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Politics : Impeach George W. Bush -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TigerPaw who wrote (3760)	6/27/2001 12:30:39 PM
From: Mephisto	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93284

CHENEY withholds List of Those Who Spoke to Energy Panel Cheney "has declined to identify the people who met privately with his energy task force, raising tensions with Congressional investigators who have repeatedly requested the information. Above excerpt was from story was by JOSEPH KAHN Published in The New York Times Tuesday, June 26, 2001 Page A17 *****************************................................************************************ The American people have a right to know the names of the people who helped shape Bush's energy policy. JMOP, Mephisto

To: TigerPaw who wrote (3760)	6/28/2001 11:41:42 PM
From: Mephisto	Respond to of 93284

MORE ABOUT O'NEILL AND HIS TAX HAVENS. Tax Havens are for crooks! JMOP- Mephisto .......................................***********************....................................... Wrong Signal on Money Laundering "The Treasury secretary's review is partly a response to the wishes of some in the financial industry, a generous contributor to George W. Bush's presidential campaign. A loose coalition of banks, privacy and free-market advocates helped persuade Mr. O'NEILL a month ago TO WEAKEN a three-year effort by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development TO CRACK DOWN ON OFFSHORE TAX HAVENS. " June 28, 2001 Editorial** From The New York Times If Americans doubted the extent to which the country's banking system is being used to launder the profits of global criminals, they received fresh evidence this week with the arrest of the former Peruvian spy chief, Vladimiro Montesinos. His hiding place in Venezuela reportedly was exposed when he sent an emissary to Miami to withdraw $38 million he had sequestered in various American bank accounts. But now the Bush administration seems intent on weakening a worldwide campaign to clamp down on money laundering. If it does, coordinated global efforts to combat narcotics trafficking, arms smuggling, terrorism and other forms of organized crime will suffer a serious setback. Ever since the first Bush administration, the United States has been a leader in international efforts to crack down on money laundering — the main device by which criminals profit from and finance their activities. Among the most important weapons are longstanding rules that require banks to report any suspicious transactions to the government, as well as cash deposits over $10,000 — a figure that Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill might raise to $25,000. The requirement that banks report suspicious activities has been an especially effective deterrent to money launderers and a valuable evidentiary tool for prosecutors. Mr. O'Neill, however, says that these and other laws impose "significant cost on society," an apparent reference to the paperwork required of banks. He has also questioned the value of the $700 million the government spends annually to fight laundering. Rigorous scrutiny of costs and benefits is certainly appropriate, but it must also take into account costs imposed on society by organized crime. These include everything from drug addiction to human smuggling, arms trafficking and official corruption. Over the years, money laundering has also helped destabilize entire financial systems, most recently in Asia and Russia. Mr. O'Neill's decision to reassess broadly accepted rules has sent an alarming signal to America's law enforcement community as well as to the nation's allies even as Washington continues to join them in pressuring nations like Russia and the Philippines to adopt the same kinds of rules. The Treasury secretary's review is partly a response to the wishes of some in the financial industry, a generous contributor to George W. Bush's presidential campaign. A loose coalition of banks, privacy and free-market advocates helped persuade Mr. O'Neill a month ago to weaken a three-year effort by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to crack down on offshore tax havens. They also helped to block legislation last year that would have expanded rules that require banks to find out more about individuals and foreign jurisdictions they are dealing with. The legislation won bipartisan support, but was blocked by Senator Phil Gramm of Texas a foe of government regulation and a friend of Texas banks, which fear losing business with Mexican banks. Republicans cannot claim to be tough on crime as long as they continue to sabotage domestic and international efforts to prevent criminals from laundering their profits. nytimes.com

To: TigerPaw who wrote (3760)	6/29/2001 12:20:13 AM
From: Mephisto	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93284

O'Neill has a cozy relationship with analysts and investments bankers. They donated large sums of money to The Bushy Jr. campaign. AND they were the ones who promoted all those .com companies. Remember? Many SI Investors lost money on the advice of analysts. Here's an article about O'Neill relationship to a few of those companies..-Mephisto ......................................................*******************************......................................... Wall St. Advocacy Group Gets White House Help** Treasury Secretary to Address Coalition That Plans to Promote Social Security Privatization Political reform activists said that from the administration's perspective, O'Neill's embrace of the Wall Street group could backfire by drawing attention to the financial rewards available to financial services companies, RATHER THAN THE BENEFITS FOR ALL AMERICANS. By John Mintz Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, June 17, 2001; Page A02 "Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill will be the keynote speaker at a luncheon Monday for a new organization of Wall Street companies that will promote the privatization of Social Security, a policy shift that would bring the firms billions of dollars in fees and commissions" . The new group, the Coalition for American Financial Security, plans to raise funds "in $100,000s and $250,000s" from insurance companies, mutual fund firms, financial services businesses and the like, said a business executive knowledgeable about the effort. The luncheon at Manhattan's Windows on the World restaurant, which is expected to draw representatives from about 50 Wall Street firms, is not a fundraiser, but rather a kickoff event for the group. Financial solicitations will come later, people connected to the effort said. At this point, the coalition plans to launch town hall meetings and an Internet site for its cause, but not to broadcast TV or radio ads. A spokesman for O'Neill said Bush administration officials see nothing out of the ordinary with O'Neill's addressing the group about a policy change the administration supports. "He speaks to many coalition groups that favor the administration's agenda," said Treasury spokeswoman Michele Davis, citing as an example an activist group that pushed for tax cuts. "That's part of his job, talking to groups that share your agenda," she added. It has become commonplace for activists and business groups to organize new entities to lobby or mount public education campaigns. But the twist here is that the coalition has enlisted help from the executive branch in the person of the Treasury secretary, who holds a fiduciary responsibility over the Social Security system. A business executive working with the coalition said that persuading O'Neill to lend credence to its efforts was "quite a coup." In this case, the Bush administration and Wall Street share an interest in allowing workers to set aside part of their Social Security taxes for private investment -- financial firms would make huge sums off the reform, and the Bush administration would advance its political and policy agenda. Political reform activists said that from the administration's perspective, O'Neill's embrace of the Wall Street group could backfire by drawing attention to the financial rewards available to financial services companies, rather than the benefits for all Americans. "If you want to build credibility for this enormously controversial change to the Social Security system, it doesn't seem the best way to do it is by linking up with the industry that will make enormous profits from the change," said Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, which promotes campaign and political reform. The coalition was founded by financial services and money management companies, including Frank Russell Co., creator of the Russell 2000 stock indexes; Mellon Institutional Asset Management; State Street Global Advisors; and Brinson Partners. Among the other early members that paid $5,000 to join is Caterpillar Inc. Other firms expected to send representatives to Monday's event include an insurance firm, American International Group, as well as Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, the American Skandia investment firm and the Financial Services Forum, a banking group whose new president is former GOP representative Rick Lazio of New York. During the Clinton administration, Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin caused a stir when it was learned he had attended a White House gathering over coffee, arranged by the Democratic National Committee, with chief executives of large banks. In 1994, the Democrats also helped fund and organize a group to promote President Bill Clinton's health-care policy agenda, and it received briefings from administration officials, before the Clinton plan was defeated in Congress. © 2001 The Washington Post Company