Halliburton Moves to Dubai

[red-beard]

Is there supposed to be? The Government is run through the executive branch.

[Superman]

Redbeard, if you are asking "Should Congress be able to get answers to its questions toward the White House and to the GAO?," the answer is "yes." Or are you thinking we should give a single person the authority to make war AND also keep secrets from Congress?

I know. How about a White House that can tap phone lines, intercept emails, incarcertate people, deny detendees access to any court or legal counsel, for an unlimited period of time, make war, pursue war over as many years as suits them and keep secrets from Congress and the American people.

Two questions:

Are you okay with that?
Do you believe America is a democracy and do you support that?

[lendaddy]

I think the Dems should propose a bill forcing them to stay. For the good of the collective and all that stuff.

[john70t]

Wouldn't it be funny if the fraud investigations started the first week of Hillary's term, then the leading heads all "died" in a plane crash?

Just an important reminder:
Red-beard, the democratic process is run through all three branches of government in a system of checks-and-balances.
Iraq under Saddam and Germany under Hitler was run exclusively under the executive branch.

[red-beard]

John, congress does not have one agency reporting to it. Everything runs under the executive. Please go check your copy of the constitution.

[john70t]

What we need here in the US is a strong leader: one man enough to enforce the standards of liberty and justice with an unshakeable will, to remove the disenting elements within our society which undermine him, and spread our ways to neighboring countries, by force if necessary. Right?

[cairns]

"The republicans have blocked all attempts to review Halliburton contracts for the past 6 years. There is no oversight of contractors in the Congress."

General Oversight is done by the Executive Agencies themselves. Their reports go to Congress when required by law or when some Congressman express a wish to see the results (Democrat or Republican). Congress (an individual Congressman) can request direct investigations any time it chooses. I know- I've responded to them.

Halliburton prepares an annual cost disclosure statement that must be approved by the Government. There are literally hundreds of DCAA personnel who reside with Halliburton and audit their costs everyday. They also receive (annually) Purchasing reviews (a CPSR), Estimating System Reviews, Property, Small Business, EEO and Environmental Compliance Reviews just to name a few of dozens.

Why can't you listen and learn something or at least do some basic research before you spout BS?

[techweenie]

"Republicans kill amendment to investigate Halliburton contract abuse; pledge hearings in December
10 Nov. 2005

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 (HalliburtonWatch.org) -- -- Although Senate Republicans killed an amendment that would have established a special investigation into war profiteering by Halliburton and other companies by a vote of 53 to 44 today, they have pledged to investigate Halliburton before the end of the year.

The amendment, introduced by Senator Byron Dorgan, D-ND, during Senate consideration of the 2006 Defense Authorization bill, would have established a special committee modeled after Senator Harry Truman's World War II committee, which cost just thousands, but saved taxpayers $15 billion in 1940s' dollars. It was the third time in two years that the Senate rejected Dorgan's amendment.

After Dorgan introduced his amendment again yesterday, Sen. John Ensign, R-NV, made a surprise announcement that he would hold formal hearings into Halliburton's contract abuses in Iraq sometime in December. Ensign chairs a subcommittee of the Armed Services Committee - known as the Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support.

For two years, the Republican-controlled Senate has resisted public calls for a formal investigation into Halliburton, once headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, even though it is being investigated for numerous violations, including criminal bid-rigging, overcharging of taxpayers, bribery and criminally profiting in a nation believed by President Bush to sponsor terrorism.

Although Republicans maintain that the Special Inspector General for Iraqi Reconstruction is conducting an investigation, the Senate has failed to provide its own oversight.

The Army Corps of Engineers' top civilian contracting official, Bunnatine H. Greenhouse, was demoted in August after blowing the whistle on the Corps and Halliburton. "I can unequivocally state that the abuse related to contracts awarded to [Halliburton] represents the most blatant and improper contract abuse I have witnessed during the course of my professional career," Greenhouse said.

There is no guarantee that Ensign's hearings will take place or be conducted in good faith, so we need to put the heat on:

Contact Sen. Ensign and congratulate him for his decision to hold formal hearings! Ask him to publicly release the dates on which the hearings will be held. Senator Ensign's telephone number is (202) 224-6244.

Contact your senators and ask them to support Sen. Ensign's decision to hold hearings, and call upon the Bush administration to ban Halliburton from any new contracts until all ongoing criminal investigations, as well as Ensign's pending investigation, are concluded.

US Capitol Switchboard - (202) 224-3121 or toll free: 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588

To contact your senators by email, click here.

To see how your senator voted on today's defeated Dorgan amendment, click here.

To see which members of Congress have received donations from Halliburton for the 2006 campaign cycle, click here.

