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Important Historical Events, Many Of Which Are Rarely Discussed

OIL RELATED

MONEY RELATED

 

1782        Jan 7, The 1st US commercial bank, Bank of North America, opened in Philadelphia.
    (MC,
1/7/02)

 

1791        James Madison opposed the plans of Alexander Hamilton for a National Bank. [see 1780-1792, Banning book on Madison] Hamilton started the 1st Bank of the US. It was dissolved in 1811.
    (WSJ,
12/20/95, p.A-12)(WSJ, 11/19/04, p.A8)

 

1792        Apr 2, Congress passed the Coinage Act, which authorized establishment of the U.S. Mint. It established the US dollar defined in fixed weights of gold and silver. State chartered banks issued paper money convertible to gold or silver coins to ease business transactions. U.S. authorized $10 Eagle, $5 half-Eagle & 2.50 quarter-Eagle gold coins & silver dollar, dollar, quarter, dime & half-dime.
    (HFA, '96, p.28)(AP,
4/2/97)(WSJ, 1/13/98, p.A1)(HN, 4/2/98)

 

1799        Sep 1, Bank of Manhattan Company opened in NYC. It was the forerunner to Chase Manhattan.
    (MC,
9/1/02)

 

The Bank of the Manhattan Company had been founded in 1799 by Aaron Burr, and Chase National Bank was named for but never connected to former United States Treasury Secretary and Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chase_Manhattan_Bank

On July 11, 1804, Aaron Burr shot and fatally wounded Alexander Hamilton in their duel in Weehawken, New Jersey. The bullet entered Hamilton below the chest, and he died the following day. Burr was later charged with murder in two states but never tried in either jurisdiction. He escaped to South Carolina, then returned to Washington D.C. and completed his term of service as Vice President.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Burr

 

1811        In the US politics killed the Bank of the United States established by Hamilton as a central bank and a mechanism for government borrowing.
    (WSJ,
3/12/97, p.A18)

 

1854        Apr 3, The SF Mint opened at 608 Commercial St. It issued $4 million in gold coins this year. An Indian princess appeared on gold dollars.
    (SFC,
8/21/01, p.A12)(SSFC, 1/28/03, p.E1)(WSJ, 12/12/03, p.W15)(SFC, 4/2/04, p.F3)

 

1859        Aug 27-28, The US oil business was born in Titusville, Pa. Former army officer Colonel Edwin L. Drake drilled the first oil well in Titusville, Pa., striking oil at 70 feet and setting off a wild scramble for wealth similar to the California gold rush of 1849. The land belonged to the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company. Until that time, the company had simply collected oil that seeped out of the ground. Drake's plan was to produce it in large quantities for use in heating and illumination. Overnight oil fields sprang up in Pennsylvania but competition, disorganization and oversupply kept oil prices low. It was not until John D. Rockefeller and the Standard Oil Company came onto the scene in 1870 that the petroleum industry developed into a vastly profitable, although much hated, monopoly.
    (HFA, '96, p.36)(AP,
8/27/97)(HNPD, 10/4/98)(WSJ, 10/4/96, p.A9)(HNQ, 2//99)

 

1861        Aug 5, The US federal government levied an income tax for the first time to finance the Civil War. It was 3% of incomes over $800. The law expired in 1872.
    (AP,
8/5/97)(HN, 8/5/98)(MC, 8/5/02)(WSJ, 6/4/03, p.B1)

 

1862        Mar 10, First U.S. paper money was issued in denominations of $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, $500 & $1000.
    (HN,
3/10/98)(MC, 3/10/02)

 

1862        Jul 1, Abraham Lincoln instituted an income tax to pay for the Civil War. The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was founded. Internal Revenue Law imposed federal taxes on inheritance, tobacco & a progressive rate on incomes over $600.
    (SFC,
11/2/96, p.D1)(WSJ, 12/15/95, p.A-1)(MC, 7/1/02)

 

1866        The US coined some silver dollars without the inscription "In God We Trust." Only 2 coins were known to exist in 2004. In Oct 1867, one was stolen along with some 7,000 other rare coins from the Florida collection of Willis H. du Pont. It turned up in 2004.
    (ST,
3/2/04, p.A8)

 

1882        Jan 2, Because of anti-monopoly laws, Standard Oil was organized as a trust.
    (MC,
1/2/02)

 

1891        Aug 5, The 1st travelers checks were issued by American Express.
    (MC,
8/5/02)

 

1895        May 20, The US income tax was declared unconstitutional.
    (SFEC, 1/25/98, Z1 p.8)

1900        Standard Oil Co. acquired Pacific Oil Co.
    (SFC,
10/20/04, p.C6)

 

1901        Jan 7, New York stock exchange trading exceeded two million shares for the first time in history.
    (HN,
1/7/99)

 

1902        The Texas Fuel Co. was founded. It soon changed its name to the Texas Co. and eventually became Texaco.
    (SFC,
10/20/04, p.C6)

 

1907        Feb 26, Members of US Congress raised their own salaries to $7500.
    (SC,
2/26/02)

 

1907        Dec, The US stock market, spurred by a "bear raid," took a nose-dive and set off a widespread panic. Many banks failed.
    (SFC, 9/30/99, p.E5)
1907        Dec, There was stock market panic this year when the Knickerbocker Trust Co. failed. J.P. Morgan took charge and forbade the NY stock market to close and raised $25 million in 15 minutes to add liquidity. He summoned the most important bankers to devise a plan to abort the panic and no depression was induced. Morgan also called on clergymen to preach sermons of confidence. The crises led the government to create the Federal Reserve System (1913). Morgan got bankers to agree to settle accounts among themselves with clearinghouse certificates rather than cash and thus increased the money supply. The story was later recounted by John Steele Gordon in his 1999 book "The Great Game."
    (SFC,
10/27/97
, p.B2)(WSJ, 10/7/98, p.A22)(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R42)(WSJ, 12/13/99, p.A32)
1907        Dec, Banker J.P. Morgan saved the
US
financial system by putting his own money on the line in the Panic of 1907. In the Panic of 1907 J.P. Morgan, who ran US Steel, bought the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co. and trustbuster Theodore Roosevelt agreed not to object to the buyout. Elbert H. Gary was the chairman of US Steel.
    (WSJ,
2/13/97, p.A18)(WSJ, 5/28/96, R45)(WSJ, 7/16/01, p.A10)

