Corporate Political Links




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The Corporate Accounting Scandal made simpler -


- by Larry Fairbanks

Confused? You should be. This is the type of situation that is complicated by nature. There seem to be several problems going on at the same time, so simple answers only address part of the problem.  About a dozen companies are in the news. In a few there was outright raiding of the company assets, but they are in the minority. A few have failed and have been de-listed or are failing. Some have direct links to the administration as previous employees occupy prominent positions in the administration.

The result has been a crisis of confidence which has sent the stock market into a downwards spiral. Effective remedies will need to address all the lacking aspects of the system.  


Specifics:


Accounting Standards - The amount of outright illegal fraud is much smaller than most people think. For example, most of Enron’s investments in Special Purpose Entities was entirely legal, and consistent with legitimate accounting even though they were used to hide debt. The company would have been forced into bankruptcy even if it had done nothing illegal, and the financial reports would still have made the company look like it was worth investing in. That means there is a problem with the accounting standards.  

Securities and Exchange Commission - There is also a problem with the SEC. In the past, they have not been given the support needed to fend off corporate sponsored lobbyists. Some of their rules about filing insider trading information have been ignored because they are never enforced.  

The MBA culture - There was a presumption among corporate management that they would never go to jail because no one really got hurt, it was only money. If they got caught, they might be required to give some of the money back or pay it to the government in fines, not to mention the lawyer fees, but they never thought they would go to jail. That is changing.  

Common Industry Practice - Many companies have attempted to defend themselves by saying their accounting practices were consistent with those of the other companies in their sector. This makes investors suspicious of the rest of the companies in the sector, a bit like saying, “It is not a few bad apples, it is everybody.”

More General Considerations:


Corporate funded Government Deregulation - What happens when there is a lack of government oversight where it is really needed, is something like a football game where the players from both sides pool their money to bribe the officials so they won’t call as many penalties . Now you know why we see so many companies leaving the field on stretchers.  


Beyond Accounting:


In addition to the plunging stock market, disturbing questions emanate about the effect on the Government in general. The revolving door corporate political apparatus is able to deliver much more money to individuals than could ever come from one company through campaign contributions. The Vice President, Dick Cheney received $45M from the Halliburton corporation during his tenure as CEO between the Presidencies of the Bushes. He also gave thousands of dollars to representatives who sponsored legislation favorable to the company. The company gets about $750M a year in business from the government including defense contracts. The company also has foreign interest in countries that have or may have in the near future, an active U.S. military presence. The conflicts of interest are obvious.


Corporate Overview

Q: How much did Halliburton give to Senators and Congressmen? 
A: Thousands. 
Q: How much did Vice President Dick Cheney get from Halliburton? 
A: Millions. 
Q: How much did Halliburton get from the Government? 
A: Billions! Get the picture?


Special Links

Bush's Cabinet - Conflict of Interest?
Overview of six cabinet members.
Corporate Scandal Trading Cards - Collect 'em all! By David Plotz
To view this page, you need Macromedia Flash Player 6, which you can download for free here
Corporate scandals Overview
Economist.com | 13 prominent companies.
bigger than enron
frontline: | PBS Why the largest business scandal in American history is just the tip of the iceberg -- and why investors should care.
Corporate Probes: A Scorecard
BW Online | June 10, 2002 | Overview of a dozen or so companies.
Titans of the Enron Economy (1) Ten Habits
August 5, 2002 by Scott Klinger & Holly Sklar Most of the maneuvers leading to Enron's meltdown are not only legal, they are widely practiced. . . We've ranked the 100 worst companies for each habit and awarded "Ennys" for outstanding Enron-like performance.
Senate Dems weigh probe of Bush deals
=TheHill.com= July 27, 2002 By Alexander Bolton - Key Senate Democrats are weighing hearings on the past business dealings of President Bush and Vice President Cheney unless they are more forthcoming about their roles as executives of two Texas-based corporations.
Everyone Is Outraged
2002/07/02 Representative Michael Oxley, the Republican chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, played a key role in passing a 1995 law (over Mr. Clinton's veto) that, by blocking investor lawsuits, may have opened the door for a wave of corporate crime.
Clinton Says Republicans Blocked His Audit Reforms
Instead, he chided Republicans, who he said had blocked his administration's efforts to, among other things, bar accounting firms from working as auditors and consultants for the same companies.


