached after
  seven years and seven months of Iraq's cooperation with the
  Special Committee and the International Agency of Atomic Energy?
  How would this cooperation be used to build on?

  2 - If one or two of the Security Council permanent members say that
  they are not assured of disarmament, we want to know what do
  they want to be assured of? What do they search for? What is the
  necessary time to complete this? We also ought to be satisfied,
  not only the Security Council, in order to go on cooperating
  with it. If they have any doubt about a certain site or activity,
  we ought to know about it.

  3 - How do you explain a stance of a permanent member in the Security
  Council which officially calls to invade Iraq and impose an agent
  regime on its people by force in a clear violation of the Security
  Council resolutions themselves which clearly state to respect
  Iraq's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and
  the rules of the international law and the UN Charter. At the
  same time, it demands Iraq implementing the Security Council
  resolutions.

  4 - Is the Security Council seriously stick on its mandate and the
  resolutions which it issued, in particular resolution 687 on
  April 3, 1991, and the fair, legal reading for this Resolution?
  The Security Council is subject to the US explanation of the
  resolutions and to what it (the US) is issuing of unilateral
  resolutions concerning Iraq.

  5 - How could normal relation between Iraq and the Security Council
  be achieved under the current, declared US policy, seeking to
  invade Iraq and change by force the patriotic political regime
  in it?

  6 - The United States continuously declares that the economic
  sanctions imposed on Iraq will remain as long as the patriotic
  political regime in Iraq stays, what is the Security Council
  stance over this policy, which violates the relevant Security
  Council resolutions?

  7 - What are the guarantees that the United Nations could offer to
  prevent interference between Iraq's relation with the United
  Nations and the political, aggressive US goals?

  8 - The concept of synchronization in implementing the reciprocal
  obligations stated in the Security Council resolutions related
  to Iraq is necessary and essential to rebuild confidence between
  Iraq and the Security Council. What are your speculations on
  the obligations related to Iraq's rights, foremost the lifting
  of the sanctions, respect of Iraq's sovereignty, independence
  and territorial integrity and make the Mid-East region free of
  weapons of mass destruction. Those obligations, the Security
  Council ought to implement, to open a new page of cooperation
  between Iraq and the United Nations? How could we set up a
  mechanism that secures synchronizing the implementation of two
  sides' obligations?

  9 - Security Council resolutions and not to demand the same from
  a permanent member in the Security Council which continues
  violating those resolutions, especially those related to
  respecting Iraq's sovereignty, independence and territorial
  integrity, and officially vows that its policy aims to invade
  the Republic of Iraq and impose an agent government on its
  people?

 10 - After disclosure of the spying activities of former UNSCOM
  inspectors and the International Agency of Atomic Energy
  according to the confessions made by some of the special
  committee members and statements issued by US sources and
  some Security Council permanent members and what was acknowledged
  by the General Secretariat. Is it fair that inspectors return
  to Iraq who could be used to spy against Iraq and its leadership
  and to update information about Iraq's vital economic
  installations to bomb them in a coming aggression?

 11 - Could the United Nations secure that those coming to Iraq are
  not spies and will not commit spying activities?

 12 - Could the UN guarantee elimination of the two no-fly zones? Could
  the UN guarantee the upcoming inspection would not be a prelude
  for an aggression on Iraq as in 1998? Could the UN guarantee that
  the U.S. would not attack Iraq during the inspecting operations
  like wise along the seven years and a half from may 1991 to
  December 1998.

 13 - What is the secretary general view about the time required for
  the inspection teams that could make them sure that Iraq does
  not have weapons of mass destruc

[Hydro] What a picnic it was! Man!!!


THE END

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<>

[Hydro] Look at that Asteroid

2002-07-30 Thread Miroslav Antic


3D Orbit Simulation: http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/db?name=2002+NY40

> http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/30jul_ny40.htm
>
> Look at that Asteroid
> NASA Space Science
>
> A big space rock will soon come so close to Earth that sky watchers 
> can see it through binoculars.
>
> July 30, 2002: Relax, there's no danger of a collision, but it will be

> close enough to see through binoculars: a big space rock, not far from

> Earth.
>
> Astronomers discovered the nearby asteroid, named 2002 NY40--not to be

> confused with better-known 2002 NT7--on July 14th. It measures about 
> 800 meters across, and follows an orbit that ranges from the asteroid 
> belt to the inner solar system. On August 18th, the asteroid will 
> glide past our planet only 1.3 times farther away than the Moon.
>
> "Flybys like this happen every 50 years or so," says Don Yeomans, the 
> manager of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program office at JPL. The last 
> time (that we know of) was August 31, 1925, when another 800-meter 
> asteroid passed by just outside the Moon's orbit. In those days there 
> were no dedicated asteroid hunters--the object, 2001 CU11, wasn't 
> discovered until 77 years later. At the time of the flyby, no one even

> knew it was happening.
>
> 2002 NY40 is different. We know the asteroid is coming, and 
> astronomers have time to prepare.
>
> One team of observers led by Mike Nolan at the giant Arecibo radar in 
> Puerto Rico will "ping" 2002 NY40 with radio waves as it approaches 
> Earth. Such data result in impressive 3D maps of asteroids, which have

> often surprised astronomers with their weird shapes. Some prove to be 
> binary systems (one space rock orbiting another) and one even looks 
> like a dog bone.
>
> "Radar data will also improve our knowledge of the asteroid's orbit," 
> adds Jon Giorgini, a member of the radar team from JPL. "At present, 
> we know there's little risk of a collision with 2002 NY40 for decades.

> When the Arecibo radar measurements are done, the orbit uncertainties 
> should shrink by more than a factor of 200. We'll be able to 
> extrapolate the asteroid's motion hundreds of years into the past and 
> into the future, too."
>
> 2002 NY40 is faint now. It shines by reflected sunlight like a 17th 
> magnitude star. As it nears Earth, however, the space rock will 
> brighten, soaring to 9th magnitude on August 18th. That's about 16 
> times dimmer than the dimmest star you can see without a telescope. 
> But as asteroids go, it's very bright.
>
> "Asteroids are hard to see," explains Yeomans, "because they're mostly

> black like charcoal. The most common ones--carbon-rich C-type 
> asteroids--reflect only 3% to 5% of the light that hits them. Metallic

> asteroids, which are somewhat rare, reflect more: 10% to 15%."
>
> "We don't know yet what this asteroid is made of," he continued, "but 
> we'll have a much better idea by the end of August." Astronomers using

> ground-based telescopes will have little trouble recording the 
> asteroid's spectrum and thus its composition.
>
> On the date of closest approach, the asteroid will sail past Vega, the

> brightest star in the evening summer sky. Sky watchers with powerful 
> binoculars or small telescopes can see it--a speck of light moving 8 
> degrees per hour. (Note: The flyby will be visible mostly from Earth's

> northern hemisphere; this is not a good opportunity for southern sky 
> watchers. North Americans can see it best after sunset on Aug. 17th; 
> Europeans should look during the hours before dawn on Aug. 18th.)
>
> Something extraordinary will happen hours after 2002 NY40 passes 
> Earth: the space rock will quickly fade.
>
> Asteroids, like moons and planets, have phases. The sunlit side of 
> 2002 NY40 is facing Earth now. It's full, like a full Moon. On August 
> 18th, the asteroid will cross Earth's orbit on its way toward the Sun.

> Then the phase of the asteroid will change--from full to gibbous to 
> half finally the night side will turn to face Earth. The asteroid 
> will grow dark, like a new Moon.
>
> It's not every day you can peer through binoculars and see a 
> near-Earth asteroid--and then see it disappear. But 2002 NY40 has a 
> lot to offer.
>
> "Mother Nature is making it very easy for us to study this one," says 
> Yeomans. That's good because "we need to know more about near-Earth 
> asteroids in case we ever need to destroy or deflect one." What are 
> they made of? How are asteroids put together? These are key questions 
> that 2002 NY40 will help answer.
>
> "Don't forget," adds Yeomans, "most asteroids pose no threat to Earth.

> But they do contain valuable metals, minerals and even water that we 
> might tap in the future." When such asteroids come close (but not too 
> close!) we have relatively easy access to them--both to study and, one

> day perhaps, to visit.
>
> Or, to paraphrase Nietzsche, asteroids (like 2002 NY40) that do not 
> hit us, make us stronger.
>
> For more informati

Re: [Hydro] Where is the baby? It's there!

2002-07-30 Thread carl oasis


Very Nice.
Carl
- Original Message - 
From: "Miroslav Antic" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Hydro" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Tuesday, July 30, 2002 5:09 PM
Subject: [Hydro] Where is the baby? It's there!


> 
> 
> 
> Subject: FW: Where is the baby? It's there! Don't give up! You can see i
> t very clearly.]
> 
> THE END
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 

THE END

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[Hydro] Where is the baby? It's there!

2002-07-30 Thread Miroslav Antic





Subject: FW: Where is the baby? It's there! Don't give up! You can see i
t very clearly.]

THE END

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<>

[Hydro] Congressional investigators examining Enron's ties with Merrill Lynch;

2002-07-29 Thread Miroslav Antic

Title: Message



Congressional investigators examining Enron's ties with 
Merrill Lynch; Justice looks at Nigerian barge deal 
Mon Jul 29, 7:00 PM ET
By MARCY GORDON, AP Business 
Writer 
WASHINGTON - Congressional investigators are examining now-bankrupt Enron 
Corp.'s ties with Merrill Lynch & Co., saying the biggest U.S. brokerage 
firm knowingly participated in deals that Enron used to mask its true financial 
condition. 


  
  


The Justice Department ( news 
- web 
sites) is investigating one of the transactions in question, in which Enron 
sold an interest in barges in Nigeria to an offshore company established by 
Merrill Lynch, according to the brokerage and Senate sources. At issue is 
whether the transaction allowed Enron to artificially inflate its profits, the 
sources said Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity. 
One Merrill Lynch official who was asked to testify at a Senate hearing on 
Tuesday is invoking his Fifth Amendment privilege and refusing to answer 
questions, his attorney has notified the investigative panel of the Senate 
Governmental Affairs Committee ( news 
- web 
sites). 
At the same time, an official of banking giant Citigroup Inc. told the 
subcommittee in a sworn affidavit that it does not directly or indirectly own 
another offshore company used in complex financial transactions in which 
Citigroup made loans to Enron that investigators say helped boost Enron's cash 
flow to match its profit growth on paper. 
Citigroup did pay some fees for the offshore company, Delta Energy Corp., to 
cover administrative costs but does not own or control it, Barbara Yastine, 
chief financial officer of the Citigroup's corporate and investment bank, said 
in an affidavit. 
Citigroup chairman and chief executive officer Sanford Weill, said in a 
separate affidavit that he has "no personal knowledge of any of the 
transactions." 
Similarly, the chief executive officer of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., 
William Harrison, told the subcommittee in a letter that an offshore company it 
used in transactions with Enron "is a legally independent entity" not controlled 
by the Wall Street investment firm. 
"We would not knowingly participate in any transaction for Enron or any other 
client where we believed our client was not accounting for that transaction 
properly," Harrison wrote. "Along with countless others, we were misled about" 
Enron's financial condition. 
The three barges in Nigeria are used to generate electricity. Enron asked 
Merrill Lynch in December 1999 to invest dlrs 7 million in them so that Enron's 
African division could record a dlrs 12 million gain on the transaction and meet 
its earnings target, according to the subcommittee investigators. Enron gave 
Merrill Lynch a guarantee that it would arrange the resale of the brokerage 
firm's interest in the barges at a profit within six months, by June 30, 2000, 
the investigators said. 
"It appears that Merrill Lynch, like other financial institutions, knowingly 
participated in deals that were used to make Enron's financial position appear 
more robust than it actually was," subcommittee chairman Sen. Carl Levin ( news, 
bio, 
voting 
record) said in a statement. "Merrill's desire to make money from Enron and 
stay in Enron's good graces apparently superseded professional responsibilities 
and reputational and financial concerns." 
Merrill Lynch spokesman William Halldin said the brokerage firm "believes its 
dealings with Enron ... were appropriate and proper based on what we knew at the 
time. At no time did we engage in transactions that we thought were improper." 
"There was real risk for Merrill Lynch in this transaction," Halldin said. 
"There was no guarantee and we think the evidence supports that conclusion." 
On Friday, Merrill Lynch said it had placed on administrative leave Schuyler 
Tilney, a managing director of the firm's energy investment operation in 
Houston, after he decided not to testify at Tuesday's hearing. Tilney, who 
oversaw Merrill Lynch's corporate finance operations related to Enron, made the 
decision on the advice of his lawyer after learning of the Justice Department 
investigation, the brokerage firm said Friday. 
Merrill Lynch said it has been told that it is not a target or subject of the 
investigation, and said it is cooperating fully. 
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020729/ap_wo_en_po/us_business_scandals_2
THE END

