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Dear Friends,
In my compilation of energy invention suppression cases (see bottom of http://green-salon.com/presentations.htm,
www.energysuppression.com,
or www.byronwine.com), I count at
least 50 cases of involvement by the U.S. Government and even a few instances
of Bush family involvement. It is not surprising that the extensive
corruption revealed below extends to suppression of new energy inventions to
protect the fossil fuel and power companies.
DOE corruption also helps explain irrationally large nuclear power and hot
fusion subsidies and refusal to examine my list of over two dozen alternative
radioactive waste neutralization methods so as to protect profitable Yucca Mountain dump contracts.
BTW, the oil companies seem to be heading for even more humongous
profitability:
An ominous warning that the rapid rise in oil prices has only just begun
By Danny Fortson, Business Correspondent
Wednesday, 11 June 2008
The chief executive of the world's largest energy company has issued the most
dire warning yet about the soaring price of oil,
predicting that it will hit $250 per barrel "in the foreseeable
future".
The forecast from Alexey Miller, the head of the Kremlin-owned gas giant
Gazprom, would herald the arrival of £2-per-litre petrol and send shockwaves
through the economy. His comments were the most stark to be expressed by an
industry executive and come just days after the oil price registered its largest-ever
single-day spike, hitting $139.12 per barrel last week amid fears that the
world's faltering supply will be unable to keep up with demand.
Mr Miller's prediction is well beyond even the most heady market forecasts,
the most extreme of which fall between $150 and $200 per barrel, and was
explained only by vague references to demand from the developing world. It
nonetheless stoked an already febrile atmosphere of growing public anger
across Europe over a soaring fuel cost that
is wreaking havoc at nearly every level of the economy.
The British Government was urging motorists yesterday not to panic-buy petrol
in anticipation of a strike on Friday by lorry drivers who deliver petrol to
forecourts for Royal Dutch Shell, assuring motorists that contingency plans
would ensure sufficient supplies.
In Spain, the regional
government of Catalonia
enacted an emergency action plan to bring in fresh food and fuel supplies
after nearly half of its forecourts ran dry and supermarkets shelves were
left bare. The situation was the result of the second day of an
"indefinite" nationwide strike staged by lorry drivers in Spain seeking
their government's help to contain the effects of expensive petrol. Scattered
protests by drivers and fisherman in France
and Portugal
also continued yesterday.
In a speech to the European Business Congress in Deauville, France,
Mr Miller offered little prospect of relief. He warned that the world was
experiencing a fundamental shift in energy prices that will end at a
"radically new level. We expect that the oil price will approach $250
per barrel in the foreseeable future".
Philip Shaw, an economist at Investec Securities, warned that oil at that
level would exert an extraordinary drag on the economy at a time when it is
already decelerating at a rapid rate. "The word is ouch," he said.
"Forecasts are forecasts though, and I think it should be treated with
some level of scepticism."
The most visible result of $250 oil would be at the petrol pump, which is
already at a record 116.9 pence per litre for unleaded. Because more than
half of that price, about 68p, is due to duty and taxes, the general rule of
thumb is that each $2 increase for oil means a 1p increase of petrol at the
pump. Oil at $250 a barrel would mean an increase of almost 60p in petrol
prices, even before VAT.
The price of everything from food to energy would see significant price
rises. Household electricity and gas bills are particularly vulnerable. Power
companies have begun warning of a second round of major tariff increases for
household bills this year that they say they will need to push through just
to break even.
Mr Miller placed some of the blame on financial speculators for oil's price
rise – it has more than doubled in the past year – but said that the
primary reason is simple supply and demand, driven by the rapidly expanding
countries of the developing world, principally China
and India.
It is a view shared by the International Energy Agency. In its monthly oil
report, the developed world's energy watchdog said yesterday that the
"abnormally high prices [for oil] are largely explained by
fundamentals". But whether the price of oil will reach $250 is uncertain
at best. Most expect it to reach a breaking point before that figure. The IEA
said that the high price would eventually "choke off" demand and a
balance between supply and demand would return.