Harvey Pitt and the SEC

SEC Expands Probe of AOL
TechNews.com
Reality At The SEC
Gary Goodenow Presents
New Rules on Special-Purpose Entities
By Jack Duffy New York, Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) --
Tougher accounting rules OK'd
But when the accounting industry heard about the rule, Levitt became the target of what he later called an “intensive and venal lobbying campaign.
S.E.C. Facing Deeper Trouble
Democratic Underground Forums -
Aon becomes latest target of SEC
Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | August 8, 2002
Surprise! Real Corporate Reform Isn't Happening
Fool Me Once
Top Congressional Democrats Call for S.E.C. Chairman to Resign
Statements by Company CEOs and CFOs
Global Crossing Bankruptcy/SEC Investigation
The Corporate Library - February 2002 - Spotlight on...
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Home Page)
Harvey Pitt -- Aud. Vid.
Online NewsHour: Newsmaker: June 12, 2002 - Harvey Pitt, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, details new rules that would require executives to certify their companies' financial reports.
Daschle says SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt should go
Lycos Finance | y Lori Santos WASHINGTON, July 7 (Reuters) - Accusing the Bush administration of a "cozy, permissive relationship" with corporate America, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said on Sunday the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission was largely responsible and should be replaced.
Playtime is Over - CFO.com
f the SEC has its way, it will be harder to hide earnings management by calling the impact immaterial. George Donnelly, CFO Magazine October 01, 1999
SEC Biography: Chairman Harvey L. Pitt
Senate approves corporate overhaul 97-0
USATODAY.com - 2002/07/15 - If made law, they would amount to the most sweeping overhaul of accounting since the Great Depression in the 1930s.
U.S. Corporate Watchdog Served At Troubled Firm (washingtonpost.com)
2002Jul12 Larry D. Thompson, deputy attorney general and head of a new multi-agency corporate-crime task force, was a Providian Financial Corp. board member and chairman of its audit and compliance committee from June 1997 until his unanimous confirmation by the Senate on May 10, 2001.





Halliburton*

Have you been watching Halliburton? I remembered hearing about them, mid-east oil and asbestos, when I was looking at a mutual fund. It is a lot like the Enron Case, except the VP is involved. He arranged the purchase of Dresser and the asbestos liability that came with it. He was also CEO while Anderson implemented aggressive accounting, and Dick subsequently made $18M in stock options. Now, the stock has dropped to under $18 from $50. Most analysts think the company will pull out and go up from here, but it still looks like a pump and dump, even if the company is not destroyed. They should pull through with all the defense contracts they have been getting.

Cayman_Islands  Military_Contracts  Dick_Cheney  SEC_Probe  Litigation  Asbestos  Iraq  Burma


Halliburton - Cooperative Research
The success of Halliburton is, to a significant degree, a result of its ability to influence the decisions within the U.S. government at the legislative, judicial, and administrative levels. While this practice has filled, and continues to fill, the pockets of its executives, it also consistently works to undermine the interests of the majority of the American population and represents a considerable obstacle to promoting democracy and justice abroad.
Halliburton May Have Overcharged Millions
AP - Dec 11, 2003 - Dick Cheney 's former company may have overcharged the Army by as much as $61 million for gasoline in Iraq , senior defense officials said Thursday.
Iraq delays hand Cheney firm $1bn
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | December 7, 2003 - Halliburton, the engineering group formerly run by US vice-president Dick Cheney, has been given $1 billion worth of reconstruction work in Iraq by the US government without having to compete for it, thanks to repeated delays in opening up a key contract to competition.
Judge: Jurors Not to Hear About Cheney
Halliburton unit poised for £4bn UK garrisons deal
* subsidiaries in offshore tax-havens.
Citizen Works - Press Release
The World According to *
Interactive Atlas showing interests around the world.
Halliburton Co. Site
CNET Broker Reports - Halliburton - M
CNET.com - News - Investor - Brokerage Center -

Cayman Islands

Holding Dick Cheney "Accountable"
August 5, 2002 -
Halliburton Responds To False Statements
Lycos Finance 1 Aug 2002, 2:23pm "offshore tax havens"
Halliburton subsidiaries in offshore tax havens . . .
July 31, 2002 Citizen Works - Press Release: . . . increased under Vice President Dick Cheney
Cayman Islands subsidiary, Halliburton Global Limited
August 8, 2002 . . . Halliburton Company used a Cayman Islands subsidiary, Halliburton Global Limited, to avoid payment of $38 million in taxes owed in 1990 and 1991. Vice President Dick Cheney became Halliburton's CEO in 1995; during his tenure, the company fought the IRS's findings in United States Tax Court.


Military Contracts

Bush and ''Angolagate''
- Issues - Money & Politics - Articles -
The War on Terrorism's Gravy Train
- Issues - Military Industrial Complex - Articles -
Program to Reduce Threat of WMDs
House Committee on Government Reform - Minority Office
Rep. Waxman and other members of Congress have been seeking information on business contracts entered into by the Administration, including a multi-million dollar contract with a subsidiary of Halliburton Corporation for development work in Iraq.
The Spoils of War
CorpWatch.org - Issues - Military Industrial Complex - Articles - . . . a no-bid contract to extinguish oil well fires in Iraq to Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR), a subsidiary of Halliburton. The contract, which was not announced until more than two weeks after it was awarded, was open-ended, with no time limits and no dollar limits.
Congressman looking into Halliburton's Army pact - 2003-03-27 - Houston Business Journal
Fortunes of war await Bush's circle after attackson Iraq
Independent Independent - 15 September 2002hen the United Nations relaxed its sanctions regime in 1998 and permitted Iraq to buy spare parts for its oil fields, it was Halliburton, under Mr Cheney's leadership, that cleaned up on the contract to repair war damage and get Saddam Hussein's oil pipes flowing at full capacity again. Two Halliburton subsidiaries did business worth almost $24m (£15m) with the man whom these days Mr Cheney calls a "murderous dictator" and "the world's worst leader".
The Spoils of War by James Ridgeway
The Village Voice: Nation: Mondo Washington:
U.S. military headquarters in Afghanistan providesview of the new, outsourced army
Boston.com / Latest News / Business / - By Chris Hawley, Associated Press, 10/6/2002 - Doubters say the military's increasing dependence on contractors is a recipe for corruption. They point to huge new troop support contracts given to Kellogg, Brown & Root, a branch of Dallas-based Halliburton Co., while it was under a fraud investigation that was later settled out of court. Vice President Dick Cheney formerly headed Halliburton, but denied he had any role in the contracts.
Revolving-Door Monsters
Cheney firm won $3.8bn contracts from government
Guardian Unlimited Observer | International | July 21, 2002 - The oil services company once headed by United States Vice-President Dick Cheney reaped massive rewards in government contracts and bank loans after he took its helm, including one deal with a Russian firm under investigation for mafia connections.
In Tough Times, a Company Finds Profits in Terror War
July 12 The New York Times . . . the attacks of Sept. 11 have led to significant additional business.
Cheney Led Halliburton to Feast at Federal Trough
01_0802 Investigative Report: Firm Linked to Russian Mob / U.S. Export-Import Bank
Civilian employees of Dick Cheney's former company . . .
May 01, 2002 . . . are carrying out military missions around the world – for profit. Force Provider: The Base-in-a-Box,") Kellogg Brown and Root


