Question:

Warming warning for Europe By Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark 19aug04 Australia: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,10495784%25… RISING sea levels, disappearing glaciers in the Alps and more deadly heat waves are coming for Europeans because of global warming, Europe’s environmental agency has warned. The European Environment Agency said much more needed to be done – and fast. Climate change "will considerably affect our societies and environments for decades and centuries to come", the agency says in 107-page report. It says rising temperatures could eliminate three-quarters of the Alpine glaciers by 2050 and bring repeats of Europe’s mammoth floods two years ago and the heat wave that killed thousands and burned up crops last northern summer. The rise in sea levels along Europe’s coasts is likely to accelerate, it says. Global warming has been evident for years, but the problem is becoming acute, Jacqueline McGlade, executive director of the Copenhagen-based agency, told The Associated Press. "What is new is the speed of change," she said. "It takes a long time to see these changes in the glaciers, at the sea level, so like big tankers turning around, they take a long time to change. But now that we see them changing direction, then it means that there are warning signals in many parts of our life," she added. Ms McGlade said action was needed at all levels in Europe – continental, regional, national and local. She said, for example, that European nations should insist climate change be on the agenda of international free-trade talks. Greenpeace welcomed the report. Flooding, heat waves and melting glaciers "make people become more and more aware of the consequences of global warming", Steve Sawyer of Greenpeace International told AP Global warming is believed to be intensified by human activities, in particular emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels. The European Union has been a leader in pushing for implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, a UN pact drawn up in 1997 to combat climate change by reducing carbon-dioxide emissions worldwide in 2010 to 8 per cent below 1990 levels. So far 123 countries, including all 25 EU members, have ratified the pact, but it is not in effect because it has not reached the required level of nations accounting for 55 per cent of the industrialised world’s emissions. The United States, the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, has refused to ratify, arguing the agreement would hurt its economy, and Russia also has not signed. The report, Impacts of Europe’s Changing Climate, urges that the Kyoto Protocol be adopted, saying climate changes "will considerably affect our societies and environments for decades and centuries to come". It says the 1990s were the warmest decade on record, and the three hottest years recorded – 1998, 2002 and 2003 – occurred in the past six years, with the average global temperature now rising at almost 0.36 degrees a decade. The report singled out floods across Europe two northern summers ago and last summer’s heat wave in western and southern Europe as examples of destructively extreme weather caused by global warming. The flooding killed about 80 people in 11 countries, affected more than 600,000 and caused economic losses of at least $US18.5 billion ($25.8 billion), the report says. More than 20,000 deaths, many of them elderly, were recorded during the 2003 heat wave, which also caused up to 30 per cent of harvests in many southern countries to fail, it says. The report says melting shrank glaciers in the Alps by 10 per cent in 2003 alone and predicted three-quarters of them could be gone altogether by 2050. European sea levels have been rising by 0.03-0.12 inches a year in the past century, it says, and the rate of increase could be two to four times faster during this century. The agency is sponsored by the 25 EU countries as well as Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. http://reports.eea.eu.int/climate_report_2_2004/en DON’T MOURN, ACT! WEBSITES FOR ACTION: http://www.greenhousenet.org/ http://www.gristmagazine.com/dogood/climate.asp http://www.solarcatalyst.com/ Overview and local actions you can take: http://www.PostCarbon.org = = = = STILL FEELING LIKE THE MAINSTREAM U.S. CORPORATE MEDIA IS GIVING A FULL HONEST PICTURE OF WHAT’S GOING ON? = = = = Daily online radio show, news reporting: www.DemocracyNow.org = = = = Sorry, we cannot read/reply to most usenet posts but welcome email For more information: http://EconomicDemocracy.org/wtc/ (peace) And http://EconomicDemocracy.org/ (general) ** ANTI-SPAM EMAIL NOTE: For email "info" and "map" don’t work. Email instead ** to m-a-i-l-m-a-i-l (without the dashes) at economicdemocracy.org

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Question:

Hi, I currently live in the UK and I was wondering what would be the best way of becoming a commercial pilot. I do not have alot of money and I am about to study for a degree in accounting in order to generate some cash for learning to fly. Does anyone have any ideas of the best path I could follow to earn my commercial flying licence. I do not yet hold a private licence either. Kind Regards, Peter

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I’m accountant here in the US. I worked in the UK when I was in my late 20’s.  I’m now 50 and just starting my lessons. My father worked for the airlines so I grew up around the airports etc but never made the plunge. I just dreamed. Here in the US its an expensive hobby and you need a good income to participate. You’ll make alot more money being a chartered accountant than a commericial pilot. Particularly with the airlines downsizing aircraft and turning them into flying buses. But then again to be up there in the sky, you can’t put a number on that.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi, I currently live in the UK and I was wondering what would be the best way of becoming a commercial pilot. I do not have alot of money and I am about to study for a degree in accounting in order to generate some cash for learning to fly. Does anyone have any ideas of the best path I could follow to earn my commercial flying licence. I do not yet hold a private licence either. Kind Regards, Peter

Response:

Hi, I currently live in the UK and I was wondering what would be the best way of becoming a commercial pilot. I do not have alot of money and I am about to study for a degree in accounting in order to generate some cash for learning to fly. Does anyone have any ideas of the best path I could follow to earn my commercial flying licence. I do not yet hold a private licence either. Kind Regards, Peter

I am in a similar position, always wanted to be a commercial pilot but didn’t know the best route to take. As it happens, I do everything I need to do to get a PPL – except the examinations – as part of my degree so I suppose I am lucky in that way but I’m still not sure what my next step would be. I asked in here (I think) a few months back and was pointed to www.pprune.org , I recommend this site, have a look in forums — wannabe forums and you can get some sound advice in there if you post some questions so I recommend that. A few people said http://www.ctc-mcalpine.com is a good route. Basically, they arrange a  loan (~

Question:

A friend and I took the Nov. 2001 CPA Exam.  She passed LPR, ARE and FARE, but scored 74 in AUDIT.  The teacher of our review course says that appealing to try to get the extra one point (75 is passing) rarely if ever succeeds and is a waste of money? Does anyone know someone who has gone through this, and the result? Thanks! Mara <<

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A friend and I took the Nov. 2001 CPA Exam.  She passed LPR, ARE and FARE, but scored 74 in AUDIT.  The teacher of our review course says that appealing to try to get the extra one point (75 is passing) rarely if ever succeeds and is a waste of money? Does anyone know someone who has gone through this, and the result?

I know of appeals in North Carolina, Virginia and Minnesota. In each case, the regraders were unable to justify the original grade being as high as it was. In other words, if the graders in New York can’t find an excuse to give you a point, there isn’t a point to be given. Regards, Bill

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First of all, I would like to congratulate your friend on the results, although it must be frustrating to know that obtaining the designation depends on 1 point. How did she study for the exam, did she only depend on the review course and did she have any post graduate degrees (Masters in accountancy) prior to taking the review course ? – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – A friend and I took the Nov. 2001 CPA Exam.  She passed LPR, ARE and FARE, but scored 74 in AUDIT.  The teacher of our review course says that appealing to try to get the extra one point (75 is passing) rarely if ever succeeds and is a waste of money? Does anyone know someone who has gone through this, and the result? Thanks! Mara <<

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How did she study for the exam, did she only depend on the review course and did she have any post graduate degrees (Masters in accountancy) prior to taking the review course ?