What is certain is that for Europe, Mr
Miller's role will become increasingly important as head of the continent's
single biggest gas supplier. He also warned against "protectionist
tendencies" in Europe, where worries
have grown that the company is being used as a blunt negotiating tool of the
Kremlin. "The relationship between Gazprom and Europeans is one of
mutual dependence. We rely as much on European consumers as they depend on
us," he said.
(End of article)
The easiest, quickest and cheapest way to lower the price of oil seems to be
to immediately end viciously thorough suppression of new energy inventions.
Gary Vesperman
COO and Director of Research
Blue Energy Corporation
Henderson, Nevada
June 11, 2008
Exposing Bush Administration Corruption
By Stephen Lendman
Exposing Bush Administration Corruption - by Stephen Lendman
Information for this article comes from long-time business, finance and
political writer and analyst Bob Chapman who publishes the bi-weekly
International Forecaster. It's power-packed with key information and a valued
source for this writer. He obtained voluminous material directly from its
source. People need to know it. Read on.
SueAnn Arrigo is the source. She was a high-level CIA insider. Her title was
Special Operations Advisor to the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI). She
also established the Remote Viewing Defense protocols for the Pentagon in her
capacity as Remote Viewing Advisor to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). It
earned her a two-star general rank in the military. She called it a
"ploy" so the Pentagon could get more of her time and have her
attend monthly Joint Chiefs of Staff meetings. Only high-level types are
invited, and she was there from October 2003 to July 2004.
Part of her job involved intelligence gathering on Iraq
and Afghanistan
- until August 2004 when she refused to spread propaganda about a
non-existant Iranian nuclear weapons program and left. She followed in the
footsteps of others at CIA who resigned for reasons of conscience and became
critics - most notably Ray McGovern, Ralph McGehee, and Phil Agee.
On May 16, 2008, Arrigo sent extensive government corruption and cover-up
information to Henry Waxman, Chairman of the House Oversight and Government
Reform committee - in 12 separate cases. This article covers four of them or
about one-third of what Congress got. The 12 are explosive and revealing but
just the tip of the iceberg:
-- of government corruption and war profiteering;
-- sweetheart deals and kickbacks;
-- high-level types on the take;
-- trillions of missing dollars;
-- on September 10, 2001, Rumsfeld admitting "According to some
estimates, we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions;"
-- imagine the current amount;
-- its corrosive effect on the nation; and people should
-- demand accountability - who profits, who pays and what are the
consequences of militarism gone mad.
SueAnn Arrigo offers a glimpse and at great personal risk. In August 2001,
DCI George Tenet told her to assemble "a moving van full of Pentagon
documents showing Defense Contractor kickbacks to Pentagon officials."
She did as instructed but not to expose corruption as she learned - to conceal
it and in her judgment so CIA could divert defense business to Halliburton
and "Carlyle-related contractors." She stated: "The mood at
the CIA and Pentagon was 'war is coming' because the Bush Family stands to
make billions from it -- so get ready."
Arrigo was shocked at what she found and how brazenly the Pentagon wrote it
up because it feels untouchable, especially since 2001. That notion proved
misguided after CIA used the material to blackmail or bribe its officials
"into 'working on' the Halliburton-Carlyle team." Top CIA types
were involved, and Tenet laid it out for Arrigo: You've "given me the
keys to the kingdom. (These) documents will make me rich."
She collected three types. Her report covers one but has plenty of
incriminating evidence. Her precise recall of dates and names is incomplete,
but events are factually right and damning on how Washington operates. It's always been this
way but never to the degree as under George Bush. Arrigo exposes the scheme -
the systematic looting of the treasury to enrich contractors and high-level
officials at Pentagon, CIA and others well-placed in government. Precise
amounts are unknown, but at mimimum are countless multi-billions, even
trillions - at taxpayer expense and diverted from essential social and
infrastructure needs.
Case 1: Ordering Unneeded New Fighter Aircraft
Arrigo discovered high-level Pentagon corruption. It involved bid-rigging and
implicated "an Air Force general on the JCS and a Defense Contractor,
Boeing." She disclosed it to JCS Chairman Hugh Shelton and DCI George
Tenet, and in both instances drew blanks. She also reported it to the
Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress. It
was vetted and confirmed, but left unaddressed the larger issue of whether
new generation planes are needed at an enormous cost to taxpayers. Arrigo
believed not, and several Air Force generals agreed. Not other JCS members,
however, who she learned are on the take.
