Free Republic

The U.S. government is reaching out to the private sector for help in implementing a new municipal crime-prevention program across the nation -- across the nation of El Salvador, that is. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) estimates just a $25 million price tag for the "El Salvador Crime and Violence Prevention Project" (Solicitation #SOL-519-12-000002); it should be noted, however, that the endeavor is only the latest in a series of such multi-year, U.S.- funded initiatives in El Salvador, which the agency says has "one of the highest rates of non-political violence in the world." In the last four...

A private contractor to serve as Deputy Country Representative is needed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to work with its Pakistan Transition Initiative (PTI) Regional Team. The selected vendor will represent the USAID Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) in discussions with U.S., Pakistani, and international NGO personnel specific to security and development concerns in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, or FATAs, which includes the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). According to a Personal Service Contractor notice (Solicitation #SOL-OTI-11-000041) posted to FedBizOpps on Aug. 23, the PTI program: supports the Government of Pakistan's development efforts to better integrate...

America has squandered £21 billion on private sector contracts during a decade of war in Afghanistan and Iraq according to a draft congressional report. Waste, mismanagement and poorly conceived projects mean the United States could have lost more than 15 per cent of the total given out in contracts and grants. More could yet be lost as US troops pull out of Afghanistan, with the withdrawal risking "massive new wastes of money" because the Afghan government cannot finish costly projects already begun. The unfinished report has taken three years to compile and offers the most detailed account yet of the...

U.S. to Ramp Up Afghan Infowar with 'Aggressive Actions' -- Contractor to Bring About 'Desired Effects' in Global MediaThe next phase of a global information-warfare campaign to influence public and media perceptions about U.S. operations in Afghanistan is unfolding, according to an updated U.S. Forces-Afghanistan (USFOR-A) planning document that U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor has located. “The information domain is a battlespace, and it is one in which USFOR-A must take aggressive actions to win the important battle of perception,” according to the project’s modified Performance Work Statement (PWS), dated June 7. Consequently, the Dept. of Defense, via the U.S....

SNIPPET: "There are some good reasons for allowing at least a few jihadi forums to operate." SNIPPET: "However, there are limits to our ability to exploit all the intelligence opportunities a forum may present. To put it another way, jihadi forums contribute to future terrorism in ways that are unpredictable and/or beyond our ability to control. This would be the view held by those other government agencies who prefer to seek out and destroy forums and to take down forum activists. For my part, I can live with keeping online those forums we have sufficient access to monitor and resources...

WASHINGTON, June 14 (Reuters) - The White House is under pressure from consumer activists to follow through with its plan to force government contractors to disclose their political contributions, a rule that companies say will politicize awards of government business. Consumer group Public Citizen said on Tuesday it is among those worried that the White House attempt to throw more light on campaign spending will be put on the shelf after harsh criticism from the business community. President Barack Obama is working on an order to compel bidders for federal contracts to disclose two years worth of political contributions. ......

Query re small non-profit orchestra. We have one 'contractor/employee' who earns about $1200/ year for setting up chairs and music stands during concert season. He insists on becoming an employee. Do we need to pay Workers' Comp on him as well? Anyone know how much that runs? California.

Here is an exclusive video that airs during Huckabee’s interview with Joe Miller, which Miller readily condemns as outrageous. A federal contractor is telling his employees to vote for Murkowski because she is already on the appropriations subcommittee which of course sends a lot of money to Alaska. He says her opponents will likely not get on that same appropriations subcommittee and thats why they should vote for her. Considering these are federal contractors, I would assume the end result is that he is inferring that their jobs could be at stake if they don’t get funding. Just a guess...

Secret Blackwater tape might not be all it's hyped up to be about Erik Prince. A few media outlets claim they have a secret audio recording that contains 3,500 words made by Prince. It is a rare item because the Blackwater owner has always tried to ban journalists from his public speeches.Blackwater has dealt with a lot of controversy during the past five years. Erik Prince is the reclusive owner of the special operations company. He rarely gives public speeches and when he does he attempts to ban audio recording and videotaping. One media outlet claims they have obtained an...

