Jun 11, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
From today's lead NY Sun editorial:Something is wrong with a process in which President Bush's spokesman is insisting to the American people that, as far as President Bush is concerned, Yasser Arafat is not involved--while at the same time, Mr. Abbas is telling the Palestinian Arab people that Mr. Arafat is involved. This is a simple question of checkable fact, after all. Either Mr. Arafat is involved or he is not. The reality of his involvement shouldn't depend on whether you're George W. Bush or Mahmoud Abbas.... If the White House is willing to turn a blind eye to Mr. Arafat's involvement, who is to say that it won't turn a blind eye to terrorist activity by the "new" Palestinian leadership? [June 10, 2003, NY Sun]
Jun 11, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
From MSN Money:At her Web site, Stewart and her lawyers adamantly deny wrongdoing on her part....She claims she was simply responding to a call from her stockbroker when she sold shares of biotech company ImClone right before news on a setback in approval of a cancer drug sent the company's shares reeling. "I am confident I will be exonerated of these baseless charges, but a trial unfortunately won't take place for months," Stewart writes.
At least one fund manager who holds shares in the company uses some compelling logic to reach the same conclusion. "Everyone knows (that) if she settles the stock goes up," says the fund manager. "Since she owns 30 million shares, the amount she would make on the stock going up would be far more than any penalties she would have to pay. But this woman is not settling because she believes she did nothing wrong. I think this is going to blow up in the government's face."
Good thing the fund manager remained unnamed in the story--we wouldn't want him investigated for speaking against the government.
Jun 11, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
Writes Alan Reynolds in Canada's National Post:...the SEC's complaint effectively refutes both its own charges and those of the government. The SEC says, "Stewart asked Faneuil for the current market price of ImClone shares and was given a quote of approximately $58 a share. Stewart then instructed Faneuil to sell." That is exactly why Stewart said she sold ImClone that day -- the price was falling fast. Faneuil's now claims he told her that the Waksal family was selling, but not why (Waksal did not say). But the SEC refutes Faneuil's new story too by saying, "Stewart then immediately called Waksal [after selling her ImClone shares], and left the following message: "Martha Stewart [called] something is going on with ImClone and she wants to know what." The fact that she had to ask that question proves Martha Stewart did not know what was going on with ImClone after talking to Faneuil and selling her shares. End of story. Case closed...
...It took the government a year to fabricate three new offences, all of which amount to the same charge of giving a supposedly misleading explanation for a perfectly legal stock sale. This newly refabricated case is not about illegal lying at all: Martha Stewart has not been charged with perjury. Perjury is one of the fabled "nine counts" that is not hers, but her broker's. In a more important sense, however, this case has always been about lying. There was Congressional lying a year ago about Martha Stewart's alleged tip from Sam [Waksal]. And what little remains of that discarded case is now based entirely on the testimony of a proven liar, Douglas Faneuil. He says he was lying before (when he supported Stewart's recollection) but has converted to telling the truth now (when he supports the government's story). Yet this is a fellow who admits his past testimony has been for sale, and any gift Mr. Faneuil may have gotten from his boss was token change compared to being offered only a misdemeanor wrist slap and let off without even a dollar fine. [National Post, "The Sleazy Political Persecution of Martha", Alan Reynolds, June 6, 2003]
And from the WSJ:
Prosecutors didn't see fit to bring a criminal charge of insider trading (perhaps because there's no case) over her sale of ImClone shares. Instead, the U.S. Attorney relies on a securities fraud charge to give the appearance of added heft to the alleged wrongdoing. The claim is that because her own company is so dependent on "Martha" the brand name, her alleged lies about the motive for her ImClone sale amount to a material misleading of the shareholders of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia...So all of her "crimes" arise from her fear of prosecution over something that wasn't a crime (her ImClone sale). ["Mayhem Over Martha", June 5, 2003, WSJ]
The op-ed also makes an excellent observation on "insider trading":
...Insider trading traditionally presumed the culprit was violating a duty of confidentiality to a client or employer. The SEC has gradually overthrown this clear-headed definition in favor of one in which the market itself is "wronged" if somebody trades for the "wrong" reason, defined as somebody having information that she was supposed to know she wasn't supposed to have. Presumably a scrap of paper could blow into your pocket and if it contained material nonpublic information, you could be charged with insider trading for acting on it. ["Mayhem Over Martha", June 5, 2003, WSJ]
Jun 11, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
From NY Sun:U.N. member states continue to insist that blowing up Israelis is one thing, terrorism another. The U.N. Commission on Human Rights passed a resolution on April 14 of this year, which affirmed the legitimacy of suicide-bombing -- or in U.N.-speak "all available means including armed struggle" to resist "foreign occupation and for self-determination." All European Union members of the Commission including Britain and France, with the only exception being Germany, refused to vote against the resolution and merely abstained.
