Maravot's News of the World 4:30pm San Francisco Thursday 11.25.04 (last post)

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11.25.04 Declaration of Independence and other US founding documents banned in Bay Area school

(A Thanksgiving Story) Fifth-grade teacher Steven Williams, in Cupertino's Steven Creek School, sued for discrimination Monday. He claims that the school's principal Patricia Vidmar has been censoring the reading of the American Declaration of Independence and other historical documents because they contain a reference to God. Williams' attorney, Terry Thompson, said, "Williams wants to teach his students the true history of our country. There is nothing in the Establishment Clause (of the U.S. Constitution) that prohibits a teacher from showing students the Declaration of Independence." William's lawsuit complains that since May he has been required to submit all of his lesson plans and supplemental handouts to Vidmar for approval and the principal has censored his use of documents that contain references to God or Christianity. Documents banned by Vidmar include the Declaration of Independence, George Washington's Journal, John Adams' diary, Samuel Adams' work The Rights of the Colonists and William Penn's The Frame of Government of Pennsylvania. Ironically, with regard to today's report, some of the documents censored were composed around Thanksgiving time. [More>>signonsandiego.com; accolades to fark.com for noting the story]

Click on the following to read the documents to ascertain for yourself whether any should be banned in American education courses: Declaration of Independence , George Washington's Journal ( a document containing conversations between Indian chiefs and colonial fathers), John Adams' Diary, reflecting his personal studies in law (One should know Latin to understand it entirely; in his spelling):

Entry 1760 Novr. 27th, Thursday: Night before Thanksgiving. – I have read a Multitude of Law Books – mastered but few. Wood. Coke. 2 Vols. Lillies [Abridgment]. 2 Vols. Salkeld's Reports. Swinburne. Hawkins Pleas of the Crown. Fortescue. Fitzgibbons. [illegible] Ten Volumes in folio I read, at Worcester, quite thro – besides Octavos and Lesser Volumes, and many others of all sizes that I consulted occasionally, without Reading in Course as Dictionaries, Reporters, Entries, and Abridgments, &c.

I cannot give so good an Account of the Improvement of my two last Years, spent in Braintree. However I have read no small Number of Volumes, upon the Law, the last 2 Years. Justinians Institutes I have read, thro, in Latin with Vinnius's perpetual Notes, Van Muydens Tractatio Institutionum Justiniani, I read thro, and translated, mostly into English, from the same Language. Woods Institute of the Civil Law, I read thro. These on the civil Law; on the Law of England I read Cowells Institute of the Laws of England, in Imitation of Justinian, Dr. and student, Finch's Discourse of Law, Hales History, and some Reporters, Cases in Chancery, Andrews &c. besides occasional searches for Business. Also a general Treatise of naval Trade and Commerce, as founded on the Laws and Statutes.

Page 7

All this series of Reading, has left but faint Impressions, and [a] very Imperfect system of Law in my Head.
I must form a serious Resolution of beginning and pursuing quite thro, the Plans of my Lords Hale, and Reeve. Woods Institutes of common Law I never read but once, and my Ld. Coke's Commentary on Littleton I never read but once. These two Authors I must get, and read, over and over again. And I will get em too, and break thro, as Mr. Gridly expressed it, all obstructions.

Besides, I am but a Novice in natural Law and civil Law. There are multitudes of excellent Authors, on natural Law, that I have never read, indeed I never read any Part of the best authors, Puffendorf and Grotius. In the Civil Law, there are Hoppius, and Vinnius, Commentators on Justinian, Domat, &c. besides Institutes of Cannon and feudal Law, that I have to read.

Much may be done in two Years, I have found already. And let it be my Care, that at the End of the next two Years I be better able to shew that no Time has been lost than I ever have been yet.
Let me practice the Rule of Pythagoras.
[No transcription available -- see page image] [John Adams wrote this passage in Greek.]
Thus let me, every night before I go to bed, write down in this Book, what Book of Law, I have read.

Samuel Adam's Rights to the Colonists, November 20, 1772, begins, " Among the natural rights of the Colonists are these: First, a right to life; Secondly, to liberty; Thirdly, to property; together with the right to support and defend them in the best manner they can." Did Jefferson plagiarize this?

There are several documents of William Penn's Frame of Government. A background is at www.docheritage.state.pa.us, including the Great Law, 7 December 1682; Charter of King Charles II of England to William Penn March 4, 1681; Charter of Privileges; Charter of Liberty, Oaths of Fidelity to King George II (Balthasar Christ signed it). Among many things to which you had to agree included renunciation of James III (of Scotland), who also claimed the crown of England. The current George II demanded oaths of fealty in Florida in the last election and they may have been patterned after this oath. The Petition of Lancaster County recalls problems we have today and is a must read, containing, "Our highways are unrepaired, Townships Undivided nor Bridges Built, where they are wanted nor can our Taxes be as Regulary Laid, or our Griovance likely to be Redressed when the mean Distance to the nearest place of Appeal is at least fifty Miles, and neither Comishoner nor more then one Assessor (if that) Elected in many years within the Circle of five hundred ffamilies, These and many more Inconveniences of the like nature, & from the Same Cause which may Occur to you on a serious Reflection, we humbly offer to your Consideration." One of the complaints the colonies had against King George II (of 1776, not 2004) was the problem of being governed from a far distance. Californians have the same displeasure of being governed by George II from Washington because the Presidential "election" is determined long before Californian polls close. That a government so far detached can make rules that create hardships on distant domains is certainly cause for redress. The Walking Purchase deed has a bad link but the historical society's commentary on The Walking Purchase is worth reading, since the lands of Pennsylvania, in William Penn's mind, though granted by King Charles, needed to be properly purchased. Penn believed since God created all men equal, that the Indians should be treated equally and fairly! What a great idea! The boundaries of the new colony were determined through what may have turned out to be a fraud in the end by men walking a distance of one and a half days. The Delaware Indians may not have signed up to the deal and there are indications in the report that by clearing the forest beforehand to make a road and hiring expert trackers the actual "walk in one and one half days" could be extended in its reach. Expert trackers could walk much further than an ordinary person.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mel Copeland

