"In early 2001, before September 11, Halliburton won the Defense Department's 'Super Contract,' which covers food, maintenance, construction, and other services woldwide. (Halliburton) bid a price that was shockingly low. In addition to being reimbursed for what it spent, Halliburton would get a base fee of 1 PERCENT and a MAXIMUM performance award of just 2 PERCENT. After September 11, that already awarded 'Super Contract' meant that Halliburton received an avalanche of unexpected business -- at very low profit margins. -- Certain unforseen costs (additional post-9/11 security, hazzard pay, soaring insurance rates) are NOT COVERED. When those UNREIMBURSABLE costs exceed 3 PERCENT -- the cost-plus contract becomes a MONEY LOOSER."

- Fortune Magazine 18april05 P.Elkind

"Halliburton earned $85 million from $3.6 billion in Iraqi contracts, a profit margin of roughly 2.4% in 2003." [when checking accounts were offering roughly 5%]

- Washington Post 09march04 J.Spinner

"In the second quarter of 2004, Halliburton reported that it earned 1.4 percent profits on $1.7 billion worth of work in Iraq."

- Business Week 04oct04 S.Forest

"Consider Halliburton's stock price. When CEO David J. Lesar took over from Dick Cheney in August 200, the company's shares were trading at $54. They sank to a record low of $8.70 in 2001. By August 9, 2005 (two years into the war) they were trading at $58.."

- R. Miniter Contributor New Republic, Atlantic Monthly, NY Times, Washington Post

"As a result of poor performance, Halliburton wants to sell the division that runs Iraqi operations, KELLOG, BROWN & ROOT (KBR)"

- R. Miniter Contributor New Republic, Atlantic Monthly, NY Times, Washington Post

"In 2004 Halliburton was strained by borrowing to pay the unexpectedly large expenses (and) thought about getting out (but) concluded it COULDN'T LEGALLY DO IT."

- Financial Times 22june04

"KELLOGG, BROWN & ROOT (KBR) has become an ALBATROSS for them (Halliburton)."

- Jason Putnam of Victory Capital Mgmt. [owner of 2 million shares of Halliburton]

"Could Halliburton be burying its Iraq profits elsewhere in its vast conglomerate? Not likely. The parent company itself is not very profitable: Mergent (formally Moody's) reports that the company LOST $979 million on total world-wide sales of $20.4 billion in 2004."

- R. Miniter Contributor New Republic, Atlantic Monthly, NY Times, Washington Post

"A moveonDOTorg Ad claimed that 'The Pentagon caught Halliburton overcharging $61 million for gasoline.' In fact, the Defense Contract Audit Agency found 'POTENTIAL overcharges of UP TO $61 million for gasoline.' So $61 million was the UPPER LIMIT on the ESTIMATED overbilling. And it was HALLIBURTON'S OWN AUDITORS who caught the two Middle Eastern SUB-CONTRACTORS overcharging for gasoline and turned them in."

- R. Miniter Contributor New Republic, Atlantic Monthly, NY Times, Washington Post

"The truth is that the CONSPIRACY THEORIES about the vice president's involvement in Halliburton's Iraq contracts are either unproven or flatout wrong. And while the company's Middle East operation is the subject of scathing (Congressional) audits and investigations, it's hardly raking in scandalous profits. Indeed, KELLOGG, BROWN & ROOT, the part of Halliburton's business that America seemed to hate because it was raking in far too much, is the part of the business Wall Street hates because it is making far too little."

- Fortune Magazine 18april05 P.Elkind

"Halliburton has been a BAD BET for INVESTORS -- and CONSPIRACY THEORISTS. Its Iraq operations have been barely profitable and the company has performed poorly. There is no evidence that Vice President Cheny had a hand in awarding the Iraq contracts."

- R. Miniter Contributor New Republic, Atlantic Monthly, NY Times, Washington Post

- - - that Man is no happier nor sadder than he was 4000 years ago ----

only busier.

"The more hair you have on the outside, the less you have on the inside."

B. Dylan

If they weren't they'd be cackling out loud to legalize prostitution. Most men don't REALLY wanna cheat on there spousematerial. But hey, the Stronger Sex just ain't that strong in that wanderless-eyes sorta way --- haven't been for 20 million years --- and that goes for any species.

In our own present-day (as in Days of Yore) poor dim-minded girls who can't make ends meet on taking orders at McDumbles often (more than often in some spheres) take up this nasty Receptical Business at their own peril.

Nasty Germs of every imaginable nightmare lay in wait in their ever-ending games russian rollete. Even worse, smooth-talkin pimp creeps bait em with lies before Using Em Up and (oftener than never) feeding them with anchor-ball-n-chain narcotics, resulting in an equally dispicable System of Slavery as that which was outlawed in 1864.

So let our smiley ol Uncle Sam become the Nation's Pimp. Like the Prohibition Era Bootleg Booze before, the gov't will put all the Al Capone cock-roaches in the hoosie-gow. The girlies won't need to fear for their lives in every evenings crap-shoot, from either the fancy Pimp-Daddy Slave Masters -- or -- the B.O. Plentifuls from Society. They're lives will be safe, clean and prosperous in an Adam Smith free-market kinda way. (certainly the IRS will take a far smaller cut than some Poopie-Dog creature).

The Oldest Proffession is simply never gonna go away. Even men will be happier knowing that their dalliances are clean and safe; -- a new $$ pool from which to tap 100 million new American taxpayers.

We'd get rid of the national debt overnight --- and have a jolly time of doing it to boot !!!