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Wednesday, April 30
Federalist Papers -- Slaves
by
mammon
on Wed 30 Apr 2008 09:00 AM AKDT
The Federalist Papers - Economic Excerpts
No 42: The Powers Conferred by the Constitution Further Considered
January 22, 1788.
Author: James Madison
THE SECOND class of powers, lodged in the general government, consists of those which regulate the intercourse with foreign nations, to wit: to make treaties; to regulate foreign commerce, including a power to prohibit, after the year 1808, the importation of slaves, and to lay an intermediate duty of ten dollars per head, as a discouragement to such importations.
It were doubtless to be wished, that the power of prohibiting the importation of slaves had not been postponed until the year 1808, or rather that it had been suffered to have immediate operation. But it is not difficult to account, either for this restriction on the general government, or for the manner in which the whole clause is expressed. It ought to be considered as a great point gained in favor of humanity, that a period of twenty years may terminate forever, within these States, a traffic which has so long and so loudly upbraided the barbarism of modern policy; that within that period, it will receive a considerable discouragement from the federal government, and may be totally abolished, by a concurrence of the few States which continue the unnatural traffic, in the prohibitory example which has been given by so great a majority of the Union. Happy would it be for the unfortunate Africans, if an equal prospect lay before them of being redeemed from the oppressions of their European brethren!
No. 54: The Apportionment of Members Among the States
From the New York Packet.
Author: Alexander Hamilton or James Madison
Slaves are considered as property, not as persons. They ought therefore to be comprehended in estimates of taxation which are founded on property, and to be excluded from representation which is regulated by a census of persons.
In being compelled to labor, not for himself, but for a master; in being vendible by one master to another master; and in being subject at all times to be restrained in his liberty and chastised in his body, by the capricious will of another, the slave may appear to be degraded from the human rank, and classed with those irrational animals which fall under the legal denomination of property.
The slave is no less evidently regarded by the law as a member of the society, not as a part of the irrational creation; as a moral person, not as a mere article of property. The federal Constitution, therefore, decides with great propriety on the case of our slaves, when it views them in the mixed character of persons and of property. This is in fact their true character.
Let the compromising expedient of the Constitution be mutually adopted, which regards them as inhabitants, but as debased by servitude below the equal level of free inhabitants, which regards the SLAVE as divested of two fifths of the MAN.
Monday, April 28
Federalist Papers -- Military
by
mammon
on Mon 28 Apr 2008 10:00 PM AKDT
The Federalist Papers - Economic Excerpts
No. 4: The Same Subject Continued: Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence
Author: John Jay
Whether firmly united under one national government, or split into a number of confederacies, certain it is, that foreign nations will know and view it exactly as it is; and they will act toward us accordingly. If they see that our national government is efficient and well administered, our trade prudently regulated, our militia properly organized and disciplined, our resources and finances discreetly managed, our credit re-established, our people free, contented, and united, they will be much more disposed to cultivate our friendship than provoke our resentment. If, on the other hand, they find us either destitute of an effectual government, or split into three or four independent and probably discordant republics or confederacies, one inclining to Britain, another to France, and a third to Spain, and perhaps played off against each other by the three, what a poor, pitiful figure will America make in their eyes! How liable would she become not only to their contempt but to their outrage, and how soon would dear-bought experience proclaim that when a people or family so divide, it never fails to be against themselves.
No. 11: The Utility of the Union in Respect to Commercial Relations and a Navy
Author: Alexander Hamilton
In a state so insignificant our commerce would be a prey to the wanton intermeddlings of all nations at war with each other; who, having nothing to fear from us, would with little scruple or remorse, supply their wants by depredations on our property as often as it fell in their way. The rights of neutrality will only be respected when they are defended by an adequate power. A nation, despicable by its weakness, forfeits even the privilege of being neutral.
That unequaled spirit of enterprise, which signalizes the genius of the American merchants and navigators, and which is in itself an inexhaustible mine of national wealth, would be stifled and lost, and poverty and disgrace would overspread a country which, with wisdom, might make herself the admiration and envy of the world.
