Paul D. Miller on Mon, 14 Jan 2002 21:59:01 +0100 (CET) |
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[Nettime-bold] Welcome to Enron, the biggest corporate disaster in recordedhistory |
Well... here it is. One view of Enron... fractal politics in a democracy of images... welcome to the 21st century. more info at: http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/mojo/mojo.cgi?list=softskull-announce Paul a.k.a. Dj Spooky that Subliminal Kid > >Enron’s End Run >Sander Hicks of White Collar Crime Reports on >The Bush White House’s Brewing Scandal > >respond to Sander@softskull.com > >The Washington Post once referred to Kuwait as an “oil company with >a flag.” Perhaps this is what the Bush White House once thought the >USA should be. This administration was intimate with the Enron >Corporation, now in ruins of potential scandal and alleged fraud. >This slowly emerging scandal leaves us with questions, but one >thing’s for certain: L’Affaire Enron will build, and haunt the White >House for years to come. The Senate’s newly announced investigation >has a lot of work ahead of it. Will the White House survive intact? >Will it sacrifice key officials to appease a Special Prosecutor? > >Welcome to Enron, the biggest corporate disaster of recorded history. > >When Enron filed for Chapter 11 on December 2, 2001, practically all >of its 21,000 employees were unceremoniously relieved. At its peak, >Enron stock’s total value was $70 billion, capital many people >relied on in their retirement plan investments. Today, the total >loss in equity value is hard to gauge, because before throwing in >the towel, Enron was forced in November to restate its real earnings >for years 1997, 1998 and 1999. Enron had hidden a lot of debt in >“special purpose vehicles,” i.e. front companies it created to hide >losses off the books, so its previous earnings reports were >meaningless. > >Like the dot-coms, a lot of Enron’s value as a business was based on >the “trust” that people placed in it, as it traded intangible bits >of risk in its myriad of speculative trades in energy. When that >trust was lost, a lot of people got burned. Today, Enron faces two >Congressional investigations, a high profile Senate inquiry, a class >action lawsuit from angry shareholders, and the threat of a suit >from the General Accounting Office. The union bank Amalgamated is >already on the warpath. They are suing on behalf of the pension >funds damaged by Enron’s $70billion implosion. > >The fiasco’s intimacy with Bush may bode badly for the President’s >future. The White House and Enron have at times seemed >interchangeable, both financially and politically. Vice President >Cheney and Bush’s ruthless campaign advisor Karl Rove have consulted >Enron Chair Ken Lay on energy policy. Lay’s suggestions to Rove on >government appointments were followed. Enron and the White House >have shared a revolving door of personnel: five former Enronians >work in the White House and Cabinet. (Secretary of the Army Thomas >E. White was a Vice Chairman, Economic Adviser Lawrence Lindsey , >U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, were both advisors, and >Senior Staffers Karl Rove and Lewis “Scooter’’ Libbey, owned serious >amounts of Enron stock.) >And of course, the flow of money since the Reagan years has been >colossal and reciprocated. Enron donated almost $2.4 million to >federal candidates, and $2 million to Bush alone. They were in turn >rewarded with legislation that allowed them to profit off the >deregulation of state-run power industries. Enron has made >contributions to 71 of 100 U.S. Senators and about half of congress. >Enron is the #1 career contributor to President George W. Bush. > >On Thursday, January, 3, the Senate Government Affairs Committee, >headed by possible Presidential hopeful Joe Lieberman announced it >would launch a serious investigation into just how much Enron was >affecting decisions in the executive branch. It was high time. >Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA) has been asking Vice President Dick >Cheney and advisor Karl Rove for these answers for six months and he >has been treated like an unwanted guest at a wedding. On January 8, >the White House announced that the meetings with Enron had indeed >been extensive. As Part of Vice President’s Cheney’s Energy Task >Force, the White House admitted Enron executives had visited “six >times.” But with the stubbornness of a Richard Nixon, the Vice >President still refused to release the complete attendance lists for >all meetings of his Energy Task Force. > >Comparisons to Teapot Dome and Watergate are not