Posted in Politically Incorrect on July 30th, 2010 by glennm
I think the longest parliamentary majority government in post-War Italy lasted all of four years. And it was a center-right coalition under the leadership of Silvio Berlusconi himself (2001-05). As they say, at least Mussolini made the trains run on time!
Tags: Italy, politicians, scandalsPosted in Business, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Money Matters, Rants on December 11th, 2008 by glennm
Had I noticed Bernie Ebbers, former WorldCom/MCI thief, seeking an 11th-hour pardon from the Bush Administration last week, I surely would have ranted. Ebbers Trying to Join the Bush Pardon Party [WSJ.com]. His sleaze never ends. Bernie was fairly convicted for some really serious financial crimes and deserves all the punishment he was handed. He absolutely ruined the life savings of scores of my friends, clients and colleagues from MCI by driving the company, and its stock price, into the ground. I for one hope he rots in prison.
Tags: Ebbers, MCI, scandals, WorldComPosted in Lawyers, Guns & Money, Media Matters, Politically Incorrect, Tech Bytes on October 15th, 2003 by glennm
In an article titled “Soldier’s Ethic” Guides Powell At the FCC [TechNews.com], the Washington Post calls Michael Powell — Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission — “the most criticized man in Washington … faulted by Republicans, Democrats, conservatives and liberals, feminists, gun owners, big media companies, columnists and lawyers.” It is ironic that someone who professes to be so tuned in to market and technological trends can turn out to have a completely deaf ear to politics. Especially when his father, the old general and current Secretary of State, is fairly good at that as well.
Powell is pretty sharp, as when he said today in a speech to a Las Vegas trade group — from whom he was lambasted earlier this year for accepting $85,000 in free travel perks — that the FCC is at a major crossroads. The Telecom Act of 1996 “will break, if it isn’t crumbling already, and it will need to be replaced,” Powell observed. Since I wrote the same thing here, and have been making that prediction for seven years, I’ve just got to agree with this most perceptive public servant. :-)
What that means, of course, is that when Powell blows it and reaches a decision that makes no sense, he is fully aware that he is twisting the rules to achieve the result he wants politically. That’s bad. It’s doubly bad that he is oblivious to the fact that the results he is producing are politically unpalatable to most of those he is charged with pleasing! Gotta know your audience, Michael.
Tags: FCC, Michael Powell, politics, scandalsPosted in Lawyers, Guns & Money, Wonder Wonder on August 26th, 2003 by glennm
I’ve been away for a couple of weeks in August, but life goes on. Sometimes even the bad guys get theirs, though, as the following vignette shows.
Earlier this week, defrocked pedophile priest John Geoghan of Boston was killed in his cell while serving a nine-to 10-year sentence for assault and battery on a 10-year-old boy. The former Catholic priest was accused of molesting nearly 150 boys over three decades and became a catalyst for the clergy sex abuse scandal that shook the foundations of the Roman Catholic Church. [CBSNews.com]. Geoghan was defrocked in 1998 and charged in December 1999 with raping and molesting three boys. The Boston archdiocese eventually settled civil lawsuits filed by 86 of Geoghan’s victims for $10 million.
A fitting end, I say. Ah, and to think that robbery, murder and even rape are tolerated, perhaps celebrated, in prison, but pedophelia is a no-no. Those convicts may have no morals, but their sense of justice is inspiring.
Tags: Catholics, pedophiles, priests, scandals, sexual abusePosted in Business, Rants on June 12th, 2003 by glennm
Several long-time exeuctives of MCI and WorldCom resigned yesterday after being singled out by Richard Thornburgh, appointed to investigate WorldCom’s mega-collapse, for not ensuring directors paid closer attention when signing off on acquisitions and approving multi-millon dollar loans to former Chief Executive Bernard Ebbers. WorldCom Says General Counsel, Criticized in Report, Resigns [Bloomberg.com].
The funny thing is that the GC, Mike Salsbury, is someone I worked for long ago (15+ years). I won’t comment on his reputation, but resigning in disgrace under the cloud of investigation in the world’s largest corporate scandal is certainly not the way anyone wants to go. (Sure beats “the perp walk” though!!) Bernie lost his ranch and now faces possible indictment. How far will his slime spread? The only way to answer that question is to see how far the culuture he brought to WorldCom infected other high-ranking executives.
Tags: Ebbers, MCI, Salsbury, scandals, slime, WorldCom
Many thanks to Doonesbury for the illustration and the late Hunter S. Thompson for the gonzo inspiration.
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