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[Hydro] Bulls, Bears and Chickens

2002-07-27 Thread Miroslav Antic

Title: Message


Bulls, Bears and Chickens 
By Michael KinsleyFriday, July 26, 2002; Page A33 

As of Wednesday morning, the New York Stock Exchange Composite Index was 
below where it had been five years ago. So were the Dow Jones Industrial Average 
and what used to be called the "technology-rich" Nasdaq. The markets had a good 
day Wednesday. Nevertheless, your money would have done better for the past five 
years if you had hidden it behind the dresser.
Of course, investors didn't feel poor five years ago. In July 1997 those 
three indexes were up by almost half in the previous 12 months. They were far 
higher than in December 1996, when Alan Greenspan gave his famous warning 
against "irrational exuberance." Pundits (including this one) were saying stock 
prices had reached heights that were unsustainable, and then felt foolish as 
they continued to soar.
Somehow, though, the same place doesn't seem as exuberating on the way down 
as on the way up. It's like passing through the same airport on your way home 
from a vacation. And the fact that we were popping champagne and feeling great 
when we were here the last time is unconsoling for another reason, too: It's a 
vivid reminder that we still may have a long way to go in retracing our 
steps.
There must surely be a statute of limitations on bragging rights about 
economic predictions, especially predictions about the stock market. I claim no 
prize for predicting five years ago the imminence of something that finally 
happened the past few weeks. Like a stopped clock, almost any prediction about 
the economy will be correct eventually. Predictions of prosperity or catastrophe 
derive more from psychological disposition than from dispassionate analysis.
Nevertheless, my rationalization for pessimism five years ago still seems 
sound. In 1997 the major indexes were up by 40 percent or more during the 
previous 12 months -- the Dow had even broken 8000! -- while the economy had 
grown less than 4 percent. In dollar terms, the increase in value of shares on 
the New York Stock Exchange alone was over $2 trillion, while the increase in 
goods and services produced by the American economy was about $280 billion. 
People were trillions of dollars richer, or felt that way, but there was only 
billions of dollars' worth of additional stuff for them to buy.
Economists talk patronizingly about the "money illusion," meaning the way 
that feeling richer or poorer can affect how people behave, and therefore affect 
the real economy. A rising stock market, for example, can give people the 
confidence to spend money and therefore become a self-fulfilling prophecy. A 
falling stock market can produce a recession.
But the money illusion is backed by the full faith and credit of the United 
States. A person whose stock portfolio has gone up by $100,000 believes -- and 
is officially encouraged to believe -- that she has claims on $100,000 worth of 
additional stuff. If she sells the stock today and buys the stuff tomorrow, she 
may get $100,000 worth. But if claims on new stuff are proliferating faster than 
new stuff itself, something's got to give.
The current popular outrage about corporate governance is mostly sublimated 
concern about declining stock prices, and at first it seems misdirected as a 
political issue. But society -- and its proxy, the U.S. government -- really 
have in effect promised many folks a level of financial security it is 
mathematically impossible to deliver, and the anger as this becomes clear is 
somewhat justified.
Optimists during the bubble-boom years offered variations on three arguments: 
First, that we were finally starting to enjoy the productivity benefits of the 
high-tech revolution (i.e., time saved at the office by computer spell-checking 
finally outweighed time lost by computer solitaire). Second, that we were 
enjoying the benefits of general agreement about the crucial importance of a 
stable monetary policy (i.e., there had been an "end of economics" that made the 
path of wisdom obvious and therefore easy to follow). Third, and most 
spectacularly, a few lunatics argued that a statistical error had blinded 
everyone to the fact that stocks were already worth many times their current 
value, and the Dow would soar to 3 or 36000 as we figured this out.
Pessimists rejected all these arguments and said that actual production of 
new stuff could never catch up with the rising claims on new stuff. The gap 
could only be closed by reducing those claims: either through inflation, making 
$100,000 worth of stuff a smaller pile of stuff, or through a bear market, which 
would eat up that $100,000 before we had a chance to spend it.
Pessimists said, in essence, that the rise in stock prices was a matter of 
counting chickens before they hatch. But holding stocks also has been a chicken 
game of a different sort. Many have noted that baby boomers saving for 
retirement are a major source of the demand that has propelled stock pri

[Hydro] Your Finances Are in Danger... Want Proof ?

2002-07-23 Thread Miroslav Antic

Title: Message



 


  
  

  


  
July 22, 
2002
  
 
   
  


  


  
  

  
  How many times have you 
  heard that phrase recently? And it’s spoken not just about 
  terrorism. People doubt the economy, the stock market, big 
  corporations.
  But 
  has the world 
  really 
  changed?Take a 
  look at this chart. The upper price line depicts the Dow 
  Industrials in the years preceding 1929, the lower line the 
  Dow in more recent years: 
  
  Uncanny, 
  isn't it? If the markets represent mass investor psychology 
  (as Alan Greenspan himself has admitted), then it's obvious 
  that psychological patterns can repeat themselves. The chart 
  warns of grave trouble ahead for the U.S. stock market. And 
  this is only one warning sign amongst hundreds more. 
  
  The good 
  news is that it’s not too late to protect yourself.
  This 
  chart comes from Conquer the Crash, the new #1 Wall 
  Street Business best-seller. It’s written by Robert Prechter, 
  the man dubbed financial “Guru of the Decade” in the 1980’s by 
  the Financial News Network (now CNBC), one-time president of 
  the Market Technician’s Associations, and winner of the United 
  States Trading championship. He has an urgent message for 
  you:
  We are now 
  entering the initial stages of a massive deflationary 
  depression.
  I know 
  this seems like a "contrary" viewpoint. It’s certainly not a 
  common one. But you owe it to yourself to hear Bob's 
  perspective: This is not the first time he’s made an 
  "uncommon" long-term market forecast.
  In 1978, 
  Robert Prechter published his first book, the Wall Street 
  classic titled, Elliott Wave Principle – Key To Market 
  Behavior. In 1978, our nation’s economic condition was 
  grim – that year, the Dow moved as low as 740. In 
  this bearish environment, readers of that book learned of a 
  coming “bull market in stocks…which should accompany a 
  breakout to new all-time highs.”
  Now, 
  FNN’s “Financial Guru of the Decade” has a new message for 
  you. Your investments, your job, your retirement, and your 
  home may all be threatened when the stock market bubble pops. 
  (And don’t believe those who would tell you that it already 
  popped…the Nasdaq was only the beginning.)
  In 
  Conquer the Crash, you’ll learn exactly why a 
  deflationary crash is virtually inevitable. Then, Bob Prechter 
  tells you step-by-step exactly how you can protect yourself – 
  and even profit from – this 
crisis.
  To learn 
  more, or order now, click 
  here.
  I wish 
  you well in the trying times that are now almost upon 
  us.
  Best,
  
  Ashley 
  SandviElliott Wave International
  P.S. 
  Liquidity (M3 + commercial paper) peaked in January 2000 and 
  has been in a steady downtrend ever since. In the second 
  quarter of this year, it hit an 8-year low before it 
  bounced. This means that outright deflation has already 
  begun. 

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  

   
   
  


  
 
  
 
  
 
   

THE END

==^===

[Hydro] Send The Bastards to Jail!

2002-07-23 Thread Miroslav Antic

Title: Message



Send The Bastards 
to Jail! Arianna Huffington, AlterNetJuly 19, 
2002
Send the bastards to jail! At least, so goes the refrain from America's 
newest anti-corporate activists -- the Senate, the House and the president. 
Clearly, corporate crime is finally starting to register on pollsters' 
seismographs because suddenly all of official Washington is high on corporate 
punishment -- drunk on the idea of tossing CEO scofflaws in the slammer. The big 
house is all the rage, with politicians on both sides of the aisle dancin' to 
the jailhouse rock. 

A day after President Bush took Wall Street to the woodshed and proposed 
doubling the maximum prison term for mail fraud and wire fraud, the Senate did 
him one better, voting 97-0 to adopt stiff new criminal penalties for securities 
fraud, document shredding and the filing of false financial reports. 

"Somebody needs to go to jail," Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle intoned 
ominously. "We're going to shackle them and take them to jail," growled House 
Majority Whip Tom DeLay, sounding like he couldn't wait to slap on the handcuffs 
himself. 

The new consensus along that other axis of evil, the one connecting 
Washington and Wall Street, is that very publicly hauling a few corporate crooks 
off to jail would be a very good thing for the market, for the economy -- and 
for our political leaders' reelection prospects. 

Count me in with the law-and-order crowd. The question is, how many of 
corporate America's new breed of robber barons will ever actually see the inside 
of a jail cell? If the past is indeed prologue, the answer is very, very few. 

In the last 10 years, the Securities and Exchange Commission -- which, 
despite being the government's top corporate watchdog, doesn't have the 
authority to toss even the worst Wall Street cheaters in jail -- turned 609 of 
its most offensive offenders over to the Justice Department for potential 
criminal prosecution. Of those, only 187 ended up facing criminal charges. And 
of those, only 87 went to jail. Eighty-seven. In 10 years. And most white-collar 
criminals land in one of those ritzy country club prisons, where inmates play 
tennis and make collect calls to their brokers all day. 

So despite the P.R. value of pumping up maximum sentences for corporate 
crimes, it's not going to make much of a dent in boardroom thievery since so few 
of the perpetrators will ever face criminal prosecution. For a corrupt corporate 
chieftain crunching the numbers, the odds will still justify the crime. Doubling 
the penalties for those convicted of crimes that are so rarely prosecuted is not 
serious reform. 

And just why are most prosecutors so reluctant to take on these kinds of 
cases, passing up more than half of the ones the SEC sends their way? Well, for 
one thing, proving fraudulent intent is tricky business -- and in criminal 
cases, it has to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. 

