-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.aci.net/kalliste/ <A HREF="http://www.aci.net/kalliste/">The Home Page of J. Orlin Grabbe</A> ----- Today's Lesson From The Ayn Rand Cult by Jeff Walker Despite [Alan] Greenspan's youthful two-year stint at the Julliard School for music, followed by a year touring with Harry Jerome's swing bank playing clarinet, Greenspan would be greeted by Rand with: "How's the Undertaker? Has he decided that he exists yet?"--the latter dig referring to his initial philosophical skepticism. This also despite what Barbara Branden recalls, namely that, "It was incredible how he always had a beautiful woman at his side. . . . I think it was the attraction of his intellectual power and probably his reserve." Another Collective member was less favorably impressed by that reserve: "It's simply that he is a very cold person. It's very hard to know what's on his mind. Through those Coke-bottle glasses, you can't even tell he's awake sometimes." Says friend and NYU professor Robert Kavesh, "sometimes you just want to say, 'Damn it, Alan, tell me a dirty joke. Or at least listen to one.'" Decades later, despite having pushed himself to become a decent tennis player and golfer for political schmoozing purposes, his nickname in Washington became 'The Creeper.' Libertarian economist Murray Rothbard, who knew Greenspan in the late 1950s, writes that "Greenspan was supercilious and monotonic; he had the sense of life of a dead mackerel . . . He's a namedropper." ===== Digital Society Ecash Spells Doom for Central Banks? Gee. Too bad. Eat your heart out. Leading academics have welcomed comments made by a senior Bank of England official that Internet-based currencies could drive central banks to extinction. Speaking at a banking conference last Friday in Wyoming, the Bank of England's deputy governor, Mervyn King, admitted that emerging forms of currency used in Web-based trade could fall beyond the control of the world's central banks. Losing control of the money flow will naturally mean the loss of economic power and could wipe out central banks altogether, according to King. Alistair Kelman, visiting fellow at the London School of Economics (LSE), said: "It's about time central banks realise the implications of the digital economy." He added: "I think the central banks will now start imposing controls on their client banks so that ecash is rolled-out in a secure manner. This will ensure we don't have companies inventing money that people can allegedly trust on the Net which could subvert the entire banking system." Ian Angell, professor of information systems at LSE, said King's comments are a refreshing change from the traditional lack of forward thinking exhibited by "mealy mouthed" Bank of England officials. Angell claims King's prediction that central banks could become redundant will come true. "The European Union and national governments have completely lost the plot, wasting time deliberating over the single currency when it's electronic cash that is the real issue. What King is talking about is the inability of the state to control its own destiny," he said. http://www.silicon.com/a32415, September 1, 1999 Barbecued Children DOJ Tries to Force Judge Out on Waco Case by Lee Hancock WACO, Texas -- U.S. Justice Department lawyers on Tuesday challenged a federal judge's authority to take control over evidence in the Branch Davidian case, setting up a high-stakes legal showdown. An Aug. 9 order in which U.S. District Judge Walter Smith demanded custody of all documents and other evidence is without any legal basis under federal or civil court rules, Justice Department lawyers argued in a 19-page motion. The judge's move ``threatens a wholesale intrusion'' into the Executive Branch and an ``unwarranted and substantial burden'' on the entire federal government. ``It should be plain ... that separation of powers prevents a federal court from acting as an independent investigator,'' the motion said. The argument is the latest development in an escalating skirmish over who will control and investigate the vast array of evidence, documents, photographs and other materials tied to the Branch Davidian standoff. It came one day after a Waco federal prosecutor warned Attorney General Janet Reno that lawyers within her department had long withheld evidence that the FBI fired pyrotechnic tear gas within hours before the compound burned. For years, government officials had insisted otherwise. The federal prosecutor, Bill Johnston, told ``The Dallas Morning News'' on Tuesday that he felt compelled to go public with his warning after being given a 5-year-old document that discusses the use of ``military gas'' by the FBI on April 19, 1993. He said he was concerned because the document, a three-page set of notes detailing an interview with members of the FBI's hostage rescue team, included handwritten notations suggesting that it be kept from anyone outside the department's legal staff. He said both the language in those nondisclosure notations and typewritten identification lines on the top of each page indicated that they were sent from the department's civil torts section, which is defending a massive