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An auditing board sponsored by the United Nations recommended Friday that the United States repay as much as $208 million to the Iraqi government for contracting work in 2003 and 2004 assigned to Kellogg, Brown & Root, the Halliburton Co. subsidiary. The work was paid for with Iraqi oil proceeds, but the board says it was either carried out at inflated prices or done poorly. The board did not give examples of poor work. Some of the work involved postwar fuel imports carried out by KBR that previous audits have criticized as grossly overpriced. But this is the first time that an international auditing group has suggested that the United States repay some of that money to Iraq. The U.N. group, the International Advisory and Monitoring Board of the Development Fund for Iraq, compiled reports from an array of Pentagon, U.S. government and private auditors to carry out its analysis. A spokeswoman for Halliburton, Cathy Mann, said the questions raised in the military audits, carried out in the Pentagon's Defense Contract Auditing Agency, had largely focused on issues of paperwork and documentation and alleged nothing about the quality of the work done by KBR. The monitoring board relied heavily on the Pentagon audits in drawing its conclusions. Mann said, in an e-mail response to questions, that it would be completely wrong to say or imply that any of these costs that were incurred at the client's direction for its benefit are 'overcharges.' The monitoring board, created by the United Nations specifically to oversee the Development Fund -- which includes Iraqi oil revenues and some money seized from Saddam Hussein's government -- said that because the audits were continuing, it was too early to say how much of the $208 million should ultimately be paid back. The KBR contracts that have drawn fresh scrutiny also cover services other than fuel deliveries, like building and repairing oil pipelines and installing emergency power generators in Iraq. The documents released Friday by the monitoring board do not detail problems with specific tasks in those broad categories but instead summarize a series of newly disclosed audits that call into question $208,491,382 of the company's work in Iraq. The monitoring board's authority extends only to making recommendations on any reimbursement. It would be up to the U.S. government to decide whether to make the payments, and who should make them. Vice President Dick Cheney's former role as chief executive of Halliburton has led to repeated charges, uniformly dismissed by Cheney and the company, that it received preferential treatment in receiving Iraq-related contracts. The Bush administration repeatedly gave Halliburton special treatment and allowed the company to gouge both U.S. taxpayers and the Iraqi people, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles, the senior Democrat on the House Government Reform Committee, said in a statement on the new audits. In Iraq on Friday, insurgent attacks -- including one in which the attackers disguised themselves as women -- left at least 16 Iraqis dead. Al Qaeda in Iraq, the leading insurgency group, said in a statement posted on an Islamist Web site that two Moroccan Embassy employees had been condemned to death, the Associated Press reported. There was no indication Friday that they had been killed. The U.S. military said Friday that two more soldiers had died the previous day, one in a noncombat incident and one when his convoy struck an explosive. In the day's deadliest assault, insurgents dressed in women's clothing attacked a police checkpoint in Buhruz, 35 miles north of Baghdad, killing at least six Iraqi police and injuring at least 10 others, U.S. and Iraqi officials said. The gunmen were armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars, and pulled up in five cars, an Interior Ministry official said. The policemen managed to kill at least two of the gunmen, he added Hillary is broke, had to loan herself 5 million.sm LOL. Maybe she will use her money and Bill's speaking engagement fees to pay for our new Universal Healthcare Program. Clinton loaned her campaign $5 million Senator Hillary Clinton confirmed at a press conference in Virginia this afternoon that she'd loaned her campaign $5 million, and said, "The results last night proved the wisdom of my investment.." Spokesman Howard Wolfson emailed with the news minutes earlier: Late last month Senator Clinton loaned her campaign $5 million.The loan illustrates Sen. Clinton’s commitment to this effort and to ensuring that our campaign has the resources it needs to compete and win across this nation. We have had one of our best fundraising efforts ever on the web today and our Super Tuesday victories will only help in bringing more support for her candidacy. As I reported earlier, she's drawing on a pool of personal wealth estimated to be as much as $41 million, as well as a reported payout to Bill Clinton of $20 million from the Los Angeles billionaire manager Ron Burkle. Clinton told reporters that her fundraising was healthy, but that "my opponent was able to raise more money, and we intended to be competitive, and we were." Clinton also emailed supporters today with an ambitious online fundraising goal: to, over the course of three days, "raise $3 million to fund our history-making campaign." So, the 2 million dollars went back to Alaska. nm Wow 48 million Where would we have put all those babies? We could build cities