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bigoil428's InsaneJournal:
| Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008 | |
| 3:23 pm | BUSH BETRAYALS ` Politics of Oil and Money Another sub-title for this article could well be "a study in state monopoly capitalism." A book of the author, Dan Briody, focused on the Carlyle Group, the spectacularly well-heeled firm that includes former President George H.W. Bush, his crony James Baker and a veritable rogues’ gallery of washed-up politicians and businessmen of questionable integrity who blatantly trade upon their inside knowledge of government for private gain in yet another textbook example of state monopoly capitalism. Yet, their money-grubbing pales in comparison – and chutzpah – to Halliburton, a firm formerly headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, a firm that is frequently in the headlines in light of the lucrative contracts they have been awarded by Cheney’s government in the theater of war that is Iraq. The story begins in Texas where a predecessor firm of Halliburton, Brown & Root, was catapulted into prominence – and obscene profitability - because of a tight relationship with former Senator, then Vice President and President, Lyndon B. Johnson. Large scale construction and oil services were the two pillars on which this giant company was built. Routinely the government handed out handsome "cost plus" contracts, e.g. building the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station, to this corporation. "Cost plus" means that the contractor could recoup all expenses plus a guaranteed profit based on a pre-negotiated percentage. This eliminates risk for the contractor and erodes the necessity to eliminate wasteful billing which, says the author, is "great for the contractor, not so great for the taxpayer." "Basically, it’s a blank check from the government….when your profit is a percentage of the cost, the more you spend, the more you make." Brown & Root reaped a bonanza of wasteful contracts during the war in Vietnam, which – coincidentally – Johnson prosecuted as vigorously as Cheney has done in Iraq. By 1967 this firm was the largest employer in South Vietnam. Yet even then there was an obvious downside to relying so heavily upon the private sector to perform the clear government function of waging war: motivated by the lust for profit their employees were "manipulating currency and selling goods on the black market," among other transgressions. Johnson was so helpful to this company that the author argues that actually he was "working for Brown & Root, not the people of his district or the state." Something similar used to be said about another leading Democratic Party politician, the late Henry "Scoop" Jackson of Washington, who was referred to as the "Senator from Boeing." Obviously today we are in dire need of deeper examinations of the ramified ties between various sectors of state monopoly capitalism and leading political figures and parties, along the lines of the work at hand. Brown & Root was also viciously anti-union. At one time, for example, progressive formations e.g. the National Maritime Union, played a pivotal role in Texas politics but after Brown & Root and their confederates pushed through anti-union legislation in the 1940s, the political complexion of what is now the second largest state began to change to the point where it has now become a reliable Republican redoubt and, not coincidentally, the home of both the current President and Vice-President. But as profitable as it had been, when Dick Cheney left the Pentagon in the 1990s to become head of Halliburton, this company was catapulted to a new level of profitability. A staunch conservative, while a member of Congress Cheney avidly opposed imposing sanctions against apartheid South Africa while pushing aggressively for sanctions against socialist Cuba. Before leaving the Pentagon, which he headed during the administration of George H.W. Bush, he accelerated the privatization of core military functions in a way that – coincidentally – aided the company he was about to lead. "They made $109.7 million in Somalia…$6.3 million from Operation Support Hope in Rwanda…..Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti netted the company $150." Halliburton was "becoming another unit in the US Army" and reaping millions from war and misery, providing a perverse incentive for an increase in such pestilences. "From 1995 to 2000, Brown & Root" – now part of Halliburton—"billed the government for more than $2 billion in services. The company did everything from build the [military] camps to deliver the mail, with 24-hour food service and laundering. It provided firefighting services, fuel delivery, sewage construction, hazardous material disposal, and the maintenance and delivery of equipment." War in the Balkans was the "driving force" for Halliburton’s increased profitability and heightened profile. "Halliburton’s government business doubled while Cheney was CEO." Yet Cheney also left this firm with a basket of problems after he was elected Vice-President and this may have given him incentive to steer contracts in Halliburton’s direction in order to lessen the pain inflicted on his firm. He pushed through a merger with Dresser Industries, a profoundly disastrous maneuver, given the backbreaking liability for asbestos related lawsuits that this company carried. Coincidentally – that word again – Dresser was "the company that gave George H.W. Bush his first job." After Cheney left Halliburton a "grand jury investigation into over-billing and a Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC] investigation into Halliburton’s accounting practices while Cheney was CEO" ensued. That is not all. The company was accused of bribing a "Nigerian tax authority in exchange for contracts to build a liquefied natural gas plant." A French magistrate "was looking into the possibility of bringing charges against Dick Cheney for complicity in the bribery case and allegations that $243 million in secret commissions were paid from the late 1990s to 2002….the United States Justice Department and the SEC are looking into accusations that Halliburton made $180 million in illegal payments to win other contracts in Nigeria." This points up another festering problem with Halliburton. The French investigation of Cheney’s alleged malfeasance has complicated Washington’s already deteriorating relations with Paris, while Halliburton’s chicanery has contributed mightily to a culture of corruption in West Africa. After Cheney left, Halliburton stock plummeted precipitously and given the millions of stock options that he still holds, this jeopardized his own personal fortune, not to mention the fortunes of his fellow executives with whom he had become quite close. Though the author does not stress this, his study reveals a critical fault line within state monopoly capitalism. For when Halliburton began to feed ravenously at the government trough, other firms in the same business became angrily resentful, which helped to fuel congressional investigations and adverse publicity. For example, during the Reagan years, Bechtel was the government contractor of choice, as suggested by the prominent role in his administration played by two of their former executives – former Secretary of State George Schulz and former Pentagon chief, Caspar Weinberger. "The rapid rise" of Brown & Root, for example, "brought on a fit of jealousy" from their "biggest rival, Bechtel of San Francisco." Reference book: The Halliburton Agenda, The Politics of Oil and Money author: Dan Briody REFERENCES ---------------- Bradbury, J.A., B.D. Keim, and C. P. Wake. (2003) The influence of regional storm tracking and telecommunications on winter precipitation in the northeastern United States, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 93, 544-556. Deyette, J. and S. Clemmer, (2004) Renewing America's Economy, Union of Concerned Scientists (http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/rene Friedman, D., D. Mackenzie, and M. Goldberg. (2004) Creating jobs, saving energy and protecting the environment: An Analysis of the potential benefits of investing in efficient cars and trucks, Union of Concerned Scientists, Cambridge, MA, 8p. Hamilton, L.C., D.E. Rohall, B.C. Brown, G.F. Hayward and B.D. Keim. (2003) Warming winters and New Hampshire's Lost Ski Areas: An Integrated Case Study, International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 23, 52-73 Markham A. and C. Wake. (2005) Indicators of Climate Change in the Northeast. Clean Air - Cool Planet and The Climate Change Research Center, University of New Hampshire 32pp. Mickley, L. J., Jacob, D. J., Field, B. D. and Rind, D. (2004). Effects of future climate change on regional air pollution episodes in the United States, Geophysical Research Letters, 31, L24103, doi:10.1029/2004GL021216 National Assessment Synthesis Team. (2001). Climate Change Impacts on the United States: The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change, Report for the US Global Change Research Program, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK, 620 pp. New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services. (2004) Air Pollution Transport and How it Affects New Hampshire, R-ARD 04-1, 107p. Peng R.D., F. Dominici, R. Pastor-Barriuso, S.L. Zeger, and J.M. Samet. (2005) Seasonal Analysis of Air Pollution and Mortality in 100 US Cities, American Journal of Epidemiology, 161, 585-594. Ski NH 2001-02 economic impact study. Wilson, A.M., C.P. Wake, T. Kelly, J.C. and Salloway. (2004) Air pollution, weather, and respiratory emergency room visits in two northern New England