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InvisibleRandalFlagg
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Registered: 06/15/02
Posts: 15,608
Scathing Oil-For-Food Report Draws Denials
    #4864724 - 10/28/05 07:03 PM (18 years, 5 months ago)

All hail the UN...the paragon of virtue!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051028/ap_o...GZhBHNlYwM3MjE-


Scathing Oil-For-Food Report Draws Denials

By JIM HEINTZ,

Associated Press Writer


MOSCOW - A scathing report on corruption in the U.N. oil-for-food program for Saddam Hussein's Iraq drew widespread denials, terse dismissals and protestations of innocence Friday. But there were also pledges to investigate from some of the 2,200 companies cited and countries with citizens named.

Russian officials angrily alleged that documents accusing companies and officials in that country were fake, and the head of the nation's electricity monopoly called for the report's writers to be punished. But in a rare partial admission, Sweden's Volvo AB acknowledged making payments through an agent to Iraqi authorities but said it did not consider that bribery.  :rotfl:

The U.N. report issued Thursday rattled reputations around the world with charges of kickbacks in lucrative contracts in the 1996-2003 program, under which Iraq was allowed to sell oil provided the proceeds went to buying humanitarian goods to help offset U.N. sanctions.

Saddam, who could choose the buyers of Iraqi oil and the sellers of humanitarian goods, corrupted the program by awarding contracts to ? and getting kickbacks from ? favored buyers, according to the report by the Independent Inquiry Committee led by former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker.

Countries like Russia that opposed sanctions got preferential treatment from Saddam's regime, the report said.

Among those implicated was former Kremlin chief of staff Alexander Voloshin, now board chairman of the state electricity grid UES. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in remarks reported by domestic news agencies, claimed some of the documents cited by the commission used forged signatures. And UES chief executive Anatoly Chubais said the commission knew Voloshin's signature was faked on oil contracts, adding: "I hope that those responsible for the mistake will be punished."

Volcker's team was extremely cautious on the claim against Voloshin. It noted that Iraqi Oil Ministry records reported about 4.3 million barrels were allocated in his name through a Russian company called Impexoil.

Yet it also acknowledged Russian claims that his signature was forged and said samples of his signatures were "not substantially similar" to the signature that appeared on a letter purportedly written by him. It said it could not find evidence linking Voloshin with Impexoil.

In Sweden, vehicle-maker Volvo AB, whose Brussels-based construction division was among the companies named in the report, acknowledged the company made payments through an agent to Iraqi authorities.

"We did business with an authority in Iraq. The same authority tells our agent that you have to pay a fee to do any business at all," chief executive Leif Johansson was quoted as telling the Swedish news agency TT.

"When authorities said that, we drew the conclusion that this was the way to do business in Iraq," he said. "No one linked that to bribes."

Volvo AB no longer owns carmaker Volvo, which was sold in 1999 to the Ford Motor Company.

Switzerland said it has launched a criminal investigation focusing on four people connected to the oil-for-food program. Swiss authorities already have fined a Geneva-based oil-trading company $40,000 for paying kickbacks under the program, but have not identified the company.

France will study the report and "wants full light to be shed on the embezzlement that took place in the framework of the oil-for-food program," Foreign Ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei said. French judges are investigating 10 French officials and business leaders on suspicion they received oil allocations as kickbacks.

Among them is former U.N. ambassador Jean-Bernard Merimee, who held the post from 1991-95, and according to the report received more than $165,000 in commissions from oil allocations awarded to him by the Iraqi regime.

The report also said former French Interior Minister Charles Pasqua, now a senator, was awarded 11 million barrels of oil, an allegation he denied Friday in an interview with The Associated Press.

"I never received anything," Pasqua said, adding that he believed somebody used his name without his knowledge. "It is obvious to me that the Americans want to implicate France."

In Australia, Prime Minister John Howard said he doubted the Australian Wheat Board, which was the single largest supplier of humanitarian goods under the program, would have knowingly made improper payments. The report said the board, which sold $2.3 billion of wheat to Iraq, made "side payments" for transportation of the grain to a Jordanian company that was owned in part by Saddam's government.

Andrew Lindberg, managing director of the wheat board's successor AWB, said "we didn't know that the money, that we believed we were paying for transport, was being diverted to the regime."

An Italian politician named in the scandal, Roberto Formigoni, said he received "neither a drop of oil, nor a single cent." Fiery British lawmaker George Galloway, who founded a charity aimed at fighting the U.N. sanctions against Iraq, told the AP "there is a witchhunt going on" and accused U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman (news, bio, voting record), a Minnesota Republican, of falsifying evidence against him.