 

1908        Oil was discovered in Persia.
    (WSJ,
9/13/99, p.R4)

 

1909        Congress proposed the 16th Amendment to the Constitution, which proposed an income tax. It was ratified in 1916.
    (WSJ,
6/4/03, p.B1)

 

1911        May 15, The Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of Standard Oil Company, ruling it was in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The anti-trust suit led to the dissolution of Standard Oil Co. of John D. Rockefeller. From its remains 34 new companies were formed that included Exxon, Mobil, Amoco, Chevron, Arco and Conoco. Rockefeller’s quarter interest in the parent turned into a quarter interest in all the offspring.
    (AP,
5/15/97)(WSJ, 5/8/98, p.W10)

 

1913        Mar 1, The US Federal income tax took effect (16th amendment).
    (SC,
3/1/02)

 

1913        Dec 23, The Federal Reserve Act was signed by Pres. Woodrow Wilson. The Owen-Glass Act established the decentralized, government-controlled banking system in the U.S. known as the Federal Reserve. It repealed the gold standard and replaced it with a system that ensured that the US dollar would be a better store of value than gold. The act guarded against inflation but allowed deflation. It was the first thorough reorganization of the national banking system since the Civil War. The goal was to strive for maximum employment and price stability
    (Wired, 10/96, p.142)(WSJ,
3/7/97, p.A14)(HNQ, 10/16/99)(SSFC, 11/28/04, p.D1)

 

1914        Apr 2, Federal Reserve Board announced plans to divide country into 12 districts. [see Nov 16, 1914]
    (HN,
4/2/98)

 

1923        The US established a 22-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.
    (Econ, 12/11/04, p.28)(SFC, 1/22/05, p.A5)

 

1927        Oil was discovered near Kirkuk, Iraq, the 1st commercial find in any Arab country.
    (SSFC,
4/13/03, p.E1)

 

1929        Oct 24, Black Thursday—the first day of the stock market crash which began the Great Depression. Stock values collapsed and 13 million shares changed hands as small investors frantically tried to sell off their holdings. Thousands of confused investors and brokers were ruined and banks, which had also invested heavily in the market, failed when they could not produce enough cash on demand for angry depositors. The 3 cent Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported the crash along with a story on the trial of a former banking superintendent for taking a $10,000 bribe for not inspecting some insolvent banks.
    (HN,
10/24/98)(HNPD, 10/29/98)(SFEC, 7/11/99, p.D9)

 

1929        Oct 29, The DJIA dropped 11.7%. "Black Tuesday" was the worst day of the market crash as panicked survivors dumped 16 million shares on the market. Clerical workers stayed up all night to find that $30 billion in paper value had been wiped out in one day. Prices collapsed amid panic selling and thousands of investors were wiped out as America's Great Depression began. On Wall street prices plunged $14 million. By mid- November $30 billion of the $80 billion worth of stocks listed in September were been wiped out. Stocks continued to slide until 1932, but the fear caused by the crash made Americans unwilling to buy or invest and the economy slowly worsened into the Great Depression. In 1994 daily trades average 200-300 million shares. In 2001 Maury Klein authored “Rainbow’s End: The Crash of 1929.”
    (V.D.-H.K.p.253,292)(HFA, '96, p.40)(TMC, 1994, p.1929)(SFC,
10/17/97, p.B2) (HNPD, 10/29/98)(HN, 10/29/98)(WSJ, 10/26/01, p.A20)

 

1932        Feb 27, The Glass-Steagall Act was passed, giving the Federal Reserve the right to expand credit in order to increase money circulation. It separated regular banks from investment banks. Senator Carter Glass (d.1946 at 88) of Virginia and Rep. Henry Steagall (d.1943 at 70) of Alabama sponsored it. The act had two measures. The 1932 act was a bookkeeping provision that allowed the Treasury to balance its account. [see 1933]
    (SFC, 4/7/97, p.A4)(WSJ, 8/8/97, p.A11)(HN,
2/27/98)(WSJ, 4/10/98, p.A1,6)

 

1932        Jul 31, The George Washington quarter went into circulation as a 200 year commemorative of G. Washington’s birth. It has been in use ever since.
    (WSJ,
7/12/96, p.B5B)(MC, 7/31/02)

 

1932        May 31, Socal, formerly Standard Oil of California, discovered oil in Bahrain. This was the 1st middle eastern oil discovered by an American firm.
    (SFC,
10/20/04, p.C6)(www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/199901/prelude.to.discovery.htm)

 

1933        May, Saudi Arabia gave Standard Oil of California exclusive rights to explore for oil. Socal formed the California Arabian Standard Oil Co. to drill for oil in Saudi Arabia.
    (www.chevron.com)(SFC, 10/20/04, p.C6)

 

1933        Apr 19, The United States went off the gold standard by presidential proclamation. FDR tied this with orders that 445,000 newly minted gold $20 "Double Eagle" coins be destroyed. Ten coins escaped and one was scheduled for auction in 2002. The coin fetched $7.59 million. [see Jun 5]
    (TMC, 1994, p.1933)(PCh, 1992, p.819)(AP,
4/19/97)(SSFC, 3/29/02, Par p.6)(SFC, 7/31/02, p.A2)