For another, with rare exceptions, most prosecutors just don't have either 
the passion for making corporate criminals pay or the mind-set that these kinds 
of crimes are worth the hassle of pursuing them. Too busy busting prostitutes in 
New Orleans, perhaps? Even New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, one of the 
few who has shown a willingness to take on Wall Street's elite, allowed Merrill 
Lynch to walk away with a fine but without having to admit guilt for brazenly 
misleading investors -- even though Spitzer had the bankers dead to rights. 

Plus, prosecutors like to win. When they go after a corporate player, they 
know they'll be locking horns with the best legal talent that billions can buy 
-- not running roughshod over some overworked public defender. It's a 
high-stakes game that many aren't willing to play. 

Compare this tiptoeing on eggshells with the ardor with which our criminal 
justice system pursues even the lowest-level drug offenders. In 2000 alone, 
646,042 people were arrested in America for simple possession of marijuana. And 
while the Drug Enforcement Administration has a budget of $1.8 billion, even 
with the extra $100 million Bush wants to toss its way, the SEC will have to 
make do with $513 million. 

The sentencing side of the criminal justice ledger exhibits the same 
inequity: The average sentence for even the biggest white-collar crooks is less 
than 36 months; nonviolent, first-time federal drug offenders are sent away for 
more than 64 months. So much for letting the punishment fit the crime. 

The bitter truth is that, unlike the majority of nonviolent drug cases, 
corporate malfeasance is not a victimless crime. Not with tens of thousands of 
laid-off workers, $630 billion lost from corporate pension plans and more than 
$4 trillion in shareholder assets wiped out in the scandal-fueled stock market 
swoon. 

So when it comes to rooting out corrupt corporate kingpins, will the 
president's new "financial crimes SWAT team" have the stomach for the fight? Can 
we expect to see

[Hydro] ..oxymora

2002-07-21 Thread Miroslav Antic



..or contradiction in terms:

The top 35 oxymorons of all time:

35. State worker
34. Legally drunk
33. Exact estimate
32. Act naturally
31. Found missing
30. Resident alien
29. Genuine imitation
28. Airline food
27. Good grief
26. Government organization
25. Sanitary landfill
24. Alone together
23. Small crowd
22. Business ethics
21. Soft rock
20. Amtrak schedule
19. Military intelligence
18. Sweet sorrow
17. Compassionate conservative
16. "Now, then ..."
15. Passive aggression
14. Clearly misunderstood
13. Peace force
12. Extinct life
11. Plastic glasses
10. Terribly pleased
9. Computer security
8. Political science
7. Tight slacks
6. Definite maybe
5. Pretty ugly
4. Rap music
3. Working vacation
2. Religious tolerance

And the No. 1 oxymoron:
1. Microsoft Works

THE END

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Re: [Hydro] Small thieves steal; Big thieves privatize

2002-07-18 Thread MPS Paranavithana

Title: Message



I hate change.

I hate change.

I hate change.
 
Almost always I ended up as a winner after a 
change.
 
Believe it or not.
 
Paronoid!!!
 
 
 

  - Original Message - 
  From: 
  Miroslav 
  Antic 
  To: Hydro 
  Cc: SIN ; 'YUGO' ; 'BALKAN' ; 'News' ; 'SNN' ; 'SNN-YAHOO' 
  Sent: Tuesday, July 16, 2002 8:27 
PM
  Subject: [Hydro] Small thieves steal; Big 
  thieves privatize
  
  Small thieves steal; Big thieves 
  privatize
  A small thief will steal your car
  A big thief will privatize your public transit
  A small thief will steal a school computer
  A big thief will privatize public education
  A small thief will put jumpers around the meter
  A big thief will privatize BC Hydro
  A small thief will steal your case of bottled water
  A big thief will privatize your water supply
  A small thief will steal your first aid kit
  A big thief will privatize your health care system
  David Morgan Tuesday, July 09, 2002 North 
  VancouverTHE END 
THE END

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[Hydro] Energy Companies Exploited California Market, GAO Says

2002-07-17 Thread Miroslav Antic

Title: Message



 

Energy 
Companies Exploited California Market, GAO Says By 
Mark Sherman Associated Press 
Tuesday, 16 July, 2002 
WASHINGTON (AP) - Deregulation of electricity in California "created 
almost textbook conditions" for energy companies to keep power prices unfairly 
high in 2000 and 2001, a congressional investigation found. 
"Wholesale electricity suppliers exercised market power by raising 
prices above competitive levels," the General Accounting Office concluded in a 
report released Tuesday. 
The 
GAO report is the latest of several studies that found that serious structural 
problems in California's deregulation paved the way for the soaring electricity 
prices and rolling power blackouts in 2000 and 2001. 
It was 
made by public by Democratic Reps. Peter DeFazio of Oregon and Jay Inslee of 
Washington the day before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is expected 
to adopt new rules aimed at preventing a repeat of the energy crisis, which 
reverberated across the West in the form of energy price spikes. 
The 
report blamed several flawed rules for allowing prices to rise even during hours 
of light demand. 
State 
lawmakers froze retail prices for consumers, reducing, if not eliminating, the 
incentive to conserve power as prices rose, the GAO said. 
Until 
the height of the crisis, California regulators discouraged utilities from 
entering into long-term contracts for power. The reliance on spot sales enabled 
power wholesalers to withhold electricity from the market "until it was 
critically needed," making it possible to charge exorbitant prices. 
Utilities flirted with financial ruin struggling to meet demand amid 
wholesale power costs that reached $300 per megawatt hour. One megawatt is 
enough to power about 750 homes. 
Even 
when price caps first were imposed in late 2000, they were ineffective, the GAO 
said, but did not analyze why. The report also did not analyze certain pricing 
and trading strategies that Western politicians have said allowed Enron Corp. 
and other companies to manipulate the energy market. 
Western lawmakers sharply criticized FERC for failing to intervene 
aggressively as wholesale electricity prices soared in 2000 and early 2001. 
Until last summer, FERC refused to impose any significant price controls, 
contending price caps would impede energy production, worsening the supply 
problem. 
Wholesale cost receded after FERC imposed a price cap last summer, 
utilities and state agencies signed long-term contracts and the price of natural 
gas, the fuel for many power plants, fell. 
(In 
accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed 
without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the 
included information for research and educational purposes.) 

THE END

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[Hydro] Small thieves steal; Big thieves privatize

2002-07-16 Thread Miroslav Antic

Title: Message



Small thieves steal; Big thieves 
privatize
A small thief will steal your car
A big thief will privatize your public transit
A small thief will steal a school computer
A big thief will privatize public education
A small thief will put jumpers around the meter
A big thief will privatize BC Hydro
A small thief will steal your case of bottled water
A big thief will privatize your water supply
A small thief will steal your first aid kit
A big thief will privatize your health care system
David Morgan Tuesday, July 09, 2002 North 
Vancouver
THE END

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[Hydro] A Few Naughty ones - Two Old Ladies/Essex Girls /Yet another Blonde Joke

2002-07-16 Thread Miroslav Antic

Title: Message



 


Two old ladies were outside their 
nursing home, having a smoke, when
it started to rain. One of the 
ladies pulled out a condom, cut
off the end, put it over her cigarette, and continued 
smoking.
 
Lady 1: What's that?
Lady 2: A condom. This way my cigarette doesn't get 
wet.
Lady 1: Where did you get it?
Lady 2: You can get them at any drugstore.
 
The next day, Lady 1 hobbles herself into the local 
drugstore and
announces to the pharmacist that she wants a box of 
condoms.
The guy looks at her kind of strangely (she is, after all, 
over 80
years of age), but politely asks 
what brand she prefers.
Lady 1: It doesn't matter as long as it fits a 
Camel.
 
The pharmacist fainted.
 
* 
Essex Girls
1 
An Essex girl is crossing the road, when she gets hit by 
an XR3i. As 
she is lying on the ground, the driver, Dave, rushes out 
of 
the car to see if she is all 
right. 
"I'm so sorry luv! I just didn't see ya. Are ya OK?" he 
blurts out. 
"Everyfink is justa blur, I can't see a fing" she says, 
tearfully. 
Concerned, the man leans over the woman to test her 
eyesight. 
He asks, "How many fingers have I got up?" 
"Ah f**kin 'ell NO!" she screams. "Don't tell me I'm 

paralyzed from the waist down an 
all!!!" 
 
2 
Two Essex girls walk up to a perfume counter and pick up a 
sample 
bottle, Sharon sprays it on her wrist and smells it, 

"That's quite nice innit, don't you fink Trace?" 

"Yeah, what's it called?" 
"Viens a moi" 
"VIENS A MOI, what the f**k does that mean?" 
At this stage the assistant offers some help. 

"Viens a moi, ladies is French for 'come to me'" 

Sharon takes another sniff 
"That doesn't smell like come to me". 
 
3 
An Essex girl and an Irish guy are in a bar when the Essex 
girl 
notices something strange about the wellies that the Irish 

guy's wearing. 
She says to him "Scuse me mate, I ain't bein fannny or 

naffink, but why 
doz one of your wellies ave an L on it, and the uva one's 
got 
an R on it?" 
So, the Irish guy smiles, puts down his pint of Guinness 
and replies, 
"Well, oim a little bit tick you see. The one with the R 
is 
for me roight foot 
and the one with the L is for me left foot." 
"Cor, blimey!" exclaims the Essex girl, "So THAT'S why me 

knickers 'ave got C&A on 
them." 
 
 


 
A man is driving along a highway a rabbit jumps 
out in front of himacross the road.He swerves to avoid hitting 
it, but unfortunately the rabbitalso jumps in the same direction right in 
front of the car.
 
Much to his dismay, the rabbit 
dies.  He feels so awful that he breaks down and begins to 
cry. 
 
Just then a beautiful blonde woman 
driving by sees him crying
by the side of the road and pulls 
over. 
 
She steps out of the car and asks the 
man what's wrong?He tells her the unfortunate story explaining, "I feel 
terrible!  I accidentally 
hit this rabbit and killed 
it."The blonde says, "Don't worry."  
 
She runs to her car and pulls out a 
spray can.  She walks over to the limp, 
dead rabbit, bends down and sprays the 
rabbit with it. 
The rabbit jumps up, waves its paw at 
the two of them and hopsoff the road and into the woods.
Totally astonished, the man 
rushes over to the woman and demands,"What is in that can? What did you 
spray on that rabbit?"The woman hands him the can and he reads 
the label...It says.
 
