News Archives

Tuesday
2/12/02
Pakistani police are said to have arrested the "mastermind" behind the Daniel Pearl kidnapping, a 27 year-old British-born Moslem extremist known as "Omar."
Omar says Danny is OK, but they haven't found him yet.
Forgive me for being cynical, but this STILL smells like "Old Shoe," from the movie, "Wag The Dog."


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Sorry about the lapse, but I do have more to do
than eat, sleep, eliminate, and websurf. :-)
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Saturday
2/09/02

"Shoe Bomber" Richard Reid and the so-called "20th Hijacker" have been found to have both been in the same al-Qaeda camp, officials say.
Camp X-Ray prisoners allegedly fingered both of them as former trainees.
Watch out - Santa Claus might be linked to Osama next.

Pakistani police have mades arrests in the Daniel Pearl kidnapping, but Pearl has not yet been found.

2/07/02
CRAZY BASTARD BUSTS DOWN COCKPIT DOOR. COPILOT BUSTS HIS HEAD WITH EMERGENCY AXE
Some South American Banker went whacko at 30,000 feet, tried to get into the cockpit and got whacked on the head as he crawled through the lower cockpit door.
They have AXES in the cockpit?
Remember 9/11? BOXCUTTERS. The pilots already have weapons. Where were the AXES on 9/11?

Dick Cheney is still doing his impression of the Invisible Man, Ken Lay is still avoiding questions.

Now the Feds say they know who helped with the "Shoe Bomber," Richard Reid. The found a strand of hair and -get this- a PALM PRINT in the shoes. Yep, BIN LADEN was involved.
Osama bin Laden was trained by the CIA to drive the Soviet Army out of Afghanistan. He was a brilliant tactician, and a very intelligent individual indeed.
Would such a man give this imbecile such a sensitive mission? Something stinks, and it ain't Richie's shoes.
Again I ask, why didn't they crash at least one or two airplanes into the Indian Point nuclear power plant?
MILLIONS of us 'infidels' would have died, including everyone in the WTC.
They only had one chance to "destroy America." Indian Point would have destroyed all life for HUNDREDS of miles.
Would a brilliant tactician pass up the ONE opportunity to do this?

The TV News finally covered the movement in the Israeli Defence Forces to refuse service in the Paletine "War of the Territories." It's covered further up on this website.

2/06/02

"History has given us a chance to defend freedom, and that's exactly what we're gonna do; we're gonna defend freedom and fight terrorism."
More simple-minded Fascist rhetoric from our dim, yet cunning president as he spoke in NY today promising $22Billion in aid.
I find it hard to fathom that anyone with an IQ greater than a tossed salad can actually be taken in by that crap.
"Defend freedom." - By BOMBING half the world?
"Fight terrorism." - By killing thousands of innocent civilians?
Our fearless leader promised in his State of the Union speech to help the unemployed and fight homelessness.
Where will the money come from?
Social spending is being slashed so money can be diverted to the War Machine (and "Homeland Defense") so the head honchos of the Military Industrial corporations can get richer, while here at home, the poor get poorer and the middle class shrinks away to non-existence.
Money for road repair and other infrastructure maintenance will also be cut, along with Medicaid and Social Security.
Add a TAX CUT on top of that, and the future looks dismal indeed. - Unless, of course, you're a rich industrialist.
The "fight for freedom" means that people will become poor (and poorer), people will not get proper medical care, and the country will literally be allowed to fall apart.

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On an early morning TV news program today I saw an interview with a fireman rescued from the rubble of the WTC.
At one point the reporter asked, "So you say you heard explosions as the towers collapsed?"
At first I thought that he was going to say that he heard multiple demolition charges going off, but instead, he said had only heard one explosion from each tower, like a "car bomb."
The reporter had a "superior," arrogant attitude, and the look on her face seemed to say, "Keep your mouth shut, peasant."
The fireman's affect reminded me of Van Romero, the explosives expert who at first said that only explosives could have brought the towers down, but "recanted" ten days later. (Romero also recieved a BIG promotion.)
The look of feigned compassion on her face was overshadowed by her smug, elitist arrogance to produce a frightening image of evil.
Foolish evil. She doesn't seem to realize that she's just as expendable as anybody else. It's the "Snobbish Butler" syndrome.
She represents the Corporate Elite, enjoys a priviledged existence,but doesn't realize that she's only a servant.
A servant that knows too many of her masters' secrets. Just like every other news anchor in the corporate media, her position is extremely precarious.
One wrong word, and she's gone. Perhaps PERMANENTLY.

2/05/02

Pakistani police know who kidnapped Daniel Pearl.
There's a good chance he'll be rescued.
Still smells like "Wag the Dog" to me.

Johnny Walker Taliban is facing a laundry list of charges that can get him locked up for life
The Feds say he "confessed" to having been told that Osama sent 50 terrorists to destroy America.

