I’ve been thinking about dominoes By Fred Cederholm

Column for on/after Dec. 24th, 2006

I’ve been thinking about dominoes. Actually I’ve been thinking about 2007, forensic accounting, the Dollar, interest rates, debts, the real estate market, energy, equities, and … In my last column of the year, I usually try to lay the groundwork for what I (more than likely) will be discussing in the coming year. I claim no links to Nostradamus, and if I had a crystal ball, it – like everything else in my house right now - would be covered with a layer of plaster dust. However… if there were one word I would choose to sum up what can see as the buzzword/catchword for 2007, it would be “dominoes.”

You see, as a child I had fun playing with dominoes – not the game itself per se, but rather standing them upright in lines, then nudging one and watching them all the rest topple over – one after another. Anyone familiar with my columns in print (or on-line) is aware that I have a number of concerns about this nation and the messes Uncle $ugar faces on almost every front. Last Thursday, I was the guest speaker at the Rochelle Kiwanis Golden K Chapter’s breakfast meeting. Please read on.

I gave them a choice of topics for my presentation, but they chose to hear about my educational experiences regarding my two summers attending Exeter College, Oxford, England. Most were already familiar with my weekly columns in the Rochelle News-Leader. Afterwards… a couple of the men said they knew what an accountant and an auditor does, but they weren’t certain what I meant by being a forensic accountant? “Why does that have some impact on what you write - and why you write it?”

I told them that to the best of my knowledge nobody really gets a degree in forensic accounting – not yet anyway. That designation comes pretty much from the experience of “specializing” in failures – bankruptcies, divorces, troubled debt restructurings, debtors in possession, and investigations into criminal (and civil) malfeasance on the part of officials, directors, and officers in their various fiduciary capacities. Forensic accountants are “business morticians” – auditors who perform “autopsies” on the records to determine the cause of “death,” who was responsible, and what parts might be salvageable.

Damage computations are often required, and/or a determination of when a reasonably prudent person should have seen/foreseen the impending problems, or demise. The forensic accountant works primarily with official documents, minutes, correspondence, financial statements, and other printed matter because the relevant parties - make that “the suspects” - (under advice of counsel) aren’t talking!

Much of what I did (or do) as a forensic accountant, I apply in the researching and the writing of my weekly columns. There aren’t a whole lot of us “forensics” out there to begin with, and even fewer who pen weekly commentaries in an attempt to alert/inform the general public about newsworthy/ developing events, stories, and topics that are impacting and destroying our world. Hardly any of the subjects (or topics) of my prior columns have been fixed by those who should be in the position to fix them. If anything “the powers that be” have totally ignored addressing the issues, or even worse - continued the policies which only compound the problems. When the blow-up (or demise) finally occurs, public understanding of the background of events - and awareness of the players, their roles, and their actions/inactions strengthens the case for culpability in finding the guilty parties guilty.

In 2007, we find ourselves at a precipice regarding so many problems facing this nation. The status of the Dollar, interest rate volatility, our debts/deficits, the real estate bubble, energy dependence, overpriced stocks, negative savings, dependence on foreign capital/investors, disaster ill-preparedness, and an overspread military are all inter-related much like a portfolio of troubled loans that are cross-collateralized and cross-defaulted. The blow-up of one would/ should/ could trigger the toppling of all the rest - much like my childhood string of upright dominoes. Will 2007 be the year of the “dominoes?”

So many times in my years spent working on litigation and investigations for the FDIC and the RTC on failed banks and savings and loans, I saw “alleged” guilty parties walk from all their misdeeds, responsibilities, and liabilities. When confronted with evidence against them and given a choice between being crooked or stupid, we so frequently heard: “Boy, was I dumb!” Costs for the problems, misdeeds, and inactions I’ve been chronicling will run in the mega-billions - even trillions of dollars. There is now potential to destroy this nation as we know it for generations to come. Thru my columns, I’m trying to inform my readership to preclude any defense of incompetence, of stupidity, of ignorance, of innocence, and of moronic stubbornness in allowing the guilty to walk free. If the “dominoes” fall in 2007, who will really end up paying the price - the guilty parties, or the people? I’m Fred Cederholm and I’ve been thinking. You should be thinking, too.

Copyright 2006 Questions, Inc. All rights reserved.

asklet@rochelle.net

I’ve been thinking about deployments By Fred Cederholm

Column for on/after Dec. 17th, 2006

I’ve been thinking about deployments. Actually I’ve been thinking about 2006, activations, the election promises, Baker-Hamilton, “Greetings…,” and Peace on Earth. Around Christmas time I tend to reflect on what transpired since the prior Yuletide. As we approach the end of calendar 2006, the old maxim “the more things change, the more they stay the same” seems to sum up this year that just was.


