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That is awesome...looks like another earthly smoke ring in the works here:
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=2699700
One of my favorites:
A piece of our infinite abundance
Ever since I started following this hooch story the stock has been dropping like a lead balloon...
The Pleasure is all Mine
Now comes out with this story:
Amigula, Inc. -- the World's First Publicly Traded Marijuana Company -- Addresses the Short Interest in Their Stock and the Harm to Shareholders
Thursday March 25, 1:55 pm ET
NEW YORK, March 25, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Amigula Incorporated (Other OTC:AMJL.PK - News) -- the World's First Publicly traded Marijuana Company -- today announced that the company will address the short interest in their stock. Based upon review of stock transfer records and the activity in the market, the company believes naked short sellers are involved in the stock. Amigula today announces contemplating a forward split of the stock to combat the short sellers that are adversely affecting the market. This would force delivery of all certificates. The company's shares are not DTC eligible. The short sellers were expected to cease their activities in February 2004, instead it was delayed until April 1, 2004.
Warren Eugene, President, states, ``These people are nasty and an unnecessary evil in the marketplace. It is about time they are removed from the process.''
About Amigula Inc.
Amigula Inc. (http://www.Amigula.com) has recently completed the purchase of 51% of Medical Cannabis Inc. and has announced their plans to file as a reporting issuer. The company plans to list on a major exchange beginning with an application for a listing on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) or Nasdaq as well as several European exchanges. The company views the current prohibition of marijuana as similar to that of alcohol, beer and tobacco. Canada's marijuana crop alone is estimated at $4 billion to $7 billion. If a single company controlled it, it would be larger than Canada's oil and gas business and agricultural industries. On October 7, 2003 the Ontario Superior Court ruled that business and individuals be allowed to grow and supply medical marijuana, effectively relieving the Canadian government of its often criticized and fairly unsuccessful attempts. Health Canada ``permitted persons'' (exemptees) can now pay Amigula to grow marijuana for them. The ruling makes it easier for sick people to get marijuana by allowing them easier access -- more choice and fair prices. The company has a mandate to develop and improve the medical marijuana business worldwide and is on the acquisition and consolidation trail of other legal licensed marijuana operations with notable international brands.
ADVERTISEMENT
Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the Company and its management. Such statements reflect management's current views, are based on certain assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results, events, or performance may differ materially from the above forward-looking statements due to a number of important factors, and will be dependent upon a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, our ability to obtain additional financing and access funds from our existing financing arrangements that will allow us to continue our current and future operations. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date hereof or to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with regard to these forward-looking statements or the occurrence of unanticipated events.
Contact:
Amigula Incorporated
Warren B. Eugene
(416) 838-3600
www.amigula.com
Down over 35% in just three days.
Should be at a penny within 30 days at that rate
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=2662046
I'm not holding my breath for any miracles right now for the small business man and the small investor...but I imagine if the stars and planets come into alignment like they have recently there may be some invisible physical forces at work that remain naked to the commoner's human senses.
I was visiting an observatory recently and saw the rings of Saturn for the first time in my life through a very high powered telescope. I note that we share that interest:
http://www.celestron.com/main.htm
How doth thy perceive that which is perceptible?
The Pleasure is all Mine
So the hype and trype is just that...the more things change the more nothing changes...
Republicans Searching for a Facelift
New Republican Mascot
It is a weakness and a mistake made by many previous military leaders of history. Stretching one's resources too thinly.
One legged world military leader.
Religious Practice Promotes Pablum Philosophy
Praise the infiniteinfinitorofinfinities
Praise Jesusmohammadbuddhaallahvishnuetal
If the Israeli intelligence community is long regarded as one of the world’s best then did they hold back the knowledge of the 9/11 attack on purpose contributing willfully to the wrongful deaths of 3,000 Americans so that we might invade Iraq for them?
Their own document, A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm, called for the elimination of the Saddam Hussein regime in Baghdad, as a first step towards overthrowing or destabilizing the governments of Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Iran.
Immediately after the attack on the WTC without any knowledge of who was responsible Iraq was accused only later did we did decide to invade Afghanistan as a prelude to the ouster of Saddam.
Taking into consideration the 80-page report written by Parliamentary investigators, A Clean Break, the Carl Cameron report, and the confirmation of Alex Diamandis Israel by its own behavior and words has committed a most heinous crime against the United States resulting in the deaths of many Americans for their own end. -Am
Reference:
A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm
co-authored by Perle
On July 8, 1996, Richard Perle, now the Chairman of the Defense Policy Board, an advisory group that reports to Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, presented a written document to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, spelling out a new Israeli foreign policy, calling for a repudiation of the Oslo Accords and the underlying concept of "land for peace"; for the permanent annexation of the entire West Bank and Gaza Strip; and for the elimination of the Saddam Hussein regime in Baghdad, as a first step towards overthrowing or destabilizing the governments of Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Iran.
http://www.yaledivestmentnews.org/worlddomination.html
Alex Diamandis, vice president of sales and marketing, confirmed that workers in Odigo's research and development and international sales office in Israel received a warning from another Odigo user approximately two hours prior to the first attack.
http://www.propagandamatrix.com/instant_messages_to_israel_warned_of_attack
Top US law enforcement officials now believe the Israelis "may have known things they didn't tell us before September 11."
http://propagandamatrix.com/et_tu_israel.html
In a four-part series on Fox News by Carl Cameron, Carl, a top-notch investigative reporter, made the following charge:
"There is no indication that the Israelis were involved in the 9-11 attacks, but investigators suspect that they Israelis may have gathered intelligence about the attacks in advance, and not shared it. A highly placed investigator said there are – quote – 'tie-ins.' But when asked for details, he flatly refused to describe them, saying, – quote – 'evidence linking these Israelis to 9-11 is classified.'" – [December 11, 2001].
Cameron based his series on the Israeli connection to 9/11, in part, on a leaked report compiled by the Drug Enforcement Agency's internal security service, documenting an extensive spy operation in the U.S. Salon, the internet magazine, took up the story in a fascinating piece by Christopher Ketcham, and the German magazine Die Zeit, co-edited by the distinguished scholar Josef Joffe, recently reported:
"Apparently the [Israeli] agents were not interested in military or industrial facilities, but were shadowing a number of suspects, who were later involved in the terrorist attacks against the US."
Die Zeit cites a report of the French intelligence agency:
"According to the FBI, Arab terrorists and suspected terror cells lived in Phoenix, Arizona, as well as in Miami and Hollywood, Florida from December 2000 to April 2001 in direct proximity to the Israeli spy cells. According to the report, the Mossad agents were interested in the leader of the terrorists, Mohammed Atta and his key accomplice, Marwan al-Shehi. Both lived in Hamburg before they settled in Hollywood, Florida in order to plan the attacks. A Mossad team was also operating in the same town."
The leader, Hanan Serfati, had rented several dwellings' that were "Next Door to Mohammed Atta," as the title of the article by Oliver Schrom put it. 'Everything indicates that the terrorists were constantly observed by the Israelis.' Schrom writes:
'The chief Israeli agent was staying right near the post office where the terrorists had a mailbox. The Mossad also had its sights on Atta's accomplice Khalid al-Midhar, with whom the CIA was also familiar, but allowed to run free.'"
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/j032203.html
The Haaretz daily said the 80-page report--set to be released next week--had criticized all Israeli intelligence branches for providing erroneous assessments of Iraq's non-conventional weapons.
Last December, a former Israeli intelligence officer charged that Israel produced a flawed picture of Iraqi weapons capabilities and substantially contributed to mistakes made in U.S. and British prewar assessments on Iraq.
The comments of reserve Brig. Gen. Shlomo Brom represented an unusual criticism of the Israeli intelligence community, long regarded as one of the world's best. Prior to his retirement in 1998, Brom served in Israeli military intelligence for 25 years, and acted as the deputy chief of planning for the Israeli army.
Report: Israel Wrong on Iraq Weapons
By PETER ENAV
Associated Press Writer
JERUSALEM (AP)--Parliamentary investigators have determined that Israel's intelligence services delivered an erroneous assessment of pre-war Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, an Israeli newspaper reported Thursday.
Prior to the American-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, the Israeli services reported Iraq had large amounts of weapons of mass destruction, including chemical and biological agents.
Since ousting Saddam Hussein, the U.S.-led coalition's technical experts have failed to find any such weapons.
An investigative subcommittee was formed eight months ago to consider if Israeli intelligence agencies provided an accurate picture of Iraqi unconventional weapons capabilities on the eve of the Iraq war.
The Haaretz daily said the 80-page report--set to be released next week--had criticized all Israeli intelligence branches for providing erroneous assessments of Iraq's non-conventional weapons.
It said the report recommended that Israeli intelligence services re-examine their techniques and the way responsibility is divided among them.
A spokesman for legislator Yuval Steinitz, who chaired the parliamentary committee, would not comment on the Haaretz report.
The Israeli military and various intelligence agencies also declined to comment.
Based on intelligence warnings that a U.S.-led invasion could trigger an Iraqi missile attack on Israel, the Israeli military ordered citizens to update their gas mask kits in the run-up to the Iraq war. The step cost the country millions of dollars. No missiles were fired on Israel during the war.
In the 1991 Gulf War, Saddam's forces fired 39 Scud missiles at Israel. All had conventional warheads, causing considerable damage but few casualties.
The parliamentary report was based on the closed-door testimony of some 70 witnesses, including the prime minister, defense minister, military chief of staff, and the heads of the Mossad foreign intelligence service, the Shin Bet domestic intelligence service, and the military intelligence service. After the report's release, some sections will remain classified.
Last December, a former Israeli intelligence officer charged that Israel produced a flawed picture of Iraqi weapons capabilities and substantially contributed to mistakes made in U.S. and British prewar assessments on Iraq.
The comments of reserve Brig. Gen. Shlomo Brom represented an unusual criticism of the Israeli intelligence community, long regarded as one of the world's best. Prior to his retirement in 1998, Brom served in Israeli military intelligence for 25 years, and acted as the deputy chief of planning for the Israeli army.
Brom said he was directing his remarks at Military Intelligence, Air Force Intelligence, and the Mossad intelligence agency.
AP-NY-03-25-04 0535EST
Copyright 2004, The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP Online news report may not be published, broadcast or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/ap/ap_story.html/Intl/AP.V2743.AP-Israel-Iraq.html
Behind every conflict is a hidden third party, looks like Isreal is emerging as the hidden third party behind the Iraqi conflict.
