Anyone remember DU'er CorpGovActivist - the Halliburton whistleblower?

[sabra]

Today's news...

http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE50P5ZE20090126

Halliburton to pay $559 million to settle bribery probe
Mon Jan 26, 2009 2:18pm EST



HOUSTON (Reuters) - Halliburton Co will pay a $559 million fine to end an investigation of its former KBR Inc unit if the U.S. government approves the settlement, the largest penalty against a U.S. company for charges of bribery under federal law.

Halliburton, once headed by former Vice President Dick Cheney, said it was awaiting final approval from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle claims that KBR violated anti-bribery laws by paying kickbacks to Nigerian officials.

Under the settlement, Halliburton would pay $382 million to the Department of Justice and $177 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission in "disgorgement."

KBR did not comment on the proposed settlement. Halliburton said in regulatory filings last July that it was in settlement talks with the government.

[K Gardner]

1. Thanks for posting this. K&R.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. I remember him...

What a great story...

K&R

[Tatiana]

3. He was right about more than a few things. I miss him. Thanks for posting this. n/t

[radfringe]

117. There will be more

coming down the pike regarding Halliburton/Cheney... This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Waxman has been stockpiling data/info, chomping at the bit to be able to break this wide open. Going to take some time, but the poop will be rolling downhill.

[horseshoecrab]

159. Thanks Radfringe!

Good to know.

horseshoecrab

[SacredCow]

4. I do indeed remember him....

and miss his writings (however controversial) here.

[bigtree]

5. He was right on about Halliburton

. . . he flamed out here on politics, though.

[hfojvt]

25. I thought he got in trouble

for being an MRA, but it's hard to keep up with everything going on here.

[LostinVA]

6. IBTL

He stalked people here and IRL, sued DU, and -- I think -- has a zombie on here.

Good riddance.

[sabra]

12. I didn't know about the lawsuit... didn't mean to bring up any bad memories...

:hi:

[yodermon]

14. was that during the primaries?

If there was any drama around his departure i completely and entirely missed it.

[Subdivisions]

15. Can you back that up, please? Not sayin' yer wrong but missed

that about CGA. Last I saw, he was still somewhat of a DU hero-of-sorts.

[racaulk]

34. This may shed some light on the situation...

This was an OP that I made in The Lounge after I found out CGA had been tombstoned. Honestly, I didn't know much about his history here and I was surprised to find out about his tombstone. Some of the people in my thread elaborated on what they thought the events were that led to his banishment. And since CGA was unable to defend himself, a few people didn't bother holding back their true feelings.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=7494735

I hope this helps. :hi:

[SacredCow]

37. No doubt it was some ugly, ugly ju-ju that was flowing....

in the thread that was ultimately his undoing, and he made a VERY bad judgement in posting PM's that he'd received from the other party or parties.

YMMV, but it seemed to me that Dave would debate viciously over in GD- no holds barred. But then he'd come over to the Lounge and find common ground with the very people that he was arguing with. Kind of a "hit hard on the field, shake hands and go share a pitcher of beer after the game" kind of thing.

But somewhere along the line, it got personal, and devolved into the ugliness that got him and others a pizza. Not the first time, and probably won't be the last.

[uppityperson]

82. wow. Is that what did in the others there also

Maddie and MonkeyF too? Thanks, glad I missed that one.

[Barack_America]

87. Nope.

Their TS's came later. But you're right, there was plenty o' blame to be had in that trainwreck of a thread.

[Barack_America]

86. Mmm. That was yummy.

A primary flamewar between several since-tombstoned DUers about what it means to be a "dick". Very entertaining.

[snooper2]

144. Absolute greatness

:rofl:

And a Michelle Obama Proud thread to boot :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[havocmom]

95. I had run-ins with him early on. It was like dealing with Bev: His way or you were the enemy

Didn't seem very democratic to me, but I tend toward a big tent and those who demand total agreement raise my hackles just because...

He did sorta stalk. I know that from personal experience back in the day.

Whistle blowers are human too, and subject to all the frailties that come with being human. I supposed blowing a whistle on cheney's bosses might tend to make one a tad paranoid.

[grannie4peace]

16. wow!

[AlCzervik]

18. yup.

[SacredCow]

22. I don't believe that he ever officially sued DU....

I could be wrong, but I think it was mostly just his reaction to being (in his opinion) unfairly TSed.

And FWIW, the main posters who were accusing him of stalking were TSed themselves for attacking the mods.

<shrug> I just found his posts very entertaining and fun to read, so yeah- I miss his input. Even if it was occaisionally off-color.

[leftstreet]

23. We can sue DU? Uh, I think I'm getting carpal tunnel...

[Divine Discontent]

61. class action suit! my wrists have been hurting really bad, it's not the interest I have had

regarding the election that have caused this... NO! It's because DU provides this free website?

I bet we'd get belly button lint in the ruling... LOL

I think we need to lay off the keyboard for a while... been an exciting 6 months.. eh? :)

[Laurab]

32. I think you are exactly right.

And I also believe almost all, if not all, of the posters who accused him of "stalking" have long since been TSed, although I'm not sure of the reason - I just know I was grateful when I saw several of them gone.

I miss him on here, too - he was a lot of fun, and also informative, and I'm very glad to see something finally come of his Halliburton work.

[Dr. Strange]

48. Yeah.

And FWIW, the main posters who were accusing him of stalking were TSed themselves for attacking the mods.

I noticed that too.

[MADem]

152. Ha! Sue DU? How ..... silly.

It's a private, membership site. What might be the basis, I wonder? There's no "fairness" on the internet. They can shitcan any one of us for any or no reason, and if we don't like it, we can pay to start up our own site!

I remember that guy, and I liked his posts--they were INFORMED, and not just blowhard opinion. I wasn't around enough to take note of any drama. I did notice that he wasn't around anymore, but wasn't sure why--if he jumped, or was pushed.