 
 
 
THE END

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[Hydro] The Great Charade

2002-07-15 Thread Miroslav Antic

Title: Message




  
  

  Published on Sunday, July 14, 2002 in the Observer of London 
  

  The Great CharadeAs the West Prepares For an Assault on Iraq, The 'War On Terror' is 
  a Smokescreen Created by the Ultimate Terrorist... America 
  Itself
  

  by John Pilger
  
 
  

  It is 10 months since 11 September, and still the great charade plays 
  on. Having appropriated our shocked response to that momentous day, the 
  rulers of the world have since ground our language into a paean of cliches 
  and lies about the 'war on terrorism' - when the most enduring menace, and 
  source of terror, is them. 
  The fanatics who attacked America came from Saudi Arabia and Egypt. No 
  bombs fell on these American protectorates. Instead, more than 5,000 
  civilians have been bombed to death in stricken Afghanistan, the latest a 
  wedding party of 40 people, mostly women and children. Not a single 
  al-Qaeda leader of importance has been caught. 
  Following this 'stunning victory', hundreds of prisoners were shipped 
  to an American concentration camp in Cuba, where they have been held 
  against all the conventions of war and international law. No evidence of 
  their alleged crimes has been produced, and the FBI confirms only one is a 
  genuine suspect. In the United States, more than 1,000 people of Muslim 
  background have 'disappeared'; none has been charged. Under the draconian 
  Patriot Act, the FBI's new powers include the authority to go into 
  libraries and ask who is reading what. 
  Meanwhile, the Blair government has made fools of the British Army by 
  insisting they pursue warring tribesmen: exactly what squaddies in putties 
  and pith helmets did over a century ago when Lord Curzon, Viceroy of 
  India, described Afghanistan as one of the 'pieces on a chessboard upon 
  which is being played out a great game for the domination of the world'. 
  There is no war on terrorism; it is the great game speeded up. The 
  difference is the rampant nature of the superpower, ensuring infinite 
  dangers for us all. 
  Having swept the Palestinians into the arms of the supreme terrorist 
  Ariel Sharon, the Christian Right fundamentalists running the plutocracy 
  in Washington, now replenish their arsenal in preparation for an attack on 
  the 22 million suffering people of Iraq. Should anyone need reminding, 
  Iraq is a nation held hostage to an American-led embargo every bit as 
  barbaric as the dictatorship over which Iraqis have no control. Contrary 
  to propaganda orchestrated from Washington and London, the coming attack 
  has nothing to do with Saddam Hussein's 'weapons of mass destruction', if 
  these exist at all. The reason is that America wants a more compliant thug 
  to run the world's second greatest source of oil. 
  The drum-beaters rarely mention this truth, and the people of Iraq. 
  Everyone is Saddam Hussein, the demon of demons. Four years ago, the 
  Pentagon warned President Clinton that an all-out attack on Iraq might 
  kill 'at least' 10,000 civilians: that, too, is unmentionable. In a 
  sustained propaganda campaign to justify this outrage, journalists on both 
  sides of the Atlantic have been used as channels, 'conduits', for a stream 
  of rumors and lies. These have ranged from false claims about an Iraqi 
  connection with the anthrax attacks in America to a discredited link 
  between the leader of the 11 September hijacks and Iraqi intelligence. 
  When the attack comes, these consorting journalists will share 
  responsibility for the crime. 
  It was Tony Blair who served notice that imperialism's return journey 
  to respectability was under way. Hark, the Christian gentleman-bomber's 
  vision of a better world for 'the starving, the wretched, the 
  dispossessed, the ignorant, those living in want and squalor from the 
  deserts of northern Africa to the slums of Gaza to the mountain ranges of 
  Afghanistan.' Hark, his 'abiding' concern for the 'human rights of the 
  suffering women of Afghanistan' as he colluded with Bush who, as the New 
  York Times reported, 'demanded the elimination of truck convoys that 
  provide much of the food and other supplies to Afghanistan's civilian 
  population'. Hark his compassion for the 'dispossessed' in the 'slums of 
  Gaza', where Israeli gunships, manufactured with vital British parts, fire 
  their missiles into crowded civilian areas. 
  As Frank Furedi reminds us in The New Ideology of Imperialism , it is 
  not long ago 'that the moral claims of imperialism were seldom questioned 
  in the West. Imperialism and the global expansion of the western powers 
  were represented in unambiguously positive terms as a major c

[Hydro] Pay review

2002-07-12 Thread Miroslav Antic

Title: Message



 

 

  
CHEER UP 

  
 
THE END

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[Hydro] SCANDAL IN THE WHITE HOUSE: RICHARD CHENEY ACCUSED OF FRAUD

2002-07-10 Thread Miroslav Antic

Title: Message



SCANDAL IN THE WHITE HOUSE: RICHARD CHENEY ACCUSED 
OF FRAUDScandals regarding financial abuses still shake the 
US establishment. Yesterday, President George W. Bush delivered an unexpectedly 
strict speech accusing businessmen of damaging the America business image. The 
speech produced the impression that the White House might seriously establish 
order in the financial accountability of the largest US companies. This occurred 
against the background of not quite ethical deals struck by George W. Bush 
himself at the beginning of the 1990s. However, as we see now, this was just a 
trifle compared with a the sensational scandal. Stockholders of the oil 
company Halliburton Co. have filed a suit against the company’s ex-president and 
incumbent Vice-President Richard Cheney. The stockholders accuse him of 
large-scale financial fraud. The AP reports that accounting of Halliburton's 
activity within the period since 1998 (Richard Cheney was at head of the 
business within 1995-2000) revealed numerous mistakes and profit suppression. 
As a result of the scandal, Halliburton shares suddenly dropped. The 
defendant has not yet made any official comments on it. Besides, as of now, no 
official charges have yet been brought against the incumbent US vice-president, 
nor against his former employers. The infamous Arthur Andersen participated in 
the Halliburton auditing. The name of Richard Cheney has been mentioned 
several times in connection with the Enron bankruptcy scandal. It was said that 
the vice-president was on friendly terms with the energy giant's leadership. 
This is scandalous, because Richard Cheney was simultaneously chairman of the 
Energy commission. It is certainly not right to say now that the new 
scandal will affect the vice-president's career. However, it was already stated 
some time ago that the White House would find a new candidate to the 
vice-president post for the next elections. It was added at that, the White 
House dislikes the fact that Richard Cheney got into trouble too often. 
Vasily Bubnov PRAVDA.Ru Translated by Maria 
Gousseva http://english.pravda.ru/main/2002/07/10/32162.html
THE END

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[Hydro] Announcement from Pfizer Corp

2002-07-03 Thread Miroslav Antic

Title: Message



 

Pfizer Corp is making the announcement today 
that VIAGRA will soon be available in 
liquid form and will be marketed by Pepsi Cola as a power beverage suitable for use "as is," or as a 
mixer. 

Pepsi's proposed ad campaign claims: "It will now 
be possible for A man to literally pour 
himself a stiff one." 
Obviously we can no longer call this a "soft 
drink." 
This additive gives new meaning to the names of 
cocktails, Highballs and just a good old 
fashioned stiff drink. 
Pepsi will market the new concoction by the name of 
"Mount And Do" 
THE END

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[Hydro] Analysis: Canada looking for independence

2002-06-30 Thread Miroslav Antic

Title: Message


Analysis: Canada looking for independence 

By E.W. KieckheferUnited Press InternationalFrom the National 
DeskPublished 
6/30/2002 10:30 AMView 
printer-friendly version
Some Canadians are wondering whether their country should have joined the 
rebel colonies in the American Revolution as the United States approaches 
another Independence Day.
They were urged to join in the uprising against the British crown but 
declined. And over the years, Canadians have felt a sort of smug satisfaction in 
that decision, believing they had created a better nation. The differences 
between the two countries never have been great. Still, Canadians always have 
accepted a dependence upon their governments for what they regard as a kindlier 
kind of society.
But that sort of mild socialism has come with costs.
Someone has to pay for universal health care, pensions and welfare systems. 
And lately those costs are being realized. Federal and provincial budget 
deficits year after year took care of immediate needs but resulted in debts that 
required first heavier and heavier taxes and then finally sharp spending cuts. 
Ottawa pushed more and more of the burdens onto the provinces, which ultimately 
were responsible for carrying out the promised benefits to the people.
The education system has suffered and teachers have struggled with low pay 
and increasing duties. Many of the crown corporations -- that is, 
government-owned companies -- were privatized. But the cuts that have caused the 
most concern have been those in the health system.
True, Canada still has a prescription plan that is the envy of many U.S. 
citizens who use it, too, but hospitals have been closed and nurses in several 
provinces have gone on strike to demand pay increases. Many health professionals 
have just left. Elective surgery often requires months of waiting and patients 
increasingly travel across the border and pay high prices to get the care they 
need.
Despite such drastic measures, the Canadian government seems unable to 
control the cost of the health care plans. The Canadian Institute for Health 
Information says the cost of health care last year was $3,298 per person. Only 
the United States, Germany and Switzerland among the Organization for 
Cooperation and Economical Development nations spend more as a proportion of 
gross national product.
A recent poll showed slightly more than half of Canadians think they still 
are getting quality health care but 60 percent said they expect it to worsen in 
the next five years.
Three-quarters of the citizens polled said they expect any solution will cost 
them more and a surprising 56 percent said they are willing to pay more just to 
maintain current levels of health care. About half of them even favored a 
two-tier care system, with patients paying part of the costs out-of-pocket.
Those are the concerns of the average citizens.
Business leaders have broader concerns, like the recent attitude of 
Washington on the question of free trade. A steep tariff on Canadian softwood 
lumber is shutting down mills in several provinces, causing massive unemployment 
in those communities. But lumber is just one of many Canadian exports to which 
Washington has been objecting, claiming the Canadians unfairly subsidize 
production.
Anthony Wilson-Smith, editor of the weekly news magazine Maclean's, told 
recently of a conversation with a British Columbia food company executive who 
recommended rethinking Canada's growing economic ties with the United States. He 
said the relationship has tilted to the point that it no longer is possible to 
negotiate because whenever trade rules come out in Canada's favor, Washington 
changes the rules. The businessman said he is quitting in frustration.
But Canada is trapped in its relationship with the United States.
The lion's share of Canada's exports go to the United States. The free trade 
agreements were designed to lock in that relationship. Expanding exports in 
Europe and Asia is a long-term effort.
Canadians seem to get little sympathy from the United States now. A recent 
Woodrow Wilson Center study showed 30 percent of U.S. respondents think of 
Canada as a U.S. state and only 18 percent said they regard Canada as America's 
closest friend and ally.
"These things matter," Wilson-Smith wrote in another of his weekly letters to 
Maclean's readers, "because the issue of Canada's sovereignty, and how we deal 
with it, will be the defining issue of the next decade -- far more important 
than the old hand-wringing about Quebec sovereignty." The notion that Canada as 
a smaller nation can guard its culture and flourish "goes by the wayside 
whenever we look at the relationship between ourselves and America."
Clearly, Independence Day has a far different meaning in Canada than it does 
in the United States. Copyright © 2002 United Press International
THE END

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[Hydro] Canadian proposal to direct immigrants to less populated areas

2002-06-27 Thread Miroslav Antic

Title: Message



A Canadian proposal to direct immigrants to less populated areas has drawn 
fire from human rights and immigrants groups who are calling it a threat to 
freedom of movement. The idea was presented by Canada's Immigration Minister 
Dennis Coderre, who wants immigrants to sign a social contract accepting to live 
in an assigned location for between three and five years before being allowed to 
move to urban centers. Under the scheme, new arrivals will be sent to the 
Atlantic or Prairie provinces, or the rural areas of Ontario, Quebec or British 
Columbia. Half of Canada's 250,000 annual immigrants head for Toronto, 15 
percent choose Vancouver and 11 percent settle in Montreal. The Coderre plan is 
meant to help stop the flow of young people from rural regions by using skilled 
immigrants to help improve "quality of life" in areas such as education and 
medical care. But the plan -- not yet adopted by the Canadian government -- has 
its critics. For Glora Fung, chairman of the Chinese Canadian National Council's 
immigration committee, it recalled Communist China's similar but bigger attempts 
rural relocation. "I wonder," she says, "if Minister Coderre is suggesting 
Canada should go in the same direction." 
 
