Iran's Presidential Elections

[Azure]

Its not called Blackwater anymore.

They changed their name to avoid media exposure or something.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by mikey_the_redneck

My bad, Halliburton profits from war in the middle east, but the name I was thinking of was Blackwater and to a lesser extent KBR, which many names like Bush, Cheney, Bin Laden etc. have a steak in. Here is some info.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KBR_(company)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwater_USA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halliburton

These companies make massive profit from war in the middle east.

Dude, KBR....Kellogg, Brown & Root is a construction company. They build refineries. The do NOT manufacture war supplies.

Companies like Haliburton, KBR etc profit from selling their services which does not require a war. These companies don't need the US to control the areas in which they work....in fact...the US doesn't control many areas in which they are currently working and turning a profit.

You're reaching.

Wow.

[mikey_the_redneck]

From the KBR page;
"KBR and its predecessors have won many contracts with the U.S. military during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, as well as during World War II and the Vietnam War."
"KBR was awarded a $100 million contract in 2002 to build a new U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, from the State Department.
KBR employs more American private contractors and holds a larger contract with the U.S. government than does any other firm in Iraq. The company's roughly 14,000 U.S. employees in Iraq provide logistical support to the U.S. armed forces.[13]
The United States Army hired KBR to provide housing for approximately 100,000 soldiers in Iraq in a contract worth $200 million, based on a long-term contract signed in December 2001"

And there is alot more than that. It looks to me like KBR does more than just oil refineries.......

Also there is the Carlyle Group and this is what it says there;

"The Carlyle Group is a global private equity investment firm, based in Washington, D.C., with more than $88.5 billion of equity capital under management
The firm has employed political figures and notable investors. Some of these figures include former US President George H. W. Bush, former British Prime Minister John Major and former US Secretary of State James A. Baker III.
Carlyle invests primarily in the following industries: aerospace and defense, automotive, consumer and retail, energy and power, health care, real estate, technology and business services, telecommunications and media, and transportation."

THIS IS WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR;
"In the documentary film Fahrenheit 911, Michael Moore makes nine allegations concerning the Carlyle Group, including: That the Bin Laden and Bush families were both connected to the Group; that following the attacks on September 11, the bin Laden family’s investments in the Carlyle Group became an embarrassment to the Carlyle Group and the family was forced to liquidate their assets with the firm; that the Carlyle group is, in essence, the 11th largest defense contractor in the United States.[23] Moore focused on Carlyle's connections with George H. W. Bush and his Secretary of State James A. Baker III, both of whom had at times served as advisors to the firm."

[mikey_the_redneck]

Originally Posted by Azure

Its not called Blackwater anymore.

They changed their name to avoid media exposure or something.

Right............its now called "Xe"

[Displaced Flames fan]

What is your point Mikey?

You claim that these compaines profit from war as if they have to make war to be profitable. Is that your contention? Or are you just pointing fingers and saying HEY! Look at this!?

[mikey_the_redneck]

Originally Posted by Displaced Flames fan

What is your point Mikey?

You claim that these compaines profit from war as if they have to make war to be profitable. Is that your contention? Or are you just pointing fingers and saying HEY! Look at this!?

No, I agreed that they didnt need war to be profitable, but it doesnt hurt either. What was more alarming to me were the names behind these investment companies and how a conflict of interest can be really dangerous.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by mikey_the_redneck

No, I agreed that they didnt need war to be profitable, but it doesnt hurt either. What was more alarming to me were the names behind these investment companies and how a conflict of interest can be really dangerous.

So this is just a rehash of Farenheit 911 then. OK.

It seemed like you were trying to say that the US started the war in Iraq so they could make some money for these companies and that they will do the same in Iran (since Obama has no control in your world.). You sure that's not what you were trying to say?

[mikey_the_redneck]

Originally Posted by Displaced Flames fan

So this is just a rehash of Farenheit 911 then. OK.

It seemed like you were trying to say that the US started the war in Iraq so they could make some money for these companies and that they will do the same in Iran (since Obama has no control in your world.). You sure that's not what you were trying to say?

Well this topic has taken a few twists and turns but your post only partly describes my view.
My main point was in one of my other posts;

America's financial backers............in the grand scheme of things, want to have control over the supply of oil.
From my post #29.


American business has funded major wars on both sides, and it has been going on for along time now. War is big business for the Bush family, the Rockefellers etc....

