Build Date: Thu Apr 3 03:30:17 2025 UTC
Beret-wearing, Citroen-driving, tofu-eating, espresso-drinking, electronica-listening, Ass-of-the-Man-kissing, Utne-reading, playa-hating whiteboy FREAK.
-- Tjames
Boil Them in Oil
2002-05-29 02:19:59
Yesterday, Dynergy, a large energy company that is in many ways very similar to Enron, announced that it had inflated its revenue streams some 4.5 BILLION dollars through various trading shenanigans - mostly reverse trades.
Reserve trades occur when one company buys goods from another and then immediately trades them back. The two trades cancel each other out and no money or goods actually changes hands. Both companies' assets are exactly as they were prior to the first transaction, but each company gets to book the trade - so it appears that both companies have a MUCH higher trading volume then actually exists.
This is a completely disingenuous act and the intent is nothing less then to mislead and defraud the investors. And there is no doubt in my mind that the executives of the corporations that commit these acts should be hauled off to jail. But they aren't. They never are. The CEO of Dynergy resigned - probably with several hundred million dollars worth of ill-gotten booty in his bank account. And while the SEC might investigate, if history is any guide, it won't even bother filing charges in this case.
And that just sucks.
Here in California we have a "three strikes are you are out" law. On your third felony conviction you get life. So if you are some poor, deranged street bum with two strikes and you stumble drunk into some Stop and Rob liquor store and quaff a 40 without paying, you can be sentenced for shoplifting and spend the rest of your life in prison for drinking a can of malt liquor.
However, if you are some high flying corporate executive with a fleet of New York attorneys and a bank account filled with cash from all the stock options you managed to sell after jacking up the price with all your swindling trades before anyone else figured out how you cooked the books by some billion or so dollars, you get to buy a nice ranch, staffed with a troop of servants and escorts, and "ride the pine" during the next Republican sponsored round of fraud and get rich quick schemes. But that's ok... because that round will create a whole new batch of crooks with unpunished "crimes" that dwarf yours and make you look damn near innocent.
Quite frankly, I'm just fed up with all this corporate corruption and I want to start boiling some of these bastards in oil.
T O P S T O R I E S
California Glory Hole attracts huge crowds
A glory hole at Napa's Lake Berryessa is drawing huge crowds. According to Chris Lee, the general manager for the Solano County Water Agency, the glory hole hasn't been active since 2019, and only restarted operations on Feb 4. (More...)
Republican State Senator busted after soliciting a teenage girl
Republican State Senator Justin Eichorn of Minnesota was arrested for soliciting a teen girl on Monday just hours after he introduced a bill proposing "Trump derangement syndrome" (TDS) as a form of mental illness. (More...)
Parents claim measles is not that bad after having only one child die
The parents of a Texas girl who died from the measles are defending their decision not to vaccinate their daughter. "She says they would still say 'Don't do the shots,'" an unidentified translator for the parents said. "They think it’s not as bad as the media is making it out to be." (More...)
Delusional rich man tries to fire town staff
"I'm mayor now" said write-in mayoral candidate and founder of Pirate’s Booty Snacks Robert Ehrlich after losing the election for Mayor of Sea Cliff, NY. Then he tried to take over the Village Hall and fire everyone. (More...)
Musk claims Xitter security is staffed by idiots
Earlier this month Xitter experienced a massive outage. In an interview, Musk told Fox Business that he believes the attack came from "IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area." (More...)
The Future Ain't What It Used To Be
Ideas have taken horrifying shape and rooted into our modern reality. (More...)
C L A S S I C P I G D O G
The Deep Dark Underbelly of the Star Wars Myth, or Ramayana Remembered
It's a fact: Star Wars is a blatant plagiarism of an ancient Asian legend, and the long lines of devout Star Wars freaks are really unscrupulous Asian copyright busters. From Indonesia to Thailand to Nepal, videos are available for sale or rent before they're even released in the US and UK due to this nerdy camcorder-clutching bunch. (More...)
A Blast from the Past! Pao Tzu goes over and under the crucial variables in the production and consumption of Salvia Divinorum. A must read for psychonauts of all stripes. (More...)
Pigdog brings you SETI astronomer Seth Shostak to bring you the truth about Ay-leens (More...)
I just came across this coolio essay by Pigdog Journal Science Editor binky wedged between two staves in the back corner of the submissions barrel. It's on the origin of the cyberbilly and is definitely de rigeur for any serious student of this fascinating sociological movement. (More...)
What the hell is going on with Sony?
Is anyone else as confused as I am with what's happening with the Sony Playstation network hack? (More...)
It’s election night. My wife and I are holed-up in this hotel that my political party has rented out for the evening. Outside, people are being violently beaten for whom they voted for. Is this South Africa? Perhaps we’re in Haiti or some Southern state during the 60’s. Of all the places where this sort of thing happens, it’s mind-boggling that we are in Portland, Maine. (More...)