Yes, a Master’s but in another discipline. We both prepared using the review course, the Gleim books, and a lot of outside class study. Are you taking the May exam? Mara <<

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You mentioned alot of outside class study, could you translate it into how many hours on average a week ? – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – How did she study for the exam, did she only depend on the review course and did she have any post graduate degrees (Masters in accountancy) prior to taking the review course ? Yes, a Master’s but in another discipline. We both prepared using the review course, the Gleim books, and a lot of outside class study. Are you taking the May exam? Mara <<

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AIR, and dating from twenty years ago;  The condenses was that it took 800 hours (8 hours a day for 100 days before the exam) of study for a person with a good  B.S. in Accounting to pass the examination. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – You mentioned alot of outside class study, could you translate it into how many hours on average a week ? How did she study for the exam, did she only depend on the review course and did she have any post graduate degrees (Masters in accountancy) prior to taking the review course ? Yes, a Master’s but in another discipline. We both prepared using the review course, the Gleim books, and a lot of outside class study. Are you taking the May exam? Mara <<

– *             Ronald Lee Todd M.B.A., C.P.A.                  * *  Unemployed for six years, mistake of being an accountant.  * *    From the Socialist People’s Republic of Kalifornia,      * *           the Seventh worst state for business,             * *                   Ayn Rand was right                        *

Response:

You mentioned alot of outside class study, could you translate it into how many hours on average a week ?

Most days my combined work/review class schedule was 7am to 9:30pm plus driving time.  The other evenings two to three hours each, and a half day on my one day off.  I also took the last ten days before class off and pretty much just studied and slept.  To summarize: A Typical Week Work – 40 hours (flexible schedule) Review Course – 22 hours Self-Study – 10 to 14 hours depending on how tired I was or if I had to work overtime, but included review tapes in the car driving to and from class. Mara <<

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 May I ask you for how long (months) and does a review course cover "most" of the things that are in the exam, or are there questions that never pop up in a course ? The reasom I’m asking is that Becker offers only 8 hours of classes a week for a period of 3-4 months. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Most days my combined work/review class schedule was 7am to 9:30pm plus driving time.  The other evenings two to three hours each, and a half day on my one day off.  I also took the last ten days before class off and pretty much just studied and slept.  To summarize: A Typical Week Work – 40 hours (flexible schedule) Review Course – 22 hours Self-Study – 10 to 14 hours depending on how tired I was or if I had to work overtime, but included review tapes in the car driving to and from class. Mara <<

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From what I’ve heard, Becker requires two to four homework hours for each class hour.

… The reasom I’m asking is that Becker offers only 8 hours of classes a week for a period of 3-4 months.

… — *             Ronald Lee Todd M.B.A., C.P.A.                  * *  Unemployed for six years, mistake of being an accountant.  * *    From the Socialist People’s Republic of Kalifornia,      * *           the Seventh worst state for business,             * *                   Ayn Rand was right                        *

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Actually according to Becker’s brochure it’s 90 – 110 % of the time in class – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – From what I’ve heard, Becker requires two to four homework hours for each class hour. … The reasom I’m asking is that Becker offers only 8 hours of classes a week for a period of 3-4 months. … — *             Ronald Lee Todd M.B.A., C.P.A.                  * *  Unemployed for six years, mistake of being an accountant.  * *    From the Socialist People’s Republic of Kalifornia,      * *           the Seventh worst state for business,             * *                   Ayn Rand was right                        *

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – May I ask you for how long (months) and does a review course cover "most" of the things that are in the exam, or are there questions that never pop up in a course ? The reasom I’m asking is that Becker offers only 8 hours of classes a week for a period of 3-4 months.

My course was mid-July to the end of October.  I didn’t see anything on the exam that wasn’t discussed in the course.   Perhaps the reason my hours were longer is that my instructor offered review at times before and after the new material for any given session. Mara <<

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Actually according to Becker’s brochure it’s 90 – 110 % of the time in class From what I’ve heard, Becker requires two to four homework hours for each class hour. The reasom I’m asking is that Becker offers only 8 hours of classes a week for a period of 3-4 months.

This may be the reason for the difference.  While my instructor encouraged us to study in our spare time, there was no *homework* per se, as he felt it was more practical to do the reinforcement with the group.   As a personal aside, my course purposefully ended ten days before the exam in order to give us the option to either take an "intensive" with the instructor, or to do final preparation on our own.  I chose to do the final on my own because I had areas that needed much more focus than others. Mara <<

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Question:

A spell checker would not catch that, but maybe a grammar checker would be in order….

Don’t count on it. I once ran this by an MS Word grammar checker, which reported that it was grammatically correct: "Watt, a one deer, my PC! Ed will Czech my grandma four me!" or something close to it. Dan Goodman

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The two disturbing things are:     attitude     Always saying, "In my nth book, I cover this" … Both of them show a condescending attitude towards others in the newsgroup.

Actually, that does not bother me. It is said that at the IBM TJ Watson Research Center the measure of arrogance is "Benoits" after Mandelbrot.  Similar accusations have been made of me.  I doubt that many people could handle outdoorsmen like Robbins (he was raised in rec.climbing, and a story about a Boulder was published about Royal in Chris Jones’ Climbing in NA) and Fred Beckey. And that’s nothing to say of certain Nobel Laureates, profesors (Ed Abbey wrote about this with PhD oral defenses).  As you get older, you just don’t have time. When I got irked, first on the net, I kinda created history.  I’m not particularly proud of that fact.  It’s experimental.  I need to be short with people: I have highly limited time anywhere: here, in NSF meetings, climbing, vacationing, on the phone.. For example, Alan Dove, a Molecular Microbiologist, knows a heck of a lot more than most (if not all) outdoor writers about water treatments and critters that live in them.  Heck, I’ll bet Alan is one of the few people in the world who can tell the sex of a Giardia by the way their flagela curl.

Cysts got sex?  8^) The history of that panel, and my own interests, are amusing. There are other outdoor writers who hang out around here.  For example, Clyde Sole and Chris Townshend.  They have neither a superior attitude, nor to they mention their writings in nearly every post.

I could not find the second disturbing thing.  Len does not disturb me. Yet.  I don’t know what I am missing.  Clyde and I will meet one of these days; we have shared our injuries.  Seth M. posts or used to in rec.skiing.alpine, from Ski as well. I am more amused by mike268 who is what’s his name’s publicist. Kinda of like reading Caesar.