There's more. They "had the gall to try to force through another
unneeded plane contract for Boeing." At an early 2004 JCS meeting,
Arrigo complained about the previous undelivered order because it didn't meet
Pentagon specifications. Yet one general in particular tried "to force
the US
military to buy another (unneeded) upgrade." One other JCS member backed
her to no avail, and the new order went through. Arrigo rightfully concluded
that new plane orders were to enrich Boeing and high-level Pentagon types
getting kickbacks for their cooperation.
She also learned how much - an average $22,000 "for each (JCS meeting)
vote according to their bank" records. Not US ones. CIA-arranged Swiss
accounts specifically for this purpose. Everyone at the meeting cashed in,
except Arrigo and one dissenting general. More disturbing is that this is
standard Pentagon practice - handouts to contractors; kickbacks to complicit
brass; and taxpayers out multi-billions - year after year.
Jeff St. Clair wrote about it in his 2005 book "Grand Theft Pentagon:
Tales of Corruption and Profiteering in the War on Terror." It's an
explosive account of how contractors like Halliburton, Lockheed Martin,
Boeing, Bechtel and the Bush family-connected Carlyle Group scam
multi-billions at taxpayer expense and not a whiff of it in the mainstream. It's
the reason US annual "defense" spending tops $1.1 trillion
(conservatively) with all military, homeland security, veterans, NASA, debt
service and other allocations included.
Case 2: Halliburton Delivers Half Full Cartons to the Pentagon's "Swing
Shift"
Arrigo refers to the Pentagon's Receiving Department "swing shift"
personnel. They alone are on the take so other shifts are shut out and can't
report it. As a CIA insider, she checked and found damning evidence - about
"the military (not) getting supplies to the troops on time." She
also learned that Halliburton has its "Representative to the CIA,"
and one at the Pentagon as well. Both get federal salaries but neither was
"hired by CIA or the military through their personnel departments.
Neither had done military training or trained at (CIA's) 'Farm' as a
spy." Arrigo was disturbed and with good reason when orders from the top
said back off.
It got worse. Arrigo worked at CIA for over 30 years and reported directly to
Tenet. But she wasn't prepared for what she found - a new section at the
Agency without her knowledge. It employed 40 people, all working for
Halliburton "while being paid by the US taxpayer as if they were
CIA." It was secret. No files were on them. They were never interviewed,
never vetted, and she concluded: "CIA had a back door in its security to
let Halliburton put anyone they wanted in (its) hallways. It was an
outrageous (breach) of US National Security," and in a post-9/11
"war on terrorism" climate.
She was shocked and told Tenet. His reply: "Yes, I know." Head of
CIA building security also knew. Arrigo asked what he'd do about it. His
answer: "Keep my mouth shut so I can stay alive and I suggest you do the
same." She asked if he, CIA or Halliburton would kill her if she talked.
He didn't think so. Would national security firm CACI do it because it's
affiliated with Halliburton and also has a CIA back door for its personnel at
the Agency.
Arrigo dug deeper. She got inside Halliburton's area and asked questions. Why
was the company shipping half the contracted for amounts and shortchanging
the troops and taxpayers. It was no different for war zones. Halliburton
"set up the same corrupt system of swing shift receivers (for) at least
3 continents. They received the cartons and signed (off) that the goods were
all received properly. Then the shortages later were chalked up to thefts or
war damage, etc."
Arrigo again informed Tenet. His answer: "This is nothing new,"
then added: "Have a report about it on my desk before Christmas (2001)."
It got worse. Arrigo told Tenet he's responsible for "correct(ing)
Halliburton's short-shipping and its invasion of the CIA." He said he
couldn't because the White House tied his hands. Call Congress, Arrigo said.
DCI "should be a man of courage." Tenet ignored her, so Arrigo
faxed documents revealing Halliburton fraud to GAO - omitting national
security secrets. One of them crowed about the scheme's profitability, and
having high-level officials involved made it foolproof.