[SacredCow]

153. The supposed lawsuit was not referencing him being TSed...

Agreed- The Admins could decide that they don't like the color of my tie and serve me a pizza right now (but I hope they don't- it's a nice tie). I honestly don't recall the specifics of it, but the potential lawsuit, in and of itself, had nothing to do with being unfairly tombstoned.

And FWIW- I feel that overall the admins do a very good job of handling the tough tombstone decisions. It's a thankless chore to be sure, and I don't envy them of it.

[MADem]

169. You miss so much drama if you're not married to this joint!

I don't recall the guy being dramatic...but then, I never got into it with him. I just remember the well-researched and fact-based offerings. I guess I missed all the exciting stuff.

The Admins have every right to do what they want, IMO--it's their baby, and they aren't required to put up with crap they don't like. I take no issue with that, either. If this place is not to someone's liking, they can go elsewhere (use someone else's bandwidth) or start their own enterprise.

[SacredCow]

178. "dramatic" is perhaps the wrong word....

but he spoke his mind, and passionately defended his positions without apology. Naturally, there were some who didn't care for his beliefs and/or tactics but that's the way the ball bounces, no? I wouldn't worry about "missing all the exciting stuff." It was a lot of ugliness.

But CGA/Dave is far from a psycho, as some are saying. My first interaction with him on DU was in a thread that brought up some very personal and painful demons for me. Dave recognized this, and knew that he had resources and knowledge that was going to be invaluable to me- much of it was very personal for him to discuss, too. He didn't HAVE to do that, but as he put it, "I could clearly see that you were in pain over something that I happen to know a lot about. I just wanted to help you." What he did for me was truly above and beyond the normal well-wishes.

But again- all of that is irrelevant when it came to his TSing. He, and he alone made the tactical error that forced the mods hands. I regret it, for Dave's and DU's sake but I don't question the mod's choice in the matter.

[acmavm]

35. Why did he do all that?

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

46. Because he's nuts

[acmavm]

118. Nuts enough to give Halliburton/KBR a nice metaphorical kick in the nads.

[SacredCow]

148. I can't say for sure that I'd have taken them on.....

I have this addiction to breathing, you see....

[midnight]

185. Yes in did. He was so smart, and was patriotic enough to

try and save the tax payer from getting ripped off. I had no idea about any of this other stuff. This is unfortunate for D.U. if this is the case, because he contributed so much understanding of this world. If anyone knows how to get in touch with him, let him know that some of us miss him and wish him well.

[Baby Snooks]

143. Working for Halliburton probably does that to you...

I cannot fathom working for Halliburton. Fortunately Halliburton was held responsible instead of KBR since obviously the decisions were made by Halliburton. Hopefully this will not be the last matter they will be held accountable for. Don't forget Vietnam. War for profit.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

171. Personally, I don't believe he ever worked for Halliburton

I wouldn't trust anything he posted. He stalked people here, IRL and over on other message boards.

Having a shitty job doesn't make someone nuts.

[scarletwoman]

59. I hope he DOES have a "zombie" here, because I want him to know that I really miss him.

I thought he was an exceptional asset to DU, and I loved having discussions with him.

I will proudly defend him. A decent and honest man brought down by petty assholes.

sw

[mmonk]

64. He's assessable.

[scarletwoman]

68. Um, do you mean he's ACsessable?

Feel free to pm me.

Thanks,
sw

[mmonk]

70. Yeah, most likely.

I'll pm you.

[scarletwoman]

73. Thanks.

:)

[conscious evolution]

124. He can be found at Radfringe'

site.She has a link in her sig line.
I don't think he has a zombie here.He has a distinctive posting style that I would have noticed.

[radfringe]

150. not my site

it's a forum that Dave set up... I just post there and help out with what I can

[blonndee]

97. I don't know anything about your friend, but

since you and I have agreed so much in the past, I did want to tell you that I also agree with you on this much: he WAS brought down by two (now TSed) "petty assholes" and that alone makes me at least reconsider any initial negative thoughts I may have had about him. I don't mean to say that anyone who disagreed with him or who was suspicious of him were assholes (I was suspicious too, as I usually am); not at all. I'm referring to one thread in particular and two (again, now TSed) DUers, as you know, I'm sure.

[scarletwoman]

172. He was someone who was obviously intelligent and thoughtful from the start.

I loved debating stuff with him, because we were miles apart on a lot of stuff, and it was like an exhilarating fencing match. I always came away feeling like my understanding had been expanded. He was never anything but respectful toward me.

It was always great fun to bounce an issue off of him -- it always seemed to me that our exchanges gave both of us an opportunity to examine things from new angles.

I never hang out in the Lounge, so it's totally foreign territory to me. I had no idea he was posting there. I also totally avoided GD-P until the very last 2-3 weeks of the primaries, so I also didn't see what he was posting there. By the time I ventured in there, he had already been TS'd -- but I didn't know that until much later.

He has a high quality mind, imho -- unlike those pond scum who were also finally -- and most deservedly! -- TS'd. I think his exile was a great loss to DU.

Thank you for your kind words.

sw

[defendandprotect]

108. THIS would seem to be rather an important story for DU to lose access to . . . !!

Besides his personal involvement as "whistleblower" to government on Halliburton,

one of the more interesting profiteers of the recent past--!!!

And a story which it seems to be -- with death threats, again -- would help to make

clear the nature of the political violence we have been experiencing over the past

many, many decades!

A lot for DU to lose . . . IMO.

[WilliamPitt]

84. Yup

[Zuiderelle]

127. Yeah...

A real disruptive and combative person. Took everything personally and beat you to the depths of tedium if you disagreed with him.

[Kittycat]

157. Well shoot - I guess I can remove him from my Ignore list then

:rofl:

[Lochloosa]

7. Tombstoned. I wonder if it was at his request.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=user_profiles&u_id=195237

[AlCzervik]

8. no and he had it coming. see the post above yours.

[Lochloosa]

10. Thanks. Didn't know that.

[robinlynne]

28. oh no, chimp, i will never recognize your threads with the new name!

