WASHINGTON (AP) ― A poorly run Pentagon program for providing workman's
compensation for civilian taxpayers, a House oversight committee said Thursday.

Insurance companies alone have pocketed $600 million in excessive profits over the past five
years, says a staff report from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, but
the Defense Department refuses to adjust its approach for managing the program.

According to the committee, the Pentagon allows its contractors to negotiate their own
insurance contracts. By contrast, the State Department, U.S. Agency for International
Development and the Army Corps of Engineers have all selected a single insurance carrier to
provide the insurance at fixed rates.

"What makes the situation even worse is the people this program is supposed to benefit - the
injured employees working for contractors - have to fight the insurance companies to get their
benefits," committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said at a hearing Thursday. "Delays
and denials in paying claims are the rule."

KBR Inc., one of the largest defense contractors in Iraq, paid the insurance giant
AIG $284 million for medical and disability coverage under the Defense Base Act, a
reference to the federal law mandating the insurance. Due to the way KBR's
contract is structured, this premium, along with an
$8 million markup for KBR, gets
billed to the taxpayer.

"Out of this amount,
just $73 million actually goes to injured contractors, and AIG and
KBR pocket over $100 million as profit," Waxman said.    Full Story READ NOW!
Discussion Board

Defense Base Act
Workman's
Compensation
A guide for the
Employee


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Shell companies in Cayman Islands
allow KBR to avoid Medicare, Social
Security deductions-Boston Globe

Injured contractors sometimes
caught in legal wrangle for disability
compensation-MEDILL REPORTS
WASHINGTON
,by Mrinalini Reddy

Back from Iraq, contractors in U.S.
face combat-related stress
NY Times-

Private workers left helpless after
war’s stress

Bush’s Private Armies Suffering
Breakdowns

For war zone workers, a new fight
Some US firms deny injury claims
Boston Globe-Jan-07

Civilian Casualties from Iraq: Caring
for the Forgotten Wounded

Silent surge in contractor 'armies'
From
the July 18, 2007
edition -csmoniter

American Contractors in Iraq Face
Risks  New York Times July 16,2007

The Contractor's Fight at Home-David
Phinney

Contractors Back From Iraq Suffer
Trauma From Battle

Overseas Contractors Seek Support
Back Home  Thursday, June 14th, 2007

'War, Red Tape Haunt Civilian
Workers.' L.A,. Times-T. Miller

Overseas Contractors Seek Support
Back Home,Thurs, June 14, 2007  

Iraq: Blood, Sweat and Tears at  New
U.S. Embassy  Thurs., June 14, 2007

Gimme Shelter-Some Iraq veterans
are returning home, only to face
homelessness and mental problems.
Meanwhile, the VA is MIA.

US CONTRACTORS FACE PERIL,
NEGLECT ,
Boston Globe

Contractor Families Network at
Home- Fox News

Building Support

Ohio mom wants Iraq contractors
honored

The Contractor's Fight at Home

US: The battle scars of a private
war  ,
LA Times 2007

A crusader for civilian casualties

Nearly 800 Contractors Killed
in Iraq

John, Don't Surrender, Daivd Pinney

Iraq Contractors Convene in TN.

Iraq Wounded
Fight for Insurance Coverage

(SF) Civilian workers in Iraq
suffering combat trauma

Two truckers return from Iraq
disillusioned , E Trucker 2007

A 'Clara Barton' of the Web
for Civilian Contractors
Injured in Iraq

Contractors Wounded in Iraq
Meet for Support

Marines Jail Contractors in Iraq

More than 500 Contractor
Deaths  in Iraq?

On the Wrong Side of
'Friendly Fire'- CorpWatch by David
Phinney

Contractors In Iraq
Are Targets  For Attack

Census Counts 100,000  Contractors
in Iraq, Civilian Number,
Duties Are Issues

IRAQ: Security Contractor Detained-
Corp Watch

Thoughts on War Contractors
And counting......
Contractor Resources
Background, Legal status, and Other issues

Updated July 11, 2007    
READ HERE

  • If you feel your rights have been violated...WE WANT TO KNOW!
  • If you paid American Taxes while working for a foreign  company. We want to know
  • If your Insurance Company told you to hire an attorney, we want to know!
  • If you were given a W2 or W4, and FICA wasn't deducted, We want to know
Looking for a good company, try Dynacorp as they Provide medical and mental care for their
employees.
COMING SOON...
TO A HOSPITAL NEAR YOU
Acinetobacter baumannii
Iraqibacter

Contractor loses leg to
preventable infection

The Baghdad Boil
Leishmania is a very variable bug,  
There still is much we do not know  
about it.  Very few people in this  
country have any reason to know  
anything about it, whether they be  
MD's or whatever.   Persistant skin  
rashes, blistery rashes on the  
scalp, sores or wounds that do not  
heal should all be considered for  
leishmaniasis.
Leishmaniasis from
Iraq and Afghanistan

The Baghdad Hack

Defense Base Act
DBA Attorneys
DBA Lawyers

"When your opponent
knows that your lawyer is
not willing to take your case
to court, the chances of
your receiving the maximum
value to your case is far
less".

