Freedom Lawyers of America

        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it is enough to suspect that currency violations may have occurred in your account and due to this activity we have withdrawn Federal Deposit Insurance on your account until we verify that your account has not been used in a violation of the Patriot Act.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

______________________________________________________
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.''

______________________________________________________
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."

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.?

>
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
>

----- Original Message -----

From: sheldon waxman

To: freedom-lawyers@yahoogroups.com

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

---

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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.
>

SAFE MONEY REPORT
Cover Story - January 2004
............................................................................
........

Two defining events of 2004 ...
1: Tech Wreck II!

2: New bull market in
gold and natural resources!


If you bought the average Nasdaq stock right now, you'd have to wait a full
140 years - until the year 2144 - before the companies could produce net
profits that add up to the amount you invested.

I don't know about you, but I can't wait that long. Nor can my son, or the
next generation of children.

In contrast, the price of gold, commodities, and other natural resources
were driven down - or largely held down - for more than TWO DECADES. And
despite a nice rally, they remain greatly undervalued today.

Here's how to profit from BOTH megatrends!


Part 1
Tech Wreck II

SCO Group, which sells UNIX operating systems, finally began making some
money for the first time in early 2003 after losing $1.93 a share in 2002
and $10.92 a share in 2001. So, Wall Street apparently thinks it's hot
stuff. But it's still selling for 145 times earnings - far too rich even
for aggressive investors.

Quest Software, a $1.4 billion database software company, is selling for 60
times earnings.

Red Hat Inc. is trading at 391 times earnings; Juniper Networks, 185 times
earnings; and Novell Inc., 211 times earnings.

At the very least, aren't the 1990s bubble stocks now good values? Hah!
Amazon is still selling for 106 times earnings and Yahoo, 139. Hundreds
more are in the same boat.

Sound familiar? It should ... because it's remarkably similar to the late
1990s.


What happened? How are investors getting sucked into this same trap AGAIN?

First, Wall Street's big sales machine went back into action. Once the 10
major brokerage firms signed the global settlement agreement with
regulators, it was assumed that the scandalous past was largely behind us.

Sure enough, research analysts began upgrading companies left and right,
almost exclusively based on more future promises.

Second, many investors fell for the new Wall Street sales pitch. They
wanted to catch the big fish that got away in the first tech boom. They saw
another chance to restore that glorious moment. And so they cast their luck
again.

Third, Wall Street was able to grab onto one aspect that was indeed
improving in the tech sector - sales. What they did not tell you is that ...


Profit margins at many tech companies are way, way down!

To get those sales increases, most companies have had to slash prices to
the bone. Result: Profit margins have plunged.

*A 60-inch HDTV sold for $7,000 in 1999; today you can buy a 65-inch Sony
HDTV for $3,299, and a 55-inch for $1,800.

* A Sony 2-megapixel digital camera sold for $900 in 1999; today a
comparable camera sells for $289.

* The cheapest DVD player in 1999 cost just under $200; now you can pick
one up at Costco for less than $79.

Not surprisingly, one of the world's largest makers of these electronics -
Sony - has suffered steadily falling profits and a near nonstop plunge in
its share prices.

From 1999 through 2003, Sony's revenues actually went up 15% to $61.3
billion. BUT, the company's expenses went up at a faster clip:
Manufacturing costs - up 13%; selling and other administrative costs - up
33%. Result: Sony's net income before taxes fell by a third - to just $947
million.

Dell Computers is in a similar bind: Gross sales are up 83% in 2003
compared to 1999. But to achieve those results, Dell had to slash prices
mercilessly. Right now, for example, you could order a brand-new Dell
Pentium4 PC with a breakneck speed of 2.5 gigahertz, disk storage of 40
gigabytes, and software that used to sell for hundreds of dollars - all for
a grand total of $399!

Back in 1999, the cheapest Dell computer available - the Dimension L400 PC
- was one-sixth as fast, had less than one-ninth the storage, and only a
fraction of the software. But its cost was more than double - $899 - and
that was already considered "dirt cheap" back then.

Not surprisingly, Dell's gross profit margins are 17% less than they were
during the 1999 tech bubble - and its return on assets is 32% less. Again,
the same pattern: Sales are up, but profit margins are down. And here is
what is truly frightening: Dell's profit margins are actually pretty good
compared to those of many Nasdaq companies:

* Ericsson has suffered a 62% decline in gross profit margin - from 45% in
1999 to 17.8% today.

* Citrix Systems, which provides access infrastructure software and
services, suffered a drop in gross profit margin of 31% - from 50% in 1999
to 35% in 2003.

The big problem in 2004: With the cost of raw materials and manufacturing
rising, further price cutting to stimulate sales will be extremely
difficult.

If anything, in an attempt to restore profitability, many companies may be
forced to jack up prices. Result: The sales spurt will come to an abrupt
end.