Dick Cheney


Dick Cheney: Soldier of Fortune
CorpWatch.org - Issues - Military Industrial Complex - Background -
Who is Dick Cheney?
MoveOn.org: MoveOn Bulletin
Cheney's Mess Worth a Close Look
Cheney company 'running Iraqi oil industry'
Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian |
MoveOn.org: MoveOn Bulletin
DIRT ON DICK CHENEY? | Project Underground
Cheney is still paid by Pentagon contractor
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports
Cheney Protest in San Francisco
Aug. 7, 2002 - Yahoo! News Photo Search Results
Cheney Knew
07-14-2002 Halliburton CEO Says Cheney Knew About Firm's Accounting Practices; 'The Vice President Was Aware of Who Owed Us Money, And He Helped Us Collect It
Q&A on Cheney-Halliburton Situation
Las Vegas SUN: July 17, 2002
Cheney made bundle off Halliburton stock
HoustonChronicle.com - July 15, 2002 Cheney made bundle off Halliburton stock Cheney made an $18.5 million profit selling his shares for more than $52 . . . 60 days later, the company surprised investors with a warning that its engineering and construction business was doing much worse . . . Halliburton's liability for asbestos claims, . . . investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for controversial accounting under Cheney's leadership that inflated profits.
Activist Group Files Suit Against VP
ABCNEWS.com : 02-07-10 Judicial Watch Claims Cheney and Halliburton Co. Overstated Revenues While He Was CEO
Cheney at the Helm.
The Progressive: Sept, 2000 Overview
$20 million payoff for Cheney . . .
Monday, Aug. 21, 2000 . . . causes speculation among Democrats :
Cheney's retirement plan
August 12, 2000 Cheney's Dallas Company Giving Him $20 Million Retirement Package

Articles

Halliburton admits it paid Nigerian bribe
Halliburton in Burma: Cheney's role revisited
Earthrights International -
All the President's Enrons
House Democrats Want Halliburton Probe
Guardian Unlimited | World Latest |
Oil firm's work for terrorist sponsors challenged / Giving contracts to Halliburton questioned
Halliburton and SAIC - Venezuela
HALLIBURTON AND SAIC TO FORM INTERNET VENTURE TO TRANSFORM E&P OPERATIONAL PROCESSES - April 10, 2000
Waxman gets after EPA re. Halliburton
Oct-02-02 - Waxman is accusing the administration of "once again" altering scientific and technical information to benefit Halliburton with specific regard to the dangers to aquifer water of hydraulic fracturing (used to enhace natural gas and oil recovery).
What's Legal Isn't Always Ethical
washingtonpost.com
Shriveling of Pensions After Halliburton Deal
Used Unit to Raise Cash -WSJ
To the Victors Go the Markets
Halliburton Buried as Investors Stop Believing
Was the Fix In? New White House Counsel Accused of Favoritism for Cheney's Halliburton
. . . exclusive contractor for overseas Army troop support
Lycos Finance 5 Aug 2002 This News as TV on the web at Its
IHT: Search

Financial and SEC Probe

S.E.C. Begins Formal Investigation of Halliburton's Accounting
Federal probe sends Halliburton shares lower (4:48)
Welcome to ON24 - 5/29/02
Cheney Knew
07-14-2002 Halliburton CEO Says Cheney Knew About Firm's Accounting Practices; 'The Vice President Was Aware of Who Owed Us Money, And He Helped Us Collect It
Halliburton Responds To False Statements
Lycos Finance 1 Aug 2002, 2:23pm "offshore tax havens"
Bush . . . applying pressure on the (SEC )?
Salon.com News July 17, 2002 Joe Coason's Journal - Bush expresses confidence the SEC will clear Cheney, but could that be seen as applying pressure on the agency?
Cheney's ex-firm to receive full probe
/ SEC chief promises to pull no punches
No SEC Questions Yet for Cheney
ABCNEWS.com :
SEC Chief Vows Ongoing Audit Probe of Halliburton
(washingtonpost.com)
Andersen video puts Cheney on spot
BBC News | AMERICAS |