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Len, I don’t doubt your qualifications.  What does it take to be an asshole? Hey, even I qualify. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –                   Len McDougall, Outdoor Writer            (address and telephone no. obviously withheld) Employment History: Professional freelance outdoor writer since 1983, full-time since 1991.  Author of 4 books: THE OUTDOORS ALMANAC (

Question:

Just my opinion, but buying out 68 boats of dubious condition for $1 million each using our tax dollars is pretty depressing.  I haven’t read the fine print of this "deal with the devil" pact, but I’d like to see the longline fishery’s total quota reduced by at least 50% if we can’t succeed in banning the (longline) fishing method altogether. Dollars to donuts the NMFS will take any quota reduction from lost longliners and stick it back in another fishery’s quota. While it sounds prosaic… longliners should all convert back to harpoon boats for swords, and the NMFS should put a minimum of 250 pounds dressed carcass weight for a commercial-sold fish.  Right now longliners are landing juvenile fish in the sub-100 pound category on a regular basis, and these fish aren’t even old enough to spawn… so it’s only a matter of time before the species is wiped out and these jerks are holding their hands out again.  Just look at the mess up in New England in the George’s Bank. I’ve seen longliners out in the deep transferring fish carcasses from one boat to another, and you know that something fishy (no pun intended) is going on.  Probably selling a decent sized blue marlin to a foreign boat.  Yeah, it’s OK because it’s dead bycatch.  Saw that out around Washington Canyon a couple of years ago while we were fishing in the Mid-Atlantic 500.  Everyone should work so hard to eliminate the longline fishery altogether without a cash buyout, and support the Recreational Fishing Alliance and the 90+ groups, companies, and other organizations that are opposing the CCA deal. I’ve suggested to Doug Kelly of Sport Fishing that the next FACE OFF article should feature this debate… hopefully with someone like Al Ristori/Jim Donofrio on one side supporting the RFA, and John McMurray supporting the NY-CCA and their position.  Doug has already responded to muy email and agreed that this would be a good one… so look forward to two conservation groups with different perspectives going at it soon. Maybe we’ll have some surprises on both sides, but this issue needs to be discussed, since both groups want strong stocks of billfish, tuna and shark. Mike – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –     FYI CCA IN UNPRECEDENTED AGREEMENT TO CONTROL LONGLINES, SHRINK FLEET     In late August, CCA, in conjunction with The Billfish Foundation and     the American Sportfishing Association, entered into a memorandum with     the Blue Water Fishermen’s Association (which represents longliners),     pursuant to which 160,000 square miles of US waters would be     permanently closed to longlining, additional time and area closures     would be instituted, the size of the longline fleet would be reduced     by 30% and longliners would be required to participate in an extended     study aimed at reducing bycatch.     The permanently closed area would stretch from the North     Carolina/South Carolina border to Key West, Florida, an area     identified in Billfish Foundation studies as the U.S. region     accounting for the greatest incidence of sub-legal swordfish and     billfish bycatch.  (Early this year, CCA opposed NMFS’s original     proposal of a seasonal closure encompassing only the Florida Straits,     since we realized that the more extensive closure provided by the     current agreement was not only possible, but necessary.)  Large areas     in the northern and western Gulf of Mexico will also be subject to     seasonal closures.     As part of the agreement, the longline fleet will be reduced by     approximately 30% through buyouts.  50% of the money for the buyouts     will come from the federal government.  The remaining costs will be     shared equally by the remaining participants in the longline fishery     and by anglers fishing in the closed areas (or by state governments     assuming the anglers’ share).     While the agreement is, in the words of Walter Fondren, CCA’s     Chairman, "maybe the biggest conservation measure for offshore     fisheries ever," it is, as he acknowledges, only a "step in the right     direction."  CCA, other conservation organizations and the longliners     themselves will now go to the International Commission for the     Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, and request that similar conservation     measures be implemented in international waters.  Such international     management is essential, since about 95% of Atlantic billfish     mortality, and most mortality of juvenile swordfish, is caused by     foreign longliners.     For the agreement to become effective, it must be approved by     Congress.  CCA has already lined up a list of influential sponsors and     cosponsors in both the House and the Senate.  Unfortunately, a     negative campaign with some false information regarding the agreement     is encouraging anglers to ask their Congressman to oppose the deal.     Since any piece of legislation is a very delicate construct,  that     campaign could succeed.  Therefore, CCA NY members are being provided     with the following information so that, properly informed, they can     spread the truth regarding the agreement:     Vessels that are "bought out" of the longline fishery will not be able     to enter any other commercial fishery.  Such vessels are federally     documented.  Pursuant to the buyout agreement, not only the vessels’     longline permits, but also the commercial fishing endorsement in their     documentation, will be purchased.  After such purchase, the vessels     may be used as dive boats, party boats, whale-watchers, oil-rig     tenders or any other purpose except commercial fishing for the rest of     their working lives.     The buyout will substantially reduce effort in the domestic swordfish     fishery. Longliners remaining after the buyout have agreed to support,     at ICCAT, at 10-year rebuilding plan for swordfish, and will insist     that American negotiators press for such a plan.  Since a 10-year     rebuilding plan will require harvest reductions of at least 27%, both     the reduction in fleet size and the reduction in harvest will be     roughly proportional.  The remaining longline vessels will not reap a     significantly larger share of the swordfish quota.     There should be little displacement of longline effort from the closed     areas to the mid-Atlantic and New England.  The east-coast longline     fishery is broken into distinct segments.  a)  Longliners in the Gulf     of Mexico primarily target yellowfin tuna in a short-set, live bait     fishery that provides most of the fresh tuna steaks to the eastern     United States.  Employing methods designed to get fish from the water     to the consumer in a matter of hours, Gulf longliners have already     agreed that they could remain in local waters and serve their     traditional markets under the terms of the agreement.  Under the terms     of the agreement, they have agreed to participate in a multi-year     scientific study of longline bycatch.  b)  Southeastern longliners     primarily target swordfish, and is the group that will be the most     affected by the closures.  Some may opt to travel from traditional     ports, and fish in waters north of the closure line.  However, most     are expected to accept the buyout offer instead.  c)  Mid-Atlantic     longliners, most operating out of New Jersey, are unique in that they     target both swordfish and tuna.  They are not expected to be     significant participants in the buyout, and their operations will see     little immediate impact from the agreement, although they will also     participate in a multi-year bycatch study.  d)  New England longliners     are primarily swordfishermen, and comprise a distant waters fleet that     frequently fishes for extended periods outside of the EEZ.  They will     see the least immediate impact from the agreement, and will remain in     traditional waters.     Vessel owners who accept the buyout will not be able to re-enter the     fishery unless another owner leaves.  Because a limited-entry system     has been instituted in the longline fishery, the only way such a     vessel owner would be able to obtain a permit would be to buy it from     another owner who will then no longer be able to fish.     A direct ban, without some of agreement from longliners may even hurt     the fishery.  Longlining is a frighteningly effective and terribly     destructive means of catching fish.  However, American vessels,     fishing under a permit issued by NMFS, are required to obey American     fishery management plans even when they fish in international waters.     Thus, U.S.-permitted longliners may not retain billfish, fin sharks or     commit similar offenses whenever and wherever they fish.  A vessel     banned in the U.S. might  decide to reflag in Trinidad, Haiti,     Venezuela or other foreign jurisdiction, and would free such vessels     of the restrictions imposed by American law.  Since more than 95% of     billfish and more than 50% of juvenile swordfish are already killed by     foreign-flag boats, an American ban would do virtually nothing to     rebuild the fishery, but would end America’s moderating influence.     Pursuant to the agreement, vessel owners who accept the buyout will     not be able to reflag in another nation.     Armed with the above information, CCA NY members will be able to     refute fallacious arguments and urge adoption of the longline     agreement-the first real breakthrough in the conservation of highly     migratory species since CCA spearheaded the drive to outlaw the sale     of Atlantic billfish, more than a decade ago. — Joseph M Tyson Bellport, Long Island