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has new lead paint laws going into affect on April 22, 2010. The new lead paint laws require any renovation work performed on houses built before 1978 to be performed by a certified contractor.......If you hire a contractor to do a renovation in your home that was built prior to 1978 be sure you hire a certified contractor. You should ask to see your contractors RRP certification prior to hiring them. Contractors performing work without the certification face penalties of $37,500 per day!

"Somalia clashes kills 11, five headless bodies found" By Mohamed Ahmed and Abdi Guled Reuters Wednesday, April 21, 2010; 8:15 AM SNIPPET: "MOGADISHU (Reuters) - The beheaded bodies of five builders have been found in Somalia's capital Mogadishu and at least 11 people were killed in fighting in the central region, residents and moderate militia fighters said Wednesday. Mogadishu residents said they suspected al Shabaab militants executed the builders for helping to construct Somalia's new parliament, an institution seen by the insurgents as home to stooges of the West." SNIPPET: ""We have seen five beheaded men," one resident who gave...

Complaints from Pentagon officials—from Defense Secretary Robert Gates down through the ranks—are mounting about the quality of products from the aerospace industry. David Altwegg, executive director of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), grabbed journalists’ attention during his Fiscal 2011 budget briefing on Feb. 1. He railed that contractors had been delivering poor quality. “We continue to be disappointed in the quality that we are receiving from our prime contractors and their subs—very, very disappointed,” he said. “Most of these contracts are cost contracts . . . [a problem that] costs the taxpayer more.” Although Altwegg declined to “name names,” he...

By Sgt. Tracy J. Smith 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs ANA and ISAF forces greeted potential contractors for a proposed forward operating base in the Shinwar district of Nangarhar recently. The proposed FOB is a former British fort converted for use during the Soviet occupation more than 30 years ago and will now be used as a modernized hub for the ANA's 2nd Kandak, 201st Corps. "This meeting is to give potential contractors a walkthrough of the area so they'll have a solid overview of the scope of work," said 1st Lt. Fernando Roach, a contracting officer...

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq, Dec. 18, 2009 – Soldiers who haven’t deployed before or who only recently arrived here may not give much thought to the constant electricity, hot showers and well-lit avenues. Ismael Shaker, owner and founder of Al Harith, a contracting company in Iraq’s Basra province, stops for a moment of contemplation at the power station his company operates for the Army on Contingency Operating Base Basra. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Benjamin R. Kibbey   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. But that kind of thing doesn’t happen easily, and it is thanks in no small...

I want to start a defense contracting company. I have expertise in education and training, in addition, I am a former US Marine and a former magazine editor. I want to help the armed forces produce high quality curriculums for both officers and enlisted. I have a few questions about going about this. A) Do I need security clearance just to place a bid to do contract work with the military? B) Some companies check out your finances to get a picture of your competence as a potential business manager. I know that they check your finances for the security...

Iraqi authorities have detained five U.S. citizens in connection with the death of an American contractor in Baghdad, officials said Sunday, in what could be the first case of Americans facing local justice under a joint security pact that took effect this year. The body of Jim Kitterman, who was reportedly bound, blindfolded and stabbed, was found in his car last month in the protected Green Zone where his small construction company was based. It was an unprecedented slaying in the sprawling district and occurred at a time when blast walls are coming down and Iraqi forces are assuming greater...

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009 at 11:32 am Priorities -- Not lining the pockets of contractors Last week the President laid out the foundation of a new vision for our budget and the way government does business. It is a vision based not on ideology, but on the idea that we can and must invest boldly in our future while also making the hard choices and being vigilant to bring in a new era of fiscal responsibility.Last week began with the fiscal responsibility summit, where the President and members of Congress came together to generate ideas to get the country on a sustainable long-term track. One of...