You see, the word “deployment” appears innocuous enough, but there serious implications and ramifications far beyond the core dictionary definition of some generic movement and/or allocation of personnel and equipment. Deployment is now the buzzword used by Uncle $ugar’s talking heads and those of the media to refer to an activation, a re-activation, or a re-re-activation to military duty in the guerilla killing zones of the Middle East. 20,000 US troops in Afghanistan and 152,000 US troops in Iraq just isn’t enough to do “the job” – whatever “the job” is now. We have gone from terrorist stopping to dictator ousting to democracy building to keeping the lid on things until we can (find somebody else to take over and let US/us) get out. Now we are told that more troops are required to complete “our mission.” Current scuttlebutt is that an additional 20,000 to 50,000 more troops will be activated and deployed in the coming weeks and months. Notifications of this escalation are already in the works.


We just got thru a national election which bordered on a civil war (of words, ideologies, and philosophies). The public was not pleased with where we were and where we were headed as a nation so the congressional majorities shifted from the party of the elephant to the party of the donkey. I thought the election had just showed a groundswell of voter dissatisfaction with “management” of our national finances, with “management” of our domestic disaster relief performance, with “management” of our nation’s image in the world at large, and with “management” of our undeclared wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Did I miss something because I don’t see a whole lot of changes on the horizon for any of these?


We are told that Congress left DC for the Christmas/New Year recess approving only an interim funding resolution to keep the government “operating” thru February. We are told nothing about what was going to be done about the 100’s of thousands of victims “deployed” elsewhere in the aftermath of Katrina/Rita. We are told nothing about restoring our national reputation/ image within the wider community of nations. We are told – however - that the Department of Defense needs an additional (and immediate) $100+ Billion in funding to continue these undeclared wars. We are also told that to cut back on our troop deployments we will first need to activate and “deploy” an additional 20,000 to 50,000 service men and women. Just what has changed? It seems just more of the same old, same old to me.


The report of the bi-partisan Baker-Hamilton commission on Iraq was finally made public. There were loads of photo ops, sound bites, and pundit ink generated because of it. I wonder how many of these beltway bodies read it and thought about what the recommendations and fact summaries said. Sure… there were a bunch of “polite” thank you’s from the President (and his remaining cohorts) as well as the old (and new) congressional leadership; yet… when you don’t get the answer you want from an “outside” source, why is the response always: “needs further evaluation, study, or consideration?”


The salutation “Greetings…” appears on so many holiday cards, in so many print fonts, and in so many colors. The message it portends should instill a sense of love, of joy, and of happiness. But… there is a darker side to the “Greetings…” messages which will arrive at thousands of addresses across the land during this holiday season of 2006. If perchance the missive comes from the Department of Defense’s military branches (or from any of the fifty state’s reserve units), it will more than likely NOT be received with the same warm emotions as one from family, friends, or neighbors. In this case, it will signify activation to duty, a deployment, a re-deployment, or a re-re-deployment far away from home, hearth, and loved ones. I remember when such “Greetings…” routinely appeared in the mailboxes of my generation some thirty to forty years ago. Back then, a local draft board could also be the sender.


Christmas celebrates the historical birth of the Prince of Peace over 2,000 years ago in the little town of Bethlehem. The birth of any child brings smiles, hopes, and dreams; but the birth of Jesus the Christ embodies so much more for those of the Christian faith. Central to the festivities are thoughts of “Peace on Earth” and “Goodwill to (all) Mankind” – at least they should be. How have we gotten so far astray from those messages this Christmas of 2006? We the People… spoke loudly on November 7th, has anybody been listening? I’m Fred Cederholm and I’ve been thinking. You should be thinking, too.
Copyright 2006 Questions, Inc. All rights reserved.

To “audit this column and to learn more about the subjects discussed, please check out:

US Forces Order of Battle
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/iraq_orbat.htm

With Military Straining In Iraq, Troop Limits Affecting Strategy
http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=16&issue=20061208

Army Moves to Reduce Strain on Troops
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=nation_world&id=4814794

Powell Says: “a temporary U.S. troop surge probably would not help.”
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/12/17/news/policy.php

Congress's Inaction Threatens Funding
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/16/AR2006121601087.html?referrer=email

Most relief funding has yet to reach Katrina victims
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4200/is_20060828/ai_n16694896

Looming Iraq funding bill to test Democrats
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nation/article/0,1299,DRMN_16_5182571,00.html
Despite a $168B budget, Army faces cash crunch
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06346/745523-84.stm
Pentagon eyes $468.9 bln budget for fiscal 2008
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyID=2006-12-16T043904Z_01_N15422822_RTRUKOC_0_US-BUDGET-PENTAGON.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsArt-C2-NextArticle-2
Options Weighed for Surge in G.I.’s to Stabilize Iraq
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/16/world/middleeast/16military.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
A Call to Hussein-Era Soldiers: Iraqi Premier Urges Members of Disbanded Army to Join New Force http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/16/AR2006121600349.html

Baker-Hamilton Report – The Iraq Study Group Report (full text – pdf file)
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/WSJ-iraq_study_group.pdf

Baker-Hamilton Report (Google search/web) – 2,080,000 entries
http://www.google.com/search?q=baker+hamilton+report&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&ie=utf8&oe=utf8

Baker-Hamilton Report (Google search/news) – 13,500 entries
http://news.google.com/news?q=baker%20hamilton%20report&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wn

How To Have Friends And Have A Happy Holiday By Peter Rost

As we approach another holiday season, it may be appropriate to reflect on life.