Many Nasdaq 100 companies that have rallied 50%, 100%, even 300% STILL have
no earnings whatsoever!

No matter how impressive a rally may be, when it's based on weak growth in
earnings, it makes me nervous. And a rally in stocks with no earnings
whatsoever makes me want to call 911. Examples:

# Amazon.com: Despite all the hoopla about the "new Amazon," the online
retailer is STILL not making money.

No doubt, Amazon has been busy: The company set a new record of 2.1 million
items ordered on a single day in December. But what it isn't talking about
is the same, old inescapable phenomenon that prompted us to coin the phrase
"Amazon.bomb" back in 1999: Red ink - $37.8 million in the first three
quarters of 2003.

Call me old-fashioned, but I think a company needs to turn a profit ... at
least a little profit ... before you should risk your hard-earned savings.

# Sun Microsystems went from a net profit of $1.8 billion in 2000 to a net
LOSS of $3.4 billion in 2003.

# Broadcom, the broadband giant, had a small profit in 1999. Then the
losses hit big time: $687 million in 2000 .... $2.7 billion in 2001 ...
$2.2 billion in 2002, and ANOTHER $959 million in the first half of 2003.

# Then there's Verisign, a company that seems to have transformed the art
of losing money into a science. It lost $3.1 billion in 2000, $13.3 billion
in 2001, and $4.9 billion in 2002. What about 2003?

It lost "only" a few hundred million!

Maybe some people think that's "progress." But you'll never get me to fork
over my money for a company that hasn't made a single DIME in the last four
years.


No new "killer app" technologies

This is vital: The overwhelming majority of companies listed on the Nasdaq
are offering little more than refinements and enhancements of existing
technologies - rarely anything substantially new.

I see no equivalent to the cell phone which spread across the globe like
wildfire ... local area networks which took over the business world ...
digital cameras that suddenly became affordable ... or the World Wide Web
itself.

Sure, technologies have been improved incrementally. But they have not been
replaced or surpassed. Nor have there been any new breakthroughs that come
close to matching those of the 1990s. Examples:

* Cell phones in 2003 now have color screens and come with digital cameras.
But their primary function - talk - has not changed.

* Laptops are thinner and faster ... and wireless Internet access is
convenient. But a portable computer is still a portable computer.

* Everyone sings the praises of TiVo and its competitors - video digital
recording devices that allow you to record TV shows and watch them at a
later date. Nice technology, but not a revolutionary advance over the
old-fashioned programmable VCR.

In the stock market as a whole, what we have, in essence, is a video-tape
replay of the 1990s tech bubble - and without the sexy new inventions. My
view: It will inevitably end in a replay of the great tech wreck of
2000-2002.

On the flip side ...


Part 2
The dollar decline will accelerate, driving gold and natural resources
dramatically higher

While front-page headlines proclaim the glories of the stock market rally,
the truly BIG story of our time is buried in the back pages, submerged in
Wall Street's subconscious:

The dollar fell steadily throughout most of 2003. It fell again on the last
trading days of the year and still further as the New Year opened. At the
same time, in lock-step with the dollar plunge, we're witnessing a parallel
surge in gold, energy, and other commodities. It makes absolute sense: When
paper money loses value, hard assets gain.

Just this week, on January 6, the dollar plunged to an all-time low against
the euro ... a seven-year low against the Swiss franc ...a six-year low
against the Australian and New Zealand dollars ... a 10-year low against
Canadian dollar ... and an 11-year low against the British pound.

The biggest drama, though, is the dollar's fall against the Japanese yen.
Last year, Japanese authorities dumped a whopping 21.1 TRILLION yen (over
$200 billion) onto the foreign exchange market in an attempt to stop the
dollar from falling.

But despite the huge interventions, the dollar fell against the yen anyway.
And this week, the decline has accelerated, again despite massive
intervention by the Japanese authorities.

Why? There are three dead weights dragging the dollar lower:

#1. The U.S. trade deficit is the worst in all history - $358 billion in
2001, $435 billion in 2002 and an estimated $491 billion in 2003.

It's about seven times larger than a decade ago. It's bigger than the
official tally of the entire federal budget deficit. It's more entrenched
than any trade deficit in history. And it's worsening at a faster pace.

You ask: "But since the overall U.S. economy is larger, isn't it OK to have
a larger deficit?" Sorry. That argument doesn't work here. Even in
proportion to the growing U.S. economy, the trade deficit is still the
largest in history. Consider the chart:

The worst previous trade deficit crisis came in 1987,
http://www.safemoneyreport.com/img/issues/357_tradedeficit.gif when it hit
3.2% of GDP. That helped precipitate the sharpest dollar decline of that
era, which then led to the worst stock market crash of all time. But now
look! The hole in our trade balance is far deeper than it was back in 1987
- a whopping 4.42% of GDP.

This means that foreigners are earning far more in dollars from their
exports to the U.S. than we're earning in their currencies from our exports
to them. Result: They're getting stuck with hundreds of billions of extra
dollars every year.

