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8/15/2003



It Was Like a Committee of Bank Robbers Figuring Out How to Make Safecracking Legal :.

Greg Palast on the energy deregulation boondoggle:

Enron circled California and licked its lips. As the number one contributor to the George W. Bush campaigns, it was confident about the future. With just a half dozen other companies it controlled at times 100% of the available power capacity needed to keep the Golden State lit. Their motto, "your money or your lights."

Enron and its comrades played the system like a broken ATM machine, yanking out the bills.


Research Credit: CW


8/14/2003



Bond Rout Will Push Fed to Tighten :.

Low interest rates have shored up the financial system and created a hot housing market over the last two years. But the days of easy money may soon be over, as the Federal Reserve could be forced to quickly correct mistakes it has made in conducting the nation's monetary policy.

Bond market moves and economic statistics strongly suggest that the Federal Reserve will have to raise short-term interest rates far sooner than many investors and economists believe. A hike in short-term rates could cause a selloff in bonds and stocks and a drop in house prices, but failure to act quickly could create even steeper declines.





Major Power Outage :.

A major power outage simultaneously struck dozens of cities in the United States and Canada late Thursday afternoon.

Cities affected include New York; Boston, Massachusetts; Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan; Toronto, Ontario; and Ottawa, Ontario. The power outage occurred shortly after 4 p.m.

State officials said the Niagara-Mohawk power grid was overloaded. The grid provides power for New York and stretches into Canada. The officials said the outage is a natural occurrence and not related to terrorism.





Schwarzenegger Selects Warren Buffett for Senior Economic Advisory Position :.

Maybe Schwarzenegger will select the ghost of Joseph Mengele to work in some sort of public health capacity. Reader NF asks, "What's next? Brittany Spears and George Soros?":

Seeking to add muscle to his team, Arnold Schwarzenegger named financial heavyweight Warren Buffett his senior economic adviser on Wednesday as the actor prepared a high-profile run for California governor.

...

Schwarzenegger was assured a place in the crowded field that ranged from serious politicians to pornographers. Schwarzenegger received a boost with Buffett on board, pairing a movie star completely untested in politics with a Wall Street sage who is the world's second richest man.

"Warren is helping me bring together a world-class team to assist me in addressing the problems and challenges facing businesses, investors and job creators in California," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "Warren has a common sense approach to business issues and an integrity that is unmatched. That's the same way I want to approach governing."





The Boodle Boys :.

Some interesting info on the opium trade and Skull and Bones:

William H. Russell (Skull &Bones; co-founder-1833) cousin Samuel Russell formally established Russell & Co. on January 1, 1824 for the purpose of acquiring opium and smuggling it to China. Russell & Co. merged with the number one US trader, the J. & T.H. Perkins "Boston Concern" in 1829. By the mid-1830s the opium trade had become "the largest commerce of its time in any single commodity, anywhere in the world." Russell & Co. and the Scotch firm Jardine-Matheson, then the world's largest opium dealer working together were known as the "Combination." George HW Bush (S&B 1948) was born in Milton, Massachusetts not far from the historic home of Robert Bennett Forbes, a Russell partner. Many great American, European and Chinese family fortunes were built on the "China"(opium) trade. Yes, they sold porcelain, tea, silks and other items at home in the US, but they "needed" the trade in opium for silver to pay for the desired goods and�opium smuggling returned "handsome" profits.





Lloyds Bank Fraud!? :.

One of the most respected financial institutions in the world accused of swindling? Imagine my feelings of shock and surprise...not:

Lloyds TSB Bank has in operation an ongoing and quite deliberate management driven fraud involving fictitious made up false Foreign Exchange Rates in which they are stealing between 1% and 2% of their trusting customers money on every foreign exchange transaction completed.





America, the Fourth Reich :.

Americans are the new Nazis. There, that's earned me a lot of enemies very quickly hasn't it?

"How dare you," comes the riposte from the neo-cons in the administration and the right-wing think tanks like JINSA and the PNAC, as well as the "Fox news compliant" brigade whose heads are still stuck up their backsides enjoying the televised view. "America is a democracy, a free country run by a democratically elected government. It is the land of the free, the home of the brave and the protector of the free world," I hear them chorus.

To that I say, bullshit.


More: Did Goebbells Write the Bush Administration's Speeches? :.

