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OCTOBER SURPRISES -Oct 1

OCTOBER SURPRISES

Oct 1, 2004


MARKET NEWS DIGEST
-> STOCKS: New quarter, new legs -CNNfn
-> RIDGE: "Security & Economics Inseparable"
-> Gold hits 5-1/2-month high as euro rallies
-> Fannie Mae to Correct Accounting/Boost Capital
-> Britain offers new debt relief challenge -NYT
-> FBI Securing The Elections -TIME
COMMENTARY
-> 2004 PRESIDENTIAL NON-DEBATES -CRS
-> Party Crashers: Why Independents Run? -PBS
-> GOLD'S BIG PICTURE: Impressive! -The Aden Sisters
-> ROME WASN'T BURNT IN A DAY -Joe Scarborough, MSNBC
-> NGC Certifies Finest Set of Gold Commems
-> THE NEW GLOBAL CURRENCY: GOLD -Richard Russell, DTL
-> PHOENIX TALK RADIO YIELDS TO THE LEFT -AR
FOUNDER'S QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"But if we are to be told by a foreign Power...what we shall do, and what we shall not do, we have Independence yet to seek, and have contended hitherto for very little."
-George Washington


MARKET NEWS DIGEST


RIDGE APPLAUDS PHX PREPAREDNESS PARTNERSHIP
“Homeland Security and Economics are Inseparable”
By David Bradshaw, Idea Factory News
Sep 28, 2004

(PHOENIX, AZ) -- Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge today told a gathering of over 1,000 Phoenix area business and preparedness leaders from both the public and private sector that the Federal government alone cannot provide “seamless” security for America without shared responsibility and leadership from both business and citizens.

Sec. Ridge arrived in Phoenix directly from New Mexico where the BBC reports “The Department of Homeland Security is buying an entire town for use in its anti-terror training. Playas, New Mexico, will be bought for $5m from the Phelps Dodge mining company. Emergency workers will use the site to simulate suicide bombings, anthrax attacks and water-supply poisonings.” FULL STORY

In an effort to educate private business owners about the role they play in making America safe, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in conjunction with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the public service advertising group the Ad Council, launched its "Ready for Business" campaign.

Sec. Ridge was the keynote speaker at the event sponsored by The Phoenix Forum to applaud and challenge the existing public-private sector partnerships which have made Phoenix a “model” for the rest of the country.

"Homeland security is about the integration of the entire country around the shared goal of protecting our nation. The private sector is critical to national security," Ridge said.

The campaign seeks to engage individuals and small business to prepare for attacks and disasters, especially during September, National Preparedness Month.

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon told the audience that the goal of the newly announced “Citizens Corps” is to engage the public in closing the gap between national and local efforts to thwart terrorism at home, at work and with our neighbors by “reducing risks while preserving constitutional freedoms.”

Sec. Ridge said the recent national response to the multiple hurricane crises illustrates that “crisis brings out character,” and “you can never be too prepared.” Ridge gave an example of a business who had taken simple hurricane preparedness steps ahead of time and was back open for business the day after the crisis.

Sec. Ridge also applauded the over 80 national organizations which have partnered together to make “National Preparedness Month” a success, with over one billion visits to Ready.org.

On the topic of border and port security, a hotly debated subject in Arizona, he said that fingerprint and eye scans are now being implemented and will be expanded in the months to come. He said containers and cargo bound for U.S. ports are now being inspected for the first time in history.

Mixing in a bit of humor with his message of preparedness, Sec Ridge told the audience that when entering the U.S. “whether you are a celebrity or just a private citizen, if you’re your name is on our ‘list’ you will not be able to enter (eluding to recent Cat Stevens border rejection).

Sec. Ridge concluded his speech with a short question and answer period from the audience. In short, being ready for emergencies is "not an expense, it's an investment ... Homeland security and economic security are inseparable,” Ridge said.

To prepare for the uncontrollable, people should "get a kit, make a plan and be informed." He encouraged small businesses as well as families interested in following his advice to visit the campaign's Web site which offers tools and plans in order to help people avoid the potential consequences of not being prepared.

The Forum continued after Sec. Ridge left with a panel discussion “Doing Business with DHS” and “Together We Prepare” workshop presented by Jan Lane of The American Red Cross.