cities: an ecological time-series study, Environmental Research, 97, 312-321. Global warming is the most serious threat facing planet. ~ Sustainable Technology TRAINING for WOMEN http://sarahteach.livejournal.com/2 http://vegcar.livejournal.com http://www.electric-cars-are-for-gi http://www.electric-cars-are-for-gi book: Unlocking the Secrets to Living Your Dreams; by Jack Canfield book: Positive Imaging, The Powerful Way to Change Your Life; by Norman Vincent Peale SolFocus Aims to Beat Coal with Solar Concentrators http://air302.livejournal.com SOLAR Heated SWIMMING POOL, Spa, Hot Tub http://www.fafco.com http://www.solargenix.com http://www.canadiansolartechnologie ` HEATPUMP Heated SWIMMING POOL, Spa, Hot Tub http://heatpump301.livejournal.com Eat LOCAL Organc Foods save energy http://www.localharvest.org http://www.organicconsumers.org http://www.greenpeople.org http://www.eatwellguide.org http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/localfo http://www.biodynamics.com http://www.coopamerica.org http://www.localsustainability.net http://livabilityproject.org http://www.sustainabletable.org http://foodchoice.livejournal.com http://www.startnow.org http://www.harvestcanada.com Proverb: Good Food is Good Medicine. <> Garbage in, garbage out. Why be Sick? eat Local Fresh Organic food http://adhd101.livejournal.com http://organic4school.livejournal.c http://adhd103.livejournal.com http://www.organicconsumers.org http://sarahteach.livejournal.com/1 http://remineral.livejournal.com http://communitygard.livejournal.co http://greenhouse101.livejournal.co http://wattsgarden.livejournal.com http://urbanag101.livejournal.com http://backyard2farm.livejournal.co http://studentfarm.livejournal.com GARDENING for VICTORY http://victory2garden.livejournal.c JOURNEY to FOREVER http://www.journeytoforever.org SOLAR HOSPITALS http://solar2hospital.livejournal.c HOME POWER http://www.homepower.com SOLAR TODAY http://solartoday.org http://solarstate3.livejournal.com Solar Industry NEWS http://www.seia.org http://vegcar.livejournal.com/10759.htm http://www.solarbuzz.com http://solarstate2.livejournal.com Solar Industry MAGAZINE http://www.solarindustrymag.com VEGETABLE Oil Cars http://plantdrive.com http://vegcar.livejournal.com/24209.htm http://vegcar.livejournal.com/24451.htm http://vegcar.livejournal.com/25641.htm http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/he Convert GAS Cars to Plug-In ELECTRIC Autos http://www.electroauto.com http://www.kta-ev.com http://www.nedra.com http://www.evparts.com http://www.sourceguides.com/energy DVD: Convert It http://www.electroauto.com Links: http://vegcar.livejournal.com/5593.h ` Convert HYBRID Cars to Plug-In ELECTRIC Autos http://www.calcars.org http://www.hybrids-plus.com http://www.rqriley.com/xr3.htm http://www.eaa-phev.org/wiki/PriusPlus Recharge your Electric Auto with RENEWABLE ENERGY http://www.bergey.com http://www.bwea.com http://www.vestas.com http://www.awea.org http://solarenergy.org http://greendragonenergy.co.uk http://www.lowimpact.org http://www.scoraigwind.com http://www.greenempowerment.org http://www.grupofenix.org http://www.solarliving.org http://www.arthaonline.com http://www.the-mrea.org http://www.txses.org http://www.irenew.org http://www.nmsea.org http://www.azsolarcenter.com http://www.microhydropower.com http://www.newenergycorp.ca http://www.canyonhydro.com http://wattsun.com http://www.lorentz.de http://www.etsolar.de http://www.solargenix.com http://solar.sharpusa.com http://solren.com http://www.spirecorp.com http://pickensplan101.livejournal.c http://wind2air101.livejournal.com/8 http://www.windpower.org http://www.sourceguides.com/energy http://www.ises.org http://www.firstsolar.com http://www.rmi.org http://www.sourceguides.com/energy LOCAL Groups Supporting ELECTRIC AUTOmobiles http://solargroup.livejournal.com http://solarstate2.livejournal.com http://vegcar.livejournal.com/5672.h http://www.zapworld.com http://www.sourceguides.com/energy http://www.green-car-guide.com SOLAR BOATS - SHIPS http://solar2boat.livejournal.com http://solar3boat.livejournal.com Electric MOTORCYCLES http://motorcycle2.livejournal.com http://motorcycle4.livejournal.com http://evt2scooter.livejournal.com http://www.solarmobil.net http://motorcycle5.livejournal.com http://www.e-max-ltd.com http://www.topmotorx.com http://www.patente-erfindungen.de/erfin http://www.zeromotorcycles.com http://www.sourceguides.com/energy Electric BICYCLES http://nycewheels.com http://www.myebike.com http://e2bike.livejournal.com http://vegcar.livejournal.com/1647.h http://www.cyclone-tw.com http://www.powacycle.co.uk http://www.electricbikesales.co.uk http://egovehicles.com http://www.electricbicycle.com.au http://www.evehicle.com.au http://www.electric-bicycle.cn http://www.greenspeed.us http://www.sourceguides.com/energy TAX CREDITS