Until a couple of years ago, they were willing to simply reinvest nearly
all of those dollars in America - mostly into U.S. bonds and stocks. No
more! Now they're starting to sell a bigger chunk of the new dollars they
earn, driving the value of the dollar down.

#2. A huge backlog of potential selling from abroad. An even bigger threat
stems from the danger that foreign investors will start selling from the
huge hoard of U.S. investments they've been accumulating over the years:

Based on the latest data available from the U.S. Treasury Department,
foreigners hold $1.46 trillion in U.S. Treasury securities, $1.69 trillion
in U.S. corporate and other bonds, plus another $1.17 trillion in U.S.
stocks. Grand total: A whopping $4.32 TRILLION!

How much longer can they hold on before they rush for the exits? No one
knows for sure. But we do know this: In 1987, foreign investors held on for
about six months. Then, they unleashed a great selling barrage that helped
precipitate the greatest stock market crash of all time.

#3. Benign neglect. The president of the United States - the most powerful
man in the world - has been convinced by his advisers that he actually
wants a cheaper dollar.

They figure a lower dollar will make U.S. products cheaper and more
competitive overseas. They hope a cheaper dollar will help save U.S. jobs
which are now fleeing, in torrents, to low-wage countries. They're telling
the president that a weaker dollar is vital to saving his own job.

For a while, the president tried to protect U.S. jobs another way - with
tariffs on imports like steel. But late last year, he was forced to end
those tariffs! That left only one tactic - a much cheaper dollar.

Conclusion: Our currency is sinking ... and yet no one in Washington or on
Wall Street seems to care.


When the dollar falls, gold rises

It's a see-saw relationship that is rarely broken ... and that is
especially strong right now.

This week is a case in point. As the dollar plunged to new lows, gold
blasted through the $425 level. And along with gold, other commodities are
also taking off. Natural gas is up 59% in just the past three months.
Copper has risen by 42% since July. Heating oil has risen a whopping 40%
since September, while cotton and platinum are up 34% and 28%, respectively
since June. Crude oil has jumped 25% since September.

The worldwide flight from the dollar to gold and other commodities is the
most powerful and consistent powerhouse behind these new bull markets.

But it's certainly not the only one. There's also surging demand from China
and elsewhere. Short supplies. Neglected production facilities.

Most stock analysts, however, don't seem to understand com-modities. They
look at the commodity-based stocks - like gold, energy, and natural
resource companies - strictly in terms of their earnings. Earnings are
important, but these companies must also be viewed as asset plays.

The logic is simple: The stocks may be fairly valued based on earnings. But
if the commodities that drive these stock prices are still severely
undervalued, it implies that the shares can go a lot higher simply by
riding on the wave of rising commodity prices.

That's what we see happening, and that's why we feel these shares should be
good investments whether the market averages continue rising ... or turn
sharply lower.

No investment is risk-free, and this certainly applies to gold, energy and
natural resource stocks. So be sure to stick with our instructions in the
next articles to help reduce the risk of loss and maximize your long-term
profit potential.





SAFE MONEY REPORT
Prof. Investor - January 2004
............................................................................
........

QUESTIONS FROM OUR READERS


Q: You keep telling us the dollar is tanking, foreigners keep dumping our
Treasuries, and the twin deficits are a disaster in the making. Yet
government officials say inflation is non-existent and unemployment is
falling, while the stock market is rallying like times could never be
better. Could you please tell me what planet they and you are on?

A: The folks in Washington are on Mars, named after the Roman god of war.
Last year, they waged a massive battle against what was about to become one
of the greatest economic disasters of the century. They cut interest rates
to the lowest level in 45 years. And they passed some of the biggest tax
cuts in history. This year, they are waging still another battle - this
time to stay in office. But they're running out of ammo.

We are down here on Earth. We readily admit they won the first battles, and
that the economy has bounced back dramatically. But they're still going to
lose the war. Reason: The trade and federal deficits ARE having a direct
impact, driving our dollar into a tailspin. This is a deeply destabilizing
force that is inescapable. And it's just beginning.

Q: All the fund managers and analysts who are being interviewed on CNBC,
CNN, etc. seem to be claiming that the economic recovery and the new bull
market will continue throughout 2004. Doesn't that make you doubt your
views?

A: Quite to the contrary, the unanimity of their optimism is very similar
to the state of mind we saw before each and every major decline in the
market in recent years. It merely reinforces my conviction that this is a
great bubble that could burst when you least expect it.

