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November 24, 2007 at 11:36:35

For God's SAIC!

by Michael Shaw     Page 2 of 2 page(s)

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Public Citizen | New Nuclear Power Plants = More Nuclear Waste

"A nuclear reactor generates about 22 tons of deadly high-level radioactive waste each year. There is no known way to safely dispose of this waste, which remains dangerously radioactive for tens of thousands of years. U.S. nuclear power plants have already produced nearly 50,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste. Managing this mounting stockpile is increasingly complex and presents many scientific, environmental, and safety problems. By 2010, the volume of nuclear waste in the U.S. is expected to exceed capacity at the controversial Yucca Mountain repository. The government has no viable plan for coping with the additional waste that new nuclear reactors would produce."

Danger for thousands of years and no viable plan....now that just sounds crazy doesn't it? Now why in the world are "we" pushing in this unsolvable and dangerous direction when there are far better and safer alternatives like solar, wind and water? You might also ask why a participant at the last democratic presidential debate was given another handpicked question to ask Hilary Clinton when she originally wanted to ask her about the Yucca Mountain repository. Just food for thought!

Meanwhile we grope over the fear of a nuclear Pakistan controlled by radical Islamic Fundamentalists, a scenario that we ourselves have in fact helped to create! We only need to turn a page in history and look to Ronald Reagan who turned a blind eye to Pakistan's nuclear weapons program shortly after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan.

Keeping with the tradition we should look at George H.W. Bush, who in the mid 1980's set up sales of F-16 fighters to Pakistan, essentially giving their new nuclear program the launching platform it needed to deliver payloads. We should also look at the current(and secret) nuclear weapons deal conducted by Bush Jr. and his ever loyal sidekick, Condi Rice who actually gave Pakistan more nuclear weapons, even though for decades and to date, our nation has been very worried about the stability of that country. Amy Goodman conducted an interview about this secret sale recently: "Deception: British Reporter Adrian Levy on How the United States Secretly Helped Pakistan Build Its Nuclear Arsenal" (http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/11/19/1450222&mode=thread&tid=25) It is well worth the read! More importantly it should suggest, are we nuts?

When it comes to government expenditures of our tax dollars, everything it seems revolves around the nuclear and defense programs, things Mr. Beyster and his current replacement Mr. Dalhberg are more than familiar with and perhaps more importantly, profiting from! While Mr. Beyster began his nuclear ambitions at Los Alamos during the second world war, his successor, Mr. Dalhberg, became the VP of General Dynamics, the mother company to the Polaris sub program, or in other words, the navy's answer to moveable nuclear launching platforms.

Mr. Dalhberg currently serves on George W. Bush's Artic Research Commission! This of course is the answer to the world science conclusion that the greenhouse affect and the industrial activities of man are melting our polar ice caps. For them of course, more nuclear powerplants are the answer, as if nuclear waste isn't just as dangerous! Meanwhile 30 years of environmental protections which have been wiped off the map by Bush, still langour in obscurity.

Dalhberg began his career at Hughes Aircraft in 1967. He served as the president of the division that created weapon systems and later became president of the Sensors and Communications division. When Ratheon purchased Hughes Aircraft, he eventually became its president, overseeing operations of the defense business units. He also oversaw the production of air traffic control hardware and radar systems.

In a time of terror, huge deficits, environmental catastrophy, domestic spying, the loss of liberty and the potential to national bankruptsy, SAIC continues to win. While many of us worry about Bush concerning these matters, none of us see SAIC. Yet, when Bush is long gone, SAIC will remain. Perhaps even up till the very end when broke and without liberty, we find ourselves knee deep in nuclear contamination.

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I'm a concerned, middle aged blogger and member of the ACLU. I hail from the Bay Area. I Lobbied congress with the ACLU over the more unconstitutional elements of the USA Patriot Act. Marched in peace protests, lost a former school chum in the world trade center on 9/11.

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Joel S. Hirschhorn is the author of Delusional Democracy - Fixing the Republic Without Overthrowing the Government (www.delusionaldemocracy.com). His current political writings have been greatly influenced by working as a senior staffer for the U.S. Congress and for the National Governors Association. He advocates a Second American Revolution, beginning with an Article V Convention to propose constitutional amendments. He is Chair of the Independent Party of Maryland.
Joel S. HirschhornJoel S. Hirschhorn is the author of Delusional Democracy - Fixing the Republic Without Overthrowing the Government (www.delusionaldemocracy.com). His current political writings have been greatly influenced by working as a senior staffer for the U.S. Congress and for the National Governors Association. He advocates a Second American Revolution, beginning with an Article V Convention to propose constitutional amendments. He is Chair of the Independent Party of Maryland.

