Monthly Archives: July 2010

Former “Basket Case” SEC Lawyer Gary Aguirre Receives $755,000 from Agency

Posted on July 8, 2010 by mmjdiary

Gary Aguirre, a former SEC lawyer, was right, the agency was wrong, and he has had the last word.  In 2005, Mr. Aguirre tried to get the agency to move on Pequot Capital Management for insider trading in Microsoft stock.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Seven Signs in Action | 2 Comments

“So much has happened since then. He didn’t know what an iPad was.” Ron Rosenbluth, Tov Pizza owner who has hired Jack Abramoff who was released from prison on June 9, 2010 after serving 4 years of a six-year sentence for conspiracy to bribe and other crimes related to his work as a DC lobbyist. Mr. Abramoff’s job is to drum up business.

Posted on July 8, 2010 by mmjdiary
Posted in Classic Quotes | Leave a comment

Dell: Intel Redux and Intel Trouble

Posted on July 8, 2010 by mmjdiary

Some years ago, Intel poo-pooed the protests of a math professor who complained that once you got past a certain number of digits in your calculations the Intel chip resulted in incorrect answers.  Intel hemmed and hawed and initially allowed … Continue reading →

Posted in News and Events | Leave a comment

Billions in Cash Leave Afghanistan

Posted on July 8, 2010 by mmjdiary

Cash is flowing out of Afghanistan – about $10 million per day (that’s $3.65 billion) – and it ends up in the hands of terrorist groups.  The irony is that a good portion of the cash comes from U.S. reconstruction … Continue reading →

Posted in Government Ethics | Leave a comment

The Congressmen Who Bet Against the U.S.

Posted on July 8, 2010 by mmjdiary

Here’s some good news on the faith our elected representatives have in our markets:  Several members of congress and/or their spouses positioned themselves short in the market.  Their bets, by buying call options in 2008, were that the value of … Continue reading →

Posted in Government Ethics | Leave a comment

Selective Introspection and “Leave It to Beaver”

Posted on July 8, 2010 by mmjdiary

In celebration of the release of the 234 episodes of “Leave It to Beaver,” the New York Times highlighted one of the show’s strengths:  lessons in ethics.  The show, which ran from 1957 through 1963, was a charmer. Beaver Cleaver … Continue reading →

Posted in Analysis | Leave a comment

“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.” the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Posted on July 8, 2010 by mmjdiary
Posted in Classic Quotes | Leave a comment

The Docs of Innards: Is It Cheating To Pass Along Memorized Questions From Exams?

Posted on July 7, 2010 by mmjdiary

The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) has taken some sort of disciplinary action against 140 docs who cheated on their ABIM certification exams. In a lawsuit that the ABIM had filed previously against Arora Board Review, a company that … Continue reading →

Posted in Analysis | Leave a comment

On Graciousness and Ethics

Posted on July 7, 2010 by mmjdiary

By now all that can be said about umpire Jim Joyce and his bad call that cost Detroit Tigers’ pitcher Armando Galarraga his perfect game has been said.  The Barometer knows little about baseball and even less about what constitutes … Continue reading →

Posted in Analysis | Leave a comment

There Is Always a Precursor: The Wal-Mart Internal Report

Posted on July 7, 2010 by mmjdiary

The Seven Signs of Ethical Collapse documents the phenomenon of the precursor in companies that find themselves in legal and ethical difficulty.  The precursor can be a lawsuit that is dismissed, a regulatory agency investigation that finds nothing, an employee … Continue reading →

Posted in Seven Signs in Action | Leave a comment

The Truth Comes Out About the Gymnast

Posted on July 6, 2010 by mmjdiary

During the 2000 Olympics the gymnasts were yipping about Dong Fangxiao, a member of the Chinese women’s team.  Their yipping boiled down to, “There’s no way she is 16!” The yipping was ignored because her birth date was allegedly verified … Continue reading →

Posted in Truth Percolates | Leave a comment

The SEC and Porn

Posted on July 6, 2010 by mmjdiary

Over the past five years, 33 SEC employees viewed pornographic materials on either or both their desktop computers or laptops. Seventeen of the 33 were senior SEC employees who earned between $99,000 and $222,000 per year. The employees have been … Continue reading →

Posted in Government Ethics | Leave a comment

The Pharma Fines for Off-Label Marketing Round-Up

Posted on July 6, 2010 by mmjdiary

Here’s the tally of fines for the past year for illegal marketing of drugs: AstraZeneca                       $520 million                                                                    Seroquel Pfizer                                   $2.3 billion          ($1.3 billion criminal)                      Bextra Eli Lilly                                 $1.9 billion          ($515 million criminal)                    Zyprexa Bristol-Myers Squibb        $515 million                                                                        Abilify Johnson … Continue reading →

Posted in The Legal Round-Up | Leave a comment

Justice and Pilfering: Curbing Employee Theft

Posted on July 6, 2010 by mmjdiary

In tough economic times, employers keep a closer eye on expenses.  They watch that bottom line and they cut out office parties, employee discounts, and other perks.  In tough economic times, employees steal more from their employers.  They do so … Continue reading →

Posted in Data and Studies on Ethics | Leave a comment