It was clever and even more devious than Arrigo imagined. Halliburton uses
each shortage complaint as a new order. "In that way (it) never (loses)
by having to make good for (what's) missing," and (it gets) paid double
for the same merchandise.
Arrigo knew too much, took risks to learn it, and what happened next is
shocking. Halliburton's "CIA Representative" confronted her, tore
out her phone, ransacked her office, removed every shred of paper, and hauled
her off bodily "to a prison cell" inside its basement offices. She
was intimidated and threatened. Thought she might be killed. She survived,
but the message was clear. She complained to Tenet. Showed him her bruises.
He responded dismissively: "There, there, everything will be all right
in the morning."
GAO still has Arrigo's files. It began investigating but stopped. She thinks
that Congress can resume it and asked Waxman to do it. That's where things
now stand.
Case 3: The White House Conspiracy to Cook the Books - Halliburton, Carlyle
and CIA
In 2002, Arrigo tried a new tact - ingratiating herself with
"Halliburton's Man" and using it to her advantage. She offered
cooperation for access to his space and make him think she was on his side.
It worked, went on for four and one-half months through late May, and it paid
off - with plenty of insider knowledge "about Halliburton and how it
works." Enough to fill a book, she says, but her account sticks to
highlights.
First off, it's pure myth that Dick Cheney stopped running the company.
"He called in orders to the man I worked for almost every day and
sometimes two or more times a day. He remained (Halliburton's) functional
head in all but name. No one....had the power to override his orders."
Second, Cheney never divested himself of Halliburton profits. "He merely
hid how (he got them) through a series of shell companies."
One of Arrigo's jobs was to liaison between Halliburton and CIA's
"creative accounting departments." In other words, their
co-conspiratorial treasury looting efforts, and Arrigo got insider access to
it. Her advanced math and computer software training qualified her. In a few
months, she became expert in how CIA and Halliburton hid their
"financial illegalities."
She explained - "Computers are good ways to fool most people because
(they don't) look inside of them." They can be programmed "to print
out one set of books for regulators, another for Defense Contractors, another
for the Pentagon, another for the taxpayer," and so forth. It's simple.
Decide what you want, and machines will create it in any desired form. The
trick is doing it expertly, most criminals can't, so they need professionals
to do it for them. It means crimes are never secret, and many computer
experts know about them. CIA has always been tainted, kept it secret since
inception, so far has been untouchable, but remains vulnerable to exposure by
people of conscience like Arrigo.
She explained: Halliburton has eight software programmers at CIA. Its home
office has many more. She was on conference calls with 60 of them on ways to
conceal illegalities and assure none of it leaks out. The company has less
expertise than CIA so the Agency took charge to make the two systems
compatible. It took several years and over 100 programmers. They came, left
for other jobs, and took insider knowledge with them. It risks more leaks
about Halliburton, other contractors, CIA, the Pentagon, high-ups in
government, and the Basel-based Bank of International Settlements for its
part in corruption.
Many investigations are ongoing, but huge pressure is exerted to quash them.
It's feared leaks may unravel the whole scheme - a vast corruption web
involving countless numbers of contractors, related companies, and many high
level government and Pentagon insiders. Cover-up software hides it. Taxpayers
fund it. Amounts keep getting greater, and they're up to unimaginable levels.
Arrigo explained the system. Suppose Halliburton sold product A in 100 Lot
Sizes, in Quantity X at Price Y to the Pentagon on a given date. Most
civilian invoices disclose this. Pentagon ones don't so contractors can cheat
and Pentagon brass profit. Missing information conceals whether all
merchandise was delivered as nothing indicates quantities shipped. Further,
repackaging also hides proper amounts. Omitting the price alone conceals whether
a shipment was shorted, but CIA is more clever than that. It experimented
with "tested receivers at some of its front companies" to learn how
best to deceive them. What works best is "shifting prices around like
random noise" - one day this cost, another a different one, and so
forth.
One company used a "gross overcharge method" that looked
suspicious. It got receivers to discover the real price, and that defeated
CIA's scheme. When it works, it cooks the books, and no one's the wiser.