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11.25.04 Russian Central bank concerned over US dollar demise

While the decline in the value of the dollar may cause the Russian ruble to inflate 7 percent. First deputy chairman of the Russian Central Bank, Aleksey Ulukaev, presented his view of Russia's financial future at a press conference Tuesday. The dollar demise will not exert any influence on the majority of people. "There will be no collapse. "If people decide to convert their dollar savings, they will lose as much money as they would probably gain on the exchange rate difference," the banker said, and that the Russian ruble would become fully convertible in 2007. The Central Bank will be decreasing its currency interventions before this year: the bank will not be purchasing US dollars as actively as it does now. He expects that "the American currency will continue its slow reduction; that is why it would be good for the owners of large dollar amounts to convert their money in either rubles or euros." [More>>pravda.ru]

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11.25.04 Kuril islands may declare war

Residents of the South Kuril islands intend to declare war and demand impeachment of President Putin of Russia. Japan is demanding the return of the islands to them. If Russian president Vladimir Putin decides to sign an agreement to hand over Southern Kuril to Japan, locals will most likely accuse the president of high treason. [More>>pravda.ru]

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11.24.04 Halliburton payments may be withheld

WASHINGTON Nov. 24 – A government auditor said Wednesday that pending resolution of billing disputes with Halliburton's unit, Kellogg Brown and Root, payments should be withheld. US contract laws require a 15 percent withholding if contract terms are not met. [More>>reuters]

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11.24.04 The two Iraqs, Kurdistan Iraq & Arab Iraq

IRBIL Nov. 24 – article by Charles Glass. Kurdish autonomy may determine the outcome of the US-led invasion of Iraq. While the US is putting down insurgencies around Iraq and attempting to find a middle ground for Arab Iraqis (Sunnites and Shi'ah) the Kurds contemplate restoration of the Kurdish border to pre-Saddam days, to include in Kurdistan the oil-rich city of Kirkuk," whose Kurdish majority was reduced or eliminated. The Arabisation programme, an Arab version of Zionist land confiscation, dispossessed Kurds and replaced them with Arab Shia settlers. All Kurds say Saddam's ethnic cleansing must be reversed, the Shia compensated and sent back to the south and Kirkuk incorporated into the Kurdish administrative area." Kurds – who speak a West Iranian language related to Persian and Afghanistan Pashto – fear the Iraqi war moving north. Says Charles Glass reporting from Irbil, "Iraq's Kurds want full independence from Baghdad and all the trappings of statehood, but their political leaders know that civil war and tragedy would be the inevitable consequence. [They] know the only way to avoid a civil war is to embrace a a form of federalism...A whole generation here – and the young are a majority – has never seen an Arab soldier or policeman. Those old enough to remember would be more adamant in preventing their return." A banner over a bridge from Turkey (Kurds span Turkey, Iraq and Iran) says , "Welcome to Kurdistan of Iraq." "It would be easier for the Kurds to erase 'of Iraq' than to paint out Kurdistan. Iraq means nothing to me," Dr. Mohammed Ihsan says. Dr. Ihsan is Minister for Human Rights in the two north-western Kurdish provinces governed by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). He adds, "I am not proud of Iraq. Kurds would fight and die for Kurdistan; but they would desert the army as many did in the eight-year Iran-Iraq war rather than die for Iraq. Even in Mosul, where they are fighting Arab insurgents, they say their goal is to protect Kurdish neighborhoods and Erbil, which is less than an hour's drive away." [More>>kurdistanobserver.com]

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11.24.04 The World Bank calls on Israel to stop restrictions on Palestinian trade

JERUSALEM Nov. 24 – The World Bank requested Israel to reduce its military clampdowns in Palestinian West Bank and Gaza areas which are strangling the Palestinian economy. The World Bank's appraisal precedes the next meeting of International donors who support the Palestinian economy. It said that 47 percent of the 3.6 million Palestinians are now living below the poverty line compared with 20 percent in 1999. The 93-page report said that 600,000 Palestinians cannot afford basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter, and unemployment is at 40 percent. The report called on Israel to open up the external borders so the Palestinian private sector can trade in international markets. [More>>dailystar.com]

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11.24.04 Syria wants to have "unconditional" negotiations with Israel

Agence France Presse (AFP) Nov. 24 – UN Mideast envoy Terje Roed-Larsen said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is ready to reopen negotiations with Israel "without conditions." Israel promptly rejected the overture, considering it a propaganda move designed to alleviate pressure from the United States. [More>>dailystar.com or Jerusalem Post]

