North Korea

[kenimpzoom]

Re: North Korea

How stupid of me to question you. I must bow in your presence.

I will no longer respond to your posts as I am obviously outmatched.

I wil however make general statements.


The AEI is "feel good" legislation. It wont dramatically reduce our use of oil as energy. It will have little or no effect on reducing the price of oil. Bush put it out there to show he cares and maybe get a few votes.

Halliburton has been trying to sell KBR for about 4 years now because of poor performance.

Please explain how KBR is ripping of the us govt.

Please explain how another company certainly would be more efficient.

Here is a cut and paste from a Halliburton press release that only states the facts. You draw your own conclusions.

***********************
There have been various media reports today regarding the U.S. Army's announcement that it plans to rebid the contract to provide logistical support to U.S. troops worldwide. So, to dispel some rumors: KBR's current LOGCAP contract has not been canceled, and KBR will continue to provide services under its existing LOGCAP contract.

The Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP) III contract, awarded to KBR in 2001 after an open, competitive bidding process, included one base year with nine option years. It is neither unusual nor unexpected that the LOGCAP contract may be replaced with another competitively-bid approach as previous iterations of this contract vehicle have experienced. The first iteration of LOGCAP was competitively awarded in 1992 and competitively replaced in 1997. Since the competitive award of the LOGCAP III contract in December 2001, KBR has been open and forthcoming that this work may be modified or replaced at any time during the term of the contract.

Since beginning work under LOGCAP III, KBR employees have daily faced danger and hostilities to ensure that our troops have the best food, shelter and quality of life possible. By all accounts, KBR's logistical achievements in support of the troops in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan have been nothing short of amazing.

Today, KBR has more than 50,000 employees and subcontractors in Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Djibouti.

To date, under the LOGCAP III contract, KBR has:

— prepared nearly 375 million meals
— washed more than 18.5 million bundles of laundry
— produced almost 5 billion gallons of water
— transported more than 570 million gallons of military fuel
— hosted nearly 65 million patrons in MWR (Morale, Welfare & Recreation) facilities
— delivered nearly 190 million pounds of mail
— logged more than 100 million miles transporting supplies and equipment for the military, with more than 650 trucks on the road on any given day.

KBR's work is conducted under extraordinarily hostile conditions, yet our customer has continued to give us outstanding performance ratings for our work. To date, under the LOGCAP III contract, KBR has been awarded 42 ratings of "Excellent," the highest score possible, and 12 ratings of "Very Good," the second highest score possible. This is great news for KBR and demonstrates that our customer is pleased with the work the company is doing to meet the troops' often urgent needs, even while operating in a hostile war zone.

As with any potential work, KBR will bid on the LOGCAP IV contract if the company determines it is a good business opportunity.

*************************

And accoding to the press, KBR was fired and run out of town. Nope, not really. The army just choose to not roll over the exisiting contract and to see what else is out there. Makes good sense to me, but I wont be surprised if KBR wins it again.

Ken

 

[CJY]

Re: North Korea

Ken, I have no problem with you questioning me. I guess its you telling me what I should think and how I should think that does.

Example: "CJY you should take the time to research facts instead of regurgitating liberal BS."


That's a Haliburton press release? Must be nothing but truth then. That's like believing a statement from the fox when 2 of your chickens are gone.

You also said, facetiously, I might add; "I will no longer respond to your posts as I am obviously outmatched."

Well, I get the feeling you believe I am no match for you. I could not care less actually. I will let you in on something here Ken, I am not trying to outmatch you. I am posting my thoughts and opinions. You attacked me, remember, and I responded. When you make personal attacks, then you have a match.

You also said in an earlier post, which by the way, makes it sound as though nobody(or at least me) is a match for you.

"I dont even know why I bother aruguing with someone who chooses to blindly believe that liberal propaganda. I really only post here for others to see the other side of the story."

Again, you would like me to simply follow your "side" and all will be well.

In all honesty, Ken, I find it very narrow-minded of you to believe there are only two sides to any story. I find it equally egotistical of you to believe you entirely hold the opinion of one entire side. I don't claim to represent a side or anybody else, only myself. However, you keep on believing you are speaking for millions of people, and I won't mention it again.

 

[kenimpzoom]

Re: North Korea

I find it funny that you accuse me of blindly following the conservative side, and I accuse you of blindly following the liberal side. Perhaps we are both a bit close minded eh?

I only follow the side that has the best facts and makes the most sense. I couldnt care less who said it.