A review copy of the “Citizen’s Guide to Counter Terrorism” DVD was given to Sec. Ridge as an example of how the private sector can help support personal preparedness via free educational resources. The DVD covers all types of terrorism including financial terrorism. Press Release, 9-9-04

Special thanks to Swiss America Trading Corp., based in Phoenix, AZ for helping to distribute over 10,000 DVD’s to free to the public during August and September 2004. Free Offer!

Related Story:
Collaboration needed to keep country safe, Ridge says -AP
Full Remarks by Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge at the Public/Private Sector Program on Emergency Preparedness - 9-28-04


STOCKS: New quarter, new legs -CNNfn
Rally picks up steam as tech stocks lead the way; Dow up 1 percent, Nasdaq gains 2 percent.
October 1, 2004

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The first-day-of-the-fourth-quarter stock rally accelerated at midday Friday as investors liked what they saw in the PeopleSoft-Oracle tussle and a brokerage raised its rating on the semiconductor sector.

The Dow Jones industrial average up 107.59 to 10,187.86, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index both rose at least 1 percent.

The Nasdaq composite jumped 2 percent just before noon ET.

PeopleSoft soared about 9 percent and was the most active issue on Nasdaq after canning its CEO amid growing concern about his leadership, replacing him with the company's founder and chairman. The business software maker is fighting a hostile, $7.7 billion takeover bid from rival Oracle.

Chip gear makers bounced, in part on a bullish analyst note. J.P. Morgan upgraded Applied Materials and Novellus Systems to "overweight" from "neutral." Teradyne was upgraded to "neutral" from "underweight."

That gave a boost to a number of chip stocks. The broader tech sector gained, too, on some relief buying.

"The PeopleSoft news could make it more likely that the Oracle deal will go through," said Joseph Battipaglia, chief stock strategist at Ryan, Beck & Co. "And after all the recent downgrades, people are probably relieved to see a brokerage lifting its view on the chip sector."

The positive tech sentiment was a welcome start to the fourth quarter. The third quarter was tough, with all three major indexes falling, as rising oil prices and a slowdown in the economy spooked most investors.

Crude futures closed above the key $50 level for the first time ever Friday, marking a gain of almost 3 percent for the week as traders continue to eye changes to global production and supplies.

http://www.cnnfn.com

[Ed. Note: Will stocks cheer a Kerry win in the debates and/or the election? The Dow keeps hitting a 10k glass ceiling - WHY? Where are UNDECIDED INVESTORS turning? Bonds, Real Estate, cash or tangibles like gold? For the answers to these questions and more, tune in today live to Craig Smith interviews posted Here.]


Gold hits 5-1/2-month high as euro rallies
Thu Sep 30, 2004

NEW YORK, Sept 30 (Reuters) - A strong euro and near-record oil prices on Thursday lifted gold to its highest price since mid-April, when it was retreating from 15-year highs, and investors showed every sign of wanting more precious metals.

"We're seeing the beginning of metals pushing on their own fundamentals," said Paul McLeod, a precious metals vice president at Commerzbank Securities. "It's not hurting that it's quarter-end and there might be some additional window dressing. But it feels like it's more than that."

At 10:31 a.m. EDT, December gold was up $3.80 at $418.50 on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division. It rose from $413.30 to $417.90, breaking above its Aug. 20 $416.80 peak in electronic trading, before open-outcry business began. It traded at these levels on April 23.

Dealers have their eyes set on the high for the December contract at $436.50. That was reached April 1, after a life-time high was set in the euro at $1.2927 on Feb. 18, during a period of extremely close correlation between the currency and the yellow metal.

They still trade together and the euro rose above $1.24 for the first since July 20. But oil prices have taken over in recent weeks as the main influence on gold, as investors seek an asset that can hold its value against inflation.

NYMEX crude oil futures cleared $50 a barrel for the first time this week, and was steady on Thursday morning at $49.52 a barrel.

"Oil is settled and not doing anything much," said a floor broker. "People are looking at it, but it's not the decisive factor here this morning.

"In the ACCESS market, you rallied, made new highs and took out all sorts of stops just before the opening, over $416.80," he added. "You had some good fund buying, and on the back-off it looks like the traders are trying to buy it down here."

