The Cheney Observer
Nigerian govt moves to settle oil delta protest
09 Dec 2004 12:39:45 GMT
Source: Reuters
PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria, Dec 9 (Reuters) - The Nigerian government began moves on Thursday to settle a dispute in its oil-rich southern delta that has shut 120,000 barrels per day of oil output.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L09120880.htm
Rising oil prices, jobless report, tech warnings push stocks lower
07:38 PM EST Dec 09
MALCOLM MORRISON
TORONTO (CP) - The mood was negative on North American stock markets Thursday morning as oil prices moved away from four month lows on fears that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will cut production to keep prices high.
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/business/041209/b120930.html
US daily flays Bush for praising Mush
[ WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 08, 2004 06:38:37 AM ]
WASHINGTON: The world’s worst nuclear proliferation emanating from Pakistan was not possible without support from its military, according to a leading US daily, which flayed President Bush for praising Pervez Musharraf during his recent visit here.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/952368.cms
Bush signs $388 billion spending bill
Wednesday, December 8, 2004 Posted: 3:26 PM EST (2026 GMT)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush on Wednesday signed into law a $388 billion legislative package that covers the spending of every federal agency but the Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/12/08/congress.spending.ap/
China Aviation Oil Losses Serve as `Reminder' of Risks in China
Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Chief Executive Officer Chen Jiulin used what he called ``Chinese wisdom'' to triple China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corp.'s market value in three years.
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=nifea&&sid=akFf25c7tToQ
Rivers Community Vacates Oil Flowstations
December 8, 2004
Posted to the web December 8, 2004
Lagos
THE Kula community in Rivers State lifted its blockade of three oil pumping stations yesterday after energy giants, Shell and ChevronTexaco, agreed to discuss funding local development projects. The three plants had been occupied since Sunday morning by protesters from the ethnic Ijaw fishing community of Kula, which lies in coastal swamps near the Atlantic coast 100 kilometres south-west of Port Harcourt.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200412080643.html
Woodside Says Iraq Security Won't Affect Oil Projects Agreement
Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia's second-largest oil and gas company, said an insurgency in Iraq is unlikely to disrupt a two-year co-operation agreement signed by the company with the Iraqi Oil Ministry last month.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000081&sid=aB66lUKddVdo&refer=australia
Petroleum fund breaks NOK trillion mark
A fund saving Norway's oil wealth has surpassed a trill
ion crowns (USD 165.2 billion) for the first time, Industry and Trade Minister Børge Brende said in a speech in Oslo on Tuesday.
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article927125.ece
Who's behind the oil-for-food scandal?
By Jude Wanniski
Wednesday 08 December 2004, 14:03 Makka Time, 11:03 GMT
Once it became clear some months ago that Saddam Hussein had been telling the truth about not having weapons of mass destruction or connections to al-Qaida, it should have been an embarrassment to the neo-conservatives who talked President George Bush into war with Iraq.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/561BE24F-B06B-4CC1-B28A-F6845EA8E469.htm
Advocacy group protests during Cheney visit
By PATTY HENETZ
Associated Press writer
STEVE C. WILSON/AP
Protesters rally outside the entrance to the Grand America hotel as Vice President Dick Cheney speaks inside at a luncheon in support of Republican 2nd Congressional District candidate John Swallow on Wednesday in Salt Lake City.
http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2004/12/08/news/regional/f84369ff9ccfb5d887256ee00005f5f4.txt
Read My Lips "Do You Believe Him" - The Beginning of the Year. Let's rob Social Security in time to finance the Bargaining Chips I need for the trip.
Bush European tour aims to build transatlantic ties
By James Harding in Washington and Daniel Dombey in Brussels
Published: December 9 2004 19:31 Last updated: December 9 2004 19:31
President George W. Bush's trip to Europe early next year will mark a commitment to multilateral institutions, improving transatlantic ties and supporting the European project, the White House has signalled.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/3a90eb2a-4a18-11d9-b065-00000e2511c8.html
Federal grand jury indicts Michigan man accused of threatening Cheney
December 8, 2004, 4:26 PM
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) -- A federal grand jury has indicted a Michigan man on a count of making a threat against the life of Vice President Dick Cheney, U.S. Attorney Margaret M. Chiara announced Wednesday.
http://www.freep.com/news/statewire/sw108377_20041208.htm
Study: Wait to Install Defibrillators
LINDA A. JOHNSON
Associated Press
Implanting defibrillators in patients just weeks after a heart attack does not improve their chances of survival, according to an international study. The researchers suggested instead that patients wait several months before having one of the devices inserted in the chest.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/politics/10369905.htm
Ridgeway Petroleum announces intended resignation
CALGARY, Dec. 9 /CNW/ - Ridgeway Petroleum Corp. (the "Company")announces that Walter B. Ruck, Chairman of the Board and President of theCompany, has advised the Company that he intends to resign from his positionas President upon the appointment of his successor. Mr. Ruck cited personalfamily reasons in his decision to retire from the position as President. Hecurrently plans to remain as a Director and Chairman of the Board.
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/December2004/09/c3733.html
Petroleum & Resources Corporation (PEO) Extends Share Repurchase Programs
BALTIMORE, Dec. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Board of Directors ofPetroleum & Resources Corporation (NYSE: PEO) voted today to extend its sharerepurchase program and has authorized the repurchase of up to 5% of theoutstanding shares of the Corporation's common stock over the next twelvemonths. Purchases will be made in the open market when the shares are tradingat a discount of at least 6.5%. The Corporation's discount as of last night'smarket close was 7.5%. As of December 9, 2004, the Corporation has 21,614,927outstanding shares, which means that the Corporation is authorized by theBoard to repurchase up to 1,080,746 shares over the ensuing year.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/12-09-2004/0002592106&EDATE=
NLC Issues Fresh Strike Threat
December 9, 2004
Posted to the web December 9, 2004
Mike Oduniyi, Chris Nwachuku, Onyebuchi Ezigbo, and Jaiyeola Andrews
Lagos/Abuja/Asaba
PPPRA: We're working to reduce prices
Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday served the Federal Government a fresh seven-day ultimatum to ensure the enforcement of the agreed prices of petroleum products in every part of the country or face mass action.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200412090144.html
Bush moves to mend a chink in his armour
http://www.smh.com.au/news/After-Saddam/Bush-moves-to-mend-a-chink-in-his-armour/2004/12/10/1102625537616.html
Bush to focus on tort reform at forum
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1151&slug=Bush%20Economic%20Conference
Bush administration breaks silence to back Kofi Annan
* Mandela and prominent South Africans back Annan
* European Union invites Annan to summit to show support
UNITED NATIONS: The Bush administration expressed confidence in UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Thursday and said he should stay in office, in a belated rebuff to demands from Republicans in Congress for his resignation.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_11-12-2004_pg4_3
New spy chief's power rests in Bush's hands
The bill creating a director of national intelligence left ambiguities about the power of the post. How much -- or how little -- power the chief wields is up to the president.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/nation/10381971.htm
A high price to say 'As I was telling the president ...'
New York Times
WASHINGTON — Tickets to all official inaugural events, including an "elegant" candlelight dinner with a special appearance by President Bush: $100,000.
Tickets to all official inaugural events, two additional tickets to an "exclusive" lunch with Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, plus an all-access pass to any inaugural ball: $250,000.
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/stories/1204/11inaugural.html
Cheney Pushes for Permanent Tax Cuts
By Jennifer Loven
Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, December 15, 2004; 11:21 AM
Vice President Cheney said Wednesday it is critical to make President Bush's tax cuts permanent during his second term while achieving broader reforms in the tax code and bolstering Social Security.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1401-2004Dec15.html
Cheney Pushes for Permanent Tax Cuts
By Jennifer Loven
Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, December 15, 2004; 11:21 AM
Vice President Cheney said Wednesday it is critical to make President Bush's tax cuts permanent during his second term while achieving broader reforms in the tax code and bolstering Social Security.
Speaking at the start of a two-day White House conference on the economy, Cheney said the administration believed Bush's four tax cuts over the past four years had provided a badly needed boost to get the economy out of recession. But he said now the focus needed to be on making the tax cuts permanent.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1401-2004Dec15.html
Yukos Files for Bankruptcy in U.S.
Russian Oil Giant Moves to Stave Off Auction of Assets Scheduled for Sunday
By Dmitry Zhdannikov and Douglas Busvine
Reuters
Wednesday, December 15, 2004; 10:51 AM
MOSCOW -- Russian oil group Yukos has filed for bankruptcy protection in a U.S. court in an attempt to stop Russia's government from auctioning off its main production unit on Dec. 19, it said Wednesday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A877-2004Dec15.html
D.C. Firefighters Investigate Charter School Fire
Blaze Is the Second in Two Weeks
By Fred Barbash
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 15, 2004; 6:18 AM
A Northeast Washington charter school was hit by probable arson early this morning for the second time in two weeks.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A773-2004Dec15.html
Anthrax Killer at Large
Wednesday, December 15, 2004; Page A32
AMONTH AFTER the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, letters tainted with the anthrax bacteria were sent through U.S. mail processing facilities, infecting people in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Washington and Florida. The worst bioterrorist assault in U.S. history left five people dead, 17 sickened and some 10,000 on antibiotics.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A93-2004Dec14.html
War on the Cheap
Greg Rund was a freshman at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., in 1999 when two students shot and killed a teacher, a dozen of their fellow students and themselves. Mr. Rund survived that horror, but he wasn't able to survive the war in Iraq. The 21-year-old Marine lance corporal was killed on Dec. 11 in Falluja.
The people who were so anxious to launch the war in Iraq are a lot less enthusiastic about properly supporting the troops who are actually fighting, suffering and dying in it. Corporal Rund was on his second tour of duty in Iraq. Because of severe military personnel shortages, large numbers of troops are serving multiple tours in the war zone, and many are having their military enlistments involuntarily extended.
Troops approaching the end of their tours in Iraq are frequently dealt the emotional body blow of unexpected orders blocking their departure for home. "I've never seen so many grown men cry," said Paul Rieckhoff, a former infantry platoon leader who founded Operation Truth, an advocacy group for soldiers and veterans.
"Soldiers will do whatever you ask them to do," said Mr. Rieckhoff. "But when you tell them the finish line is here, and then you keep moving it back every time they get five meters away from it, it starts to really wear on them. It affects morale."
We don't have enough troops because we are fighting the war on the cheap. The Bush administration has refused to substantially expand the volunteer military and there is no public support for a draft. So the same troops head in and out of Iraq, and then back in again, as if through a revolving door. That naturally heightens their chances of being killed or wounded.
A reckoning is coming. The Army National Guard revealed last Thursday that it had missed its recruiting goals for the past two months by 30 percent. Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, who heads the National Guard Bureau, said: "We're in a more difficult recruiting environment, period. There's no question that when you have a sustained ground combat operation going that the Guard's participating in, that makes recruiting more difficult."
Just a few days earlier, the chief of the Army Reserve, Lt. Gen. James Helmly, told The Dallas Morning News that recruiting was in a "precipitous decline" that, if not reversed, could lead to renewed discussions about reinstatement of the draft.
The Bush administration, which has asked so much of the armed forces, has established a pattern of dealing in bad faith with its men and women in uniform. The callousness of its treatment of the troops was, of course, never more clear than in Donald Rumsfeld's high-handed response to a soldier's question about the shortages of battle armor in Iraq.
As the war in Iraq goes more and more poorly, the misery index of the men and women serving there gets higher and higher. More than 1,300 have been killed. Many thousands are coming home with agonizing wounds. Scott Shane of The Times reported last week that according to veterans' advocates and military doctors, the already hard-pressed system of health care for veterans "is facing a potential deluge of tens of thousands of soldiers returning from Iraq with serious mental health problems brought on by the stress and carnage of war."
