Did You Know That You Paid For a Go Kart Track at Guantanamo?

[clb09]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/06/AR2010060604093.html


At the U.S. naval station here, a handsome electronic sign hangs between two concrete pillars. In yellow enamel against a blue metal backdrop is a map of Cuba, the "Pearl of the Antilles," above flashing time and temperature readings.

"Welcome Aboard," the sign says.

The cost of the marquee, along with a smaller sign positioned near the airfield: $188,000. Among other odd legacies from war-on-terror spending since 2001 for the troops at Guantanamo Bay: an abandoned volleyball court for $249,000, an unused go-kart track for $296,000 and $3.5 million for 27 playgrounds that are often vacant.

The Pentagon also spent $683,000 to renovate a cafe that sells ice cream and Starbucks coffee, and $773,000 to remodel a cinder-block building to house a KFC/Taco Bell restaurant.

http://thepinehillsnews.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/bush-obama.jpg

[Kotin]

no words.. ffs..

[Dr.3D]

Well, if you were stationed on that base, exactly what would you do for entertainment? It isn't like you could go off base. Guantanamo is considered sea duty for a reason. It's pretty much like being on a ship.

Heck, you should have seen the nice miniature golf course and such on the Subic bay naval station in the Philippines, that has been closed for some time now.

[Vessol]

Lol. Neocons will have no problem with this, but then joke with them that the terrorists got to ride the go-carts and watch their expression.

[james1906]

$249000 for a volleyball court?

[dannno]

$249000 for a volleyball court?

Hey it's in the middle of nowhere and they need entertainment :rolleyes:

[Dr.3D]

Hey it's in the middle of nowhere and they need entertainment :rolleyes:

Bet you would change your tune if you were stationed there.

[RyanRSheets]

*spits coffee*

What the hell kinda torture is this? Dammit boys get back to work!

[dannno]

Bet you would change your tune if you were stationed there.

Ya, I'd ask for a $5,000 volleyball court, maybe some kayaks.. maybe a $10,000 basketball court, tennis courts, etc..

The point of the article isn't that we are spending money on entertainment for the troops, the point is that the military contractors seem to be able to spend whatever they want on, well, whatever they want.

[specsaregood]

The point of the article isn't that we are spending money on entertainment for the troops, the point is that the military contractors seem to be able to spend whatever they want on, well, whatever they want.

Maybe Dr.3d just doesn't realize that a volleyball court shouldn't cost a quarter of a million dollars to "build".

[Danke]

$249000 for a volleyball court?

Nothing like a good game of volleyball after a long day of waterboarding others.

[Dr.3D]

Maybe Dr.3d just doesn't realize that a volleyball court shouldn't cost a quarter of a million dollars to "build".

Yeah, yeah, and a toilet seat for an aircraft shouldn't cost $2000.00 and a hammer shouldn't cost $400.

But that isn't what this thread started out talking about. Yes, the contractors are ripping off the tax payers, and the people hiring those contractors are letting them.

Edit: So what else is new?

[specsaregood]

But that isn't what this thread started out talking about. Yes, the contractors are ripping off the tax payers, and the people hiring those contractors are letting them.


It isn't? That's what it looks like the thread is about to me. What did you think it was about? The op listed a bunch of worthless shit they paid huge amounts of money to build and they sit unused. Evidently the bored troops are too bored to even want to use it.

[Stary Hickory]

Bet you would change your tune if you were stationed there.

Yeah really I don't get peeps being so hard on the troops. I would hate being in Cuba like that. Anyways, the government wastes tons of money and the Military is no exception. The military is full of wasteful spending just like the government in general.

[Perium]

maybe dr.3d just doesn't realize that a volleyball court shouldn't cost a quarter of a million dollars to "build".

lol!

[RM918]

Hell, did they pick up that fad from the Middle East where they have to fucking bedazzle everything with diamonds? Because that's the only way I can figure those things costing that much. I suppose I can understand the courts being abandoned, since it's pretty hard to play volleyball when they're made out of solid gold.

[tangent4ronpaul]

The Congressional athletic club got remodels a while back for a pretty penny. Things like hand carved molding from rare hard woods at a cost of hundreds of dollars a foot - or was that inch?

I just went searching for a personnel count for the base. I mean you need enough people to guard and interrogate 600 people and then there is supposed to be a Coast Guard base there too. I was kind of thrown by the 27 playgrounds figure... how many troops do we have stationed down there?

