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Author Topic: Enron allegedy tested schemes in Alberta
candle
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posted 08 February 2005 03:06 AM      Profile for candle     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Enron - Alberta

quote:
Alberta's Energy Minister told a Calgary newspaper yesterday that he was skeptical the alleged scheme, which was believed to have been code-named "Project Stanley," in honour of the Stanley Cup hockey trophy, would be proven true.

"There is nothing to suggest any wrongdoing here in Canada," Mr. Melchin told the Calgary Sun. He also said that even if the claims are true, it would be difficult for the province to recover any money.

"Enron is in bankruptcy . . . there is nothing to get," he said.


The issue here isn't whether Alberta can recover the money - the issue is whether deregulation opened up the Alberta energy market to these type of manipulations to the detriment of Alberta consumers and taxpayers.


More Today

quote:
The conversation came within weeks of a study prepared for Enron that showed its actions, and similar trades by other firms, dramatically inflated electricity prices in Alberta in the summer of 1999.

In essence, the company targeted electricity markets at times of tight supply, selling contracts when it or others had withdrawn bids to supply power and driving up the spot rate. New contracts were submitted at a higher price.



From: Ontario | Registered: Sep 2002  |  IP: Logged
maestro
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posted 08 February 2005 04:59 AM      Profile for maestro     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Report On Business, Monday February 7, 2005 Page 1

quote:
...the Alberta government is expected to address allegations today that Enron Corp. secretly used it as a testing ground for power-trading schemes as the provnce was deregulating its electricity sector...

...the now bankrupt American energy trader made CAN $45 million in a single day by creating a fake power shortage on Alberta's deregulated power grid.


Yeah, 45 mil in a day...no problem.

Or as Alberta's Energy Minister should
have said:

"There was nothing illegal about what Enron did because, as a government, we adhered blindy to the doctrine of free enterprise no matter what. We just didn't think it through.

Enron took advantage of our cupidity and robbed people blind...oops, I guess I can't say that, can I?

In any case, there's no point in Albertans crying about this. We have no intention of compensating those who paid for our stupidity with their hard earned dollars."


From: Vancouver | Registered: Jan 2005  |  IP: Logged
Fidel
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posted 08 February 2005 08:48 AM      Profile for Fidel     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Laffing my arse off!

We need more hacks like Klein to hand over our resources to corporate parasites. And when we finally have nothing left, we can always rely on free enterprise and the economic long run to kick in. ha ha


From: Viva La Revolución | Registered: Apr 2004  |  IP: Logged
No Yards
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posted 08 February 2005 09:58 AM      Profile for No Yards   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
They HANG horse thieves out there don't they?

Can't wait for the "hang 'em high", "principled" conservatives to suddenly come to the realization as to who is the bigger threat to the family ... loving gay couples, or rich white American guys stealing food, education, and healthcare from you and your children ...

Is that "Are Americans stupid" thread still open, and can it be edited to "Are Americans and Albertians stupid" ... or is that already implied in the title?


From: Defending traditional marriage since June 28, 2005 | Registered: Jun 2003  |  IP: Logged
nister
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posted 08 February 2005 10:23 AM      Profile for nister     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
No Yards, you're using too big a brush, aren't you? Albertans aren't stupid for being duped, any more than we are for the patronage and pork that we endure. Klein paid a small price at the polls, to be sure, but the tug to the right-wing is reversed, for now.
From: Barrie, On | Registered: Dec 2004  |  IP: Logged
No Yards
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posted 08 February 2005 12:56 PM      Profile for No Yards   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
When Albertians demand, and Alberta holds a public inquiry such as the Adscam inquiry into energy privitazation, or where the Mad Cow compensation went, then I will gladly apologize.

And as far as using a "big brush", I don't think I, one of those eastern bastards who should be freezing in the dark, have to apologize to Alberta for any brush sizes I might use.


From: Defending traditional marriage since June 28, 2005 | Registered: Jun 2003  |  IP: Logged
thorin_bane
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posted 08 February 2005 02:07 PM      Profile for thorin_bane     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
my issue is I wish ontario and MY MPP would pull his head out of his ass and stop trying and continueing to privitize energy!! Look at the money for smart meters that is pork of the worse kind. But because it is business it is OK
From: Looking at the despair of Detroit from across the river! | Registered: Jun 2004  |  IP: Logged
Polly Brandybuck
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posted 08 February 2005 05:50 PM      Profile for Polly Brandybuck     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by No Yards:
They HANG horse thieves out there don't they?

