I don't make this stuff up.

Halliburton caught by SEC in bribe scandal

From that article:

The old slight of hand bag of tricks we are seeing all the time. Prest-o, change-o and the intelligent American people just seem to disappear. Or at least their ability to speak up and point out the incredible mixture of lies and fabrications from the band of integrity deficient leaders we are subjected to right now.

To quote a writer who put out an interesting piece this week -- "Not all conservatives are stupid, but all stupid people are conservatives." I guess that explains why a small group of people are consistently backing the lunacy of this administration. All the little "Mr. and Ms. Not So Brights" of the country.

What is the situation with Cheney's links to Halliburton? Has he officially severed all ties and sold his stake in the company? What about the other administration officials' ties to various corporations that are profiting from this unnecessary war? (And I don't just mean that viper Perle.)

I rewatched the "60 Minutes" story on Halliburton and Cheney last night, and the whole thing stunk just as bad as it did the first time around. If I heard Steve Kroft correctly there will be Congressional investigations about this and what role Cheney played in the no bid Pentagon contracts. He should be investigated! :mad:

As I wrote in a differnt thread in the Politics & Religion board, it astounds me that Halibutrton is STILL paying a salary--albeit deferred-- to Cheney and will do so until 2005. For Cheney to claim he has "severed all relationships" with Haliburton is a bald-faced lie but Democrats are scared of opening this can of worms for fear their own financial dealings will then be fair game and the press has become so used to "press release" news that they have forgotten how to investigate these sorts of issues. Until a Congressional investigation commences (and people, to paraphrase "Casablanca," will assert their 'shock...shock...to discover this going on') the Cheney/Haliburton connection will remain low-level background noise.

~Adam

Vice President Dick Cheney was Bush the Elder's Secretary of Defense, not only overseeing the Gulf War but also hundreds of billions of dollars in Pentagon handouts to Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon and other military contractors - including one Haliburton Company.

As CEO of Haliburton, Cheney's role was to drum up more lucrative business as Haliburtons' front man and globe-trotting rainmaker. Cheney hit a gusher of federal contracts to extinguish the hundreds of oil-well fires dotting Kuwait at the end of the Gulf War. Haliburton helped Iraq reconstruct its war-torn oil industry with $73 million worth of equipment and services, becoming Baghdad's biggest such supplier. Cheney convinced the Export-Important Bank of the U.S. to lend Haliburton and oil companies another $1.5 billion, backed by U.S. taxpayers.

Thanks to Dick, the company is now the beneficiary of $3.8 billion a year in government contracts at the US taxpayer expense. Most of the contracts have been with the U.S. Army for engineering work in a variety of hot spots, including Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo, and Haiti.

Currently, Halliburton, among many other Pentagon contracts, has a lucrative 10-year deal to provide food services to the Army that comes with no lid on potential costs. Cheney's cronies at Halliburton are now at the head of the line of companies expected to reap the estimated $2 billion it will take to rebuild Iraq's oil infrastructure following Saddam's ouster. This burn-and-build approach to business guarantees that there will be a market for Halliburon's services as long as it has a friend in high places to periodically carpet bomb a country for it.

Halliburton gave Cheney $34,000,000 as a farewell gift when he left Halliburton. Kinda nice how that worked out for the vice-president, really: oversee the destruction of an industry then profit by rebuilding.


Sources
commondreams.org
globalexchange.org
corpwatch.org


No wonder why they were so eager to invade Iraq...

A Democrat front group -- American Family Voices -- is using this great Letterman joke in ads in several states:

"President Bush is asking Congress for $80 billion to help rebuild Iraq. And when you make out that check, remember there are two L's in Halliburton."

Deferred salary paid by Halliburton to Vice President Cheney in 2001: $205,298. Deferred salary paid by Halliburton to Vice President Cheney in 2002: $162,392

Halliburton paid "deferred salary" to Vice President Cheney in his first two years in office and is apparently scheduled to make similar payments to him in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

I wonder how much he is receiving that is not being "reported"?

I am actually unconcerned about these deferred payments - although they repesent an amount close to, if not sometimes exceeding, his salary as VP, they do not come close to what Cheney was earning when in the private sector.

I am more concerned about any stock he may still hold in the company. Although I know all of his assets are likely in a "blind trust," he must be benfiting from these contracts in Iraq if he still owns stock.

In fact, the whole Cheney affair, never mind some of Bush's other cabinet appointees, demonstrates the folly of term limits to me. The whole idea behind term limits is that "professional" politicians are corrupt, or corruptable, because of their permanancy - so we should have "citizen legislators" who come to Congress for a few years and then return to the private sector.

But if they do return to the private sector they can either 1) use their Washington contacts to help some specific industry 2) enter an industry that will do well because of legislation they have sponsored, written, etc. or 3) if they do return to an industry/job they had before, could have used their time in Congress to benefit that industry, knowing they were returning. With the kind of revolving door of political jobs/lobbying jobs that so many already rely on in DC, I think having even more of these "citizen legislators" is a bad idea, and Cheney's case demonstrates that well.

Are you guys for real - like this stuff doesn't go on in Business world every single day - you give this company business cuz he took you to lunch - you give this guy the job cuz he's your daughter's best friend. Give this guy an order cuz he golfs with you. On and On we go, it's not fair but that's how it is.

osufan, essentially I agree with you, that stuff like this goes on everyday in the business world, but, I think something is a little bit fishy, read stinky when the Vice President happens to be a former CEO of the company, leaves the company, then we hear about secret Pentagon deals involving the former company and government no bid contracts are involved. Its also of interest that these no bid contracts are classified. Like why??????

Isn't it ironic that we invade Iraq to liberate them and initiate democracy in their country, yet when it comes to accepting bids and awarding contracts to companies (to include AMERICAN businesses)to rebuild Iraq, democracy (equality of rights, opportunity, and treatment) is forgotten. Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue or in this case - under pressure of the Bush Administration.

Wait, you're saying corporations get the government to invade countries every day so that they can feed at the troughs like starving farm animals? I don't buy it, and I also don't buy the idea that just because people are doing it everyday--corporations and people--that that makes it right.