KBR Wants American Taxpayers To Pay Their Fine

It figures that this disgusting company would turn around and try to stick responsibility to the American public.

More Americans need to know the truth about KBR (formerly associated with Haliburton) and the insidious secret indemnification clause in their contracts with the United States.  It is despicable.

In November, a jury found KBR, the military's largest contractor, guilty of negligence in the poisoning of a dozen soldiers, and ordered the company to pay $85 million in damages. Jurors found KBR knew both of the presence and toxicity of the chemical. Other lawsuits against KBR are pending.

KBR, however, says taxpayers should be on the hook for the verdict, as well as more than $15 million the company has spent in its failed legal defense, according to court documents and attorneys involved with the case.

It makes my blood boil to read this.

The public doesn’t know what the indemnity agreement actually says because the military considers it classified. Until recently, the veterans exposed to the toxin couldn’t know either, nor could attorneys at the Department of Justice, who were left battling the contract in the dark, according to a source there.

 This company is a joke, and yet, our government can't seem to cut ties with them. 

Another soldier, Larry Roberta, now 48, was exposed to the chemical after a gust of wind blew it into his eye and into a chicken patty he was eating. After washing his face and mouth, he tried washing the chicken, because it was the only food he had left for the day. "It tastes like a mouthful of nickels,” Roberta said. “I just kept washing my mouth and I couldn't get that taste out."

Roberta said he now requires an oxygen tank because he has less than 60 percent of his lung function and gets migraines stemming from the eye that was exposed to the chemical. He had surgery to fix the muscle at the top of his stomach that prevented food from coming back up. “I can’t throw up, I can’t even burp,” Roberta said. “You know, when you can’t burp, the air has to come out the other end, which makes me the stinky dog that nobody wants to let in the house.”

Roberta said he doesn’t think U.S. taxpayers should have to pay for KBR’s mistakes.

"The United States Army Corps of Engineers is not in the business of restoring oilfields, therefore they hired KBR as their subject expert," Roberta said. "KBR was paid a good sum of money to do a job and unfortunately it didn't get done well. … The end results were okay, but they made some mistakes along the way."

Gentry’s wife said the “bailout” fits a KBR pattern.

“Whether it’s morally, ethically or even fiscally, there was no accountability then and there is no accountability now,” LouAnn Grube Gentry told The Huffington Post. “In fact, they continue their negligence and indifference. And just as an example of that is they continue to overbill the government for the legal fees. And to me that in itself proves that they are profit-mongering and their sole motivation is profit.”

 Read Senator Wyden's letter to the Secretary of the Army here. 

American Current Wars Account For Majority Of World's Refugee Crisis

From Think Progress:

America’s wars are forcing Afghans and Iraqis to flee their homes in greater numbers. According to a recent U.N. High Commission for Refugees study, nearly one half of the world’s refugees are from Afghanistan and Iraq, 3.05 million and 1.68 million, respectively. But neither the United States nor much of the developed world bears the burden of the 10.55 million refugees under the UNHCR’s purview globally. Instead, Pakistan, Iran, and Syria serve as the top host countries. The Economist has charted the numbers:

And why, I ask again, are we not putting war spending cuts into the picture on this debt ceiling craziness going on in Congress?

I seriously hate the fact that our so called elected leaders in the past 12 years have completely isolated America from the rest of the world, and have their fingers in their collective ears. We have children running our country, for God's sake. These people feel the world is still flat, and that they can just keep running in one direction and will never fall off that deep end. Me, (as well as millions of other Americans), I see that deep end, and our current government is on the precipice. God help us all.

Rohrabacher Tossed Out Of Iraq

You say stupid things, you ought to get your ass kicked. Here's the stupid part:

Rohrabacher, the chairman of the Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also told reporters during a news conference at the embassy in Baghdad that he suggested Iraq repay some of the cost of the war.

