Friday, February 8, 2002

They Shoot Horses Don't They? Some companies need to be put out of their own misery. Both USWest and MCI were bought by 'new media' companies who have managed to nearly drive them into the ground. Let's meet the gems who run these companies: Qwest: Stock down 80% in one year Joseph Nacchio, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Qwest made over $100,000,000 last year in reported insider stock sales. Of course that was while the stock was above $35.00. It peaked over $55 in March 2000, it closed yesterday at $8.75. There are also questions being asked about Qwest accounting practices. This Securities case looks interesting in light of Nacchio's stock transactions. Meanwhile President Bush, in his continued efforts to support high business ethics, has nominated Joseph Nacchio to head the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee. MCI/Worldcom: What a mess! It's been a bad year so far for MCI and Worldcom. You just have to love CEOs. What is it that gets in their coffee that makes them brainless dopes? Well, free coffee is one less thing MCI/Worldcom employees will have to drink. It seems CEO Bernie Ebbers in a cost cutting move took away all the free coffee dispensing machines. The company will save $4,000,000 per year on coffee. In the same week he admitted that the company gave him loans valued at over $339,000,000. I just love big numbers. The loan was to help him pay for margin calls on bad stock investments he made. What does that say about investing in his own company? Meanwhile the companies stock is down 66% in the past year. It peaked over $60 in early 1999, it closed yesterday at $7.52. "Dumbass is, as Dumbass Does" is the moral of this story...mj [thanks to John Robb for getting me started on this post] 2:38:31 PM

Kmart Hires Arthur Andersen Chicago --- Ailing retail giant Kmart today announced it would not have to declare bankruptcy after an audit conducted by its newly hired accounting firm, Arthur Andersen, found no records of company finances whatsoever. "Our previous accounting firm told us we lost $224 million in the fiscal third quarter, but Andersen has informed us that, at least on paper, we didn't have a fiscal third quarter," said CEO Charles Conaway. "What a difference proper accounting makes." Andersen executives did not return several messages. A company attorney later explained his clients were only allowed one phone call, and they had already made it. [SatireWire.com] 11:02:04 AM

The Joy of Spam Stupidity Reading your email can be entertaining. Spam can even be entertaining. Paul Willis is an asshole. He claims to run a Internet Email Advertising Company. He pollutes peoples email boxes with Spam. He is what is most wrong with the internet. A friend forwarded an email to me with some choice comments about this jerk. I looked through his effort to sell a book for $39.00 [a promotional price that is 99 cents off his regular price], that would tell me the secrets of being a Spam Slug. At the end of his email I saw this disclaimer: "By accepting and or reading this book you agree to hold the author, seller, reseller, distributor(s) And their agents harmless from any monetary or other damages directly or indirectly relating to the Material contained in this book and/or the practice of any activity contained or described in this book." You would think that the person planning to buy his book would stop and see this as a warning sign. Sadly only a moron would act on this ad, so the disclaimer would be meaningless...mj 10:23:29 AM

Sign the Declaration... That the Bush Administration is in bed with 'Big Oil', should not come as a surprise. Never have we seen such a blatant example of our nations interest being over run by the interest of one group. I encourage you to sign this petition. We need to make an effort to let the "oil boys" in DC know that we are upset. For too many years we have seen our nations foreign policy and national focus driven by an otherwise obscure part of the world. Twice in the past 11 years we have been asked to put the men and women of our armed forces at risk for the sake of 'Big Oil'. With the arrival of this administrations sycophants we have seen these issues rise to a new all time high, due to the greed and corruption of it's members. This is an administration hand selected by 'Big Oil', and run in the 'anything goes' mentality of a Texas boomtown. We need to send a message! You have a choice...more SUVs or fewer wars...mj Sycophant Syc"o*phant, n. [L. sycophanta a slanderer, deceiver, parasite, Gr. ? a false accuser, false adviser, literally, a fig shower; cf. F. sycophante.] An informer; a talebearer. A base parasite; a mean or servile flatterer; especially, a flatterer of princes and great men. a person who tries to please someone in order to gain a personal advantage 7:59:27 AM

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