But First!
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You Tube versions of "The Peace Garden"
Episode One
Episode Two
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Red text is the"real" headline buried in the news.
Blue text is my own commentary.
Violet text is the blog quote of the day.
Blue text is my own commentary.
Violet text is the blog quote of the day.
Halliburton's hired some Enron-educated Book Cookers?
Investors have shrugged off almost all the bad news at Halliburton Co. the past few years -- accusations of overbilling the Army and bribing foreign officials, along with scrutiny over business dealings in Iran and non-compete bids on government work. Instead of tanking, the company's stock has soared. The same investors might take notice, though, if Halliburton's financial statements were in doubt, and a former company accounting executive says they are. Anthony Menendez, who was Halliburton's director of technical accounting research and training, has accused the world's second-largest oilfield-services company of using so-called bill-and-hold accounting and other undisclosed practices to "distort the timing of billions of dollars in revenue." In short, Menendez says this allowed Halliburton to book product sales improperly, before they occurred. ....Menendez, who resigned last year and is seeking unspecified damages, says Halliburton retaliated against him in violation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act's whistle-blower provisions after he reported his concerns to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the company's audit committee. (Maybe Kenny Boy Lay is running the company from a chaise lounge in Dubai?)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/320954_halliburton24.html
That's not all; here's some more no-bid corruption to chew on;
Audit of KBR Iraq Contract Faults Records For Fuel, Food
KBR, the government contracting firm formerly (?) under Halliburton, did not keep accurate records (at least in the cooked-up books we have access to) of gasoline distribution, put its employees in living spaces that may be larger than warranted and served meals that appeared to cost $4.5 million more than necessary under a contract to perform work in Iraq, according to an audit by a government oversight agency. The report, to be released today by the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, addresses a sliver of a $22.5 billion contract that KBR won to provide services for the U.S. military. The inspector general's office focused on four services that KBR was paid to provide in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone: supplying gasoline, food services, and housing and various morale and recreation services. (so they played "Fox News" for the troops?) The inspector general faulted the U.S. government for not closely monitoring KBR. As a result, the report said, "KBR's operations "may" have resulted in excessive government costs and "high risk" that government resources could have been used improperly." (..."MAY" have?? "HIGH risk"??? Just drop the qualifiers, there's no "may" involved here that I can see...)