 

1933        Jun 16, US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) became effective.
    (www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/rules/1000-200.html)

 

1936        Jan, Standard Oil of California found some gas and oil at their 1st Saudi Arabia test well, Damman No. 1.
    (
www.chevron.com)

 

1936        Mar 3, Standard Oil of California struck oil at Damman No 7. Aramco made the first commercial oil find in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The English Arabist, H. St. John Philby, orchestrated the Aramco concession in Saudi Arabia.
    (HN,
3/15/98)(WSJ, 3/8/99, p.A16)(SFEC, 6/27/99, p.T3)(www.chevron.com)

 

1936        The Texas Co. joined Standard Oil in Saudi Arabia. The joint venture eventually became the Saudi oil giant Aramco.
    (SFC, 10/20/04, p.C6)

 

1943        Two American oil firms decided to expand their refinery in Bahrain and hired Bechtel. Capacity was doubled to 65,000 barrels per day.
    (SSFC,
5/4/03, p.A8)

1943        Jun 9, "Pay-as-you-go" (withholding) US income tax deductions were authorized. [see Jul 1, 1943]
    (MC,
6/9/02)

 

1944        Jul 1, Delegates from 44 countries began meeting at Bretton Woods, N.H., where they agreed to establish the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The US hosted an international conference at Bretton Woods, N.H., to deal with international monetary and financial problems. The talks resulted in the creation of the IMF, International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank in 1945. In 1997 Catherine Caufield wrote "Masters of Illusion: The World Bank and the Poverty of Nations." The Bretton Woods institutions also include the United nations and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (renamed the World Trade organization). The agreement was a gold exchange standard and only the US was required to convert its currency into gold at a fixed rate, and only foreign central banks were allowed the privilege of redemption.
    (SFEC,
3/2/97, BR p.1)(SFC, 1/13/98, p.A4)(WSJ, 10/15/98, p.A22)(AP, 7/1/04)

 

1945        Dec 27, The International Monetary Fund and the Bank for Reconstruction and Development was created. 28 nations signed an agreement creating the World Bank. Better known as the World Bank, the IMF was created to promote healthy international trade and began transactions in 1947. The World Bank was designed by Englishman John Maynard Keynes and American Harry Dexter White.
    (AP,
12/27/97)(HN, 12/27/98)(HNQ, 12/27/00)(Econ, 7/24/04, p.63)

1952        Apr 15, Franklin National Bank issued the 1st bank credit card.
    (MC,
4/15/02)

 

1953        Mar, The US CIA’s Tehran station reported that an Iranian general had approached the US embassy for support in an army-led coup. Based on this information Allen Dulles, director of the CIA, approved $1 million to be used to help bring about the fall of Prime Minister Mossadegh. Pres. Eisenhower gave the CIA the ok to overthrow the elected government of PM Mohammad Mossadegh. Mossadegh had nationalized the Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. after Britain refused to compromise and split profits 50-50. In 2003 Stephen Kinzer authored "All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of the Middle East Terror."
    (SFEC,
4/16/00, p.A18)(SSFC, 8/24/03, p.M6)

 

1955        Mar 31, Chase National (3rd largest bank) and Bank of the Manhattan Company (15th largest bank) merged to form Chase Manhattan.
    (MC,
3/31/02)

 

1955        Aug 12, Pres Eisenhower raised the minimum wage from $0.75 to $1 an hour.
    (SC,
8/12/02)

 

1955        Sep 26, The New York Stock Exchange suffered $44 million loss, the heaviest one-day loss since 1929 following word that Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower had suffered a heart attack.
    (AP,
9/26/03)

 

1960        Sep 14, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela formed OPEC. Fuad Rouhani (1907-2004) of Iran served as its 1st secretary-general. In 1964 he was succeeded by Abdul Rahman Bazzaz of Iraq.
    (HN,
9/14/98)(WSJ, 7/28/03, p.A8)

 

1964-1992    Texaco dumped some 18 billion gallons of toxic waste into open pits, estuaries and rivers and allegedly polluted some 2.5 million acres of pristine rain forest. Texaco merged with Chevron in 2001 and a suit over the toxic waste went to trial in Ecuador in 2003.
    (SFC,
5/1/03, A8)(SFC, 10/21/03, p.A3)

 

1968        Mar 15, The U.S. mint halted the practice of buying and selling gold.
    (HN,
3/15/98)

 

1968        The Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae - FNMA), established by the government in 1938, became a private, shareholder-owned company.
    (WSJ,
9/27/04, p.A1)

 

1970        The US government created Freddie Mac as a 2nd buyer of home loans.
    (WSJ,
9/27/04, p.A1)

 

1972        Jun, Iraq nationalized the Iraq Petroleum Company controlled by British, American, Dutch and French oil companies.
    (SFC,
9/24/02, p.A10)

1973        Nov 16, President Nixon signed the Trans Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act into law. Oil companies formed a consortium that gave British Petroleum 50.1% control of the pipeline.
    (www.alyeska-pipe.com/Pipelinefacts/Chronology.html)(AH, 10/04, p.43)

 

1973        Dec 23, 6 Persian Gulf nations doubled their oil prices.
    (MC,
12/23/01)

 

1973        Oil was discovered off the coast of Louisiana at the underwater site called Eugene Island 330. By 1989 production slowed to 4,000 barrels from a peak of 15,000 and then suddenly increased and in 1999 produced 13,000 barrels a day. Geologists were unable to account for the source of the oil.
    (WSJ,
4/16/99, p.A1)

 

1978        US states began to allow interstate banking.
    (WSJ,
11/19/04, p.A8)

 