untoward. The media >is beginning to feel the symbolic importance of Bush’s Enron >scandal. The Nation and UK’s Indpendent on Sunday both recently >suggested we are seeing Enron becoming Bush’s albatross. Both called >it a “cancer on the presidency,” a phrase that recalls John Dean’s >early warning to President Nixon. > >Bush is still strong in the polls, with approval ratings in the low >90s. But analysts have been pointing out that not capturing Osama >bin Laden might come back to haunt the administration, just as the >sparing of Sadam Hussein was partly responsible for Bush Sr.’s >defeat following the Gulf War. Poll experts point out that wartime >presidents usually experience a return to pre-war approval ratings >eight months after a war’s peak. Just as the May 2002 midterm >elections heat up in congress, Bush might not be able to help fellow >Republicans keep the House. > > >A Brief History of Enron > >The pas-de-deux between Enron and the Bushes goes a long way back >(almost as far as the relationship between the Bush and bin Laden >families.) Under Ronald Reagan, Vice President Bush led a task force >to deregulate finance and energy. In February 1993, the Bush White >House announced that two former Cabinet members, Secretary of State >Baker and Secretary of Commerce Robert Mosbacher, had agreed to help >what later became Enron secure natural gas projects overseas. > >In 1995, Enron was officially created out of two regional natural >gas companies by Ken Lay. In seven short years, Enron become the 7th >richest company in the US, ranked by revenue. Chairman Lay soon >became intimate with both Bush Presidents, the younger granting him >the pet name “Kenny Boy.” In an increasingly deregulated market, >Enron made a transition from selling natural gas to speculating on >aspects of the power industry, issuing glorified lottery tickets in >the form of derivatives. Derivatives are chances, or “financial >instruments” to take bets on the future value of a share price or >commodity based on its current value and external market forces. At >its peak, 80% of Enron’s business was from trading. > > Enron began acting less like an energy company and more like an >investment bank. Eventually, they even sold derivatives that bet on >changes in the weather. Among other things. CFO Andrew Fastow >mysteriously told Business 2.0 that “Enron has 1,217 trading ‘books’ >for different commodities. We don’t want anyone to know what’s on >those books. We don’t want to tell anyone where we’re making money.” >Another Enron executive told The New York Times the company’s goal >was to create “a regulatory black hole” in order to be “to be the >first mover into a market and to make money in the initial chaos and >lack of transparency.” > >As the night began to permanently close in on Enron, there was a >brief glimmer of hope against hope that the “smaller, scrappier” >Dynegy company would acquire the ailing giant. Perhaps the lesser >competitor wasn’t Enron’s size, but it wasn’t so small to hand Enron >$1.5 billion cash as a calling card, as merger talks opened in >November. But by the end of the month, the deal was practically >dead. In Dynegy CEO Chuck Watson’s conference call with Enron >management on December 3, he asked why cash-on-hand in the recent >10Q was $1.2 billion? Where was the $3 billion he had been >expecting? Well, that nice $1.5 billion present had been burnt >through. What’s worse, Enron couldn’t account for it. “Neither the >treasurer nor the CFO could explain where the cash went. The 10-Q >destroyed any remaining confidence and credibility.” > >Dynegy might have realized it was buying a big mess, and then >purposely released language in a Nov. 21 release that sent a >“lukewarm” signal. This scared the institutional investors even >more. Simultaneous with this, Enron’s credit rating was downgraded, >and they were thus bound to pay out $690 million to a creditor. >Whoops, there goes another half of cash-on-hand. Now Enron was down >to $510 million. The investment banks downgraded Enron’s stock even >lower, giving Dynegy an excuse to scuttle the deal. Their gentleman >caller leaving town, Enron sued Dynegy for backing out of the >marriage. > >With no one left to screw over, Enron ate their own flesh. After >they were abandoned by Dynegy there was no way Enron could recover, >so management decided to do the most professional thing possible: >they stuck their own workers with the tab. They had already planned >for this a month and a half in advance: on October 17, when the >S.E.C. announced it was investigating Enron, top brass deliberately >switched 401(k) administrators. Their