It wasn't for oil! Honest!

From Juan Cole's Informed Comment

Oil Minister Husain Shahristani announced on Monday that negotiations had broken down for the moment between his ministry and 4 oil majors over their provision of technical assistance to Iraqi oil fields. He had offered them fees, they wanted a share of the petroleum instead. He refused. The oil majors appear to think the petroleum will increase in value, and so is much better than set cash fees. The negotiations will continue.

Hmmm. These would be the same contracts the U.S. State Dept has been helping Iraq's Oil Ministry negotiate. BUT: this was and is NOT a War for Oil!

Have a nice day.

Why am I not surprised? Our shame, continued.

Bush's top general quashed torture dissent
New evidence shows that despite warnings from across the military, former Gen. Richard Myers shut down legal scrutiny of brutal interrogation tactics.
By Mark Benjamin
Salon.com
June 30, 2008 | WASHINGTON -- The former Air Force general and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Richard Myers, helped quash dissent from across the U.S. military as the Bush administration first set up a brutal interrogation regime for terrorism suspects, according to newly public documents and testimony from an ongoing Senate probe.

In late 2002, documents show, officials from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps all complained that harsh interrogation tactics under consideration for use at the prison in Guantánamo Bay might be against the law. Those military officials called for further legal scrutiny of the tactics.
...
Myers, however, agreed to scuttle a plan for further legal review of the tactics, in response to pressure from a top Pentagon attorney helping to set up the interrogation program for then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

Scuttling an inquiry into the legality of proposed interrogation techniques strikes me as a policy of willful ignorance. Willful ignorance does not provide a defense.

Why would a Joint Chiefs Chair pursue such a policy? The willingness to submit to "pressure" seems to me gross negligence. How'd this guy get 4 stars?

How have we found ourselves in this situation? Willing to torture. Unwilling to challenge torture.

Stop the madness.

Some fun "worsts" (well, "fun" may not be the right word)

CORRECT: U.S. stocks plunge; worst June for Dow since 1930
MarketWatch
Thursday June 26, 6:57 pm ET
By Kate Gibson

Stocks end difficult first half with quiet session
By TIM PARADIS and JOE BEL BRUNO, AP Business Writers
Mon Jun 30, 2008
NEW YORK - ... This was the worst first half for the Dow Jones industrials since 1970, when the country fell into recession. The more diverse Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq composite indexes had their worst first half since 2002, when Wall Street was still suffering through the aftermath of the dot-com bust, the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and a recession.
...
Light, sweet crude, which began the year at $96 a barrel, fell 21 cents Monday to settle at $140.00 on the New York Mercantile Exchange while retail gasoline set a new national average of $4.086 a gallon, according to a survey of stations by AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express.

Note: Oil declined to $140/bbl!!!

Detroit car sales set to be ‘worst since 1990s’
By John Reed in London
Published: June 30 2008
FT.com

I have to live in this economy with everyone else, and do own stock. I'm not all that tickled with this news!... BUT: it may be time to dust off Carville's, "It's the economy, stupid!"... as a nice bit of icing on an already rich cake.

[A new contest: "How can/will the Dems shoot themselves?"]

Have a nice day.

No comment

US, NATO deaths in Afghanistan pass Iraq toll

Personal pointless post

I now have a brand new Dell computer.
In the best of all possible worlds I'll keep this one virus-free.

Meanwhile... well, not much.
The Sox beat the Cubs. Sigh.

Don't tell Mom!

Needed: more and better Democrats!

Congress passes Iraq war spending bill
By CHARLES BABINGTON, Associated Press Writer
26 June 2008
WASHINGTON - The Senate passed a $162 billion war spending plan Thursday, sending to President Bush legislation that will pay for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan until the next president takes office.

$162,000,000,000!!!

Say it slowly.

One-hundred and sixty-two BILLION dollars.

We can't afford universal health care, or even S-CHIP.
Our bridges are falling down.
Our farmlands are under water.
BUT - we CAN afford $162,000,000,000 for another year in Iraq!

I can't tell you how tired I am of "Dems Cave to W" headlines!

More and BETTER Democrats needed.

Remember Jean Schmidt? She's the OH-2 Representative who insulted John Murtha on the House floor. Anyway... she's being opposed by Dem Victoria Wulsin. In recent polls, OH-2 is found to be majority DEM for the first time ever. If you're so inclined, you can give Wulsin $$$. Here's her ActBlue page. [To learn more about Victoria, visit her campaign webpage.]

While you're at it: Martin Heinrich is the Dem candidate in NM-1. The district has been Republican since its creation in 1968. This year it is an open seat, with Martin Heinrich the Democratic candidate for Heather Wilson's old seat. If you're so inclined, visit Martin's ActBlue fundraising page. [To learn more about Martin, visit his campaign webpage.]

More and better Democrats now, today!

Stop the madness!

The few, the proud... the chickenhawks

Cheney aide Addington says he didn't write memos
By LIBBY QUAID, Associated Press Writer
26 June 2008
WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney's top adviser on Thursday refused to claim any responsibility for the adoption of harsh interrogation methods following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks during a combative exchange with congressional Democrats.

Hmmm... now that it looks like there might NOT be a "permanent Republican majority", seems W's minions want to flee.

If I were Addington, I'd avoid the EU for next few years. Some diligent French policeman might just take him into custody for War Crimes. (Note: The U.S. has asserted the more sweeping right to kidnap British citizens in the pursuit of its "War on Terror".)

There are very few almost universally applicable "guides to moral behavior".
Among them:

"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."
[Matthew 7:12]

"If you'd be ashamed to have your Mom know what you're doing, don't do it."
(paraphrase of poorly remembered quotation)

I suppose I could add something along the lines of,

"If you'll want to deny it tomorrow, don't do it today."

It's really pretty simple.

See Addington.
See Addington run.
Run, Addington, run!

Stop the madness!