Spot gold was at $415.15/90, up from $412.65/3.40 late Wednesday. London's morning fix was $412.35 an ounce.

Dealers said physical demand for gold was strong from India, which is entering the festival season, and from the Middle East, where high oil prices have created extra wealth that is finding its way into gold bar investments.

"I think they are comfortable with the psychological aspect of gold being over $400. I don't think they are going to pull back just because its broken above $410," McLeod of Commerzbank said.

December silver was up 10.5 cents at $6.80 an ounce, trading from $6.665 to $6.835, its best level since Sept. 2.

Futures this week broke above an important technical down-trend line, drawn off the bull-market high at $8.48 on April 2, when silver hit its highest level since 1987.

Spot silver was at $6.76/79, up from the close at $6.65/68. Thursday's fix was $6.665.

http://www.reuters.com

Related Story:
Goldman sees metals boom going on -CBSMW


Fannie Mae to Correct Accounting/Boost Capital

Sept. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Fannie Mae, the biggest U.S. mortgage buyer, will set aside more capital, reducing its earnings, after its federal regulator found accounting errors.

Fannie Mae will ``recalculate''' how it defers expenses and accounts for hedging transactions designed to protect its $895 billion mortgage portfolio from swings in interest rates, the regulator said on its Web site. Fannie Mae will do an independent review of its organizational structure, ``focusing on but not limited to'' Chief Financial Officer J. Timothy Howard.

The agreement follows the biggest weekly drop in the shares of the Washington-based, government-chartered company since 1984. Some investors said it was in the best interests of Fannie Mae, which is fighting calls for stricter oversight, to show that it takes regulator's criticisms seriously. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight released a report on Fannie Mae's accounting Sept. 22 that it said detailed errors.

``This looks like a pretty complete cave in'' by Fannie Mae, said Thomas Dehudy, a fund manager at MTB Investment Advisors in Baltimore, which has $14 billion under management, including Fannie Mae shares. ``This will be seen as a positive by investors and a sign Fannie Mae wants to put this behind it quickly.''

Shares of the company rose 14 cents to $65.66 at 12:48 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, after initially rising as high as $67.56. They fell 15 percent last week.

Directors of Fannie Mae and Ofheo agreed to take ``immediate action to address the improper accounting and inadequate controls detailed'' by the regulator last week, according to statements from the company and Ofheo.

http://www.bloomberg.com

RELATED:
9-27-04 "Reading Fannie Mae's Scary Cookbook" -GRETCHEN MORGENSON, NYT


Britain offers new debt relief challenge -NYT
SIGNIFICANT PROPOSAL: London is willing to set aside the equivalent of US$180 million a year to pay off 10 percent of the money owed by 32 countries to lenders
NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE , LONDON
Monday, Sep 27, 2004, Page 12

Britain is planning a new effort to help poor countries reduce their huge debts by offering to pay off 10 percent of the total owed to international agencies and challenging other nations to follow suit, said Chancellor of the Exchequer Gor-don Brown.

In an address scheduled for yesterday to an advocacy group called the Trade Justice Movement, Brown planned to repeat a proposal that the IMF should revalue its vast gold reserves, currently priced at a tenth of their market value, and use the proceeds to cancel some Third World debt, according to the a text of his remarks published on Saturday in The Guardian and later confirmed by the Treasury.

The issue is rising once more on the international agenda because a previous mechanism for debt relief, set up in 1996 by the World Bank and the IMF, is to be renewed in December for two years. James Wolfensohn, the president of the World Bank, said on Friday in Washington that the White House had devised a plan to cancel some Third World debt, Reuters reported. Senator John Kerry has also pro-mised to lead efforts to cancel the debts of impoverished countries if he is elected in November.

Brown's proposal is significant because it comes just days before the annual meetings of the World Bank and the IMF in Washington. The finance ministers of the G7 major industrial nations, including Brown, are also to meet just before those gatherings.

"What we hope is that this will break the logjam that has been there for some time," said Brendan Cox, a spokesman for Oxfam, a nonprofit group that has urged accelerated moves to cancel Third World debt.