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by mikey_the_redneck

Well this topic has taken a few twists and turns but your post only partly describes my view.
My main point was in one of my other posts;

America's financial backers............in the grand scheme of things, want to have control over the supply of oil.
From my post #29.


American business has funded major wars on both sides, and it has been going on for along time now. War is big business for the Bush family, the Rockefellers etc....

In post #31 you seem to imply that the US will start a war with Iran for the sake of these companies. Are you backing off of that now?

[mikey_the_redneck]

Originally Posted by Displaced Flames fan

In post #31 you seem to imply that the US will start a war with Iran for the sake of these companies. Are you backing off of that now?

Well I started defending my points from multiple posters and got a little lost. I was just trying to address the previous post that was saying the U.S. cant afford another war, when in reality as long as the Fed can continue to print money, it really doesn't matter. Those companies I mentioned are just a small example of what really goes on. Obama or Bush just have to sell it to the public and the money part takes care of itself.

You have to question where money for war comes from. A war effort requires lots of money, raw material and so forth, and big business jumps all over it.

[HOZ]

Late attempt to get this thread back on track...

Michael Totten with a great run down on events. Picture, videos, etc...

BTW: Freedom from tyranny is won via the end of a gun barrel. Always has, always will. Protests work only in civil societies. Sad really. This will be like Tienanmen square soon enough.

Unfortunately, the best that Obama can do (or any president) will be to not recognize the election results and treat shorty as a non-entity.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by mikey_the_redneck

My bad, Halliburton profits from war in the middle east, but the name I was thinking of was Blackwater and to a lesser extent KBR, which many names like Bush, Cheney, Bin Laden etc. have a steak in. Here is some info.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KBR_(company)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwater_USA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halliburton

These companies make massive profit from war in the middle east.

You may want to lay off unreliable sources like Wikipedia and fear-mongerers like infowars. It'll help bring down the crazy.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by HOZ

Unfortunately, the best that Obama can do (or any president) will be to not recognize the election results and treat shorty as a non-entity.

I do not envy Obama's position right now. The guy seems to have an absolute buffet of foreign affairs issues. I'd really like to see North Korea dealt with before everything else but I think Bush really screwed things up by over-extending the military.

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by HOZ

Late attempt to get this thread back on track...

Michael Totten with a great run down on events. Picture, videos, etc...

BTW: Freedom from tyranny is won via the end of a gun barrel. Always has, always will. Protests work only in civil societies. Sad really. This will be like Tienanmen square soon enough.

Unfortunately, the best that Obama can do (or any president) will be to not recognize the election results and treat shorty as a non-entity.

That's a fantastic link HOZ, some great stories in there. I had been following developments on the Tehran Bureau, but it seems they've been hacked and shut down. I agree, protests only get you so far. I can imagine scenarios where this ends well, but I'm pretty pessimistic that they will.

[FlamingLonghorn]

Originally Posted by HOZ

Unfortunately, the best that Obama can do (or any president) will be to not recognize the election results and treat shorty as a non-entity.

I wish he could do that. However, he chose to say he would engage Iran and at the end of the day it's not really a democratic country regardless of what happens. It would be like not engaging China because of Tianmenan(sp?) square. I feel like we aren't past the point of no return with Iran, however North Korea needs to be dealt with.

[sureLoss]

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has now ordered a ballot probe after already endorsing Ahmadinejad.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/me...ml#cnnSTCVideo

This is probably just a move to placate the protestors. The probe will probably confirm Ahmadinejad as the Supreme Leader has already called the results "divine will"

[sureLoss]

Mousavi has been forced to cancel a rally as the interior ministry has declared planned protests to be illegal. Also BBC is reporting that militias have been authorised to use live ammunition.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8099952.stm

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has now ordered a ballot probe after already endorsing Ahmadinejad.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/me...ml#cnnSTCVideo

This is probably just a move to placate the protestors. The probe will probably confirm Ahmadinejad as the Supreme Leader has already called the results "divine will"

If it were the assembly of experts or the expediency council or another arms' length political body conducting the probe, I'd have optimism here, but the Guardian Council is half made up of clerics chosen by Khamenei, and half made up of clerics chosen by judges who were chosen by Khamenei. They're also the ones responsible for choosing election officials, so they'd be condemning themselves if they found wrong-doing.

[sureLoss]

Moussavi showed up to the rally anyways. However BBC is reporting shots have been fired at the protests (unclear as to who is shooting who).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8101098.stm

[burn_this_city]

The police and militias are beating the demonstrators.