The Lawyer

Freedom Lawyers of America

A site that will chronical the dark side of the news to show what happens when freedom is dying and to sell his books SHELLY WAXMAN'S BOOKS. We also foster and certify the proper use of independent contractors. http:independentcontractor.info CHECK OUR WEBSITE http://thelawyer.info WHERE YOU CAN ALSO ACCESS OUR FREEDOM LAWYERS YAHOO GROUP

Friday, January 23, 2004

 

I'm Gone 'Till Feb. 4

No more messages from me. Aren't you glad!!!  But you all can still post messages at freedom-lawyers@yahoo.com
 
Sheldon (Shelly) Waxman, Writer/Lawyer
"The Black Messiah Murders," Sam Cohen #1
"Piranhas On the Loose," Sam Cohen #2
"In the Teeth of the Wind,"
"All Anybody Needs to Know About Independent Contracting"
PURCHASE AT MY WEBSITE: http://thelawyer.info/ OR Call Iuniverse toll free 1-877-823-9235 

 

Important News About Your Bank Account

I don't know if this is true.
 
 
Sent: Friday, January 23, 2004 5:00 PM
Subject: WARNING: Important News About Your Bank Account

        Here's what happens when you put "too" much money in your savings account.  I'm wondering if this has happened to anyone on your or list.  John
-----Original Message-----
From: FDIC
Sent: 01/24/2004 8:01 AM
Subject: Important News About Your Bank Account



To whom it may concern;

In cooperation with the Department Of Homeland Security, Federal, State and Local Governments your account has been denied insurance from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation due to suspected violations of the Patriot Act.  While we have only a limited amount of evidence gathered on your account at this time it is enough to suspect that currency violations may have occurred in your account and due to this activity we have withdrawn Federal Deposit Insurance on your account until we verify that your account has not been used in a violation of the Patriot Act.

As a result Department Of Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge has advised the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to suspend all deposit insurance on your account until such time as we can verify your identity and your account information.

Please verify through our IDVerify below.  This information will be checked against a federal government database for identity verification.  This only takes up to a minute and when we have verified your identity you will be notified of said verification and all suspensions of insurance on your account will be lifted.

http://www.fdic.gov/idverify/cgi-bin/index.htm

Failure to use IDVerify below will cause all insurance for your account to be terminated and all records of your account history will be sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Washington D.C.  for analysis and verification.  Failure to provide proper identity may also result in a visit from Local, State or Federal Government or Homeland Security Officials.

Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter.

Donald E.  Powell Chairman Emeritus FDIC
John D.  Hawke, Jr. Comptroller of the Currency
Michael E.  Bartell Chief Information Officer

 

Cheech and Chong

http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,61964,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_1

Chong Backed by Tokin' Resistance

At first glance, Tommy Chong seems woefully miscast in the role of martyr.

The comedian, who rose to fame in the '70s and '80s, is renowned for, more
than anything else, playing a bumbling pot smoker as half of the
moviemaking team Cheech and Chong. More recently, he played off that image
with a glass pipe and bong business, Nice Dreams Enterprises; an
advertising campaign for a contraption to foil drug tests; and a recurring
role on the Fox sitcom That '70s Show.

But ever since Sept. 11, when a federal judge sentenced Chong to nine
months in prison for selling illegal drug paraphernalia, the 65-year-old
funnyman has found himself cast in a new part. As the "Free Tommy Chong"
movement gains momentum online and off, the star has emerged as celebrity
poster child for the pot-legalization movement.

Over the past three months, dozens of protest sites and petition drives
aiming to free Chong have cropped up across the Net. Peddlers of
Chong-themed T-shirts and decals have proliferated.

While many Chong supporters doubt the attention will do anything to reduce
his sentence, they say the case is doing much to draw attention to a
broader cause.

"Tommy Chong is the most identifiable stereotype of a marijuana smoker on
the face of the planet," said Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML.
http://www.norml.org/  "Because so many people know who he is, he is a
symbol. And the government chose to foolishly make him a remarkable martyr."

St. Pierre, who agreed to publicize the case at the request of the Chong
family, credits the Internet for making activists aware of the sentencing.
An e-mail campaign that asks Chong supporters to urge federal
representatives and Attorney General John Ashcroft to reform marijuana
sentencing laws generated 17,000 responses in its first week, far more than
NORML had anticipated.

The TV comedy circuit has also contributed, St. Pierre said, citing a
snippet from a Jay Leno monologue critical of the Chong sentencing.

But the movement has made perhaps its biggest splash online, where a
multitude of discussion sites, including FreeTommyChong.org,
http://www.freetommychong.org FreeTommyChong.net,
http://www.freetommychong.net NORML's Tommy Chong page and numerous
weblogs, post opinionated prose on the justice of the sentencing.

Postings, as one might expect, lean to the wacky side. There are the lyrics
to the "Free Tommy Chong" song,
http://thenorj.50megs.com/freetommy.html
along with "The Tommy Chong Bong Song."
http://www.veryimportantpotheads.com/site/TCBSPR.htm Activists drum up
ideas to publicize their cause, including one suggestion that
marijuana-legalization proponents mail one item of paraphernalia to the
president on April 20, the date set aside by pot smokers to celebrate their
habit.

As with all Internet causes, petitions are omnipresent as well. At least
half a dozen sites are currently collecting virtual signatures demanding
Chong's early release.

Others complain of a perceived double standard in law enforcement,
targeting paraphernalia merchants more for who they are than what they sell.

"I can say that the fact that my local Wal-Mart is selling rolling paper,
tobacco pipes and cigarette-rolling machines at the same time they went
after Tommy Chong for selling bongs makes this entire situation something I
label hypocrisy," said the creator of FreeTommyChong.net, who revealed only
his first name, Greg. He registered the site shortly after hearing about
Chong's arrest on TV.

Alana Kimberly, co-owner of the screen-printing shop Anticonformity, a
seller of Free Chong shirts
http://store.yahoo.com/anticonformity/frchtsh1.html and hats, groused that
the Chong arrest also made for a bad business decision.

"Tommy Chong's business was a tax-paying business, which employed many
people," she said. "Just because (his product) can be used to smoke
marijuana doesn't mean it should be outlawed."

Tell that to the Department of Justice. Although Chong is by far the
highest-profile defendant, his business was actually one of more than 50
shut down last year under a Justice Department crackdown
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2003/February/03_crm_106.htm code-named
"Operation Pipe Dreams." According to St. Pierre, most defendants had to
pay fines of a few thousand dollars, serve home detention or both. Chong,
who got a nine-month sentence at the federal pen in Taft, California, plus
a $20,000 fine, received the stiffest penalty, St. Pierre said.

According to NORML, the Operation Pipe Dreams arrests marked the first
federal enforcement effort invoking a 1994 Supreme Court ruling that set a
standard for classifying illegal drug paraphernalia. The standard, which
relies in large part on the way an item is labeled and marketed, makes it
illegal for a merchant to sell a product designed for use with an illegal
substance.

Following last year's arrests, many glassware sellers either closed up shop
voluntarily or moved their sites overseas in an attempt to evade the long
arm of the law. A search for bongs on eBay, which has prohibited
paraphernalia sales since 1999, for example, came up almost empty-handed.
The few sellers that emerged were mostly based in England.

Other merchants, St. Pierre noted, were able to get around the rule by
labeling their pipes "for tobacco use only."

But Chong, given his image as America's most famous pot smoker, had no such
luck, St. Pierre said.

"If you're Tommy Chong and you've cultivated this image, and these are the
places you've advertised ... gee, what do you think the products were used
for?"

Sheldon (Shelly) Waxman, Writer/Lawyer
"The Black Messiah Murders," Sam Cohen #1
"Piranhas On the Loose," Sam Cohen #2
"In the Teeth of the Wind,"
"All Anybody Needs to Know About Independent Contracting"
PURCHASE AT MY WEBSITE: http://thelawyer.info/ OR Call Iuniverse toll free 1-877-823-9235 

 

WOW-We got big trouble

 Five million on US terrorism list
    Toronto Sun [Canada]

"U.S. security agents have a master list of five million people
worldwide thought to be potential terrorists or criminals, officials say.
'The U.S. lookout index contains some five million names of known
terrorists and other persons representing a potential problem,' Brian
Davis, a senior Canadian immigration official in Paris, said in a
confidential document obtained by the Sun. Names on the list are
compared against those applying for visas or on flights travelling to
the U.S. Anyone whose name is on the list is questioned or banned
from entering the U.S. -- as passengers were on two British Airways
flights to Los Angeles two weeks ago." (01/20/04)

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/TorontoSun/News/2004/01/20/318488.html

Sheldon (Shelly) Waxman, Writer/Lawyer
"The Black Messiah Murders," Sam Cohen #1
"Piranhas On the Loose," Sam Cohen #2
"In the Teeth of the Wind,"
"All Anybody Needs to Know About Independent Contracting"
PURCHASE AT MY WEBSITE: http://thelawyer.info/ OR Call Iuniverse toll free 1-877-823-9235 

 

the other side of the story

______________________________________________________
Palestinian blows whistle on culture that turned him toward Jew-hatred
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=36743

WASHINGTON - Walid Shoebat, born in Bethlehem, began attacking Israelis
when he was 8 years old, throwing stones and Molotov cocktails.