"If others follow suit it will be a massive turning point in efforts to end the burden of international debt," Cox said.

Brown was scheduled to tell the meeting of anti-debt campaigners yesterday that Britain will set aside the equivalent of US$180 million a year to pay off 10 percent of the money owed by 32 countries to international lenders, notably the World Bank and the African Development Bank.

"Because the poor cannot wait, we intend to lead by example by paying our share of their payments to the World Bank and the African Development Bank," Brown was planning to say. "We do this alone today, but we urge you to use your moral authority to urge other countries to follow suit so that poor countries can look forward to a future free from the shackles of debt."

Brown will also argue that the debt owed to the IMF could be cut by a revaluation of the fund's gold stocks, currently worth US$8.5 billion when valued at US$40 per ounce. The market price for gold is now more than US$400 an ounce.

"Because we cannot bury the hopes of half of humanity in the lifeless vaults of gold, the cancellation of debt owed to the IMF should be paid for by the better use of IMF gold," Brown planned to say.

Some estimates put the total debt owed by the poorest countries at around US$200 billion.

http://www.taipeitimes.com


FBI Securing The Elections -TIME
A tough new anti-terror strategy in the runup to November
By ELAINE SHANNON, TIME
Sun, Sep. 26, 2004

With the election five weeks away, U.S. counterterrorism officials are obsessed with reports from multiple sources that terrorists hope to disrupt the campaign. "Nobody can give you date, time or place, but everyone is absolutely convinced we're going to get hit," says a top counterterrorism hand. FULL STORY

SPECIAL OFFER: "A CITIZEN'S GUIDE TO COUNTER-TERRORISM" -- CD/DVD NOW AVAILABLE! -- Swiss America today released an audio CD version of thier new DVD, "A Citizen's Guide To Counter-Terrorism." Below are mp3 audio links that may be listened to online or are available free of charge on both DVD or CD by calling (800) 289-2646. Full Story


COMMENTARY


2004 PRESIDENTIAL NON-DEBATES - Craig R. Smith
Sep 27, 2004

"POLITICAL DEBATE: a public discussion of ideas regarding governmental affairs." -WEBSTERS

The coming presidential debates have been reduced to a series of glorified bipartisan news conferences, in which the Republican and Democratic candidates merely recite prepackaged soundbites to fit 90-second response slots.

Presidential debates were nobly run by the nonpartisan LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS until 1988, when the national Republican and Democratic parties seized control of the debates by establishing the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD). Co chaired by Frank Fahrenkopf and Paul Kirk - former heads of the Republican and Democratic parties, respectively - the CPD secretly submits to the demands of the Republican and Democratic candidates.

The first 2004 presidential "debate" is set for Thurs. Sept. 30th at University of Miami dealing with foreign policy and homeland security. The second forum, on Oct. 8, will feature a supposed "TOWN HALL FORMAT" at Washington University in St. Louis, where "undecided voters will question the candidates on any issue." Should we believe those voters and their questions will be "walk-ins" off the street, unscreened? I think not. The third "debate", on Oct. 13, will be on the subject of the domestic policy, is scheduled for Arizona State University.

Documents obtained from a whistleblower and published in a new book by George Farah, "NO DEBATE: HOW THE REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRATIC PARTIES SECRETLY CONTROL THE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES," show that negotiators for the major party nominees jointly draft debate contracts behind closed doors.

These contracts dictate precisely how the debates will be run - from decreeing who can participate, to selecting who will ask the questions, to ordaining the temperature in the auditoriums. The CPD merely implements and conceals the contracts, shielding the major party candidates from public criticism.

THIRD PARTY CANDIDATES ARE NOT ALLOWED INTO THESE DEBATES. WHY?

The consequences of deceptive major-party control are predictable and distressing. Candidates that voters want to see are often excluded from the general election presidential debates, such as Ross Perot, Ralph Nader, and Pat Buchanan.

Issues the American people want to hear about - such as free trade, government waste, child poverty, and immigration - are often ignored.

Walter Cronkite, who served as a panelist for a 1960 presidential debate, called the CPD-sponsored debates an "unconscionable fraud" and accused the major party candidates of "sabotaging the electoral process." Accordingly, debate viewership has plummeted; 25 million fewer people watched the 2000 presidential debates than watched the 1992 presidential debates.