Can't wait for the "hang 'em high", "principled" conservatives to suddenly come to the realization as to who is the bigger threat to the family ... loving gay couples, or rich white American guys stealing food, education, and healthcare from you and your children ...

Is that "Are Americans stupid" thread still open, and can it be edited to "Are Americans and Albertians stupid" ... or is that already implied in the title?


*sigh*

And then you wonder why people in Alberta feel alienated from the rest of Canada.


From: To Infinity...and beyond! | Registered: Dec 2004  |  IP: Logged
ronb
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posted 08 February 2005 07:36 PM      Profile for ronb     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Are you the least bit pissed off about this? Or are you too alienated to give a shit?
From: gone | Registered: Jan 2002  |  IP: Logged
maestro
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posted 08 February 2005 07:49 PM      Profile for maestro     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
More in today's Report On Business:

quote:
...the early evening in August, 2000, and two executives at Enron Carp., John Lavorato and Tim Belden were bantering about avoiding jail time - "at least" in one country...

"I'm just ah - fuck, I'm just trying to be an honest camper, so I only go to jail once," said Mr. Lavorato, the supervisor of Mr. Belden.

Mr. Belden, the head of Enron's trading office in Portland, Ore., quickly replies, "Well, there you go. At least in one country."

...The Snohomish County Public Utility District in Washington State contends the conversation is proof Enron traders were 'well aware of the illegal nature of their activities' and says Alberta was used to hone the trading techniques later allegedly used to illegally manipulate US power markets...

...The converation came within weeks of a study prepared for Enron that showed its actions, and similar trades by other firms, dramatically inflated electricity prices in Alberta in the summer of 1999.


Not much you can say. The good burghers of Alberta were taken to town, stripped of their wallets, and left standing on a street corner in their underwear.

Way to go Ralph.


From: Vancouver | Registered: Jan 2005  |  IP: Logged
No Yards
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posted 08 February 2005 09:00 PM      Profile for No Yards   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by housemouse:

*sigh*

And then you wonder why people in Alberta feel alienated from the rest of Canada.


No I don't ... I know exactly why they feel alienated. They feel alientated because they were told to feel alienated by a bunch of crooks that want them to look the other way while they're getting their pockets picked by big American corporations and their Conservative lackies!


From: Defending traditional marriage since June 28, 2005 | Registered: Jun 2003  |  IP: Logged
Polly Brandybuck
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posted 08 February 2005 09:16 PM      Profile for Polly Brandybuck     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by ronb:
Are you the least bit pissed off about this? Or are you too alienated to give a shit?

LOL. Of course I am pissed off. I have to PAY those fucking energy bills. I just got derailed by being labelled stupid so early in the thread.

Here’s the thing.

I live in Alberta. By it’s very definition, that makes me an Albertan. By No Yards definition, that makes me stupid. It [i]is[\i] too big a brush.

If you were in a group that voted 7-3 in favor of making a stupid decision, would you also be stupid, even though you voted nay?

Yes we have Ralph. Sorry about that, but I personally did not vote for him. He won the election but it wasn’t [b]unanimous.[\b] And while I disagree with most everything he does, and I am vocal as hell, he is just not listening to me! I am sure it is different where you are, voice of the people and all, but here it seems that no matter how much we bitch and write and email...our elected representatives just don't pay attention.

Believe it or not, there are scads of us Non-Cowboys in the province (and I use that term in the sense that we usually see it here, not to denote horse riders). We have pro-choicers and pro-ssm-ers, we support PETA and gay rights and feminist causes. We have NDP. We have advocates for the mentally ill, the physically handicapped, the homeless. We have organizations dedicated to helping the less fortunate navigate our nightmare that is AISH and other under-funded overly regulated social programs in the province. I know, I work with one of these groups. For free, on a volunteer (not for profit – how un-Albertan) basis. Along with a whole lot of other really great dedicated people.

Alberta has this reputation of being a bunch of bigoted big oil homophobic Christians. We are not - and I repeat, NOT - all like that.


From: To Infinity...and beyond! | Registered: Dec 2004  |  IP: Logged
Polly Brandybuck
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posted 08 February 2005 09:20 PM      Profile for Polly Brandybuck     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by housemouse:

LOL. Of course I am pissed off. I have to PAY those fucking energy bills. I just got derailed by being labelled stupid so early in the thread.