So when Egypt's President Mubarak said this past Tuesday, on behalf of Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian Authority, "We will continue to fight the scourge of terrorism against humanity and reject the culture of extremism and violence in any form or shape -- from whatever source or place, regardless of justifications or motives," his language was deliberate sophistry. The Arab Terrorism Convention stipulates their real views, repeated by Saudi officials to the 2003 UN Commission on Human Rights: "We should distinguish between the phenomenon of terrorism and the right of peoples to achieve self-determination." [Anne Bayefsky, "Letting the United Nations Steer," June 9, 2003, NY Sun]
Jun 11, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
From NY Sun:[T]he military historian Max Hastings spelt [it] out: "The Prime Minister committed British troops and sacrificed British lives on the basis of a deceit." Sir Max's thesis is that Mr. Blair and his American masters lied to the world about Saddam's arsenal in order to justify an invasion that would prove no such arsenal existed and that they were a bunch of liars. [Mark Steyn, "Bush and Blair's War Fates," June 9, 2003, NY Sun]
Jun 11, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
From the NY Sun:...the fact of the matter is that [Israeli] settlements are not an "obstacle to peace." If the Palestinians are committed to peaceful coexistence with Israel, why should they demand that their nascent state be Judenrein...?
On Tuesday, The International Herald Tribune provided the answer to this question. It did so by publishing the results of a Pew Global Attitudes Project opinion poll taken last month of 15,000 citizens of eight Arab and Muslim countries Kuwait, Jordan, Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia, Lebanon, Nigeria and Morocco and the Palestinian Authority. These results show what the real obstacle to peace is. Eighty percent of Palestinians agreed with the statement: "The rights and needs of the Palestinian people cannot be taken care of as long as the State of Israel exists." Ninety percent of Moroccans, 85% of Jordanians and 72% of Kuwaitis also agreed with the statement, as did solid majorities in Lebanon, Pakistan and Indonesia.
As well, the three most trusted world leaders for these Arab and Muslim societies are Osama bin Laden, Yasser Arafat and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah. Finally, 80% of Jordanians and 90% of Palestinians expressed deep hatred not simply for American policy but for Americans as people. At the same time, 99% of Jordanians and 98% of Palestinians claim to have an unfavorable view of America as do a majority of those questioned in the other countries polled. [Caroline Glick, "The Outposts," June 9, 2003, NY Sun]
Jun 11, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
From the June 10 NY Sun:[Kofi] Annan was "deeply concerned over reports of widespread violence, injuries suffered by the civilian population and looting," said his spokesman, Fred Eckhardt, who also reiterated Mr. Annan's "firm condemnation of any attempt to change the government of any country by force or by other unconstitutional means." [June 10, 2003, NY Sun]
Any country?
Jun 10, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
The Miami Herald reports that if Sultaana Freeman [mug shot] want's a Florida driver's license, she cannot cover her face with a veil for her photo ID.Howard Marks, Freeman's attorney, said the ruling would be appealed. The ACLU of Florida said it was disappointed in Thorpe's statement that while Freeman "most likely poses no threat to national security," others may take advantage of a ruling in her favor to threaten lives. "So we have to infringe on Freeman's religious beliefs because of what someone else might do," ACLU legal director Randall C. Marshall said. "It seems to be a funny kind of interpretation on how the law should apply."
What if her beliefs involved beating up children?
Freeman, a convert to Islam previously known as Sandra Kellar, started wearing a veil in 1997. She had a mug shot taken without the veil after her arrest in Illinois in 1998 on a domestic battery charge involving one of twin 3-year-old sisters who were in her foster care. Child welfare workers told investigators that Freeman and her husband had used their concerns about religious modesty to hinder them from looking for bruises on the girls, according to the police records. The girls were removed from the home.
Sultaana Freeman should not feel too bad--in Saudi Arabia she would not be able to wear a veil to cover her face for a photo ID--in fact, she in Saudi Arabia women are not even permitted to drive. (Postscript: In Muslim countries where women are allowed to drive, such as Iran, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Jordan, women do not cover their faces for a photo ID.)
