Progressive Calendar 12.03.06
From: David Shove (shove001tc.umn.edu)
Date: Sun, 3 Dec 2006 03:57:36 -0800 (PST)
             P R O G R E S S I V E   C A L E N D A R    12.03.06

1. Leeper/peace    12.03 9am
2. AWC craft sale  12.03 10am
3. Leeper/peace    12.03 2pm
4. KFAI/Indian     12.03 4pm
5. Follies/science 12.03 4pm

6. MnSOAWatch      12.04 6pm
7. Twin Lakes news 12.04 6pm
8. Vigil/workers   12.04 7pm
9. DN on TPT?      12.04 7pm

10. Kolstad gifts
11. Park requirement
12. Do It Green mag

13. Ralph Nader - The big boys of financial crime

--------1 of 13--------

From: Charles Underwood <charleyunderwood [at] hotmail.com>
Subject: Leeper/peace 12.03 9am

Sunday, 12/3, 9-10 am, Mayors for Peace director Steve Leeper (see above)
talks in the Fireside Room (then 10-11 to congregation), Spirit of Hope
United Methodist Church, 7600 Harold Ave, Golden Valley.  763-545-0239.


--------2 of 13--------

From: awcmere <meredith [at] antiwarcommittee.org>
Subject: AWC craft sale 12.03 10am

AWC Annual Craft Sale appearing in The Global Gift Fair

Sunday 12/3 @ 10am - 2pm @ First Universalist Church, 3400 Dupont, Mpls

The AWC Craft Sale is great place to shop for holiday gifts while
supporting a good cause.  This year, we are holding our sale as part of
the Global Gift Fair, a community event that supports small local vendors
who provide wares that could be either locally made, or from other
countries, while helping to sustain non-profit groups focusing on justice
issues. We need donations of your hand-crafted items (valued at $25 or
less). If you have something to contribute please email us at
crafts [at] antiwarcommittee.org or call 612.379.3899.


--------3 of 13--------

From: Charles Underwood <charleyunderwood [at] hotmail.com>
Subject: Leeper/peace 12.03 2pm

Sunday, 12/3, 2 to 4 pm, Mayors for Peace director Steve Leeper (see above)
speaks at Black Dog Cafe, 308 Prince St, St Paul.  651-228-9274.


--------4 of 13--------

From: Chris Spotted Eagle <chris [at] spottedeagle.org>
Subject: KFAI/Indian 12.03 4pm

KFAI's Indian Uprising for December 3rd

LIVING IN THE AFTERMATH OF TWO KILLER STORMS by Brenda Norrell for Indian
Country Today, October 02, 2006.  American Indian tribes in the United
States donated millions of dollars to the American Red Cross earmarked for
Indian victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.  However, none of
those funds ever reached the Isle de Jean Charles Band of the
Biloxi-Chitimacha Confederation of Muskogees on the Louisiana Gulf Coast,
south of Houma.

The Biloxi-Chitimacha were among those forgotten in the aftermaths of the
devastating Gulf Coast hurricanes of 2005. One year later, Chief Albert
Naquin shared the details of the unfulfilled promises to the tribe, which
received state recognition in 2004.  The American Red Cross provided
nothing after hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The Federal Emergency
Management Agency was also a no-show.
http://www.Indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096413755

Hurricane donations to:  Louisiana Coastal Tribes Coalition, Inc.
(nonprofit), P.O. Box 461, Bourg, LA 70343, (225) 485-8765, www.lctci.com.
Chair: Randy Verdun, chairman [at] lctci.com.  Coalition members are the Bayou
Lafourche Band of Biloxi-Chitimachas, Grand Caillou/Dulac Band of
Biloxi-Chitimachas, Isle de Jean Charles Band of Biloxi-Chitimachas and
the Point au Chien Indian Tribe.