No. 23: The Necessity of a Government as Energetic as the One Proposed to the Preservation of the Union
December 18, 1787.
Author: Alexander Hamilton
The principal purposes to be answered by union are these: the common defense of the members; the preservation of the public peace as well against internal convulsions as external attacks; the regulation of commerce with other nations and between the States; the superintendence of our intercourse, political and commercial, with foreign countries.
The result from all this is that the Union ought to be invested with full power to levy troops; to build and equip fleets; and to raise the revenues which will be required for the formation and support of an army and navy, in the customary and ordinary modes practiced in other governments.
No. 30: Concerning the General Power of Taxation
December 28, 1787.
Author: Alexander Hamilton
In the modern system of war, nations the most wealthy are obliged to have recourse to large loans. The power of creating new funds upon new objects of taxation, by its own authority, would enable the national government to borrow as far as its necessities might require. Foreigners, as well as the citizens of America, could then reasonably repose confidence in its engagements; but to depend upon a government that must itself depend upon thirteen other governments for the means of fulfilling its contracts would require a degree of credulity not often to be met with in the pecuniary transactions of mankind.
Saturday, April 26
Federalist Papers -- Western Territories
by
mammon
on Sat 26 Apr 2008 09:00 AM AKDT
The Federalist Papers - Economic Excerpts
No. 7: The Same Subject Continued: Concerning Dangers from Dissensions Between the States
Author: Alexander Hamilton
Territorial disputes have at all times been found one of the most fertile sources of hostility among nations. We have a vast tract of unsettled territory within the boundaries of the United States. There still are discordant and undecided claims between several of them, and the dissolution of the Union would lay a foundation for similar claims between them all.
The Western territory was subjected to the jurisdiction of the king of Great Britain. At present, the Western territory is, by cession at least, if not by any anterior right, the common property of the Union. In the wide field of Western territory, therefore, we perceive an ample theatre for hostile pretensions, without any umpire or common judge to interpose between the contending parties. The circumstances of the dispute between Connecticut and Pennsylvania, respecting the land at Wyoming, admonish us not to be sanguine in expecting an easy accommodation of such differences.
No. 38: The Same Subject Continued, and the Incoherence of the Objections to the New Plan Exposed
January 15, 1788.
Author: James Madison
It is now no longer a point of speculation and hope, that the Western territory is a mine of vast wealth to the United States; and although it is not of such a nature as to extricate them from their present distresses, or for some time to come, to yield any regular supplies for the public expenses, yet must it hereafter be able, under proper management, both to effect a gradual discharge of the domestic debt, and to furnish, for a certain period, liberal tributes to the federal treasury.
Thursday, April 24
Federalist Papers -- Debt and Taxes
by
mammon
on Thu 24 Apr 2008 08:00 AM AKDT
The Federalist Papers - Economic Excerpts
Debt
No. 7: The Same Subject Continued: Concerning Dangers from Dissensions Between the States
Author: Alexander Hamilton
The public debt of the Union would be a further cause of collision between the separate States or confederacies. There are even dissimilar views among the States as to the general principle of discharging the public debt. Some of them, either less impressed with the importance of national credit, or because their citizens have little, if any, immediate interest in the question, feel an indifference, if not a repugnance, to the payment of the domestic debt at any rate. Others of them, a numerous body of whose citizens are creditors to the public beyond proportion of the State in the total amount of the national debt, would be strenuous for some equitable and effective provision.
For it is an observation, as true as it is trite, that there is nothing men differ so readily about as the payment of money.
No. 15: The Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union
Author: Alexander Hamilton
Do we owe debts to foreigners and to our own citizens contracted in a time of imminent peril for the preservation of our political existence? These remain without any proper or satisfactory provision for their discharge. Is public credit an indispensable resource in time of public danger? Is commerce of importance to national wealth?