Litigation

CHENEY SUED
Lycos Finance | Halliburton Faces Securities-Fraud Suits Amid SEC Probe - Halliburton Co. (HAL) faces at least 10 securities-fraud lawsuits
Judicial Watch - Because no one is above the law!
July 10, 2002. . . against Vice President Dick Cheney and the other involved directors of Halliburton, as well as Halliburton itself, for alleged fraudulent accounting practices . . .
Democratic Underground Forums
Class-Action Suit is Filed 6/7/02- Stock-holders vs. Halliburton

Law Firms

Cauley Geller Bowman & Coates, LLP Announces Class Action Lawsuit Against Halliburton Company on Behalf of Investors Federman & Sherwood Announces the Filing of a Securities Class Action Lawsuit Against Halliburton Company Law Offices of Leo W. Desmond Announces Class Action Lawsuit Against Halliburton Company Law Firm Milberg Weiss Announces The Filing Of A Class Action Lawsuit on Behalf of Purchasers of the Securities of Halliburton Company

Scott + Scott, LLC Seeks Recovery for Shareholders
of Halliburton (NYSE: HAL); Class Period 7/22/99 - 5/28/02 Lycos Finance |
Milberg Weiss - A Class Action Lawsuit
Lycos Finance | Law Firm Milberg Weiss Announces The Filing Of . . . on Behalf of Purchasers of the Securities of Halliburton Company
Milberg Weiss
Is This America's Top Corporate Crime Fighter? (1)
August 5, 2002 5 page William Lerach, the plaintiffs' lawyer reviled and feared by corporate executives, brings a sharp-edged and refreshingly anti-establishment voice to the emerging debate over how to reform corporate governance.
Yates Class Action
Yahoo! - Pittsburgh Law Firm Announces Private Securities Class Action Litigation Against Halliburton Company
Schiffrin & Barroway
Class Action Yahoo! - Shareholder Class Action Filed Against Halliburton Company by the Law Firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP
Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman and Herz
Lycos Finance | Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman and Herz LLP Commences Class Action Against Halliburton Company and Arthur Andersen, LLP on Behalf of Halliburton Shareholders



Asbestos

Halliburton is singed by claims
Halliburton reaches $4 billion asbestos settlement
The Sacramento Bee -- sacbee.com --
Halliburton to fork out $4 billion for asbestos
ajc.com | Business |
Cheney's 'Win-Win' Acquisition As Firm's CEO Became Liability (washingtonpost.com)
Halliburton Spinoff Saddled With Asbestos Liability
(washingtonpost.com) August 18, 2002 - When Richard B. Cheney was Halliburton chief executive, he signed documents spinning off the Texas energy giant's unprofitable insurance subsidiary, telling shareholders of both companies that the deal would give Highlands Insurance Co. "the opportunity to achieve its maximum potential."
Cheney, Halliburton financed sponsors of bill tolimit asbestos-suit liability
Questions on Halliburton Deal Under Cheney
2002/08/01 - Halliburton said the degree of the asbestos problems could not have been anticipated at the time of the merger.
SECOND QUARTER RESULTS
QUOTE.FOOL.COM 07/30/2002 Estimates 15 Year Net Asbestos Liability of $602 million
Halliburton to Take Large Asbestos Charge
Yahoo! News - 2002 07 22
to Take Asbestos Charge
Lycos Finance | 22 Jul 2002 Halliburton declined to put a specific figure on the asbestos-related charge until it reports second-quarter financial results on Wednesday, but analysts estimated the company's potential liability at $2 billion to $3 billion. That amount would be reduced by Halliburton's insurance coverage, they said.
sinks on news of Q2 charges
July 22, 2002
Halliburton asbestos claims stay extended
CNET.com - News - Investor - News - Story 7/16/02
Halliburton Responds to Court Order.
PR Newswire:March 14, 2002 litigation between Highlands Insurance Company and Halliburton. . . . represent less than 11 percent of the total 274,000 claims outstanding at the end of last year.
Halliburton Comments on Asbestos Judgments.
PR Newswire: Dec 7, 2001 - This week Halliburton announced three adverse asbestos litigation results.
Cheney's Firm Backed Bill To Limit Asbestos Liability
August 4, 2000 Although Halliburton is an enormous operation with more than 100,000 employees in 120 countries, it is a relatively small player when it comes to asbestos litigation, at least when compared with W.R. Grace & Co., GAF and the Johns Manville Corp. Nevertheless, Halliburton has spent $99 million to settle or dispose of 129,650 asbestos suits, according to company records. "The Cheney-led Halliburton Co. has been an integral part of an asbestos industry which knowingly poisoned its own workers for years and is still trying to get off the hook. That industry -- which is counting on special treatment from a Bush-Cheney administration -- has publicly vowed that it will be bringing its bailout legislation back to Congress next year," said William McNary, president of USAction.
Larry's Asbestos Links


