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News Report Issue 60
Index
1. Thought for the day - David
2. Request:
3. Opinion: Freebies -
Antonia.
4. Opinion: Immigration rackets -
Neil
5. Opinion: Poverty in retirement -
Antonia
6. Opinion: Cloning - Neil
7. Opinion: Polly wants more than a
cracker - Antonia
8. Opinion: Gambling taxes
- Neil
9. Opinion: Calling anybody with Kiwi
connections - Antonia
10. Life Sciences:a) Genetically modified
wheat - Forwarded by Veronica
10. Life Sciences:b) Quotation - Professor
Phillip James
11. Feedback: New Zealand's IRS - A lesson in
how to deal with bureaucrats - Dave
12. Feedback: Ridiculous definition of fraud -
Mr. Bain
13. Feedback: Food exports at risk -
John
14. Feedback: Lives of the rich and famous
- Dr. Ruut
15. Feedback: US Big Brother in action -
Phillip 16. Feedback Contacts:
17. Editorial Policy:
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1. Thought for the day:
"The world is a dangerous
place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of
the people who don't do anything about it." (Albert
Einstein)
Forwarded by
David Storage.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
2. Request:
For this online news report to be ultimately
effective it must grow to such a size that it and the ideas it espouses can't be
ignored. So do your bit and help circulate it far and wide. If we are to
challenge the elites (the Packers and the Murdochs) view of history, politics,
economics, the environment, the structure of society etc., then we are going to
have to do more than wait. We are going to have to be very active and vigilant.
We have given you one of the tools (information & a medium for comment) you
will need. Help us to help you. Lets fan the flames of knowledge. Spread the
word. Editor.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
3.
Opinion: Freebies
It's hard to believe that anything is free these days, but for anybody who bothers to ask, there's a reading treat on offer. I refer to the "Inquiry into the Conduct of the 1998 Election and Matters Related Thereto". It's fantastic stuff and it's free. All you do is ask for it and you'll receive a heavy packet of fourteen volumes. Just email [EMAIL PROTECTED] and if you're lucky you'll deal with a very efficient woman called Beverley. She'll tell you the report isn't ready, but the submissions and transcripts are, and she'll add you to the mailing list. It's full of goodies. Many of the people making submissions have included appendices such as the League of Nations Covenant, the UN Charter, and the judgements of court cases such as the Hill v. Sue case that disqualified Heather Hill from taking a seat in the senate. Lots of useful information. Entertaining too. Some of the submissions were very frank. Volume 2 ends with this stirring sentence, "With a system in place to keep a coalition of ALP, Liberal and National Party henchmen in power for ever more, Sadam Hussein could well take a leaf from John Howard's and Kim Beasley's [sic] book." Well said, Sir! There's even a copy of that infamous Letter Patent Relating to the Office of Governor General signed at Balmoral - by Bob Hawke! What a joke! A politician authorising a vice regal position! Antonia ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
4. Opinion:
Immigration
Rackets
In today's Sunday Telegraph page 36, there
is an article about the "Airlines paying A$ 9 million in fines for flying in
illegals". It then goes on to say that Qantas topped the list of 50 airlines
with fines of A$ 1.67 million. Our own National airline. (or was!! until
privatised). As a plea of mitigation the Qantas spokeswoman said that about 90%
were later allowed to stay.
None of this is acceptable. I remember when
I lived in Beirut, the Lebanese authorities made it very clear to all airlines
that if they allowed a person to board an aircraft for Lebanon without a valid
visa for Lebanon, they (the Airline) took the risk and if required (99.9% of the
time - it was required) at their cost would have to take them onto somewhere
else, usually the country they first came from.
As a result, nobody was allowed to board an
aircraft for Lebanon without a valid visa, and as a result it rarely happened,
because the cost was that of the airline for an error in procedures.
