Cheney: Russia used oil to intimidate, blackmail - ""No legitimate interest is served when oil and gas become tools of intimidation or blackmail, either by supply manipulation or attempts to monopolize transportation," Cheney said. "And no one can justify actions that undermine the territorial integrity of a neighbor, or interfere with democratic movements.""
Torture "widespread" under U.S. custody: Amnesty - "Torture and inhumane treatment are "widespread" in U.S.-run detention centers in Afghanistan, Iraq, Cuba and elsewhere despite Washington's denials, Amnesty International said on Wednesday."
Colbert Reaction Shows Media Are Frightened Of Bush - "Subsequent reports on the dinner almost completely omitted Colbert's 30 minute speech, focusing instead on the 5 minute tedious two Bushes act, despite the fact that Colbert's performance was one of the most biting and revelatory satirical masterpieces in years, and Colbert had the guts to pull it all off right in front of Bush's face, an action described as "Ballsalicious" by Colbert's cohort John Stewart."
Ron Paul: What Congress Can Do About Soaring Gas Prices - "$100 rebate checks to American motorists won’t cut it, nor will mandatory mileage requirements for new vehicles. Taxing oil profits will only force prices higher. But there are some very important things we can do immediately to help."
Easy Way Out - "But seriously, folks, has Congress become something of a joke? Are these toothless lawmakers no longer capable of passing anything with bite? ... So the House cooks up some thin gruel just to show that it's doing something. (Not that there's much the Hill can do to get prices down in the short term, but everyone has to maintain the fiction that government can fix this problem, preferably by November.)"
High Prices Caused by Iraq War - "When in doubt, ask the experts. Red Cavaney, president of the industry trade group American Petroleum Institute--not left-leaning types--puts the blame squarely on the invasion of Iraq, where unrest and violence has reduced production to less than they were under Saddam in the world's second-largest supplier. Traders of oil futures fix the price per barrel based on their expectations of political stability, especially in the world's largest oil-producing nations. And they don't like what they see in Iraq. "As soon as you can stabilize the civil situation," says Cavaney, "[Iraq will] significantly be able to ramp up production. But it would take years.""
On the Verge of Collapse - "The British and the Americans are guarding Iraq's Persian Gulf oil platforms -- the troubled country's only real sources of revenue -- like crown jewels. But Iraqi oil is flowing sluggishly at best, while hoped-for investments haven't materialized and the Iraqi oil industry is on the verge of collapse -- both technical and political."
In the chaos of Iraq, one project is on target: a giant US embassy - "THE question puzzles and enrages a city: how is it that the Americans cannot keep the electricity running in Baghdad for more than a couple of hours a day, yet still manage to build themselves the biggest embassy on Earth? Irritation grows as residents deprived of air-conditioning and running water three years after the US-led invasion watch the massive US Embassy they call “George W’s palace” rising from the banks of the Tigris."
Cheney has no regrets over Iraq invasion - "Mr Cheney's refusal to admit to doubts about going to war highlights his isolation from an administration which has demonstrated a degree of candour about Iraq, as well as the rest of the country where only 37% approve of the White House's handling of the conflict. Mr Cheney has even less support; his approval ratings have dipped below 20%. But in an interview to appear in June's Vanity Fair magazine, he remained a picture of certitude."
Democracy Versus Freedom - "Throughout the world, democracy is as often a cover for tyranny as it is a protection for liberty. Many countries call themselves “democracies” and have regular elections, yet systematically oppress their own people. For example, Stalinist North Korea calls itself “the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” and communist China calls itself the “People’s Republic of China.” Like the old Soviet Union, they have regular elections, elected legislatures, and even some choice of candidates. However, it’s all a fraud. Voting is mandatory. The only party allowed to run candidates is the Communist Party. Legislatures rubber-stamp the decrees of party bosses. And anyone who objects strongly or tries to set up another party ends up dead or in a slave labor camp." -- Similar in the U.S. where 3rd party candidates are deemed not capable of being president.
