Saturday, August 26, 2023
Benefits..
On March 19 2003, Paul Wolfowitz, then deputy defense secretary and a leading proponent of the war, told a Congressional committee: "We are dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon."
The US has overwhelmingly borne the brunt of both the military and reconstruction costs, spending at least $138bn on private security, logistics and reconstruction contractors, who have supplied everything from diplomatic security to power plants and toilet paper.
None has benefited more than KBR, once known as Kellogg Brown and Root. The controversial former subsidiary of Halliburton, which was once run by Dick Cheney, vice-president, was awarded at least $39.5bn in federal contracts related to the Iraq war over the past decade.
There are still 14,000 contractors, including 5,500 security guards, in Iraq even though the last troops left in December 2011. Just a thought.
Fossil..
The US is bolstering its presence in the Gulf waters, with US Central Command announcing on July 20 that an amphibious ready group, along with some 3,000 sailors and Marines were being deployed in the region.
An Aug. 11 report from USNI stated that some 100 Marines of the 26th Marines Expeditionary Unit have been trained and are ready in Bahrain to provide armed security on board merchant ships crossing the Hormuz Strait.
This would reportedly put small groups of armed American forces onto foreign-flagged ships, in order to discourage Iranian attacks.
So the US taxpayers are paying for protecting oil shipments going to various countries with readiness to start a war in the Middle East. On the other hand, this administration blocks the Russian energy from flowing to Europe. So what is it that the West want? Cheap Fossil fuel with raging War in the Ukraine and may be someplace else?
Just a thought.
EV..
Earlier this year, Texas state lawmakers passed Senate Bill 505, which requires electric vehicle owners to pay a fee when they register a vehicle or renew their registration.
It’s being imposed because lawmakers said EV drivers weren’t paying their fair share into a fund that helps cover road construction and repairs across Texas.
Gasoline taxes go to the State Highway Fund, which the Texas Department of Transportation calls its “primary funding source.” Electric vehicle drivers don’t pay those taxes, though, because they don’t use gasoline.
The Charging stations is going to charge more as we go further, thus taking the benefits out of the type of car.
Share the road, share the cost.
Just a thought.
Friday, August 25, 2023
False..
A study by two nonprofit journalism organizations found that President Bush and top administration officials issued hundreds of false statements about the national security threat from Iraq in the two years following the 2001 terrorist attacks.
The study concluded that the statements "were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses."
. "In short, the Bush administration led the nation to war on the basis of erroneous information that it methodically propagated and that culminated in military action against Iraq on March 19, 2003." Just a thought.
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
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