No. 43: The Same Subject Continued: The Powers Conferred by the Constitution Further Considered
Author: James Madison
To consider all debts contracted, and engagements entered into, before the adoption of this Constitution, as being no less valid against the United States, under this Constitution, than under the Confederation.
Taxes
No. 12: The Utility of the Union In Respect to Revenue
November 27, 1787.
Author: Alexander Hamilton
The prosperity of commerce is now perceived and acknowledged by all enlightened statesmen to be the most useful as well as the most productive source of national wealth, and has accordingly become a primary object of their political cares.
The ability of a country to pay taxes must always be proportioned, in a great degree, to the quantity of money in circulation, and to the celerity with which it circulates. Commerce, contributing to both these objects, must of necessity render the payment of taxes easier, and facilitate the requisite supplies to the treasury.
No. 30: Concerning the General Power of Taxation
December 28, 1787.
Author: Alexander Hamilton
It must embrace a provision for the support of the national civil list; for the payment of the national debts contracted, or that may be contracted; and, in general, for all those matters which will call for disbursements out of the national treasury. The conclusion is, that there must be interwoven, in the frame of the government, a general power of taxation, in one shape or another.
Money is, with propriety, considered as the vital principle of the body politic; as that which sustains its life and motion, and enables it to perform its most essential functions. A complete power, therefore, to procure a regular and adequate supply of it, as far as the resources of the community will permit, may be regarded as an indispensable ingredient in every constitution.
No. 31: The Same Subject Continued: Concerning the General Power of Taxation
January 1, 1788.
Author: Alexander Hamilton
A government ought to contain in itself every power requisite to the full accomplishment of the objects committed to its care, and to the complete execution of the trusts for which it is responsible, free from every other control but a regard to the public good and to the sense of the people. As revenue is the essential engine by which the means of answering the national exigencies must be procured, the federal government must of necessity be invested with an unqualified power of taxation in the ordinary modes.
No. 35: The Same Subject Continued: Concerning the General Power of Taxation
Author: Alexander Hamilton
There is no part of the administration of government that requires extensive information and a thorough knowledge of the principles of political economy, so much as the business of taxation. There can be no doubt that in order to a judicious exercise of the power of taxation, it is necessary that the person in whose hands it should be acquainted with the general genius, habits, and modes of thinking of the people at large, and with the resources of the country.
No. 36: The Same Subject Continued: Concerning the General Power of Taxation
January 8, 1788.
The natural operation of the different interests and views of the various classes of the community, whether the representation of the people be more or less numerous, it will consist almost entirely of proprietors of land, of merchants, and of members of the learned professions, who will truly represent all those different interests and views.
Tuesday, April 22
Federalist Papers -- Coinage
by
mammon
on Tue 22 Apr 2008 09:00 AM AKDT
The Federalist Papers - Economic Excerpts
No. 44: Restrictions on the Authority of the Several States
Friday, January 25, 1788.
Author: James Madison
No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; make any thing but gold and silver a legal tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex-post-facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts; or grant any title of nobility.
The right of coining money, which is here taken from the States, was left in their hands by the Confederation, as a concurrent right with that of Congress, under an exception in favor of the exclusive right of Congress to regulate the alloy and value. A right of coinage in the particular States could have no other effect than to multiply expensive mints and diversify the forms and weights of the circulating pieces.
The loss which America has sustained since the peace, from the pestilent effects of paper money on the necessary confidence between man and man, on the necessary confidence in the public councils, on the industry and morals of the people, and on the character of republican government, constitutes an enormous debt against the States chargeable with this unadvised measure, which must long remain unsatisfied; or rather an accumulation of guilt, which can be expiated no otherwise than by a voluntary sacrifice on the altar of justice, of the power which has been the instrument of it. In addition to these persuasive considerations, it may be observed, that the same reasons which show the necessity of denying to the States the power of regulating coin, prove with equal force that they ought not to be at liberty to substitute a paper medium in the place of coin. Had every State a right to regulate the value of its coin, there might be as many different currencies as States, and thus the intercourse among them would be impeded; retrospective alterations in its value might be made, and thus the citizens of other States be injured, and animosities be kindled among the States themselves. The subjects of foreign powers might suffer from the same cause, and hence the Union be discredited and embroiled by the indiscretion of a single member. No one of these mischiefs is less incident to a power in the States to emit paper money, than to coin gold or silver. The power to make any thing but gold and silver a tender in payment of debts, is withdrawn from the States, on the same principle with that of issuing a paper currency.