EXCELLENT EXPOSE

As someone who has worked inside the DC beltway since 1978 and known countless people who work for SAIC, I can attest that it is in so many ways the invisible workhorse of the federal government, and by the way enormously profitable, giving its employees incredible wealth.  It has such clout that it does not really have to compete for federal business.  But remember, it is just one of a number of huge federal contractors running things behind the scenes....

by Joel S. Hirschhorn (116 articles, 22 quicklinks, 52 diaries, 468 comments) on Sunday, November 25, 2007 at 3:59:16 PM
 


just a hard working guy, trying to make it in the world
Scott MacLeodjust a hard working guy, trying to make it in the world

how wrong can two people be?

1.  Even though you correctly identifed the current CEO of SAIC as Kenneth Dahlberg, on the second page you created a new CEO named "Mr. Walhberg", made him a WW2 fighter ace, VP of GD and tied to nuclear submarines, and member of the Artic Research Commission -- and created myriad conspiracy theories connected to each.  For the record, none of these "facts", concerning the current CEO of SAIC, are true.

2.  Second, Mr. Hirschborn, SAIC is not "enormously profitable".  Its annual operating margin, for the most recent fiscal year, is 7.01%, compared to Microsoft's 37% or Google's 31%.

Guess when your version of intellectual rigor is to regurgitate Vanity Fair articles, a reader shouldn't expect much.  Conspiracy theories are so much harder when you have to base them on facts.

by Scott MacLeod (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 2 comments) on Monday, November 26, 2007 at 4:27:03 PM
 


I'm a concerned, middle aged blogger and member of the ACLU. I hail from the Bay Area. I Lobbied congress with the ACLU over the more unconstitutional elements of the USA Patriot Act. Marched in peace protests, lost a former school chum in the world trade center on 9/11.
Michael ShawI'm a concerned, middle aged blogger and member of the ACLU. I hail from the Bay Area. I Lobbied congress with the ACLU over the more unconstitutional elements of the USA Patriot Act. Marched in peace protests, lost a former school chum in the world trade center on 9/11.

Well Scott.....

....as far as the type error goes, nobody's perfect. Least of all me. I will correct it however and I appreciate your pointing that out.

As for SAIC's earnings according to the Vanity Fair article, I suppose that depends on which kinds of earnings they were talking about and perhaps more importantly, when. They weren't very specific. It could have been the fiscal period for 2006 which ended in January of 2007. They were talking about earnings a full year before their article, which came out in early 2007. So I imagine it may well have even been the 2005 fiscal period since that ended in January of 2006. It would be a good question for the authors for some further clarification. They didn't mention whether they were net or gross profit margins either. Currently here is where SAIC stands:

Gross Profit Margin (LFY) 13.38
Operating Profit Margin (LFY) 7.05
Net Profit Margin (LFY) 4.98

http://finance.aol.com/quotes/saic-inc/sai/nys/fundamentals

I'll admit I did base much of my article on the Vanity Fair story, but not all of it. Actually a Vietnam Veteran pointed me out to SAIC in the first place in a truthdig about the military industrial complex. Prior to that I had never heard of them. I know a whole lot more now.

As for trying to fabricate conspiracy, there is no conspiracy about the military industrial complex, its contractors and their strong influence on government. Although you are essentially correct in pointing out that Google and Microsoft recorded higher profit earnings, those earnings did not for the most part come from the federal government as 93.3% of SAIC's earnings did. Also since many of their government projects are secret, no one really knows how much money they make. Even Forbes magazine admits that, at least concerning any attempts to forecast them. "In the case of San Diego-based SAIC, there's another complication in gauging its prospects: a significant chunk of its 9,000 active government contracts involve classified work for secretive agencies." "While many classified contracts can be relatively stable, their obvious lack of visibility presents some challenges for analysts and investors trying to determine the long-term performance of companies operating in this area," says Scott Sacknoff, manager of the SPADE Defense Index, an exchange-traded fund that tracks 57 defense companies.

click here also imagine that some, if not most of their projects are black budgeted. Also their immense backlog isn't taken into account. Heck they didn't even go public until Oct, 2006.