just for them. that's 48 million more vying for welfare, running through the penal system. How many serial murderers could have been in that 48 million? The numbers DO speak volumes. Obviously the condom hasn't caught on. But that's not the point. As our populations has grown, so has all of the other statistics, including the number of abortions. If you have your way, the social ramifications will be HUGE, huge. You're not into socialist state. You can't be thinking that if a woman is forced to have a child she doesn't want with more than likely no father to hlep that all of a sudden she is going to turn into June Cleaver because someone says she has to? The only people who will benefit from overturning Roe vs Wade will be the one who run the black markets on baby selling. The demographics speak volumes as well. Where are the largest numbers of abortions happening? It is not middle class Bible America. You are choosing the unborn over the living and saying it is okay to sacrifice the mothers and the fathers for the sake of an ideal in a foreign country. If that is not a complete contradiction I don't know what is. And I might add...his "credit" will put how many more million... did it say, into the no tax bracket? the words were "the credit will eliminate federal taxes for 10 million low income families. To add to all the others who don't pay taxes. So how is he going to pay for his big government? He will have to raise everyone's taxes....handwriting on the wall. Yep. Me and about 70 million other Americans. x Yes? Tell that to 40 million dead Jews. NM 
25 million people to be exact be afraid, be very afraid. It's the vast right wing conspiracy. Boo! Million Phone March...sm See link... I am not willing to assume that 1.2 million babies... would have horrible lives. I can't see killing them all just in case some might suffer. But how is our choice to decide whether or not someone lives based on what kind of life they might have? I think it should be the choice of the creator, myself. I am curious as to what you think your creator thinks about choosing to kill an unborn child? I think mine's heart breaks every time one happens...over 2000 times a day. Yes, that's what I think. It's quick? It's horrible but its quick? Good grief!! You keep discounting the right of the child to live. Who are you, the mother, or anyone else, to say that child has no right to live? Do you think your creator endowed you with that right? Just curious. Over 18 million voted for him in primaries absolutely NOBODY has voted for Palin in this contest. Why should we be stuck with yet another Bush? She "governs" Alaska just as Bush "governed" the country. She likes to handoff decisions to others. People try to get in contact with her and wear "Where is Sarah?" buttons. No thanks to McPain. You slammed dems, ignored 5 million nm Obama picks up about $9 million in BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) - Barack Obama partied with Hollywood celebrities Tuesday night and with the help of Oscar-winning singer and actress Barbra Streisand raised an eye-popping $9 million for his presidential campaign and the Democratic Party. The night was split into two glitzy events, a reception and dinner costing $28,500 each at the Greystone Mansion, followed by entertainment by Streisand at the nearby Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel. About 250 people were expected at the dinner and about 800 at the entertainment, which cost $2,500 a ticket. It was a day of contrasts for Obama. Earlier in the day, the Democratic presidential candidate spoke about the public's deepening economic anxieties and portrayed Republican challenger John McCain as out of touch with the needs of hardworking people. Then he flew to California for a night of hobnobbing with Hollywood notables. McCain groused about Obama mixing it up with celebrities. He told a rally in Vienna, Ohio on Tuesday that Obama "talks about siding with the people, siding with the people just before he flies off to Hollywood for a fundraiser with Barbra Streisand and his celebrity friends. Let me tell you my friends, there's no place I'd rather be than here with the working men and women of Ohio." A night earlier, McCain was with deep-pocketed donors in Florida and raised $5 million, a fact noted by Obama's campaign. "I don't know who showed up down in Florida where he raised $5 million but my guess is that it wasn't a lot of nurses, firefighters and police officers," Obama's senior strategist, David Axelrod, told reporters. "The whole corporate lobbying community is rallying to his side. We're going to have to struggle to keep pace. You can't challenge that group and not expect them to have a lot of money." While the final total was not determined, Obama's campaign did not dispute estimates that the twin events would bring in $9 million for Obama and the Democratic Party. That would be his second-biggest, fundraising day. Obama received $10 million from online donors the day after McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, delivered her speech at the Republican convention. On another big fundraising night in California, Obama raised $7 million in August in San Francisco. By comparison, McCain raised $47 million in August, a personal best for his campaign as well. After claiming the GOP nomination, McCain accepted the $84 million in taxpayer funds allotted by the public financing system for the race. Wow, suing for 6 million, nuff said. XX 1 MILLION ILLEGALS have mortgages!! nm