Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Hurray for Burp! EM
Fraud Fears Create Restatement Parade
Tuesday March 16, 8:12 am ET
By James J. Cramer, RealMoney Columnist
It looks like we're in restatement hell. It's almost as if the rules changed midyear for many firms, and they just didn't figure it out.
Omnicom (NYSE:OMC - News), P.F. Chang's China Bistro (NasdaqNM:PFCB - News), Nortel (NYSE:NT - News), Veritas Software (NasdaqNM:VRTS - News), Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY - News) -- they can't all be corrupt. They can't all be fraudulent.
http://www.omnicomgroup.com/investorrelations/informationarchive/shareholderinformation
Cypress MicroSystems Selects Brodeur Worldwide as Agency of Record
Tuesday March 16, 10:00 am ET
Brodeur to Lead Strategic Communications Program including Public Relations, Marketing Communications and Competitive Intelligence
BOSTON, March 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Brodeur Worldwide, a unit of Omnicom Group (NYSE: OMC - News), today announced it was selected by Cypress MicroSystems as its strategic communications partner and agency of record in the U.S. Cypress MicroSystems of Lynnwood, Wash., chose Brodeur Worldwide for its experienced microelectronics team and tightly integrated worldwide network of communications, public relations and marketing consultants. Cypress MicroSystems is a subsidiary of Cypress Semiconductor.
The comprehensive public relations program will include planning and strategy development, positioning and messaging, competitive intelligence, media relations, industry trade and market analyst outreach, and measurement, among other activities.
Brodeur's offices in San Francisco and Phoenix will lead the U.S.-based communications program. Cypress Semiconductor also works with Brodeur Worldwide in France and Brodeur partner, IBI, in Japan.
"Brodeur Worldwide was a clear choice for us because of its deep knowledge of our business and its global reach," said John Donovan, director of public relations for Cypress Semiconductor and owner of the Cypress MicroSystems PR program. "We have an exciting year ahead of us and the technology that will be introduced will require the capabilities that Brodeur possesses. Its strategic counsel and understanding of the market will prove critical to a successful program."
Cypress MicroSystems designs, develops, manufactures and markets the Programmable System-on-Chip (PSoC) (TM). PSoCs can be used in a variety of embedded functions, including computer, communications, consumer, and industrial control -- they are currently designed into applications ranging from light ballasts and power meters to treadmills and facial massagers. PSoCs are important because they replace multiple traditional microntroller- based system components with one, low cost single-chip programmable component.
"Cypress MicroSystems is on the leading edge of microelectronics technology, and we are proud to be working with them," said Terresa Christenson, general manager, Western region, Brodeur Worldwide. "With the knowledge that our microelectronics team brings to this account, we will be able to help Cypress MicroSystems expand its communications efforts and exposure for increased leadership in the industry."
Brodeur's Microelectronics Experience
Brodeur Worldwide's team of microelectronics communications experts has significant corporate and consultative experience in semiconductor technology that spans more than two decades. With particular depth in marketing communications, media and investor relations, these professionals have weathered several semiconductor cycles and know the challenges that companies face riding through both the ups and downs.
Brodeur Worldwide is steeped in the many segments, channels and various technologies of this specialized industry, and brings its clients experience that spans packaging, assembly, test and distribution, as well ASICs, discrete devices, microprocessors, microcontrollers, RF, analog and power devices, network and encryption processors, and memory compilers.
Brodeur's microelectronics specialty expanded with the formation of a Nanotechnology Consulting Practice dedicated to helping clients navigate communications issues surrounding this emerging field.
About Brodeur Worldwide
Founded in 1985, Brodeur Worldwide (www.brodeur.com) is a leading global strategic communications group with more than 70 offices in nearly 50 countries. Brodeur Worldwide specializes in public relations, marketing and corporate communications for technology-driven companies. Brodeur is a part of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC - News; www.omnicomgroup.com), a leading global marketing and corporate communication company.
CONTACT: Jan Lawlor
Brodeur Worldwide
(617) 587-2846
jlawlor@brodeur.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040316/netu002_1.html
Global security firm of SafirRosetti to bring skills and sophisticated know-how to new Latin American operation based in Miami
Seasoned Investigator Robert Levinson to Head New Office
SafirRosetti - the international security and investigation firm headed by the former Commissioner of the New York City police and fire departments, Howard Safir, and former IBM security chief Joseph Rosetti - has announced the opening of a Latin American headquarters based in Miami, on January 27, 2003.
Robert A. Levinson, formerly the CEO of his own investigative firm, will head the division, which is located at 4530 Conference Way South, Boca Raton. The new office will significantly enhance SafirRosetti's accessibility to industries in Latin America and enable the firm, with a strong presence already in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, to help companies secure their facilities, fight counterfeiting, conduct due diligence and other investigations on a global scale.
Mr. Safir said, "The addition of Bob Levinson to our team gives us the ability to build a successful Latin American operation able to reach new markets, offering the skill and experience of an extremely seasoned professional."
Mr. Levinson said, "I am proud to join the SafirRosetti team and be part of what is becoming the most important sector of modern business - physical and intellectual security and protection."
Prior to joining SafirRosetti, Mr. Levinson was both the principal of R.A. Levinson & Associates, an investigative security firm, and also the Managing Director in charge of the Miami Office of Decision Strategies. In each of these capacities, Mr. Levinson directed worldwide investigations involving litigation support, the collection of business intelligence, due-diligence, product piracy, and threats to legitimate businesses.
Mr. Levinson was employed by the U.S. Department of Justice for 28 years, serving for six years as a Special Agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), in its New York and Denver field offices and also at DEA Headquarters. Subsequently, Mr. Levinson transferred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and served that agency as a Special Agent in Los Angeles, New York and Miami.
While with the government, Mr. Levinson specialized in the investigation of international organized crime, international fraud, and money laundering activities. He served as a representative of the U.S. on a number of international organized crime task forces attacking such problems as the Colombian drug cartels and the criminal groups operating in the former Soviet Union.
During his government service, Mr. Levinson taught as a guest lecturer at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Academy in Ottawa, Canada, the Foreign Service Institute in Arlington, Virginia and the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Budapest, Hungary.
SafirRosetti may be reached in Miami at 561-982-5338.
* * *
SafirRosetti is a full-service security consulting, investigative and intelligence firm based in New York City with offices in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami, Chicago, London and Hong Kong. A subsidiary of Omnicom Group, Inc. and managed by former New York City Police Commissioner Howard Safir and former Director of Security at IBM, Joseph Rosetti, SafirRosetti's skilled professionals provide value-added services to corporations, individuals and governments worldwide.
http://www.safirrosetti.com/012703.html
Changes in Control of Registrant, Acquisition or Disposition of Assets, Other
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=2691779
Thinking Tools, Inc. Acquires GVI Security, Inc.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040223/235241_1.html
http://www.nasdaq.com/asp/quotes_sec.asp?symbol=TSIM&selected=TSIM&page=filings
Thinking Tools, Inc. Board Approves Recapitalization and Name Change
Friday February 27, 9:00 am ET
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 27, 2004--Thinking Tools, Inc. (OTCBB:TSIM - News), a provider of complete video surveillance solutions to the fast-growing retail, business-to-business, professional, and homeland security market segments, today announced that its Board of Directors approved certain actions in connection with its recently completed acquisition of GVI Security.
In connection with the GVI acquisition, the Company issued shares of preferred stock convertible into an aggregate of approximately 1.9 billion shares of common stock. To permit the conversion of these shares of preferred stock, and in accordance with its obligations under the merger agreement with GVI Security, the Board of Directors of the Company has approved a one-for-65 reverse stock split of the Company's common stock, and an increase in its authorized shares of common stock from 20,000,000 to 75,000,000.
In addition, to reflect its new business, Thinking Tools' Board of Directors approved the change of the Company's name to GVI Security Solutions, Inc.
The recapitalization and name change are subject to stockholder approval, which the Company anticipates obtaining shortly, and will become effective after requisite filings are made with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the filing of a Certificate of Amendment to the Company's Certificate of Incorporation with the Delaware Secretary of State.
Following the filing of such Certificate of Amendment, based on the current number of outstanding shares of the Company's common stock and shares of preferred stock that will convert into common stock at such time, the Company will have outstanding approximately 30 million shares of common stock.
About Thinking Tools:
Through its acquisition of GVI, Thinking Tools provides complete video surveillance solutions to the fast-growing retail, business-to-business, professional, and homeland security market segments. The Company is the exclusive distributor of Samsung Electronics video security products in both North and South America and the Caribbean, and distributes video surveillance and other security products to wholesale distributors and consumers. The Company also serves the import, support, marketing, inventory, warranty, and distribution needs of Samsung and other high technology manufacturers.
Some of the statements made by Thinking Tools, Inc. in this press release are forward-looking in nature. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. Thinking Tools believes that its primary risk factors include, but are not limited to: reliance on primary supplier; effective integration of recently acquired operations and personnel; expansion risks; effective internal processes and systems; the ability to attract and retain high quality employees; changes in the overall economy; rapid change in technology; the number and size of competitors in its markets; law and regulatory policy; and the mix of products and services offered in the company's target markets.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact:
Thinking Tools, Inc.
Nazzareno Paciotti, 972-245-7353, ext. 2239
or
CCG Investor Relations
Crocker Coulson, 818-789-0100
crocker.coulson@ccgir.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040227/275118_1.html
http://www.pinksheets.com/quote/print_filings.jsp?url=%2Fredirect.asp%3Ffilename%3D0001144204%252D04...
Thinking Tools, Inc. Acquires GVI Security, Inc.
Monday February 23, 9:01 am ET
Acquisition Positions Thinking Tools in $2.9 Billion Video Surveillance Market
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 23, 2004--Thinking Tools, Inc. (OTCBB:TSIM - News) announced today that it has acquired GVI Security, Inc., which operates under the name of Samsung CCTV. The acquisition places Thinking Tools in the fast-growing homeland security market with a significant position that leverages management's high technology experience in consumer and industrial security.
GVI, headquartered in Carrollton, Texas, is the exclusive distributor of Samsung Electronics video security products in both North and South America and the Caribbean, and distributes video surveillance and other security products to wholesale distributors and consumers. GVI's security products include both proprietary GVI solutions and Samsung Electronics components. Combined, the GVI offering integrates all the technology necessary for complete facility video and security monitoring solutions, including access control, cameras, lenses, accessories, multiplexors, DVRs and software and control systems. Established in 2000, GVI has grown rapidly, generating approximately $56 million in revenue in calendar 2003, up from $37 million in 2002 and $18 million in 2001.
In connection with the acquisition, Thomas Wade, President and Chief Operating Officer of GVI, joined Thinking Tools as President, Chief Operating Officer and a director.
"I am pleased to be joining Thinking Tools," said Wade. "The acquisition of GVI strategically focuses Thinking Tools on the fast-growing government and Fortune 1000 markets. GVI brings to Thinking Tools strong relationships with world-class manufacturers of video surveillance products, its own proprietary products, and an experienced management team with a rich heritage in marketing high technology industrial life safety and security solutions.
"This is a first step in building a platform for growth. We are continuing to focus our expansion on adjacent product categories in the $57 billion homeland security market, leveraging the experience of our management team and board of directors," added Wade.
Thinking Tools acquired GVI by merging GVI with and into a newly formed wholly-owned subsidiary. In the merger, the former stockholders of GVI were issued shares of a new class of Thinking Tools preferred stock that upon conversion will constitute 95% of the outstanding shares of Thinking Tools common stock on a fully-diluted basis.
