Letters

All correspondence should be sent to editor@monitor.net. We reserve the right to edit letters as needed.

Fortuna Alliance Your article on the above subject attracted me as I am a member. I learned much that I did not know! Now that they have been freed from the control of the FTC shouldn't there be a follow up article? I would like to know a lot more than I do now about them. Their communications are few and far between. Bill Wingate (U.S.) Looking forward to your followup on the Fortuna story, now that the Government (FTC, US Justice Dep and the FBI) have given up the chase. "Peter" (Australia) Could you please tell me if you have written another article on Fortuna Alliance verses the F.T.C since they (we) settled out of court because I would love to read it. David Sundbye, proud Fortuna Alliance member (Australia) I, too, sent them money, although it sounded too good to be true. The order talked about leaving your money in Fortuna for future business. What on earth would that be? "Meg" When you say that an update will be available soon, I hope you mean real soon. Fortuna members need to know who to believe, the FTC or the Fortuna Alliance. Now that a settlement has been reached, Fortuna members have ... to decide whether to get their refund or wait this thing out. Perhaps if Mr. DeArmond could give us some insight on who we should really believe, the members could make their decision a little easier. I find it interesting that the Fortuna leaders agreed to not sell a "pyramid scheme," while at the same time, the FTC said that Fortuna Alliance was not a "pyramid scheme" (according to the Feb 24 press release). I think the key in this case is to pay close attention to the language used by both parties, and perhaps justice (whatever that may be) will prevail. I guess what I'm saying is that this thing is not really over. The Fortuna members, by choosing whether or not to ask for their money back, will determine the fate of the Fortuna Alliance. Brent Acree Of the many, many articles that have appeared in the Albion Monitor, none have generated as much mail as Fortuna Alliance. Curiously, the readership is small; for every person interested in Fortuna, a thousand have read our stories about Round Valley, the Judi Bari case, Christian Right extremists, or other topical issues. The letters above are typical, but many are also angry; examples of that sort can be found in our February letters section. Despite the optimistic claims of some Fortuna members, the government has not closed the case or vindicated Fortuna. This is clearly explained on a FTC web page which also contains the stipulated final judgement: Contrary to some reports you may have seen on the Internet, Fortuna was not "cleared" of any of the charges against it. The FTC did not drop its charges against Fortuna or withdraw its contention that Fortuna Alliance was an illegal pyramid scheme. (The only "charges" that were dropped were those made by the defendants against the FTC.) By entering the settlement, both parties agreed that there would simply be no trial or adjudication of any issue of law or fact. That is, there is no decision either way by the Court. However, Fortuna cannot return to the same business it was running before this case. That would violate the permanent injunction it agreed to. Investigative reporter Paul DeArmond continues following the story and we'll consider a follow-up news story if events merit coverage, but the Albion Monitor is not a Fortuna watchdog, reporting on every minor development. -- Editor Tell the Truth and Run A great editorial on George Seldes and how he got slammed beyond the grave by the Times. I also remember a great piece by A.J. Liebling, collected in his 1947 book "The Wayward Pressman'' on obits. He contrasted the treatment given to George Patton and Theodore Dreiser, who died within a week of each other in December 1945. While Patton got lots of copy in the New York papers, only the Times and the Journal-American thought to put Dreiser on Page One and the Herald Tribune redbaited him in their obit. George is still unknown to so many people, even in journalism. That's why I was so excited about Rick Goldsmith's film. It mirrored my book "The George Seldes Reader" and I hoped that the one-two punch of my book and his movie would do much to establish his reputation as one of the great independent journalists of this century. I've seen the film, and it is fantastic. It even getting nominated for an Oscar I think is a big achievement. But I think even if it won, PBS wouldn't show it. "Tell the Truth and Run" is as up to date as the morning paper with 10 times more punch. George's work still is fresh and timely, both a tribute to his skill and an indictment on how little things have changed. It is just the kind of controversial stuff that PBS goes out of its way not to show. One thing I know. The people I've encountered over the past few years who number themselves as Seldes fans are among the finest, most intelligent and most committed people I've ever met. We'll keep George's memory alive, I know we will. Randy Holhut Randolph T. Holhut is editor of "The George Seldes Reader" (Barricade Books). -- Editor U.S. MILITARY COUP PLOT REVEALED March 12, 1997 The President Has Confirmed A Military Coup Is Under Way. WHY ARE YOU NOT REPORTING THIS??? Friday March 7, 1997, White House Press Conference held by President Clinton: Q Sir, I wonder if you would use your leadership to counteract all these rumors that are scaring people to death -- large segments of our citizens believe that the United Nations is taking over whole blocks of counties in Kentucky and Tennessee... And, they believe that you're going to put us in a concentration camp and you're going to give our army to Russia. Could you do something about this? Because it's hurting the unity of the United States. THE PRESIDENT: I don't know, I'm the problem. There is a not insubstantial number of people who believe that there is a plan out there for world domination and give American sovereignty over to the U.N. Let me just say this: For people that are worried about it, I would say, there is a serious issue here that every American has to come to grips with... After being told that many millions of families are in fear for their lives, the President laughed. Read it carefully -- he did not deny it, he confirmed that people are just going to have to get used to the idea. Millions of both active and retired military personnel, including very high ranking and highly decorated officers are appalled and also confirm many details. They expect the bloodiest war and slaughter in human history to begin by summer. Many are expected to mutiney, which is why their are now hundreds of thousands of foreign troops hiding at U.S. and Canadian bases. For the past year the night time training with real explosives and ammunition conducted by Psy-ops teams and Special Forces units, in major cities such as; Pittsburgh, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Charlotte, etc. has been reported in dozens of local newspapers. DONâT WORRY THOUGH, THE REPORTERS, AND MEDIA EMPLOYEES WILL NOT HAVE TO WAIT, EXPECT A LATE NIGHT KNOCK ON YOUR DOOR WITHIN 6 WEEKS OR LESS Thousands of people have tried to speak out publicly, but the ãmainstream mediaä (meaning any method of reaching truly large enough numbers of people), is a network of overlapping boards and stockholders owned and controlled by a small group of the worldâs most wealthy and powerful... ...The FBI's preparation for the massive roundup scheduled to begin within 2 weeks. Evidence of the psychological preparation of a large population using neural linguistic programing, and psychological warfare techniques, or the consortiums being modeled after the trusts of the past, and who holds the actual ownership or board control, OR HOW LONG BEFORE YOUR WHOLE FAMILY IS ELIMINATED THIS IS NOT A JOKE. THE WRITER WILL PROBABLY NOT SURVIVE TONIGHT, HE HAS ALREADY BEEN WARNED NOT TO DO THIS. "DAWN, Inc." A) Sarcasm is a form of humor, and Presidents often joke with the press. B) Even if you don't like Clinton, it's considered dishonest to edit his direct quotes to alter their meaning. C) Your medication won't help unless you take it as prescribed. -- Editor