For most of us the holidays coming up mean spending time with friends and family.

And for many, friends and family are what really counts.

So how do we win those lifelong friends and live happily with them ever after?

First, it’s important to agree with people if you want them to become your friend. You should preferably like the same things and the same people. But research has shown that even more important than agreeing with people and liking the same things, is to dislike the same things. Apparently the common bond created by disliking something or someone is more important than the bond created by liking someone.

Perhaps this is some remnant from the caveman instincts that permitted the group to survive at the expense of other people and other groups. And perhaps, to a certain extent, that explains nationalism and why so many atrocities have been committed against anyone who is different from ourselves; whether it relates to color, religion or geography.

So, as we enter the holiday season—and please note that I use the politically correct terminology—perhaps we should all reflect upon what and whom we like and enjoy in life, rather than what we dislike. Then again, if we really want to bond and make friends for life, a small dose of antagonism is likely to do the trick.

I know that worked for me at the age of eight, when I first met my future wife. I still clearly remember that we both agreed that we hated to eat soup. And here we are, still together, almost forty years later. But of course, our taste buds have developed; and now we enjoy both tomato and potato soups—any other soup is still banned.

Happy holidays!

Peter Rost, M.D., is a former Vice President of Pfizer. He became well known in 2004 when he emerged as the first drug company executive to speak out in favor of reimportation of drugs. He is the author of “ The Whistleblower,” http://the-whistleblower-by-peter-rost.blogspot.com/. He also writes the daily “ Question Authority with Dr. Peter Rost” blog on http://peterrost.blogspot.com/

I’ve been a very bad boy By Peter Rost

u[pFor several days now, I haven’t written any long, thoughtful, opinion pieces on politics, corporations and similar stuff.Instead I’ve been posting videos with misleading headlines on my Dr. Peter Rost blog; funny little clips that illustrate some of the turmoil within Pfizer after they cancelled a big drug and restructured their sales force.


And I have to admit I did this because I just couldn’t help myself. After all, I’m not a very serious guy: I really just want to have some fun. I used to have that fun when I was running a business, but since I’ve been fired from my Vice President job at Pfizer, I’m no longer allowed to do that, and I have to limit myself to having fun on my blog.


But of course I shouldn’t do this; I promised a few weeks ago that I would become a more serious person. And I managed to do just that for several weeks. But then, the primal caveman urge to simply have some fun took over. The fact that ratings literally exploded also had something to do with this. Those ratings, they’re like crack; pretty addictive. You see the masses coming, and you can’t help but post yet another video.


But my mother sometimes tells me I shouldn’t look at ratings. After all, she says, it is not the quantity of the visitors but the quality. And when I get lots of visitors to my blog using topics—or pictures—she doesn’t approve of, then, she doesn’t feel I should be happy about those visitors.I guess the problem for me is that I’m really an extrovert person. So not working with a lot of people makes me reach out through this blog. It becomes a virtual reality having those visitors coming by.


My real-life joy, however, is when I get to attend a legal deposition with Pfizer. I just had another one yesterday, when my lawyer questioned one of Pfizer’s employees.You might think it’s a bit sick to enjoy a deposition, but it just tells you how much I enjoy interaction with others, even if they are Pfizer’s defense lawyers. It doesn’t make matters worse that Pfizer’s in-house lawyer coming to these depositions has that special something, carries herself well and has exquisitely manicured hands. I won’t go into any more details because there is no reason to identify her. But she’s probably that one lawyer all the male lawyers at Epstein, Becker & Green love to work with.


I know; she’s probably there just to turn my brain into mush, but she’s actually pretty cool. I mean, some defense lawyers have this thing that they are going to pretend that they are really adversarial to you, when in fact, it’s just a job. Not her. She observes me when she thinks I don’t see her, and, she’s friendly. Of course, that means she’s really dangerous, but that doesn’t make her less attractive. And she has humor. Life could be worse. Pfizer could’ve sent a boring, old fat guy.


Peter Rost, M.D., is a former Vice President of Pfizer. He became well known in 2004 when he emerged as the first drug company executive to speak out in favor of reimportation of drugs. He is the author of “The Whistleblower, Confessions of a Healthcare Hitman ,” the-whistleblower-by-peter-rost.blogspot.com. He also writes the daily Dr. Peter Rost blog

'Money as Debt' by Paul Grignon

'Money as Debt' is a new 47 minute DVD created by Paul Grignon fromGabriola, British Columbia, Canada. It is now ready for distribution. Idescribe it as colourful entertainment with an educational twist.