CONCLUSION - OPEN DEBATES

How long will Americans allow political symbolism to rule over substance? How long will we pretend that the real issues are being addressed in such phony, made-for-media Presidential debates?

I agree with OpenDebates.org, a new nonprofit organization, founded by George Farah, that is engaged in a national campaign to reform the whole presidential debate process. Open Debates has helped form a genuinely nonpartisan Citizens' Debate Commission to sponsor future presidential debates that address pressing national issues, feature innovative formats, and include all of the candidates that Americans want to see.

In the meantime, here are ten questions that you won't hear at the 2004 Presidential Debates... FULL STORY

Related Story: DEBATES ROUND 1: Style vs. Substance -J.B. Williams 9-30-04

Before even I become confused by the pundit’s efforts to tell me what I saw and heard last night, I’m writing round one of the 2004 Presidential debates into my own history book. The answer to who won the first round will depend on who you ask. If you’re asking me, both candidates lost…

John Kerry looked good, was articulate, on message, calm, forceful, yet uncharacteristically respectful. Bush looked tired, verbally stumbling at times, a bit too on message, forceful as expected, but almost agitated, defensive, even seemingly disgusted at points. If style were the issue, Kerry was the clear victor.

After a lifetime spent pontificating, from his Yale debating days, through his 20 years of filibustering on the senate floor, I expected Kerry to win on style and I was not disappointed.

But being President is about something more important than style, it’s about substance and conviction. In this arena, Kerry didn’t fair so well…

Fact is, he confirmed our worst fears, and lived up to his voting record in the senate.

In line with his 1971 statement “I think our military should only be deployed at the direction of the UN”, he actually said a “global standard” (of approval) must be met before America should act unilaterally to defend itself.

He re-affirmed that 12 years of cat and mouse and 17 broken UN resolutions constitutes a “rush to war” in his mind.

Confronted on the issue of calling Bush a “liar” for “misleading” us into war, he was forced to admit that yes indeed, he had looked at the same intelligence reports as Bush and come to the same conclusions. Bush in fact did not lie, anymore than Kerry did when both made a strong case for removing Hussein from power.

Then he tried again to sell the idea that his vote authorizing war was not actually a vote to authorize war. He said that Iraq was the wrong war at the wrong time. But then he made sure to firmly point out that yes, Hussein was a threat, and yes he did need to be removed from power, attempting to assert that Bush simply removed him from power the wrong way, without French approval.

He said General Tommy Franks was his source that Bush diverted attention and resources from the real war on terror in Afghanistan to the wrong war in Iraq. But General Tommy Franks spoke right afterwards and said Kerry statement was false. That in fact, both financial and personnel resources were increased in Afghanistan during the period in question, and ever since, not decreased in order to address Iraq, as Kerry suggests.

Worst of all, Kerry suggested that nuclear proliferation was the number one threat to American security, (ignoring chemical and biological weapons easier for terrorists to get and use). Then he went on to state that one of his first objectives as President would be to put an immediate stop to US development and production of bunker busting nukes.

In Kerry’s half-baked way of thinking, we have no right to ask other nations to disarm without first disarming ourselves, and for a change, he seemed certain about this.

Now I realize that he said earlier in the evening that he wanted to emulate Ronald Reagan. But clearly, he wasn’t paying attention when Reagan won the cold war. While Kerry led his fellow Democrats in calling Reagan a cowboy, demanding he stop the arms race, Reagan was busy not listening and building nukes, and Reagan like Bush, was right.

All in all, on substance, Kerry only proved what most of us already knew, he has no substance, only style. That and 50 cents will buy you a cup of coffee. It sure won’t secure a nation.

Bush had an exceptionally bad performance, but then, we all know he isn’t a “performer”.

In the end, I will write this one in to my book as not the stereotypical “David vs. Goliath” story, but rather a clash of “Goliath vs. Goliath”. John Kerry being a Goliath of style, and Bush a Goliath of substance and conviction. Nothing came across clearer than this.