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Articles of Impeachment of President George W. Bush
and Vice President Richard B. Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld and Attorney General John David Ashcroft
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors. — ARTICLE II, SECTION 4 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard B. Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, and Attorney General John David Ashcroft have committed violations and subversions of the Constitution of the United States of America in an attempt to carry out with impunity crimes against peace and humanity and war crimes and deprivations of the civil rights of the people of the United States and other nations, by assuming powers of an imperial executive unaccountable to law and usurping powers of the Congress, the Judiciary and those reserved to the people of the United States, by the following acts:
1) Seized power to wage wars of aggression in defiance of the U.S. Constitution, the U.N. Charter and the rule of law; carried out a massive assault on and occupation of Iraq, a country that was not threatening the United States, resulting in the death and maiming of tens of thousands of Iraqis, and hundreds of U.S. G.I.s.
2) Lied to the people of the U.S., to Congress, and to the U.N., providing false and deceptive rationales for war.
3) Authorized, ordered and condoned direct attacks on civilians, civilian facilities and locations where civilian casualties were unavoidable.
4) Ordered and directed the violent overthrow of sovereign states, disappearances, kidnappings, assassinations, summary executions, murder and torture.
5) Authorizing, ordering and condoning assassinations, summary executions, kidnappings, secret and other illegal detentions of individuals, torture and physical and psychological coercion of prisoners to obtain false statements concerning acts and intentions of governments and individuals and violating within the United States, and by authorizing U.S. forces and agents elsewhere, the rights of individuals under the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
6) Making, ordering and condoning false statements and propaganda about the conduct of foreign governments and individuals and acts by U.S. government personnel; manipulating the media and foreign governments with false information; concealing information vital to public discussion and informed judgment concerning acts, intentions and possession, or efforts to obtain weapons of mass destruction in order to falsely create a climate of fear and destroy opposition to U.S. wars of aggression and first strike attacks.
7) Violations and subversions of the Charter of the United Nations and international law, both a part of the "Supreme Law of the land" under Article VI, paragraph 2, of the Constitution, in an attempt to commit with impunity crimes against peace and humanity and war crimes in wars and threats of aggression against Afghanistan, Iraq and others and usurping powers of the United Nations and the peoples of its nations by bribery, coercion and other corrupt acts and by rejecting treaties, committing treaty violations, and frustrating compliance with treaties in order to destroy any means by which international law and institutions can prevent, affect, or adjudicate the exercise of U.S. military and economic power against the international community.
8) Acting to strip United States citizens of their constitutional and human rights, ordering indefinite detention of citizens, without access to counsel, without charge, and without opportunity to appear before a civil judicial officer to challenge the detention, based solely on the discretionary designation by the Executive of a citizen as an "enemy combatant."
9) Ordering indefinite detention of non-citizens in the United States and elsewhere, and without charge, at the discretionary designation of the Attorney General or the Secretary of Defense.
10) Ordering and authorizing the Attorney General to override judicial orders of release of detainees under INS jurisdiction, even where the judicial officer after full hearing determines a detainee is wrongfully held by the government.
11) Authorizing secret military tribunals and summary execution of persons who are not citizens who are designated solely at the discretion of the Executive who acts as indicting official, prosecutor and as the only avenue of appellate relief.
12) Refusing to provide public disclosure of the identities and locations of persons who have been arrested, detained and imprisoned by the U.S. government in the United States, including in response to Congressional inquiry.
13) Use of secret arrests of persons within the United States and elsewhere and denial of the right to public trials.
14) Authorizing the monitoring of confidential attorney-client privileged communications by the government, even in the absence of a court order and even where an incarcerated person has not been charged with a crime.
15) Ordering and authorizing the seizure of assets of persons in the United States, prior to hearing or trial, for lawful or innocent association with any entity that at the discretionary designation of the Executive has been deemed "terrorist."
16) Institutionalization of racial and religious profiling and authorization of domestic spying by federal law enforcement on persons based on their engagement in noncriminal religious and political activity.
17) Refusal to provide information and records necessary and appropriate for the constitutional right of legislative oversight of executive functions.
18) Rejecting treaties protective of peace and human rights and abrogation of the obligations of the United States under, and withdrawal from, international treaties and obligations without consent of the legislative branch, and including termination of the ABM treaty between the United States and Russia, and rescission of the authorizing signature from the Treaty of Rome which served as the basis for the International Criminal Court.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
These articles of impeachment, setting forth high crimes and misdemeanors by President Bush and other civil officers of his administration were drafted by Ramsey Clark, former U.S. Attorney General during the Johnson Administration.
The text of these articles of impeachment was copied from http://www.votetoimpeach.org/articles_rc.htm, a page on the website of Vote to Impeach.
http://www.serendipity.li/iraqwar/impeachment_1.htm
"Nations have no principles, only interests."
From the "Bubble of American Supremacy" by George Soros
George W. Bush is a compulsive liar.
He shows his contempt for the American people whenever he says anything in public. Why do you think he smirks so often? It's because he knows he's lying and he's amused that everyone else is a fool for believing him.
In particular Bush lied to the people of the United States and to the entire world when he declared in late 2002 and early 2003 that Iraq had developed and deployed "weapons of mass destruction" and was an imminent threat to its neighbors and to the U.S. itself.
... George W. Bush and the members of his administration argued, day after day, week after week, month after month, that Iraq was in possession of massive stores of mass destruction weapons that would be delivered to Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda for use against the United States. ...
"We have sources that tell us," said George W. Bush on February 8 2003, "that Saddam Hussein recently authorized Iraqi field commanders to use chemical weapons."
"Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt," continued Bush on March 17 2003, "that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised." ...
George W. Bush, on March 18, had delivered a letter to Congress explicitly indicating that an attack on Iraq was an attack upon those who perpetrated September 11. Paragraph two reads, "The use of armed force against Iraq is consistent with the United States and other countries continuing to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations or persons who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001."
On May 1 2003, when he announced the end of "major combat operations," Bush proclaimed, "We've removed an ally of Al Qaeda." ...
The uranium claims were based on crudely forged documents, the mobile labs were weather balloon launching platforms sold to Iraq by the British in the 1980s, the al Qaeda claims are utterly impossible to establish as true, any connection between Iraq and September 11 was publicly denied by George W. Bush himself recently, and the mass destruction weapons are utterly and completely absent.
— William Rivers Pitt: Donkeys of Mass Destruction
http://truthout.org/docs_03/112403A.shtml
William Rivers Pitt is the Managing Editor of truthout.org. He is a New York Times and international best-selling author of three books - "War On Iraq," available from Context Books, "The Greatest Sedition is Silence," available from Pluto Press, and "Our Flag, Too: The Paradox of Patriotism," available in August from Context Books.
http://www.serendipity.li/impeachment.htm
George W. Bush is a compulsive liar.
He shows his contempt for the American people whenever he says anything in public. Why do you think he smirks so often? It's because he knows he's lying and he's amused that everyone else is a fool for believing him.
In particular Bush lied to the people of the United States and to the entire world when he declared in late 2002 and early 2003 that Iraq had developed and deployed "weapons of mass destruction" and was an imminent threat to its neighbors and to the U.S. itself.
... George W. Bush and the members of his administration argued, day after day, week after week, month after month, that Iraq was in possession of massive stores of mass destruction weapons that would be delivered to Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda for use against the United States. ...
"We have sources that tell us," said George W. Bush on February 8 2003, "that Saddam Hussein recently authorized Iraqi field commanders to use chemical weapons."
"Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt," continued Bush on March 17 2003, "that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised." ...
George W. Bush, on March 18, had delivered a letter to Congress explicitly indicating that an attack on Iraq was an attack upon those who perpetrated September 11. Paragraph two reads, "The use of armed force against Iraq is consistent with the United States and other countries continuing to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations or persons who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001."
On May 1 2003, when he announced the end of "major combat operations," Bush proclaimed, "We've removed an ally of Al Qaeda." ...
The uranium claims were based on crudely forged documents, the mobile labs were weather balloon launching platforms sold to Iraq by the British in the 1980s, the al Qaeda claims are utterly impossible to establish as true, any connection between Iraq and September 11 was publicly denied by George W. Bush himself recently, and the mass destruction weapons are utterly and completely absent.
— William Rivers Pitt: Donkeys of Mass Destruction
http://truthout.org/docs_03/112403A.shtml
William Rivers Pitt is the Managing Editor of truthout.org. He is a New York Times and international best-selling author of three books - "War On Iraq," available from Context Books, "The Greatest Sedition is Silence," available from Pluto Press, and "Our Flag, Too: The Paradox of Patriotism," available in August from Context Books.
http://www.serendipity.li/impeachment.htm
Quintek Names Kabani & Co. as New Auditors
CAMARILLO, Calif., March 26, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Quintek Technologies,
Inc. (OTCBB:QTEK) announced today that it has retained Kabani & Co. as
its new corporate auditors.
Quintek was notified by its' previous auditor, Heard McElroy & Vestal,
LLP of Louisiana, that the firm was reducing its exposure to public
company clients as a result of the changes occurring with
Sarbanes-Oxley and was resigning it's position as the Company's
auditor. The letter stated, "We have had no disagreements with
management over accounting principles or other matters."
Kabani & Company, Inc. is a public accounting and consulting firm based
in Orange County, California. They have built a solid reputation for
providing quality service and expertise to all sizes of public and
private companies in a variety of industries, including high-tech,
manufacturing, service, financial, hospitality and entertainment.
Kabani serves clients which are based in North America, Europe & Asia.
Kabani's principal, Hamid Kabani, is a Certified Public Accountant as
well as a Chartered Accountant with over 24 years of audit and
accounting experience. Kabani has acted as an engagement partner,
technical partner, quality control specialist and managed several
public (including IPOs) and private clients at the domestic and
international level. Kabani & Company's clientele includes public and
private companies, ranging from start-up to companies with revenue over
$600 million dollars. Kabani was part of a high-tech audit group of
Deloitte & Touche, LLP, a big five accounting firm, in a senior
management role. Kabani was a member of the National Manufacturing
Industry practice sub committee on International Interface at Deloitte
& Touche, with the idea of interfacing the information disseminated by
the US Industry practice and other International offices around the
world.
Kabani & Co. are located on the web at: http://www.kabanico.com.
Andrew Haag, Quintek's CFO commented, "With the hiring of our new
President, we intend to accelerate the Company's growth. Kabani & Co.'s
experience with a major accounting firm, working with high-tech,
growth-oriented companies and investment professionals, was a driving
factor in this decision. Furthermore, Kabani's geographical proximity
to the Company's headquarters will facilitate a stronger working
relationship. He added, "Kabani will play a central role in helping us
to stay compliant within the changing regulatory environment and meet
the necessary filing requirements in a timely manner."