Through the end of September, nearly 900 troops had been evacuated from Iraq by the Army for psychiatric reasons, included attempts or threatened attempts at suicide. Dr. Stephen C. Joseph, an assistant secretary of defense for health affairs from 1994 to 1997, said, "I have a very strong sense that the mental health consequences are going to be the medical story of this war."
When the war in Afghanistan as well as Iraq is considered, some experts believe that the number of American troops needing mental health treatment could exceed 100,000.
From the earliest planning stages until now, the war in Iraq has been a tragic exercise in official incompetence. The original rationale for the war was wrong. The intelligence was wrong. The estimates of required troop strength were wrong. The war hawks' guesses about the response of the Iraqi people were wrong. The cost estimates were wrong, and on and on.
Nevertheless the troops have fought valiantly, and the price paid by many has been horrific. They all deserve better than the bad faith and shoddy treatment they are receiving from the highest officials of their government.
"From the earliest planning stages until now, the war in Iraq has been a tragic exercise in official incompetence. The original rationale for the war was wrong. The intelligence was wrong. The estimates of required troop strength were wrong. The war hawks' guesses about the response of the Iraqi people were wrong. The cost estimates were wrong, and on and on."
Will all due respect, Mr. Herbert, I am tied of playing around with the 'DENIAL' this country is in over this entire episode of USA ?History? or such I say TRAVESTY.
Iraq is about Halliburton. It is about Cheney's Liability to those stockholders.
That is ALL it is about, Mr. Herbert.
Plain and simple.
There were no weapons of mass destruction before we invaded that country. THAT was made plainly obvious by the United Nations Security Council's Inspectors. They found nothing. They tested everything including the dust at the site where Colin Powell TESTIFIED there were WMD production.
There was NOTHING, Mr. Herbert.
NOTHING.
The media has allowed the brain washing of this country rather than coming down on the Bush White House like a ton of bricks unrelently.
WHY?
You have all allowed a dictator for self profit to brain wash you into to thinking he was actually in pursuit of someone that attacked this country?
Osama bin Laden has won his fiscal attack on the USA. Bush slipped right into it. It was easy for someone who has failed at every job he's had including serving in the Air National Guard.
Kabul is Afghanistan as the rest of the country is still dominated by Opium Warlords. And yesterday Iceland, a coalition member, has three of their Peacekeepers attacked.
Iceland, Mr. Herbert? Iceland?
Do you understand the word, bizarre? The country of Iceland is now moving 'nationalism' to the forefront? Are you all the complete idiots you are playing out to be? What difference does it make if Iceland sends there entire country to Afghanistan? This is a joke, Mr. Herbert. A completely and desperately stupid Bush joke on this country.
Iceland? Regardless of the demonstration of 'force' Iceland is showing with their parade of tanks I don't think the people there are in favor of battle. I was in Iceland. I was handed a lapel pin in Icelandic stating "Do you want to bomb Iraq?" It was a demonstration pin in protest of the aggression of the USA.
Iceland is a poor country. All the countries in the USA Coalition have been poor countries until they enlisted for the money dangled in front of their noses.
Leave Iceland alone. Al Qaeda could destroy that country in one day. Do you understand me? One day. There is a poorly armed USA military base there with nothing but Jumbo C5s there. It is a cargo depot. A lay over station. There are elements of MDS there. And now they are being targeted by al Qaeda in Kabul. What does Bush think he is doing?
The Icelandic National Museum is postage size compared to ANY museum in NYC. It is about the size of the third floor of The Whitney.
Mr. Herbert, do you understand this is going nowhere. The 'article' regarding Iceland is hideous.
Lance Corporal Greg Rund has now joined a majority of the dead in Iraq. There are more Lance Corporals that die than any other rank.
If I may.
A trained military policeman/woman normally employed as a member of a Service Police Unit. Trained to think and act
independently and to take control in emergencies. Used to shift work and to accepting responsibility. Used to
exercising self-discipline and to maintaining high standards of integrity and loyalty.
A Military Policeman or woman is a trained soldier who, apart from military skills, will have received instruction in
First Aid, be trained in arrest and restraint techniques and be able to drive a vehicle and/or ride a motorcycle.
Throughout his/her service he/she will continually gain experience in conducting and managing crime enquiries and
may also have experience in a specialized field such as Close Protection, Advanced Driving and Crime Reduction.
A Lance Corporal/Corporal is a trained soldier who has specialist knowledge of the duties and procedures of basic
police work. He/she will have basic computer keyboard skills and will have received instruction in First Aid, be trained
in arrest and restraint techniques and will be able to drive a vehicle and/or ride a motorcycle.
He/she will normally be employed as an individual acting on his/her own initiative or as a member of a small team.
He/she will be capable of independent thought and action and will have a high degree of self discipline and
confidence. He/she will gain experience in dealing with other people at all levels. He/she will be used to making an
objective assessment of a confused situation, arriving at a quick decision and taking effective action to restore a
situation to normal.
He/she will be able to carry out basic investigations entailing the interviewing of witnesses and suspected persons,
recording of statements and the compilation of related reports.
Selected NCOs will receive specialist training in Close Protection, Advanced Driving and Crime Reduction.
He/she will be used to shift work, involving long periods of relative inaction during which time they have to remain
alert and be capable of acting decisively should a crisis occur.
On May 1, 2003, Walker Bush declared the fighting over in Iraq. He declared a victory while standing on a floating landing field. He wasn't standing on Iraqi soil with tens of thousands rejoicing Iraqi citizens applauding his victory. He declared the fighting over so he could continue to conduct a war against the Iraq people while Dick Cheney was bailed out of his indebtedness to the stockholders of Halliburton. He declared the war over so he could send in National Guardsmen to fight a political war of fear and hatred.
The Grand and Wonderful United States of America is fighting against the people of Iraq who have wanted us out of their country since we got there with Military Police, Mr. Herbert.
There are 380 tonnes of explosives disappeared out of the Iraqi desert. The United Nations Security Council is going nuts trying to realize where the 'once contained and secured' stuff is and we are being blown up by it. Our National Guard Military Police are being blown up by the SAME DAMN stuff that was already secured in the Iraqi desert.
In the Lancet there was a study done of the number of dead Iraqis. The number was 100,000. Of those 100,000 they were primarily women and children. Women and children is what are soldiers are killing in Iraq. Sounds strangely odd, as if we were in a jungle in Vietnam somewhere.
Oh, I said the dirty word, Vietnam.
What's the point to you editorial, Mr. Herbert?
That you are concerned we are racking up causalities because there are too few troops? It's a little late for that isn't it? The Mercury News the other day had an article stating three agencies of the USA government has reported the 'insurgency' (also known as REBELLION) was growing. I mean like, NO CLUE.
The USA under Bush is defeated. Al Qaeda has forced this country into poverty status on a global basis. The Iraqi Rebellion has cast doubt on the 'legitimacy' of the INTEGRITY of this country and the greed of the Neocons finally justify their philosophy of War Mongering at any Cost. All those people profit personally from their actions within the government.
As for the Iraqi people? They don't want us there. We have insulted their 'INTEGRITY' all too much while they suffer with radiation sickness from USA dirty bomb. The bombs dropped in Iraq have tips laced with radiation. The ground over there is contaminated. The waters of the Tigris is undrinkable but the people have no infrastructure to protect them so they survive drinking the water anyway. When one realizes the sickness the Tigris causes, the casualties of the Iraqi rebels with the invasion of Fallujah only pales to the Iraqi peoples real troubles.
No, Mr. Herbert. The USA is in profound denial. And we are all still thinking it could only happen in post WWI Germany.
Believe it or not, the war in Iraq isn't the worse problem this country faces; Global Warming and Climate Change is. The media in this country is pathetic.
Lance Corporal Greg Rund has now joined a majority of the dead in Iraq. There are more Lance Corporals that die than any other rank.
If I may.
A trained military policeman/woman normally employed as a member of a Service Police Unit. Trained to think and act
independently and to take control in emergencies. Used to shift work and to accepting responsibility. Used to
exercising self-discipline and to maintaining high standards of integrity and loyalty.
A Military Policeman or woman is a trained soldier who, apart from military skills, will have received instruction in
First Aid, be trained in arrest and restraint techniques and be able to drive a vehicle and/or ride a motorcycle.
Throughout his/her service he/she will continually gain experience in conducting and managing crime enquiries and
may also have experience in a specialized field such as Close Protection, Advanced Driving and Crime Reduction.
A Lance Corporal/Corporal is a trained soldier who has specialist knowledge of the duties and procedures of basic
police work. He/she will have basic computer keyboard skills and will have received instruction in First Aid, be trained
in arrest and restraint techniques and will be able to drive a vehicle and/or ride a motorcycle.
He/she will normally be employed as an individual acting on his/her own initiative or as a member of a small team.
He/she will be capable of independent thought and action and will have a high degree of self discipline and
confidence. He/she will gain experience in dealing with other people at all levels. He/she will be used to making an
objective assessment of a confused situation, arriving at a quick decision and taking effective action to restore a
situation to normal.
He/she will be able to carry out basic investigations entailing the interviewing of witnesses and suspected persons,
recording of statements and the compilation of related reports.
Selected NCOs will receive specialist training in Close Protection, Advanced Driving and Crime Reduction.
He/she will be used to shift work, involving long periods of relative inaction during which time they have to remain
alert and be capable of acting decisively should a crisis occur.
On May 1, 2003, Walker Bush declared the fighting over in Iraq. He declared a victory while standing on a floating landing field. He wasn't standing on Iraqi soil with tens of thousands rejoicing Iraqi citizens applauding his victory. He declared the fighting over so he could continue to conduct a war against the Iraq people while Dick Cheney was bailed out of his indebtedness to the stockholders of Halliburton. He declared the war over so he could send in National Guardsmen to fight a political war of fear and hatred.
The Grand and Wonderful United States of America is fighting against the people of Iraq who have wanted us out of their country since we got there with Military Police, Mr. Herbert.
There are 380 tonnes of explosives disappeared out of the Iraqi desert. The United Nations Security Council is going nuts trying to realize where the 'once contained and secured' stuff is and we are being blown up by it. Our National Guard Military Police are being blown up by the SAME DAMN stuff that was already secured in the Iraqi desert.
In the Lancet there was a study done of the number of dead Iraqis. The number was 100,000. Of those 100,000 they were primarily women and children. Women and children is what are soldiers are killing in Iraq. Sounds strangely odd, as if we were in a jungle in Vietnam somewhere.
Oh, I said the dirty word, Vietnam.
What's the point to you editorial, Mr. Herbert?
That you are concerned we are racking up causalities because there are too few troops? It's a little late for that isn't it? The Mercury News the other day had an article stating three agencies of the USA government has reported the 'insurgency' (also known as REBELLION) was growing. I mean like, NO CLUE.
The USA under Bush is defeated. Al Qaeda has forced this country into poverty status on a global basis. The Iraqi Rebellion has cast doubt on the 'legitimacy' of the INTEGRITY of this country and the greed of the Neocons finally justify their philosophy of War Mongering at any Cost. All those people profit personally from their actions within the government.
As for the Iraqi people? They don't want us there. We have insulted their 'INTEGRITY' all too much while they suffer with radiation sickness from USA dirty bomb. The bombs dropped in Iraq have tips laced with radiation. The ground over there is contaminated. The waters of the Tigris is undrinkable but the people have no infrastructure to protect them so they survive drinking the water anyway. When one realizes the sickness the Tigris causes, the casualties of the Iraqi rebels with the invasion of Fallujah only pales to the Iraqi peoples real troubles.
No, Mr. Herbert. The USA is in profound denial. And we are all still thinking it could only happen in post WWI Germany.
Believe it or not, the war in Iraq isn't the worse problem this country faces; Global Warming and Climate Change is. The media in this country is pathetic.
