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Subject: 
An Important Speech and Newsbits
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.off-topic.debate
Date: 
Thu, 7 Aug 2003 21:47:28 GMT
Viewed: 
218 times
  
‘The President’s Ideologically Narrow Agenda has Seriously Divided America...’

http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0807-15.htm

edit: Why is the guy I didn’t vote for suddenly nailing it? He should have been this interesting during his campaign. Anyway, it’s a must read for an understanding of the U.S.’ current political crisis. One of the better parts that kinda says it all:

The 2001 winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics, George Akerlof, went even further last week in Germany when he told Der Spiegel, “This is the worst government the US has ever had in its more than 200 years of history...This is not normal government policy.” In describing the impact of the Bush policies on America’s future, Akerloff added, “What we have here is a form of looting.”

Immunity for Iraqi Oil Dealings Raises Alarm

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0807-03.htm

But lawyers for various advocacy organizations said the two-page executive order seemed to completely shield oil companies from liability - even if it could be proved that they had committed human rights violations, bribed officials or caused great environmental damage in the course of their Iraqi-related business.

“As written, the executive order appears to cancel the rule of law for the oil industry or anyone else who gets possession or control of Iraqi oil or anything of value related to Iraqi oil,” said Tom Devine, legal director for the Washington-based Government Accountability Project, a nonprofit group that defends whistle-blowers.

snip!

He cited in particular the part of the order that says “judicial processes” are “null and void.”

That language “seems to destroy the prospect of any enforcement of civil or criminal liability,” Raskin said. “People are saying of Iraq, ‘It’s a jungle out there,’ and this order kind of makes that the law.”

edit: I wanted to be sure that everyone understood that the invasion of Iraq was in no way related to a power-grab for oil. Uh-uh. No way! Not that...never.

Banks Used Investment Funds to Shelter Hundred of Millions From State Taxes

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0807-05.htm

NEW YORK - At least 10 large banks avoided state taxes on hundreds of millions of dollars by setting up investment funds that didn’t offer shares to the public, but instead paid tax-exempt dividends back to the banks, according to a newspaper report.

edit: file under “deal-breakers” or “how to make money in Shrub’s big business economy -- steal if from your legitimate corporate taxes!” I’d be surprised if anyone even got a slap on the wrist for this stuff, but woe to you petty thieves -- you will do hard time!

-- Hop-Frog



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