Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Non-Tech : The ENRON Scandal -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mephisto who wrote (4709)	1/8/2003 10:33:21 PM
From: Mephisto	Respond to of 5185

Video reminds Bush family of embarrassing Enron links " It also features the current and former President Bushes paying warm tributes to the departing executive." David Teather in New York Wednesday December 18, 2002 The Guardian The White House last night suffered an embarrassing reminder of the Bush family's close relationship with the disgraced energy firm Enron. A video recorded for the leaving party of a former employee shows senior executives joking about how they could manipulate the accounts to make "a kazillion dollars". It also features the current and former President Bushes paying warm tributes to the departing executive. George Bush senior tells Enron's then president Rich Kinder: "You have been fantastic to the Bush family. I don't think anybody did more than you did to support George." The 1997 video, shown on MSNBC last night, turned out to be prescient. In one skit, Enron's then chief executive Jeffrey Skilling is shown handing a budget report to a colleague , and explaining how Enron could achieve 600% revenue growth in the coming year. "We're going to move to something I call HFV, or hypothetical future value accounting," he says. "If we do that, we can add a kazillion dollars to the bottom line." On the tape, then chief accounting officer Richard Causey jokes: "I've been on the job for a week managing earnings, and it's easier than I thought it would be." George Bush junior, then governor of Texas, says to Mr Kinder, who has not been implicated in the financial scandal: "Don't leave Texas. You're too good a man." The relationship between the White House and Enron came under heavy scrutiny following the Enron collapse, during which it emerged that the company had been hiding massive debts. President Bush was close to the Enron chief executive Kenneth Lay, referring to him affectionately as "Kenny boy." Congressional hearings into the role that the now defunct Enron auditor Arthur Andersen played were concluded yesterday with the recommendation that a criminal investigation be opened on Nancy Temple, the firm's former in-house lawyer. She sent an email which reminded staff of Andersen's document retention policy, which was alleged to have sparked the shredding of important papers. guardian.co.uk

To: Mephisto who wrote (4709)	3/9/2003 3:09:45 PM
From: Mephisto	Respond to of 5185

Hit and miss for Enron investigators Friday March 7, 2003 The Guardian Federal prosecutors investigating Enron scored their most significant victory so far when they arrested finance chief Andrew Fastow early in October 2002. He was indicted on 78 counts of fraud, money laundering, conspiracy, obstruction of justice and faces five to 20 years in jail on each charge. The Enron scandal erupted in the dying months of 2001 and sparked other corporate scandals where prosecutions have been far quicker. Legal experts said yesterday's report builds the case against former senior staff at Enron who have yet to be charged. The complexity of the financial engineering that Enron employed perhaps underlines why the inquiry is taking so long. Kenneth Lay, a friend of President Bush, and Jeffrey Skilling both filled the chief executive post during the time in question but have maintained their innocence and have not been prosecuted. Mr Fastow, whose trial has yet to be scheduled, insisted he was only following orders and has pleaded not guilty. Enron's auditor, Arthur Andersen, was found guilty of obstructing justice, leading to the demise of the accountancy. The first Enron employee to admit guilt was Michael Kopper who worked alongside Mr Fastow in the energy firm's finance department and could be a key witness. Merrill Lynch has been the only bank to settle with the securities and exchange commission over its relationship with Enron, paying out $80m. guardian.co.uk

To: Mephisto who wrote (4709)	4/7/2003 12:05:17 AM
From: Mephisto	Respond to of 5185

Message 17084786 EXCERPT: CASH 'N' CARRY CHRONICLES An MWO Continuing Feature KOCH INDUSTRIES AND THE POLLUTION OF THE BUSH WHITE HOUSE Part II In Part I of its report on Koch Industries, the second-largest privately-held company in the United States, and the Bush Administration, MWO detailed the firm's right-wing background and its heavily one-sided investment in Republican candidates, including George W. Bush. That was the cash part. Now, what did Koch get out of the Bushes? The story goes back a ways, before Dubya was Governor of Texas. KOCH POLLUTION AND THE LAW

To: Mephisto who wrote (4709)	9/12/2003 4:48:53 PM
From: Mephisto	Respond to of 5185

