being afraid is power

the silicone breast implant was invented in 1962 by surgeons working for the dow corning corporation, which remained the leader in its production and in promulgating the techniques of the breast enhancement procedure.

the dow corning corporation is equally owned by the dow chemical company, a multinational chemical manufacturer, known as the chief supplier of napalm to the united state military during the vietnam war.

in 1999, the corporation bought the union carbide corporation and inherited the problems this corporation has continued to face in the aftermath of the 1984 bhopal disaster. 

in 2000, the corporation released 14 million pounds of pollutants in the americas alone, ranking it the 11th largest environmental offender of said year.

the most popular monster trucks and performances are put on by the entertainment group monster jam.

monster jam is owned by the promotions company livenation, who also own several alternative sports tours, the house of blues chain, and u2.

livenation is owned by entertainment industry monopoly clear channel communications, who own xm, am, and fm radio stations, large concert tours, and television stations.

among clear channel communications holdings is the eltex investment corporation.  eltex investment's primary investment is in the development of high end housing in urban areas and planned communities.

adt is the world's leading company in the production, installment, and servicing of security systems. their scope extends from homes and small businesses to large contracts for federal police and transportation work.

adt is owned by tyco international, a company which began by doing private sector work for american military technology in the 1960's.  in the 1980's tyco international acquired a large number of subsidiaries. until recently, these were headed under the segments: healthcare and specialty products (now paragon brands inc.); electrical and electronic components (now communications instruments, inc); fire and security services; and flow control.

among tycos medically oriented subsidiaries is united states surgical, which owns mallinckrodt pharmaceuticals.  mallinckrodt pharmaceuticals produces several generic chemicals such as acetaminophen for tylenol.  its most successful brands however include the sleep aides restoril and tofranil pm.

conclusion: if you have a good night sleep, tyco international is likely responsible. 

fruit of the loom, a popular american producer of cheap apparel, particularly undergarments, almost folded in 1999.

in 2002, the company was bought by berkshire hathaway incorporated, saving fruit of the loom from bankruptcy.

berkshire hathaway is a conglomerate holding company whose core business is specialty insurance (including ownership of geico).  however, its ceo has focused berkshire hathaway's attention on buying whole companies in recent years. their acquisations are many and diverse, ranging from vacuum cleaners to uniform production; from candy to newspaper publishing.

among these have been (until 2007) large investments in chinapetro and ownership of the midamerican energy company, which supplies energy to millions of homes throughout the northern midwest states.  their investment strategies have been part of the practices that have led to todays current economic crisis.

finally, berkshire hathaway owns helzberg diamonds, a store that specializes cheap diamonds.  it is difficult to find information on the source of their diamonds or how they are able to sell them at such an inexpensive rate.

apw-wyott is a small company operating in the american mid-west that produces nacho cheese and butter dispensers such as one might find at a local mall.

apw-wyott, along with similar manufacturers, is an acquisition of the standex cooking solutions group, one of five business segments of standex international. 

alongside the food service equipment group, standex international formed the engineered products group as part of a "focused diversification" strategy begun in the early 1990's. 

standex electronics, in addition to making parts found in air conditioners, fridges, and microwaves, has proved instrumental in the planning and mass production of the joint strike fighter aeroplane used by the u.s. military, producing small parts for its construction.