THE =20 DIOGENES REPORT

The Wit, = Wisdom &=20 Wituperation of Emanuel L. Strunin

January 2002, = Volume II, #=20 2

A CONSPIRACY ON THE HOME=20 FRONT?

Remember when Bill = Clinton=E2=80=99s 1992 run for=20 the presidency during the 1^st Bush recession was kept on = track by=20 James Carville=E2=80=99s battle cry: =E2=80=9Cit=E2=80=99s the economy = stupid=E2=80=9D? In America=E2=80=99s=20 reaction to the long chain of events that led up to the September 11=20 attacks,

I had been thinking that = stupidity was=20 the operative word when it came to describing

the activities, or lack = thereof, of the=20 FBI, CIA, NSA, State Department and other agencies of our=20 government.

But as more information about = what=20 happened, and what is still happening, our problem is that: = =E2=80=9Cit=E2=80=99s not the=20 stupidity, stupid=E2=80=9D. The lack of effective action against real = and potential=20 terrorists appears to me to have been purposeful. Even now, following = the=20 ostensible =E2=80=9Cwake up call=E2=80=9D of September 11=E2=80=94which = seems to me as more of a gentle=20

wake up nudge than a wake up = call=E2=80=94the=20 American Government is still doing a

half-assed job in cracking = down on a=20 dangerous fifth column on the home front.

Cut Off The = Fundamentalists, As Well=20 As The Funds

We keep hearing about the = shut down of=20 fund collecting and transmitting capabilities of some 150 Islamic = organization=20 in this country involved in the terror network. We have yet to hear of = the=20 arrest of organization officials and contributors. These = people=20 helped make September 11 possible. Our government knows who these people = are so=20 why are they still running free?

When everyone knows that the = major=20 threats of terrorism are coming from the nations

of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, = Lebanon and=20 Syria why is our government sending out signals about imminent attacks = on=20 Somalia. The reason is because our stated war policy to uproot terrorism = wherever it may be is combined with a policy not to step on too many = Arab or=20 Moslem toes. Even Secretary of State Colon Bowel who is unwilling to = harm a hair=20 on the head of any Moslem terrorist is mumbling about attacking Somalia. = It=E2=80=99s=20 just another sign that we still have not had a true wakeup = call.

Was Osama Involved In Oklahoma=20 City?

But what should be even more = troublesome=20 to the American people is that our government continues to hide, even at = this=20 late date, the information about an Arab connection to the Oklahoma City = bombing. There=20 is still a reluctance to paint the

Arabs in their all of their = unmitigated=20 evil colors. It would indeed be interesting to

know which individuals and = agencies are=20 responsible for keeping these truths from

the American people.=20

By the way, all of the = following=20 information which is known to the FBI and the CIA,

as well as to = Israel=E2=80=99s security agencies=20 comes from an article =E2=80=9CDid McVeigh Have A Mideast Link=E2=80=9D? = by Elliot Goldenberg = which=20 appeared in the Washington Jewish Week in October = 2001.

Three days before the bombing = of the=20 Alfred P. Murrah Federal=20 Building a number of Israeli agents were dispatched to Oklahoma City = based on=20 information obtained by

Israel. about some kind of = terrorist=20 event. Following the bombing, Israeli experts determined that the = explosives had=20 some of the specific characteristics of those used by Arab terrorists. = The=20 Israelis took the information to the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and = Firearms) which turned it over to the FBI.

As was widely reported = shortly before=20 McVeigh=E2=80=99s execution, the Justice Department

did not turn over to Mc = Veigh=E2=80=99s attorneys=20 over 3,000 documents that included

interviews and tips about = potential=20 suspects, as well as photographs and other forms of evidence. Included = were=20 interviews and information about a John Doe Number Two,

who was sketched shortly = after the=20 bombing, but who government spokespeople eventually claimed did not = exist. There=20 is strong evidence that the spokespeople were lying.