>
> Man guilty of 29 tax violations
> By Max B. Baker Star-Telegram Staff Writer
> http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/7660301.htm
>
> FORT WORTH - After deliberating for more than 13 hours over two days, a
> federal jury Wednesday convicted Bedford businessman and tax protester
> Richard Simkanin on 29 counts of violating U.S. income tax laws.
>
> The jury of six men and six women delivered its verdict shortly after 8
> p.m. They remained deadlocked on two counts within the indictment, leading
> U.S. District Judge John McBryde to declare a mistrial on those charges.
>
> Simkanin stood silently with his hands behind his back, showing no
emotion,
> as a court clerk read the 29 guilty verdicts. Some supporters in the
> courtroom dabbed their eyes; others glared at the judge.
>
> Simkanin, 59, is scheduled to be sentenced April 30, Assistant U.S.
> Attorney David Jarvis said. He can get up to five years on each of the 25
> felony counts and up to a year on each of the four misdemeanor charges.
>
> "Justice was served, and we're pleased that the jury understood that no
one
> is above the law," Jarvis said.
>
> Arch McColl, the Dallas lawyer representing Simkanin, said his client was
> denied a fair trial because McBryde did not allow him to present key
> evidence on whether Social Security, Medicare and income taxes are
voluntary.
>
> McColl said he expects to win on appeal, but he added that it is time for
> Americans to pay attention to what happened in court.
>
> "I'm terribly disappointed," McColl said. "It was not a fair trial in
> accordance with the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution that includes the
> fundamental right to present evidence on your own behalf."
>
> Robert Schulz, founder of We the People Foundation for Constitutional
> Education, a group that questions the validity of the nation's tax laws,
> told Simkanin's supporters that the defendant was prepared for the worst.
>
> "His spirits are fine. His faith is strong," Schulz said.
>
> This is the second time Simkanin has gone on trial. In November, McBryde
> declared a mistrial when jurors who deliberated for eight hours said that
> they were deadlocked and could not reach a unanimous verdict.
>
> Simkanin is almost considered to be a political prisoner by groups that
> question the validity of the nation's tax laws. They contend that most
> Americans are not required to pay income taxes.
>
> They are particularly hostile toward the Internal Revenue Service, an
> agency that, they say, is not an official government entity.
>
> Simkanin's supporters came from around the country. They held a vigil at
> the courthouse, at one time praying in the hallway. They often gave him a
> thumbs-up gesture as he entered the courtroom. Once, Simkanin got a
> standing ovation.
>
> During the trial, Simkanin testified that he didn't withhold employees'
> taxes for Medicare and Social Security benefits because his research did
> not produce a law showing that participation in the programs was
mandatory.
>
> But Simkanin backed away from some of his anti-government comments, saying
> they were a mistake. He once wrote to the U.S. Treasury secretary saying
> that he had repatriated himself from the United States to the "Republic of
> Texas."
>
> When McColl tried to query witnesses on legal definitions of "employee"
and
> "wages," McBryde cut him off. The judge told jurors they could not
question
> the constitutionality of the tax code.
>
> Prosecutors put 11 witnesses on the stand to show that Simkanin knew what
> he was doing when he stopped withholding and paying taxes. Under federal
> tax laws, ignorance of tax codes can be used as a legal defense.
>
> Jurors sent out seven notes during their 11 hours of deliberations
Wednesday.
>
> They asked for legal definitions and whether they had to review evidence
on
> who does have to pay taxes.
>
> McColl said his client's company, Arrow Custom Plastics, is in deep
> financial trouble because of his fights with the government. Simkanin has
> been in jail since June.
>
> Simkanin was convicted on 10 felony counts of failing to withhold about
> $139,000 in taxes from employees' wages and 15 felony counts of filing
> false tax refund claims for about $235,000.
>
> He also was found guilty of four misdemeanor counts of not filing
> individual income tax returns from 1998 to 2001. Simkanin had an estimated
> gross income of about $410,000 during those years, according to the
indictment.
>
> Dottie Harrison, a Simkanin supporter from Houston, said his allies will
> continue to fight.
>
> "I'm in shock, but the determined energy everyone feels to overturn this
> injustice will be a catalyst that will expose the entire IRS fraud," she
said.
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
> "We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage
> where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens
> may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of
> human history, the stage of rule by brute force." [Ayn Rand, The Nature
of
> Government]
>
> For Liberty in Our Lifetime,
> R.J. Tavel, J.D., Founder
>
> Liberty's Educational Advocacy Forum
> http://freedomlaw.com
> promotes "action that raises the cost of State violence for its
> perpetrators ... lay(ing) the basis for institutional change." [Noam
Chomsky]
>
> Freedom Law.com Self Help Clinic and Sovereign Law Library
> http://freedomlaw.com/selfhelp.htm
> Not a high-tech law firm brochure, "because a lawyer is only as smart as
> you make him " [Max Katz] and "the Law . . . should be accessible to every
> man and at all times." [Franz Kafka]
>
> Support Freedomlaw.com with convenience for you and saving you money! Use
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>
> SUBSCRIBE TO Lis-LEAF the
> Learning Electronically About Freedom mailing service at
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>
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>
> To visit your group on the web, go to:
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> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
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>

 

If you can start the day without caffeine,



If you can get going without pep pills,



If you can always be cheerful,
ignoring aches and pains,



If you can resist complaining and
boring people with your troubles,



If you can eat the same food every
day and be grateful for it,



If you can understand when your loved
ones are too busy to give you any time,



If you can overlook it when those you love
take it out on you when, through no fault
of yours, something goes wrong,



If you can take criticism and
blame without resentment,



If you can ignore a friend's limited
education and never correct him,



If you can resist treating a rich friend
better than a poor friend,



If you can face the world
without lies and deceit,



If you can conquer tension
without medical help,



If you can relax without liquor,



If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,



  ...Then You Are Probably
The Family Dog!