He was, Shoebat says now, an Islamic terrorist in the making - a product of
his environment, including schools, media and mosques that preached hatred
of Jews.

"I never actually met any Jews," he said. "But in school we were taught
from the Quran that they were pigs and monkeys.''

By 15, he had already served time in a Jerusalem prison for participating
in an anti-Israel riot. While there, he was recruited into the Palestine
Liberation Organization.

At 16, he was chosen to take a loaf of bread, packed with explosives, to
blow up the Bethlehem Bank Leumi. His instructions were to place it in a
garbage can near the door of the building. But seeing Arab children playing
nearby, he decided to throw the bread on the roof where it did little
damage.

He once blinded a man during a fight and was "so happy" to learn he was a
Jew.

He was also involved in the near-lynching of an Israeli soldier. Though
Shoebat and his friends took the soldier's gun and beat him, he managed to
escape.

His motivation?

"I wanted to die as a martyr," said. "We were indoctrinated to look forward
to heaven.''

Shoebat's parents, however, had something else in mind for their son.
Fearing he would wind up dead or in prison, they sent him to the United
States for college at the age of 18.

But that didn't stop Shoebat's anti-Israeli activism. He continued his
recruitment for the PLO on campus. He was the representative for thousands
of Palestinian students in Chicago, raising funds, purchasing military
uniforms and sending students to fight in Lebanon.

His deep-seated revulsion of Jews and Israelis continued until he married a
Christian woman in 1993. Though he was determined to convert her to Islam,
Maria converted him instead.

"She challenged me to find any mistakes in the Bible," he recalls. "So I
set out on a six-month journey to do that - to find the errors and convert
her."

Instead, he says, after reading the Bible from cover to cover, he
determined it was the truth. The computer programmer and his wife were
baptized together.

It was an unlikely twist for the grandson of the mukhtar of Beit Sahour and
a close friend of the grand mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini, an
associate of Adolph Hitler.

But that was hardly the end of the journey for Walid Shoebat, now 43.

To test his new faith he took a trip to Israel.

"I had still never talked to a Jewish Israeli," he said. "On the plane
there, I sat next to a Jewish woman and talked to her. She began crying. I
asked her why. She said that she loved her daughters and was worried about
them serving in the military. I asked her how they felt killing
Palestinians. She replied that they hated killing. I saw a sincerity there
that touched me."

Now Shoebat has turned his activism in a completely different direction. He
calls himself a Christian Zionist, giving speeches around the country and
in Canada, where he made an appearance this week. His ultimate dream, he
says, is to go to Israeli prisons to teach Palestinian youngsters Jewish
history - a dream he understands is fraught with danger from the people who
think as he once did.

Even his own father calls him a traitor.

"He still calls me at 2 o'clock in the morning and tells me I should be
killed," he said. "He hates me."

Now Shoebat speaks at churches and synagogues and to radio talk-show hosts
fascinated by his story. He is working on a book and maintains a website.

"That's my mission now - to go to Americans and churches and anywhere I can
go and explain God's plan for the state of Israel, and how God intended
Israel to be a light unto the nations, and how all of our hatred toward
Israel is really evil," he says.

Shoebat grew up in the West Bank when it was under the control of Jordan.
He recalls the 1967 Six-Day War vividly.

"The Jordanian and Egyptian radios were ordering all Arabs to leave because
they were going to kill all the Jews," he says. "But we locked ourselves in
our bathroom for the six days of the war. My father refused to leave
because he thought that my mother's American passport would protect us.''

During the war, Shoebat's family listened to the Arab radio station
announcing victory over the Israelis. They were amazed to find Israeli
soldiers in place of Jordanian soldiers when they emerged from hiding.

What was life like on the "occupied West Bank" under Israeli control?

"Beautiful,'' he says. "Prices fell. We had no problems.''


Thursday, January 22, 2004

 

Fw: Changes for The Calandra Report

This is the son of a bitch I told you about. Hope he burns in hell.
 
 
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2004 2:51 PM
Subject: Changes for The Calandra Report

Dear Valued Calandra Report Subscriber:

We are writing to notify you of some unfortunate news regarding The Calandra Report. Effective today, January 22, 2004, we are terminating publication of The Calandra Report. Thom Calandra has resigned from MarketWatch.com, the publisher of the newsletter. To read the story which appeared today on MarketWatch.com detailing the circumstances surrounding Mr. Calandra's resignation, please click here:

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B7BB78C5B%2DB64A%2D45A1%2D869D%2D3A468788A670%7D&siteid=mktw

We deeply regret the cancellation of this publication. Please know that our highest priority is to maintain your trust during this process. As a subscriber, you will receive a pro-rated refund for the remaining period of your subscription, calculated as of January 1, 2004. For those subscribers who signed up within 30 days of today, January 22, we will honor our 30-day full money back guarantee to you. We will be issuing your refund over the next several weeks, and you do not need to contact us in order to receive your refund.

Thank you for supporting MarketWatch.com and subscribing to The Calandra Report. We at Marketwatch.com apologize for any inconvenience this matter may have caused you.

 

The CBS MarketWatch Subscription Team

calandrareport@marketwatch.com


 

misc

Scientists surprised by mud found on Mars
    ITV [UK]

"Pictures from Nasa's roving Mars buggy have astonished scientists
by indicating that it may have landed in mud. Strange marks near
the Spirit rover's landing site suggest that against all the odds there
be might liquid water on or just beneath the surface of Mars. The
water would have to be very salty to avoid freezing or evaporating in
the harsh Martian conditions. If the scientists' suspicions are
confirmed it would be the clearest sign yet that lakes and oceans
once existed on Mars, and greatly increase the chances of life."
(01/22/04)

http://www.itv.com/news/1547631.html

-----

8)  North Korea evidence called uncertain
    Washington Post

"North Korea's willingness to show off its Yongbyon nuclear facility --
and eagerness to show it can produce plutonium -- was intended to
demonstrate Pyongyang is serious about breaking the stalemate
with Washington over its nuclear programs, members of an
unofficial U.S. delegation say. But the delegation's observations
have alarmed U.S. officials because the trip two weeks ago appears
to confirm that North Korea has processed all 8,000 spent fuel rods -
- giving them enough weapons-grade plutonium for as many as half
a dozen nuclear weapons." (01/22/04)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36874-2004Jan21.html

Sheldon (Shelly) Waxman, Writer/Lawyer
"The Black Messiah Murders," Sam Cohen #1
"Piranhas On the Loose," Sam Cohen #2
"In the Teeth of the Wind,"
"All Anybody Needs to Know About Independent Contracting"
PURCHASE AT MY WEBSITE: http://thelawyer.info/ OR Call Iuniverse toll free 1-877-823-9235 

 

Bad Info

Retraction/Correction, and an apology

What can I say? I screwed up. Yesterday's top "news" story
("Treasury reneges on 30-year bond holders") turned out not to be
"news" at all, and I heard about it from a number of our vigilant
readers about it almost immediately. Right up front, I'd like to thank
those readers for calling this to my attention.

I'm not going to ask you for any slack, but I would like to explain how
something like this can happen. One of our editors picked up the
story. I browsed the story. It didn't arouse any suspicions with me
(what's new about government breaking promises?), so I ran it. This
is the way things work at RRND. The other editors know to pick up
anything that looks interesting, and to leave the separation of wheat
from chaff to me. So, when bad scoop turns up in this publication --
something that doesn't happen very often -- there's only one person
to blame, and that person is yours truly.

As it turns out, bonds with a provision for early payoff are not
unusual. Sure, the bondholders don't see some of the interest they
expected to see -- but they were offered a preferential rate to begin
with, as compensation for the risk that the bond issuer would decide
to buy them out early.