http://www.dsireusa.org SOLAR ENERGY INTELLIGENCE More Jobs, Economic Progress, Clean Environment Why be Stupid? http://solomonintel.livejournal.com/129 http://solarstate2.livejournal.com http://solarstate3.livejournal.com ~ Per the Sustainable Industries Journal, the Pentagon has blocked the construction of 16 Wind Energy sites in the USA. The military claims the Wind Farms are a threat to national security. Maybe the Wind Farms are a threat to Big Oil and Big Coal? HOW STUPID ARE AMERICANS? http://pickensplan101.livejournal.c FOSSIL FUEL ECONOMIC DISASTER http://ovl.indymedia.org/news/2008/06/2 http://argentina.indymedia.org/news/200 ~ book: Tyranny of Oil; by Antonia Juhasz book: Halliburton Agenda - The Politics of Oil and Moneyl; by Dan Briody book: Cronies - Oil, the Bushes, and the Rise of Texas; by Dan Briody book: Confessions of an Economic Hit Man; by John Perkins book: Economic Gangsters; Ray Fisman book: Sound Truth and Corporate Myth - The Legacy of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill; by Riki Ott book: Poisoned Wells - The Dirty Politics Of African Oil; by Leandre Poisson book: Justice Under Siege; by Eva Joly book: Texas Oil and the New Deal; by Steve Isser book: Corruption In Iraq & World; by Vance Jochim book: Teapot Dome Scandal: How Big Oil Bought the Harding White House and Tried to Steal the Country; by Laton Mccartney book: Untapped - The Scramble for Africa's Oil; by John Ghazvinian book: Eating Fossil Fuel - Oil, Food and the Coming Crisis in Agriculture; by Dale Allen Pfeiffe book: Blood and Oil; by Michael Klare book: Backstabbing for Beginners; by Michael Soussan book: A Culture of Corruption; by Daniel Jordan Smith book: THE RISE, CORRUPTION AND COMING FALL OF THE HOUSE OF SAUD; by Said K. Aburish book: Greed and corruption in the Caspian; by Derek Brower book: Corporate Corruption - The Abuse of Power; by Marshall B. Clinard report: All the Presidents’ Men - The Devastating Story of Oil and Banking in Angola’s Privatised War; by Global Witness book: Curse of the Black Gold - 50 Years of Oil in the Niger Delta; by Michael Watts book: Crude - The Story of Oil; by Sonia Shah book: Where Vultures Feast: Shell, Human Rights and Oil; by Ike Okonta book: The Prize - The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power; by Daniel Yergin book: A Game as Old as Empire - The Secret World of Economic Hit Men and the Web of Global Corruption; by Steven Hiatt book: Blood Bankers; by James S. Henry book: Grand Theft Pentagon - Tales of Corruption and Profiteering in the War on Terror; by Jeffrey St. Clair book: Oil and the Glory - The Pursuit of Empire and Fortune on the Caspian Sea; by Steve LeVine book: Indonesian Production Sharing Contract, an investor's perspective; by T. N. Machmud book: Grand corruption in the regulation of oil; by Tina Soreide book: Oil on the Brain; by Lisa Margonelli book: Many Faces of Corruption; by J. Edgardo Campos http://www.thebushagenda.net Pure, clean air is the invisible staff of life. Smog is the invisible staff of death. book: Super Power Breathing for Super Energy and Longevity; by Patricia Bragg Does Big OIL or Big COAL have a Body BAG with your CHILD'S Name on it? http://vegcar.livejournal.com/24663.htm http://air301.livejournal.com http://air309.livejournal.com book: Big Coal, The Dirty Secret; by Jeff Goodell OIL - GAS REFINERIES = DIRTY AIR & DEATH http://www.refineryreform.org GENERAL MOTORS and the NAZIS War Profits at any cost - Auschwitz - Death Camps - Slave Labor Is there any difference between the Neo Nazis and the American Neo Conservatives? ARE YOU DRIVING A GM HITLER CAR? DVD: Who Killed the Electric Car? http://www.amazon.com/Who-Killed-Electr http://vegcar.livejournal.com/24209.htm book: Internal Combustion; by Edwin Black http://www.internalcombustionbook.c WHY DID GENERAL MOTORS DESTROY ELECTRIC CARS http://www.saveev1.org http://www.dontcrush.com NAZIS in the AMERICAN MILITARY Defense Fund for Freedom from the Extremist - please donate. Keep the Nuts away from the Nukes - Book of Revelation. George Bush and the End of the World Death Cult society of america - KKK http://bigoil600036.insanejournal.c http://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.o CRIMES AGAINST NATURE DICK CHENEY Made Millions with SADDAM HUSSEIN Enemies of Democracy http://bigoil431.insanejournal.com SHOCKING CORRUPTION by BIG OIL http://bigoil101.insanejournal.com DO WE HAVE TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION? Are your politicians taking Bribes - campaign contributions - from Big Oil and the Drug Companies? Is your Congressman a Drug Pusher for the Pharmaceutical Companies? Halt the incestuous relationship of sleazy politicians in bed with Big Oil. CAMPAIGN FINANCE INFORMATION CENTER Where does the money come from? http://www.campaignfinance.org/stat CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY stop the Fat Cats from BRIBING your politicians http://www.publicintegrity.org DVD: Capitol Crimes by Bill Moyers The fall of super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff has exposed what may be one of the biggest political scandals in America's history. What does the dizzying scope of corruption say about how laws are made and who really owns the U.S. government? Bill Moyers and his team of investigative journalists untangle the web of relationships, secret deals, and political manipulation to open a disturbing window on the dark side of American politics. stop ELECTION FRAUD, support Honest elections. www.blackboxvoting.org www.verifiedvoting.org www.votevets.org mediamatters.org www.investigatethevote.org www.votersunite.org www.citizensact.org www.solarbus.org/election/cd/test/videos.h www.sourcewatch.org/index.php state info: http://victorygard379b.insanejournal.co DVD: Uncounted; Director: David Earnhardt DVD: Hacking Democracy; Director: Simon Ardizzone book: What Went Wrong In Ohio; by Congressman John Conyers book: What Happened in Ohio; by Bob Fitrakis VOTE SOLAR http://votesolar.org http://votesolar.livejournal.com http://www.seia.org http://solarstate2.livejournal.com IS GOD GREEN book: Care of Creation; by R. J. Berry book: Serve God, Save the Planet; by J. Matthew Sleeth book: Our Father's World; by Edward R Brown book: Redeeming Creation; by Fred Van Dyke book: Earth-Wise; by Calvin B. Dewitt book: Caring for Creation; Edited by Sarah Tillett book: A Moral Climate, the Ethics of Global Warming; by Michael S. Northcott book: For the Beauty of the Earth; by Steven Bouma-Prediger book: Saving God's Green Earth; by Tri Robinson book: God Is Green; by Ian Bradley book: God in Creation; by Jurgen Moltmann journal: Creation Care Magazine http://www.creationcare.org Keepers of the Earth. IS GOD GREEN? http://solarafrica307.livejournal.c `  ~ POLLUTION and RACISM, INJUSTICE book: Confronting Environmental Racism; by Robert Bullard book: Environmental Injustices; by David Camacho book: Environmentalism and Economic Justice; by Laura Pulido book: Pollution and the Death of Man; by Francis Schaeffer book: From the Ground Up, Environmental Racism; by Luke Cole book: Struggle for Ecological Democracy; by Daniel Faber book: No Safe Place, Toxic Waste and Community Action; by Phil Brown Bush slams Christians, Bunch of NUTS http://bigoil600037.insanejournal.c book: Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction; author: David Kuo Republican Child Molesters and Pedophiles http://bigoil600039.insanejournal.c Homosexuals for Republicans & George Bush http://bigoil600038.insanejournal.c WINE INDUSTRY ANNIHILATED by GLOBAL WARMING http://www.ukfreepages.co.uk/publish/pa Global Warming Destroys Maple Sugar Industry STOP CLIMATE CHAOS and the DESTRUCTION of the POOR http://www.itdg.org/?id=stopclimatechao http://campaigncc.org http://stopclimatechaos.org BIG OIL MAIN PAGE http://bigoil101.insanejournal.com GENERAL LINKS http://vegcar.livejournal.com/25537.htm ~ Proverb: A good person leaves an inheritance to their children’s children. What kind of inheritance are you leaving? ~  ` book: Miracle of Tithing; by Mark Victor Hansen http://tithing101.livejournal.com book: You Can If You Think You Can; by Norman Vincent Peale You never really lose until you quit trying. Mike Ditka NFL Football Coach DVD: Facing the Giants; director: Alex Kendrick BOLD SPIRIT http://bolderspirit.livejournal.com ~ I CAN DO (be) all things thru God who strengthens me. ~ Where there is no way, God can make a way. ~ With God all things are possible. ~ Whatever things you so desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them. ~ The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. He gives power to the weak. To those who have no might, He increases their strength. To those who wait on the Lord, He shall Renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. ~ ~ book: Unlocking the Secrets to Living Your Dreams; by Jack Canfield book: Amazing Results of Positive Thinking; by Norman Vincent Peale book: Miracle of Fasting, for Physical, Mental and Spiritual Rejuvenation; by Patricia Bragg book: Fasting Can Save Your Life; by Doctor Herbert Shelton book: Super Power Breathing for Super Energy and Longevity; by Patricia Bragg book: Coconut Cures; by Bruce Fife book: Healing Power for the Heart; by Robert Abel http://adhd101.livejournal.com http://organic4school.livejournal.c http://em202.livejournal.com your HEALTH (Wholeness) is your WEALTH ~ book: Rwanda, The Land God Forgot; by Meg Guillebaud DVD: In Lies We Trust; director: Dr. Leonard George Horowitz ~ Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others, cannot keep it from themselves. Choose to BE A WINNER. Be a bringer of the LIGHT. `  Earth Praise God. Be Thankful. Give God the Glory. |