employees’ retirement funds >were already dedicated to holding only Enron stock. This move locked >their employee’s pensions into this stock as it began to nosedive. >Enron executives unloaded their own equity on the market, and ran >for the door stuffing their pockets with $600 million in cash. Enron >robbed their common employees of their life savings. Sick employees >were left without health insurance; the transitional health care >system COBRA was a mess of unfinished paperwork. Overseas employees >in Moscow and the UK were told “find your own way back.” An >anonymous ex-employee who until recently helped run generators in >the Generation Control Unit stated “none of Enron’s laid-off H1B’s >[temporary overseas employees] have been given their expense funds >to return home, something Enron is required to do by law.” In >Houston, he states, “Rich White Republicans remain above the law.” > >A close association with Enron may spell the end of Bush’s honeymoon >at the polls. In the first week of the New Year, a poll from >Time/CNN showed that Americans have become more concerned about the >economy than terrorism. Even when Bush’s pre-war approval ratings >were middling around 55%, issues of corporate partisanship were >haunting him. In April 2001, an ABC News poll found that only 28% of >Americans believed Bush “cares more about protecting the interests >of ordinary working people” more than the “interests of large >business corporations” The American people are not blind. 60% said >they felt Bush cared more for big business. > > >The Favors > >After researching the Bush/Karl Rove/Enron connection since June, I >don’t believe there has ever been a complete list of exactly what >favors the Bush White House did for Enron. 60% of ordinary Americans >already have a hunch that Bush’s priority is to help out big >business; they won’t be shocked. But to get us all on the same page, >here are some of the paths the Senate should pursue in its upcoming >investigation: > >1. Nora Brownell: Hand-Picked by Enron, Nominated by Bush > >Bush’s Karl Rove took the advice of Enron’s Ken Lay about a >prospective appointee to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission >(FERC). Nora Mead Brownell, (also known to her detractors as “Nora >Mead Brownout,”) was appointed by Bush and confirmed by the Senate. >A childhood friend of Director of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, at >the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission Brownell had helped >Enron enter Pennsylvania’s newly deregulated energy markets. > >The law was most likely snapped in two. When Rove consulted with Lay >over Brownell, Rove owned $68,000 worth of Enron stock at the time. >Normally, a White House official needs to apply for and receive a >waiver to clear this kind of conflict of interest. When Congressman >Henry Waxman asked why Rove had not sought the proper waiver, The >White House curtly replied that Rove was not within the jurisdiction >of that law. > >Before her appointment to the Pennsylvania Public Utility >Commission, Brownell had no experience in public utility management. >She was a banker. Senior Vice President for Corporate Affairs at >Meridian Bancorp in Philadelphia, she did receive high marks for >opening up housing loans to minorities. But her first decision in >Pennsylvania, on wholesale phone rates, was criticized as >“anti-consumer.” The opening stanzas of her testimony to the Senate >opens with this breathy libertarian posturing, “In the interest of >full disclosure, I believe in free markets.” > >On May 25, 2001, the Senate confirmed Ms. Brownell. Simultaneously >that day, in a move that can’t be coincidental, U.S. Senator Dianne >Feinstein (D-CA), a leading member of the committee that confirmed >Brownell, called for hearings into the possibility of an improper >relationship between the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and >the energy industry. In her Press release, Feinstein cited the day’s >New York Times report that FERC Chairman Bob Herbert had been >contacted by Ken Lay, and offered “support” if he would change his >policies to be favorable to Enron. Senator Feinstein noted “FERC is >a $175 million a year agency charged with regulating the energy >industry, and it would be unconscionable if any of the nation’s >electricity traders or generators were in a position to be able to >determine who chairs or becomes a member of the commission.” > >Today, Nora Mead Brownell remains a defender of Enron’s integrity. >To her, Enron’s spectacular crash was not the product of deceit or >hubris, as many Wall Street analysts find. The