"Congress hadn't even approved the 2004 IRS budget request of $10.437
billion and already the IRS was asking for more. The 2005 budget
request is over a billion dollars more than the 2004 request, and most
of the new money would go to fund law-enforcement projects, including
the hiring of 5,000 more employees."
http://www.libertypost.org/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=31371

Taxation
See other Taxation Articles

Title: The IRS Is Getting Serious About Enforcement Policies
Source: Insight Magazine
URL Source: http://www.insightmag.com/news/573552.html
Published: Dec 12, 2003
Author: By Daniel J. Pilla [The Jr. not the Sr.]
Post Date: 2003-12-17 18:38:51 by Tax Pro Tester
Ping List: *Patriots and Torys*
11 Comments


Congress hadn't even approved the 2004 IRS budget request of $10.437
billion and already the IRS was asking for more. The 2005 budget request is
over a billion dollars more than the 2004 request, and most of the new
money would go to fund law-enforcement projects, including the hiring of
5,000 more employees.

When former commissioner Charles Rossotti left office a year ago, he
advised Congress that for the IRS to return to pre-1998 enforcement levels,
the agency would have to be beefed up to the tune of about 2 percent per
year, for the next five years. Under the most recent budget request, the
agency's bankroll would grow by a whopping 12 percent over the 2004 figure.

Based on congressional authorization of the 2004 budget request, expect
unprecedented enforcement in the following key areas:

Increased audits of small businesses. For years the IRS has been concerned
about partnerships and small-business corporations (so-called "S
corporations") reporting all their income. The IRS began a program two
years ago to target small businesses for audit to ensure that they're
reporting all income. With new funds, the agency expects to increase the
number of these audits by 110 percent in 2004.

More attacks on non-filers. The known IRS inventory of tax-return
non-filers is 6.8 million. For obvious reasons, it is unable to target all
these people for enforcement action. However, by earmarking $3.6 million to
the program and increasing its staff, the IRS expects to contact an
additional 1.6 million non-filers in 2004. Through this process, the IRS
expects to make $74 million in new tax assessments.

Increased scrutiny of W-4 forms. Form W-4, Employees Withholding Allowance
Certificate, is the form you file with your employer to set your wage
withholding. Many non-filers inflate their allowances to stop wage
withholding. The IRS intends to increase the use of its Questionable Form
W-4 Program to intercept the bogus forms. Under the program, the IRS sends
a letter to those whose W-4s (turned into the IRS by one's employer) fall
outside acceptable parameters. The letter demands the form be corrected or
the IRS will impose penalties and instruct the employer to disregard the
W-4 and withhold at the highest level. The agency's goal is to use the
Questionable Form W-4 Program to identify new non-filers and enforce
collection against those already in its case inventory.

Targeting under-reporters. An under-reporter is one who fails to claim all
income. The IRS uses several different methods to unearth under-reporters
and, currently, there are approximately 5 million cases in inventory. By
increasing the staff assigned to these cases, the IRS intends to step up
the attention given them and thereby create $98 million in additional tax
assessments in 2004. In 2002, the agency increased its contact with these
people by 36 percent over 2001 levels.

All the above actions are sure to raise the level of delinquent tax debts
on the agency's books, now in excess of $280 billion. And to collect
delinquent tax debts, the IRS uses tax liens, wage and bank levies and
property seizures. The above activity surely will lead to even more growth
in the level of enforcement action, which already is rapidly on the rise.
For example, in 2002 revenue from IRS enforcement actions increased to more
than $32 billion. This was the highest level in eight years.

But the real problem with these actions is the error rate of the IRS. The
agency continues to be wrong half the time with the assessment and
collection actions it takes. Consequently, those accused of say,
non-filing, often are not non-filers at all. They are victims of some
processing mishap that turns into their worst nightmare because of IRS
enforcement action.

Criminal investigation and prosecution. Ever since 1999, the IRS has
refocused its use of criminal investigators, targeting Jane and Joe
American instead of drug dealers and organized-crime kingpins. As 2003
neared its end, the number of criminal cases grew by 11 percent over 2002
levels and the 2002 levels were twice what they were in 2001. Clearly, IRS
criminal investigators are on a roll. With the IRS expecting to add 500
more criminal agents to its payroll in 2004, we're in for more of the same.
With the weapon of criminal prosecution, the IRS has targeted non-filers,
under-reporters with legal income, abusive domestic and offshore trusts,
tax protesters and businesses with employment-tax violations.

