Saturday, April 30, 2011

http://www.freedomsphoenix.com/News/088911-2011-04-29-huh-fox-stages-fake-debate-between-ron-paul-obama-impersonator.htm

Huh? Fox stages fake debate between Ron Paul, Obama impersonator


04-29-2011  •  www.rawstory.com 
 
http://www.freedomsphoenix.com/News/088911-2011-04-29-huh-fox-stages-fake-debate-between-ron-paul-obama-impersonator.htm

Khamis al-Gaddafi dead, what about Saif al-Arab al-Gaddafi?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khamis_al-Gaddafi
Excerpt:
Reported death
On 20 March 2011, it was reported by the anti-Gaddafi Al Manara Media that Khamis al-Gaddafi had died from his injuries sustained when pilot Muhammad Mokhtar Osman allegedly crashed his plane into Bab al-Azizia a week earlier. The crashing of the plane itself had also not been previously reported or confirmed by any other independent media except Al Manara and the Algerian Shuruk newspaper, which is closely connected to Al Manara, and with it there is a possibility of the reports being part of the propaganda operations by the opposition. Khamis has yet to be seen or heard from since the reported suicide plane crash.[12][13][14] U.S. Secretary Hillary Clinton stated that she was aware of reports that one of Gaddafi's sons had been killed in non-coalition air strikes, after hearing them from "many different sources", but that the "evidence is not sufficient" for her to confirm this.[15][16]
The pro-Gaddafi Libyan government has denied that he was killed.[17]

http://www.yalibnan.com/2011/03/25/death-of-gaddafis-son-khamis-confirmed/
Excerpt:

Death of Gaddafi’s son Khamis confirmed

Al-Arabiya television quoted on Friday an unnamed source as saying reports that Libyan leader Moammad Qaddafi’s son, Khamis, was killed are true.
The source added that Khamis Qaddafi was killed in a raid in Bab al-Aziziyah in Tripoli.
Khamis, 27, who runs the feared Khamis Brigade that has been prominent in its role of attacking rebel-held areas, was reportedly killed Saturday night.
According to reports on Algerian TV, a Libyan air force pilot crashed his jet into the Bab al-Aziziyah compound in Tripoli in a kamikaze attack.
Khamis allegedly died of burns in hospital. The Gaddafi regime denied the reports of his death

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110430/wl_nm/us_libya
Excerpt:

Libya's Gaddafi survives air strikes, son killed

A rebel fighter provides security from atop a building to thousands of comrades and civilians during Friday prayers in central Ajdabiyah Reuters – An armed rebel fighter provides security from atop a building to thousands of comrades and civilians …
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi survived a NATO air strike on a Tripoli house that killed his youngest son and three grandchildren, a government spokesman said on Saturday.
"What we have now is the law of the jungle," government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim told a news conference. "We think now it is clear to everyone that what is happening in Libya has nothing to do with the protection of civilians."
Gaddafi, who seized power in a 1969 coup, is fighting an uprising by rebels who have seized much of the eastern part of the country. British and French-led NATO forces are permitted under a United Nations resolution to mount air attacks on Gaddafi forces to protect civilians.
There was no immediate NATO reaction or any independent confirmation of the deaths. Gaddafi had appeared on television in the early hours of Saturday and said he would never step down. He offered talks to the rebels, who rejected the proposal as hollow and treacherous.
Libya's government took journalists to the house, which had been hit by at least three missiles. The roof had completely caved in in some areas, leaving mangled rods of reinforcing steel hanging down among chunks of concrete.
A table football machine stood outside in the garden of the house, in a wealthy residential area of Tripoli. Glass and debris covered the lawns and what appeared to be an unexploded missile lay in one corner.
"FIGHT AND FIGHT"
Inside one part of the villa, a beige corner sofa was virtually untouched, but debris had caved in on other striped upholstered chairs. The blasts had been heard across the city late on Saturday.
Rifle fire and car horns rang out in the rebels' eastern capital of Benghazi as news of the attack spread.
"The leader himself is in good health. He wasn't harmed," Ibrahim said. "His wife is also in good health.
"This was a direct operation to assassinate the leader of this country. This is not permitted by international law. It is not permitted by any moral code or principle."
He said Gaddafi's youngest son, Saif Al-Arab, had been killed in the attack. Saif al-Arab, 29, is one of Gaddafi's less prominent sons, with a limited role in the power structure. Ibrahim described him as a student who had studied in Germany.
"We will fight and fight if we have to," Ibrahim said. "The leader offered peace to NATO yesterday and NATO rejected it."
Fighting in Libya's civil war, which grew from protests for greater political freedom that have spread across the Arab world, has reached stalemate in recent weeks with neither side capable of achieving a decisive blow.
Libyan forces had reached the gates of Benghazi last month when Gaddafi appeared on television declaring he would crush the rebellion, showing "no pity, no mercy." Days later the United Nations passed its resolution allowing the air strikes and saving the rebels from defeat.
(Additional reporting by Tarek Amara and Abdelaziz Boumzar in Dehiba, Deepa Babington and Michael Georgy in Benghazi, Matthew Tostevin in Tunis; Writing by Ralph Boulton; Editing by Jon Hemming)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khamis_Brigade
Excerpt:
The Khamis Brigade, formally the 32nd Reinforced Brigade of the Armed People[2], is a special forces brigade of the Libyan military loyal to Muammar Gaddafi,[3] the de-facto leader of Libya since 1969. Commanded by Gaddafi's youngest son, Khamis Gaddafi, the 32nd Brigade was called "the most well-trained and well-equipped force in the Libyan military" and "the most important military and security elements of the regime" in leaked U.S. memos.[citation needed] According to former Libyan Justice Minister Mustafa Abdul Jalil, each of Gaddafi's sons has an army and can do with it as he pleases.[4]

http://theamericanaudacity.blogspot.com/2011/03/major-victory-in-libya-gaddafis-elite.html
Excerpt:
The New York Times reported that air strikes targeted an oil refinery in central Libya and said the strikes are an indication that the Qaddafi regime is stronger than some of the opposition seems willing to admit. According to the Times, this was the first time in 10 days that Qaddafi’s forces launched attacks by warplanes. Prior to this, opposition leaders claimed that all Air Force pilots had defected to the opposition.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muammar_Gaddafi
Excerpt:

Personal life and family

His second wife was Safia Farkash, née el-Brasai, former nurse from Al Bayda.[187][188][189] Gaddafi had eight biological children, seven of them sons.