About Quintek
Quintek is the only manufacturer of a chemical-free desktop microfilm
solution. The company currently sells hardware, software and services
for printing large format drawings such as blueprints and CAD files
(Computer Aided Design), directly to microfilm. Quintek does business
in the content and document management services market, forecast by IDC
Research to grow to $24 billion by 2006 at a combined annual growth
rate of 44%. Quintek targets the aerospace, defense and AEC
(Architecture, Engineering and Construction) industries.
Quintek's printers are patented, modern, chemical-free, desktop-sized
units with an average sale price of over $65,000. Competitive products
for direct output of computer files to microfilm are more expensive,
large, specialized devices that require constant replenishment and
disposal of hazardous chemicals.
"Safe-Harbor" Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995
This press release contains forward-looking information within the
meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended (the "Exchange Act"), including statements regarding potential
sales, the success of the company's business, as well as statements
that include the word "believe" or similar expressions. Such
forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results,
performance or achievements of Quintek to differ materially from those
implied or expressed by such forward-looking statements. Such factors
include, among others, the risk factors included in Quintek's Annual
Report on Form 10-KSB for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2002 and any
subsequent reports filed with the SEC under the Exchange Act. This
press release speaks as of the date first set forth above and Quintek
assumes no responsibility to update the information included herein for
events occurring after the date hereof. Actual results could differ
materially from those anticipated due to factors such as the lack of
capital, timely development of products, inability to deliver products
when ordered, inability of potential customers to pay for ordered
products, and political and economic risks inherent in international
trade.
-0-
CONTACT: Quintek Technologies, Inc
Andrew Haag
Chief Financial Officer
(805) 383-3914 ext. 14
ahaag@quintek.com
Investor Relations
Cinapsys, Inc.
Todd Gilligan, Director
Toll Free 1-866-EASY-IRM
Direct (949) 497-6684
todd@cinapsys.com
I'm wondering how this effects the April 1 rule?
New Economy Focuses on Energy Ideas
By Ken Silverstein
Director, Energy Industry Analysis
If the “New Economy” still has resonance, the emphasis might now be on the production of innovative technologies. Clearly, voids presently exist. The transition to a digital world has touched everything from the flow of electrons to the production of them. And that means new investment is needed in transmission, generation and clean energy tools.
Attracting capital is the immediate hurdle. And venture capitalists are far more conservative than they were five years ago. But they do still whet their lips at the right opportunities and are beginning once again to invest in projects where the see bright financial futures. Investors now have their eye on power grid optimization, information technology and energy management. And in a vote of confidence for the “New Economy,” the nation's biggest pension fund, CAlPers, just said it would pump $200 million in clean energy technologies over the next several years.
“What will be the big job generator of the next decade?” asks former President Bill Clinton, in speech last year in Washington, D.C. “What's our information technology answer to this new decade? My favorite is energy … There is by common consent a trillion dollar untapped market for clean energy and conservation technologies...”
Venture capital investment in the United States for energy technology-related start-up companies reached $428 million during 2003, about even with the $435 million raised during 2002, says Nth Power, a San Francisco-based energy venture capital firm. The 2003 figure represents 2.3 percent of the total $18.2 billion in venture capital investments made in the United States last year. Worldwide, energy technology venture capital funding totaled $526 million. That's down from $584 million in 2002, with 84 deals completed last year and averaging $6.26 million each. That compares to 55 deals averaging $10.61 million during 2002.
Nth Power analyzes venture capital activity by six industry sub-sectors. The highest growth, it says, occurred in information technology, which grew by 27 percent in 2003 and power optimization that rose nearly 42 percent. The investments that declined last year include distributed generation and storage, which fell by 31 percent. Meanwhile, services and power quality were off by 51 percent and 9 percent, respectively. The steady growth of energy tech's percentage of total venture capital activity is part of a five-year trend showing the category as increasingly visible and important, says Maurice Gunderson, co-founder and managing director of Nth Power. “As the industry and its customers find themselves going from crisis to crisis, there is a growing realization that patchwork solutions are not going to solve the challenges facing energy producers and users. The emergence of new technologies and their adoption are capable of fulfilling the promise for solving systemic problems involving how we generate, use, track and manage power.”
Measured Risk
While there are no hard numbers as to what the utility industry is allocating in the aggregate to venture-capital enterprises—as opposed to research and development (R&D) —the evidence suggests that their budgets have been cut way back. The average R&D investment per utility dropped from about $9 million in 1995 to $3.4 million in 2000, according to UtiliPoint's analysis of FERC Form-1 filings. According to PG&E's FERC Form-1 filings, it reduced its R&D budget from $18 million in 1995 to zero in 2002.
Still, utilities with deeper pockets have established venture capital arms. Venture capital investing is a method by which utilities can learn about new business opportunities without having to risk unlimited capital. Such investments, while uncertain, are a means of investing in emerging technologies that could affect their core operations. In addition to the 35 percent returns that most companies hope to achieve over a five-year time frame, the outlays must expand the parent companies' markets for its products and services. Electric and gas utilities new to the area but some of the leaders include DTE Energy Exelon Corp., Hydro-Quebec CapiTech, Ontario Power's OPG Ventures and Koch Ventures.
Utilities, which are investing mostly in energy technology ventures, have provided anywhere between $1 million and $25 million in a single shot, although they will not typically own more than 20 percent of a given endeavor for regulatory and accounting reasons. Nevertheless, if the opportunity is right, such provisions will not prevent most utilities from increasing their positions or even acquiring a company outright. Utilities subject to the Public Utilities Holding Co. Act, however, need to comply with certain ownership restrictions imposed by the law.
Utilities vary as to when in a company's life cycle they seek to invest. Koch, for instance, will do so generally in the early-to-middle stages while Exelon will do so generally in the mid-to-latter phases. Many utilities prefer emerging and rapid growth companies that have potential to revolutionize their industries. Oftentimes, the investment arms desire to take an active role in the companies in which they directly invest by either acting as observer to or a participant in their board of directors.
And private investors are beginning to perk up too. Denver's Altira Group has said it will invest $2 million in Southwest Windpower, an Arizona maker of wind turbines. Others, like Clean Air Partners, are winning investors. That partnership has raised $8.6 million in a second round of financing after having netted $26 million in a first round in July 2001. Ira Ehrenpreis, a partner at Technology Partners, says that venture capitalists have more money to invest than before. But, they are more interested in other sectors of the economy. And that leaves firms that are focused on energy technologies a chance to scoop up some good deals.
“We see more funds expressing interest in the energy area, but it still is very much a niche play with a number of strong niche players,” adds Hap Ellis of RockPort Capital Partners. “Valuations are generally fairly reasonable. Funds want to put money to work. And, as always, companies with strong management teams and compelling technologies will be successful in this market.”
American Garage
Energy is the fuel that makes the entire economy run. While the “New Economy” is still maturing, some concepts have emerged that could spawn viable enterprises. In the eyes of today's venture capitalists, it appears particularly true for such ideas related to power grid optimization and renewable energy. But more capital is necessary to bring creative thinking to market. Some venture capital firms are spotting those possibilities.
Meanwhile, utilities have to know what is happening in every corner of the marketplace—and that includes America's garages. It's risky and the extent of a utility's involvement should be carefully considered. But it could be prudent to properly finance R&D, especially in areas that will affect the strategic units of the company—over the short and long terms. The ones that don't exploit those opportunities could be bypassed by those that do.
Rhombic Corporation Sponsors Nuclear Research Project at the University of Illinois
VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 25, 2000--Rhombic Corporation (OTCBB:NUKE - news) announces that work has begun at the University of Illinois on the company's Disperse Composite Materials (DCM) technology to develop a low cost method to neutralize radio active wastes, especially the long lived nuclides which can be converted into stable nuclides.
The DCM technology is a method of manufacturing a high efficient disperse deposit material or dust plasma, that is made up of a homogeneous interior covered with a thin and strong connective coating.
The DCM plasmas can be produced as catalysts, as abrasive wear-resistant grinding materials of high strength, and as intermediate material for soldering or welding of various ceramic and other nonmetal items with metals such a solder for the junction of high temperature superconductors and electric current leads.
Among a large number of other applications of Disperse Composite Materials is the reduction of costs in the production of high quality lipsticks and other pigments, and the production of metal alloys with new kinds of mechanical properties.
The research underway on the DCM is based on patent rights assigned to Rhombic Corporation by Russian, German and American scientists, including Dr. Vladimir Fortov, former Russian minister of science, and Dr. Reinhard Hopfl, a German physicist.
The work at the university is supervised by Dr. George Miley of the Department of Nuclear Engineering, and Dr. Heinrich Hora of the University of New South Wales, Australia. Dr. Hora is a developer of the DCM technology assigned to Rhombic Corporation and consultant an the progress of the work.
For further details, call the company's Public Relations office at 888/821-6607 or 604/421-5543. The Lawrence Adams Ltd. phone in New York is 212/736-4800 or view the Rhombic website www.rhombic.com
Statements in this news release looking forward in time involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may be materially different. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include activity levels in the securities markets and other risk factors.
For further details, call the Company's Public Relations office at 888-821-6607 or 604-421-5543. The Lawrence Adams Ltd phone in New York, NY is 212-736-4800
http://web.archive.org/web/20000530123644/www.rhombic.com/022400.html
NEWS RELEASE
October 1, 1999
CLARIFICATION to RELEASE from RHOMBIC CORPORATION Dated 28 September 1999
REGARDING IC&C Consulting Services Retained by Rhombic for Nuclide Battery:
The summary information provided by Rhombic in that news release was not clear, because it was a compressed summary of a large volume of information materials on IC&C's 75-year history rich in achievements recognized by world leaders and the international press.
The following are some key issues to be corrected:
1) The IC&C organization was erroneously identified as a Corporation and the name was incorrectly spelled:
The name is "not "International Computer and Communication Corporation"
The name "is" International Computers & Communications (IC &C)
2) The Executive Consultants retained by Rhombic are part of the IC&C Global Consulting Group
* This is a worldwide nonprofit group of former CEOs and senior executives with extensive experiences in technology, business and investment
* Since 1982 corporate and government clients from around the globe included Xerox Corporation, Ford Aerospace, Andrew Corporation, ETRI-Korea, Vincent Interactive Netherlands-New Zealand, newly-privatized FIT Telecoms, NASA, INTELSAT, the International Telecommunication Union, etc.
3) This consulting group is affiliated with the non-governmental non-profit association IC&C World Leaders Council:
* This is the only worldwide executive association for development partnerships and investments in computers and communications.
* Founded in 1923 in Paris as "International Council for Planning and Innovation", transferred in 1940 to the United States, and reorganized in 1982, IC&C has at present members m 30 countries on 5 continents.
