Treasury Dept. Claims Right to Seize Gold, Silver, Anything Else

The Treasury Department has told the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee that the U.S. Government has the authority to prohibit the private possession of gold and silver coin and bullion by U.S. citizens during wartime, and declared emergencies. This authority would extend to the ability to freeze ownership of shares of mining companies as well as any other financial instrument.

The Treasury Department's assertions came in a letter to GATA dated August 12 and written by Sean M. Thornton, chief counsel for the department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, who replied to questions GATA posed to the department in January.

The government's authority to interfere with the ownership of gold, silver, and mining shares arises, Thornton wrote, from the Trading With the Enemy Act, which became law in 1917 during World War I and applies during declared wars, and from 1977's International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which can be applied without declared wars.

"Land of the free, home of the brave"

The Delivery Room: No Place For a Man?

Dr. Keith Ablow discusses the potentially negative side effects of togetherness in the delivery room in the New York Times today. A taboo subject indeed.

Many woman will not want to hear it, but I am certain there are quite a few reasons this is a good idea, and not just the obvious reasons the author discusses.

One thing is certain, "it is a decision that involves potential gains and potential losses, and too few couples realize that fact or are willing to talk about it."

Philadelphia 1787 vs. Baghdad 2005

Fred Kaplan at Slate illustrates the difference between now and then. Don't let anyone fool you. It is not the same.

Occupation is miles away from liberation.

No U.S soldier should be dying for shari'a law. The draft constitution says no law in Iraq can contflict with Islamic law while in other places it says no law can contradict human rights or democracy.

Neat trick.

Professor Bainbridge Arrives

A bona fide conservative starts to question the war in Iraq.

Here is his rant at an eclectic mix of a blog.

West Canadian Separatists?

CALGARY (CP) - More than one-third of western Canadians surveyed this summer thought it was time to consider separation from Canada, a poll suggests.

In the survey, 35.6 per cent of respondents from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia agreed with the statement: Western Canadians should begin to explore the idea of forming their own country.

Albertans, at 42 per cent, were most apt to consider independence, followed by Saskatchewan at 31.9 per cent. Residents of B.C. and Manitoba were the least likely to consider separation, at 30.8 and 27.5 per cent respectively.

The survey was commissioned by the Western Standard, a right-leaning bimonthly news and opinion magazine based in Calgary, to assess how well the federal government has been managing the issue of western alienation - something that Prime Minister Martin promised to reduce as part of his 2004 election campaign.

The research was conducted by pollster Faron Ellis, a political science professor at Lethbridge Community College, who surveyed 1,448 adult western Canadians between June 29 and July 5.

The results are considered accurate within plus or minus 2.6 percentage point, 19 times out of 20.

Ellis noted that surprisingly, separatist sentiment appeared to run highest among young people - 37 per cent of respondents between the ages of 18 and 29 were open to the notion of breaking away from Canada.

The whole story is available here at Canoe Inc.