… read more »

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     FYI CCA IN UNPRECEDENTED AGREEMENT TO CONTROL LONGLINES, SHRINK FLEET      In late August, CCA, in conjunction with The Billfish Foundation and      the American Sportfishing Association, entered into a memorandum with      the Blue Water Fishermen’s Association (which represents longliners),      pursuant to which 160,000 square miles of US waters would be      permanently closed to longlining, additional time and area closures      would be instituted, the size of the longline fleet would be reduced      by 30% and longliners would be required to participate in an extended      study aimed at reducing bycatch.      The permanently closed area would stretch from the North      Carolina/South Carolina border to Key West, Florida, an area      identified in Billfish Foundation studies as the U.S. region      accounting for the greatest incidence of sub-legal swordfish and      billfish bycatch.  (Early this year, CCA opposed NMFS’s original      proposal of a seasonal closure encompassing only the Florida Straits,      since we realized that the more extensive closure provided by the      current agreement was not only possible, but necessary.)  Large areas      in the northern and western Gulf of Mexico will also be subject to      seasonal closures.      As part of the agreement, the longline fleet will be reduced by      approximately 30% through buyouts.  50% of the money for the buyouts      will come from the federal government.  The remaining costs will be      shared equally by the remaining participants in the longline fishery      and by anglers fishing in the closed areas (or by state governments      assuming the anglers’ share).      While the agreement is, in the words of Walter Fondren, CCA’s      Chairman, "maybe the biggest conservation measure for offshore      fisheries ever," it is, as he acknowledges, only a "step in the right      direction."  CCA, other conservation organizations and the longliners      themselves will now go to the International Commission for the      Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, and request that similar conservation      measures be implemented in international waters.  Such international      management is essential, since about 95% of Atlantic billfish      mortality, and most mortality of juvenile swordfish, is caused by      foreign longliners.      For the agreement to become effective, it must be approved by      Congress.  CCA has already lined up a list of influential sponsors and      cosponsors in both the House and the Senate.  Unfortunately, a      negative campaign with some false information regarding the agreement      is encouraging anglers to ask their Congressman to oppose the deal.      Since any piece of legislation is a very delicate construct,  that      campaign could succeed.  Therefore, CCA NY members are being provided      with the following information so that, properly informed, they can      spread the truth regarding the agreement:      Vessels that are "bought out" of the longline fishery will not be able      to enter any other commercial fishery.  Such vessels are federally      documented.  Pursuant to the buyout agreement, not only the vessels’      longline permits, but also the commercial fishing endorsement in their      documentation, will be purchased.  After such purchase, the vessels      may be used as dive boats, party boats, whale-watchers, oil-rig      tenders or any other purpose except commercial fishing for the rest of      their working lives.      The buyout will substantially reduce effort in the domestic swordfish      fishery. Longliners remaining after the buyout have agreed to support,      at ICCAT, at 10-year rebuilding plan for swordfish, and will insist      that American negotiators press for such a plan.  Since a 10-year      rebuilding plan will require harvest reductions of at least 27%, both      the reduction in fleet size and the reduction in harvest will be      roughly proportional.  The remaining longline vessels will not reap a      significantly larger share of the swordfish quota.      There should be little displacement of longline effort from the closed      areas to the mid-Atlantic and New England.  The east-coast longline      fishery is broken into distinct segments.  a)  Longliners in the Gulf      of Mexico primarily target yellowfin tuna in a short-set, live bait      fishery that provides most of the fresh tuna steaks to the eastern      United States.  Employing methods designed to get fish from the water      to the consumer in a matter of hours, Gulf longliners have already      agreed that they could remain in local waters and serve their      traditional markets under the terms of the agreement.  Under the terms      of the agreement, they have agreed to participate in a multi-year      scientific study of longline bycatch.  b)  Southeastern longliners      primarily target swordfish, and is the group that will be the most      affected by the closures.  Some may opt to travel from traditional      ports, and fish in waters north of the closure line.  However, most      are expected to accept the buyout offer instead.  c)  Mid-Atlantic      longliners, most operating out of New Jersey, are unique in that they      target both swordfish and tuna.  They are not expected to be      significant participants in the buyout, and their operations will see      little immediate impact from the agreement, although they will also      participate in a multi-year bycatch study.  d)  New England longliners      are primarily swordfishermen, and comprise a distant waters fleet that      frequently fishes for extended periods outside of the EEZ.  They will      see the least immediate impact from the agreement, and will remain in      traditional waters.      Vessel owners who accept the buyout will not be able to re-enter the      fishery unless another owner leaves.  Because a limited-entry system      has been instituted in the longline fishery, the only way such a      vessel owner would be able to obtain a permit would be to buy it from      another owner who will then no longer be able to fish.      A direct ban, without some of agreement from longliners may even hurt      the fishery.  Longlining is a frighteningly effective and terribly      destructive means of catching fish.  However, American vessels,      fishing under a permit issued by NMFS, are required to obey American      fishery management plans even when they fish in international waters.      Thus, U.S.-permitted longliners may not retain billfish, fin sharks or      commit similar offenses whenever and wherever they fish.  A vessel      banned in the U.S. might  decide to reflag in Trinidad, Haiti,      Venezuela or other foreign jurisdiction, and would free such vessels      of the restrictions imposed by American law.  Since more than 95% of      billfish and more than 50% of juvenile swordfish are already killed by      foreign-flag boats, an American ban would do virtually nothing to      rebuild the fishery, but would end America’s moderating influence.      Pursuant to the agreement, vessel owners who accept the buyout will      not be able to reflag in another nation.      Armed with the above information, CCA NY members will be able to      refute fallacious arguments and urge adoption of the longline      agreement-the first real breakthrough in the conservation of highly      migratory species since CCA spearheaded the drive to outlaw the sale      of Atlantic billfish, more than a decade ago. — Joseph M Tyson Bellport, Long Island

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Question:

I work with a non-profit organization in Houston that recently purchased an accounting software package called MIP Non-Profit Series. Implementing it has been a nightmare and MIP (based in Austin) has not been helpful at all even though the product was quite expensive and we also bought a maintenance contract.  They only refer us to consultants who seem more interested in making MIP look good than in helping us. We are trying to find other organizations that use this product so we can either learn from them how to make it work or whether it does work.  If anyone can refer us to other MIP users, please post a message at soc.nonprofit.org. Thank you very much for any help you can give. Chris Wycliff

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Chris I am currently on an independent temp assignment at a non-profit that is in the midst of converting to MIP also. Care to trade war stories? Wendy Klager

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How about an Attorney?  It’s amazing how a few letters can get you to the top of the pile. I had similar problems with our SW vendor and it took a few emails to the president to get some action. — __Stephen Russell Memphis VFP User Group Visual FoxPro because life is too short to code in C++

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I work with a non-profit organization in Houston that recently purchased an accounting software package called MIP Non-Profit Series. Implementing it has been a nightmare and MIP (based in Austin) has not been helpful at all even though the product was quite expensive and we also bought a maintenance contract.  They only refer us to consultants who seem more interested in making MIP look good than in helping us. We are trying to find other organizations that use this product so we can either learn from them how to make it work or whether it does work.  If anyone can refer us to other MIP users, please post a message at soc.nonprofit.org. Thank you very much for any help you can give. Chris Wycliff

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Question:

You do not need to have actual business revenue (income) to take business deductions against your other income sources.  You need to be merely seeking to make money.  However, you won’t get away with it forever with the IRS since a true business would never choose to loose money forever.