Jun 10, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
On April 27, 2003, Dr. Yaron Brook argued against an Islamic state in Iraq on At Large with Geraldo Rivera on the Fox News Channel. Watch now (requires Real Player).Jun 10, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
Martha Stewart has launch a site to defend her self against the government's witchunt against her and her company. The site, marthatalks.com, features letters from Martha's supporters, as well as facts to 'Set the Record Straight.' Comments Newsday,...Martha Stewart says the Web site she started just days ago to defend her name against a federal indictment has been swamped by more than 6 million visitors, with thousands offering e-mails of praise and support.
... The e-mails have been roughly 98 percent positive, Stewart spokeswoman Anna Cordasco said. She would not disclose specific plans for the site's future but said it would be kept "fresh and up to date."
Paul Levinson, chair of Fordham University's media studies department, said Stewart's campaign is designed to sway potential jurors who might assume she is guilty simply because she has been indicted. "I've heard people talk cynically about the juror point [--] trying to soften up the jurors," he said. "But that's exactly what the government is doing by holding a press conference, by making it a big public issue."
..."She doesn't have a whole variety of options to make people who dislike her like her," he said. "What she can do is put a press on the Justice Department by having her supporters hammer the narrative that this is a witchhunt." [Newsday]
Or as one astute Marth fan writes on a letter posted to Martha Stewart's site:
We can't think of ANYONE in this country or abroad who has worked harder than you. We admire your vision, energy, imagination and the way you reach high goals for yourself and your businesses. The range of your interests and knowledge is astounding. You are an inspiring example to millions of people of someone who aimed for...and reached..."the great American dream."
We support you in thoughts and prayers in this unfortunate situation/court battle. We are saddened by this attack on you and we feel you are the target of people who are jealous and lack common sense. We can't understand why our courts waste so much time and money persecuting our highest achievers, like you and Bill Gates. It is counter-productive, to say the least.
The reason is simple: it is hatred of the good for being the good. For details see Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. (Hat Tip: V. Bray)
Related Story: "Insider Trading" Charges Against Martha Stewart.
Jun 10, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
Writes David Holcberg at the Ayn Rand Institute:President Bush's meeting with Mahmoud Abbas in Jordan last week was a huge mistake and a betrayal of the principle that terrorists should not be negotiated with but eradicated.
Negotiations are proper only between individuals who are open to reason, who respect each other's rights, and whose purpose is to exchange values for mutual benefit, without coercion. But the Palestinian leadership--religious and secular--is rabidly irrational, has no respect for the rights of Israelis (or Palestinians) to their lives and property, and seeks, by means of terrorism, to blackmail Israel into surrendering its land for nothing but empty promises to stop the violence.
The Palestinian regime under Arafat has always been and still is a terrorist regime. Arafat's appointment of Mahmoud Abbas as "prime minister" changed nothing.
President Bush's push for the creation of a Palestinian state is a big setback in America's own war against terrorism, since a Palestinian state would be another terrorist state to deal with. Moreover, the president's move sends our enemies the message that terrorism pays. If President Bush is serious about keeping his promise to "rid the world of terror," he should abandon the idea of creating a Palestinian state and start supporting the eradication of the Palestinian regime.
Jun 10, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
From CBS Marketwatch:
Sam Waksal, the former ImClone Systems executive whose insider trading has put Martha Stewart in prosecutors' crosshairs, is expected to learn his fate in federal court on Tuesday...
"The number of years Waksal will get would depend on how cooperative he has been," said Larry Soderquist, a law professor at Vanderbilt University. Soderquist said he believes Waksal will get three years jail time. The former ImClone executive hasn't appeared to be cooperating with prosecutors.
What does such "non-cooperation" consist of not doing?
Waksal also likely did not provide any information to government attorneys on Martha Stewart, according to Mintz. ...
Last week, Stewart was indicted for allegedly receiving insider information for her sale of ImClone shares in December 2001. Stewart, a friend of Sam Waksal's, pleaded not guilty to allegations of obstruction, false statements and securities fraud. Stewart also resigned as chairman and chief executive of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.