I feel sorry for all of you. You are allowing your emporer to send you to jail while you can't even find enough anger to expound the truth to the American people.
Iceland, Mr. Herbert?
Yeah, right.
You'll excuse me if I don't find a great deal of enthusiasm for newsprint as I did. I think you have all become a bunch of pathetic puppets willing to work with the system pandering for a survival rather than reeling against the insanity and incompetency of this situation. The American Press have become nothing more than sniveling comfort seekers.
……………………………………………………………………………
Cheniere Energy Awards Construction Turnkey Contract to Bechtel Corporation
HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 20, 2004--Cheniere Energy Inc. (AMEX:LNG) announced that its wholly owned limited partnership, Sabine Pass LNG, L.P. (Sabine), and Bechtel Corporation executed a Lump Sum Turnkey Agreement for the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) of the Sabine Pass liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving, storage and regasification terminal to be located in western Cameron Parish, La. Sabine intends to give Bechtel Limited Notice to Proceed under the EPC agreement for off-site engineering and preparatory work to commence later this month. Construction at the site is expected to begin during the first quarter of 2005, and the terminal is scheduled to be operational in early 2008.
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20041220000142&newsLang=en
The Second Water War in Bolivia
Cochabamba, Bolivia -- Five years ago the issue of water privatization exploded here when massive public protests forced out the California engineering giant, Bechtel. Within weeks of taking over the city's public water company Bechtel hiked up rates by as much as 200%, far beyond what the city's poor could afford to pay.
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=52&ItemID=6893
The big question
December 20, 2004
THE EFFORT to recover Central Artery costs should be taken away from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and given to an independent panel created by Governor Romney and the Legislature. The Turnpike Authority chairman, Matthew Amorello, would be wise to go along with the move, which might speed money back to the project and would remove the debilitating effects of politics.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2004/12/20/the_big_question/
Asian $$ - Prince Neil Bush Gets Media Protection
Once upon a time Prince Neil Bush was making money hand-over-fist over in China and Taiwan and nobody even seemed to notice.
When it comes to influence peddling by presidential relatives, nothing comes close to the financial activities of Neil Bush. But the comical part of this whole story is that with the media asleep at the wheel during the Bush presidency, Neil’s deals may have remained a secret for life if not for his equally shady violations of his marital vows, and his attempt to dump the wife and keep all the money for himself.
http://www.independent-media.tv/item.cfm?fmedia_id=10173&fcategory_desc=Under%20Reported
RUMMY REACTS TO BAD 'SIGN'
December 20, 2004 -- After rubber-stamping condolences to many of the 1,000-plus families of soldiers killed in Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has decided to personally sign the letters, according to a military publication.
http://www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/36824.htm
Bush confident in Iraqi elections - (Oops. Miscalculation on Iraqi Performance issues on the Police/Military side as well as the Rebellion side. See without the Rebellion the miscalculation of the Western Influenced Iraqi Police and military wouldn't be necessary.)
By RON HUTCHESON
Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON - President Bush on Monday acknowledged that efforts to replace U.S. troops with Iraqi soldiers have been hampered by the lackluster performance of Iraqi units, including instances in which they've fled rather than fight.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/politics/10461703.htm
Bush threatens Syria with new pressure - (Still more ways to Laugh at Bush.)
Iraqi prime minister warns of civil war as Shiites bury dead after twin bombings
Compiled by Daily Star staff
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
U.S. President George W. Bush threatened Syria Monday with new diplomatic or economic measures to pressure the country over its suspected interference in Iraqi politics.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=11183
Bush short on Social Security details - (That's because the intent isn't to PROPOSE a plan to save Social Security. It is to GET THEIR HANDS ON "Mo' Money"!)
By LEIGH STROPE
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - President Bush says Social Security's future financial shortfall is a crisis that Congress must tackle now, repeating Monday his demand for action but refusing to provide details of his top domestic priority that will cost trillions of dollars to implement.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/politics/10461868.htm
Should Bush be person of the year? (This is nothing but NEOCON Propaganda. Half the nation Hates the man and Yet TIME/WARNER responds in Admiration. Who Needs it? I am sure they weren't counting on Kerik's Poor Performance either.)
President George W Bush has been named "Person of the Year" by Time magazine for the second time in four years.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4111431.stm
Going for a Halliburton
By David Teather
04-10-04 It must have seemed like a terrific stroke of luck: Dick Cheney, the man who for the past five years had been the CEO of Halliburton, became the vice-president in 2000. The oil services and engineering company was given a direct line to the White House.
But Halliburton's relationship with the Bush administration is beginning to prove more problematic than it is worth. The company admitted that it was considering selling Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), the division carrying out billions of dollars worth of work for the US government in Iraq, in a desperate attempt to get out of the spotlight. It is considering a sale, spin-off or a separate listing for the business on the stock exchange.
http://www.gasandoil.com/goc/company/cnn44338.htm
Bush shows caution about plunging into Mideast peacemaking - Oh, really? - That's okay, Mubarak and Sharon are doing just fine !!
BARRY SCHWEID, AP Diplomatic Writer
President Bush called for realism and took the long view Monday on Mideast peacemaking and development of democracy among Palestinians.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/12/20/national1452EST0601.DTL
Bush, Putin to meet in Slovakia in Feb. - (Perhaps Putin can talk some sense into Bush regarding the danger the USA is causing with Global Warming.)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush will meet in Slovakia in late February with Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of an expanding effort by the White House to improve relations with European nations.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-12-20-bush-putin_x.htm
New group claims Sudan oil attack
Tuesday 21 December 2004
A previously unknown rebel group has claimed responsibility for an attack on an oil field in the Darfur region of western Sudan and said it was the group's first military operation.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/0E977594-0BFB-4764-8F24-EECBA3647FCD.htm
Crude oil prices dip as market monitors U.S. weather cold snap
http://www.canada.com/businesscentre/story.html?id=ed544a56-90f5-43bf-862d-c100b7432e20
Al-Qaida rallies fighters to strike oil infrastructure
Associated Press
Dec. 20, 2004 12:00 AM
CAIRO - The Saudi branch of al-Qaida called for attacks against oil infrastructure in the Persian Gulf in a Web statement posted Sunday.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1220al-qaida20.html
Boost for Kenya’s dream of oil riches - Are there any other kind of dreams for Kenya besides oil. Is this the reason al Qaeda is interested in disrupting the government there and throughout Africa? To steal the wealth away from the citizens and use it for their network wars.
Willis Oketch
There is renewed interest in oil exploration in Kenya, amid reports that oil could be struck in the Lamu Basin.
http://www.eastandard.net/hm_news/news.php?articleid=8875
The Failed Fuel Price Reduction: the Role of Oil Companies
Posted to the web December 20, 2004
Eguono Odjegba
ON the eve of the last strike threatened by labour, government announced a reduction in pump prices of diesel and petrol by N3, while it slashed that of kerosene by N10. To the masses, government's action earned it the respect of a people's representatives that have been listening to the voices of those that voted them into power. Based on this consideration, the Nigerian Labour Congress with its civil societies allies, backed down from going ahead with a proposed nationwide strike, which opinion poll reported would have recorded unprecedented success.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200412201161.html
Indian Oil Unit Targets Half Sri Lanka's Fuel Market in 4 Years
Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Indian Oil Corp. plans to use money from Sri Lanka's biggest share sale to help capture half the retail fuel market on the South Asian island in four years, said local Managing Director Mahadevan Nageswaran.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000080&sid=aYeyadpXRHok&refer=asia
Meet the Stenographers - The People who Assisted Bush into office and it's terrorism role.
Press shirks duty to scrutinize official claims - Sounds like a profession in dire need of a good professional ethics house cleaning. How does propaganda become propaganda? A Press Corp willing to look the other way based on Poor Performing Professional Standards.
...As a New York Times reporter covering the Iraq War, Judith Miller's reporting on WMD was unrivaled in its influence, if not in its accuracy. Her coverage relentlessly played up the Iraq WMD threat ("All of Iraq is one large storage facility" for WMD, she credulously quoted a pseudonymous source—9/8/02), while muting conflicting evidence. Miller explained how she saw her role in a New York Review of Books interview (2/26/04):
My job was not to collect information and analyze it independently as an intelligence agency; my job was to tell readers of the New York Times, as best as I could figure out, what people inside the governments who had very high security clearances, who were not supposed to talk to me, were saying to one another about what they thought Iraq had and did not have in the area of weapons of mass destruction.
Miller's work was prominently cited in a Times mea culpa on May 26, 2004, in which the paper's editors apologized for a lack of skepticism toward sources hyping a non-existent Iraqi WMD arsenal.
http://www.fair.org/extra/0411/stenographers.html
Perhaps the Profession of Journalism should set up safeguards against their own inadequacies.
Evidently, their WILLINGNESS to validate a 'story' through 'several people' of THE SAME SOURCE makes them completely ineffective.
Perhaps Ms. Miller should have listened not to the ineffective words of the Bush Insiders but more the UN Inspectors on the Ground already in Iraq.
There obviously were no weapons of mass destruction but only a press of mass deception.
Propagandists.
Meet the Stenographers - The People who Assisted Bush into office and it's terrorism role.
Press shirks duty to scrutinize official claims - Sounds like a profession in dire need of a good professional ethics house cleaning. How does propaganda become propaganda? A Press Corp willing to look the other way based on Poor Performing Professional Standards.
...As a New York Times reporter covering the Iraq War, Judith Miller's reporting on WMD was unrivaled in its influence, if not in its accuracy. Her coverage relentlessly played up the Iraq WMD threat ("All of Iraq is one large storage facility" for WMD, she credulously quoted a pseudonymous source—9/8/02), while muting conflicting evidence. Miller explained how she saw her role in a New York Review of Books interview (2/26/04):
My job was not to collect information and analyze it independently as an intelligence agency; my job was to tell readers of the New York Times, as best as I could figure out, what people inside the governments who had very high security clearances, who were not supposed to talk to me, were saying to one another about what they thought Iraq had and did not have in the area of weapons of mass destruction.
Miller's work was prominently cited in a Times mea culpa on May 26, 2004, in which the paper's editors apologized for a lack of skepticism toward sources hyping a non-existent Iraqi WMD arsenal.
http://www.fair.org/extra/0411/stenographers.html
Bush Fingers Torture Apologist for Attorney General (Updated)
by NewStandard Staff
With John Ashcroft resigning as America’s top cop, the White House is looking to replace him with an Enron-connected lawyer who once conjured a legal excuse for torturing prisoners of war.
Nov 11 - Following the resignation of Attorney General John Ashcroft, President Bush has selected the man who drafted a legal argument for disregarding international law in the so-called "war on terror" as the next head of the Justice Department. Though many consider White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales a less divisive figure than the highly unpopular Ashcroft, civil rights groups have expressed grave concerns over the nomination.
"Making Alberto Gonzales the Attorney General of the United States would be a travesty," said Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights, in a press statement. "It would mean taking one of the legal architects of an illegal and immoral policy and installing him as the official who is charged with protecting our constitutional rights. The Gonzales memo paved the way to Abu Ghraib."
Ratner was referring to a memo authored by Gonzales at the behest of President Bush and leaked to the press early 2002, in which the White House Counsel wrote that laws prohibiting torture do not apply to "the President’s detention and interrogation of enemy combatants."
A later memo from Gonzales’ office puts forth the opinion that "physical pain amounting to torture must be equivalent in intensity to the pain accompanying serious physical injury, such as organ failure, impairment of bodily function, or even death" and for mental pain to amount to torture, "it must result in significant psychological harm of significant duration, e.g. lasting months or even years."
The American Civil Liberties Union likewise expressed trepidation over the nomination. Though he made clear that as an organization with a "record of uncompromising non-partisanship" the ACLU had no official position on the appointment of Gonzales, Executive Director Anthony Romero called "for a full and thorough Senate confirmation process that scrutinizes Mr. Gonzales' positions on key civil liberties and human rights issues."