Early Warnings=20 Ignored

Goldenberg tells that he was = given a copy=20 of an intelligence memo written hours before

the Oklahoma City = bombing that=20 there was an apparent Islamic terrorist plot to blow up one of three = targets in=20 Oklahoma City, = Los=20 Angeles or Houston. The author of the

memo, Vincent Cannistrano, = former chief=20 of CIA counter-terrorism operations, passed

it on to the FBI=E2=80=99s = Washington=20 Metropolitan Field Office.

According to the article,=20 Cannistrano said that he received a phone call from an

unidentified Saudi citizen = who worked as=20 a counter-terrorism official for the Saudi

royal family and whose job it = was to=20 develop intelligence to help prevent the royal

family from becoming the = victims of=20 terrorists. The Saudi told Cannistrano that he had solid information = that there=20 was a squad of people in the United States tasked with carrying out = these=20 terrorist attacks. Cannistrano was unable to corroborate the = validity

of the information and turned = it over to=20 the FBI, as the agency responsible for

anti-terror activities in the = United=20 States. All of this took place before the Oklahoma

City bombing. =

In addition two = warnings were=20 issued to the Americans by the Israelis,

according to=20 Goldenberg.

Remember John Doe Number=20 Two?

Two years later, at the = demand of Rep.=20 Charles Key of the Oklahoma legislature,

a State Grand Jury was = impaneled to look=20 more closely at the bombing. Testifying

before the Grand Jury, Jayna = Davis, a=20 former TV reporter, was the first to identify

John Doe Number Two as a = former Iraqi=20 soldier who entered the U. S. as student at the University of South = Florida.=20 Goldenberg, who was able to review the Iraqi=E2=80=99s intelligence = dossier and=20 surveillance photos, notes that he was seen in Oklahoma City in = the=20

company of McVeigh just days = before the=20 bombing. Most of Davis=E2=80=99s testimony was

kept = secret.

While the FBI did investigate = the Arab=20 connection in Oklahoma=20 City, Tampa, Miami

and Ft. Lauderdale and the = question=20 remained whether Timothy McVeigh acted

on his own or was he just a = small cog in=20 a much large Islamic terrorist conspiracy, the American Government = chose=20 to label the bombing as =E2=80=9Chomegrown=E2=80=9D = terrorism.

Maybe. But Goldenberg says = that his=20 Israeli intelligence sources refer to the bomber

as =E2=80=9CLee = Harvey=E2=80=9D McVeigh. And with the=20 emergence of John Walker, the =E2=80=9CAmerican

Taliban=E2=80=9D, the = possibility of a=20 McVeigh-Osama connection is not so far fetched.

My question is, if there was = a =E2=80=9Cwake-up=20 call on September 11 why is our government

still sweeping a potential = Arab-Oklahoma City = connection=20 under the rug?

THE BOARDROOM MUST = BE ON=20 FIRE

I am going through the = distasteful task=20 of reviewing the annual report and proxy statement from Lucent = Technologies.=20 With the volume of smoke, aimed at confusing shareholders, pouring = out=20 with the messages from the chairman and CEO, I have to assume that a = fire is=20 blazing in Lucent=E2=80=99s boardroom. For the past two years, Lucent = has been an=20 unmitigated disaster for its investors and employees. =

In command, or at least = holding the title=20 of commander, once again, is that

Teflon-coated executive, = Henry B.=20 Schacht, whose corporate philosophy started the company on its slide. Of = course,=20 his replacement for a few years, who took the blame

for all of the problems, was = showered=20 with several million dollars of shareholders=E2=80=99 money, and slid = gracefully into=20 retirement. Teflon-Henry was called back to straighten out his own = and his=20 successors boo-boos.

The Blind Leading The=20 Blind

According to the prospectus, = the Board of=20 Directors held 23 meetings and its

committees held an additional = 26 meetings=20 in fiscal 2001. When I look at the names of the board members, I realize = that=20 some of their advice must have been listened = to=E2=80=A6unfortunately. Another=20 Teflon-coated executive, Paul Allaire is on the board and

also chairman of the Audit = and Finance=20 Committee. Allaire, as chairman and CEO of Xerox, greased the skids for = that=20 company=E2=80=99s slide down to the verge of bankruptcy.