1979        Jun 28, OPEC raised oil prices 24%.
    (MC,
6/28/02)

 

1980         Sep 22, Iraq invaded Iran following border skirmishes and a dispute over the Shatt al-Arab waterway. This marked the beginning of a war that would last eight years. Iraq invaded Iran striking refineries and an oil-loading terminal on Kharg Island. The Iraqis used the political instability in Iran to try to capture long-disputed territory. They attacked across the Shatt al Arab River, a trunk of the great Tigris-Euphrates river system.
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/middle_east/newsid_806000/806268.stm
    (AP,
9/22/97)(NG, 5/88, p.653,663)

 

1980        The US Monetary Control Act deregulated interest rates.
    (WSJ,
11/19/04, p.A8)

 

1983        Fred J. Cook (1911-2003) authored "The Great Energy Scam," an examination of the oil companies.
    (SFC,
5/5/03, p.B4

 

1984        Socal purchased Gulf Oil and its extensive operations in Nigeria and changed its name to Chevron.
    (SFC,
11/19/98, p.A8)(SFC, 10/20/04, p.C6)

 

1986        Apr 3, US national debt hit $2,000,000,000,000 (2 trillion).
    (MC,
4/3/02)

 

1987        Oct 19, U.S. Navy warships disabled the 1st of 3 Iranian oil platforms in the Persian Gulf in retaliation for an Iranian missile attack on a U.S.-flagged tanker off Kuwait. [see Apr 18, 1988]
    (AP,
10/19/97)(HN, 10/19/02)


1987        Oct 19, Black Monday, the stock market crashed as the Dow Jones Industrial Average, amid frenzied selling, plunged 508 points, 22.6%,-- its biggest-ever one-day decline. The crash was preceded by legislation to block tax deductions for debt incurred in corporate takeovers which were fueling the market. It was also preceded by plunges in other international markets.
Hong Kong suffered a 46% decline in October.
    (V.D.-H.K.p.253)(TMC, 1994, p.1987)(AP,
10/19/97)(SFC,10/27/97, p.B2)

 

1987        Jun 2, President Reagan announced he was nominating economist Alan Greenspan to succeed Paul Volcker as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.
    (AP,
6/2/97)

 

1987        The US government slashed interest rates following the stock market crash.
    (WSJ,
11/19/04, p.A8)

 

1988        Apr 18, The United States destroyed two more Iraqi oil platforms, after a mine in the Persian Gulf injured 10 crewmen aboard a U.S. frigate. In 2003 a World Court in a 14-2 decision ruled the US was wrong but doesn't need to pay damages.
    (AP,
11/7/03)

 

1989        Aug 17, The Commerce Department reported the U.S. trade deficit had shrunk to $8.7 billion in June.
    (AP,
8/17/99)

1990        Aug 2, Iraq invaded Kuwait, seizing control of the oil-rich emirate. The day came to be known in Kuwait as “Black Thursday.” 330 Kuwaitis died during the occupation and war. Sadam Hussein, leader of Iraq, took over Kuwait. G. Bush led an inter-national coalition for sanctions and a demand for withdrawal. The Iraqis were later driven out in Operation Desert Storm.
    (SFC,
9/4/96, p.A8)(TMC, 1994, p.1990)(AP, 8/2/97)(SFEC, 7/30/00, p.C18)

 

1990        Aug 7, President Bush ordered U.S. troops and warplanes to Saudi Arabia to guard the oil-rich desert kingdom against a possible invasion by Iraq. The US Persian Gulf War began. Operation Desert Shield ended Feb 28, 1991. It cost $8.1 billion and left 383 US casualties with 458 wounded.
    (AP,
8/7/99)(WSJ, 9/22/99, p.A8)(MC, 8/7/02)

 

1990        Oct 18, Iraq offered to sell its oil to anyone—including the United States—for $21 a barrel, the same price level that preceded the invasion of Kuwait.
    (AP,
10/18/00)

 

1991        Jul 17, The US Senate voted 53-to-45 to give itself a $23,200 pay raise while at the same time banning outside speaking fees.
    (AP,
7/17/01)

 

1992        Texaco quit drilling in Ecuador after nearly 30 years. It left behind a toxic dump of some 1.8 million gallons of spilled crude oil.
    (SFC,
5/1/03, A8)

 

1993        Jun 23, UN authorized a worldwide oil embargo against Haiti.
    (MC,
6/23/02)

 

1994        Aug 11, A US federal jury awarded $286.8 million to some 10,000 commercial fishermen for losses as a result of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.
    (AP,
8/11/99)

 

1994        Mar 22, The Federal Reserve for fear of inflation announced it was raising short-term interest rates from 3.25 to 3.5 percent, the second such boost of the year. By Nov the 10-year bond rate rose to 8% from about 5.4% the previous September.
    (AP,
3/22/99)(SSFC, 7/6/03, p.I1)

 

1994        China pegged the yuan, also known as the renminbi (people's money), at about 8.28 to the US dollar.
    (SFC,
7/5/03, p.B1)

 

1995        Iran awarded a $1 billion contract to the American oil firm Conoco, but US Pres. Clinton scuttled the deal and subsequently banned US companies from most forms of trading with Iran. He accused Tehran of continued support for international terrorism. Iran then awarded the oil contract to the French firm Total.
    (SFC,
4/14/96, p.A14)

 

1996        May 16, UN and Iraqi officials reached a tentative agreement to resume oil sales of $4 billion a year to buy food and medicine. The oil for food program mandated that 13% of the UN resources go to northern Kurdish areas. In 2004 it was reported that illicit trade agreements with neighbors netted Iraq nearly $11 billion between 1990 and 2003. In 2004 the estimate for illicit trade was raised to $21.3 billion.
    (SFC,
5/16/96, p.A-9)(SFC, 9/3/01, p.A9)(SFC, 10/9/04, p.A15)(SFC, 11/16/04, p.A9)