Romero said that "particular attention should be devoted to exploring Mr. Gonzales' proposed policies on the constitutionality of the Patriot Act, the Guantánamo Bay detentions, the designation of United States citizens as enemy combatants and reproductive rights" and that he should be queried on the 2002 memo. "His confirmation hearings should also examine in detail Mr. Gonzales’ approval of the now-disavowed Justice Department memoranda that condoned the torture and incommunicado and indefinite detention of detainees captured during the Afghanistan conflict," added Romero.
Gonzales also faces criticism from activists opposed to capital punishment. A 2003 Atlantic Monthly article reported that when Gonzales was Bush’s legal counsel in Texas, he routinely failed to provide the governor with crucial details surrounding clemency petitions. The article, which relies on documents obtained by journalist Alan Berlow through the Texas Public Information Act, details several cases in which Gonzales drafted brief reports for Bush outlining the legal arguments and case histories of people about to be executed.
"A close examination of the Gonzales memoranda suggests that Governor Bush frequently approved executions based on only the most cursory briefings on the issues in dispute," wrote Berlow. "In fact, in these documents Gonzales repeatedly failed to apprise the governor of crucial issues in the cases at hand: ineffective counsel, conflict of interest, mitigating evidence, even actual evidence of innocence."
Most political analysts say they expect the Senate will approve Gonzales as the next Attorney General, but he is likely to face some tough questioning.
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) told the Associated Press that Gonzales’ confirmation hearing "may be the only remaining forum in which to examine more fully the steps that were taken to weaken U.S. policy on torture in the period that led to the prison scandals at Abu Ghraib and Afghanistan."
Some also question Gonzales’ ties to Enron, which is under investigation by the same Justice Department Gonzales will head if confirmed. As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, Gonzales formerly worked for the law firm that represents the energy giant, and he accepted campaign contributions from the company when seeking election to the Texas Supreme Court in 2000.
Gonzales also received $4,000 while serving on the Court from individuals and organizations affiliated with Halliburton, which is currently under FBI scrutiny for allegedly overcharging taxpayers when providing fuel to troops in Iraq. According to Craig McDonald, director of Texans for Public Justice, a nonprofit which tracks the influence of money and corporate power in Texas politics, campaign finance records filed with the Texas Ethics Commission include a $2,000 contribution from the Brown & Root political action committee in 1999. Kellogg Brown & Root is a Halliburton subsidiary. They also show Gonzales received $2,000 from Halliburton’s executive vice president, Lester Coleman, in late 1999 and early 2000.
The Alliance for Justice -- a national association of environmental, civil rights, mental health, women's, children's and consumer advocacy organizations -- also put out a statement on Gonzales’ nomination. "Gonzales provided the Bush administration with the legal architecture to sidestep and ignore the rule of law that, as attorney general, he will be mandated to enforce," said the organization’s president Nan Aron. Aron also criticized Gonzales’ role as White House counsel in "selecting extremist judicial nominees."
"Gonzales has consistently pushed the limits of executive privilege in order to shield the Bush administration from oversight by Congress or scrutiny by the American people," added Aron. "The position of the country's chief law enforcement officer demands an impeccable level of integrity and commitment to the rule of law that Gonzales has not proven to possess."
In spite of all the concerns surrounding Gonzales’ nomination, the nation’s largest Hispanic advocacy organization hailed Bush’s choice. In a statement released by the National Council of La Raza, the group’s executive director, Janet Murguia, said, "We are very encouraged by the Gonzales nomination." Calling the nomination "an historic milestone for the Latino community," Murguia pointed out that, if confirmed, Gonzales will become the first Hispanic to serve as head of one of the four major cabinet posts.
© 2004 The NewStandard. See our reprint policy.
http://newstandardnews.net/content/?action=show_item&itemid=1218
California Energy Commission seeks petroleum industry comments on new reporting requirements
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Dec. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- In 2005, changes will take effect in the requirements for the petroleum industry to report production levels, inventory levels and other data to California under the Petroleum Industry Information Reporting Act (PIIRA).
http://www.mysan.de/international/article16910.html
OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
A Revolutionary Christmas Story
By LYNNE CHENEY
Published: December 21, 2004
Track news that interests you.
ashington
AS 1776 was drawing to a close, Elkanah Watson, a young man in Massachusetts, expressed what many Americans feared about their war for independence. "We looked upon the contest as near its close," he wrote, "and considered ourselves a vanquished people."
There was good reason for pessimism. The British had driven Gen. George Washington and his men out of New York and across New Jersey. In early December, with the British on their heels, the Americans had commandeered every boat they could find to escape across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania. They were starving, sick and cold. The artist Charles Willson Peale, watching the landing from the Pennsylvania shore, described a soldier dressed "in an old dirty blanket jacket, his beard long and his face so full of sores that he could not clean it." So disfigured was the man, Peale wrote, that at first he did not recognize him as his brother James.
In these desperate circumstances, George Washington made a stunning decision: to go back across the Delaware and launch a surprise attack on the Hessian mercenaries occupying Trenton. On Christmas night, he led 2,400 men, many of them with their feet wrapped in rags because they had no shoes, to a crossing point nine miles upstream from Trenton. As freezing temperatures turned rain to sleet and snow, they began to cross the river.
The task was harder than any of them had imagined. Men had to break through ice to get into the boats and then fend off chunks of floating ice once they were in the river. Getting cannons across - each weighed nearly a ton - was especially difficult. Downstream, two other groups that Washington had ordered to cross the Delaware failed in their mission. But Washington and his men persevered, until finally, at 4 o'clock in the morning, they were across and ready to march to Trenton.
They had planned to approach Trenton before dawn, but the difficulty of the crossing had delayed them, and it was daylight when they encountered the first Hessians. Still, the surprise worked, and in two hours, with few losses of their own, they captured nearly 900 of the enemy. "This is a glorious day for our country," Washington declared.
His men were exhausted after the battle, and many of them, their enlistments expired, decided to go home. But many others stayed with Washington as he decided to keep fighting. When he learned that thousands of British and Hessian troops were heading toward Trenton from Princeton, a pretty college town to the north, he deployed his troops along the south side of Assunpink Creek. He also sent a force to the north side of the creek to slow down the advancing enemy. Near evening on Jan. 2, 1777, when these delaying forces had done all they could, they ran for a narrow bridge that crossed the creek - and saw Washington waiting there for them. "I pressed against the shoulder of the general's horse and in contact with the boot of the general," a private remembered years later. "The horse stood as firm as the rider."
Gen. Charles Cornwallis, the British commander, decided he could wait to attack the Americans. "We've got the old fox safe now," he is supposed to have said of Washington. "We'll go over and bag him in the morning." But Washington had other plans. He knew that Cornwallis had brought most of his troops with him, which meant that there would be far fewer of the enemy at Princeton. That night, with men and officers enjoined to silence and cannon wheels muffled with rags, Washington led the main body of his army on a march around Cornwallis's troops toward Princeton. It was dawn before Cornwallis realized they were gone.
The first encounter of the two armies on farmland outside Princeton did not go well for the Americans. Many were killed, and the dazed survivors retreated, but Washington rallied his troops with the bravery for which he was becoming legendary and led them to within 30 yards of the British line. Once the two sides started firing, it seemed impossible that he would survive, but when the smoke cleared, there he was, straight and tall astride his white horse. With a great shout, the Americans began to advance. The British fell back and then ran. "Bring up the troops," Washington called to an aide. "The day is our own."
Twice in 10 days Washington and his ragtag army had defeated the greatest military power in the world, and their victories lifted the spirits of patriots everywhere. True, the years ahead would be hard - Christmas 1777 would find Washington and his men at Valley Forge. But because of the 10-day campaign that began on Christmas 1776, Americans could now think of winning their war for independence. They could imagine that their great struggle would have a glorious end.
Lynne Cheney, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, is the author of "When Washington Crossed the Delaware: A Wintertime Story for Young Patriots."
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/21/opinion/21cheney.html
Bush has produced nearly 1400 Dead American Troops, an insoluable debt while CIA, FBI and USA State Dept. has stated Bush is losing the war.It would appear that the New York Times reflected the flaws in the journalism profession. How convenient.
Perhaps the Profession of Journalism should set up safeguards against their own inadequacies. Evidently, their WILLINGNESS to validate a 'story' through 'several people' of THE SAME SOURCE makes them completely ineffective. Perhaps Ms. Miller should have listened not to the ineffective words of the Bush Insiders but more the UN Inspectors on the Ground already in Iraq. There obviously were no weapons of mass destruction but only a press of mass deception. Propagandists. Meet the Stenographers - The People who Assisted Bush into office and it's terrorism role. Press shirks duty to scrutinize official claims - Sounds like a profession in dire need of a good professional ethics house cleaning. How does propaganda become propaganda? A Press Corp willing to look the other way based on Poor Performing Professional Standards. ...As a New York Times reporter covering the Iraq War, Judith Miller's reporting on WMD was unrivaled in its influence, if not in its accuracy. Her coverage relentlessly played up the Iraq WMD threat ("All of Iraq is one large storage facility" for WMD, she credulously quoted a pseudonymous source—9/8/02), while muting conflicting evidence. Miller explained how she saw her role in a New York Review of Books interview (2/26/04): My job was not to collect information and analyze it independently as an intelligence agency; my job was to tell readers of the New York Times, as best as I could figure out, what people inside the governments who had very high security clearances, who were not supposed to talk to me, were saying to one another about what they thought Iraq had and did not have in the area of weapons of mass destruction. Miller's work was prominently cited in a Times mea culpa on May 26, 2004, in which the paper's editors apologized for a lack of skepticism toward sources hyping a non-existent Iraqi WMD arsenal.
http://www.fair.org/extra/0411/stenographers.html
Bush has produced nearly 1400 Dead American Troops, an insoluable debt while the CIA, FBI and USA State Dept. has stated Bush is losing the war.There is one thing Cheney understand and that is priviledge.
A Revolutionary Christmas Story
The priviledge to live their lives at the expense of others whether it is in the private sector or the public sector. Lynn Cheney has taken an adventure in being a historian. It is a pathetic attempt to begin the indoctrination of Neocons to bring their children up to enjoy the 'heritage' of war rather than peace. The Cheney's came to serve the USA with a $3 million debt in income tax, a lawsuit by the stockholders of Halliburton after Dickey cooked the books and invaded a sovereign nation to relieve them of their liability with Halliburton. She cares little about the price others have to pay in order for she and her spouse to conduct their lives of indulgence into power and money.
NOW.
In order to survive the Cheney Scandal, Halliburton wants to dump KBR. I suggest Lynn and Dick encourage their chronies to 'deed' their found fortune in the Iraqi desert to the Iraqi government as a holiday surprise. Perhaps then the people of Iraq and not the people of Halliburton will have jobs. Then. The troops can come home to leave the Iraqis to find a way to live together rather than oppose each other.
Nigerian govt moves to settle oil delta protest
09 Dec 2004 12:39:45 GMT
Source: Reuters
PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria, Dec 9 (Reuters) - The Nigerian government began moves on Thursday to settle a dispute in its oil-rich southern delta that has shut 120,000 barrels per day of oil output.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L09120880.htm
Rising oil prices, jobless report, tech warnings push stocks lower
07:38 PM EST Dec 09
MALCOLM MORRISON
TORONTO (CP) - The mood was negative on North American stock markets Thursday morning as oil prices moved away from four month lows on fears that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will cut production to keep prices high.