Ledger entries are inflated, undercut, omitted, added, or varied in amounts
of similar transactions. Like a "professional crime institution,"
CIA is expert at falsifying books so no one catches on. How? By random price
variations to keep auditors off balance and unable to discover corruption
patterns.
Another example:
CIA varies its front company prices monthly. Suppose Halliburton made a
purchase "when it (used) a cost inflation idea of cheating. Halliburton
(has) an incentive to inflate the cost of its purchases (to) justify (its)
high (price) to the military." So as standard practice it uses CIA's
highest price and claims that amount for its cost.
But comparing two sets of books reveals the scheme. So methodology became
more sophisticated to conceal it. Halliburton takes CIA prices and doubles
them on its books. It then claims the Agency recorded half the charge
"accidently," says its front company promised a 50% discount, but
never delivered. CIA looks bad, and it balked. No matter. Halliburton still
does it, but CIA has "lots of fronts with lots of customers and worse
problems (to hide) than merely jacking up prices. Some fronts (are)
fictitious and (make) no products." Others have real customers plus fake
ones to launder money. CIA tries to "make (their) crimes 'undetectable.'
" Halliburton hopes to "sneak by" until caught, then find a
way to weasel out of it with minimal damage or cost.
Case 4: Halliburton's Rigged Back Door Accounting Computer at the Pentagon
In early 2002, GAO got damning evidence: that Halliburton overbills and
short-ships - deliberate fraudulent acts as standard company practice,
confident it can get away with it, and most often it does.
GAO has the goods to expose it from Halliburton and Pentagon invoices. They
reveal a problem. They don't match, are grossly inflated, and payments exceed
amounts billed - by about 35%. Arrigo met with GAO and compared notes.
Halliburton has similar Pentagon and CIA-paid staff, and George Bush approved
it in a secret Executive Order Arrigo has for proof. She gave it to GAO plus
other documents showing national security is compromised and taxpayers
cheated - hugely.
One document lists Halliburton's CIA and Pentagon staff, what little official
records discloses about them, their secret office locations, and information
on their private security staff. Arrigo discovered that Halliburton's top CIA
man served time for felony fraud. Another at Pentagon was convicted as well -
for stealing Army vehicles, then profiteering by transshipping them overseas.
Dick Cheney knew, blocked background checks to conceal it, but Arrigo found
out and about the Pentagon fraud that followed. She has a handwritten Cheney
memo instructing his man "to make sure that the Pentagon pays us all
that it owes us and then some." CIA's forgery department verified the
writing is Cheney's.
Arrigo also has a letter from Halliburton's Pentagon man to his CIA
counterpart, and it's damning. He brags how he's "getting more than we
bargained for (from) the Pentagon" and suggested they get together to
compare notes. They did and Arrigo taped it. The evidence once more is
damning - about how easy it is to scam the system; befriend accounting
personnel; install company programmers; check bills supposedly behind in
payments; install a special software code for higher amounts; and do all of
the above at Pentagon and CIA.
Arrigo informed George Tenet so he'd stop "Halliburton from ripping off
the American taxpayer via the CIA and Pentagon." Tenet hardly blinked
and responded casually: "Well, you certainly have done a thorough job as
usual." He then offered to inform the White House to "correct the
problem." Arrigo did herself, GAO as well, and later learned that the
Bush administration (likely Dick Cheney) blocked an investigation.
This article covers four of Arrigo's 12 cases. Their evidence is damning and
shows systemic contractor, government, CIA and Pentagon fraud involving
enormous amounts of money. One or more articles will follow if more material
can be obtained. It's not what Pentagon and CIA want outed so getting it is
never simple and revealing it not without risks.
Stephen Lendman is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on
Globalization. He lives in Chicago
and can be reached at lendmanstephen@....
Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to The Global
Research News Hour on RepublicBroadcasting.org Mondays from 11AM to 1PM US
Central time for cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests. All
programs are archived for easy listening.
Author's Bio: I am a 72 year old, retired, progressive small businessman
concerned about all the major national and world issues, committed to speak
out and write about them.
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