government’s >“regulator” is far more forgiving than even the most bullish critics >in the marketplace. To Nora Brownell, Enron’s fatal flaw was simply >a lack of restraint. She told the Washington Post, “In my mind, it >is a classic case of a company growing very fast and not putting in >place the financial controls and management depth that was needed.” >Unregulated markets were not at fault, of course, no, “In fact, the >market has worked pretty efficiently.” She dismisses the accusations >of criminal fraud and chalks it up to the wild west nature of the >“free market.” In a forgiving voice, she recently told PBS, “When >you don’t have a Ten Commandments, it’s very hard to have a sinner.” >Enron should hope to find the Senate so understanding. Does the >killing of over 20,000 jobs not prick Brownell’s conscience? Does >the vaporizing of $70 billion in value not strike her as bad for the >pensions and economy of average, hard-working Americans? > >2. Enron in the California Energy Crisis: >How Could Ken Lay Learn Nothing? > >In 2000, Enron’s annual revenues surpassed the $100 billion mark, >more than doubling its revenue of $40 billion in 1999. Critics on >the West Coast charged that Enron earned such grosses partly by >exploiting the hungry, under-supplied, deregulated California market. > >Enron’s Ken Lay would later blame his lack of willingness to supply >new plants on a lack of full deregulation: “When the governor put on >price caps back in October, we, along with another company, >cancelled the construction of a couple of big power plant peaking >plants, which would have been available for this summer, because we >couldn’t justify making those big investments in peaking plants, >which will just run a few days during the year. Price caps do not >solve the problem, but price caps just require the politicians to >decide who’s going to be curtailed.” > >But its ironic that Enron complains about public policy in >California. The company played a role in the writing of the >California deregulation law that eventually stuck consumers with a >$40 billion bill. In 1996, former B movie actor and CA State Senator >legislator Steve Peace lead the legislature on a 18-day “death >march” that often worked past midnight to cobble together >incomprehensible legislation. At the time, Enron was eager to enter >the California market, and was influential through lobbyists like >D.J. Smith of the California Large Energy Consumers Association. >Eventually, Peace’s energy deregulation law was passed in Sacramento >without a dissenting vote. >“There was a blind adherence to free-market ideology that couldn’t >possibly work,” former utility securities analyst Eugene Coyle later >told the SF Chronicle “There were poorly thought-out specifics.” > >And today in the Bush White House, the lesson of California has been >lost. As recently as this Spring, Karl Rove and the Bush White House >rejected California Gov. Gray Davis’ plea to impose price caps on >electricity, which, among other things, would have been costly to >Enron. (And remember, at this time, Rove was still a shareholder in >Enron.) > >As reported in a May 17, 2001energy industry newsletter, Governor >Davis is currently so frustrated with deregulation Texas-style, that >he threatened to use the laws of eminent domain to seize the power >plants of Houston-based Reliant Energy. “He warned that actions >taken by Reliant and other independent generators this summer will >determine whether he signs a windfall profits tax bill or, in the >extreme, commandeers the electricity produced by a plant or seizes >the facility itself.” Later, the Governor addressed President Bush >directly, “Mr. President, runaway energy prices are not just a >California problem. With all due respect, I once again urge you to >stand up to your friends in the energy business and exercise the >federal government’s responsibility to ensure energy prices are just >and reasonable.” > > >3 Enron Holds Itself Above the Law? > >Today, the California Legislature is recanting its death march >toward deregulation. In June, it was seeking to discover whether >power-generating companies willfully manipulated electricity supply >in order to drive up prices last year. After being subpoenaed, Enron >refused to appear or provide information. The Legislature found them >in contempt. > >This is similar to the way that Chairman Ken Lay declined to show up >at the first Congressional investigation of Enron. On December 11 >and 12, the House Financial Services Committee held a Joint Hearing >on “The Enron Collapse: Impact on Investors and Financial Markets.” > >However, the CEO of