[scarletwoman]

60. He did NOT have it coming. His attackers, themselves TS'd, most certainly did, though.

He was a friend, I will not countenance him being smeared.

sw

[Number23]

62. Good for you.

I will not countenance him being smeared.

Especially as it seems that the main smearers have smeared themselves out of existence here. That certainly should count for something...

[scarletwoman]

66. Thank you. I totally agree. "That certainly should count for something..." (nt)

[kenfrequed]

138. too true

I found Monkeyfunk to be every bit as combative as GSA. He frequently jumped to ad hominem and resorted to common mainstream media characterizations over facts and seemed to be zelously attatched to the DLC segment of the party.

[Reterr]

90. Very true and the very people who stalked him have now been TSed

Good riddance...they were some of the most unpleasant, polarizing people around here. It was some petty Lounge-type nonsense during the primaries.

He sent some people some PMs (stupid no doubt) but the whole thing accelerated the way so many things do when some of the very dramatic Loungers like those two are involved...They claimed he sent "threatening PMs", but backed off on how "threatening" these PMs were when asked-they were so clearly enjoying the drama of their own creation and they disliked him primarily because he bashed Clinton and supported Obama.

Some of the people involved were never interested in issues, but merely in forming little Lounge cliques and stalking/harassing anyone that disagreed with them.

I liked him-he was an actual Haliburton whistleblower. Not someone who spent all their time having an imaginary life on the internet the way some here do and make everything about petty Lounge quarrels rather than politics/activism. It is part of the reason many people decide to stop coming here for politics. Because eventually this highschool bullshit spills over even into serious forums.

And please spare me the self-righteous "Humph-well NO ONE knows what I do in real life"...
Whatever some of these Lounge clique people may do IRL, here all they seem to do is stalk and harass anyone who falls out with someone who is part of some Lounge gang.

I was sorry when CGA was TSed. The only mistake he made was descending to the level of some of his attackers who do nothing but this sort of bs. He actually had stuff of substance to say.

[motocicleta]

91. Hear, hear

His attackers made life miserable for all sorts of innocents on DU. All you had to do was breathe wrong in the frog's direction and she would chew your ass all night to prove you had attacked her. CGA brought interesting news and facts to DU; his attackers on that thread brought nothing to DU, year after year, but bile, frayed nerves and idiocy. I like that they were all about calling him a liar on those threads, and now the gov't is backing him up to the tune of almost 600 million. I guess he wasn't a liar, after all. Scoreboard.

[Reterr]

93. No kidding

They were petty bullies who especially loved to gang up on anyone new to this site. The type of people that drive down traffic on any site.

[Moochy]

145. I hated that fucking frog

[NV Whino]

147. Me too

That frog was funny for about two seconds.

[defendandprotect]

109. Looks more like someone wanted to kill this "whistleblower" story at DU . . . ???

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

181. Oh brother

He was a freaking lunatic, and if he was the Halliburton whistleblower, I'm the Queen of England.

[Skidmore]

140. I miss Dave. We had

some interesting conversations and having experienced being a whistleblower myself, I know a bit about what he was going through I hope he is doing well now and that some day he will join us again.

[fascisthunter]

74. no he didn't

[malaise]

9. DU'er CorpGovActivist is a great man

I still the new DOJ needs to follow this up. Paying a fine this large looks more like buying silence.

Bravo CorpGovActivist. Stay away from small planes. :yourock:

[acmavm]

40. Yep, I liked the guy, I got a lot of info from him and he was never unpleasant

as far as I know.

He sure as hell wasn't the biggest asswipe in the first looonnnngggg thread I read.

edit: I'm just not reading all the rest of 'em. I notice that it's really hard for people to stay on topic (that includes myself) so I don't want to wade through all that crap.

But hey, at least the guy actually did something about bush** admin corruption. None of us can say that, now can we?????

[malaise]

43. 100% correct

He walked the walk. I hope he's well.

[merh]

78. If others could say that, they may not be willing to speak about

all they have done and all they do because of how they would be treated by some folks here.

[blm]

132. EXACTLY - - those MOST concerned with honest government get the worst treatment from a group

of posters who mock and smear anyone who utilizes their citizen's right to open government accountable to the people.

[merh]

139. and too many posts of substance

dealing with real issues and concerns are allowed to languish while the sparkly, flashy posts get the attention.

[truedelphi]

49. I had some wonderful interchanges with him.

And Halliburton should be disbanded and oredered to pay back its loot.

[grannie4peace]

11. that is fucking great!!!!

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[The Traveler]

13. I like Dave

Miss him. Understand there are those who don't, and that's OK.

[OnyxCollie]

17. It was nice to hear from an insider. nt

[PassingFair]

55. Yes it was....

but some tiny egos around here couldn't handle it.

[fascisthunter]

75. .

[stillcool]

19. I'm very happy that he got..

at least some results for his brave efforts. This appears to be hush money. Paying to stop an investigation is not what I think he was looking for.

[Hekate]

20. I remember him very well indeed, and am glad to see this turn of events. I miss his posts...

I never had any unpleasant run-ins with him, so didn't know about his being tombstoned. Wherever he is, I hope he's safe from Dick Cheney's minions.

Hekate

[Tuesday_Morning]

21. hush money

huh

[robinlynne]

29. Yeah,a re you allowed to admit to international fraud and just pay a fine?

[Greyhound]

31. Of course. I wouldn't mind the blatant selling of our interests nearly so much

if only they didn't sell them so cheaply. KBR stole many billions and gets off with a measly $585M?

[La Lioness Priyanka]

24. i hope corpgov has regained his sanity. nt

[conscious evolution]

26. Rats deserting a sinking ship

I see a lot of company officers where selling their shares in the company before news of this was released. http://idea.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-idea?CIK=0000045012&action=getcompany

CGA taught me,and others here, how to look up that info.

