Stupid is as stupid does...


Come to hell with Halliburton - the pay's good
By Sheila McNulty in Houston
Published: June 13 2004 21:36 | Last Updated: June 13 2004 21:36

Thirty-nine Halliburton workers have been killed in Iraq and two are
unaccounted for. But last Friday, 250 Americans lined up outside the
Houston Hilton to apply to work for the company's KBR subsidiary in Iraq.

Some wore suits and ties, others T-shirts and jeans at this hiring
session, one of four being held in Houston. Only half a dozen were women.

Many could not find work in the US, some wanted to help the government
fight terrorism, and still others were looking for a way to boost their
financial standing.

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Working as a civilian merc in a war zone...

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Stupid is as stupid does...


Come to hell with Halliburton - the pay's good
By Sheila McNulty in Houston
Published: June 13 2004 21:36 | Last Updated: June 13 2004 21:36

Thirty-nine Halliburton workers have been killed in Iraq and two are
unaccounted for. But last Friday, 250 Americans lined up outside the
Houston Hilton to apply to work for the company's KBR subsidiary in Iraq.

Some wore suits and ties, others T-shirts and jeans at this hiring
session, one of four being held in Houston. Only half a dozen were women.

Many could not find work in the US, some wanted to help the government
fight terrorism, and still others were looking for a way to boost their
financial standing.

** Reminds me of that Clint Eastwood line in 'The Outlaw Josey Wales'. A
bounty hunter came into the saloon to challenge Josey who said..."dying
ain't much of a livin'..."

All that money may fatten your estate.....but still not worth dying for.

Gene Kearns wrote:
On Sun, 13 Jun 2004 23:15:09 GMT, "Don White"
wrote:


"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...

Stupid is as stupid does...


Come to hell with Halliburton - the pay's good
By Sheila McNulty in Houston
Published: June 13 2004 21:36 | Last Updated: June 13 2004 21:36

Thirty-nine Halliburton workers have been killed in Iraq and two are
unaccounted for. But last Friday, 250 Americans lined up outside the
Houston Hilton to apply to work for the company's KBR subsidiary in Iraq.

Some wore suits and ties, others T-shirts and jeans at this hiring
session, one of four being held in Houston. Only half a dozen were women.

Many could not find work in the US, some wanted to help the government
fight terrorism, and still others were looking for a way to boost their
financial standing.


** Reminds me of that Clint Eastwood line in 'The Outlaw Josey Wales'. A
bounty hunter came into the saloon to challenge Josey who said..."dying
ain't much of a livin'..."

All that money may fatten your estate.....but still not worth dying for.



On the other hand.... if your family is starving (and you are a
victim of NAFTA, etc.) or are just greedy, your life is not as
important as a healthy paycheck.......

I work at an airport and I see what we are doing to fight
terrorism.... it isn't worth the life of your gerbil.... let alone
*your* life.... as Rush Limbaugh would say, "clearly, form before
function...."



One gets a real perspective on the absurdity of "homeland security" in
Washington, D.C. I drive by the U.S. Capitol several times a week, and I
tell you, any terrorist with half a brain could lob a shoulder-mounted
missile into the Capitol itself or any of the federal office buildings
surrounding it, or, indeed, any federal office building in the DC area,
even the Pentagon.

Now, am I suggesting we become a nation of armed minicamps? Of course
not. But what we are doing now to fight off terrorism is little more
than lunacy.

P.S. Every time I go through airport security, the screeners want to
look at my feet with my shoes off. Now that is hazardous duty...

Gene,
Makes me wonder why if Sadam was so hated by his people that they didn't
try the human bomb thing on him. Seems there's enough of them that are
willing to do it against us. Makes me wonder how desperate an individual
most become to do this.
Paul

"Gene Kearns" wrote in message
...
On the other hand.... if your family is starving (and you are a
victim of NAFTA, etc.) or are just greedy, your life is not as
important as a healthy paycheck.......

I work at an airport and I see what we are doing to fight
terrorism.... it isn't worth the life of your gerbil.... let alone
*your* life.... as Rush Limbaugh would say, "clearly, form before
function...."

"Paul Schilter" wrote:
Makes me wonder why if Sadam was so hated by his people that they didn't
try the human bomb thing on him. Seems there's enough of them that are
willing to do it against us.

What makes you think they didn't? Just because it didn't make headline
news over here....


Gene Kearns wrote:
My take on it is, first, we don't think like they do.....

Very very very true.

... Sadam was
more feared, than hated. We are more hated than feared and the deaths
will continue until we pick up a really big stick and instill some
really significant fear.

On Sept 12th 2001 I would have agreed with you strongly. Now I don't
think that's going to work.

It is only partially true that economic desperation feeds terrorism. If
you grew up in a refugee camp with no knowledge and no hope, you might
not aspire to anything better than to be a martyr. However there must
also be an instigator... in our case we have lots of people who hate us,
going through these areas where their message will be well received, and
preaching against us... they do the same against Israel. These people
are the real enemy and AFAIK we are making no inroads against them at all.



I have to believe that the people going over there just for the money
have to believe, "it won't happen to me."

Greed is also a big factor. If you could move to Iraq temporarily and
make $500K/yr would you be tempted to go? How about a million a year?



How desperate? Depends how much you buy into this harem of virgins in
the afterlife thing.... Like I said, we don't follow the same
thought processes...

And that is only to be expected when you back up a step and think about
how different are the circumstances in which we live.

DSK