About Thinking Tools: Through its acquisition of GVI, Thinking Tools provides complete video surveillance solutions to the fast-growing retail, business-to-business, professional, and homeland security market segments. The Company is the exclusive distributor of Samsung Electronics video security products in both North and South America and the Caribbean, and distributes video surveillance and other security products to wholesale distributors and consumers. The Company also serves the import, support, marketing, inventory, warranty and distribution needs of Samsung and several other high technology manufacturers.
Some of the statements made by Thinking Tools, Inc. in this press release are forward-looking in nature. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. Thinking Tools believes that its primary risk factors include, but are not limited to: reliance on primary supplier; effective integration of recently acquired operations and personnel; expansion risks; effective internal processes and systems; the ability to attract and retain high quality employees; changes in the overall economy; rapid change in technology; the number and size of competitors in its markets; law and regulatory policy; and the mix of products and services offered in the company's target markets.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact:
Thinking Tools, Inc.
Nazzareno Paciotti, 972-245-7353
or
CCG Investor Relations
Crocker Coulson, 818-789-0100
crocker.coulson@ccgir.com
http://www.nasdaq.com/asp/quotes_sec.asp?symbol=TSIM&selected=TSIM&page=filings
http://biz.yahoo.com/e/040227/tsim.pk8-k.html
SafirRosetti Firm Opens Washington Office
Richard Rosetti, long-term industry veteran, heads up regional efforts
Washington, DC, August 13, 2002, -- SafirRosetti, a leading security, investigative and intelligence firm, today announced the opening of its Washington office. Richard Rosetti, an 18-year industry veteran who formerly managed the North American region for Kroll Associates, the world's largest investigative firm, will head up the office. Mr.Rosetti has been based out of Washington since 1988 and will continue to service the region's law firms and corporations.
"Richard is joining us at a time when the need for corporate security has never been greater," said Howard Safir, former New York City Police Commissioner and SafirRosetti chairman. "September 11th re-emphasized the point that security is no longer a corporate option and at SafirRosetti, we are committed to offering our clients the absolute 'gold standard' in this field. Richard's unparalleled success in managing large, complex internal investigations and uncovering fraud, providing competitive business intelligence and counter terrorism, will assure us that we are providing the highest level of service to our clients in the Washington metropolitan area."
SafirRosetti, partly owned by Omnicom Inc., a strategic holding company that manages a portfolio of global communications market leaders, joins other prominent Washington-based Omnicom organizations. Among them: Fleishman-Hillard, Inc.; Porter Novelli International; Ketchum; Chlopak, Leonard, Schecter; Clark & Weinstock; Cone Public Relations; Mathews Media Group; Russ Reid; Steve Cram and the Washington Speakers Bureau.
Omnicom President and CEO John Wren sees SafirRosetti as a natural extension of the marketing and business services already offered by Omnicom companies. "Our clients are frequently involved in activities requiring high-level business intelligence, litigation support, and security consulting. SafirRosetti and Omnicom companies currently work together to deliver crisis management and business controls consulting, among a wide array of other services."
Mr. Rosetti understands that security breaches and corporate fraud are at the center of today's business concerns. "Senior management in both the private and public sectors recognizes its role in prevention and accountability. We provide 'best-in-class' investigators, researchers, and security consultants," Rosetti said. "SafirRosetti helps corporations upgrade security systems and procedures and run simulations to test newly-implemented security and emergency management plans."
SafirRosetti will continue to deliver expert business intelligence services to the Washington area, including: competitive research; vital information about potential business partners, vendors and customers; and transactional due diligence. Litigation support services remains a core function of SafirRosetti’s practice, including: witness identification and location, computer forensics, and investigative accounting.
Richard Rosetti draws on almost two decades of experience working with the nation's leading corporations, among them top-tier law firms and Fortune 1,000 companies.
* * *
For further information please contact Richard Rosetti at 202-857-2211. SafirRosetti is a full-service security consulting, investigative and business intelligence firm with offices in Dallas, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington. Partially owned by Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE-OMC) and managed by former New York City Police Commissioner Howard Safir and former Security Director of IBM, Joseph Rosetti, SafirRosetti’s skilled professionals provide value-added services to corporations, individuals and governments worldwide.
http://www.safirrosetti.com/081302.html
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=2689237
Ditto from a non dittohead...I think therefore I am not
A Republicon or a Demoncrat.
Reach Out And Touch Someone..
E-mail Senators..
The Senate..
The official list of e-mail addresses for senators..
http://www.senate.gov/senator/membmail.html
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/2807/emailsen.html
Call your representatives..free..
The toll free phone number for the U.S. Capitol switchboard is is: 1-800-361-5222 (90001). When you call the number, follow the prompts.
When asked for your 5 letter zip code, enter the number 90001. You will be connected to the main capitol switchboard. Just ask for the congressman or the senator you wish to speak to.
If you enter your home zip code, you will be connected directly to your Congressman or Senator.
You can call your senators for free, courtesy of this toll-free number set up by the tobacco industry. Just dial 1-800-343-3222, punch in any valid zip code, and you will be connected to your senator; call twice to reach both.
E-Mail Addresses of U. S. Representatives
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/2807/emailreps.html
If there is no address listed for your representative, try http://www.house.gov/writerep/.
E-Mail CFR members in House and Senate..
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/2807/emailCFRcongress.html
Thanks...they are certainly flying...em
Forty-Two Percent (42%) of Americans are Making Minimum or No Payments on Their Credit Card Balances, According to the Cambridge Consumer Credit Index http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040305/nyf053_1.html
March 5, 2004 - Unauthorized Banking: Fictitious Internet Bank Intertrade Bank - This alert states that the OCC has received information that Intertrade Bank may be operating a banking business without authorization. Intertrade Banking has not been granted authority to operate a banking business in the United States by the OCC or the state of New York. www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/alert/2004-7.txt
March 5, 2004 - Unauthorized Banking: Fictitious Internet Bank - This alert states that the OCC has received information that Commerz Finanz Bank may be operating a banking business without authorization. www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/alert/2004-8.txt
March 5, 2004 - Statistical Release G.19 Commercial Credit - Consumer Credit Outstanding 1 Seasonally adjusted www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g19/current/default.htm
March 5, 2004 - The Federal Reserve Board announced Friday that the Consumer Advisory Council will hold its next meeting on Thursday, March 25. The meeting will take place in Dining Room E, Terrace level, in the Board's Martin Building. The session will begin at 9:00 a.m. EST and is open to the public. www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/press/other/2004/20040305/default.htm
March 5, 2004 - NCUA's Application for Review Submitted to the Federal Labor Relations Authority - NCUA is appealing the Regional Director's ruling that its District and Principal Examiners are not “management officials” as defined by law and, therefore, are not excluded from the collective bargaining unit of NCUA employees proposed by the National Treasury Employees Union . http://www.ncua.gov/ref/FLRA/Index.htm
March 5, 2004 - Statistical Release Large Commercial Banks - Insured U.S.-Chartered Commercial Banks That Have Consolidated Assets of $300 Million or More, Ranked by Consolidated Assets as December 31, 2003 www.federalreserve.gov/releases/lbr/current/default.htm
March 4, 2004 - NCUA - Community Development Financial Institutions - The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund has approximately $45 million in financial and technical assistance available for financial institutions certified by CDFI. Currently, there are 115 credit unions certified as CDFIs. All credit unions can apply for a CDFI certification during the assistance application process. www.ncua.gov/org/orgchart/ocud/Newsletters/CDFI.pdf
March 4, 2004 - Statistical Release Z.1 Flow of Funds Accounts of the United States www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/current/default.htm
March 4, 2004 - The Federal Reserve Board on Thursday announced the issuance of a Cease and Desist Order against Cowboy State Bancorp, Inc., Ranchester, Wyoming, a bank holding company, and its subsidiary bank, the Cowboy State Bank, Ranchester, Wyoming. www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/press/Enforcement/2004/20040304/default.htm
March 4, 2004 - NCUA - Matz Presents Ideas to Help Credit Unions Grow - Speaking to 150 officials in charge of developing more business for their credit unions, National Credit Union Administration Board Member Debbie Matz presented ideas to attract new members and foster growth. www.ncua.gov/news/press_releases/2004/NR04-0304.htm
March 4, 2004 - NCUA Officials Open Discussions with Taiwan Credit Union Group - The National Credit Union Administration hosted 14 delegates from the Taiwan Cooperative Association here Tuesday, welcoming members of the Taiwanese credit union trade group to NCUA for the first time as part of the agency's International Visitors Program. www.ncua.gov/news/press_releases/2004/NR04-0303-2.htm
March 4, 2004 - NCUA - NCUA Announces Increase In Funding To Credit Union Student Internship Program - The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) announced this week that beginning in April, the agency will accept grant applications from credit unions for the college student internship program. www.ncua.gov/news/press_releases/2004/NR04-0303.htm
March 3, 2004 - Foreign Assets Control Act - The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control has issued a general license under the Libyan sanctions regulations and it has removed an address from the Specially Designated Nationals List. www.fdic.gov/news/news/financial/2004/fil2304.html
March 3, 2004 - Legal Interpretations - Response to inquiry regarding Regulations D and Q www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/legalint/federalreserveact/2004/20040126/default.htm
March 3, 2004 - Beige Book - Informal review by the Federal Reserve Banks of current economic conditions in their Districts - Economic activity continued to expand in January and February, according to information received by Federal Reserve District Banks. www.federalreserve.gov/fomc/beigebook/2004/20040303/default.htm
March 3, 2004 - The Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday announced that it is removing all fifty-one stocks from its current List of Foreign Margin Stocks because they have not been recertified as required under procedures approved by the Board in 1990. The list is one of two methods for foreign securities to qualify as margin securities under Regulation T. www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/press/bcreg/2004/20040303/default.htm
March 2, 2004 - Governor Ben S. Bernanke - Money, Gold, and the Great Depression
At the H. Parker Willis Lecture in Economic Policy, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/2004/200403022/default.htm
March 2, 2004 - NCUA - Update On Accounting For Loan And Lease Losses - This guidance addresses recent developments in accounting for loan and lease losses and provides an update on the status of the proposed Statement of Position, “Accounting for Credit Losses”, issued by the Accounting Standards Executive Committee of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants www.ncua.gov/ref/accounting_bulletins/CombinedALLLAdvisory.pdf
March 2, 2004 - NCUA - Board MemberMatz Builds PALS Workshop to Help Credit Unions Make More Mortgages - On June 2 in Boston, National Credit Union Administration Board Member Debbie Matz will host a free Partnering and Leadership Success workshop to help credit unions make more mortgages. www.ncua.gov/news/press_releases/2004/NR04-0302.htm
March 2, 2004 - FinCEN 314(a) Distribution List to be Compiled from Contact Information on the Call Report - Pursuant to section 314(a) of the USA PATRIOT Act, the Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network developed and implemented an electronic system for law enforcement to request information about suspected terrorists and money launderers from financial institutions.