From an address to a joint session of the US Congress: President George W. Bush.

"Americans are asking ``Why do they hate us?'' They hate what they see right here in this chamber: a democratically elected government. Their leaders are self-appointed. They hate our freedoms: our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other. " George W. Bush, 20 September, 2001

From Goebbels' New Year address to Germany

They hate our people because it is decent, brave, industrious, hardworking and intelligent. They hate our views, our social policies, and our accomplishments. They hate us as a Reich and as a community. They have forced us into a struggle for life and death. We will defend ourselves accordingly. All is clear between us and our enemies. Goebbels 31 December 1939


More: The Rise of the Fourth Reich :.

Everyone likes to say, "Hitler did this", and, "Hitler did that". But the truth is Hitler did very little. He was a world class tyrant, but the evil actually done by the Third Reich, from the death camps to WW2 was all done by German citizens who were afraid to question if what they were told by their government was the truth or not, and who because they did not want to admit to themselves that they were afraid to question the government, refused to see the truth behind the Reichstag Fire, refused to see the invasion by Poland was a staged fake, and followed Hitler into national disaster.


8/12/2003



Gunbattle in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia :.

Things would get very interesting if a real insurgency picked up steam in Saudi Arabia. The U.S. would have to invade in order to prevent the ascention of an Ayatollah Khomeini style theocracy on top of the world's largest oil reserve. But a not-real insurgency would be much better. Here's what I think They should do.

Get Osama bin Laden to ride into Riyadh with a sword in one hand and an AK47 in the other. How great would that be? Then it could be Dubya vs. bin Laden in a fight to the death over control of Saudi Arabia. HAHAHAHA. Hmm. Maybe I shouldn't joke around like this:

Three Saudi police officers and a suspected terrorist were killed Tuesday in a gun battle between security forces and Islamic militants in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, an Interior Ministry official told CNN.

Seven terrorist suspects with possible ties to al Qaeda were arrested, the official said. Another 10 suspects fled from a house in the area, sources said.





Homelessness Grows as More Live Check-to-Check :.

What follows will be familiar to anyone who has studied the decline of states into civil war. If the domestic economic situation in the United States isn't yet a national security issue, it will be soon. I am shocked that a story with this level of candor appeared in major establishment newspaper:

Homelessness in major cities is escalating as more laid-off workers already living paycheck-to-paycheck wind up on the streets or in shelters.

As Americans file for bankruptcy in record numbers and credit card debt explodes, more workers are a paycheck away from losing their homes. Now the frail economy is pushing them over the edge. With 9 million unemployed workers in July, the face of homelessness is changing to include more families shaken by joblessness.

Former neighbors and co-workers are on the streets, live with relatives or stay in shelters. Unemployed managers are living with their elderly parents. Families who once owned their own homes now sleep on bunk beds in homeless shelters. Job seekers in suits and ties stop by soup kitchens heading out to afternoon interviews. With no place to live, some homeless are camping out in their cars until work comes along.





You�re Fired, Now Train the New Guy :.

If someone puts a gun to your head and tells you to start digging a hole, would you do it? If your work innvolves sitting in a chair, that gun is at your head at this very moment:

Scott Kirwin clung to his job at a large investment bank through several rounds of layoffs last year. Friends marveled at the computer programmer�s ability to dodge pink slips during the worst technology downturn in a decade. But it was tough for Kirwin, 36, to relish his final assignment: training a group of programmers from India who would replace him within a year.

...

And some labor experts say out-of-work programmers should stop complaining, and focus on their own re-training, just like the Rust Belt assembly line workers whose factory jobs migrated to Mexico and Asia in the 1980s.


I have a better idea. Instead of focusing on useless "re-training" that will only be used for swindling, why not become proficient with a wire stripper and a roll of electrical tape and build yourself an etherkiller?! Yes, that's right! For the cost of a morning latte you could easily fashion an implement capable of destroying most or all of your soon-to-be-former company's IT infrastructure in the building where your cubicle/cell is located? Hmm. Imagine that.





Liberation: Family Shot Dead by Panicking U.S. Troops :.