WAIT A MINUTE. 50? Only FIFTY? Why the hell is America on hyper-paranoid lockdown mode then? FIFTY guys cannot "destroy America," especially with our present state of hightened security.

Walker is being charged with "Taking up arms against his country." Are Northern Alliance thugs American citizens?
His lawyers say that Johnny was coerced - Remember that Egyptian student caught with an aviation radio in his hotel room in NY? During 30 grueling days in the hands of the FBI, the guy signed confessions that would have gotten him locked up, then the LICENSED PILOT who owned the radio showed up and claimed it. --Can you say, "DUH?"

If Walker had joined the Taliban years ago when the US was funding and supplying weapons to Osama's "crazy bastards" while they drove out the Soviets, he would have been a hero.

Your humble webmaster was right again. Bush is calling for massive budget cuts in such areas as road repair and social spending (Medicaid, Social Security, etc.)
BUT our Prez wants $318BILLION for military spending, and God only knows how much for "Homeland Security." That is, he wants to turn America into a Police State, complete with SOLDIERS patrolling our strrets with armored vehicles and assault rifles.
Drug raid? - Just rake the building a few times with .50 Cal machine guns and 20mm cannons.
Let troops on our streets and that WILL happen eventually. You have been warned.

2/04/02
Relatively slow news day. The WEF is over. There were 201 arrests made (many of them probably "questionable"), and the protestors didn't accomplish much. They were kept behind barricades a full block away from the Waldorf Astoria, menaced (and attacked once) by an army of police in riot gear.
It litterally looked like a POLICE state.
One protestor appeared to be near tears as she expressed her frustration, "We're facing the full might of the New York City Police Force...they won't even let make a STATEMENT."(with an adequate protest)
The media portrayed them as paranoids and psychotics, even mocking and ridiculing them for the television audience.
One protestor had been under FBI scrutiny for running a website explaining how to make a bomb, and was arrested. "Bomb-making materials" were found at his place of residence.
Even that should be taken with a grain of salt. If you have common household chemicals, you can be accused of having bomb-making materials.
Ken Lay is still a no-show. He's afraid to testify.
"Old Shoe" Daniel Pearl is still missing, his status unknown. A Special Forces rescue team might be sent in.
Rent a Copy of "Wag the Dog," and sing along to "Old Shoe."
--Don't worry about being arrested for possesion of "propaganda-making instructions," because that seems to be legal. At least when our corporate-owned government does it.

And so it goes. The corporate elite do whatever they want, and keep We the People at bay with their attack dogs if we (try to) cry foul.

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2/03/02

The Patriots won. Is that a good omen or bad?

Late night update:
WEF protestors on the back burner tonight.
WEF protests were "mostly peaceful." The cops didn't attack them today, but there's always tomorrow.
Just one more day, officers. I'm sure that if they get half an excuse they'll be merrily shooting pepper spray and cracking heads.
The NYPD is notorious for instigating violence at protests.
- 87 arrests were made today, but they were Animal Rights Activists who obstructed traffic and vandalized a building where a corporate puppy killer lives.
They were going to go join the WEF protestors but they were stopped.
I don't think the Anti-Globalist ACTION protestors need fanatics with hammers breaking windows and smashing bottles of red paint.
*NOTE*
No animals were harmed during the writing of this article.
OK, my cat scared a bird, then he coughed up a hairball, but that's all. I promise.

Cheney and Lay - More of the same.
Daniel Pearl is assumed to be still alive after a dead body was shown not to be him.
Anybody know the lyrics to "Old Shoe?"
That's it for the Geeman tonight.--->

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OK, they changed the laws of physics again. There is no doubt now that nuclear power plants are vulnerable to attack by aircraft as small as corporate jets.
Why the hell didn't they hit the Indian Point nuclear plant on 9/11?
If bin Laden wants to destroy America, killing MILLIONS of us with Gamma radiation would be a good start.


It seems that al Qaeda has a training manual, professionally bound and published.
Is there a Terrorist publishing company? Just wondering.

Bush has three major "Terrorist States" on his list: North Korea, Iran and Iraq.
Iran has said that Bush's paranoid, war mongering language is "Stupid, and not worthy of the leader of a great nation."
He's an EVIL DOER! LET'S GO BOMB HIM!.


Early this morning ACTION, the WEF protestors, again got "fair" representation on the TV News.
A reporter stood outside the Waldorf Astoria saying that the protestors were against "Corporate greed over human needs." Fair enough.
There were several cops standing behind him, one of them wearing a 'balaclava' type face warmer on his (her?) lower face, hiding everything but his/her eyes.
The masked cop seemed to be deliberately flaunting the mask, getting into the picture several times and turning his/her face toward the camera crew.
Was that supposed to be funny?
Sorry, officer, but I ain't laughing.
Clowns with badges and guns don't make me feel safe.
ARROGANT clowns with badges and guns scare the living hell out of me.
They might as well recruit cops from mental hospitals. Issue them rubber guns and Thorazine.