-t

[clb09]

I respect everyone's opinion regarding the money we are wasting spending at Guantanamo for our storm troopers glorious troops but damn, what would Ron or Rand say about these boondoggles necessary expenses?

BTW:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_broken_window


Keynesians argue that in some circumstances the little boy may actually be a benefactor, though not the best possible one. Facing severely underutilized resources (as in the Great Depression), John Maynard Keynes argued that it may make economic sense to build totally useless pyramids in order to stimulate the economy, raise aggregate demand, and encourage full employment.

Austrian School economists, and Bastiat himself, apply the parable of the broken window in a more subtle way. If we consider the parable again, we notice that the little boy is seen as a public benefactor. Suppose it was discovered that the little boy was actually hired by the glazier, and paid a franc for every window he broke.

Suddenly the same act would be regarded as theft: the glazier was breaking windows in order to force people to hire his services. Yet the facts observed by the onlookers remain true: the glazier benefits from the business at the expense of the baker, the cobbler, and so on. Bastiat argues that people actually do endorse activities which are morally equivalent to the glazier hiring a boy to break windows for him (specifically the burning of Paris):

[Stary Hickory]

I respect everyone's opinion regarding the money we are wasting spending at Guantanamo for our storm troopers glorious troops but damn, what would Ron or Rand say about these boondoggles necessary expenses?

BTW:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_broken_window

Once again calling troops there Stormtroopers is kind of an insult. The folks who get sent there generally do not want to go. And Guantanamo is not a concentration camp for pete's sake. Nor are the kids(in many cases) who are sent there SS troopers.

Guantanamo is holding innocent folks against there will no doubt, but the average soldier and even officers have no say whatsoever in this. The leaders Americans elected are to blame.

[Warrior_of_Freedom]

who has the men in black reference?

[TonySutton]

Wow, what things are there to do on a Caribbean island? Fishing, boating, scuba, snorkeling, swimming all come to mind. I spent some time in Gitmo during the Haiti intervention sponsored by Clinton in the mid-90s.

There is no need to spend that much money in Gitmo. In all honesty, we should leave and give it to Cuba.

[dean.engelhardt]

Hey it's in the middle of nowhere and they need entertainment :rolleyes:

I have no problem providing recreation for the troops. I have a problem paying $249,000 to a contractor to build a volleyball court. I can't imagine more than $10,000 for labor and material for a very nice court. Our federal government is broke. They better do a better job of bidding out work.

[MelissaWV]

Does everyone understand that a volleyball court is just light/loose sand, a boundary (optional), a net, and some polls?


The Spectrum Classic volleyball net system from Park and Sun offers 2-piece, 2-in telescopic aircraft aluminum poles with a 15-year manufacturer warranty for lasting use and durability.

Park & Sun Sports - 2001 SGMA Member Heroes Award Honoree. Presented by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, Park & Sun Sports was honored for the company's dedication to the growth of volleyball, their involvement and support of numerous tournaments and fund raisers, and their continued support of youth volleyball through the United States Youth Volleyball League.

Please note: this item may not ship for 2 weeks after purchase.

Features:

2-piece, 2-in telescopic aircraft aluminum poles
3-ft by 32-ft professional sleeve netting with 3-in bindings
12-in forged steel ground stakes with stake bag
5/16-in premeasured boundary with corner anchors
Cord winder and heavy-duty nylon bag with full zipper
5/16-in Pull-Down™ system with tension rings
15-year manufacturer pole warranty

Under $500.

Perhaps the rest of the money, in all fairness, was for sand. God knows there's none of that on an island.

* * *

Yes, entertainment is awfully important. The contractors don't seem to "care about the troops," and your ire should be with them. They also don't seem to care much for the taxpayers. The people in charge of greenlighting these things don't care about either group, obviously, because the "change" could be put towards keeping the troops safer than they are, and the rest of it could come home and not be spent at all.

Now, please justify to me why we need go-karts for grown men and women, and why that's the chosen form of entertainment? There IS television in Cuba, and it would have been cheaper to get everyone a television and hookup by the time you add all of this up. There are places to run, places to swim, and a whole lot to do in general. Plus, you know, there's that silly JOB that they're getting paid to do, and which makes them eligible for benefits.

I'm sure that you read the OP very closely, and can also point out to me how a big sign is part of this "entertainment for the troops" to keep them from getting bored.

[specsaregood]

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