Jim Lehrer’s questions could only be described as an am-Bush. Lehrer had a gentile tone. However he made certain to ask Bush about Kerry’s character and military service, knowing full well how Bush would respond. But he never asked Kerry to back up his charges that Bush was AWOL, or a draft dodger for joining the Guard.

He even framed a few Kerry question as “when you are President”, a subtle but effect Freudian tip of his hand.

In the end, the liberal mainstream press was the big winner. They got what they needed to claim a Kerry victory, a great performance by their guy.

Now I hold Bush responsible. Kerry’s position was to attack, he is after all the challenger. Bush is famous for understanding that the best defense is a good offense, yet he seemed to forget that during this exchange.

Kerry lost on substance, Bush on style. The big loser was the American people, who will no doubt be enamored by the skillful performance given by John Kerry, so much so that they miss the substance of his statements.

Kerry showed the mark of a great con, the ability to make horrific statements in such a manner as to make them sound desirable.

My final footnote will read, “I could have done a better job of out-debating Kerry myself, but that wouldn’t make me a better President than George W. Bush”.

The mainstream press will focus all their attention on style. But the American people better be paying attention, looking past style to substance. Because what Kerry said, most American’s won’t buy.

JBWIlliams.com

[Ed. NOTE: Craig Smith was a guest on WND RadioActive with Joseph Farah discussing the latest economic new and his latest Commentary posted Saturday, Sep 25th at WND: TERRORISM SOLUTION: 1-WAY TICKET TO PARADISE


Party Crashers: What Makes Independent Candidates Run?
by Darren Garnick
September 29, 2004

One of the quirkiest souvenirs from the 1980 presidential race was a bronze coin with the bust of Ronald Reagan on one side and President Jimmy Carter on the reverse. Heads or tails, undecided voters could let go of their anguish and yield to the laws of probability. But Americans in 1980 actually had at least three choices for president, and coins only have two sides. The fine print acknowledged this discrepancy: "If coin lands on edge, vote Anderson."

John B. Anderson, a former Republican congressman from Illinois, attracted nearly 7 percent of the vote that year-a respectable showing for an independent candidate, but a mere historical footnote given the Reagan landslide. In truth, his odds of winning the White House were worse than the coin standing freely on its edge. We can all imagine a scenario in which a penny digs into a clump of freshly dug soil or rests gingerly up against a wall.

The 50 percent of Americans who bother to show up to the polls don't pick their president with a coin toss. But let's take a step back for a moment. How do the candidates for president get chosen in the first place? If a candidate does not win the Democratic or Republican nomination, what options are available to still make his case to the electorate?

Earning the right to be on the ballot can be a Herculean task: there are 50 sets of rules for the 50 states, ranging from gathering only 25 signatures in Tennessee to 150,000 in California. But even when Americans have the choice to vote for an independent candidate, they decline to do so in overwhelming numbers. Part of the reason is that voters don't want to "risk" voting for someone they believe cannot win; another simple explanation is that most third-party candidates have almost zero name recognition.

But a third-party victory is not impossible. Before mysteriously dropping out of the race temporarily in 1992, Ross Perot had led Bill Clinton and George Bush in the polls. Perot's still impressive 19 percent of the vote that year drew from both disenchanted Democrats and Republicans searching for the elusive political center.

For the upcoming PBS special, "Crashing the Parties 2004," I spent the past year on the campaign trail with third-party and independent presidential candidates struggling to be heard by voters-many of whom are unaware that these candidates even exist. Third-party hopefuls have no money, no name recognition (with the exception of Ralph Nader) and virtually no organization. Most of these underdogs know from the moment they launch their campaigns that their ultimate destiny is failure.

It was exhausting to bounce across the country with these candidates and watch them speak to small groups of supporters-and, more often than not, empty rooms when they dared venture outside their ideological comfort zone. So why do they do it? What motivates someone to put his life on hold for 18 months of slammed doors and merciless ridicule mixed with only brief moments of political encouragement?

They do it because they have guts, passion and an insatiable desire to make America a better place. Regardless of how you feel about their unorthodox platforms-most third parties represent a rigid ideological niche that detests compromise-these candidates are an insurance policy against complacency in the two mainstream parties. They raise ideas and issues that otherwise would never blip the radar screens of Democrats or Republicans.