2/02/02

**LATE NIGHT UPDATE: Your friendly neighborhood Geeman was wrong again (Or right the first time?).
Dozens of poople were arrested for "unlawful assembly and disorderly conduct" for carrying signs as "shields", and wearing protective face masks. The cops rushed them because they "felt they were going to be attacked."
A shield is DEFENSIVE; the cops have pepper spray and rubber bullets!
The police attacked the protestors because they didn't want to be doused with pepper spray or shot with rubber bullets.
The truth will come out: The police ATTACKED the protestors.
The corporate media is portraying the protestors, THOUSANDS of them, as crazy.
Just how many THOUSANDS of people does it take before their common beleifs and goals become credible?

One young woman articulately explained her opposition to "corporate globalization," and in a 'cut-scene', the anchors in the studio and the reporter on the scene mocked her. "That's too deep for me," he said as he waved his hand next to his head in a gesture of "They're Loonytoons."
"Yeah, it went right over your head," a sarcastic news anchor answered.
Just mention the word, "Globalization," and you're a candidate for a vacation in a rubber room.
Perfect way to stifle dissent.
(At least they ALLOWED "Globalization" to be spoken on TV)
One guy had his sanity questioned when he refused to speak to the "Corporate Media," and asked, "...as a citizen, please do not record me." People don't realize that they have the right to refuse to be recorded by newscameras. but they're "crazy" if they excersize that right.

There you have it: Speak the truth and you're called "Whacko," repeat the official lies and you ARE whacko.

"Cops confiscated BOTTLES from demonstrators which COULD have been used as weapons. Some of them were filled with URINE!"
Question: What do you do if you're standing out on the street all day and you have to urinate? Do it on the sidewalk and you get arrested. Do it in a bottle and it gets confiscated. There are no public restrooms, and the local businesses are less than friendly to the crowds of people who are costing them business.
No bottles were actually thrown. Would you throw your toilet out the window?



********************************************
HEY! Later on today the WEF protestors got good -no- GLOWING responses from the media. "Loud, but Lawful and Orderly." "Creative." "Like the protests of the 1960's."
They even showed some of the signs they carried, and interviewed a few protestors. Will wonders never cease?
They did downplay the validity of the protest, though, and they didn't mention "Globalization."
Some 38 arrests were made, but there were THOUSANDS of protestors.
God Bless them all! Critical thought is still alive. I find that very reassuring.
You know, if the media completely ignored the protestors like they did at first, people would start to wonder.
Praising them while at the same time passing them off as a harmless, even frivolous nuisance is a masterwork of manipulation.
The ISSUES are being only briefly touched upon, then dismissed.
Globalization is the heart of the matter.


Daniel Pearl is still missing, and Ken Lay is still being "retentive." He says he's broke now, too. Maybe he's having trouble transferring funds from his Swiss bank accounts and "offshore investments?"
I would LOVE to get my hands on one of his computers and a few of his passwords - I'd cry poverty all the way to the Tahitian Islands, and then BUY a few of them.
"And that's the way it is."

This morning I heard the first words from the WEF protestors - a woman who said that they're protesting "the corporate pillaging of our planet."
The newscaster dismissed it as "strong rhetoric."
The White House will comply with an order to keep ENRON documents dating back three years intact. Yeah, what little havn't been turned into confetti.
It was disclosed that Daniel Pearl may still be alive after Email saying he had been killed and dumped in a Pakistani cemetary was a hoax. Pop "Wag the Dog" into your VCR and let's all sing along to, "Old Shoe."
"Frightening new evidence" has been discovered in al Qaeda computers showing that the terrorists have targeted our water supplies, nuclear power plants, the Statue of Liberty, Seattle space Needle, the Eiffel Tower, and other targets. Must be a slow news day, because this news is a re-run.
So I say again: Why didn't they smash all four airliners into the Indian Point nuclear power plant while they had the chance? MILLIONS could have been killed. If the terrorists are so devious and intelligent, wouldn't they know that they only had ONE chance to use hijacked planes as "weapons of mass destruction?"
ONE chance to commit ANY major terrorist attack before security became as tight as a miser's fist.
Do any Muslim terrorists have any chance at all at remaining unnoticed?
Oh, yeah, the government again says that Nuke plants are vulnerable to terrorists, after "experts" have said that a nuclear power plant is virtually invulnerable to attack.
Governor Pataki of New York has stepped up security at the Indian Point plant in response to this latest "terrorist threat."
What kind of threat could there possibly be when an ARMY of cops and Federal Agents are watching everything through a microscope? Airline passengers even have to take their shoes off now, thanks to "Shoe Bomber" Richard Reed, and people are getting arrested after being overheard joking about terrorism with their friends.
Just like in Orwell's "1984," even being accusted of a (Thought) crime gets you a ride to the "Ministry of Love" - Jail, that is.
By the way, during his State of the Union Speech, Bush again stated his intention to drill for oil in Alaska National Park, one of the LAST pristine areas on our planet, and he was loudly cheered.
Methinks they doth cheer too loudly...
Remember the Exxon Valdez? Despite Mr. Bush's reassurances that the new drilling technology is safe to the environment, I still remember images of oil clumps and suffocating wildlife. Besides, there isn't enough oil there to waste drilling equipment on. Maybe Bush is testing how far he can go?
What if he said he was gonna pour motor oil in our swimming pools?
YEAH, WAY TO GO, MR. PRESIDENT!
I give up.