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=27062002-112820-5715r
THE END

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[Hydro] Bill Gates met God

2002-06-27 Thread Miroslav Antic

Title: Message



 

Bill Gates met God, and God said, "Well, Bill, I'm 
reallyconfused on this one. I'm not sure whether to send you to Heaven 
or toHell. After all, you enormously helped society by putting acomputer 
in almost every home in the world, and yet you created thatghastly Windows. 
I'm going to do something I've never donebefore. I'm going to let you decide 
where you want to go." Bill Gatessaid, "What's the difference between the 
two?" God said, "Itmight help you decide if you took a peek at both places. 
Shall we look atHell first?" Bill was amazed. He saw a clean, white 
sandybeach with clear waters. There were thousands of beautiful men and 
womenrunning around, playing in the water, laughing andfrolicking about. 
The sun was shining and the temperature was perfect."This is great!" said 
Bill. "If this is Hell, I can't wait to seeHeaven." God said, "Let's go!" 
and off they went to Heaven. Bill sawpuffy white clouds in a beautiful blue 
sky, with angels driftingabout playing the harp and singing. It was nice, 
but surely not as enticingas Hell. Bill thought for only a brief moment and 
rendered hisdecision. "God, I do believe I would prefer to go to Hell." "As 
youwish," said God. Two weeks later, God decided to check up on thelate 
billionaire to see how things were going. He found Bill shackled toa wall, 
screaming amidst the hot flames in a dark cave. Hewas being tortured by 
demons with pitchforks. "How ya doin', Bill?"asked God. Bill responded with 
anguish and despair, "This isawful! This is not what I expected at all! What 
happened to the beachand the beautiful women playing in the water?" "Oh, 
that," saidGod, "that was the screen 
saver."
THE END

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[Hydro] The Police Stop

2002-06-27 Thread Miroslav Antic



The Police Stop

A police officer pulls a guy over for speeding and has the following
exchange:
Officer: May I see your driver's license?
Driver: I don't have one. I had it suspended when I got my 5th DUI.
Officer: May I see the owner's card for this vehicle?
Driver: It's not my car. I stole it.
Officer: The car is stolen?
Driver: That's right. But come to think of it, I think I saw the owner's
card 
in the glove box when I was putting my gun in there.
Officer: There's a gun in the glove box?
Driver: Yes sir. That's where I put it after I shot and killed the woman
who 
owns this car and stuffed her in the trunk.
Officer: There's a BODY in the TRUNK?!?!?
Driver: Yes, sir.
Hearing this, the officer immediately called his captain. The car was
quickly 
surrounded by police, and the captain approached the driver to handle
the 
tense situation:
Captain: Sir, can I see your license?
Driver: Sure. Here it is.
It was valid.
Captain: Who's car is this?
Driver: It's mine, officer. Here's the registration.
Captain: Could you slowly open your glove box so I can see if there's a
gun 
in it?
Driver: Yes, sir, but there's no gun in it.
Sure enough, there was nothing in the glove box.
Captain: Would you mind opening your trunk? I was told you said there's
a 
body in it.
Driver: No problem.
Trunk is opened; no body.
Captain: I don't understand it. The officer who stopped you said you
told him 
you didn't have a license, stole the car, had a gun in the glovebox, and
that 
there was a dead body in the trunk.
Driver: Yeah, I'll bet he told you I was speeding, too.

THE END

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[Hydro] JOKE

2002-06-24 Thread Miroslav Antic


After a long night of intimacy, a young man rolled over and was looking
around when he noticed a framed photo of another man.
The guy began to worry. "Is this your husband?"
"No, silly," she replied, snuggling up to him.
"Your boyfriend then?" he asked.
"No, not at all," she said, nibbling away at his ear.
"Well, who is he then?" asked the bewildered guy.
The woman replied, "That's me before the surgery." 

THE END

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[Hydro] S.F. attorney: Bush allowed 9/11

Title: Message


S.F. 
attorney: Bush allowed 9/11 
BY DAVID KIEFEROf The Examiner Staff 
Stanley 
Hilton now figures his case is stronger because of a coalition of attorneys, 
victims' families and bipartisan legislators who gathered in Washington on 
Monday to condemn the government's lack of action in preventing the Sept. 11 
attacks. 
Hilton is the San Francisco attorney 
who filed a $7 billion lawsuit in U.S. District Court on June 3 against 
President Bush and other government officials for "allowing" the terrorist 
attacks to occur. 
Among Hilton's allegations: Bush 
conspired to create the Sept. 11 attacks for his own political gain and has been 
using Osama bin Laden as a scapegoat. 
Hilton said he has information that 
bin Laden died several years ago of kidney failure. 
"I hope it will expose the fact that 
there are numbers of people in the government, including Bush and his top 
assistants, who wanted this to happen," Hilton said. 
His class-action suit named 10 
defendants, including Vice President Dick Cheney, National Security Advisor 
Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and Transportation 
Secretary Norman Mineta. Hilton said he represents the families of 14 victims 
and that 400 plaintiffs are involved nationwide. 
 White House spokesman Ken Macias 
and Department of Justice public affairs officer Charles Miller each said their 
departments were unaware of the lawsuit. 
Hilton, Sen. Bob Dole's former aide, 
has been publicly critical of conservatives in books he has written about Dole 
and the Clinton sex scandal. Hilton, who said he has sources within the FBI, 
CIA, the National Security Agency and Naval intelligence, demands Bush's 
impeachment and believes the truth will come out in trial. 
Hilton claims the Bush 
administration ignored intelligence information, refused to round up suspected 
terrorists beforehand, and during the hijackings refused to disable pilot 
controls and switch to a ground-based remote system. 
He claims the government benefited 
from installing a puppet Afghan government friendly to U.S. oil interests. 

Hilton also says Bush used bin 
Laden's antagonist image to create a public frenzy, which allowed the Bush 
administration to tighten its political grip. 
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]http://www.examiner.com/news/default.jsp?story=n.lawyer.0611w
THE END

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[Hydro] 9-11: The Missing Link

Title: Message

Was it an intelligence failure’ to give red
carpet treatment to the ‘money man’ behind the 9-11 terrorists, or was it simply
‘routine’?POLITICAL DECEPTION: THE MISSING LINK BEHIND 9-11by
Michel ChossudovskyGlobal Outlook, No. 2. Summer 2002 at http://www.globalresearch.ca/globaloutlook/orderformI2.htmlCentre for Research on Globalisation (CRG), http://www.globalresearch.ca, 20 June 2002
The URL of this article is http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO206A.htmlThe foreknowledge issue is a Red Herring: "A Red
Herring is a fallacy in which an irrelevant topic is presented in order to
divert attention from the original issue."ON May 16th The New York
Post dropped what appeared to be a bombshell: "Bush Knew . . . " Hoping to score
politically, the Democrats jumped on the bandwagon, pressuring the White House
to come clean on two "top-secret documents" made available to President Bush
prior to September 11, concerning "advance knowledge" of Al Qaeda attacks.
Meanwhile, the U.S. media had already coined a new set of buzzwords: "Yes, there
were warnings" and "clues" of possible terrorist attacks, but "there was no way
President Bush could have known" what was going to happen. The Democrats agreed
to "keep the cat inside the bag" by saying: "Osama is at war with the U.S." and
the FBI and the CIA knew something was cooking but "failed to connect the dots."
In the words of House Minority Leader, Richard Gephardt:"This is not
blame-placing. . . . We support the President on the war against terrorism
have and will. But we've got to do better in preventing terrorist attacks."
1The media's spotlight on ‘foreknowledge' and so-called "FBI lapses"
served to distract public attention from the broader issue of political
deception. Not a word was mentioned concerning the role of the CIA, which
throughout the entire post-Cold War era, has aided and abetted Osama bin Laden's
Al Qaeda, as part of its covert operations. Of course they knew! The
foreknowledge issue is a red herring. The "Islamic Brigades" are a creation of
the CIA. In standard CIA jargon, Al Qaeda is categorized as an "intelligence
asset". Support to terrorist organizations is an integral part of U.S. foreign
policy. Al Qaeda continues to this date (2002) to participate in CIA covert
operations in different parts of the World.2 These "CIA-Osama links" do not
belong to a bygone era, as suggested by the mainstream media. The U.S.
Congress has documented in detail, the links of Al Qaeda to agencies of the U.S.
government during the civil war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, as well as in Kosovo.3
More recently in Macedonia, barely a few months before September 11, U.S.
military advisers were mingling with Mujahideen mercenaries financed by Al
Qaeda. Both groups were fighting under the auspices of the Kosovo Liberation
Army (KLA), within the same terrorist paramilitary formation.4 The CIA
keeps track of its "intelligence assets". Amply documented, Osama bin Laden's
whereabouts were always known.5 Al Qaeda is infiltrated by the CIA.6 In other
words, there were no "intelligence failures"! In the nature of a well-led
intelligence operation, the "intelligence asset" operates (wittingly or
unwittingly) with some degree of autonomy, in relation to its U.S. government
sponsors, but ultimately it acts consistently, in the interests of Uncle Sam.
While individual FBI agents are often unaware of the CIA's role, the
relationship between the CIA and Al Qaeda is known at the top levels of the FBI.
Members of the Bush Administration and the U.S. Congress are fully cognizant of
these links. The foreknowledge issue focussing on "FBI lapses" is
an obvious smokescreen. While the whistleblowers serve to underscore the
weaknesses of the FBI, the role of successive U.S. administrations (since the
presidency of Jimmy Carter) in support of the "Islamic Militant Base", is simply
not mentioned.FEAR AND DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGNThe Bush
Administration through the personal initiative of Vice President Dick
Cheney chose not only to foreclose the possibility of a public inquiry,
but also to trigger a fear and disinformation campaign:"I think that the
prospects of a future attack on the U.S. are almost a certainty. . . . It could
happen tomorrow, it could happen next week, it could happen next year, but they
will keep trying. And we have to be prepared." 7What Cheney is really
telling us is that our "intelligence asset", which we created, is going to
strike again. Now, if this "CIA creature" was planning new terrorist attacks,
you would expect that the CIA would be first to know about it. In all
likelihood, the CIA also controls the so-called ‘warnings' emanating from CIA
sources on "future terrorist attacks" on American soil.CAREFULLY PLANNED
INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONThe 9-11 terrorists did not act on their own
volition. The suicide hijackers were instruments in a carefully planned
intelligence operation. The evidence confirms

[Hydro] CASINO

Title: Message


  Two 
bored casino dealers were  waiting at a craps table.  A 
very  attractive blonde woman arrived  and bet twenty-thousand 
dollars on a  single roll of the dice.    She said, 
"I hope you don't mind,  but I feel much luckier when I'm  
completely nude."    With that she stripped from her  
neck down, rolled the dice and  yelled, "Mama needs new 
clothes!"    Then she hollered..."YES!  YES!  I 
WON!  I WON!" She jumped up and down and  hugged each of the 
dealers.  She then  picked up all the money and clothes  
and quickly departed.    The dealers just stared at 
each  other dumbfounded.  Finally, one of them  asked, 
"What did she roll?"  The other answered,  "I don't know I 
thought  YOU were watching!"    Moral: Not all 
blondes  are dumb, but all men are men     
  
THE END

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[Hydro] SEPTEMBER 11TH: US NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY HAD IT ON A PLATE