 

1996        Aug 23, It was reported that British Petroleum signed a 3-year agreement with the defense ministry of Columbia for $60 mil. for a battalion of soldiers to protect expansion and construction of new drilling sites.
    (SFC,
8/23/96, p.A20)

 

1996        May 16, The US Treasury Dept. announced planned to issue a new type of government bond that would protect investors from inflation and help government finance the national debt. The new bond would offer returns that would rise and fall in line with inflation.
    (SFC,
5/17/96
, p.A-1)
1996        May 16, The government announced a plan to pay debt-strapped home-owners up to 30% of their monthly mortgage payments thus easing the pressure on the country’s bleeding banks.
    (SFC,
5/17/96, p.A-15)

 

1998        Aug 14, In China flooding in Daqing broke a levee protecting the nation’s largest oil field. 155 0f 20,000 wells were closed as 200,000 people fought the flood.
    (SFC,
8/15/98, p.A10)

 

1998        Aug 17, The Federal Reserve Board approved the megamerger of NationsBank and BankAmerica.
    (AP,
8/17/99)

 

1999        Jan 1, The BAFFLING countries, Belgium, Austria, France, Finland, Luxembourg, Ireland, the Netherlands and Germany were expected to begin using the new "euro" currency. Public use began Jan 1, 2002.  [see Jan 4]
    (SFC,
3/7/96, p.A12)(SFC, 1/1/02, p.A2)

 

1999        Jul 15, The US House voted to give Congress a pay raise of $4,600 in January and to double the next president's salary to $400,000.
    (WSJ, 7/16/99, p.A1)

 

1999        Nov 12, Pres. Clinton signed a measure knocking down Depression-era barriers and allowing banks, investment firms and insurance companies to sell each other’s products. Clinton signed into law the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which repealed the Glass-Steagall Act.
    (SFC,
11/13/99, p.D1)(www.moneymanagerservices.com/News/02-01-2000-1.cfm)

2000        Oct 13, Chevron announced plans to acquire Texaco in a deal valued at $37 billion. Chevron and Texaco agreed to merge on Oct 15 for $35 billion in stock and $7.5 billion in debt.
    (SFC,
10/14/00, p.A1)(SFC, 10/16/00, p.A1)

 

2000        May 3, The Euro fell below 90 cents to the dollar for the first time.
    (WSJ,
5/4/00, p.A18)

 

2001        Aug 20, Four oil companies (Chevron, Shell, Texaco and Unocal) agreed to clean up MTBE contamination in California caused by leaking storage tanks. 4 others (ARCO, Exxon, Mobil and Tosco) declined to settle the suit.
    (SFC,
8/21/01, p.A3)

 

2001        Nov 6, The Federal Reserve lowered interest rates for the 10th time this year. The half point drop put the benchmark fed funds rate to 2% and the discount rate to 1.5%, its lowest level in 40 years. The DJIA rose 150 to 9591. The Nasdaq rose 41 to 1835.
    (SFC,
11/7/01, p.B1)(WSJ, 11/7/01, p.A2)(AP, 11/6/02)

 

2001-2003    Cuba ran up an oil debt to Venezuela of some $752 million.
    (WSJ,
2/2/04, p.A1)

 

2002        World oil production reached nearly 67 million barrels per day.
    (SSFC,
3/21/04, p.J3)

 

2002        The average CEO in the US earned 282 times the salary of an average worker. In 1982 the ratio was 42 to 1.
    (WSJ,
4/12/04, p.R11)

 

2003        Feb 8, Tens of thousands of Venezuelans marched in support of 9,000 oil workers fired for leading a two-month strike against President Hugo Chavez that battered the economy of this oil-dependent nation.
    (AP,
2/8/03)

 

2003        Jan 15, The Bush administration said the 2003 budget deficit will exceed $200 billion and probably go over $300 billion in 2004.
    (SFC,
1/16/03, p.A7)

 

2003        Feb 24, Dan Rather interviewed Saddam Hussein via satellite and Hussein proposed a live debate with Pres. Bush. Hussein said he would rather die than leave his country and that he would not destroy its wealth by setting fire to its oil wells in the event of a U.S.-led invasion.
    (SFC,
2/25/03, A10)(AP, 2/26/03)

 

2003        Mar, Oil flow from Iraq to Syria ceased with the US invasion. It had reached 130,000 barrels a day providing both countries over $10 million a month in profits.
    (SFC,
4/11/03, p.A18)

 

2004        Feb 18, The US federal debt passed the $7 trillion mark.
    (WSJ,
2/19/04, p.A1)

 

2004        Apr 28, The US monetary policy subcommittee approved a bill to put the faces of US presidents on new dollar coins.
    (SFC,
4/29/04, p.C3)

 

2004        Aug 9, Oil prices for September delivery of light crude hit a record high of $44.98 since trading began in NYC in 1983.
    (SFC,
8/10/04, p.A1)

 

2004        Sep 11, The US fiscal gap, measured as future receipts minus future obligations, was reported to be between $40 and 72 trillion. The debt portended a severe economic decline or financial collapse.
    (SSFC,
9/11/04, p.A1)

 

2004        Sep 14, Hurricane Ivan whipped western Cuba with 160 mph winds. The hurricane knocked some 25 million barrels of oil off world markets by causing undersea mudslides in the Gulf of Mexico.
    (AP,
9/14/04)(WSJ, 10/27/04, p.A1)

 

2004        Oct 7, Light crude oil for November closed in NYC at a record $52.67 per barrel.
    (WSJ,
10/8/04, p.C1)

 