The public, after the Enron and WorldCom scandals, is not likely to accept hand slaps of white-collar criminals, even though Waksal did not engage in an Enron type of situation, said Soderquist. "This is not a good time to be sentenced." ["Waksal's fate to be decided Tuesday", June 9, 2003, CBSMW]
Related News: ImClone Vindicated?, "Insider Trading" Charges Against Martha Stewart
Related Articles: The SEC's "Insider Trading" Witch Hunt Against ImClone's Sam Waksal: Scapegoat for the Sins of the FDA, Martha and the Tall Poppies
Jun 9, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses, Dollars & Crosses 2
"The journey we're taking is difficult, but there is no other choice," President Bush said in reference to Israel making peace with the Palestinians. "No leader of conscience can accept more months and years of humiliation, killing and mourning. I know that peace can finally come."A democratic republic that respects the rights of Jews and non-Jews alike (i.e. Israel) must tolerate the existence of a state committed to violence and terrorism (Palestinians -- remember who they are? The people who cheered in the streets at the attacks on America on 9/11. The people whose leader, Arafat, makes deals with the Iranians, the world's number one sponsor of terrorism).Bush's premise: The view of the philosopher Descartes who claimed, "I think, therefore I am." The infinitely superior philosopher, Ayn Rand, called this view the primacy of consciousness -- the idea that wishes and intentions (the products of consciousness) supercede objective reality.President Bush has now brought Descartes' philosophical viewpoint to the Middle East: I wish it, therefore it will be so.Try telling this to the next victims of Palestinian terrorism.Jun 9, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
From the Sun Sentinel:For years, anti-Castro activist Ramon Saul Sanchez has claimed his right to return to his Cuban homeland in defiance of the U.S. government's attempts to stop him. Now the same country that prosecuted Sanchez to keep him out of Cuban territorial waters is going to court to determine if he should be sent back to Cuba...This fall, an immigration judge will determine whether he has a right to stay in the United States.
...when he showed up at the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, Sanchez said immigration officials arrested him on suspicion of being in the country illegally and told him to appear before an immigration judge to sort out his status. He was released on his own recognizance.
Sanchez doesn't think he'll be deported to Cuba, but says it's up to the conscience of U.S. officials. "When I wanted to exercise my right to return home, you detained me and you wanted to put me in prison for 10 years," he said. "Now you're coming back and saying 'I'm going to deport you, handcuffed, and return you to Fidel Castro.' I'm not going to encourage you to do that but I'm not going to resist you." ["Cuban activist faces immigration hearing", Sun Sentinel, June 7, 2003]
Hat Tip: Jim Woods.
Jun 6, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
Why religious faith and the rational principle of private property does not mix:Islamic activists in Multan, in the Pakistani province of Punjab, have threatened to burn down posters featuring images of women if city officials do not remove them within two days. On Friday, the activists smeared three billboards put up by multinational companies in the city with black paint...
...Mr Babar said: "These multinational companies want to promote obscenity, lewdness and vulgarity by showing women in different poses. "We will not let them do so." He denied the group was vandalising private property. "It is they who are acting contrary to Islamic law by promoting vulgarity," Mr Babar said. ["Pakistan Islamists in posters threat", BBC, June 6, 2003]
If the right to life and liberty were from God, then Mr. Babar would be right. But, the basis of property is not religious, but philosophical, or rather a scientific observation of the requirements for man to live in a society with other men. Only then can religion "work" within the framework of rights; but faith-based ethics should have no bearing on that framework.
Jun 5, 2003 | Dollars & Crosses
From AFP:...Martha Stewart resigned as head of her company, shortly after she was charged with securities fraud in a long-running insider trading scandal. "I love this company, its people, and everything it stands for and I am stepping aside as chairman and CEO because it is the right thing to do," Stewart said in a statement...The nine charges levelled at Stewart, 61, and her Merrill Lynch broker, Peter Bacanovic, included conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements to prosecutors and the FBI. She pleaded not guilty to all charges.
...There was no criminal insider trading charge, which analysts had suggested would be difficult to prove...the Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil charges of "illegal insider trading" in connection with her sale in December, 2001 of shares in biotech firm ImClone Systems, Inc...The SEC said it was also seeking a court order barring Stewart from being a director of any publicly traded company.
...The company share price has been cut in half since Stewart was first implicated in the insider trading scandal a year ago...If convicted on all charges, Stewart would "certainly be facing jail time," [US Attorney James Comey] said....Stewart has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, saying her trade was based on an agreement with her broker to sell the ImClone shares once they fell below a certain level.
Related: Martha and the Tall Poppies