Press Release: www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/alert/2004-6.txt
Attachment: www.ffiec.gov/ffiec_report_forms.htm
March 2, 2004 - The Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday announced amendments to Appendix A of Regulation CC, effective May 15, 2004, that reflect the restructuring of the Federal Reserve's check processing operations in the Eleventh District. www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/press/bcreg/2004/20040302/default.htm
March 2, 2004 - Chairman Alan Greenspan Current account Before the Economic Club of New York, New York www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/2004/20040302/default.htm
March 2, 2004 - FDIC Study: Implications of Housing Market Boom - In a report issued by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation today, analysts conclude that the recent boom in U.S. home prices and housing market activity does not necessarily imply that prices are poised to systematically decline. www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2004/pr1704.html
March 2, 2004 - Basel II Capital Accord - White Papers and Other Background Documents www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/basel2/whitepapers.htm
March 1, 2004 - Recent Editions of Chicago Fed Letter Examine Various Topics www.chicagofed.org/news_and_conferences/news/2004_03_01_recent_chicago_fed_letters_examine_topics.cfm
March 1, 2004 - The OCC has received information that people using the business name of Cherokee Heritage National Bank are soliciting banking business in the United States without authorization. http://www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/alert/2004-5.txt
March 1, 2004 - Consumer Complaints Referred to National Banks From State Officials - This advisory letter supplements OCC Advisory Letter 2002-9 by providing general guidance for national banks and their operating subsidiaries [This guidance applies equally to national banks and to their operating subsidiaries. References in this guidance to national banks include their operating subsidiaries. See 12 CFR 5.34(e)(3) and 12 CFR 7.4006.] on handling consumer complaints referred or sent to the national bank bystate officials. www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/advisory/2004-2.txt
March 1, 2004 - OCC Issues Second Quarter 2004 CRA Examination Schedule - The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency today released its schedule of Community Reinvestment Act examinations to be conducted in the second quarter of 2004.
Press Release:www.occ.treas.gov/scripts/newsrelease.aspx?Doc=XIG8LIS3.xml
Attachment: www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/release/2004-17a.pdf
March 1, 2004 - OCC Guidance Clarifies that National Banks Should Act Promptly To Resolve Consumer Complaints Forwarded by State Agencies - The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued supplemental guidance today concerning how national banks and their operating subsidiaries should handle complaints forwarded by state authorities. www.occ.treas.gov/scripts/newsrelease.aspx?Doc=4Z6RLR6A.xml
March 1, 2004 - The December 31, 2003 Uniform Bank Performance Report is now available on line at WWW.FFIEC.GOV. The online version of the UBPR includes 5 years of continuous financial history that is restated quarterly to reflect call report amendments and new analytical tools. Please visit the UBPR section of the website for further information including suggestions for using the website and a schedule of planned updates and enhancements. www.ffiec.gov/press/pr030104.htm
March 1, 2004 - Chairman Donald E. Powell Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Remarks Before the Institute of International Bankers Washington, D.C. www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2004/pr1604.html
March 1, 2004 - Interagency Update on Accounting for Loan and Lease Losses - The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Office of Thrift Supervision, and National Credit Union Administration have issued the attached interagency Update on Accounting for Loan and Lease Losses statement.
Press Release: www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/srletters/2004/sr0405.htm
Press Release: www.fdic.gov/news/news/financial/2004/fil2204.html
Press Release: www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/bulletin/2004-13.txt
Attachment: www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/bulletin/2004-13a.pdf
March 1, 2004 - NCUA - Legal Opinion -04-0223 - Charitable Contributions to Credit Unions www.ncua.gov/ref/opinion_letters/2004/04-0223.htm
March 1, 2004 - Governor Mark W. Olson - U.S. Banking Industry Performance Highlights -- 2003 At the Annual Conference of the Institute of International Bankers, Washington, D.C. http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/2004/20040301/default.htm
February 27, 2004 - Remarks by Chairman Alan Greenspan Intellectual property rights
At the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research Economic Summit, Stanford, California February 27, 2004 www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/2004/200402272/default.htm
Unauthorized Banking:Commerz Finanz Bank
Fictitious Internet Bank
Description: Commerz Finanz Bank
Date: March 5, 2004
TO: Chief Executive Officers of All National
Banks; All State Banking Authorities; Chairman,
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System;
Chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation;
Conference of State Bank Supervisors; Deputy
Comptrollers (districts); Assistant Deputy Comptrollers;
District Counsel and Examining Personnel
RE: Commerz Finanz Bank, previously located on
the Internet at commerzfinanz.com and
commerzfinanzonline.com, with reported locations
in Zurich, Switzerland and New York, NY, USA
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)
has received information that the above-referenced
entity may be operating a banking business without
authorization. The information contained on the entity's
Web site (no longer functioning) includes addresses for a
headquarters office in Zurich, Switzerland, and operations
in New York, NY, USA. Further, the Web site falsely suggests
there is an affiliation with Commerzbank AG, headquartered in
Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
The Swiss Federal Banking Commission (SFBC) has not
authorized Commerz Finanz Bank to conduct business in
the area of banking or securities trading. Further,
SFBC advises that the organization has no physical
presence in Switzerland because the Zurich address
listed by the subject does not exist. Commerz Finanz
Bank has not been granted authority to operate a banking
business in the United States by the OCC or the state of New York.
Officials from Commerzbank AG have advised the OCC that
there is no affiliation between the subject entity and
Commerzbank AG or Commerzbank North America or any of
its affiliated companies. Additional information relating
to Commerzbank AG and its affiliates may be found at: https://www.commerzbank.com/homepage/index.html. Contrary
to representations contained on Commerz Finanz Bank's Web site,
there is also no affiliation between Commerzbank AG and IBC
Holdings Corporation, a Nevada corporation with an address
listed as 40 Wall Street, New York, NY USA.
Any information that you may have concerning this matter
should be brought to the attention of:
Mail: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Enforcement & Compliance Division, MS 8-10
250 E Street, SW, Washington, DC 20219
Fax: (202) 874-5301
Internet: http://www.occ.treas.gov
E-mail: occalertresponses@occ.treas.gov
and
New York State Banking Department
Criminal Investigations Bureau
One State Street (6th Fl)
New York, NY 10004
Fax: (212) 709-3555
Any information or representations by Commerz Finanz Bank
or IBC Holdings Corporation relating to its purported
affiliation with Commerzbank AG or any of its affiliates
should be brought to the attention of:
Terrence Sweeney, General Counsel, USA
Legal & Compliance Department
Commerzbank AG, New York Branch
2 World Financial Center
New York, NY 10281-1050
Phone: (212) 266-7581/7621
Fax: (212) 266-7428/7734
Brian C. McCormally
Director
Enforcement & Compliance Division
Unauthorized Banking: Fictitious Internet Bank
Description: Intertrade Bank
Date: March 5, 2004
TO: Chief Executive Officers of All National Banks;
All State Banking Authorities; Chairman, Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System; Chairman,
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Conference of
State Bank Supervisors; Deputy Comptrollers (districts);
Assistant Deputy Comptrollers; District Counsel and
Examining Personnel
RE: Intertrade Bank, located on the Internet at:
www.intertradebank.com, with locations in Montenegro,
London, and New York.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has
received information that the above-referenced entity may
be operating a banking business without authorization.
The information contained on its Web site (no longer
functioning) includes addresses for a headquarters in
Montenegro, Yugoslavia, and facilities in London, England,
and New York, NY, USA.
Please be advised that Intertrade Bank has not been granted
authority to operate a banking business in the United States
by the OCC or the state of New York. In addition, the entity
has not been granted any such authority to operate in the United
Kingdom or Montenegro.
Any information that you may have concerning this matter
should be brought to the attention of :
Mail: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Enforcement & Compliance Division, MS 8-10
250 E Street, SW, Washington, DC 20219
Fax: (202) 874-5301
Internet: http://www.occ.treas.gov
E-mail: occalertresponses@occ.treas.gov
Brian C. McCormally
Director
Enforcement & Compliance Division
A crazy Hungarian who looked like he just landed from Mars went into the Washington D.C. Headquarters of the Federal Reserve Bank on Pennsylvania Avenue one day, with an entourage of a dozen security guards each carrying four heavily laden bags of money.
He insisted that he must speak with the Chairman of the bank to buy up all the outstanding debts of the U.S. Government because, "It's a lot of money!" After much hemming and hawing, the bank staff finally ushered him into the Chairman's office.
Greenspan then asked him how much of the debt he would like to buy. He replied, "$7.5 trillion!" and the security entourage proceeded to dump 48 bags of cashiers checks onto his desk.
Greenspan was of course curious as to how he came by all these cashiers checks, so he asked him, "Sir, I'm surprised you have amassed so much cash drawn on all those foreign banks. Where did you get this money?"
The cocky Hungarian replied, "I make bets." Greenspan then asked, "Bets? What kind of bets?"
The Magyar man then said, "Well, for example, I'll bet you $1 billion that your balls are square."
Greenspan laughs, "That's a stupid bet. You can never win that kind of bet!"
The crazy Hungarian challenged, "So, would you like to take my bet?"
Greenspan agrees, "Sure, I'll bet $1 billion that my balls aren't square!"
The Magyar madman then said, "Okay, but since there is a lot of money involved, may I bring my financial adviser with me tomorrow at 10am as a witness?"
"Sure!" replied the confident but senile Greenspan.
That night, Greenspan got very nervous about the bet and spent a long time in front of a mirror checking his balls, turning from side to side, again and again.
He thoroughly checked them out until he was sure that there was absolutely no way his balls were square and that he would win the bet.
The next morning, at precisely 10am, the crazy Hungarian appeared with his financial adviser at Greenspan's office.
He introduced the adviser who was about the same age as Greenspan and repeated the bet "$1 billion says the Chairman's balls are square!"
Greenspan agreed with the bet again and the mad Magyar asked him to drop his pants so they could all see. Greenspan complied.
The crazy Hungarian peered closely at his balls and then asked if he could feel them.
"Well, Okay," said Greenspan, "$1 billion is a lot of money, so I guess you should be absolutely sure."
Just then, he recognized the financial advisor as the one and only George Soros and he was quietly banging his head against the wall. Greenspan asked the crazy Hungarian, "What the hell's the matter with your financial advisor?"
He replied, "Nothing, except I bet him $7 billion that at 10am today I'd have The Federal Reserve Bank Chairman's balls in my hand."
Copyright C 2004! All World Rights Reserved. By G! Alex Gabor
Like this guy?
Excellent Dude!
A crazy Hungarian who looked like he just landed from Mars went into the Washington D.C. Headquarters of the Federal Reserve Bank on Pennsylvania Avenue one day, with an entourage of a dozen security guards each carrying four heavily laden bags of money.
He insisted that he must speak with the Chairman of the bank to buy up all the outstanding debts of the U.S. Government because, "It's a lot of money!" After much hemming and hawing, the bank staff finally ushered him into the Chairman's office.
Greenspan then asked him how much of the debt he would like to buy. He replied, "$7.5 trillion!" and the security entourage proceeded to dump 48 bags of cashiers checks onto his desk.
Greenspan was of course curious as to how he came by all these cashiers checks, so he asked him, "Sir, I'm surprised you have amassed so much cash drawn on all those foreign banks. Where did you get this money?"
The cocky Hungarian replied, "I make bets." Greenspan then asked, "Bets? What kind of bets?"
The Magyar man then said, "Well, for example, I'll bet you $1 billion that your balls are square."
Greenspan laughs, "That's a stupid bet. You can never win that kind of bet!"
The crazy Hungarian challenged, "So, would you like to take my bet?"
Greenspan agrees, "Sure, I'll bet $1 billion that my balls aren't square!"
The Magyar madman then said, "Okay, but since there is a lot of money involved, may I bring my financial adviser with me tomorrow at 10am as a witness?"
"Sure!" replied the confident but senile Greenspan.
That night, Greenspan got very nervous about the bet and spent a long time in front of a mirror checking his balls, turning from side to side, again and again.
He thoroughly checked them out until he was sure that there was absolutely no way his balls were square and that he would win the bet.
The next morning, at precisely 10am, the crazy Hungarian appeared with his financial adviser at Greenspan's office.
He introduced the adviser who was about the same age as Greenspan and repeated the bet "$1 billion says the Chairman's balls are square!"
Greenspan agreed with the bet again and the mad Magyar asked him to drop his pants so they could all see. Greenspan complied.
The crazy Hungarian peered closely at his balls and then asked if he could feel them.
"Well, Okay," said Greenspan, "$1 billion is a lot of money, so I guess you should be absolutely sure."
