Chevron, Total seek oil deal in Iraq
12 Apr 2008
Oil giants Chevron Corp. and Total have confirmed that they are in discussions with the Iraqi Oil Ministry to increase production in an important oil field in southern Iraq. The discussions are aimed at finalizing a two-year deal, or technical support agreement, to boost production at the West Qurna Stage 1 oil field near Iraq’s second-largest city of Basra.
At:
http://tinyurl.com/6gxbo7 (news.yahoo.com)
From: CLG News
==========
Global crisis grows as food prices soar –What’s considered largely an irritation in the U.S. threatens social upheaval in dozens of poor nations unable to cope.
12 Apr 2008
Worldwide, food prices have soared 45 percent over the past year as surging oil prices make growing and transporting food more expensive and as economic growth in emerging giants such as China and India corpora-terrorists’ greed leads to rising demand for food, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization.
At:
http://tinyurl.com/5ut6n3 (www.chicagotribune.com)
From: CLG News
==========
Iraq Oil Report – ‘The Iraq oil circus comes to Washington’
This week the circus came to town. Not Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, but Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, and with it the three rings of a five-plus year war and occupation, politicians in their populist best pitches and the media echo of what’s going on with Iraq’s oil revenue.
Petraeus, the commander [...]
You may view the latest post at
http://tinyurl.com/6pukfx (iraqoilreport.com)
Iraq Oil Report has posted a new item, ‘Iraqi Kurd MP pans Iraq oil law’
Plus:
*BP exec says service contract a few months away
*Black Gold: War News Radio’s five-part series on Iraq’s oil struggles
*Sterling banks on Kurdistan, sells U.S. assets
*Attacks take out northern Iraq power
*Iraq-AmChamIraq plan energy conference
An Iraqi parliamentarian representing Iraq’s Kurds says his party will not approve a draft oil law that has been altered from the February [...]
You may view the latest post at
http://tinyurl.com/6g74p6 (iraqoilreport.com)
==========
U.S. ATTEMPT TO CONTROL IRAQ’S OIL AND ECONOMY CONTINUES BEHIND THE SCENES
By Maya Schenwar, TruthOut.org
The coming months may be crucial in determining what kind of “friends” the US and Iraq are going to be over the long haul.
http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/81573/
==========
Why Are Global Food Prices Soaring?Energy costs, investment in … and more
Slate – USA
In 2006, 14 percent of the total corn crop in the United States was converted into ethanol; by 2010, that figure will rise to 30 percent.
…
http://www.slate.com/id/2187882/
Time for Second Thoughts on the Ethanol Mandate
Heritage.org – Washington,DC,USA
by Ben Lieberman
America’s energy policy has been on an ethanol binge, and now the hangover has begun. The federal renewable fuels mandate is an unfolding …
http://www.heritage.org/Research/EnergyandEnvironment/wm1879.cfm
U of M: Worldwide leader in ethanol debunking
Minneapolis City Pages – Minneapolis,MN,USA
Several studies at the University of Minnesota are cited to show the impact of widespread Ethanol demand. A study by University of Minnesota ecologist David …
http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2008/04/u_of_m_worldwid.php
End the Ethanol Scam
Liberty Maven – Reston,VA,USA
The latest from DownsizeDC.org urges us to tell congress to stop wasting our tax dollars on the devastating scam of ethanol production. …
http://www.libertymaven.com/2008/04/07/end-the-ethanol-scam/1016/
Ethanol, Oil and Corn
By Richard K. Perrin
When will ethanol plants stop being built? Ethanol plants under construction in Nebraska will have the capacity to grind over 40 percent of the Nebraska corn crop by the end of 2007, and nearly 60 percent by the end of 2008. …
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/agecon_cornhusker/304
Ethanol’s lie
Tribune Review – Pittsburgh,PA,USA
From Time magazine to the Internet blogosphere, critical analysis is revealing ethanol not only as a useless fuel alternative but also as an environmental …
http://tinyurl.com/4re9nj (www.pittsburghlive.com)
==========
For all the coverage this week of Senator John McCain’s background, there are some important things you won’t learn about him from the TV networks. His carefully crafted positive image relies on people not knowing this stuff—and you might be surprised by some of it.