2004        Oct 11, Light crude oil for November closed in NYC at a record $53.64 per barrel.
    (SFC,
10/12/04, p.E12)

 

2004        Oct 14, Light crude oil for November closed in NYC at a record $54.76 per barrel.
    (SFC,
10/15/04, p.C1)

 

2004        Nov 12, It was reported that Japan and China owned about a quarter of outstanding US Treasury debt. They held $723 and $172 billion respectively.
    (WSJ,
11/12/04, p.C4)

 

2004        Dec 25, President Fidel Castro said a 100-million-barrel crude oil deposit had been discovered off Cuba by Canadian firms. Cuba imports about half the petroleum it needs.
    (AP,
12/25/04)

 

2004        The new Iraqi government priced local petrol at one American cent per liter. The policy caused severe shortages as large amounts leaked over to the black market where prices were significantly higher.
    (Econ, 12/18/04, p.64)

Summary Of Corruption Related News For January 2005..........
It Was A Busy Month!
The following news stories are all from January 2005 but are not completely in chronological order.  I started with recent news, but tried to keep related stories together.  I didn't test all of the links, however if any don't work, I imagine that if you google the headline I display, you will find it, because it was a valid link at one point. 

fubush.jpg

FAA To Outsource 2400 Air Traffic Controller Positions

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=669&ncid=669&e=3&u=/usnw/20050202/pl_usnw/faa_to_outsource_2400_air_traffic_controller_positions164_xml

 

This is considered to be the largest, most complex outsourcing effort of public functions in U.S. Government history.  Lockheed Martin was awarded a 5 year deal that, with options, is valued at $1.9 billion dollars.  The National Association of Air Traffic Specialists strongly condemns the Federal Aviation's decision to involuntarily separate 2000 controllers.  "Many of our controllers are 3 to 4 years short on retirement, and stand to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars from their pensions," stated Kate Breen, NAATS President.

 

Lockheed Wins Presidential Copter Contract

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4763168,00.html

 

Study: Illness, Medical Bills Account For 46% Of Bankruptcies

http://www.wrgb.com/news/regional/regional.asp?selection=article_27656

Yet, Bush is more concerned about us receiving 27% less Social Security benefits in 2052!, something easily fixable without privatization, which at a cost of roughly $2 Trillion, will cost every American citizen, including children, $6,666.66.  ($2T/roughly 300Mil Americans).

 

Mexico’s Fox Vows Free Cancer Treatment

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=589&ncid=734&e=2&u=/ap/20050107/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/mexico_free_medicine

 

Iraq Election Headlines:

Entire Samarra Election Commission Resigns

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/focusoniraq/2005/January/focusoniraq_January52.xml&section=focusoniraq&col

1/27: Bush’s Stake Is Huge In Iraq Election

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050127/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_on_the_ballot&cid=544&ncid=1480

In Scarred Falluja, Many Will Ignore Election

http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=5502493

Militants Abduct 3 Sr. Iraqi Officials, Behead A Man And Kill At Least Four Others

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20050108/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

Mosul Election Center Blown Up

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-01/08/content_2432723.htm

Video Shows Allawi Aide Killing

http://reuters.myway.com//article/20050127/2005-01-27T163420Z_01_N27677262_RTRIDST_0_INTERNATIONAL-IRAQ-SECRETARY-DC.html

Mosul Residents Fear Election

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B497F1E0-B459-49CD-BF62-C0EE194E6E69.htm

Arabs Say Iraq Vote Gives Bad Name To Democracy

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050128/wl_nm/iraq_election_arabs_dc_2

Iraqi Candidate Killed On Videotape

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/28/international/middleeast/28iraq.html

Iraqi Leader Says Thousands Couldn't Vote

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4771853,00.html

Gorbechev: “Iraq elections were fake”

http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/01/31/gorbacheviraq.shtml

Some Iraqis Just Voted For Food

http://www.dahrjamailiraq.com/hard_news/archives/hard_news/000192.php

Insurgents’ Threats Keep Ramadi Residents From Voting

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=26010&archive=true

Ankara May Not Recognize Election Results In Kirkuk

http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=3120

Some Experts Fear Iraq Election’s Aftermath

http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/world/10775183.htm

Zarqawi Says 13 Suicide Bombs Hit Targets

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=574&ncid=721&e=1&u=/nm/20050130/wl_nm/iraq_attacks_zarqawi_dc

AP: At Least 31 Die In Election Day Attacks

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4766054,00.html

Summary Of Attacks On Election Day

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/15F23DED-17B3-4F3F-A1DA-A1E502E1DB74.htm

Funny how the U.S. Corporate media doesn’t report anything beyond “estimates” (U.S.) and “unconfirmed reports” about the attacks-Is that not news?  Civilians dying?  It’s great that most didn’t, but don’t ignore facts.  I LOVE when the corporate media actually says the words “TV propaganda” when talking about Arab media.  It may be true at times, but take a look in the damn mirror!  Example of this:  This link used to be titled “Bombers Attack Iraqi Voters”.  Look at it now:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/01/30/iraq.main/index.html

Iraq Officials Say No Results Or Turnout Figure Soon

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/030/world/Iraqi_officials_say_no_results:.shtml

Iraqi(U.S. Appointed) Official: Turnout: 72%

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-me/2005/jan/30/013002678.html

 

Bush: Iraq Election Was A “Resounding Success”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4220551.stm

Bush To Take A Bow For Iraq Vote In State Of The Union

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050131/pl_afp/usiraqvotebush_050131192303

 

U.S. Ends Hunt For Weapons Of Mass Destruction

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=406500

 

CIA Admits Iraq Abandoned Chemical Weapons Program In 1991

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-cia1feb01,1,6296401,print.story?coll=la-headlines-world&ctrack=1&cset=true

In case you forgot, we invaded Iraq because they were in possession of WMDs and were an “imminent threat” the United States.