* Members include companies such as Bell Atlantic and Fujitsu, academic institutions such as Deggendorf University and the Russian Academy of Sciences, as well as government and corporate leaders.
* Since 1984 over 2000 leaders participated in 23 IC&C World Leaders Summits, sponsored by leading companies including Microsoft, IBM, France Telecom, Nokia, Fujitsu, Singapore Telecom, Teledesic, Globalstar, etc These summits resulted in hundreds of alliances and over 20 billion dollars in investments.
Out of respect for the world leaders who are members of IC&C's exclusive and highly- select "club" and who value privacy. IC&C does not advertise in the internet or in the media. All IC&C events are "by personal invitation only".
For further details, call the company's Public Relations Office at (888) 821-66O7 or (604) 421-5543, or view the Rhombic website: www.rhombic.com.
HEAD OFFICE
901 - 1212 Howe Street
Vancouver, BC Canada V6Z 2M9
TEL: 604-683-4864 FAX: 604-683-4814
BRANCH OFFICE
23120-.56th Avenue
Langley, BC Canada V2Y 2Z8
TEL: 604-530-7234 FAX: 804-530-7235
http://web.archive.org/web/20000708113048/www.rhombic.com/100199.html
NEWS RELEASE
June 11, 1999
NEUTRON DETECTOR TO BE DEVELOPED
Rhombic Corporation announces that the company has acquired the technology to develop a solid state diamond based neutron monitor/detection device..
Because of the company's expertise in diamond films, and its patented :Forced Diffusion" technology, work on the monitor/detection device can be developed at the University of Missouri along side other applications of "Forced Diffusion"..
Rhombic Corporation is planning to develop the concept of a very small solid state monitor/detector. This would mean it also would be portable, and useful in personnel monitoring at nuclear power plants, as a portable detector of weapon's grade nuclear materials, as a sensor for nuclear reactors, and as a device for small area flux profiling.
By varying the doping element infused into diamond through "Forced Diffusion", it is predicted that an array of detectors could be built that are sensitive to various energy neutrons. Such an array could do small area spectrum analysis of neutron energies.
This proposed device also would be saleable to the purchasers of the Inertial Electrostatic Confinement (IEC) fusion devices soon to be produce din Europe. The IEC devices created neutrons by the millions per second through fusion of hydrogen atoms. Rhombic's proposed monitor/detector would help track the neutron activity.
http://web.archive.org/web/20000525150347/www.rhombic.com/061199.html
REPORT ON NUCLID BATTERY
April 9, 1999
Recent planning among the Russian and German co-inventors of the Rhombic Radio Nuclid Battery (Dust Plasma Battery) includes information about extensive experiments by the Russian Academy of Sciences with anticipated new runs on the MIR Space Station.
Members of the forthcoming International Space Laboratory, after docking its third module, and scheduling astronauts for the year 2000, will provide a priority experiment in space to be performed by the Rhombic Dust plasma Battery.
The last experiments in the MIR space station were continued throughout January 1999, and are still being evaluated at present. One of the first experiments in the manned flight in early 2000 will be on dust plasmas. A Russian team will cooperate in the experiment with a team from the Max Plank Institute in Germany.
Dr. Heinrich Hora, representing Rhombic Corporation, recently initiated contact with the INTERNATIONAL COMPUTER AND COMMUNICATION CORPORATION (IC&C) in Reston, Virginia, for promoting the Battery for use among the low orbiting communication satellites to be launched in the near future for the fast expanding cellular and internet business.
Large-scale development and mass production of the Battery may necessitate the involvement of a large satellite company or a consortium of them. Doctor Hora's contacts with communication companies, in particular IC&C, may help Rhombic in these developments.
Dr. Hora's latest report indicates that the much lighter weight and lesser cost of Rhombic's Super Compact Battery may prove essential to reduce the projected cost of the first 400 satellites into space.
Former vice president of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Dr. Vladimir Fortov, lately reported to Dr. Hora that there has been "extensive progress" of work on the SRB with dust plasmas.
Contacts will take place between the top producers of satellites at the IC&C summit in Geneva, 13/14th of June, 1999. Among new members being sponsored is the Russian Academy of Sciences. Rhombic Corporation soon will have the honor of being considered as a member.
For further company details (OTC-BB-NUKE) call the public relations office at 1-888-821-6607, or view the Rhombic website http://www.rhombic.com or E-Mail rhombic@direct.ca.
http://web.archive.org/web/20000708102401/www.rhombic.com/040999.html
NEWS RELEASE
June 21, 1999
Rhombic Corporation (OTC-BB Nuke) announces that the company has accepted a proposal from the University of Missouri to use its laboratory facilities, technical equipment, and personnel, to develop selected projects using the company's "Forced Diffusion" technology.
Purification of silicon carbide and gallium nitride wafer materials will begin July 1, 1999 under the supervision of Dr. Mark Prelas. The wafers will be bought from US manufacturers in two and three inch crystal sizes, and treated with the patented "Forced Diffusion" process.
The University proposal is to use the Rhombic technology "to purify the gallium nitride of the unintentional oxygen and silicon impurities incorporated into the structure, and to purify the silicon carbide wafers of the pollutants boron, nitrogen, and oxygen.
The gallium nitride wafer is a blue laser generator, and silicon carbide is a major factor in high temperature, high speed electronics. Both materials are light emitting diodes that can be modified to produce photovoltaic cells that assist in the conversion of ultra violet light to electricgy. Reducing the impurities in the wafers would give them an improved effectiveness with a longer life span, and simplify the construction of photovoltaic cells.
According to the 1999 Industry Report, "Silicon will remain the dominant material for substrates and wafers for the foreseeable future with demand exceeding $7 billion in 1999. The push for ever greater performance at lower prices has brought new wafer technologies into the market."
Rhombic's patented "Forced Diffusion" process can be used to add to or to take out impurities from diamond, silicon carbide, gallium nitride, and other special mterials to midify the optical, chemical, electrical, and mechanical properties of those materials.
Rhombic Corporation will announce soon that, beginning September, 1999, its "Forced Diffusion" technology will be used to develop a second project at the University of Missouri's facilities.
For details on Rhombic Corporation, call the company's public relations office at 1-888-821-6607 and 604-421-5543, or visit the Rhombic website at www.rhombic.com.
Wm. Larry Owen
President
http://web.archive.org/web/20000603140156/www.rhombic.com/062199.html
Is this for real?
IBIZ Technology Corp (BB: IBZT)
IBZT Quote / IBZT Msg Board / IBZT LiveCharts / IBZT Chart / IBZT News / IBZT Company Info / IBZT I-Watch / IBZT Insider / IBZT Analyst Recs / IBZT Top Holders
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By: cowboycadillac
24 Mar 2004, 07:44 AM EST
Msg. 226494 of 226508
(This msg. is a reply to 226491 by ohsuecq.)
Jump to msg. #
This is why we have had a huge increase in Bashers as we get closer to April 1:
If you are an investor of IBZT then this is the only thing you need to concern yourself with over the next 6 trading days and this is what Ken and the boys are waiting for:
AN ABSOLUTE MUST READ ON WHY THERE IS SUCH INTEREST IN THIS STOCK MORNING, NOON, NITE, 24 HOURS A DAY 7 DAYS A WEEK:
2.5 BILLION SHARES ISSUED
NOVEMBER/03 NUMBER OF SHARES TRADED 13.4 BILLION
DECEMBER/03 NUMBER OF SHARES TRADED 35.4 BILLION
JANUARY/04 NUMBER OF SHARES TRADED 14.2 BILLION
FEBRUARY/04 NUMBER OF SHARES TRADED 23.2 BILLION
MARCH/04 TODATE NUMBER OF SHARES TRADED 12.1 BILLION
TOTAL NUMBER OF SHARES TRADED OVER THE LAST 5 MONTHS:
98.3 BILLION SHARES OR 50 TIMES THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF SHARES ISSUED!!
THE SHORTS COUNTED ON THE CD'S TAKING THIS STOCK INTO THE GROUND BUT WHEN KEN ANNOUNCED THAT THEY HAD PAYED OFF THESE CD'S AND NO FURTHER LIQUIDATION WOULD OCCUR ACCOMPANIED BY THE SHOCKING NEW SEC LAWS NOW BEING IMPLEMENTED APRIL 1 (JUST 6 TRADING DAYS AWAY) YOU NOW REALIZE WHY THEY ARE MANIPULATING THE SHARE PRICE AND THE BASHERS ARE OUT IN FULL FORCE!!!
THAT FOLKS IS WHY I CONTINUE TO ADD TO MY POSITION AND LOOK FORWARD TO THE PANIC STRICKEN SHORTS GETTING THEIR FAIR DUES COME APRIL 1!!!
MY SHORTS CALCULATION GOES LIKE THIS! TAKE THE VOLUME DOWN BY 1/2 FOR SWING TRADERS, THEN TAKE IT DOWN AGAIN BY ANOTHER 1/2 TO DAYTRADERS AND YOU ARE ALITTLE CLOSER TO THE POSSIBLE SHORT POSITION! REMEMBER YOU CANNOT TRADE 50x THE ENTIRE ISSUED, INCLUDING DAY TRADING, SWING TRADING ETC. ETC. ETC. WITHOUT SHORTS HITTING THIS! THEY COUNTED ON THE CD'S BEING THERE FOREVER AND WHEN KEN ANNOUNCED THEY HAD BEEN SETTLED AND NO MORE STOCK WOULD BE ISSUED IT CAUGHT THEM AND THEN THE SEC THREW THE SECOND PUNCH WITH THE NEW SHORT SELLING RULES! A DOUBLE KNOCK OUT PUNCH!!
TAKE 98 BILLION x .50 = 49 BILLION
TAKE 49 BILLION X .50 = 24.5 BILLION
AND JUST FOR THE HELL OF IT TAKE 24.5 BILLION x .50 = 12 BILLION AND YOU STILL HAVE 6 TIMES THE ENTIRE ISSUED SHORT!!! WHY THE HELL ARE ALL THE BASHERS HERE FOLKS??? YOU KNOW NOW, IMHO! IT AIN'T ABOUT A KEYBOARD, IT AIN'T ABOUT DOCKING STATION IT IS ABOUT WHAT ROCCO SAID HERE ON THE WEEKEND, IT IS ABOUT THE NEXT 6 TRADING DAYS! I AM ALL IN FOR THE 6 DAY RIDE OF OUR LIVES!!!
http://www.ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=BB:IBZT
Manakoa Services Corporation Completes Stock Exchange Transaction and Amends Articles of Incorporation
KENNEWICK, Wash., Mar 16, 2004 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Electronic Identification Inc., (Pink Sheets: EIDT) has completed a stock exchange transaction with Manakoa Services Corporation. The parties finalized the acquisition on March 10, 2004, and last week announced the name of the company was changed to Manakoa Services Corporation (Manakoa). In order to complete the transaction, Electronic Identification, Inc. (EIDT) needed to amend its Articles of Incorporation to provide for sufficient authorized stock to acquire Manakoa Services Corporation. As disclosed in the Form 8-K filed on December 18, 2003, Apogee Biometrics, Inc. (ABI), then majority shareholder of EIDT (along with holders of an additional 301,392 shares of EIDT common stock, for total vote of 5,137,892, representing 61% of EIDT's total outstanding common stock), by written consent as allowed under the Articles of Incorporation of EIDT and in accord with Nevada Law, voted to amend the Articles of Incorporation to increase the authorized capital of EIDT from 8,750,000 to 200,000,000 shares of common stock and from 5,000,000 to 25,000,000 shares of preferred stock.