It appears our airlines are the major
conduit of people smuggling rackets into Australia, as acknowledged by all the
experts, yet the media focuses on boat smuggling, where insignificant numbers of
forlorn people are making their bid for freedom.
It is time we focused on the airports as the
principal entry points for both illegal immigrants and high value
drugs.
Neil
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 5. Opinion:
Poverty in retirement According to Philippa Smith of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), many people are in for a very poor old age. A worker on average wages who saves 9 per cent over a 30 year working life will retire on $18,000 a year - about $350 a week - comprised of 50 per cent pension, and 50 per cent super. But how many people earn the average wage? The median age would give a very different and lower figure. As well, there is a shift to casualised and part time work so few people have unbroken working lives. So that $40,000 figure is absurd, as is the government's modelling based on an unbroken 40 year working life. What happens to women, the majority of whom drop out of the full-time workforce when they have young children? Are they expected to just fade away? A study by the Social Policy Research Centre at UNSW said a retirement income of $14,600 - $280 a week - would be "modest, but adequate" - as long as you own your own home. But how can low income people own their own homes? What about the tendency of the young to invest in shares rather than property? We are in for some terrible times ahead in this dog eat dog society. Antonia ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
6. Opinion:
Cloning.
We had two years ago Dolly the
cloned sheep. In today's Sunday telegraph we have it reported on page
38 that Japanese scientists are set to clone the worlds first cat
as early as next June. Researchers at Yamaguchi University, in
Eastern Japan, said that they had succeeded in cultivating a cloned
egg, developed from the cell of a dead cat foetus, in a test
tube. The egg is ready for implantation in the womb of a cat.
Whatever next will the Dr.
Strangeloves of this world come up with. Maybe we will be able to clone
Hitler, Stalin and Napoleon Bonaparte. These technologists are playing god with
fires they don't understand and can't comprehend. The quotation
yesterday summed it well. We are out of our collective
depths.
Neil
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
7. Opinion:
Pollie wants more than a cracker! The whole point about Western democracy was that ordinary people supposedly won the right to govern *themselves*. The theory was that with universal franchise, people threw off the yoke of kings, despots and plutocrats and only submitted to parliaments of their chosen representatives, who did their bidding. Laughable, isn't it. Let's look at how well Australian 'democracy' is working. For starters, despite massive taxation, governments invariably cry that there's no money for all the things the taxpayers want, like hospitals, schools and policemen. Nevertheless these same governments have found a bottomless pit, a dragon-guarded treasure trove of money, as far as their own comforts and entitlements are concerned. For instance, Australia has four former prime ministers still on the public payroll. Fraser, Hawke and Keating are all independently wealthy men, and I doubt Whitlam is hard up. Keating and Hawke, both millionaires, still earn big, big money as business consultants in Asia. Yet they still have their ugly snouts deep in the public trough. The August Readers' Digest gives the low-down using Malcolm Fraser as an example. He was prime minister over sixteen years ago yet he cost us taxpayers $349,332 for the 1997-98 fiscal year. Of that, $109,907 was for limousine hire. Sixteen years after leaving (being kicked out of) office he's still billing us for limousines! Who thinks this is right? Then there's his super which he took as a lump sum. As well, he is entitled to a fully-staffed office, unlimited free first-class domestic air travel, and access to a car and a driver 24 hours a day. For life! Keating stung the Australian taxpayers for more than $ 620,000 in his first year *out* of office, wasting $156,602 of our money on chauffeured limousines. Where are our governments' priorities? Themselves! For rich men to have their snouts so deeply in the public trough is outrageous and totally unjustifiable. Whatever happened to the ideals of civic duty as demonstrated by Cincinnatus? He was the 'dictator' who rallied to Rome's military threat, did his duty and retired to his farm as soon as he'd done it. There was no gold pass for Cincinnatus, after whom the American city of Cincinnati was named in admiration of his civic ideals. He would have been outraged at the idea of an elite being entitled to gold passes, free travel, fully funded offices, let alone pensions, which are greater than the annual incomes of the majority of the population. And in case our 'representatives' don't know, the fact that there are two sets of rules - one for them whereby they can access their super and continue earning WITHOUT LIMIT as Hawke, Keating and Fraser do with their directorships and speaking fees etc, and another for us whereby we must wait till 55 and cannot earn more than some piddly amount before we lose our pensions - really gets up people's noses. Antonia +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
8. Opinion:
Gambling taxes
On page 17 of today's Sunday telegraph, is
an item to concern every resident of NSW. The article by Mathew Rodgers was
about the $ 6.5 billion in gaming taxes the NSW government will get before the
2003 State Election. This is enough to fund this years entire State education
budget or almost the whole of health budget. And with gambling revenue growing
by around $90 million a year, the cashed up NSW government can look forward to
collecting just under $ 1.8 Billion in 2002-03, the next election
year.
