Blood For Oil

Four Western oil companies — Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total, and BP, are in the final stages of “talks with Iraq’s Oil Ministry for no-bid contracts to service Iraq’s largest fields.” Their offers prevailed over others by more than 40 companies including companies in Russia, China and India.

NYT article

"There was suspicion among many in the Arab world and among parts of the American public that the United States had gone to war in Iraq precisely to secure the oil wealth these contracts seek to extract. The Bush administration has said that the war was necessary to combat terrorism. It is not clear what role the United States played in awarding the contracts; there are still American advisers to Iraq’s Oil Ministry."

Add to that the 50+ permanent military bases and you can see how Bush used our troops to help the oil companies. 4000+ dead troops, millions of dead and displaced Iraqis. Blood for oil. I understand they are helping Iraq rebuild its decrepit oil industry, but let's not pretend. The goal of all of this occupation was to privatize their oil fields. Period.

I'm sure this will be seen as a positive in the Arab world. Not.

Bush Administration Committed War Crimes

Abu Ghraib was a problem from day one. The US, through it's military, were torturing Iraqis. The Bush administration and enablers like Bill O'Reilly said is was not a systemic, top down problem, just a few "bad apples". They lied. A new Senate probe conclusively proves that Donald Rumsfeld and his senior lawyers began pushing for “harsh techniques” long before those infamous photos surfaced.

The report said:

"A Senate investigation unveiled today found that senior Pentagon officials began planning to use abusive tactics at Guantánamo Bay earlier than they previously acknowledged, borrowing from a programme that trained US troops to resist cruel interrogations.

New documents disclosed today show that lawyers in the army, navy and marines objected vigorously to the use of violent methods against detainees but were overruled by aides to the former US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld."

Add to that Major General Anthony Teguba. He’s the army general that led the investigation into the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. In the Senate report the general says, “there is no longer any doubt that the current administration committed war crimes.” Teguba's 2004 investigation documented chilling abuses at Abu Ghraib, is thought to be the most senior official to have accused the administration of war crimes. "The commander in chief and those under him authorized a systematic regime of torture," he wrote.

As you're rolling all this info around in your mind, think of the 1000s of pictures of US troops torturing the Iraqis.

So the reality is that war crimes have taken place, torture was OK'ed by Rumsfeld, anyone trying to stop it was removed. Bush has said repeatedly that the United States doesn't condone torture.

Who do you believe?

New Bruno Movie In 2009

Now I have two dates to look forward to:

November 4, 2008, when Grampy McCain and his caramel treats are stomped back to the Golden Willows Retirement Home by Obama in a historic landslide.

May 15, 2009, the release date for Sacha Baron Cohen's new "Bruno" movie. I wonder if Austria will be as pissed as Kazakhstan was when Bruno-mania hits the world? For those not familiar, think Borat but gay and into fashion with a equally beguiling fake accent.

The trifecta of Ali G, Borat, and now Bruno, will be complete.

Wesley Clark On McCain Torture Flop

Clarke: "but on the other hand, he’s changed his position on torture. One point he says he was against it and now he’s in favor of it, He’s even come out against the Supreme Court decision that was made yesterday on the prisoners in Guantanamo, so you know, what does John McCain really believe? Who is he? Is he this straight talk express maverick that people thought he was in the late nineties or is he just a guy that wants to be president and he’s say what’s necessary to get the job."

The ex-POW who is for torture. The ex-POW who is for the use of force first, not as a last resort. Looks like you've learned a lot about occupying another country since your stay in Vietnam.

Texas Republicans - What Do You Expect

This was a pin handed out at a booth at this weekend’s Texas Republican convention. Are you surprised? It's the tolerated racism and never-to-your-face-slurs that make Texans, and Republicans in general, so charming. Pretty much the only they can say is McCain is an old white guy. More like an old white robot with wooden arms.

Via the Dallas News:

There were other pins that weren't necessarily conveying the positive, inclusive, united front that has been portrayed during the convention. One said, "Press 1 for English. Press 2 for Deportation" and another, "I will hold my nose when I vote for McCain"

More here

$300 Billion Lost

The Pentagon, no matter who is in charge, knows how to waste money. Add Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz and you have the perfect storm of abusers and deniers. Add a Republican Congress and you have no one calling anyone out for any wrong doing, no oversight hearings, for 6 years.

Running 2 wars at the same time calls for efficiency. Resources need to be protected. I'm not saying I want Democrats to run everything, that's not good either, but check out this film and see what happens when the Republican-led Pentagon's wasteful spending goes unchecked.

Olbermann Getting More Popular

Via Huffington:

MSNBC's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" beat Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor" in the key Adults 25-54 demographic for the first time ever last week.

"Countdown" averaged 477,000 viewers (A25-54) vs. O'Reilly's 472,000 (excluding Tuesday's primary coverage). This marks the first time that MSNBC has beaten Fox News in O'Reilly's 8pm time slot since June 2001.

I would love to see Keith and Billo head-to-head in a real debate. Bill is great at shouting at his guests and making old white guys feel scared, but his intellect is highly questionable.