I'm getting dizzy from all this "rhetoric."
Stay tuned for more Geeman News. And now a word from our sponsor...

2/01/02
I didn't watch/read/listen to much news today. It's mostly more of the same detritus anyway.
We are on high alert because our government expects more terror attacks. Cyanide salts in the drinking water, attacks on nuclear power plants or government nuclear facilities (attacks on high security gov facilities? right).
Some of that information "leaked" from classified reports. That's convenient, eh?
If our government decides to sacrifice more American lives to get us all to fall in line with the "War on Terrorism" flatus, well, we were warned...
Do Arab terrorists stand a snowball's chance in hell of passing unnoticed anywhere in the United States now?
What a bunch of crap.
The Phillipines are now under scrutiny because they harbor terrorists. People are actually believing all this?
Dick Cheny still ain't talking about ENRON, of which he was a board member. Anybody seen him lately? Is he hiding, or suffering heart complications?
But remember, we're all in IMMINENT DANGER from terrorists!
I wonder who's going to get bombed next? We should hold a lottery of some kind. Guess the next target and win BIG!
Goodnight.

1/31/02
DANGER, WILL ROBINSON! There are TERRORISTS among us planning to kill us all!

They found computers in Qaeda caves with alarming information on them. Computers left in caves? I'm sure it was simple to charge the batteries and keep all the crud out of them. No encryption? Nobody bothered to shoot them a few times to keep the information secret?
Anyway, it seems al Qaeda had intimate knowledge of dams, water supply systems, (bio-chemical asttack) and nuclear power plants.
They also had plans to crash airplanes into nuclear plants.
OK, why didn't they crash all four airliners into the Indian Point nuclear power plant? They would have killed MILLIONS of Americans, and rendered the entire Eastern Seaboard uninhabitable.
They only had one chance to use hijacked planes. WHY did they blow that chance?
It's been stated that Nuke plants are invulnerable to destruction by airplane crashes, but now our goverenment tells us it's not just possible, but that the "evildoers" were planning it.
Remember too that the people who designed and built the WTC asserted that the towers were designed to survive multuple airliner crashes to each tower.
So who's telling the truth?

The WEF protestors are getting minimum coverage. News cameras shoot them from the side, without letting us see what's WRITTEN on the very prominent signs they're holding up. Only once did I hear "Globalization" mentioned on the News.
The media is focusing on the massive police presense, their crowd control plans, and also the occasional WEF spokesman explaining the innocuous nature of the economic discussions going on inside.
Why don't we have coverage of what's being discussed in there? They allow cameras in Congress, so what's the big secret?

Daniel Pearl is still being held hostsage by terrorists in Pakistan, but they've given him an extra 24 hours while they wait for their various demands to be met.
Colin Powell appears grim yet resolute, saying that these are demands which cannot be met.
I don't care how stupid a gang of terrorists you have; NOBODY would ever hope to get the US to release prisoners because they threaten the life of a journalist.
Smells like a "Wag the Dog" to me. Ever see that movie? Pearl might wind up becoming a martyr, or he might be rescued by force or diplomacy of some kind, while "Old Shoe" plays in the background.
(Or the bluescreen.)

1/29/02

Bush's Speech: WAR. No attack on Iraq just yet, though, but there will be increased military spending, while social programs will become "poor cousins," even though president Bush made "pie in the sky" promises of guaranteed Social Security, Medicare, education, an end to poverty, help for the unemployed etc, etc.
How will social spending be possible when so much money is being poured into the military and "Homeland Defense?"
He made constant references to "evil", "those who do evil," justice, Liberty, Freedom, "Limitations on the power of the state," and so on.
The buzz-words "Evil," and "Freedom" were used so many times I lost count.

Every few minutes the entire assembly of legislators, military officers and dignitaries rose in unison (on cue?)and applauded loudly.
Military uniforms were extremely conspicuous. Actually they were ubiquitous.
It was eerily reminicent of Hitler's speeches in Nazi Germany.
He even used the "buzz-phrase," "God is near."
If I was standing next to him I would have quickly moved away just in case God struck him with lightning...
The language of the speech?
Jinghoistic, Fascist Rhetoric. "The Terrorists will not win."
The "meat" of the speech?