The intentis to share this DVD with people and get them fully interested and halfwayto an understanding of all topics related to 'money as debt.'Paul has interspersed a series of historical banking quotations throughoutthe DVD. He also uses cartoon characters in a very effective manner toexplain 'What Is Money.' Then using these cartoon characters to relate a'Goldsmith's Tale' that explains the history of gold as money and how theidea of interest or usury was conjured up by the goldsmiths who becamegreedy.


Finally, he presents a good explanation of 'The Money System Today' whereinhe shows how money in our modern society really represents debt. He showsgraphically how banks create money from the borrower's promissory note. Hepoints out that the amount of money in circulation is equal to the totalamount of debt. He also confirms that loans do not come from depositors'funds which is the misleading impression held by most people.Paul gives a short history of usury and explains how there was a time inhistory when every religion opposed usury. He summarizes that the chargingof interest or usury is a moral and practical problem in this 21st Centurybecause the banks create the principal of any loan but they never create theinterest or usury that is exacted and added to any loan payment. The designflaw of usury is amply illustrated for the evil function that it is.


Finally, Paul spends some time on proposals that will change the orthodoxsystem of usury-based finance. He advocates the usuryfree LETS (LocalEmployment Trading System) software and illustrates paper notes of usuryfreetime currency as usury-free debt money. He shows an example of personalizedmoney with the creator's picture on it. It visually makes the point that wecan issue "personal and usuryfree debt money" without the involvement ofbanks. Paul recommends that local communities establish independent, localbarter networks as the last, best defense against the New World Order'splans for a one world usury-based, electronic money supply where everytransaction is tracked by the system. In summary, usuryfree communitycurrencies are the optimal, emergency-preparedness model for any community.


In closing, Paul presents a permanent usuryfree money proposal that can beimplemented by any level of government. Such a proposal would free us fromthe Economic Dictatorship that currently is the shadow behind all levels ofgovernment - municipal, provincial/state and federal.Most people that I have shown this DVD to say that they want (need) to seeit more than once. I recommend this DVD for anyone's library as it can be agreat teaching tool to share with those who are ready and willing to learnwhat formal education neglects to teach.The UsuryFree Network is promoting the DVD 'Money As Debt' as a fundraiserto raise money for the Second Annual UsuryFree Day celebrations on Monday,November 13th, 2006. In fact, that week is being designated as UsuryFreeWeek since usuryfree creatives in other communities are planning events torecognize that usuryfree living is possible and probable for those who makethe choice to free themselves from the scourge of usury.


More details about the events to celebrate UsuryFree Week will follow in the fall of 2006.The UsuryFree Network is marketing the 'Money As Debt' DVD with a retailvalue of $25.00 (Canadian Funds) or its equivalency in any other nationalcurrency. This is payable in Canadian Funds or in the alternative $20.00Canadian Funds and $5.00 usuryfree community currency. Any usuryfreecommunity currency is accepted whether in Canada or the United States.You are encouraged to buy an extra copy and gift it to any social,environmental or electoral reform group or organization as such groups needto know that unless the money-as-debt-plus-interest system is fundamentallyreformed, no other reforms will ever succeed, at least not for long.Encourage these groups to view this entertaining explanation about money andthen recommend it to their members and the public.


Any further suggestions in this regard are welcomed and appreciated.My pitch to social justice, environmental and electoral reform activists isthat, without monetary reform, political reforms will not achieve the goalsintended - fundamental power lies in money creation, not laws. And withoutelectoral reform, monetary reform is not going to happen.


In this way, I seethe 'Money as Debt' DVD helping to enlist a wide variety of social activistsbehind the demand for both electoral and monetary reform.Enjoy this day!Working with you for 'peace and plenty' by 2020 AND 'Promoting the usuryfree fix for 2 oh oh 6'I AM


Tom J. Kennedy otherwise known as 'Tommy UsuryFree'


www.cyberclass.netwww.cyberclass.net/nousury.htmPS: As an active UsuryFree Creative, I am available for contract to help anycommunity organize a local usuryfree community currency. See details below.Please forward payment (cash, cheque or money order) for your order to:Tom J. Kennedy, The UsuryFree Network,P. O. Box 372, Tamworth, Ontario K0K 3G0Tel: 1.613.379.5131 Email: usuryfree@kos.net

I’ve been thinking about openness By Fred Cederholm

Column for on/after Dec. 10th, 2006

I’ve been thinking about openness. Actually I’ve been thinking about oversight, the League of Women Voters, the Illinois Open Meetings Act, Cherry Vale Mall, preparedness, and landfills. Under our system of governance, we elect officials to provide for our needs and look out for our wellbeing. We defer to them much of the decision making process which impacts a lot of our daily lives. Still… we have the right to know what is going on, and they have the obligation to keep us informed.


You see, although our system of representative democracy transfers the power of “deciding” to the elected (and appointed) powers that be, We the People… maintain the right to be kept in the loop and yes, even provide input and feedback regarding our wishes, concerns, and desires on the issues - the policies, and the procedures which affect us and our communities. Such a dialogue is critical to the workings of our system. Open and honest government is the cornerstone of American democracy, and it is only achieved through the free exchange of information between the government and its citizens.