State law requires individuals (not corporations, LLCs or partnerships) who work as independent contractors in the building construction industry to obtain from the Department of Labor and Industry an Independent Contractor Exemption Certificate (ICEC). For purposes of the state workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, wage and hour, occupational safety and health laws, and state and federal tax withholding, individuals doing residential and commercial construction work without an ICEC will be considered employees of the contractor for whom they are working. These businesses are characterized as contracting, performing work and receiving compensation from another contractor. The ICEC is only required for independent...

WASHINGTON - Sen. Ted Stevens was clueless about the cost and scope of a pricey makeover of his Alaska cabin that led to federal corruption charges and threatened his lengthy career, his lawyer said Thursday at the opening of his trial.

BAGHDAD, May 29, 2008 – A contractor in Iraq charged under military law with stabbing another contractor was scheduled to be arraigned today in Baghdad. Alaa “Alex” Mohammad Ali, a contractor charged with aggravated assault, was scheduled to be arraigned today at Camp Victory here. The charge against Ali stems from the Feb. 23 alleged stabbing of another contractor at a combat outpost near Hit. This is the first time a civilian will be tried by court-martial under a 2006 amendment to the Uniform Code of Military Justice contained in the 2007 National Defense Authorization Act, U.S. military officials said....

About POGO's Contractor Misconduct Database The government awards contracts to companies with histories of misconduct such as contract fraud and environmental, ethics, and labor violations. In the absence of a centralized federal database listing instances of misconduct, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) is providing such data. We believe that it will lead to improved contracting decisions and public access to information about how the government spends hundreds of billions of taxpayer money each year on goods and services. Top 50 Contractors Contractor Federal Contract $ (FY2005) Instances of Misconduct (Since 1995) Misconduct $ (Since 1995) 1. Lockheed Martin $24944.6m...

WASHINGTON, April 6, 2008 – Multinational Corps Iraq announced yesterday that a civilian contractor accompanying the force has been charged with aggravated assault under military law. Multinational Corps Iraq announced yesterday that a civilian contractor accompanying the force has been charged with aggravated assault under military law. Alaa “Alex” Mohammad Ali, an interpreter, is the first contractor to be charged under a 2006 amendment to the Uniform Code of Military Justice – Section 552 of the National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2007, MNC-I officials said. Ali, who holds Canadian and Iraqi citizenship, is accused of stabbing another contractor....

Shell companies in Cayman Islands allow KBR to avoid Medicare, Social Security deductions CAYMAN ISLANDS - Kellogg Brown & Root, the nation's top Iraq war contractor and until last year a subsidiary of Halliburton Corp., has avoided paying hundreds of millions of dollars in federal Medicare and Social Security taxes by hiring workers through shell companies based in this tropical tax haven. More than 21,000 people working for KBR in Iraq - including about 10,500 Americans - are listed as employees of two companies that exist in a computer file on the fourth floor of a building on a palm-studded...

SAN DIEGO A defense contractor has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for bribing former U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham with cash, meals, trips and other gifts in exchange for nearly $90 million in Pentagon work. Brent Wilkes showed no emotion as U.S. District Judge Larry Burns delivered the sentence Tuesday in San Diego.

FoxNews is reporting

A quiet Denver suburb and neighborhood unintentionally became a battleground in the heated abortion debate Saturday afternoon. The protest was not at a doctor’s office or abortion clinic but at the home of a construction subcontractor working on the construction of a Planned Parenthood center in east Denver.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2007 – Installation operations and quality of life programs for soldiers and their families would be affected worldwide if the Army doesn’t receive additional funding from Congress soon, a senior officer said here today. “Absolutely, it’s an urgent need,” Maj. Gen. Edgar E. Stanton III, director of the Army’s budget office, said of the necessity for the Army to obtain nearly $55 billion from Congress to fund operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. The active Army is now using $26 billion in appropriations that were earmarked for base-support operations to fund its overseas global war on terrorism operations,...