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11.24.04 China's oil exploration near North Vietnam ruffling Vietnam's feathers

BEIJING, Nov. 24 – China and Vietnam are having a small dispute over China's oil exploration in the Chinese area of Beibu Bay, neighboring south China and North Vietnam. Responding to Vietnam's protest against China's drilling platform, "Exploration No. 3," China's Foreign Ministry spokes woman Zhang Qiyue said that Vietnam's complaint is "groundless." [More>>xinhuanet.com]

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11.24.04 China opens up to cable networks

BEIJING, Nov. 24 – Cable networks HBO and Nickelodeon and many other large cable TV networks are expanding new ventures in China, thanks to China's relaxation of laws governing media. New rules allowing firms to own up to 49 percent of joint ventures engaged in program production go into effect next week. [More>>xinhuanet.com]

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11.24.04 China's President Hu Jintao visits Fidel Castro in Cuba

HAVANA, Nov. 22 – Chinese President Hu Jintao and Fidel Castro agreed Monday to expand bilateral cooperation in political, economic, and other areas. China has held diplomatic relations with Cuba since 1960. Areas of cooperation include tourism, aquatic products and bio-technology, Hu said. Trade between the two countries had been running about $400 million per year, but this year is up 36%. China imports sugar and nickel from Cuba and exports machinery and electronic products to Cuba. Castro said he hopes to purchase one million more TV sets from China. The two countries signed several agreements during Hu's stay. Hu had previously visited Brazil, Argentina and Chile, following the APEC meeting. [More>>xinhuanet.com]

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11.24.04 China and Mexico enter trade deal after APEC meeting

China announced that it will invest in Mexico's steel and automotive sectors and open markets for Mexican products. At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Santiago, Chile, Mexican President Vicente Fox and Chinese President Hu Jintao discussed the agreement which will reduce the trade gap between the two countries. [More>>bignewsnetwork.com via tajikistannews.net]

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11.23.04 World HIV cases rise to 39.4 million – the US HIV cases rose up to 1 million

A UN annual report released Tuesday in Geneva that 39.4 million people in the world have HIV/AIDS, a 7% increase over last year's total of 36.6 million. This was in the annual report of the Joint UN Program on HIV/AIDS and the World Health Organization. The numbers suffering from the immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS include 4.9 million people who acquired HIV this year and the 3.1 million who died in the past year. The 2002 estimated total was 36.6 million. The worst effected region is the African Sub-Sahara, with 25.4 million, but East Asia has shown sharp increases, reported in Thailand. 50% of the East Asia rise in HIV is attributed to China. Eastern Europe and Central Asia have experienced a 40% rise. Women in East Asia are contracting HIV at a faster rate than in the rest of the world, and men visiting prostitutes in Thailand are increasingly passing on the infection to their wives. North America increased to 1 million cases. [Further reading: theheraldsun and tajikistannews.net]

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11.23.04 China's banker chastizes US for blaming others for its economic problems

China responded to Bush on the US economic problem. Li Ruogu, the deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, warned the US not to blame other countries for its economic difficulties. Bush showed in his reelection campaign his ability to blame others for his errors – removing President Truman's "The buck stops here" plaque from his desk. He blames China for the collapse of the US dollar and the Twin Deficits. Li's comments were to the Financial Times.

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11.23.04 President Bush trying to improve his image as a great leader

Two billboards with President George W. Bush posing as "Our Leader" were seen near Orlando, Florida and posted on the Democratic Underground blog. A commentary on the billboards appears at: the Blue Lemur.

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11.23.04 US, British and Iraqi forces step up battle for democracy

Over 5,000 US, British and Iraqi troops "swept through the south-central Iraqi town of Jabella, kicking off a fresh campaign in northern Babil province," the US military said in a statement. The offensive is called, "Operation Plymouth Rock," and intends to pacify Iraq for the January 30 election. Dozens of Iraqi fighters were rounded up, including the brother-in-law of Saddam Hussein's chief deputy, Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri.

For my part, I don't quite see the connection between a military assault to establish freedom in Iraq and the peaceful settlers who founded the United States, landing in Jamestown and later Plymouth Rock. Maybe the Bush administration named the operation after Julius Caesar's invasion of Britian, probably landing near Plymouth, England. To read about the great reception the British had then for Roman democracy you can click on Caesar's The Gallic Wars. Another translation is at http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/CaeComm.html.

Also worth reading, as to continued attempts to bring the British barbarians under the protection of Rome is Tacitus. Caesar had trouble getting his ships to Britain, because of the low tides, and he discovered as he attacked the Veneti of the Gauls that the British and Gauls had the advantage, since their ships were flat-bottomed. Nevertheless his troops landed in Britain to take away from the barbarians their freedom (from the British point of view):

The Gallic Wars, Book 4, Chapter 33

Their mode of fighting with their chariots is this: firstly, they drive about in all directions and throw their weapons and generally break the ranks of the enemy with the very dread of their horses and the noise of their wheels; and when they have worked themselves in between the troops of horse, leap from their chariots and engage on foot. The charioteers in the mean time withdraw some little distance from the battle, and so place themselves with the chariots that, if their masters are overpowered by the number of the enemy, they may have a ready retreat to their own troops. Thus they display in battle the speed of horse, [together with] the firmness of infantry; and by daily practice and exercise attain to such expertness that they are accustomed, even on a declining and steep place, to check their horses at full speed, and manage and turn them in an instant and run along the pole, and stand on the yoke, and thence betake themselves with the greatest celerity to their chariots again.

