Wednesday, October 29, 2003

Neo Robber Barons In Focus QUOTE OF THE DAY "I think we Americans sometimes make mistakes...There seems to be an assumption that somehow we know what's best for everybody else and that we are going to use our economic clout to get everybody else to live the way we would like." - - Dick Cheney (March 1996) KNOW YOUR HISTORY - OCTOBER 1929 -- US: Pandemonium on Wall Street as stocks crash. American securities lose 26 billion dollars in value. 1979 -- US: "Up Against The Wall Street Journal" direct actions disrupt New York Stock Exchange & financial district on the 50th Anniversary of the stock market crash of 1929. Over 1,000 arrested. RHINO HERE: Unlike Dick Cheney, Ken Lay, & their friends in the neo-robber barons club (The NRB's), most Americans who had the wherewithal to have some savings in the stock market this year lost a lot of it, and in some cases, all of it. While thousands of families who were ripped off by Lay & his gang, are struggling financially into this winter, kenny boy is not only still a free man, he's made mega-fortunes this year alone. Meanwhile, the Vice President, clearly thinking differently than in 1996 (see Quote Of The Day), continues to orchestrate events in such a way as to benefit the bottom lines of Halliburton (from which dick continues to receive a cool million US bucks annually), & a gaggle of other war profiteering corporations. And then there's shrub, not the coldest beer in the fridge if ya know what I mean, who was recently compared by Senator Jo Biden, as as a horse, saddled up and ridden by Cheney who clearly holds the reins of foreign policy. Rhino says, let's keep our eyes on these guys.   Ken Lay Takes The 5th Notable neo-robber baron of Enron infamy, Kenny boy Lay is asserting his constitutional right against self-incrimination in a legal battle with the SEC who wants more documents than Lay is willing to hand over. His lawyers claim the items in dispute are 'personal, not corporate,' & that the SEC won't guarantee Lay immunity from prosecution. He's to appear Nov. 7 before U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth to answer the SEC's complaint about his withholding documents. The SEC said last month it was investigating whether Lay knew of, or was involved in, fraudulent activity at Enron. Rhino thinks Kenny Boy is up to his eyelashes in shrub gang fraudulent activities & is likely holding those docs to protect himself first & his cronies including shrub, dick & Arnold. Enron'S Lay asks court to deny SEC records request Reuters, 10/23/03 http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5EZfmsrqqtYUie%23%3A%40%24bfeiZ%21 N.Y.C. questions Halliburton's scruples The New York City Comptroller's office has been taking Halliburton, Dick Cheney's former employer, to task about their "corporate ties to states sponsoring terrorist activity," which could force the New York City's Police and Fire Departments to pull its $23 million investment in the company. Halliburton? Having its focus more on profits than on US security concerns? Could that be? Read on... Halliburton Won't Back Off Doing Biz In Iran, Despite NYC Pension Funds Concerns of Terrorism by Jason Leopold, CommonDreams.org , 10/28/03 Halliburton Corp., the oil field services company once headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, told the New York City Comptroller's office Monday that it won't scale back its business dealings in Iran, despite concerns from the City's Comptroller William Thompson MORE AT: http://www.commondreams.org/views03/1028-10.htm 7:57:03 AM    comment

RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE - Dick Cheney, Commander in Chief Dick Cheney, Commander in Chief By Jim Lobe, AlterNet, October 27, 2003 "Like with a horse, Powell is always able to lead Bush to the water. But just as he is about to put his head down, Cheney up in the saddle says, 'Un-uh,' and yanks up the reins before Bush can drink the water. That's my image of how it goes," said Sen. Joseph Biden, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, describing the power relationship between George Bush and Dick Cheney in a recent interview with the National Journal. The image of the president of the United States as a tame horse, saddled up and ridden by his own vice president, may seem overblown, but Biden is not alone in his assessment of the White House's internal dynamics. When it comes to foreign policy, Cheney is increasingly seen as holding the reins in the power circles within Washington. While the mainstream media mostly continue to cast Bush as the captain of his ship, hints that Cheney is the dominant figure shaping Washington's diplomatic policy have become too numerous to ignore. A recent Washington Post article assessing Condoleezza Rice's performance as national security adviser revealed a most stunning example of this lopsided state of affairs. According to the Post, Bush had ordered Cabinet officials not to give any preferential treatment to Ahmed Chalabi's Iraqi National Congress (INC) when U.S. forces moved into Iraq last spring. But soon after, in flagrant violation of his directive, the Pentagon flew Chalabi and 600 of his armed followers into southern Iraq in early April, "with the approval of the vice president."  It would not be the first or last time that Cheney simply ignored his commander-in-chief... MORE: http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=17051 "RHINO'S BLOG" is the responsibility of Gary Rhine. (rhino@kifaru.com) Feedback, and requests to be added or deleted from the list are encouraged. SEARCH BLOG ARCHIVES / SURF RHINO'S LINKS, AT: http://www.rhinosblog.info RHINO'S OTHER WEB SITES: http://www.dreamcatchers.org (INDIGENOUS ASSISTANCE & INTERCULTURAL DIALOG) http://www.kifaru.com (NATIVE AMERICAN RELATIONS VIDEO DOCUMENTARIES) Articles are reprinted under Fair Use Doctrine of international copyright law. http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html All copyrights belong to original publisher. Tell a friend about Rhino's Blog 6:22:55 AM    comment

© Copyright 2005 Gary Rhine.