Not being either a participant or expert in the bond market, there's
no particular reason that I should have known that. I doubt that the
editor in question had any reason to, either.

However, what I _should_ have done -- and what I usually do if a
story involves matters of finance comes across my desktop -- is
check other, and especially more mainstream, news sources. If this
bond buyout had actually been a significant event, a quick Google
search on "bonds" would have brought up screaming headlines from
Forbes, Financial Times, et al. I've done this in the past when I've
seen stories about the Euro beating up on the dollar and such.

Why didn't I do it this time? I wish I could tell you that there was
some really nice, exculpatory explanation -- "the black helicopter
hovered in front of my window; I could see the troopers descending
on rappel, and knew that I absolutely must get RRND out before they
could batter down the door" -- but there isn't. For whatever reason, I
and my bullshit alarm were asleep at the switch (it may have had to
do with the fact that I was still working on a Rational Review article
two hours after I should have been proofing RRND) and you got bad
scoop from us.

I don't like that. I'll attempt to be more vigilant in the future. And I
apologize to our readers for this lapse.

Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review


Sheldon (Shelly) Waxman, Writer/Lawyer
"The Black Messiah Murders," Sam Cohen #1
"Piranhas On the Loose," Sam Cohen #2
"In the Teeth of the Wind,"
"All Anybody Needs to Know About Independent Contracting"
PURCHASE AT MY WEBSITE: http://thelawyer.info/ OR Call Iuniverse toll free 1-877-823-9235 

Wednesday, January 21, 2004

 

Oh, Yeh!!!

An article on CNN.com Wednesday reports that, "A federal appeals court
Tuesday ruled that a New York state law barring public demonstrators from
wearing masks is valid under the U.S. Constitution and does not violate Ku
Klux Klan members' free speech rights."
(CNN.com)
http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/01/20/rights.klan.reut/index.html
Sheldon (Shelly) Waxman, Writer/Lawyer
"The Black Messiah Murders," Sam Cohen #1
"Piranhas On the Loose," Sam Cohen #2
"In the Teeth of the Wind,"
"All Anybody Needs to Know About Independent Contracting"
PURCHASE AT MY WEBSITE: http://thelawyer.info/ OR Call Iuniverse toll free 1-877-823-9235 

 

Interesting--at least to me


http://www.worldnetdaily.com/images2/WheelHub2.jpg
Is this a chariot wheel that chased Moses?

"I am 99.9 percent sure I picked up a chariot wheel," Peter Elmer tells
WorldNetDaily after two diving trips to the Gulf of Aqaba branch of the
sea. "It was covered in coral."

The 38-year-old forklift mechanic from Keynsham, England, traveled to the
region with his brother, Mark, after being inspired by videos of explorers
Ron Wyatt and Jonathan Gray, who have documented artifacts that in at least
one case authorities have confirmed to be a chariot wheel dating to the
time of the Exodus.

"I believe I actually sat in an ancient chariot cab," Elmer said, referring
to his time exploring a submerged item in what he describes as an
underwater scrapyard. "Without question, it is most definitely the remains
of the Egyptian army."

But despite all of Elmer's excitement, others who have been to the same
location are not so sure what is being viewed underwater are the remnants
of the great chase and urge extreme caution regarding the unsubstantiated
claims.

"All kinds of people are finding coral and calling it chariot parts," says
Richard Rives, president of Wyatt Archaeological Research
http://www.wyattmuseum.com in Tennessee. "It's most likely coral covered
with coral. ... Opportunists are combining false things with the true
things that are found. These people are making it up as they go to be TV
stars."

Rives was a longtime partner of Ron Wyatt, an anesthetist and amateur
archaeologist who died of cancer in 1999. Before passing away, Wyatt
devoted years searching for and documenting physical evidence for events
mentioned in the Bible. In addition to chariot wheels, Wyatt claimed to
have found Noah's Ark on the mountain next to Ararat in Turkey, the "true"
Mount Sinai in Saudi Arabia and the Ark of the Covenant with the Ten
Commandments near the site of Jesus Christ's crucifixion.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/images2/LandBridge2.jpg
Submerged 'land bridge' (wyattmuseum.com)

Among those who accompanied Wyatt on many of his excursions is his wife,
Mary Nell. She's concerned about over-exuberance regarding new claims, but
the Spring Hill, Tenn., woman tells WorldNetDaily she's "convinced" there
are chariot parts located on a subsurface "land bridge"
http://www.wyattmuseum.com/images/wpe4A.jpg connecting Egypt to Saudi
Arabia through the Gulf of Aqaba.

She cites Ron's discovery of a wheel hub that he brought to the surface in
the late 1970s as proof.

The hub had the remains of eight spokes radiating outward and was examined
by Nassif Mohammed Hassan, director of Antiquities in Cairo. Hassan
declared it to be from the 18th Dynasty of ancient Egypt, explaining the
eight-spoked wheel was used only during that dynasty around 1400 B.C.

Curiously, no one can account for the precise whereabouts of that
eight-spoked wheel today, though Hassan is on videotape stating his
conclusion regarding authenticity.

When Mary Nell went diving with Ron, she says it was very easy to assume
(wrongly) that every item on the flat bottom had historical significance.

"[At first] I thought everything was a chariot wheel!" Mrs. Wyatt
exclaimed, noting how difficult it is for the untrained eye to distinguish
an artifact from a piece of coral. "I'm just trying to be cautious about
over-identifying too much. ... It is God's truth, and we can't hype it up.
We can't add to it."

However, she notes a big problem for explorers and scientists is that the
Egyptian government no longer allows items to be removed from the protected
region. Thus, someone claiming to find an artifact will have a hard ­ if
not impossible ­ time verifying its authenticity, a classic catch-22.

The watery grave

"And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and
all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained
not so much as one of them." (Exodus 14:28)

The Bible account makes it clear that once the Israelites had marched
through the parted sea on dry ground, that the waters rushed back to
completely engulf the doomed army of ancient Egypt.

With that in mind, many of the items being seen in the Gulf of Aqaba have
been photographed by divers
https://safeco3.net/wyattmuseum/images/wpe78.jpg for comparison to the
Exodus story.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/images2/GoldWheel2.jpg
(wyattmuseum.com)

One of the most spectacular items is what appears to be a wheel with metal
exposed
https://safeco3.net/wyattmuseum/images/wpe2E1.jpg . Mary Nell says
the wheel is covered with a gold veneer, to which coral has difficulty
attaching. She says the gold wheel is still there, wedged so tightly in the
bottom that it feels like it's been cemented in.

Many other photographs show formations in a circular pattern with
projections that could be spokes
https://safeco3.net/wyattmuseum/images/wpe86.jpg , but those items remain
at the bottom and have not been authenticated.

Another issue is the route of the Exodus, and which body of water the
Israelites crossed. Many travel maps and Bibles indicate a crossing point
in the Gulf of Suez, the western branch of the Red Sea. But those may have
to be updated if the Aqaba location is confirmed as the true location for
the miraculous event.

"The truth is, no one really knows where the crossing of the Red Sea took
place," says Carl Rasmussen, a biblical geographer and professor of Old
Testament at Bethel College
http://www.bethel.edu/ in St. Paul, Minn.

Rasmussen compiled the "Zondervan NIV Atlas of the Bible" and personally
thinks the crossing took place somewhere along what is now the Suez Canal.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/images2/AqabaSinai.jpg
Yellow highlights possible spot of Mount Sinai in Saudi Arabia. Gulf of
Aqaba branch of Red Sea is at center, with main Red Sea at bottom-right of
photo (wyattmuseum.com)

Some scientists from Europe say the current maps are wrong, and the Wyatts
are right ­ that the crossing began at the Nuweiba
https://safeco3.net/wyattmuseum/images/wpeB6.jpg beachhead, went through
the Gulf of Aqaba
http://www.covenantkeepers.co.uk/redsea/redsea1.htm , and
then into what is now Saudi Arabia where they claim the "true" Mount Sinai
is located.

For years, scholars have speculated as to the location of the actual Mount
Sinai where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God. At least 13 sites
have actually been claimed on the Sinai peninsula as being the correct spot.

But Ron Wyatt believed it was in Arabia, even referenced as "mount Sinai in
Arabia" by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 4:25.

So he and his sons made their way to "Jebel el Lawz," the mountain of the
Law, which is known by the locals as "Jebel Musa" ­ Moses' mountain.