Let The Games Begin

This evening on the House floor, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) is presenting 35 articles of impeachment against President Bush to Congress.



More here.

Students Cause Unemployment Spike According to GOP

The Labor Department reported today that the unemployment rate rose from 5.0 percent to 5.5 percent in May, the largest monthly spike in more than two decades. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao’s explanation?

“Today’s increase in the unemployment rate reflects the fact that unusually large numbers of students and graduates are entering the labor market.”

Elaine, doesn't this happen every May? Should they not be looking for jobs? I would love to see how unusually large this year's graduating class is. I call bullshit.

The unemployment rate reflects how poorly Bush has guided the economy, spent way too much, neglected to collect the taxes to pay for anything, increased our debt making the dollar weaker, thus making imports like oil more expensive, which is doubled by Bush's shit foreign policy/never-ending war/stroking the Iran invasion/taking the oil companies' dick, in turn, increasing the prices on everything, which much to your denial, has slowed the economy and caused lay-offs and higher unemployment.

The GOP, with it's head up it's ass, foreseeing McCain has no clue how to turn thins around, is trying to somehow see how they can pin this on Bill Clinton.

What Conservative Think Of McCain

Arch-conservative Bay Buchanan suggested that it may not matter what McCain does. Writing in Human Events on June 4, she declared:

"In reality there is only one candidate. Barack Obama. In November he will win or he will lose. John McCain is relevant only in so far as he is not Barack Obama. The Senator from Arizona is incapable of energizing his party, brings no new people to the polls, and has a personality that is best kept under wraps."

More here.

Lincoln Would Be Proud

Secret McCain Website Edits Leaked To Press

More Lee Camp on 23/6

McCain Underwelms Me

Lime green? Like the color of jello you get at old folks homes. Your old folks home soon enough. Politics is theatrics and you look sad. Very sad. He looks like he's at a Senior PGA tour luncheon. Cracking jokes about dentures or his new hip.

And his new slogan - A leader you can believe in? I wouldn't trust this geezer behind the wheel of a car, let alone the entire country. Staring into the teleprompter, the nervous smile, mixing up words, the line of sweat.

For arguments sake he wins now and wins re-election, he'll be 80 at the end of his second term. Is this the guy we need running the joint?

McSame, prepare to be pounded into the ground. Feeble tough guy talks from old dudes just doesn't hold up. Your time was around 15 years ago. Barack will be serving free eats at the whoop-ass buffet, make sure you get the early bird special.

The Hummer Is Done

What is the wimpy, pro-war idiot with the "I support the troops" magnets to do? His fake military gas guzzler is done.

Via Think Progress:

Today, General Motors announced that it will be closing four truck and SUV plants in North America and may discontinue its Hummer line, citing the slumping sales of large vehicles brought on by high oil prices. Sales of the Hummer were down 61 percent last month, and May was also the first month in which cars outsold the Ford F-series truck since 1992. In place of the Hummer, GM CEO Rick Wagoner announced that the GM board has approved production of a new small automobile and a new electric car. As CBS reported, Wagoner “said the change in the U.S. market to smaller vehicles likely is permanent.”

These cars always screamed "dickhead" to me. Good riddance.

From The Pen Of: John Sherffius

I'm happy books like this come out and shed light on how screwed up the Bush government is. At the same time I'm tired of the naivety they use after the fact. The I-didn't-know-at-the-time BS. How come I figured it out? How come millions of other people figured it out? In his heart of hearts, McClellan knew what he was doing and just put on the blinders. So, now he has seen the light and wants to help change things. Fair play. But will the Kool-Aid drinkers on the right even care to hear what he has to say?

Next up should be Colin Powell. It's his turn to come clean.

Vincent Bugliosi's The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder

The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder

In a nutshell, "Bestselling author Vincent Bugliosi has written the most important and thought-provoking book of his prolific career. In a meticulously researched and clearly presented legal case that puts George W. Bush on trial for murder after he leaves his presidency, Bugliosi delivers a searing indictment of the President and his administration. With what he believes is overwhelming evidence that President Bush took the nation to war in Iraq under false pretenses--a war that has caused great loss of life, cost this nation close to $1 trillion, and alienated most of our allies in the Western world--Bugliosi argues that it is George W. Bush who must be held accountable for what Bugliosi considers to be monumental crimes. In this groundbreaking book, Bugliosi, in his inimitable style, presents a powerful case against the man in the oval office."

Buy it at Buzzflash

He's the guy that got Charles Manson, fitting he's after Bush now.

"Drop Weapons" In Iraq

American News Project does a piece on the use of "drop weapons" in Iraq.



ANP Website

I'm not going to get into the the use of "drop weapons" to cover up the killing of innocent Iraqi civilians, just realize it is happening all the time over there. Like the video says, you put a powerful weapon into the hands of 18 and 19 years-olds, something bad is going to happen. Troops are trained to kill, trained to conquer, trained to overpower an enemy. They are not trained to police a civil war and mediate problems in a country where they can't speak the language and are viewed as occupiers.

War is ugly. These kids in the military have it so rough. It's time our pampered politicians got real about how destructive the past 5 years have been.