Just then, he recognized the financial advisor as the one and only George Soros and he was quietly banging his head against the wall. Greenspan asked the crazy Hungarian, "What the hell's the matter with your financial advisor?"
He replied, "Nothing, except I bet him $7 billion that at 10am today I'd have The Federal Reserve Bank Chairman's balls in my hand."
Copyright C 2004! All World Rights Reserved. By G! Alex Gabor
Sorry bout that, no, actually got it from this other post and changed one word. Canada to America:
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=2686590
I didn't know it came from over there at that link you plugged..., at least I don't think it did, maybe the guy I borrowed it from borrowed it from there, besides, are jokes copyrighted?
I think Bob Hope copyrighted quite a few. Maybe Carlin too, and those other mainstream comics surely have their work copyrighted. But that one doesn't look copyrighted, so tell ya what, this one we will copyright at the end of this post.
The joke itself served as the commentary but let me be more blunt .... I have Bank of America by the Square Balls, or more appropriately there are 13 nu-clear weapons of mass construction ready for deployment in front of every Federal Reserve Bank in this country.
So to clarify it further, just add about twelve zeros to the numbers, change the woman to some Hungarian lunatic on the fringes, and increase the ante by several billion, and replace the word America with Federal Reserve and you will get the point...but if you don't, not to worry, when you see the weapons deployed you will be most pleased.
So read between the lines and you may just get the commentary:
A crazy Hungarian who looked like he just landed from Mars went into the Washington D.C. Headquarters of the Federal Reserve Bank on Pennsylvania Avenue one day, with an entourage of a dozen security guards each carrying four heavily laden bags of money.
He insisted that he must speak with the Chairman of the bank to buy up all the outstanding debts of the U.S. Government because, "It's a lot of money!" After much hemming and hawing, the bank staff finally ushered him into the Chairman's office.
Greenspan then asked him how much of the debt he would like to buy. He replied, "$7.5 trillion!" and the security entourage proceeded to dump 48 bags of cashiers checks onto his desk.
Greenspan was of course curious as to how he came by all these cashiers checks, so he asked him, "Sir, I'm surprised you have amassed so much cash drawn on all those foreign banks. Where did you get this money?"
The cocky Hungarian replied, "I make bets." Greenspan then asked, "Bets? What kind of bets?"
The Magyar man then said, "Well, for example, I'll bet you $1 billion that your balls are square."
Greenspan laughs, "That's a stupid bet. You can never win that kind of bet!"
The crazy Hungarian challenged, "So, would you like to take my bet?"
Greenspan agrees, "Sure, I'll bet $1 billion that my balls aren't square!"
The Magyar madman then said, "Okay, but since there is a lot of money involved, may I bring my financial adviser with me tomorrow at 10am as a witness?"
"Sure!" replied the confident but senile Greenspan.
That night, Greenspan got very nervous about the bet and spent a long time in front of a mirror checking his balls, turning from side to side, again and again.
He thoroughly checked them out until he was sure that there was absolutely no way his balls were square and that he would win the bet.
The next morning, at precisely 10am, the crazy Hungarian appeared with his financial adviser at Greenspan's office.
He introduced the adviser who was about the same age as Greenspan and repeated the bet "$1 billion says the Chairman's balls are square!"
Greenspan agreed with the bet again and the mad Magyar asked him to drop his pants so they could all see. Greenspan complied.
The crazy Hungarian peered closely at his balls and then asked if he could feel them.
"Well, Okay," said Greenspan, "$1 billion is a lot of money, so I guess you should be absolutely sure."
Just then, he recognized the financial advisor as the one and only George Soros and he was quietly banging his head against the wall. Greenspan asked the crazy Hungarian, "What the hell's the matter with your financial advisor?"
He replied, "Nothing, except I bet him $7 billion that at 10am today I'd have The Federal Reserve Bank Chairman's balls in my hand."
Copyright C 2004! All World Rights Reserved. By G! Alex Gabor
What is a pure democracy anyway?
It is the thinking being that separates the true human from the robots
The idea of centralizing data to find patterns and links among people is no longer limited to governments or corporations. Individuals are now getting into the game with "social networking" web sites, the hottest thing in Silicon Valley.
Friendster, Ryze, Linked-in, Tribe.Net, Yafro, Plaxo, and Spoke are a networker's dream but a privacy-hawk's nightmare. These sites are aggregating information, provided by people themselves, that could prove almost as useful as a Total Information Awareness (TIA) program to government snoops.
Government and corporate databases contain a good deal of information and, if put together like the Pentagon wanted to do with TIA (which was re-named "Terrorist" Information Awareness), can paint a fairly accurate picture of someone's life.
After public uproar about the possibility of a government-created central database containing loads of information on innocent people, Congress cancelled funding for TIA. Undeterred, law enforcement is now working with the private sector to gather data.
With a $12 million dollar federal grant and co-operation from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, a company called Seisint is working on a system named MATRIX (Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange) to compile an electronic dossier on every person in the nation. It's both worrisome and natural that this is taking place. Worrisome, because government has a history of misusing sensitive data and natural because technological advances combined with desperation to catch terrorists mean that law enforcement will gather as much data as possible.
I joined Friendster, Ryze, Linked-in, Tribe.Net, Yafro, Plaxo and Spoke and stand amazed at the amount of data they hold. If social networking sites continue with the success they've had over the last year, Scott McNealy's quip "you have zero privacy anyway, so get over it," will be as true as the maxim that knowledge is power.
Personal associations, business contacts, address books, email communications, photos, hobbies, favorite books, music, interests, thoughts, even what I'm looking to buy in the classifieds -- it's all online. Since individuals put it there, the data is likely to be accurate. But why would one upload all this personal data?
The answer is easy -- not only do humans want convenience (being able to get your address book from anywhere), but as Mark Pincus, CEO of Tribe.net, told me "people want to socialize online." It was perhaps only a matter of time before advancing technologies had a significant impact on personal networking. But what about the privacy concerns?
As it happens, many of America's privacy advocates are using these services. Some of them are connected to me through these networks and can be seen by my friends, whom they may or may not know. It goes to show that even privacy activists sometimes value communication more than privacy. But it's possible they might change their minds, particularly if FBI agents were to convince one of the social networking sites that it's their national duty to share information on users.
For his part, Pincus said he wouldn't release data to federal agents without a warrant. Friendster representatives echoed that stance. Perhaps the recent controversy over an Army contactor's use of Jet Blue passenger data is enough to scare corporate types away from co-operating with government meddling out of patriotism, but once the data's there, it can be used.
FBI agents could log on to Friendster as "Fraudsters" (people pretending to be someone they're not) or eventually some sort of monitoring software could be forcibly installed to gather data, like the FBI's Carnivore box that is installed at ISPs to monitor email traffic.
With the existence of government, corporate, and now individual-created databases, the answer to the future of privacy is fairly clear - there will be less of it. But as sites like Friendster and Tribe.net show, less privacy is a choice of many, indicating a more relevant question: how data centers affect our liberties.
It's not the exposure of information that matters as much as who is using it and how. Government is different from corporate and personal contacts in that it has a monopoly on force, so it must be carefully monitored or restricted. The way to secure liberty is through limits put on government by a free people who pay attention and continue to be outraged at schemes like the TIA, the MATRIX system, and other plans to monitor Americans.
As a recent Markle Foundation report said, "government should not have routine access to personally identifying information even if it is widely available to the public." And restrictions that are put on government use of data should be enforced.
For instance, a new program to track visitors to the U.S. with fingerprints was almost deployed without a privacy assessment, as required by the E-Government Act of 2002. Sen. Joseph Lieberman brought this problem to the public's attention, but had he not done so, the matter could have disappeared, allowing America to slip towards a place where governments find it easier to use data for purposes other than reasonable law enforcement.
Liberty, as Alexis de Tocqueville noted, resides in the spirit of the people. If American culture continues to support individual rights and reject big brother, it won't matter how much personal information is out there.
I think therefore I am not
a Republicon or a Demoncrat
I art what I art
Cheers to you Sire...
Forty-Two Percent (42%) of Americans are Making Minimum or No Payments on Their Credit Card Balances, According to the Cambridge Consumer Credit Index
ISLANDIA, N.Y., March 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Over four out of ten Americans (42%) are making just minimum payments or no payments on their credit card balances, according to the Cambridge Consumer Credit Index. Of those respondents surveyed with revolving balances on their credit cards, 39% made only the minimum payment due and 3% made no payments at all last month. Another 39% paid less than half the balance owed but more than the minimum, while 19% paid more than half their balances. In 2003, 46% of Americans surveyed paid just the minimum (40%) or made no payment at all (6%).
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040305/NYF053 )
The Cambridge survey also asked Americans who are taking on more debt why they are doing so. 49% of the respondents (up from 44% in 2003) said they are adding debt because they don't have the funds to pay for the purchases in full when the credit card bills arrive, while 51% of Americans (down from 56% in 2003) are taking on debt because they are confident of their ability to pay the balance off in full.
Overall, 39% of Americans paid off their credit card balances in full last month (down from 43% in 2003), 32% extended their payments (up from 31% last year), while 29% did not use credit cards at all in the last month (up from 26% a year ago).
"The results of the Cambridge Consumer Credit Index wildcard question show Americans are dramatically split between the haves and have-nots. The haves either don't use their credit cards at all or feel secure about paying off their credit card bills when they arrive. The growing number of have-nots, however, are being forced to borrow to pay for their daily necessities, and are getting deeper into debt since they are just able to make minimum payments or sometimes not even able to make any payments at all," says Jordan Goodman, spokesperson/financial analyst for the Cambridge Consumer Credit Index.
According to Chris Viale, Chief Operating Officer of Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp., "It is discouraging to see that a greater percentage of consumers are taking on debt even though they can't pay their credit card bills in full. This can only lead to higher accumulation levels of debt since these people wind up paying more towards interest than the outstanding purchases on their bill. We recommend that people take a hard look at their spending habits and prioritize wants vs. needs. It is possible to create a realistic budget and trim spending so that you can live within or even beneath your means -- but it takes commitment."
These findings are the result of monthly nationwide telephone poll of 1000+ adults conducted by ICR/International Communications Research in the past week, sponsored by the Debt Relief Clearinghouse.
The overall Cambridge Consumer Credit Index rose in March to 59, six points higher than in February. The Index rose in two of its three component questions. The "Reality Gap," which is the difference between the amount of debt consumers say they will pay off in the next month versus the amount of debt they actually paid off a month later, increased to 12 percentage points from 7 points in February. A month ago, 85% of Americans planned to pay off debt, while a month later 73% actually did so.
Wild Card Question:
When you received your credit card bill this month did you:
March 2004 March 2003 March 2002
Pay off bills in full 39% 43% 37%
Extend payments 32% 31% 32%
Did not use credit cards 29% 26% 30%
Of those extending payments:
Paid minimum payment 39% 40% 47%
Paid less than half the balance 39% 37% 37%
Paid more than half the balance 19% 17% 13%
Made no payment 3% 6% 3%
Source: Cambridge Consumer Credit Index
The Cambridge Consumer Credit Index is a forward looking economic indicator gauging consumer spending and debt. It is released on the fifth business day of every month to coincide with the Federal Reserve Board's G19 release of consumer credit outstanding data.
