From: Chris Owen [rimfire@northerntel.net]
Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2003 6:11 PM
To: rule-comments@sec.gov
Subject: independent directors (s7-19-03, SR-NYSE-2002-33 and SR-NASD-2002-141 )

    Having served as a corprate director (bank)  I can tell you that simply 
requiring a certain number of independent directors will be meaningless unless 
the "nomination process" is totaly overhauled.. The club atmosphere that persists 
in corprate america is almost self sustaining in nature given the "head hunters" 
that come up with these nominations.   The cozieness that develops with management 
is infectious as friendship-loyalty& greed take over...Shareholders would be better 
served with real "average" american business people sitting on boards...There seems 
to be a belief that only the Dick Grassos-Ken Lays-Goldman Sachs executives can 
serve as directors...Term limits may be in order...The crap will continue until 
a semi adversarial management-board relationship is established.

The you scratch my back I'll scratch your beat goes on. and on and on...

Chris Owen  
Box 192
Kevin, Montana 59454