Chapter 34

Under these circumstances, our men being dismayed by the novelty of this mode of battle, Caesar most seasonably brought assistance; for upon his arrival the enemy paused, and our men recovered from their fear; upon which thinking the time unfavorable for provoking the enemy and coming to an action, he kept himself in his own quarter, and, a short time having intervened, drew back the legions into the camp. While these things are going on, and all our men engaged, the rest of the Britons, who were in the fields, departed. Storms then set in for several successive days, which both confined our men to the camp and hindered the enemy from attacking us. In the mean time the barbarians dispatched messengers to all parts, and reported to their people the small number of our soldiers, and how good an opportunity was given for obtaining spoil and for liberating themselves forever, if they should only drive the Romans from their camp. Having by these means speedily got together a large force of infantry and of cavalry they came up to the camp.

Chapter 35

Although Caesar anticipated that the same thing which had happened on former occasions would then occur – that, if the enemy were routed, they would escape from danger by their speed; still, having got about thirty horse, which Commius the Atrebatian, of whom mention has been made, had brought over with him [from Gaul], he drew up the legions in order of battle before the camp. When the action commenced, the enemy were unable to sustain the attack of our men long, and turned their backs; our men pursued them as far as their speed and strength permitted, and slew a great number of them; then, having destroyed and burned every thing far and wide, they retreated to their camp.

Mel Copeland

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11.22.04 Iran to host conference in Egypt

Iran will host a meeting in Egypt with its neighbors on November 30. The meeting will be on Iraq at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, speaking to the AFP, said that the international conference – originally proposed back in June – and would aim to "reassure our neighbors" over the intentions of the US-led forces in Iraq. [More>>IranMania]

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11.22.04 Three hostages freed in Afghanistan

Three foreign UN workers who were held hostage in Afghanistan almost four weeks were freed Tuesday. [Full article Reuters]

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11.22.04 New cities found on the bottom of the Aral Sea

The recent drying up of the Aral Sea has revealed ancient cities on its sea bed. Kazakhstani archeologists just discovered artifacts dating from the 13th-14th centuries A.D. under the covering of sand and salt where the sea has dried out. Levels in the Aral Sea have, from archeological findings, risen and dropped over the eons. Professor Ablai Aidosov, of Kyzylorda Korkyt-ata state university, Kazakhstan, said that the articles – decorated with Chinese and Indian designs – could only have been deposited along the old caravan routes. [More>>khabar.kz]

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11.22.04 US twin deficits are causing Japanese jitters

The Bush administration's deficits in both trade and fiscal budget – the Twin Deficits –are dragging down world economies. Both deficits are largely responsible for the plunge in the value of the dollar. In Japan the plunge has lasted 55 months. The Bush administration's policies have caused the yen to appreciate for the past 55 months. While the Bush administration publicly supports a strong dollar, it is reportedly accepting the weakening dollar, since a weakened dollar makes US goods and services better buys on the foreign market.

Says Yomiuri Shimbun, [http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/index-e.htm] "The yen's sharp appreciation is fueling concerns over the nation's economic recovery. But the market direction is unlikely to change soon as the recent yen appreciation is closely related to U.S. trade and fiscal deficits...According to estimates of the Dai-Ichi Life Research Institute Inc., Japan's gross domestic product will drop by 0.4 percent annually if the 100 yen-to-the-dollar level continues for a year."

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Decline in dollar to the Japanese yen and euro
* January 1, 2002 the euro was first put into circulation.
© 2004 Mel Copeland

President	Jan. year	yen to dollar / ($)	euro to dollar / ($)
George H. W. Bush	1990	146.25 ($.0068)	x
George H. W. Bush	1991	124.5 ($.0075)	x
George H. W. Bush	1992	125.4 ($.0080)	x
William J. Clinton	1993	112.5 ($.0079)	x
William J. Clinton	1994	112.5 ($.0088)	x
William J. Clinton	1995	100.52 ($.0099)	.816 ($1.22)
William J. Clinton	1996	103.92 ($.0095)	.780 ($1.28)
William J. Clinton	1997	115.49 ($.0086)	.807 ($1.25)
William J. Clinton	1998	132.4 ($.0075)	.913 ($1.10)
William J. Clinton	1999	112.15 ($.0089)	.846 ($1.18)
William J. Clinton	2000	101.7 ($.0098)	.984 ($1.01)
George W. Bush	2001	114.26 ($.0087)	1.05 ($.95)
George W. Bush	2002	132.02 ($.0076)	1.11 ($.90) *
George W. Bush	2003	119.86 ($.0083)	.96 ($1.04)
George W. Bush	2004	106.95 ($.0093)	.79 ($1.26)
George W. Bush	Nov. 18, 2004	104.23 ($.0097)	.77 ($1.29)

In general, based upon the complaints coming in from overseas concerning the decline in the value of the US dollar and comparing rates since 1990 we can see a trend, where the Bush economics (Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush) have not been healthy for the United States, Europe and Japan. The former Bush, in fact, caused a major world-wide recession, beginning in Europe and surfacing in Indonesia. While we experienced years of economic stability under Clinton, the irresponsible deficit spending policies now continued from father to son (George H. W. to George W.) give no promise of prosperity in the coming years.