"Once Iraq becomes a very rich and prosperous country ... we would hope that some consideration be given to repaying the United States some of the mega-dollars that we have spent here in the last eight years," said Rohrabacher, according to the Agence France-Presse news agency.

Here's the ass kicking part:

Iraq has informed the embassy that the delegation is no longer welcome, Ali al-Dabbagh, Iraq's government spokesman, said Saturday.

Courtesy of CNN.

"Please, sir, I want some more."

Well, it's that time again, where the Republicans in Congress are informing everyone else that unless entitlement programs are cut, they will not raise the debt ceiling, which is, of course, a must.

One really has to wonder after all these years of unpaid for wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, why any American at all would say yes to cutting their own Social Security benefits, or Medicare. If this was a lesson for elementary school children, cutting defense spending would be the first and only choice. Millions and millions of people will be affected by the Republican plans. Turning America into a third world country, with despots running every state, and an oligarch in the White House, is not how I thought I'd spend my retirement years. Hell, what retirement, eh? According to the Republicans, just work longer. Easy for them to say (and many Democrats too) as they only receive government benefits on top of their million dollar fortunes that got them into Congress in the first place. Don't take their government health care away from them, just take it away from the rest of America. Let's not fund the infrastructure of America, let's give this money away to defense contractors blowing shit loads of cash in Iraq and Afghanistan for their infrastructure, which by the way, is still looking like shit despite the years and billions that have been handed over to foreign countries. Let's continue to support financially countries like Saudi Arabia and Libya, but let's not feed our own citizens. Let them die in the streets of hunger, or freeze to death in the winter because they simply do not have enough money to pay to heat their homes. How many deaths have we had so far that fit that particular scenario, eh? (And, no, I'm not Canadian, but it just seems a fit word - eh?).

People, wake up. The Horatio Alger myth is no longer an option for our young kids. There is no ability to pull yourself up from the proverbial bootstraps and make yourself wealthy. The only options are to be worker bees or be the queen bee. And since there are only a limited number of queen bees but tons and tons of worker bees, you can pretty much count yourself out of the running of queen bee. Most of Americans will never be anything more than a worker bee. And then you die, thanks to Republican (and blue dog Democratic) policies.

What I really truly do not understand is why the wealthy in America (those very, very, very few), and especially the wealthy politicians, feel the need to not share the wealth? Especially considering the Christian motif that generally surrounds those that espouse the "I am rich and you are not" policies keeping the poor in their place. It is the opposite of Christ's teachings to hoard wealth. That's common knowledge -- among everyone, even those who aren't Christian! But in God's name, and American patriotism, the rich politicians bury this country under needless debt so they can continue to hoard the money built off the backs of the rest of America. Compassion is a dirty word in politics -- when did that happen?

It's heartbreaking to see this country go down the tubes as a whole. I can't say I never imagined this happening, though. I realized back in the 1980's that the destruction of the world as we know it would be a financial meltdown, and it would start and end with the United States. People back then thought I was crazy. Hell, we were still fighting the imaginary Communist Russians and fearing the rise of power in China. Now Russia has been broken up into smaller countries, and China has more money than God, and owns most of America.

The rich have sold out this country. But that still isn't enough for them. They won't rest until this country reverts to what it was 100-200 years ago. "Please, sir, I want some more."

Get used to that phrase. And get used to the answer as well, my friends.

I'm Stunned, I Tell You, Just Stunned, So Says Lindsey Graham

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai during a recent visit, said on Sunday he was "stunned" at Karzai's comments to a Washington newspaper, which appeared at odds with U.S. military strategy.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Karzai said he wants the U.S. military to scale back the visibility and intensity of its operations in Afghanistan and end night raids that he said incited people to join the Taliban insurgency.

Karzai's comments put him at odds with General David Petraeus, who has made "capture-and-kill" missions a central part of counterinsurgency strategy, the Post said.

[snip]

In the Washington Post interview, Karzai said his comments were not meant as criticism of the United States and that candor could improve what he called a "grudging" relationship between the two countries.