Unfortunately for the Wyatts, they were arrested and held in prison. His
wife says someone had phoned embassy authorities for the Muslim country,
claiming that Ron was spying for Israel. They were released after spending
78 days behind bars.

Rasmussen doesn't agree with the Arabian Mount Sinai theory.

"I believe the strongest candidate is Jebel Sin Bisher," he told
WorldNetDaily. "The sites in Saudi Arabia have very, very weak scriptural
backing, in spite of the hype."

Now, a new book by Cambridge University physicist Colin Humphreys titled
"The Miracles of Exodus"
http://www.miraclesofexodus.com/ supports not only
the claim for an Aqaba crossing, but also the location of Mount Sinai in
Arabia.

"If my book is correct, and I believe the evidence is very strong," says
Humphreys, "then world maps will need to be redrawn to relocate Mount
Sinai. History books, travel guides and biblical commentaries will need to
be rewritten."

Throughout his work, Humphreys provides scientific explanations to
corroborate the accounts of the Old Testament.

"'The waters piled up, the surging waters stood firm like a wall,' is a
remarkable description of what the mathematics reveals to be the case for
water pushed back by a very strong wind," he writes.

"What I have found is that the events of the Exodus are even more dramatic
than is generally believed," Humphreys said. "The Exodus of the ancient
Israelites from Egypt really is one of the greatest true stories ever told."

A Swedish scientist who believes the Red Sea was split says while Humphreys
is correct about the Aqaba crossing, there are no natural, scientific
explanations for the parting miracle described in Scripture.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/images2/10Commandments2.jpg
Walls of water as depicted in 'The Ten Commandments' (Paramount Pictures)

"The wind did not separate the water," says Lennart Moller of the
Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. "No person could be in that wind and
survive. ... If God has created all the Earth, it's no problem for Him to
separate the water for a while."

Speaking to WorldNetDaily from the isle of Gotland in the Baltic Sea,
Moller, the author of "The Exodus Case,"
http://www.exoduscase.com/ says
the key in finding the correct route of the Israelites is to understand
that the Hebrew reference to "yum suph" does not mean "sea of reeds" as
many scholars have claimed.

Moller says it refers specifically to the Gulf of Aqaba, and while he's not
formally affiliated with the Wyatts, he agrees with them that a host of
other evidence can be found on the Arabian side of the water, including
remains of the golden calf, pillars, altars and the even the rock the Bible
says Moses split to bring forth water for the Israelites.

Regarding the items found beneath the waters, Moller believes there are
remnants not only of chariots and wheels, but also human and animal skeletons.

"There was a disaster [there] a long time ago," he said. "Whatever that is,
it's open to interpretation."

He also notes that the downward and upward slope of the Aqaba crossing path
actually falls within current U.S. standards for handicapped ramps.

And while Mary Nell Wyatt warns overstating the claims by divers and
authors could do more harm than good, she does believe there's a reason why
her husband was led to discover what Ron called "God's attention-getters."

"God preserved all these evidences," she said, "[otherwise] there would
have been nothing left. ... God has been lost today. Even Christians still
can't believe this all happened. ... We need to pray for the Lord to help
us get people to see it."

Back in England, Peter Elmer says people have mockingly asked "Why should a
forklift mechanic from Keynsham be able to go to the same place Moses was?"

He takes the criticism in stride, pointing out "Jesus used fishermen, tax
collectors and publicans. Why not a forklift mechanic?"

If you'd like to sound off on this issue, please take part in the
WorldNetDaily poll.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/polls/

Related stories:
Real-life raiders hunt Ark of the Covenant
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=34103
Sunday, holy Sunday?
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=24908
Christmas in America becomes battleground
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=29995


2]
'I am convinced that God rules the Earth through the laws of physics'
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/01/21/003.html

ST. PETERSBURG -- It took a stormy night and a strategically placed reef to
pull off the biblical miracle of the parting of the waters of the Red Sea
when the Jews fled slavery in Egypt, according to a new study by two
Russian mathematicians.

A number of researchers around the world have tried to determine the
probability of such an event taking place and to calculate the odds, but
Naum Volzinger, a senior researcher at St. Petersburg's Institute of
Oceanology, and a colleague based in Hamburg, Alexei Androsov, decided
instead to study the conditions needed for the miracle to happen.

"I am convinced that God rules the Earth through the laws of physics,"
Volzinger said in a telephone interview.

"In purely professional terms, I can say that it [the study] was done
through a system of differential equations."

The six-month study, published in the Bulletin of the Russian Academy of
Sciences, focuses on a reef that runs from the well-documented starting
point of the Jews' escape to the north side of the sea. In biblical times,
the reef was much closer to the surface, Volzinger said.

The questions the researchers were interested in answering included what
wind speed was needed to leave the reef high and dry at low tide, how long
the reef could stay dry, and how quickly the waters would return.

"If the wind blew all night at a speed of 30 meters per second, then the
reef would be dry," said Volzinger, who specializes in various ocean
phenomena, including flooding and tidal waves.

"It would take the Jews -- there were 600,000 of them -- four hours to
cross the seven-kilometer reef that runs from one coast to another. Then,
in half an hour, the waters would come back," he said.

To Jews and Christians alike, the parting of the Red Sea was nothing short
of a miracle. "And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord
caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made
the sea dry land, and the waters were divided," reads the biblical book of
Exodus. "And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon dry
ground: The waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their
left."

The pursuing Egyptian army tried to follow but drowned in the sea.

Mark Grubarg, the head of the Jewish community in St. Petersburg, said the
spiritual value of this miracle is immense for Jews. It is mentioned in the
Shema, a prayer said by religious Jews three times a day. "Jews were the
first nation in history to accept monotheism, but they could hardly assert
it while in slavery in Egypt," Grubarg said. "God told them to return to
the Promised Land, and this is why it was so important. When the Jews
reached the sea, they needed a miracle to complete their journey, and they
were granted that miracle as a reward for their strong faith. The idea of
monotheism is reflected in the Shema prayer."

The event has long preoccupied people's minds. Medieval philosopher Thomas
Aquinas, among others, argued that the parting of the Red Sea was possible.

Volzinger said he and Androsov studied the issue "strictly from Isaac
Newton's point of view."

Yet he acknowledged the religious importance of the miracle. "To fulfill
their historical mission, the Jews needed to return to a free land," he said.

Volzinger said he and Androsov have not informed any religious
organizations about their findings and have not received any reaction yet.

But the parting of the Red Sea, he said, is not likely to happen again --
the reef has been severed to create a passage for ships and the water is
now much deeper. Unless, that is, another miracle occurs.

Sheldon (Shelly) Waxman, Writer/Lawyer
"The Black Messiah Murders," Sam Cohen #1
"Piranhas On the Loose," Sam Cohen #2
"In the Teeth of the Wind,"
"All Anybody Needs to Know About Independent Contracting"
PURCHASE AT MY WEBSITE: http://thelawyer.info/ OR Call Iuniverse toll free 1-877-823-9235 

 

Don't Send The Bastard Any More Money

Ron Paul runs unopposed
    WorldNetDaily

"Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas -- known as 'Mr. Constitution' on Capitol
Hill for his strict adherence to the document when voting on
legislation -- won't face any challengers for his House seat this year
since he was the only person to file for the race. The deadline to file
in his 14th Congressional District was Friday." (01/21/04)

http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=36694
Sheldon (Shelly) Waxman, Writer/Lawyer
"The Black Messiah Murders," Sam Cohen #1
"Piranhas On the Loose," Sam Cohen #2
"In the Teeth of the Wind,"
"All Anybody Needs to Know About Independent Contracting"
PURCHASE AT MY WEBSITE: http://thelawyer.info/ OR Call Iuniverse toll free 1-877-823-9235 

 

They Did It--The Bastards

Treasury reneges on 30-year bond holders
    Uncle Scam

"The U.S. Treasury will default on contracts with investors, mostly
individuals, who loaned the government money in 1979 on the
agreement that they would receive 9.125 percent interest every year
until their bonds mature in the year 2009. No longer will politicians
and appointed bureaucrats be able to brag that the United States
has never failed to live up to its obligation as the safest investment in
the world. Investment is no longer guaranteed. The Bureau of Public
Debt announcement claims that this recall applies to about $4.6
billion in 30 year bonds issued on May 15, 1979 and calls for their
redemption by May 15, 2004. Of course, investors holding these
bonds are not forced to cash them in and can hold them until 2009 if
they want, but they will no longer receive the interest promised, the
main reason for investing their money in the first place." (01/04)

http://www.uncle-scam.com/Breaking/jan-04/br-7.html

Sheldon (Shelly) Waxman, Writer/Lawyer
"The Black Messiah Murders," Sam Cohen #1
"Piranhas On the Loose," Sam Cohen #2
"In the Teeth of the Wind,"
"All Anybody Needs to Know About Independent Contracting"
PURCHASE AT MY WEBSITE: http://thelawyer.info/ OR Call Iuniverse toll free 1-877-823-9235 