Moatessem-Billal al-Gaddafi with Hillary Clinton, Treaty Room, Washington, DC, 21 April 2009
His eldest son, Muhammad al-Gaddafi, was born to a wife now in disfavour, but ran the Libyan Olympic Committee.[187]
The next eldest son, by his second wife Safia, was Saif al-Islam Muammar al-Gaddafi, who was born in 1972. Saif served as a politician in his father's government, including as a spokesperson during the 2011 uprising, and worked as an architect. He ran a charity (GIFCA) which was involved in negotiating freedom for hostages taken by Islamic militants, especially in the Philippines. In 2006, after sharply criticizing his father's regime, Saif Al-Islam briefly left Libya, reportedly to take on a position in banking outside of the country. He returned soon after, and launched an environment-friendly initiative to teach children how to help clean up parts of Libya. He was involved in compensation negotiations with Italy and the United States.
The third eldest, Al-Saadi al-Gaddafi, married the daughter of a military commander. Saadi ran the Libyan Football Federation and signed to play for various professional teams including Italian Serie A team Perugia Calcio, although appearing only once in first team games.
Gaddafi's fourth son, Al-Mu'tasim-Billah al-Gaddafi, was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Libyan Army. He later served as Libya's National Security Advisor, in which capacity he oversaw the nation's National Security Council. His name مُعْتَصِمٌ (بِٱللّٰهِ) /muʿtaṣimu-n (bi l–lāhi)/ could be Latinized as Mutassim, Moatessem or Moatessem-Billah. Saif Al-Islam and Moatessem-Billah were both seen as possible successors to their father.[citation needed]
The fifth, Hannibal Muammar al-Gaddafi, was a former employee of General National Maritime Transport Company, a company that specialized in oil exports. He was most notable for involvement in a series of violent incidents throughout Europe. In 2001, Hannibal attacked three Italian policemen with a fire extinguisher; in September 2004, he was briefly detained in Paris after driving a Porsche at 140 kilometres per hour (90 mph) in the wrong direction and through red lights down the Champs-Élysées while intoxicated; and in 2005, Hannibal in Paris allegedly beat model and then-girlfriend Aline Skaf, who later filed an assault suit against him.[190] He was fined and given a four month suspended prison sentence after this incident. In December 2009 police were called to Claridge's hotel in London after staff heard a scream from Hannibal's room. Skaf, later his wife, suffered facial injuries including a broken nose, but charges were not pressed after she maintained she had sustained the injuries in a fall.[191] On 15 July 2008, Hannibal and his wife were held for two days and charged with assaulting two of their staff in Geneva, Switzerland and then released on bail on 17 July. The government of Libya subsequently boycotted Swiss products, reduced flights between Libya and Switzerland, stopped issuing visas to Swiss citizens, recalled diplomats from Bern, and forced all Swiss companies such as ABB and Nestlé to close offices. General National Maritime Transport Company, which owned a large refinery in Switzerland, halted oil shipments to Switzerland.[192] Two Swiss businessmen who were in Libya at the time were denied permission to leave the country, held hostage for some time. As of 2009, they were still unable to depart.[193] (see Switzerland-Libya conflict). At the 35th G8 summit in July 2009, Gaddafi labeled Switzerland a "world mafia" and called for the country to be split between France, Germany and Italy.[194]
Gaddafi's sixth son was Saif al-Arab al-Gaddafi ("the sword of the Arabs"). Saif was appointed a military commander in the Libyan Army during the 2011 Libyan uprising, but defected to the opposition, and served in the Libyan People's Army.
Gaddafi's seventh son was Khamis al-Gaddafi, who served as the commander of the Libyan Army's elite Khamis Brigade.
Gaddafi's only natural daughter is Ayesha al-Gaddafi, a lawyer who joined the defense teams of executed former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi.[187] She is married to a cousin of her father's.
He is also said to have adopted two children, Hanna and Milad.[195][196] Hanna was apparently killed in 1986 at the age of four, during retaliatory US bombing raids; the facts are disputed however,[197] and this adoption may have been posthumous.
Gaddafi's brother-in-law Abdullah Senussi‎, who married to Gaddafi's wife's sister, was believed to head military intelligence.[198]
The family's main residence was on the Bab al-Azizia military barracks, located in the southern suburbs of Tripoli.
Gaddafi held an honorary degree from Megatrend University in Belgrade conferred on him by former Yugoslav President Zoran Lilić.[199]
Gaddafi feared flying over water, preferred to stay on buildings' ground floors and almost never traveled without his trusted Ukrainian nurse Halyna Kolotnytska, a "voluptuous blonde," according to a U.S. document released by WikiLeaks late 2010.[200] Halyna's daughter denied the suggestion that the relationship is anything but professional.[201]

https://ktwop.wordpress.com/tag/saif-al-islam-muammar-al-gaddafi/
Excerpt:

Cracks appear in the Gaddafi façade

April 4, 2011
It was a only matter of time before the survival reflex started to kick in and start the propagation of cracks within the façade surrounding the Gaddafi family and clan. But replacing him with one of his sons would be a case of one step forward and two back.
As the NYT reports:

Saif al-Islam el-Gaddafi
At least two sons of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi are proposing a resolution to the Libyan conflict that would entail pushing their father aside to make way for a transition to a constitutional democracy under the direction of his son Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi, a diplomat and a Libyan official briefed on the plan said Sunday.
…. The proposal offers a new window into the dynamics of the Qaddafi family at a time when the colonel, who has seven sons, is relying heavily on them. Stripped of one of his closest confidantes by the defection of Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa and isolated by decades of attempted coups and internal purges, he is leaning on his sons as trusted aides and military commanders.
The idea also touches on longstanding differences among his sons. While Seif and Saadi have leaned toward Western-style economic and political openings, Colonel Qaddafi’s sons Khamis and Mutuassim are considered hard-liners. Khamis leads a fearsome militia focused on repressing internal unrest.
Saif al-Islam el-Gaddafi is thought to have plagiarised his PhD thesis at the LSE but considering the former German Defence Minister’s plagiarism perhaps this is an acceptable level of ethics for European politicians!
Related: Gaddafi’s children are a motley – but dangerous – lot

LSE head quits over suspect ties to Gaddafi & son

March 4, 2011
Sir Howard Davies, British businessman and eco...
Sir Howard Davies: Image via Wikipedia
Not only did the UK government provide Gaddafi with absolution for all his sins for the sake of weapons deals and oil contracts, they also orchestrated the release of the Lockerbie bomber.
And the LSE was part of the process of providing legitimacy to a bunch of thugs and murderers  - of course in return for a suitable remuneration. The LSE Director has now resigned.
BBC:
The director of the London School of Economics has resigned over its links to Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi. Sir Howard Davies said he recognised the university’s reputation had “suffered” and he had to quit. He said the decision to accept £300,000 for research from a foundation run by Col Gaddafi’s son, Saif, “backfired”.
The LSE council has commissioned an independent inquiry into the university’s relationship with Libya and Saif Gaddafi. It will seek to clarify the extent of the LSE’s links with Libya and establish guidelines for future donations.
Lord Woolf, former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales and former chairman of the Council of University College London, has been appointed to carry it out. Sir Howard said he regretted visiting Libya to advise its regime about financial reforms, calling it a “personal error of judgement”. …..
The LSE has already announced it is investigating claims that Saif Gaddafi plagiarised his PhD thesis, which was awarded in 2008. The Libyan leader’s son had studied at the LSE, gaining both an MSc and PhD.
The Guardian:
A leaked US diplomatic cable indicates that the British government was also party to the deal to bring 400 Libyans to Britain for leadership training. The cable, published by WikiLeaks, suggests that other UK universities were involved in similar schemes, though there is no independent confirmation of this.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/27/gaddafi-son-saif-al-islam-profile
Excerpt:

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi: The new face of Libyan defiance

Colonel Gaddafi's son was educated in London and has friends in the City and Westminster. Or he did until last week
Saif al-Islam Gadhafi
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, speaks to the media last week. Photograph: Ben Curtis/AP
Geneva places a high premium on guarding secrets, but rumours are a different currency. Amid momentous scenes being played out across the Middle East last week, sources in the Swiss financial centre were privately gossiping about a visit to Geneva earlier this year by Farhat Bengdara, the governor of the Central Bank of Libya.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khamis_al-Gaddafi
Excerpt:
Reported death
On 20 March 2011, it was reported by the anti-Gaddafi Al Manara Media that Khamis al-Gaddafi had died from his injuries sustained when pilot Muhammad Mokhtar Osman allegedly crashed his plane into Bab al-Azizia a week earlier. The crashing of the plane itself had also not been previously reported or confirmed by any other independent media except Al Manara and the Algerian Shuruk newspaper, which is closely connected to Al Manara, and with it there is a possibility of the reports being part of the propaganda operations by the opposition. Khamis has yet to be seen or heard from since the reported suicide plane crash.[12][13][14] U.S. Secretary Hillary Clinton stated that she was aware of reports that one of Gaddafi's sons had been killed in non-coalition air strikes, after hearing them from "many different sources", but that the "evidence is not sufficient" for her to confirm this.[15][16]
The pro-Gaddafi Libyan government has denied that he was killed.[17]

http://www.yalibnan.com/2011/03/25/death-of-gaddafis-son-khamis-confirmed/

The Federal Reserve's Victims

http://blog.mises.org/9824/the-federal-reserves-victims/?replytocom=534660
Excerpt:

The Federal Reserve’s Victims

April 22, 2009 by Karen De Coster
The Federal Reserve, with its money-pumping machine distorting credit markets and interest rates, along with creating piles of debt among the citizenry, is a totalitarian and destructive force. The Fed destroys time preferences because it turns people into consumption-oriented, gotta-have-it-now debt addicts. The Fed has wrecked the housing market and turned homes into leveraged bets. The Fed has sucked people into revolving debt, student loan debt, and miscellaneous personal debt, all with the promise that the boom was never going to end. The Fed perverted the stock market, baiting pension funds, 401k funds, and personal investments, and thus has wiped out much of the wealth of American retirees and the middle class. The Fed has turned the latest generation of children into a consumption-only class who do not know of the production side of the market, nor do they care. The Fed has established a financial dependency on government that has destroyed the self-sufficiency of an entire generation. Today’s bread and circuses is tomorrow’s lack of saving, invention, and production. The Federal Reserve is a criminal organization and the destroyer of lives.
The latest victim of this system that takes Americans captive is the man who shot his wife and three children to death before committing suicide in Middletown, Maryland. He was $460k in debt on a mortgage and credit cards on a salary of less than $100k per year. The debt, dependency, and financial disintegration drove him crazy. Here is Guido Hulsmann from one of my all-time favorite articles, “The Cultural and Spiritual Legacy of Fiat Inflation.”
The net effect of the recent surge in household debt is therefore to throw entire populations into financial dependency. The moral implications are clear. Towering debts are incompatible with financial self-reliance and thus they tend to weaken self-reliance also in all other spheres. The debt-ridden individual eventually adopts the habit of turning to others for help, rather than maturing into an economic and moral anchor of his family, and of his wider community. Wishful thinking and submissiveness replace soberness and independent judgement. And what about the many cases in which families can no longer shoulder the debt load? Then the result is either despair or, on the contrary, scorn for all standards of financial sanity.
http://www.cfr.org/japan/bank-japan-averts-financial-earthquake/p24459
Excerpt:

The Bank of Japan Averts a Financial Earthquake


Author:
Sebastian Mallaby, Director of the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies and Paul A. Volcker Senior Fellow for International Economics

March 21, 2011
Financial Times
Japan's tragedy is a testament to the power of nature and the frailty of man. But one human creation will emerge from this mess looking stronger than before: Japan's central bank. In the days since the earthquake, the Bank of Japan has printed trillions of new yen. If you doubt this activism was warranted, consider what followed earthquakes in the era before central banks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7mRSI8yWwg

http://land.netonecom.net/tlp/ref/federal_reserve.shtml
Excerpt:






OWNERSHIP OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE




Most Americans, if they know anything at all about the Federal Reserve, believe it is an agency of the United States Government. This article charts the true nature of the "National Bank."

Chart 1

Source: ** Federal Reserve Directors: A Study of Corporate and Banking Influence ** - - Published 1976
Chart 1 reveals the linear connection between the Rothschilds and the Bank of England, and the London banking houses which ultimately control the Federal Reserve Banks through their stockholdings of bank stock and their subsidiary firms in New York. The two principal Rothschild representatives in New York, J. P. Morgan Co., and Kuhn, Loeb & Co. were the firms which set up the Jekyll Island Conference at which the Federal Reserve Act was drafted, who directed the subsequent successful campaign to have the plan enacted into law by Congress, and who purchased the controlling amounts of stock in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in 1914. These firms had their principal officers appointed to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and the Federal Advisory Council in 1914. In 1914 a few families (blood or business related) owning controlling stock in existing banks (such as in New York City) caused those banks to purchase controlling shares in the Federal Reserve regional banks. Examination of the charts and text in the House Banking Committee Staff Report of August, 1976 and the current stockholders list of the 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks show this same family control.
N.M. Rothschild , London - Bank of England
                                 ______________________________________
                                |                                     |
                                |                           J. Henry Schroder
                                |                             Banking | Corp.
                                |                                     |
                          Brown, Shipley - Morgan Grenfell - Lazard - |
                           & Company        & Company       Brothers  |
                                |               |              |      |
            --------------------|        -------|              |      |
            |                   |        |      |              |      |
 Alex Brown - Brown Bros. - Lord Mantagu - Morgan et Cie -- Lazard ---|
 & Son      |  Harriman       Norman     |    Paris          Bros     |
            |                   |        /      |            N.Y.     |
            |                   |       |       |              |      |
            |            Governor, Bank | J.P. Morgan Co -- Lazard ---|
            |            of England    /  N.Y. Morgan       Freres    |
            |            1924-1938    /   Guaranty Co.      Paris     |
            |                        /    Morgan Stanley Co.  |      /
            |                       /           |              \Schroder Bank
            |                      /            |              Hamburg/Berlin
            |                     /      Drexel & Company         /
            |                    /       Philadelphia            /
            |                   /                               /
            |                  /                           Lord Airlie
            |                 /                               /
            |                /     M. M. Warburg       Chmn J. Henry Schroder
            |                |      Hamburg ---------  marr. Virginia F. Ryan
            |                |         |               grand-daughter of Otto
            |                |         |                Kahn of Kuhn Loeb Co.
            |                |         |
            |                |         |
Lehman Brothers N.Y -------------- Kuhn Loeb Co. N. Y.
            |                |     --------------------------
            |                |       |                      |
            |                |       |                      |
Lehman Brothers - Mont. Alabama   Solomon Loeb           Abraham Kuhn
            |                |     __|______________________|_________
Lehman-Stern, New Orleans   Jacob Schiff/Theresa Loeb  Nina Loeb/Paul Warburg
- -------------------------    |       |                      |
             |               | Mortimer Schiff        James Paul Warburg
_____________|_______________/       |
|            |          |   |        |
Mayer Lehman |     Emmanuel Lehman    \
|            |          |              \
Herbert Lehman     Irving Lehman        \
|            |          |                \
Arthur Lehman \    Phillip Lehman     John Schiff/Edith Brevoort Baker
              /         |             Present Chairman Lehman Bros
           
http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/people/biographies/bailey.htm
Excerpt:

Andrew Bailey
Executive Director, Banking & Chief Cashier

Andrew Bailey was appointed to his current role from 1 January, 2004. He has several key responsibilities:
- the security and effective operation of real time gross settlement in the UK’s high value payment systems (CHAPS and CREST);
- along with the Bank’s Sterling Markets Division he is also responsible for the provision of liquidity to the market and settlement banks;
- the issuing and effective distribution of banknotes and their security against counterfeiting; and
- the provision of banking services, focusing on high-value government banking.
Since the onset of the financial crisis in August 2007, Andrew has been responsible for the Bank's special operations to resolve problems in the banking sector. He is head of the Bank's Special Resolution Unit. His involvement in special operations also extends to taking responsibility for the so-called London Approach, in which the Bank uses its influence to seek resolution of problems in company refinancings and other such problems.
He is also a member of the Governor’s Executive Team which is the Bank’s senior management group.
Andrew joined the Bank in 1985, starting in the International Divisions, before moving to Banking Supervision. This was followed by his first appointment in Banking Services, as senior manager for Policy, Risk and Special Operations. He then became the Governor’s Private Secretary, before being appointed as Head of the International Economic Analysis Division in Monetary Analysis until the end of 2003. He returned to Banking Services as Chief Cashier at the beginning of 2004.
Before joining the Bank, he was a Research Officer at the London School of Economics, which followed a BA and PhD from Queens' College Cambridge.

http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/press/monetary/20090406a.htm
Excerpt:

Press Release

Federal Reserve Press Release
Release Date: April 6, 2009

For release at 10:00 a.m. EDT


The Bank of England, the European Central Bank (ECB), the Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan, and the Swiss National Bank are announcing swap arrangements that would enable the provision of foreign currency liquidity by the Federal Reserve to U.S. financial institutions. Should the need arise, euro, yen, sterling and Swiss francs would be provided to the Federal Reserve via these additional swap agreements with the relevant central banks.  Central banks continue to work together and are taking steps as appropriate to foster stability in global financial markets.
Federal Reserve Actions
The Federal Open Market Committee has authorized new temporary reciprocal currency arrangements (foreign currency liquidity swap lines) with the Bank of England, the ECB, the Bank of Japan, and the Swiss National Bank. If drawn upon, these arrangements would support operations by the Federal Reserve to provide liquidity in sterling in amounts of up to £30 billion, in euro in amounts of up to €80 billion, in yen in amounts of up to ¥10 trillion, and in Swiss francs in amounts of up to CHF 40 billion.
These foreign currency liquidity swap lines have been authorized through October 30, 2009.
Information on Related Actions Being Taken by Other Central Banks
Information on the actions of other central banks is available at the following websites:
Bank of England
Bank of Japan
European Central Bank
Swiss National Bank




The Federal Reserve, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan, and the Swiss National Bank announce swap arrangements
http://blog.mises.org/9824/the-federal-reserves-victims/?replytocom=534660
http://www.bradgagner.com/bio3.html
Excerpt:
Dottie's Story, Part I
'More pain than anyone should have to bear'
The late Dottie West was born Dorothy Marie Marsh on October 11, 1932, near McMinnville, Tennessee. She was the oldest of 10 children born to Hollis and Pelina Marsh. Throughout much of her childhood, Dottie West would have to put up with hurt and pain that no one should EVER have to deal with. Dottie always dreamed of playing the Grand Ole Opry ever since she was a little girl. She even walked for miles and miles selling ointment for her school. She won the top prize, which was her very first guitar!