Now is not the time to drop your guard when it comes to your taxes. Despite
continued reports that the IRS is inept and that more people find it
fashionable (and safe) to scoff at the tax law, such is not the case. The
IRS is quickly returning to its pre-1998 form insofar as enforcement is
concerned. Under its new commissioner, Mark Everson, don't expect the IRS
to waiver from its present course anytime soon.

Post Comment

Top . Page Up . Full Thread . Page Down . Bottom/Latest
http://www.libertypost.org/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=31371&Disp=Refresh%EF%BF%BDBottom

1. To: Tax Pro Tester (#0)
C.H.
In June 1998 the IRS vowed to become more taxpayer friendly. They also
ordered $1,200,000 worth of pistols and shotguns for their Customer Service
Representatives. THE BETTER TO SERVE YOU!
ChareltonHest posted on 2003-12-17 18:48:36 ET (1 image) Reply Trace

2. To: All (#0)

More attacks on non-filers. The known IRS inventory of tax-return
non-filers is 6.8 million. For obvious reasons, it is unable to target all
these people for enforcement action.

Wow, only about 9 Million 'non-filers'. Wonder how many are actually
Non-taxpayers who know the law [i.e. liable to file a return]?

Tax Pro Tester posted on 2003-12-17 18:51:08 ET Reply Trace
3. To: All (#0)

However, by earmarking $3.6 million to the program and increasing its
staff, the IRS expects to contact an additional 1.6 million non-filers in
2004.

Yes, the IRS will contact the Non-taxpayer with an unsigned computer
generated letter, which can easily be rebutted and serve to reverse the
presumption of liability.

Tax Pro Tester posted on 2003-12-17 18:55:13 ET Reply Trace
4. To: All (#0)

Increased scrutiny of W-4 forms. Form W-4, Employees Withholding Allowance
Certificate, is the form you file with your employer to set your wage
withholding. Many non-filers inflate their allowances to stop wage
withholding. The IRS intends to increase the use of its Questionable Form
W-4 Program to intercept the bogus forms.

W4 form is the form many citizens voluntary execute to allow withholding.

The W4 form title is: "Employees Withholding Allowance Certificate"

Now just rearrange the words to... "Employees Certificate Allowing
Withholding"

DUH!

Tax Pro Tester posted on 2003-12-17 18:59:11 ET Reply Trace
5. To: All (#0)

But the real problem with these actions is the error rate of the IRS. The
agency continues to be wrong half the time with the assessment and
collection actions it takes.

Actually, when you understand the law, the IRS has no authority to assess
citizens who have domestic source "income" when living and working
exclusively within the US.

So actually when you get right down to it the IRS is wrong probably about
99.9% of the time. Of course the author of this original article makes his
living off the backs of Taxpayers [i.e. those who think they are liable],
and the error rate is favorable for his business.
Tax Pro Tester posted on 2003-12-17 19:04:30 ET Reply Trace

6. To: All (#0)
Now is not the time to drop your guard when it comes to your taxes.
We couldn't agree more. Now is the time to...
Learn the truth behind the income tax!
Keep Everything You Earn!
http://www.taxfreedom101.com/
Tax Pro Tester posted on 2003-12-17 19:06:25 ET (1 image) Reply Trace

7. To: ChareltonHest (#1)
To better serve you, right?
To better enslave you, right!
Tax Pro Tester posted on 2003-12-17 19:09:15 ET Reply Trace

8. To: Tax Pro Tester (#0)
Now is not the time to drop your guard when it comes to your taxes. Despite
continued reports that the IRS is inept and that more people find it
fashionable (and safe) to scoff at the tax law, such is not the case. The
IRS is quickly returning to its pre-1998 form insofar as enforcement is
concerned. Under its new commissioner, Mark Everson, don't expect the IRS
to waiver from its present course anytime soon.

If I was just a tad more cynical, I'd say somebody just retyped an IRS
press release instead of doing the legwork.

Indrid Cold posted on 2003-12-17 19:38:59 ET Reply Trace

9. To: Tax Pro Tester, all (#0)
same article different source
http://www.libertypost.org/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=31125&Disp=10#C10
All, check out the link provided in my reply to palo verde to an article
posted by Goldi-Lox. it is a break down of who's income is taxable when.

IRTorqued posted on 2003-12-17 23:01:21 ET Reply Trace

10. To: IRTorqued (#9)
...a break down of who's income is taxable when.
Why not post it here again in this thread? Please...?

11. To: Tax Pro Tester (#10)
A lay man's guide
http://www.libertypost.org/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=31018

Dr. Phil's Test

The following is Dr. Phil's test. ( Dr. Phil scored 55;
he did this test on Oprah (she got a 38). Some folks
pay a lot of money to find this stuff out.