FULL STORY
Darren Garnick is the producer of "Crashing the Parties 2004," a PBS election special about third-party candidates which debuts on September 29th. For more information on the film, visit the Award Productions Web site.


GOLD'S BIG PICTURE: Impressive! -The Aden Sisters
Sep 22, 2004

Gold has been quiet lately, but not to worry. The Summer consolidation time looks like it's coming to an end. Gold shares broke out today on the upside. They're likely leading gold as they often do and once gold gets going, it'll be important to see if it reaches a new bull market high.

If it does, gold will be showing great strength as it will be entering a stronger phase in the ongoing bull market. And when you stand back and look at gold's big picture, you can see a potentially explosive rise coming in the years ahead (see Chart 1).

Note the massive uptrending channel gold has formed since 1967. The 1974 and 1987 peaks mark the top of the channel while the 1969 and 2001 lows establish the bottom. The mid-line connects the 1976 and 1993 lows.

When gold hit its 1980 peak it overshot the top of the upchannel. Who would've thought in those days that gold wouldn't reach a bottom for another 21 years in 2001 as it moved from the top of the channel to the bottom.

FULL STORY


Rome Wasn't Burnt in a Day -Joe Scarborough, MSNBC
The Real Deal on How Politicians, Bureaucrats, and Other Washington Barbarians are Bankrupting America

Here's the Real Deal! The same Washington politicians who took control of Congress by promising to balance the federal budget are now bankrupting America by launching the biggest spending spree in the history of the United States.

With big-spending Democrats at their side, President George Bush and his "conservative" Republican Congress have controlled the government's checkbook while the national debt has skyrocketed past seven trillion dollars. That's right, $7,000,000,000,000. How has the party of Reagan become the party of big- government spending?

Now former Republican congressman Joe Scarborough delivers a scathing indictment of Republicans and Democrats alike in the same informed, hard-hitting, and entertaining style fans of Scarborough Country have come to admire. Having had a ringside seat during his four terms in the House of Representatives, Scarborough gives the inside scoop on how Washington really works and on the spending orgy the Republicans have fueled the last ten years.

The story begins with Newt Gingrich's Contract with America and the Republicans promising to balance the budget and reform Washington. It culminates with a Republican president continually rubber-stamping pork-filled appropriations bills that squander taxpayer dollars. That is, unless you think it's necessary to spend millions of dollars on research into "alternative salmon products" in Alaska, or the study of crickets in Utah, or of sea turtles in Hawaii. Sadly, these instances merely hint at the gross spending by Congress.

FULL STORY - ORDER BOOK

VIDEO: SCARBOROUGH COUNTRY- MSNBC - SEPT. 9, 2004 - GREAT SHOW!
* AMERICA GOING BANKRUPT - Intro: Rome Wasn't Burnt in a Day (4:17 TRT)
* RUNNING ON EMPTY - Peter Peterson Interview (10:39 TRT)
* WHERE THE RIGHT WENT WRONG - Pat Buchanan Interview (9:57 TRT)


NGC Certifies Finest Set of Gold Commems
Sep 20, 2004

A complete set of United States gold commemorative coins has been graded and encapsulated by NGC. It includes several finest certified pieces.

Comprising fourteen coins in all, this set ranges in date from the first issues of 1903 through the final gold commemorative of the classic period in 1926. Each carries the pedigree of Swiss America Trading Corporation and Dr. William Merritt.

This is by far the finest set of gold commemoratives in NGC’s Certified Collectibles Registry (www.collectors-society.com). Swiss America worked with Dr. Merritt for over five years to assemble this amazing collection.

Starting with the Louisiana Purchase Exposition gold dollar of 1903, the type featuring a bust of Thomas Jefferson includes both mint state and proof examples. The former is a superb gem grading MS-67, the highest grade assigned by NGC. It is accompanied by a fabulous proof certified as PF-66 Ultra Cameo. Rounding out this first issue is the type having a bust of William McKinley. This lovely coin displays charming orange toning on both sides and grades a magnificent MS-67.

Of particular interest in this, the bicentennial year of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, are the two coins issued for the exposition held in Portland, Oregon for the centennial of that historic event. Dated 1904 and 1905 respectively, each piece certified by NGC is the finest of its type graded. The 1904 edition is a phenomenal MS-68 and also bears the NGC star designation for superior eye appeal. The 1905 coin of identical design is a remarkable MS-67 and is attractively toned.

The Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915 resulted in no less than four gold commemorative coins, and each is represented in this set by extremely desirable examples. Charles Keck’s gold dollar and Charles Barber’s quarter eagle are each tied for the finest certified by NGC. The awesome fifty-dollar pieces by Robert Aitken, coined in both round and octagonal editions, are both gems graded MS-65 by NGC.

FULL STORY

READ SWISS AMERICA GOLD COMMEMORATION RESEARCH REPORT


THE NEW GLOBAL CURRENCY: GOLD -Richard Russell, DTL
Jan 15, 2004

Now here's an irony. Americans have grown up thinking in terms of dollars. They express their wealth in dollars. Everything we buy today is denominated in dollars. We're a "dollar nation," and even when the dollar loses 40 percent of its value against the peak euro price, we hardly notice it.

But gold is the new global world, and there's only one global currency. That currency is gold. Gold is the "center" around which all paper currencies (admittedly or not) revolve.

But here's the irony. Americans feel confident in holding dollars, but they view gold as a speculative and highly volatile commodity. In other words, they trust paper dollars -- but they distrust gold. That's tantamount to saying, "I feel safe when I'm swimming far out in the ocean, but I always feel shaky when I'm standing on dry land."

In other words, after twenty years of a gold bear market and after 20 years of government anti-gold propaganda, Americans trust irredeemable printed paper, while the distrust real money. Incredible but true. As Hitler's Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebels, put it -- make the lie big enough, and tell it often enough, and people will believe it.

Every once in a while, people seem to stop thinking. This is one of those times.

READ: WHY A GOLD STANDARD NOW? -Craig R. Smith


Phoenix talk radio yields to the left
Randy Cordova, The Arizona Republic
Sept. 23, 2004

A Valley radio station is betting that some listeners are ready to move a little left of center, as liberal talk network Air America Radio arrives today.

"I know Arizona has changed since 1964," says humorist and political commentator Al Franken, whose show is one of the network's flagships. "Phoenix has a lot of conservatives, but we find a lot of liberals in every place we air and that conservatives also tune us in."

Air America programming began airing at midnight on KXXT-AM (1010). The shows include such left-leaning fare as The Majority Report, hosted by actress Janeane Garofalo and Sam Seder, and The Randi Rhodes Show, featuring the outspoken radio vet.

In a bit of irony, the new format bumps conservative talkers off KXXT, including the controversial Michael Savage.

The reason for the move had nothing to do with political ideology, says station general manager Bob Christy.

"This market is loaded with conservative talkers. How many conservative talkers can one market support? I took myself out of the talk arena and thought about it like this: If this were music and there were five country stations, would I continue to be a country station?"

While liberal talkers traditionally haven't thrived on the air, Air America has been able to make some inroads during its short life.

http://www.azrepublic.com

[Ed. NOTE: Air America (read: Err America) is a bad joke, designed to be told over and over again until Nov. 2 ... then, I predict the network and programming will quietly disappear (like John Kerry) due to a lack of sponsorship and listenership. Thankfully, Michael Savage will be back on the air today on KFNX, 1100 AM (50k watts!) between 5pm and 8pm.


ABOUT THE EDITOR

David M. Bradshaw is Editor of Real Money Perspectives, publisher of Rediscovering Gold in the 21st Century: The Complete Guide to the Next Gold Rush (7/01) and has been an economic commentator since 1987, when he produced the World Economic Perspectives radio show. In 1997, he produced a one-hour TV documentary, "Preparing Wisely for the Next Millennium," which was distributed free of charge at Blockbuster Video nationally. In 1999, he produced a one-hour radio special, "The Big Picture: The Shape of Things to Come" discussing geopolitical, economic and spiritual trends in the 21st Century. MORE ... NOTE: Youngest daughter Braida Zoe (7 months) is learning the importance of having a crash helmet -- a valuable habit for us all to remember!


DISCLAIMER: All of the information in this story is believed to be true, however errors are possible.
Past performance is no guarantee of future performance. All investments have risk.

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