I only ask you to dispute any of the facts I presented. I have disputed yours. I find it very difficult arguing with those who refuse to listen to facts and base thier arguments on "feelings" or "hunches". Not any implications there, just a simple statement. Therefore, I am outmatched by those who do this. My best friend from school was just like this. A die hard democrat. I gave up arguing with him. He refused to listen to the facts.

For example, you immedately refused to believe anything in Halliburtons press release. Why?


Ken

 

[CJY]

Re: North Korea

Ken,

Both a bit close minded? Maybe, but not because of my statement I repeated to you.

I only said you followed blindly because you told me the exact same. I hoped you would see how rediculous it sounds when you tell somebody that. I guess it did not work.

As far as facts go, I guess we see two different sets of them.

As far as the press release goes, I am not sure what you want me to say. Sometimes a competitive contract award is not as it appears.

I guess it is easy to underbid competitors when you plan to make it up elsewhere. By the way, did Haliburton not recieve a competitive bid contract because they were found to be "the only company capable of doing the work," even though others bid. Hmmmm. I guess I thought the work was put up for bid, and companies bid on what they thought they could do. Lowest bid got the work. That is the idea behind a competitive bid contract procedure. I did not know the gov was in the business of determining who is fit for the job and who is not. So in the end, this was not a competitive bid process. At least it was not completely carried out. It was a bid, and then I (gov) will pick whom I want.

Possibly how Haliburton was able to underbid.

Investigations and Audits

At the same time that the value of Halliburton's contracts is increasing, auditors are finding extensive problems with Halliburton's billings, and criminal investigations of Halliburton and its employees continue.

Auditors from the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and the Coalition Provisional Authority Inspector General (CPA IG) have repeatedly and consistently criticized multiple aspects of Halliburton's activities in Iraq. In nine different reports, these government auditors have found widespread, systemic problems with almost every aspect of Halliburton's work in Iraq, from cost estimation and billing systems to cost control and subcontract management.

Key findings from these audits include the following:

In December 2003, a DCAA draft audit reported that Halliburton overcharged the Defense Department by $61 million to import gasoline into Iraq from Kuwait through September 30, 2003. (4)
On December 31, 2003, a DCAA "Flash Report" audit found "significant" and "systemic" deficiencies in the way Halliburton estimates and validates costs. According to the DCAA audit, Halliburton repeatedly violated the Federal Acquisition Regulation and submitted a $2.7 billion proposal that "did not contain current, accurate, and complete data regarding subcontract costs." (5)
On January 13, 2004, DCAA concluded that Halliburton's deficiencies "bring into question [Halliburton's] ability to consistently produce well-supported proposals that are acceptable as a basis for negotiation of fair and reasonable prices," and it urged the Corps of Engineers to "contact us to ascertain the status of [Halliburton's] estimating system prior to entering into future negotiations." (6)
In a May 13, 2004, audit, DCAA reported "several deficiencies" in Halliburton's billing system that resulted in billings to the government that "are not prepared in accordance with applicable laws and regulations and contract terms." DCAA also found "system deficiencies resulting in material invoicing misstatements that are not prevented, detected and/ or corrected in a timely manner." The report emphasized Halliburton's inadequate controls over subcontract billings. The auditors "identified inadequate or nonexistent policies and procedures for notifying the government of potential significant subcontract problems that impact delivery, quality, and price" and determined that Halliburton "does not monitor the ongoing physical progress of subcontracts or the related costs and billings." (7)
On June 25, 2004, the CPA IG found that, as a result of poor oversight, Halliburton charged U. S. taxpayers for unauthorized and unnecessary expenses at the Kuwait Hilton Hotel. According to the IG, the overcharges would have amounted to $3.6 million per year. (8)
A July 26, 2004, CPA IG audit report found that Halliburton "did not effectively manage government property" and that the company's property records "were not sufficiently accurate or available to properly account for CPA property items." The IG "projected that property valued at more than $18.6 million was not accurately accounted for or was missing." (9)
In July 2004, GAO found ineffective planning, inadequate cost control, and insufficient training of contract management officials under LOGCAP in Iraq. GAO reported that, when Halliburton acted as a middleman for the operation of dining halls, costs were over 40% higher. (10)
In an August 16, 2004, memorandum, DCAA "identified significant unsupported costs" submitted by KBR, a Halliburton subsidiary, and found "numerous, systemic issues . . . with KBR's estimates." According to DCAA, "while contingency issues may have had an impact during the earlier stages of the procurements, clearly, the contractor should have adequate supporting data by now." When DCAA examined seven LOGCAP task orders with a combined proposed value of $4.33 billion, auditors identified unsupported costs totaling $1.82 billion. (11)
On November 23, 2004, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (formerly the CPA IG) examined a $569 million LOGCAP task order and found that Halliburton "did not provide . . . sufficiently detailed cost data to evaluate overall project costs or to determine whether specific costs for services performed were reasonable." The IG concluded that the Army "did not receive sufficient or reliable cost information to effectively manage" the task order. (12) Multiple criminal investigations of Halliburton's Iraq contracts are also ongoing. The Justice Department is investigating Halliburton's admission that two of its employees received up to $6.3 million in kickbacks to steer LOGCAP subcontracts to a Kuwaiti contractor. (13) The Defense Department Inspector General, the FBI, and the Justice Department are investigating allegations of fraud and overcharging for gasoline under the RIO contract. (14)

