GMAIL

Who wants one?  I got 100 to give away... Doesn't everyone have gmail already?

The US Government is SO Self Serving it is Disgraceful

Shady...

Firms with White House ties get Katrina contracts

FEMA taps Halliburton subsidiary, Shaw Group, Bechtel for cleanup



WASHINGTON
(Reuters) -- Companies with ties to the Bush White House and the former
head of FEMA are clinching some of the administration's first disaster
relief and reconstruction contracts in the aftermath of Hurricane
Katrina.




At least two major corporate clients of lobbyist Joe Allbaugh,
President Bush's former campaign manager and a former head of the
Federal Emergency Management Agency, have already been tapped to start
recovery work along the battered Gulf Coast.




One is Shaw Group Inc. and the other is Halliburton Co.
subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root. Vice President Dick Cheney is a
former head of Halliburton.



Bechtel National Inc., a unit of San
Francisco-based Bechtel Corp., has also been selected by FEMA to
provide short-term housing for people displaced by the hurricane. Bush
named Bechtel's CEO to his Export Council and put the former CEO of
Bechtel Energy in charge of the Overseas Private Investment
Corporation.




Experts say it has been common practice in both Republican and
Democratic administrations for policy makers to take lobbying jobs once
they leave office, and many of the same companies seeking contracts in
the wake of Hurricane Katrina have already received billions of dollars
for work in Iraq.




Halliburton alone has earned more than $9 billion. Pentagon
audits released by Democrats in June showed $1.03 billion in
"questioned" costs and $422 million in "unsupported" costs for
Halliburton's work in Iraq.


Watchdog groups take notice



But the web of Bush
administration connections is attracting renewed attention from
watchdog groups in the post-Katrina reconstruction rush. Congress has
already appropriated more than $60 billion in emergency funding as a
down payment on recovery efforts projected to cost well over $100
billion.




"The government has got to stop stacking senior positions with
people who are repeatedly cashing in on the public trust in order to
further private commercial interests," said Danielle Brian, executive
director of the Project on Government Oversight.



Bush appointees at Halliburton



Allbaugh formally registered as a lobbyist for Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root in February.



In
lobbying disclosure forms filed with the Senate, Allbaugh said his goal
was to "educate the congressional and executive branch on defense,
disaster relief and homeland security issues affecting Kellogg Brown
and Root."




Melissa Norcross, a Halliburton spokeswoman, said Allbaugh has
not, since he was hired, "consulted on any specific contracts that the
company is considering pursuing, nor has he been tasked by the company
with any lobbying responsibilities."




Allbaugh is also a friend of Michael Brown, director of FEMA
who was removed as head of Katrina disaster relief and sent back to
Washington amid allegations he had padded his resume -- which he denies.



A few months after Allbaugh was hired by Halliburton, the company retained another high-level Bush appointee, Kirk Van Tine.




Van Tine registered as a lobbyist for Halliburton six months
after resigning as deputy transportation secretary, a position he held
from December 2003 to December 2004.



On Friday, Kellogg Brown
& Root received $29.8 million in Pentagon contracts to begin
rebuilding Navy bases in Louisiana and Mississippi. Norcross said the
work was covered under a contract that the company negotiated before
Allbaugh was hired.


Cheney's relationship with Halliburton



Halliburton
continues to be a source of income for Cheney, who served as its chief
executive officer from 1995 until 2000 when he joined the Republican
ticket for the White House. According to tax filings released in April,
Cheney's income included $194,852 in deferred pay from the company,
which has also won billion-dollar government contracts in Iraq.




Cheney's office said the amount of deferred compensation is
fixed and is not affected by Halliburton's current economic performance
or earnings.



Allbaugh's other major client, Baton Rouge-based
Shaw Group, has updated its Web site to say: "Hurricane Recovery
Projects -- Apply Here!"





Shaw
said on Thursday it has received a $100 million emergency FEMA contract
for housing management and construction. Shaw also clinched a $100
million order on Friday from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.




Shaw Group spokesman Chris Sammons said Allbaugh was providing the
company with "general consulting on business matters," and would not
say whether he played a direct role in any of the Katrina deals. "We
don't comment on specific consulting activities," he said.




Copyright 2005 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

The Forbidden City on Google Maps

So cool.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=beijing&ll=39.912969,116.393135&spn=0.020385