In conjunction with the Index, the Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp. is releasing its monthly survey of people who have called in for credit counseling services over the past month. Cambridge representatives ask callers for the primary reason that they found it necessary to get help with their debts now. Of the 783 people who answered, this was the order of their responses:
1. I am frustrated with high bank rates and fees (33.1%)
2. My income has been reduced from a lower salary, less overtime or
layoff (25.7%)
3. I want to improve my ability to achieve future financial goals like
buying a house or saving for retirement (12.6%)
4. I got into too much debt by overspending (10.7%)
5. Other (5.6%)
6. My lack of financial education caused me to take on too much debt
(5.1%)
7. Large medical expenses forced me to take on huge debts (5%)
8. My recent divorce or widowhood forced me to take on large debts
(2.2%)
For more information on the survey see
http://www.cambridgeconsumerindex.com/index.asp?content=client_survey
The Cambridge Consumer Credit Index number is a composite of these three questions:
1. In the past month, have you taken on more debt or paid off debt?
The Index reads 54 on this question, a drop of two points from
February.
In March, 27% of Americans say they have taken on more debt, with 18% taking on a little and 9% taking on a lot more debt. Conversely, 73% of Americans have paid off debt, with 50% paying off a little and 23% paying off a lot.
2. In the next month, do you anticipate taking on more debt or paying off
debt? The Index reads 42 on this question, a jump of twelve points from
February.
In March, 21% plan to take on more debt, with 5% planning to take on a lot and 16% planning to take on a little debt. Conversely, 79% plan to pay off debt, with 56% paying off a little and 22% paying off a lot. In February 15% planned to take on debt and 85% planned to pay off debt.
3. In the next six months, do you expect to take on debt because you are
thinking of making a major purchase such as a car, education,
appliance, medical procedure, furniture or carpeting?
The Index reads 80 on this question, a rise of six points from
February.
In March, 40% of Americans plan to take on more debt to make such purchases, with 14% taking on a lot of debt and 27% taking on a little more debt. In contrast, 60% of Americans plan to pay off debt in the next six months, with 44% expecting to pay off a little and 16% expecting to pay off a lot. In February 37% of Americans planned to take on more debt, while 63% planned to pay off debt.
"The results of the Cambridge Consumer Credit Index survey indicate a rebound of optimism about the future direction of the economy from last month. While consumers took on a bit less debt in the last month, they expect to spend a lot more and take on significant amounts of debt in the next month and the next six months. In fact, the six month level of 80 is approaching the all-time high of 82 hit in July 2003," says Jordan Goodman, spokesperson for the Index.
The Index survey is conducted by ICR (International Communications Research) of Media, Pennsylvania over five days in the week before the Index is released. Over 1000 households are polled based on random-digit dialing, with all demographic and regional groups in America fairly represented. The Index has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.
For more information about the Cambridge Consumer Credit Index, contact media relations representative Paramjit Mahli at pmahli@cambridgeconsumerindex.com or 631-786-6450, or economist Allen Grommet, who provides an economic analysis of Index results, at agrommet@cambridgeconsumerindex.com or 800-804-0575, or the Index website at http://www.cambridgeconsumerindex.com/. Consumers wishing to find out more about Debt Relief Clearinghouse placement services should call 1-888-4DEBTHELP or visit http://www.debtreliefonline.com/.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Cambridge Consumer Credit Index
Forty-Two Percent (42%) of Americans are Making Minimum or No Payments on Their Credit Card Balances, According to the Cambridge Consumer Credit Index
Friday March 5, 8:33 am ET
ISLANDIA, N.Y., March 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Over four out of ten Americans (42%) are making just minimum payments or no payments on their credit card balances, according to the Cambridge Consumer Credit Index. Of those respondents surveyed with revolving balances on their credit cards, 39% made only the minimum payment due and 3% made no payments at all last month. Another 39% paid less than half the balance owed but more than the minimum, while 19% paid more than half their balances. In 2003, 46% of Americans surveyed paid just the minimum (40%) or made no payment at all (6%).
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040305/NYF053 )
The Cambridge survey also asked Americans who are taking on more debt why they are doing so. 49% of the respondents (up from 44% in 2003) said they are adding debt because they don't have the funds to pay for the purchases in full when the credit card bills arrive, while 51% of Americans (down from 56% in 2003) are taking on debt because they are confident of their ability to pay the balance off in full.
Overall, 39% of Americans paid off their credit card balances in full last month (down from 43% in 2003), 32% extended their payments (up from 31% last year), while 29% did not use credit cards at all in the last month (up from 26% a year ago).
"The results of the Cambridge Consumer Credit Index wildcard question show Americans are dramatically split between the haves and have-nots. The haves either don't use their credit cards at all or feel secure about paying off their credit card bills when they arrive. The growing number of have-nots, however, are being forced to borrow to pay for their daily necessities, and are getting deeper into debt since they are just able to make minimum payments or sometimes not even able to make any payments at all," says Jordan Goodman, spokesperson/financial analyst for the Cambridge Consumer Credit Index.
According to Chris Viale, Chief Operating Officer of Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp., "It is discouraging to see that a greater percentage of consumers are taking on debt even though they can't pay their credit card bills in full. This can only lead to higher accumulation levels of debt since these people wind up paying more towards interest than the outstanding purchases on their bill. We recommend that people take a hard look at their spending habits and prioritize wants vs. needs. It is possible to create a realistic budget and trim spending so that you can live within or even beneath your means -- but it takes commitment."
These findings are the result of monthly nationwide telephone poll of 1000+ adults conducted by ICR/International Communications Research in the past week, sponsored by the Debt Relief Clearinghouse.
The overall Cambridge Consumer Credit Index rose in March to 59, six points higher than in February. The Index rose in two of its three component questions. The "Reality Gap," which is the difference between the amount of debt consumers say they will pay off in the next month versus the amount of debt they actually paid off a month later, increased to 12 percentage points from 7 points in February. A month ago, 85% of Americans planned to pay off debt, while a month later 73% actually did so.
Wild Card Question:
When you received your credit card bill this month did you:
March 2004 March 2003 March 2002
Pay off bills in full 39% 43% 37%
Extend payments 32% 31% 32%
Did not use credit cards 29% 26% 30%
Of those extending payments:
Paid minimum payment 39% 40% 47%
Paid less than half the balance 39% 37% 37%
Paid more than half the balance 19% 17% 13%
Made no payment 3% 6% 3%
Source: Cambridge Consumer Credit Index
The Cambridge Consumer Credit Index is a forward looking economic indicator gauging consumer spending and debt. It is released on the fifth business day of every month to coincide with the Federal Reserve Board's G19 release of consumer credit outstanding data.
In conjunction with the Index, the Cambridge Credit Counseling Corp. is releasing its monthly survey of people who have called in for credit counseling services over the past month. Cambridge representatives ask callers for the primary reason that they found it necessary to get help with their debts now. Of the 783 people who answered, this was the order of their responses:
1. I am frustrated with high bank rates and fees (33.1%)
2. My income has been reduced from a lower salary, less overtime or
layoff (25.7%)
3. I want to improve my ability to achieve future financial goals like
buying a house or saving for retirement (12.6%)
4. I got into too much debt by overspending (10.7%)
5. Other (5.6%)
6. My lack of financial education caused me to take on too much debt
(5.1%)
7. Large medical expenses forced me to take on huge debts (5%)
8. My recent divorce or widowhood forced me to take on large debts
(2.2%)
For more information on the survey see
http://www.cambridgeconsumerindex.com/index.asp?content=client_survey
The Cambridge Consumer Credit Index number is a composite of these three questions:
1. In the past month, have you taken on more debt or paid off debt?
The Index reads 54 on this question, a drop of two points from
February.
In March, 27% of Americans say they have taken on more debt, with 18% taking on a little and 9% taking on a lot more debt. Conversely, 73% of Americans have paid off debt, with 50% paying off a little and 23% paying off a lot.
2. In the next month, do you anticipate taking on more debt or paying off
debt? The Index reads 42 on this question, a jump of twelve points from
February.
In March, 21% plan to take on more debt, with 5% planning to take on a lot and 16% planning to take on a little debt. Conversely, 79% plan to pay off debt, with 56% paying off a little and 22% paying off a lot. In February 15% planned to take on debt and 85% planned to pay off debt.
3. In the next six months, do you expect to take on debt because you are
thinking of making a major purchase such as a car, education,
appliance, medical procedure, furniture or carpeting?
The Index reads 80 on this question, a rise of six points from
February.
In March, 40% of Americans plan to take on more debt to make such purchases, with 14% taking on a lot of debt and 27% taking on a little more debt. In contrast, 60% of Americans plan to pay off debt in the next six months, with 44% expecting to pay off a little and 16% expecting to pay off a lot. In February 37% of Americans planned to take on more debt, while 63% planned to pay off debt.
"The results of the Cambridge Consumer Credit Index survey indicate a rebound of optimism about the future direction of the economy from last month. While consumers took on a bit less debt in the last month, they expect to spend a lot more and take on significant amounts of debt in the next month and the next six months. In fact, the six month level of 80 is approaching the all-time high of 82 hit in July 2003," says Jordan Goodman, spokesperson for the Index.
The Index survey is conducted by ICR (International Communications Research) of Media, Pennsylvania over five days in the week before the Index is released. Over 1000 households are polled based on random-digit dialing, with all demographic and regional groups in America fairly represented. The Index has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.
For more information about the Cambridge Consumer Credit Index, contact media relations representative Paramjit Mahli at pmahli@cambridgeconsumerindex.com or 631-786-6450, or economist Allen Grommet, who provides an economic analysis of Index results, at agrommet@cambridgeconsumerindex.com or 800-804-0575, or the Index website at http://www.cambridgeconsumerindex.com/. Consumers wishing to find out more about Debt Relief Clearinghouse placement services should call 1-888-4DEBTHELP or visit http://www.debtreliefonline.com/.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Cambridge Consumer Credit Index
Thank you for contacting my office via e-mail. Please rest assured that my staff keeps me apprised of the content of all incoming e-mails, but because of the enormous volume of mail received daily, I am only able to send responses to my constituents from New York. If you are a constituent, and forgot to include your mailing address along with your phone number, please send it to me now and include it in all future e-mails. In addition, if you are interested in receiving my newsletter, please visit my website at, www.house.gov/weiner. You will receive a prompt response via the U.S. Postal service.
For security reasons, to protect the U.S. Congress' server from virus attacks, all attachments are deleted before they arrive in my box. If your message contained an attachment, you should copy and paste the text of your letter and resend it.
Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me. If ever I can be of assistance to you, please let me know.
Wiener's Staff has the letter.
Thousands already behind Call for Bush/Cheney Impeachment Before Election
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=2687905
ACLU Says Fears Setting Public Policy
March 19, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Media@dcaclu.org
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today joined other civil liberties experts in telling the United States Commission on Civil Rights that invasive security measures established after 9/11 threaten freedom and civil rights in the United States.
"We run the danger of letting our fears, not our values, set public policy," ACLU Legislative Counsel Timothy Edgar told the commission, which is an independent, bipartisan agency tasked with monitoring federal civil rights enforcement. "The American public deserves a government that preserves both their security and their liberty."
Today’s briefing follows similar oversight hearings by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and increased public scrutiny of the security measures established after September 11.
In his testimony before the Commission, Edgar focused on the USA PATRIOT Act, the 2001 law that passed just six weeks after the terrorist attacks, as well as other government policies adopted since 9/11. The Patriot Act diminishes procedural checks and balances on executive powers, Edgar said, which are essential to preserving individual liberty.
For instance, the Justice Department uses surveillance and investigative powers, granted or expanded in the PATRIOT Act, in cases completely unrelated to terrorism. The Attorney General lobbied for the PATRIOT Act, though, as a tool to combat al-Qaeda-style terrorism.
The PATRIOT Act has garnered heavy media attention, but it’s just one of the Bush administration’s attacks on freedom and civil rights. Equally worrisome is:
The President single-handedly designating American citizens as "enemy combatants," devoid of due process rights
The Defense Department permitting use of military commissions -- also absent due process protections -- against non-citizens
The increasing use of racial profiling by local and federal law enforcement
The capricious detention and deportation of non-citizens at the hands of the Justice and Homeland Security Departments.