wrongful death lawsuit arising from the standoff. ``I have evidence that these notes were in the possession of the torts branch. I know that the lawsuit began to focus on these issues of whether pyrotechnics were used several years ago, and the plaintiff's attorneys, who were alleging their use, specifically requested any documents the government had like this. ``I know that the plaintiffs never got the document once its full importance was known. And I now wonder whether the attorney general had knowledge of these,'' he said. ``I'll bet Ms. Reno would have liked to have known long ago what this document contained.'' Johnston said the document suggested that he was present for the 1993 interview in which agents described using ``military gas rounds.'' Because of that, he said, he believed the document was sent as ``a shot across the bow, some attempt to warn me,'' because of his involvement in an inquiry by the Texas Rangers that recently identified conclusive evidence that the FBI had fired devices capable of sparking a fire on the day that the compound burned. The Rangers opened an investigation in June amid mounting questions about evidence that has been in their custody since the 1993 standoff. David Koresh and more than 80 followers died in a fire that erupted after FBI agents tried to force their surrender with tanks and tear gas. The Rangers were asked to investigate the criminal violations arising from the standoff and were then asked to keep key evidence from the case after eight Davidians were convicted on charges ranging from manslaughter to weapons violations. The Texas Department of Public Safety filed a motion in July asking Judge Smith to take custody of that evidence. DPS officials said that they wanted the evidence taken off their hands, in part, because they felt that the Justice Department was using them to avoid having to allow public access under federal public records laws. DPS commission Chairman James B. Francis Jr. said he also ordered an investigation to identify exactly what was in the agency's evidence rooms after learning that an independent researcher had recently been allowed to examine some of it. Francis said he was disappointed in the federal government's decision to try to continue to block public access to the evidence. ``I think it's very unfortunate that the Justice Department would try to prevent the federal court in Waco from gaining access to all of the evidence in light of everything that's happened in the last week.'' Francis said. ``From what I can understand of the Justice's Department's motion today, they're still attempting to prevent the evidence from being judicially reviewed. And I think that is most unfortunate.'' U.S. Attorney Bill Blagg of San Antonio said that he received the 1993 document on the use of ``military rounds'' last week from the Department of Justice. He said he received it one day after the Justice Department was rocked by the revelation that pyrotechnic tear gas had been used on April 19 by the FBI. Federal officials had long denied that any such devices were used. But they conceded last week that at least two pyrotechnic tear gas rounds had been fired after a former FBI official told ``The Dallas Morning News'' that their use in Waco was ``common knowledge'' among the bureau's hostage rescue team. Blagg said he received the documents the next day and was told that they had been found in an electronic archive of records subpoenaed by Congress for the 1995 House Waco inquiry. He said he forwarded the documents to Johnston ``in a sense of fairness.'' Blagg said the indication that Johnston was present when an agent discussed using ``military rounds'' was ``a very serious matter because federal criminal rules require that prosecutors give defense attorneys any government evidence that might prove even possibly favor a defendant before trial.'' ``I cannot think of a worse thing to be accused of as a U.S. attorney than knowing of favorable evidence and failing to disclose it, and I can't think of a worse thing than the attorney general not knowing for six years what really happened,'' he said. Johnston said he didn't dispute the document's contention that he was present for the interview, but he said he remembered nothing about it. He added that the phrases used to describe the use of ``military gas rounds'' would have meant nothing to him because he was unfamiliar with military ordnance. Johnston, said, however, that he was prepared to do whatever possible to help the Justice Department, the Congress and the public learn the entire truth of what happened. ``I will not be intimidated by Mr. Blagg or anybody else within the Department of Justice. If there is an issue regarding whether I should've understood the significance of the term `military gas,' then it is a fair question. I'm not afraid of that. Whatever the truth is, I am not afraid of that. That's what we're supposed to do: seek the truth.'' Reno last week vowed to fully investigate why the government had not previously disclosed publicly that pyrotechnic tear gas grenades were fired at the Branch Davidians. On Tuesday, an FBI spokesman said that Director Louis Freeh would not object to the