Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
See article keywords and concepts |
 If you stashed your retirement savings in enron based on the tip of a bank's investment analyst, then you're what Wall Street calls "the greater fool." Didn't you know Wall Street is rigged? Didn't you know the ratings of companies are bought with outright bribery? You mean you didn't know that? Well welcome to the world of expensive education. Now you know. Next time, subscribe to the Martin Weiss Safe Money Report and you won't get screwed.)
Too many Americans, you see, think the stock market is a giant ATM. |
| But those dreams turned to financial nightmares when the massive house of fraud known as enron collapsed a few years ago. Later, nightmares turned to anger as Americans harmed by the collapse (investors, employees and energy customers) pointed their collective fingers at Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling, proclaiming, "THEY are to blame for all this!"
Are they really? |
| If you thought the enron books were cooked, you should take a look at our federal budget and the Fed's control of the money supply. That's the financial scandal of the century, but it will never be realized by mainstream Americans until they are left penniless by its collapse. And then, of course, they'll look for somebody to blame. |
| They think we'll all get rich by selling each other the same houses with ever-increasing prices. And enron believed what the White House now believes about the federal budget: That the free money will also last forever, and we'll all get rich by printing more money (expanding the money supply and devaluing the dollar) to fuel more consumer spending.
Only in America can a politician actually sell the outrageous idea that we'll create abundance by spending more money we don't have. It's an idea that uniquely exists in the illusory world of the American people, I regretfully admit. |
| What Americans definitely do NOT want to hear is that virtually everyone involved in the enron circus either tolerated or outright supported the fraud. This was no isolated crime, it was a collaborative crime of the greedy masses.
But why is this saga uniquely American?
I've used the word "Americans" frequently throughout this commentary. Keen readers may ask why. Do I think this type of scandal is uniquely reserved for Americans?
There is fraud in every system of government and every system of commerce. |
| But what makes the enron fraud uniquely American is that it demonstrates the grandeur of the illusions under which American workers, CEOs and politicians have all agreed to operate (for the last decade or so, anyway). Those illusions are largely fiscal in nature, such as the idea that budget deficits no longer matter. America can spend all the money in the world (well, all the money in China, anyway) and it won't matter, President Bush seems to say. |
Ray Dodd
See book keywords and concepts |
 Design a New Framework of Agreements
By now almost everyone has heard the story of enron. At the close of the twentieth century enron was a corporate jewel in the Houston, Texas, skyline. An energy conglomerate employing more than 21,000 people in more than 40 countries, enron was the industry leader, growing at a staggering rate—a colossus feeding off new technologies, new markets, and innovation. |
Too Profitable to CureBrent Hoadley, Ph.D.
See book keywords and concepts |
| They attacked enron...after Enron's dirty work was already fait accompli. They wrangled on and on about the Martha Stewart debacle. They discuss ad nauseum political pros and cons, intrigues and spectacles. Shoot, they even tackled the Catholic Church and Gay Marriage. But do you ever see them investigate the snake-pit that is "business as usual" corporate America? |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
See article keywords and concepts |
 Think enron. Corporations are, by their very nature, domineering entities capable of great evil, even when the people who work in those corporations might be honest, hard-working individuals. In our current system of free market economics, only the strong, dominant corporations survive. And that requires maximizing revenues and creating new opportunities to sell more drugs to more people, regardless of the real cost in human suffering or environmental destruction.
Many of the cancer non-profits have become little more than front groups for the corporations that make money off of cancer. |
Michael J. Panzner
See book keywords and concepts |
 At one time, for example, enron was the seventh largest company in America, but as a result of massive fraud, the company evolved from blue-chip favorite to belly-up pariah in less than a year. And within 13 months of the 9/11 terrorist bombings, two airlines had filed for bankruptcy, while the rest of the industry racked up billions of dollars in losses.
With that in mind, most Americans will have little choice but to keep one ear to the ground. The Internet isn't the only research source, of course. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
See article keywords and concepts |
 The disastrous federal drug "benefit" program (actually, a giant Bush handout to Big Pharma at taxpayers' expense) has already cost California $150 million in emergency prescription drug funds, which is not nearly as much as enron cost California during the fabricated energy shortage crisis a few years ago, but is almost as curious.