"We must be ready to defend liberty because liberty cannot defend itself," Edgar said. "We, as a nation, have no trouble understanding the necessity of a military defense. But there is another equally powerful defense that is required, and that is the defense of our Constitution - the defense of our most cherished freedoms."
The ACLU’s testimony can be found at:
http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=15274&c=206
For more on the ACLU’s campaign to Keep America Safe and Free, go to:
www.aclu.org/safeandfree
ACLU could get behind the impeachment movement fairly easiliy just on this platform alone. They have the letter.
ACLU Says Fears Setting Public Policy
March 19, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Media@dcaclu.org
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today joined other civil liberties experts in telling the United States Commission on Civil Rights that invasive security measures established after 9/11 threaten freedom and civil rights in the United States.
"We run the danger of letting our fears, not our values, set public policy," ACLU Legislative Counsel Timothy Edgar told the commission, which is an independent, bipartisan agency tasked with monitoring federal civil rights enforcement. "The American public deserves a government that preserves both their security and their liberty."
Today’s briefing follows similar oversight hearings by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and increased public scrutiny of the security measures established after September 11.
In his testimony before the Commission, Edgar focused on the USA PATRIOT Act, the 2001 law that passed just six weeks after the terrorist attacks, as well as other government policies adopted since 9/11. The Patriot Act diminishes procedural checks and balances on executive powers, Edgar said, which are essential to preserving individual liberty.
For instance, the Justice Department uses surveillance and investigative powers, granted or expanded in the PATRIOT Act, in cases completely unrelated to terrorism. The Attorney General lobbied for the PATRIOT Act, though, as a tool to combat al-Qaeda-style terrorism.
The PATRIOT Act has garnered heavy media attention, but it’s just one of the Bush administration’s attacks on freedom and civil rights. Equally worrisome is:
The President single-handedly designating American citizens as "enemy combatants," devoid of due process rights
The Defense Department permitting use of military commissions -- also absent due process protections -- against non-citizens
The increasing use of racial profiling by local and federal law enforcement
The capricious detention and deportation of non-citizens at the hands of the Justice and Homeland Security Departments.
"We must be ready to defend liberty because liberty cannot defend itself," Edgar said. "We, as a nation, have no trouble understanding the necessity of a military defense. But there is another equally powerful defense that is required, and that is the defense of our Constitution - the defense of our most cherished freedoms."
The ACLU’s testimony can be found at:
http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=15274&c=206
For more on the ACLU’s campaign to Keep America Safe and Free, go to:
www.aclu.org/safeandfree
She certainly doesn't look very happy. There is anger and hatred in her eyes...
Suit pits church, former member Scientology seeks $10 million for breach of contract
Don Lattin, Chronicle Religion Writer
Thursday, March 25, 2004
It's not every day that a church sues a former member for $10 million, but then the Church of Scientology is not your typical church.
Nor is Gerry Armstrong, a longtime church critic and former Marin County resident, your typical churchgoer.
The church has accused Armstrong of breaching an agreement stating that he could not talk about the Church of Scientology in public. This week, a Marin County judge set the trial date for the case for April 9.
Armstrong is a former Scientology insider who joined the church in 1969, left the fold in 1981 and later became one of the movement's harshest critics. He was sued by the church in 1984 for allegedly stealing thousands of pages of private papers that shed new light on the movement's mysterious founder, the late L. Ron Hubbard.
Hubbard, a prolific science fiction writer and freelance philosopher, founded the Church of Scientology in the 1950s and died in 1986.
Today, Scientology describes itself as "the only major new religion established in the 20th century," as a bridge to increased awareness and spiritual freedom.
But Armstrong says his 20-year legal battle against Scientology reveals that "the cult is a flagrant human rights destroyer, and consequently a societal danger, and indeed a willful pariah.''
"This is the sixth time they have sued me,'' says Armstrong, who now lives in Chilliwack, a town in British Columbia. "They have all the resources and all the power, but they don't have justice or the law on their side.''
During his years in Scientology, Armstrong says he worked as an intelligence officer and communications officer and compiled documents for a church-sponsored biography of Hubbard.
He says he has been in Scientology's sights since the church filed its 1984 lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court to get control of Hubbard's private papers.
Judge Paul Breckenridge Jr., who presided over that case, issued a ruling in which he called Hubbard "virtually a pathological liar when it comes to his history, background and achievements.'' The judge also said the Scientology founder was "charismatic and highly capable of motivating, organizing, controlling and manipulating his adherents.''
In settling that case in 1986, Armstrong agreed to return the documents. He says that the church paid him $515,000 and that his attorney persuaded him to sign an agreement promising to "maintain strict confidentiality and silence with respect to his experiences with the Church of Scientology.''
That agreement states that Armstrong would pay $50,000 for every utterance about Scientology.
The church now maintains that Armstrong has violated the agreement at least 201 times and owes it just over $10 million.
"We will not be intimidated by someone like Gerry Armstrong,'' said Andrew Wilson, a Sausalito lawyer who represents Scientology in the case. "We believe contracts are important and should be enforced.''
In court papers filed last week in Marin County Superior Court, Armstrong says he signed the agreement under "shudder-inducing" duress.
Scientologist lawyers, he says, are using the agreement to violate his constitutional rights to freedom of speech and religious freedom.
Armstrong, who is defending himself in the current lawsuit, also charges in court documents that the church put him on a list of "suppressive persons'' and has systematically harassed him.
That harassment, Armstrong says, included assault, threats and burglaries. Church agents have "terrorized him for 22 years and have subjected him to a vicious global black propaganda campaign.''
"Scientology has waged a total war of attrition on Armstrong that continues to this day,'' he states in his own defense.
In court Tuesday, Wilson said Armstrong's court filings were full of opinions and "salacious material."
Wilson noted that Armstrong did not deny repeatedly violating the 1986 confidentiality agreement and had refused to comply with previous court rulings against him, including an earlier summary judgment by Marin County Superior Court Judge Gary Thomas, prompting a warrant for Armstrong's arrest.
"Armstrong, a longtime resident of Marin County, is presently a fugitive from this jurisdiction, having fled this jurisdiction and relocated to Canada to avoid incarceration,'' Wilson states in his court filing.
In a telephone interview Tuesday from Canada, Armstrong conceded that there was a warrant for his arrest in Marin County.
But he said he was hoping to persuade Judge Duryee to set aside the warrant and allow him to argue his case next month in Marin County.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/03/25/BAGSM5PH3B21.DTL
New York Times Editorial on Ballot Printers
Florida as the Next Florida
As Floridians went to the polls last Tuesday, Glenda Hood, Katherine Harris's successor as secretary of state, assured the nation that Florida's voting system would not break down this year the way it did in 2000. Florida now has "the very best" technology available, she declared on CNN. "And I do feel that it's a great disservice to create the feeling that there's a problem when there is not." Hours later, results in Bay County showed that with more than 60 percent of precincts reporting, Richard Gephardt, who long before had pulled out of the presidential race, was beating John Kerry by two to one. "I'm devastated," the county's top election official said, promising a recount of his county's 19,000 votes.
Four years after Florida made a mockery of American elections, there is every reason to believe it could happen again. This time, the problems will most likely be with the electronic voting that has replaced chad-producing punch cards. Some counties, including Bay County, use paper ballots that are fed into an optical scanner, so a recount is possible if there are questions. But 15 Florida counties, including Palm Beach, home of the infamous "butterfly ballot," have adopted touch-screen machines that do not produce a paper record. If anything goes wrong in these counties in November, we will be in bad shape.
Florida's official line is that its machines are so carefully tested, nothing can go wrong. But things already have gone wrong. In a January election in Palm Beach and Broward Counties, the victory margin was 12 votes, but the machines recorded more than 130 blank ballots. It is simply not believable that 130 people showed up to cast a nonvote, in an election with only one race on the ballot. The runner-up wanted a recount, but since the machines do not produce a paper record, there was nothing to recount.
In 2002, in the primary race for governor between Janet Reno and Bill McBride, electronic voting problems were so widespread they cast doubt on the outcome. Many Miami-Dade County votes were not counted on election night because machines were shut down improperly. One precinct with over 1,000 eligible voters recorded no votes, despite a 33 percent turnout statewide. Election workers spent days hunting for lost votes, while Floridians waited, in an uncomfortable replay of 2000, to see whether Mr. McBride's victory margin, which had dwindled to less than 10,000, would hold up.
This past Tuesday, even though turnout was minimal, there were problems. Voters were wrongly given computer cards that let them vote only on local issues, not in the presidential primary. Machines did not work. And there were, no doubt, other mishaps that did not come to light because of the stunning lack of transparency around voting in the state. When a Times editorial writer dropped in on one Palm Beach precinct where there were reports of malfunctioning machines, county officials called the police to remove him.
The biggest danger of electronic voting, however, cannot be seen from the outside. Computer scientists warn that votes, and whole elections, can be stolen by rigging the code that runs the machines. The only defense is a paper record of every vote cast, a "voter-verified paper trail," which can be counted if the machines' tallies are suspect. Given its history, Florida should be a leader in requiring paper trails. But election officials, including Theresa LePore, the Palm Beach County elections supervisor who was responsible for the butterfly ballot, have refused to put them in place.
Last week, Representative Robert Wexler, a Florida Democrat, filed a federal lawsuit to require paper trails. He relies on the Supreme Court's holding in Bush v. Gore that equal protection requires states to use comparable recount methods from county to county. Florida law currently requires a hand recount in close races. That is possible in most counties, but the 15 that use electronic voting machines do not produce paper records that can be recounted. Under the logic of Bush v. Gore, Representative Wexler is right.
After the 2000 mess, Americans were assured they would not have to live through such a flawed election again. But Florida has put in place a system, electronic voting without a paper trail, that threatens once more to produce an outcome that cannot be trusted. There is still time before the November vote to put printers in place in the 15 Florida counties that use touch screens. As we learned four years ago, once the election has been held on bad equipment, it is too late to make it right.
Wexler Opposes Republican's Sham Resolution on Iraq
Criticizes President Bush for Misleading the American People to Justify War
(Washington, D.C.)- Today, Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL) issued the following statement in opposition to House Resolution 557:
Mr. Speaker,
While I strongly support the brave American soldiers risking their lives to defend security and freedom, I rise in opposition to this politically motivated resolution because it is a complete farce, and anyone who says otherwise is too blinded by politics to see the truth.
The truth is, Iraq was not an imminent threat to America. There were no chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, and there was no link between Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein. The only mushroom cloud resulting from the war in Iraq is that represented by the Bush Administration's barrage of deception and lies.
While President Bush considers himself a "war President," he is actually a self-made President of war. The President created the pretext for the war in Iraq. He planned for it before September 11. He misused and fabricated intelligence to sell it to the American people.
Instead of debating this empty resolution of praise for President Bush, Congress must investigate the President's unconscionable misuse of power and manipulation of the truth.
Despite this second declaration of "mission accomplished" in Iraq, history will tell the true story, as it did in Vietnam. The mission is far from being accomplished, and President Bush will be judged harshly for the tragic events of the past year.
Congressman Wexler serves on the House International Relations Committee and the House Judiciary Committee.
Wexler has the power to pressure the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee to begin the impeachment process along with other House Democrats and only needs 6 Republican members of the same Committee to support the impeachment process and gain a majority.