Iraqi Interests


Halliburton in Iraq
Iraqi oil deals up for grabs
BBC NEWS | Business |
Halliburton's Secret Deal with the Pentagon for Iraq's Oil
Jason Leopold:
DU-Asbestos, Dresser and Iraq
Democratic Underground Forums - Something has been bothering me about Cheney, Haliburton and
Boxer suggests 'hanky-panky' in Halliburton contract
CNN.com - May. 11, 2003
Waxman Chronology
House Committee on Government Reform - Minority Office - Rep. Waxman and other members of Congress have been seeking information on business contracts entered into by the Administration, including a multi-million dollar contract with a subsidiary of Halliburton Corporation for development work in Iraq.
All In The Family
CBS News | Halliburton: | April 27, 2003 13:01:30
War Against Iraq
The Free Press -- Independent News Media -
Details Given on Contract Halliburton Was Awarded
More Flak on Halliburton Deal
By Mark Fineman, Times Staff Writer - April 11, 2003 - WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon's exclusive no-bid contract with a Halliburton Co. subsidiary for emergency oil-field services in Iraq could be worth as much as $7 billion over the next two years, according to a document made public Thursday.
In the Company of Vice Presidents, A Big Texas Contractor Prospered
Halliburton faces row on Iran link
Telegraph | Money | Two New York City pension funds have demanded that Halliburton review its businesses in Iran and other nations because of "concerns about corporate ties to states sponsoring terrorist activity".
Bush Administration to Award Contract for Iraq Reconstruction (washingtonpost.com)
Halliburton wins contract on Iraq oil firefighting
Forbes.com:
Ousting Saddam could put Big Oil in 'driver's seat'
Fortunes of war await Bush's circle after attacks on Iraq
Independent Independent - 15 September 2002hen the United Nations relaxed its sanctions regime in 1998 and permitted Iraq to buy spare parts for its oil fields, it was Halliburton, under Mr Cheney's leadership, that cleaned up on the contract to repair war damage and get Saddam Hussein's oil pipes flowing at full capacity again. Two Halliburton subsidiaries did business worth almost $24m (£15m) with the man whom these days Mr Cheney calls a "murderous dictator" and "the world's worst leader".
Russia fears US oil companies will take over world's second-biggest reserves
Independent News - 26 September 2002 - Under the United Nations' oil-for-food programme, it exports about one million barrels a day. Since 1998, two subsidiaries of Houston-based Halliburton, the company previously headed by the US Vice-President, Dick Cheney, have done $24m (£15.3m) of business to repair Iraqi oil pipelines under the UN programme. The INC's chairman, Ahmed Chalabi, believes the US should head a consortium to develop Iraq's oil.
U.S. Refiners Buying Most of Iraq's Oil
ABCNEWS.com : July 23, 2001
A Halliburton Primer (Libya and Iraq)
OnPolitics (washingtonpost.com) July 11, 2002 Halliburton came under fire in the early '90s for supplying Libya and Iraq with oil drilling equipment which could be used to detonate nuclear weapons.
A discreet way of doing business with Iraq
The Smirking Chimp - Halliburton, the largest US oil services company, is among a significant number of US companies that have sold oil industry equipment to Iraq since the UN relaxed sanctions two years ago. From 1995 until August this year Halliburton's chief executive officer was Dick Cheney, US secretary of defence during the Gulf war and now Republican vice-presidential running mate of George W.Bush.
Halliburton Iraq ties more than Cheney said
Halliburton Co., the oil company that was headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, signed contracts with Iraq worth $73 million through two subsidiaries while he was at its helm, the Washington Post reported.
The campaign issue that wasn't
.. . . big bucks from dubious commercial dealings with Iraq. | November 13, 2000 | Reality Bites: Martin A. Lee
Trading On Conflict
86 US Firms Trade With 'Enemies' Sen. Passes Strong Corp. Crime Measures
Firms fined for trading with ‘enemy’
The Treasury’s latest list didn’t include Halliburton Co.



Burma

Halliburton's Destructive Engagement
Earthrights International - Press Release: Halliburton Worked On Notorious Gas Pipeline In Burma Cheney's Firm Laid Offshore Pipe for Project Associated With Forced Labor
Cheney Firm Slammed for Burma Connection
UE News: Halliburton has been involved in partnerships with notorious human rights-violators, and has vigorously opposed sanctions designed to restrict corporate engagement with dictatorships.


AWARDED $44 MILLION CONTRACT IN MEXICO
July 01, 2002
Proposed Bui Dam, Bui National Park, Ghana -
8 October 2001: - Environment, Conservation, Corruption, Fraud, Halliburton, Brown & Root, Richard Cheney, World Bank international aid donors are preparing to finance the building of another massive dam on the Black Volta River by a consortium led by a subsidiary of U.S. Vice President Richard "Dick" Cheney's company, Halliburton.

Searches and Collections

Democratic Underground Forums - Halliburton, the File:
Halliburton Index
NewsTrove.com: All the current Halliburton news
Citizen Works article list
Article Collection EarthRights International -
News Sorted By Subject
Yahoo! Search Results for dick cheney
Yahoo! - Halliburton Co Company News
Guerrilla News Network
washingtonpost.com News Search Results
. . . exclusive contractor for overseas Army troop support
Lycos Finance 5 Aug 2002 This News as TV on the web at Its
News Headlines
Lycos Finance | Stocks & News:

Harken

Arbusto and Spectrum 7

Harvard role in Harken called deeper
Boston Globe Online / Business / 10/9/2002
Harken Cover-up Collapses
MWO - The reports further show that the financial guarantor of the deal was none other than Robert Abboud of First City Boston -- the one-time head of the U.S.-Iraq Business Forum, a close political supporter of Bush’s father, a personal friend of Saddam Hussein, and a figure with a longtime history of dubious financial and political dealings.
Harvard Was Unlikely Savior
WSJ - October 9, 2002 - When the small company that helped make George W. Bush a multimillionaire verged on bankruptcy in 1990, newly unearthed documents show an unlikely financial archangel came to the rescue: Harvard University.

