Articles of Interest

The following articles by various authors are of significant interest. They cover many important topics including current events, historical documentation, commentaries, subjects in law, natural rights, and more. Take the time to educate yourself and form your own opinions. You will find it to be time well spent.

Pharmaceutical Philandering: Merck wrote drug studies for doctors!

NEW YORK - April 16, 2008 - The drug maker Merck drafted dozens of research studies for a best-selling drug, then lined up prestigious doctors to put their names on the reports before publication, according to an article to be published Wednesday in a leading medical journal.

Articles of Interest

Merrill-Lynch set for more write-downs from CDO binge!

SAN FRANCISCO, California - April 16, 2008 - Merrill Lynch & Co. will likely write down the value of complex mortgage securities and other troubled assets by at least $4.5 billion when the brokerage firm reports quarterly results on Thursday, according to analysts.

Most of that valuation hit will come from collateralized-debt obligations, or CDOs, which are structured produ

Articles of Interest

Food Irradiation Plot: USDA seeks to turn live foods into dead foods!

April 14, 2008 - There's a new plot underway to sterilize your food and destroy the nutritional value of fresh produce. The players in this plot are the usual suspects: The USDA (which backed the "raw" almond sterilization rules now in effect in California) and the American Chemical Society - a pro-chemical group that represents the interests of industrial chemical manufacturers.

Articles of Interest

Fourth-largest U.S. bank resorts to emergency fundraising!

April 14, 2008 - America's fourth-largest bank, Wachovia, is raising $7bn (£3.52bn) through emergency fundraising as the subprime mortgage crisis in the US continues to reverberate through the banking sector.

Wachovia is raising the funds through public offerings of common and convertible preference stock after incurring a surprise $350m loss in the first quarter of 2008

Articles of Interest

Former CIA official says U.S. is losing the war in Afghanistan!

WASHINGTON - April 14, 2008 - The U.S. is on the verge of losing the war in Afghanistan, says a former top CIA official who was involved in attempts to capture and kill Osama bin Laden.

"Afghanistan of course is a terrible disaster for the United States and NATO. NATO seems to be dying in Afghanistan," says Mike Scheuer, who headed the CIA's Osama Bin Laden unit when

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Nobody wants to hire former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales!

WASHINGTON - April 13, 2008 - Alberto R. Gonzales, like many others recently unemployed, has discovered how difficult it can be to find a new job. Mr. Gonzales, the former attorney general, who was forced to resign last year, has been unable to interest law firms in adding his name to their roster, Washington lawyers and his associates said in recent interviews.

He has, through

Articles of Interest

U.S. banks Citigroup and Merrill Lynch reveal fresh $15bn loss!

April 13, 2008 - CITIGROUP and Merrill Lynch will heap further pain on Wall Street this week as they reveal additional sub-prime write-downs totaling $15 billion (£7.6 billion) or more.

In another sign of the intense pressure on leading banks, Deutsche Bank is attempting to offload some of its €35 billion (£28 billion) of toxic debt to a consortium of private-e