accountant Arthur Andersen, Joseph Bernadino, >did testify on behalf of Enron, a company Andersen both consulted >for and audited. His testimony was followed by the AFL-CIO’s Richard >Trumka, who accused Arthur Andersen, Wall Street, and Enron’s >management of defrauding consumers, workers and shareholders. In >clear, angry language, Trumpka described, “a story of people so >shameless and greedy that literally as the bankruptcy papers were >being drawn up they were still passing what remained of the firm’s >cash out to themselves—$55 million on the last working day before >they filed for Chapter 11.” > >According to Trumpka, Arthur Andersen was giving important business >advice “including, many believe, advising Enron on the structure of >the special purpose vehicles” that were used to hide debt. “The >financial statements themselves contain proof that the auditors were >aware of each of the transactions that led this company to grief-the >self-dealing with the CFO, creating partnerships to trade in the >company’s own stock, other partnerships whose purpose seemed to be >to generate dubious revenues, hide liabilities and otherwise >bookable derivatives positions from the investing public.” > >Part of the problem was Enron’s Board of Directors, a body commanded >by SEC law to be independent of the company. But according to >Trumpka, this board was actually dependent on Enron management >through political and investment relationships. “Is it any wonder >that when the crisis began and shareholders needed desperately to >hear from outside directors, all they got was silence?” > >It should be noted that Trumpka is by no means an angel himself, and >is not unsullied by a scandal of his own. Accused of laundering cash >to aid the reelection campaign of Teamsters President Ron Cary in >1996, Trumpka is a lifelong union bureaucrat and attorney. A brief >was filed on September 15, 2000 by the union-watchdog National Legal >and Policy Center to have Trumpka disbarred in the State of >Pennsylvania. > >4 A Free Market in Derivatives, Thanks to the Paid Services of Congress > >Enron’s investments in Capitol Hill have paid off. In a 2000, >Congress passed a law that exempted its energy derivatives business >from regulation. Today, in 20/20 hindsight, many analysts state that >Enron’s reliance on unregulated derivatives business is reminiscent >of Long Term Capital Management, the high risk megacapital hedge >fund that also almost took the entire economy with it when it went >under in 1998. > >Analysts report that your proximity to Wall Street often determines >whether you will be bailed out. A Goldman Sachs insider recently >noted, “With Long Term Capital Management they were so integrated >with the Wall Street dealer community and the Fed, that their >bailout was quick and concerted. “ Compare this to “The demise of >Drexel Burnham. As a Street competitor, they were ripped apart. Alan >Greenspan did not even return the calls for help of Fred Joseph, >their CEO. Similarly with Enron, the Street has kept a distance, not >least because of their involvement in funding and /or helping to set >up Enron’s offshore special purpose vehicles.” > > > >5 Enron Air Quality > >In Texas, Enron influenced public policy time and again while Bush >was Governor, including the infamous “grandfathered plants” deal, >which allowed plants to “self-police” their emissions. As a result, >Texas has some of the worst air quality in the Union. > >As the late Bush biographer Jim Hatfield put it in his last press >conference in Chicago, June 2, 2001, “We go to Houston, and my kid >can’t even breathe.” > > >Enron Workers Respond by Organizing > >As the country saw after September 11, Americans have a great >capacity to band together to weather common adversity. In Houston, >this took the form of a website for displaced employees, >www.enronx.com, which created a message board to air grievances and >help Enron workers find a job. Created “in one day, December 5” by >José Lazzo and former C.O.O. assistant Anthony LastNameTK, EnronX >quickly had 5,200 members sign up and use the site. Today, it gets >11,000 page views a day. > >On EnronX, I met the power generator worker mentioned earlier who >preferred to remain anonymous. We’ll call him “Clifford.” > >When Enron Management made $600m cash unloading their shares, who >did they sell to? It couldn’t have been the open market , which >would have severely depressed the share price even more, in a time >of scrutiny. Clifford has an explanation about how management pulled >their liquidation scam, “Ever wonder who was buying Enron stock in >November, as it was tanking