A contractor who admitted supplying illegal immigrant workers to the Northern Kentucky home building industry was sentenced Thursday to serve 18 months in federal prison. After he was sentenced on the federal charges, Robert Pratt was immediately arrested by Boone County authorities on charges of fraud, saying he had underpaid unemployment taxes. Pratt, who lives in Franklin, Tenn., was one of seven people sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Covington for knowingly hiring illegal workers. The other six - all of whom worked with or for Pratt, several of whom are family members - drew sentences ranging from probation...

BAGHDAD, Nov. 16, 2007 – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is overseeing 541 projects valued at $2 billion in a range of areas in Iraq, including renovating hospitals and schools, installing new water and sewer lines, electrical generation, new water and wastewater treatment plants, bridges and road paving. Namir El Akabi, chief executive officer of an Iraqi contracting company, said he sees progress in his home country. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. In the past three years, more than 3,700 projects, valued at $5.6 billion, have been completed. Namir El Akabi, chief executive officer of...

Respect Blackwater The firm's operations in Iraq are not sordid -- they're just business Monday, November 5, 2007 By ROGER ROLAND The frenzied debate over the role of Blackwater USA in Iraq has resulted in more misconceptions than truths. The most common myth, propagated by the media and some politicians, is that Blackwater's private security contractors are mercenaries working for the United States military. This simply is not the case. Blackwater's contractors do not support U.S. armed forces in battle against terrorists and insurgents. They are not soldiers, but rather a corps of professionals who provide personal security to American...

New charges have been filed alleging that the CIA's former No. 3 official used his influence in that role to support a proposed $100 million government contract for his best friend, a defense contractor, in return for lavish vacations, private jet flights and a lucrative job offer. The indictment, returned Thursday by a federal grand jury in San Diego, supersedes charges brought in February against career CIA man Kyle "Dusty" Foggo and Poway-based contractor Brent Wilkes. The charges grew from the bribery scandal that landed former U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham in prison. Foggo resigned from the spy agency a...

BOSTON (AP) — A leather company owner was arrested during a raid at his company Tuesday and accused of hiring hundreds of illegal immigrants to work in poor conditions so he could meet the demands of $91 million in military contracts. Francesco Insolia, 50, and three top managers were arrested after federal agents raided Michael Bianco Inc. in New Bedford on Tuesday morning. About two thirds of the company's 500 employees were detained by immigration officials for possible deportation, authorities said. U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan accused Insolia of exploiting the illegal immigrants to maximize his profits on the military contracts...

The grisly details of the murder and dismemberment of four U.S. citizen contractors in the Iraqi city of Fallujah have found their way onto U.S. soil in a dispute that may reach the Supreme Court. In the case, the estates of the four late contractors filed suit against Blackwater Security, a company with whom the decedents contracted to perform military escort services. The estates attribute the contractors' deaths to the allegedly negligent and deceitful actions of the contracting companies, asserting claims of common-law fraud and wrongful death under North Carolina law. Blackwater, however, contends that the state law claims are...

Federal prosecutors are preparing to seek indictments against a former top CIA official and a San Diego defense contractor at the center of the bribery scandal that sent former U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham to prison. Two government officials familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press on Wednesday that prosecutors plan to ask a San Diego grand jury to return charges of honest services fraud and conspiracy against Kyle "Dusty" Foggo and his close friend, Brent Wilkes, whose lawyers have said he is one of four unidentified co-conspirators described in the 2005 plea agreement for Cunningham, a San Diego...

SGT Jason Hess from the 1st Cavalry Division only wanted some better mats for his troops when he emailed a company called Discount Floor Mats for information: --- To Whom it may concern: Do you ship to APO addresses? I'm in the 1st Cavalry Division stationed in Iraq and we are trying to order some mats but we are looking for who ships to APO first. SGT Hess --- Seems like a fair question. There are many companies that don't/won't ship to APO addresses for many reasons. The main reason is that once the packages leave the states, they leave...