Hollis Marsh, Dottie's father, was an alcoholic who beat and abused the family on a regular basis. By the time Dottie was only a year old, he was whipping and spanking her on a regular basis. As the years went by, and more children were born, Dottie naturally became the "second mother" of the family, and she would eventually have to help feed, clothe, and raise the other kids. She would pick cotton in the fields near her home with her brothers until their fingers bled. Dottie and her siblings were treated like dirt for years. They lived in an old shack in the woods with no running water, no electricity, and lived on blackberries for meals. Her brother Kelton later said that if you got hungry, you just drank water. He said you would go to bed, and the next morning if you woke up and the hunger came back, you just drank more water...
Dottie had to save old rags and newspapers lying around the house, and stick them in the cracks of her bedroom wall, so the snow would not blow in during the winter. The poverty continued for years. Hollis repeatedly hollered, kicked, and cursed at the kids. He threw dishes around, and even ordered Dottie and her mother outside at gunpoint after an all night drinking binge. He would leave the family for hours on end. He would not work, and what little money the family did have, was spent on sugar for his illegal moonshine. The family used old tin covers off lard cans for plates, and drank out of old tin cans with the sharp edges peeled back. Hollis was more interested in a whiskey jug than providing for his family! But it wasn't until Dottie was a teenager that darkness prevailed...
Hollis began secretely molesting her. He would often call Dottie upstairs when he was repairing watches, to help look for screws that he claimed he "lost". When Dottie went upstairs to help her dad, Hollis had other things on his mind. He began raping her on a regular basis. No matter how painful the experience was for her, Hollis ordered not to make a sound...To avoid any suspicion from Pelina, Hollis would sometimes call some of Dottie's brothers to help look for the screws, but they could never find them because, of course, there weren't any screws to begin with. So Hollis kicked and cursed the boys, and told them to leave him and Dottie alone. Some weeks later, Dottie was awakened by stomach cramps. She began to suspect that she was pregnant by her own father. SHE WAS. She miscarried in the middle of the night, and barely had enough strength to make it back to her room. The next morning, Hollis shouted at Dottie to get up. Feeling tired from the episode the night before, she collapsed on the porch. The other kids yelled at Hollis to do something, so he poured a bucket of water on her, and said: "You damn little tramp, if that's how you're going to act, get back in bed". Hollis once beat Dorothy so severely, that she required hospital treatment. Unfortunately, the doctors suspected nothing out of the ordinary...The days and months went by, and Hollis grew more irritable. He was a hopeless alcoholic who would not-or probably could not- work. The horror for Dottie continued, until one day, while at school, she broke down in a flood of tears. She revealed to her principal what she had been subjected to at home for years.
Justice at last
Dottie's principal immediately called the sheriff and Dottie was placed in better care. Later that day, the sheriff returned to Dottie's home, and explained to a disbelieving Pelina the charges laid against Hollis: Rape, incest, and violating the age of consent law. Hollis had already been placed under arrest, and after several witnesses took the stand, including Dottie herself, he was sentenced to 40 years in prison, where he eventually died. The family's conditions were now changing for the better. Dottie's mother Pelina, such a good cook, opened two restaurants, and for the first time in years, things were looking up for the family. They moved into a decent apartment, and Dottie received her first real clothing too. She was even presented with her very first birthday cake at 17 years of age!
All her life, Dottie knew that music was what she wanted to do, and after graduating high school, set out to attend Tennessee Tech near Cookeville. She would major in music. From that moment on, although she didn't realize it at the time, she was on her way to the top.
While at Tennessee Tech, she met up with her first husband, Bill West. They began playing the regular party and club circuit, and they also had their first two children, Kerry and Morris.
After graduation from Tennessee Tech, Dottie and Bill moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where Bill was employed as an electrical engineer. They landed a job on the TV show, "Landmark Jamboree", which originated in Cleveland. Also in Cleveland, Shelly West, a country singer in her own right, was born.
Next: Headed for her 'mansion on the hill'
Dottie's Story, Part II
To the 'mansion on the hill'
It was during a roadtrip to Nashville that Dottie was on her way. They were driving out of Nashville, heading back to Ohio after being turned down by several other record labels, when they passed the old Starday Records on Dickerson Road. Well, Dottie, feeling far more confident and upbeat than Bill, walked in and simply told them: "I am a singer, and I want to make a record!" She talked with Don Pierce in the studio, and one week later, she cut her first single, "Angel on Paper". Although it cost her $511, the disc was played all over Nashville, and when Opry manager Ott Devine heard it, he asked Dottie to appear on the Grand Ole Opry. Dottie West, who was born and raised in an environment of sexual abuse and sheer poverty, was on her way to her mansion on the hill.

She began working with some of the biggest names in Country Music. She and Jim Reeves eventually teamed up for some duets, after a song Dottie had written for Jim, called, "Is This Me?", became a big hit for him. She and Jim went on to record the duet "Love is no Excuse". They went on to play several venues and package tours together, and at one show, received a thunderous standing ovation from the crowd! She also recorded "Slowly" with Jimmy Dean.
It was at the historic Grand Ole Opry in the old Ryman Auditorium when Dottie first met the late and great Patsy Cline. They would become life-long friends. Patsy and Dottie were inseperable. Patsy proudly showed off her home to Dottie, and gave her some tips about singing. She once told Dottie: "Hoss, if you can't do it with feeling, don't." That advice would stick with Dottie for the rest of her life, as is evident in her singing. However, Patsy Cline's life was tragically cut short in a plane crash on March 5, 1963. Patsy Cline was dead. The Country Music community was badly shaken, but Dottie knew she had to get on with her life, as she had done so often in the past.
In 1964, Dottie really scored it big. She was signed to RCA records by Chet Atkins, and they began working together. She recorded: "Here Comes My Baby Back Again" which entered the Top-10, and proved to be so popular that it has since been recorded by over 100 artists! The radio and airwaves were full of her song, and she went on to win a Grammy for it. Dottie West was the very first female country singer to receive such an award. Needless to say, she deserved it.
Dottie began touring throughout the country, playing the usual fairground and club circuit. She starred alongside such acts as Minnie Pearl and Charlie Rich. Throughout the next several years, she consistently made the top 40 with other hits such as "Paper Mansions", "Would You Hold It Against Me', "Last Time I Saw Him", and several others. Dottie made regular appearances on the Grand Ole Opry, and for the next several years, she would sing her heart out and go on to win some of the most prestigious awards in the business! Dottie raised herself up from abuse and poverty, to songwriting superstardom. She was now a household name all over the country! She drew huge crowds wherever she appeared, and even shared her favourite recipes with her fans!!!
It wouldn't be until the mid 1970's that Dottie's career would take on a whole new dimension. In 1974, her marriage to Bill West ended in divorce, but instead of letting it destroy her, she saw it as a new beginning. Soon, the country girl who never knew what having a good time was, gave new meaning to the word: "Wild West"! In 1973, she recorded a jingle for Coca-Cola, "Country Sunshine", and it went on to become her "signature song" and won her a Clio award.
In 1976, she was signed to the United Artists/Liberty label, and married the drummer in her band, Byron Metcalf. She began a heavy road schedule that would see as many as 300 concerts a year. It was in 1978, when Dottie, during a recording session one day, happened to be visited by Kenny Rogers. He wandered into the studio by accident. He apparently had the wrong time booked for his recording session, and Kenny's producer was also Dottie's producer. Kenny gave Dottie some singing tips, and casually sang along with her on the song: "Every Time Two Fools Collide". The recording engineers were so impressed with what they heard, and the results were so good, Kenny and Dottie went on to record a complete duet album of the same title. A new act was born that year: Kenny Rogers and Dottie West.The duo proved so popular that they were booked in some of the biggest venues in the U.S and other countries. They recorded another album the following year, and continued a non-stop touring schedule. They went on to win "Vocal Duo of the Year" in 1978 & 1979, and challenged Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn as Country Music's hottest new duo!!!
These were high times with Kenny and Dottie...They could pack in the fans too, often playing to crowds in superdomes and fairgrounds with attendance as high as 100,000, and Dottie looked great, sparkling like a cut diamond in those Bob Mackie clothes, and that gorgeous red hair! Their second duet album, "Classics", was one of their biggest sellers, with sales in excess of 750,000, earning them gold status. She was also making a big impact on the country and pop charts for her solo work as well. From 1976-1984, she never missed the Country Top-40. Her "Special Delivery" LP went to #78 on the Billboard Top 200 in 1980 followed by another big seller, "Wild West" released later that year. Dottie was at her peak. She was quickly gaining a reputation around Nashville for her generosity and big spending! She purchased expensive, custom-made cadillacs and wore elaborate Bob Mackie stage wardrobes, which cost nearly $100,000 each. Her income was around the $2 million dollar mark, and she was having the best times of her life. Dottie was admired from all corners of the globe! She was nominated for 16 Grammys and was one of Country Music's leading ladies. According to a Nashville insider, Dottie was only one of few artists that could really pull in a good crowd. Dottie was also known for helping newcomers break into the business. She helped launch the careers of other Country Music stars such as Larry Gatlin and Steve Wariner.
Now it was time to move into her mansion on the hill. And mansion it was! Located on 40 acres in the posh Brentwood estates just outside of Nashville, it contained no fewer than 30 rooms, an elevator, a bowling alley, a special nursery dedicated to her grand-daughter Tess-Marie, many fine furniture and appliances, and utility bills that ran in the thousands of dollars a month! It was a lifestyle many said was costing her too much...But Dottie seemed determined to somehow, someway, bury part of her painful past. She had an extensive doll collection, many tiffany lamps and fine china, and even installed a mirror over her bed, which she insisted was used for her exercising!!!
There is no question that Dottie West did live her songs! Her second marriage to Byron Metcalf was coming to an end. She accused him of cheating on her, and made the break public in a casino hotel after a performance in Vegas. She caught Byron in bed with another woman, and took off her ring in front of him, and said: "You broke this", then threw it out the window! To add to her upcoming crisis, her finances were in a mess, and began to crumble. By 1985, taking a break from recording, she began touring with a theater company, playing the role of Madam in "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas", and appeared in TV shows such as: "The Dukes of Hazzard", "The Love Boat", "Austin City Limits", "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous", and even appeared in the motion picture: "Aurora Encounter". She had her own float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, and toured the world, visiting such places as the Mid-East and Europe. She played all the major networks, sold out Carnegie Hall, worked with several renowned orchestras, hosted her own Christmas special, and even performed at the White House. Ironically, Dottie was one of Barbara Bush's favourite singers! She was a popular touring act and headliner at fairs and festivals all across the nation, and was a particular favourite in Vegas and Lake Tahoe.
During this time, she also married her third husband, Allen Carter Winters. It was a scandal all over Nashville! You see, he was twenty years younger than Dottie, but nevertheless, it seemed Dottie had found happiness once again. Friends and family however, were concerned that she was living too fast. She was also drinking quite a lot, and was sometimes showing up late for appearances and concerts. As much as Dottie loved performing, her 8 year run on the Country Top-40 had fizzled out, with her last chart hit, "We Know Better Now", reaching only #53 in 1985. Unfortunately, her two final studio albums, "New Horizons" (1983) and "Just Dottie" (1984) were not a success... As a result, Dottie's recording deals and concert bookings became sparse as the 80's progressed, but the proud country girl held her head up high. She went on to host some variety shows for the popular Nashville Network, continued to make regular appearances on the Opry, was a frequent guest on Ralph Emery's "Nashville Now", and along with John Schneider, she did some voice-overs for a popular cartoon series: "The Raccoons". But the country sunshine that Dottie spread would soon fade. Her world was to come crashing down, and although she seemed to be at the peak of her life, storm clouds were just ahead.
Next: More pain before the final bow