Germany's Siemens AG said it found no evidence of kickbacks allegedly paid by its French, Turkish and Middle East subsidiaries. A DaimlerChrysler statement said the company was aware of the report, but declined to comment further. Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company Astra Zeneca also denied alleged wrongdoing.

Texas oilman Oscar S. Wyatt Jr., the former chairman of Coastal Corp. who was described in the report as a favorite customer of Iraq, pleaded not guilty Thursday in New York to charges that he conspired to pay several million dollars in illegal kickbacks to Saddam's regime to win oil-for-food contracts. Volcker said Wyatt, 81, was the lone exception to an Iraqi ban on selling oil to American companies.

The report also implicated Lukoil Asia Pacific, a company the report called a subsidiary of Russia's No. 1 producer, Lukoil.

Lukoil's spokesman, Dmitry Dolgov, said he had never heard of the company, adding that investigators had worked with Iraqi documents, which could have been forged.

Dolgov noted that investigator Robert Parton resigned from Volcker's committee in April, reportedly because he believed it ignored evidence critical of U.N. Secretary-General    Kofi Annan. "This creates the impression that this report is aimed at distracting attention from the oversights of U.N. officials and laying the blame with certain companies," Dolgov said.

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InvisibleAlex213
Stranger
Registered: 08/22/05
Posts: 1,839
Re: Scathing Oil-For-Food Report Draws Denials [Re: RandalFlagg]
    #4865947 - 10/29/05 01:23 AM (18 years, 5 months ago)

Hard to know how seriously to take any of these specific allegations in the current political climate, especially when they're being made by the former US federal reserve chairman.

But it looks like when the UN head of the oil for food program Denis Haliday resigned in disgust at the genocide the program had led to he was correct to do so. But of course back in those days the right-wing portrayed him as the devil incarnate for telling the truth.

As Haliday said 5 years ago:

Washington, and to a lesser extent London, have deliberately played games through the Sanctions Committee with this programme for years - it's a deliberate ploy... That's why I've been using the word 'genocide', because this is a deliberate policy to destroy the people of Iraq. I'm afraid I have no other view at this late stage." (Interview with David Edwards, May 2000,

Edited by Alex213 (10/29/05 01:32 AM)

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OfflineDivided_Sky
Ten ThousandThings

Registered: 11/02/03
Posts: 3,171
Loc: The Shining Void
Last seen: 15 years, 9 months
Re: Scathing Oil-For-Food Report Draws Denials [Re: Alex213]
    #4867526 - 10/29/05 04:01 PM (18 years, 5 months ago)

Well gee Alex, how could it be genocide when everybody gave Saddam Hussein (the people's preferred dictator) so much cash (almost 2 billion that we know of)? Is it POSSIBLE that he horded the money and supplies for himself?! Of course not!


--------------------
1. "After an hour I wasn't feeling anything so I decided to take another..."
2. "We were feeling pretty good so we decided to smoke a few bowls..."
3. "I had to be real quiet because my parents were asleep upstairs..."

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OfflineGazzBut
Refraction

Registered: 10/15/02
Posts: 4,773
Loc: London UK
Last seen: 2 months, 24 days
Re: Scathing Oil-For-Food Report Draws Denials [Re: Divided_Sky]
    #4869603 - 10/30/05 04:52 AM (18 years, 4 months ago)

Quote:

Is it POSSIBLE that he horded the money and supplies for himself?! Of course not!




Is it POSSIBLE that both sides,Saddam's Regime and the West, are highly responsible for a humanitarian crime against the people of Iraq?


--------------------
Always Smi2le

Edited by GazzBut (10/30/05 05:14 AM)

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InvisibleAlex213
Stranger
Registered: 08/22/05
Posts: 1,839
Re: Scathing Oil-For-Food Report Draws Denials [Re: Divided_Sky]
    #4870523 - 10/30/05 12:18 PM (18 years, 4 months ago)

Well gee Alex, how could it be genocide when everybody gave Saddam Hussein (the people's preferred dictator) so much cash (almost 2 billion that we know of)? Is it POSSIBLE that he horded the money and supplies for himself?! Of course not!

Sorry but I think the head of the Oil for food program might have a better idea of what was going on than you. He called it genocide. Unless you have evidence to the contrary I'll stick with his opinion.