The US deficit, being the source of the declining dollar, perpetuates further debt and increases interest rates and inflation. About half of the US $6 Trillion debt is owned by foreign investors (primarily banks). When investors redeem their bonds in a period when the dollar is declining, as is the case in the two Bush administrations, they lose money on their investment in US bonds. This causes potential buyers of US bonds to back out of the US bond market. When buyers back away from the US bond market, the US has to raise interest rates to draw them back into the market. Following the increase in the prime rate, mortgages and other loan rates increase.

The greatest fear in international exchange is inflation. Foreign interests who own the US public debt – who cash in five year bonds today– will lose about 35% on their investment. Historic yen and euro rates compiled in the "Decline in dollar to yen" table are from http://www.x-rates.com.

The National Debt is an exponential debt. The adding of interest, plus continued borrowing / sales of US Bonds, compounds the debt. The debt takes on the form of a "J" curve. President Bush claims that he will "halve the debt," presumably in the next four years. The Clinton years, 1993-2000, represented the most fiscally responsible administration since Nixon (see "Running a government with a credit card" below). During Clinton's term Congress had adapted and applied a "pay as you go" process, preventing further borrowing to fund the government and actually paid down the National debt through their diligence. The dedication of Congress and the President during the Clinton years is not present in the current administration of Bush II, and reducing the deficit, let alone the National Debt, would seem improbable. It appears that the National Debt has reached a point of no return, where interest on the debt alone will consume any efforts to retire the debt. The debt from 1974 through 2009 (the data are current as of 11.22.04, from the Bureau of Budget; the years 2004 - 2009 are Bureau of Budget estimates) looks like this:

"J" Curve of the National Debt through 2009. Years 2004 through 2009 are estimated by the US Government: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2005/, and listed below. This can be compared to a 1993 projection from Duty & Profit below. The chart below reflects what could have happened had Clinton not become a convert to fiscal responsibility, reversing the Bush trend! Total receipts in 2004 were forecasted at just less that $2 trillion – the US income is about 27% of expenditures, using Federal data.

The National Debt data are as follows:

US Bureau of Budget National Debt

1974	483,893 ($483.983 billion)	1984	1,564,586	1994	4,643,307	2004 estimate 7,486,447
1975	541,925	1985	1,817,423	1995	4,920,586	2005 estimate 8,132,945
1976	628,970	1986	2,120,501	1996	5,181,465	2006 estimate 8,726,359
1977	706,398	1987	2,345,956	1997	5,369,206	2007 estimate 9,317,866
1978	776,602	1988	2,601,104	1998	5,478,189	2008 estimate 9,931,061
1979	829,467	1989	2,867,800	1999	5,605,523	2009 estimate 10,564,099
1980	909,041	1990	3,206,290	2000	5,628,700	2010 unavailable
1981	994,828	1991	3, 598,178	2001	5,769,881	2011 unavailable
1982	1,137,315 ($1.137 trillion)	1992	4,001,787	2002	6,198,401	2012 unavailable
1983	1,371,660	1993	4,351,044	2003	6,760,014	2013 unavailable

A forty-year amortization table on a loan of $5 trillion (double everything for a loan of $10 trillion), click here at 7% interest:

Amortization table for a loan of $5 trillion over 40 years @ 7% interest. Double the amount for the Bureau of Budget forcast of a $10 trillion debt by year 2009. On $5 trillion the annual payment would be about $1 billion per day; $2 billion per day on $10 trillion.

It is no wonder that foreign governments are concerned about the decline in the dollar. Americans should have studied some basic fundamentals in home financing and not allowed their spendthrift President to get out of hand. Then again, there is hope that Americans will start to pay attention to their accounts and those they elected to manage them.

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Interest on the US Debt
http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/

2004	$321,566,323,971.29
2003	$318,148,529,151.51
2002	$332,536,958,599.42
2001	$359,507,635,242.41
2000	$361,997,734,302.36
1999	$353,511,471,722.87
1998	$363,823,722,920.26
1997	$355,795,834,214.66
1996	$343,955,076,695.15
1995	$332,413,555,030.62
1994	$296,277,764,246.26
1993	$292,502,219,484.25
1992	$292,361,073,070.74
1991	$286,021,921,181.04
1990	$264,852,544,615.90
1989	$240,863,231,535.71
1988	$214,145,028,847.73

Total receipts estimated in the Federal Budget for 2004 are just short of $2 trillion." Growth in receipts. – Total receipts in 2004 are estimated to be $1922.0 billion, an increase of $85.8 billion or 4.7 percent relative to 2003. Receipts are projected to grow at an average annual rate of 7.0 percent between 2004 and 2008, rising to $2,520.9 billion. This growth in receipts is largely due to assumed increases in incomes resulting from both real economic growth and inflation." [2004 FEDERAL RECEIPTS AND COLLECTIONS, p. 57]

Actual interest on the US debt since 1996 averages just short of $1 billion per day.