IIRC, you have to at least turn a profit one year in five on a side business in order to keep the IRS off your back. (But that’s IIRC! Accountants are cheaper than doin’ time for tax evasion.)

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is it true i can deduct my guitar stuff from my taxes as long as I spend at least 2% of my yearly income on it and i dont make money from any of it?  I heard this is possible because of some "hobby" tax law..whats this all about???

Huh??? If you make no income, you can’t deduct. Hobby deductions, who gave you that load of b.s.??? —                                                 Brian Rost                                                 3Com Corp.                                                 978-264-1550      Playing the bass is like dancing the limbo: how low can you go?

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is it true i can deduct my guitar stuff from my taxes as long as I spend at least 2% of my yearly income on it and i dont make money from any of it?  I heard this is possible because of some "hobby" tax law..whats this all about???

My guess is that you could deduct the supplies as expenses and the equipment (assets)  you could depreciate. This would mean that $1.00 spent on strings would end up reducing your taxable income by $1.00 resulting in a $0.15-$0.36    "larger tax refund." (depending on you tax bracket)   This is because strings, etc. last "less than a year." Deducting for depreciation requires that you take the value of your equipment (lasts longer than a year) at the time of the "start up." Then you divide by a certain number of years (depending on the class of asset) and deduct the result from your income. Any new equipment purchases during the business’ life would be subject to this division also. Any equipment sales would require capitol gains taxes on the sale price less the depreciated value at the time of the sale. Technically speaking, if you play your guitar 1/2 of the time for fun and 1/2 at gigs / practices you can only deduct half of the expenses but must declare all of the gig money as income. If you have a net positive business income (profit) you will also have to pay "self employment tax"  which is 2 x Social Security Tax.  This is over 15%. All of this assumes you are seeking to make money (have a "business.") You do not need to have actual business revenue (income) to take business deductions against your other income sources.  You need to be merely seeking to make money.  However, you won’t get away with it forever with the IRS since a true business would never choose to loose money forever.   JJman She slips, she slides, she slops, she bops, she bumps she grinds.                                                    B, Springsteen

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is it true i can deduct my guitar stuff from my taxes as long as I spend at least 2% of my yearly income on it and i dont make money from any of it?  I heard this is possible because of some "hobby" tax law..whats this all about???

Sounds like an IRS Auditor magnet to me. You can deduct the expense of instruments if you DO make money from playing. They become a business expense. You’ll get all sorts of tax advice here, and it’ll be worth every penny you’ve spent for it. The best advice I can give you is talk to a GOOD tax accountant.

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is it true i can deduct my guitar stuff from my taxes as long as I spend at least 2% of my yearly income on it and i dont make money from any of it?  I heard this is possible because of some "hobby" tax law..whats this all about???

I’m not an accountant, I just pay one. I was told to watch out for `hobby loss,’ as too much of it is a flag for audits. That having been said, if you’re claiming income, you can write expenses off. And while we’re at it, most homeowner/renter policies won’t cover gear used professionally without a rider or separate policy.  Mine didn’t.

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – is it true i can deduct my guitar stuff from my taxes as long as I spend at least 2% of my yearly income on it and i dont make money from any of it?  I heard this is possible because of some "hobby" tax law..whats this all about??? I’m not an accountant, I just pay one. I was told to watch out for `hobby loss,’ as too much of it is a flag for audits. That having been said, if you’re claiming income, you can write expenses off. And while we’re at it, most homeowner/renter policies won’t cover gear used professionally without a rider or separate policy.  Mine didn’t.

Good point Jeff.  Do yerselves a favor, take pictures, write down serial numbers, give them to the insurance folks for a separate rider.  You’ll thank yourself if you ever need it. — rct The opinions above are mine and mine alone.

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is it true i can deduct my guitar stuff from my taxes as long as I spend at least 2% of my yearly income on it and i dont make money from any of it?  I heard this is possible because of some "hobby" tax law..whats this all about???

Response:

is it true i can deduct my guitar stuff from my taxes as long as I spend at least 2% of my yearly income on it and i dont make money from any of it?  I heard this is possible because of some "hobby" tax law..whats this all

about??? I think that if you teach, or play, as a source of income that you can deduct a certain percentage as a buisiness expense or somehow use a certain percentage to offset earned income.  Anyway, it sounds good to me, but you better consult with a tax accountant and not rely on NG hearsay.  We are an opinionated lot…..

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Question:

Fuck the fighting back, it’s about time California put those multiculturalists in their place.  I hope the other 49 states learn a lesson and implement it also.  America is one society, where all acheievement should be based on personal merit, not race or gender.  That is defined as racism.  It should not be allowed, ever.