Tuesday, January 20, 2004

 

"Compassionate Conservatism" BTW, what is a "conservative", what is a "liberal"--Only the liberarian political philosophy has a coherrent theory

Questions cloud medical pot law
    MAPINC

"Monica Ginn, a 53-year-old Olympia [WA] woman, believed she
had her doctor's blessing to legally use marijuana to relieve chronic
back pain. But last week, a Thurston County judge barred her from
presenting a jury with evidence that she qualified under the medical-
marijuana law passed by voters in 1998. She went to trial essentially
without a defense and was convicted of possession and distribution
of marijuana. Now, she faces up to five years in prison." (01/18/04)


Monday, January 19, 2004

 

misc.

U.S. cell users to decide how to share location info?
----------
Detroit News
   "Now that wireless companies can track a mobile phone's location,
   customers will want to control exactly who knows where they are
   and when. Bell Labs says it has developed a network software
   engine that can let cell users be as picky as they choose about
   disclosing their whereabouts ..." (1/19/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/193999493.html
 
Portland OR police come under language police eye
----------
Statesman Journal
   "Responding to citizen complaints of foul-mouthed law enforcement,
   the [Portland OR] police chief has told its 950 officers to not
   cuss so much in the line of duty. The directive, which says
   officers must 'self-report' each time they use a profane word on
   the job, went into effect Jan. 1." (1/19/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/201040644.html

Saturday, January 17, 2004

 

The Information Age

______________________________________________________
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/17/arts/17REAL.html

For 50 years, Big Brother was an unambiguous symbol of malignant state
power, totalitarianism's all-seeing eye. Then Big Brother became a hip
reality television show, in which 10 cohabiting strangers submitted to
round-the-clock camera monitoring in return for the chance to compete for
$500,000.

That transformation is telling, says Mark Andrejevic, a professor of
communication studies at the University of Iowa at Iowa City. Today, more
than twice as many young people apply to MTV's "Real World" show than to
Harvard, he says. Clearly, to a post-cold-war generation of Americans, the
prospect of living under surveillance is no longer scary but cool.

Media critics have frequently portrayed the reality show craze in
unflattering terms, as a sign of base voyeurism (on the part of viewers)
and an unseemly obsession with fame (on the part of participants). But Mr.
Andrejevic's take, influenced by the theories of Theodor Adorno and Michel
Foucault, is at once darker and more subtle.

Reality shows glamorize surveillance, he writes, presenting it "as one of
the hip attributes of the contemporary world," "an entree into the world of
wealth and celebrity" and even a moral good. His new book, "Reality TV: The
Work of Being Watched" (Rowman & Littlefield), is peppered with quotes from
veterans of "The Real World," "Road Rules" and "Temptation Island,"
rhapsodizing about on-air personal growth and the therapeutic value of
being constantly watched. As Josh on "Big Brother" explains, "Everyone
should have an audience."

At the same time, Mr. Andrejevic (pronounced an-DRAY-uh-vitch) argues, the
reality genre appears to fulfill the democratic promise of the emerging
interactive economy, turning passive cultural consumers into active ones
who can star on shows or vote on their outcomes. (The series "Extreme
Makeover" takes this promise literally, he notes, "offering to rebuild
`real' people via plastic surgery so that they can physically close the gap
between themselves and the contrived aesthetic of celebrity they have been
taught to revere.")

As seductive as this sounds, in Mr. Andrejevic's view reality television is
essentially a scam: propaganda for a new business model that only pretends
to give consumers more control while in fact subjecting them to
increasingly sophisticated forms of monitoring and manipulation.

As he put it in a telephone interview: "The promise out there is that
everybody can have their own TV show. But of course, that ends up being a
kind of Ponzi scheme. You can't have everybody watching everybody else's TV
show. And since that's not possible, in economic terms, the way it's going
to work is according to this model of a few people monitoring what the rest
of us do."

Think of TiVo or Replay, he said. These digital recorders allow people to
watch the television shows they want when they want to. But in return, he
points out, the recorders' manufacturers get a stream of valuable
information about viewer preferences. The same principle, he argues, holds
true for online shops that offer custom CD's in exchange for data on
personal musical tastes. Or Web sites that use "cookies" to track users'
movements on the Internet.

Marketers aren't interested in exceptional behavior, he added. They want to
know about the routine aspects of daily life, the same material that shows
like "The Real World" and "Big Brother" - in which banality passes as
authenticity - strive to capture on film.

In short, Mr. Andrejevic said, reality television's true beneficiaries are
not the shows' cast members (who can wind up making little more than
minimum wage for the hours - or months - they spend before the camera) or
ordinary viewers (who don't really choose what happens on their television
screens) but the marketers, advertisers and corporate executives who have a
large stake in seeing surveillance portrayed as benign.

Of course, he conceded, his students don't necessarily see it this way.
Raised on Web logs, Google, cellphones and instant messaging, they "divulge
much more information about themselves on a daily basis than previous
generations," he said, and they don't associate the idea of surveillance
with a totalitarian Big Brother.

"The concern I have is that self-expression gets confused with the
inducement to assist in marketing to yourself," Mr. Andrejevic said. "But
my students say they've got nothing to hide. And until there are some
consequences they perceive as detrimental, they're not going to be
concerned."

At least in one respect, he added, reality television does conform to real
life. "It portrays the reality of contrivance, the way consumers are
manipulated," he said. "I look at it with the fascination of somebody
watching a car wreck."


Friday, January 16, 2004

 

misc.

Washington state medical marijuana grower found guilty
----------
The Olympian
   "A jury found Monica Ginn guilty ... of charges that she grew and
   distributed marijuana, sparking ire among medical marijuana
   advocates. Jurors also decided Ginn, 53, qualifies for a more
   severe sentence because her growing operation was within 1,000
   feet of a designated school bus stop." An appeal is planned.
   (1/15/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/625215586.html

Feng shui to become part of California building code?
----------
WND
   "A Democratic California legislator has introduced a resolution
   that would urge state officials to include the principles of feng
   shui in the California Building Standards Code, which is used in
   the design of public buildings." (1/16/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/565251842.html
Sheldon (Shelly) Waxman, Writer/Lawyer
"The Black Messiah Murders," Sam Cohen #1
"Piranhas On the Loose," Sam Cohen #2
"In the Teeth of the Wind,"
"All Anybody Needs to Know About Independent Contracting"
PURCHASE AT MY WEBSITE: http://thelawyer.info/ OR Call Iuniverse toll free 1-877-823-9235 

 

Cute

 
 
Marketing
The buzz word in today's business world is Marketing.  However, people
often ask for a simple explanation of 'Marketing'.
Well here it is:

You're a woman and you see a handsome guy at a party.You go up to him
and say, "I'm fantastic in bed."That's Direct Marketing

You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a handsome guy.One of
your friends goes up to him and pointing at you says,"She's fantastic in
bed" That's Advertising

You see a handsome guy at a party.  You go up to him and get his
telephone number.  The next day you call and say,
"Hi!  I'm fantastic in bed" That's Telemarketing

You see a guy at a party, you straighten your dress.  You walk up him
and pour him a drink.  You say, " May I," and reach up to straighten his
tie, brushing your breast lightly against his arm, and then say,
"By the way, I'm fantastic in bed" That's Public Relations

You're at a party and see a handsome guy.  He walks up to you and says,
"I hear you're fantastic in bed."That's Brand Recognition

You're at a party and see a handsome guy.  He fancies you, but you talk
him into going home with your friend. That's a Sales Rep

Your friend can't satisfy him so he calls you. That's Tech Support

You're on your way to a party when you realize that there could be
handsome men in all these houses you're passing. 
So you climb onto the roof of one situated towards the center and
shout at the top of your lungs, "I'm fantastic in bed!" That's Junk Mail




 

"After all," said Scarlet O'Hara, "tomorrow is another day" And So Far They Always Pull It Off

 
Sheldon (Shelly) Waxman, Writer/Lawyer
"The Black Messiah Murders," Sam Cohen #1
"Piranhas On the Loose," Sam Cohen #2
"In the Teeth of the Wind,"
"All Anybody Needs to Know About Independent Contracting"
PURCHASE AT MY WEBSITE: http://thelawyer.info/ OR Call Iuniverse toll free 1-877-823-9235 
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2004 8:27 AM
Subject: "After all," said Scarlet O'Hara, "tomorrow is another day."