Mel Copeland

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11.22.04 Faruq Qaddumi: "Arafat was poisoned"

Faruq Qaddumi succeeded Yasser Arafat as the head of the Palestinian Fatah movement. Speaking to reporters at a news conference with the Lebanese foreign minister, Mahmoud Hammoud, he reaffirmed his belief that the Palestinian leader had been poisoned. [More>>11.23.04 article, hindustantimes.com]

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11.22.04 Mogadishu again violent

In a news conference with Columbia's president, Alvaro Uribe, President Bush said today that he would ask for more funds to combat Columbian drug trafficking. Since 2000 the US has spent more than $3 billion, helping to stem the production and export of cocaine. [More>> nytimes.com]

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11.22.04 Saudis expanding Islamic schools in South Asia

Saudi Arabia's plan to set up new Islamic madrassas (seminaries) in South Asia is disturbing to India. Reports say that the Saudi royal family has plans to construct 4,500 madrassas in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka at a cost of $35 million. [More>>atimes.com]

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11.22.04 Paris Club of creditors cancels 80% of Iraqi debt

Russia was the last country to support the decision to cancel Iraqi debt, announcing today that their portion of $8 billion to Iraq is forgiven. The Iraqi foreign debt is estimated at a total of $120 billion, $42 billion of which is owed to the Paris Club. The Paris club includes Australia, Austria, Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, the USA, Finland, France Switzerland, Sweden and Japan. [More>>pravda.ru]

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1.20.04 Swift observatory launched to hunt black holes

Associated Press (AP): Today NASA launched an observatory named Swift to scan the universe for violent celestial explosions that astronomers believe are black holes being born. The observatory can swivel faster than any previous observatories in

order to catch sudden gamma ray bursts which are the first signs of a great explosion. [More>>CNN]

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11.20.04 Arafat's widow flees from Paris to Tunis with Arafat's medical files

Arafat's widow, Suha, flew to Tunis in Arafa'ts plane, with Arafat's medical files. Arafat's nephew al-Kidwa flew to Paris for the Palestinian Authority (PA), hoping to secure the files. The latest is that Suha is holding onto the medical files as collateral against agreed PA payments. [More>>Debkafile]

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11.20.04 Egypt to host conference to secure a consensus on Iraq

Agence France Presse (AFP) CAIRO: Egypt will host a conference next week whose agenda will to secure a consensus on Iraq, paving the way for elections in January. UN Security Council Resolution 1546 on Iraq gave Baghdad sovereignty after the US-led occupation ended June 30, 2004. [More>>dailystar.com]

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11.20.04 India concerned about F-16 sale by US to Pakistan

At a meeting with Secretary of State-designate Condoleezza Rice, Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran of India was informed that the United States had not made the decision on the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan. India and Pakistan are fighting over Kashmir and the impending $1.2 billion arms sale to Pakistan is not being looked on favorably. [More>>hindustantimes]

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11.20.04 Elections not possible in Mosul due to insecurity

Elections are not possible in Mosul due to insecurity, says deputy governor, Khisro Koran. Mosul is made up of Sunni Moslems and a sector of the city is made up of Kurds who are also Sunni. General elections are scheduled for January 27, 2005. [More>>azzaman.com]

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11.19.04 Bush leaves for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference (APEC) in Chile

President Bush left today to attend APEC in Santiago, Chile, where he is expected to present his arguments for a standoff with North Korea. North Korea had announced that it had nuclear weapons capable of reaching the west coast of the US. Issues of security are expected to dominate the discussions, rather than economic.

Whether the topic of North Korean long-range missiles comes up remains to be seen. North Korean missiles capable of reaching the western United States were important to the media before George W. Bush's attack on Iraq.

An AP report February 13, 2003 cited a briefing of the Senate Armed Services Committee by CIA Director George Tenet and Vice-Admiral Lowell Jacoby, director of the Defence Intelligence Agency, who testified that the North Koreans have the capability to reach the western United States with a long-range missile. Previous intelligence reports said that such missiles have the capability to carry nuclear weapon-sized payloads. At the time White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, who was unfamiliar with the testimony, said that President Bush – concerned about North Korea's missile development programs – supports building an anti-missile shield. There was a question then of President George W. Bush's priorities – whether North Korea or Iraq poses a greater threat to the United States. Baghdad does not possess weapons that can strike America, officials said. Replying to the questions, Fleischer said, "They are both important priorities. The question is, what are the means best used to deal with each priority." [Details on this February 13, 2003 report at CTV.ca]

A report August 4, 2004 based on Jane's Defense Weekly said that North Korea had two new missile systems with a range of 2,500 kilometers (1,500 miles) or more. They are based upon the Soviet submarine-launched SSN6. There were submarine-launched and ship-mounted versions of the missiles that Jane's reported were most threatening. [Full story of August 4, 2004 at CNN]

The invasion of Baghdad occurred in early April 2003 and Weapons of Mass Destruction were not found in Iraq.

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11.18.04; 11.20 Update: Battle for Fallujah and Mosul spreads

11.20.04 Violence continues to rage across Iraq as insurgents try to stall the January elections. Fallujah is still being swept clean of rebels and ammo dumps. A government official and her two guards were gunned down while stalled in traffic.

11.18.04 The battle for Fallujah and Mosul continues today. Mosul is a city that has a Kurdish sector, and the US-Iraqi-Kurdish forces are taking back police stations taken over by the insurgents. The attacks in the Kurdish sector of Mosul included the Kurdish party offices. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) representative in Mosul, Sadi Ahmed Pire, believes "the Baath Party is behind the attacks, with Islamists following them." [More>>kurdistanobserver]

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News to keep your eyes on

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Concerns

In the beginning....

