Reporting on a Halliburton abuse case -- local Orland Park lawyer heads defense

I'm in Peoria reporting on the Bush administration's prosecution of a former Halliburton-KBR contractor who is accused of inflating a contract in exchange for a bribe taking place in the Peoria Federal Court room of Judge Joe Billy McDade. The judge and J. Scott Arthur, the attorney for the defendant Jeff Mazon, got into an argument over how far Arthur could go in defending Mazon, excluding a discussion about the merits of the Iraq War, other instances of corruption related to Halliburton and KBR contracts in Iraq and more. You can read the first report at the Southwest News-Herald newspaper online at www.SWNewsHerald.com or at my Middle East writing sites including the Arab American Writers Group Syndication at www.ArabWritersGroup.com.

Arthur is from Orland Park. Mazon is from Country Club Hills.

Since I will be doing remotes often on Mornings with Ray Hanania, this week is a test to see how we can work out some kinks in the direct internet link connection from Peoria to the station iN berkeley at WJJG 1530 AM Radio.

This morning's topic includes the Halliburton case, but focuses mainly on the current economic crisis in America and the opinions of listeners on how they feel about the $700 billion bailout package and what they think needs to be done.

Call the station at 708-493-1530 or listen to the program online at www.RadioChicagoland.com. There is a link to the online stream feed at the upper righthand corner of the web page.

-- Ray Hanania
www.RadioChicagoland.com

Radio show live from Peoria where Halliburton trial is continuing

I'm in Peoria reporting on the Bush administration's prosecution of a former Halliburton-KBR contractor who is accused of inflating a contract in exchange for a bribe taking place in the Peoria Federal Court room of Judge Joe Billy McDade. The judge and J. Scott Arthur, the attorney for the defendant Jeff Mazon, got into an argument over how far Arthur could go in defending Mazon, excluding a discussion about the merits of the Iraq War, other instances of corruption related to Halliburton and KBR contracts in Iraq and more. You can read the first report at the Southwest News-Herald newspaper online at www.SWNewsHerald.com or at my Middle East writing sites including the Arab American Writers Group Syndication at www.ArabWritersGroup.com.

Since I will be doing remotes often on Mornings with Ray Hanania, this week is a test to see how we can work out some kinks in the direct internet link connection from Peoria to the station iN berkeley at WJJG 1530 AM Radio.

This morning's topic includes the Halliburton case, but focuses mainly on the current economic crisis in America and the opinions of listeners on how they feel about the $700 billion bailout package and what they think needs to be done.

Call the station at 708-493-1530 or listen to the program online at www.RadioChicagoland.com. There is a link to the online stream feed at the upper righthand corner of the web page.

-- Ray Hanania
www.RadioChicagoland.com

"Mornings with Ray Hanania" Broadcasting from Peoria

I'm in Peoria broadcasting my radios how this morning as I prepare to cover parts of the U.S. Justice Department prosecution -- the second attempt -- of Jeff Mazon, a Country Club Hills former contractor with Halliburton who is accused of taking a bribe. But the big issue is that the government doesn't want anyone to discuss the issues about Halliburton itself, the pattern of corruption that has plagued Halliburton's contracts in Iraq ... or the role of the Bush administration or Halliburton "former" CEO vice president Dick Cheney ...

No one is covering the trial and I think the government is trying to bury this case so Halliburton doesn't become the bigger issue than an alleged corruption case that a jury already tossed last April 2008 during the first trial because of concerns over the evidence.

I'll post updates and we can discuss this and the $700 billion bailout and President Bush's speech this morning on TV, the drop in the stock market that represented more than a trillion dollars in loses.

The online broadcast of the radio show sounds great from Peoria ...

-- Ray Hanania
www.RadioChicagoland.com