This isn't what really shocks you into
understanding what is going on here. The article then states that NSW has 10% of
the worlds gambling machines after numbers ballooned from 62,000 in 1995 to
94,300 in 1998 under the Carr labor government.
NSW with a population of under
6 Million, with some 3 million in Sydney, as a percentage of the worlds
population is less than .1%, yet we have 10% of the worlds gambling machines
(100 times our pro-rata share). We must have gone absolutely crazy to have
countenanced such a proliferation.
No wonder drugs are rife in our community.
It would now be virtually impossible for the police to trace the laundering of
money gained from the sale of drugs as the numbers of outlets where such money
would be able to be cleaned has expanded rapidly in just under 5 years with the
rapid proliferation of gambling establishments.
Neil
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
10. Opinion:
Calling anybody with Kiwi
connections
Anybody with Kiwi connections should inform New Zealanders that Queensland and now Western Australia are taking on the GST removal Mandate. The WA exercise is very exciting because they have a much smaller population, and the Rural Action Group who've taken it back from the Inverell Forum, are no pussycats. Len Clampett says they're so tough if they stood in the rain they'd rust. Len says there's no reason why the same tactic shouldn't work in NZ. The mandate is hotting up. A meeting at Palm Meadows Resort, Carrara on the Gold Coast, Tuesday 6.30 p.m. for a 7.00 p.m. start, run by the National Federation of Independent Business Inc., will explain how the Mandate will stop the GST dead. The Labor Shadow Minister for Small Business will be there along with some Liberal members and the media. They're expecting a good rollup. Queenslanders, be there, or be square. Antonia ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
11. Life Sciences:
11. a) Genetically Modified
Wheat
USA: March 16, 2000,
WASHINGTON.
Genetically modified wheat, once it becomes
commercially available, could turn into a marketing nightmare for U.S.
exporters, according to a U.S. industry survey of major wheat
buyers.
Dawn Forsythe, spokeswoman for the U.S. Wheat Associates, an export market development group, said the issue was a difficult one because many U.S. farmers were attracted by the potential for the new biotech varieties to boost yields and help control weeds and pests. But embracing the technology could lead to lost export sales for U.S. farmers unless new marketing and distribution systems can be put in place to keep genetically modified wheat separate from conventional varieties. Many foreign buyers, fearing a consumer backlash, do not want to buy genetically modified wheat, Forsythe said. NEW VARIETIES IN PIPELINE
Dr. Craig Reed, administrator of the U.S. Agriculture Department's Animal and Plant Health Inspection (APHIS), told the wheat industry leaders on Tuesday they were fortunate not to have any genetically modified wheat varieties yet. "But you're gonna," Reed said. "You're gonna have them." In its annual report, agrochemical
giant Monsanto Co. identified several genetically modified wheat varieties that
could be released commercially after 2002. Since 1988, when APHIS
approved its first biotech product, "we have not had a single instance where
products of biotechnology were a problem for human consumption," Reed
said. Nonetheless, "there's not only a stigma,
but a paranoia about biotechnology products," he said. "People
fear the safety of them, quite frankly."