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**Fightback begins vs California Prop. 209** (Reprinted from the November 16, 1996 issue of the People’s Weekly World. May be reprinted or reposted with PWW credit. For subscription information see below) By Marilyn Bechtel OAKLAND, CA – Following passage of anti-affirmative action Prop. 209 in last week’s election, civil rights, labor and community organizations are challenging the measure in court. At the same time, cities where 209 was defeated are vowing to keep their affirmative action programs. The day after the election, a statewide coalition of civil rights, labor, education and business organizations and individuals mounted a powerful legal challenge in U.S. District Court to block implementation of the measure. ACLU chapters in Southern and Northern California, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and the Employment Law Center were joined by the California Labor Federation, California NAACP, the NOW Legal Defense & Education Fund, the Asian Pacific-American Legal Center and other organizations and individuals. The suit charges that 209 violates the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause because minorities and women are barred from seeking protective race- or gender-conscious legislation while other groups are free to seek preferential treatment, Eva Paterson, executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, told the World. She said the suit also states that 209 violates federal civil rights laws. Paterson said formation of "a wonderful broad coalition" – multiracial, multinational, men and women, young and old, to fight the measure before and after Election Day shows that "the racial wedge did not work." In Los Angeles County, 209 was defeated by a 55 to 45 percent margin. The Los Angeles City Council strongly opposed the initiative from the beginning. In the after math of the election, council members said they would not change any of the city’s affirmative action programs and that the city would have to be sued to mandate enforcement. "Clearly the vote in Los Angeles County, and in the city itself which was 60 percent against 209, shows the tremendous amount of organizing here has paid off," said Joselito Laudencia, Southern California Director, Californians for Justice. Laudencia said the Metropolitan Alliance, which spearheaded area grassroots anti-209 work, united different communities that had not previously worked together in a struggle that "sparked a new civil rights movement in California." San Francisco County voters rejected Prop. 209 by a whopping 71 to 29 percent. Alameda, San Mateo, Santa Cruz and Marin Counties also rejected the measure by substantial margins, while in Santa Clara County the vote was still too close to call. In San Jose, where voters turned down Prop. 209 by a 51 to 49 percent margin, City Attorney Joan Gallo told the City Council last week that the city’s affirmative action plan "does not provide preferences but has been designed to encourage outreach and to demonstrate that there has been no discrimination." Based on the Third District Court of Appeals’ statement last summer that Prop. 209 does not bar outreach programs, Gallo proposed modifying the present program. The new proposal would involve setting a percentage of women and minority subcontractors likely to be part of a bid package in the absence of discrimination or preference, based on the number of such firms in the area. Contractors failing to hire the specified percentage would have to show they had neither discriminated nor given impermissable preferences. Gallo told the World she believes minority and women contractors will be hired because they give good service and are competitive. Banning preferences "cuts into the tendency to contract with people you know," she said. "We believe we should be opening doors." The council, which strongly opposes 209, was expected to consider Gallo’s proposal later this month. Meanwhile, hundreds of University of California students marched and demonstrated to protest 209’s passage and the UC president’s statement that campus chancellors should implement the measure immediately. The University of California Student Association said demonstrations would continue, leading to statewide walkouts the week of Dec. 6. In Washington, following calls for action by the Rev. Jesse Jackson and women’s movement leader Eleanor Smeal, the Clinton administration said at the end of last week it was considering either filing its own lawsuit or joining the suit already filed. Jackson called 209 "a classic state’s rights act challenging federal authority." He praised President Clinton for opposing the measure during his campaign, but emphasized that more than talk is needed now. Prop. 209’s backers paid millions of dollars for its passage. Another example of huge spending by the ultra-right was the campaign which overwhelmingly defeated labor- and community-backed Prop. 211 to protect retirement savings from fraud. Corporations headed by accounting, insurance and Silicon Valley firms and the New York Stock Exchange gave nearly $40 million to sink it. ##30##        ****  235 W. 23rd St. NYC 10011      ***      *   **    ****   *  $20/yr – $1-2 mos trial sub    *  ****    * Tired of the same old system: Join the Communist Party, USA            http://www.hartford-hwp.com/cp-usa

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Question:

I have a a flight arriving at 10:50pm from Sydney, Aus. Afterwards, I have a flight bound to Vancouver at 12:10am on a separate ticket. My ticket agent mentioned to me that my luggage must clear US customs and then re-submitted to Air Canada at the Honolulu airport. Does one hour sound reasonable? -Thanks in advance, Rajiv T.

Sounds to me like you will be on a Qantas flight from Sydney that is part of the code-shared Qantas-Canadian Airlines services that continue to Canada after a switch of planes at Honolulu. This switch of planes is done in a sealed off area and hence does not require passengers to clear US customs at all. This allows for a relatively short connection time since no customs are involved, and baggage containers are just switched from one aircraft to another without having to open/sort the baggage inside. HOWEVER, if for some reason which I assume is very important to you, you choose not to continue on these direct services to Canada and instead switch to Air Canada, you will be taken to a special area upon deplaning at Honolulu, wait for a little bus (WIKI WIKI ?) that will take you to the building that has the customs facilities and then clear customs/wait for luggage. You cannot walk/run to customs, you MUST take that bus. If you have to check in to Air Canada’s counters at Honolulu, you then have to add more time since any airline will expect you to check in at least half an hour ahead on a trans border flight. And you should also ask AC if their gates are still near the customs area now that AC has/will convert its charter services to scheduled ones with customs-pre clearance at Vancouver. If your first flight is not the combined Quantas-Canadian Airlines one, then you can simply forget this whole message as it would not apply to you. I would however be interested in finding out why you have two separate tickets.

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Hi, Just wondering if someone ( who has some experience with US Customs at Honolulu ) could advise me how long it usually takes to clear US Customs at Honolulu airport. [Some background] I have a a flight arriving at 10:50pm from Sydney, Aus. Afterwards, I have a flight bound to Vancouver at 12:10am on a separate ticket. My ticket agent mentioned to me that my luggage must clear US customs and then re-submitted to Air Canada at the Honolulu airport. Does one hour sound reasonable? -Thanks in advance, Rajiv T.

Response:

Ottawa SE) writes: Hi, Just wondering if someone ( who has some experience with US Customs at Honolulu ) could advise me how long it usually takes to clear US Customs at Honolulu airport.

Honolulu customs can be a disaster.  But there is a "re-check" booth after you go through customs; I would assume you can re-check your luggage there and proceed straight to the Air Canada gate. Jeff

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: Assuming the following: : SYD-HNL is one one airline, on one ticket. : HNL-Canada is on another airline, on a separate ticket. : No code sharing is involved between the above 2 airlines. : Would the re-check counter accept his luggage if it is not tagged to canada and : if the passenger hasn’t yet gotten his boarding pass for the AC flight ? : Can any airline in any city issue a boarding pass for another airline ? (eg: : could Qantas issue a boarding pass in Sydney for a connecting AC flight that is : on a different ticket ? or would the passenger be forced to check in at the AC : desk in Honolulu ? This is a great question. Recent developments have been surfacing in the world of Airline Reservation systems and how there are independant yet all connected. A conference on EDIFACT (EDI for Accounting, Commerce and Transportation??) was held in Lisbon one year ago to develop the ability for ailines to through-check onto other carriers. Result: Airlines have been forming alliances which allow this occurance. E.g. Air Canada has agreements with UA, CO, CX, SR and BD and soon AF and NH. This allows the two airlines to check in passengers onto connecting flights even when it is an OAL. Seat queries are even allowed so for example if you checked in on AC at YYZ to go to ORD and connect on UA to DEN, AC could check-in and print your boarding pass for both airlines and even select you seats. To answer the question above, AC does not have an EDIFACT agreemnt with any of the Southern carriers around Austrailia so there would be no EDIFACT through check-in available. BUT it is possible to have online baggage agreements with the carrier. E.g. this means that QF could check a bag from SYD-HNL onto AC and send through the system all the required bag tag information. You would still have to check-in in HNL but you would not have to pick up the bags as they are going to go through customs in Vancouver. Hope this helps. — Darren Downs Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration University of British Columbia Vancouver, B.C. Canada

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Honolulu customs can be a disaster.  But there is a "re-check" booth after you go through customs; I would assume you can re-check your luggage there and proceed straight to the Air Canada gate.

Assuming the following: SYD-HNL is one one airline, on one ticket. HNL-Canada is on another airline, on a separate ticket. No code sharing is involved between the above 2 airlines. Would the re-check counter accept his luggage if it is not tagged to canada and if the passenger hasn’t yet gotten his boarding pass for the AC flight ? Can any airline in any city issue a boarding pass for another airline ? (eg: could Qantas issue a boarding pass in Sydney for a connecting AC flight that is on a different ticket ? or would the passenger be forced to check in at the AC desk in Honolulu ?

