Why would Feinstein kiss Condi's ass? War profiteering

[yurbud]

It could be just a coincidence.


www.sfgate.com       

Iraq deal awarded to Blum venture
Feinstein's spouse owns stake in firm fixing energy grid

- David R. Baker, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, March 13, 2004

Perini Corp., a Massachusetts construction company partially owned by the investment firm of California Sen. Dianne Feinstein's husband, landed a $500 million contract Friday to repair southern Iraq's electricity grid.

Perini is one of several American firms mobilized to restore Iraq's electricity under a series of contracts issued by the Pentagon this week. On Friday, Washington Group International won a $500 million contract to restore power in northern Iraq.

The Pentagon is selecting firms to perform $5 billion of reconstruction work, including repairs to damaged hospitals, courthouses and water systems.

Feinstein's husband, Richard Blum, controls about 24 percent of Perini shares through his investment firm, Blum Capital Partners. Another of Blum's investments, the San Francisco engineering firm URS Corp., is part of a joint venture that won $27.7 million in Iraq reconstruction work earlier this week.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/03/13/BUGIJ5JL7E1.DTL&type=printable

[bahrbearian]

1. Good Catch, I thought she wanted a cabinet post.

[mike_c]

2. replacing DiFi is one of my top political priorities in 2006....

I hope a real liberal runs for her seat.

[rooboy]

3. Wasn't there something about Feinstein's husband and 9/11?

like he got a lot of money out of selling airline stocks just prior to the attacks?

[yurbud]

6. krongard

[rooboy]

7. What has Krongard got to do with Feinstein?

He's not her husband. Her husband was an airline executive.

[yurbud]

10. Krongard was the one connected to selling stocks short on 9/11

Suppressed Details of Criminal Insider Trading Lead Directly into the CIA’s Highest Ranks  
CIA Executive Director “Buzzy” Krongard managed firm that handled “PUT” options on United Airline Stock  

by Michael C. Ruppert  

FTW - October 9, 2001 – Although uniformly ignored by the mainstream U.S. media, there is abundant and clear evidence that a number of transactions in financial markets indicated specific (criminal) foreknowledge of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. In the case of at least one of these trades -- which has left a $2.5 million prize unclaimed -- the firm used to place the “put options” on United Airlines stock was, until 1998, managed by the man who is now in the number three Executive Director position at the Central Intelligence Agency.   

Until 1997 A.B. “Buzzy” Krongard had been Chairman of the investment bank A.B. Brown. A.B. Brown was acquired by Banker’s Trust in 1997. Krongard then became, as part of the merger, Vice Chairman of Banker’s Trust-AB Brown, one of 20 major U.S. banks named by Senator Carl Levin this year as being connected to money laundering. Krongard’s last position at Banker’s Trust (BT) was to oversee “private client relations.” In this capacity he had direct hands-on relations with some of the wealthiest people in the world in a kind of specialized banking operation that has been identified by the U.S. Senate and other investigators as being closely connected to the laundering of drug money.  
Krongard joined the CIA in 1998 as counsel to CIA Director George Tenet. He was promoted to CIA Executive Director by President Bush in March of this year. BT was acquired by Deutsche Bank in 1999. The combined firm is the single largest bank in Europe.  And, as we shall see, Deutsche Bank played several key roles in events connected to the September 11 attacks.

http://www.hereinreality.com/insidertrading.html

[n2mark]

4. Don't know where I heard or read this

but they are suppose to be the best of friends.

[Cleita]

5. I've been telling you guys all along.

She and her husband had an oar in this war.

[leesa]

8. Agreed. She sold us out. She also seems to take her marching orders

from Israel.

[CWebster]

9. No light twixt the two:

'Support for Israel has never been more intense on Capitol Hill, even as criticism mounts in Europe and the Arab world over the largest Israeli incursion into Palestinian villages and refugee camps since the 1982 invasion of Lebanon.

At issue in Congress is more than a historic friendship with Israel or empathy for the only democracy in the region. Since the Sept. 11 attacks, many members make the case that Israel faces the same terrorist threat as Americans, only it has faced it much longer. A massive lobby effort in recent weeks by Jewish and other pro-Israeli organizations on the Christian right reinforces those claims.

"Americans do not want to be victims again," says Sen. Harry Reid (D) of Nevada, speaking Monday at the largest rally ever held in the US in support of Israel. "Nor can we expect Israel to stand idle while her citizens are being slaughtered."

A flood of new resolutions and bills about to be released on Capitol Hill aims to shape the Bush administration's next moves in the region. One of the most watched will be a resolution by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D) of California and Mitch McConnell (R) of Kentucky to declare the Palestine Liberation Organization a terrorist group, close PLO offices in Washington, and deny visas to PLO officials.

Others include resolutions endorsing Israel's right to self-defense, new sanctions on Syria and Lebanon, a proposal to cut back military assistance to Egypt, and resolutions condemning anti-Semitism in Europe, where big demonstrations have been held in support of Palestinians.

"Sharon is a man of the West. He's doing what a man has got to do. We will also encourage Israel to back off, but Israel will do what is good for Israel," says House majority leader Dick Armey (R) of Texas, who yesterday introduced legislation that would toughen sanctions against Syria...'


http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0419/p01s01-uspo.html

[mulethree]

11. Another firm owned by Senator Feinstein's hubby wins $600 million army con

David R. Baker, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 22, 2003

©2003 San Francisco Chronicle

URS Corp., a San Francisco planning and engineering firm partially owned by California Sen. Dianne Feinstein's husband, landed an Army contract Monday worth up to $600 million.

--

Government contracting has come under increasing scrutiny by Congress and citizen groups, with critics decrying the political connections of firms winning lucrative jobs. Richard Blum, Feinstein's husband, serves on the company's board of directors and controls about 24 percent of the firm's stock, according to Hoover's Inc. research firm.

A Feinstein spokesman Monday declined to comment on the contract. Blum and several URS representatives could not be reached for comment. A Pentagon spokesman said he was unfamiliar with the contract.

Announced in a company press release Monday, the contract calls for URS Corp.'s EG&G division and partner International Consultants Inc. to help with operations planning, troop mobilization, weapons system training and anti- terrorism assessment. The contract runs for five years.

http://sandiego.indymedia.org/en/2003/04/5593.shtml

[kwolf68]

12. There you go

And you wonder why the Green Party exists?

[porkrind]

13. Nice catch. Looks like a very compromising conflict of interest

Too bad it looks like she is putting her interests before the publics. Some light needs to be shed under this rock.