Good story that explains why the Cheney-Halliburton connection is casting a shadow on the war in Iraq:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/04/25/60minutes/main551091.shtml
Yes, this is definitely casting a shadow over the United States’ glorious victory in Iraq.
People just keep on believing whatever makes them feel better about themselves, don’t they?
Lumpy,
Thanks for the article, I love good fiction!
Even though it might appear to be a bunch of shit-disturbing Demorats, nobody seems to deny the truth of all that stuff. All people say is it’s a bunch of ‘anti-Bush’ people with an agenda.
21 points on spindoctoring:
The Bill O’Reilly 21 Spin Tips
A BUZZFLASH READER COMMENTARY
by Bobbie Frank
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Adamantly declare your show a “No-Spin Zone” and repeat this often. Soon it will appear that your spin is not really spin!
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Make as many vague general statements as you like because:
a) if they don’t pan out, who cares?
b) if they do, then you can take credit for being FIRST to tackle the issue! -
Go for the easy targets: politicians and celebrities, and if they don’t know who you are or decline to appear on your show, then portray them as being “afraid” of you because they know they’re “wrong”.
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Always refer to yourself as a “reporter” and to your show as a “news program,” no matter how sensationalistic the topics you have chosen.
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Label everyone who doesn’t agree with you a “liberal”, and use as many colorful adjectives as possible when describing the left wing. Label everyone and everything–you can never label people enough!
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However, never use colorful adjectives when describing your position or that of other conservatives. Portray your position as scientific granite-hard fact!
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If you say “I only deal in facts” with enough proud anger, you will easily offset anyone who questions you and they’ll be less likely to demand your proof. Or just lie and take the high road.
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In the rare instance someone does pursue proof of your “facts,” just bulldoze them with questions and opinions to create an air of ‘you-must-be-crazy-to-believe-otherwise.’
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If someone continues to demand cited facts, then say “Everyone we’ve talked to says so.” Then book a few selected inconspicuous guests in the future to come on and back your statement. You can easily represent any group’s opinion in any way you want by doing things this way!
http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/03/09/19_oreilly.html
That a politician uses connections to enrich corporations (and himself) is not a rare thing, nor illegal provided they have no financial ties while in office.
Problem is Cheney still holds 430,000 odd unexercised shares in Halliburton (disclosed by his office).
What is illegal is that while Cheney was CEO Halliburton had contracts with both Iran and Iraq -done through foreign based subsidiaries with mailbox headquarters in the Caribbean (nicely avoids US taxes as well! win-win!). Of course Cheney has declined any knowledge of these deals.
smart businessmenm, shitty human beings.
I don’t worry as much about politicians spending money, or even playing fast and loose with the truth, as they all do it. It’s part of survival at that level.
What bothers me are the politicians who refuse to accept a human life as more than just tissue.
Killing innocent babies in the womb, in the name of “choice”.
On other topics such as the environment and the death penalty, I suppose I lean more liberal.
Lumpy: Once again you are showing your inability to think for yourself. Again I found a link to this article in your “Lord and Masters” website. At least it is to a reputable news organization. Interestingly I keep finding links to forums as though they are legitimate news sources.
ZEB: The article ain’t fiction. It has a lot of opinion, and at least some comments from both sides, like Dick Cheney stating he was not involved with the awarding of contracts. Unless anyone can show proof of otherwise then he is “innocent until proven otherwise.”
Now if the people who tried to obtain contracts before the war have a legitimate complaint then they should file a lawsuit. I am not knowledgeable about the laws dealing with contracts. Though I know that bidding does not always occur. Anybody who awards contracts should be disqualified from this job, in the specific instances when they have a current financial interest in any of the companies bidding.
monsiour_quebec: Great way to stay on topic. What are your theories on the Bible Code? Do you cook?
kuri: Unexercised shares? Do you mean options?
I could see a leader of a company not knowing what a foreign branch is doing, especially if they are in 120 different countries as Lumy’s article states. Still if true then Halliburton should be fined, because they are supposed to keep tabs on their business practices and are therefore responsible.
Everyone: I have no problem with questioning this, or any administration of government. We should keep a good eye on the government, so I believe this discourse is good. (I believe I have stated this before.)
My biggest problem with all of these discussions is that people don’t seem to be discussing the issues as much as attacking people in the administration. Most often with unfounded claims, rumor, innuendo, and conspiracy theories. First it is about oil, then it is about Halliburton.
Why hasn’t anyone talked about it being about the attempt to switch from the dollar as the standard to the euro as the standard for oil prices? This is one of the theories I have heard floated around.
Now if anyone has proof of any of this, then I am willing to listen. But these illogical jumps to conclusions, which are mostly floated for politically motivated reasons, deserve no respect. Should they be investigated? Of course. But publicly accusing people without proof, if not strong evidence, is wrong. (I expect this statement to be twisted.)
all BS. i owned stock in halliburton traded under WEL. chaney had nothing to do with it. do you realize how many oil fighting/repair companys are out there? less than a handfull. made good money off it though. i think it’s around .31 cents now.
Boston Barrister
I read the link from the National Review. It says that the charges that Democrats are making, that Bush started the war to fatten Halliburtion’s pockets. are ludicrous. I agree. The reasons Bush invaded Iraq are more complex than that. However, the 60 Minutes article does not make this claim (and I haven’t heard itr anywhere else, either) so I don’t get your point. No, Cheney did not invade Iraq to fatten Halliburton’s pockets, that is just an example of a conflict of interest.
I question the wisdom of awarding no-bid contracts to private companies, to do work that was previously done by the military in the past. There is no way that Root Brown and Kellog are doing this work cheaper than the US military could do it. Hence the term “sweetheart deal”.
I am laughing at you folks who want to claim this is a partisan issue. I suppose only liberals care about taxpayers being raped by the federal government. This just shows intellectual dishonesty on the part of so-called conservatives here, who like to portray themselves as fiscally responsible… Apparently it’s better to look the other way when your own party gets caught with it’s hand in the cookie jar. It’s a joke that you want to portray this as a “democrat’s issue”.
However, 60 Minutes is one of the highest rated shows on TV, so the message is getting out there.
Could someone explain to me what a congressional report is? I don’t understand.
Cheney may still have Halliburton ties
Congressional report finds Vice President still has financial interest in his old company.
September 25, 2003: 4:28 PM EDT
WASHINGTON (CNN) - A congressional report concludes that, under federal ethics standards, Vice President Dick Cheney still has a financial interest in Halliburton, the energy services company he used to run.
The report, by the Congressional Research Service, came at the request of Sen. Frank Lautenberg, a New Jersey Democrat and former player in the corporate world who has pushed Cheney on the issue.
The report says that the deferred compensation that Cheney receives from Halliburton as well as the more than 433,000 stock options he possesses “is considered among the ‘ties’ retained in or ‘linkages to former employers’ that may ‘represent a continuing financial interest’ in those employers which makes them potential conflicts of interest.”
“As this C.R.S. report shows,” Lautenberg said, “The ethics standards for financial disclosure is clear. Vice President Cheney has a financial interest in Halliburton.”
http://money.cnn.com/2003/09/25/news/companies/cheney/index.htm