The League of Women Voters is a fine organization and I am proud to be a part of the Rochelle Area Chapter. Every now and then, it really amazes me how open (or closed) our local governing bodies are to the citizenry and how many (or few) of the locals do take advantage of attending the meetings, the forums, and the public hearings to keep informed and participate in the dialogue of governing. Citizen participation is the key, and the League works so hard to encourage openness and interaction. Does this open participation that we enjoy locally exist because of the League, or because of the openness of our local governing bodies? THAT is a good question…, but I TH*NK there are elements of both at work.


The State of Illinois is actually kind of unique in that we enjoy the mandated openness of the Illinois Open Meetings Act (5 ILCS – Illinois Compiled Statues - 120) which is designed to ensure that public business is conducted in public view, by prohibiting secret deliberations and actions on matters that should be discussed in a public forum. Granted there are 24 matters of discussion/consideration which are exempt from the Act. These generically include personnel matters, disciplinary/ performance/ termination actions, legal/ litigation matters, purchase /leasing considerations, and security/ criminal matters. These balance the competing interests of government officials to discuss sensitive matters candidly with the public’s right to be informed about how its government operates. Just this past fall, Ogle County Illinois State’s Attorney Ben Rowe spoke at an open (to the public) League forum on the Freedom of Information Act and the Open Meetings Act. The presentation/dialogue was excellent!


Last Friday, the public only just learned of a thwarted terrorist attack planned for December 22, 2006 at the nearby Cherry Vale Mall. This hit everybody around here like a bombshell out of the blue (no pun intended). Although the alleged perpetrator had been under surveillance for months by Federal agents, virtually no locals – public officials or citizens – had a clue about this “demented cookie” until his arrest last Wednesday and his arraignment two days later in Chicago. This was a Federal Homeland Security matter and was successfully handled as it should have been handled (thank God). The drama was just a little too close to home and we really were very lucky – this time.


I found it particularly interesting how this story with national implications was handled. True, it was a big deal locally, but the national media pretty much gave it a pass. We all hear when a terrorist action succeeds, but is it not just as important for all to know when an attack is successfully thwarted? I was also amazed how surprised the (local) TV interviewers appeared when the Rockford and Cherry Valley Police Chiefs discussed the detailed pre-planned contingency actions which would have mobilized first responders from the entire area. Such contingency disaster preparedness was the subject of last spring’s “State of the Community Dinner” co-sponsored by the League and the Rochelle Area Chamber of Commerce. Presentations by the Rochelle Community Hospital, Police Department, Fire Department, and Municipal Utilities were both detailed and enlightening. The dialogue in the question and answer session which followed was totally open – nothing was held back. It was really impressive!


On December 13th at 7:00 PM, the League will host an open forum at the Rochelle City Council Chambers regarding the facts, information availability, and procedures behind the forthcoming public hearings on the proposed landfill expansion. It should prove to be a most open and informative session. I encourage all interested/concerned parties to attend. This opportunity is being provided to one and all - please take advantage of it. I’m Fred Cederholm and I’ve been thinking. You should be thinking, too.


Copyright 2006 Questions, Inc. All rights reserved.
asklet@rochelle.net

Pinochet And The Fairy Tale Miracle Of Chile By Sepp Hasslberger

December 11, 2006

Pinochet And The Fairy Tale Miracle Of Chile

Augusto Pinochet, the CIA-installed army general and dictator of Chile who ended the Salvador Allende led period of democratic government in that country, recently died at age 91. Victims of Pinochet's human rights abuses are celebrating his passing.


"I think that the death of Pinochet permits us to let go of the past and now we can look forward at the future with much more optimism and the desire to reconcile," said Maria Angelica Prats, the daughter of a Carlos Prats, an army general who was murdered by Pinochet security forces in a car bomb attack.But Pinochet's heritage is not only characterized by Human Rights violations. He also all but ruined the economy of Chile, listening to the crème de la crème of the US economic establishment. "The miracle of Chile" and similar phrases which described the experiments of economic liberalism are just so much propaganda. In reality, the economy of Chile took a hard hit and only recovered later, with a profound change of policy.


Greg Palast has the story and it makes for an interesting read.


Tinker Bell, Pinochet And The Fairy Tale Miracle Of Chileby Greg Palast
read the whole article here:
http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2006/12/11/pinochet_and_the_fairy_tale_miracle_of_chile.htm
--
The individual is supreme and finds its way through intuition.
Sepp Hasslberger
Critical perspective on Health: http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/
My blog on physics, new energy, economy: http://blog.hasslberger.com/
"Historical" page on physics/energy: http://www.hasslberger.com/
La Leva di Archimede: http://www.laleva.cc/
La Leva's news: http://www.laleva.org/
Robin Good - http://www.masternewmedia.org/
Trash Your Television!
http://www.tvturnoff.org/

Gated communities, copies of the eliteworld By Joost van Steenis

Bangkok, December 7 2006

Dear reader, this is the 80th Letter of an Autonomous Thinker

Elites rule the world.