Title: Message



SEPTEMBER 11TH: US NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY HAD IT 
ON A PLATE10th September 2001: “Tomorrow is zero hour” was 
one of the messages written in Arabic, received by the United States’ National 
Security Agency (NSA). Nothing was done, despite the fact that this was not the 
only such message received by the NSA on that date. The National 
Security Agency, based in Washington DC, received two messages in Arabic on 10th 
September, which were only translated and analysed on September 12th. The second 
was: “The match begins tomorrow”, reflecting the customary references by Osama 
Bin Laden to his fight against the USA being like a game of football and his 
terrorists being his team. If September 11th had been the first attack 
by Osama Bin Laden against US interests, the NSA could be excused for not having 
been able to know what it was receiving. However, it should be stated that the 
attack on the Twin Towers was yet another of a long line of terrorist attacks 
against the USA by Bin Laden and his hitherto-unknown network. If the 
NSA did not act on the messages it intercepted, it could be argued that it is 
inefficient. The US administration has already stated that vital intelligence 
should have been shared between the various intelligence agencies. A pity it was 
not, because nearly 3,000 innocent civilians died. The National Security 
Advisor to the President of the United States of America is Condoleeza Rice. 
Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY PRAVDA.Ru http://english.pravda.ru/main/2002/06/21/30829.html
THE END

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[Hydro] Behind 'Plot' on Hussein, a Secret Agenda

2002-06-21 Thread Miroslav Antic

Title: Message




  
  

  Published on Wednesday, June 19, 2002 in the Los Angeles Times 
  

  Behind 'Plot' on Hussein, a 
  Secret AgendaKilling weapons inspections would clear way 
  for war.
  

  by Scott Ritter
  
 
  

  President Bush has reportedly authorized the CIA to use all of the 
  means at its disposal--including U.S. military special operations forces 
  and CIA paramilitary teams--to eliminate Iraq's Saddam Hussein. According 
  to reports, the CIA is to view any such plan as "preparatory" for a larger 
  military strike. 
  Congressional leaders from both parties have greeted these reports with 
  enthusiasm. In their rush to be seen as embracing the president's 
  hard-line stance on Iraq, however, almost no one in Congress has 
  questioned why a supposedly covert operation would be made public, thus 
  undermining the very mission it was intended to accomplish. 
  It is high time that Congress start questioning the hype and rhetoric 
  emanating from the White House regarding Baghdad, because the leaked CIA 
  plan is well timed to undermine the efforts underway in the United Nations 
  to get weapons inspectors back to work in Iraq. In early July, the U.N. 
  secretary-general will meet with Iraq's foreign minister for a third round 
  of talks on the return of the weapons monitors. A major sticking point is 
  Iraqi concern over the use--or abuse--of such inspections by the U.S. for 
  intelligence collection. 
  I recall during my time as a chief inspector in Iraq the dozens of 
  extremely fit "missile experts" and "logistics specialists" who frequented 
  my inspection teams and others. Drawn from U.S. units such as Delta Force 
  or from CIA paramilitary teams such as the Special Activities Staff (both 
  of which have an ongoing role in the conflict in Afghanistan), these 
  specialists had a legitimate part to play in the difficult cat-and-mouse 
  effort to disarm Iraq. So did the teams of British radio intercept 
  operators I ran in Iraq from 1996 to 1998--which listened in on the 
  conversations of Hussein's inner circle--and the various other 
  intelligence specialists who were part of the inspection effort. 
  The presence of such personnel on inspection teams was, and is, viewed 
  by the Iraqi government as an unacceptable risk to its nation's security. 
  As early as 1992, the Iraqis viewed the teams I led inside Iraq as a 
  threat to the safety of their president. They were concerned that my 
  inspections were nothing more than a front for a larger effort to 
  eliminate their leader. 
  Those concerns were largely baseless while I was in Iraq. Now that Bush 
  has specifically authorized American covert-operations forces to remove 
  Hussein, however, the Iraqis will never trust an inspection regime that 
  has already shown itself susceptible to infiltration and manipulation by 
  intelligence services hostile to Iraq, regardless of any assurances the 
  U.N. secretary-general might give. 
  The leaked CIA covert operations plan effectively kills any chance of 
  inspectors returning to Iraq, and it closes the door on the last 
  opportunity for shedding light on the true state of affairs regarding any 
  threat in the form of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. 
  Absent any return of weapons inspectors, no one seems willing to 
  challenge the Bush administration's assertions of an Iraqi threat. If Bush 
  has a factual case against Iraq concerning weapons of mass destruction, he 
  hasn't made it yet. 
  Can the Bush administration substantiate any of its claims that Iraq 
  continues to pursue efforts to reacquire its capability to produce 
  chemical and biological weapons, which was dismantled and destroyed by 
  U.N. weapons inspectors from 1991 to 1998? The same question applies to 
  nuclear weapons. What facts show that Iraq continues to pursue nuclear 
  weapons aspirations? 
  Bush spoke ominously of an Iraqi ballistic missile threat to Europe. 
  What missile threat is the president talking about? These questions are 
  valid, and if the case for war is to be made, they must be answered with 
  more than speculative rhetoric. 
  Congress has seemed unwilling to challenge the Bush administration's 
  pursuit of war against Iraq. The one roadblock to an all-out U.S. assault 
  would be weapons inspectors reporting on the facts inside Iraq. Yet 
  without any meaningful discussion and debate by Congress concerning the 
  nature of the threat posed by Baghdad, war seems all but inevitable. 
  The true target of the supposed CIA plan may not be Hussein but rather 
  the weapons inspection program itself. The real casualty is the last 
  chance to avoid

[Hydro] Balkans Leaders Chose Servitude

2002-06-20 Thread Miroslav Antic

Title: Message

Balkan Expressby Nebojsa MalicAntiwar.com
June 20,
2002
Balkans Leaders Chose
ServitudeTime To Do Away With Them
It's been a fact for at
least a year now, ever since the Treaty of Ohrid was signed, that the Balkans
was fully conquered. Perhaps the final, unnecessary confirmation came in March,
when the last remnant of the last Yugoslav federation was officially dismantled.
Those who inherited the rubble of what used to be Yugoslavia pledged their
fealty to Emperors of the West, just as Yugoslavia's neighbors had done
previously.
Certainly, the Empire's control is not yet fully established. There are
little things, details such as what will happen to Kosovo and Macedonia; will
Bosnia ever be united; who will rule the vassal principality of Serbia, or how
small it will end up being. Right now, the money seems to be on Zoran the
Foul, since any resistance to his parliamentary coup is readily interpreted
as support for The Evil Milosevic. But whoever wins will be rewarded by being a
friend and
partner in hunting down any and all Serbs who might oppose it.
For it is not enough merely to obey the masters, one must love
them as well. Only willing servants, such as Macedonia's political elite, will
do.
(Re)writing History
To this purpose, then, the history of the entire region
is extensively rewritten. Gone are chapters about certain nations' associations
with the Nazis, for example, or massacres they
perpetrated against today's designated culprits. Instead, a new history is
composed in prestigious institutions of Western academia at the behest of the
Hague Inquisition, one that has as much resemblance to the truth as "Protocols
of the Elders of Zion."
Certainly the mainstay of this effort is the omnipresent myth of "Greater
Serbia" as forged by the Austro-Hungarian government in
the early 1900s and resurrected at need by the Nazis, Communists, and NATO. But
the effort goes far beyond that crucial generalization, and into horrifying
details.
One instance is the recent
ruling of the Inquisition's "appeals chamber," upholding the convictions of
three Bosnian Serbs accused of mass rape. The decision reiterates the
Inquisition's position that "sexual offenses had been used by Serb forces as
part of a campaign to intimidate Muslims and prompt them to flee." (AP)
Essentially, this means that Bosnian Serbs committed systematic mass rape during
the 1992-95 war.
Accusations of systematic mass rape by the Serbs have long been a staple of most rabid
propaganda. Stories of 40,000 victims sheltering in Tuzla alone dominated the
news in 1993. But while rape, along with torture and other forms of abuse, has
certainly been widespread in the Bosnian conflict, there is no evidence – save
the claims by the Muslim regime and reporters sympathetic to its cause – that
there was ever a method in this madness. Most tellingly, the realistic number of
rape victims has never been officially established. Surely, it would be
imperative that an accusation of this magnitude be accurately documented? Or is
the word of an illegal
court all it takes, these days?
Definitions By Fiat
Sadly, it seems the answer is yes. When the Inquisition
convicted Gen. Radislav Krstic of "genocide" for his alleged role in the 1995
"Srebrenica massacre," it never bothered to establish the facts of the case
beyond what has been heard in countless propaganda pieces over the past seven
years. Even the exhaustive Dutch
report, published this April and condemned by Keepers of Official Truth,
failed to establish for certain how many people were killed and how, or whether
they were civilians, combatants, or both. Two claims have proven enduring in
this veritable vacuum of facts: that "up to 8000 Muslims" were killed, sometimes
qualified as "men and boys;" and that this constituted "genocide."
Those who believe genocide entails a near-complete annihilation of an
entire people may be forgiven for their confusion. The Inquisition, itself a
product of manipulated definitions, is prone to stretching terms a
bit.
Preordained Outcomes
The depths to which the Inquisition stoops were made
apparent last week, when a German general who oversaw the NATO attack on
Yugoslavia claimed Slobodan Milosevic told him Serbs should conduct mass
executions of Kosovo Albanians. So what if Klaus Naumann was a high-ranking
NATO officer who took part in an illegal war of aggression, and thus needs to
justify it, lest he be charged by some
other court on grounds of "command responsibility"? So what if Milosevic was
actually referring to the 1946 Communist executions of Albanians who sided with Nazi Germany, and
whose sons and grandsons fought in the 1999's KLA? What could sound more
righteous than a German general accusing Serbs of mass
murder?
An American Ambassador, maybe.
A sort of controversy broke out last week regarding the possible
testimony of Richard Holbrooke, the dark apprentice of Warren Christopher a

[Hydro] EPA to relax pollution rules for utilities

2002-06-14 Thread Miroslav Antic

Title: Message


EPA to relax 
pollution rules for utilities, allowing more plants to expand Thu Jun 
13, 7:47 PM ET 
By JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press 
Writer 
WASHINGTON - A Bush administration decision to let some coal-burning power 
plants escape costly pollution controls is intended to help keep electric bills 
in check, but environmentalists say it will increase smog and contribute to 
asthma and other respiratory ailments.