and as anyone with a clue knew it was >insolvent/worthless? Smart people were selling, of course, but we >now know the buyers were the pension funds of government employees >in Florida, New York and Texas, states with the Republican governors >closest to George Bush. Florida lost $300 million, and Texas and New >York $100 million. Can’t you just hear the conversation at Fidelity, >etc: ‘Gotta dump this P.O.S.: find me someone we can screw with it- >there’s the government fund’s managers over there- have the Boss >give him a call. Florida, Texas and New York. What a f***ing >coincidence!” > >When Enron was still in business, Clifford had the honor of shaking >hands and speaking briefly with the future GOP head Mark Racicot. > > “He came by my office at Enron and we chatted a bit-what a whore he is.” > >Mark Racicot is the former Montana Governor who also deregulated his >own state’s energy. Later, in the Missoula Independent, George >Ochenski protested: deregulating Montana’s electricity had created, >“Rather than the promised reduction in cost, electricity price >spikes [that] have created a disposable work force of Montanans who >may or may not have a job depending on the day-to-day cost of >electricity.” Marc Racicot, is an Enron lobbyist with Bracewell & >Patterson. He vowed to keep lobbying for Enron and other clients >even while working at the G.O.P. chair. Of course, to his credit, he >announced he would forsake the G.O.P. chair’s traditional paltry >salary of $150K. What largesse. The real money for Racicot remains >in lobbying. > >Upon probing, Clifford related the full story on meeting Racicot. >“Yes, what Enron wanted was the deregulation and (certainly not a >bad idea) federal eminent domain for power lines from east to west >(what he [Racicot] and I briefly chatted about). Of course, the >Mountain-Mormon Republicans then killed that bill, once again >begging the question just what the Republican Party ever did for any >working man, even those here at Enron below the 50th >floor....Anyway, the story is the Republican Party-nothing at Enron >was ever about anything else. I mean, if Whitewater was a story, >then what in the hell is this?” > >Good question. Since June, fringe voices on technology and political >websites have been saying as much. With the New Year, the Senate has >taken up this burning question, first posed by plastic.com, “This >event probably would have qualified as a scandal if Clinton’s chief >strategist had done such a thing, but is that sufficient reason to >apply the same unreasonable standard to the Bush administration? Of >course it is! Payback’s a bitch, ain’t it?” > >In a similar way, both armchair and professional political experts >are speculating about how the President might extricate himself from >this growing scandal. Is it possible that his colorful but >controversial advisor, Karl Rove, might be turned into a sacrificial >lamb? After all, it was Rove who most flagrantly broke the conflict >of interest laws, working in the White House on policy that affected >Enron while he was an Enron Shareholder. In fact, on June 4, 2001, >when he finally agreed to sell the entirety of his shares in >companies with interests that conflicted with the goal of good >government, Rove became $5.6 million richer. In addition to Enron, >for his first six months in office Rove held onto stock in Pfizer >Inc., General Electric Co., Boeing Co., Cisco Systems Inc., American >Express Co., Sallie Mae, Intel Corp., Wells Fargo & Co., and Johnson >& Johnson. Rather than follow the law, Rove stated that he’d rather >wait to sell as to avoid a capital gains tax. The White House at the >time stated that there was no rush, after all, it’s common knowledge >that Bush owed Rove most of the credit for a (semi)-successful >Presidential campaign. > >Further pressed, Rove claimed that it was a paperwork issue, and >that he had applied at the federal Office of Government Ethics for >the “certificate of divestiture” needed to divest from his holdings. >But when asked, an ethics office spokesman said Rove hadn’t >submitted the request for such a document, and that when he did it >would only take only a few days to process. Just in case anyone >smelled something here, the White House’s Anne Womack was there to >sweep the dust under the rug. As Bloomberg News dutifully reported >Womack’s specious claims, “In the meantime, Rove said he’s been >skipping discussions that could have a direct impact on his stocks. >He told me, ‘There have been conversations I just walked away from,’” > >The bare falsity of this statement is proved by the White House’s >own statement 21 days