Increased "Homeland Defense." In other words, repression.
As for the "terrorists?"
Some 60 nations who "harbor terrorists" will be squeezed to root them out if they can, recieve American "aid" if they can't, and suffer the consequences if they won't.
Bottom line: An endless "War on Terrorism", while the poor get poorer here in our "Homeland."
The US-Transnational Corporate Empire is bent on World Domination in order to keep the wheels of industry turning a little longer. That's what the protests against the WEF this Thursday will be about.
But you won't get the truth on TV. That's why I'm here.
America is now a Fascist State.


Stock Market Took a Nose-Dive Today
CNBC Article

1/28/02

Hamid Karzai,the "interim" head of Afghanistan's new government is in the TV news. He says (in perfect English) that he would treat the Taliban "in the spirit" of the Geneva Conventions, but he's opposed to granting them POW status.
"They're terrorists," he says. When they were fighting the occupying Soviet military, though, they were "Freedom Fighters."
"They killed Afghan peoples" he continues, "They destroyed my country."
Hmmm...I suppose all the US BOMBS healed the Afghan people and undid all the destruction.
I wonder how much money this guy is making from kissing US - A?

The World Economic Forum is meeting in NY. It got minimum coverage on the News. Articles about it in the newspapers are usually buried deep inside.
"Protesters have been preparing for it, but so have the police."
The media portrays the protestors as the bad guys, and we're never told just WHAT the WEF IS.
It's about Globalization.

1/27/02

Donald Rumsfeld still refuses to grant the "Unlawful Combatant" Taliban prisoners POW status.
Look, they were captured during a war, right? AND they were running their
little piece of Afghanistan, right? They were the standing army of a sovereign territory.
I suppose the Northern Alliance were "Lawful Combatants," because the
US was backing them? Just give the poor bastards POW status, AND their full rights under the Geneva Conventions.

President Bush intends to bolster "Homeland Security" with $38 Billion.
He also wants to increase Military spending by $48 Billion next year.
Our "Homeland" is becoming militarized.
The president also wants to cut taxes.
Cutting taxes during a depress..um..recession is a very good way to
cause even greater economic calamity.
On a lighter note, our governmrent has decided that nude statues
need to be covered up. Rumsfeld has hidden the
"Spirit of Liberty." LITERALLY.

1/25/02
DCDave (Dave Martin) Emailed me this:
http://www.thebird.org/host/dcdave

*1/26/02
He sent extra questions. (10 through 13)
There seems to be a lot of missing information in the Houston Chronicle article about J. Clifford Baxter's "suicide."
 
1.  Did the revolver they found in Baxter's hand belong to him?  If the answer that may be eventually supplied is yes, how do they know?  If the answer is no, what makes them think the gun was not simply planted in the hand.  Even if it was his gun, how can the police be completely sure that it was not placed in his hand after death.
2.  What is the nature of the wounds?  Was there copious blood present?
3.  Were Baxter's fingerprints on the gun and the revolver shells? 
4.  Is there an explanation for why the gun did not fly out of his hand?
5.  Is it not a bit irregular to rule suicide before conducting an autopsy?  Is a justice of the peace qualified to do so?
6.  Is the "suicide note" in Baxter's handwriting?  How do they know?
7.  What does the "suicide note" say?
8.  What does the family have to say?  Have there been any suspicious goings on around Baxter lately, other than the Enron bankruptcy, of course?
9.  Why the haste in ruling suicide?  How did they rule out murder?  Aren't there some rich, powerful people with a very strong motive to murder him?

10.  Might there be some even more powerful people than we yet know about endangered by Baxter's knowledge?
11.  Would such people be powerful enough to effect a police and media cover-up?
12.  If this were a genuine cover-up for sure, how would it look any different?
13.  Why aren't our journalists asking these questions?  If they are, where is the evidence of it?  Why do I have to be the one to ask them?  What good are the journalists, anyway?

 
 
Jan. 25, 2002, 5:02PM

Ex-Enron exec who questioned company's finances dies in suicide 
Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle staff and wire reports 

A former Enron Corp. executive who challenged the company's questionable financial practices and resigned last May was found shot to death in a car in Sugar Land today in what was ruled a suicide, authorities said. 

Enron officials confirmed the death this morning of J. Clifford Baxter, 43, former vice chairman of the embattled Houston company. 

His body was found at 2:23 a.m. today inside his black Mercedes Benz S500 sedan, parked between two medians in the 5200 block of Palm Royal, near his home in an upscale residential area in Sugar Land. 

He was in the driver's seat of the vehicle and a police officer stopped to check on him after noticing the parked car. Police broke out the rear window to get inside. 

Police said a note was found at another location, but did not provide details. 

The officer discovered what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Baxter's head. Police did not reveal the contents or nature of the note and said there appeared to be no foul play. 

Precinct 4 Justice of the Peace Jim Richard of Fort Bend County ruled Baxter's death a suicide mid-morning today. Richard said the car was locked and Sugar Land police had to break a window to get in. He said Baxter's body was in the driver's seat with a pistol in his hand. 

Richard initially decided the death was an obvious suicide and there was no need for an autopsy and the body was taken to a nearby funeral home. About noon, however, he indicated there would be an autopsy. 