"Grudging" is the operative word here. Same can be said with our "relationship" to many countries in the Middle East, like Iraq and Pakistan, for starters. This perpetual state of occupation and war will do to the United States what it has done to other occupiers in the past, like Great Britain and Russia. Eventually, they took their losses and went home. But, as I mentioned in my post below, with American's not getting that great of an education here, it is quite easy to herd the minions off to war by simply using a few key words, oh say, Muslim, Islam, terror and jihad. That ought to do it for the grunts that are on the ground risking their lives for an ideology that is based on falsehood and outright lies. Those in the government, however, don't get a pass in my book. I'm with the "round 'em up and try 'em in the courts" group. If I'm never supposed to forget what happened on 9/11, I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to forget what happened after 9/11.

Just saying ...

First Pakistan, Now Afghanistan

Afghanistan has banned eight private security firms, including the company formerly known as Blackwater, a spokesman for President Hamid Karzai told reporters Sunday.

Among the companies whose operations are being dissolved are Xe (formerly known as Blackwater), NCL, FHI, White Eagles and other small companies, spokesman Waheed Omer said. Both international and domestic companies were affected.

Weapons and ammunition belonging to these companies has been seized, he said.

Karzai finding his cajones.

A vital border crossing remained closed to U.S. and NATO supply trucks for a third day Saturday, a sign that Islamabad's desire to avoid a domestic backlash over a NATO incursion that killed three Pakistani troops outweighs - for now - its desire to stay on good terms with America.

Two U.S. missile strikes that killed 16 people in a northwest Pakistani tribal region, meanwhile, showed that America has no intention of sidelining a tactic it considers highly successful, even if the strikes could add to tensions.

The closing of the Torkham border to NATO trucks has exposed the struggles and contradictions at the heart of the U.S.-Pakistan alliance against Islamist militancy.

Nice work, U.S.A. How are those drones working for you? Got any tips on more diplomacy?

Afghanistan and Pakistan (with WMD, cough, cough) on the one side of Iran, while we are still occupying Iraq, on the other side of Iran.

Is it just me, or does this position look a little troubled for the warmongering U.S. and those supporters? Does anyone with a grain of salt for a brain see how invading Iran, or bombing anything in Iran, will have disastrous results for the U.S.?

We really aren't wanted in Iraq. We really aren't wanted in Afghanistan. And we clearly are not wanted in Pakistan.

Great Middle East policy, guys.

UPDATE: HT to Rachel Maddow Tweet

The U.S. military is secretly diverting aerial drones and weaponry from the Afghan battlefront to significantly expand the CIA's campaign against militants in their Pakistani havens.

The shift in strategic focus reflects the U.S. view that, with Pakistan's military unable or unwilling to do the job, more U.S. force against terrorist sanctuaries in Pakistan is now needed to turn around the struggling Afghan war effort across the border.

In recent months, the military has loaned Predator and Reaper drones to the Central Intelligence Agency to give the agency more firepower to target and bombard militants on the Afghan border.

It appears that the U.S. is hell bent on taking over the Middle East. After that, what's next? Personally, I would not be antagonizing a country that has nukes. Just saying.

So Much For An "End" To American "Combat" Forces In Iraq

US troops have been called in to help Iraqi forces battle insurgents who attacked an army base in Baghdad, killing 12 people, officials say.

It marks the first such use of US troops since the end of US combat operations five days ago.

And it only took five fucking days for the "combat" to begin again! It's all a game of charade. Or the mind game of the Jedi. Either way, nothing to see here, move along. The 50,000 combat troops still in Iraq aren't really "combating" anything. And, of course, the stupid people believe this. But then again, it was the stupid people that applauded the invasion of Iraq in the first place, so why should we be surprised that taking a few troops out of Iraq while simultaneously leaving an alarming 50,000 (and yes, they are wearing combat fatigues, my friends) troops, and calling it an "end" to the "invasion" is just another perverse way Obama is trying to put a check mark to his imaginary promises he alluded to during his campaign to be elected President.