Elitepeople live in the safe and prosperous eliteworld that is closed for masspeople. From this world they descend to special (often guarded) places in the massworld to work for the continuous existence of the separation between eliteworld and massworld.
There is however hardly contact between elitepeople and lower masspeople.

The American bases in Iraq are a clear copy of the separation between a safe and prosperous place and the harsh poor surroundings. Tens of thousands of people live within the well-guarded boundaries of the bases where the standard of living is much higher than in the surrounding Iraqi massworld. Iraqis are hardly allowed to enter these places. Americans occasionally leave the bases in heavily guarded convoys to secure supplies or to try to discipline the unsure world around the safe bases.

The elitist idea of separating the own world from the rest of the world is also elsewhere gaining ground. Nearly ten percent of the American people live in gated communities, well guarded against intrusions from people who live in the surrounding world. Most of non-working part of the life of these people takes place within gated boundaries even in sports, holidays or other leisure activities. The Internet is increasing the isolation of the richer part of the world from the poorer part because direct human contact is minimised.

Even in the work situation isolation from other people is immense. From the gated communities people use private cars (not accessible to other people) to go to a gated parking place and then up to the office in a building where ordinary masspeople are not allowed.
The world is reduced to a few places where they meet only people of the same kind.
But these gated people decide over non-gated people who cannot reach them in person!
Information about the world of non-gated people, about masspeople, is only collected via non-personal canals as newspapers and television. Direct contact between the two different groups is virtually non-existent.

The world in which gated people live is reduced to some gated places that are connected by roads on which they travel by cars and planes that also can be considered to be gated places that are out of bounds for third people. It is indeed a small world in which these people live.

The ever dwindling attendance during general elections (the last American elections saw only 40 percent of the people go to the ballot boxes) is a result of this growing separation between leaders and led, between rich and poor, between some people and the majority. It is a copy of the already longer existing separation between elite and mass.

The existence of an elite and the copying of the behaviour of the highest circles by those who can afford it to build their own isolated private fortresses is in contradiction to the deeper essence of real democracy. The People are not anymore (I think have never been) at the helm of society but the Privileged Few decide.

I see only one solution.
It cannot be expected that elitepeople (people in gated communities) will increase their contacts with masspeople that live in the often harsh massworld.
Therefore masspeople should penetrate in the closed world where leading people live. In this way human contacts between all people will increase and masspeople will be capable to pressurize elitepeople to take other decisions. .
Only then a New World can come into being, a world in which all people have equal status.

Yours truly, Joost van Steenis
http://members.chello.nl/jsteenis
Ways to increase masspower

What went wrong at Pfizer? By Peter Rost

Pfizer announced a few days ago that they pulled the plug on torcetrapib, because the drug had sharply increased the death rate in a 15,000 patient trial. This was the drug that was going to save Pfizer when Lipitor, Pfizer’s $14 billion blockbuster anti-cholesterol medicine, goes off patent in 2010. To make matters worse, two days before canceling all further development, Pfizer’s CEO Jeff Kindler stated at a large meeting with 250 analysts that torcetrapib was “one of the most important developments in our generation.”


During the past week newspapers and analysts and scientists have had one question on their mind: How could something like that happen to the preeminent drug company in the world? How could the CEO of this powerful drug company be caught hyping a drug that was withdrawn only days later?


As a former Vice President of Pfizer, and based on my many years working in the drug industry, I may have some clues to what really happened.


First, let’s face it. A drug company such as Pfizer does not spend $800 million on clinical trials for a new drug without very good preliminary data that indicate that this drug has the potential to save a great number of lives. But you never really know what will happen until you start large scale phase III clinical trials. Pfizer did just that, and enrolled 15,000 patients.


Then the trouble began. First they discovered that while torcetrapib appeared to increase “good cholesterol” by about 60%, which is a good thing, it also increased blood pressure, which is a bad thing.


Pfizer’s research chief, Dr. John LaMattina, was according to the New York Times, “the company’s chief booster for torcetrapib” and he clearly staked his career and scientific reputation on this new drug, in spite of the bad news.

But, according to Forbes, “some researchers had always doubted torcetrapib, some savagely. Even doctors who tested the drug said it was a big gamble. Years before Pfizer's drug went into large-scale trials, some research suggested that drugs like it might actually do more harm than good. In particular, at least three published studies of people with gene mutations that the drug mimicked found unexpectedly higher rates of heart disease.”


John LaMattina, however, determined that it was in his and Pfizer’s best interest to contradict the critics and claim that torcetrapib was “the most important new development in cardiovascular medicine in years,” two days before the torcetrapib drug trial was abruptly halted.

And normally a research chief has an experienced CEO, who may not have the same personal investment in any particular drug, who can independently ask the tough questions.


Only this time Dr. LaMattina didn’t have such a boss.