Sunday, April 20
Federalist Papers -- Shays' Rebellion
by
mammon
on Sun 20 Apr 2008 09:00 AM AKDT
The Federalist Papers - Economic Excerpts
Shay's Rebellion -- Society of Cincinnati
No. 6: Concerning Dangers from Dissensions Between the State
Author: Alexander Hamilton
If Shays had not been a DESPERATE DEBTOR, it is much to be doubted whether Massachusetts would have been plunged into a civil war.
Is not the love of wealth as domineering and enterprising a passion as that of power or glory? Have there not been as many wars founded upon commercial motives since that has become the prevailing system of nations, as were before occasioned by the cupidity of territory or dominion?
Let the point of extreme depression to which our national dignity and credit have sunk, let the inconveniences felt everywhere from a lax and ill administration of government, let the revolt of a part of the State of North Carolina, the late menacing disturbances in Pennsylvania, and the actual insurrections and rebellions in Massachusetts, declare--!
No. 9: The Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection
Author: Alexander Hamilton
A FIRM Union will be of the utmost moment to the peace and liberty of the States, as a barrier against domestic faction and insurrection.
No. 10: The Same Subject Continued: The Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection
November 23, 1787.
Author: James Madison
The diversity in the faculties of men, from which the rights of property originate, is not less an insuperable obstacle to a uniformity of interests. The protection of these faculties is the first object of government. From the protection of different and unequal faculties of acquiring property, the possession of different degrees and kinds of property immediately results; and from the influence of these on the sentiments and views of the respective proprietors, ensues a division of the society into different interests and parties.
But the most common and durable source of factions has been the various and unequal distribution of property. Those who hold and those who are without property have ever formed distinct interests in society. Those who are creditors, and those who are debtors, fall under a like discrimination. A landed interest, a manufacturing interest, a mercantile interest, a moneyed interest, with many lesser interests, grow up of necessity in civilized nations, and divide them into different classes, actuated by different sentiments and views. The regulation of these various and interfering interests forms the principal task of modern legislation, and involves the spirit of party and faction in the necessary and ordinary operations of the government.
No. 19: Other Defects of the Present Confederation
Author: Alexander Hamilton
The tempestuous situation, from which Massachusetts has scarcely emerged, evinces that dangers of this kind are not merely speculative. Who can determine what might have been the issue of her late convulsions, if the malcontents had been headed by a Caesar or by a Cromwell?
No. 28: The Same Subject Continued: The Idea of Restraining the Legislative Authority in Regard to the Common Defense Considered
Author: Alexander Hamilton
It appears that Massachusetts found it necessary to raise troops for repressing the disorders within that State; that Pennsylvania, from the mere apprehension of commotions among a part of her citizens, has thought proper to have recourse to the same measure.
No. 85: Concluding Remarks
Author: Alexander Hamilton
The additional securities to republican government, to liberty and to property, to be derived from the adoption of the plan under consideration, consist chiefly in the restraints which the preservation of the Union will impose on local factions and insurrections, and on the ambition of powerful individuals in single States, who may acquire credit and influence enough, from leaders and favorites, to become the despots of the people; in the diminution of the opportunities to foreign intrigue,
Saturday, April 19
Carter Palestine Israeli Series
by
mammon
on Sat 19 Apr 2008 02:36 PM AKDT
Carter’s book Palestine Peace Not Apartheid has been a source of much controversay and has raised more questions by the veracity of accusations. As he told a crowd of 1,700 at Brandeis, “This is the first time that I’ve ever been called a liar and a bigot and an anti-Semite and a coward and a plagiarist.” “This is hurting me.” Carter may not have been the best President, but he was then, and is now, a decent and intelligent man. The unintended consequence of rudeness and slander to former President Carter is that it taints the accusers as shallow, close-minded, self-centered, and vindictive. It begs a review of the relationship.