No, this isn't Chechnya, and the soldiers aren't Russian. But blood splatters the same way regardless of geography. Just remember, your hard work at the job you hate makes all of this possible. Your hard work bought the M-16 rifles used to kill these innocent people, the bullets, the soldiers' uniforms, etc. etc.:

The abd al-Kerim family didn't have a chance. American soldiers opened fire on their car with no warning and at close quarters. They killed the father and three of the children, one of them only eight years old. Now only the mother, Anwar, and a 13-year-old daughter are alive to tell how the bullets tore through the windscreen and how they screamed for the Americans to stop.

"We never did anything to the Americans and they just killed us," the heavily pregnant Ms abd al-Kerim said. "We were calling out to them 'Stop, stop, we are a family', but they kept on shooting."

...

Empty bullet casings lay everywhere. Bullet holes marked the walls and gates of nearby houses. Several parked cars were riddled with bullet-holes, their windows smashed and tyres shredded. From the spread of the bullet holes all over the street, it was clear the soldiers had fired in every direction.





Dead Microbiologists Linked to Ethno-Specific BioWeapons :.

The two American scientists he had worked with were Benito Que, 52, and Don Wiley, 57. Both microbiologists had been engaged in DNA sequencing that could provide "a genetic marker based on genetic profiling." The research could play an important role in developing weaponized pathogens to hit selected groups of humans - identifying them by race. Two years ago, both men were found dead, in circumstances never fully explained.





Illegal to Boycott Israel Story 1 Story 2

Commerce Under Secretary for Industry and Security Kenneth I. Juster today reiterated to U.S. companies that the Department will vigorously enforce its regulations prohibiting U.S. persons from taking any action in support of foreign government boycotts against Israel.

"The U.S. Government stands firm in its policy of opposing restrictive trade practices or boycotts against Israel," Juster said. "The Commerce Department is committed to using all of its resources to oppose economic boycotts against Israel and corporations that do business with Israel."


8/11/2003



Police on Alert for 'Imminent' al-Qa'ida Terror Attack on Britain :.

The Brits ran the IRA for thirty years, but now there's another terrorist organization in town. Yep. Sure. Why not?

Police in London have been put on their highest state of alert after warnings were received that an al-Qa'ida suicide attack may be imminent.

Frontline officers in the capital are being given fresh instruction on spotting and tackling suicide bombers. Similar guidance is to be issued to officers in other large urban forces next month.

The moves come after the FBI uncovered and passed on new intelligence that the threat was growing of an al-Qa'ida outrage in the capital.





Missing Boeing 727 Plane from Angola

I received the following email from someone claiming to be Joseph B. Padilla, Sr., brother of Ben Charles Padilla, the man accused of stealing the Boeing 727 from Angola. He has sent this around to a few other places. The pictures he mentions in the email were not included:

Yes,
I am Joseph B. Padilla, SR.
I live in Pensacola, Florida - U.S.A.
I am the Brother of Ben Charles Padilla Jr.
He is suspected to be the Pilot of the Missing Boeing 727 Plane that left the Airport in Angola on May 25 2003.
I am tring to reach news organizations to help me locate anyone that has seen or heard anything about this missing plane or my brother.
I appeared on ABC's , Good Morning Amercia alone with my Sister Benita Padilla-Kirkland on June 19 2003 in hopes to get the story out and to Locate my brother.
We both also appeared on CNN's Morning show, American Morning on June 24 2003.
Can you please help me by broadcasting a story or by your website news or newspaper?
I have alot of information about the dissapearance of the plane and my brother.
You can contact me at : 850-944-9688 or either by e-mail -
padilla1956@cox.net
I hope that you will give me your help in hopes that someone seeing the story will either know something about the dissappearance of the plane and my brother or know someone that does.
Here is what I have so far about the story.