Dottie's Story, Part III
Before the Final Bow
The story broke all over the world: Dottie West, the woman who made millions of dollars in her near thirty-year singing career, was broke. It was August 1990. Her tears and humiliation were on national TV for all to see. Dottie was openly crying in front of the Entertainment Tonight cameras. She owed nearly two million dollars to various agencies, plus interest. The IRS was owed nearly $1.3 million, A West Coast management firm was suing her for $130,000, her former manager was suing her for $110,000, and if that weren't enough, her third marriage to Allen Winters ended in divorce and now he was suing her for $7,500. 
Dottie was 57 years old. She had been so busy keeping up with her career that she had no time to check up on her finances. Her former business manager, who mishandled Dottie's money for years, apparently called her one day and told her that she was the proud owner of three new tuna boats. Dottie later found out the boats had never even been built. At this point, the IRS moved quickly to seize all of Dottie's assets. Her Corvette, her $1.6 million dollar mansion, her doll collection, all the rights to her songs she had written over the years, her tiffany lamps, all her expensive china, her many trophies and all her music awards, and even items of a personal nature such as Crayola drawings done by her kids when they were young, were all gone in the slam of an auctioneer's gavel.
Dottie could not face the fact that the IRS had the rights to everything, and hid some of her stuff in storage, and in her new apartment at Wessex Towers. Then the FBI entered the picture, looking for possible criminal violations against Dottie when she concealed some of her belongings. The found items were eventually auctioned off, and Dottie was left with literally nothing but the clothes on her back. The auction itself was a circus! Balloons and hamburgers were sold amid the distorted sounds of recorded Country Music. No Dottie West solos or duets were played either...People would pull at her, and foolishly ask her to sign the items they just bought. Dottie complied. Many of Dottie's "fans" that day were largely people she had never even met or known before. They were all there to prey on a woman whose music had touched and soothed most of the record buying public. Dottie played Dallas the night before, but oddly enough, wanted to be in Nashville for her darkest hour.
After the humiliation of seeing her many cherished items auctioned off, and after having her financial information published for the whole world to see, Dottie quietly moved into an apartment complex in Nashville after sleeping a couple of nights in an abandoned car. She later told Robert K. Oermann, a reporter for "The Tennessean": "You can knock me down...but you better have a big rock to keep me there!" As she had to do so many times in the past, her instinct for survival kicked in. Although she had lost most of her self-worth, she never once thought about giving up. As a matter of fact, when the tears had dried and the crowds faded, Dottie felt there was one thing that they couldn't take from her, and that was her singing. "This too shall pass," she said. It wasn't all doom and gloom however. She was in the process of making plans to record a comeback album with close friends Tammy Wynette and Tanya Tucker. Dottie also sat down and began writing her own biography, but sadly wouldn't live to finish it.
When she was at her low point, Dottie felt the need for some spirituality in her life. Although she attended church as a child, she rarely attended once she entered college. She was simply too busy building her career. Dottie attended a church service with her son Kerry, and received some words of encouragement from the pastor. The minister told Dottie that Satan had come to steal happiness from her, and bring hurt to her life, and cause havoc in her life...After the service had ended, Dottie later told the minister that she always wanted to sing and dance with the angel band. Ironically, Dottie West was speaking words of prophecy. In six months, she would be dead.
August 30, 1991. Dottie's car, given to her by Kenny Rogers, was not working properly, and she was running late for an Opry performance. Her 81 year old neighbour, George Thackston, assisted her. Trying to make up for the lost time, George accelerated the car to 55 MPH on an Opryland exit ramp, where the speed was posted as only 25 MPH. Dottie was to perform at 8:30 PM, and George lost control of the car at 8:11 P.M. The curtain would rise without Dottie West. The car left the roadway and became airborn for nearly 100 feet before coming back down and striking the embankment of an exit ramp. George suffered leg, back and hip injuries. Dottie however, was in critical condition. Both were conscious when they were admitted to Nashville's Vanderbilt Medical Center. Just before she was scheduled for surgery, old buddy Kenny Rogers comforted her, and promised her they would record another song together when she was well enough to perform again. However, Dottie's liver had received multiple injuries, and her spleen was severely ruptured. She spent five days in Intensive Care and was given nearly thirty five units of blood. However, it was all too late. Dottie West, the "Country Sunshine Girl", died on the operating table at 9:43 AM. She was 58 years old.
When the news of Dottie's passing hit the radio and airwaves, fans, family, and friends across the nation were saddened. One account said that people were openly weeping in the streets of Nashville! Shelly West later said that flowers were received from virtually every Country Music star. The funeral home was swamped with phone calls, flowers and cards. The funeral service was attended by hundreds. Kenny Rogers wept openly, and told the crowd about the hurt and pain in both Dottie's life and in her songs. Said Rogers: "When she sang about Country Sunshine, you felt Country Sunshine, and when she sang about pain, you felt that pain -- You could see it in her face, you could hear it in her voice." She did it with "feeling"... Patsy would have been proud!
Dottie's coffin was later taken to a private service near her home in McMinnville. She was laid to rest beside her mother and a beautiful memorial adorns her grave. Dottie West brought sunshine to millions around the world. There wasn't any place that she couldn't perform in, large or small. With her friendly personality, her warm smile and distinctive voice, she filled many hearts with hope and happiness for a better tomorrow. Said the late Tommy Hill: "She was everybody's sunshine, Dottie could walk into a room where there was a conversation going on, and stop everyone in their tracks, she just had that effect." Yes, Dottie was a great lady. She is greatly missed by all.
What Dottie gave us came from the heart. She was indeed born a country girl, and died a country girl. She knew hard times, but learned that there's more to life than dwelling on how things might have been. She was brought up in an environment of abuse and poverty, only to become a globe trotting singer, earning millions, and then back to rags again. Dottie always gave it her best when it came to performing. During her nearly 3 decades as a performer, she wrote over 400 songs, released over 40 albums and over 100 singles. Between 1964-1984, Dottie hit the Country Charts no fewer than 60 times! She loved music and loved people deeply. She will always have a special place in the history books of Country Music, and deserves to be placed on the same pedestal as Tammy Wynette, Dolly Parton, Kitty Wells, and Loretta Lynn.
Perhaps Dottie was among those who give too much, sacrifice too long, who endures the hurt and pain from lost love, and from time to time, die too young. But what she gave us stands the test of time. As more and more people begin to question the future of country music, the great country legends of yesteryear will always outperform the fads and novelty acts that seem so prominent in today's music business. It was once said that what we love, we shall grow to resemble. What Dottie West loved, she indeed came to resemble. The world will always remember Dottie West. "Here Comes my Baby", "Country Sunshine", "A Lesson in Leavin", her many duets with Jim Reeves, Kenny Rogers, Don Gibson, and John Schneider, are not just songs, but permanent memories of Dottie West. And there's my story. There's so much more that can be, and should be told, but this should give you a brief history on the late and great Dottie West.
I Won't Let Go ~ Rascal Flatts {with lyrics}
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIIorYfTSTo&feature=related