Here are the members of the committee:
http://www.house.gov/judiciary/members.htm
Make History. Impeach Bush and Cheney
Wexler Files Federal Lawsuit Over Ballot Printers
Press Conference to be Held Monday
(Washington, DC) - Congressman Robert Wexler will hold a press conference this Monday, March 8, 2004 in front of the United States District Courthouse in West Palm Beach to announce the filing of his federal lawsuit over ballot printers. Wexler will be joined in his suit by Palm Beach County Commissioners Burt Aaronson and Addie Greene. The suit is being filed citing the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution and the precedent set by Bush v. Gore in the 2000 presidential election. Wexler claims that it is unconstitutional for 52 counties in Florida to have a means to conduct a recount, while 15 other Florida counties with touch-screen voting machines have a paperless system not allowing for one.
Florida law unequivocally requires a manual recount in a close election. Despite the clear requirements of Florida law, the Department of State recently issued a proposed rule stating, "when a manual recount is ordered and touchscreen ballots are used no manual recount of undervotes and overvotes cast on a touchscreen system shall be conducted since these machines do not allow a voter to cast an overvote and since a review of undervotes cannot result in a determination of voter intent."
"Essentially, what the Secretary of State is saying is that touch-screen voting machines are infallible -- which would make them the first machines devised by mankind in the history of the world that will never make a mistake. That is a lot of trust to place in these machines, when it comes at the price of our fundamental right to vote. I hope that by filing this federal lawsuit, Florida will adopt the most secure and fair voting procedures possible, so that a means for a recount is available and that every voter will know that their vote is being accurately counted on election day," Wexler said.
What: Wexler Press Conference on Federal Lawsuit Over Ballot Printers
When: Monday, March 8, 2004 at 3:15 pm
Where: United States District Courthouse - West Palm Beach; 701 Clematis Street; West Palm Beach, FL
Congressman Wexler is a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee and also a member of the House International Relations Committee.
http://www.house.gov/wexler/press_releases/Mar_07_04.htm
Wexler Lawsuits Over Ballot Printers on the Move!!!
State Lawsuit Granted Expedited Appeal Schedule
Federal Lawsuit Awarded Immediate Pre-trial Hearing
**Press Conference to be Held Monday**
(Washington, D.C.) Congressman Robert Wexler has been granted an expedited calendar for the appeal of his state lawsuit by the 4th District Court of Appeals. The court ordered that no extensions of time or delays will be allowed, except in extreme circumstances. Furthermore, both the Plaintiffs and Defendants must present their cases in full within 50 days. Wexler’s state lawsuit argues that touch-screen voting machines violate Florida’s election laws, which require manual recounts in close elections. (Please see below a copy of the order of the 4th District Court of Appeals.)
In a new development, in Wexler’s federal lawsuit, U.S. District Judge James Cohn granted an early and immediate pre-trial hearing on whether to grant an expedited schedule in the federal case. Wexler will appear in court for the hearing this Monday, March 22, 2004 at 9:00 A.M. at the United States District Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, FL and will hold a press conference immediately following the hearing. Wexler filed a federal lawsuit on March 22, 2004, along with Palm Beach County Commissioners Burt Aaronson and Addie Greene and Wellington President of the Alliance for Retired Americans Tony Fransetta, under the precedent set by Bush vs. Gore in the 2000 presidential election. Wexler, Aaronson, Green and Fransetta cite that it is unconstitutional for 52 counties in Florida to have a means to conduct a recount, while the other 15 Florida counties with touch-screen voting machines have a paperless system that does not allow for a recount. (Please click here for copies of both the Plaintiffs’ and Defendants’ Proposed Schedules.)
"I am thrilled that both the State Appellate Court and the Federal District Court have moved to fast track these extremely important and time-sensitive cases. It is imperative that we act now to fix the existing election problems, and I hope that Glenda Hood and Election Supervisors Theresa LePore and Kay Clem join in my efforts, before we encounter another national election debacle. I will continue my efforts until Florida complies with the law," Wexler said.
What: Wexler Press Conference
When: Monday, March 22, 2004 @ 9:30 am or immediately after hearing
Where: U.S. District Courthouse
299 East Broward Blvd.
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Congressman Robert Wexler serves on the House Judiciary Committee and the House International Relations Committee.
_________________________________________________________________
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
CASE NO.: 04-80216-CIV-COHN/SNOW
CONGRESSMAN ROBERT
WEXLER, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
vs.
THERESA LEPORE, etc., et al.,
Defendants.
___________________________/
Plaintiffs' Proposed Scheduling Order
This matter came before the Court for hearing on March 22, 2004 pursuant to the Court's March 15, 2004 Order. The Court, having considered the parties' Joint Scheduling Report and heard argument of counsel, it is hereby ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that:
(1) This case is assigned to S.D. Fla. L.R. 16.1.A.2's Expedited Case Management Track;
(2) The parties have agreed that motions to dismiss will be served by April 16, 2004, that responses in opposition will be served by April 26, 2004, and that reply memoranda will filed by May 3, 2004. Discovery shall start commence once the Defendants have served their motions to dismiss. The parties shall have 30 days to conduct all discovery.
(3) All additional parties shall be joined and any amendments to the Complaint shall occur by March 29, 2004.
(4) All pretrial motions, including all motions for summary judgment, except motions in limine shall be filed by ________.
(5) The Court will resolve all pretrial motions filed pursuant to (4) supra by ___.
(6) The final pretrial conference will be held on _________________________.
(7) Trial is set for __________________________________________________.
DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers at Fort Lauderdale, Broward County, Florida this ___ day of March, 2004.
JAMES I. COHN
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
cc: All counsel of record
Congressman Wexler is a senior Member of the House International Relations Committee and has been selected as the Ranking Democrat of the Europe Subcommittee. As the Ranking Democrat of the Europe Subcommittee, Wexler will work to strengthen the transatlantic alliance, build bonds and extend cooperation with central and eastern Europe nations and help guide the economic and political development of the former Soviet States. Wexler serves as an American representative to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. He is the co-founder of the Congressional Caucus on U.S. Turkish Relations and the Congressional Taiwan Caucus and is also an active member of the India Caucus. He serves on the Judiciary Committee as well as the Internet and Intellectual Property Subcommittee and is the co-founder and Co-Chairman of the Congressional Caucus on Intellectual Property Promotion and Piracy Prevention.
Contact: Lale Mamaux
Phone: 202-225-3001
March 19, 2004
http://www.house.gov/wexler/press_releases/Mar_19_04.htm
Wexler Scores Victory in Federal Court
Judge Cohn Rejects Hood and LePore’s Attempt to
Delay Until After Election
(Broward County, FL) Today, Congressman Robert Wexler was granted an expedited trial schedule in his federal lawsuit. Wexler filed a federal lawsuit on March 8, 2004, along with Palm Beach County Commissioners Burt Aaronson and Addie Greene and President of the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans Tony Fransetta, under the precedent set by Bush vs. Gore in the 2000 presidential election. Wexler, Aaronson, Greene and Fransetta cite that it is unconstitutional for 52 counties in Florida to have a means to conduct a manual recount, while the other 15 Florida counties with touch-screen voting machines have a paperless system that does not allow for a manual recount.
http://www.house.gov/wexler/press_releases/Mar_22_04.htm
"Federal Judge Cohn has given Floridians hope that we will have a constitutional voting system that works in November. I am trying to avoid another election night catastrophe. By trying this case as soon as possible, the federal court has recognized the urgency involved," Wexler said.
Congressman Wexler serves on the House International Relations Committee and the House Judiciary Committee.
Wexler is in the Judiciary Committee
Contact: Lale Mamaux
Phone: 202-225-3001
March 22, 2004
Or a good robot...EM
Letter of Impeachment for Circulation
The Honorable Congressman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.
Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee
2449 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-4905
Telephone: (202) 225-5101
sensenbrenner@mail.house.gov
Dear Jim,
It has come to the attention of the vast majority of Americans that our current President and Vice President have both allegedly engaged in treasonous acts through false representations, misleading statements, and attempted to bribe foreign governments in relation to the invasion of Iraq, in addition to acting negligently in relation to the preceding and succeeding events surrounding September 11, 2001.
We therefore call upon your duties as the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee to begin the deliberation over whether to initiate an impeachment inquiry.
We further encourage The Judiciary Committee to adopt a resolution seeking authority from the entire House of Representatives to conduct an impeachment inquiry.
We are very confident that before voting, the House debate will result in a firm and considerate resolution and a simple majority vote will lead to the impeachment of both George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney.
We would urge The Judiciary Committee to conduct an impeachment inquiry, possibly through public hearings. At the conclusion of the inquiry, we would suggest that the articles of impeachment be prepared so they may be approved by a majority of the Committee.
We further urge The House of Representatives to consider and debate the articles of impeachment so that a majority vote of the entire House can be obtained to pass each article. Once each article is approved, the President is, technically speaking, "impeached" -- so that a trial in the Senate may then commence.
Under Article III, Section 3 of the United States Constitution, Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.
We submit that Congress may properly impeach and remove the President and Vice-President only for conduct amounting to a gross breach of trust or serious abuse of power, and only if it would be prepared to take the same action against any President or Vice-President who engaged in comparable conduct in similar circumstances. Although the responsibility for giving content to the constitutional grounds for impeachment is, in our opinion, solely that of Congress, our conclusion is that Congress should exercise these powers subject to a firm sense of constitutional restraint.
The grounds for impeachment are not limited to criminal acts and the need to impeach the President and Vice-President for "abusing their power" in connection with the public purse and the military is necessary to maintain the national and international security.
Impeachment is necessary to prevent the drastic remedy of assassination where the President and Vice-President have rendered themselves obnoxious on foreign policy issues. Impeachment is an essential security for the good behaviour of the Executives.
It is indispensable that this provision should be made for defending the global community against the incapacity, negligence or perfidy of both Executives. Both have lost their capacity after their appointments to prevent further attacks against the United States by foreign interests.
They have perverted their administration into a scheme of peculation and oppression. Further loss of capacity or corruption is more within the compass of probable events, and either of them might be fatal to the United States and her national security.
Both Executives should be charged by your Committee with gross betrayals of trust, while corrupting their electors, and their incapacity are other causes for impeachment. For the latter they should be punished not as men, but as officers.
Your actions in beginning this important process in providing for the President's and Vice-President's removal for malpractice and neglect of duty are not only vital to the interests of the American public, but absolutely necessary to prevent further loss of American life, collateral damage to property and protection of the United States Constitution for many future generations.
This impeachment is not intended as a method by which a President and Vice President may be turned out of office because Congress dislikes their policies. The Framers of the Constitution granted the remedy of impeachment because they were unwilling to rely solely on periodic elections as the method of removing the unworthy from office.
The debates will clearly show that impeachment is regarded as a way of removing those whose misconduct in office, whether criminal or not, is serious enough to warrant prompt removal.
Our system handles purely political differences primarily by the system of fixed and frequent elections, and also by the various checks and balances built into the ongoing relations among the three Branches. Where, however, serious elements of misconduct are involved, the Framers thought it necessary to provide a direct and immediate remedy.
This letter is being circulated to various members of Congress of both the House and the Senate by persons familiar with it and for and on behalf of the people of the United States.
In the interests of national security, we urge you to take prompt and urgent remedial action under the powers granted and conveyed to you by the people of this great United States of America under the provisions in the Constitution for this impeachment process.
Humbly and Respectfully Signed,
We the People of the United States of America
For the People of the United States of America
By the People of the United States of America
All for the People and All by the People
Nothing About the People Without the People
This is Democracy!
Cut and paste and send to your Congressmen, to your Senator, to your Governor, to your people for the people and it will be the will of the people by the people. Start it now!
To: George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Congress, and the Media
Since 911, Americans have learned about numerous warnings that were received by the Bush Administration before 911.
These numerous warnings were ignored, with fatal consequences for nearly 3,000 people.
If these warnings had not been ignored, the Bush Administration could have protected America by taking decisive action in the days leading up to 911, and on 911 itself.