Here’s the thing.

I live in Alberta. By it’s very definition, that makes me an Albertan. By No Yards definition, that makes me stupid. It is too big a brush.

If you were in a group that voted 7-3 in favor of making a stupid decision, would you also be stupid, even though you voted nay?

Yes we have Ralph. Sorry about that, but I personally did not vote for him. He won the election but it wasn’t unanimous. And while I disagree with most everything he does, and I am vocal as hell, he is just not listening to me! I am sure it is different where you are, voice of the people and all, but here it seems that no matter how much we bitch and write and email...our elected representatives just don't pay attention.

Believe it or not, there are scads of us Non-Cowboys in the province (and I use that term in the sense that we usually see it here, not to denote horse riders). We have pro-choicers and pro-ssm-ers, we support PETA and gay rights and feminist causes. We have NDP. We have advocates for the mentally ill, the physically handicapped, the homeless. We have organizations dedicated to helping the less fortunate navigate our nightmare that is AISH and other under-funded overly regulated social programs in the province. I know, I work with one of these groups. For free, on a volunteer (not for profit – how un-Albertan) basis. Along with a whole lot of other really great dedicated people.

Alberta has this reputation of being a bunch of bigoted big oil homophobic Christians. We are not - and I repeat, NOT - all like that.


edited cuz I AM too stupid to get italics right


From: To Infinity...and beyond! | Registered: Dec 2004  |  IP: Logged
Polly Brandybuck
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posted 08 February 2005 09:21 PM      Profile for Polly Brandybuck     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
or edit a post

shit, time to put this one to bed for the night not near enough sleep


From: To Infinity...and beyond! | Registered: Dec 2004  |  IP: Logged
ronb
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posted 08 February 2005 09:25 PM      Profile for ronb     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Fair enough. Proud to know you.

It's not as if we didn't suffer under the Mike Harris/Ernie Eves axis of idiocy, or continue to suffer under the same axis by a different McName.


From: gone | Registered: Jan 2002  |  IP: Logged
Américain Égalitaire
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posted 08 February 2005 09:25 PM      Profile for Américain Égalitaire   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by housemouse:

Alberta has this reputation of being a bunch of bigoted big oil homophobic Christians.


Huh, I would have sworn you were talking about Texas.


From: Chardon, Ohio USA | Registered: Jan 2005  |  IP: Logged
ronb
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posted 08 February 2005 09:29 PM      Profile for ronb     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
... or Iowa. Oh wait, that's big Ethonol out by you, isn't it?
From: gone | Registered: Jan 2002  |  IP: Logged
Contrarian
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posted 08 February 2005 09:47 PM      Profile for Contrarian     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
But cornstarch is also a swelling market there.
From: pretty far west | Registered: Jul 2004  |  IP: Logged
ronb
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posted 08 February 2005 09:51 PM      Profile for ronb     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Must it always come back to AbsorbShun?

As it were.


From: gone | Registered: Jan 2002  |  IP: Logged
Boom Boom
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posted 08 February 2005 11:18 PM      Profile for Boom Boom     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
AbsorbShun - is that a bona fide real product or an elaborate hoax?
From: Make the rich pay! | Registered: Dec 2004  |  IP: Logged
James
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posted 08 February 2005 11:41 PM      Profile for James        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Boom Boom:
AbsorbShun - is that a bona fide real product or an elaborate hoax?

It is both. Two, two, two scams in one.


From: Windsor; ON | Registered: Mar 2004  |  IP: Logged
Américain Égalitaire
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posted 08 February 2005 11:57 PM      Profile for Américain Égalitaire   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by ronb:
... or Iowa. Oh wait, that's big Ethonol out by you, isn't it?

Ethanol is what you get when your through makin' cornstach so them too-wet Canadian wimminfolk can make their menfolk feel all big.

(deleted more pointless country bumpkin talk).

We could probably sell that stuff in truck stop sex shops all over Iowa. It'd be a swelling, growing, expanding market all over this god-fosaken patch of trouble.

As for ethanol, just keep those Federal subsidies coming. Its the cheapest gas at the pump.


From: Chardon, Ohio USA | Registered: Jan 2005  |  IP: Logged

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