"We don't have any other indication other than it being suicide," said Sugar Land police Capt. David Marcaurele. 

Baxter was vice chairman of Enron when he resigned in May 2001, several months before the energy company's collapse. 

"We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of our friend and colleague, Cliff Baxter," said an official company statement today. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends." 

Enron spokesman Mark Palmer had no additional comment. 

Baxter was identified by name in the explosive warning that Enron executive Sherron Watkins wrote last August to company chairman Ken Lay. 

"Cliff Baxter complained mightily to (then-CEO Jeff) Skilling and all who would listen about the inappropriateness of our transactions with LJM," one of the partnerships that kept hundreds of millions of dollars in debt off Enron's books. 

Watkins identified Baxter in a section of her letter stating there is "a veil of secrecy around LJM and Raptor," another entity involved in the partnerships. 

Watkins' letter to Lay stated that "we will implode in a wave of accounting scandals" unless the company halted practices that eventually sent it into bankruptcy. 

Baxter's complaints targeted the LJM and LJM2 investment partnerships managed by then-Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fastow, who earned $30 million for that work in addition to his Enron salary. 

Fastow declined to comment through a representative. A Skilling spokeswoman said he "was devastated by the loss of very dear friend." He would have no other comment, she said. 

Congressional investigators had sought to interview Baxter last week while they were in Houston talking to others about Enron, congressional committee source told Reuters today. 

Baxter's name was mentioned repeatedly in discussions between investigators and those interviewed in recent weeks, the sources said. 

Baxter was one of 29 former and current Enron executives and board members named as defendants in a federal lawsuit. Plaintiffs' lawyers said the executives made $1.1 billion by selling Enron stock between October 1998 and November 2001. 

It said Baxter had sold 577,436 shares for $35.2 million. 

His role at Enron, people familiar with his career there say, was primarily in mergers and acquisitions. He helped engineer the purchases to build up Enron's failed water venture, Azurix Corp., and of Oregon utility Portland General Electric in 1997. 

According to the May 2001 press release, Baxter was to have continued working for the company as a consultant. 

Baxter was born Sept. 27, 1958 in Amityville, N.Y., received a bachelor's of science from New York University in 1980 and an MBA from Columbia University seven years later. He was a captain in the U.S. Air Force, 1980-85. 

Baxter had joined Enron in 1991 and was chairman and CEO of Enron North America prior to being named chief strategy officer for Enron Corp. in June 2000 and vice chairman in October 2000, the company said. 

Baxter resigned from Enron months before the company imploded amid revelations of questionable financing and overstated earnings. 

Enron's downfall began in mid-October with the release of a $618 million third-quarter loss and a $1.2 billion writedown of shareholder equity. Subsequent revelations of partnerships that allowed Enron to keep half a billion dollars in debt off its books and elimination of millions in profits with restated earnings since 1997 fueled the company's descent into the largest bankruptcy in history on Dec. 2. 

In the May 2001 resignation announcement, Skilling said, “Over the past 10 years, Cliff has made a tremendous contribution to Enron’s evolution, particularly as a member of the team that built Enron’s wholesale business. 

“His creativity, intelligence, sense of humor and straightforward manner have been assets to the company throughout his career. While we will miss him, we are happy that his primary reason for resigning is to spend additional time with his family, and we wish him the very best.”


The Afghan war is heating up. A Chanook helicopter was shot down, another one took fire and crash-landed. The "official" casualty list: 8 American soldiers dead today, 1 over the weekend.
THOUSANDS of Al-Qaeda are well dug-in, well armed, well equipped - well color me stupid, but weren't we told the al Qaeda were all but defeated and a NEW government was installed?
Are we not being told something? Like maybe the al-Qaeda have more support from their people than we've been led to believe? Are we at war with a small group of fanatics, or the COUNTRY of Afghanistan?
When will they ever get to build that oil pipeline?
"They're outnumbered, they're surrounded..." We've been hearing that song for months.
Our president says the loss of American soldiers "is worth it."
If Bush's DAUGHTER fell out of a Chanook helicopter and died I wonder how cheerful he'd be about it?

The FBI got a "tip" in October that terrorists obtained a 10 Kiloton nuke from the old Russian arsenal and were planning on smuggling it into New York.
It was a false tip, but the feds didn't TELL anybody in New York about it before they found that out - not even the NY branch of the FBI.
Everybody in NY is pissed off about it. Senator Hillary showed some righteous indignation, Chuck Schumer expressed outrage.

Saturday,3/02/02

Bush formed a "shadow government" following 9/11
That's the language of FASCISM and we are being desensitized to it.
We are getting used to our government keeping secrets from us, for "Homeland Security."
Why not NORAD as a "secondary command center?"
Nestled deep inside a mountain, safe from Nuclear War.
Didn't NORAD already serve that purpose?
Rubber bullets fired at unruly Olympics fans, "shadow government," the actions and language of Fascist Dictatorship are already here.
I don't like what I know is coming down the road.