Osama bin Laden connection

President’s oil companies funded by Bin Laden family . . .
Bush family’s dirty little secret: . . . and wealthy Saudis who financed Osama bin Laden
Scoop: The GW Bush - Osama Bin Laden Connection
THE GW BUSH--OSAMA BIN LADIN CONNECTION

Bush co. went offshore
NY Daily News - Home

SEC Investigation

Bush and Harken
by Jason Leopold 2002-07-18 - Bush violated federal securities laws on three other occasions during his tenure at Harken by missing the deadline for filing documents about his stock transactions with the SEC.
Bush Signed Stock 'Lockup' Letter
Guardian Unlimited | World Latest |
Harken Papers Offer Details on Bush Knowledge (washingtonpost.com)
Washington Post July 14, 2002 SEC investigators knew Bush had seen the flash report but still dropped the case. Bush agreed to be interviewed by the SEC, but the investigators did not take him up on it, provoking skepticism from some government officials about their thoroughness.
Molly Ivins,
2/15/2002 - The Texas Observer-Smith, Barney, Harris, Upham & Co., the financial consultants hired by Harken, told Bush and Watson only drastic action could save the company. So Bush sold his stock before the news became public.
Bush Violated Security Laws Four Times, SEC Report Says
The SEC did not press charges against Bush, even though the tardy disclosures had become something of a pattern, according to the memo, which was drafted for the files on April 9, 1991, by three enforcement investigators.
Bush defends himself 07-02-02
against criticism of his own corporate accounting experience SEC to Bush's lawyer emphasizing that its decision "must in no way be construed as indicating that (Bush) has been exonerated."
Harken Energy - Bush’s No Good Trade
Scoop: UQ Wire: Saturday, 6 July 2002, 1:35 pm - Moreover, one key trade just a few weeks before Iraq invaded Kuwait -- but reported some eight months late after the Gulf War was over -- netted Bush close to $1 million in profit as he sold stock in Harken Energy.
Benjamin Hermalin on Corporate America 2002
"Did the president do something wrong? Well, if the facts are correct, then it would seem he was the beneficiary of inside information when making his trade. So yes, he did. But to go into it again after the statute of limitations has passed is just a political issue. "
Articles by Benjamin Hermalin

How Insider Capitalism Benefited W.
The Nation It's awfully tough to be Mr. Corporate Responsibility after you have profited from the actions of an irresponsible corporation that engaged in a shady deal.
Bush trying to ride out corporate flap
History of Harken overview and a bit on Halliburton.
In Effort to Save Self Bush Undermines Reform
CorpWatch.org - News - USA: Bush says/ we say.
Ignorance isn't bliss for clueless executives
/ The know-nothing defense has been getting a workout 2002/07/05 - "He wasn't a very good oilman," said Craig McDonald, director of Texans for Public Justice, a consumer watchdog group. "He lost millions of dollars in the oil business."
Bush and Cheney face scrutiny in financial scandals
Independent News
Succeeding in Business
Yet this pose is surreal, given the way top officials like Secretary of the Army Thomas White, Dick Cheney and Mr. Bush himself acquired their wealth.
IHT: A businessman named George W. Bush
same as Succeeding in Business
Wild Justice -
NYPress - Alexander Cockburn - Vol. 15, Iss. 27 . . . just like Enron.
Another chapter of 'George in Wonderland'
Molly Ivins - Star Telegram | 07/05/2002 |
Harken Executive Management
Company Site

Collections

HarkenGate, the File, July 22, 2002
by skip fox, Democratic Underground
Harkengate, The File
Democratic Underground Forums -
CPI find More Harken Documents
The Center for Public Integrity, as a public service, is posting a second round of the documents that we obtained from the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Freedom of Information Act.
Democratic Underground Forums - Q & A:
Did Dubya pay taxes on a 6-figure loan Harken 'Forgave' him?
More Bush Links