WASHINGTON The investigation stemming from the bribery conviction of former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., will continue well past the November midterm elections under a federal court schedule set Monday. The development came at a status hearing for defense contractor Mitchell Wade, who is cooperating with federal prosecutors after pleading guilty in February to bribing Cunningham in exchange for government contracts. U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina agreed to delay sentencing proceedings against Wade and set the next status hearing in his case for March 12. That will allow Wade's cooperation to continue in the investigation, which still has several unresolved...

Hurricane Wilma damaged their roof and like so many victims of the storm, one South Florida couple had trouble finding a roofer because of a shortage of materials and workers. John and Kathleen Jurewicz finally did get contractor, but it has been anything but smooth sailing. The couple hired McClung contractors to do the work. With their insurance money, the couple paid the company nearly $14,000 for the roofing materials which was suppose to be turned over to ABC supply company. Four months later the supplies still sit in their driveway and the work on the roof was never completed....

BURLINGTON, Vt. --A former University of Vermont College of Medicine professor was ordered Wednesday to serve a year and a day in federal prison for using false data to obtain federal research grants. Eric Poehlman, 50, who left UVM in 2001 for the University of Montreal and was fired from there amid revelations about his scientific misconduct, will serve the sentence at a federal prison work camp in Maryland. An official with the National Institutes of Health said Poehlman's case marked the first time a researcher would serve time in prison for falsifying data to obtain federal grants. (snap) Poehlman,...

SAN DIEGO U.S. agents arrested 22 illegal immigrants Wednesday who worked for a company that provided services to the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base. The workers, all Mexican men, were arrested at their homes by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers during an early morning sweep. Agents were looking for 72 illegal workers employed by Burtech Pipeline, Inc., an Encinitas-based business that had a contract at Camp Pendleton, the base near Oceanside that is home to some 40,000 military personnel, ICE spokeswoman Lauren Mack said. None of those arrested had worked at Camp Pendleton, but Mack said some of the...

EXCLUSIVE - Mistress turns in corrupt China vice admiral-sources BEIJING (Reuters) - One of China's top brass has been charged with accepting millions of dollars in bribes from contractors after one of his mistresses blew the whistle, independent sources with ties to the military said on Wednesday. If found guilty, Vice Admiral Wang Shouye, 63, one of five navy deputy commanders and a member of China's parliament, would be the most senior People's Liberation Army (PLA) officer ever convicted of a crime. "Wang Shouye kept several mistresses. One of them reported him to the authorities" after he refused to give...

A lawsuit has been filed in U.S. District Court here by three migrant farmworkers from Thailand against two local growers and a Los Angeles-based labor contractor, alleging that the workers were underpaid and housed in substandard conditions. In the suit filed on Monday, some of the workers said they were forced to go into personal debt in order to get a job in the United States. They said they were promised work that didn't materialize. A number of alleged violations of state and federal law were outlined in the suit. It seeks class action status for all Thai workers brought...

WASHINGTON – Defense contractor Mitchell J. Wade pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to conspiring to funnel more than $1 million in bribes to former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham. Wade, 46, admitted to his part in a payoff scheme intended to win federal contracts for his firm, MZM Inc., that included an attempt to bribe a Pentagon official. Wade's sweetheart purchase of Cunningham's Del Mar-area house figured prominently in the ex-congressman's own guilty plea last fall. Wade bought Cunningham's house for $1.67 million in November 2003 and then sold it eight months later at a $700,000 loss. The businessman began...

A police officer who temporarily gave up the fight against crime on the streets of St. Paul to provide security in war-torn Iraq died Thursday when a roadside bomb blew up his vehicle. Kyle Kaszynski, a St. Paul police officer for seven years and once a fixture on the force's horse patrol, took a leave from the department in October to work for a private security company in Iraq. He knew the dangers of his work, both in St. Paul and Iraq, but never retreated from the challenges. "It's like riding a horse — it's a risky proposition, but you...