Judge Doubts Moussaoui's Claims About 9/11 - "The judge presiding over Zacarias Moussaoui's sentencing told trial lawyers that she doesn't believe Moussaoui's claims on the witness stand that he knew advance details of the Sept. 11 plot."
Israel Marks Independence Day with $1.7 Billion Budget Surplus - "From January 1 to the end of April, the government took in NIS 7.7 billion ($1.7 billion) more than it spent."
The country that wouldn't grow up - "Something is changing in the United States. To be sure, it was only a few short years ago that prime minister Sharon's advisers could gleefully celebrate their success in dictating to U.S. President George W. Bush the terms of a public statement approving Israel's illegal settlements. No U.S. Congressman has yet proposed reducing or rescinding the $3 billion in aid Israel receives annually - 20 percent of the total U.S. foreign aid budget - which has helped sustain the Israeli defense budget and the cost of settlement construction in the West Bank. And Israel and the United States appear increasingly bound together in a symbiotic embrace whereby the actions of each party exacerbate their common unpopularity abroad - and thus their ever-closer association in the eyes of critics. But whereas Israel has no choice but to look to America - it has no other friends, at best only the conditional affection of the enemies of its enemies, such as India - the United States is a great power; and great powers have interests that sooner or later transcend the local obsessions of even the closest of their client states and satellites."
How Kent State Could Happen Again - "It was 36 years ago today that Miller, Allison Krause, Sandra Scheuer and William Schroeder, were massacred by Army National Guardsmen at a Vietnam war protest on the Kent State campus. It was a watershed event that touched off a nationwide student strike that forced hundreds of colleges and universities to close and signaled the zenith of American opposition to that war. ... The shootings chilled the nation, galvanized a generation and left millions asking how something like that could have happened in America. Could the same thing happen in our country today? Without a shadow of a doubt. Indeed, I would argue that only one thing keeps the same kind of event from happening many times over in George W. Bush's America -- the absence of a military draft."
Universal Admits Defeat, Removes Flight 93 Forum - "The website had been turned into a battle ground for countering the Flight 93 government apologist propaganda being regurgitated in an impetuous lunge to give credibility to a tale about as reality-based as Humpty Dumpty."
Bush Makes Case for Extending Tax Cuts - "President Bush on Wednesday appealed for quick passage of $70 billion in tax cuts, saying lower taxes on dividends and profits from investment selloffs have helped revive the economy. In addition to extending those cuts by two years, the proposal would keep 15 million taxpayers from getting hit this year with a tax aimed at the wealthy."
FCC approves Net-wiretapping taxes - "Broadband providers and Internet phone companies will have to pick up the tab for the cost of building in mandatory wiretap access for police surveillance, federal regulators ruled Wednesday. The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously to levy what likely will amount to wiretapping taxes on companies, municipalities and universities, saying it would create an incentive for them to keep costs down and that it was necessary to fight the war on terror. Universities have estimated their cost to be about $7 billion."
Telecoms' Secret Plan to Wire Yellowstone Park - "Yellowstone National Park will soon be blanketed with coverage from cell phone towers, wireless internet service, and two-way radio, as well as television and AM/FM radio signals under a plan being written behind closed doors by the telecommunications industry and park officials, according to agency records released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)."
More Professors Ban Laptops in Class - "As the professor lectured on the law, the student wore a poker face. But that was probably because, under the guise of taking notes on his laptop, the student actually was playing poker — online, using the school's wireless Internet connection. The scenario is not uncommon in today's college classrooms, and some instructors want it stopped. So they have done the unthinkable — banned laptops."
Roast veggies 'as bad for teeth as fizzy drinks' - "You may think roasted vegetables are a healthy side-dish but they are actually as acidic as fizzy drinks, scientists have revealed."
Quote of the Day
"If the people knew what we had done, they would chase us down the street and lynch us."
~ George H.W. Bush
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