MORE THAN 1,000 HOUMA STILL UNACCOUNTED FOR by Brenda Norrell for Indian
Country Today, October 02, 2006.  In August of 2005, Hurricane Katrina's
wind and resulting floods devastated Houma homes in six Louisiana parishes
on the Gulf Coast, leaving thousands of tribal members homeless and
scattered. Now, more than a year later, Houma are still searching for
tribal members.

''We still have more than 1,000 Houma unaccounted for. We assume they are
safe, but they have been displaced,'' United Houma Nation Chief Brenda
Dardar Robichaux told Indian Country Today.  After Hurricane Katrina,
Houma tribal members tried to reach the Red Cross for help, but could not
get through on the telephone or the long lines at Red Cross sites. The
Federal Emergency Management Agency provided no help to the largest
state-recognized Indian tribe in Louisiana.
http://www.Indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096413759.  Note:  Of the
16,000 members of the United Houma Nation in Louisiana, 4,000 were
affected by Hurricane Katrina and another 4,000 by Hurricane Rita.

Hurricane donations to: United Houma Nation (non-profit), 20986 Highway 1,
Golden Meadow, LA 70357, 985-851-5408, Chair: Brenda Dardar Robichaux,
bdr [at] unitedhoumanation.org.

GREENHOUS GASES: WHO'S IN CHARGE? by Michael Doyle, McClatchy News
Service, November 28, 2006, published in the Star Tribune.  The Supreme
Court's hottest environmental case of the year pits California against
Texas.  It's also Washington state vs. Idaho, scientists vs. car dealers
and, it may seem, the world against the White House, as the justices today
consider a crucial question in the effort to combat global warming.

The question is this: Can the federal government regulate the so-called
greenhouse gases many experts blame for rising global temperatures? The
Bush administration says no. California, Massachusetts, Washington, 15
other states and their allies insist otherwise. The final answer is now up
to the court's nine justices.
http://www.startribune.com/484/story/840961.html. See attached.

* * * *
Indian Uprising a one-half hour Public & Cultural Affairs program is for
and by Indigenous people broadcast each Sunday at 4:00 p.m. over KFAI 90.3
FM Minneapolis and 106.7 FM St. Paul.  Producer and host is volunteer
Chris Spotted Eagle.  KFAI Fresh Air Radio, www.kfai.org, is located at
1808 Riverside Avenue, Minneapolis MN 55454, 612-341-3144.


--------5 of 13--------

From: Lydia Howell <lhowell [at] visi.com>
Subject: Follies of Science 12.03 4pm

For Immediate Release: Eric Dregni and Jonathan Dregni discuss "Follies of
Science: 20th Century Visions of Our Fantastic Future," 4pm, Sunday,
December 3, at Magers and Quinn

Promises for the future were made; some sadly broken and some
unfortunately honored. While we didn't get household jetpacks and personal
serving-drinks-by-the-pool robots, or even our orgasmatrons, we did get
things like the super-fantastic building materials of the
future--asbestos, lead, and foam.

So just what was the utopian master plan for future households during the
early twentieth century? "Follies of Science" is the keeper of such
knowledge, offering glimpses into sparkling, smooth lead paint covering
our living room walls, dazzling DDT foggers killing mosquitoes dead,
alchemists transforming atoms into gold and diamonds, homeowners living in
"The Foam House of the Future," and, of course, commuters blasting away on
their jet packs to work. Utopian indeed.

Fully illustrated with full-color and black-and-white classic imagery, the
visions of the future spread across page after page, pulling the reader in
to what could have been and what shouldn't have been.

Eric Dregni has written nine books including Midwest Marvels, The Scooter
Bible, Ads that Put America on Wheels, and Grazie a Dio non Sono
Bolognese. As a 2004 Fulbright Fellow to the Norwegian University of
Science and Technology in Trondheim, Eric researched Scandinavian culture
and roots for a forthcoming book. His time is divided between Italy,
Norway, and Minneapolis where he is the curator for El Dorado Conquistador
Museum and guitarist for the mock-rock trio Vinnie & the Starduüsters.