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Question:

 LaRouche is an absolutely compelling speaker, as you well know, able to hold forth for hours on a variety of economic, political, scientific and cultural topics from the standpoint of total mastery of the subject matter (as any creative If he could only learn to pay his taxes…….

     I was under the impression that he was not directly involved in that      nonsense and that, in fact, the case was just so much hot air. The way      the charges were dropped, dismisses, or otherwise diminished in      severity after Bush lost the election, in my mind, gives a lot of      weight to the folks who were saying that LL was put in jail just to      keep him out of the way of Bush and Co. (Some also said that Bush was      directly responsible for LL’s incarceration; could this be true?  any      data points in this sector?)      Anyway, I’m surprised that the Justice Department would go after LL      when someone in the organization’s accounting department could really      be at fault.      I don’t have all of the details of the jailing (it was before I became      a "political animal’ – , if anyone can point the way to a gopher or      something, it would be greatly appreciated.      Jamie Bass – The Ham Sandwich

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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –  LaRouche is an absolutely compelling speaker, as you well know, able to hold forth for hours on a variety of economic, political, scientific and cultural topics from the standpoint of total mastery of the subject matter (as any creative If he could only learn to pay his taxes…….     I was under the impression that he was not directly involved in that     nonsense and that, in fact, the case was just so much hot air. The way     the charges were dropped, dismisses, or otherwise diminished in     severity after Bush lost the election, in my mind, gives a lot of     weight to the folks who were saying that LL was put in jail just to     keep him out of the way of Bush and Co. (Some also said that Bush was     directly responsible for LL’s incarceration; could this be true?  any     data points in this sector?)     Anyway, I’m surprised that the Justice Department would go after LL     when someone in the organization’s accounting department could really     be at fault.     I don’t have all of the details of the jailing (it was before I became     a "political animal’ – , if anyone can point the way to a gopher or     something, it would be greatly appreciated.     Jamie Bass – The Ham Sandwich

go back through the postings for John Covici’s stuff on LaRouche.  at the end of his articles there is info on LaRouche archives. walter

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LaRouche was thrown in Jail because not only did he fail to pay taxes, but his organization defrauds people out of money, through illegal credit-card schemes.  He is a nut.  And his followers are even nuttier.  Lyndon LaRouche has no chance in hell of ever attaining the Highest Office. However, I will agree he is quite smart and is not completely without morals or good ideas. — Marc W. Asch "I hate people, people make me pro-nuclear"

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Larouch babble deleted…

        All this and an anti-semite, too! — Robb Shecter

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Larouch babble deleted…    All this and an anti-semite, too! — Robb Shecter

no, just anti-fuck up: – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –  An organization called the Cult Awareness Network, or CAN, gained some public notoreity during the tragic days of the siege against the Mt. Carmel facility.  Apparently it was much involved in the BATF’s original interest in the Davidians.  Additionally it is said that CAN’s "experts" provided information to the FBI.  I find it disturbing that our tax dollars are spent to pay [law enforcement agency] consulting fees to such an organization. Apparently CAN experts decide some group makes their "awareness" list and concurrently it makes the government’s black list.  I just don’t like the idea of our government having any involvement with such an organization.  Who are they to decide what does or does not constitute a legitimate belief structure?  If private citizens want to spend their money on such folly, fine.  But tax dollars? No way.  I would like more information on this public menace.  Perhaps someone out there could post some detailed information on CAN.