MID-MONTH COMMENTARY ON THE MARKETS
By Chris Temple, The National Investor       
January 15, 2004
        www.nationalinvestor.com

Thursday, January 15, 2004

At long last, we?ve recently heard cries of ?Uncle? from some quarters where the U.S. dollar?s relentless decline?and the corresponding increase in other currencies?is concerned. As a result, there have been some significant market developments over the last several days. They are not ones likely to change the many longer-term trends that have become evident over the last year or two. However, these changes have been affecting many investors, especially those who were unprepared for them.

On the currency front, the highest-profile grumbling has been coming from the European Central Bank, whose currency has been the most prominent gainer among the major ones versus the greenback. On Monday, the dollar?s decline against Europe?s common currency reached new lows of over $1.29 per euro. Then, new E.C.B. President Jean-Claude Trichet publicly expressed concern for the first time over the ?brutal? rise in the euro?s value, one which has hurt exports from the eurozone and threatened its fragile recovery.

As a result, we?re finally seeing an overdue correction in the euro?s ascent, together with a commensurate respite for the dollar, now that at least someone in such a position has decided to fire a shot across currency traders? bows. Today, we?ve dropped back to just below $1.26 per euro. What?s been interesting about the currency markets, though, is that the dollar has NOT enjoyed similar rebounds against most other currencies. Against the yen, in fact, it has hit another new low this week below 106 yen before bouncing; and this in spite of yet more Bank of Japan intervention.

The dollar-versus-euro move is far from evidence of any renewed confidence in the U.S. currency. In fact, that the dollar has not rallied much yet against other currencies is evidence that traders still have no love for America?s scrip. However, part of the Federal Reserve?s present plan?which I?ll be exploring in The National Investor in the not-too-distant future?is to actually lead the world in ?competitively devaluing? its currencies. Greenspan and Company know that they can?t be the only ones keeping interest rates at puny levels, and are trying to force other countries now to actually cut interest rates further, so as to have the best hopes of keeping the global economy grinding ahead. Few fully grasp, in fact, that the big worldwide trend in prices is in transition; it?s moving from one dominated by China?s purported exporting of deflation, to one where America will seek to export inflation.

South Africa, New Zealand and Canada may be on the verge of cutting rates, both to take some of the steam out of their own currencies? moves against the U.S. dollar. England, which would like to be raising rates further, is now stuck with having to deal with sterling?s 10-year high against the dollar. Ditto Australia. All this will make for an interesting meeting of the G-7, coming up in Florida next month.

The most significant fallout from the dollar?s nascent recovery has been felt by metals and mining stocks. With hedge funds who were heavily long the market now having an excuse to sell thanks to an interruption in the dollar?s bear market, gold is getting hammered. Moments ago it closed at $408.30 in New York, down $13.10 on the day.

Gold mining stocks are getting hit as hard as they have since the sector reached its intermediate-term peak around December 1. The Amex Gold Bugs Index, or ?HUI,? is now down 17% from that peak near 260, losing around 13 points on the day as of around 1:00 p.m. Eastern time.

Though I?d give gold itself a 50-50 chance right now of holding above $400 per ounce, the misery for the gold shares is not yet over. Having decisively smashed now below the previously reliable support of their 50-day moving averages, gold shares will suffer additional losses for two reasons. First, institutions and individual investors alike who rode this momentum play over the last several months will now be spooked by gold shares? technical breakdown, and will add further to the selling.

Secondly, I still feel that most are unprepared to hear just how badly the bottom lines of many of the world?s medium and large-sized mining companies were hit last year?and especially in the fourth quarter?by the weak U.S. dollar. Over the next month we?ll be hearing from them all, and finding out anew that for too many, gold?s dollar-measured rise in price during 2003 didn?t translate into any better financial health for them. If I?m right, those gold companies most negatively impacted may suffer disproportionately, feeding the correction in the sector even further.

Eventually, however, this latest nasty comeuppance for gold bulls who got too cocky and careless will be over. And, I don?t think the process will take nearly as long as it did following the long correction after the June, 2002 peak in the sector; in fact, it might well be over in a month. When it is, those of us who once again had the wisdom to lighten up near the December 1 peak, as we did in June, 2002 when gold shares were similarly WAY too far ahead of themselves, will feel like kids in a candy store with a pocket full of money. Sadly, though, most will instead ?enjoy? the next leg up in gold shares by counting the days/weeks/months it will take just to get back to where they were before.

While most other commodities and commodity-linked shares have joined in gold?s woes to one extent or another, crude oil prices have remained conspicuous by bucking this trend. Though it backed off some today, crude still just hit yet another post-Iraq invasion high over $35 per barrel. So strong has oil been, in fact, that prices have stubbornly moved higher in spite of apparent OPEC over production recently. Now, even the oil cartel is crying ?Uncle? due, in part, to what the weak dollar policy has done to its ?currency.? Not helping is the fact that U.S. crude oil stocks are at their lowest levels since 1975, due in part to a Bush Administration that has utterly failed in addressing America?s long-term energy deficit except (it thinks) through its risky ?energy policy by conquest? strategy.

There are two dangers. The most immediate (and selfish) for OPEC members is that these high prices will not allow for the planned cuts in production slated for next month, which would likely push them higher still. Second, the chronically high price?even if it is measured in the cheapened dollar?strongly risks setting back economic activity, as well as hitting corporate profits. The latter, of course, will lead to the former if unchecked.

Wall Street is largely oblivious to this, not to mention many other things it should have a sharper eye on. Instead, stocks generally continue grinding higher. Yet, one gets the unmistakable sense that stocks wanting to continue sprinting higher have balls and chains around their ankles, which are suddenly starting to feel a bit heavier. The jobs numbers continue to be disappointing. The Christmas shopping season?even when one adds the delayed reaction from all the gift cards which have now been spent?was sub-par.

Corporate earnings season has commenced, but without the universal success (and then some) already priced into the market. Intel met its earnings expectations, but warned that both expected revenues and its capital spending budget for the first quarter will be less than expected. Apple and Yahoo disappointed, with both of those stocks starting the day weaker. To be fair, numbers from I.B.M. looked good; though its bottom line was helped more by the dollar?s weakness than by any big increase in top-line growth.

To me, the most interesting report so far, though, has come from aluminum giant Alcoa which, as it always does, kicked off the quarterly earnings releases last week. Once one waded through the myriad charges, one-time gains and the like, the starkest thing was the way in which rising expenses, MOST NOTABLY ENERGY, had hurt the company?s bottom line. We?ll hear from others like this in the weeks ahead.

In my view, we?re on the way toward what I recently dubbed a ?70?s-lite? type of environment. The dollar will weaken further. Costs, led by commodities, will rise. Eventually, there will be upward pressure on long-term interest rates, in spite of the Federal Reserve?s gallant (but ultimately doomed) efforts to hold it off. None of these trends, mind you, is likely to be as extreme as those of the late 1970?s; at least not any time soon. However, the pattern will be the same; and Americans will re-learn the word ?stagflation.?

For now, though, stock investors continue to be fixated on what have been or are perceived to be the ?benefits? of the reckless fiscal stimulus and dollar debauching that has occurred in the last year. They still could not care less about what consequences that has sown for the future. As Scarlett O?Hara would say, ?I?ll worry about that tomorrow.?