In accord with the terms of the Agreement, EIDT issued a total of 19,300,000 common shares for all of the outstanding Manakoa common stock, which equals approximately 69.7 percent of all outstanding EIDT stock.
As a result of the transaction, two individuals and one corporation now each own approximately 22.4 percent of EIDT's outstanding common stock (for a total of 66.12%). These shareholders are: James C. Katzaroff, who serves as Chairman and CEO of Apogee Biometrics, Inc., which holds approximately 15% of EIDT's outstanding common stock; G. Robert Williams, founder of Secure Logistix (predecessor to Manakoa Services Corporation), and the Founders Group, Inc., located in Bellevue, WA.
A description of the business of Manakoa Services Corporation is contained in the Form 8-K that was filed on December 18, 2003. EIDT also filed a Form 8-K on March 15, 2004 for the completion of the transaction and the changes in the Articles of Incorporation.
Name Change
In recognition of the acquisition of Manakoa Services Corporation, EIDT's Articles of Incorporation also were amended to change EIDT's name to Manakoa Services Corporation.
Approval of Stock Option Plan
At the same time as the name change, the shareholders also approved by written consent a stock option plan for EIDT (now Manakoa), known as the 2004 Combined Incentive and Non-Qualified Stock Option Plan that authorizes the granting of options for up to 3,000,000 shares of common stock. As of the date of the Form 8-K, no options have been granted under this plan.
About Manakoa
Manakoa (www.Manakoa.com) is an independent software vendor and professional consulting services company addressing the multi-billion dollar IT security, IT compliance, and regulatory compliance marketplace for enterprise customers. Manakoa's security and compliance solutions suite offers advanced automation software and pre-configured scalable platforms designed to control business and IT policies, implement and enforce mandated compliance initiatives, and provide dynamic views for monitoring and administration based on the role and permissions of user and department. This groundbreaking software platform transforms high cost security and compliance consulting engagements into automated, consistent, and cost-effective technology. Manakoa's software platform can greatly reduce consulting hours and time-to-compliance through sustainable, repeatable technology.
Manakoa's flagship product, Compliance WorkCenter (TM), is being previewed by Fortune 500 companies due to its unique approach of providing a pre-configured platform, with templates, department by department, for analyzing compliance with United States regulations such as the Gramm Leach Bliley Act, Sarbanes Oxley, the USA Patriot Act, and HIPPA. Manakoa's full product suite, which will include Compliance Enforcer(TM) by Manakoa and Compliance Monitor(TM) by Manakoa, will provide a scalable, cost-effective total compliance solution, which can be easily utilized in concert with a company's existing IT. The product suite is unique in its comprehensive approach to the full scope of compliance and risk management assessment, remediation, policy enforcement, and monitoring.
Enterprise customers wishing to learn more, preview upcoming product releases or engage Manakoa for compliance and security audits and scope enforcement needs should contact Ed Nichols, VP Business Development, in our Boulder, Colorado office, phone (303) 448-8964 and by email at Enichols@Manakoa.com.
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT
Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act-with the exception of the historical information contained in this release, the matters described herein contain forward-looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties that may individually or mutually impact the matters herein described, including, but not limited to, product acceptance, economic, competitive, governmental, results of litigation, technological and/or other factors which are outside the control of the Company. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements depending on such factors as changes in general economic conditions and financial or equity markets, technological changes, and other business risk factors. The Company does not assume, and expressly disclaims, any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
SOURCE: Manakoa Services Corporation
CONTACT: Manakoa Services Corporation
James C. Katzaroff, 509/736-7002
or
(Investors)
The Investor Relations Group
Lisa Lindberg/Tom Caden
212/825-3210
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The Lies of Rice Could Reach a new Shoot in the growing Paddy of Political Pudding Pies in the Face
Dr. Rice Briefing on President's Visit to UN General Assembly
September 22, 2003
[excerpts on Iraqi WMD]
[...]
Q: Is the President's credibility undercut in any way by the fact that the weapons of mass destruction have not been disclosed in Iraq? How will he address that in his speech tomorrow? And do you remain confident those weapons will be found, or do you think they've somehow been spirited away, or that --
DR. RICE: Well, let me first say that David Kay has an orderly process for mining the miles of documentation, the hundreds, even thousands of interviews, that need to be done, the physical evidence that needs to be gathered to understand precisely the status of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, the status of the programs, what became of unaccounted for weapons stockpiles.
If you remember the U.N. reports were about large numbers of unaccounted-for stockpiles. We'll now be able to find out what became of them. But let me be very clear, what we find there will establish precisely what was going on with Iraq's programs. What we went in with a view toward was a view that was shared by intelligence agencies around the world, by three American administrations, and by the United Nations. There was nobody who knew anything about Iraq who believed that Saddam Hussein had destroyed all of his weapons of mass destruction, that he simply didn't have any. And it was just kind of a joke on the world that he wouldn't say that he had destroyed his weapons of mass destruction.
This was a dangerous regime that had used weapons of mass destruction, that was still pursuing weapons of mass destruction, and that had large unaccounted for stockpiles. That is a position that was credible at the time. It is a position that is credible now. And now we're able to do what the U.N. inspectors had hoped to be able to do under Resolution 1441, were actually never permitted to do because Saddam Hussein was still in power and intimidating people and keeping people from telling the truth. So the President will simply note that we have an effort underway to hunt this down. And, yes, I think we will we find that Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction can be accounted for, and we'll know the truth.
Q: When will Kay's report will be public?
DR. RICE: David Kay is not going to be done with this for quite some time. And I would not count on reports. I suppose there may be interim reports. I don't know when those will be, and I don't know what the public nature of them will be.
http://www.fas.org/irp/news/2003/09/wh092203.html
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/09/20030922-11.html
Does Bill Cosby believe that Condoleezza Rice has cooties?
At yesterday's Capitol Hill ceremony honoring civil rights icon Dorothy Height, the comedian was supposed to be seated next to President Bush's national security adviser - whose role in the run-up to 9/11 and its aftermath has come under intense scrutiny and heavy fire.
But according to Republican sources, shortly before the proceedings commenced in the Capitol Rotunda - where Bush presented the 92-year-old Height with the Congressional Gold Medal - Cosby's assistant informed an event organizer that Cosby would prefer to sit elsewhere.
The request was accommodated, I'm told.
Yesterday, Cosby spokesman David Brokaw said: "I just got a hold of him 20 minutes ago and I put the question to him: Did he ask not to sit next to Dr. Rice? And his answer was: 'That's not true.' "
Brokaw, however, was unable to explain why the seating arrangement was changed.
"One of Mr. Cosby's people went up to an organizer and said Mr. Cosby does not want to sit next to Miss Rice," a top GOP staffer told me. "I think people were kind of shocked by his show of partisanship at a bipartisan ceremony."
As for Cosby's denial, the staffer insisted: "Mr. Cosby didn't ask. It was an assistant."
Rice's spokesman told me: "Dr. Rice has the highest respect for Dr. Cosby and his work." (Cosby has a doctorate in education.)
Brokaw said: "I'm in my 31st year of working for Bill Cosby, and I've known him to tell the truth. He has spent a lifetime communicating with clarity. ... It's unfortunate because what's really important here is that a very special woman, Dr. Height, was being honored. And now, all of a sudden, the seating chart is the focus."
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/177039p-153990c.html
Weighing Iraq
Iraq tops the list of foreign policy issues voters will consider this year.
In analyzing Sen. John Kerry and President Bush on Iraq, Americans are likely to ask these six questions: Is the United States safer? Did the president tell the truth about the threat posed by Saddam Hussein? What has the war cost the United States? Should pursuing democracy in Iraq remain a top U.S. priority? How do other countries view the United States? Is U.S. action in Iraq moral?
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/03/24/iraq/index.html
Clarke: Rice should have done job before 9/11
Thursday, March 25, 2004 Posted: 1448 GMT (2248 HKT)
Former White House counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke criticized the Bush and Clinton administrations' responses to al Qaeda before September 11, 2001.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former White House counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke said that key information about the September 11 hijackers may have come out before the attacks if national security adviser Condoleezza Rice "had done her job" -- suggesting the plot may have been uncovered in time to prevent it.
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/03/25/clarke.lkl/index.html
Rice the off-stage prima donna in 9/11 hearings
Bush's security adviser has cultivated a low profile, but is increasingly on the spot
Julian Borger in Washington
Friday March 26, 2004
The Guardian
Throughout this week's theatrical congressional hearings on the September 11 attacks, a central character in the action remained resolutely off-stage, despite constant calls for her presence. In fact, the whole drama could well have been titled Waiting for Condi.
Condoleezza Rice has built a reputation on keeping a low profile in the ferocious foreign battles of the Bush administration. She has interpreted the job of national security adviser as being chiefly an interpreter of events and opinions for the president, not a protagonist.
But the scathing attack launched by her former counter-terrorist adviser, Richard Clarke, has made such studied neutrality impossible. With his White House memoir and each successive broadside at the administration, Mr Clarke has come closer to blaming her personally for the failure to prevent the attacks.
In a Wednesday night television interview, the former counter-terrorism tsar declared: "If Condi Rice had been doing her job and ... if she had a hands-on attitude to being national security adviser", crucial information about the hijackers would have bubbled up from field intelligence officers to policy-makers.
Mr Clarke's testimony has been made all the more damaging by the chorus of appeals by members of the congressional bipartisan committee investigating the September 11 attacks, and victims' relatives, for her to defend herself, under oath, at the hearings. One of the relatives, Carie Lemack, whose mother died in the attacks, said yesterday: "I implore her to come forward to say these things before the American people."
Urgently seeking to contain the damage, Ms Rice called journalists into her White House office. She pointed out that she had talked to the commission for four hours behind closed doors and insisted she "would like nothing better" than to testify in public. However, she had a responsibility to maintain the constitutional separation of powers. Cabinet secretaries are formally accountable to Congress, but the president's personal staff are answerable only to him.