Bush taking too long to read "My Pet Goat" reader on 9/11. Read full text.

Running a government using a credit card

This year's deficit caused by Bush will be a record deficit since Richard Nixon showed a surplus (in 1969). Bush calls Democrats "tax and spend liberals" when he and his father spent other people's money to run their governments! Who is it that has to pay for the deficit run up each year by a fiscally irresponsible President ? You do. You pay in several ways, since borrowed money is a worse tax on you and the economy than a legitimate tax. The National Debt is $7.4 Trillion as of 10.27.04. That debt is financed by the bond market. While the interest rates on bonds go up and down, generally the rates are affected through the Federal Reserve and supply and demand. Most of the debt during George Bush's administration (1989-1993) was carried by the G-7 Central Banks and a few others who could take large positions in the Bond Market like George Soros. Since supply and demand affect prices of bonds, the greater the supply of bonds, as in a period of excessive government borrowing, would ordinarily depress the price of bonds. To attract buyers, the Federal Reserve must raise interest rates. So when your mortgage loan goes up, owing to an increase in interest rates, its because of the Bush Borrowing: running a government on a credit card.

Since the government runs on borrowed money, the amount of the original loan (new in 2001) grows exponentially, in a curve called a "J" curve. During George Bush's years the deficit was essentially equal to the interest accumulated each year on the debt. That interest debt is added to the original loan amount causing the debt to grow [unpaid] until an effort is made to reduce the debt, paying down both principal and interest. Fearing a crash Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich announced in May 1995 that there would no longer be any borrowing on the debt. We would "pay as we go," a concept George W. Bush recently derided with reference to Kerry's attempt to restore the years of responsible government under President Clinton. Although Clinton was initially following the Bush Borrowing program – of running the government using a credit card – he converted to the Republican plan and paying down the debt became the great cause of his administration. The response from the economy was plain: it grew, became healthy, wealthy and wise. When you have savings you feel secure. When you have no savings and have trouble finding people to loan you money you feel insecure. Clinton stopped the insecurity of the Bush administration.

In 1993 I prepared a mortgage amortization table for the then $5 Trillion debt inherited from George Bush. At 7% interest a 40 year loan of that amount would result in the payment after 20 years of $6.4 Trillion in interest and $90 million in principal. After 40 years the debt would be paid off and total interest paid would be $10 Trillion.

Who makes money from Bush Borrowing are the wealthy. Most of the US Bond Market is owned by foreign governments and major institutional investors like Warren Buffet and Mutual Funds. While it is not likely that the US government will default on its now $7 Trillion debt, it is a debt that is now in an exponential phase where the amount accumulating in interest each year is the major component of outlays each year in the National Budget. Keep in mind the case of Brazil and other nations that defaulted on their debts and required an International Monetary Fund bail-out. If the US government were unable to sell enough bonds to pay off the 2005 interest, for instance, the amount the US would require to bail it out would exceed the financial reserve of the International Monetary Fund. As in the George Bush years, our economy has been staggering under the weight of the National Debt and its rapidly accumulating annual interest. Growth simply slows down under such uncertainties.

The stock market becomes softer when it anticipates a shift from stocks to bonds (when the government is selling a large lot of bonds). In simple terms, when the government has to sell bonds to pay off its creditors, the stock market can expect its investors to shift their positions from stocks to bonds. This causes the stock market to have a small panic attack. From time to time, if the movement from stocks is large enough, the stock market has a stroke.

Foreign markets react to American economic troubles; thus, the growing US National Debt creates insecurity among the international financial markets. This insecurity can be observed in the value of the dollar against other currencies. Not long ago the Euro was worth a little bit more than a dollar. Yesterday, 10.26.04, the Euro was worth $1.38.

When the US is in a recessionary trend the effects are soon seen in Europe. Jobs are lost (Germany now has a 10% unemployment rate; I remember when Germany took pride in having almost no unemployment – before the Reagan-Bush years); and there is a slow-down in the purchase of goods from the United States. The US is now experiencing record deficits in the export market, and part of the cause of the record deficits in exports is owing to the recessionary trend among our European trading partners. If our government were to be set on a firm financial plan – away from the Bush Borrowing credit card madness –the foreign markets would feel more secure in their investments in America and purchase more from us. You would think that if the Euro has increased in purchasing power over the dollar by 25% one would see an equivalent growth in American exports. But exports are down. Something is seriously wrong, n'est pas?

Gingrich should be arguing for fiscal responsibility – along with Kerry –as he did in 1997. The Newt Gingrich concept of paying off the debt reported in US News & World Report in 1997:

See also a detailed article on the Neuman-Gingrich plan by By James K. Glassman, Tuesday, July 15 1997, The Washington Post. The plan evolved out of a continuing crisis over the budget, when the government was threatened with being shut down over the debt (see full report, CNN US News November 13, 1995).

Mr. Gingrich, why aren't you strongly behind Kerry's position of reinstituting the Clinton era of Fiscal Responsibility? Your loyalty to Bush should have some limits. Isn't your position now – against Kerry's debt reduction –somewhat two-faced?

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President Bush launches illegal war

Why the Crusade & Jihad?