Joining him on the board is = Franklin=20 Thomas who main claim to fame was the

presidency of the Ford = Foundation, an=20 organization with a reputation for throwing

money around wildly. For = departing top=20 executives, he was the right man to have as chairman of the Compensation = Committee.

The chairman=E2=80=99s = argument that the company=20 was blindsided by rapidly deteriorating market conditions is an = unacceptable=20 defense of management incompetence given the

size of Lucent=E2=80=99s = losses and write-offs in=20 2001. With an employee count in six figures, there must have been = thousands of=20 staff members at the department, division, subsidiary and corporate = levels=20 involved in planning and market analysis. So, how come changes and = deterioration=20 in the marketplace came so unexpectedly?

I believe that part of the = reason is=20 genetic. Being a child of Ma Bell left Lucent management with the = monopoly=20 mindset. The technological marvels coming out

of Bell Labs did not have to = be measured=20 against a changing marketplace when

Ma Bell controlled the rate = of=20 technological change. Lucent=E2=80=99s management never

really considered that the = direction of=20 Bell Labs development must be correlated

with the rapid changes in the = telecommunications marketplace.

The executives who grew up in = ATT never=20 understood the requirements of competition

and the over-aged war horses = that were=20 brought in to help run the company had long lost their competitive = fervor and=20 also did not understand telecommunications technology.

So multi-thousands of = employees and a=20 million shareholders took a big, big hit.

If you think this analysis of = Lucent is=20 exaggerated, you need only look over at a similar scenario at Ma Bell, = the=20 former monopoly queen herself. What can shareholders do about these = types of=20 situations? Well, we can=E2=80=99t outlaw stupidity and incompetence = but

it may be possible to = eliminate rewarding=20 executives who demonstrate these qualifications. Through class action = suits and=20 other legal action and lobbying at he state and Federal level, = shareholder=20 organization should force corporate governance regulations that tie = executive=20 compensation of all types to be directly tied to corporate performance.=20

Let=E2=80=99s put an end to = million dollar=20 executive salaries at companies that lose a billion dollars. After that = we can=20 go after the $10 million contracts for ballplayers

who bat .230.=20

ACROSS MY RADAR = SCREEN

Surely You Are Joking Mr. = Arab-rat

Regarding the captured arms = ship that was=20 purchased with Palestinian funds, as were the weapons, and was captained = by an=20 official of the Palestinian Navy, Mr. Arab-rat had this comment: = =E2=80=9CIf it appears=20 that anyone from the Palestinian Authority is involved, and we = don=E2=80=99t think so,=20 then we will certainly question and punish them.=E2=80=9D I=E2=80=99ll = bet that the old Arab-rat=20 didn=E2=80=99t even break a smile.

Now, can we expect George W. = Bush to say=20 that we will question the pilots of the planes flying over Afghanistan = and if=20 any of them are members of the U. S. Air Force, we will punish=20 them?

Shorty Is Long On=20 Chutzpah

The American = ambassador to Israel=20 put his foot in his mouth again. Perhaps he should keep it there if it = will keep=20 him from making uncalled for comments. An ambassador is sent abroad to = lie for=20 his country, not to stick his nose into the affairs of his host.=20 Shorty

(Kurtzer) speaking in front = of an Israeli=20 organization claimed that Israel should not

fund development in Judea, = Samaria and=20 Gaza, but spend the money on its poor and unemployed. Long on chutzpah = here.=20

As an American citizen, he = didn=E2=80=99t advise=20 George W. Bush to cut the defense and

security budgets and use the = money to=20 help the millions of Americans including the homeless living below the = poverty=20 line. Short on chutzpah here. And, when he was ambassador to Egypt, he = must have=20 suffered from lockjaw when it came to advising

his hosts on how to run their = booming=20 economy.

