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Politics : Bush Administration's Media Manipulation--MediaGate? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tejek who wrote (5234)	9/23/2005 9:49:25 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9838

Re: Two years later, the ex machinist has a job in data processing that pays nearly as much as his machinist job did. Uh, not with unemployment at 12%. If you like socialism, move to Europe!

To: tejek who wrote (5234)	9/23/2005 11:01:15 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9838

Japan's National Debt Hits Record High 57 minutes ago news.yahoo.com TOKYO - Japan's government debt, already the highest in the industrialized world, rose 1.7 percent to a record high of 795.8 trillion yen ($7.1 trillion) at the end of June, according to a report released by the Finance Ministry. The latest figure marked an increase of 14.3 trillion yen from the end of March , the ministry said Thursday. The amount is equivalent to about 6.24 million yen ($55,900) for every Japanese. Japan has relied on government bond issues to make up for falling tax revenues, turning into one of the world's most indebted countries. Japan's public debt burden is almost 160 percent of its GDP and already the highest in the industrialized world. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, voted back to office following a landslide win in the Sept. 11 lower house elections, has pledged to improve the country's finances by reining in public spending and creating a smaller government. A package of bills that would privatize Japan's massive postal service, set to be approved during a special parliamentary session that began Wednesday, has been the cornerstone of Koizumi's reform agenda. Advisers to the government have also been mulling ways to raise taxes when the nation's economic recovery takes firmer root.

To: tejek who wrote (5234)	9/23/2005 1:14:35 PM
From: Skywatcher	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 9838

Frist's HCA Stock Sale Being Investigated Friday September 23, 11:40 am ET By Jonathan M. Katz, Associated Press Writer SEC, Federal Prosecutors Investigating Senate Majority Leader Frist's Sale of Stock in HCA WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Securities and Exchange Commission and federal prosecutors are investigating Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's sale of stock in HCA Inc., the hospital operating company founded by his family. ADVERTISEMENT In a statement released Friday, the Nashville-based company said federal prosecutors for the Southern District of New York issued a subpoena for documents HCA believes are related to the sale of its stock by the senator. Frist's office confirmed the SEC is looking into the sale. "Not surprisingly, the Securities and Exchange Commission contacted Senator Frist's office after the story appeared in the press about the sale of his Hospital Corporation of America stock," Frist spokesman Bob Stevenson said in an e-mail. "The majority leader will provide the SEC any information that it needs with respect to this matter." Frist traded using only public information, and only to eliminate the appearance of a conflict of interest, Stevenson said. "His only objective in selling the stock was to eliminate the appearance of a conflict of interest," Frist spokeswoman Amy Call said Friday. The SEC had not contacted HCA as of Friday morning, said HCA spokesman Jeff . He declined further comment. HCA, the nation's largest for-profit hospital company, was founded by Frist's father. His brother was formerly its CEO and chairman and remains on the board of directors. Frist asked a trustee to sell all his HCA stock in June, near a 52-week stock price peak of $58.40 and at the same time HCA insiders were selling off shares. Reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission showed insiders sold about 2.3 million shares, worth about $112 million, from January through June, said Mark LoPresti of Thomson Financial. The sale came about two weeks before the company issued a disappointing earnings forecast that drove its stock price down almost 16 percent by mid-July. They still have not recovered, closing Thursday at $45.90. The value of Frist's stock at the time of the sale was not disclosed. Earlier this year, he reported holding blind trusts valued at $7 million to $35 million. The sale of stock was first reported Monday by Congressional Quarterly. On Tuesday, The Associated Press reported that the stock was sold at or near its peak between June 13, when Frist asked the shares to be sold, and July 1, when he was told the sale was complete. On July 8 he was informed that his wife and children's shares had also been sold per his request, his spokeswoman Amy Call said. For years, Frist was criticized for holding HCA stock while directing legislation on Medicare reform and patient issues. He and his office have consistently deflected criticism by noting that his assets were in a blind trust and not under his active control. But Senate ethics rules allowed him more control than most observers realized. Under the guidelines, senators can directly order the sale of any asset in the trust to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. The senator also can communicate to the trustee matters of concern, including "an interest in maximizing income or long-term capital gain." That is not how blind trusts normally work, said David Becker, who was general counsel at the SEC from 2000 to 2002. Frist, a Tennessee Republican, is widely considered a potential presidential candidate in 2008. HCA said the subpoena seeks the "production of documents," and said it plans to fully cooperate with the investigation. On Thursday, SEC spokesman John Nester would neither confirm nor deny that Frist or any officer or director of HCA is the subject of an investigation, citing the agency's policy. Shares of HCA were up 25 cents to $46.15 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange.