July 3, 2008 archive

Jul 03 2008

Iraqi Oil Contracts – It’s the Perception That Matters

Have you ever wondered why…

… it has been the practice of the major media to avoid mentioning oil in connection with military activity in Iraq; something also common in the Congress, all following the lead of the Bush administration.

UPI.com

Shouldn’t we all be shocked then? Shouldn’t we be shocked to learn, after the US – British led invasion of Iraq to save the world from the dangers of Saddam’s non-existant WMDs, struck Iraq with a shock and awe which was to have become the centerpiece for a GWOT, that as Reuters reported on Tuesday:

Iraq opened its giant oilfields to foreign firms on Monday, putting British and U.S. companies in pole position five years after U.S.-led troops invaded the country to oust Saddam Hussein.

Jul 03 2008

Docudharma Times Thursday July 3



You Can Lie To Me If You Like

Just As Long As You Tell The Truth




Thursday’s Headlines:

U.S. prison officials considering safety vests, union says

The shame of a Mugabe torturer: ‘I am being forced to kill someone’

UN lines up big names for key role in pincer move to oust Mugabe

In Jordan, aid for Iraqi refugees is often redirected

Jerusalem attacker ‘acted alone’  

How a gay Spanish mayor brought life back to his village

Srebrenica Muslim chief cleared

Change in the face of foreign devils

25 hurt in renewed violence in Jammu

Colombian forces trick Farc rebels into freeing hostage Betancourt

Committee Questions State Dept. Role in Iraq Oil Deal

By JAMES GLANZ and RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.

Published: July 3, 2008

Bush administration officials knew that a Texas oil company with close ties to President Bush was planning to sign an oil deal with the regional Kurdistan government that ran counter to American policy and undercut Iraq’s central government, a Congressional committee has concluded.The conclusions were based on e-mail messages and other documents that the committee released Wednesday.

United States policy is to warn companies that they incur risks in signing contracts until Iraq passes an oil law and to strengthen Iraq’s central government. The Kurdistan deal, by ceding responsibility for writing contracts directly to a regional government, infuriated Iraqi officials. But State Department officials did nothing to discourage the deal and in some cases appeared to welcome it, the documents show.

Risk to U.S. troops seen if Israel strikes Iran

Joint Chiefs Chairman Michael Mullen says a new conflict could entangle and strain soldiers already in the region.

By Peter Spiegel, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

July 3, 2008  

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military’s top officer warned Wednesday that an Israeli airstrike against Iran would make the Middle East more unstable and could add to the stress on overworked American forces in the region.

The comments by Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, came days after he visited Israel and amid growing international concern that Jerusalem is actively considering such an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Mullen spoke at a Pentagon news briefing shortly after President Bush addressed the subject. Bush was asked at a Rose Garden news conference whether he would strongly discourage Israel from an attack, but he sidestepped the question, saying only that he believed the best way to deal with the Iranian nuclear program was through multilateral negotiations.

USA

FBI might use profiling in terror investigations

Critics worry the change would single out Muslims, Arabs or other groups

Associated Press

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department is considering letting the FBI investigate Americans without any evidence of wrongdoing, relying instead on a terrorist profile that could single out Muslims, Arabs or other racial and ethnic groups.

Law enforcement officials say the proposed policy would help them do exactly what Congress demanded after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks: Root out terrorists before they strike.

Although President Bush has disavowed targeting suspects based on their race or ethnicity, the new rules would allow the FBI to consider those factors among a number of traits that could trigger a national security investigation.

Jul 03 2008

Muse in the Morning

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Muse in the Morning

O beautiful for spacious skies,

For amber waves of grain,

For purple mountain majesties

Above the fruited plain!

America! America!

God shed his grace on thee

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea!

–Katharine Lee Bates

–1913

It’s a great song.   But times have changed…

State of the Onion XXI

America the Ugly

Amber Waves


Amber Waves

America, Amerika

Amber waves the grain.

I’m just not sure

what’s saying

goodbye.

Maybe it’s the grain

genetically modified

monsantofied

at least gone

from the bellies

of too many

of the people

of this once great land

from Gulf Coast

to Appalachian valley.

Possibly it’s the nation

deserting the greatness

the fertile land

deserves

and its founders

intended.

In forcing democracy

on others

we have lost

our own.

Probably it’s both.