Dr. LaMattina reports to Jeffrey Kindler, and Mr. Kindler has only four months experience as a drug company CEO and only five years of experience in the drug industry. And in those five years, Mr. Kindler never managed the business. He was in charge of the law department. In fact, Mr. Kindler has less experience in the drug industry than many of his product managers and sales representatives. And of course, that makes it hard to ask the tough questions.


What made matters even worse was that Jeff Kindler wanted to change how Pfizer was run. His predecessor, Dr. Hank McKinnell, had been forced out amid turmoil surrounding his compensation package and poor stock performance. Dr. McKinnell had also made himself an impopular on the Street, and minimized his contacts with analysts. Mr. Kindler was going to change all that, create a new openness, and instead ended up embarrassed.


Of course, I do believe that Mr. Kindler is doing the right thing, when it comes to openness, but such openness has to be combined with actually know-how. So when market guru Jim Cramer after this debacle wrote, “Maybe they really are a bunch of jokers at Pfizer,” that certainly doesn’t bode well for this large corporation. And when Mr. Cramer piled it on the following day, saying that “there are three things Pfizer is good at” and then listed those things as, “issuing press releases, screaming at the media” and “blaming the system,” then, any investor would start getting seriously concerned. It probably doesn’t help that Mr. Cramer also billed Pfizer a “$25 bond with no upside.”


This development is more than a big set-back for Pfizer. It provides an unusual glimpse into a corporation caught with its pants down and its hubris exposed for the entire world to see. After all, there were plenty of warning signs, ignored by Pfizer’s present management. And there is perhaps only one person smiling right now. And that is Pfizer’s vice chairman, Karen Katen, forced out after her succession battle with Jeff Kindler. She had thirty years of experience in the drug industry.

Peter Rost, M.D., is a former Vice President of Pfizer. He became well known in 2004 when he emerged as the first drug company executive to speak out in favor of reimportation of drugs. He is the author of “ The Whistleblower, Confessions of a Healthcare Hitman,” the-whistleblower-by-peter-rost.blogspot.com. He also writes the daily Dr. Peter Rost blog."

I’ve been thinking about monetization By Fred Cederholm

Column for on/after Dec 3rd, 2006

I’ve been thinking about monetization. Actually I’ve been thinking about the Dollar’s drop, creating money, form over substance, “full faith and credit,” and illusions. We are about to see the unfolding of a drama. Despite the gallows humor of this unraveling comedy of absurd reasoning and logic, I fear the real tragedy will be costly for most of the players - for many it will be devastating.


You see, last week the US dollar took a further nosedive in its valuation relative to other free floating currencies on Planet Earth. The Buck fell to at least a twenty month low. Last Friday, a Euro cost $ 1.33, a British Pound cost $ 1.98, and a Japanese Yen cost $ .0087. This downward trend has been going on since Thanksgiving. Uncle $ugar is now a “net debtor” nation and “net interest” payer. Several nation states (Japan, China, UK…) as well as a couple groups (the EURO Zone, and the Arab OPEC’s) are sitting on at least a Trillion of “Dollar denominated assets” – US Treasuries, stocks, bonds, mortgage backed securities, etc. Every 10% drop in the relative valuation of each Trillion equates to a loss of “value” of 100 Billion for each of them. Such losses clearly do not make happy campers. Please read on.


Uncle $ugar’s National Debt stood Friday at $ 8.633 Trillion – at least $ 2.2 Trillion of which was held by foreign entities. On top of that, the broader M-2 Money supply stood at $ 6.399 Trillion. On top of them, our Current (Trade) Deficit has been running at $ 2 Billion a day for some time now. It is no wonder the world is sitting on Trillions of Dollars because US/us are functioning on both borrowed money and borrowed time. This game continues only as long as our foreign benefactors are willing to up the ante - or at least continue holding their existing Dollar denominated “investments.” Rumblings and grumblings worldwide suggest that something is about to change/happen in that regard.


Real money backed by assets has morphed into unreal money backed by only liabilities. Look at any printed US currency in circulation and you see the words “Federal Reserve Note” printed across the top. This means that there is no intrinsic difference between $ 1, a $ 5, a $ 10, a $20, a $ 50, or a $100 bill. Each would generate the same amount of heat if ignited. The difference in value exists because our government says it does. The backing for the Dollar is heralded as the “full faith and credit of the United States of America.” While the phrase always gives me a surge of patriotic gooseflesh, I know as a CPA and forensic accountant it reduces to the fact that Dollars have perceived value only because the Federal Government has the ongoing power to tax! In the final analysis, it is only the future cash flow from US/ us which can pay down the debt or truly pay the interest on it - not just capitalizing it via still more debt.


