3.31.2004
Carlyle Investing in America, Sort of
The Carlyle Group doesn't come up on the evening news very often. It will serve you to be aware though of the groups connection to the Saudi's as well as the GOP and the US intelligence community. You'll recognize a bunch of names...
The Family Steering Committee for the 9/11 Commission urges the de-classification of the 28 blank pages of the Joint Inquiry Final Report that refer to Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government urges this also. The first link offered will show you why this won't happen.
Information Clearing House offers an enlightening 48 minute video on The Carlyle Group.
Lately The Carlyle Group has made the news in China, Russia and Korea. A Carlyle member shares a 6 person advisory board membership with William Frist's brother, Thomas Jr to help Avondale Partners
negotiate "issues confronting growing organizations".
Carlyle Group is a majority stockholder of a company that specializes in decontamination of radioactive situations. In another that decontaminates anthrax. But there's more.
The Washington investment firm, run by a who's who of Republican heavyweights, including former Secretary of State James Baker and former Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci, has put money into about 300 different companies and properties.
Those investments include United Defense Industries, a maker of combat vehicles, naval guns and missile launchers; and Sippican, a maker of submarine systems and countermeasures to protect warships.
They also include a New Jersey pharmaceutical firm called MedPointe, which just so happens to be one of only three companies licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to manufacture over-the-counter potassium iodide pills.
That's significant because potassium iodide can help protect against thyroid cancer in the event of exposure to large amounts of radiation -- from a small, easily transported nuclear weapon, say, or a terrorist attack on a nuclear power plant.
Are you feeling safer?
3/31/2004
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Is Fix in at 9/11 Commission? by Paul Sperry.
The fine print of the deal takes the chance of the commission taking sworn public testimony from any other White House official – including Rice's deputy Stephen Hadley, Bush's political adviser Karl Rove, President Bush himself or Vice President Dick Cheney – completely off the table. It also precludes the panel from having the option of calling Rice, who's made media statements contradicting evidence and sworn statements by other officials, back to testify.
Why would a White House "truth commission" purportedly looking for the facts fetter itself concerning substantive testimony when it has subpoena power on its side?
3/31/2004
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