Jonathan Dregni is a futurist and sci-fi enthusiast, raising a family
midway between the soon-to-be domed cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul
Minnesota.

Publisher: Kathleen Cole Kathleen [at] speckpress.com 800-996-9783

For further information, contact: David Unowsky 612/822-4611
davidu [at] magersandquinn.com

MAGERS AND QUINN BOOKSELLERS 3038 HENNEPIN AVENUE SOUTH MINNEAPOLIS MN
55408 612-822-4611 www.magersandquinn.com


--------6 of 13--------

From: MnSOAWatch <MnSOAW [at] circlevision.org>
Subject: MnSOAWatch 12.04 6pm

Hello, our 2006 SOAW vigil in Georgia was again an amazing experience.
Thanks to all of you who came to the MnSOAWatch table and greeted us
and/or introduced yourselves.

Minnesotans should be impressed with all the schools that were represented
at the vigil. We had students from St Olaf, St Mary's in Winona,
University of St Thomas, St Kate's, Augsburg, North Hennepin Community
College, Derham-Cretin High School, College of St Benedict and St John
University (whose photo was in the Ledger on Monday, November 20), St
Scholastica in Duluth, and Mankato.  (Sorry if I missed you)

Special thanks to the North Hennepin students who helped after the vigil
on Sunday loading up the tables and chairs. Many hands make light work
(but the tables were still heavy).

We invite you to help with the ongoing work of MnSOAW. We have regular
meetings, usually the first Monday of the month. Our next meeting is
December 4 at 6 pm at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 2730 E 31st St,
Minneapolis. Enter the east doors, we are upstairs.

Images should be posted soon, including a group photo of many Minnesotans
organized by Twin Ports SOAWatch.  Check back online in a few days.


--------7 of 13--------

From: Amy Ihlan <amyihlan [at] comcast.net>
Subject: Twin Lakes news 12.04 6pm

Some good news -- the Twin Lakes developers are terminating the
development agreement, and withdrawing their pending proposals.  See the
Pioneer Press report, below.

This is a great opportunity to work toward better redevelopment plans for
the area. I hope you will continue to support that effort, and that we can
start a public planning process to help make it happen.

However, the environmental study I alerted you about last week is back on
the agenda again for Monday night, December 4.  The meeting begins at 6:00
p.m. (for our annual "Truth in Taxation" hearing), and the Twin Lakes
issues will be discussed following that.

Amy

Developers forgo Twin Lakes
Long-running neighborhood opposition cited; fate of land uncertain
BY STEVE SCOTT
Pioneer Press

Developers have pulled out of one of the Twin Cities' largest
redevelopment projects, leaving nearly 280 acres of unturned earth and an
unclear future for the Twin Lakes area of northwestern Roseville.

Rottlund Homes and Roseville Properties told city officials Monday they
were pulling the plug on a redevelopment contract they signed 17 months
ago and withdrawing all proposed project revisions under consideration.

"It certainly appears this redevelopment agreement is finished. The whole
thing is off the table," Roseville Mayor Craig Klausing said.

The first phase of the project would have built housing, retail and office
space on 80 acres of the Twin Lakes site, which consists largely of
abandoned truck terminals near Interstate 35W.

But that project derailed in August, when the Minnesota Court of Appeals
sided with a citizen group's contention that the project was void because
the approval process was flawed and more environmental review was
necessary.

Despite recent mayoral and City Council election results that would have
seemed to favor the developers, and a recent scaled-back proposal to
remove a "big-box retailer" from the first phase, the developers appeared
to say Monday they'd had enough after nearly four years of vocal
opposition from council members Amy Ihlan and Tom Kough and the citizens'
group, Friends of Twin Lakes.

"The prospect of additional litigation . and continued opposition from
Ihlan and Kough were factors in our decision to withdraw from the
project," Roseville Properties said in a written statement.

The statement indicated that delays had "moved the project timing from one
of the healthiest real estate markets in years to the current slump,''
making the project no longer viable.