It seemed like a quibble set against the high emotions of the inquiry, where many victims' relatives have brought pictures of the dead into the hearing room on Capitol Hill. But Ms Rice made more headway questioning Mr Clarke's credibility, producing his past emails and briefings from his time in the White House suggesting he believed at the time that everything possible had been done to forestall an attack.
Mr Clarke countered by arguing that he had merely been spinning the facts as a loyal administration servant - a cynical defence that had the effect of belittling the integrity of both sides in the row.
The problem for Ms Rice is that Mr Clarke's account does not stand alone. It restates, in more impassioned language, a number of accounts of the Bush administration's critical first months in office.
The former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, General Hugh Shelton, said the Bush administration pushed terrorism "farther to the back burner". And in a sympathetic portrait of the young administration, Bush at War, the president himself told the author, Bob Woodward, that he "didn't feel that sense of urgency" about going after Osama bin Laden.
It was undoubtedly the job of the national security adviser to set the priorities for a new president in his first weeks and months in office, particularly for a president as untutored in foreign affairs as George Bush.
When Mr Bush hired Ms Rice as an adviser during the election campaign, he said she could "explain to me foreign policy matters in a way I can understand". Ms Rice had another quality highly-prized by the then Texas governor: loyalty to the Bush family. She had served as an adviser in his father's White House, and had become a friend of the family, often holidaying at the Bush holiday home at Kennebunkport, on the north-eastern coast.
Ms Rice was undoubtedly a prodigy. She grew up in a modest, middle class home under segregation in Birmingham, Alabama, and emerged as an accomplished pianist, an ice-skater and an international relations expert. In 1993 she became the first woman, the first African American and the youngest person to become provost of Stanford University.
However, she was an expert on a defunct empire - the Soviet Union. Her doctoral thesis was on military relations between the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia, two states that had long since ceased to exist by the time she became national security adviser.
The team of seven foreign policy advisers she assembled for Governor Bush - a group she dubbed the Vulcans after the Roman god of fire, whose statue used to loom over her home town - were also specialists on cold war issues. There were no terrorism experts among them.
James Mann, a journalist who has written a history of Bush's war cabinet, argues: "They were fully prepared to deal with security issues of the sorts they had confronted in the past ... they were caught looking in the wrong direction."
In the early months of 2001, Ms Rice's Vulcans were consumed with recasting post-cold war relations with China and Russia. "It was as though they were preserved in amber," Mr Clarke recalled.
As for the pursuit of al-Qaida and Bin Laden, Ms Rice, multiple accounts say, insisted that the matter undergo the same comprehensive rethink as all other Clinton-era policies. The policy review took until September 4 2001.
Congress's commission of inquiry is due to report by July 26. If it is places disproportionate blame on Ms Rice, she might fall on her sword. But that is an unlikely scenario. The Bush family repays the loyalty of its acolytes. "She's very fond of the president, and he's very fond of her," said a senior Republican who knows her well. But he added: "She tends to be an impatient person and will certainly not stay on for four more years if the president wins re-election. She likes new challenges."
Ms Rice had once toyed with the idea of running for the governorship of California, but Arnold Schwarzenegger's triumph has put that beyond reach. More recently, she had been mentioned as a potential secretary of state or defence in a second Bush term. But that was before the hearings of the past few days. Her immediate concern now is political survival - her own and her boss's.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/september11/story/0,11209,1178312,00.html
The Unflappable Condi Rice
Why the world's most powerful woman asks God for help.
By Sheryl Henderson Blunt / posted 08/22/2003
Admirers have called her one of the country's best and brightest and the President's secret weapon. At a June 4 meeting with Jordanian, Palestinian Authority, and Israeli leaders, President Bush called her "my personal representative" and said she would work closely with the parties to help bring about peace. Her significance in shaping American foreign policy is hard to overstate.
Known affectionately inside the White House as the Warrior Princess, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice often speaks for the President on foreign policy and is one of his closest confidants. From her northwest corner office of the West Wing, she is responsible for sharpening and presenting the arguments of the administration's often rambunctious National Security Council.
Before her current stint, she had overseen decisions in corporate boardrooms, managed a multimillion-dollar budget at Stanford University, and negotiated key deals for the first President Bush.
Rice's keen intellect, steely unflappability, and Southern charm have served her well. Those qualities, her family and friends told Christianity Today, arise from something deep within her. "Her faith is absolutely fundamental to who she is," says Randy Bean, executive producer of special television projects at Stanford and a longtime friend. "It's part of her fiber."
"She's very close to the Lord," says Rice's aunt, Genoa Ray McPhatter. "She knows that he guides and directs her. She learned this early as a child, to have that faith, and to believe that the Lord can do all things."
A 'Perfect Little Lady'
Born on November 14, 1954, the year before the civil rights movement began, little Condi entered the brutally racist environment of Birmingham, Alabama, surrounded by her family's strong faith and lavish devotion.
Her father, John W. Rice Jr., was a second-generation minister at Westminster Presbyterian Church and an educator. Her mother, Angelena, was a music teacher and church organist. From the beginning, the Rices resolved that their daughter would have the most nurturing, stimulating environment possible. A full schedule of activities ensued: youth group, piano, ballet, French, flute, violin, speed reading, and church every Sunday.
"I had parents who gave me every conceivable opportunity," Rice told Vogue.
Condi's early religious influences included her maternal grandmother, a piano teacher who was deeply grounded in her Christian faith. The first piece she taught her granddaughter to play was the hymn "What a Friend We Have in Jesus." Her grandmother urged her children and grandchildren to exemplify Jesus. "Whenever we would leave home she always told us to take the name of Jesus with us," says Rice's aunt McPhatter. "It was a constant reminder to keep Christ in our hearts and minds, foremost."
Music was a family affair, and as early as age 3 Condi played piano at family gatherings. At 5 she accompanied her mother at the organ bench during worship services. Her name is from the Italian phrase con dolcezza, which refers to playing music "with sweetness." Unlike other neighborhood children who often played outdoors, she was more likely to be found reading a book or practicing the piano.
"She always was the little lady," says McPhatter. An elegant and fashionable woman herself, Angelena took care to dress Condi stylishly. She took her daughter to the same fine clothing stores frequented by Birmingham's wealthy whites, and on more than a few shopping trips, Condi saw her mother stand up to segregationist store clerks.
In spending so much time around her parents, Rice developed a remarkable maturity. When John Rice received a scholarship for a summer program at New York University, officials told him children could not stay in dorms. "My sister got on the phone and told them Condi was a child but she was not really a child," McPhatter says. "She said that she was very calm and acted just like an adult, and if Condi couldn't go, John wasn't coming either." Condi went along. "She was a perfect little lady and no one even realized she was there."
It might have been an idyllic youth had Birmingham not been a hotbed of racial violence. Theophilus Eugene "Bull" Connor, Birmingham's Commissioner of Public Safety, inflamed racist sentiment and zealously enforced Jim Crow laws, keeping protesting blacks at bay with police dogs and fire hoses.
On September 15, 1963, a Sunday morning, Condi was standing inside her father's church when she felt the floor shake. A bomb had exploded two blocks away at Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, killing four young black girls. One was Rice's schoolmate. That blast, rather than derailing the civil rights movement, energized the crusade to pass the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Rice would later say the memory of "home-grown terrorism" from 1960s Birmingham flooded back into her mind after the 9/11 attacks. These early childhood memories have become a cornerstone in Rice's political convictions about the importance of human dignity and individual liberty for all people.
Being Twice as Good
Like other middle-class black parents in Birmingham, the Rices were determined that their daughter would overcome racism through hard work, personal achievement, and a God-given sense of self-worth. "My parents had me absolutely convinced that … you may not be able to have a hamburger at Woolworth's but you can be President of the United States," Rice told Newsweek. For Condi this meant being twice as good as whites in order to gain equal footing.
Banned from public restaurants, pools, and the local amusement park, Kiddieland, Birmingham's black youths had limited entertainment outlets. Pastor Rice created a youth fellowship organization.
"It was not just an adjunct to our spiritual lives, but also the center of our social lives," says Mary Kate Bush, president of Bush International, a global finance advisory company, who participated in the fellowship's Bible studies, dances, and cultural field trips. "[Condoleezza] was frequently there with us, being looked after by her father while he was running the youth fellowship."
"Daddy Rice"—as he came to be known by many of Condi's friends—was also a man of intense personal magnetism and confidence. Bush says he "exuded power" and possessed a gentleness that made him "totally approachable and warm." Those whose lives he touched credit him for their success. To John Rice, God and education were the keys to overcoming obstacles, and he made sure all of his "kids" got plenty of both.
"Our world was completely black," says Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Hrabowski attended Ullman High in Birmingham, where Pastor Rice also served as a guidance counselor. "The challenge was, when we moved beyond that world, we were going to be told we're second class. Rev. Rice was there preparing us for that. He was telling us we're children of God. How could we be second class? What he was doing was teaching us to live examined lives. He was pushing us to examine everything we did and how we did it."
Condi's father took academic positions at Stillman College and then the University of Denver, so Rice spent her teenage years in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and in Denver. There she enrolled in the prestigious St. Mary's Academy, an independent Catholic school and the first integrated school she attended. It was also where a school counselor advised her parents that their daughter was not college material.
That assessment—which her parents rejected as flat-out false—seemed to bounce off the confident young woman not accustomed to accepting society's limitations. "Our parents and our community in many ways sheltered us from the very negative things," says Bush. "Many of us never thought about limitations. We never expected there would be limitations on our ambitions."
That counselor's words seemed only to invigorate her. Rice thrived at St. Mary's with a full schedule of ice-skating, tennis, and piano, graduating early with a slew of honors. At 15, she enrolled in the University of Denver.
But difficult days were not far off. That same year, 1969, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Recalling the experience years later, Rice said when the results of her mother's first surgery came back, her father "got down on his knees and he prayed: 'Lord, how am I going to raise a 15-year-old girl alone?' " Angelena would live another 15 years, but during this time, Rice said she feared her mother's death "in the abstract every waking day."
At the University of Denver's Lamont School of Music, Rice pursued a degree in piano performance, practicing on the $13,000 Steinway grand piano her parents bought her. Rice encountered, perhaps for the first time, world-class competition. Years later during a radio interview, Rice recalled meeting "11-year-olds who could play from sight what had taken [her] all year to learn." That made her think twice about a career as a performer.
"I went to my parents, who had spent a fortune and all of their time turning me into a pianist, and said, 'Mom and Dad, I'm changing my major,' " Rice told Oprah Winfrey. Her parents were initially shocked and resistant.