[bridgit]

27. I do, he was my buddy we talked about stuff like that all the time...

[byronius]

30. Very Important Person.

[EFerrari]

33. Yeah! Go, Dave!

:woohoo:

[grantcart]

36. thanks sabra

I enjoyed Dave. Like a lot of people here he had a very interesting background and lots of informative views on a wide range of topics.

I missed the hot threads he was on and was surprised he was TSd.

Kept up with him by email for a while but lost track.

[seemslikeadream]

38. there were some problems

[LeftishBrit]

39. k&r - very interesting story!

[tclambert]

41. Wow. This is a good story.

Sometimes justice happens.

[tclambert]

42. PS. I just got an e-mail from a former Nigerian official . . .

seems he wants help transferring Halliburton bribe money to a safe foreign bank. He just needs a little help from a trustworthy American . . .

[BeachBaby]

44. I am proud to say that Dave is my friend.

And I am in awe of his achievements.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

45. That's Dave! Cool!

[fascisthunter]

47. I Remember Dave

I also remember those that gave him shit here... don't really know why he got booted...

[rhett o rick]

50. Wasn't there a large award made against Exxon once also. Just because it was awarded doesn't mean it

will be paid.

[DemReadingDU]

51. Thanks for posting

I remember CGA, and his buddy Ides. Miss their updates about State Street Bank too.

[merh]

52. The Nigerian bribery charges predated the bushco admin

and were one of the reasons the French government had filed charges against Cheney, who was CEO of Haliburton at the time - weren't they?

[defendandprotect]

110. ...but while Cheney was with Halliburton . . . ???? Right. . .. ???

[merh]

111. I don't understand your post.

[defendandprotect]

112. Didn't realize you had text . . .

I just responded to your subject -- my apologies!

[merh]

113. no problem

relative to the OP, this is not a great thing, this fine - it appears that it is hush money to make it go away - and Cheney gets a pass on his crimes yet again.

BTW, will we ever get to know how much Cheney and GWB made while in office, I mean, will the riches of their blind trusts and how much profit the blind trusts made and how ever be made public?

[defendandprotect]

173. Thanks . . .

it was odd cause I usually open every post . . . !

So much criminality, political violence has been ignored over the past 45+ years that
I'm not exactly hopeful that we will see prosecution of any of this -- including torture,
which as far as I can see originated in the White House.
And all of this has only served to put us firmly in the grip of fascists, IMO.

Re the money -- I don't recall very much being made of the tax filings by Cheney/Bush over
the years they were in office. Though Cheney continued to have some kind of an ongoing
financial relationship with Halliburton!
I've always been concerned about Swiss bank accounts --- as far as I can see they're a threat
to democracy. Must be quite some piles of gold somewhere waiting for them.
They were quite the successful destroyers.

[chknltl]

53. Note to mods:

Until this thread, I openly confessed on occasion to missing some of our ex-fellow DUers. I felt it was tragic that the Clinton/Obama wars had cost us some of our more 'passionate' chums. This thread has changed my viewpoint-those folks crossed the line imo and deserved to have been TSed. I now no longer miss them. Thank you mods, for doing that thing you do.

[PassingFair]

54. This is what happens when a "real" person posts here.

He was treated horribly by a few posters
who are thankfully tombstoned now.

They couldn't take that he had a
personal TRUE story against the
Bush Administration, and they couldn't
handle his dislike of Hillary Clinton.

Two of those posters almost drove ME
from this site, and I never really got
into it with the bullies.

Good luck, Dave, where ever you are.

[scarletwoman]

58. Ain't it the fucking truth!

I really liked the guy, he was one of the most erudite debators I've ever come across on DU. We were miles apart in our worldviews -- me, an old hippie leftist; him, a corporate insider -- but we really clicked and had some wonderful exchanges.

I totally respected him, and I always felt respected by him in turn. It's DU's loss that he's no longer among us. Sometimes "teh stupid" here is really counter-productive and not just annoying.

sw

[Number23]

63. Thanks for that. Often wonder why the bullies here aren't hunted as relentlessly as the trolls.

Trolls just make themselves look like fools... bullies affect everyone.

[PassingFair]

69. They have their PM networks...

and I believe that some of them
were larger than normal donors.

[Occulus]

160. Yeah, that's the point

I have long maintained that there are certain parties here, whom I will not name, who are and have been trolls from the start. Their goal is to make this site as useless as they can, and they tend to travel in groups. It would not surprise me in the least that these are larger-than-normal donors, as the fact would virtually guarantee their immunity from pizza.

Please believe me when I say this; there are trolls- termed 'bullies' above- who have been here for a very very long time.

[Blackhatjack]

56. A few people do the right thing in this world because it is the right thing to do... that's Dave!

I have lost touch with Dave, but he undoubtedly was one of the bravest and smartest guys around when it came to exposing the Halliburton/KBR bunch.

I hope he got compensated for all the time he put in helping the Government build a case against these criminals. But I don't think that was his motivation at all. He saw his duty and did it, and we all will benefit from it.

Way to go Dave!

[scarletwoman]

57. Thank you for posting this! I'm so glad to hear news of CGA, I miss him a lot.

I must be really out of it, because I had no idea he was a Halliburton whistleblower. For me, he was simply an acutely intelligent and engaging DUer with whom I had many an edifying discussion.

A pox on those who drove him away.

sw

[Number23]

65. Kick and Rec. Go Dave! Never knew you, but after reading this I'm starting to wish I had...

[mmonk]

67. I think I'll email him on this article. Thanks for posting.

I've been busy with some of my real estate clients and haven't been here much today.

[DemReadingDU]

72. good idea

Send him our regards, and ask about Ides too. Thanks!

[mmonk]

76. Will do.

[troubleinwinter]

100. Send the asshole post #99, too.

[Dangerously Amused]

71. More intelligent and passionate than most; I miss him.

K&R

[lonestarnot]

77. Woot Dave!

Excellent! :woohoo:

[Lugnut]

79. K&R

For my friend, Dave, and doing the right thing.

