It's Still the Oil, Stupid

Update: Heavy political fallout over the technical support agreements has caused Iraq officials to delay signing the deals with the former exclusive producers. According to the Iraqi oil minister, the contracts were not executed because the companies "refused to offer consultancy based on fees as they wanted a share of the oil." I would too, if I had the option between being paid in devalued dollars or $140/barrel crude. In order to make the agreements politically more acceptable, the ministry announced it had selected 41 other companies included six state owned firms to compete for long term production agreements. A disclosure by US officials caused more consternation over the contracts and potential conflicts of interest. A group of US advisers, lead by a small State Department department team advised the oil ministry during the negotiations, even providing template contracts and detailed drafting suggestions. The contracts were not competitively bid. When asked about the US role in the negotiations between private companies and a foreign state, a State Department official said he saw no possible conflict of interest. Wackydoodle sez: "Ain't no conflict long as I get paid".
[photo: Darth & the Boys in conference]

The big oil internationals who founded the Iraq oil industry are set to return to the patch after reaching agreement with the Baghdad government to provide oil service expertise to repair and upgrade equipment and facilities, reports Patrick Cockburn for the British Independent newspaper. Shell, BP, Exxon-Mobil and Total will sign agreements at the end of the month, the first with large Western companies since the U.S. invaded in 2003. These companies were joint venturers in the British-French-American consortium that controlled Iraq's oil for forty years before it was nationalized by Saddam Hussein in 1972. The two year technical support contracts are for services only, but the companies have the option to be paid in cash or crude oil, and the service agreements position them for follow-on production agreements. Experts estimate that the foreign companies will add 500,00 bpd to Iraq's current level of 2.5 million bpd. Saddam's move to nationalize Iraq's oil production was popular. Many Iraqis believe that the invasion of their country by the United States was motivated by the desire to return control of reserves thought to be second only to Saudi Arabia to the West.

Le Shorter: When the North Pole Melted

For you who do not believe read this: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/exclusive-no-ice-at-the-north-pole-855406.html

For the Record with Russ Feingold

"Well the idea that this [FISA bill] is somehow a compromise, where we got a few things and they got a few things is just false. Senator Kit Bond is one of our worst opponents on this, is basically doing a jig. He's so happy, bragging that the White House is shocked at how it got everything it wanted, basically. There's two huge problems. One is the one you mentioned. This retroactive immunity for telephone companies, whether or not they followed the law in giving out this private information to the government. That is a terrible precedent in terms of the rule of law, and one that's generated a lot of attention. We got like a thousand calls in the last couple of days in my office against this deal. The other piece that I think is even more important, that you hear less about, is the way in which this is going to allow the government to basically suck up all international communications between Americans and anybody overseas, even Americans overseas, in a giant data bank if they want. And this is an amazing intrusion into the freedom of the American people. There's no court review of it. There's no requirement showing that there's anybody doing anything wrong. So these two things together make for just an awful piece of legislation that nobody should be voting for, especially a Democrat."--response to questions at Young Turks.com 6/26/08

'Toontime: The Sun Sets Through the Rigs

credit: Rex Babin, Sacramento Bee

Zimbabwe Fights Back

The United Nations voted Monday to declare free elections in Zimbabwe under the current regime of dictator Robert Mugabe not possible. A run off election is scheduled for June 27th. Mogan Tsvangari, the opposition political leader who many observers say won the general election outright, took refuge in the Dutch Embassy in Harare after receiving death threats from Mugabe's operatives in his Zanu-PF party. The opposition says Mugabe and his thugs are responsible for at least eighty deaths during election campaigning. Zanu PF mobs are forcing fellow citizens into what they term 're-education' camps [photo]. Tsvangari withdrew from the run off, citing the violence against his supporters, but Zimbabwe's justice minister says his withdrawal was too late and that the run off election would proceed.

International condemnation of the aging Mugabe maybe be reason for hope. According to the London Times there are talks between South Africa's president Thabo Mbeki and Mugabe with a view to establishing a national unity government. Mbeki has his own reason for mediating since thousands of Zimbabweans are immigrating illegally to South Africa. If Zimbabwe totally collapses economically, the refugee problem will become much worse. Mbeki is also mediator for the fourteen nation South African Development Community. Several member countries have joined in censoring the once admired Mugabe who heroically lead his countrymen out of colonial rule and apartheid. Up until this point Mbeki has been loath to apply full pressure on his fellow former freedom fighter. Without tacit South African support, Mugabe's regime is doomed. Zimbabwe, which Mugabe did so much to create, now must be saved by neighboring countries from his chaotic misrule.

You can add your voice to the international effort to save Zimbabwe by signing a petition at http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_zimbabwe/21.php?cl=102949054

Israel Wags the US Dog

A prime example of US foreign policy being influenced by Jerusalem is the unwillingness of the current US regime, dominated by pro-Zionists, to engage Iran in direct negotiations over its stubborn insistence on uranium enrichment. US intelligence concluded in the latest national intelligence estimate on the subject (2003), that Iran had halted its nuclear weapons program. Still, UN nuclear energy experts have concluded that Iran is not coming clean about its program and is withholding critical information that would allow the IAEA to determine whether Iran is attempting to create a nuclear arsenal. A restricted report leaked to the American press said Iran has not disclosed full information about its work on high explosive testing, missile design work, and studies of uranium hexafluoride, used in gas centrifuges to make enriched uranium. When Javier Solano, EU foreign minister, made recent diplomatic overtures in Tehran offering technical assistance to develop light water civilian reactors and trade opportunities, US envoys were not present in the "sextet". In fact the Charlatan engaged in unhelpful rhetoric during the visit, similar in tone to the rhetoric issued by Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He also revealed information about the Israeli attack on a Syrian installation believed by the Israelis to be nuclear related in order to apply pressure on Iran and North Korea. The lack of progress in altering Iran's current enrichment policy is making Israeli leaders very nervous. The Israeli military recently conducted a joint air force-navy long range strike exercise in the Mediterranean. The exercise covered a similar distance to possible targets in Iran.

Some observers believe that Iran's policies are essentially defensive given the presence of western forces on both sides of the country and a fully developed nuclear arsenal in the hands of its traditional enemy, Israel. Faced with a negative response from Tehran on their latest carrots and hard line US pressure, European leaders agreed on Monday to impose new sanctions. The measures will force Bank Melli, Iran's largest bank, to cease operations at its offices in London, Hamburg and Paris. The bank is involved in a large number of business deals between Europe and Iran. According to Deutsch-Welle implementation of the sanctions was delayed while Solano engaged in diplomacy. EU leaders still express interest in resolving the nuclear proliferation impasse with Iran. However, the western diplomatic chorus is missing a lead singer and it will have to wait until after his November debut in the US. Hopefully he will not be singing, "Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran".

Vox Versi: Torture Redux

"The United States does not torture."--Charlatan's repeated assertion to the press

VERSUS

The eleven released detainees examined were subject to cruelties that ranged from isolation, sleep deprivation and hooding to electric shocks, beating and, in one case, being forced to drink urine.--2008 Report by Physcians for Human Rights

"The commander in chief and those under him authorized a systematic regime of torture." --General Anthony Taguba, 2004 DOD investigation