To keep U.S. wheat exports moving this year, Reed signed a letter certifying the United States had no genetically modified wheat varieties in commercial production. That document is available for exporters to show to wary overseas buyers. At the board meeting this week, members of the U.S. Wheat Associates' biotech committee struggled to come up with a position paper on genetically modified wheat. They agreed on just one sentence: "The U.S. wheat industry commits itself absolutely to the principal that our customers' needs and requirements are the most important consideration." From that, the group will try to reconcile differing views and flesh out a longer statement, Forsythe said. "There are growers who don't believe that the transportation system is ready for GM wheat yet and others that are looking to the benefits of biotechnology," she said. For its part, Monsanto has offered to talk to wheat growers about their concerns. "We are looking forward to those discussions in the next month or so," Forsythe said. REUTERS NEWS SERVICE ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11. b)
Quotation:
Professor Philip James
(author of the "James" report on the structure and functions of the
proposed UK Food Standards Agency to oversee national food safety standards),
Director of the Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeen, on
genetically engineered food. Rowett Research Institute The Foods Standards
Agency
Commenting on the covered up US study which showed damage to rats from BST (A growth hormone injected into cows to increase milk production - Editor). "The perception that everything is totally straightforward and safe is utterly naive. I don't think we fully understand the dimensions of what we're getting into." Articles Forwarded by Veronica Griffin
Ph.D..
Kerawa Qld.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
12. Feedback:
New Zealand's
IRS
NOTE: Sometimes a story comes along
that needs no polishing or enhancement to make it better.
This is one of those. It is a real letter submitted to the IRS the
midst of 1995's weird and bizarre denial of dependants, exemptions, and
credits. (This was a time in NZ when the IRS decided to
determine how many children a family could claim deductions for - Editor).
The letter speaks for itself.
Dear Sirs:
I am responding to your letter denying the deduction for two of the three dependants I claimed on my 1994 Federal Tax return. Thank you. I have questioned whether or not these are my children for years. They are evil and expensive. It's only fair that, since they are minors and no longer my responsibility, the government should know something about them and what to expect over the next year. Please do not try to reassign them
to me next year and reinstate the deduction. They are yours!
The oldest, Kristen, is now 17. She
is brilliant. Ask her! I suggest you put her to work in your office
where she can answer people's questions about their returns. While
she has no formal training, it has not seemed to hamper her mastery of
any subject you can name. Taxes should be a
breeze. Next year, she is going to college. I think it's
wonderful that you will now be responsible for that little
expense. While you mull that over, keep in mind that she has a
truck. It doesn't run at the moment, so you have the choice
of appropriating some Department of Defense funds to fix
the vehicle, or getting up early to drive her to school. Kristen also
has a boyfriend. Oh joy! While she possesses all of the wisdom of
the universe, her alleged mother and I have felt it best to occasionally remind
her of the virtues of abstinence, or in the face of overwhelming passion, safe
sex. This is always uncomfortable, and I am quite relieved
you will be handling this in the future. May I suggest that you
reinstate Dr. Jocelyn Elders who had a rather good handle on the
problem.
Patrick is 14. I've had my suspicions about
this one. His eyes are a little closer together than those of
normal people. He may be a tax examiner himself one day,
if he is not incarcerated first. In February, I was awakened
at three in the morning by a police officer who was bringing
Pat home. He and his friends were TP'ing houses. In the future, would
you like him delivered to the local IRS office, or to Ogden, UT? Kids at 14 will
do almost anything on a dare. His hair is purple. Permanent dye,
temporary dye, what's the big deal? Learn to deal with it.
You'll have plenty of time, as he is sitting out a few days of
school after instigating a food fight in the cafeteria. I'll take
care of filing your phone number with the vice-principal. Oh yes, he
and all of his friends have raging hormones. This is the house of
testosterone and it will be much more peaceful when he lives in
your home. DO NOT leave him or his
friends unsupervised with girls, explosives, flammables, inflatables,
vehicles, or telephones. (They find telephones a source of
unimaginable amusement. Be sure to lock out the 900 and 976
numbers!)