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/business/041209/b120930.html
US daily flays Bush for praising Mush
[ WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 08, 2004 06:38:37 AM ]
WASHINGTON: The world’s worst nuclear proliferation emanating from Pakistan was not possible without support from its military, according to a leading US daily, which flayed President Bush for praising Pervez Musharraf during his recent visit here.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/952368.cms
Bush signs $388 billion spending bill
Wednesday, December 8, 2004 Posted: 3:26 PM EST (2026 GMT)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush on Wednesday signed into law a $388 billion legislative package that covers the spending of every federal agency but the Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/12/08/congress.spending.ap/
China Aviation Oil Losses Serve as `Reminder' of Risks in China
Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Chief Executive Officer Chen Jiulin used what he called ``Chinese wisdom'' to triple China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corp.'s market value in three years.
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=nifea&&sid=akFf25c7tToQ
Rivers Community Vacates Oil Flowstations
December 8, 2004
Posted to the web December 8, 2004
Lagos
THE Kula community in Rivers State lifted its blockade of three oil pumping stations yesterday after energy giants, Shell and ChevronTexaco, agreed to discuss funding local development projects. The three plants had been occupied since Sunday morning by protesters from the ethnic Ijaw fishing community of Kula, which lies in coastal swamps near the Atlantic coast 100 kilometres south-west of Port Harcourt.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200412080643.html
Woodside Says Iraq Security Won't Affect Oil Projects Agreement
Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia's second-largest oil and gas company, said an insurgency in Iraq is unlikely to disrupt a two-year co-operation agreement signed by the company with the Iraqi Oil Ministry last month.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000081&sid=aB66lUKddVdo&refer=australia
Petroleum fund breaks NOK trillion mark
A fund saving Norway's oil wealth has surpassed a trill
ion crowns (USD 165.2 billion) for the first time, Industry and Trade Minister Børge Brende said in a speech in Oslo on Tuesday.
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article927125.ece
Who's behind the oil-for-food scandal?
By Jude Wanniski
Wednesday 08 December 2004, 14:03 Makka Time, 11:03 GMT
Once it became clear some months ago that Saddam Hussein had been telling the truth about not having weapons of mass destruction or connections to al-Qaida, it should have been an embarrassment to the neo-conservatives who talked President George Bush into war with Iraq.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/561BE24F-B06B-4CC1-B28A-F6845EA8E469.htm
Advocacy group protests during Cheney visit
By PATTY HENETZ
Associated Press writer
STEVE C. WILSON/AP
Protesters rally outside the entrance to the Grand America hotel as Vice President Dick Cheney speaks inside at a luncheon in support of Republican 2nd Congressional District candidate John Swallow on Wednesday in Salt Lake City.
http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2004/12/08/news/regional/f84369ff9ccfb5d887256ee00005f5f4.txt
Read My Lips "Do You Believe Him" - The Beginning of the Year. Let's rob Social Security in time to finance the Bargaining Chips I need for the trip.
Bush European tour aims to build transatlantic ties
By James Harding in Washington and Daniel Dombey in Brussels
Published: December 9 2004 19:31 Last updated: December 9 2004 19:31
President George W. Bush's trip to Europe early next year will mark a commitment to multilateral institutions, improving transatlantic ties and supporting the European project, the White House has signalled.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/3a90eb2a-4a18-11d9-b065-00000e2511c8.html
Federal grand jury indicts Michigan man accused of threatening Cheney
December 8, 2004, 4:26 PM
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) -- A federal grand jury has indicted a Michigan man on a count of making a threat against the life of Vice President Dick Cheney, U.S. Attorney Margaret M. Chiara announced Wednesday.
http://www.freep.com/news/statewire/sw108377_20041208.htm
Study: Wait to Install Defibrillators
LINDA A. JOHNSON
Associated Press
Implanting defibrillators in patients just weeks after a heart attack does not improve their chances of survival, according to an international study. The researchers suggested instead that patients wait several months before having one of the devices inserted in the chest.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/politics/10369905.htm
Ridgeway Petroleum announces intended resignation
CALGARY, Dec. 9 /CNW/ - Ridgeway Petroleum Corp. (the "Company")announces that Walter B. Ruck, Chairman of the Board and President of theCompany, has advised the Company that he intends to resign from his positionas President upon the appointment of his successor. Mr. Ruck cited personalfamily reasons in his decision to retire from the position as President. Hecurrently plans to remain as a Director and Chairman of the Board.
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/December2004/09/c3733.html
Petroleum & Resources Corporation (PEO) Extends Share Repurchase Programs
BALTIMORE, Dec. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Board of Directors ofPetroleum & Resources Corporation (NYSE: PEO) voted today to extend its sharerepurchase program and has authorized the repurchase of up to 5% of theoutstanding shares of the Corporation's common stock over the next twelvemonths. Purchases will be made in the open market when the shares are tradingat a discount of at least 6.5%. The Corporation's discount as of last night'smarket close was 7.5%. As of December 9, 2004, the Corporation has 21,614,927outstanding shares, which means that the Corporation is authorized by theBoard to repurchase up to 1,080,746 shares over the ensuing year.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/12-09-2004/0002592106&EDATE=
NLC Issues Fresh Strike Threat
December 9, 2004
Posted to the web December 9, 2004
Mike Oduniyi, Chris Nwachuku, Onyebuchi Ezigbo, and Jaiyeola Andrews
Lagos/Abuja/Asaba
PPPRA: We're working to reduce prices
Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday served the Federal Government a fresh seven-day ultimatum to ensure the enforcement of the agreed prices of petroleum products in every part of the country or face mass action.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200412090144.html
Bush moves to mend a chink in his armour
http://www.smh.com.au/news/After-Saddam/Bush-moves-to-mend-a-chink-in-his-armour/2004/12/10/1102625537616.html
Bush to focus on tort reform at forum
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apwashington_story.asp?category=1151&slug=Bush%20Economic%20Conference
Bush administration breaks silence to back Kofi Annan
* Mandela and prominent South Africans back Annan
* European Union invites Annan to summit to show support
UNITED NATIONS: The Bush administration expressed confidence in UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Thursday and said he should stay in office, in a belated rebuff to demands from Republicans in Congress for his resignation.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_11-12-2004_pg4_3
New spy chief's power rests in Bush's hands
The bill creating a director of national intelligence left ambiguities about the power of the post. How much -- or how little -- power the chief wields is up to the president.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/nation/10381971.htm
A high price to say 'As I was telling the president ...'
New York Times
WASHINGTON — Tickets to all official inaugural events, including an "elegant" candlelight dinner with a special appearance by President Bush: $100,000.
Tickets to all official inaugural events, two additional tickets to an "exclusive" lunch with Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, plus an all-access pass to any inaugural ball: $250,000.
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/stories/1204/11inaugural.html
Cheney Pushes for Permanent Tax Cuts
By Jennifer Loven
Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, December 15, 2004; 11:21 AM
Vice President Cheney said Wednesday it is critical to make President Bush's tax cuts permanent during his second term while achieving broader reforms in the tax code and bolstering Social Security.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1401-2004Dec15.html
Cheney Pushes for Permanent Tax Cuts
By Jennifer Loven
Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, December 15, 2004; 11:21 AM
Vice President Cheney said Wednesday it is critical to make President Bush's tax cuts permanent during his second term while achieving broader reforms in the tax code and bolstering Social Security.
Speaking at the start of a two-day White House conference on the economy, Cheney said the administration believed Bush's four tax cuts over the past four years had provided a badly needed boost to get the economy out of recession. But he said now the focus needed to be on making the tax cuts permanent.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1401-2004Dec15.html
Yukos Files for Bankruptcy in U.S.
Russian Oil Giant Moves to Stave Off Auction of Assets Scheduled for Sunday
By Dmitry Zhdannikov and Douglas Busvine
Reuters
Wednesday, December 15, 2004; 10:51 AM
MOSCOW -- Russian oil group Yukos has filed for bankruptcy protection in a U.S. court in an attempt to stop Russia's government from auctioning off its main production unit on Dec. 19, it said Wednesday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A877-2004Dec15.html
D.C. Firefighters Investigate Charter School Fire
Blaze Is the Second in Two Weeks
By Fred Barbash
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 15, 2004; 6:18 AM
A Northeast Washington charter school was hit by probable arson early this morning for the second time in two weeks.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A773-2004Dec15.html
Anthrax Killer at Large
Wednesday, December 15, 2004; Page A32
AMONTH AFTER the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, letters tainted with the anthrax bacteria were sent through U.S. mail processing facilities, infecting people in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Washington and Florida. The worst bioterrorist assault in U.S. history left five people dead, 17 sickened and some 10,000 on antibiotics.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A93-2004Dec14.html
War on the Cheap
Greg Rund was a freshman at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., in 1999 when two students shot and killed a teacher, a dozen of their fellow students and themselves. Mr. Rund survived that horror, but he wasn't able to survive the war in Iraq. The 21-year-old Marine lance corporal was killed on Dec. 11 in Falluja.
The people who were so anxious to launch the war in Iraq are a lot less enthusiastic about properly supporting the troops who are actually fighting, suffering and dying in it. Corporal Rund was on his second tour of duty in Iraq. Because of severe military personnel shortages, large numbers of troops are serving multiple tours in the war zone, and many are having their military enlistments involuntarily extended.
Troops approaching the end of their tours in Iraq are frequently dealt the emotional body blow of unexpected orders blocking their departure for home. "I've never seen so many grown men cry," said Paul Rieckhoff, a former infantry platoon leader who founded Operation Truth, an advocacy group for soldiers and veterans.
"Soldiers will do whatever you ask them to do," said Mr. Rieckhoff. "But when you tell them the finish line is here, and then you keep moving it back every time they get five meters away from it, it starts to really wear on them. It affects morale."
We don't have enough troops because we are fighting the war on the cheap. The Bush administration has refused to substantially expand the volunteer military and there is no public support for a draft. So the same troops head in and out of Iraq, and then back in again, as if through a revolving door. That naturally heightens their chances of being killed or wounded.
A reckoning is coming. The Army National Guard revealed last Thursday that it had missed its recruiting goals for the past two months by 30 percent. Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, who heads the National Guard Bureau, said: "We're in a more difficult recruiting environment, period. There's no question that when you have a sustained ground combat operation going that the Guard's participating in, that makes recruiting more difficult."
Just a few days earlier, the chief of the Army Reserve, Lt. Gen. James Helmly, told The Dallas Morning News that recruiting was in a "precipitous decline" that, if not reversed, could lead to renewed discussions about reinstatement of the draft.
The Bush administration, which has asked so much of the armed forces, has established a pattern of dealing in bad faith with its men and women in uniform. The callousness of its treatment of the troops was, of course, never more clear than in Donald Rumsfeld's high-handed response to a soldier's question about the shortages of battle armor in Iraq.
As the war in Iraq goes more and more poorly, the misery index of the men and women serving there gets higher and higher. More than 1,300 have been killed. Many thousands are coming home with agonizing wounds. Scott Shane of The Times reported last week that according to veterans' advocates and military doctors, the already hard-pressed system of health care for veterans "is facing a potential deluge of tens of thousands of soldiers returning from Iraq with serious mental health problems brought on by the stress and carnage of war."
Through the end of September, nearly 900 troops had been evacuated from Iraq by the Army for psychiatric reasons, included attempts or threatened attempts at suicide. Dr. Stephen C. Joseph, an assistant secretary of defense for health affairs from 1994 to 1997, said, "I have a very strong sense that the mental health consequences are going to be the medical story of this war."
When the war in Afghanistan as well as Iraq is considered, some experts believe that the number of American troops needing mental health treatment could exceed 100,000.
From the earliest planning stages until now, the war in Iraq has been a tragic exercise in official incompetence. The original rationale for the war was wrong. The intelligence was wrong. The estimates of required troop strength were wrong. The war hawks' guesses about the response of the Iraqi people were wrong. The cost estimates were wrong, and on and on.
Nevertheless the troops have fought valiantly, and the price paid by many has been horrific. They all deserve better than the bad faith and shoddy treatment they are receiving from the highest officials of their government.