appointment of an outside investigator to study the bureau's role in the Branch Davidian siege. Tron Brekke, national spokesman for the FBI, said Freeh and the bureau believe the FBI can conduct its own investigation. But the director is concerned about the perception that the bureau cannot police itself, he said. ``We're interested in restoring whatever damage has been done to our credibility and if that can be done by an outside investigation, then so be it,'' Brekke said. Brekke said the director has not recommended to Reno how an outside panel should be formed or who should be appointed. Meanwhile, there appears to be some support on Capitol Hill for an investigation independent of the Justice Department and Congress. A spokesman for House Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde, R-Ill., said Hyde is considering creating a special commission to review the FBI's admission that pyrotechnic devices were fired against the Branch Davidians. ``The truth may be better served by a body that is removed somewhat from the political swamps,'' said Sam Stratman, a spokesman for Hyde. The House Government Reform Committee has already subpoenaed records for its investigation and is expected to begin hearings in September, committee spokesman Mark Corallo said. Committee Chairman Dan Burton said he was concerned that officials within the Justice Department may now be targeting Johnston because of his efforts to help the Texas Rangers and bring out the truth. ``I think he should be commended,'' Burton said. ``Because he has given us information ...they're going to try to make him a scapegoat.'' (Staff writer Catalina Camia in Washington contributed to this report) The Dallas Morning News, September 1, 1999 Federal Reserve Greenspan Bashing is the New Political Sport Wonder what they will do when the stock market tanks? Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan, long a hero to nearly all national Republicans, is now under assault from several GOP presidential nomination hopefuls. "I give Alan Greenspan significant credit for his management of the Federal Reserve in the last seven years," Gary Bauer said yesterday. "But his increasing tendency to see inflation, when all that's going up is stock prices, is wrong-headed. And is going to hurt the economy --both stock owners and stockyard owners." Former Vice President Dan Quayle has become another Greenspan basher. "We have a deflationary economy and Bill Clinton and Alan Greenspan are going to raise interest rates," Mr. Quayle has said. "The American people don't need to have interest rates go up. They need to have them come down." But the Greenspan critic with the most clout in the business community and among "supply-side" economic conservatives who were stalwarts of the "pro-economic growth" years of the Ronald Reagan era is Steve Forbes. "Interest rates are too high and while Alan Greenspan and the Federal Reserve raise rates, commodity prices have plummeted," Mr. Forbes, publisher of a leading business magazine, said in a recent campaign commercial. Do the critics believe Mr. Greenspan, whose management of the nation's money supply has earned him high marks on Wall Street and among many corporate chieftains, would unnecessarily increase interest rates, and thereby push the nation's economy into recession? "Absolutely, we could see the economy going into recession and if Republicans are praising him, somehow we'll end up looking like we're responsible for the recession," Mr. Bauer said. Fortunately for Mr. Greenspan, Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the leader of the GOP presidential pack, is still firmly behind him. Mr. Bush said recently Mr. Clinton deserves virtually no praise for the strong, noninflationary economy of the past few years and pointed out that the current recovery started a year and a half before Mr. Clinton took office. "I can't think of anything he did on his own, or he proposed himself, that created an environment in which people are willing to risk capital," Mr. Bush told the National Journal. "I will give him credit for reappointing Alan Greenspan, who has done a good job." The Bush campaign's chief economic adviser, former Federal Reserve Governor Lawrence Lindsey, has argued that Mr. Greenspan should have raised interests higher and more quickly. Two other GOP nomination contenders, Elizabeth Dole and Arizona Sen. John McCain, also support and defend Mr. Greenspan. But Messrs. Forbes, Quayle and Bauer say the Fed chairman is hurting farmers and risks throwing the economy into recession. That should be good politically for Republicans, since a bad economy normally means voters toss out the party that holds the White House. A July 15-20 Harris poll found that only 32 percent of 1,000 adults sampled knew that Mr. Greenspan is the Fed chairman. He is in charge of pumping enough money into the economy to help keep it growing fast enough to create jobs but not so fast as to create inflationary pressures -- a process that for most voters holds about as much interest as the price of strawberries in China. Democratic strategist Mark Mellman sees a partisan, self-serving interest at work among those criticizing