[DesertFlower]

80. if this is the guy you're talking

about he has his own site now.

http://www.progressivesplayground.com/dc/dcboard.php

[mmonk]

83. Yes he does.

I, however usually would pm the information (out of courtesy to DU).

[Reterr]

94. Oh cool!

:bounce:

[troubleinwinter]

103. Yes. 20 people have posted there in the last month.

Makes you wonder why he needed to make his own site. Banned from too many others?

Maybe he should ask himself: If most people think you're an asshole, do you think you might be an asshole?

[SacredCow]

128. "most" people?

from what I've read here, most people take the stance that he was an interesting poster with whom a handfull of people did not agree.

[Moochy]

180. And what a suprise it happens to be friends

of the two bullies who ousted him!

[DesertFlower]

81. if this is the guy you're talking

about he has his own site now.

http://www.progressivesplayground.com/dc/dcboard.php

[bonito]

85. K&R n/t

[xchrom]

88. recommend

[myrna minx]

89. This is excellent news. K&R

Go get those bastards.

[Reterr]

92. k&r for CGA

He was a good guy :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:.

[leftstreet]

96. Can he be given amnesty?

I've been here long enough I should probably know the answer to this question, but does DU ever do amnesty periods for users who were TS'd?

:shrug:

[JMDEM]

98. Maddie and Monkey Funk were tombstoned?

Wow. Maybe there is a God.

Nyuk nyuk nyuk nyuk!

[JVS]

120. Yeah, evidently attacking the mods and dropping C-bombs on stickies isn't the way to get along here.

[gkhouston]

136. I've never seen a blanket amnesty period, just case-by-case reinstatements. n/t

[troubleinwinter]

99. He spent the next couple of months,

after being tombstoned, relentlessly attacking and smearing Democratic Underground, its Administrators, various Moderators and various DUers on just about every board he could find.

He opened several of his own blogs entirely dedicated to attacking same.

He repeatedly claimed he was about to walk into court "tomorrow morning!" with papers suing DU (for being unfair to him).

He went onto a board that I had never once posted on, and made asinine accusations of me having some secret nefarious plot and connections with Skinner and Magistrate. WTF?! He perpetually called Admins, Mods and DU members by ugly names, and made up ridiculous evil schemes between people and posted them everywhere.

He DEVOTED tremendous energy to smearing DU/DUers every place he could find, and when he was banned from sites, he made his own in order to carry on his hatred.

He is an ASSHOLE. A patholigical ASSHOLE.

[Jamastiene]

102. Thanks for telling the truth about it,

but something tells me we'll BOTH get flamed amidst his cheer leading squad here.

Some VERY interesting reading...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=3090328&mesg_id=3090328

'Nuff said.

[troubleinwinter]

104. I've already endured a flame-party due to him.

He posted so much BULLSHIT about me and absurd nefarious plots with Skinner & Magistrate (I highly doubt they have any clue who I am, or care), I went on the board for the first time to try to straighten out the crap. He had gotten folks there to think he was the second coming, and I was attacked and literally told to "go back and crawl under your DU rock". He manages to gather a few credulous fans wherever he goes.

ASSHOLE was banned within three weeks. Most members quite soon saw him for what he is.

[Jamastiene]

106. He taunted and wreaked havoc on DU for months and months.

I still cannot believe the cheerleading here after the things he did purposely against DU.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

107. 91 Recs so far

someone is awfully bitter...

[SacredCow]

130. That had nothing to do with CGA, that I'm aware of....

I joined DW at about that time, and clearly remember that debacle. That was between the Admins of DW and DU, of which CGA was neither.

[JVS]

121. I'm reminded of that story about standing inside the tent and pissing out vs outside and pissing in

[SacredCow]

133. I beg to differ....

He had different views than some on DU- indeed, as much as I respect him I don't agree with him on every topic. And his reaction to being TSed from DU (fairly or unfairly- I have my opinion, but I'm not going to get into a pissing match) was to lash out. Sit there and tell me that if you felt you were unfairly TSed you wouldn't do the same... Maybe not in exactly the same way, but when someone thinks they're getting screwed they generally fight back.

As for pathological asshole... CGA staunchly defended his positions, but didn't do so by calling people C**ts, or dicks, etc... At the end, he did sink to the level of others (who shall remain nameless by me) and that was his tactical error.

I'll submit an OP about Skinner by him at his new board (No link- it's been posted earlier, so anybody can go there and find it). If anyone thinks it says "asshole," I'd love to hear your defense of that position...

As Clairee Belcher said in Steel Magnolias: "Well, you know what they say: if you don't have anything nice to say about anybody, come sit by me!"

****************************

Or, as my grandmother would say: "The more they fight, the more they like."

****************************

Yes, I have had my differences with Skinner. Yes, there's that whole Harvard-Yale rivalry thing. Yes, there's that weird coincidence with our names. Yes, I really do think that he has squandered the potential of his site.

However...

... there are lots of good things to say about Skinner, too. I'll start with a small handful, and throw more out there downthread:

1. Skinner had a very constructive reaction to the 2000 Election. Establishing DU was a truly foresighted act.

2. Skinner could have banned my IP address from accessing DU a long time ago. Graciously, he has not done so.

3. Skinner could have deleted all my posts, destroyed my Journal entries, and otherwise treated me as if I were Akhenaten, attempting to erase all vestiges or traces that I had ever been at DU: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akhenaten ... Graciously, he has not done so.

4. Skinner has dealt with Will Pitt and his Little Lord Fauntleroy Act all these many years. That has to count for something.

5. Skinner strikes me as someone who's gonna make a pretty good dad.

- Dave

[paulk]

161. yup...

this thread is a hoot!

[Generic Other]

101. Good for David

He said he had the goods on them. Hope he got some money as well.