"From the earliest planning stages until now, the war in Iraq has been a tragic exercise in official incompetence. The original rationale for the war was wrong. The intelligence was wrong. The estimates of required troop strength were wrong. The war hawks' guesses about the response of the Iraqi people were wrong. The cost estimates were wrong, and on and on."
Will all due respect, Mr. Herbert, I am tied of playing around with the 'DENIAL' this country is in over this entire episode of USA ?History? or such I say TRAVESTY.
Iraq is about Halliburton. It is about Cheney's Liability to those stockholders.
That is ALL it is about, Mr. Herbert.
Plain and simple.
There were no weapons of mass destruction before we invaded that country. THAT was made plainly obvious by the United Nations Security Council's Inspectors. They found nothing. They tested everything including the dust at the site where Colin Powell TESTIFIED there were WMD production.
There was NOTHING, Mr. Herbert.
NOTHING.
The media has allowed the brain washing of this country rather than coming down on the Bush White House like a ton of bricks unrelently.
WHY?
You have all allowed a dictator for self profit to brain wash you into to thinking he was actually in pursuit of someone that attacked this country?
Osama bin Laden has won his fiscal attack on the USA. Bush slipped right into it. It was easy for someone who has failed at every job he's had including serving in the Air National Guard.
Kabul is Afghanistan as the rest of the country is still dominated by Opium Warlords. And yesterday Iceland, a coalition member, has three of their Peacekeepers attacked.
Iceland, Mr. Herbert? Iceland?
Do you understand the word, bizarre? The country of Iceland is now moving 'nationalism' to the forefront? Are you all the complete idiots you are playing out to be? What difference does it make if Iceland sends there entire country to Afghanistan? This is a joke, Mr. Herbert. A completely and desperately stupid Bush joke on this country.
Iceland? Regardless of the demonstration of 'force' Iceland is showing with their parade of tanks I don't think the people there are in favor of battle. I was in Iceland. I was handed a lapel pin in Icelandic stating "Do you want to bomb Iraq?" It was a demonstration pin in protest of the aggression of the USA.
Iceland is a poor country. All the countries in the USA Coalition have been poor countries until they enlisted for the money dangled in front of their noses.
Leave Iceland alone. Al Qaeda could destroy that country in one day. Do you understand me? One day. There is a poorly armed USA military base there with nothing but Jumbo C5s there. It is a cargo depot. A lay over station. There are elements of MDS there. And now they are being targeted by al Qaeda in Kabul. What does Bush think he is doing?
The Icelandic National Museum is postage size compared to ANY museum in NYC. It is about the size of the third floor of The Whitney.
Mr. Herbert, do you understand this is going nowhere. The 'article' regarding Iceland is hideous.
Lance Corporal Greg Rund has now joined a majority of the dead in Iraq. There are more Lance Corporals that die than any other rank.
If I may.
A trained military policeman/woman normally employed as a member of a Service Police Unit. Trained to think and act
independently and to take control in emergencies. Used to shift work and to accepting responsibility. Used to
exercising self-discipline and to maintaining high standards of integrity and loyalty.
A Military Policeman or woman is a trained soldier who, apart from military skills, will have received instruction in
First Aid, be trained in arrest and restraint techniques and be able to drive a vehicle and/or ride a motorcycle.
Throughout his/her service he/she will continually gain experience in conducting and managing crime enquiries and
may also have experience in a specialized field such as Close Protection, Advanced Driving and Crime Reduction.
A Lance Corporal/Corporal is a trained soldier who has specialist knowledge of the duties and procedures of basic
police work. He/she will have basic computer keyboard skills and will have received instruction in First Aid, be trained
in arrest and restraint techniques and will be able to drive a vehicle and/or ride a motorcycle.
He/she will normally be employed as an individual acting on his/her own initiative or as a member of a small team.
He/she will be capable of independent thought and action and will have a high degree of self discipline and
confidence. He/she will gain experience in dealing with other people at all levels. He/she will be used to making an
objective assessment of a confused situation, arriving at a quick decision and taking effective action to restore a
situation to normal.
He/she will be able to carry out basic investigations entailing the interviewing of witnesses and suspected persons,
recording of statements and the compilation of related reports.
Selected NCOs will receive specialist training in Close Protection, Advanced Driving and Crime Reduction.
He/she will be used to shift work, involving long periods of relative inaction during which time they have to remain
alert and be capable of acting decisively should a crisis occur.
On May 1, 2003, Walker Bush declared the fighting over in Iraq. He declared a victory while standing on a floating landing field. He wasn't standing on Iraqi soil with tens of thousands rejoicing Iraqi citizens applauding his victory. He declared the fighting over so he could continue to conduct a war against the Iraq people while Dick Cheney was bailed out of his indebtedness to the stockholders of Halliburton. He declared the war over so he could send in National Guardsmen to fight a political war of fear and hatred.
The Grand and Wonderful United States of America is fighting against the people of Iraq who have wanted us out of their country since we got there with Military Police, Mr. Herbert.
There are 380 tonnes of explosives disappeared out of the Iraqi desert. The United Nations Security Council is going nuts trying to realize where the 'once contained and secured' stuff is and we are being blown up by it. Our National Guard Military Police are being blown up by the SAME DAMN stuff that was already secured in the Iraqi desert.
In the Lancet there was a study done of the number of dead Iraqis. The number was 100,000. Of those 100,000 they were primarily women and children. Women and children is what are soldiers are killing in Iraq. Sounds strangely odd, as if we were in a jungle in Vietnam somewhere.
Oh, I said the dirty word, Vietnam.
What's the point to you editorial, Mr. Herbert?
That you are concerned we are racking up causalities because there are too few troops? It's a little late for that isn't it? The Mercury News the other day had an article stating three agencies of the USA government has reported the 'insurgency' (also known as REBELLION) was growing. I mean like, NO CLUE.
The USA under Bush is defeated. Al Qaeda has forced this country into poverty status on a global basis. The Iraqi Rebellion has cast doubt on the 'legitimacy' of the INTEGRITY of this country and the greed of the Neocons finally justify their philosophy of War Mongering at any Cost. All those people profit personally from their actions within the government.
As for the Iraqi people? They don't want us there. We have insulted their 'INTEGRITY' all too much while they suffer with radiation sickness from USA dirty bomb. The bombs dropped in Iraq have tips laced with radiation. The ground over there is contaminated. The waters of the Tigris is undrinkable but the people have no infrastructure to protect them so they survive drinking the water anyway. When one realizes the sickness the Tigris causes, the casualties of the Iraqi rebels with the invasion of Fallujah only pales to the Iraqi peoples real troubles.
No, Mr. Herbert. The USA is in profound denial. And we are all still thinking it could only happen in post WWI Germany.
Believe it or not, the war in Iraq isn't the worse problem this country faces; Global Warming and Climate Change is. The media in this country is pathetic.
Lance Corporal Greg Rund has now joined a majority of the dead in Iraq. There are more Lance Corporals that die than any other rank.
If I may.
A trained military policeman/woman normally employed as a member of a Service Police Unit. Trained to think and act
independently and to take control in emergencies. Used to shift work and to accepting responsibility. Used to
exercising self-discipline and to maintaining high standards of integrity and loyalty.
A Military Policeman or woman is a trained soldier who, apart from military skills, will have received instruction in
First Aid, be trained in arrest and restraint techniques and be able to drive a vehicle and/or ride a motorcycle.
Throughout his/her service he/she will continually gain experience in conducting and managing crime enquiries and
may also have experience in a specialized field such as Close Protection, Advanced Driving and Crime Reduction.
A Lance Corporal/Corporal is a trained soldier who has specialist knowledge of the duties and procedures of basic
police work. He/she will have basic computer keyboard skills and will have received instruction in First Aid, be trained
in arrest and restraint techniques and will be able to drive a vehicle and/or ride a motorcycle.
He/she will normally be employed as an individual acting on his/her own initiative or as a member of a small team.
He/she will be capable of independent thought and action and will have a high degree of self discipline and
confidence. He/she will gain experience in dealing with other people at all levels. He/she will be used to making an
objective assessment of a confused situation, arriving at a quick decision and taking effective action to restore a
situation to normal.
He/she will be able to carry out basic investigations entailing the interviewing of witnesses and suspected persons,
recording of statements and the compilation of related reports.
Selected NCOs will receive specialist training in Close Protection, Advanced Driving and Crime Reduction.
He/she will be used to shift work, involving long periods of relative inaction during which time they have to remain
alert and be capable of acting decisively should a crisis occur.
On May 1, 2003, Walker Bush declared the fighting over in Iraq. He declared a victory while standing on a floating landing field. He wasn't standing on Iraqi soil with tens of thousands rejoicing Iraqi citizens applauding his victory. He declared the fighting over so he could continue to conduct a war against the Iraq people while Dick Cheney was bailed out of his indebtedness to the stockholders of Halliburton. He declared the war over so he could send in National Guardsmen to fight a political war of fear and hatred.
The Grand and Wonderful United States of America is fighting against the people of Iraq who have wanted us out of their country since we got there with Military Police, Mr. Herbert.
There are 380 tonnes of explosives disappeared out of the Iraqi desert. The United Nations Security Council is going nuts trying to realize where the 'once contained and secured' stuff is and we are being blown up by it. Our National Guard Military Police are being blown up by the SAME DAMN stuff that was already secured in the Iraqi desert.
In the Lancet there was a study done of the number of dead Iraqis. The number was 100,000. Of those 100,000 they were primarily women and children. Women and children is what are soldiers are killing in Iraq. Sounds strangely odd, as if we were in a jungle in Vietnam somewhere.
Oh, I said the dirty word, Vietnam.
What's the point to you editorial, Mr. Herbert?
That you are concerned we are racking up causalities because there are too few troops? It's a little late for that isn't it? The Mercury News the other day had an article stating three agencies of the USA government has reported the 'insurgency' (also known as REBELLION) was growing. I mean like, NO CLUE.
The USA under Bush is defeated. Al Qaeda has forced this country into poverty status on a global basis. The Iraqi Rebellion has cast doubt on the 'legitimacy' of the INTEGRITY of this country and the greed of the Neocons finally justify their philosophy of War Mongering at any Cost. All those people profit personally from their actions within the government.
As for the Iraqi people? They don't want us there. We have insulted their 'INTEGRITY' all too much while they suffer with radiation sickness from USA dirty bomb. The bombs dropped in Iraq have tips laced with radiation. The ground over there is contaminated. The waters of the Tigris is undrinkable but the people have no infrastructure to protect them so they survive drinking the water anyway. When one realizes the sickness the Tigris causes, the casualties of the Iraqi rebels with the invasion of Fallujah only pales to the Iraqi peoples real troubles.
No, Mr. Herbert. The USA is in profound denial. And we are all still thinking it could only happen in post WWI Germany.
Believe it or not, the war in Iraq isn't the worse problem this country faces; Global Warming and Climate Change is. The media in this country is pathetic.
I feel sorry for all of you. You are allowing your emporer to send you to jail while you can't even find enough anger to expound the truth to the American people.
Iceland, Mr. Herbert?
Yeah, right.
You'll excuse me if I don't find a great deal of enthusiasm for newsprint as I did. I think you have all become a bunch of pathetic puppets willing to work with the system pandering for a survival rather than reeling against the insanity and incompetency of this situation. The American Press have become nothing more than sniveling comfort seekers.
……………………………………………………………………………
Cheniere Energy Awards Construction Turnkey Contract to Bechtel Corporation
HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 20, 2004--Cheniere Energy Inc. (AMEX:LNG) announced that its wholly owned limited partnership, Sabine Pass LNG, L.P. (Sabine), and Bechtel Corporation executed a Lump Sum Turnkey Agreement for the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) of the Sabine Pass liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving, storage and regasification terminal to be located in western Cameron Parish, La. Sabine intends to give Bechtel Limited Notice to Proceed under the EPC agreement for off-site engineering and preparatory work to commence later this month. Construction at the site is expected to begin during the first quarter of 2005, and the terminal is scheduled to be operational in early 2008.