Mr. Greenspan. "They will twist the truth and themselves into pretzels in order to find a way to discredit Bill Clinton," said Mr. Mellman. "They don't want to give him credit for the good economy." The Bush nomination rivals beating up on the Fed chairman are, "by and large, the people at the low end of the polls and looking for ways to get attention," Mr. Mellman said. "And they're succeeding. You're writing about them." Some Republicans explain that the continuing support of Mr. Greenspan by Mr. Bush derives from the Texas governor's raising a campaign war chest mostly from corporate and Wall Street contributors who most admire Mr. Greenspan's money-management style, especially his concern -- critics call it a phobia --with heading off inflation. GOP strategist Grover Norquist said the GOP can claim Republicans had a hand in the booming economy as well. "The president can claim credit for the economy doing reasonably well now," he said. "But Republicans also have been able to say, 'We gave you spending restraints, capital-gains tax cuts and stability against the threat of government-run health care.' "But I think Republicans have convinced themselves and others that they are a big chunk of why this economy is doing well," Mr. Norquist said. "Therefore, a faulty economy would hurt [Vice President] Al Gore [the Democratic nomination front-runner] but also reflect poorly on the Republican-controlled House and Senate." Still, as Mr. Mellman noted, there's "no question these kinds of criticisms play well with the distressed segments of the electorate, like farmers and dislocated, hard-pressed working people." The Washington Times, September 1, 1999 Currency Markets Down Dollar, Down Boy Price Falls to ¥110; Will Japan Intervene? The yen reached a seven-month high against the US dollar yesterday after official suggestions that the Japanese economy was heading for better than expected growth in coming months. The Japanese currency broke the ¥110 to the dollar barrier for the first time in six months and briefly touched ¥109.05 - ¥2 stronger than last week. Market analysts said it was automatic sell orders at ¥110.50 that had driven the yen through the ¥110 level. It was a breach of ¥110 that appeared to prompt intervention by the Bank of Japan in January to weaken the currency, since when it has conducted an intermittent market intervention campaign. At the same time the euro fell to a new low against the yen, touching ¥114.77, 1 per cent down on the day and 14 per cent below the levels it started at in January. The surge in the yen prompted fresh speculation that Japan might be poised to intervene soon to weaken the currency. Japanese officials have told their colleagues at a meeting of deputy finance ministers of the Group of Seven leading industrialised nations that further yen rises could prove painful for the economy. But there were no immediate indications from the G7 meeting in Berlin yesterday that intervention was pending. Haruhiko Kuroda, Japan's vice-finance minister for international affairs, declined to comment as he left the meeting, while Caio Koch-Weser, his German counterpart, would say only that foreign exchange developments were discussed as part of general talks on the global economy. Some economists suspect that intervention is unlikely to be successful. They point out that the yen's rise has been partly driven by growing hopes that the Japanese economy is improving. The Ministry of International Trade and Industry, for example, yesterday announced that industrial production fell 0.6 per cent between June and July. However, MITI forecast that production would rise by 4.7 per cent in August and 0.2 per cent in September, suggesting a rise of 4.3 per cent in the July-September quarter compared with a year before. This prompted Kaoro Yosano, MITI minister, to declare that last year's economic decline had now reached bottom. It also boosted optimism among economists about the broader economic outlook. James Malcolm, economist at JP Morgan said: "This is pointing to an extremely strong third quarter for industrialised production . . . we will probably be revising up our third quarter forecasts from flat growth." Until recently, many banks expected growth to slow sharply in the second and third quarter of this year, following a spurt in the first quarter due to higher government spending. However, with the second-quarter data due in 10 days, there are growing hopes that some upturn may have continued beyond March. Nevertheless, separate data from the government suggested that these stronger than expected industrial figures were not yet creating jobs. The Economic Planning Agency said the unemployment rate remained stuck at a post-war high of 4.9 per cent for the second month in a row in July. Also, there were only 46 job offers for every 100 applicants in that month, the second month of a post-war record low. The Financial Times, September 1, 1999 ----- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, Omnia Bona Bonis, All My Relations. Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. Roads End Kris DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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