I was suprised to find out yesterday that the Halliburton engineer for a major (proposed) S.A. water reclamation project had also set up a nut farm in the Murray.  There's already one in Canberra, where KBR paves the paths on which the pollies slither, so why would Cheney's Men be setting up a foreign investment opportunity on the banks of a dying river?

Engineering and construction firm KBR had planned to start planting this month, until its financial partner pulled out due to 'overseas policy issues'.

Tony Reid from KBR says the plans have now been put on hold for a year, during which time it is hoped a pumping station can be built at the site and pipelines laid.

Mr Reid says the project had been held up at the development approval stage because of a native title issue, which forced the relocation of the pumping station.

He says the company is now looking for another financial backer and hopes to begin planting in mid 2007.

I could be wrong, and KBR engineer Tony Reid could be merely coincidentally working on the two projects simultaneously.  However the situation led me to this train of thinking.

What if you had a means to supply water and knew of a lot of arid land?  How about if you knew of a few industries that would flourish with the mere addition of an abundant water supply?  What profits would you make on investment deals if you monetised the situation before the locals became aware of it?  Would you be doing a disservice to your shareholders if you didn't capitalise on the opportunity?

Now subsitute the word "water" for "transport "and apply the questions to the Halliburton-run trans-Australian railway.  There's a potential scenario being created in which large portions of Australian soil could, by ways of creating offshore investment opportunites, become totally within the control of the company whose moves were orchestrated by the Vice President of the United States.

Now substitute the words "rocket transport." 

Do you, like me, find these South Australian possibilities a bit scary?  It could easily happen... if it isn't already.

Then again, my mind might be going nuts.

PS  Investors pulling out due to "overseas policy issues" can easily be interpreted as a withdrawal of funds as a protest of Halliburton/KBR's participation in the Occupation of Iraq.  Who would have thought that such thoughts occur within the minds of investors? Perhaps investing in a company that profits on death might be beyond the ethics of people placing money in pension funds?  You never know your luck...