• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Democrats have delivered the Square Deal, the New Deal, the Fair Deal, and now… the Big Joe Biden Deal.

Maybe you would prefer that we take Joelle’s side in ALL CAPS?

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

This country desperately needs a functioning Fourth Estate.

Spilling the end game before they can coat it in frankl luntz-approved dogwhistles.

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

Trump’s legal defense is going to be a dumpster fire inside a clown car on a derailing train.

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

There are a lot more evil idiots than evil geniuses.

If West Virginia and San Francisco had a love child.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

“The defense has a certain level of trust in defendant that the government does not.”

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

The gop couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

In my day, never was longer.

“Why isn’t this Snickers bar only a nickel?”

Mobile Menu

  • Four Directions Montana
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • COVID-19 Coronavirus
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2024 Elections
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Politics / Bad Ideas

Bad Ideas

by John Cole|  June 17, 200512:17 pm| 11 Comments

This post is in: Politics

FacebookTweetEmail

Via Richard Bennett, this really bad idea:

A Halliburton Co. unit will build a new $30 million detention facility and security fence at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where the United States is holding about 520 foreign terrorism suspects, the Defense Department announced on Thursday.

The announcement comes the same week that Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld defended the jail after U.S. lawmakers said it had created an image problem for the United States…

Under the deal with the Norfolk, Virginia-based U.S. Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Atlantic, the work is to be wrapped up by July 2006. It is part of a larger contract that could be worth up to $500 million if all options are exercised, the Defense Department said.

The project is to be carried out by Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root Services of Arlington, Virginia. It includes site work, heating ventilation and air conditioning, plumbing and electrical work, the Pentagon said.

Maybe they can hire Ken Blackwell, Katherine Harris, Ken Lay, Paul Wolfowitz, and Ahmad Chalabi to oversee the construction, thus making sure that Henry Waxman’s head explodes on the floor of the house.

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « Already?
Next Post: The Energy Bill »

Reader Interactions

11Comments

  1. 1.

    Geek, Esq.

    June 17, 2005 at 12:22 pm

    It’s hard to imagine buying worse publicity for $30 Million.

    Obviously no conspiracy, but idiotic in terms of P.R.

  2. 2.

    Jeff

    June 17, 2005 at 1:29 pm

    Serious question here, but is there anybody that posts here in a related field who can say if Halliburton/Kellog Brown & Root services is the best company to do this stuff?

    My point is, I voted for Bush and even I don’t necessarily have confidence that this administration won’t fuck up certain decisions, but what if Halliburton (or one of their subsidiaries) is the best company for the job? Are they supposed to give it to the second or third best company just avoid the appearance of impropriety?

    Like I said, it’s just a question because I don’t know if they are or aren’t the best company to do it.

  3. 3.

    cfw

    June 17, 2005 at 1:35 pm

    It looks like a crazy location. I thought they only went to Cuba in the first place to try to bootstrap the case for denying trials. USSCT said who cares if you are in Cuba. So why go back to Cuba now??

    Halliburton seems qualified for the work, but why invest more in Cuba as opposed to, say, Arizona desert?

  4. 4.

    Pug

    June 17, 2005 at 2:04 pm

    Jeff,

    I have spent over 25 years working in the oil & gas industry, including refining, exploration & production and oil services. Halliburton is generally well though of and I’m sure they are qualified for this work.

    That being said, I doubt they are the best qualified company to build a damn prison. Have they ever built a prison before? I don’t know.

    I think I might check to see who built Pelican Bay or New Folsom in California. Those boys know how to build a Big House.

  5. 5.

    Pug

    June 17, 2005 at 2:08 pm

    Jeff,

    I’ve worked in the oil & gas business for over 25 years, including exploration & production, refining and oil services companies. Halliburton is generally well thought of and I assume they are qualified for this work.

    That being said, are they the best qualified to build a prison? I doubt it.

    I think I’d check with the builders of Pelican Bay or New Folsom in California. Those boys know how to build a Big House.

    Hell, the inmates built Old Folsom and San Quentin themselves. Now there’s an idea.

  6. 6.

    Pug

    June 17, 2005 at 2:09 pm

    So soryy. I know that wasn’t worth reading twice.

  7. 7.

    Jon H

    June 17, 2005 at 2:10 pm

    “could be worth up to $500 million if all options are exercised,”

    The cynical side of me wonders if those “options” are Halliburton stock options with low strike prices granted to the relevant government officials.

    (No, of course that isn’t what was meant, but such an arrangement is entirely plausible.)

  8. 8.

    The Lonewacko Blog

    June 17, 2005 at 2:49 pm

    Why didn’t they just choose Wackenhut? See Black helicopters on the Rez if you aren’t familiar with them.

  9. 9.

    Kimmitt

    June 17, 2005 at 3:17 pm

    I wonder who they’re planning on putting in there?

  10. 10.

    CalDevil

    June 17, 2005 at 3:55 pm

    Doesn’t it seem obvious to just about everyone by now that the experiment of Halliburton owning KBR no longer makes sense?

    I thought they’d have seen the light and spun them off by now.

    With the demand for oil and gas exploration and drilling, you can’t say that Halliburton’s core business is suffering.

    I know that the business (oil & gas) is cyclical and that in the long run, KBR’s consistent performance can smooth out earnings bumps, but is this really worth it?

  11. 11.

    Barry

    June 18, 2005 at 8:10 am

    John, you’re missing Titan Corp (sp?) which was contracted to provide ‘translaters’ for Abu Ghraib and other similar sites.

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

Recent Comments

  • rikyrah on Henry Would Like His Lunch Right Now, Please (Open Thread) (Apr 15, 2024 @ 4:47pm)
  • schrodingers_cat on Righteous Rant Open Thread (Apr 15, 2024 @ 4:42pm)
  • lowtechcyclist on Henry Would Like His Lunch Right Now, Please (Open Thread) (Apr 15, 2024 @ 4:42pm)
  • Nelle on Righteous Rant Open Thread (Apr 15, 2024 @ 4:38pm)
  • Geminid on Take the Fucking Win (Apr 15, 2024 @ 4:37pm)

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Balloon Juice Meetups!

All Meetups
Talk of Meetups – Meetup Planning
Proposed BJ meetups list from frosty

Fundraising 2023-24

Wis*Dems Supreme Court + SD-8
Virginia House Races
Four Directions – Montana
Worker Power AZ
Four Directions – Arizona
Four Directions – Nevada

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
Positive Climate News
War in Ukraine
Cole’s “Stories from the Road”
Classified Documents Primer

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Mailing List Signup
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)

Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

Balloon Juice for Ukraine

Donate

Twitter / Spoutible

Balloon Juice (Spoutible)
WaterGirl (Spoutible)
TaMara (Spoutible)
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
ActualCitizensUnited

Political Action 2024

Postcard Writing Information

Balloon Juice for Four Directions AZ

Donate

Balloon Juice for Four Directions NV

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2024 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!