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OfflineRedstorm
Prince of Bugs
Male

Folding@home Statistics
Registered: 10/08/02
Posts: 44,175
Last seen: 5 months, 8 days
Re: Scathing Oil-For-Food Report Draws Denials [Re: Alex213]
    #4870628 - 10/30/05 12:58 PM (18 years, 4 months ago)

So, you would attribute the virtue of honesty to the head of one of the most corrupt programs in recent history?

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InvisibleAlex213
Stranger
Registered: 08/22/05
Posts: 1,839
Re: Scathing Oil-For-Food Report Draws Denials [Re: Redstorm]
    #4870793 - 10/30/05 01:39 PM (18 years, 4 months ago)

If he resigned and called the program genocide yes. If he was corrupt he would obviously have remained in his job and said it was working fine.

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Offlinezappaisgod
horrid asshole

Registered: 02/11/04
Posts: 81,741
Loc: Fractallife's gym
Last seen: 7 years, 9 months
Re: Scathing Oil-For-Food Report Draws Denials [Re: Alex213]
    #4871012 - 10/30/05 02:23 PM (18 years, 4 months ago)

Or maybe he got out just in time. Or maybe he wanted to blame others for his failure to see that it was run properly. Maybe he never should have taken the job in the first place with his attitude, because he sure was unable to ensure that the program wasn't plundered. Or maybe he's just an asshole.


--------------------

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OfflineProsgeopax
Jaded, yethopeful?

Registered: 01/28/05
Posts: 1,258
Loc: Appearing at a mall near ...
Last seen: 18 years, 3 months
Re: Scathing Oil-For-Food Report Draws Denials [Re: GazzBut]
    #4871172 - 10/30/05 03:01 PM (18 years, 4 months ago)

Quote:

GazzBut said:
Is it POSSIBLE that both sides,Saddam's Regime and the West, are highly responsible for a humanitarian crime against the people of Iraq?




--------------------
Money doesn't grow on trees, but deficits do grow under Bushes.

You can accept, reject, or examine and test any new idea that comes to you. The wise man chooses the third way.
- Tom Willhite

Disclaimer: I reserve the right to change my opinions should I become aware of additional facts, the falsification of information or different perspectives. Articles written by others which I post may not necessarily reflect my opinions in part or in whole, my opinions may be in direct opposition, the topic may be one on which I have yet to formulate an opinion or have doubts about, an article may be posted solely with the intent to stimulate discussion or contemplation.

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InvisibleLos_Pepes
Stranger

Registered: 06/26/05
Posts: 731
Re: Scathing Oil-For-Food Report Draws Denials [Re: Prosgeopax]
    #4871298 - 10/30/05 03:36 PM (18 years, 4 months ago)

http://projects.sipri.se/armstrade/Trnd_Ind_IRQ_Imps_73-02.pdf

Top three suppliers of arms to Saddam Hussein, 1973 - 2002

USSR: 57%
* France: 13%
* China: 12%

Then, in order of importance:

* Czechoslovakia: 7%
* Poland: 4%
* Brazil: 2%
* Egypt: 1%
* Romania: 1%
* Denmark: 1%
* Libya: 1%

USA's sales -- 1 percent. None provided before or after the Iraq-Iran war.

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InvisibleLos_Pepes
Stranger

Registered: 06/26/05
Posts: 731
Re: Scathing Oil-For-Food Report Draws Denials [Re: Prosgeopax]
    #4871338 - 10/30/05 03:44 PM (18 years, 4 months ago)

Saudi Columnist: "We Are the Problem and Not America"
By MEMRI
MEMRI.org | December 1, 2003

On November 30, 2003, Dr. Muhammad Talal Al-Rasheed, columnist for the English language daily The Saudi Gazette, wrote an article titled "Senseless Violence, Senseless Death." The article is in reaction to the murder of Saudi Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Rasheed of Hail by 'Islamists' in Algeria. The following are excerpts from the article: (1)
"...A few days back Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Rasheed of Hail was murdered in Algeria while on a camping trip. He was 40 years old and his son, Nawaf, 13 years old, was with him. At the time of this writing, we only know that the father was killed, while the son's condition is to be verified.

"It is easy to get on one's soap box and pontificate; to tell humanity that we suffer from terrorism, too. That is too easy, though; and perhaps too intellectually cowardly. Talal was a well-known poet in Saudi Arabia. He comes from a family that ruled Arabia long enough to be recorded in history. He was and will always be a beacon of Art, whatever that word means.