Thursday, January 15, 2004

 

Who Owns Your Body??--They Do

>
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-drug-testing,0,7707329.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines
>
> NEW YORK -- The federal government is planning to overhaul its employee
> drug testing program to include scrutiny of workers' hair, saliva and
> sweat, a shift that could spur more businesses to revise screening for
> millions of their own workers.
>
> The planned changes, long awaited by the testing industry, reflect
> government efforts to be more precise in its drug screening and to
> outmaneuver a small but growing subset of workers who try to cheat on
> urine-based tests.
>
> Some businesses have already adopted alternative testing, despite
criticism
> by privacy advocates. But others have held back, partly awaiting
government
> standards.
>
> Alternative testing methods would give employers more certainty about the
> timing and scope of drug usage than is now possible solely with urine
> sampling, said Robert Stephenson II, an official with the federal
Substance
> Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
>
> That could be particularly valuable in situations like investigations of
> on-the-job accidents, to determine not just whether an employee uses drugs
> but if usage occurred recently enough to be a cause.
>
> Alternative testing will "really ramp up our ability to increase the
> deterrent value of our program, which is basically the whole bottom line,"
> said Stephenson, director of the agency's Division of Workplace Programs.
>
> Stephenson said it would likely be a year until the new policies take
> effect for the nation's 1.6 million federal workers. The agency, known as
> SAMHSA, sets guidelines and administers the testing.
>
> All federal workers are eligible to be tested. SAMHSA, a division of the
> Department of Health and Human Services, tests fewer than 200,000 workers
a
> year. The decision about who is tested often depends on the sensitivity of
> their job.
>
> But because its standards are followed by regulatory agencies who conduct
> testing in industries they oversee, SAMHSA is responsible for about 6.5
> million of the 40 million workplace drug tests done each year by U.S.
> employers.
>
> The agency's testing standards are also widely followed by thousands of
> other employers, public and private.
>
> The proposed changes are due out "literally any day," Stephenson said. He
> would not discuss details of the proposals before their release.
>
> Changes would not likely go into effect until early next year, after the
> agency solicits public comment, finalize guidelines and prepare for the
> transition. Once that happens, many other employers could follow suit,
> government and industry officials say.
>
> "There's no doubt about it that SAMHSA's guidelines become the standard
for
> the industry whether you're a regulated employer or not, and so what
SAMHSA
> does will have wide-ranging impact," said Kenneth Kunsman, a marketing
> executive with OraSure Technologies Inc., which makes a saliva testing
kit.
>
> More employers are already using alternative testing. But many have held
> back because of the lack of standards, said Laura Shelton, executive
> director of the Drug and Alcohol Testing Industry Association, which
> represents test manufacturers and labs.
>
> Alternative tests hold appeal because their accuracy cannot be foiled with
> products sold to mask drug residue in urine, say company and government
> officials, noting that the tests are extremely accurate.
>
> But privacy advocates express doubts, pointing to cases of police officers
> and others who allege false positives because their hair absorbed drugs
> around them, as well as research suggesting dark hair soaks up more drug
> byproducts than light hair.
>
> "There's a lot that would need to be done before these types of tests, in
> our minds, would be sufficient to used for workplace testing," said Jeremy
> Gruber, legal director for the National Workrights Institute, an employee
> advocacy group.
>
> The screening industry has worked in recent years to promote alternative
tests.
>
> Casino operators and local police departments were among the first to use
> hair testing for pre-employment screening because it allows detection of
> drug use over much longer periods than urine. It is also now used by
> employers including Kraft Foods Inc. and brewer Anheuser-Busch Cos.
>
> "Urine tests were fallible in a variety of ways," said Alan Feldman, a
> spokesman for MGM Mirage, which adopted pre-employment hair testing for
all
> its 42,000 workers in 1993. "We want our people to be sharp."
>
> Psychemedics Corp., the largest hair testing company, has about 2,600
> corporate clients and last year did about 400,000 tests, vice president
> Bill Thistle said.
>
> Saliva testing has only been marketed for workplace drug testing for a few
> years. Companies including paper manufacturer Georgia-Pacific Corp. have
> adopted it.
>
> Kunsman said the labs affiliated with his firm this year expect to process
> 60,000 to 70,000 workplace drug tests a month.
>
> Government officials and testing industry executives say the new tests are
> less a replacement for urine screening than as additional tools in
> employers' arsenal.
>
> "In different cases, one specimen may be better than the other," said Dr.
> Donna Bush, drug testing team leader at SAMHSA's Center for Substance
Abuse
> Prevention.
>
> Saliva testing, done using a swab that looks much like a toothbrush but
> with a pad instead of bristles, is best at detecting drug use within the
> past one or two days.
>
> Hair testing, in which a sample about the thickness of a shoelace is
> clipped at the root from the back of the head, allows detection of many
> drugs used as far back as 3 months.
>
> Sweat testing, in which workers are fitted with a patch that is worn for
> two weeks, is used to screen people who have returned to work after drug
> treatment.
> * ___
>
> On the Net:
> http://www.drugfreeworkplace.gov
> http://www.orasure.com
> http://www.psychemedics.com
> http://www.datia.org
> http://www.workrights.org
>


 

Re: [Freedom Lawyers of America] When Will It Be Enough??

IN NEW YORK, THAT IS!!!
 
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, January 15, 2004 4:17 PM
Subject: [Freedom Lawyers of America] When Will It Be Enough??

Fox News says that it is illegal for a restaurant to own "ashtrays."
 
Sheldon (Shelly) Waxman, Writer/Lawyer
"The Black Messiah Murders," Sam Cohen #1
"Piranhas On the Loose," Sam Cohen #2
"In the Teeth of the Wind,"
"All Anybody Needs to Know About Independent Contracting"
PURCHASE AT MY WEBSITE: http://thelawyer.info/ OR Call Iuniverse toll free 1-877-823-9235 


--
Posted by sheldon waxman to Freedom Lawyers of America at 1/14/2004 06:00:33 PM

Yahoo! Groups Links


 

Misc.

Alabama county bans balcony grill-outs
----------
Montgomery Advertiser
   "The Tuscaloosa [AL] City Council adopted an international fire
   code that bans grills on outdoor apartment balconies and prohibits
   live Christmas trees in some buildings. .... City Council member
   Kip Tyner [said] .... 'I think it's too much government. It's kind
   of ridiculous.'" (1/15/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/685426519.html
 Pittsburgh council approves parking tax hike
----------
Post-Gazette
   "Pittsburgh City Council ... overwhelmingly approved raising
   parking taxes to 50 percent, effective Feb. 1, and Mayor Tom
   Murphy is expected to sign the tax hike into law. .... [The]
   council increased the tax in order to restore $3 million in
   funding to employees and services cut in the 2004 budget ..."
   (1/15/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/746509121.html

Montana supreme court upholds shouting "crime"
----------
Billings Gazette
   "A five-judge panel said ... that Chapman's effort to disperse
   a carful of teens from a public road in front of his house by
   shouting at them to get out of his town was a crime. Chapman was
   wrong in arguing that no one's peace was disturbed by his actions,
   the court said. Chapman, 38, assailed the high court's decision as
   depriving him of his constitutional right to free speech."
   (1/14/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/749709647.html

$900 million deficit confronts Michigan
----------
Free Press
   "A new year, a new state deficit. No sooner did Gov. Jennifer
   Granholm and state lawmakers flush the red ink from this year's
   budget than they faced more of it: The state is sliding into
   another $900-million hole in 2005." (1/14/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/760975205.html
 
Brazilian police arrest U.S. pilot over finger gesture
----------
Miami Herald
   "An American Airlines pilot ... gave Brazilian authorities the
   finger [photograph shown] as they photographed him as part of
   increased security measures for U.S. citizens. It was a bad move.
   Brazilian police arrested him, and he was fined $12,700."
(1/15/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/766546184.html


Sheldon (Shelly) Waxman, Writer/Lawyer
"The Black Messiah Murders," Sam Cohen #1
"Piranhas On the Loose," Sam Cohen #2
"In the Teeth of the Wind,"
"All Anybody Needs to Know About Independent Contracting"
PURCHASE AT MY WEBSITE: http://thelawyer.info/ OR Call Iuniverse toll free 1-877-823-9235 

Wednesday, January 14, 2004

 

When Will It Be Enough??

Fox News says that it is illegal for a restaurant to own "ashtrays."
 
Sheldon (Shelly) Waxman, Writer/Lawyer
"The Black Messiah Murders," Sam Cohen #1
"Piranhas On the Loose," Sam Cohen #2
"In the Teeth of the Wind,"
"All Anybody Needs to Know About Independent Contracting"
PURCHASE AT MY WEBSITE: http://thelawyer.info/ OR Call Iuniverse toll free 1-877-823-9235 

 

misc.