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–March 21, 2006

Jul 03 2008

Quote for Discussion: Tacitus

So corrupted indeed and debased was that age by sycophancy that not only the foremost citizens who were forced to save their grandeur by servility, but every exconsul, most of the ex-praetors and a host of inferior senators would rise in eager rivalry to propose shameful and preposterous motions. Tradition says that Tiberius as often as he left the Senate-House used to exclaim in Greek, “How ready these men are to be slaves.” Clearly, even he, with his dislike of public freedom, was disgusted at the abject abasement of his creatures.

Tacitus, The Annals, via IOZ.

Jul 03 2008

Can we trust Obama?

After several ‘moves’ to the right in the past few days, can we trust Obama to represent the people that voted for him ?

Let’s recap.  Tax funding for religious charities, expanding the death penalty, FISA/4th Amendment, etc. Also let’s not forget his appointment of neo-liberal economists from the Milton Friedman/Chicago school of economic thought.

On the big issues let’s see if he’s any different from McCain/Bush

  • Iraq  Let’s be real; he’s backed off from his early fuzzy ‘combat’ troop withdrawal plan. He’s funded the war everytime.  He’s going to increase the size of the military and the incredible waste of tax dollars.  On this issue, I think McCain might be worse, but right now it’s a tossup as they both want to ‘stay the course’.

     
  • Healthcare McCain wants to destroy the employer-funded health insurance patchwork we have now. Obama wants to ‘improve’ the current system; how is he going to fund his public plan with all the money going to the ‘Defense’ (War) dept ?  McCain is clearly worse on this; however what’s the likelihood of Obama getting anywhere with his watered down plan ? The insurance companies are going to fight tooth and nail once they have to make any real changes.  Don’t count on it, given his cowardice with FISA, etc. Can McCain get away with his plan ?  I don’t think that’s realistic as we would have probably double/triple the number of uninsured people.  We might have a healthcare fueled revolt on our hands if that happens.

     
  • Taxes/Economy McCain clearly has no clue; his whole ‘plan’ is written by the right wingnuts who are in the current administration.  Obama is better, but not bold enough. Can we trust him to follow through on his promises though ? He’s gotten a lot of money from the financial companies.

     
  • Social Issues/Supreme Court Again McCain is a lot worse on this on the surface. Will the supreme court reverse itself on abortion ? I don’t think so; the religious conservatives would lose their most powerful issue.  But the real issue is whether Obama would appoint a real progressive to the court; given his track record recently I would say no.  We might get Roberts-like judges instead of Scalia-like judges.

In summary, I’d say in terms of foreign policy, there’s going to be virtually no change. On domestic issues, Obama might turn out to be better based on his current positions but who knows what’ll happen when he gets elected; how many more ‘shifts’ in his positions is he going to have?  

Jul 03 2008

Pony Party: Center of the Mind

Come along if you care,

Come along if you dare,

Take a ride to the land inside and you’ll see

How happy life could be

If all of mankind

Would take the time to journey to the centre of the mind

Amboy Dukes

All pics from the Vaults of Erowid.  They have the greatest collection of visionary art on the planet.   (Thumbnail Gallery – broadband recommended)

Erowid has a couple galleries of blotter art worth checking out too.    Avoid clicking these links if you have a tendency to suffer flashbacks.  

NOTE: All of the material is copyrighted but I know the people that run the site and they gave me permission to use the images as long as I link back to the page I found the picture on.   Clicking on the picture will take you to a bigger version of the image in most cases.  

Everyone grab a pony and take a ride.    

Jul 03 2008

No Oil at Any Price

Have I gone soft.

Did I underestimate some of the finer points of how only a few of the most elite wealthy and most powerful of the worlds elite scumbags would have an easier time of it simply because there would be less people to deal with.

Are people, could people be that evil.

Here is an analysis of what war in Iran might look like.  Some of it’s points will step upon issues many will recoil at but still radicalizing the entire middle east just could be the final legacy of Bush, the third anti-christ.

Jul 03 2008

Obama’s war room

By Elizabeth Schulte via socialistworker.org:

http://socialistworker.org/200…

Jul 03 2008

Bad News about Bear Butte


“We continue to believe that someone important someplace cares and will do something before our situation becomes impossible.” Fools Crow from “Fools Crow,” by Thomas E. Mails. p. 217

It’s gone from bad,

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