Thursday June 12
With Peace Like This, Who Needs "War"
In just a week, a surge of bloodletting has plunged United States-led peacemaking efforts in the Middle East into turmoil. Meanwhile, post-war Iraq is proving to be every bit as violence-ridden as the war itself, with today's attack on a US Apache helicopter as a prime illustration. So if this is peace, what 's war?
Spreading Bernie's Slime
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.
Straight Talk Express
During his presidential campaign in 2000, Sen. John McCain called his bus the "Straight Talk Express," so dubbed as an honorific to his reputation for political candor. Well, he's done it again in the Middle East, where Pres. Bush refuses to stop America's long-time practice of pressuring Israel to show "restraint" in the face of terrorist attacks.
As usual, McCain is a breath of fresh air in Washington, and now internationally.