Stand By Me John Lennon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4_ghOG9JQM

Ashton Shepherd - Look It Up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1kT4u_D5PA

Miranda Lambert - The House That Built Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQYNM6SjD_o

Blake Shelton-She Wouldn't Be Gone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki-n6DsDG40

Family Man Craig Campbell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dx02b3GsXqM&feature=related

I Can't Love You Back youtube  (I had to re-watch this as I wasn't paying close attention the first time.) ...cal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rl1f0IBCTds

Matchbox 20- Unwell (LYRICS)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_TL9YFemic&feature=related



I Won't Back Down Tom Petty
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xu50x_tom-petty-won-t-back-down_music

Patsy Cline 'Crazy'  (one of the pictures inside is of Patsy and Jimmy Dean of Jimmy Dean sausages.)  ...cal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zzq5X-p2C0Y

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patsy_Cline  (was Patsy Cline murdered as she surely was rebellious???)  ...cal
Excerpt:
Near-fatal car accident
Cline continued to thrive in 1961, and gave birth to a son, Randy. On June 14, 1961, she and her brother, Sam, were involved in a head-on car collision on Old Hickory Boulevard in Nashville, the second and more serious of two during her lifetime. The impact threw Cline into the windshield, nearly killing her. Upon arriving, Dottie West picked glass from Patsy's hair, and went with her in the ambulance. While that happened, Patsy insisted that the other car's driver be treated first. This had a long-term detrimental effect on Ms. West; when West was fatally injured in a car accident in 1991, she insisted that the driver of her car be treated first, possibly causing her own death.[citation needed] Cline later stated that she saw the female driver of the other car die before her eyes at the hospital.[citation needed]
Suffering from a jagged cut across her forehead that required stitches, a broken wrist and a dislocated hip, she spent a month hospitalized. While in the hospital, Cline, according to the Nassour biography Patsy Cline and to friend Billy Walker (who died in a vehicle accident in 2006), rededicated her life to Christianity. She received thousands of cards and flowers sent by fans. When she left the hospital, her forehead was still visibly scarred. For the remainder of her career, she wore wigs and makeup to hide the scars, and headbands to relieve pressure on her forehead. She returned to the road on crutches, determined to be a survivor with a new appreciation for life.
In the 1990s, a series of recordings from her first concert after the accident were released. These archives, recorded in Tulsa, Oklahoma, were found in the attic of one of Cline's former residences by the current owners and given to the family. The album, released in 1997, is titled Patsy Cline: Live At the Cimarron Ballroom. and features dialogue of Cline interacting with the audience, providing an historical archive of what her live performances were like.

[edit] The story of "Crazy"


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Walker_(musician)
Excerpt:
Death
On May 21, 2006, Walker died in a car accident when the van he was driving back to Nashville after a performance in Foley, Alabama veered off Interstate 65 in Fort Deposit and overturned. His wife Bettie; bassist Charles Lilly Jr., son of Everett Lilly of The Lilly Brothers; and guitarist Daniel Patton were also killed in the 12:40 a.m. CT crash. The Walkers, Lilly, and Patton died instantly. Walker's grandson, Joshua Brooks, survived with serious injuries.[3] Walker was interred in Spring Hill Cemetery in Nashville.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lilly_Brothers
Excerpt:
In the 1960s they appeared in concerts at several major colleges and at folk festivals.[3] The personnel of the Lilly Brothers didn't change between 1952 and 1970 and is considered one of bluegrass music's most stable lineups. The death of Everett Lilly’s son, Jiles, in a car crash in 1970 brought to an end the brothers’ career in Boston and Everett left the town. For the remainder of the 1970s, the brothers would reunite on several occasions.[2] In 1973 the Lilly Brothers made a tremendously successful tour of Japan, including the release of three live albums.[6] The Lilly Brothers’ career was later chronicled in a 1979 documentary "True Facts in a Country Song".[5] In the 1980s, as Bea retired, Everett and his son Mark played together in the group "Clear Creek Crossin'".[2]
As of 2009, Everett Lilly continues to play and perform with his sons in a band called Everett Lilly and the Lilly Mountaineers.
"Bea" Lilly's correct name and birth date are Michael Burt Lilly born December 5, 1921.


http://www.fredbartenstein.com/scrapbk.html
spacerEverett Lilly, Don Stover, Jiles Lilly, Fred Bartenstein at Loy Beaver's basement, northern NJ. Late 1969 or early 1970 (photo: Artie Rose)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dottie_West
Excerpt:
On August 30, 1991, West was scheduled to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. Shortly after leaving her apartment at Nashville's Wessex Towers, West's car, a Chrysler New Yorker that Kenny Rogers had given her following the loss of her possessions at the IRS auction

http://www.bradgagner.com/bio3.html
Excerpt:
Dottie's Story, Part I
'More pain than anyone should have to bear'
The late Dottie West was born Dorothy Marie Marsh on October 11, 1932, near McMinnville, Tennessee. She was the oldest of 10 children born to Hollis and Pelina Marsh. Throughout much of her childhood, Dottie West would have to put up with hurt and pain that no one should EVER have to deal with. Dottie always dreamed of playing the Grand Ole Opry ever since she was a little girl. She even walked for miles and miles selling ointment for her school. She won the top prize, which was her very first guitar!

Hollis Marsh, Dottie's father, was an alcoholic who beat and abused the family on a regular basis. By the time Dottie was only a year old, he was whipping and spanking her on a regular basis. As the years went by, and more children were born, Dottie naturally became the "second mother" of the family, and she would eventually have to help feed, clothe, and raise the other kids. She would pick cotton in the fields near her home with her brothers until their fingers bled. Dottie and her siblings were treated like dirt for years. They lived in an old shack in the woods with no running water, no electricity, and lived on blackberries for meals. Her brother Kelton later said that if you got hungry, you just drank water. He said you would go to bed, and the next morning if you woke up and the hunger came back, you just drank more water...
Dottie had to save old rags and newspapers lying around the house, and stick them in the cracks of her bedroom wall, so the snow would not blow in during the winter. The poverty continued for years. Hollis repeatedly hollered, kicked, and cursed at the kids. He threw dishes around, and even ordered Dottie and her mother outside at gunpoint after an all night drinking binge. He would leave the family for hours on end. He would not work, and what little money the family did have, was spent on sugar for his illegal moonshine. The family used old tin covers off lard cans for plates, and drank out of old tin cans with the sharp edges peeled back. Hollis was more interested in a whiskey jug than providing for his family! But it wasn't until Dottie was a teenager that darkness prevailed...
Hollis began secretely molesting her. He would often call Dottie upstairs when he was repairing watches, to help look for screws that he claimed he "lost". When Dottie went upstairs to help her dad, Hollis had other things on his mind. He began raping her on a regular basis. No matter how painful the experience was for her, Hollis ordered not to make a sound...To avoid any suspicion from Pelina, Hollis would sometimes call some of Dottie's brothers to help look for the screws, but they could never find them because, of course, there weren't any screws to begin with. So Hollis kicked and cursed the boys, and told them to leave him and Dottie alone. Some weeks later, Dottie was awakened by stomach cramps. She began to suspect that she was pregnant by her own father. SHE WAS. She miscarried in the middle of the night, and barely had enough strength to make it back to her room. The next morning, Hollis shouted at Dottie to get up. Feeling tired from the episode the night before, she collapsed on the porch. The other kids yelled at Hollis to do something, so he poured a bucket of water on her, and said: "You damn little tramp, if that's how you're going to act, get back in bed". Hollis once beat Dorothy so severely, that she required hospital treatment. Unfortunately, the doctors suspected nothing out of the ordinary...The days and months went by, and Hollis grew more irritable. He was a hopeless alcoholic who would not-or probably could not- work. The horror for Dottie continued, until one day, while at school, she broke down in a flood of tears. She revealed to her principal what she had been subjected to at home for years.
Justice at last
Dottie's principal immediately called the sheriff and Dottie was placed in better care. Later that day, the sheriff returned to Dottie's home, and explained to a disbelieving Pelina the charges laid against Hollis: Rape, incest, and violating the age of consent law. Hollis had already been placed under arrest, and after several witnesses took the stand, including Dottie herself, he was sentenced to 40 years in prison, where he eventually died. The family's conditions were now changing for the better. Dottie's mother Pelina, such a good cook, opened two restaurants, and for the first time in years, things were looking up for the family. They moved into a decent apartment, and Dottie received her first real clothing too. She was even presented with her very first birthday cake at 17 years of age!
All her life, Dottie knew that music was what she wanted to do, and after graduating high school, set out to attend Tennessee Tech near Cookeville. She would major in music. From that moment on, although she didn't realize it at the time, she was on her way to the top.
While at Tennessee Tech, she met up with her first husband, Bill West. They began playing the regular party and club circuit, and they also had their first two children, Kerry and Morris.
After graduation from Tennessee Tech, Dottie and Bill moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where Bill was employed as an electrical engineer. They landed a job on the TV show, "Landmark Jamboree", which originated in Cleveland. Also in Cleveland, Shelly West, a country singer in her own right, was born.
Next: Headed for her 'mansion on the hill'
Dottie's Story, Part II
To the 'mansion on the hill'
It was during a roadtrip to Nashville that Dottie was on her way. They were driving out of Nashville, heading back to Ohio after being turned down by several other record labels, when they passed the old Starday Records on Dickerson Road. Well, Dottie, feeling far more confident and upbeat than Bill, walked in and simply told them: "I am a singer, and I want to make a record!" She talked with Don Pierce in the studio, and one week later, she cut her first single, "Angel on Paper". Although it cost her $511, the disc was played all over Nashville, and when Opry manager Ott Devine heard it, he asked Dottie to appear on the Grand Ole Opry. Dottie West, who was born and raised in an environment of sexual abuse and sheer poverty, was on her way to her mansion on the hill.

She began working with some of the biggest names in Country Music. She and Jim Reeves eventually teamed up for some duets, after a song Dottie had written for Jim, called, "Is This Me?", became a big hit for him. She and Jim went on to record the duet "Love is no Excuse". They went on to play several venues and package tours together, and at one show, received a thunderous standing ovation from the crowd! She also recorded "Slowly" with Jimmy Dean.
It was at the historic Grand Ole Opry in the old Ryman Auditorium when Dottie first met the late and great Patsy Cline. They would become life-long friends. Patsy and Dottie were inseperable. Patsy proudly showed off her home to Dottie, and gave her some tips about singing. She once told Dottie: "Hoss, if you can't do it with feeling, don't." That advice would stick with Dottie for the rest of her life, as is evident in her singing. However, Patsy Cline's life was tragically cut short in a plane crash on March 5, 1963. Patsy Cline was dead. The Country Music community was badly shaken, but Dottie knew she had to get on with her life, as she had done so often in the past.
In 1964, Dottie really scored it big. She was signed to RCA records by Chet Atkins, and they began working together. She recorded: "Here Comes My Baby Back Again" which entered the Top-10, and proved to be so popular that it has since been recorded by over 100 artists! The radio and airwaves were full of her song, and she went on to win a Grammy for it. Dottie West was the very first female country singer to receive such an award. Needless to say, she deserved it.
Dottie began touring throughout the country, playing the usual fairground and club circuit. She starred alongside such acts as Minnie Pearl and Charlie Rich. Throughout the next several years, she consistently made the top 40 with other hits such as "Paper Mansions", "Would You Hold It Against Me', "Last Time I Saw Him", and several others. Dottie made regular appearances on the Grand Ole Opry, and for the next several years, she would sing her heart out and go on to win some of the most prestigious awards in the business! Dottie raised herself up from abuse and poverty, to songwriting superstardom. She was now a household name all over the country! She drew huge crowds wherever she appeared, and even shared her favourite recipes with her fans!!!
It wouldn't be until the mid 1970's that Dottie's career would take on a whole new dimension. In 1974, her marriage to Bill West ended in divorce, but instead of letting it destroy her, she saw it as a new beginning. Soon, the country girl who never knew what having a good time was, gave new meaning to the word: "Wild West"! In 1973, she recorded a jingle for Coca-Cola, "Country Sunshine", and it went on to become her "signature song" and won her a Clio award.
In 1976, she was signed to the United Artists/Liberty label, and married the drummer in her band, Byron Metcalf. She began a heavy road schedule that would see as many as 300 concerts a year. It was in 1978, when Dottie, during a recording session one day, happened to be visited by Kenny Rogers. He wandered into the studio by accident. He apparently had the wrong time booked for his recording session, and Kenny's producer was also Dottie's producer. Kenny gave Dottie some singing tips, and casually sang along with her on the song: "Every Time Two Fools Collide". The recording engineers were so impressed with what they heard, and the results were so good, Kenny and Dottie went on to record a complete duet album of the same title. A new act was born that year: Kenny Rogers and Dottie West.The duo proved so popular that they were booked in some of the biggest venues in the U.S and other countries. They recorded another album the following year, and continued a non-stop touring schedule. They went on to win "Vocal Duo of the Year" in 1978 & 1979, and challenged Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn as Country Music's hottest new duo!!!
These were high times with Kenny and Dottie...They could pack in the fans too, often playing to crowds in superdomes and fairgrounds with attendance as high as 100,000, and Dottie looked great, sparkling like a cut diamond in those Bob Mackie clothes, and that gorgeous red hair! Their second duet album, "Classics", was one of their biggest sellers, with sales in excess of 750,000, earning them gold status. She was also making a big impact on the country and pop charts for her solo work as well. From 1976-1984, she never missed the Country Top-40. Her "Special Delivery" LP went to #78 on the Billboard Top 200 in 1980 followed by another big seller, "Wild West" released later that year. Dottie was at her peak. She was quickly gaining a reputation around Nashville for her generosity and big spending! She purchased expensive, custom-made cadillacs and wore elaborate Bob Mackie stage wardrobes, which cost nearly $100,000 each. Her income was around the $2 million dollar mark, and she was having the best times of her life. Dottie was admired from all corners of the globe! She was nominated for 16 Grammys and was one of Country Music's leading ladies. According to a Nashville insider, Dottie was only one of few artists that could really pull in a good crowd. Dottie was also known for helping newcomers break into the business. She helped launch the careers of other Country Music stars such as Larry Gatlin and Steve Wariner.
Now it was time to move into her mansion on the hill. And mansion it was! Located on 40 acres in the posh Brentwood estates just outside of Nashville, it contained no fewer than 30 rooms, an elevator, a bowling alley, a special nursery dedicated to her grand-daughter Tess-Marie, many fine furniture and appliances, and utility bills that ran in the thousands of dollars a month! It was a lifestyle many said was costing her too much...But Dottie seemed determined to somehow, someway, bury part of her painful past. She had an extensive doll collection, many tiffany lamps and fine china, and even installed a mirror over her bed, which she insisted was used for her exercising!!!
There is no question that Dottie West did live her songs! Her second marriage to Byron Metcalf was coming to an end. She accused him of cheating on her, and made the break public in a casino hotel after a performance in Vegas. She caught Byron in bed with another woman, and took off her ring in front of him, and said: "You broke this", then threw it out the window! To add to her upcoming crisis, her finances were in a mess, and began to crumble. By 1985, taking a break from recording, she began touring with a theater company, playing the role of Madam in "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas", and appeared in TV shows such as: "The Dukes of Hazzard", "The Love Boat", "Austin City Limits", "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous", and even appeared in the motion picture: "Aurora Encounter". She had her own float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, and toured the world, visiting such places as the Mid-East and Europe. She played all the major networks, sold out Carnegie Hall, worked with several renowned orchestras, hosted her own Christmas special, and even performed at the White House. Ironically, Dottie was one of Barbara Bush's favourite singers! She was a popular touring act and headliner at fairs and festivals all across the nation, and was a particular favourite in Vegas and Lake Tahoe.
During this time, she also married her third husband, Allen Carter Winters. It was a scandal all over Nashville! You see, he was twenty years younger than Dottie, but nevertheless, it seemed Dottie had found happiness once again. Friends and family however, were concerned that she was living too fast. She was also drinking quite a lot, and was sometimes showing up late for appearances and concerts. As much as Dottie loved performing, her 8 year run on the Country Top-40 had fizzled out, with her last chart hit, "We Know Better Now", reaching only #53 in 1985. Unfortunately, her two final studio albums, "New Horizons" (1983) and "Just Dottie" (1984) were not a success... As a result, Dottie's recording deals and concert bookings became sparse as the 80's progressed, but the proud country girl held her head up high. She went on to host some variety shows for the popular Nashville Network, continued to make regular appearances on the Opry, was a frequent guest on Ralph Emery's "Nashville Now", and along with John Schneider, she did some voice-overs for a popular cartoon series: "The Raccoons". But the country sunshine that Dottie spread would soon fade. Her world was to come crashing down, and although she seemed to be at the peak of her life, storm clouds were just ahead.
Next: More pain before the final bow