So, here are some edited excerpts from Palestine Peace Not Apartheid by Jimmy Carter.
Palestine Peace Not Apartheid
Carter Visits the Palestinians
Carter Describes Gaza
The Israeli Wall
Carter Responds to Critics
And former President Carter is in the news again, this time taking criticism for establishing contact and visiting Hamas.
Carter wraps up visit to Damascus
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7356370.stm
19 April, 2008
Former US President Jimmy Carter has ended a controversial visit to the Syrian capital Damascus. During the visit, he held intensive talks with Khaled Meshaal, leader of militant Palestinian movement Hamas. The talks have been strongly criticized by the current US administration and by Israel, both of which regard Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Mr Carter is withholding any comment on the results of his initiative until he gives a news conference in Jerusalem on Monday. If nothing else, he hopes he may at least have set a precedent by breaking the taboo about speaking to Hamas - something he says is necessary if there's to be peace.
It makes those currently running for president look like running dog stooges.
Where the Candidates are in Agreement
See also: Imperial Hubris Series
Friday, April 18
Where the Candidates are in Agreement
by
mammon
on Fri 18 Apr 2008 02:28 PM AKDT
Carter Palestine Israel Series
Obama-Clinton Debate April 16, 2009
MR. STEPHANOPOULOS: Should it be U.S. policy now to treat an Iranian attack on Israel as if it were an attack on the United States?
SEN. OBAMA: Well, our first step should be to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of the Iranians, and that has to be one of our top priorities. And I will make it one of our top priorities when I'm president of the United States. I have said I will do whatever is required to prevent the Iranians from obtaining nuclear weapons. Now, my belief is that they should also know that I will take no options off the table when it comes to preventing them from using nuclear weapons or obtaining nuclear weapons, and that would include any threats directed at Israel or any of our allies in the region.
MR. STEPHANOPOULOS: So you would extend our deterrent to Israel?
SENATOR OBAMA: As I've said before, I think it is very important that Iran understands that an attack on Israel is an attack on our strongest ally in the region, one that we -- one whose security we consider paramount, and that -- that would be an act of aggression that we -- that I would -- that I would consider an attack that is unacceptable, and the United States would take appropriate action.
MR. STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Clinton, would you?
SENATOR CLINTON: Of course I would make it clear to the Iranians that an attack on Israel would incur massive retaliation from the United States, but I would do the same with other countries in the region. You know, we are at a very dangerous point with Iran. The Bush policy has failed. Iran has not been deterred. They continue to try to not only obtain the fissile material for nuclear weapons but they are intent upon and using their efforts to intimidate the region and to have their way when it comes to the support of terrorism in Lebanon and elsewhere.
I certainly would not meet with Ahmadinejad, because even again today he made light of 9/11 and said he's not even sure it happened and that people actually died. He's not someone who would have an opportunity to meet with me in the White House. But I would have a diplomatic process that would engage him.
We will let the Iranians know that, yes, an attack on Israel would trigger massive retaliation. And finally we cannot permit Iran to become a nuclear weapons power. And this administration has failed in our efforts to convince the rest of the world that that is a danger, not only to us and not just to Israel but to the region and beyond.
Tuesday, April 15
Warm US welcome for Pope Benedict
by
mammon
on Tue 15 Apr 2008 08:26 PM AKDT
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7348548.stm
16 April 2008
Pope Benedict XVI received an unprecedented presidential greeting from George W Bush as he arrived for his first official visit to the US.
Man of Gold
Church Justice
Sunday, April 13
Diana's Death a 'Tragic Accident': Maybe, Maybe Not
by
mammon
on Sun 13 Apr 2008 12:03 PM AKDT
Gordon Thomas wrote of a scenario Diana's death in 1999. Below is a summary. After the summary are chronicled articles of Diana's death as they appear, which migrates through complete denial, investigation, inquest jury, and now verdict. Her death remains an enigma with powerful parties are involved.