Rogue Describes Rogue=20 Operation

In discussing the results of = his=20 =E2=80=9Cinvestigation=E2=80=9D into the Palestinian arms ship, =

Mr. Arab-rat claims that it = was a rogue=20 operation. He goes on to explain that the

arms were to be sold to the = Eskimo=20 Liberation Army in Greenland and the ship

was going to be sold at the = New York Boat=20 Show. The rogue naval officers and

crew members were planning to = melt into=20 the Arab community in Jersey City.

Their green cards and drivers = licenses=20 were already waiting for them at the

pita shop of Ibrahim the=20 scribe.

AFGHAN = HUMOR

It was opening night at the = first strip=20 joint in Kabul following the departure of the Taliban. The dimly lit = room was=20 packed with young Mujahadeen, mature warlords and ancient bearded = clerics. The=20 aroma of hashish was heavy in the air. Then, as the first dancer = slithered=20 to the center of the stage and began to sway to the rhythms of a = tambourine, the=20 same cry rose from a hundred throats--: =E2=80=9Cshow us your=20 face=E2=80=9D!!!

HEADLINES AND = COMMENTS

Headlines from the = world=E2=80=99s press and=20 comments by Diogenes and friends.

Sears To Exit Carpet=20 Business

Where are they going to sweep = the dirty=20 tricks they play on their customers?

Lawyer: Cheney Did Not = Discuss=20 Enron

Chairman Kenneth Lay: = =E2=80=9CNow this is a=20 hypothetical, Mr. Vice President: if the top

executive of a big energy = company=20 headquartered in Texas skip out with a couple

of hundred mil before the = company goes=20 belly up, will the feds prosecute them?

Remember, Mr. Vice President, = this is a=20 hypothetical.=E2=80=9D.

Son Describes Fatal Hockey = Fight

My father should get 10 = minutes in the=20 penalty box.

Lieberman: Pakistan To = Make Gesture To=20 Defuse Crisis With India

This should give the = Democrats enough=20 Moslem votes to carry Florida next time.

More Americans Treated For = Depression

And even more for=20 recession.

City Man Pleads Guilty In = Beating Of=20 His Friend

Former = friend.

Sausage Company Robber = Pleads=20 Guilty

The police knew all along = that he was=20 full of baloney.

Supreme Court Limits = Disability Law=20 For Carpal Tunnel Sufferers

Too Republican to limit = the=20 suffering?

First 20 Prisoners Flown = To=20 Cuba

Will al Qaeda earn frequent = flyer miles=20 for these flights?

Muslims Seek To Explain = Islam: The=20 Religion Of Peace

Those Muslims sure have a = sense of=20 humor.

President Chokes On=20 Pretzel

1. He choked but he = didn=E2=80=99t=20 inhale.

2. I told him a hundred times = those=20 unsalted pretzels are dangerous.

3. A six-pack of Coors = pretzels is=20 overdoing it.

4. Careful, there are Muslims = working in=20 the pretzel factory

5. As long as it was a = pretzel, not a=20 petzel.

Fleet Boston To Examine = Argentine=20 Portfolio

Those smart bankers bought a = portfolio of=20 the finest leather.

Starwood Begins Sale Of = Ciga Group Of=20 Luxury Hotels

With the recession they may = have to sell=20 the rooms two hours at a=20 time.

QUOTES I = LIKE

As for editorial content, = that=E2=80=99s the=20 stuff you separate the ads with.

Lord Thomson of Fleet (English=20 publisher)

We women don=E2=80=99t care = too much about=20 getting our pictures on money

As long as we can get our = hands on=20 it.

Ivy Baker = Priest

Comment about the = =E2=80=9Cprolific=E2=80=9D author=20 Jacques Attali: He=E2=80=99s not prolific, he=E2=80=99s = incontinent.

A French = critic

There is nothing to fear but=20 fear.

Ludwig Boerne (1823)

We usually meet all of our = relatives=20 only at funerals where somebody always observes:

too bad we can=E2=80=99t get = together more=20 often.

Sam Levenson

It is not the Mandate which = is our Bible:=20 it is the Bible which is our Mandate.

David Ben=20 Gurion

= ;

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