Please check out the list below, and then forward it to your friends, family, and coworkers. We can’t rely on the media to tell folks about the real John McCain—but if we all pass this along, we can reach as many people as CNN Headline News does on a good night.
Click here to tell us how many people you can pass it on to—and to see our progress nationally:
http://pol.moveon.org/mccain10/?id=12407-5514896-G2j05i&t=231
10 things you should know about John McCain (but probably don’t):
1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has “evolved,” yet he’s continued to oppose key civil rights laws. 1
2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain “will make Cheney look like Gandhi.” 2
3. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban. 3
4. McCain opposes a woman’s right to choose. He said, “I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned.” 4
5. The Children’s Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children’s health care bill last year, then defended Bush’s veto of the bill. 5
6. He’s one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a “second job” and skip their vacations. 6
7. Many of McCain’s fellow Republican senators say he’s too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: “The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He’s erratic. He’s hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me.” 7
8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates. 8
9. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his “spiritual guide,” Rod Parsley, believes America’s founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a “false religion.” McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God’s punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church “the Antichrist” and a “false cult.” 9
10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a 0—yes, zero—from the League of Conservation Voters last year. 10
John McCain is not who the Washington press corps make him out to be. Please help get the word out—forward this email to your personal network. And if you want us to keep you posted on MoveOn’s work to get the truth out about John McCain, sign up here:
http://pol.moveon.org/mccaintruth/?id=12407-5514896-G2j05i&t=232
Thank you for all you do.
–Eli, Justin, Noah, Laura, and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team
Saturday, April 5th, 2008
Sources:
1. “The Complicated History of John McCain and MLK Day,” ABC News, April 3, 2008
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/04/the-complicated.html
“McCain Facts,” ColorOfChange.org, April 4, 2008
http://colorofchange.org/mccain_facts/
2. “McCain More Hawkish Than Bush on Russia, China, Iraq,” Bloomberg News, March 12, 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aF28rSCtk0ZM&refer=us
“Buchanan: John McCain ‘Will Make Cheney Look Like Gandhi,’” ThinkProgress, February 6, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/06/buchanan-gandhi-mccain/
3. “McCain Sides With Bush On Torture Again, Supports Veto Of Anti-Waterboarding Bill,” ThinkProgress, February 20, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/20/mccain-torture-veto/
4. “McCain says Roe v. Wade should be overturned,” MSNBC, February 18, 2007
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17222147/
5. “2007 Children’s Defense Fund Action Council® Nonpartisan Congressional Scorecard,” February 2008
http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/PageServer?pagename=act_learn_scorecard2007
“McCain: Bush right to veto kids health insurance expansion,” CNN, October 3, 2007
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/03/mccain.interview/
6. “Beer Executive Could Be Next First Lady,” Associated Press, April 3, 2008
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h-S1sWHm0tchtdMP5LcLywg5ZtMgD8VQ86M80
“McCain Says Bank Bailout Should End `Systemic Risk,’” Bloomberg News, March 25, 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aHMiDVYaXZFM&refer=home
7. “Will McCain’s Temper Be a Liability?,” Associated Press, February 16, 2008
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=4301022
“Famed McCain temper is tamed,” Boston Globe, January 27, 2008
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/01/27/famed_mccain_temper_is_tamed/
8. “Black Claims McCain’s Campaign Is Above Lobbyist Influence: ‘I Don’t Know What The Criticism Is,’” ThinkProgress, April 2, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/02/mccain-black-lobbyist/
“McCain’s Lobbyist Friends Rally ‘Round Their Man,” ABC News, January 29, 2008
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4210251
9. “McCain’s Spiritual Guide: Destroy Islam,” Mother Jones Magazine, March 12, 2008
http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2008/03/john-mccain-rod-parsley-spiritual-guide.html
“Will McCain Specifically ‘Repudiate’ Hagee’s Anti-Gay Comments?,” ThinkProgress, March 12, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/12/mccain-hagee-anti-gay/
“McCain ‘Very Honored’ By Support Of Pastor Preaching ‘End-Time Confrontation With Iran,’” ThinkProgress, February 28, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/28/hagee-mccain-endorsement/
10. “John McCain Gets a Zero Rating for His Environmental Record,” Sierra Club, February 28, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/environment/77913/
Support our member-driven organization: MoveOn.org Political Action is entirely funded by our 3.2 million members. We have no corporate contributors, no foundation grants, no money from unions. Our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. If you’d like to support our work, you can give now at:
http://political.moveon.org/donate/email.html?id=12407-5514896-G2j05i&t=241
PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
==========
Bloomberg report on public funding in general election ignored McCain’s possible campaign finance violation
A Bloomberg article noted that Sen. John McCain “has pledged to take public financing [for the general election presidential campaign] if the Democrat does. His campaign noted that [Sen. Barack] Obama ‘promised the American people’ he would take public financing,” then quoted a McCain adviser as saying, “Senator McCain isn’t in the habit of breaking his word, and he hopes Senator Obama doesn’t either.” The article did not report that McCain could be breaking federal law for failing to abide by restrictions placed on candidates participating in the public financing system during their party’s primary season.
