response 1 of 33:

Aug 24 03:40 UTC 2003

On the other hand it means that any US corporation dealing with
Iraqi oil is not liable for offenses against anyone committed by
a prior regime such as Sadaam which is what I think the actual 
intent.  (Blow it out your ear, dustbunny!)

response 3 of 33:

Aug 27 01:22 UTC 2003

In other news, a Halliburton subsidiary has been awarded a no-bid contract
to build a permanent prison facility on Guantanamo.  Last year the Bush
administration gifted Halliburton with $1.3 billion in government business,
most of it on a no-bid basis.

But hey, it's only corruption if a Democrat does it, right?

response 5 of 33:

Aug 27 06:30 UTC 2003

The whole economy did better during the Clinton years. "A rising sea lifts
all boats." 

response 11 of 33:

Aug 28 13:03 UTC 2003

Re #8: We both know that if the SEC had gone after those companies,
Republicans would have accused the Clinton administration of "attacking
them for being too successful", just like they did when the Microsoft
anti-trust suit was launched.

Re #9: All I'm saying is it doesn't pass the smell test.  Halliburton
gets awarded contract after contract by this administration, and it's
hard to believe that that's a coincidence.

response 13 of 33:

Aug 29 00:20 UTC 2003

MSNBC article today:
http://www.msnbc.com/news/958312.asp?cp1=1
"Halliburton Scores Big Off Iraq"
"Size, scope of work greater than previously disclosed"

Excerpts:

'...according to Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) and other critics, the
Iraq war and occupation have provided a handful of companies with good
political connections, particularly Halliburton, with unprecedented
money-making opportunities.  The amount of money [earned by Halliburton]
is quite staggering, far more than we were originally led to believe, 
Waxman said.  This is clearly a trend under this administration, and it
concerns me because often the privatization of government services ends
up costing the taxpayers more money rather than less. '
...
'Waxman aides said they have been told by the General Accounting Office
that Brown and Root is likely to earn  several hundred million more
dollars  from the no-bid Army Corps of Engineers contract to
rehabilitate Iraqi oil fields. Waxman, the ranking minority member on
the House Government Reform Committee, had asked the GAO to investigate
the corps  decision not to bid out the contract.'
...
'Independent experts said the trend toward outsourcing logistic
operations has resulted in new problems, such as a lack of
accountability and transparency on the part of private military firms
and sometimes questionable billing practices.
       A major problem in Iraq, Singer said, has been the phenomenon of
 no-shows  caused by the inhospitable security environment, and the
killing of contract workers, including a Halliburton mail delivery
employee earlier this month.  At the end of the day, neither these
companies nor their employees are bound by military justice, and it is
up to them whether to show up or not,  Singer said.  The result is that
there have been delays in setting up showers for soldiers, getting them
cooked meals and so on. 
       A related concern is the rising cost of hiring contract workers
because of skyrocketing insurance premiums. Singer estimates that
premiums have increased by 300 percent to 400 percent this year, costs
that are passed on to the taxpayer under the cost-plus-award fee system
that is the basis for most contracts.'

response 15 of 33:

Aug 29 21:49 UTC 2003

Re #7, It is definitely informative. I wish the US Army had posted this 
earlier and hadn't waited for Waxman's inquiry.

response 17 of 33:

Aug 30 04:25 UTC 2003

Explain again under a "cost plus" contract how a company makes *more*
money?

response 19 of 33:

Aug 30 07:09 UTC 2003

Yeah, the US Army generally sucks at PR/Political stuff.  But they sure
kick butt in war-fighting, which is their job...  (Personally I'd get
really nervious about politically savy military much less even aware...)

response 21 of 33:

Aug 31 06:13 UTC 2003

(ain't that the truth.  One of the funnier parts to me of the Kennedy
Assasination nutty theories is that it would have required a
multi-juristicional conspiracy between agencies that can't even normally
get their act together when they are supposed to be cooperating with
each other.)