later. On Friday, June 29, the White House >admitted that Rove “participated in meetings on the administration’s >energy policy while he owned stock in energy companies such as >Texas-based Enron Corp.” according to a bulletin from ABCnews. > >This time, White House lawyer Alberto Gonzales claimed that the >meetings were general enough to prevent a crossing of the >conflict-of-interest lines clearly spelled out in the Federal Code. >Yet the White House still refuses to release the attendance lists of >their Energy Task Force lists. What are they hiding? > > >In closing, I’m reminded of the words of Jim Hatfield, a friend of >this reporter, who wrote one of the best, most balanced books on >young Bush, but was vilified through the cagey destructive tactics >of Karl Rove and the hypnosis of a compliant Bush-friendly media. >Before Jim took his own life this past July, he gave an interview to >the lefty website Buzzflash.com. > >With his trademark, smart-aleck irony, Jim commended Bush thusly, >“He made a campaign promise ‘to do for America what I have done for >Texas.’ And he sure as hell is trying his best to honor that pledge >with tax breaks for the rich that will eventually consume the >surplus, turn the country into a toxic waste dump, push a >conservative agenda through the legislature, and screw the poor and >middle class.” > >The Conclusion > >Some day, Enron executives and the entire ruling class will have to >face justice. But that day is not today. We hope that the U.S. >Senate will deliver justice, but 71% of this same Senate has >received Enron money in the past. No, the only way we’re going to >see justice in this country is after we have a workers revolution. >We need to use everything we have, our politics, our history, our >art to rip the pigs from power and create a just world. > > > > > >Who is Sander Hicks? > > Founder of Soft Skull Press, see www.softskull.com > > Here is an excerpt from the recent interview in >www.ActionAttackHelicopiter.com: > >“I think this country needs a revolution more than it needs a better >president. The entire system has to be dismantled from top to bottom >and a new political system needs to be put in its place. I'm a >Marxist, so I believe that economics impact every aspect of society. >The core values of society are based on economic values. So, to >really dismantle the state, you have to create a whole new economic >ethos or core principle. I voted for Nader, but I don't think Nader >would even begin to be the solution that we need. It's a sad state >of affair when reform doesn't even work. Even today at dinner with >Aunt Phyllis I had a moment of clarity because she's a big admirer >of McCain even though she's more of a Democrat and I talked to her >about Karl Rove and how he spread the rumors of McCain's temper >after McCain won New Hampshire. Rove was able to scuttle his >campaign through outspending him and also spreading rumors about his >supposed temper that comes from being locked up in Vietnam. ...I was >telling Aunt Phyllis that it's a sad state of affairs when the >system cannot reform itself. When you have a charismatic leader come >out and say that we need campaign finance reform and this guy is not >necessarily a left-wing political thinker....[but] he sees that the >system is oligarchic and corrupt and not fair. It’s not fair when >someone can't run on the strength of their ideas, but they also need >a huge chunk of capital. I said that if the system can't reform >itself, then we need new methods. We need direct action, general >strike and we need revolution. And that means militant revolution.” > >Who is White Collar Crime? > >“Hicks jumped across tables and lassoed chairs with a microphone >cord and sipped other people’s beer while starring down >nonbelievers. When he called for revolution—at the time he was >spinning from a ceiling fan—the band clicked immediately into tight >punk cabaret and a friend turned to me and said, ‘this is the best >band ever.’” > —Brandon Stousy, Prose Acts Festival, Buffalo, NY, October 2001 ============================================================================ "None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free...." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Port:status>OPEN wildstyle access: www.djspooky.com Paul D. Miller a.k.a. Dj Spooky that Subliminal Kid Subliminal Kid Inc. Office Mailing Address: Music and Art Management 245 w14th st #2RC NY NY 10011 _______________________________________________ Nettime-bold mailing list Nettime-bold@nettime.org http://amsterdam.nettime.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nettime-bold