"Her daddy looked at her and said, 'Condoleezza! Black people don't make money in political science,' " McPhatter said in a recent newspaper interview.
Rice replied: "Music, either."
Studying Geopolitics
Rice enrolled in a course on international politics. The instructor was Josef Korbel. The former Czech diplomat and political refugee fascinated Rice. She would later describe Korbel as "one of the most central figures in my life, next to my parents." Korbel and his family, whose Jewish background came to light much later, escaped both Nazis and communists. The U.S. government granted Korbel political asylum, and the University of Denver hired him to start an international politics program.
Rice and Korbel's daughter, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, are probably that program's most famous alumni. Both Rice and Albright, despite their differences, acquired Korbel's unshakable commitment to the American ideals of freedom and democracy. Rice, like many foreign policy experts of the Cold War era, was attracted to the views of scholar Hans Morgenthau, a leading advocate of balance-of-power realism in relations between nations.
But in time, Rice's own view would shift toward the values-driven model that the Bush White House embraces. "Power matters," Rice told National Review in 1999. "But there can be no absence of moral content in American foreign policy, and, furthermore, the American people wouldn't accept such an absence. Europeans giggle at this and say we're naïve and so on, but we're not Europeans, we're Americans—and we have different principles."
Rice graduated cum laude with multiple honors and a degree in political science. The 19-year-old then headed to Notre Dame University to earn a master's degree in government. "She was already on her way to being a Soviet specialist," says Jane Robinett, a fellow student at Notre Dame and now a professor of rhetoric at San Diego State University. "She was really interested in all things Russian." Rice had even named her car Boris.
Rice returned to Denver to earn a Ph.D. in international studies, but even then she found it difficult to leave her music behind. Her year-long independent project was on "Music and Politics in the Soviet Union." Capping a successful ten-year transformation from pianist to professor of political science, Rice accepted a fellowship at Stanford University's Center for International Security and Arms Control. At 26, she was an assistant professor at one of the most prestigious universities in the land.
Drawn Back to Church
Rice sparkled at Stanford, impressing everyone. She was young, stunningly attractive, and had a razor-sharp mind. But something even more important was happening. During these years, Rice says, God drew her back to the church.
It began when the nearby Jerusalem Baptist Church started looking for some help. "We needed a piano player very badly," says longtime church member Dale Hamel, then president of the choir. Hamel charged his choir with finding a musician. He was pushing his shopping cart down the canned food lane at Lucky Supermarket when he ran into Rice.
"We practically bumped into each other," says Hamel. "We stopped and started laughing, and I looked down at her fingers and saw that they were long and skinny. I said, 'Are you a musician?' And she said, 'Hey, how'd you know?' " Rice played for the church for six months, refusing to take any money.
"That got me regularly back into churchgoing," she said in an August 2002 address to a Sunday school class at her home church, National Presbyterian in Washington, D.C. "I thought to myself, 'My goodness, God has a long reach.' I mean, in the Lucky Supermarket on a Sunday morning."
But Rice yearned to return to her Presbyterian roots. One Sunday she visited Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in Palo Alto. "The minister that Sunday morning gave a sermon I will never quite forget," Rice said. "It was about the Prodigal Son from the point of view of the elder son. It set the elder son up not as somebody who had done all the right things but as somebody who had become so self-satisfied… . I started to think of myself as that elder son, who had never doubted the existence of the heavenly Father, but wasn't really walking in faith in an active way anymore. I started to become more active with the church, to go to Bible study, and to have a more active prayer life. It was a very important turning point in my life."
During these years, she grieved her mother's death, helped her father work through his grief, talked him into moving to California, watched him remarry, and continued to stay involved in church and community activities—like raising money for an after-school center for underprivileged children in East Palo Alto.
Bonding With the Bushes
In 1987 Stanford sponsored a conference on arms control, and over dinner one night, Rice met Brent Scowcroft, who served in President Gerald Ford's administration. He recalls meeting a very confident young woman "who looked more like an undergrad." Scowcroft was so impressed with Rice that he resolved to help her advance. When the newly elected President George H. W. Bush asked Scowcroft to serve as National Security Adviser, Rice was one of the first people Scowcroft invited onto his staff. She served as his Soviet expert.
"She has a very steely inner soul, but with a very genteel exterior," Scowcroft says. Rice was so considerate when she first arrived at the White House, people thought they could run right over her. "They only tried that once." Rice quickly bonded with President Bush, advising him during the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Philip Zelikow, executive director of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks, served with Rice on the senior Bush's national security staff and wrote a book with her. Zelikow says Rice's commitments became evident during her service with Scowcroft.
"She believes in empowering people," Zelikow says. "In international affairs, that means real commitment to liberty and freedom. She sees the message of her life as a message of how to realize a person's potential. No one should ever become the prisoner of other people's expectations."
Zelikow says that was evident back in 1990, when Rice helped develop U.S. policy on the reunion of East and West Germany. "Her instincts all along, from the very beginning, were: We need to allow the German people to pursue their own destiny, and we need to have the Soviets accept that," says Zelikow. "That's what she recommended to President Bush."
Rice grew close to the Bush family, spending vacations at their estate in Kennebunkport, Maine. "Bush Senior was very fond of her, which is why she is where she is," Scowcroft says. Rice and George W. Bush have a similar bond, enhanced by their faith, mutual intellectual respect, and obsession with sports.
Rice returned to Stanford in 1991 to continue teaching. But a month after being promoted to full professor in 1993, she was tapped for provost. At 38, Rice was the youngest, the first nonwhite, and the first woman to assume the university's second most powerful position. The big leap from faculty member to provost had a steep learning curve. The university's $20 million budget deficit didn't help matters.
Rice resolved to balance the budget in two years—and succeeded. She approached tough decisions with her mother's no-nonsense directness, slashing costs and cutting staff, but always making clear where she stood. Angry critics accused her of compromising the school's commitment to diversity. Unpopular with students, Rice was seen as "cold and uninclusive."
"She was coming from a political environment, where many decisions were made unilaterally, to an academic environment driven by collegiality," says Lori White, who was at Stanford at that time and is now dean of students at San Diego State University. "It was a tough transition."
Rice worked on her public image, becoming more visible at student functions. At her last address to the undergraduate class of 1999, students gave her a standing ovation.
"She learned how to soften her approach, and how to let people, particularly students, know that while she certainly had to make tough decisions, she wasn't a tyrant," White says. "It's a great testament to her ability to respond to criticism."
During her tenure at Stanford, Rice spent her weekends with family and friends. Holidays were particularly known for their eclectic makeup of people and "ecumenical nature," Bean says. Rice and her stepmother, Clara Bailey Rice, would take turns cooking. Condi's Thanksgiving turkeys, cranberry salad, and Cornish hens received rave reviews.
Bean recalls one Easter dinner that included about 20 people, including Jews and Muslims. "Her religious beliefs never excluded anyone," Bean says. "It was perfectly normal to have Jews around at Easter. It was an indication of how comfortable she was with her Christianity." No holiday gathering was complete without hymns. No matter who was present, Bean says, "We'd power through the hymnal."
Rice and her father enjoyed a renewed closeness, traveling together to games and other functions. They also looked out for each other. Several recall the gentle ribbing Rice gave her tall, heavy-set father about his rich diet, and the times John Rice would camp out outside his daughter's condo some nights until she returned home.
"She wasn't too happy about it because she was independent and strong," says Bailey Rice, recalling the occasional nights John would drag her out of bed to wait up with him. "She would just say, 'Daddy! What are you doing?' She wasn't angry. You could tell it made her feel good that he loved her so much."
Rice was on the road with George W. Bush's presidential campaign in February 2000, serving as Bush's chief foreign policy tutor, when her father suffered a severe attack of arrhythmia. The attack left him bedridden with stroke-like symptoms. During her father's 10-month illness, it became clear that Rice would be offered a senior position in the Bush White House. Fearing for his daughter's safety in far-off Washington and eager for her to continue enjoying a prestigious career in academia, John Rice was less than enthusiastic. As with her other pivotal decisions, however, Rice knew what she had to do.
"She prays and makes her own decisions," Bailey Rice says. "Her father said that she has always followed her own heart and mind. And usually her decisions are the right ones." President-elect Bush announced his selection of Rice as his National Security Adviser at a December 2000 press conference. Six days later, on Christmas Eve, John Rice died.
"We all believe Daddy Rice gave his daughter a wonderful gift by going on to the other side when he did, because he was very conflicted about her being National Security Adviser," White says. "She was going to have to be going back and forth [to visit him] and had she been in Washington when he died, it would have devastated her."
Instead, Rice was with her father when he died. Friends marveled afterward at how at peace she seemed about his death. "He knew that she had reached this level," Bean says. "It was probably a moment when he felt that he could let her go."
Her Eye is on the World
Rice's role as National Security Adviser has been even more crucial since the September 11 attacks. She's had a hand in the war effort abroad and the security effort at home, Middle East peace initiatives, negotiations on North Korea, and relations with Europe. Bush has tapped Rice to defend the administration against charges of failing to act on intelligence data that critics said could have prevented the 9/11 tragedy. On Iraq, Rice again became a key advocate, invoking just-war doctrine and arguing the administration's case to skeptics abroad and at home. As early as August 2002, Rice spoke to the bbc about a "very powerful moral case for regime change" in Iraq.
Her views, like those of President Bush, are grounded in Christian ethics. "It shows in both of them a deeply religious foundation that seems to infiltrate nonreligious issues," Scowcroft says. "That is the milieu in which they tend to make decisions."
Rice has not limited her role to traditional national security matters. Zelikow and others say Rice was crucial, along with Secretary of State Colin Powell, in convincing Bush to set aside $200 million for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. That money is part of a $15 billion package designed to fight AIDS in the most devastated areas, especially southern Africa.
Rice is neither a theologian nor an ethicist. She has never publicly articulated how her biblical faith informs her foreign policy—other than her concern for international justice and peace. What she better articulates and lives is a personal faith that strengthens her in her demanding and controversy-laden calling. That faith flows naturally, even spontaneously.
On New Year's Eve 2002, Rice and some friends traveled to Florida to watch Notre Dame play in the Gator Bowl. After a New Year's Eve dinner, the group had an impromptu prayer meeting in Rice's hotel room.
"It was a totally ecumenical thing," Robinett says. "It didn't matter what your denomination is, your gender or your race or politics. We just laid aside our differences."
They sang "His Eye Is on the Sparrow," White said. Then the group stood, formed a circle, held hands, and "prayed for each other and for the world."
