WorldCom's bonds trade at prices that suggest the firm will probably have to liquidate itself.And what of the Baby Bells, whose retail markets supposedly face a fate similar to that of the wholesalers?
But his version, he contends, is the real truth rather than the "load of balls" previously told about the red-top competition in 1987 to protect a donkey that was supposedly facing a cruel death in a Spanish fiesta.
"It's really not helpful when people down in Baghdad and politicians back in Washington refer to the 'disorganized and ineffective' enemy we supposedly face," said one young officer, as we walked out of a battalion battle briefing that had been concerned largely with the tactics of an enemy force that is clearly well organized and very, very effective.
Not a week goes by without some politician or commentator reminding us of the biggest threat which we all supposedly face: Islam.
The story follows Si-Joon Lee, who was tricked as an eight-year-old boy, into fulfilling a prophecy and marrying the mysterious "Pig Bride" - a young blonde girl who hides her supposedly disfigured face under a pig-faced mask.
The preparation, created by salon owner Shizuka Bernstein, involves using nightingale excrement and rice powder on willing participants' faces, supposedly leaving the skin "shiny and smooth".
Ultimately, Germany, now supposedly leading Europe, faces the question of how much responsibility it wants to take concerning the world's most jagged political issues.
The national security council (NSC) is to draw up plans to ensure soldiers returning from war do not face supposedly "spurious" legal claims, Downing Street has announced.
The story it told has only developed – as evidenced by the arrival in government of the Lib Dems, the rise of the Scottish National Party (which actually goes back to the 1970s), and the two supposedly main parties facing an obvious trend: give or take the odd blip, a steady decline in their shared proportion of the vote.
No matter what the guise, it seems, Bradford are transformed when facing supposedly more illustrious opposition in this tournament.