 

U.S. Spending In Iraq: $2.2 Bil. On Relief/Rebuilding $10.5 Bil. On Corporate Contracts

http://www.nytimes/reuters/politics/politics-iraq-usa-congress.html?

 

Wolfowitz Story Falsified (Saddam Torture Victim Lied)

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2005/01/22/2003220487

 

An Estimated 5,500 Soldiers Have Deserted Since Iraq Invasion

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/01/09/wus09.xml&sSheet=/portal/2005/01/09/ixportal.html

 

Cheney Says Iran Tops U.S. List Of “World Trouble Spots”

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=7385089&src=rss/politicsNews

 

U.S. Special Forces “Inside Iran

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4180087.stm

 

U.S. Troop Deaths In Iraq Top 100 In January

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAQ_US_LOSSES?SITE=TXSAE&SECTION=MIDEAST&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

This is the third month that U.S. troop deaths have topped 100 since the invasion.

 

Former Enron Chiefs “May” Stand Trial In September

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/9c8f0ef4-7454-11d9-a769-00000e2511c8.html

I’m speechless on this one……

Enron Made Over $1.6Billion On Western Energy Crisis

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/northern_california/10781748.htm?1c

Good Source For Enron-Related News:

http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/special/01/enron/

Some Things About Enron We Shouldn’t Forget:

Nov. 1993: India approves Enron’s $3 Billion power plant, the largest FDI in India’s history.  This is the first of many investments that Enron makes in that region.  However, most depended on building a pipeline across Afghanistan and in the late 90s, it became clear that this would not be possible, due to ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan.  Since the U.S. invasion of the country, construction of this pipeline has resumed, though obviously it’s not being done by Enron, due their “alleged” (jaw on floor) scandal.  More information about Enron (and others’ activity in Afghanistan (and region):

http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=complete_911_timeline&theme=oil#a0698enron

 

U.S. Companies Eye Trans-Afghan Pipeline

http://www.myafghan.com/news2.asp?id=577434660

 

Military Facing Budget Gap With Halliburton

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050201/ts_nm/arms_halliburton_dc&cid=564&ncid=1480

The top U.S. commander in Baghdad is facing a budget gap of at least $4 billion between what Halliburton Co. says it will cost to provide services for U.S. troops for a year and what the government has budgeted.

Related News: Halliburton Poised For Q1 “Upside Surprise”

http://www.forbes.com/markets/economy/2005/01/31/0131automarketscan13.html

 

Audit: $9 Billion Unaccounted For In Iraq

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=736&e=5&u=/ap/20050130/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_funds

 

Halliburton The Big Winner From Iraq Invasion

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=23ed1b69eda9c34d

 

10,252 US Troops Total Wounded; 5,396 Unable To Return To Duty

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050104/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_us_wounded&cid=540&ncid=1480

 

Halliburton Wins Drilling Contract In Iran

http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?duid=mtfh12534_2005-01-09_09-08-06_l09131331_newsml

 

Halliburton To “Wind Down” Iran Operations

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Earns-Halliburton.html

 

Lockheed Tops Pentagon 04’ Contracts; Halliburton’s Double

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B06E00A2D-EE84-41A3-ACAB-DA55061FA9E6%7D&siteid=google&dist=google

 

Exxon May Have Tripped Tsunami (Earthquake(Drilling For Oil))

http://pesn.com/2005/01/25/6900062_Exxon_Tripped_Indonesian_Tsunami/

 

Morgan Stanley Fined Record $19 Million

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2005/01/13/cnmorg13.xml&menuId=242&sSheet=/money/2005/01/13/ixcity.html

 

NASD Fines Tripled In 2004

http://www.thestreet.com/stocks/brokerages/10201075.html

 

Loophole Allows Inauguration Spending Binge

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Inauguration/story?id=426152

 

Wartime Inauguration With Expensive Peacetime Tilt

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=742&e=1&u=/usatoday/20050118/cm_usatoday/awartimeinaugurationwithanexpensivepeacetimetilt

 

Bush Inauguration Approval Rating Lowest Of Any Recent Prez

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/2982686

 

Bush Names Major Fundraiser As Economic Advisor

http://www.reuters.com/financeNewsArticle.jhtml?type=economicNews&storyID=7286042&section=investing

 

Wall Street Hears Pitch For Social Security Plan

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/11/business/11social.html?ex=1107493200&en=51482cceae004044&ei=5070&oref=login&pagewanted=print&position=

 

Spitzer Critical Of Bush’s Social Security Plan

“Debt Incurred Would Be Astronomical”

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/archivedStory

 

AARP: Don’t Mess With Social Security

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/chitribts/20050130/ts_chicagotrib/aarpdontmesswithsocialsecurity

 

Bush Accused Of Scaring Public Over Social Security

“The system will be broke in 2042! (2052) BOOH!

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=7472005&type=businessNews

 

Leaked White House Memo: “Convince Public Social Security Is Heading For An Iceberg”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6791950

 

(WA) Taxpayers To Foot The Bill For Rossi’s Challenge

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1199382

In case you forgot, the challenge in Ohio was paid for by collecting small donations from thousands of people who were concerned about electoral fraud.  They (re)counted 3% of the ballots using counting machines and amazingly, they all came out perfect, so there was no need to recount the rest.   Grrrrrr……..

