Re: Halliburton to Rebuild New Orleans?

Can anyone confirm this?

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12612599.htm

Posted on Sat, Sep. 10, 2005

Associated Press

AUSTIN - As Vice President Dick Cheney toured Hurricane Katrina shelter operations in Texas' capital city Saturday, a group of about two dozen protesters gathered outside chanting, "Cheney, Cheney, you can't hide, we charge you with genocide."

Cheney visited the Austin Convention Center shelter and the Texas State Operations Center, where state officials orchestrated the intake of more than 240,000 people last week after flood waters rose in New Orleans.

At the convention center, where some 1,500 evacuees remained Saturday, Cheney met briefly with 23-year-old Telisha Diaz, who told him she spent four days at the New Orleans convention center before being brought to Austin a week ago.

"It's overwhelming that the state of Texas is giving so much, just giving us everything - jobs, food," Diaz told the vice president, who was surrounded by local officials and congressmen.

Cheney said Diaz's sentiments of gratitude were echoed by all of the evacuees he had spoken with in the two weeks since the hurricane pummeled Gulf Coast communities in Louisiana and Mississippi. He applauded Texas' response to the disaster and the outpouring of support from the state's leaders and residents.

"I was impressed with the caliber of the effort that was mounted here and it's a good place to come learn some valuable lessons," Cheney said.

He brushed off media questions about the federal government's slow response to hurricane victims in the hours and days after the storm, and FEMA director Michael Brown being removed from his command post in Louisiana amid the criticism and questions about his qualifications.

Cheney said he supported Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff's decision regarding Brown and would not comment on any other possible leadership changes.

While the evacuees seemed to appreciate Cheney's visit, protesters saw it as an opportunity to voice frustration over a Halliburton Co. subsidiary's involvement in emergency repairs at Gulf Coast naval and Marine facilities.

Cheney headed Halliburton from 1995 to 2000, and Democrats have questioned whether the company has gotten favorable treatment because of his connection.

"Cheney is profiteering off of murder," said 36-year-old Debbie Russell of Austin, who flashed an obscene gesture at the vice president when he waved at her and other protesters as he got into his vehicle.

While Cheney was in Austin, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt visited a shelter in Dallas. He said his department has established special "evacuee" status for affected individuals to simplify and expedite their access to benefits.

The process will allow states to enroll evacuees without requiring documents such as tax returns or proof of residency for programs such as Medicaid, child care support, foster care assistance and substance abuse treatment.

In Houston, thousands of people dodged a cloud burst outside a church where the Red Cross offered financial assistance Saturday afternoon. Inside, evacuees sat across rows of tables from Red Cross volunteers who processed their aid requests.

"This was the fastest line I've been in since the storm," said Danny Whitehead, 50, an offshore worker from New Orleans. "We got what we needed, and things are getting better everyday."

The crowd included many evacuees who've spent the past two weeks in hotels or in the homes of extended family, friends or good samaritans.

Officials said the population at Houston's Astrodome, Reliant Center and George R. Brown Convention Center went down overnight by about 1,300 to a total of 7,327 as evacuees continued to find other places to live. Officials at shelters in Houston and Dallas said they still hope to have everyone in temporary or permanent housing by Sept. 17.

"We have a goal of getting these lives restored as quickly as possible. We don't want them in the dome for six months," said U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Joe Leonard, area commander for Houston shelter operations.

The NFL team the Houston Texans plays its first home game at Reliant Stadium on Sept. 18, but Harris County Judge Robert Eckels said that was not a factor in trying to get all of the evacuees moved.

"This is a shelter, not a home, and it will not become a refugee center," Eckels said.

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Associated Press reporters Jim Vertuno and Derrill Holly in Houston and Sheila Flynn in Dallas contributed to this report.

Why would this be such a shock?

They are already using Blackwater, so I assume Haliburton is next. Between the two fo them we have a legal private industry that is capable of covert ops, espionage, security and nation/city rebuilding. Kinda scary when private industry starts to look like the military. There have been many cyberpunk tales written about this sort of thing.

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

-Dwight D. Eisenhower, Farewell Address, 1961

Why would this be such a shock? Apparently they can help rebuild stuff. It's what some big corporations do. So just because DC is VP now, they should be cut out of any kind of business, even if they really are the best qualified company for it? Or is there a new consipiracy theory that George Bush, er, I mean Dick Cheney sent the hurricane to destroy NO?

While I find the Halliburton/Cheney connections (which no longer exist except in people's minds) entertaining, I have to ask what exactly Cheney is getting out of it for himself. Lower ratings in polls? Last I heard he doesn't even own stock in the company anymore.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Cheney#Relationship_to_Halliburton_as_Vice_President

Relationship to Halliburton as Vice President:

Cheney resigned as CEO of Halliburton on July 25, 2000, and put all of his corporate shares into a blind trust, except 433,333 stock options worth about $8 million transferred to a charitable trust. As part of his deferred compensation agreements with Halliburton contractually arranged prior to Cheney becoming Vice President, Cheney's public financial disclosure sheets filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics showed he received $162,392 in 2002 and $205,298 in 2001. Upon his nomination as a Vice Presidential candidate, Cheney purchased an insurance policy that would guarantee his deferred payments regardless of the company's performance, removing any conflict of interest. Cheney's net worth, estimated to be between $30 million and $100 million, is largely derived from his post at Halliburton. In the rebuilding of Iraq, Halliburton was granted a $7 billion no-bid contract.

"How dare these evil corporations profit from rebuilding efforts..." It's silly to say this, of course they're profiting, that's the whole point of running a business, it's how capitalism works. It's like saying "How dare all those damn doctors, profiting off of people getting sick!" Huh?

I don't disagree that government needs to choose their contracts better and allow more competition. But that problem goes beyond the current administration, no-bid contracts have been going out for awhile, it's a federal government problem in general. I'm even seeing it personally, and believe me it has nothing to do with Dick Cheney.

The current administration seems to get the blame for alot of general government deficiencies, maybe it's because people are now taking a closer look at the government than they used to. When people single out people or groups who only represent a subset of a greater problem, but placing all blame on them anyway, it's kinda annoying, because it's wrong.

And for all we know, Halliburton may actually be the best choice. Anyone seen any research that indicates otherwise?

...But if they cordon off these contracts to their buddies, or turn down necessary foreign aid, they're going to make a lot of angry folks in both parties.

All parties, please. There are more than two, thanks!