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To: westpacific who wrote (97716)	5/19/2009 1:07:36 PM
From: Bucky Katt	Respond to of 116555

GM is way behind the curve again> Daimler buys stake in electric carmaker. Germany’s Daimler has bought a nearly 10 per cent stake in Tesla, the Silicon Valley-based maker of electric-powered sports cars, the two companies said on Tuesday. The deal marks a further push by the maker of Mercedes-Benz luxury vehicles into battery-powered cars, and represents a vote of confidence in Tesla, a pioneer in electric cars that has struggled to raise funds during the credit crunch. The companies, which already co-operate on electric versions of Daimler’s tiny Smart car, will work together on batteries, electric drive systems, and vehicle projects. No price was given for the stake in privately held Tesla. “Our strategic partnership is an important step to accelerate the commercialisation of electric drives globally,” Thomas Weber, Daimler’s head of research and development, said in a statement. “As a young and dynamic company, Tesla stands for visionary power and pioneering spirit.” Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive and largest shareholder, described the investment as “a powerful endorsement of our technology”. Tesla had been providing lithium-ion battery packs and charging electronics into the first 1,000 electric versions of Daimler’s Smart. About 100 of the cars are currently being tested in London, and Daimler plans to begin production of them at a plant in France later this year. Daimler plans to introduce the first battery-powered car under its Mercedes-Benz brand next year. The carmaker in March founded a joint venture to develop lithium-ion car batteries with Evonik Industries AG, and from 2012 it plans to equip all of its electrc cars with the batteries.

To: westpacific who wrote (97716)	5/19/2009 1:57:59 PM
From: Bucky Katt	3 Recommendations Respond to of 116555

From Ron Paul> Audit the Fed, Then End It! The main argument seems to be that Congressional oversight over the Fed is government interference in the free market. This argument shows a misunderstanding of what a free market really is. Fundamentally, you cannot defend the Federal Reserve and the free market at the same time. The Fed negates the very foundation of a free market by artificially manipulating the price and supply of money – the lifeblood of the economy. In a free market, interest rates, like the price of any other consumer good, are decentralized and set by the market. The only legitimate, Constitutional role of government in monetary policy is to protect the integrity of the monetary unit and defend against counterfeiters. Instead, Congress has abdicated this responsibility to a cabal of elite, quasi-governmental banks who, instead of stabilizing the economy, have destabilized it. It took less than two decades for the Federal Reserve to bring on the Great Depression of the 1930’s. It has also inflated away the value of our currency by over 96 percent since its inception. It has invisibly stolen from the poor and given to the rich through this controlled inflation, and now openly stolen through recent bank bailouts. It has predictably exacerbated the very problems it was meant to solve. house.gov