Presidential hopeful Howard Dean gets a big show of support in S.F. "I don't think this president's tough on defense at all. . . . He had enough money to give $3 trillion away to Ken Lay and the boys . . . " Carla Marinucci, Chronicle political writer Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean -- showered with enthusiasm by 1,100 service workers in San Francisco on Saturday -- charged that Republican candidate for governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has been wrong to dismiss "hard-working Americans" as "special interests." Dean received a standing ovation from the Service Employees International Union Local 250 convention Saturday at the Marriott Hotel and received an equally enthusiastic reception at an impromptu rally for 600 supporters in Yerba Buena Gardens. Amid a sea of support signs, one read: "Maybe we won't have to go to Canada after all." The former Vermont governor, speaking to reporters at a news conference, also attacked the recall effort against Gov. Gray Davis and endorsed Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, the major Democrat in the replacement part of the Oct. 7 election. Dean, a long shot when he began his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination last year, has seen his grassroots campaign catch fire. He has moved steadily up in the polls among the nine Democratic candidates and used the Internet extensively to help generate millions of dollars in campaign contributions and sign up thousands of volunteers. Surrounded by union supporters in San Francisco on Saturday, Dean was asked his reaction to Schwarzenegger's contention that he would accept no money from such unions because they constitute a ''special interest" group. Dean looked at the women surrounding him at the podium, and recited their occupations: nurses' aides, food service workers, and physical therapists. "Not exactly special interests," Dean said wryly. "I call them hard working Americans. And their tax money got taken away so it could go to (Enron head) Ken Lay and Arnold Schwarzenegger. . . . I wonder how big his tax cut was?" Dean, who appeared in Los Angeles with Davis earlier Saturday, won cheers in San Francisco for his tough talk about Bush and the economy. Sal Rosselli, SEIU Local 250 president, called Dean "our kind of presidential candidate" -- who, as a physician, understood the needs of health care workers and patients alike. "We need to bring Dr. Dean's expertise and compassion to the White House," the union leader said. "Dr. Dean has the fire and the knowhow to turn this country around." Dean appealed to union workers for help, saying he plans to reach 3 million to 4 million voters who either sat out the last election -- or didn't vote for a Democrat. "This time we're going to do it," he said. "They're not only going to vote for a Democratic president, they're going to vote to send (House Republican leader) Tom Delay back to Texas." Dean said his strategy would be different from other Democratic candidates: "We're not going to start with the swing voters," and try and convince them we're conservative enough for them, he said. "We're going to start with people who have been with us from the beginning, African Americans, Latinos," he said. "When we do that, the enthusiasm is going to spread to those independents . . . they're going to vote Democratic." Dean reminded the crowd that he did not support the war in Iraq -- a pronouncement which drew whoops and cheers. But he said, "I don't think this president's tough on defense at all. . . . He had enough money to give $3 trillion away to Ken Lay and the boys . . . but didn't have enough to pay for homeland security for California and San Francisco." Dean strongly defended union workers during his speech. "What the trade union movement did in this country was to make it possible for working people to live a middle-class existence," said Dean. "That built the greatest country in the world." The president, Dean said, "has lost 3.2 million jobs in the private sector since he has been president. . . . This country cannot afford four (more) years of George Bush -- borrow and spend, borrow and spend, borrow and spend. The credit card presidency. We can do better than that." Dean told reporters the attention on the California recall is not hindering his effort to reach Democratic voters in the nation's most populous state. "It's not affected my message at all," he said. "We're heavily, heavily into getting our message directly to the people through the Internet." Dean also said he supported Davis' move Friday to sign a bill allowing illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses, and said he, too, would have signed it as governor. "Sure," he said. "How'd you like to have a whole lot of people driving around with no license?" Dean supporter Howard Vicini of San Francisco -- who helped start a group called Seniors for Dean -- said he has been deluged with support from around the country, and now intends to mobilize first for Oct. 7, then for the coming presidential primaries. "We're going to get seniors to the polls (on Oct. 7) as part of the Dean campaign," he said. "They worked with us, immediately. It's been amazing." E-mail Carla Marinucci at cmarinucci@sfchronicle.com.