Finally, A Partial Ending In Iraq

"Let me say this as plainly as I can," Obama told the Marines. "By August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end."

On a good note, I am definitely very uplifted and happy that the last of the "combat" troops from the United States is leaving Iraq, although they are still leaving 50,000 troops, ostensibly not in combat. Regardless, that many troops finally out of Iraq's fire line (even though all Iraqis and Americans in Iraq are vulnerable to suicide bombs and other things aimed not entirely against the military, both Iraqi and America) it is one less American that is putting his or her body on the line for certain stress, disaster and death.

So, what 7+ months since "Mission Accomplished" was uttered by some little guy in a military flight suit on an aircraft carrier out in the middle of the ocean ...

Welcome home, soldiers! Really.

Nuke 'Em Or Duke 'Em

Now why is this not news to me?

Dramatic increases in infant mortality, cancer and leukaemia in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, which was bombarded by US Marines in 2004, exceed those reported by survivors of the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, according to a new study.

Hmmm. No wonder there's a supp0sed ban on the use of white phosphorous. But the U.S. felt no compulsion not to use it.

Powerful new evidence emerged yesterday that the United States dropped massive quantities of white phosphorus on the Iraqi city of Fallujah during the attack on the city in November 2004, killing insurgents and civilians with the appalling burns that are the signature of this weapon.

August 6 is just around the corner, 65 years after first atomic bomb dropped in Japan. My piece, here.

And for what it looked like in Fallujah, here are some graphic pictures to remind one of what war is really like.

Wars Of Aggression Cheerleaders

Since I'm still on a rant about the "wars," as usual, one cannot state things as eloquently as Glenn Greenwald can.

Those who perpetrate wars of aggression invariably invent moral justifications to allow themselves and the citizens of the aggressor state to feel good and noble about themselves. Hence, even an unprovoked attack which literally destroys a country and ruins the lives of millions of innocent people -- as the U.S. invasion of Iraq did -- is scripted as a morality play with the invaders cast in the role of magnanimous heroes.

As usual, you need to read the FULL post. Hopefully, the tidbit above will whet your appetite.

New Money Source Found In Afghanistan - Americans On It Like Flies On Shit

The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials.

Not sure what that means to the U.S. just yet, but it might change Karzai's tune from just a week ago.

Two senior Afghan officials were showing President Hamid Karzai the evidence of the spectacular rocket attack on a nationwide peace conference earlier this month when Mr. Karzai told them that he believed the Taliban were not responsible.

“The president did not show any interest in the evidence — none — he treated it like a piece of dirt,” said Amrullah Saleh, then the director of the Afghan intelligence service.

Mr. Saleh declined to discuss Mr. Karzai’s reasoning in more detail. But a prominent Afghan with knowledge of the meeting, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Mr. Karzai suggested in the meeting that it might have been the Americans who carried it out.

Yeah. The Americans did it, as usual (and I am not saying that "tongue in cheek" - I really mean it, since the Americans generally are the bad guys in these areas and with these types of things).

We're all over the Middle East and pretty much on the wrong side of just about everyone except Israel.

Want to cut the deficit? Yeah, let's take away Social Security from the up and coming baby boomers, but let's not touch the trillions of dollars being handed over to war profiteers and the Arab countries that hate our guts.

Nice work, America.

Judge Dismisses Case Against Blackwater Guards Who Murdered In Cold Blood Iraqi Citizens

A federal judge dismissed charges against five Blackwater Worldwide security guards accused of killing 14 Iraqi civilians in a controversial shooting in a busy Baghdad square two years ago in a ruling that sharply criticized the tactics of Justice Department prosecutors handling the case.