It will be interesting to see if Mr. Thomas' account of her death plays out or not. It will also be interesting to see how Mohammed al-Fayed [Dodi's father] handles the verdict of the inquest. Will he repect the outcome of British justice, or will he see it as an expected outcome? After all, who would really expect to see a verdict against British royalty and British intelligence in a British court? Will al-Fayed had now seek justice outside the courts? It can be a deadly game when played on their level. Stay tuned.
Gideon's Spies by Gordon Thomas, 1999
Death of Princess Diana and Dodi Al-Fayed
The Ritz Hotel had become important in Mossad's overall strategy. The hotel remained a meeting place for Middle Eastern arms brokers and their European contacts. Mossad had decided to have an informer in the Ritz who would be able to report on activities. As a chauffeur to VIPs, Henri Paul would be in good position to overhear their conversations, witness their behavior, see where they went, whom they met.
A Mossad psychologist had concluded that there was an inherent vulnerability about Henri Paul. The psychologist had recommended that steadily increasing pressure, linked with the promise of substantial monetary reward to finance Paul's social life, could be the best way to recruit him.
For Henri Paul in those last days of August 1997, there seemed no way out. He continued to drink, to take pills, to sleep restlessly, to bully junior staff. He was a man teetering close to the edge. Though he managed to conceal it, Henri Paul was unraveling mentally.
Compounding the pressure was the forthcoming visit of Princess Diana and Dodi Al-Fayed. Paul had been put in charge of their security while they were in the hotel, with particular responsibility for keeping away the paparazzi.
Two weeks prior to their deaths, the service had held several meetings with Henri Paul, "who was a paid informer of MI6." Henri Paul had installed a bugging device in the Imperial Suite at the Ritz hotel and had obtained tapes of the "last intimate moments" of Diana and Dodi. Shortly before their death, the couple had spent several hours alone in the suite.
Just past midnight on Sunday, August 31, 1997, the dead were Diana, Princess of Wales, mother of the future king of England; Dodi Al-Fayed, son of Mohammed Al-Fayed, the Egyptian-born owner of Harrods of Knightsbridge, the "Royal" store; and Henri Paul. The couple's bodyguard had been critically injured. "Paul had been blinded as he drove through the underpass by a high-powered flash, a technique which is consistent with MI6 methods in other assassinations."
Moments later, the mysterious white Fiat Uno, which had been seen zigzagging away from the scene of the crash and which traces of paint scrapes had been found in the tunnel, had driven into a side street off the Avenue Montalgne. Waiting there was a pentachnicon, its ramp lowered. The Uno had driven up the ramp, and the pantechnicon's doors had been closed. Hours later, the Uno had been gripped in the claws of a crusher and was reduced to a block of scrap metal.
Mohammed Al-Fayed: "A decision had been made by the Establishment, and at the very top, that Diana must not be allowed to marry a Muslim. Then the future king of England, Prince William, would have an Arab as his stepfather and another as his grandfather. There was also a real fear that I would provide the money to allow Diana to become a rival to the Queen of England. The Establishment would do anything to end my son's relationship with the one woman he had ever truly loved."
Mossad's determined attempts to recruit Henri Paul could lead to accusation that this had played a part in Diana's death. To this day Mossad's involvement with Henri Paul has remained a well-kept secret - the way the service had always intended it should remain. Mossad acted at the behest of no one outside Israel.
In The News:
Princess Diana unlawfully killed
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7328754.stm
7 April 2008
Princess Diana was unlawfully killed due to the "gross negligence" of driver Henri Paul and the paparazzi, an inquest jury has found. The jury reached the same verdict for her companion Dodi Al Fayed. In a statement read on Al Fayed's behalf [Dodi's father Mohamed Al-Fayed] he said the verdicts would come as a blow to "millions" of his supporters around the world .