With permission I want to
share an email I got from

Barb
Dill, wife of an
American Contractor in
Iraq
WADE  Lost his life to PTSD
Employer Name: RONCO
CONSULTING CORP.  
Decision Date: 02/08/2006
02/08/2006 DB-
DENIED
Documents:
EYSSELINCK_TIMOTHY_A_vs
_RONCO_CONSTRUCTION
_2005LDA00012(FEB_08_2006)
_082839_CADEC_SD.PDF
Tim  LOST his life To PTSD
STATISTICS

Numbers Rising

Iraq war veterans feel they are
being cast aside. Three vets explain in their own words.

VeteransVillage.org * Homeless
Should courts allow the Insurance Companies holding the Goverment contract for
DBA Insurance,  the ability to use  FBS (Fake Bad scale)  when there IS NO
scienctific facts to back it up, in order  to deny contractors medical benefits?
Please read...  Many courts are now throwing it out!

Does the DBA work for you?         
What fines have any of these Insurance Company received for non-paym
ent.
How Contractors and Vets are being denied disabilities claims.
Independent Contractor (Self-Employed) or Employee?

It is critical that you, the employer, correctly determine whether the individuals providing services
are employees or independent contractors. Generally, you must withhold income taxes, withhold
and pay Social Security and Medicare taxes, and pay unemployment tax on wages paid to an
employee. You do not generally have to withhold or pay any taxes on payments to independent
contractors.

Misclassified Workers Can File Social Security Tax Form
Workers who believe they have been improperly classified as independent contractors by an
employer can use Form 8919, Uncollected Social Security and Medicare Tax on Wages to figure
and report the employee’s share of uncollected Social Security and Medicare taxes due on their
compensation. See the full article
Misclassified Workers to File New Social Security Tax Form for
more information.
In Iraq, there is no safe place, no wire to hide behind.
Mr. Eugene Armstong was an American Contractor "Engineer" who was
beheaded by Insurgent. Many contractors like him or Sam Walker who
worked on a military camp which some call "behind the wire" saw first
hand what dangers lurked on a secured camp in a mess hall one day
while eating lunch, everyone around him died.  Understanding that no
matter where you are in Iraq you are a target for insurgents weather
you work on a heavily guarded base or on the road driving. The wire is
a joke! Don't be fooled.
Three American Contractors were killed at Gun point during that attack in 2005, while several others were injured Severely.  What many might not understand is that the 3 that die were not
killed by stray gun fire, not caught up in Friendly Fire, but were broke down due to Road bombs on the road, and were stranded without any way to protect themselves.  These types of
contractors are not allowed to carry any type of weapons while driving across Iraq.  These 3 American died when 3 Insurgents walked up to their broke down trucks and open the doors,
and shot them at point blank!  A survivor of that ambush who was shot as they were walking up to his truck #5 was Preston Wheeler,  who was shot through his driver window.

UPDATE- Today 3 yrs later  the bullet remains inside Preston, due to  AIG will NOT approve his medical to get the bullet out.  Is it a Necessity?  YOU TELL ME!
How in the world is he to "get over"  what happen to him that day in Iraq without treatment for PTSD and surgery.... when everyday of his life since then, he has a constant reminder of what
happen to him and his fellow drivers.   There is no surgery approve to get the bullet out, not even a scan to see if it's causing other damage such as blot clots.    His PTSD of course is
going ignored as well.   Yet the Insurance gives these test to see if one is FAKING IT and not PAY for MEDICAL NECESSITIES!
SEEM that he will have to go before the AOLJ (Administrative Law Judge) this fall, to fight for his medical rights, the very one's the Defense Base Act provides!  Who knew you were guilty
until proven Innocent in America?  This is a CRIME!  (See Crime of  Wars)

To read more cases like this, go to AOLJ website:  Search all LDA cases
The DBA (Defense Base ACT)
  • For more information on the Government DBA Program, click here
The  American Contractors did not go to Iraq to be on the front lines
of this war, but instead they were.,upfront and gunless.  The insurgent
don't care whether you are in UNIFORM or NOT.  Contractors are
coming home injured, they are being denied or delayed years of
medical treatment, so sever to the point of dis- spare.   