I keep wondering how long Californians will put up with the profiteering scams engineered by the White House (Enron's top guys were all Bush buddies, too), but apparently the state's appetite for being scammed by Washington is not yet satiated. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
See article keywords and concepts |
 This behavior even makes enron look good. After all, enron was a fiasco, but at least in the end it was only money, not lives at stake. But with Big Pharma, it's both.
Let's take a closer look at some of the actual figures that reveal just how egregious the drug companies have been in their overcharging of prescription drugs: (this is from the Office of Alabama Attorney General)
Where will all this go? Stay tuned to this site. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
See article keywords and concepts |
 Think enron, but times a thousand. That's who controls Congress today.
To keep the People in line, public protests have been limited and outlawed in many areas, where new fenced-in "free speech zones" have been set up to force protestors to protest out of the way somewhere. (Note to all: If free speech is limited to a "zone" then it isn't free speech at all!) At every turn, the U.S. government seeks to marginalize the power of the People and expand its own reach and power, usually at the behest of the wealthy corporations pulling the strings backstage. |
Dr. Timothy Scott
See book keywords and concepts |
 But even then, 16 out of 17 stock analysts covering enron had "buy" or "strong buy" recommendations on the stock.4 Four months later its stock was worth only pennies. So the question becomes, How could the rating agencies, stock analysts, investment bankers and fund managers have all failed to accurately perceive enron as a house of cards with a business model and financial structure that would insure its eventual collapse? |
Too Profitable to CureBrent Hoadley, Ph.D.
See book keywords and concepts |
| Ken Lay, former CEO of enron, also was a member of the Lilly Board of Directors.
• Sidney Taurel, current CEO of Eli Lilly, serves on your Homeland Security board.
• Mitch Daniels, a former Lilly vice-president, served as Director of Management and Budget.
• The National Alliance for the Mentally 111 received significant funding from Lilly.
Other acts not directly related to Eli Lilly fog the picture of government and greedy pharmaceutical industry autonomy.
• Vast amounts of Cipro and other drugs were purchased by the U.S. government to counteract biological acts of terror. |
David Steinman
See book keywords and concepts |
 Interestingly, during the height of the enron meltdown in 2002, when GE picked up the bankrupt company's business, wind power was producing "only" $500 million in revenues. Wind power is growing 30 percent a year in Europe and America, and it is quite likely that the wind can provide up to one-fifth or more of the United States' total energy needs—and that's what makes GE's involvement super smart from a business viewpoint. But it is a good thing, too, from an environmental and do-the-right-thing perspective. |
Brian O'Leary
See book keywords and concepts |
 On two occasions during 2000 I gave speeches in Houston and Montreal castigating Enron's role in bilking California's electricity consumers. I also pointed out how enron was perfectly positioned to lead the way into a hydrogen economy: they had the natural gas pipeline infrastructure which could accomodate hydrogen, and the capital to make the national conversion. Each time, a middle manager from enron was in the audience, and each time they felt a bit guilty and wanted to set up a time for me to make a presentation to their top management, who ended up not granting me the appointment. |
| My expression here about the greed and power of enron and other large corporations and their influence on government predated the public exposition during 2002. On two occasions during 2000 I gave speeches in Houston and Montreal castigating Enron's role in bilking California's electricity consumers. I also pointed out how enron was perfectly positioned to lead the way into a hydrogen economy: they had the natural gas pipeline infrastructure which could accomodate hydrogen, and the capital to make the national conversion. |
Too Profitable to CureBrent Hoadley, Ph.D.
See book keywords and concepts |
| The recent enron and WorldCom debacles have shown corporations' willingness to manipulate information in the quest for profits. The information manipulated by pharmaceuticals, however, can be of a life-and-death nature. Nevertheless, the vast number of personal injury lawsuits filed against pharmaceuticals serves as an indicator of just how truthful and forthright pharmaceuticals are in their dealings with the FDA.