I only just tonight read about what happened to him at DU. The primaries got so ugly here. I fled during that period. Glad to hear some of the worst offenders got tombstoned. Sorry to hear how the last 8 years unhinged so many of us.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

105. Thank you , sabra. CGA is a hero to me.

Major kick and recommend. :kick: :kick: :kick:

[Nostradammit]

114. I SALUTE YOU DAVE!

:toast:

He was one of the most cordial, sincere, and friendly posters on this board and I didn't doubt his story for a second.

It was obvious that he ruffled the troll feathers.

Still does, from the looks of it.

[radfringe]

115. he was also flamed

for pointing out the problems that would come up regarding the Clinton donor list.

And, sure enough, the Donor list was a point of contention during HRC's confirmation hearings. I suspect this won't be the last we hear of it with the repubs backed into a corner.

[blm]

135. Posts like that were regularly targeted for flaming - good government Dems targeted in hopes they'd

flame out.

[mtnester]

116. IBTL

would not be surprised to see Skinner himself lock it

[SacredCow]

151. Why should it be locked?

Because it involves a tombstoned DUer? That doesn't change the newsworthiness of the story, does it?

[mtnester]

167. Yet this OP is not about the newsworthy story is it?

and nothing is newsworthy about the TS'd DU member, that happened quite a while ago.

So your point would be?

[SacredCow]

168. OP not about the story?

How do you figure? The first snip is an excerpt from a story published yesterday, and the rest is a bit of background for any who may not be up on the history of the matter.

And I don't see how I could make my point any more clear- Why lock a thread just because it mentions someone who has been TSed? Currently I see no flamewar going on in the thread- clearly, there were a few posters who did not care for the TSed member. Fine and dandy- agree to disagree, and perhaps even debate it civilly. What's wrong with that?

[Chovexani]

119. LOL at all the clueless noobs in this thread

LOL indeed.

:popcorn:

[Jamastiene]

126. Got any butter?

:popcorn:

[radfringe]

122. here's a google link if you want to check out CGA and Halliburton

here's a google link if you want to check out CGA and Halliburton
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&fkt=4297&fsdt=12578&q=david+a+smith+halliburton&aq=f&oq=

Ex-Halliburton worker calls for probe - U.S. business- msnbc.com Sep 22, 2006 ... David A. Smith, who worked for Halliburton’s Kellogg, Brown & Root unit, said he received e-mails from a company attorney on how to handle ...
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14959097 - 46k - Cached - Similar pages

Halliburton Watch Nov 2, 2006 ... The former employee, David A. Smith, said emails intended for David R. Smith, a vice president with Halliburton's tax group, were seeking ...
www.halliburtonwatch.org/news/bribe_probe_stalled.html - 9k - Cached - Similar pages

CorpGovActivist's Journal - Halliburton/KBR Fire Sale: IPO Planned ... 1 post - Last post: Nov 14, 2006
(not to be confused, ever again, with David R. Smith, the as-yet-unindicted VP of Tax at Halliburton, my former employer) ...
journals.democraticunderground.com/CorpGovActivist/49 - 23k - Cached - Similar pages

David A. Smith/Halliburton Google News Search 61 Entries!!!! LINK ... David A. Smith/Halliburton Google News Search 61 Entries! ... It looks like Halliburton took a page out of O'Dell's Diebold play book.. in_cog_ni_to ...
www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2590847 - 44k - Cached - Similar pages

SEC Info - Smith David Allen - DFAN14A - Halliburton Co - On 10/5/06 Smith David Allen - DFAN14A - Halliburton Co - On 10/5/06 - Additional Definitive Non-Management Proxy Solicitation Material - Seq.
www.secinfo.com/d16Nnb.v2.htm - 26k - Cached - Similar pages

=================

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=david+a+smith+halliburton&start=10&sa=N

HALLIBURTON CO (Form: DFAN14A, Received: 10/04/2006 11:12:08) ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA , October 4, 2006 --- David A. Smith, the Halliburton shareholder who received mis-directed e-mails intended for David R. Smith, ...
google.brand.edgar-online.com/EFX_dll/EDGARpro.dll?FetchFilingHTML1?SessionID=OPhgj7y2l3ZDHy3&ID=4687293 - 9k - Cached - Similar pages

David A. Smith, the Halliburton whistle-blower is asking for our ... David A. Smith, the Halliburton whistle-blower is asking for our help. ... (not to be confused with David R. Smith, VP of Tax at Halliburton) ...
www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2215904 - 27k - Cached - Similar pages

Margie Burns :: The importance of being earnest at Halliburton Sep 22, 2006 ... David A. Smith, a northern Virginian by way of West Virginia and Harvard, worked at Halliburton subsidiary KBR during highly intense times. ...
www.margieburns.com/blog/_archives/2006/9/22/2351028.html - 43k - Cached - Similar pages

Common Ground Common Sense David A. Smith, who worked for Halliburton's Kellogg, Brown & Root unit, said that he received e-mails from a company attorney on how to handle federal ...
www.commongroundcommonsense.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=63756 - 48k - Cached - Similar pages

[SacredCow]

146. Very concise... Thanks, Radfringe! n/t

[Buttercup McToots]

149. Hoots Rad...I miss David & Ides also...

Been real rough for me lately...haven't been posting...
But David & Ides...I so enjoyed knowing them...
I miss them and wish them well...
The best tae ye, also...
Buttercup

[radfringe]

156. Hoots to you McToots... :D

come by the TPPG and visit awhile.. Link is below in my sig line

[Blackhatjack]

175. Hi Buttercup!

Sorry to hear things have been rough for you lately. I wondered where you went .... I have been busy as well.

Sounds like David and Ides succeeded.... good for them!

[Buttercup McToots]

187. Hi BlackHatJack

Yes, verry rough this year...
Hope all is well wit ye.
Radfringe, I'll come over as soon as I can...
Be Well...
B.

[GeorgeGist]

123. In other words ...

Halliburton is willing to bribe the US government
' to end an investigation of its former KBR Inc for charges of bribery (in Nigeria)...'