At the macro or national level, we have been living well beyond our means because of the largesse of foreigners and foreign central bankers who have been willing to accumulate and hold Dollars. The fact that the US Buck was the “official” currency of OPEC gave US/us a clear advantage in our status as the World’s Reserve Currency. Until the 1980’s, the US was THE manufacturing engine that produced the goods and services the world wanted. We had huge trade surpluses, we were a “net creditor” nation, and we were a “net interest” receiver. How things changed in the last twenty five years! After that status changed, the world was willing to advance US/us credit because of the stability of the Dollar, our reputation, and our history. It is now the stability of the Dollar, our reputation, and our recent history which are causing the world to question the wisdom of continuing that policy. It gets worse…


At the micro or household level we have been living well beyond our means because of the largesse of mortgage bankers and credit card companies. I will stick my neck out and propose that a majority of US households have taken a page out of Uncle $ugar’s book and have been creating their own liability or debt-based money. Every new home equity loan and every newly accessed credit card has “created” money for the households (which they have spent) in a manner no different from the money “created” by Uncle $ugar’s Treasury and Central Bank. What is the sum total of this quantified? How will US citizenry bail out Uncle when a majority of them is as bad as or worse off than he is?
Debt based money is a relative newcomer in the broader scheme this planet’s historical and incestuous love affair with its “moneys.” Throughout most history, real money at least had the intrinsic value of the guaranteed convertibility (or melt down value) of the metal behind it – be that platinum, gold, silver, copper, bronze, tin or even zinc! How did we ordinary folk become bamboozled by the central bankers of the world into believing/accepting that money backed by a liability (debt) was as good as money backed by an asset (substance with intrinsic value)? And… what will be the final (or resolved) outcome? I’m Fred Cederholm and I’ve been thinking. You should be thinking, too.

Copyright 2006 Questions, Inc. All rights reserved.

To “audit” this column and to learn more about the subjects discussed, please check out:

The Whole World is Watching http://www.dollarcollapse.com/iNP/view.asp?ID=43

Currency Market Overview: Key Foreign Currency Exchange Rate.
http://www.marketwatch.com/tools/stockresearch/globalmarkets/default.asp?siteid=mktw

M2 Money Supply http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h6/current/

Debt to the Penny and who holds it http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/opd/opdpdodt.htm

Major Foreign Holders of Treasury Securities http://www.treas.gov/tic/mfh.txt

Definition of “Monetization” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monetization

The Falling Dollar http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_RPVPTSJ
US setbacks see dollar plunge to near 15-year low http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2006/11/29/cndollar29.xml
Dollar at 14-year low vs. the pound, 20-month low vs. euro
http://www.usatoday.com/money/world/2006-11-30-dollar-daily_x.htm
U.S. Dollar Falls Sharply Against Foreign Currencies http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/11/25/113032.shtml?s=al&promo_code=29AB-1
Dollar slides further on manufacturing data http://www.ft.com/cms/s/6787cede-8128-11db-864e-0000779e2340,_i_rssPage=ff3cbaf6-3024-11da-ba9f-00000e2511c8.html
The Return of M3 http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2006/11/the_return_of_m.html
China' Diversifying to Lesson the $ Reserve Currency Role http://www.financialsense.com/editorials/phillips/2006/1120.html

Plunging dollar will set world markets reeling
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,1962449,00.html
Dollar Hits New Lows! Gold, China Surge! http://www.financialsense.com/editorials/weiss/2006/1128.html
Bretton Woods http://www.financialsense.com/editorials/daily/2006/1201.html

Clueless Pfizer Executives By Peter Rost, M.D

On Thursday, November 30, Pfizer’s executives conducted a well rehearsed dog-and-pony show over at Pfizer’s research facilities in Groton, CT. All interest was focused on torcetrapib; the most important new drug in Pfizer's pipeline, which boosts good cholesterol.

According to Forbes, Pfizer Chief Executive Jeffrey Kindler told about 250 analysts and investors attending the meeting that torcetrapib was "one of the most important developments in our generation.

"Pfizer research president John LaMattina said, "We believe this is the most important new development in cardiovascular medicine in years," according to the Wall Street Journal.

On Saturday, December 2—two days later—Pfizer said in a statement that it is terminating all clinical tests of torcetrapib and its plans to bring the drug to market. A board of independent experts had reviewed the latest data from a 15,000-patient test on torcetrapib and found that patients on the drug were dying like flies; almost twice as many dead as on the comparator. The company also said it is asking doctors participating in studies of torcetrapib to tell patients to stop taking the drug immediately.

Associated Press concluded, “The news is devastating to Pfizer, which had been counting on the drug to revitalize stagnant sales that have been hurt by numerous patent expirations on key products. It has said it was spending around $800 million to develop torcetrapib.”Clearly this makes Pfizer‘s CEO Mr. Kindler and Pfizer’s research chief Dr. LaMattina officially the most clueless executives in the drug business.


Peter Rost, M.D., is a former Vice President of Pfizer. He became well known in 2004 when he emerged as the first drug company executive to speak out in favor of reimportation of drugs. He is the author of “The Whistleblower, Confessions of a Healthcare Hitman,” http://the-whistleblower-by-peter-rost.blogspot.com/. He also writes the daily "Dr. Peter Rost blog," http://peterrost.blogspot.com/