Under The Radar Screen

[trilingual]

Somewhat hidden on the front business page of today's (Weds.) New York Times is a fascinating report on America's now-you-see-him/now-you-don't V.P., Dick ("Mr. Cardio") Cheney. Seems that while Mr. Cardio was heading up the Halliburton Corp. as its Chief Executive, it was engaged in the same kind of fancy bookkeeping as Enron in order to conceal liabilities and make it look like the company was profitable. Which undoubtedly had an effect on El Dick-o's stock holdings in the company! Why does it not come as a surprise to learn that Halliburton's used Arthur Andersen as its accountants?

 

Doesn't this make you just want to puke? Or start thinking impeachment? (Memories of Spiro Agnew come to mind.) If it doesn't, why not? :-(

[Guest Thunderbuns]

>Doesn't this make you just want to puke? Or start thinking

>impeachment? (Memories of Spiro Agnew come to mind.) If it

>doesn't, why not? :-(

 

Are you suggesting we should be surprised?

 

Thunderbuns

[Guest ShoeDog]

Seems that while Mr. Cardio was heading up the Halliburton Corp. as its Chief Executive, it was engaged in the same kind of fancy bookkeeping as Enron in order to conceal liabilities and make it look like the company was profitable.

 

It could be true. It's also true of nearly every other large corporation in America, because it's currently legal. That needs to be changed, but let's not enact any regulations that are retroactive, for God's sake.

 

Why does it not come as a surprise to learn that Halliburton's used Arthur Andersen as its accountants?

 

Arthur Andersen was one of the largest (and most respected) accounting firms in the U.S. They did the books for FedEx and probably half the Fortune 500 companies. You make them sound like the Mafia, or al Queda. This scandal will bring the company down.

 

Doesn't this make you just want to puke? Or start thinking impeachment? (Memories of Spiro Agnew come to mind.) If it doesn't, why not?

 

Uh, let's see...impeach Cheney for heading up a company that used legal GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) and hired the most respected accounting firm in the nation? I'm not saying that changes don't need to be made in the wake of Enron, but you're going off the deep end here. Oh, and by the way, Spiro Agnew was an extortionist who continued to receive payoffs while he was Vice-President. Cheney's not in his league.

 

It is acceptable to puke, however.

 

 

[Uncle Bill]

Well done, ShoeDog!

[trilingual]

Well, I'm not sure that it was legal, although the SEC and the courts will have the last word on that. Securities fraud is securities fraud, even if there are a thousand and one ways to commit it. Somebody's constantly coming up with a new way to rip off the public, and a lot of those geniuses are convinced that their way is legal. Until they're caught.

 

I don't know if Mr. Cardio is extorting anyone or not, but there are further stories in today's papers revealing that the White House, and Cheney in particular, continued having extensive contacts with Enron and entourage after the election and until quite recently. Even if El Dick-o and the Dimmest One aren't committing extortion, the appearance of quid-pro-quo deals grows by the moment. This story seems to have legs, and they're growing longer by the day.

 

Surprised? Not really. I always knew that kind of wheeler-dealer was sleaze. Nor am I surprised that, like moths to the flame, they flutter in and around the GOP, the eternal party of self-interest and greed. x(

[Guest Willy]

>Well, I'm not sure that it was legal, although the SEC and

>the courts will have the last word on that. Securities

>fraud is securities fraud

 

Unless you're Merrill Lynch, and you control the agencies that investigate you. Their "settlement" with New York amounts to a toenail clipping, and the S.E.C. does absolutely nothing. The "reforms" on Wall Street will have no effect on how business is done.

 

The message couldn't possibly be clearer: If your company is big enough and has enough "juice," i.e., makes sufficient payoffs, you can steal while the stealing's good and maybe pay a parking ticket later.

 

 

>Even if El Dick-o and

>the Dimmest One aren't committing extortion, the appearance

>of quid-pro-quo deals grows by the moment. This story seems

>to have legs, and they're growing longer by the day.

 

The powers that be, including in the media, have known about Cheney and Bush from Day 1. They've printed the stories, with the juicy stuff tucked way down in fine print. Meantime, TV is "all Chandra, all the time."

 

If you think someone will unmask and punish Cheney or Bush, you are dreaming.

 

 

>Surprised? Not really. I always knew that kind of

>wheeler-dealer was sleaze. Nor am I surprised that, like

>moths to the flame, they flutter in and around the GOP, the

>eternal party of self-interest and greed.

 

Matched by the Democrats, the eternal party of greed and self-interest. Surrounded by such depressing reality, the only thing to do is ... hire an escort and get your lights fucked out.

[Guest Willy]

>Arthur Andersen was one of the largest (and most respected)

>accounting firms in the U.S. They did the books for FedEx

>and probably half the Fortune 500 companies.

 

Not "half" the Fortune 500, but they got their share. I am a securities analyst and it's been an open secret for years that Andersen is the financial equivalent of an easy lay for conniving clients.

 

 

>and by the way, Spiro Agnew was an extortionist who

>continued to receive payoffs while he was Vice-President.

>Cheney's not in his league.

 

Other way around. Spiro wasn't as good a criminal. I remember reading years ago that the U.S. and Latin America would become inexorably closer in ways we couldn't imagine. This has proven true. Who ever would have thought that the American corporate and financial system would come to resemble Argentina's? This country is mind-bogglingly corrupt.

[Uncle Bill]

>Not "half" the Fortune 500, but they got their share. I am a

>securities analyst and it's been an open secret for years

>that Andersen is the financial equivalent of an easy lay for

>conniving clients.

 

If you think that the remaining (now "Big 4") big firms are any different, you're kidding yourself. Read the papers and search the archives to see how spread around the trouble is (although I'm sure that you already know this given your profession). There is an inherent conflict of interest in getting paid by the same company that you are auditing -- problem is that the only real alternative (government auditors) is even worse.

[trilingual]

>Surrounded by such depressing reality, the

>only thing to do is ... hire an escort and get your

>lights fucked out.

 

Well, I can't argue with this as a cure for what ails us! Beats taking two Tylenol and hoping it was all a bad dream when you wake up in the morning! :-)