Heather is an alien. She
slid through a time warp and appeared as if by magic one year. I'm sure
this one is yours. She is 10 going on 21. She came from a
bad trip in the sixties. She wears tie-dyed clothes, beads, sandals,
and hair that looks like Tiny Tim's. Fortunately, you will be raising
my taxes to help offset the pinch of her remedial reading courses. "Hooked On
Phonics" is expensive, so the schools dropped it. But
here's the good news! You can buy it yourself for half the amount of
the deduction that you are denying me! It's quite obvious
that we were terrible parents (ask the other two). She
cannot speak English. Most people under twenty understand the curious
patois she fashioned out of valley girls / boys in the hood / reggae
/ yuppie / political doublespeak. The school sends her to a speech
pathologist who has her roll her "r's". It added a refreshing Mexican /
Irish touch to her voice. She wears hats backwards, baggy pants, and wants one
of her ears pierced four more times. There is a fascination with
tattoos that worries me, but I am sure that you can handle it.
Bring a truck when you come to get her, she sort of "nests" in her room and I
think that it would be easier to move the entire thing than find out what
it is really made of.
You denied two of the three exemptions,
so it is only fair that you get to pick which two you will
take. I prefer that you take the youngest two, I will still go
bankrupt with Kristen's college, but then I am free! If you take the two
oldest, then I still have time for counselling before Heather becomes a
teenager. If you take the two girls, then I won't feel so bad about putting
Patrick in a military academy.
Please let me know of your decision as soon
as possible, as I have already increased the withholding on my W-4 to cover the
$395 in additional tax and made a down payment on an aeroplane.
Yours truly,
Bob PS: The IRS allowed the deductions and reinstated his refund. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "No man is free until he
learns to do his own thinking and gains the courage to act on his own
personal initiative." (Napoleon Hill)
Forwarded by Dave
Storage
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 13. Feedback:
Ridiculous definition of
Fraud.
Sir
How ridiculous are the definitions of fraud. The fraud charges against One Nation in Queensland border on the absurd, stupid and farcical. The so called Supporters Group of Pauline Hanson's who Terry Sharples claim were not members of P.H.O.N. at the time of the formation of the Party could surely be regarded as certainties to follow Pauline's lead. In regard to political fraud here are just a couple of examples:-
If it isn't fraud then it must a close relation. I suppose the buck stops in the electorate and once in the House in Canberra, you can use words loosely. J.E.Bains +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Feedback:
Food Exports.
GM wheat imports would be a "highly sensational and emotional issue" in Japan and could "lead to a total boycott of U.S. agricultural products." Not such a sure bet, this biotech bonanza, we've been promised! It's a shame we've "blown" our "clean and green" reputation through the aggressive actions of the pro-GM lobby, "influencing" government, and "re-educating" the public on the merits of biotechnology. John Massey Biohazard Action
Alliance
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Australia's global markets shun GM wheat, March 17,
2000
SYDNEY - World-wide customers of Australia's A$ 3-A$ 4 billion annual wheat exports have shown a clear preference for non genetically modified wheat, national wheat exporter AWB Ltd said yesterday. With Australia now challenging Canada as the second largest wheat exporter in the world, this would result in a large chunk of world traded wheat remaining free from genetic engineering for the foreseeable future. AWB's statement, made after a survey of its international customers, follows warnings to the U.S., the world's leading wheat exporter, by its global customers about their preference for non-GM wheat. "AWB is ... very aware of an anti-GM feeling out there among our customers," AWB's spokeswoman said. "We do not sell GM wheat nor will we in the foreseeable future." Australia's non-GM wheat stance is backed by a growing number of countries asking for certified non-GM wheat. "That's evident at the moment and we can meet that. We do supply certified non-GM grains," the spokeswoman said, adding that