Unemployment numbers. What is 12.5 Million? http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,506405,00.html What I do not get is it states 4.4 million jobs have been lost since the recession began, but now at 12.5 million. So, about 8 million have been unemployed during, well, basically this year and last year? I guess I am in SHOCK a it is hard for me to want to believe it. ************************* Unemployment by the Numbers: How Bad Is It Hurting? Friday, March 06, 2009 * ShareThis More people are unemployed in America than live in Ohio or go to church in Texas. Unemployment statistics don't usually leap off the page, but the latest report from the Department of Labor offers some astounding figures. More than 651,000 jobs were cut in February, continuing a steep drop that has raised the unemployment rate to 8.1 percent, its highest level since 1983. Matched up against some of the latest stats made available by the Census Bureau, those numbers really do begin to add up. • 651,000 jobs were axed in February, a number larger than the populations of: - Baltimore - Seattle - Denver - El Paso - Washington, D.C. • 12.5 million people are unemployed in the U.S., which is more than the number of: - people watching ABC's "Lost" this season - women attending college - male scientists and engineers - Americans who grow herbs - people who played tackle football in the past year. • 12.5 million people is also a number larger than the populations of 45 states, including - Ohio - Pennsylvania - Michigan - Virginia • 4.4 million jobs have been lost since the recession began in December 2007, which is larger than the population of the entire San Francisco Bay Area. • 2.6 million jobs have been lost in the past four months, which is like every Presbyterian in America getting the ax in one winter, or about the number of senior citizens in Florida. • 8.6 million people have been forced to work part-time for economic reasons, which is more than the population of New York City, or more than the number of people who try to quit smoking every year. The roll continues, and it is a stark one: construction companies eliminated 104,000 jobs in February, factories cut 168,000 jobs, retailers sliced nearly 40,000, professional and business services got rid of 180,000, financial companies reduced payrolls by 44,000, and leisure and hospitality firms chopped 33,000 positions. Despite all the doom and gloom in the Labor Department's numbers, at least one sector had a pretty rosy February: the government boosted its number of employees last month. Click here to see the Labor Department report. Tea parties vs the million man march All this controversy over the number in attendance af last week's tea parties, and who was there! I would think over a quarter-million participants would rank right up there as far as demonstration statistics go. There was another demonstration in 1995 which planned to attact a million demonstators. Wikipedia has this: ......... Finally, within the first twenty-four hours following the March a conflict between March organizers and Park Service officials erupted over crowd size estimates. Initially, the National Park Service issued an estimate of about 400,000 attendees; a number significantly lower than March organizers had hoped for. After a heated exchange between leaders of the March and Park Services the estimate was raised to 850,000* but still fell short of the organizers’ estimate of over 1 million. The controversy over the number of men who actually participated in the March has yet to be firmly resolved. *[guess they were getting the 2 for 1 special?] Even back then, folks were hollering 'recount,' I don't recall seeing any female or white faces in that crowd, either. I think that was pretty sexist and racist. The point is, you hang with like-minded individuals. Nobody put out the 'whites only' sign at the tea parties. It was equal opportunity, and if you were a hard-working black business owner you might have been there.
I've said a million times claiming to be a Christian does not make you one. Granted even when we become a Christian we still mess up, and are by no means perfect, but we are supposed to TRY to be more Christ-like. I think I got lucky with my church. The drama is very minimal, if present at all. Of course, there are only about 30-40 of us who are members, that may have something to do with it. Not much room for cliques in a church that small! There are 1.2 million abortions in this country every year.... and a great many of those are teenagers. Are you saying the parents of all those teenagers lack judgment and responsibility? Check out how many are minorities. So are you now saying that all those minority parents lack judgment and responsibility? Boy, you are really grasping at straws here. It is hard to believe that you could really even post such a thing, but less believe it! Best case scenario, 1 million evacuees. 110 residents from Greater Houston DIED ON THE ROAD during evacuation for Hurricane Rita from Houston 3 years ago. Better 1.2 million dead babies a year? I think we get where you are coming from. He's not talking about million dollar houses. He's talking about people that got schnuckered so they can keep their homes. Maybe they would reduce the principle, but that would also keep people in their homes and make the other homes in that neighborhood keep their value. Do you understand the concept that if the homes around you go into foreclosure then that brings your home value down?