"I don't think this means development is over in the Twin Lakes area, far
from it,'' Ihlan said. "But it's an opportunity for the city to
proactively plan and try to build community support for something that
will benefit the community.

"I'd really like to start with a community planning process to gather
ideas. Then we can go out and say, 'Here's a plan we envision,' call for
proposals and see what role the city can play in pulling those plans
together.''

A host of complicated questions dogged the project from the outset, and
many still remain.

The largest landowner in the area is Roseville Properties' Daniel Commers,
one of the developers who pulled out Monday. The city owns no land in Twin
Lakes, though it had started condemnation proceedings to acquire at least
five properties to allow the project to go forward.

"We don't know what this means for the city as far as those obligations,''
interim City Manager Chris Miller said. "Those are some areas we're going
to have to look at to see where it leaves the city in this whole
process.''

At least one landowner sued the city last year for damages "resulting from
the cloud of condemnation" hanging over its business.

Opponents of Twin Lakes argued against increased traffic in the area, the
disruption of natural areas surrounding Langton Lake, a glut of retailing
in the city, and the proposed use of tax increment financing, in which
anticipated higher tax revenues from the redeveloped property would be
used to pay for site improvements for up to 25 years.

The 3-2 City Council majority that consistently voted in favor of Twin
Lakes believed the plan was the best way to clean up a blighted area that
has been the focal point of city deliberations for nearly two decades.

"Obviously, I'm disappointed,'' Klausing said. "We thought this
represented our best chance to redevelop the area in a comprehensive way
and not have developers come in and cherry-pick the easiest areas to
redevelop and leave other areas undeveloped.

"We don't know yet what the full impact of this will be.''

Steve Scott may be reached at 651-228-5526 or sscott [at] pioneer press.com.

Last week's alert re: the Twin Lakes Environmental Study

I just wanted to alert everyone that the council will be considering an
"update" to the Twin Lakes Environmental Study (AUAR) at the council
meeting on Monday night (November 27). The draft document is available on
the city web site -- on the home page, click on the link to Twin Lakes,
and then click AUAR Update.

Neighbors in the Twin Lakes area should be aware that the traffic studies
show traffic going north on Fairview from C2 through County Road D will
double from a current average daily volume of 9550 trips to 18,400 trips
per day under the development proposals being analyzed (click on Appendix
E of the draft). Traffic on Cleveland north of C2 will increase from the
current 9,300 trips per day to 16,300 per day.

In addition to the discussion at tomorrow night's meeting, there will be a
10 day period for residents to submit their comments and objections in
writing to the council.  I will provide you further information about
that, depending on what the council does tomorrow.


--------8 of 13--------

From: Minneapolis Central Labor Union Council <betsy [at] mplscluc.com>
Subject: Vigil/workers 12.04 7pm

CINTAS RAPID RESPONSE ACTION ALERT!

UNITE HERE has been informed that more than 23 long term Latino and Latina
workers from 2 CINTAS facilities in Maple Grove and Eagan WERE SUSPENDED
or threaten with suspension without ¿just cause¿. The company is basing
its decision on new Homeland Security proposed rules on Social Security
¿No-Match Number¿. The Company is refusing to pay hours worked, accrued
benefits and any earned benefits to employees. Furthermore the employer is
terminating pregnant women & holding some employees in 2 hour one-on-one
meetings! The employer is demanding employees refill out I-9 forms again ¿
THIS IS IMMORAL, UNJUST, WRONG AND AGAINST THE LAW.

CANDLELIGHT VIGIL
11500 95th Ave
Maple Grove
Monday, December 4th, 2006
7:00 PM
Buses will be provided from Union Labor Centre, 312 Central Av
SE & Sagrado Corazón church on 38 W St & Pleasant Av S, Mpls
¿call Uriel for information-

 Workers will demand to be reinstated to work while they deal with their
SS problems.
 Leaders from faith and labor groups will demand that workers MUST BE
REINSTATED to work and be paid all lost wages, benefits and their earned
income.
 We will rally outside the plant to demand Justice, Respect and Dignity
and to stop workers¿ abuse.