Aint that america, home of the free -- John Mellencamp

[merh]

137. exactly

The deal is being sealed before Holden gets to take office and oversee things. Doesn't that make folks scratch their heads, the fact that after all this time the deal is made?

I wonder what the settlement papers provide, that the DOJ will let all the troubles go and will no longer look into the substance?

[Joanne98]

125. YAY!

[Doctor_J]

129. Nice symbolism, but only about 3 hrs of Iraq revenue

for these war criminals/traitors.

[Phillycat]

131. Wow, another fake DU message board to explore.

These are usually good for a half hour of entertainment.

[Jamastiene]

174. Wait'll you see all the names he calls DU members.

Very interesting and misogynistic as hell, as per his usual.

[MADem]

186. Wow, amazing what you miss when you don't pay attention.

I remember being interested in many of his "whistleblowing" posts, but I didn't get that involved in the fights...I'd just read the OP and move on, didn't get into the "discussion" parts.

We can't have personal insults--that's just not on. I imagine he was cautioned, and didn't snap to?

[ehrnst]

134. Oh, what that $382 million could do. for our country right now.

I'm imagining the possibilities...

[AngryAmish]

141. Did he make a qui tam claim?

Although it usually is with government money ...if there was then he could be very rich right now.

[bigbrother05]

142. Thanks, sabra!

Good to see the long list of familiar (and newly rechristened veterans) remember one of our fallen comrades. Even those that have come to here to point out Dave's faults and misadventures have done so in a manner that reflects the better nature of the DU experience. Mrs. BB05 and I were witness to Dave's final days and felt only a small portion to the fire directed his way for trying to join in at the free fire zone that was GD-P during the primaries.

His voice was one of keen interest and passion for the fight to put our nation back on course. It is unfortunate that the primaries led to the wounding and loss of too many good folks along with the merciful winnowing of many with only a personal agenda to push.

We miss you, Dave :hi:
Hope you are keeping well!

[Number23]

164. Wow. If the folks in this thread working so hard to diss the man get HALF as much love

at their tombstoning/"deliberate flame-out" as he's getting right now, that would be extremely impressive. What a nice post you wrote.

Like I said upthread, I never knew Dave but after reading these numerous (easily 130 out of this 160 comment thread have been pro-Dave) and very generous comments about how fantastic he was, I kind of wish I had.

[Truth2Tell]

154. K&R for CGA!

Dave was one of the good ones.

It's a shame that the Clinton/DLC flying monkey brigade drove him off of DU. It takes a very level head to withstand the shitheads on here and not get pulled into the muck with them. That's their purpose here and many a good poster has taken their bait.

[leveymg]

155. He used to live down the street from me.

We talked a couple times. May still have his number.

I'm sure he's happy at this news.

[BrklynLiberal]

158. Wow! That is great. Too bad the fine was not larger. I think Halliburton

made billions from the Iraq war and they will pay this fine without even blinking.
Weren't they on the verge of bankruptcy before shit-for-brains was selected to the White House?

[radfringe]

162. get this....

Halliburton is laying off people

Big-time slashing: 50000 jobs cut
Winston-Salem Journal, NC - 15 hours ago
http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2009/jan/27/big-time-slashing-50000-jobs-cut/

--buried in the article: Oilfield-services provider Halliburton Co. said it will cut jobs in markets particularly hard hit by the recession, though it did not provide details.

[SacredCow]

163. 50,000.... dayum....

I hate to hear that.

:(

[PassingFair]

165. 50,000 jobs all together, nationwide, not just Halliburton...

"Oilfield-services provider Halliburton Co. said it will cut jobs in markets particularly hard hit by the recession, though it did not provide details. Its larger rival Schlumberger Ltd. said last week that it will cut as many as 5,000 jobs worldwide in the first half of 2009 and consider further reductions this spring."

[BrklynLiberal]

166. What a crock!!! 50,000 jobs!!!

This is why that $500+ million fine is just a drop in the bucket to them...and that is if they ever really do pay it.


http://dir.salon.com/story/tech/feature/2004/02/27/halliburton_whistleblower/index.html

Halliburton's Iraq gravy train

<snip>
It's a nice image. But to Henry Bunting, a veteran procurement specialist who worked for Halliburton's subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root in Kuwait last summer, this saccharine picture of Halliburton as a beneficent do-gooder doesn't ring true. According to Bunting, Halliburton's personnel in the Middle East weren't looking out for the government as much as they were looking out for the company. Bunting, who has recently been telling his story to congressional Democrats, says that Halliburton, which has been awarded billions of dollars of contracts for work in Iraq, routinely purchased the most expensive equipment and services on the government's tab. Bunting claims that Halliburton managers frowned on any attempts to save the military any money. They had no incentive to do so: taxpayers would pick up the cost. In fact, they had an incentive to bill high: the more they spent, the more money their company would make.

Bunting worked as a buyer for Halliburton's "Logcap" contract with the U.S. Army, a $3.7 billion deal under which Halliburton provides the military with logistics support -- it builds bases, runs mess halls, does the laundry, supplies water and performs dozens of other tasks necessary to keep the Army running. The contract is a "cost-plus" contract, meaning that the military reimburses Halliburton for all of its expenses, and then gives it an extra percentage as a profit. Experts have long criticized cost-plus contracts as being economically inefficient; companies that work under cost-plus deals have no reason to reduce their expenses, meaning that the government may end up paying more than it should for services.

To keep costs down, firms that have been awarded cost-plus contracts pledge to open their processes to competitive bidding, making sure that they're getting low prices on equipment they use. Halliburton says that it complies with all federal requirements regarding competitive bidding. But according to Bunting, this is where Halliburton fell short; it constantly failed to seek low prices in its operations, violating the spirit, if not the letter, of its contract with the government. Bunting says that even though his job was ostensibly to get the best deals on equipment for the Army -- everything from office chairs to medical supplies --his managers often told him, "Don't worry about the price, it's cost-plus." Supervisors urged buyers like him to keep their orders under $2,500, Bunting says, because orders for more than that amount would need to be submitted to multiple vendors for competitive bidding -- a process that would potentially reduce Halliburton's take.