Palestinian woman bomber kills four; escalation to continue
----------
Reuters
   "A Palestinian mother ... blew herself up at the main border
   crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip ... killing four
   Israelis and wounding seven people. The militant Islamic
   group Hamas and the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed joint
   responsibility for the suicide bombing, which they said was
   to avenge Israel's killing of Palestinians, and vowed to
   escalate attacks." (1/14/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/888357077.html

An article in Wednesday's New York Times reports that, "A new study has
concluded that both the average price of settling class-action lawsuits
and the average fee paid to lawyers who bring them have held steady for a
decade, even though companies have said the suits are driving up the cost
of doing business, hurting the economy and lining lawyers' pockets."
(New York Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/14/business/14law.html

    ILLINOIS v. LIDSTER, No. 02-1060 (U.S.S.C January 13, 2004)
    Brief highway checkpoint stops, when appropriately tailored by
    police seeking information about a crime of considerable public
    concern that was in all likelihood committed by others, do not
    violate the Fourth Amendment rights of motorists.

    To read the full text of this opinion, go to:
   
http://laws.findlaw.com/us/000/02-1060.html

Sheldon (Shelly) Waxman, Writer/Lawyer
"The Black Messiah Murders," Sam Cohen #1
"Piranhas On the Loose," Sam Cohen #2
"In the Teeth of the Wind,"
"All Anybody Needs to Know About Independent Contracting"
PURCHASE AT MY WEBSITE: http://thelawyer.info/ OR Call Iuniverse toll free 1-877-823-9235 

 

Fw: Dollar's woes proving bizarre bonanza for US debt

The bastards always find a way; don't they. You have to hand it to 'em; they
have the whole world scrambling. But this constant intervention just
continues to delay the inevatable economic collapse, which I deem is
necessary to build a new, better structure--one based on free market and
free enterprise and not State Capitalism.




Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2004 11:59 AM
Subject: Dollar's woes proving bizarre bonanza for US debt


> http://www.forbes.com/markets/economy/newswire/2004/01/14/rtr1210632.html
>
> NEW YORK, Jan 13 (Reuters) - The dollar's decline is proving, somewhat
> bizarrely, to be a boon for Treasuries as central bank intervention funds
> find a home in the bosom of U.S. debt markets.
>
> On Thursday the Federal Reserve is expected to report that its holdings of
> U.S. Treasury and agency debt for foreign central banks hit a record high
> this week.
>
> In fact, the weekly rise in the Fed's custody holdings could itself be one
> of the largest on record since the Bank of Japan is understood to have
> bought a massive $38 billion last week through intervention against the
yen.
>
> Analysts assume much of that money will end up parked in U.S. Treasuries,
> and thus be held by the Fed.
>
> So great is this tide of funds that a dynamic has built in the Treasury
> market where weakness in the dollar leads to expectations of
> intervention-related buying of bonds and to downward pressure on U.S. bond
> yields.
>
> "The unprecedented scale of the intervention has grossly distorted
> traditional correlations between the dollar, bond yields and equities,"
> argues Alan Ruskin, chief economist at 4CAST. He even equates the trend as
> equal, in all but name, with the great Plaza and Louvre currency accords
of
> the 1980s.
>
> This flood of money, analysts suggest, is a major reason why market
> interest rates have stayed so subdued in recent months despite a startling
> acceleration in economic growth.
>
> It is a perverse dynamic since the market had initially feared a slide in
> the dollar would hurt Treasuries, partly through the risk of higher
> inflation, but mainly as the threat of currency losses would scare away
> overseas investors.
>
> But while capital flows data shows foreign private investors have indeed
> shied away, their governments are more concerned with preventing an
> export-damaging rise in their currencies.
>
> Just last year foreign central bank holdings of Treasuries ballooned by
> $172 billion to a record $862 billion -- meaning they funded almost half
of
> the United States's $375 billion budget deficit last year.
>
> Most of this growth is linked to currency intervention by Asian countries,
> notably Japan and China. Japan's foreign exchange reserves rose $187
> billion in the year while China's expanded by $117 billion.
>
> "This is by far the fastest reserve accumulation in history and it serves
> no useful purpose other than as a support to the dollar," notes Ethan
> Harris, chief U.S. economist at Lehman Brothers. Neither does it seem
> likely to end anytime soon.
>
> China remains committed to its currency peg with the dollar, which makes
> intervention against the yuan virtually automatic.
>
> The Japanese meanwhile, have just arranged for the Ministry of Finance to
> borrow up to 10 trillion yen from the BOJ in order to fund yet more
> yen-selling intervention. The first five trillion yen of that reportedly
> changed hands today.
>
> IT'S NOT SOMETHING WE TALK ABOUT
>
> While the importance of foreign central banks in funding the United
> States's twin deficits is abundantly clear, it is rarely mentioned by
> anyone in power.
>
> Treasury Secretary John Snow last week claimed the budget deficit was
> eminently manageable, while only a day ago Federal Reserve Chairman Alan
> Greenspan saw no problem in funding the current account shortfall.
>
> Neither mentioned the contribution of foreign governments.
>
> The White House stance is understandable since the flow of foreign money
is
> making it easier to argue that budget deficits do not push up interest
> rates, and so justify past tax cuts.
>
> But the Fed also has reason to be thankful.
>
> The central bank caused a stir in markets last year by suggesting that, if
> deflation became a real danger, it might respond by buying long-term
> Treasuries directly and driving yields lower.
>
> In the end, officials decided the proposal had too many dangers of its own
> and it fell from favor. But, the Fed seems to have no problem with foreign
> governments buying Treasuries.
>
> "One of the great ironies of the latest events, is that for all the debate
> about the implications of the Fed buying Treasuries to suppress bond
> yields, it is foreign central banks, notably the BOJ, that is doing the
job
> for them," said 4CAST's Ruskin.
>


Tuesday, January 13, 2004

 

laws, laws, regulate, regulate

Fort Worth to regulate home businesses?
----------
Star-Telegram
   "The proposed regulations -- which would include a $25 yearly
   license -- are intended to protect neighborhoods from the noise
   and disruptions that can occur when homes are used for high-
   traffic businesses, [Forth Worth, TX] City Development Director
   Bob Riley said." (1/13/04)
http://www.free-market.net/rd/37789023.html

 

Never Too Old

Italy indicts alleged Nazis in 1944 massacre
    Scotsman [UK]

"A court has charged three alleged ex-SS members with carrying
out a 1944 massacre of 560 people in the Italian village of Sant'Anna
di Stazzema. Italy's ANSA news agency said indictments were
issued against Gerhard Sommer, 83, Alfred Schonenberg, 83, and
Ludwig Sonntag, 80, all said to be former members of an SS
Panzergrenadier Division. ... In August 1944, some 300 of Hitler's
elite and ideologically fanatical SS troops surrounded the Tuscan
village of Sant'Anna di Stazzema, which had been flooded with
refugees, in what was supposed to be a hunt for partisans. Instead,
they rounded up all villagers they could find -- 80% of whom were
women, children and elderly -- and began shooting them, according
to witnesses." (01/13/04)

http://www.news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2401874


Monday, January 12, 2004

 

And With More Tickets Comes More Money and More Jail Time and More Jails and More Cops and More Prosecutors--GOT THE PICTURE

An article in Sunday's Jackson Citizen Patriot reports that, "Last year,
Jackson County District Court handled 2,300 tickets issued for driving
while license suspended, revoked or denied." According to the article,
"The glut of suspended licenses opens a wider, cause-and-effect debate
about the increased number of traffic tickets being doled out."
(Jackson Citizen Patriot)
http://www.mlive.com/news/jacitpat/index.ssf?/base/news-7/107381913395300.xml
 
 
Mother charged with driving "pole dancing car"
    Ananova [UK]

"A mother-of-two has been arrested for allegedly driving a car with a
pole dancer painted on it. Erica Meredith, 25, from Indianapolis, has
been charged with disseminating matter harmful to minors. The 1976
Buick belongs to her boyfriend. Patrol officer Kevin Kerns pulled
over Meredith after spotting a broken tail light. He wrote in his report:
'Applying contemporary standards, displays a theme which appeals
to the prurient interest of sex.' The painting shows a naked dancer
being watched by two men." (01/11/04)

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_854668.html

 

It's All True

 
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, January 11, 2004 10:19 PM
Subject: Coca-Cola Part 12 DRAFT SEVEN

COCA-COLA/PEPSI-COLA, the CIA, and the COURTS, Part 12
BIG BUCKS JUDGES
by Sherman H. Skolnick
1/11/4
 
In America, the commonfolk have somehow come to believe that the Federal courts are the site of honest judges, not subject to local political pressures or corruption. On the other hand, there is the widespread perception t