"Those who killed him are those who want the word silenced. The young man left it open whether he was with this or that, but he was adamant to tell all and sundry that to be is to talk and exchange. I grieve, I must admit, and am beyond reason because of the trauma of it all, but I do maintain a semblance of reason to see where all of this is leading.

"We have bred monsters. We alone are responsible for it. I have written as much before my personal tragedy and will continue to do so for as long as it takes. We are the problem and not America or the penguins of the North Pole or those who live in caves in Afghanistan. We are it, and those who cannot see this are the ones to blame.

"Castrated as we are, we look to America. Why? Because they went into Iraq and made a difference. Better or worse is another point. Once America has demonstrated its willingness to do something, the moral imperative is that it should not stop at the first station along the road. The majority of us are sick and tired of this carnage and President Bush, wrong on just about everything else, is right on this one. Does he have the (courage) to finish the job? I wonder.

"I don't think this will be published in the Arab News, as it should be. If not, I understand their point of view and their perpetual selectiveness. But one thing is sure, we are here to stay even if it takes giving our best to the madness of religion and the wrong of fanaticism. Nothing, but nothing, is worth the life of an innocent...may the Americans add Talal to their list of loved ones lost to the same indiscriminate madness that took 3,000 on a certain day in September."

Endnote:
(1) The Saudi Gazette, November 30, 2003.

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=11069

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OfflineRedstorm
Prince of Bugs
Male

Folding@home Statistics
Registered: 10/08/02
Posts: 44,175
Last seen: 5 months, 8 days
Re: Scathing Oil-For-Food Report Draws Denials [Re: Los_Pepes]
    #4871350 - 10/30/05 03:47 PM (18 years, 4 months ago)

That chart only represents conventional arms, not things like chemicals, technology, or vehicles.

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InvisibleAlex213
Stranger
Registered: 08/22/05
Posts: 1,839
Re: Scathing Oil-For-Food Report Draws Denials [Re: Redstorm]
    #4873564 - 10/31/05 12:05 AM (18 years, 4 months ago)

Or money.

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OfflineGazzBut
Refraction

Registered: 10/15/02
Posts: 4,773
Loc: London UK
Last seen: 2 months, 24 days
Re: Scathing Oil-For-Food Report Draws Denials [Re: Los_Pepes]
    #4873938 - 10/31/05 04:00 AM (18 years, 4 months ago)

What the hell has that got to do with who is responsible for the damage wreaked by sanctions and the oil for food program upon the Iraqi people?


--------------------
Always Smi2le

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OfflineProsgeopax
Jaded, yethopeful?

Registered: 01/28/05
Posts: 1,258
Loc: Appearing at a mall near ...
Last seen: 18 years, 3 months
Re: Scathing Oil-For-Food Report Draws Denials [Re: GazzBut]
    #4874298 - 10/31/05 08:53 AM (18 years, 4 months ago)

Nothing. Just ignore his posts like everyone else, consider them ambient noise.


--------------------
Money doesn't grow on trees, but deficits do grow under Bushes.

You can accept, reject, or examine and test any new idea that comes to you. The wise man chooses the third way.
- Tom Willhite

Disclaimer: I reserve the right to change my opinions should I become aware of additional facts, the falsification of information or different perspectives. Articles written by others which I post may not necessarily reflect my opinions in part or in whole, my opinions may be in direct opposition, the topic may be one on which I have yet to formulate an opinion or have doubts about, an article may be posted solely with the intent to stimulate discussion or contemplation.

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OfflineGazzBut
Refraction

Registered: 10/15/02
Posts: 4,773
Loc: London UK
Last seen: 2 months, 24 days
Re: Scathing Oil-For-Food Report Draws Denials [Re: Prosgeopax]
    #4874312 - 10/31/05 09:00 AM (18 years, 4 months ago)

Ahhh...Havent been around much lately. So he's taken over from Great Satan et al has he? I will do my best to ignore him then!


--------------------
Always Smi2le

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Offlineexclusive58
illegal alien

Registered: 04/16/04
Posts: 2,146
Last seen: 6 years, 21 days
Re: Scathing Oil-For-Food Report Draws Denials [Re: Prosgeopax]
    #4876005 - 10/31/05 04:39 PM (18 years, 4 months ago)

Quote:

Prosgeopax said:
Quote:

GazzBut said:
Is it POSSIBLE that both sides,Saddam's Regime and the West, are highly responsible for a humanitarian crime against the people of Iraq?







:yesnod:

without a doubt

including the people of iran


--------------------

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