Diana murdered, Al Fayed claims
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7250002.stm
18 February 2008
Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed were murdered, Dodi's father Mohamed Al Fayed has told the inquest into their deaths in a car crash in Paris in 1997. Harrods owner Mr Al Fayed claimed former prime minister Tony Blair, MI5, MI6 and the British ambassador to France were all part of the conspiracy. And he said Princess Diana "knew Prince Philip and Prince Charles were trying to get rid of her". He also said Diana had told him she was pregnant, and the couple were engaged.
And he said Prince Charles was complicit, hoping to make way so he could marry his "crocodile wife" Camilla Parker Bowles. In his evidence, Mr Al Fayed branded Prince Philip a "Nazi" and a "racist" and said: "It's time to send him back to Germany from where he comes."
Diana had 'no signs' of pregnancy
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7113126.stm
26 November 2007
There was no physical evidence that Diana, Princess of Wales was pregnant, according to the British pathologist who examined her body. But he said they would not necessarily be visible very soon after conception. Dr Chapman confirmed that fluids used in embalming could lead to some changes in a body, such as causing blood clots to form, but he said the chemicals would not obscure the physical evidence of a pregnancy if one existed.
'No evidence' of Diana pregnancy
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7025774.stm
3 October 2007
Intimate details of Princess Diana's life will be heard at the inquest into her death, but whether she was pregnant may never be known, the coroner said. Lord Justice Scott Baker said it was likely "pregnancy is a matter that cannot be proved one way or the other in scientific terms in this case". The inquest also heard how members of MI6 were in Paris during the summer Diana and Dodi Al Fayed both died.
Diana Death Anniversary Marked
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/AC8E6C0F-5E8B-44D6-A08A-11067F69B7D6.htm
August 31, 2007
Among the absentees at the service was Mohammed al-Fayed, the father of Diana's Egyptian boyfriend. Al-Fayed, owner of the luxury London store Harrods, accuses Britain's royal family of ordering the couple's murder to prevent them from marrying.
Diana died in the early hours of August 31, 1997, alongside Dodi al-Fayed, following a crash in a tunnel. Despite comprehensive police inquiries ruling out foul play, some Britons share al-Fayed's suspicions that the deaths were not an accident. An official inquest into the deaths will begin on October 2, propelling Diana into the headlines once again
Diana Inquest: Royals on the Stand?
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/03/04/diana.inquest.reut/index.html
Mar 04, 2007
Mohamed al Fayed, whose son Dodi died alongside Diana in a Paris car crash 10 years ago, wants to call Diana's ex-husband Prince Charles and her ex-father-in-law the Duke of Edinburgh as witnesses. The multimillionaire owner of the luxury Harrods department store, who is convinced the couple were murdered, won a major legal challenge last week when London's High Court ruled that the inquest should be heard before a jury.
Diana's Death a 'Tragic Accident'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6179275.stm
Dec 14, 2006
An official UK police inquiry into the Paris car crash which killed Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed has found no evidence the couple were murdered. The evidence suggests Princess Diana was not engaged or about to get engaged and scientific tests showed she was not pregnant, he said.
Wednesday, April 9
IMF to Sell Gold
by
mammon
on Wed 09 Apr 2008 11:04 AM AKDT
Now we're talking real money. When the powers-that-be start liquidating their commodity hoards, that's a clear indicator of change in the economic climate.
IMF plans gold sale to raise $6bn
7 April 2008
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has proposed selling some of its gold holdings as part of radical plans to shore up its troubled finances. It hopes to raise at least $6bn (£3bn) from the sale of 12.97 million ounces of gold, about 12% of the total held.
The gold sale is dependent on approval by US Congress. It also relies on approval from many of the 185 countries that are members of the Washington-based institution.
Wednesday, April 2
Bernanke Economic Outlook to Congress 04-02-08 – Color Coded Analysis
by
mammon
on Wed 02 Apr 2008 08:17 PM AKDT
Chairman Ben S. Bernanke
The economic outlook
Before the Joint Economic Committee, U.S. Congress
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