Disclosures by Former Employees and Independent Experts.

The concerns expressed by government auditors have been corroborated by the testimony of former Halliburton employees. Over the past year, six former employees came forward publicly to provide Congress with information about egregious overcharges by Halliburton. Others have contacted congressional staff privately to echo these concerns. For example:

Marie deYoung, a Halliburton logistics specialist, testified about subcontracts under which Halliburton paid $45 per case of soda and $100 per 15-pound bag of laundry. Ms. deYoung also disclosed that Halliburton did not comply with the Army's request to move Halliburton employees from a five-star hotel in Kuwait, where it cost taxpayers approximately $10,000 per day to house the employees, into air-conditioned tent facilities, which would have cost taxpayers under $600 per day. (15)
Henry Bunting, a Halliburton procurement officer, described how he and other buyers were instructed to split large purchase orders into multiple purchase orders below $2,500 in order to avoid the requirement to solicit multiple bids. Supervisors routinely told the employees responsible for purchasing: "Don't worry about price. It's cost-plus." (16)
David Wilson, a convoy commander for Halliburton, and James Warren, a Halliburton truck driver, testified that brand new $85,000 Halliburton trucks were abandoned or "torched" if they got a flat tire or experienced minor mechanical problems. Mr. Warren brought these and other concerns to the personal attention of Randy Harl, the president and CEO of KBR. He was fired a few weeks later. (17)
Mike West, a Halliburton labor foreman, described how he and other Halliburton employees spent weeks in Iraq with virtually nothing to do, but were instructed to bill 12-hour days for 7 days a week on their timesheets. In addition, his superior directed him to buy unnecessary equipment, telling him: "Don't worry about it. It's a cost-plus-plus contract." (18)
Similarly, independent experts have criticized Halliburton's inflated gasoline prices under the RIO contract. Phil Verleger, a California oil economist and the president of a consulting firm, said of Halliburton's price: "It's as if they put the gasoline on the Queen Mary and take it around the globe before they deliver it." (19) Jeffrey Jones, until recently the Director of the Defense Energy Support Center, stated: "I can't construct a price that high." (20) Another expert, who asked that his identity not be disclosed, characterized Halliburton's prices as "highway robbery."


All bold is a copy and post, I did not edit, including the smiley.

I simply see many suspicious things going on with Haliburton and the award of contracts. Like I said Ken, we see different facts, and I have no problem agreeing to disagree.

 

[kenimpzoom]

Re: North Korea

You can certainly bust them on that kickback scheme. That guy is going to jail.

Many of these items are just pure incompetence.

Also, many of these have been cleared up, the cut and paste is old.



And again, after all of this, their profits still stink and are on the chopping block. They couldnt find a buyer.

Ken

 

[QC]

Re: North Korea

What I continue to glean from this stuff is the amazingly stupid belief that George Bush and Cheney and whoever else would put our young men and women in harms way simply to line their pockets. Only cynical, twisted minds could truly believe that of our leaders. You guys belong in the UN spewing carp about Israel and the US while taking money from the oil for food program. Please recognize evil when it is right in your face before you make yourselves look stupid creating conspiracy theories from under any rock that you believe may have a conservative underneath it. Sheesh!! How do you flipped up knuckleheads sleep at night thinking our country and leadership is that f'ed up? What bully kicked your butt so savagely in your childhood to make you so cynical? It simply blows my mind! I suppose you're with the camp that believes we took out the Towers too to pave the way for this money grab. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

Grow up!! Rant off!!

BTW, Darth nailed it. Our interests and security dictate this stuff, not a correct proclamation of an Axis of evil. I guarantee you that if that North Korean pirck gets close to firing one of those bad boys at anybody we will act. Just like we will act if the Iranians move towards making good on their threat to obliterate Israel.