AWB operated a secure GM-free chain. AWB's feedback, the result of extensive research in each individual export market, is in line with customer survey results by American export promotion group, U.S. Wheat Associates. Some of the most negative reactions came from the biggest customers of U.S. wheat, Reuters reported on Wednesday from Washington. AUSTRALIAN, U.S. WHEAT FACE SAME DILEMMA The U.S. association's Tokyo office said GM wheat imports would be a "highly sensational and emotional issue" in Japan and could "lead to a total boycott of U.S. agricultural products." Japanese millers probably would shift from the U.S. to other suppliers, directly hitting U.S. market share, the office said. The South Asian office, which covers the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Bangladesh, issued a similar warning, noting an opportunity for competitors to grab market share by guaranteeing GM-free wheat shipments. Buyers in Egypt, the biggest export market for U.S. wheat, also expressed concern. The director of the Egyptian Food Industries Holding Co, which buys some 1.5 million tonnes of wheat each year, told U.S. Wheat Associates board members during a recent visit that his company did not want to buy genetically modified wheat. Australia, one of the biggest wheat exporters in the world after a series of big crops and aggressive global marketing by AWB, faces the same dilemma as the U.S. It sells major tonnages to most of the markets listed by U.S. Wheat Associates as negative on GM wheat. It does not want to be left behind by productivity gains and cost reductions promised by GM wheat crops - particularly if its competition in the U.S., Canada and Argentina moves to GM wheat. But it also does not want to grow wheat which does not sell. GM wheat is one of 21 crops presently undergoing trials across Australia. And AWB recently entered into a three-way joint venture with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and Grains Research and Development Corp (GRDC) in a company called Graingene. This assures Australia will not be left behind in GM science and technology, although GM wheat, if commercially introduced at all, is seen about 10 years away. "(But) while the customer wants GM free grain, we will deliver GM free grain," AWB's spokeswoman recently said. REUTERS NEWS SERVICE +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Feedback:
Lives of the Rich and Famous
Dick Pratt needs the $ 40 M to
keep his mistress in the style to which she is accustomed {off
the balance sheet} nudge, nudge ... wink, wink.
Dr. Ruut ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Feedback:
US Big Brother In
Action
Sent: Saturday, March 18, 2000 4:06
PM
Subject: Census Interuptus...Start Passing the Hat. DRUDGE REPORT, WED MARCH 15 2000 21:52:09 ET. CENSUS BREAKDOWN: CITIZENS TELL SAM
TO SHOVE IT OVER PROBING QUESTIONS; WILL PAY FINE
Americans from coast to coast are
expressing shock and outrage over the level of detailed
questioning from the federal government and the 2000 Census,
with thousands of citizens vowing to pay fines rather than submit
to the private nature of the inquisition, according to
congressional sources.
"The census count is already
breaking down," said one Hill source. "People are in
revolt! Calls are flooding into our office... They are very
upset about the intrusive nature of the questions, such as how a person
gets to work, whether they have any disabilities, how many cars they own, what
their income was and who they work for!"
The Constitution of the United
States grants the government authority to count population, but a
"long form" being sent to 1 out of 6 American
households strays far from that goal; requiring answers to more than
53 personal questions or risk penalty.
U.S. Code, Title 13, Section 221
states citizens must fully comply with the census or face a
$100 fine. There is a $500 penalty for giving false
information.
Census officials received more
than 600,000 phone calls on Tuesday, according to officials. The
majority of the callers lodged complaints about the probing nature of the census
questions. And thousands of calls to Capitol Hill took staffers by
surprise.
"It's a firestorm,"
said one congressional aide. "Is this Al Gore's idea of
'reinventing government?'" one angry caller
complained to a receptionist for a besieged senator. "I have to tell
Washington how I got to work last week? In what type of car? And the location of
my office? Screw it. I'll pay the 100 bucks!"