Enron


GOP Consultant Named in Enron Ruling (washingtonpost.com)
Panel finds 'eye-popping' Enron pay deals, tax manipulation
Grassley: Wednesday, February 12, 2003
Enron Execs Charged in Broadband Fraud
Shafted By The New York Times
Scoop: Jason Leopold This is a story about a story. A great story. A scoop that ought to see a member of George Bush's cabinet at least indicted, if not behind bars.
CEOs may be on the hook for 401(k) losses - Sep. 30, 2002
Enron 101
Animated Overview
Primer: Enron's Downfall (washingtonpost.com)
World Bank - IMP and Enron
Scoop: Transcript: 8 March 2002 - Transcript of Interview of Greg Palast“Earth Shattering” World Bank Scoop
ANATOMY OF GREED: The Unshredded Truth Froman Enron Insider
Ex-Executives Say Sham Deal Helped Enron
August 8, 2002 Desperate to meet a year-end profit target, the Enron Corporation struck a sham energy deal with Merrill Lynch
How Arundhati Roy Took Back the Power in India
The Sunday Herald (Scotland) January 20, 2002
Enron: Ultimate agent of the American empire, Pt.2
Shafted By The New York Times
Scoop: Jason Leopold This is a story about a story. A great story. A scoop that ought to see a member of George Bush's cabinet at least indicted, if not behind bars.
Enron Coverage
KHOU.com | Houston |
Scoop: Jason Leopold – Shafted By The New York Times
CEOs may be on the hook for 401(k) losses - Sep. 30, 2002
Primer: Enron's Downfall (washingtonpost.com)
World Bank - IMF and Enron
Scoop: Transcript: 8 March 2002 - Transcript of Interview of Greg Palast“Earth Shattering” World Bank Scoop
ANATOMY OF GREED: The Unshredded Truth From an Enron Insider
Book: How Companies Lie: Why Enron Is Just the Tip of the Iceberg
Amazon.com: buying info:
Enron 101
Animated Overview
Ex-Executives Say Sham Deal Helped Enron
August 8, 2002 Desperate to meet a year-end profit target, the Enron Corporation struck a sham energy deal with Merrill Lynch
How Arundhati Roy Took Back the Power in India
The Sunday Herald (Scotland) January 20, 2002
Enron: Ultimate agent of the American empire, Pt. 2
Enron gave Taliban $millions
Yahoo! Latest News & Gossip - March 4, 2002
KHOU.com | Houston | Enron Coverage
Updates
Enron used special companies
to control market, hide debt HoustonChronicle.com - With Updates
Ralph Reed:
Associates of Bush Aide Say He Helped Win Contract. "Mr. Rove's involvement in Mr. Reed's hiring underscores the close association between Enron and the Bush inner circle."
Government opens criminal probe of Enron - Jan. 9, 2002
BW Online | December 17, 2001 | The Fall of Enron
Letter to GAO on auditing standards
The Bush Administration and Enron
Several articles from The Nation
Google Search: Enron Employee
Lawsuits illegal Accounting

pdf Documents

Enron Lawsuit in pdf
10 committees investigating Enron in pdf
Laws possibly violated in pdf
Background on Enron in pdf

AlterNet -- The Daily Enron
The Daily Enron
TIME.com: Enron: Who's Accountable?
Army Chief Faces Enron Questions
CBS News | July 18, 2002 13:06:59 Panel members complained that White had made roughly $50 million in salary in his 11 years with Enron, and another $12 million when he sold stock last year, while many employees and shareholders had seen pension plans and investments become worthless.



Carlyle

Fortunes of war await Bush's circle after attacks on Iraq
Independent Independent - 15 September 2002hen the United Nations relaxed its sanctions regime in 1998 and permitted Iraq to buy spare parts for its oil fields, it was Halliburton, under Mr Cheney's leadership, that cleaned up on the contract to repair war damage and get Saddam Hussein's oil pipes flowing at full capacity again. Two Halliburton subsidiaries did business worth almost $24m (£15m) with the man whom these days Mr Cheney calls a "murderous dictator" and "the world's worst leader".
The Carlyle Group
Carlyle's way
January 8, 2002
Meet the Carlyle Group
Carlyle's tentacles stretch far
The Daily Texan - Viewpoint:
Bush Faces Flak Over Links to Defense Contractor
CorpWatch.org - News - USA:



Unocal

Unocal & Afghanistan
Oil and Gas International : From the Editor - Taliban demanded more than the $100 million a year in rent for the pipeline route in the form of the construction of roads, water supplies, telephone lines, and electricity power lines, as well as a tap in the pipeline to provide oil and gas for Afghanistan, Unocal balked, and finally dropped its plans after the East Africa embassy bombings.
Oil barons court Taliban in Texas
Unocal on Lycos
Unocal Corporation - A new breed of energy company
Unocal in Myanmar (Burma) -
The Story That the Media Doesn't Tell About Unocal In Myanmar
Human rights abuses associated with a Unocal pipeline in Burma
EarthRights International - Resource Center: Doe v. Unocal



New W. R. Grace

Fresenius Medical Care
- February 13, 2002 - AG to provide for 1996 merger-related legal matters including pending commercial insurer litigation by taking a special charge for 2001
W.R. Grace names exec to oversee restructuring
- 2001-04-09 - Washington Business Journal
W.R. Grace files for bankruptcy
Tuesday, April 3, 2001 Taxpayers may get cleanup bill for asbestos contamination
Feds seek return of funds from W.R. Grace
Yahoo / Market Guide - Business Summary
Under Chapter 11, Grace is operating its businesses as debtor-in-possession under court protection from its creditors and claimants, while using the Chapter 11 process to develop and implement a plan for addressing the asbestos-related claims against it.
Grace Chapter 11 Announcement
April 2, 2001
SEC v W.R. GRACE & CO
WebFerret Results $9.95
W.R. Grace settles SEC income manipulation case
June 30, 1999
W.R. Grace & Co. Sec Accounting Initiatives
Recent Sec Accounting Initiatives For Public Companies 061199
W.R. Grace and Libby Mt.

