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| Europe |
| French official examines possible Cheney prosecution: paper |
| 2003-12-23 |
| A French official is examining whether to prosecute US Vice President Dick Cheney over alleged complicity in the abuse of corporate assets dating from the time he was head of the services company Halliburton, the French newspaper Le Figaro said yesterday. Must not be any financial crimes in France to prosecute. Everyone knows how honorable TotalFinaElf is. The case stems from a contract by a consortium including the American company Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR), a Halliburton subsidiary, and a French company, Technip, to supply a gas complex to Nigeria, the newspaper reported. A Paris investigating magistrate has been conducting investigations since October into allegations that $US180 million ($A243.18 million) was paid in secret commissions during the late 1990s up to 2002 from funds established by the consortium in Madeira, the report said. Cheney was Halliburton’s chief executive between 1995 and 2000. In a letter to the attorney-general’s department, magistrate Reynaud van Ruymbeke ruled out directly prosecuting Cheney on a charge of bribing foreign officials, Le Figaro said. But the official did not exclude the possibility of prosecution on the grounds of complicity in misuse of corporate assets, it added. The French really are on a one-way road to irrelevance and oblivion! |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #16 thanx, T. Page looks familiar, I may have been down this very road before, and there's the line, but no citation. 1800 was an election year, it's disappointing to think it came from some nameless political hack writer. Otoh, the impressive history Dave Barry Slept Here does have a still-timely Jefferson quote: "To Hell with those dirtbags." |
| Posted by: Glenn (not Reynolds) 2003-12-23 8:34:34 PM |
| #15 I just noticed that we RBers have managed to quote the South Park version of Johnny Cochran and Thomas Jefferson in the same thread. |
| Posted by: Tibor 2003-12-23 8:03:16 PM |
| #14 Glenn, this link explains the origin of the phrase during the Jefferson presidency, and tells the tale of militant islam over the years. Interesting stuff: http://www.zianet.com/wblase/endtimes/barbary.htm |
| Posted by: Tibor 2003-12-23 8:01:13 PM |
| #13 Hey RB'ers, the line "Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute," is often credited to Jefferson, but it somehow doesn't sound like him. Anyone know the source? No, it wasn't Charles C. Pinckney (of XYZ fame) in Paris, either. His line was, "No! No! Not a sixpence!" |
| Posted by: Glenn (not Reynolds) 2003-12-23 7:05:49 PM |
| #12 Thomas Jefferson was the first President to smack the Libyans (et al.), so he gets credit for beginning their training. Hasn't anyone here heard of The Barbary Pirates? |
| Posted by: snellenr 2003-12-23 5:12:37 PM |
| #11 Come to think of it, why not King George? If he hadn't overtaxed us and forced us to quarter British soldiers, we never would have revolted in the first place. And if Columbus hadn't discovered America . . . It's like Johnny Cochran said on South Park: "If Chewbacca lives on Endor, you must acquit!" |
| Posted by: Tibor 2003-12-23 2:52:32 PM |
| #10 Hmmm... That's right. I forgot about "Tippecanoe and Tripoli, too!" |
| Posted by: Fred 2003-12-23 2:23:56 PM |
| #9 I credit Harrison for the decision. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2003-12-23 1:13:09 PM |
| #8 Or Franklin Pierce. |
| Posted by: Fred 2003-12-23 12:36:34 PM |
| #7 This is likely to be a Dem talking point one of these days. Perhaps Clark will run this up the flag pole to see who salutes it. Off topic, but Clark has unleashed another classic: http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2003/12/22/172630.shtml. He says Clinton deserves credit for Libya's WMD decision. Why stop there? Why not credit Carter? Or LBJ? |
| Posted by: Tibor 2003-12-23 12:06:33 PM |
| #6 Root? Not Enoch "the Red" Root, I hope. |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-12-23 10:54:44 AM |
| #5 I like the french they make me laugh. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter) 2003-12-23 10:49:14 AM |
| #4 HEY! Quit writing comments while I'm trying to write the same comments! (:-)> |
| Posted by: Glenn (not Reynolds) 2003-12-23 10:38:21 AM |
| #3 Anybody got a Lincoln Portrait says this isn't a clumsy attempt to forestall the delicious scene of Chirac on the witness stand in a California court to defend the character of buddy Francois Pinault over the Credit Lyonnais / Executive Life flap? Arnold's got a budget crisis to deal with, he can use every billion he can get! Repeat after me: Independent Judiciary. |
| Posted by: Glenn (not Reynolds) 2003-12-23 10:35:26 AM |
| #2 Of course, anyone in the know can easily figure out what this is all about. Think Francois Pinault. (a buddy of Chirac's) |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-12-23 10:25:29 AM |
| #1 The French really are on a one-way road to irrelevance and oblivion! Even more so when you consider that their main idea on fighting "terrorism" is to ban the wearing of head scarves in school by muslim girls. Between that and leading the charge to form the RRF to compete with NATO just shows you how absolutely ego-centric and balmy Chirac and his ilk. |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2003-12-23 8:23:57 AM |