Sorry JB, zap away, I just can't handle the deep seeded negativity of some of these people.

 

[dmarkvid2]

Re: North Korea

You watched J leno too Huh?

 

[txswinner]

Re: North Korea

Ken, I agree with you, you are much outmatched by cjy.

 

[JRJ]

Re: North Korea

Do you think Truman would fire MacArthur today?

 

[rottenray6402]

Re: North Korea

Never try to teach a pig to sing, all it does is waste your time and annoy the pig.
Well said QC!:devil:

 

[CJY]

Re: North Korea

QC, don't put words in my mouth.

I believe W when he says he wanted to remove Hussein from power and I believe him when he says he wants to spread democracy to Iraq. I don't agree with the way he prioritized the order of "evil", and I am on record as saying that many times. I do however also believe that W has found a golden opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. This is where I begin to have issues.

W appears to be a "good ole boy." One that a person would enjoy spending a day on the lake with. I also find him to be self serving and he speaks and appears as though he has an ego the size of Montana. It is the ego and self serving portion of his personality that keeps us tied up in Iraq. It is also his ego which allows him to believe he can lie to us, and get away with it. That may be a flaw with anybody that successfully becomes Prez. Simply put, I don't trust him any longer. I guess maybe that may be a flaw with my own personality, I don't know. I can only trust a person until I am given a reason to no longer trust him/her. Break the trust one time, and I will never trust him/her again.

So yes, I do question everything that comes from his mouth and every action or lack thereof he makes.

Believe it or not, I supported W early on in his Presidency. In fact, I voted for him the first time around. I went with the information I had at the time. I guess I should have voted for the guy who "invented the internet."d

 

[CJY]

Re: North Korea

Sorry, I did not realize it went to another page. I thought my post was lost in cyberspace. I wonder if the inventor of the internet could fix that.

 

[RubberFrog]

Re: North Korea

 

[RubberFrog]

Re: North Korea

.

 

[QC]

Re: North Korea

My why not comment was because I really believe the only reason W was talked into Iraq by Cheney and Rummy was oil, greed and ego

W is not going to straight up "take their oil," . . . W is in the oil business and he knows if oil prices drop, oil companies will go belly up . . . Only diff between then and now; he has zero influence on oil production and it cost him his company . . . Prices are up where he needs them, and is not going to do anything to bring them down. He does talk a good game though . . . He could care less over what we pay at the pump, as long as his "base" is making milliions or billions. He began in the oil business, he is still tied to it and will publicly re-enter after his final term

Interesting that his original venture was invested in by none other than the Bin Laden family.

So, bottom line is, it has every thing to do with oil. Although a poor one, W is a business man, and he knows how to make money for his oil cronies. N. Korea will not line anybodies pockets except for Haliburton and they have already been taken care of via Iraq

CJY,

I did not put any words in anybodies mouth. If you would like to retract then fine . . . I am honestly not looking to pick a fight, and I appreciate your candidness about your first term vote, but what else am I supposed to glean from those comments? Yours and txs's?

 

[Reel Poor]

Re: North Korea

Oh my gosh, Korea has WMD, they also are working on a delivery system (Iraq had none),

Do you really believe this ? This information came thru the same channels as the information that Iraq had WMD's. It's nice to know you can pick and choose the information you want to believe to make an argument, when the facts come from the same source that you so addimately disagree with, W and his croneys.

 

[QC]

Re: North Korea

I have an honest question. Not rhetorical, I don't know . . . Can't you "deliver" one with an Ox cart?

 

[RubberFrog]

Re: North Korea

I have an honest question. Not rhetorical, I don't know . . . Can't you "deliver" one with an Ox cart?

Is it a floating Ox cart?

 

[QC]

Re: North Korea

Is it a floating Ox cart?

With or without the Ox?

 

[CJY]

Re: North Korea

QC,

Iraq is two-fold. Oil and Evil. N. Korea is evil only. Where do you think W's base wanted him to go? We knew where W wanted to go. One of us believes his reasons for going and one of us believes there is more to it.

No where did I say or imply W entered Iraq for his gain and his gain only. It was simply icing on the cake.

I did say "it has everything to do with oil." That comment was made assuming all else to be equal. Therefore, Hussein = Kim Jong Il. Both very very evil people. Throw in Iraq's oil and they are no longer equal. Therefore, "it has everything to do with oil."

I will retract nothing. You may if you like though.d