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To: zonder who wrote (275536)	1/29/2004 9:09:50 AM
From: sammaster	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 436258

rates were 12% in 1980 while gold hit $800.... gold kept going up even as interest rates rose... fear of uncontrolled inflation.... its not so much the absolute interest rate as the fear of inflation...or the fear that their currency will become worthless... the way the world is printing money to keep their currencies weak and their economies alive it seems to be inflationary for now

To: zonder who wrote (275536)	1/29/2004 9:14:21 AM
From: Pogeu Mahone	Respond to of 436258

$116m awarded in terrorism suit By Marcella Bombardieri, Globe Staff, 1/29/2004 A Rhode Island federal judge has ordered the Palestinian militant group Hamas to pay $116 million to the family of an Israeli couple gunned down by terrorists in Israel. It was only the second time that a US judge has awarded damages to the victims of nongovernment sponsors of foreign terrorism, and it was the first time that a judge has laid out a mechanism to determine what the damages should be and to specifically provide for emotional losses. "What it means is that private individuals can utilize the legal system to join the international fight against terrorism," said David J. Strachman, the lawyer representing the family of Yaron and Efrat Ungar. "It empowers the victims." Hamas gunmen sprayed the Israeli couple's car with bullets in 1996 on the road near the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh. Three Hamas militants went to jail for the killings, but their families sought to hold the group's leadership responsible, as well. The families became the first to file a lawsuit under a law Congress passed in 1991 allowing suits in US courts against foreign terrorist organizations. Their victory allows them to try to seize Hamas assets on US soil. The law was later cited by the families of two victims of the Sept. 11 attacks who filed a lawsuit in federal court in New York against Afghanistan, the Taliban, Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, Iraq, and Saddam Hussein. The judge in that case found that Iraq had supported Al Qaeda and bin Laden, and held Iraq among those liable for $104 million in damages, even though the US government has not asserted there is a link between Hussein's regime and the Sept. 11 attacks. The judge later ruled that the families could not collect from Iraqi assets frozen in the United States, because government lawyers argued that the money was needed to rebuild Iraq. In his decision Tuesday, US District Judge Ronald R. Lagueux upheld a July decision from Magistrate Judge David L. Martin, who argued that "the deterrent effect of the legislation" that gave the family the right to sue "will be maximized if it is interpreted to subject terrorists to the broadest possible range of damages."The two judges held Hamas responsible for both the family's economic loss and for mental anguish and loss of companionship. "The case isn't about money per se," Strachman said. "The case is about inflicting economic damage and punishment on the terrorists." Strachman says he has been researching ways of collecting the money from Hamas and intends to pursue the organization's assets aggressively. However, Lagueux said that Hamas's known assets on US soil are rapidly depleting. "Simply put, time is of the essence," Lagueux wrote. "Any delay in entering a final judgment against Hamas may make plaintiffs unable to collect the compensation due to them and cause Plaintiffs to suffer further injustices at the hands of Hamas." Another law, passed in 1996, made it possible to sue certain countries for terrorist acts if the countries are on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism. That has led to several judgments, most of them against Iran, but the accused countries have yet to pay. Hamas has had no legal representation in the Rhode Island lawsuit, which also includes the Palestinian Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority. A ruling on damages against the PLO and the PA has not been made. Yaron Ungar was born in New York, giving his estate the right to sue in US court. Bombardieri can be reached at bombardieri@globe.com. © Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company. © Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

To: zonder who wrote (275536)	1/29/2004 10:03:08 AM
From: Bid Buster	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

What came first, the chicken or the egg?..I tend to think money supply is the root cause of inflation, not rates..rates are just the reaction and can be held artificially high or low. Its pretty clear we've had inflation for some time in U.S. produced goods and services...and i think its safe to say inflation is under reported in the PPI and CPI with hedonic accounting. Your right about gold not being the only hedge against inflation..money tends to shift to commodities and hard assets. A couple of people have said higher rates are deflationary but wouldn't a higher cost of borrowing be inflationary in itself?