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20041220000142&newsLang=en
The Second Water War in Bolivia
Cochabamba, Bolivia -- Five years ago the issue of water privatization exploded here when massive public protests forced out the California engineering giant, Bechtel. Within weeks of taking over the city's public water company Bechtel hiked up rates by as much as 200%, far beyond what the city's poor could afford to pay.
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=52&ItemID=6893
The big question
December 20, 2004
THE EFFORT to recover Central Artery costs should be taken away from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and given to an independent panel created by Governor Romney and the Legislature. The Turnpike Authority chairman, Matthew Amorello, would be wise to go along with the move, which might speed money back to the project and would remove the debilitating effects of politics.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2004/12/20/the_big_question/
Asian $$ - Prince Neil Bush Gets Media Protection
Once upon a time Prince Neil Bush was making money hand-over-fist over in China and Taiwan and nobody even seemed to notice.
When it comes to influence peddling by presidential relatives, nothing comes close to the financial activities of Neil Bush. But the comical part of this whole story is that with the media asleep at the wheel during the Bush presidency, Neil’s deals may have remained a secret for life if not for his equally shady violations of his marital vows, and his attempt to dump the wife and keep all the money for himself.
http://www.independent-media.tv/item.cfm?fmedia_id=10173&fcategory_desc=Under%20Reported
RUMMY REACTS TO BAD 'SIGN'
December 20, 2004 -- After rubber-stamping condolences to many of the 1,000-plus families of soldiers killed in Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has decided to personally sign the letters, according to a military publication.
http://www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/36824.htm
Bush confident in Iraqi elections - (Oops. Miscalculation on Iraqi Performance issues on the Police/Military side as well as the Rebellion side. See without the Rebellion the miscalculation of the Western Influenced Iraqi Police and military wouldn't be necessary.)
By RON HUTCHESON
Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON - President Bush on Monday acknowledged that efforts to replace U.S. troops with Iraqi soldiers have been hampered by the lackluster performance of Iraqi units, including instances in which they've fled rather than fight.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/politics/10461703.htm
Bush threatens Syria with new pressure - (Still more ways to Laugh at Bush.)
Iraqi prime minister warns of civil war as Shiites bury dead after twin bombings
Compiled by Daily Star staff
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
U.S. President George W. Bush threatened Syria Monday with new diplomatic or economic measures to pressure the country over its suspected interference in Iraqi politics.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=11183
Bush short on Social Security details - (That's because the intent isn't to PROPOSE a plan to save Social Security. It is to GET THEIR HANDS ON "Mo' Money"!)
By LEIGH STROPE
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - President Bush says Social Security's future financial shortfall is a crisis that Congress must tackle now, repeating Monday his demand for action but refusing to provide details of his top domestic priority that will cost trillions of dollars to implement.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/politics/10461868.htm
Should Bush be person of the year? (This is nothing but NEOCON Propaganda. Half the nation Hates the man and Yet TIME/WARNER responds in Admiration. Who Needs it? I am sure they weren't counting on Kerik's Poor Performance either.)
President George W Bush has been named "Person of the Year" by Time magazine for the second time in four years.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4111431.stm
Going for a Halliburton
By David Teather
04-10-04 It must have seemed like a terrific stroke of luck: Dick Cheney, the man who for the past five years had been the CEO of Halliburton, became the vice-president in 2000. The oil services and engineering company was given a direct line to the White House.
But Halliburton's relationship with the Bush administration is beginning to prove more problematic than it is worth. The company admitted that it was considering selling Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), the division carrying out billions of dollars worth of work for the US government in Iraq, in a desperate attempt to get out of the spotlight. It is considering a sale, spin-off or a separate listing for the business on the stock exchange.
http://www.gasandoil.com/goc/company/cnn44338.htm
Bush shows caution about plunging into Mideast peacemaking - Oh, really? - That's okay, Mubarak and Sharon are doing just fine !!
BARRY SCHWEID, AP Diplomatic Writer
President Bush called for realism and took the long view Monday on Mideast peacemaking and development of democracy among Palestinians.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/12/20/national1452EST0601.DTL
Bush, Putin to meet in Slovakia in Feb. - (Perhaps Putin can talk some sense into Bush regarding the danger the USA is causing with Global Warming.)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush will meet in Slovakia in late February with Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of an expanding effort by the White House to improve relations with European nations.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-12-20-bush-putin_x.htm
New group claims Sudan oil attack
Tuesday 21 December 2004
A previously unknown rebel group has claimed responsibility for an attack on an oil field in the Darfur region of western Sudan and said it was the group's first military operation.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/0E977594-0BFB-4764-8F24-EECBA3647FCD.htm
Crude oil prices dip as market monitors U.S. weather cold snap
http://www.canada.com/businesscentre/story.html?id=ed544a56-90f5-43bf-862d-c100b7432e20
Al-Qaida rallies fighters to strike oil infrastructure
Associated Press
Dec. 20, 2004 12:00 AM
CAIRO - The Saudi branch of al-Qaida called for attacks against oil infrastructure in the Persian Gulf in a Web statement posted Sunday.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1220al-qaida20.html
Boost for Kenya’s dream of oil riches - Are there any other kind of dreams for Kenya besides oil. Is this the reason al Qaeda is interested in disrupting the government there and throughout Africa? To steal the wealth away from the citizens and use it for their network wars.
Willis Oketch
There is renewed interest in oil exploration in Kenya, amid reports that oil could be struck in the Lamu Basin.
http://www.eastandard.net/hm_news/news.php?articleid=8875
The Failed Fuel Price Reduction: the Role of Oil Companies
Posted to the web December 20, 2004
Eguono Odjegba
ON the eve of the last strike threatened by labour, government announced a reduction in pump prices of diesel and petrol by N3, while it slashed that of kerosene by N10. To the masses, government's action earned it the respect of a people's representatives that have been listening to the voices of those that voted them into power. Based on this consideration, the Nigerian Labour Congress with its civil societies allies, backed down from going ahead with a proposed nationwide strike, which opinion poll reported would have recorded unprecedented success.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200412201161.html
Indian Oil Unit Targets Half Sri Lanka's Fuel Market in 4 Years
Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Indian Oil Corp. plans to use money from Sri Lanka's biggest share sale to help capture half the retail fuel market on the South Asian island in four years, said local Managing Director Mahadevan Nageswaran.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000080&sid=aYeyadpXRHok&refer=asia
Meet the Stenographers - The People who Assisted Bush into office and it's terrorism role.
Press shirks duty to scrutinize official claims - Sounds like a profession in dire need of a good professional ethics house cleaning. How does propaganda become propaganda? A Press Corp willing to look the other way based on Poor Performing Professional Standards.
...As a New York Times reporter covering the Iraq War, Judith Miller's reporting on WMD was unrivaled in its influence, if not in its accuracy. Her coverage relentlessly played up the Iraq WMD threat ("All of Iraq is one large storage facility" for WMD, she credulously quoted a pseudonymous source—9/8/02), while muting conflicting evidence. Miller explained how she saw her role in a New York Review of Books interview (2/26/04):
My job was not to collect information and analyze it independently as an intelligence agency; my job was to tell readers of the New York Times, as best as I could figure out, what people inside the governments who had very high security clearances, who were not supposed to talk to me, were saying to one another about what they thought Iraq had and did not have in the area of weapons of mass destruction.
Miller's work was prominently cited in a Times mea culpa on May 26, 2004, in which the paper's editors apologized for a lack of skepticism toward sources hyping a non-existent Iraqi WMD arsenal.
http://www.fair.org/extra/0411/stenographers.html
Perhaps the Profession of Journalism should set up safeguards against their own inadequacies.
Evidently, their WILLINGNESS to validate a 'story' through 'several people' of THE SAME SOURCE makes them completely ineffective.
Perhaps Ms. Miller should have listened not to the ineffective words of the Bush Insiders but more the UN Inspectors on the Ground already in Iraq.
There obviously were no weapons of mass destruction but only a press of mass deception.
Propagandists.
Meet the Stenographers - The People who Assisted Bush into office and it's terrorism role.
Press shirks duty to scrutinize official claims - Sounds like a profession in dire need of a good professional ethics house cleaning. How does propaganda become propaganda? A Press Corp willing to look the other way based on Poor Performing Professional Standards.
...As a New York Times reporter covering the Iraq War, Judith Miller's reporting on WMD was unrivaled in its influence, if not in its accuracy. Her coverage relentlessly played up the Iraq WMD threat ("All of Iraq is one large storage facility" for WMD, she credulously quoted a pseudonymous source—9/8/02), while muting conflicting evidence. Miller explained how she saw her role in a New York Review of Books interview (2/26/04):
My job was not to collect information and analyze it independently as an intelligence agency; my job was to tell readers of the New York Times, as best as I could figure out, what people inside the governments who had very high security clearances, who were not supposed to talk to me, were saying to one another about what they thought Iraq had and did not have in the area of weapons of mass destruction.
Miller's work was prominently cited in a Times mea culpa on May 26, 2004, in which the paper's editors apologized for a lack of skepticism toward sources hyping a non-existent Iraqi WMD arsenal.
http://www.fair.org/extra/0411/stenographers.html
Bush Fingers Torture Apologist for Attorney General (Updated)
by NewStandard Staff
With John Ashcroft resigning as America’s top cop, the White House is looking to replace him with an Enron-connected lawyer who once conjured a legal excuse for torturing prisoners of war.
Nov 11 - Following the resignation of Attorney General John Ashcroft, President Bush has selected the man who drafted a legal argument for disregarding international law in the so-called "war on terror" as the next head of the Justice Department. Though many consider White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales a less divisive figure than the highly unpopular Ashcroft, civil rights groups have expressed grave concerns over the nomination.
"Making Alberto Gonzales the Attorney General of the United States would be a travesty," said Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights, in a press statement. "It would mean taking one of the legal architects of an illegal and immoral policy and installing him as the official who is charged with protecting our constitutional rights. The Gonzales memo paved the way to Abu Ghraib."
Ratner was referring to a memo authored by Gonzales at the behest of President Bush and leaked to the press early 2002, in which the White House Counsel wrote that laws prohibiting torture do not apply to "the President’s detention and interrogation of enemy combatants."
A later memo from Gonzales’ office puts forth the opinion that "physical pain amounting to torture must be equivalent in intensity to the pain accompanying serious physical injury, such as organ failure, impairment of bodily function, or even death" and for mental pain to amount to torture, "it must result in significant psychological harm of significant duration, e.g. lasting months or even years."
The American Civil Liberties Union likewise expressed trepidation over the nomination. Though he made clear that as an organization with a "record of uncompromising non-partisanship" the ACLU had no official position on the appointment of Gonzales, Executive Director Anthony Romero called "for a full and thorough Senate confirmation process that scrutinizes Mr. Gonzales' positions on key civil liberties and human rights issues."
Romero said that "particular attention should be devoted to exploring Mr. Gonzales' proposed policies on the constitutionality of the Patriot Act, the Guantánamo Bay detentions, the designation of United States citizens as enemy combatants and reproductive rights" and that he should be queried on the 2002 memo. "His confirmation hearings should also examine in detail Mr. Gonzales’ approval of the now-disavowed Justice Department memoranda that condoned the torture and incommunicado and indefinite detention of detainees captured during the Afghanistan conflict," added Romero.
Gonzales also faces criticism from activists opposed to capital punishment. A 2003 Atlantic Monthly article reported that when Gonzales was Bush’s legal counsel in Texas, he routinely failed to provide the governor with crucial details surrounding clemency petitions. The article, which relies on documents obtained by journalist Alan Berlow through the Texas Public Information Act, details several cases in which Gonzales drafted brief reports for Bush outlining the legal arguments and case histories of people about to be executed.