Please come to support Cintas Workers
An Injury To One Is An Injury To All

For more information call Uriel at 612-968-6019, email
uperez [at] here17.org or Martin at 612-709-0950, email
mgoff [at] here17.org


--------9 of 13--------

From: Alan Carlson <discern [at] visi.com>
Subject: DN on TPT? 12.04 7pm

Since the visit of Amy Goodman to St. Joan of Arc Church a couple months
ago, a few of us have been committed to getting greater exposure for Amy
Goodman and Democracy Now! in the state of Minnesota. For us, this has
been focused so far on getting Democracy Now! onto Twin Cities Public
Television.

We need your help.

We are putting a call out to you (yes, you!) to join us at our next
meeting. This will be a general meeting to discuss strategies to get
Democracy Now! out to more people in Minnesota.

Now more than ever we need to broadcast independent news far and wide.

JOIN US!
Monday, December 4th
7:00pm
The Resource Center of the Americas
3019 Minnehaha Ave.
Minneapolis, MN

A free Democracy Now! T-shirt to all who come and get involved! Cookies
and Snacks at the meeting!

If you are not able to join us, there are two other ways to help:

1) In an effort to raise awareness of DN! and work to get it onto Twin
Cities Public Television (TPT), we'll be volunteering at the next TPT
phone drive on Dec. 12th at 6:30pm. Let us know if you can join us by
calling Patrick at: (612) 360-1965.

2) Write to TPT. This is a grassroots effort, and the more letters the
better. Attached is a draft of a possible letter. Even better, write in
your own words. Tell TPT why you want them to add Democracy Now! to their
broadcast schedule. Write to:

Tom Holter Twin Cities Public Television 172 East Fourth Street St. Paul,
MN. 5510

Hopefully we'll see you next Monday the 4th at the general meeting. If you
can't make it let us know if you'd like to get involved!

PS - For more info call or write Patrick at (612) 360-1965 or
wfpumw [at] gmail.com


--------10 of 13--------

From: John Kolstad <jkolstad [at] millcitymusic.com>
Subject: Kolstad gifts

-Why buy from a Big Box Chain when you can shop at a small business that
is run by progressive people who have worked for Peace and Economic
Justice for years?

Papa John Kolstad and Mill City Music are holding a Holiday Sale  Including:
1. CDs  50 to 80% off list
2. A large Catalog of popular contemporary music
3. Three special new books of interest to progressives
Details below.   Pass this on to a friend who may be interested.

Mill City Music is Located at 3820 East Lake Street in Minneapolis, right
next to the Blue Moon Coffee Cafe.  Parking is easy and free.
612/722-6649.

--We have been cleaning our our Warehouse and have found boxes of a
variety of CDs.  These items will be on close out sales for 50% to 80% off
list price.  Since we have experienced some hard times due to the
Bush/Pawlenty Economy and the ever increasing Health Insurance Cost and
Property Taxes, we thought this was a good way to clear out some inventory
and pay some bills.

--Also, check out the large selection of CDs that we offer through our
regular catalog.  Go to www.millcitymusic.com <www.millcitymusic.com>
There you will find a search engine so you can look up Artist, Category
and Song Title.  You can buy on line, Call us an order or Order and pick
up at Will Call.

--We have a number of Minnesota and Twin Cities Artists available,
including many connected with the West Bank and Blues Music Scene.

--The new hot book, "West Bank Boogie", by author Cyn Collins, is now out
and we have copies for sale.  ($29.95)  This book covers the musicians and
music of the West Bank during the 60's, 70's up to today.  Full of great
photos, history and interviews with the Artists.  If you have a connection
with the West Bank and the music and musicians, this is a book you will
not be able to put down until you read to the last page.  Also a Terrific
Holiday Present for friends, especially if they now live out of town.