When you consider that employees from industry and government are, over time, intermingled, the likelihood of unbiased evaluation is lessened. |
| Enron's dirty work was already fait accompli. They wrangled on and on about the Martha Stewart debacle. They discuss ad nauseum political pros and cons, intrigues and spectacles. Shoot, they even tackled the Catholic Church and Gay Marriage. But do you ever see them investigate the snake-pit that is "business as usual" corporate America? If they really attacked corporate crime, including pharmaceutical crime, exposing the corporate sharks for the criminals they are, these poor excuses for hard-hitting journalists would be nothing more than anal debris at the bottom of the corporate cesspool. |
Ray Dodd
See book keywords and concepts |
| RICE was even emblazoned in large letters on the walls of Enron's massive corporate cafeteria.
By the arrival of spring in 2002, Enron's bankruptcy became the most spectacular corporate collapse in the history of business. As the walls came tumbling down, they revealed the worst of corporate greed, an avalanche triggered by lies and fear. Losses to investors, customers, and employees were shattering—so large that a shudder was felt throughout the global economy. In the aftermath of the collapse, criminal charges were leveled at the firm's top executives. |
Dr. Timothy Scott
See book keywords and concepts |
| Assumption: "Enron is regularly audited by one of the nation's largest accounting firms (Arthur Anderson). They can't have their books audited every year and pass those reviews if there is something amiss."
(3) Assumption: "A big corporation like enron must have a lot of smart guys who have it all figured out. They know what they are doing."
(4) Intimidation: "Who do you think you are? We have smart people here who have done their homework and know this business. You just don't understand."
Common reaction: "Who am I to question these experts? |
Ray Dodd
See book keywords and concepts |
| At the close of the twentieth century enron was a corporate jewel in the Houston, Texas, skyline. An energy conglomerate employing more than 21,000 people in more than 40 countries, enron was the industry leader, growing at a staggering rate—a colossus feeding off new technologies, new markets, and innovation. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
See article keywords and concepts |
 And that ultimately leads to situations like enron, or drug companies knowingly selling dangerous drugs, or FDA bureaucrats who seem to put public safety as their lowest priority. It all starts with what we teach our children.
Ethics education, in fact, may be the ultimate solution to this problem, because without ethics, we are a soulless economy. |
Alex Steffen
See book keywords and concepts |
 Right: The enron scandal illustrated just how costly secretive and corrupt business practices can be. tends to pay back and make transformative change possible. Skeptical? Consider this: between 2003 and 2005, community-investment assets grew by 40 percent. gf
Transparency in Business
¦¦¦¦ How do we know if a company is behaving responsibly? If it is secretive, holds closed meetings, and carefully guards its books, we can't really know. Which is why one of the hottest trends in investing today is to demand corporate transparency. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
See article keywords and concepts |
 This is a system that has created enron and WorldCom and Big Pharma, after all. But it's also the same system that has created an environment in which natural health supplement manufacturers can flourish. A system in which computer companies like Dell can reinvent the way we get custom-built computers very quickly at remarkably low costs. It serves our consumption interests very well, overall. It spurs creativity and competitiveness, and it promotes innovation.
That's a pretty good economic system. In fact, it's the best created so far. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
See article keywords and concepts |
 It's what we saw with WorldCom, enron and so many other American companies, including, I suggest, most of the pharmaceutical companies. Unfortunately, they are all about making money. That means marketing products, inventing fictitious diseases and making sure that patients get on a lifetime regimen of artificial synthetic chemicals sold at outrageous prices.
And it all comes back to the suit. I think the suit is a symbol of greed, capitalism and disconnection with humanity. It's also a symbol of a disconnect with the self, because by wearing a suit, we take on a business personality. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
See article keywords and concepts |
 We see people at enron and WorldCom defrauding not only the public, but all their employees in order for a few top executives to take home several hundred million dollars in illicit bonuses and compensation. We see this criminal mentality in the pharmaceutical companies, where people are engaged in the business of essentially poisoning the mass population in order to generate a profit. |
Mike Adams
See book keywords and concepts |
 Conventional medicine is driven by business interests, pure and simple, and just like enron was willing to shut down power plants in California to create a demand crisis that generates obscene profits, drug companies are willing to do practically anything to make more money, regardless of who is harmed or killed in the process. Sound extreme? Read on to learn more about the conventional medicine stories that are too hot for the media.
Modern health care has no answers (and they're not really looking for answers)
Ever notice conventional medicine offers no cures? |
Email this page to a friend