FEMA Katrina Funeral Contractor Desecrated CorpsesThursday, 15 September 2005, 2:15 pm Article: Jason Leopold Division of Funeral Corp. Charged With Desecrating Corpses Hired to Collect Deceased Victims of Hurricane Katrina By Jason LeopoldA funeral services company which recently learned that one of its subsidiaries is negotiating a lucrative contract with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to remove dead bodies in areas ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, paid $100 million to settle a class-action lawsuit several years ago alleging the company desecrated thousands of corpses, and dumped bodies into mass graves.Moreover, the company paid $200,000 to settle a whistleblower lawsuit that sought...

ALI BASE, Iraq, Aug. 12, 2005 — Airman 1st Class Catherine Dilena did not know what to think when her first sergeant dropped by her office and told her to stand by to meet with him in a few minutes. Nervously, the 407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron client support administrator here waited for him to return, mentally running through a checklist of reasons why he would want to speak with her. A few minutes later, instead of chatting with her first sergeant, she received a counseling session of sorts from an unexpected visitor — her mom. “It was surreal to...

Some face possible $1,000 fine, jail time By Karen Kucher UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER July 30, 2005 CHULA VISTA – Twenty-three unlicensed contractors have been caught in a two-day underground sting and sweep by the Contractors State License Board, officials announced yesterday. Undercover investigators used a two-story home in Chula Vista owned by the mother of a licensed contractor as bait for the sting. On Wednesday, 13 contractors who had advertised in newspapers and mailers, or who were the subject of complaints, were invited to the house to submit bids for such projects as painting, landscaping and installing a swimming pool....

RENO, Nevada (AP) -- Security contractors were heckled, humiliated and physically abused by U.S. Marines in Iraq while jailed for 72 hours with insurgents, one of the detainees said Friday. "It was disbelief the whole time. I couldn't believe what was happening," said Matt Raiche, 34, an ex-Marine who was one of 16 American and three Iraqi contractors detained at Camp Falluja last month. "I just found it crazy that we were being held with terrorists, that we were put in the same facility with them," he told The Associated Press in an interview at his lawyer's office. "They were...

Israel And Freedom For Jonathan Pollard By Caroline Glick The Jerusalem Post - With INA Publisher's Note Below Jerusalem ---- April 28......Jonathan Pollard is one of the most polarizing figures of our times. Pollard, a former intelligence analyst in US naval intelligence, has now served 20 years of a life imprisonment sentence following his conviction for transferring classified US intelligence materials relating to Arab ballistic missile and nonconventional weapons programs to Israel from May 1984 until his arrest in November 1985. For his contribution to Israel's security and for his long suffering in prison, Israel considers Pollard a national hero....

I need a bit of advice on what could become a legal matter. Here's the story: Last December we put a down payment on a new roof for our house. The work was supposed to be done the 2nd week in Jan (weather permitting). The contractor had jobs to do in Florida during the winter, but he would do ours before he left. The contract called for 1/3 at signing, 1/3 when work began and 1/3 after completion. On Jan 10 I recieved a call that a crew would be out the next day to clear any snow from the...

BAE Systems to acquire United Defense BAE Systems, Britain's biggest defense contractor, said yesterday that it is acquiring United Defense Industries Inc., an Arlington-based builder of combat vehicles, artillery and naval guns. The $4 billion deal secures BAE's place as the Pentagon's leading foreign defense contractor and marks one of the largest acquisitions of a U.S. defense firm by a foreign company. BAE Systems North America, BAE's Rockville-based subsidiary, will formally make the acquisition. The company designs, manufactures and maintains military aircraft, submarines, surface ships and their systems. United Defense, in business since World War II, makes combat vehicles such...