2.9 million jobs tied to 3 car companies http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1858702,00.html?cnn=yes Pretty scary stuff. Another Great Depression coming? 2.6 million jobs lost in 2008 alone. There are plenty of able-bodied folks out there who are out of work ALSO through no fault of their own, in view of this ever shrinking job market. Handicapped have to overcome THAT obstacle, too. To mt: Really over a million people took place in the protest. s/m http://www.windsorstar.com/News/Turnout+tepid+modern+parties/1500117/story.html To mt: Really over a million people took place in the protest? s/m Check out this Canadian news article on this pitiful event -- this might answer your question about why no other news stations were giving this much air time -- NOT NEWSWORTHY!! Not even 10s of thousands, much less a million!! Where did you get your statistics? Is that what you heard on TRIX news? http://www.windsorstar.com/News/Turnout+tepid+modern+parties/1500117/story.html For a city of 4 million plus and then having to bus in people from Cobb even if they had 20,000 which I heard crowd estimates about 15,000, that is not a lot of people. With radio personality Sean Hannity here, think probably most went to see his spouting off. That man is going to have a stroke if he keeps on with his rantings. One million people are protesting in Iran...sm What the Mousvi supporters are trying to do in Iran is to show the world that they can bring down the Ahmedinejad and hopefully also the leader of the theocray WITHOUT the meddling of the US for which they did not ask. There are also in the cleric council contradicting opinions regarding the legitimate outcome of the election and how to proceed in solving this massive protests. Ahmadinejad, meanwhile, left the country to Russia!! This shows AGAIN the diplomatic excellence of Obama AND Biden when they held back their meddling and interfering, letting the people try it on their own! If it were up to McCain and Cheney they would have made out of this conflict a 2nd-Iraq siituation, probaly invaded Iran!
Senate to vote on S. 2611 that allows up to 30 million illegal The Senate is about to vote on a crucial bill, the revised H.R. 4437, that could give amnesty to 12-30 million illegal aliens and open the door for their relatives and a new flood of illegals to enter, which could mean 100-200 million new people coming into the country in 20 years according to expert analysis, virtually all poor, diminishing wages, increasing the crime rate, and bankrupting tax coffers. Now is the time to call any of the key Senators who could be persuaded into a NO vote, otherwise, there is a chance the House-Senate joint committee will approve for a likely vote in the House: Lindsay Graham (SC): (202) 224-5972 Counting by hand of 100 million votes would be a task...sm Not that it is an unworthy one, I just doubt it will be done. One idea was that the computer gives the voter a reciept of their selection and then the reciept, once verified by the voter, is deposited into the machine. Brainstorming, I suggest they take it one step further and have a real time tally for each candidate per voting center. That way the voters can verify that their vote was casted, counted, and affected the number. The last voters, along with the volunteers could verify the final numbers for the districts. Ike turns aim on Galveston-Houston Metroplex with 5 million on Is there something wrong with this picture, or is it just me? BTW, I live in the bullseye. WaMu Exec walking away with a cool $11.6 Million? plus $7.5 million in (something else). He was top exec for 3 weeks! I just caught the tail end of this info on Oprah and have been looking for verification of this. Haven't found it yet. They might keep this under wraps since the bail out still hasn't happened yet. I'm curious if this is true and if it is.....