"A close examination of the Gonzales memoranda suggests that Governor Bush frequently approved executions based on only the most cursory briefings on the issues in dispute," wrote Berlow. "In fact, in these documents Gonzales repeatedly failed to apprise the governor of crucial issues in the cases at hand: ineffective counsel, conflict of interest, mitigating evidence, even actual evidence of innocence."
Most political analysts say they expect the Senate will approve Gonzales as the next Attorney General, but he is likely to face some tough questioning.
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) told the Associated Press that Gonzales’ confirmation hearing "may be the only remaining forum in which to examine more fully the steps that were taken to weaken U.S. policy on torture in the period that led to the prison scandals at Abu Ghraib and Afghanistan."
Some also question Gonzales’ ties to Enron, which is under investigation by the same Justice Department Gonzales will head if confirmed. As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, Gonzales formerly worked for the law firm that represents the energy giant, and he accepted campaign contributions from the company when seeking election to the Texas Supreme Court in 2000.
Gonzales also received $4,000 while serving on the Court from individuals and organizations affiliated with Halliburton, which is currently under FBI scrutiny for allegedly overcharging taxpayers when providing fuel to troops in Iraq. According to Craig McDonald, director of Texans for Public Justice, a nonprofit which tracks the influence of money and corporate power in Texas politics, campaign finance records filed with the Texas Ethics Commission include a $2,000 contribution from the Brown & Root political action committee in 1999. Kellogg Brown & Root is a Halliburton subsidiary. They also show Gonzales received $2,000 from Halliburton’s executive vice president, Lester Coleman, in late 1999 and early 2000.
The Alliance for Justice -- a national association of environmental, civil rights, mental health, women's, children's and consumer advocacy organizations -- also put out a statement on Gonzales’ nomination. "Gonzales provided the Bush administration with the legal architecture to sidestep and ignore the rule of law that, as attorney general, he will be mandated to enforce," said the organization’s president Nan Aron. Aron also criticized Gonzales’ role as White House counsel in "selecting extremist judicial nominees."
"Gonzales has consistently pushed the limits of executive privilege in order to shield the Bush administration from oversight by Congress or scrutiny by the American people," added Aron. "The position of the country's chief law enforcement officer demands an impeccable level of integrity and commitment to the rule of law that Gonzales has not proven to possess."
In spite of all the concerns surrounding Gonzales’ nomination, the nation’s largest Hispanic advocacy organization hailed Bush’s choice. In a statement released by the National Council of La Raza, the group’s executive director, Janet Murguia, said, "We are very encouraged by the Gonzales nomination." Calling the nomination "an historic milestone for the Latino community," Murguia pointed out that, if confirmed, Gonzales will become the first Hispanic to serve as head of one of the four major cabinet posts.
© 2004 The NewStandard. See our reprint policy.
http://newstandardnews.net/content/?action=show_item&itemid=1218
California Energy Commission seeks petroleum industry comments on new reporting requirements
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Dec. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- In 2005, changes will take effect in the requirements for the petroleum industry to report production levels, inventory levels and other data to California under the Petroleum Industry Information Reporting Act (PIIRA).
http://www.mysan.de/international/article16910.html
OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
A Revolutionary Christmas Story
By LYNNE CHENEY
Published: December 21, 2004
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AS 1776 was drawing to a close, Elkanah Watson, a young man in Massachusetts, expressed what many Americans feared about their war for independence. "We looked upon the contest as near its close," he wrote, "and considered ourselves a vanquished people."
There was good reason for pessimism. The British had driven Gen. George Washington and his men out of New York and across New Jersey. In early December, with the British on their heels, the Americans had commandeered every boat they could find to escape across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania. They were starving, sick and cold. The artist Charles Willson Peale, watching the landing from the Pennsylvania shore, described a soldier dressed "in an old dirty blanket jacket, his beard long and his face so full of sores that he could not clean it." So disfigured was the man, Peale wrote, that at first he did not recognize him as his brother James.
In these desperate circumstances, George Washington made a stunning decision: to go back across the Delaware and launch a surprise attack on the Hessian mercenaries occupying Trenton. On Christmas night, he led 2,400 men, many of them with their feet wrapped in rags because they had no shoes, to a crossing point nine miles upstream from Trenton. As freezing temperatures turned rain to sleet and snow, they began to cross the river.
The task was harder than any of them had imagined. Men had to break through ice to get into the boats and then fend off chunks of floating ice once they were in the river. Getting cannons across - each weighed nearly a ton - was especially difficult. Downstream, two other groups that Washington had ordered to cross the Delaware failed in their mission. But Washington and his men persevered, until finally, at 4 o'clock in the morning, they were across and ready to march to Trenton.
They had planned to approach Trenton before dawn, but the difficulty of the crossing had delayed them, and it was daylight when they encountered the first Hessians. Still, the surprise worked, and in two hours, with few losses of their own, they captured nearly 900 of the enemy. "This is a glorious day for our country," Washington declared.
His men were exhausted after the battle, and many of them, their enlistments expired, decided to go home. But many others stayed with Washington as he decided to keep fighting. When he learned that thousands of British and Hessian troops were heading toward Trenton from Princeton, a pretty college town to the north, he deployed his troops along the south side of Assunpink Creek. He also sent a force to the north side of the creek to slow down the advancing enemy. Near evening on Jan. 2, 1777, when these delaying forces had done all they could, they ran for a narrow bridge that crossed the creek - and saw Washington waiting there for them. "I pressed against the shoulder of the general's horse and in contact with the boot of the general," a private remembered years later. "The horse stood as firm as the rider."
Gen. Charles Cornwallis, the British commander, decided he could wait to attack the Americans. "We've got the old fox safe now," he is supposed to have said of Washington. "We'll go over and bag him in the morning." But Washington had other plans. He knew that Cornwallis had brought most of his troops with him, which meant that there would be far fewer of the enemy at Princeton. That night, with men and officers enjoined to silence and cannon wheels muffled with rags, Washington led the main body of his army on a march around Cornwallis's troops toward Princeton. It was dawn before Cornwallis realized they were gone.
The first encounter of the two armies on farmland outside Princeton did not go well for the Americans. Many were killed, and the dazed survivors retreated, but Washington rallied his troops with the bravery for which he was becoming legendary and led them to within 30 yards of the British line. Once the two sides started firing, it seemed impossible that he would survive, but when the smoke cleared, there he was, straight and tall astride his white horse. With a great shout, the Americans began to advance. The British fell back and then ran. "Bring up the troops," Washington called to an aide. "The day is our own."
Twice in 10 days Washington and his ragtag army had defeated the greatest military power in the world, and their victories lifted the spirits of patriots everywhere. True, the years ahead would be hard - Christmas 1777 would find Washington and his men at Valley Forge. But because of the 10-day campaign that began on Christmas 1776, Americans could now think of winning their war for independence. They could imagine that their great struggle would have a glorious end.
Lynne Cheney, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, is the author of "When Washington Crossed the Delaware: A Wintertime Story for Young Patriots."
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/21/opinion/21cheney.html
Bush has produced nearly 1400 Dead American Troops, an insoluable debt while CIA, FBI and USA State Dept. has stated Bush is losing the war.It would appear that the New York Times reflected the flaws in the journalism profession. How convenient.
Perhaps the Profession of Journalism should set up safeguards against their own inadequacies. Evidently, their WILLINGNESS to validate a 'story' through 'several people' of THE SAME SOURCE makes them completely ineffective. Perhaps Ms. Miller should have listened not to the ineffective words of the Bush Insiders but more the UN Inspectors on the Ground already in Iraq. There obviously were no weapons of mass destruction but only a press of mass deception. Propagandists. Meet the Stenographers - The People who Assisted Bush into office and it's terrorism role. Press shirks duty to scrutinize official claims - Sounds like a profession in dire need of a good professional ethics house cleaning. How does propaganda become propaganda? A Press Corp willing to look the other way based on Poor Performing Professional Standards. ...As a New York Times reporter covering the Iraq War, Judith Miller's reporting on WMD was unrivaled in its influence, if not in its accuracy. Her coverage relentlessly played up the Iraq WMD threat ("All of Iraq is one large storage facility" for WMD, she credulously quoted a pseudonymous source—9/8/02), while muting conflicting evidence. Miller explained how she saw her role in a New York Review of Books interview (2/26/04): My job was not to collect information and analyze it independently as an intelligence agency; my job was to tell readers of the New York Times, as best as I could figure out, what people inside the governments who had very high security clearances, who were not supposed to talk to me, were saying to one another about what they thought Iraq had and did not have in the area of weapons of mass destruction. Miller's work was prominently cited in a Times mea culpa on May 26, 2004, in which the paper's editors apologized for a lack of skepticism toward sources hyping a non-existent Iraqi WMD arsenal.
http://www.fair.org/extra/0411/stenographers.html
Bush has produced nearly 1400 Dead American Troops, an insoluable debt while the CIA, FBI and USA State Dept. has stated Bush is losing the war.There is one thing Cheney understand and that is priviledge.
A Revolutionary Christmas Story
The priviledge to live their lives at the expense of others whether it is in the private sector or the public sector. Lynn Cheney has taken an adventure in being a historian. It is a pathetic attempt to begin the indoctrination of Neocons to bring their children up to enjoy the 'heritage' of war rather than peace. The Cheney's came to serve the USA with a $3 million debt in income tax, a lawsuit by the stockholders of Halliburton after Dickey cooked the books and invaded a sovereign nation to relieve them of their liability with Halliburton. She cares little about the price others have to pay in order for she and her spouse to conduct their lives of indulgence into power and money.
NOW.
In order to survive the Cheney Scandal, Halliburton wants to dump KBR. I suggest Lynn and Dick encourage their chronies to 'deed' their found fortune in the Iraqi desert to the Iraqi government as a holiday surprise. Perhaps then the people of Iraq and not the people of Halliburton will have jobs. Then. The troops can come home to leave the Iraqis to find a way to live together rather than oppose each other.
Going for a Halliburton (click here)
Oct 04, 2004 02:00 AM
by David Teather
It must have seemed like a terrific stroke of luck: Dick Cheney, the man who for the past five years had been the CEO of Halliburton, became the vice-president in 2000. The oil services and engineering company was given a direct line to the White House.
But Halliburton's relationship with the Bush administration is beginning to prove more problematic than it is worth. The company admitted that it was considering selling Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), the division carrying out billions of dollars worth of work for the US government in Iraq, in a desperate attempt to get out of the spotlight. It is considering a sale, spin-off or a separate listing for the business on the stock exchange.
But Halliburton's relationship with the Bush administration is beginning to prove more problematic than it is worth. The company admitted that it was considering selling Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), the division carrying out billions of dollars worth of work for the US government in Iraq, in a desperate attempt to get out of the spotlight. It is considering a sale, spin-off or a separate listing for the business on the stock exchange.
Halliburton's business with the federal government has grown considerably since the current administration took office. The business went from being the 22nd biggest military contractor in 2000 to the seventh largest in 2003.
Prior to the invasion of Iraq, without being asked to tender, Halliburton was handed a contract worth up to $ 7 bn to repair the nation's oilfields. It was also given a contract to provide logistical support to US troops, handling everything from food to transport and laundry services. That deal, awarded under an existing long-term contract to provide emergency services, was worth a potential $ 13 bn....
Prior to the invasion of Iraq, without being asked to tender, Halliburton was handed a contract worth up to $ 7 bn to repair the nation's oilfields. It was also given a contract to provide logistical support to US troops, handling everything from food to transport and laundry services. That deal, awarded under an existing long-term contract to provide emergency services, was worth a potential $ 13 bn....