Below is an article about can.  It is noteworthy that the original BATF interest in the B-D sect came from a report from Australia from a  can related individual.  Also, it was can experts  and the ADL who advised the FBI on their ill-fated raid. Cult Awareness brainwashers, Galen Kelly exposed at last  by Warren A.J. Hamerman Self-styled “cult deprogrammer” Galen Kelly, who is actually a professional kidnapper and brainwasher, was indicted on March 3, 1993 by a federal grand jury at the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia on a felony charge that he kidnapped Debra Dobkowski on May 5, 1992. The indictment comes just as Kelly and his cronies in the Cult Awareness Network (CAN) had geared up a propaganda campaign to present themselves as legitimate consultants on so-called cults in the aftermath of the Feb. 26 bombing of the New York World Trade Center (being blamed on Islamic radicals) and the Feb. 28 shootout between the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) and the Branch Davidian religious group in Waco, Texas. The kidnapping for which Kelly has been indicted is described in the prologue to a new book to be released this month by Executive Intelligence Review, entitled {Travesty–A True Crime Story.}    Kelly is not just another thug; he is part of an international apparatus of Israeli, American, and British secret intelligence communities’ “wetworks” capability. Kelly is on the board of JINSA, the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, a liaison group between Israeli and American military establishments that is suspected of having been at the center of the Jonathan Pollard spy ring. Kelly is also the security henchman and a paid operative of CAN.    Immediately after the Waco, Texas incident erupted, Kelly and one of his CAN deprogramming sidekicks named Rick Ross appeared on national media as experts to “explain” the events. According to various media reports the central “deprogramming” adviser to the ATF and FBI on the Branch Davidian sect is, in fact, the self-same Rick Ross. Along with Kelly, Ross is a leading deprogrammer for CAN. Ross is a convicted jewel thief. He was arrested in November 1975 and pled guilty to the crime of Conspiracy to Commit Grand Theft Second Degree-Open End, according to a Phoenix Police Departmental Report. Ross was under criminal investigation in Washington state for a failed 1991 deprogramming attempt.    Ross was publicly described by CAN Executive Director Cynthia Kisser as “among the half-dozen best deprogrammers in the country.” Priscilla Coates, the director of CAN in Los Angeles, said of Ross: “Rick has helped me with all kinds of questions. He has also competently counseled many parents and cult members.” Ross is a member of two national committees for the Union of American Hebrew Congregations and an outspoken critic of Christian fundamentalist groups. He is past chairman of the Religious Advisory Committee to the Arizona Department of Corrections and of the International Coalition for Jewish Prisoner Services of the B’nai B’rith International, Washington, D.C.    The victim of Kelly’s latest kidnap indictment is Debra Dobkowski, the roommate of the intended target, who was on her way home from work late at night when she was grabbed by two men and two women and forcibly taken to Leesburg, Virginia, some 40 miles northwest of Washington. On the way, she asked one of her abductors his name and he replied, “Galen Kelly,” according to court papers. A study of telephone records showed that the mother of Dobkowski’s roommate had placed calls to the Cult Awareness Network in Chicago three months before the abduction.    Kelly is to be arraigned in U.S. Magistrates Court in Alexandria on March 15. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence Leiser told the media that, if convicted, Kelly faces a maximum sentence of up to life in prison. Kelly, 45, was acquitted Dec. 31 of plotting to kidnap Lewis du Pont Smith.                    - What is CAN? –    “We’re not a criminal organization, we don’t engage in kidnappings,” was the public comment of CAN’s Cynthia Kisser, upon hearing of the arrests last September of Galen Kelly, Don Moore, Newbold Smith, Bob Point, and Tony Russo for conspiracy to kidnap LaRouche associate Lewis du Pont Smith. Oh, but the lady doth protest too much.    The evidence that has emerged from what has been called the “Kidnappers, Inc.” trial, only provides more confirmation that the Cult Awareness Network is exactly what Kisser says it is not.    Originally called the Citizens Freedom Foundation, CAN was founded in 1974 by Henrietta Crampton and a small group of advocates of “deprogramming,” a euphemism for making someone change his or her beliefs by force, which is otherwise called “brainwashing.” Crampton described Ted Patrick as a prime force behind the formation of CFF.    Patrick, a pioneer of “deprogramming” who has been convicted numerous times for violent crimes, wrote in his book {Let Our Children Go!} that deprogramming involves “kidnapping at the very least, quite often assault and battery, almost invariably conspiracy to commit a crime and illegal restraint.”    Since its founding, CFF changed its name to CAN, obtained more prominent sponsors, and broadened its affiliations; but it has always remained the same–a clearinghouse and referral service for people who, for a fee, will do whatever it takes to break a targeted individual from his or her beliefs.    Bucknell University religion professor Larry Shin told the {Philadelphia Inquirer} in 1992 that deprogramming is “the most destructive of the legacies of the great American cult scare…. CAN is much closer to a destructive cult than most of the groups they attack.”    From the mid-1980s forward, CAN has functioned as the most active of a throng of so-called anti-cult organizations which sprang from the ravages of the counterculture. Such groups as the Jewish Community Relations Council’s (JCRC) Task Force on Missionaries and Cults, the American Family Foundation, the International Cult Education Project and the Interfaith Coalition of Concern about Cults, all share interlocking boards of directors and funding. They give each other awards and share referrals. Through these associations, CAN has enjoyed the support and protection of powerful elements of the eastern liberal financial establishment.    It was through CAN that all the conspirators in Kidnappers, Inc. became associated.              - `There’s money to be made’ –    When E. Newbold Smith wanted a kidnapper/deprogrammer to go after his son, Lewis du Pont Smith, he called CAN, and they referred him to Galen Kelly, who in turn received payments from CAN. When Smith needed a psychiatrist who would testify to have his son Lewis declared mentally incompetent, Smith called CAN and they referred him to Dr. David Halperin, a board member of the American Family Foundation, CAN’s sister organization. Don Moore needed work after he was fired from the Loudoun County, Va., Sheriff’s Department for rummaging through department files. So, as he told another former sheriff’s deputy, Doug Poppa, after he sought to recruit Poppa to the “Kidnappers, Inc.” scheme, “I’m working for CAN.” Moore added, “There’s money to be made in the anti-cult work.” And when Moore and Kelly wanted legal cover for their kidnapping plans, lawyer Bob Point offered to provide that cover under the auspices of the work he does for CAN.    Cynthia Kisser has gone to great lengths to deny CAN’s involvement in kidnappings and coercive deprogrammings, but there is ample evidence that points precisely to that.    Estimates are that CAN maintains a network of 20 to 25 full-time deprogrammers, and 30 or so part-time deprogrammers. Each full-time deprogrammer handles approximately 25 deprogramming jobs per year, making a conservative estimate of over 500 deprogrammings per year. Of those deprogrammings, some 25% involve outright kidnapping. The rest involve “detaining” the victim against his or her will. It has been reported that at the 1992 CAN conference in Los Angeles, a CAN deprogrammer claimed that over 2,000 deprogrammings occurred in the United States in the last year.    Occasionally, deprogrammers are arrested. Most frequently they plead guilty to lesser charges and spend little or no time in jail. Often they go scot-free.    At CAN’s national conferences and local meetings, family members interested in having someone kidnapped or deprogrammed can meet professionals like Galen Kelly, whom they can hire. CAN claims to maintain files on over 1,000 organizations which it deems to be “destructive cults,” and it distributes hate literature on … read more »

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thank you for posting this, John.  please keep us up to date on any late breaking falllout from this long overdue visit.  LaRouche is an absolutely compelling speaker, as you well know, able to hold forth for hours on a variety of economic, political, scientific and cultural topics from the standpoint of total mastery of the subject matter (as any creative originator of crucial ideas, to see his mind at work is beautiful) and with the benefit of a photographic memory for critical details.  if his detractors and doubters had the opportunity to hear the man, there would be far less hysteric resistance to his presence on the world stage. walter

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  LaRouche is an absolutely compelling speaker, as you well know, able to hold forth for hours on a variety of economic, political, scientific and cultural topics from the standpoint of total mastery of the subject matter (as any creative

If he could only learn to pay his taxes……. FB — Fishin Buddy  o <<     o  |           These opinions are offered by weight  <     <  o       <J           provocative content may have occurred      <<       <<                    during shipping and handling.

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                  LAROUCHE SIX DAYS IN MOSCOW LEESBURG, April 29 (EIRNS)–U.S. Democratic Party presidential pre-candidate Lyndon H.LaRouche, Jr. returned to Germany today following six days in Moscow, Russia. His visit had been by invitation of several Russian scientific organizations, including the Universal Ecological Academy, of which he is a member. During the visit, he addressed several bodies, including institutions of the Russia Academy of Sciences, on the subject of his original discoveries in the science of physical economy.     The scheduled events began on Monday, April 25, with a lecture sponsored by the Academy of Economics of the Ministry of Economics of the Russian Federation, and concluded on Thursday evening, April 28, with a three-hour joint presentation by LaRouche and Professor Pobisk Kuznetsov on mathematical and related issues of physical economy.     In each of the half-dozen lectures and seminars in which he participated during these days, there was examination of the relationship between the collapse of the Soviet system and the now ongoing collapse of the global financial and monetary system. LaRouche compared the present global financial collapse to a cancer in its terminal phase, and presented the argument for the conclusion that an early breakdown collapse of the global system is unstoppable. He emphasized the importance of preparing international cooperation for reconstuction of the global economy at the moment the inevitable collapse of the present, IMF- dominated system occurs,     Throughout his presentations to the scientific bodies, LaRouche stressed the deadly incompetence of the work of John von Neumann and others. He emphasized that von Neumann’s view of mathematics itself suffers an underlying axiomatic quality of error against which Leibniz, Riemann, Weierstrass, Cantor, and Kurt Goedel have warned us. The application of von Neumann’s flawed work to economics is the principal distinguishing fixture of the current "global economic casino" form of financial and monetary bubble now in the process of collapse. Without the popularization of von Neumann’s incompetent economics dogmas and their application to modern computer devices, a bubble of the present character and magnitude could not have occurred.     The concluding three-hour presentation by Professor Kuznetsov and LaRouche featured Professor Kuznetsov presenting the factor of power in physical economy, followed by LaRouche’s presentation of a modern view of Leibniz’s principle of technology. LaRouche showed the physical basis for the incompetence of the mathematics employed by Norbert Wiener’s application of his information theory to human communications and to living processes, and the related incompetence within von Neumann’s work.  LaRouche concluded his presentation by describing the special methods of computation to be used in analyzing the impact of a space-research science-driver program upon a process of reconstructing an economy such as that of Russia today.                             30-30-30 —-          John Covici

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