The following is pretty accurate and it only takes
less than two minutes ( unless you're a "special"
person). Take this test for yourself and send it to
your friends ( or enemies, if you like ! ).

The person who sent it placed their score in the
subject box.

Please do the same before forwarding to your friends.
Don't peek but begin the test as you scroll down and
answer. Answers are for who you are now.... not who
you were in the past. Have pen or pencil and paper
ready.

This is a real test given by the Human Relations Dept.
at many of the major corporations today. ( Yah right !
~ RBB) It helps them get better insight concerning
their employees and prospective employees.

It's only 10 simple questions, so...... grab a pencil and
paper, keeping track of your letter answers.

*** Make sure to change the subject of the e-mail
to read YOUR total. When you are finished, forward
this to your fun friends, and also send it to the person
who sent this to you.

And again, remember to put YOUR score in the subject box.


Begin......


1. When do you feel your best?

a) in the morning

b) during the afternoon &and early evening

c) late at night



2. You usually walk...

a) fairly fast, with long steps

b) fairly fast, with little steps

c) less fast head up, looking the world in the
face

d) less fast, head down

e) very slowly


3. When talking to people you...

a) stand with your arms folded

b) have your hands clasped

c) have one or both your hands on your hips

d) touch or push the person to whom you are
talking

e) play with your ear, touch your chin, or
smooth your hair



4. When relaxing, you sit with...

a) your knees bent with your legs neatly side by side


b) your legs crossed

c) your legs stretched out or straight

d) one leg curled under you



5. When something really amuses you, you react with...


a) big appreciated laugh

b) a laugh, but not a loud one

c) a quiet chuckle

d) a sheepish smile


6. When you go to a party or social gathering you...

a) make a loud entrance so everyone notices you

b) make a quiet entrance, looking around for
someone you know

c) make the quietest entrance, trying to stay
unnoticed


7. You're working very hard, concentrating hard,
and you're interrupted.....

a) welcome the break

b) feel extremely irritated

c) vary between these two extremes


8. Which of the following colors do you like most?

a) Red or orange

b) black

c) yellow or light blue

d) green

e) dark blue or purple

f) white

g) brown or gray


9. When you are in bed at night, in those last
few moments before going to sleep....you are....

a) stretched out on your back

b) stretched out face down on your stomach

c) on your side, slightly curled

d) with your head on one arm

e) with your head under the covers


10. You often dream that you are...

a) falling

b) fighting or struggling

c) searching for something or somebody

d) flying or floating

e) you usually have dreamless sleep

f) your dreams are always pleasant


POINTS:

1. (a) 2 (b) 4 (c) 6

2. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 7 (d) 2 (e) 1

3. (a) 4 (b) 2 (c) 5 (d) 7 (e) 6

4. (a) 4 (b) 6 (c) 2 (d) 1

5. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 3 (d) 5 (e) 2

6. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 2

7. (a) 6 (b) 2 (c) 4

8. (a) 6 (b) 7 (c) 5 (d) 4 (e) 3 (f) 2 (g) 1

9. (a) 7 (b) 6 (c) 4 (d) 2 (e) 1

10. (a) 4 (b) 2 (c) 3 (d) 5 (e) 6 (f) 1

Now add up the total number of points.

OVER 60 POINTS: Others see you as someone they should
"handle with care." You're seen as vain,
self-centered, and who is extremely dominant. Others
may admire you, wishing they could be more like you,
but don't always trust you, hesitating to become too
deeply involved with you.


51 TO 60 POINTS: Others see you as an exciting, highly
volatile, rather impulsive personality; a natural
leader, who's quick to make decisions, though not
always the right ones. They see you as bold and
adventuresome, someone who will try anything once;
someone who takes chances and enjoys an adventure.
They enjoy being in your company because of the
excitement you radiate.


41 TO 50 POINTS: Others see you as fresh, lively,
charming, amusing, practical, and always interesting;
someone who's constantly in the center of attention,
but sufficiently well-balanced not to let it go to
their head. They also see you as kind, considerate,
and understanding; someone who'll always cheer them up
and help them out.


31 TO 40 POINTS: Others see you as sensible, cautious,
careful & practical. They see you as clever, gifted,
or talented, but modest. Not a person who makes
friends too quickly or easily, but someone who's
extremely loyal to friends you do make and who expect
the same loyalty in return. Those who really get to
know you realize it takes a lot to shake your trust in
your friends, but equally that it takes you a long
time to get over if that trust is ever broken.


21 TO 30 POINTS: Your friends see you as painstaking
and fussy. They see you as very cautious, extremely
careful, slow and steady person. It would really
surprise them if you ever did something impulsively or
on the spur of the moment, expecting you to examine
everything carefully from every angle and then,
usually decide against it. They think this reaction is
caused partly by your careful nature.