W.R. Grace and Libby Mt.
ChevronTexaco Corp. Home Page
Chevron on Lycos
Arthur Andersen
BP Statement
from now on we will make no political contributions
Yahoo - Worldcom Finds $3.8 Bln Error, Fires CFO
Aon becomes latest target of SEC
Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | August 8, 2002

W.R. Grace and Libby Mt.
Asbestos Links (21K)

Organizations

Michael Moore
Political commentary
The Awful Truth
Mobiliztion for Global Justice
-Protest the World Bank and IMF
The Writings of Greg Palast
Democratic Underground Economic Issues Forum
Money in Politics Digest [Updated periodically]
The Public i
Corporate Tax Dodgers
Citizen Works -
POCLAD - Program on Corporations, Law and Democracy
AFL-CIO: Executive PayWatch
Collection site - Two big trends distinguished CEO pay in 2001:
The Center for Public Integrity
Common Dreams - News & Views for the Progressive Community
Campaign for America's Future: Home
CorpWatch.org
CorpWatch counters corporate-led globalization through education and activism.


Articles

DynCorp Disgrace
Burmese sue US oil company
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports |
Bechtel Bid Under Scrutiny
CBS News | April 18, 2003 12:38:27
Advisors of Influence: Nine Members of the Defense Policy Board Have Ties to Defense Contractors
Defense companies are awarded contracts for numerous reasons; there is nothing to indicate that serving on the Defense Policy Board confers a decisive advantage to firms with which a member is associated.
A Whiff of Thuggery (washingtonpost.com)
. . . chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Michael G. Oxley (R-Ohio), and his staff have been pressuring the mutual fund industry to bring a prominent Republican onto their Washington team -- and to push aside the Democrat who currently serves as the chief lobbyist for the industry's trade group.
Ashcroft's Media Scam
ZNet | Mainstream Media |
Our Fake Energy Crisis: What Really Happened in California
Webguild Sentinel Democrats Sounded Warning
Is the Big-Business Era Over?. Ruy Teixeira.
TAP: Vol 13, Iss. 15. Issue Date: 8.26.02
Our Fake Energy Crisis: What Really Happened in California
Deputy AG Profited Before Stock Fell (washingtonpost.com)
Kill the Corporation
AlterNet -Editorial- August 13, 2002 I don't know who's more pathetic, the wannabe-rich astonished that portfolios go down as well as up, or the already-rich corporate elites and their minions busily trying to restore consumer confidence in the wake of one exposé after another.
Webguild Sentinel Democrats Sounded Warning
Ullico: The AFL-CIO’s corporate scandal
Michael Moore's Message Board : World Socialist Web Site 29 August 2002
Cheney on Iraq: It's about oil.
USATODAY.com - Saddam a threat to energy supply, Cheney tells vets
Export-Import Bank: A Guardian of Jobs or a 'Reverse Robin Hood'?
September 1, 2002
FORTUNE - In Corporate America It's Cleanup Time
George and Dick's Amazing Corporate Misadventures
CorpWatch.org - Issues - Money & Politics - Articles - July 10, 2002 Harken and Halliburtion historical summerys.
Do As I Say, Not As I Did $2.95
TIME.com:-- July 22, 2002 What Bush supports/did/explanation - Markets require rules. We have to do more than lock up a few corrupt corporate executives. We have to clean out the misguided conservative politicians who helped create the conditions in which the corrupt could thrive.
Wall Street scandals take toll on Bush
/ GOP trembles as election nears; tumbling stock prices start to hit home: July 17, 2002 San Francisco Chronicle. "Two out of three likely voters tell us that they have an IRA or a 401(k)," said independent pollster John Zogby, whose survey over the weekend found unmistakable signs of erosion in the president's popularity. | The latest Bush official facing scrutiny is Army Secretary Thomas White, who spent a decade at Enron before being tapped for the Pentagon post. | Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson, the chief of the Justice Department's task force on corporate crime, served as a Providian Financial Corp. director shortly before the San Francisco credit card company was accused of deceptive accounting and insider trading. facing scrutiny is Army Secretary Thomas White, who spent a decade at Enron before being tapped for the Pentagon post.
The Conservative Bubble Boys
America's Future: Articles: 7/9/02 By: Robert L. Borosage Historical Insight
The Free Market Needs New Rules
2002/07/08 the first principles of free markets — transparency and trust — fall victim to corporate opportunists exploiting a climate of lax regulation.
Where Are The Indictments?
Forbes.com: Dan Ackman, 07.08.02 But still there are no charges against Enron principals. . . . Meanwhile, there are existing laws about the fraudulent sale of securities waiting to be enforced.
Bush and Cheney on defensive in business scandals
news.telegraph.co.uk - 05/07/2002 The White House, already battling to prevent President Bush being tainted by the business scandals that have engulfed America, is bracing itself to defend Vice-President Dick Cheney against charges of corporate wrongdoing.
Jim Hightower
THE PREVAILING CORPORATE ETHIC
Looking Anew at Value of a Corporate Pedigree
July 2 George W. Bush is the first president with an M.B.A., and his administration once proudly promoted its corporate experience as evidence of how it could bring boardroom smarts to governance and policy.
Afghan Pipe Dreams
CorpWatch.org June 28, 2002 - Issues - Oil, Gas & Coal - Articles -
More Afghan Pipe Dreams
CorpWatch.org June 28, 2002 - Issues - Oil, Gas & Coal - Background -
The Export-Import Bank:
Congressman Sanders on US Corporate Welfare Giveaways

OGI - Oil and Gas International Homepage

Nader and Green Party Links
More Liberal Links


Message Boards

Democratic Underground Forums
Michael Moore's Message Board :
CNN message board
COMMUNITY - POLITICS
Yahoo! Clubs
Start a group.



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Government Ohio State Government Links More Liberal Links 
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