Dottie's Story, Part III
Before the Final Bow
The story broke all over the world: Dottie West, the woman who made millions of dollars in her near thirty-year singing career, was broke. It was August 1990. Her tears and humiliation were on national TV for all to see. Dottie was openly crying in front of the Entertainment Tonight cameras. She owed nearly two million dollars to various agencies, plus interest. The IRS was owed nearly $1.3 million, A West Coast management firm was suing her for $130,000, her former manager was suing her for $110,000, and if that weren't enough, her third marriage to Allen Winters ended in divorce and now he was suing her for $7,500. 
Dottie was 57 years old. She had been so busy keeping up with her career that she had no time to check up on her finances. Her former business manager, who mishandled Dottie's money for years, apparently called her one day and told her that she was the proud owner of three new tuna boats. Dottie later found out the boats had never even been built. At this point, the IRS moved quickly to seize all of Dottie's assets. Her Corvette, her $1.6 million dollar mansion, her doll collection, all the rights to her songs she had written over the years, her tiffany lamps, all her expensive china, her many trophies and all her music awards, and even items of a personal nature such as Crayola drawings done by her kids when they were young, were all gone in the slam of an auctioneer's gavel.
Dottie could not face the fact that the IRS had the rights to everything, and hid some of her stuff in storage, and in her new apartment at Wessex Towers. Then the FBI entered the picture, looking for possible criminal violations against Dottie when she concealed some of her belongings. The found items were eventually auctioned off, and Dottie was left with literally nothing but the clothes on her back. The auction itself was a circus! Balloons and hamburgers were sold amid the distorted sounds of recorded Country Music. No Dottie West solos or duets were played either...People would pull at her, and foolishly ask her to sign the items they just bought. Dottie complied. Many of Dottie's "fans" that day were largely people she had never even met or known before. They were all there to prey on a woman whose music had touched and soothed most of the record buying public. Dottie played Dallas the night before, but oddly enough, wanted to be in Nashville for her darkest hour.
After the humiliation of seeing her many cherished items auctioned off, and after having her financial information published for the whole world to see, Dottie quietly moved into an apartment complex in Nashville after sleeping a couple of nights in an abandoned car. She later told Robert K. Oermann, a reporter for "The Tennessean": "You can knock me down...but you better have a big rock to keep me there!" As she had to do so many times in the past, her instinct for survival kicked in. Although she had lost most of her self-worth, she never once thought about giving up. As a matter of fact, when the tears had dried and the crowds faded, Dottie felt there was one thing that they couldn't take from her, and that was her singing. "This too shall pass," she said. It wasn't all doom and gloom however. She was in the process of making plans to record a comeback album with close friends Tammy Wynette and Tanya Tucker. Dottie also sat down and began writing her own biography, but sadly wouldn't live to finish it.
When she was at her low point, Dottie felt the need for some spirituality in her life. Although she attended church as a child, she rarely attended once she entered college. She was simply too busy building her career. Dottie attended a church service with her son Kerry, and received some words of encouragement from the pastor. The minister told Dottie that Satan had come to steal happiness from her, and bring hurt to her life, and cause havoc in her life...After the service had ended, Dottie later told the minister that she always wanted to sing and dance with the angel band. Ironically, Dottie West was speaking words of prophecy. In six months, she would be dead.
August 30, 1991. Dottie's car, given to her by Kenny Rogers, was not working properly, and she was running late for an Opry performance. Her 81 year old neighbour, George Thackston, assisted her. Trying to make up for the lost time, George accelerated the car to 55 MPH on an Opryland exit ramp, where the speed was posted as only 25 MPH. Dottie was to perform at 8:30 PM, and George lost control of the car at 8:11 P.M. The curtain would rise without Dottie West. The car left the roadway and became airborn for nearly 100 feet before coming back down and striking the embankment of an exit ramp. George suffered leg, back and hip injuries. Dottie however, was in critical condition. Both were conscious when they were admitted to Nashville's Vanderbilt Medical Center. Just before she was scheduled for surgery, old buddy Kenny Rogers comforted her, and promised her they would record another song together when she was well enough to perform again. However, Dottie's liver had received multiple injuries, and her spleen was severely ruptured. She spent five days in Intensive Care and was given nearly thirty five units of blood. However, it was all too late. Dottie West, the "Country Sunshine Girl", died on the operating table at 9:43 AM. She was 58 years old.
When the news of Dottie's passing hit the radio and airwaves, fans, family, and friends across the nation were saddened. One account said that people were openly weeping in the streets of Nashville! Shelly West later said that flowers were received from virtually every Country Music star. The funeral home was swamped with phone calls, flowers and cards. The funeral service was attended by hundreds. Kenny Rogers wept openly, and told the crowd about the hurt and pain in both Dottie's life and in her songs. Said Rogers: "When she sang about Country Sunshine, you felt Country Sunshine, and when she sang about pain, you felt that pain -- You could see it in her face, you could hear it in her voice." She did it with "feeling"... Patsy would have been proud!
Dottie's coffin was later taken to a private service near her home in McMinnville. She was laid to rest beside her mother and a beautiful memorial adorns her grave. Dottie West brought sunshine to millions around the world. There wasn't any place that she couldn't perform in, large or small. With her friendly personality, her warm smile and distinctive voice, she filled many hearts with hope and happiness for a better tomorrow. Said the late Tommy Hill: "She was everybody's sunshine, Dottie could walk into a room where there was a conversation going on, and stop everyone in their tracks, she just had that effect." Yes, Dottie was a great lady. She is greatly missed by all.
What Dottie gave us came from the heart. She was indeed born a country girl, and died a country girl. She knew hard times, but learned that there's more to life than dwelling on how things might have been. She was brought up in an environment of abuse and poverty, only to become a globe trotting singer, earning millions, and then back to rags again. Dottie always gave it her best when it came to performing. During her nearly 3 decades as a performer, she wrote over 400 songs, released over 40 albums and over 100 singles. Between 1964-1984, Dottie hit the Country Charts no fewer than 60 times! She loved music and loved people deeply. She will always have a special place in the history books of Country Music, and deserves to be placed on the same pedestal as Tammy Wynette, Dolly Parton, Kitty Wells, and Loretta Lynn.
Perhaps Dottie was among those who give too much, sacrifice too long, who endures the hurt and pain from lost love, and from time to time, die too young. But what she gave us stands the test of time. As more and more people begin to question the future of country music, the great country legends of yesteryear will always outperform the fads and novelty acts that seem so prominent in today's music business. It was once said that what we love, we shall grow to resemble. What Dottie West loved, she indeed came to resemble. The world will always remember Dottie West. "Here Comes my Baby", "Country Sunshine", "A Lesson in Leavin", her many duets with Jim Reeves, Kenny Rogers, Don Gibson, and John Schneider, are not just songs, but permanent memories of Dottie West. And there's my story. There's so much more that can be, and should be told, but this should give you a brief history on the late and great Dottie West.