  
  

The proposal sent to President Bush ( news 
- web 
sites) by the Environmental Protection Agency ( news 
- web 
sites) on Thursday calls for relaxing clean air rules to make it easier for 
utilities, oil refineries and industrial plants to upgrade and expand.
"These reforms are about making the Clean Air Act work effectively," EPA 
Administrator Christie Whitman said.
"We are not rolling back the Clean Air Act," she added, anticipating the 
barrage of criticism from Democrats and environmentalists that soon followed her 
announcement.
"Once again, White House political considerations have trumped our nation's 
commitment to promoting clean air and improving the public health of millions," 
said House Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt of Missouri.
EPA Assistant Administrator Jeff Holmstead said the EPA had no data 
indicating what effect the proposal would have on the level of air pollution in 
the United States.
The "New Source Review" part of the Clean Air Act is intended to force power 
plants to install pollution-reducing devices when they make physical changes — 
such as expansion — that could significantly increase pollution.
Scott Segal, an attorney for power companies, said utilities could save as 
much as $70 billion — passing much of it on to consumers through lower bills — 
by not having to install expensive equipment to reduce emissions.
"NSR is a highly regressive tax because the poor pay so much of their 
paycheck on electricity costs," he said.
Environmentalists said the savings from relaxing New Source Review 
requirements are not worth what they said would be an increased incidence of 
asthma and other lung ailments.
"These same plants emit pollution that triggers between 107,000 and 170,000 
asthma attacks every year, most of which occur in children," said Angela 
Ledford, director of a coalition of environmental groups called Clear the Air. 
"If these plants were forced to install pollution controls and comply with the 
law, between 80,000 and 120,000 of these attacks could be avoided."
Vickie Patton, an attorney with Environmental Defense in Boulder, Colo., said 
the decision will enable thousands of power plants, oil refineries and 
industrial facilities across the country to increase their pollution, often 
without notifying the public.
EPA is likely to face a court challenge from environmentalists and state and 
local air regulators, whose trade associations issued a statement calling the 
decision "irresponsible."
State attorneys general from several states in the Northeast also have said 
they would challenge in federal court any substantial weakening of the 
program.
"Our ongoing lawsuits against these polluters will continue with undiminished 
determination despite this proposal — or because of it — perhaps even providing 
a forum to challenge it," said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal ( 
news, 
bio, 
voting 
record).
Canadian Environment Minister David Anderson said, "We are concerned that the 
flow of essentially polluted air across the border with the United States might 
continue at a level that is not what we want."
Anderson said the EPA has assured him the proposed amendments won't affect 
the Ozone Annex, a U.S.-Canada agreement intended to curb cross-border air 
pollution.
Vice President Dick Cheney ( news 
- web 
sites)'s task force asked the EPA last year to re-examine New Source Review 
and report back in 90 days, but the issue became embroiled in lengthy internal 
debate over how far the agency should go in easing requirements for the 
utilities.
White House press secretary Ari Fleischer ( news 
- web 
sites) said the intent is to give industries greater flexibility as they 
perform repairs and maintenance on plants and expand electricity production 
without having to install a whole range of other emissions controls.
The current regulations, he said, often discourage companies from investing 
in new pollution reduction projects.
"Many of these people who are affected have chosen to leave in place old 
equipment, which pollutes more, rather than replace it and modernize it, which 
pollutes less," Fleischer said.
Whitman said the proposal will not diminish her agency's efforts to pursue 
cases begun during the Clinton administration against several utilities over 
pollution from 51 power plants.
"We're not going to relent," she said.
The EPA and the Justice Department ( news 
- web 
sites) have threatened heavy fines on utilities unless they spend tens of 
billions of dollars to more strictly control emissions of

[Hydro] 300,000 SEALS MASSACRED

2002-06-14 Thread Miroslav Antic

Title: Message



300,000 SEALS MASSACRED 
As usual, Canadian hunters have left a swathe of dark-red blood smeared 
across the Arctic ice, as 300,000 seal pups have been slaughtered, while nearly 
half of these have been skinned alive. Canadian animal rights groups 
have called on the international community to raise its voice in outrage against 
this barbaric practice, perpetrated by the pelt-hunters with the excuse that 
this “organised cull” will protect fish stocks. This is nonsense because fish 
stocks will be protected by properly organised fishing practices by mankind. 
Films have been taken of the slaughter of seals, which makes horrendous 
viewing, due to the extreme suffering of the animals who are battered on the 
head and literally skinned alive, while their living body is left at the mercy 
of the elements and predators. Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY 
PRAVDA.Ru
http://english.pravda.ru/main/2002/06/14/30313.html
THE END

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[Hydro] Seen my rooster?

2002-06-13 Thread Miroslav Antic

Title: Message



 

The 
Priest and the Rooster An Irish priest has a hen coop with a number 
of hens and one rooster. One Saturday he goes into the coop to get some 
eggs and can't find the rooster. This bothers him because he believes 
that some people engage in cock fighting in the parish. He figures that he 
can find the culprit at mass at the next day. The next day, 
Sunday, he gets up on the altar and says, "All of you who have a cock, 
stand up" All the men in church stands up "No, No says the 
priest, I mean, all of you who have seen a cock please stand up" 
All of the women in the church stands up "No, no, says the 
priest, I mean all of you who have seen a cock that doesn't belong to 
you, stand up" Half of the women in the church stands up "No! 
You still don't understand, all of you who have seen MY cock, stand up" 
All the nuns, half of the altar boys and one goat stands up 

THE END

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[Hydro] UK nuclear safety report discloses deficiencies

2002-06-12 Thread Miroslav Antic


UK nuclear safety report discloses deficiencies 
 
13:15 12 June 02
 
NewScientist.com news service
 
Staff shortages and security problems are hampering attempts to protect
nuclear plants from terrorist attack, a new report for the British
government reveals.

The Office for Civil Nuclear Security, a shadowy state agency charged
since 2000 with protecting 31 nuclear sites across the UK, has published
its first ever report. Put quietly up on the Department of Trade and
Industry website yesterday, it discloses "difficulties" with recruitment
and several previously unknown "deficiencies" in security arrangements.

There was a flaw in the procedure for vetting staff at a new plutonium
fuel manufacturing plant at Sellafield in Cumbria, which required
"temporary compensating arrangements" to be made. Workers have to be
checked to make sure that they will not be recruited by terrorists to
steal plutonium, which can be made into a nuclear bomb.

The security clearances for guards at nuclear power stations also had to
be tightened up following a sabotage attempt two years ago. According to
the report, a guard tried "to compromise the station's access control
system". No further details are given.

Delayed inspections 

The director of civil nuclear security, Michael Buckland-Smith, is
concerned that his 35 staff and £1.6 million annual budget are
inadequate, particularly since the terrorist attacks against the US on
September 11th. "I have lost two experienced inspectors over the past 18
months and faced considerable difficulty and delay recruiting
replacements," he says.

"Unfortunately, four of my most experienced staff are either retiring or
leaving in the next twelve months, compounding the difficulties we
anticipate finding suitably qualified replacements and filling new
posts."

Buckland-Smith argues six extra posts are "essential if my office is to
continue to regulate security in the civil nuclear industry
comprehensively and effectively, given the heightened terrorist threat".
A planned programme of nuclear site inspections, suspended after
September 11th, will not start again until next month "at the earliest".

Widespread contamination 

More than 12,500 workers at nuclear plants have been vetted over the
past year by Buckland-Smith's staff. "Public concerns are often
misconceived and exaggerated," he says. "Nevertheless, a successful
sabotage attack on a nuclear facility could cause widespread radioactive
contamination and loss of life."
Frank Barnaby, a nuclear consultant who used to work at the Aldermaston
atomic weapons plant in Berkshire, points out that insiders could damage
vital cooling systems at waste stores or reactors. "That would be a
disaster," he says.

The staff shortages "reflects a disturbing disinterest in security
matters by the government", according to David Lowry, an environmental
consultant specialising in nuclear policy.

But this is denied by a government spokesman, who stresses that the
Office for Civil Nuclear Security is doing a good job. "There are some
staffing issues that need to be addressed," he says. "But we are
confident that we will be able to recruit high quality staff."
 
Rob Edwards

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns2391

THE END

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[Hydro] U.N. Official Seeks Scrutiny of Anti-Terrorism Measures

Title: Message




  
  

  Published on Monday, June 10, 2002 by the Inter Press Service 
  

  U.N. Official Seeks Scrutiny of 
  Anti-Terrorism Measures 
  

  by Thalif Deen
  
 
  

  UNITED NATIONS -- The highest ranking UN human rights official is 
  calling for an independent expert or a new international body to monitor 
  the impact of anti-terrorism measures on human rights worldwide. 
  "My office is flooded with calls from human rights defenders around the 
  world, drawing attention to new restrictions and oppressive measures," 
  said Mary Robinson, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and a former 
  president of Ireland. 
  Robinson, who is leaving her job in September this year, said several 
  governments -- which she declined to name -- have instituted repressive 
  measures in the name of fighting terrorism. 
  "It is essential that actions taken by member states to combat 
  terrorism be in conformity with international human rights standards," she 
  said. 
  Robinson said she regretted there is no international institution to 
  assess whether measures taken by member states to combat terrorism violate 
  human rights standards that those states have accepted. 
  She said a new Counter Terrorism Committee created by the UN Security 
  Council late last year does not believe it has a mandate to monitor these 
  issues. 
  "The great concern now is that where mature democracies blur the lines 
  or set a bad example, undemocratic regimes consider they are given a green 
  light to pursue repressive policies, secure in the belief that any 
  excesses will be ignored," she added. 
  Several nations, particularly the United States, Britain, Germany and 
  Canada, along with countries such as Egypt, Russia and Uzbekistan, have 
  introduced far-reaching antiterrorism measures, some of which analysts, 
  activists, and officials here have deemed in violation of basic human 
  rights. 
  These include detention of non-citizens, tightening of immigration 
  laws, electronic surveillance without court order, deportation of those 
  overstaying their visas, and monitoring of mail and communications between 
  prisoners and attorneys. 
  According to Robinson, the new restrictive measures also cover privacy 
  rights, fair trial, the right to seek asylum, political participation, 
  freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. 
  She said the post-Sep.11 environment "is reinforcing a fortress 
  mentality within Europe" as controls are tightened and there is a 
  coarsening of debate and of language used in speaking of asylum seekers 
  and immigrants. 
  Joanna Weschler of the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) told IPS 
  that at the April session of the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, 
  there was an attempt to initiate a resolution to monitor these new 
  restrictive measures. 
  The proposed resolution, co-sponsored by Mexico and several European 
  nations, was withdrawn at the closing stages of the session because of 
  what she termed "unacceptable" amendments attached to it. 
  Although the resolution fell short of calling for the appointment of an 
  independent expert to oversee these new antiterrorism measures, it was 
  supported by human rights activists and non-governmental organizations, 
  including HRW, Weschler said. 
  She also said that one of the reasons for the non-adoption of the 
  resolution was opposition by member states including the United States, 
  India, Pakistan, Algeria, and Saudi Arabia. 
  Robinson said that although there were "strong statements" during the 
  Commission meeting, "there were troubling signs as well." 
  "The Commission chose not to take specific action or undertake any new 
  initiatives to monitor the impact of antiterrorism measures on human 
  rights," she added. 
  Last month, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned the 189 member 
  states that there should be no trade-off between the fight against 
  terrorism and the protection of human rights. 
  Although Annan refused to identify countries by name, he said that the 
  antiterrorism measures now being adopted by some countries should "not 
  unduly curtail human rights or give others a pretext to do so." 
  Since Sep. 11, the United States has detained more than 1,000 people, 
  largely Muslims or those of Middle Eastern origin, in its ongoing 
  investigation of the terrorist attacks. 
  Several human rights organizations have complained that the 
  government's refusal to disclose the identities of many of those detained 
  or to specify charges, are violations of basic human rights. 
  In January, HRW said that the U.S.-led anti-terrorist campaign

[Hydro] Gangsters, Murderers and Stooges.......by Robert Fisk

Title: Message




  
  

  Published on Monday, June 10, 2002 in the lndependent/UK 

  

  AfghanistanGangsters, Murderers and Stooges Used to 
  Endorse Bush's Vision of 'Democracy' 