Yeah, well 1 million protested our Govt recently too. nm Bottom line...they made a 68 million dollar PROFIT. PROFIT is AFTER expenses. So I am thinking they are doing pretty darn well, don't you? They are not in it for the goodness of their hearts. And it says plainly on the website they will take checks for anything but abortions. So that says to me cash or credit card. IF there is another explanation for that, please share. It has been awhile since there was a bombing or a shooting, and I don't condone either. Killing abortionists or bombing clinics is not the answer. Changing minds and providing alternatives is the answer. But going with the flow and remaining quiet while mass murder of the unborn goes on is something I cannot do, and sorry if I find it horrifying that PLanned Parenthood makes such a KILLING for killing. THere is THAT. I'm so relieved. We're spending $6 million for explosives detection I was just thinking the other day: If I'm Obama, I'm saying to he!! with spending enough money to secure the borders. The main threat is that Jackson Hole airport. I'm telling you, people, the government has gone positively insane. $6 million would go a VERY long way at the border. Oh, but wait - that wouldn't make good pork politics, now, would it?
I'm so relieved. We're spending $6 million for explosives detection I was just thinking the other day: If I'm Obama, I'm saying to he!! with spending enough money to secure the borders. The main threat is that Jackson Hole airport. I'm telling you, people, the government has gone positively insane. $6 million would go a VERY long way at the border. Oh, but wait - that wouldn't make good pork politics, now, would it?
There are over ONE MILLION hits on Google when you enter...George Bush Atheist...sm Does that make him an atheist? GET the point? Zogby Poll: Over 70 Million Voting Age Americans Support New 9/11 Investigation.sm Zogby Poll Finds Over 70 Million Voting Age Americans Support New 9/11 Investigation. Link to article on web page that represents survivors and victims families. http://www.911truth.org/article.php?story=20060522022041421
2 million of whose money?? And yet the media criticizes Palin for her expensive clothes! But it's okay to spend that kind of money - he's a Democrat, so no one will say anything about it. They only make an issue of it when it's concerning a Republican. Everything is suddenly an issue only when it's conerning a Republican... Nation has lost 4.4 million jobs since recession began in Dec. 2007 Unemployment rate soars to 8.1 percent WASHINGTON - The nation's unemployment rate bolted to 8.1 percent in February, the highest since late 1983, as cost-cutting employers slashed 651,000 jobs. Both figures were worse than analysts expected and the Labor Department's report shows America's workers being clobbered by a relentless wave of layoffs. The net loss of jobs in February came after even deeper payroll reductions in the prior two months, according to revised figures. The economy lost 681,000 jobs in December and another 655,000 in January. Since the recession began in December 2007, the economy has lost 4.4 million jobs, more than half of which occurred in the past four months. Employers are shrinking their work forces at alarming clip and are turning to other ways to slash costs — including trimming workers' hours, freezing wages or cutting pay — because the recession has eaten into their sales and profits. Customers at home and abroad are cutting back as other countries cope with their own economic problems. With employers showing no appetite to hire, the unemployment jumped to 8.1 percent from 7.6 percent in January. That was the highest since December 1983, when the jobless rate was 8.3 percent. All told, the number of unemployed people climbed to 12.5 million. In addition, the number of people forced to work part time for "economic reasons" rose by a sharp 787,000 to 8.6 million. That's people who would like to work full time but whose hours were cut back or were unable to find full-time work. Meanwhile, the average work week in February stayed at 33.3 hours, matching the record low set in December. Job losses were widespread in February. Construction companies eliminated 104,000 jobs. Factories axed 168,000. Retailers cut nearly 40,000. Professional and business services got rid of 180,000, with 78,000 jobs lost at temporary-help agencies. Financial companies reduced payrolls by 44,000. Leisure and hospitality firms chopped 33,000 positions. The few areas spared: education and health services, as well as government, which boosted employment last month. A new wave of layoffs hit this week. General Dynamics Corp. said Thursday it will lay off 1,200 workers due partly to plummeting sales of business and personal jets that forced it to cut production. Defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp., and Tyco Electronics Ltd., which makes electronic components, undersea telecommunications systems and wireless equipment, also are trimming payrolls. "This is basically cleaning house for a lot of firms," said John Silvia, chief economist at Wachovia. "They are using the first quarter to cut back employment and figure out what they want." Disappearing jobs and evaporating wealth from tanking home values, 401(k)s and other investments have forced consumers to retrench, driving companies to lay off workers. It's a vicious cycle in which all the economy's negative problems feed on each other, worsening the downward spiral. "The economy is in a tailspin. Businesses are