It is so clear that this country condones murder. I am totally disgusted. To make matters worse, it was dismissed not because the judge felt that the Blackwater employees didn't actually kill the 14 Iraqis ... it was dismissed on procedural grounds, in that the statements made by most of the guards were used improperly (note that one of the guards plead guilty -- hence, to be honest, they were all guilty and we know it).

On Friday, the Iraqi government said it may pursue its own legal case against Blackwater because it believes the employees committed a "serious crime" against its people, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told Reuters.

"What happened yesterday confirms that the trial was biased," said Ali Adeeb, a lawmaker and top advisor to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. "This was an unreasonable, criminal operation, and there should have been justice in a trial."

Let's hope the Iraqis do prosecute these murderers.

An Anniversary I Can Live Without

Six years later, still in a war that our government told us would take a few weeks, at most, and would pay for itself. And let's not forget the "they will greet us as heroes" portion, or the erecting a statue for Bush garbage. And speaking of garbage, how IS Iraq faring these days? Water, anyone? Electricity, anyone? I thought not.

Wrong war, wrong time, wrong place.

To all those brave men and women who have died in this war, RIP. To all the Iraqis who have died, RIP. To those Iraqis that have been forever displaced, I apologize for my country's completely insidious behavior.

Republicans Concerned With Deficit Spending?

When Bush took office in 2001, the government had a projected $5.6 trillion, 10-year surplus, which would translate into at least $560 billion per year. By the end of 2002, the government had a deficit of $158 billion. This, in just about one year of being in office. At the end of his term in office, Bush leaves with a record $1.2 trillion budget deficit, most of it based on needless tax cuts for the rich, and starting two wars, one with maybe a real purpose, one completely for no reason.

Even as the last months are playing out, the Bush government came up with a $700 billion giveaway to more rich people, bailing out Wall Street, banks, lending institutions and the like, with absolutely no oversight (despite the pretend show of congress "mandating" oversight, but getting none). Let's try to keep into perspective the fact that when the banks that received some of this money were asked to identify how it was used, they declined to give any information. Taking taxpayer money, and refusing to account for it, all the while giving their CEO's large pay and other performance packages (despite said performance being of the kind that put this economy into the shitter in the first place) is just the tip of level of incompetence of the Bush Admnistration's financial policies.

Tax rebates don't help the economy. Tax cuts have not helped the economy. Giving out free taxpayer money to rich people/corporations has not helped the economy.

Obama was swept into office by a huge majority, and on a platform of change. Part of that change was to provide a stimulus that would affect the infrastructure of America. Now, all of a sudden, the party that's been in power for the past eight years, the party that put this country $1.2 trillion into debt with it's huge giveaways to corporate supporters and tax cuts for rich people, is pretending that they actually give a shit about the economy by being concerned about deficit spending! And what does Obama do? He caves.

On the heels of the Bush Administration's giveaway of $700 billion without any oversight, Obama's proposed stimulus package of $800 billion has now been whittled down to include almost 40% of it being more tax cuts!

Look, one does not have to be an economist to know that when taxes are cut, revenues to the government are also cut. We didn't get to the $1.2 trillion deficit by increasing taxes and stimulating the economy. We got there by a reckless president and his administration just throwing money away in every direction -- war profiteering by corporations with hands in government administration pockets, tax breaks for the wealthy, and just plain old bad management (like shipping over a boatload of cash to Iraq and then letting it simply "disappear" without a clue as to where it went).

The Republicans are the minority now, in the White House and in Congress. Why in the world would Obama seriously consider gutting his stimulus package by 40% in more giveaways by tax cuts? What change is that? What about his promise to America? Is Obama that stupid? I can't understand the motivation at all for him, and his advisers, to think that peppering his stimulus package with such stupid concessions to the minority party is going to be effective. When in the past eight years has any fucking tax cut benefited the general population of America? WHEN, damn it?