  

  by Robert Fisk
  
 
  

  Washington wants the loya jirga to succeed. True, far too many 
  of its pliant warlords – the Pashtun and Tajik gangsters whom the 
  Americans paid in thousands of dollars for their sometimes loyal alliance 
  against Osama bin Laden – have been trying to bribe and bamboozle their 
  own candidates into power once they realized that the "grand assembly" of 
  Afghans would actually be held today. And true, there has been 
  intimidation and delegates murdered.
  But a successful interim government – whatever its chances of producing 
  fair parliamentary elections – is vital for the United States. Firstly, it 
  will allow President Bush, despite his failure to capture either Mr bin 
  Laden or the Pimpernel-like Mullah Omar, to claim that America has 
  fulfilled its promise to bring "democracy" to Afghanistan. Secondly – and 
  more importantly – because it is America's ticket out of the country. As 
  an article in the Wall Street Journal, the President's best friend 
  in his "war on terror", put it last week, nation-building "certainly beats 
  keeping crack [sic] US troops on the Afghan-Pakistan border for the next 
  10 to 15 years".
  But even if the democrats and the killers and murderers of Afghanistan 
  – let us not be squeamish about some of the "delegates" – bring off their 
  tribal rites today, it's by no means certain that Afghanistan's central 
  authority will be able to do any more than they have already: rule the 
  streets of Kabul while regional warlords – including one of their own 
  vice-ministers – battle with rival mafiosi in the rest of the country.
  Hamid Karzai, the head of the present interim government, has only one 
  popular mandate in Afghanistan. It doesn't come from the thugs of the 
  Northern Alliance who "liberated" Kabul from the Taliban last 
November.
  Nor does it come from his own Pashtun people, with whom his prestige 
  has rested only upon his personal integrity. It comes from his friends in 
  the West, those who advised him, dressed him in his stunning green robes 
  and paid for his advancement. It comes from those Western nations – stand 
  up, all of us – who have promised to fund, through him, the regeneration 
  of Afghanistan.
  The gang leaders of Afghanistan have agreed to let Mr Karzai remain 
  leader of the next interim government. But at present, those same mafia 
  bosses are running many of the major cities of Afghanistan. Humanitarian 
  organizations and charities are, in many cases, still forced to funnel 
  their aid through these ruthless men, in Mazar-i-Sharif, in Nangahar 
  province, in Khost. Voters in the forthcoming elections know that their 
  humanitarian aid comes via the warlords.
  So who will they vote for in parliamentary elections? Mr Karzai is 
  trying to form the country's first non-sectarian political group – 
  allegedly with the brother of Ahmed Shah Masood, the Tajik leader murdered 
  two days before the 11 September atrocities in the United States. And 
  loya jirgas have their uses. While by no means pliant, the British 
  used them to maintain their control of Afghanistan in the late 19th and 
  early 20th centuries. The wretched President Nadjibullah – he who was 
  emasculated and then strangled by the Taliban in 1996 – persuaded two 
  loya jirgas to keep him in power.
  So with American money behind him, Mr Karzai may have a good chance to 
  go on leading Afghanistan – at least for the moment.
  © 2002 Independent Digital (UK) 
  Ltd
THE END

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[Hydro] It's The Elite Who Are Corrupt


It's The Elite Who Are Corrupt

Charley Reese

Most Americans are so steeped in egalitarian thinking that they like to
delude themselves that they share in running the country. We ordinary
folks, in fact, don't run the country and have a slim-to-none chance of
even influencing its direction.

Thomas R. Dye, a professor at Florida State University, has made a study
of power. Since power in our country resides in institutions, he defines
individuals with power as those who occupy the top positions in the
government and in corporate, legal, educational, civic and cultural
institutions.

He found that there are only about 7,000 of these positions in the
entire United States, and some individuals occupy more than one of them.
It might sound unbelievable at first, but if you think about it, you
will see that it is true.

In a newspaper, for example, there is one position of power: the
publisher. Now, he delegates some of his power to other people, but
everyone knows that all decisions are ultimately his and his alone.

In the federal government there are only 546 positions of power. These
include the president, the vice president, members of the House and
Senate and the nine members of the Supreme Court. One hundred percent of
the power of the federal government resides in these individuals who
occupy the 546 positions. Everybody below them operates with delegated
power. That is so because all power of the federal government comes from
the Constitution, and these are the only constitutional offices. I don't
include federal-, district- and appellate-court judges because any
decision they make can be overturned by the Supreme Court.

So the individuals who occupy these 7,000 positions of power are the
elite who run the country. Therefore, it is the character of these
members of the elite that will determine the character of the country.
What you see in government policies, in cultural products and in
education policies are the direct result of the decisions made by this
relatively small elite.

History affirms this. The reason America did not follow the usual path
of revolution to dictatorship was solely the result of the character of
one man, George Washington. Washington could have easily made himself
dictator, and many of the officers in his army wanted him to do just
that. But Washington's character would not allow it.

When the elite who run a country have good morals and high standards,
then you have a good country. If the elite become corrupt, you have a
corrupt country. The vulgarity, profanity and violence you see in
entertainment are there only because those individuals occupying the
positions of power in the entertainment industry said "Yes." If they
said "No," those things would disappear from the screens and the
magazine racks.

Our problem is that most of our elite have become corrupted. Many are
nihilistic and hedonistic. The leadership of a country always leads the
masses, and they can lead them to high ground or into the swamps. And
there's not much I can see that ordinary people can do about it.

I have to confess that I have lost my Jeffersonian faith in the people.
All I have ever seen them do, save for a few individuals, is follow like
dogs whoever happened to be in leadership positions at the time.

Given the moral and intellectual climate at most of the elite
universities our future leaders will attend, I don't have an optimistic
outlook for the future of the country.
 
  


Charley Reese can be contacted at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
C 2002 by King Features Syndicate, Inc.  
http://reese.king-online.com/Reese_20020610/index.php

THE END

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[Hydro] Special occasion hats...



 The Prime Minister of Canada, Jean Chretien, is making an official
state visit to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. All the locals are quite excited
to have 
the Prime Minister come to their town for the first time ever, and
they've prepared quite a welcome for him.

When he steps off of the plane, everyone is quite taken aback to see the
P.M., while dressed otherwise quite normally,looking especially
resplendent in a magnificent fox hat-like a Daniel Boone coonskin, only
made of fox.

The cameras are clicking away as he steps off the plane. After the
official greetings are over, and the mayor of Moose Jaw has a private
moment with the P.M. away from the cameras and onlookers, he finally
unleashes his curiosity.

"Excuse me, Mr. Prime Minister, but I must ask. I have never seen you
wearing this magnificent fox hat before, and I was wondering why you
chose to wear it to our humble town?"

The P.M. replies: "Well, monsieur mayor, eh, 'dat is quite simple, you
see. When I was leaving deh 'ouse dis morning, I said to my wife,
'Aline,' I said, 'Aline, I am going to Moose Jaw for dah firs' time
today! Do you tink I should wear uh anythang speshal in honour of dis
anaugural visit?' 

And Aline, my wife, she said to me 'Moose Jaw? Where da fock's 'at?'"

THE END

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[Hydro] THREE MEN

2002-06-08 Thread Miroslav Antic



THREE MEN ARE SITTING' ON A BENCH. ONE'S A TEXAN WEARING A STETSON,
ONE'S A 
MUSLIM WEARING A TURBAN, AND THE LAST AN APACHE WITH AN EAGLE FEATHER
WOVEN 
IN HIS HAIR.


THE INDIAN IS RATHER GLUM AND SAYS,  "ONCE MY PEOPLE WERE MANY, BUT NOW
WE 
ARE FEW."


THE MUSLIM PUFFS UP AND SAYS, "ONCE MY PEOPLE WERE FEW, BUT NOW WE ARE 
MANYMILLIONS."


THE TEXAN ADJUSTS HIS HAT, FINISHES ROLLING A SMOKE, LEANS BACK IN HIS
CHAIR 
AND DRAWLS, "THAT'S CAUSE WE AIN'T PLAYED COWBOYS AND MUSLIMS YET."

THE END

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[Hydro] Dunn: Perot showed traders how to fake California power shortages




http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Energy-Investigation.html

Senator: Perot Firm Offered Primer

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 7:39 p.m. ET


SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Perot Systems Corp., the Texas company that
created the software for California's energy market, later showed energy
companies how to take advantage of the market's ``holes'' to raise power
costs, state senators investigating California's energy crisis said
Wednesday.

In a computerized presentation to Reliant Energy and other market
participants, Perot Systems suggested ways to artificially create
congestion that would drive up energy prices, said Democratic Sen. Joe
Dunn. Enron traders used identical tactics during the crisis.

Copies of the presentation were found among thousands of documents
subpoenaed last year, said Dunn, chairman of the Senate committee
investigating California's power crisis.

THE END

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[Hydro] The cutest soccer fan !!!

Title: Message



 
THE END

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<>

[Hydro] Cheney's Money Has Roots in Evil

Title: Message




  
  

  Published on Wednesday, June 5, 2002 in the Madison Capital 
  Times 
  

  Cheney's Money Has Roots in Evil 

  

  by Dave Zweifel
  
 
  

  Our president has made it abundantly clear that Iraq's Saddam Hussein 
  is the ringleader of what he calls the axis of evil. 
  Whether that's indeed the case is something that undoubtedly will play 
  out during the coming months as the United States continues its war on 
  terrorism. 
  What's strange, though, is that George Bush's own vice president, Dick 
  Cheney, apparently didn't see either Iraq or Saddam as a big problem when 
  he was making billions for Halliburton Inc. and millions for himself only 
  a few years ago. 
  Halliburton's role, under Cheney's direction, was first outlined in a 
  detailed story in the San Francisco Bay Guardian during the 2000 election 
  campaign and has since been reported in other publications. 
  "During former Defense Secretary Richard Cheney's five-year tenure as 
  chief executive of Halliburton Inc., his oil services firm raked in big 
  bucks from dubious commercial dealings with Iraq. Cheney left Halliburton 
  with a $34 million retirement package," the Guardian's Martin Lee wrote. 
  "Of course, U.S. firms aren't generally supposed to do business with 
  Saddam Hussein," he continued. "But thanks to legal loopholes large enough 
  to steer an oil tanker through, Halliburton profited big-time from deals 
  with the Iraqi dictatorship. Conducted discreetly through several 
  subsidiaries in Europe, the transactions helped Saddam Hussein retain his 
  grip on power." 
  He went on to explain that Halliburton was among more than a dozen 
  American firms that supplied Iraq's petroleum industry with spare parts 
  and helped retool its oil rigs after the Gulf War and after U.N. sanctions 
  were eased in 1998. 
  The Financial Times of London has estimated that between September of 
  1998 and the winter of 1999-2000, Cheney, as CEO of Halliburton, oversaw 
  $23.8 million of business contracts for the sale of oil-industry equipment 
  and services to Iraq through two of its subsidiaries, Dresser Rand and 
  Ingersoll-Dresser Pump. 
  Under Cheney, Halliburton became the United States' largest oil 
  services company and the fifth largest military contractor. 
  Just another example, apparently, of Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill's 
  "beauty of capitalism." 
  When it comes to making big money, who cares about evil?
  Copyright 2002 The Capital Times 
  ###
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[Hydro] U.S pilots who bombed Canadians were on speed