No one can deny they had their share of blunders under Dalhberg either or that Dahlberg is a member of Bush's Artic Research Committee. Their support of the nuclear energy program is common knowledge. They have a long history of working for nuclear energy companies. They are the DOE's choice contractor.

At any rate, I appreciate your comments. I'm always willing to learn whether that means standing corrected or not. I believe this company deserves some limelight it doesn't generally get. This was the intent of my article.

 

 

 

by Michael Shaw (7 articles, 1 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 310 comments) on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 12:22:06 AM
 


just a hard working guy, trying to make it in the world
Scott MacLeodjust a hard working guy, trying to make it in the world

it wasn't a typo....

1.  Ken Dahlberg, the current CEO, is 63, I think.  That means he was born in 1944, and could not possibly be a WW2 fighter ace.

2.  Here is a link to the Arctic Research Commission http://www.arctic.gov/staff.htm and here is Dahlberg's bio http://www.saic.com/about/leadership/dahlberg-bio.html.  There is no reference, in either place, to him being a member of that commission.

 3.  Dahlberg headed GD's IT group -- which has nothing to do with building nuclear submarines.

4.  Your statement "Also since many of their government projects are secret, no one really knows how much money they make" is fallacious on the surface.  SAIC is publicly traded.  All of their profits are reported, in accordance with SEC and FASB standards.  You can read the annual reports, back to 2003, online.  They are audited financials -- and clearly show revenue, operating income, and net income.

5.  You somehow link the founding of SAIC to the growth of nuclear energy.  In fact, Beyster left General Atomics because after GA's purchase by Gulf Oil, the focus became building nuclear reactors.  All Beyster wanted to do was experimental physics research, and that is why he left GA and started SAIC.  If he really wanted to be hip deep in nuclear power, he would have stayed at GA.

I salute your curiosity.  SAIC is a fascinating company, and an excellent long term investment.  It is a tribute to the power of employee ownership.  If you are really curious, then look past the smarmy VF article.  The truth is probably somewhere between a SAIC press release, and VF.  So far, you appear to have only explored one end of that continuum.

by Scott MacLeod (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 2 comments) on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 at 1:47:05 PM
 


I'm a concerned, middle aged blogger and member of the ACLU. I hail from the Bay Area. I Lobbied congress with the ACLU over the more unconstitutional elements of the USA Patriot Act. Marched in peace protests, lost a former school chum in the world trade center on 9/11.
Michael ShawI'm a concerned, middle aged blogger and member of the ACLU. I hail from the Bay Area. I Lobbied congress with the ACLU over the more unconstitutional elements of the USA Patriot Act. Marched in peace protests, lost a former school chum in the world trade center on 9/11.

David

You're right! I linked to Kennth H. Dalhberg of watergate fame instead of Kenneth C Dalhberg who is in charge of SAIC and the primary target of discussion in the article. My google search was for Ken Dalhberg and Kenneth H was the top pick. I jumped the gun! It was unintentional and I should have been more diligent. I shall correct the error. Kenneth C did begin his career in 1967 but he was not a WW2 ace pilot. The overall story and its implications have not changed. Only this oversight stands corrected.

Also I never said Dalhberg started the Polaris missile program. I said General Dynamics did. I merely mentioned his being its president. Whether or not he is directly responsible or has taken part in this current nuclear upswing by the Bush administration is up to the reader to decide. The fact that SAIC is the main "go to" contractor for the nuclear energy program and that Dalhberg is a current active member of the Bush administration might be deemed as coinsidental to some, but I doubt it. Obviously you do and that's OK.

As for your putting down Barlett and Steele and their article in Vanity Fair, perhaps you should take into account that these guys are two of the most renouned investigative journalist's around, have won numerous awards, including the pulitzer and have been doing what they do since 1971. The Washington Journalism Review has called them two of the best investigative news journalists in history. Of course no one is infallible. I have contacted them about the SAIC profit margins they posted in their Vanity Fair article. I hope to hear from them soon. If I ever do I'll provide the source for their information.

by Michael Shaw (7 articles, 1 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 310 comments) on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 at 3:49:45 PM
 

 

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