"Is it better to survive an attack in Iraq as an American Contractor or
Not?"  
The Morning Show-
Listen Now

U.S. Contractors in Iraq
and at home Jeremy
Scahill, author of
Blackwater, The Rise of
World’s Most Powerful
Mercenery Army; Jana
Crowder, founded the
website,
AmericanContractorsinIr
aq.com for contractors
seeking help;
Cindy Morgan, former
Civilian Contractor and
also author of "Cindy in
Iraq, a civilia
n year in a
war zone”  
Corporate Greed in Iraq
by T. Christian Miller

Synopsis
It was supposed to be quick and
easy. The Bush Administration
even promised that it wouldn't
cost American taxpayers a
thing-Iraqi oil revenues would
pay for it all. But billions and
billions of dollars, and
reconstruction is an undeniable
failure. Iraq pumps out less oil
now than it did under Saddam. At
best, Iraqis average all of twelve
hours a day of electricity.
American soldiers lack body
armor and adequate protection
for their motor vehicles.

Increasingly worse off, Iraqis turn
against us. Increasingly worse
off, our troops are killed by a
strengthening insurgency.

As T. Christian Miller reveals in
this searing and timely book, the
Bush Administration has fatally
undermined the war effort and
our soldiers by handing out
mountains of cash not to the best
companies for the reconstruction
effort, but to buddies, cronies,
relatives and political
hacks-some of whom have
simply taken the money and run
with it.

Blistering, brilliant and shocking,
this will be the breakout title
when it comes to Iraq books, and
the catalyst for national debate.

The Washington Post - Michael
Hirsh
At its heart, Blood Money is the
tale of how Washington left a
country desperately in need of
rebuilding to the whims of
money-hungry private
contractors, and of how the lack
of clear lines of authority doomed
efficiency, effectiveness and
accountability from the start.

More Reviews and
Recommendations
Biography
investigative reporter who writes
for the Los Angeles Times'
Washington bureau. In his ten
years as a professional
journalist, he has covered four
wars and a presidential
campaign, and has reported
from more than two dozen
countries; he was once
kidnapped by leftist guerillas in
Bogotá. Miller is a graduate of the
University of California at
Berkeley and lives in
Washington, D.C. with his wife
and two young children.
Cindy in Iraq: A Civilian's Year in
by Cindy Morgan

From Publishers Weekly
Morgan, a civilian who drove
refrigerated trucks throughout
Iraq delivering ice to U.S. troops,
narrates a chatty,
companionable book that offers
an unusual look at life in Iraq.
She goes to Iraq in part to
empower herself after three
failed marriages (her third
husband tried to strangle her)
and in part because of a deeply
felt and frequently expressed
patriotism; the book successfully
blends these two aspects, and
the Cindy that returns from Iraq
is a stronger person than the
battered woman who arrived in
September 2003. The writing is
strongest when Morgan relates
the details of trucking in a war is
particularly gripping) and life on
an army base (one episode
involves a bomb-disarming robot
chasing her). Unfortunately,
Morgan often slips into vague
ruminations on patriotism, and
the story turns dull despite the
drama inherent in Morgan's job.
Her voice is honest, and the
story can be both gripping and
horrible (as when she was
raped while in Kuwait), but the
book, which depends heavily on
e-mail correspondence and a
blog Morgan maintained while in
Iraq, lacks tightness of vision.
Copyright © Reed Business
Information, a division of Reed
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Blackwater: The Rise of the
World's Most Powerful
Mercenary Army
by Jeremy Scahill

From Publishers Weekly
Scahill, a regular contributor to the
Nation, offers a hard-left those
forces and its notoriety to a
growing reputation as a
mercenary outfit, willing to break
systems responsible to state
authority. Scahill describes
Blackwater's expansion, from an
early emphasis on administrative
and training functions to what
amounts to a combat role as an
internal security force in Iraq. He
cites company representatives
who say Blackwater's capacities
and training functions to what
amounts to a combat role as an
internal security force in Iraq. He
cites company representatives
who say Blackwater's capacities
can readily be expanded to
supplying brigade-sized forces for
humanitarian purposes,
peacekeeping and low-level
conflict. While emphasizing the
possibility of an "adventurous
President" employing Blackwater's
mercenaries covertly, Scahill
underestimates the effect of
publicity on the deniability he sees
as central to such scenarios.
Arguably, he also dismisses too
lightly Blackwater's growing
self-image as the respectable heir
to a long and honorable tradition
of contract soldiering. Ultimately,
Blackwater and its less familiar
counterparts thrive not because of
a neoconservative conspiracy
against democracy, as Scahill
claims, but because they provide
relatively low-cost alternatives in
high-budget environments and
flexibility at a time when war is
increasingly protean. (Apr. 10)
Copyright © Reed Business
Information, a division of Reed
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to the Hardcover
edition.
Escape In Iraq: The Thomas
Hamill Story
by Thomas Hamill & Paul T.
Brown