 

U.S. Judge: Guantanamo Tribunals Unconstitutional

http://news.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=7485936

 

Detainees “Beaten To Death”

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,12096767%255E1702,00.html

 

CIA’s “Ghost Prisoners” Spark Rights Concern

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200501/s1291449.htm

 

White House Refuses To Release Gonzales Memos On Torture

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=389107

 

U.S. Marine Killed In Iraq (1,431)

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-01/31/content_2530838.htm

 

Worker Salaries Losing To Inflation

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=568&ncid=749&e=5&u=/nm/20050130/bs_nm/economy_wages_dc

 

SEC: Must Be Ready For Hedge Fund Crisis

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=businessNews&storyID=7473783&src=rss/businessNews

 

Bill Gates Bets Against Dollar

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=atQjxQiQeANA&refer=top_world_news

 

China Ready To Dump Dollar

http://www.sprott.com/pdf/marketsataglance/01-17-2005.pdf

 

Chief Morgan Stanley Economist: “World On Brink Of Ruin”

http://www.libertypost.org/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=80642

 

Global Warming Claiming Prehistoric Glaciers

http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050130/NEWS07/501300335/1001/NEWS

 

WWF: Dangerous Global Warming By 2025

http://channels.netscape.com/ns/news/story.jsp?id=2005012919030002586895&dt=20050129190300&w=RTR&coview=

NO! Social Security is more urgent-2052!

 

Arctic Ozone May Drop To New Low

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4217329.stm

 

Volcker: No 'Smoking Gun' In Oil-For-Food Investigation

http://scoop.agonist.org/story/2005/1/7/131818/3375

 

Kofi Annan’s Son Admits Oil Dealing

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-1462576,00.html

 

Senior U.S. Military Official: U.S. Troops Will Never Overcome Insurgency

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/01/30/wirq230.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/01/30/ixnewstop.html

 

Lawyers Defend Challenge To Ohio Election Results

http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=982452&tw=wn_wire_story

 

Exit Poll Investigation Results: “Kerry Supporters Overpolled”

http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/01/19/exit.polls/

 

Ohio Supreme Court Dismisses Challenges To Presidential, Chief Justice Elections

http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/state/10626738.htm

 

Blackwell Thanks OH GOP For “Helping Deliver OH To Bush”

http://www.dispatch.com/election.php?story=dispatch/2005/01/08/20050108-B1-00.html

 

Many Americans Refuse To Concede Bush’s “Stolen Election”

http://www.cleveland.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/medina/110526668478510.xml

 

Lawmakers Launch Historic Protest Of Electoral Vote

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0107-02.htm

 

Bush Pledges Political Cover For Republicans

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/politics/politics-bush-republicans.html?oref=login&oref=login

 

Audit Cites Misuse Of $600 Mil Of Homeland Sec. Funds In TX

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGB5FBPXP3E.html

 

Spitzer: “Fraud In Insurance Industry Is Vast”

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30E17FE355D0C7B8CDDA80894DD404482

 

Recently Ousted For Fraud, Fannie Mae’s Raines To Receive $114,393 Annually For Life

http://www.libertypost.org/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=80390

 

Congress Proposes Tax On All Net, Data Connections

An influential congressional committee has dropped a political bombshell by suggesting that a tax originally created to pay for the Spanish American War could be extended to all Internet and data connections this year.

http://news.com.com/

 

Bush Urged To Order Full Disclosure Of Covert Propaganda

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usnw/20050128/pl_usnw/pelosi__president_urged_to_order_full_disclosure_of_covert_propaganda123_xml

 

Weeks After Bush Awards Tenet Freedom Medal, CIA Report Says He And Other Top CIA Are Accountable For 9/11 Security Failures

http://www.libertypost.org/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=80611

 

Despite US Budget Woes, Homeland Security Summit Offers Fun in the Sun

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=340420&page=1

 

Cheney Dresses Down At Aushwitz

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43247-2005Jan27.html

 

Expect To See More Of Cheney On Hill, Possibly Abroad

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBB8D61I4E.html

 

World Sends Leaders to World Econ Forum, Bush Sends Labor Sec.

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBW69V2I4E.html

 

12 Mil AIDS Orphans In Africa Barely Get A Fraction Of The Help And Aid 5 Mil Homeless Tsunami Survivors Are Quickly Receiving

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000039&refer=columnist_pesek&sid=a8csF6YxliMI

 

Bush Donates $10,000 In Personal Funds To Tsunami Relief

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/a/2005/01/05/national1340EST0579.DTL

 

Powell: Up To 5,000 Americans Unaccounted For After Tsunami

http://www.turkishpress.com/world/news.asp?id=050103154335.pm4buxo9.xml

 

Third Columnist Caught With Hand In Bush’s Till

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/01/27/mcmanus/index_np.html

 

PR Spending Doubled Under Bush

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=676&e=5&u=/usatoday/reportprspendingdoubledunderbush

 

White House Paid Black Commentator $240,000 To Promote “No Child Left Behind”

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usatoday/20050107/ts_usatoday/whitehousepaidcommentatortopromotelaw

 

No Child Left Behind... by Aggressive Military Recruiters

http://okimc.org/newswire.php?story_id=447

 

Iraq’s Power Supply Sinks To Record Low: U.S. General

http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?ID=35871

 

Senate Boosts Spending On It’s Own Committees

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/nm/20050107/pl_nm/congress_committees_dc

 

24 Fans Tasered By Police At Utah Football Game

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/football/ncaa/specials/bowls/2004/01/05/bc.fbc.utahfans.taser.ap/index.html?cnn=yes

 

College Loans Increasingly Burdensome-Undergrad Debt Averages $18,900

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0501050172jan05,1,5183918.story?coll=chi-business-hed&ctrack=3&cset=true

 

Job Cuts In December Topped 100,000

http://money.cnn.com/2005/01/05/news/economy/jobs_challenger/index.htm

 

36 Million Americans Lived In Poverty In 2003

http://www.goldismoney.info/forums/showthread.php?t=16781