Without rehashing the history of Western Civilization in one paragraph, we can ascribe Christian and Jewish sentiments to defend Israel and to view America as the anointed of God (Allah, (2) in the Koran) to perceptions of pastors who spend more time feeding on the flock than feeding them. If the flock were fed properly it would not believe that it is just to kill on behalf of God. The Christian and Jewish scriptures all agree that vengeance belongs to God (i.e., as in Psalm 94.1), that the Warrior of God is a man of peace, just and charitable. I have always believed (and I know Jesus adhered to this old teaching) that if God wants to kill someone let him kill them himself. You don't need to be his agent, in my opinion. But you can assist in bringing peace to the world.

Sealed Golden Gate with the Dome of the Rock behind and a Muslim cemetery in the foreground may be the gateway to Peace in Jerusalem. It was where the priests and prophets of Israel gathered; called the Gate of Righteousness by the Prophets.

There is no doubt that during the Axis Age (600 B.C.) the great sages, Lao Tzu, Confucius, Buddha and Jeremiah – later followed by Socrates – agreed that doing good and avoiding evil towards your fellow man was the answer. They all believed in the Golden Rule: Don't do to others that which you would not want done to you. Upon this one teaching all the teachings of the Bible rest.

Good news! The Koran says that everything in the Jewish Scriptures (Old Testament) and Gospel (New Testament) are true! As I pointed out many years ago in a conversation with Wm. F. Buckley Jr. in a series of books, including Philistia triumph thou because of me, there are points in the Koran upon which the Jews, Christians and Moslems can reconcile their disagreements, such as:

Koran, The Cow: And now that a Book confirming their own book has come to them from Allah, they deny it, although they know it to be the truth and have long prayed for help against the unbelievers...when it is said to them, 'Believe in what Allah has revealed,' they reply, 'We believe in what was revealed to us.' But they deny what has since been revealed, although it is the truth, corroborating their own scriptures.

Koran, The creator 36.24: Your only duty is to give warning...What we have revealed to you in the Book is the truth confirming previous scriptures.

Koran, Kneeling 45.16 We gave the Scriptures to the Israelites and bestowed on them wisdom and prophethood.

Koran, AL-AHQAF 46.12 Yet, before it the Book of Moses (Torah) was revealed, a guide and a blessing to all men. This Book confirms it.

Koran, Women 4.47 You, to whom the Scriptures were given! Believe in that which we have revealed, confirming your own scriptures...

Koran, The Cow 2:116 The Jews say the Christians are misguuided, and the Christians say it is the Jews who are misguided. Yet they both read the Scriptures. And the pagans say the same of both. Allah (5) will judge their disputes on the Day of Resurrection.

We can see, therefore, that Moslems are taught via the Koran to honor the scriptures and teachings Christians and Jews honor. Also, with respect to the Koran's teachings on Moslem behavior, it is clear that a Moslem cannot wage war against another Moslem, as is currently going on in Iraq and has been so throughout history:

To dispel any confusion on the Koran's view of people who do not believe in the Koran (notwithstanding the verses cited above) Mohammed went a bit too far, in my opinion, when he listed the following which confute the Bible (I know on the Day of Resurrection noted above my reading will be upheld).

There are several verses that endorse Jesus – some calling him a prophet of God (as they would have to once they accept the Gospels as truth). But this one is the gem of the lot, since it acknowledges Jesus as the Messiah. The Messiah means "anointed one" and the term was created and applied only in the Bible. Christians know the term as Christ, which is the Greek translation of the word. The fact is, based upon what we have seen in the Koran above, all Moslems must honor the teachings of Jesus the Messiah. If there is any confusion on those teachings it can be simply resolved by opening the Gospels and reading them. They all reduce down to the Golden Rule. And it is not important that you be a Christian, Jew or Moslem to practice the Golden Rule. If you practice the Golden Rule you satisfy the teachings. For if you know those teachings you know God and if you do them you are one with God. The scripture asks, can two walk together except they agree?

The gem in the Koran of Jesus the Messiah, beyond the other verses endorsing the teachings of Jesus, which is a good foundation for some kind of reconciliation:

The Imrans, 3.45, 47 The angels said to Mary: 'Allah bids you rejoice in a Word from Him. His name is the Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary. He shall be noble in this world and in the next, and shall be favoured by Allah. He shall preach to men in his cradle and in the prime of manhood, and shall lead a righteous life."

The term Messiah first appeared in the Bible. It means Anointed One and in Greek the term is Christ. Knowing this, then, we should endeavor to find a place of agreement and learn to walk together. A good part of the Old Testament has to do with the Messiah and what is expected of him.

One cannot walk blindly through scriptures and take them for granted however. Applying them for good becomes an art. It takes practice. One cannot apply scripture, for instance, through a rush to judgment. After all is said and done, when understanding has ruled over boiling sentiments, we can point to our results: charity, justice and mercy. Unfortunately, we are a long way from achieving those things in this current age. It may be, in order to achieve a higher level, to at least remove ourselves from a state of chaos, that we need to take account of our leaders. Then we must ask ourselves how it is that we let them lead us into this chaos. This is called, confronting your own failures. Until both sides come to grips with the goodness that is in them, and do some good in order to gain in goodness, the Jihad will probably continue.

Now President George W. Bush would lead us to believe that we can kill off the Jihadists. I don't subscribe to his program and know that an invitation to reasoning together should bear more fruit. Who in the world would ever refuse this offer:

Mel Copeland
10.28.04