<snip>

Bunting is not the only one who has questioned Halliburton's commitment to saving the government money. On Monday, the Pentagon disclosed that it has opened a criminal investigation of the company stemming from a discovery that the firm might have overcharged the government by $61 million for fuel it shipped from Kuwait into Iraq. Investigators are reportedly looking into the same question that Bunting raises -- did Halliburton do all it could have done to secure the lowest price for the government? Halliburton denies any wrongdoing in the case.

<snip>

Lots more at link

[MADem]

170. Yeah...there's no goddamned oil in Afghanistan. Awwww, NT

[bigbrother05]

176. No, but they were leaning on the Taliban to put in a pipeline

Under Clinton, negotitions were held to get a pipeline across Afghanistan that would bring the oil from the other 'stans in the north down to the Indian Ocean instead of through the Black Sea into Turkey. Didn't work out under WJC, but one of the first things W & Co. did was to toss $30M at the Taliban for "drug eradication" and then they started to pressure them to let the pipeline move forward. The locals refused and we know the rest of the story.

Would be interesting to see a graphic of where the high altitude bombs fell from our initial thrust into the area. Wouldn't be too surprised if a significant concentration was in a N/S corridor that would overlay with the proposed pipeline.

BTW, KBR is one of the companies that specialize in such construction.

[radfringe]

184. carpet of gold...a carpet of bombs

Explosive New Book Published in France Alleges that U.S. Was in Negotiations to Do a Deal with Taliban
Aired January 8, 2002 - 07:34 ET
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0201/08/ltm.05.html


PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Time to check in with ambassador-in- residence, Richard Butler, this morning. An explosive new book published in France alleges that the United States was in negotiations to do a deal with the Taliban for an oil pipeline in Afghanistan.

Joining us right now is Richard Butler to shed some light on this new book. He is the former chief U.N. weapons inspector. He is now on the Council on Foreign Relations and our own ambassador-in- residence -- good morning.

---snip-----

ZAHN: ... apparently told the authors of this book. He is alleging that -- what -- the U.S. government was trying to protect U.S. oil interests? And at the same time, shut off the investigation of terrorism to allow for that to happen?

BUTLER: That's the allegation that instead of prosecuting properly an investigation of terrorism, which has its home in Afghanistan as we now know, or one of its main homes, that was shut down or slowed down in order to pursue oil interests with the Taliban. The people who we have now bombed out of existence, and this not many months ago. The book says that the negotiators said to the Taliban, you have a choice. You have a carpet of gold, meaning an oil deal, or a carpet of bombs. That's what the book alleges.

[radfringe]

177. Canary is still singing...Albert J. Stanley,

Albert J. Stanley, KBR's former CEO, pleaded guilty in September to approving bribes to Nigerian government officials - agreed to cooperate with US investigating officials

Wouldn't be surprised if there's more coming down the road

[SacredCow]

179. Interesting side note.....

The right are dismissing this with, "Well, that's how business is done in Nigeria- You HAVE to bribe them, or you can't do business over there..."

As luck would have it, a fundie family member gave me that argument and the very next day found out that a credit card of his had been hacked- and it was traced to Nigeria! So right back to him, I said, "Well, that's how business is done in Nigeria...."

[radfringe]

182. forgive the schadenfreude over your fundie family member...but

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[SacredCow]

183. Oh, don't think I wasn't laughing.....

Generally, I don't laught at identity theft but it couldn't have happened to a better person. His reasoning was, "I don't go to porn or gambling sites, so I don't have to worry about identity theft." He ain't the sharpest knife in the drawer, and the relation is by MARRIAGE, thank you very much!!!! :rofl:

[conscious evolution]

188. Kick

[radfringe]

189. With Obama extending WHISTLEBLOWER protection to Fed employees

we'll be seeing alot more stories like this:

Behind the Halliburton investigation
Lawyer for the contracting officer who alleged misconduct speaks to MSNBC's Chris Matthews
TRANSCRIPT
Fri., Oct. 29, 2004
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6358641

The FBI has opened an investigation into whether the Pentagon improperly awarded no-bid contracts to Halliburton, the company Vice President Cheney led before joining the White House.

Bunnatine Greenhouse, the Army Corps of Engineers chief contracting officer, went public last weekend with allegations that her agency unfairly awarded a Halliburton subsidiary no-bid contracts in Iraq. Her attorney Stephen Kohn joined "Hardball with Chris Matthews" to talk about the role his client played in the whole matter.

CHRIS MATTHEWS, "HARDBALL" HOST: Who is Bunny Greenhouse?

STEPHEN KOHN, BUNNATINE GREENHOUSE'S LAWYER: Bunny Greenhouse is the highest-ranking government, federal employee bureaucrat with final authority on contracts. Or one of the highest ranking. She's not political at all.

MATTHEWS: Now, what does she assert is being done wrongly here? What was wrong about this contract that was led to Halliburton?

KOHN: Well, the allegations concerned the length of the contract, the fact that it was for five years. It concerns the renewal of the contracts. It concerns the integrity of the Army's contracting process.

And let me tell you what was happening there—Bunny's job was to make sure that small businesses and minority-owned businesses could compete for contracts. When she would see problems in terms of the award of a contract, failure to follow regulations, things that may appear to be a bias or improprieties, it was her job to question it.

She did that. And she reported it on the contracting documents where she would raise her concerns. She was ordered not to disclose that information on the contracting documents. If she didn't put it on those contracting documents, as they went up the chain of command, no one would know about the problems.

---------------

few links regarding Bunny Greenhouse: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Bunny+Greenhouse&btnG=Search

Sherwood Ross: Why Bunny Greenhouse Sits in a Corner
http://www.counterpunch.org/ross10272006.html

National Whistleblowers Center - Bunnatine Greenhouse
http://whistleblowers.nonprofitsoapbox.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=81&Itemid=108