jettisoning jobs at an unprecedented pace," said Richard Yamarone, economist at Argus Research. The country is getting bloodied by fallout from the housing, credit and financial crises_ the worst since the 1930s. And there's no easy fix for a quick turnaround, economists said. President Barack Obama is counting on a multipronged assault to lift the country out of recession: a $787 billion stimulus package of increased federal spending and tax cuts; a revamped, multibillion-dollar bailout program for the nation's troubled banks; and a $75 billion effort to stem home foreclosures. Even in the best-case scenario that the relief efforts work and the recession ends later in 2009, the unemployment rate is expected to keep climbing, hitting 9 percent or higher this year. In fact, the Federal Reserve thinks the unemployment rate will stay elevated into 2011. Economists say the job market may not get back to normal — meaning a 5 percent unemployment rate — until 2013. Businesses won't be inclined to ramp up hiring until they are sure any economic recovery has staying power. The economy contracted at a staggering 6.2 percent in the final three months of 2008, the worst showing in a quarter-century, and it will probably continue to shrink during the first six months of this year. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress earlier this week that recent economic barometers "show little sign of improvement" and suggest that "labor market conditions may have worsened further in recent weeks." Consumers’ growing frugality has hammered automakers, among other industries. General Motors Corp.'s auditors on Thursday raised "substantial doubt" about the auto giant’s ability to continue operations, and the company said it might have to seek bankruptcy protection, sending its shares below $2. Bill Hampel, chief economist for the Credit Union National Association, said his group’s members are reporting record increases in deposits. Government figures show the savings rate jumped to 5 percent in January from zero last spring. That’s the highest rate since 1995 and a much faster shift than he had expected, Hampel said. Consumer spending makes up about 70 percent of the economy. It topped out at 71 percent in 2005, Hampel said, but will likely drop by 2 to 3 percentage points over the next few years. Increased savings can actually lower economic growth. Economists call it the “paradox of thrift”: What’s good for each of us individually — being thrifty, limiting our spending — can worsen a recession when everyone does it all at once. Hoffman said about half the 6.2 percent drop in economic output last quarter was attributable to lower consumer spending. Obama campaign gave over 800K dollars xx It wasn't campaign donations that paid for thousands of dollars in kids' travel nm I don't think the government owes me a job I just don't understand why they go out of their way to send our jobs overseas. The government's job is to protect and serve the American people - not the people of other countries. They need to work for US. The same goes for businesses. If they start ditching American workers for cheaper overseas labor, then who is going to buy all of their products? Americans won't have the money because we'll be jobless! O's Ron Kirk - another one who owes back taxes from 2005-2007. A piddling amount, only $10,000 for speaking fees he took but never reported on his tax returns. This was a mistake on his part as he felt it wasn't income since his speaker fees go to a charity. Every penny? No one owes you a job, especially one tailor made for you I, personally, don't think it's the government's job to provide you a job you will love be it a manufacturing job or a higher level professional one. While, I too would like to see more manufacturing jobs stay in the states it's really up to the private business owner to decide how he will run his business. It's not even the private business owner's responsibility to provide jobs. It's his responsibility to make his business profitable. If the business is profitable the jobs will come naturally. I honestly get tired of people thinking the government owes them a job. You have the freedom to get out and make your own way. That's all the constitution promises. It's no one's responsibility to provide you with a job. perhaps he owes back taxes because he works as an IC and has to pay waaaaaay too much. :) I think the fact that he owes back taxes proves the point perfectly! President Bush owes me no apology. He has my profound gratitude for keeping us safe since 9/11. Nuff said. Obama's campaign called McCain's campaign. This was reported an hour or two before McCain had his little news conference. Shouldn't take to heart too much of what McCain says as he is a known liar. I'll give him my respect for serving but not my vote...no one owes him that. nm 4 Big 3 loan I promise to absorb all opinions without comment. I'm willing to learn. How do you all feel about this topic now? Most importantly, please explain why you feel one way or the other. We must LOAN them the money. You don't cut off your nose to spite your face. We are circling the drain in this nation and it will take some massive, painful steps to correct the situation. I am totally against the honchos making that ridiculous amt of money. that can be addressed secondarily - get the nation back on its feet and then reform. I will not support destroying the middle class by unemployment, etc, just because I resent those at the top.
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