--Also new is the book on health care by Kip Sullivan, "The Health Care
Mess, How We Got Into It and How We Get Out Of It."  ($17.95)  Kip is one
of the foremost experts on health care issues in America.  If you want to
understand why it is so bad, and how we could cover everyone, save a lot
of money and probably have better outcomes, read this.

And the "Big-Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight
for America's Independent Businesses"  by Stacy Mitchell List Price
$24.95.

Come by,  say hello to Papa John,   look around,  see if you find
something you'd like.
Holiday  Hours Open:   M - F  12:00 Noon to 6 PM
    Saturday  Dec 2,   from 10 AM to  1:00 PM
    Saturday  Dec 9, 16, 23     11:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Or call John for arrangements,   612/722-6649

Peace,
Papa John  At Mill City Music


--------11 of 13--------

From: Steven Hauser <hause011 [at] tc.umn.edu>
Subject: Park requirement

The park dedication ordinance will require some developers to give some
land or money when developing subdivided property in St Paul. It is a
regulation that has been done for decades by most of the suburb cities to
build park systems, like Shorview and Roseville, but never done in St Paul
or Mpls. With the "dense development" mode people will still need parks.
Minneapolis is waiting to see what happens to the ordinance in St Paul.

Hi everyone, Everyone who lives in St. Paul, please call your council
member to support the parkland dedication ordinance.  There will be a
public hearing next Wednesay, Dec. 6.  Public hearings start at 5:30 and
will be held in the city council chambers, third floor of city hall.
Please attend if you can and you can state your name and address and that
you support this ordinance.

We have three votes for sure, and we need four.

Ward 1 - Debbie Montgomery, swing vote  266-8610
Ward 2 - Dave Thune, Opposes it,  266-8620
Ward 3 - Pat Harris - swing vote.  266-8630
Ward 4 - Jay Benanav, strong support  266-8640
Ward 5 - Lee Helgen, support  266-8650
Ward 6 - Dan Bostrom, Opposes 266-8660
Ward 7 - Kathy Lantry - strong supports   266-8670

Please call you council member even if they strongly support the
ordinance.  If you know people in Ward 1 and 3 - call them and ask them to
call their council member.  If any of you can come to the meeting
Wednesday, please do so.  We really need help on this.  Ask friends and
family to attend the meeting Wednesday night and to call their council
member.

-Steven Hauser hause011 [at] umn.edu


--------12 of 13--------

From: Ami Voeltz <mngreenguide [at] hotmail.com>
Subject: Do It Green mag

Can you announce that our new publication is out? We were called the Twin
Cities Green Guide, but now our green living guide is called ' Do It
Green!  Magazine'. We are a 100% volunteer-powered organization. We also
donate guides to libraries and environmental educators. It is available
for $7 now at local food co-ops and bookstores.

Fancy details:

Do It Green! Magazine Do It Green! Magazine is a perfect holiday gift for
the ecologically-minded offering over 100 articles, resources and tips
written by Minnesotans ranging from food to energy to transportation to
education. In addition the publication includes the 2007 Minnesota GREEN
PAGES directory, an introduction by Will Steger, and a Mini Green Guide in
Spanish. This guide is Minnesota's only comprehensive community guide to
"green" and sustainable living. Do It Green! Magazine will be available
for $7 at your favorite natural foods co-op, bookstore or local shop in
the Twin Cities or Duluth starting mid-November.

The Twin Cities Green Guide, a 100% volunteer-powered organization, is the
publisher of Do It Green! Magazine and the host of the Do It Green! Gifts
Fair. For more information about the history of our organization or for more
details, contact Ami Voeltz.

www.doitgreen.org

* Created by the Community for the Community *

The Twin Cities Green Guide Ami Voeltz, Executive Director 5441 33rd
Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55417 Phone: 612-345-7973 ami [at] doitgreen.org

Look for the November 2006 edition of the Annual Do It Green! Magazine at
your favorite natural foods co-op or local bookstore! Perfect gift for the
holidays!