Tuesday, 2/26/02
ENRON:
Skilling gets a grilling
Whistleblower keeps killing
Cheney's still chilling

Slow news day.

Sunday, 2/24/02
Now the media tells us the South Tower fell first because the airplane was travelling 100 MPR faster than the one that hit the North Tower.
Has anybody looked at the engineering plans for the towers?
I did.
25% of the central core of each tower was composed of giant support collumns.
The South Tower was hit PARALLEL to the central support structure, and a glancing blow at that.
The central support core was barely touched.
If Americans weren't so busy working like dogs just to pay the bills we would all have enough time to do a little more investigating on our own.
Sorry, but the explanation for the S. Tower collapse just don't float.
And why did 7WTC collapse? Why did the concrete of all three buildings turn to powder? Why did the steel beams, girders and collumns neatly break apart and fall in an orderly manner straight down, instead of toppling in large sections like giant trees?


Hillary Clinton changed her tune toward the Palestinians. She's a politician - she goes where ever the wind blows.
Israel is allowing Yassir Arafat out of his palace after keepoing him trapped for 3 months.
He still can't leave the town, though.
Yeah, that's a good way to encourage dialog with the Palestinians. Humiliate them some more.

Where's Waldo? NO, I mean, Where's Osama?
Now we're told he might be near the Pakistani-Afghan border (again).
Show of hands - How many people think that Osama is long dead? How LONG ago? Month? 3 months? A year?

The video of Daniel Pearl's murder was "edited, pieced together." There's no way to know just when he died.
The FBI is concerned that it's part of a "wider plot" with al Qaeda.

Hostage policy has changed. "Case-by-case basis."
Special Forces could be sent in on a "case-by-case basis." Very convenient.

"There are so many al-Qaeda operatives out there..."
We are in a constant state of fear and emergency, and our government has a blank check to do "Whatever is necessary."

AND they're gearing up to go after Iraq again.

But it's being said that it will take 6 months to manufacture enough attack munitions to do the job right.
Is this a set-up? - Could the attack be "rushed," and not "completed," leaving Saddam the Boogeyman still there to serve as a source of menace?
Propaganda NEEDS villians and threats to focus public opinion.


A ground attack during the Afghan War killed innocent civilians. No Taliban were there. The people there were fired on, they grabbed their own weapons and fired back. (Afghanis actually make guns by making molds of factory made weapons. It's a 'cottage industry.' As a result, guns are very plentiful.)
No admission of any mistake was issued by the US military either.

Thursday, 2/21/02

Daniel Pearl is dead.

A Chanook Golly Green crashed in the Phillipines.
Doubtful if it was shot down; it's NOT a new aircraft, and old aircraft are more likely to develop stress fractures and mechanical problems.
My condolences go out to the families and friends of the men who died.

Ariel Sharon "Will not rest" until Palestinian terrorism is stopped.
OK, then, Mr. Sharon, GIVE IT A REST! Stop killing Palestinians.

Bush ain't doin' too good negotiatin' in Korea.
Maybe it was that remark 'bout all them critters bein' EVIL?
Well, they do agree 'bout endin' terrorism, though.
If Dubya understood Korean, he mighta heard 'em grumblin' in the background bout Number One Terrorist Gwaillo Bush.
I hope nobody tells President Gump what "Gwaillo" means
Hint: If you see the cooks in a Chinese restaurant angrily saying 'Gwaillo' and looking in your direction, get up and go to Burger King.

Wednesday, 2/20/02
The North Koreans are "evil."
Brilliant statesmanship on the part of Forrest...err...George Bush, Jr.
The Axes they used to kill two American soldiers are in the War Museum.
Axes...AXIS? Axes of evil, Axis of Evil.
Is it just me, or does anyone else think that Bush should expand his vocabulary and speak to the American people as if we're ADULTS, not simple-minded children?
When did these killings take place? 1952???
This son-of-a-bitch wants WAR with North Korea, and he wants to hoodwink us all into hating them.
How many body bags have to come home before We The People stop this insanity?

"If I should die in a combat zone
Box me up and ship me home
Pin my medals on my chest
Tell my momma I done my best"

Sunday, 2/17/02

"Axis of Evil."
War rhetoric, pure and simple.
"You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time."

Thursday, 2/14/02
Saeed Omar Sheik now says that Daniel Pearl is dead.
Pakistani police are still assuming Pearl is alive and will not declare him dead until they find a body.

Wednesday 2/13/02
Iraq is the next target in the "War on Terror."
President Bush has been rattling his saber and spouting more War rhetoric like, "Saddam has to understand just how serious we are about defending our country."
Err...How many Americans realize that our military has to get on ships and sail thousands of miles to the Middle East in order to "defend our country?"
If, on the other hand, Saddam's forces were landing on our beaches and dropping in on parachutes, I'd be the first one to "defend our country."
Anyone else getting tired of all this bloodshed and bullshit?
"FREEDOM!" "EVILDOERS!" "FIGHT TERRORISM!"
BULLSHIT!! - It's about the STOCK EXCHANGE! - It's about rich people getting richer while the rest of us get poorer.