Congressmen on Wednesday were
referring complaints to the Census Hotline
[1-800-471-9424].
A cover letter accompanying the long form
states that no one will have access to the information other than the Census
Bureau. Yet many questions appear to violate a citizen's right to
privacy:
10. What is this person's ancestry or ethnic
origin?
11. a. Does this person speak a language
other than English at home? b. What is this language? c. How well does this
person speak English?
12. Where was this person born?
13. Is this person a citizen of the United
States?
14. When did this person come to live in the
United States?
15. a. Did this person live in this house or
apartment 5 years ago? b. Where did this person live 5 years
ago?
16. Does this person have any of the
following long-lasting conditions: blindness deafness or a severe vision or
hearing impairment? A condition that substantially limits one or more basic
physical activities such as walking, climbing stairs, reaching, lifting or
carrying?
18. Was this person under 15 years of age on
April 1, 2000?
19. Does this person have any of his / her own grandchildren under the age of 18 living in this house or apartment? Is this grandparent currently responsible for most of the basic needs of any grandchildren under the age of 18 who lives in this house or apartment? How long has this grandparent been responsible fort these grandchildren? 22. At what location did this person
work LAST WEEK?
23. How did this person usually get to work LAST WEEK? 24. What time did this person usually leave
home to go to work LAST WEEK?
25. LAST WEEK, was this person on layoff
from a job? LAST WEEK, was this person TEMPORARILY absent from a job or
business? Has this person been informed that he or she will be recalled to work
within the next 6 months or been given a date to return to
work?
27. Industry or Employer -- Describe clearly
this person's chief job activity or business last week. If this person had more
than one job, describe the one at which this person worked the most hours. If
this person had no job or business last week, give the information for his / her
last job or business since 1995. For whom did this person work? What kind
of business or industry was this? Is this mainly manufacturing? wholesale
trade? retail trade? Other (agriculture, construction, service, government,
etc.)
31. Income in 1999: Wages salary,
commissions, bonuses or tips from all jobs; Self-employment from own
non-farm businesses, including proprietorships and partnerships; Interest
dividends, net income, royalty income, or income from estates and
trusts.
32. What was this person's total
income in 1999?
Questions 33 through 42 deal with type of
housing, whether someone rents or owns, and how many bedrooms, whether there are
plumbing facilities, etc.
43. How many automobiles, vans, and trucks
of one-ton capacity or less are kept at home for use by members of your
household?
46. What is monthly rent? Does the monthly
rent include any meals?
47. Do you have a mortgage, deed of trust,
contract to purchase or similar debt on this property? How mush is your regular
monthly mortgage payment on this property? Does your regular monthly mortgage
payment include payments for real estate taxes on this property? Does your
regular monthly mortgage payment include payments for fire, hazard, or
flood insurance on this property?
48. Do you have a second mortgage or a home
equity loan on this property? How much is your regular monthly payment on
all second or junior mortgages and all home equity loans on this
property?
49. What were the real estate taxes on this property last year? 50. What was the annual payment for fire, hazard and flood insurance on this property? 51. What is the value of this
property; that is how much do you think this house and lot,
apartment or mobile home and lot would sell for if it were for
sale?
One out of 100 households are to
receive an even more detailed questionnaire, The American Community
Survey. That form requires answers on "physical, mental, or emotional
conditions lasting 6 months or more."
Forwarded by Phillip Madsen
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Let us know what you think. Feedback is
important. Comments on articles read would be of value. Do you agree / disagree?
Can you add more or a different perspective. Your contributions are greatly
appreciated.
Send this email on to as many as you
can. The more that read it the merrier. In time email communication
will make government censorship impractical and the newspapers will have to
start reporting it as it really is, rather than the smoke and mirrors tricks
they currently indulge in, or loose readership, and therefore advertising
monies. While we have a long way to go before that happens, each epic
journey must start with a single step.
Antonia Feitz [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Editorial
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