EMPLOYEES SHED NO TEARS

People would believe a doctor's medical advice, but they can
get second opinion. On the other hand, if it is the CEO who's
to advice the employees to buy stocks of the company, most likely
they are also going to believe his words without ifs and buts.
But the Enron chief executives lied and for those lies,they are
now convicted that would send to lifetime imprisonment.

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Excerpt of the news in case the link does not work.

Former Enron employees shed no tears for Lay
Houston -- Enron Corp. employees who lost their jobs or saw their life savings wiped out in the energy trader's spectacular collapse found bittersweet relief in the convictions of former chief executives Kenneth Lay and Jefferey Skilling.

And some who had been willing to give Lay the benefit of the doubt when he professed innocence to charges of conspiracy and fraud found that his own words during trial turned them against him.

Ashmore, 30, knew Lay as a philanthropist before he knew him as a boss. When he was in high school, Lay gave him a scholarship, and later, a job at Enron. As Lay's criminal trial neared, Ashmore said he was conflicted about his former boss who had been so good to him.

But the trial changed all that.

"The most damning thing," Ashmore said, "was when Ken Lay took the stand and was so combative. I thought, man he just slipped his own noose."

Ashmore said he was shocked to hear Lay testify that "there's only so much he could do for the employees."

Lay was referring to the fall of 2001, when he encouraged workers to buy more Enron stock while selling off his own. Enron's eventual collapse vaporized $2.1 billion in company pension plans and retirement savings, along with 5,600 jobs and $60 billion in company market value.

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EARTHQUAKE IN INDONESIA KILLED THOUSANDS

It's been two years when Indonesia was struck with a calamity-the 2004 tsunami.
This morning of Saturday, another disaster killed and injured people in the ancient city of Yogyakarta, 250 miles away from the capital.

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Excerpt of the news in case, the link won't work.

Earthquake Hits Ancient City in Indonesia By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 1:29 p.m. ET

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- A powerful earthquake flattened homes and hotels in central Indonesia on Saturday as people slept, killing at least 3,000 and injuring thousands more in the nation's worst disaster since the 2004 tsunami. The magnitude-6.2 quake struck at 5:54 a.m. near the ancient city of Yogyakarta, 250 miles east of the capital, Jakarta. Thousands of panicked residents fled into the streets, and some feared a tsunami would strike. Hospitals were overwhelmed with victims. The quake's epicenter was 50 miles south of the rumbling Mount Merapi volcano, and activity increased soon after the temblor. A large burst spewed hot clouds and sent debris cascading some two miles down its western flank. Bambang Dwiyanto of the Energy and Mineral Ministry could not say whether the quake caused the volcanic activity but warned that it could trigger a larger eruption. Anthony Guarino of the CalTech Seismological Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., said Indonesia has the second-highest number of erupted volcanos in historic time, outside of Japan. It has the largest number of volcanos in world -- 76. Almost all people had already been evacuated away from the volcano's danger zone, and there were no reports of injuries as a result of the eruption. Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific ''Ring of Fire,'' an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin. Saturday's quake was centered about six miles below the surface, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The strong quake knocked down houses, hotels, a hospital and government buildings, sending hysterical people running into the streets. Many roads and bridges were destroyed, hindering efforts to get taxis and pickup trucks filled with wounded to packed hospitals.

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IMMIGRATION BILL APPROVED

Senate approved the immigration bill that is hoped to solve the problem of overstaying
aliens working without permit.

From the Washington Post

The Senate yesterday approved legislation that would trigger the biggest changes to U.S. immigration policy in decades, by strengthening border security, establishing a guest-worker program, and providing the means for millions of illegal immigrants to stay in the country and possibly become citizens.

The product of a tenuous bipartisan coalition that faced tough conservative opposition, the measure calls for 370 miles of triple-layer fencing along the Mexican border, a complicated three-tiered system for determining who can stay and who must leave the country, and more jail cells for those awaiting deportation. It would declare English the country's national language, a gesture that many advocates found insulting but accepted in hopes of helping millions of undocumented workers achieve legal status.

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FANNIE MAE'S FRAUD NOT FUNNY

When corporate executives conspire, trust me, they are cooking the books. As a CPA, and accounting practitioner, the internal control system is only good as the honesty of the corporate officers. No fraud would be committed without two or more
people conniving on the scheme.

Read the news about the Fraud.

Study Finds 'Extensive' Fraud at Fannie Mae
Bonuses Allegedly Drove the Scheme

By Kathleen Day
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 24, 2006; Page A01

Fannie Mae engaged in "extensive financial fraud" over six years by doctoring earnings so executives could collect hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses, federal officials said yesterday in a report that portrayed a company determined to play by its own rules.

Regulators at the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, in announcing a settlement with Fannie Mae that includes $400 million in penalties, provided the most detailed picture yet of what went wrong at the congressionally chartered firm.


Franklin D. Raines received $52.8 million in earnings-related bonuses from 1998 to 2003.
Franklin D. Raines received $52.8 million in earnings-related bonuses from 1998 to 2003.

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