--------13 of 13--------

The Race to the Bottom Goes Global
The Big Boys of Financial Crime
By RALPH NADER
CounterPunch
December 2 / 3, 2006

It is clear, in the midst of a seven year corporate financial crime wave,
that the business moguls and their academic apologists, who make up the
Committee on Capital Markets Regulation (CCMG) have no sense of irony. It
is not enough that the CCMG's new report is recommending less law
enforcement and accountability after years of Republican regimes addicted
to de-regulation. The Big Boys want to make lower standards overseas an
argument for starting a race to the bottom, in order for the U.S.
financial markets to remain "competitive."

Here are some of CCMG's thirty-two recommendations, expected to be the
goal of a big lobbying effort on the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) and the Congress next year:

1. Limit how and when state enforcement agencies can pursue cases of
financial fraud on investors. This is designed to take care of any future
Eliot Spitzers, who take their oath of office seriously instead of
ceremoniously. Quite properly, the Governor-elect, present New York
Attorney General Spitzer reacted, saying: "To eviscerate the power of the
one set of regulators who did anything is absurd."

2. Governments should sue the corporations themselves only as a last
resort and instead concentrate on the culpable officials in the company.
That will give rise to all kinds of escape hatches and internal
scapegoating by clever corporate attorneys. They do demand that companies
pay the legal expenses of the accused, however.

3. Make it more difficult to convict defendants by requiring proof of
actual knowledge of the specific fraud, which makes it easier for
executives to get off the hook for criminal negligence. The "I didn't
know" defense is to replace "you should have known."

4. Weaken the post-Enron Sarbanes-Oxley law, including not applying the
key section 404 on internal accounting controls to foreign companies if
they have to "meet comparable standards" in their home country. What are
"comparable standards?" This is a recipe for delay and loopholes. The
record of "equivalency negotiations" under NAFTA and the World Trade
Organization is enough to give rigorous pause to this slippery move.

5. Stricter cost-benefit analysis to any new SEC rules than is now in
place. This it the time-dishonored technique of producing endless delays
in issuing any rules - a device that has devastated updating or declaring
new health and safety standards in the consumer, worker and environmental
areas. A corporate law firm's gold mine.

6. CCMG wants shareholder approval for any "poison pill" defenses against
takeovers that the company officers and Boards institute. Apparently, this
change would make companies more vulnerable to the lucrative business of
mergers and acquisitions. But some investor advocates may like this
enhancement of shareholder power, along with another proposal requiring a
majority vote of shares to elect a company director.

In a broader context, CCMG opposes giving shareholders the power to vote
on these gargantuan executive compensation packages that often amount to
looting company assets and relooting them when the executive is asked to
leave by the Board - the so-called "golden parachute."

7. Either cap liability for auditors or give them outright immunity. After
major accounting firms profited by looking the other way in big corporate
scandals like Enron, WorldCom and the like, it takes a special brand of
commercial hubris to stake out this position.

Once auditors are immune, the CCMG wants to let outside Directors escape
liability for "corporate malfeasance," if they rely "in good faith" on the
auditors. It isn't clear what non-good faith reliance would be like.

"If you take every single step on their list," declared Barbara Roper,
director of investor protection at the Consumer Federation of America,
"you would have made it significantly more difficult to hold corporate
criminals accountable for their crimes."

These corporate criminals have looted or drained trillions of dollars from
workers, their pensions and millions of investors since 2000. Not 5 cents
on the dollar have been recovered for their victims. Many of these
recoveries have come through private litigation - investor class actions
mostly - which the Big Boys want to restrict even more than their
restrictive victory - through the Securities Act of 1995. The more
crimes, the more they drive for privileges and immunities from the rule of
law.

It is not likely that many of these measures will get through the SEC or
the new Congress, apart from some leniency for small companies under
Sarbanes-Oxley. But they will deter efforts to strengthen the corporate
criminal laws and regulations on both the corporations and, in the words
of one prosecutor, "their lying, cheating and stealing" executives and
accomplices.

For more information, visit corporatecrimereporter.com.


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   rhymes with clove         Progressive Calendar
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