From Publisher's Weekly
Faced with mounting farm debt at
home, Mississippi truck driver
Hamill was lured to Iraq by a
$75,000 tax-free contract from
KBR to run supplies. He was
abducted on April 9, 2004, and
his escape 24 days later made
worldwide news. Hamill's
first-person account (written with
True Exposures publishing
president Brown) shows the
attack on his convoy that strands
him with a bone-shattering
gunshot wound in the arm; the
three-plus weeks in which Hamill
was shuttled around by various
guards (whose attitudes ranged
from curious or sympathetic to
hardened and hostile); the able
care and treatment Hamill
received for his serious wound;
his captivity within frustrating
reach of passing U.S. soldiers.
When U.S. troops assigned to
guard an oil pipeline came within
yards of his position, Hamill
dramatically forced his way out of
his remote holding cell and
made a barefoot dash across a
rock-strewn plain to safety.
Throughout, Hamill attributes his
physical and psychological
survival to his faith in God,
portraying his captivity as a
Jonah-like experience in the belly
of the whale. He keeps the
narrative's focus on the
mechanics of getting through
each day (including some
fascinating interactions with
guards) and waiting for the right
moment to make his move. The
result is a remarkable story that,
regardless of one's opinion of
the war, stands as a true profile
in courage.
Double click the pictures to purchase YOUR book now!  
Reliable Books on Contractors and Contracting in Iraq,
get the Facts, not the Fiction.  

Each of these have something different to offer,

Product Description

The text focuses first on the
impact of the Marshall plan on
the organization of political and
economic life in post-war Europe
and how the plan was perceived
in European public opinion. It
then examines its role in the
construction of European union
and in the division of Europe.
Finally, the book analyzes the
debate about the economic
impact of the Marshall Plan in the
post-war economic "miracle" in
Western Europe. The authors of
these chapters are well-known
historians, economists, and
political scientists, whose
original chapters derive from their
work on post-war Europe.

BOOK REVIEW

The Marshall Plan: Fifty Years
After. Ed. by Martin Schain. (New
York: Palgrave, 2001. xiv, 297 pp.
$59.95, ISBN 0-312-22962-3.)
The Marshall Plan is probably the
most documented topic in recent
international history, and yet it
remains an intriguing and elusive
subject. It stands at the
intersection of diverse historical
fields: the Cold War, the
international economy, European
politics, and American culture (to
name just the most obvious). It
embraces a variety of national
histories, languages, and
archives and includes public and
private actors with diverse
backgrounds, intentions, and
possibilities. It can be, and has
been, approached from many
disciplinary perspectives and
with different cognitive aims. On
top of all this, it has grown into a
fabled policy model used to
approach (or evade) the world's
most troubled spots. In the last
few years, Marshall Plans have
been suggested for Russia,
Palestine, and Africa. 1
A collection of essays that tries to
take stock of the historical import
of such a topic is bound to be
more uneven than most. The
focus in The Marshall Plan is on
Europe and the plan's impact
and long-term consequences (
although Jacqueline McGlade's
fine essay on the contradictory
expectations of U.S. business
and policy-making groups brings
us back to the American scene),
and there is only one serious
attempt to address the current
relevance of the plan (Barry
Eichengreen's persuasive
discussion of the relationship
between policy initiatives and
private capital markets, then and
now).
©2004-Jana Crowder
How many cases actually
have the insures Paid
Out?   
Also read....
Cross Examining the
Psychiatric Expert,
by: Dorothy C. Simms, Esq. Ocala,
Florida
San Francisco Giants
for them in 1984 as a September call-up and quickly entrenched himself as their
starting third baseman. In his first full season in 1985, Brown batted .261 with
16 home runs and 61 runs batted in for the last-place Giants, made the
All-Rookie team, and finished 4th in the National League Rookie of the Year
voting (Vince Coleman of the St. Louis Cardinals won the award by unanimous
vote); Brown also led the NL in times being hit by pitch (11). In 1986, Brown
batted .317 and made the NL All-Star team after hitting nearly .350 in the
season's first half.

Life after baseball
Chris Brown lived in Houston, Texas with his wife Lisa and their two children,
Paris and Chris Jr. Brown, after retirement. In 2004,
Brown worked in Iraq
driving
an 18-wheel truck delivering diesel fuel for Halliburton. He took fire on
numerous occasions, including in a convoy
that was attacked on April 9,
2004
, in which six Halliburton drivers and one soldier were killed and another
driver kidnapped and later released.[1] By 2006, Brown had returned to the
United States.

Brown died at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston on December 26, 2006,
nearly a month after he suffered burns in a fire on November 30 at a vacant
house he owned in Sugar Land, Texas. He was 45 years of age.
Police have
never determined if his death was a
homicide, suicide, or an accident.
Denials and Delays are the Rule for AIG when it comes to medical care, yet our gover