After Liz directly Slams Dailykos for spreading a rumor that "George Bush broke up Al and Tipper" (a claim that can be easily disproven as bogus and inane with a simple search) - the fireworks really start:
Huff vs Liz - Round One: DING!
HUFFINGTON: Right here, we have the poster child of Bush-Cheney crony capitalism. Halliburton involved in this, and we haven’t said about that. They after all were responsible for cementing the well. Here’s Halliburton, after it defrauded the American taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars –
CHENEY: Arianna, I don’t know what planet you live on, but that’s not –
HUFFINGTON: — it’s involved again. I’m living on this planet. ... Halliburton was involved in this. How can you say it is not?
TAPPER: Well, Halliburton was cementing the pipe.
HUFFINGTON: How can you say Halliburton has no relationship?
CHENEY: Her assertion that Halliburton defrauded the U.S. government –
HUFFINGTON: It did. It did.
CHENEY: It was Bush-Cheney cronyism is the left talking point –
HUFFINGTON: It was — hundreds of millions of dollars in Iraq.
CHENEY: Arianna, is absolutely not true. It is absolutely not true.
Despite Liz Cheney's extra-terrestrial flights, the Wall Street Journal has this to say about Halliburton's involvment in the BP Disaster.
An oil-drilling procedure called cementing is coming under scrutiny as a possible cause of the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico that has led to one of the biggest oil spills in U.S. history, drilling experts said Thursday. [...]
The scrutiny on cementing will focus attention on Halliburton Co., the oilfield-services firm that was handling the cementing process on the rig, which burned and sank last week. The disaster, which killed 11, has left a gusher of oil streaming into the Gulf from a mile under the surface. ... According to Transocean Ltd., the operator of the drilling rig, Halliburton had finished cementing the 18,000-foot well shortly before the explosion.
The other issue with Ms. Cheney objects to is the assertion that Halliburton "Defrauded the Government" in Iraq. Well to be far more fair to Ms. Cheney than she would certainly be with Arriana or Dailykos - she's half right. It wasn't just Halliburton that defrauded the government, it was also Halliburton's Subsidiary KBR.
From Thinkprogress.
Second of all, Halliburton became notorious for its malfeasance in Iraq. It allegedly tried to cover up the gang rape of one of its contractors, knowingly exposed U.S. troops to deadly toxins, and ignored warnings of unsafe electrical wiring that led to the death of U.S. soldiers. In 2007, federal auditors told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that the government had wasted $10 billion on “overpriced contracts or undocumented costs.” Of that amount, $2.7 billion was charged by Halliburton.
See, Arriana was wrong there - she only said Halliburton defrauded the government for "hundreds of millions" when in fact - It Was $BILLIONS!
Now technically Halliburton began selling off it's minority shares in KBR in 2006 and some of the more eggregious actions by KBR didn't occur until after that - but the report from the House Auditors, wasn't directed at only KBR, it was Halliburton too.
The larger claim, that this explosion was the result of corporate malfeasance coupled with regulator paralysis - is also true. via - ahem - Huffpo
Both companies failed to provide a competent crew, failed to properly supervise its employees and failed to provide Rushto with a safe place to work, according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The lawsuit also names oil-services giant Halliburton as a defendant, claiming that the company "prior to the explosion, was engaged in cementing operations of the well and well cap and, upon information and belief, improperly and negligently performed these duties, which was a cause of the explosion."
Yeah, and who was doing the cementing again?
Must have been Martians.
For the record I have no knowledge or comments about George Bush being involved in Tipper and Al's breakup - other than if Liz Cheney wants us to think she actually read Dailykos I've got this drilling platform off the coast of Louisiana to sell, that's available for Absolute Rock Bottom prices...
Vyan
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