Not even in office, and Obama has already begun his backpeddling. By the looks of it, maybe taking it up the ass would be less painful. I need to burrow deep, hold onto my cash, and hope to God I make it through the next two years. I certainly have no faith that Obama is going to make a shred of difference to the economy of America.

Cross-posted at The Smirking Chimp, DailyKos and MyDD.

An Iraqi Insult - Shoes Hurled At George W. Bush

Ok, this is funny!

McClatchy identified the man as Iraqi television journalist Muthathar al Zaidi and reports he threw both of his shoes at Bush just after he finished prepared remarks.

The New York Times notes that the first shoe “narrowly missed” and the second shoe also missed. “This is a farewell kiss, you dog,” Zaidi shouted.

Courtesy of Think Progress.

Monsters, By Paul Krugman

What I mean by that is that for the past 14 years America’s political life has been largely dominated by, well, monsters. Monsters like Tom DeLay, who suggested that the shootings at Columbine happened because schools teach students the theory of evolution. Monsters like Karl Rove, who declared that liberals wanted to offer “therapy and understanding” to terrorists. Monsters like Dick Cheney, who saw 9/11 as an opportunity to start torturing people.

This is what I agree with about the Republican party -- or the "base" of this party, which still constitutes that 23% of dumbness in America vis-a-vis Bush's poll ratings, belief that Iraq had WMD or that Hussein was involved in 9/11.

His opinion piece is pretty good, but the comments are more telling. And to a very great extent, I agree with most of the comments -- that this is really only a beginning of getting rid of the monsters. A defining moment in history, to be sure (judging by how few newspapers were available after 8:30 a.m. this morning in most major cities), but a long way from ending that 23% of hate that has a hold of Americans.

Rememberance Of The Innocent Who Died Today

Please check out this CNN site that has been dedicated to the memories of all who died that day.

P.S. Word to the still uninformed - Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. Here's a list from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection of the Saudis that were flown out of America right after 9/11, despite the grounding of air traffic -- and with the complete support of the Bush Administration.

It was the Saudis that hit us, it was the Saudis that hate us, and it was the Saudis that started the jihad against this country.

Get real, get educated, and vote responsibly this year.

Greenwald's Take On The Ivins/Anthrax Disconnect

When you add on to that the magnitude of this case and the ample reasons for error and deceit -- it's the first lethal bioterrorism attack on the U.S., one which, according to the Government itself, originated at a U.S. Government facility, perpetrated by a U.S. Army scientist, that was then used by numerous factions inside the Government and out to ratchet up fear levels and falsely blame Iraq and/or Al Qaeda for the attacks and, thereafter, was blamed on someone who appears to have been completely innocent -- what minimally rational person would be willing to assume that the Government's uncorroborated, unexamined, untested claims are accurate? ...

Ouch.

More, here.

Golly, Gee, We DID Use White Phosphorous In Fallujah! My Bad!

FALLUJAH, Jun 12 (IPS) - Babies born in Fallujah are showing illnesses and deformities on a scale never seen before, doctors and residents say.

The new cases, and the number of deaths among children, have risen after "special weaponry" was used in the two massive bombing campaigns in Fallujah in 2004.

After denying it at first, the Pentagon admitted in November 2005 that white phosphorous, a restricted incendiary weapon, was used a year earlier in Fallujah.

Just reconfirming what we in the real world knew, oh, about three years ago. Emphasis added by me.



Falluja pictures.

"Rewriting History," The New Republican Meme

According to Henry, Perino added that McClellan was “rewriting history” on the Iraq war.

So, now telling the truth is "rewriting history." That's the new meme for the Republicans of 2008. Prepare to see this line everywhere, leading up to the elections.

UPDATE:

The cries of betrayal from former aides served as a stern warning to other potential turncoats that, despite some well-publicized cracks, the Bush inner circle remains tight. Their language was so similar that the collective reaction amounted to a big inside-the-Beltway echo chamber.

The wagons are surrounding! Unfortunately for the bubble group, they watched too many Saturday morning westerns.