As in the begining as I told ABC News on The Good Morning America Show that I appeared on in New York, I thought that the Boeing 727 Plane had been sitting there in Angola for 14 months unattended to and not maintained.
Now, I have found out that My Brother, Ben Charles Padilla, Jr. had been in Angola for 2 months overseeing a crew of aircraft mechanics re-working the plane from one end to the other.
A B-Check was done and it was found to be fine.
I talked to the owner of the plane, Mr. Maury Joseph, which is also the owner of Aerospace Sales And Leasing in South Florida.
I too live in florida, Pensacola, Fl. and my brother too was born and raised here.
Maury Joseph told me that he was there in Angola two weeks before the disappearance to see how things were going with the re-build of the 727 and also talked to my brother 2 days before the plane became missing and he had sent my brother $43,000.00 for him to pay the fees to the airport there in Angola. My brother paid the airport and faxed Maury Joseph the reciept, This is what Maury Joseph told me this past friday night during our two and a half hour phone conversation.
My brother was also incharge of the hiring of a pilot and co-pilot. He was to be the Flight Engineer for the flight out of Angola for the repossession of the Boeing 727 plane.
My brother is not licensed to fly a 727 and never has flown an aircraft this large.
He is a Licensed Aircraft Mechanic, Flight Engineer, and Pilot of smaller airplanes.
I was told that he had took the plane out to the end of the runway and ran the engines up to check to see how they performed.
I feel that when my brother was checking the engines, someone was on the plane and hijacked him.
My brother isn't a criminal nor has never done any wrong doings.
Maury Joseph told me that he trusts my brother and doesn't believe the reports of my brother stealing the plane.
Maury Joseph also told me that he had talked to the Airport there in Angola and had found out that the control tower had radioed the 727 and told them as they were headed out to the runway to take off, that they didn't have clearance nor permission to take off and the tower never recieved a response from the 727.
I talked to my brother Ben Padilla, Jr. back in either Jan. or Feb. and we talked about the Sept. 11 2001 ordeal and he himself told me that if this sort of thing ever happend to him, that he would down the plane in a New York Second.
So, with that said I really believe my brother was hijacked and taken prisonier and held against his will and possibly was killed.
My mother had a heart attack on Mothers day and my brother was e-mailed about this and he responded to the e-mail he recieved from another brother of ours and told him that he would contact us as soon as he could and we haven't heard anything from him. So, that tells me that something isn't right since he would of contacted the family about our mother.
I have talked to the FBI and State Department in Washington, D.C. and all they are willing to tell me is that they have not found my brother nor the plane. So, I am tring to search for any information that I can get thru news organizations.
I find alot of stories on the internet and try to get any of the news organizations to run this story.
I also include a couple of pictures of my brother so incase anyone knows anything or has seen him before, to please contact me.
I am including in this e-mail 2 pictures of him incase you run this story inwhich I hope you do.
I would like to include my e-mail address and phone number incase some one reads or sees this that they can contact me.
My phone number is, 850-944-9688 and my e-mail address is, padilla1956@cox.net
Our family has already lost 2 siblings and can not bear to lose another one.
I would appreciate any help you can give me.
If you need any additional information, Please don't hesitate to contact me.
Thank you so much for your time.
Joseph B. Padilla, SR.





American Reich: Americans Pay Price for Speaking Out :.

Dissent, once an ideal cherished in the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment, now invites media attacks, hate Web sites, threats and job loss.

After Zinni challenged the administration's rationale for the Iraq war last fall, he lost his job as President George W. Bush's Middle East peace envoy after 18 months.

"I've been told I will never be used by the White House again."


Related: Col. David Hackworth Calls Rumsfeld an "Asshole" :.

When I examined the task organization, my estimate was totally contrary to this asshole Rumsfeld, who went in light and on the cheap, all based upon this rosy scenario. I never thought this would be a fight without resistance. And there was another guy who thought the same way I did; his name is Saddam Hussein. He looked at the awesome array of forces being set up against him and said, "Wait a minute, no way can I prevail, I tried that in '91 and just saw in Afghanistan what happened to Taliban and Al-Qaida, I will run away for another day."





IRS Loses a Big One :.

Pay only the income tax that you are required to pay by law. That is, pay no income tax:

On Friday, a Memphis federal jury acquitted FedEx pilot Vernice Kuglin of six counts of felony Tax Evasion and Willful Failure to File tax returns.

Ms. Kuglin's attorneys, Tax Honesty Movement barristers Larry Becraft and Robert G. Bernhoft, told reporters that Kuglin was indicted seven months ago and had refused to plead the case out for a lesser sentence. During her testimony Kuglin testified that since 1995, she had sent numerous letters to the IRS requesting that they inform her of what law required her to pay the Individual Income Tax. To this day, she has not received an answer.

At 1:30 Friday afternoon, the jury returned not guilty verdicts on all counts.

After the jury had been excused the U.S. Attorney reportedly demanded that the Judge order the defendant to file her forms, pay her taxes and obey the law. The Judge reportedly replied "Sir, I don't work for the IRS."



Related: Irwin Schiff




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