Friday, February 8, 2002

Former Enron boss blames panicking investors Jeffrey Skilling, the former chief executive of Enron, on Thursday told a congressional hearing he had no knowledge of any wrongdoing at the failed energy giant and insisted that it would still be in business if panicking investors had not abandoned it last autumn. In a tense and sometimes emotional three-hour grilling before congressional investigators, Mr Skilling said he was not aware that a series of private partnerships which were set up by his long-time colleague Andrew Fastow was designed to hide liabilities and inflate profits by keeping enormous debts off Enron’s balance sheet. “During my time at Enron, I was immensely proud of what we accomplished,” Mr Skilling told the hearing. “As I sit here today, I am devastated by and apologetic about what Enron has come to represent.” [The Financial Times] With an attitude like that, he could be our next President. He later said he was either out of the room, or no one told him about the wrong doings. No comment. 4:51:02 AM

Blair Points to Globalization as Path to Peace Mr Blair told the National Assembly that it was not prosperous democracies that exported drugs, terrorism, extremism and weapons of mass destruction, but failed and bankrupt states often run by dictators. "What we saw with horrifying brutality in New York on September 11 is that globalisation no longer applies just to technology, trade, capital, culture and communications," he said. "Politics is global and the politics of weapons of mass destruction, religious fanaticism and terrorism cannot be escaped. There is no leafy suburb far from the reach of bad things and bad people, not in your country, not in mine, not in any part of the world." [The London Times] Well, if Blair and the EC can bring about global prosperity, instead of global whoring for multi-nationals...then they got something. 4:38:20 AM

Three Quick Takes on Camp X-Ray U-turn on X-Ray. The US president, George Bush, is to allow Taliban soldiers held at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba the protection of the Geneva convention. [Guardian Unlimited] In Shift, Bush Says Geneva Rules Fit Taliban Captives but Not Qaeda Members. President Bush decided on Thursday that the Geneva Convention would be applied to the Taliban captives being held in Cuba, but not to Al Qaeda detainees. [The New York Times: International News] US 'rewriting rules on prisoners'. Human rights groups criticise the US for saying that the Geneva Conventions will apply to Taleban detainees, but not captured al-Qaeda fighters. [BBC News: world] 4:11:27 AM

Atomic tests 'caused genetic damage'. Radioactive fallout from Soviet nuclear tests 50 years ago has caused some genetic mutations in Kazakhstan, new research says. [BBC News: world] What about the Bikini Atoll? 4:01:13 AM

Arthur Andersen and the Baptists. Enron's auditor is no stranger to accounting disasters -- including one of the largest religious foundation bankruptcies in the history of the United States. [Salon.com] I thought this sort of thing was limited to the religious right 4:00:45 AM

Bush's executive-privilege two-step. His documents are too precious to give Congress, but those of the previous administration aren't worth protecting -- as long as they make Bill Clinton look bad. [Salon.com] This includes the documents that should have become available from his father's turn as Vice President--nothing shady looking there. 3:57:47 AM

Remarks on Microsoft Case Mostly Oppose Settlement. According to the sprawling democratic cacophony found in some 30,000 public comments received by the Justice Department, the Microsoft settlement gets a thumbs down. [The New York Times: Technology] I want to thank each and everyone of the 30,000! May this cost Microsoft a lot of money to 'fix'. 3:57:19 AM

© Copyright 2002 Duncan Murphy.