It is interesting, to say the least, to see the contrast between the recent, apparently principled, resignation of the pugnacious David Blunkett – Britain’s Work and Pensions Secretary – and the dogged grip that Cheney, Rumsfeldt et al exert on power.
Mr Blunkett’s offence? His failure to consult a watchdog about several extra-parliamentary jobs. These included owning around ₤15,000 ($8,000) in stock of DNA Bioscience. (Guardian Story)
Donald Rumsfeld, on the other hand, holds a stake valued at between $5 million and $25 million, according to federal financial disclosures, in Gilead, the California biotech company that owns the rights to Tamiflu, the influenza remedy that’s now the most-sought after drug in the world.
Gilead, it turns out, receives a royalty equaling about 10% of sales of Tamiflu, which is manufactured and marketed by Swiss pharma giant Roche.
Dick Cheney, as is well known, is a major stock holder of Haliburton. Halliburton stock options have risen 3,281 percent in the last year, and Cheney’s options—worth $241,498 a year ago—are now valued at more than $8 million.
The company has been criticized by auditors for its handling of a no-bid contact in Iraq. Auditors found the firm marked up meal prices for troops and inflated gas prices in a deal with a Kuwaiti supplier. The company also built the American prison at Guantanamo Bay and received no-bid contracts for rebuilding after Hurrican Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast.
CNN Rumsfeld Story
Cheney’s guilty secret
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