UNDER 21 POINTS: People think you are shy, nervous,
and indecisive, someone who needs looking after, who
always wants someone else to make the decisions & who
doesn't want to get involved with anyone or anything!
They see you as a worrier who always sees problems
that don't exist. Some people think you're boring.
Only those who know you well know that you aren't.
--
"Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
None but ourselves can free our minds."
- - Bob Marley, "Redemption Song"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Richard B. Boddie, J.D.
Independent Associate
Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.
9582 Hamilton Avenue #301
Huntington Beach, CA 92646
714.324.1766
http://www.prepaidlegal.com
http://www.pplworld.com

"MAKING A LIVING,
MAKING A DIFFERENCE"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Subject: Is The Pentagon Lying about Casualties? By Richard Maybury


Copyright � 2004 by Henry Madison Research, Inc.
www.richardmaybury.com
1-800-509-5400, Fax 602-943-2363

01-Jan-04

The Pentagon says 451 US troops have been killed in this so-called war on
terrorism, and 2,529 wounded.

In most wars, casualties due to enemy fire are greatly outnumbered by
casualties due to other causes: poisoning from snakes, scorpions and other
creatures, dehydration, sunstroke, typhoid, hepatitis, cholera - ask a
military doctor, it's a long list.

Perhaps the greatest killer of troops for thousands of years was dysentery.
Another, until the invention of canning during the Napoleonic wars, was
food poisoning and starvation. In Britain's navy in 1810, 31.5% of deaths
were due to accident, and 50% to disease; only 8.3% were due to enemy fire.1

In the Pacific in World War II, common maladies were malaria, and sepsis
from jungle-borne infections and from crawling across live coral during
landings. In Europe, it was frostbite and hypothermia. In World War I,
trenchfoot. In Vietnam, jungle-rot.

An expert on the Soviet-Afghan war of the 1980s, former Army officer Lester
W. Grau reports that typically at least a quarter of a Soviet unit's
members were sick with hepatitis, typhus, malaria, amoebic dysentery or
cholera. Official Soviet dead totaled 14,453, while the number of Soviet
troops hospitalized with serious disease was 415,932.2 In other words, for
every Soviet soldier killed, 29 became seriously ill from non-combat causes.

USA TODAY reports that 20 troops from the 101st Airborne Division have been
sent to Walter Reed hospital with leishmaniasis, a skin parasite
transmitted by fleas.3

The psychological strain is often worse than physical problems. In World
War I, it was called shell shock; in World War II, battle fatigue.

After more than 30 years, many Vietnam vets still suffer from the emotional
condition called delayed stress syndrome. The main reason is that the
Vietnam War was a guerrilla war, and one of the key objectives of
guerrillas is to create as much stress in the invader as possible - to make
gut-wrenching fear permanent.

No matter how brave a soldier might be, he (or she) can tolerate only so
much anxiety before the nervous system goes haywire. We all have our
breaking points, and the objective of the guerrilla is not so much to kill
the invaders as to push as many of them as possible past these breaking
points. In this sense, guerrilla tactics are a form of WMD - weapon of mass
destruction. Each attack is designed to show thousands the horror that
could happen to them at any moment.

Today's body armor is nearly miraculous, but how many times can a soldier
be knocked down, or see his comrades knocked down, before the stress of
waiting for the shot to the face or neck paralyzes him with fear and causes
permanent psychological damage?

You may have noticed in spring of 2003 that the Pentagon was in a big hurry
to remove its front-line combat troops from Iraq and replace them with its
(more expendable?) National Guard and reserves.

As far as I have been able to tell, the Pentagon is refusing to report the
number of casualties caused by these myriad psychological and pathological
causes. Or maybe they report some but not all.

As explained in the 9/03 EWR, body armor and advanced first-aid techniques
have kept the death rate low, but the total number of military patients
arriving by air at US military hospitals points to the worst casualty rate
of any US war in history.

I believe the low number of deaths coupled with the failure to report all
casualties enables Washington to paint a misleading picture of the war's
progress.

Summarizing, the number of deaths is small, but if we had an accurate count
of the number of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan being incapacitated from
all causes, I believe we would have a picture of a force being decimated.

1Gordon Laco, historian, British National Maritime Museum, and the History
Channel. USA Today, 3 Dec 03, p.3D.

2"Soviet-Afghan War," by Lester W. Grau and Ahmad Jalali, www.vfw.org,
March 2002.

3"20 Airborne Troops Sent Home with Skin Disease," USA Today, 8 Dec 03.

U.S. & World Early Warning Report For Investors. Published monthly except
April and December. � 2003 Henry Madison Research, Inc., PO Box 84908-D,
Phoenix, AZ 85071. Phone toll-free 1-800-509-5400. Outside US:
602-252-4477. Fax: 602-943-2363. Visa, Mastercard accepted. www.chaostan.com