Sheryl Henderson Blunt is a senior news writer for Christianity Today.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/009/1.42.html
Let her RIP and the dead bury the dead
Silicon Valley's top 100
The following executives were the 100 highest paid among the largest companies in Silicon Valley based on their sales in 2002. Their total compensation includes salary, bonuses, commissions, the dollar value of restricted stock awards and gains from exercising stock options. It also includes other financial compensation, such as payments on insurance policies, contributions to retirement plans, automobile expenses, housing allowances, mortgage assistance, tax reimbursements, forgiveness of loans and relocation expenses.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/business/special_packages/salary_survey/5930699.htm
She has agreed to testify.
Bush's executive-privilege two-step
His documents are too precious to give Congress, but those of the previous administration aren't worth protecting -- as long as they make Bill Clinton look bad.
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By Joshua Micah Marshall
Feb. 7, 2002 / For the last year President Bush's White House has pursued what amounts to a two-tiered policy on executive privilege and prerogative: Nixonian secrecy when it comes to the records of his own administration, and a let-it-all-hang-out openness when it comes to those of his reviled predecessor. Even the Bush administration's inconsistency is inconsistent: Clinton-era records that tarnish the former president's reputation are offered up with alacrity, while those that might cast him in a better light are hoarded as executive-branch secrets.
In the brewing battle over the release of Vice President Cheney's energy task force records, Cheney says he's taking a stand on principle. And he has a point: From its earliest days, the second Bush administration has demonstrated a deep ideological commitment to restoring the prerogatives of the executive branch. Right out of the box, the White House put a freeze on the release of Reagan-era records scheduled to be made public last year. Whether or not the White House has something to hide, Cheney's refusal to turn over the energy task force records is in line with this stance.
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The problem with this commitment to principle, however, is how ready the Bush White House is to abandon it for political convenience. Press reports have already noted the contrast between the White House's current stance on the Cheney records and the release last summer of transcripts of private conversations between former President Bill Clinton and then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. But to date none has detailed the tortured, even comical lengths to which the Bush White House has gone in violating its own stated principles to try to embarrass Clinton.
Last August, Newsweek's Michael Isikoff reported on excerpts of three conversations between Clinton and Barak that touched on the then-notorious, but now long-forgotten Marc Rich pardon. When congressional investigators led by Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., had requested the transcripts, the Bush White House provided them. "The two leaders had no reason to believe their confidential chat would ever become public," wrote Isikoff. And for good reason: The release of such transcripts of private conversations to a congressional investigating committee (let alone their subsequently leaking to the press) is all but unprecedented.
Administration officials argue that the release of the Clinton-Barak transcripts was simply part of their long-standing effort to make more information available to Congress. "The excerpts were not classified," a White House spokesperson told Salon last August. "The decision to make the documents available was entirely consistent with past practice. You don't just slap Top Secret on a whole document."
Perhaps not. But numerous knowledgeable observers in and out of government say that's not how the executive branch -- particularly this executive branch -- normally acts.
"Given the secrecy that the Bush-Cheney administration has pursued, it's inconceivable that they would turn this information over if it affected President Bush," says Phil Schiliro, Democratic staff director for the House Government Reform Committee, the committee now trying to gain access to the Cheney energy records.
Lynne Weil, press secretary for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called the decision "highly unusual. People who have worked for the Foreign Relations Committee for years can't recall the last time such a thing happened."
Even open-government activists who cheer the decision, like the National Security Archives' Tom Blanton, can't help expressing a note of surprise. "This kind of disclosure is exactly what the law calls for. But the extraordinary, almost complete deference the courts give the executive branch on matters of national security [means this sort of thing almost never happens]. This disclosure was uncharacteristically helpful."
For his part, Blanton believes the White House's penchant for secrecy really is rooted in ideology. When I asked him why this same ideological concern for the prerogatives of the presidency didn't extend to the Clinton transcripts, he pointed out that I was ignoring "a rather more focused version of that ideology that's about hating Bill Clinton."
Fannie Mae's Thoughts On 'Housing Bubble' Stories
August 23, 2002
Often when the housing sector is strong and growing at a steady, healthy pace, as it has and will continue to do, stories appear warning of a "housing bubble." But as Federal Reserve Chairman Greenspan said in Congressional testimony, it is very difficult for a housing bubble to occur on a national basis because unlike stocks and bonds, investors cannot move in and out of housing as they can financial instruments. In the past quarter century, home values nationwide have never fallen on an annual basis. In fact, home values nationwide have risen every year, even during severe recessions like 1981-82 when the unemployment rate jumped to nearly 11 percent, and during the "mild" recession of 1990-91.
Certainly, housing may cool from its record pace, but recent stories of weakness usually refer to the high-end market. It is not the case that more moderately priced homes which we fund are showing price weakness. For much of the 1990's income outpaced home price appreciation. It has only been recently that home prices have caught up.
Following are facts that give us confidence in the health of the housing market:
On a national average basis, annual home prices have not declined since the Great Depression. Even during severe recessions (such as 1981-82, when the economy had double digit unemployment rates and mortgage rates over 18 percent), home prices increased. To be sure, there have been regional declines (such as in the "oil patch" in the mid-1980s, and California and New England in the early 1990s), but even these did not bring national prices down.
The causes of the regional home price downturns do not appear to be in place today. The oil patch home price decline came as a result of a regional recession that was even worse than the national recession of 1981-82 -- it was, in effect, a regional depression. It would take a U.S. downturn approaching that magnitude to bring national home prices down -- something that seems extremely unlikely.
The regional downturns in California and New England in the early 1990s stemmed largely from excess housing supply in the face of steeply rising prices -- resulting in a sharp increase in unsold home inventories. This exhibited many of the characteristics of a speculative bubble. The supply-demand situation is very different today -- with strong demand being met with constrained supply (as an increasing number of communities have made development more difficult as a result of concerns about sprawl and the environment). As a result, unsold inventories of new homes today are near record lows, while existing home inventories are below average -- putting upward pressure on home prices.
Some have argued that home price gains have outstripped income growth, making housing less affordable. These arguments are incorrect for two reasons. First, over the 1990s, median household income growth and home values both increased at a 3.5 percent pace (while disposable personal income growth increased by 5.2 percent) -- so home price gains were no more than income growth over this long-run period. Second, these arguments fail to account for interest rates -- the most important factor in home affordability. Low inflation over the past decade, and a weak economy more recently, are responsible for bringing mortgage rates down and boosting affordability. Today, yields on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are at or near the lowest levels since the mid-1960s. As a result, affordability is at high levels despite strong home price gains. It is true that home price gains have outpaced income growth over the past couple of years, suggesting that the recent rapid gains in home prices won't continue (unless mortgage rates fall still more). The unsold home inventory situation indicates that home price increases will moderate to be more in line with income growth, however, rather than falling. Over the past two years disposable personal income growth has averaged 4.9 percent.
Some have argued that home price gains have outstripped the general rate of inflation, and therefore they will have to fall to come back into line with the general price level. This argument is also incorrect. There is no necessity for changes in the price of a particular good or service to equal the overall inflation rate -- either in the short run or the long run. For example, personal computer prices have been falling for decades, yet no one expects PC prices to suddenly jump in order to bring PC inflation back into line with overall inflation. Because housing is something that people historically have wanted to spend more on as their wealth and income rise, demand has shifted toward owner-occupied housing and away from other goods and services as the real economy has grown over time. This shift in relative demand has pushed up home prices faster than the average rate of inflation. There is no specific long run relationship between home price inflation and general inflation other than home price gains should continue to outpace general inflation.
Over the long run, strong productivity growth should allow nominal GDP growth (and thus disposable personal income) to grow by 5.5-6.0 percent this decade. This would, in turn, support home price gains in the range of 5.0-5.5 percent with no additional declines in mortgage rates.
While home price gains have been strong in recent years, increases in the strongest markets are less than they were in the late-1980s (the last time home price inflation was very strong). For example, home values in California (those funded by conforming loans) have risen by 11.5 percent over the past two years (compound annual rate) -- compared with an 18.0 percent increase in 1988-90. In Massachusetts, home values are up by 12.0 percent -- versus 23.0 percent in 1985-87.
In regional home price declines, the proximate cause has always been a downturn in the (regional) economy. The recession of 2001 is over (even if economic growth is only modest today) and most analysts expect stronger economic growth in the year ahead than in the previous year -- both nationally and regionally. There are only a handful of states still in recession, and the economic environment should improve for them -- rather than worsen -- over the next year. Moreover, housing demand is expected to continue to grow at a healthy pace over the next decade. This is due to strong demographic and economic drivers led by household growth, baby boomers moving into their peak homeownership years, immigration, low inflation, and strong productivity gains.
While there is little prospect of a national home price decline, there are a handful of markets around the country that are at risk of a drop in home prices. These are areas where home prices have increased sharply in recent years while new supply has grown strongly -- resulting in a rise in unsold inventories of new homes. Weakness in certain employment sectors (e.g., high-tech manufacturing, telecommunications, airlines and aircraft, and hotels/tourism) could pop prices in those markets. Fortunately, the number of at-risk markets appears to be small.
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan recently said, "The ongoing strength in the housing market has raised concerns about the possible emergence of a bubble in home prices. However, the analogy often made to the building and bursting of a stock price bubble is imperfect ... Even if a bubble were to develop in a local market, it would not necessarily have implications for the nation as a whole." When he testified before Congress on July 17, 2002, Greenspan added, "The type of underlying conditions that create bubbles are very difficult to initiate in the housing market. It is not an issue on the table at the moment." Greenspan also added that the diversity of housing markets in the United States and the high transaction costs involved in selling a home made a bubble "most unlikely."
We expect the housing market to slow modestly over the coming year from the record pace of the past year. Moreover, the recent pace of home price gains is unsustainable if mortgage rates don't continue to decline (which we do not expect). These points do not lead to the conclusion that home prices will drop. Instead, home price gains are likely to slow over the next few years -- but continued strong income growth, strong underlying housing demand, and continued supply restraints on new housing will keep prices moving upward (probably in the range of 4.0-5.5 percent).
Consider the Source
http://www.fanniemae.com/ir/issues/creditrisk/082302.jhtml?s=Current+Issues&t=Credit+Risk+Manage...
Gee, I wonder too what could have caused SI to have those problems?
Best way to solve that problem at a macro level is to stop feeding it...
When you push on a wall it pushes back, when you pull on a string it pulls in the opposite direction. When you resist something you get it, when you use force to make a point you get more force...just a basic law of the universe which also applies very well to socio-economic geopolitical situations, but you need to observe it working very carefully to know it works.
The fact I am still on this Board posting my rants and chatting with you guys might be a micro application version of the above principle. After all, I've already been banned twice and now I am finally getting the hang of it I think...
What do ya think Bloss?