[+] The "Privatization" of the Public Good
by Jim Sorrells
Our Fearless Leader wants to nominate Francis Harvey
as Secretary of the Army.
Who is Francis Harvey?
Among other things, he is the former chief
operating officer for a division of Westinghouse
Electric, a leading defense contractor.
Which division?
That would be Duratek, which specializes in the
handling and disposing of radioactive materials,
contracts with both the Departments of Defense and
Energy. The Department of Energy also happens to be
one of the top contractors with the Department of
Defense.
Who else owns part of Duratek?
I'm so glad you asked. The Carlyle Group owns 23%
of Duratek and had Harvey appointed to Duratek's board
of directors in 1998. 75% of Duratek's revenue comes
from the Departments of Defense and Energy.
And what is the Carlyle Group?
Oh, surely you know the Carlyle Group!
That's the high-powered investment firm whose
advisors have included Frank Carlucci, former Defense
Secretary, James Baker, former Secretary of State
under George H.W. Bush, and George H.W. Bush, himself.
Who is Harvey replacing?
That would be Thomas White, a former general who
left the military in 1990 to work for Enron until Bush
appointed him Army Secretary in 2001.
White testified in 2002 that he had no idea Enron
was manipulating energy prices in California -- while he
was running Enron Energy Services.
What happened to good ol' Tommy White?
Well, good ol' Donnie Rumsfeld fired Tommy White
because Tommy insisted on sticking with a contract for
$11 billion for the Crusader artillery gun despite the
Pentagon's decision to scrap the program.
And who had the contract to build the Crusader?
That would be United Defense Industries.
And who controlled United Defense Industries? (drum
roll)
That would be the Carlyle Group.
Carlyle sold its share of UDI in April, but UDI is
still chaired by William Conway who also happens to be
Carlyle's Managing Director. There are two other
Carlyle folks on UDI's board.
"Chris Ullman, a spokesman for the Carlyle Group,
said he's confident that Harvey, if appointed Army
Secretary, won't show any special favors to former
business partners." (David Lazarus, SF Chronicle,
7/11/04)
Yeah, just like Dick Cheney didnt consult with Ken
Lay on energy. [And why did Ullman bother to refer to
"former" business partners? -- Ed.]
Gee, it just seems inevitable that all these
appointments and contracts get back to Carlyle,
Halliburton, or Bechtel.
Maybe we should become the U.C.A., the United
Corporations of America. Or, since they usually turn
out to own each other, maybe it should be
Becarburton/America.
You can find out lots about the Carlyle Group by
seeing either of two movies currently showing, and I'm
not talking about DODGEBALL or WHITE CHICKS. . .
[I think the two movies Jim is talking about just
might be "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "The Corporation." --
Editor]
Our Fearless Leader wants to nominate Francis Harvey
as Secretary of the Army.
Who is Francis Harvey?
Among other things, he is the former chief
operating officer for a division of Westinghouse
Electric, a leading defense contractor.
Which division?
That would be Duratek, which specializes in the
handling and disposing of radioactive materials,
contracts with both the Departments of Defense and
Energy. The Department of Energy also happens to be
one of the top contractors with the Department of
Defense.
Who else owns part of Duratek?
I'm so glad you asked. The Carlyle Group owns 23%
of Duratek and had Harvey appointed to Duratek's board
of directors in 1998. 75% of Duratek's revenue comes
from the Departments of Defense and Energy.
And what is the Carlyle Group?
Oh, surely you know the Carlyle Group!
That's the high-powered investment firm whose
advisors have included Frank Carlucci, former Defense
Secretary, James Baker, former Secretary of State
under George H.W. Bush, and George H.W. Bush, himself.
Who is Harvey replacing?
That would be Thomas White, a former general who
left the military in 1990 to work for Enron until Bush
appointed him Army Secretary in 2001.
White testified in 2002 that he had no idea Enron
was manipulating energy prices in California -- while he
was running Enron Energy Services.
What happened to good ol' Tommy White?
Well, good ol' Donnie Rumsfeld fired Tommy White
because Tommy insisted on sticking with a contract for
$11 billion for the Crusader artillery gun despite the
Pentagon's decision to scrap the program.
And who had the contract to build the Crusader?
That would be United Defense Industries.
And who controlled United Defense Industries? (drum
roll)
That would be the Carlyle Group.
Carlyle sold its share of UDI in April, but UDI is
still chaired by William Conway who also happens to be
Carlyle's Managing Director. There are two other
Carlyle folks on UDI's board.
"Chris Ullman, a spokesman for the Carlyle Group,
said he's confident that Harvey, if appointed Army
Secretary, won't show any special favors to former
business partners." (David Lazarus, SF Chronicle,
7/11/04)
Yeah, just like Dick Cheney didnt consult with Ken
Lay on energy. [And why did Ullman bother to refer to
"former" business partners? -- Ed.]
Gee, it just seems inevitable that all these
appointments and contracts get back to Carlyle,
Halliburton, or Bechtel.
Maybe we should become the U.C.A., the United
Corporations of America. Or, since they usually turn
out to own each other, maybe it should be
Becarburton/America.
You can find out lots about the Carlyle Group by
seeing either of two movies currently showing, and I'm
not talking about DODGEBALL or WHITE CHICKS. . .
[I think the two movies Jim is talking about just
might be "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "The Corporation." --
Editor]
posted by Rev. Rick Mitchell, PhD at 10:27 AM
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