Saeed Omar is in custody, but Daniel Pearl is still missing.

John Walker Lindh is set to go to trial in August.
My condolences go out to the family and friends of the CIA agent slain in the prison uprising where they found Lindh, but he says he had nothing to do with that, and there's no proof he did.
Lind was a soldier with the Taliban, fighting the Northern alliance, who are a bunch of loosely-confederated thugs organized by the US to "soften up" Taliban resistance prior to the bombing, invasion, and occupation of the Pipeline route.
Americans are right now all over the world fighting for other countries. Mercenaries do it for a living every day. Are they "Traitors?" If the factions they were fighting for said "NO" to an American Oil Pipeline deal, they would suddenly be "cowards" and "traitors."


Other old rants:

Wednesday, 4/17/02

Well, Colin Powell is getting really tough with Ariel Sharon.
Yup, he wrangled a "ceasefire" which will happen as soon as the Israelis decide to stop shooting.
Yassir Arafat is still being held prisoner in his own compound which lies partially in ruins and Palestinian police headquarters is still in ruins, having been blown up by Israel a while back.
But he still ain't doing nuthin about stopping Hamas!
Being held prisoner and having your police force laid to waste shouldn't hamper your ability to arrest people, should it?

Possible headlines for Powell's peace brokering:

Saturday, 4/6/02
Israel continues its assault on Palestine. They now control over 80% of Palestinian territory.
The diplomatic "hourglass" seems to have been dropped amidst rumors that Colon Powell will not negotiate with Yassir Arafat.
Yassir Arafat is the chairman of the PLO.
This sends a clear message that Israel has the green light to obliterate the Palestinians.
History repeats itself.
Now the Israelis have their OWN "Final Solution."

Friday, 3/29/02
Israel invaded Yassir Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah because increasing Israeli brutality against innocent Palestinians spurred more suicide bombings.
Shooting up refugee camps and bulldozing private homes creates anger. Anger causes violence. Desperation causes suicide bombings.
Sharon doesn't want peace. He wants to kill palestinians. The US doesn't mind. War is good for business.

Sunday, 3/24/02

Tom Ridge, Director of Homeland Security, came up
with a new "Color Code" to indicate terrorist "danger level."
What is it - from yellow (lowest) to RED (highest).
Notice there is ALWAYS some state of "alertness."
Frankly, I think it's just another way to manipulate our fear level when Big Brother wants to pull another stunt like the USA PATRIOT Act, which eviscerated the Bill of Rights.
Ridge refuses to be held publicly accoluntable.
He will not testify and tell us HOW his $38BILLION budget is being spent, or even what he and his Neo Gestapo is DOING or planning.
Hey, how about two more color codes:
Green, for, "Where the hell is the money going?"
And Brown, for "BULLSHIT!"

Wednesday, 3/13/02

Israel is going nuts, slaughtering Palestinians on an ever increasing scale.
Bush says what they're doing "is not helpful" to the peace process.
Golly, G.W., ya really think sending tanks, armored vehicles and 10,000 troops to invade, kill and destroy ain't "helpful?"

Sorry I didn't write about the 6 month "aniversary" of the WTC disaster.
I watched it, though. More of the same thing.
Lies, propaganda, Bush pushing the agenda of the industrialists.
Bush sat and looked confused much of the time.
Maybe he needed a drink or a fix.
When he said that we face a "very evil enemy" I wanted to be there to hand him a mirror.
TEN YEARS of warfare? What happens to the roads and the bridges and the PEOPLE of America while all the money is being spent on the "War on Terror?"
Social Security, Medicaid, unemployment benefits and other social spending will go down the toilet.
The REAL enemy is here at home, leading us down the road to economic and social disaster.

Monday, 3/04/02

Saturday, 3/09/02
"Operation Anaconda" in Eastern Afghanistan is "winding up despite heavy winds and snow."
Why don't I see any snow in the newsfootage they show us on TV?
No evidence of wind, either.
President Bush "Choked back tears" while addressing a group including family members of soldiers who were killed.
It looked more like he was scratching an itch on his cheek.
His body language and facial expression seemed to show an arrogant boredom as if to say, "Oh, well, let me wipe a non-existent tear off my cheek and get this over with."
At least he didn't smirk this time.
Our government and our LIVES are in the hands of arrogant elites who don't give a damn about us.
If you regret voting for this bastard, take "solace" in the fact that Gore would have been the same.

"The masters of the Government of the United States are the combined capitalists and manufacturers of the United States."
--Woodrow Wilson
Now we have transnational corporations that know no geographical or national orders, and owe alleigence to none but themselves. And they united in "cooperative capitalism" after WWII. Socialism for the rich.