Moreover, the Bush Administration concealed these crucial facts from Congress and the American people, and then lied about them when they were revealed, in a deliberate effort to cover up its failure to protect America.
We, the American people, call upon the Bush-Cheney administration to take responsibility for failing to protect America, and to resign. If George W. Bush and Dick Cheney refuse to resign, we demand their impeachment by Congress.
The following list contains the most serious warnings that were ignored by the Bush administration.
Individually, each of these failures justifies punishment of those directly responsible.
Collectively, these failures justify the resignation - or impeachment - of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, who are ultimately responsible for the failure of their Administration to protect the American people.
The Bush administration ignored the issue of terrorism from the moment it assumed office:
They ignored the final report of the Hart-Rudman commission, the Road Map for National Security: Imperative for Change, that was issued on January 31, 2001
They blocked Senate hearings on the Hart-Rudman commission's report, scheduled for the week of May 7, 2001, by announcing a brand new commission led by Vice President Dick Cheney - which never met before 911
They ignored repeated requests from the Hart-Rudman commission from January 2001 to September 6, 2001, when National Security adviser Condoleezza Rice said she would "pass on" their concerns
They ignored repeated requests from Senator Dianne Feinstein to restructure US counter-terrorism and homeland defense programs, starting in July 2001 and continuing through September 10, 2001, when Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff told Feinstein to wait 6 months
They ignored the report of the Gore Commission on Aviation Safety and Security
The Bush administration changed Bill Clinton's policy towards Afghanistant to appease Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and their Saudi backers to promote the interests of oil companies, putting profits for campaign contributors ahead of fighting terrorism:
They prevented FBI terrorism experts from investigating Saudi Arabian ties to Al Qaeda before 911, leading to the resignation of FBI Deputy Director John O'Neill only two weeks before 911
They ordered the Naval Strike Force - which President Clinton deployed near Afghanistan on 24-hour alert in order to strike Osama Bin Laden - to "stand down" before 911
They gave $43 million to the Taliban in April 2001
When appeasement failed, the Bush administration then prepared for war against Afghanistan:
They issued an ultimatum to the Taliban in July 2001, telling them to turn over Osama Bin Laden and permit Unocal to build a pipeline across Afghanistan in return for a "carpet of gold" - or face a "carpet of bombs"
They prepared a National Security Presidential Directive on September 9, 2001, a detailed "game plan to remove al-Qaida from the face of the Earth"
The Bush administration ignored numerous warnings from US and foreign agencies:
They ignored warnings as early as June from the National Security Agency's Echelon electronic spy network that Middle Eastern terrorists were planning to hijack commercial aircraft to use as weapons to attack important symbols of American and Israeli culture
They ignored warnings from an FBI agent in Phoenix on July 10, 2001 about suspicious Arab pilots with ties to Al Qaeda who were training in a local flight school, urging a nationwide investigation of Arab students in flight schools
Bush personally ignored warnings from the CIA on August 6, 2001 that Al Qaeda planned to hijack US planes
They ignored warnings from Jordanian intelligence in the summer that a major attack was planned inside the US using airplanes
They ignored warnings from Israeli intelligence in August that large-scale terrorist attacks on highly visible targets on the American mainland were imminent, organized by a cell of as many of 200 terrorists said to be preparing a big operation
They ignored warnings from Russian intelligence in August that at least 25 terrorist were trained in Afghanistan and Pakistan to attack US targets, with future plans to attack financial, nuclear, and space facilities
They ignored warnings from Moroccan intelligence in August that Bin Laden was "very disappointed" by the failure of the 1993 WTC bombing, and planned "large-scale operations in New York in the summer or autumn of 2001"
They rejected a search warrant requests by FBI agents in Minneapolis for Moussaoui's computer disk
They ignored warnings from Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak on August 31 of an impending attack on the US
They ignored phone calls from Abu Zubaida, bin Laden's chief of operations, to the United States that were intercepted by the National Security Agency shortly before 911
They ignored an extroardinary number of "puts" on the stocks which were hardest hit by the 911 attacks, including American and United airlines, in the days leading up to 911
The Bush administration failed to take meaningful precautions against a terrorist attack when so many warnings were being issued:
Bush went on vacation for the month of August, after only six months on the job
They allowed counterterrorism agencies to "stand down" from the highest level of alert before August 6, 2001, despite repeated warnings from CIA director George Tenet
The FAA knew about concerns that Moussaiou would hijack a 747 in August 2001, but failed to warn the airlines
They failed to assign more sky marshalls or to make cockpit doors more secure
They changed FAA policy to prohibit pilots from carrying guns
They failed to increase the readiness levels of our Air Defense
On 911, Bush failed to take decisive action:
George W. Bush said on two occasions that he saw the first plane hit the World Trade Center at 8:46 a.m. on 911, and was told by Andrew Card about the second plane hitting the World Trade Center at 9:05 a.m. - yet Bush did nothing but listen to a children's story until 9:30 a.m. instead of ordering fighter jets to intercept all hijacked planes immediately
George W. Bush and Dick Cheney ordered the Pentagon to shoot down Flight 93 over Pennsylvania at 9:55 a.m., but could have shot down the other three flights if they had not waited so long to act
Following 911, Bush used the tragedy to promote the agenda of his wealthy and powerful supporters:
Bush pushed through the USA Patriot Act, which rewarded right-wing opponents of freedom and civil liberties
Bush demanded additional tax cuts for the wealthy using the pretense of "stimulating" the economy
Bush massively increased defense spending, to the direct personal benefit of his father and his cronies in the Carlyle Group
To cover up his failures, the Bush administration resorted to stonewalling, fingerpointing, and lies about 911:
They have continually lied about the extent of the warnings about the 911 attack
Shortly after 911, Ari Fleischer declared flatly that there were "no warnings"
When it was revealed in May 2002 that the CIA briefed Bush personally on August 6, 2001, they claimed that the briefing did not address terrorist attacks in the US; then they claimed it was a "low-level" briefing based on only one warning
Condoleezza Rice said, "I don't think anyone could have predicted that these people... would try to use an airplane as a missile, a hijacked airplane as a missile." (5/16/02)
The Pentagon commissioned a study in 1993 called "Terrorism 2000", which predicted multiple simultaneous attacks, the use of airplanes as weapons, targeting of large landmarks and financial centers, etc.
A Fedex employee tried to crash a DC-10 into FedEx HQ in Memphis in 1994, but was apprehended
An Islamic fundamentalist group hijacked an Air France flight and loaded it with 27 tons of fuel to destroy the Eiffel Tower, but special forces stormed the plane on the ground
Abdul Hakim Murad and Ramsey Yousef conceived of 'Project Bojinka' in 1995, a plan to blow up 11 US airline flights over the Pacific in 1995, and to crash airplanes into the Pentagon and the CIA, which definitely caught the attention of counter-terrorism experts in the US
The Library of Congress Report on The Sociology And Psychology Of Terrorism warned in 1999 about suicide hijackers
The Pentagon conducted a drill in December 2000 to respond to an airline crashing into the Pentagon
U.S. and Italian officials were warned in July 2001 that Islamic terrorists might attempt to kill President Bush and other leaders by crashing an airliner into the Genoa summit of industrialized nations
They did everything possible to block an independent commission investigation
Bush and Cheney personally called Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle urging him not to conduct an investigation
When pressure for an independent commission became too strong, they suddenly announced warnings of another attack - although they did not raise the official alert level above yellow, leading to widespread speculation of a deliberately false alarm to stop the momentum
When the Independent Commission finally began its work, Bush used Nixon's dictatorial doctrine of "Executive Privilege" to deny commissioners access to crucial documents
George W. Bush himself has repeatedly JOKED about the 911 attack
"Lucky me. I hit the trifecta," George W. Bush, shortly after 9/11 - quoted by Bush Budget Director Mitch Daniels, 11/28/01
http://democrats.com/elandslide/petition.cfm?campaign=911
I think therefore I am not
a Republicon or a Demoncrat...
I didn't send tit to Issa so you can stop breathing now.
The Boycott started over two years ago in fits and starts and now being focused on Exxon and Mobil stations in Canada and US. Even the Kanucks want a regime change.
http://www.freep.com/news/locoak/ngasout21_20000621.htm
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blgasboycott.htm
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_gas_boycott_2004.htm
http://www.usresolve.org/boycott-gasoline-stations-that-purchase-foreign-oil.php
Refiners, oil firms hit by FBI warning
By Russ Britt & Lisa Sanders, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 12:53 PM ET March 25, 2004
The CBOE Oil Index (OIX: news, chart, profile) slipped by 1 percent even though other major energy indexes were on the rise, as were the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, May crude plunged $1.26, or 3.4 percent, to $35.75 a barrel. See Futures Movers.
It was a 1 1/2-week low for the contract as speculation mounted that OPEC would delay planned output quota cuts amid concerns over recent price rises. Indeed, OPEC President Purnomo Yusgiantoro said overnight that there was a possibility that supply would need to be increased due to the high prices, according to news reports. The futures had reached a contract high of $37.80 on March 19, representing a 21 percent gain since the end of 2003.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Department said crude inventories rose by 7.5 million barrels during the week ended March 19.
After reports of the FBI refinery alert, Dow component Exxon Mobil (XOM: news, chart, profile) succumbed to pressure late in the morning and fell 3 cents to $40.07. Among those hardest hit were ConocoPhillips (COP: news, chart, profile), down $1.27, or 2 percent, at $65.98, and Marathon Oil (MRO: news, chart, profile), off 80 cents, or 2.5 percent, at $31.48.
Others feeling the effects of the warnings included Amerada Hess (AHC: news, chart, profile), off $1.43, or 2.3 percent, at $61.90, and U.S.-traded shares of British Petroleum (BP: news, chart, profile), sliding 51 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $47.94.
Among the refining specialists, Sunoco (SUN: news, chart, profile) fell 96 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $59.41. Ashland Oil (ASH: news, chart, profile) lost 36 cents to $46.44.
An FBI spokeswoman confirmed Thursday that the law enforcement agency issued a bulletin advising Texas refineries of a potential terror threat. The information shared with refineries and local law enforcement officials was "unconfirmed and uncorroborated," she said. Such advisories are common, she said.
The warnings didn't seem to affect stock prices for the oil-services industry. The Philadelphia Oil Services Index (OSX: news, chart, profile) was up 0.5 percent with virtually all companies in that sector in the black. The same was true for the natural-gas sector, with the Amex Natural Gas Index (XNG: news, chart, profile) rising 0.1 percent to 215.27.
Independent producers such as Chesapeake Energy (CHK: news, chart, profile), Forest Oil (FST: news, chart, profile), and Burlington Resources (BR: news, chart, profile) rose after Lehman Bros. upped its rating on the group to "positive" from "neutral." The firm cited high commodity prices, "strong-enough OPEC production discipline, tight inventories and increased challenges" as the reasons behind the upgrade.
El Paso (EP: news, chart, profile) said its asset sales have reached about $3 billion, nearing the $3.3 billion to $3.9 billion of sales targeted under its debt reduction plan. Also, the natural-gas company said it has now received all waivers relating to its credit facilities. El Paso had to get the waivers to avoid violating provisions in its credit covenants that pertain to its recently announced reserve revisions. Shares were up 10 cents at $6.72.
Meanwhile on the Nymex, natural gas for April delivery shed 6.9 cents to $5.36 per million British thermal units.
The Energy Department said Thursday that natural-gas inventories fell 65 billion cubic feet for the week ended March 19 to 1,032 billion cubic feet. Stocks were 372 billion cubic feet higher than last year at this time and 92 billion cubic feet below the five-year average.
You forgot to mention that it runs on solar power and hydrogen fuel made from the same water that fuels this Board.