Sen. Ensign's pledge: "I want to inform the Senator from North Dakota that, hopefully, when we come back for a couple days in December, as the chairman of the Readiness Subcommittee, I plan on holding hearings on exactly this. I plan on pulling that curtain back. I plan on getting into the investigation in the same way as Harry Truman. If it happens to be it is embarrassing to the administration, we are going to find out the truth on this--just like Harry Truman went after those cost-plus contracts in those days. It is not only the soul-source aspect, it is also the fact they are cost-plus contracts."

The following senators are members of Ensign's subcommittee:

Senator Ensign, Subcommittee Chairman
Senator McCain
Senator Inhofe
Senator Roberts
Senator Sessions
Senator Chambliss
Senator Cornyn
Senator Thune

Senator Akaka, Ranking Member
Senator Byrd
Senator Bill Nelson
Senator Ben Nelson
Senator Dayton
Senator Bayh
Senator Clinton "

[cairns]

In the words of Ronald Reagan: "There you go again..."

[john70t]

Hey, what's a billion (or two) anyways? It's not like we have to pay for it somehow.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5551687
"Day to Day, July 12, 2006 · The U.S. Army will discontinue its contract with oil services company Halliburton, which provides logistical support to American troops all over the world. Washington Post reporter Griff Witte talks with Madeleine Brand about allegations Halliburton has overcharged the military by up to $1 billion for fuel, dining and laundry services."

[techweenie]

Originally posted by cairns
In the words of Ronald Reagan: "There you go again..."

Wow, there's an impressive body of facts. Very persuasive.

Under Reagan, most US schools stopped teaching Civics and it sure shows.

The GAO reports to Congress. The people have a right to inquire into the way their money is spent. There are three equal branches of government. It is within the purview of Congress to look into government contracts.

[widebody911]

Originally posted by john70t
What we need here in the US is a strong leader: one man enough to enforce the standards of liberty and justice with an unshakeable will, to remove the disenting elements within our society which undermine him, and spread our ways to neighboring countries, by force if necessary. Right?

Either Hitler or Jack Bauer...

[dafischer]

Originally posted by widebody911
Either Hitler or Jack Bauer...

Screw Jack Bauer, it's been done in real life...



Didn't work out too well, IIRC.

[Dantilla]

Originally posted by techweenie
WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 (HalliburtonWatch.org)

HalliburtonWatch.org? Who the heck are they? Completely unbiased, I'm sure.

[techweenie]

Originally posted by Dantilla
HalliburtonWatch.org? Who the heck are they? Completely unbiased, I'm sure.

It's a problem to find any unbiased news source, as you know. Drudge/NewsMax/Faux will never question Haliburton deals. Nor report on any investigations.

But if you can find any problem with the claims of Congressional action in this case, I'll be interested in reading about it.

[Dantilla]

Originally posted by techweenie
It's a problem to find any unbiased news source, as you know. .

This we can agree on.

I don't have any knowledge other than what the biased news guys have said about Halliburton, and don't really have an opinion of their move.

I do know, however, that I am currently buying some commercial property in another state, and that tax laws had a huge impact on where I would consider buying, and states that I will not even look at. For Halliburton to consider tax issues is not wrong. It's just smart business.

[techweenie]

Originally posted by Dantilla
This we can agree on.

I don't have any knowledge other than what the biased news guys have said about Halliburton, and don't really have an opinion of their move.

I do know, however, that I am currently buying some commercial property in another state, and that tax laws had a huge impact on where I would consider buying, and states that I will not even look at. For Halliburton to consider tax issues is not wrong. It's just smart business.

It's just smart business to minimize taxes.

The issue for me is that there is ample evidence of massive fraud in the handling of taxpayer money -- yours and mine -- in Iraq. This is not a matter of a single news source.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5333896/

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003250504_kbr09.html

[john70t]

Are they 1)an American company with an over-seas branch office, or 2)an international company based out of another country with direct control over our military? Do neocons care about the difference?

In the first senario, they should pay US taxes fairly, and have privliged access to the US markets as any domestic company should.

In the second senario, they might as well originally have been Singaporean bamboo traders. The failure to our troops would have been a lot cheaper.

[Tobra]

Originally posted by red-beard
NONE OF YOUR SPECULATIONS ARE CORRECT.

They are moving the corporate head quarters to Dubai to better serve the oil industry, where the exploration is going on. They ARE NOT changing their incorporation. The Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officers will stay in Houston.

Good luck on your conspiracy theories.

Am I the only one who read and understood this?

I poked through the drivel following it to see if I was missing anything and wasted time reading pages of nonsense...

You fellas have your tinfoil hats on too tight

[techweenie]

Two facts the knee-jerks want you to overlook:

Halliburton's CEO is relocating to Dubai.

Dubai has no extradition agreement with the US.