I am in the US, and for the past few days have been watching

RELATED ARTICLES Goldman Sachs to lease 1.6m sq ft office in Bangalore Reebok India accuses former top execs of $157m fraud IPL is like a reality show on TV with all the colours Cricket on the drive

the top management of Goldman Sachs being hauled over the coals by the congressional committee. It has been a revelation. These days, Wall Street has become a dirty name in the US; it is Public Enemy No.1, abode of cheats and fraudsters. Senators and congressmen who lack moral authority themselves are making these accusations, all of them owe their political existence to bribes in the form of ‘lobbying fees’ and ‘campaign funds’ and all the other ‘perks’ that come to them in the form of gifts from corporate America. One of the congressmen compared Goldman Sachs to a ‘Cheating Casino Operation’. It’s the proverbial kettle calling the pot black.

In another instance, the former CEO of Lehman Brothers, the bankrupt financial behemoth, was accused of lying. Lehman Brothers, which declared bankruptcy, was grilled by the Congress. Its CEO was grilled about the obscene amount of money he had awarded himself while his company sank into insolvency. It was alleged that he had pocketed over $500 million plus. With a very hurt expression on his face the CEO had denied the accusation and stated that he had earned a measly $330 million and some odd. Now, a lawyer in the know has revealed that the CEO lied to Congress and that the actual amount he pocketed was $532 million.

In India too, a major financial fraud and misuse of office scandal is being investigated at the moment, the IPL house of shame. Some skeletons have tumbled out and there is a hint of many more in the IPL, BCCI and political cupboards. Some have fallen victims, other heads may roll soon. Some time ago, Satyam was one of the biggest exposed corporate frauds perpetrated. I lay much emphasis on ‘exposed’, for I firmly believe that Raju and Satyam were caught but there are many undetected Satyams and Rajus with both their hands in the cookie jar, stealthily defrauding their shareholders with the connivance of our administrators.

I was visualising a similar public grilling of Raju and Satyam’s top management and its auditors. It would be a huge comedy circus to watch our corrupt MPs and MLAs grilling corrupt corporate honchos while both had their hands in each others pockets and several cookie jars.

A huge environmental disaster has happened in the Gulf of Mexico. An accident on an oil rig owned by British Petroleum has resulted in thousands of gallons of crude oil being spewed out a mile deep in the Gulf and now the oil has reached the shores, endangering one of the most fragile biospheres on the Louisiana coast of the US. All efforts to keep the oil from reaching the delicate eco system have failed and effective clean-up and measures to seal the three leaks seem to be very distant. Fishing communities recovering from the losses inflicted by Hurricane Katrina are once again facing disaster. These are the spawning areas of the prized Louisiana shrimp and oysters as well as the Blue Fin Tuna, also the season when they spawn. With the oil leak polluting the nurseries, an entire generation of these much-valued cash crops from the sea for the local fishermen is threatened. The loss to marine life and wildlife is unimaginable. The Exxon Valdese disaster is still fresh in everyone’s minds. It is feared that this disaster is much bigger and more devastating. The state and federal governments have swung into action. Both have held British Petroleum responsible, but neither has indulged in the blame game.

It would have been tempting for a Democrat president to score points against a Republican governor, but neither president Obama nor governor Bobby Jindal has indulged in mud slinging yet. It may happen later, but at the moment they are both united to mitigate the effects of the disaster and its financial fallout. Hurricane Katrina helped Bobby Jindal become the governor of Louisiana. Time will tell whether he is able to survive this oil slick.

The environmental disaster in the US and the manner in which it is being dealt with here are ironically juxtaposed with how in India the concerned authorities are dealing with the radioactive scrap contamination case. Radioactive material from instruments carelessly scrapped by Delhi University found its way into scrap yards, seriously contaminating a few who came in contact with it and causing deaths. Although the accident is not of disaster proportions, the ease with which it has happened is worrying. If the radioactive waste had found its way into the capital’s water distribution system, it would have affected so many more.

A country that is seriously contemplating nuclear option for its power generation needs cannot afford to have such a lax system of dealing with radioactive waste. What is more worrying is that rather than ensuring that such mishaps don’t occur and that there is a efficient system in place for disposal of radioactive scrap and waste and a strict monitoring of it, our politicians and administrators are only indulging in what they are best at. Blame game.