Read More
http://mediamatters.org/items/200804110005?lid=230258&rid=6702179
==========
WHY AMERICANS ARE BITTER
By Mary Pitt
Bush keeps telling us that our economy is going through a “rough patch” and we should suck it up while jobs continue to go off-shore, homes are being foreclosed, and children and elderly are dying needlessly for lack of medical care. Those who still have jobs are paying double for gasoline to get to work and retail prices are reaching for the sky because of the increased cost of getting merchandise from the factory.
…
Complete article at:
http://tinyurl.com/6e9szl (www.opednews.com)
==========
Borowitz Report – Hunting Contest Shocker
Cheney Challenges Hillary to Hunting Contest
‘Meet Me in the Woods,’ Says Veep
One day after Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton professed an abiding affection for guns and hunting, her love of firearms came under attack from another sometime hunter in Washington.
Appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Vice President Dick Cheney said that a hunting contest between him and the New York senator was “the only way” to determine whether Sen. Clinton’s tales of her gun prowess were for real.
“To be frank, Hillary Clinton’s stories about her adventures with guns don’t exactly pass the smell test,” the vice president told host Tim Russert. “If she really wants to show that she knows how to handle a rifle, there’s an easy way to do that: meet me in the woods.”
While some in the Clinton campaign expressed concern about their candidate accepting Mr. Cheney’s challenge, the idea of a hunting contest got the ringing endorsement of one member of her inner circle, former president Bill Clinton.
“Dick Cheney and Hillary in the woods with guns?” President Clinton said at a campaign stop in Pittsburgh. “Boy, I like the sound of that.”
But shortly after the vice president issued his challenge, Sen. Clinton seemed to back off from her earlier claims of hunting experience, saying that she had “misspoke” about her hunting exploits as a child.
“I fired a gun once, but I didn’t like it, and I didn’t recoil,” she said.
Andy’s Only West Coast Appearance – April 24
Andy makes his only scheduled West Coast appearance Thursday, April 24 at University of California, Santa Barbara. 8 PM at Campbell Hall. Tickets available at https://artsandlectures.sa.ucsb.eduAndy with Calvin Trillin, Susie Essman and Jonathan Alter – May 13
Andy hosts “Countdown to ‘08″ on Tuesday, May 13 at 8 PM at the 92nd St. Y with his special guests Calvin Trillin (bestselling author, The New Yorker), Susie Essman (HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Jonathan Alter (Newsweek, MSNBC). The Y is located at 92nd St. and Lexington Avenue. For tickets, go to www.92y.org .Andy at Mark Twain’s House – May 28
Spend “An Evening With Andy Borowitz” at the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, Connecticut on Wednesday, May 28. Event begins at 6 PM. For tickets and information call Janet Youmans at 860-280-3113 or email Janet.youmans@marktwainhouse.org
http://www.borowitzreport.com/
==========
three thousand words
Tom Toles: today class …
http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/uc/20080411/ltt080411.gif
Steve Kelley: … we can’t. the house is in foreclosure
http://img.slate.com/media/94/080411_ed.gif
Mike Luckovich: Someday you’ll thank us
