Probably should have gone to the open thread:
This is urgent, kids. Work is being done in Congress to restore Habeas rights. It looks like some cajolling may be needed for Freshman members of Congress. If you consider this right important, please consider sending an email to -or calling an office of- the members of the committee and those in Congress who need your support (scroll down for emails).
To the story at hand: We replace Iraqs parliament in June. We will have the oil theft law passed in September. Viola! The republi-cons have their September success story.
Posted by phidipides at May 9, 2007 08:30 AMAs Rice said earlier - Bush ain't leaving Iraq. The push now is to get the Oil Revenue stream in line to the point that even if Maliki is dumped, Big Oil will still have some quasi-legal right to Iraqi oil we won fair and square on the battlefied. It really doesn't matter which faction takes power in Iraq (or the US) - all of them want the Oil Money and therefore only need some semblance of a deal to work with. The rub, of course, is that each faction wants the most of it for themselves. I'm sure the Master Diplomat Dick Cheney will succeed in hammering out a deal between the centuries old adversaries that will allow Bush to keep the Oil, and our now-
permanent military bases required to guard the pipeline forever.
p-dip, I put it in the open thread already! Beat you to it once again! Mwahahaha
Posted by iamcoyote at May 9, 2007 08:45 AMDick Cheney is such a pussy! Did anyone else see him disembark from the plane with a protective vest on?
What's the matter Dick, I thought you said we would be greeted as liberators?
Right, liberators of all the Iraqi's natural resources!
OT, Matt Stoller at MYDD has the latest attempt by congress for the "restoration of habeas corpus". Let's man the phones and let our voices be heard folks!
Posted by Seven of Six at May 8, 2007 07:20 PM
_______________________________________________
Ha! I beat you both! I posted it last night!
Mwahahaha!
Nothing motivates Cheney more than oil.
Well, maybe battered and fried onion rings, but oil is among the top three things that gets him off his fat ass.
Posted by Christopher at May 9, 2007 08:56 AMDon't forget "Hunting" Christopher.
Posted by Seven of Six at May 9, 2007 09:04 AMPssbly th l lw s mprtnt t th pwr lt t hld s lvrg vr whvr rplcs Mlk. Whn Vchy rq spprts l crp hgmny, Mlk's ftr bcms vn mr tns n trms f S spprt; fr, n th mnds f th pwr lt, t wn't mttr wht rb hlds pwr, n gnrl, s thy wld hv th lgl pprwrk t crrct th Vchy gvrnmnt by whtvr mns. T th pwr lt, s lng s cmmnsts (dfnd nrrwly, tsd f th Blshvk/n-Nz gnds f S plcs) r n th rn, thy rlly dn't cr wh s n chrg, s whvr s n chrg ws bght by th crp bys. nd slm, n gnrl, dn't lk cmmnsts r sclst gnds, plyng rght nt th hnds f S plcs.
[Editor: ignore=off]The air travel is good for Cheney's blood clots.
Posted by ann at May 9, 2007 09:09 AMFrom Alternet via Think Progress: "On Tuesday, without note in the U.S. media, more than half of the members of Iraq’s parliament rejected the continuing occupation of their country. 144 lawmakers signed onto a legislative petition calling on the United States to set a timetable for withdrawal, according to Nassar Al-Rubaie, a spokesman for the Al Sadr movement, the nationalist Shia group that sponsored the petition."
Posted by nlacey at May 9, 2007 09:15 AMDon't forget "Hunting" Christopher.
LMAO! True Seven!
Cheney's favs:
1. battered and fried onion rings
2. oil
3. hunting
I can't believe there's 500 more days remaining on the clock for these thugs.
Posted by Christopher at May 9, 2007 09:18 AMOh scout, your so smart, humble and precise!
When will you show your true self?
We are all waiting for God to come back!
SoS, ya booger! Hey, can I help it if I go to sleep at normal hours? And getting the word out is the main goal, right?
Posted by iamcoyote at May 9, 2007 09:25 AM7, hy, s tht yr grlfrnd, th jckl, s bck. gss y r ll pwrd p?
ls, thnk mght hv tld y, bt Mchl Mr pblshd th scrpt fr th 9/11 flm, whch 'm gng thrgh nw. rchd th pnt whr h pntd t wht y crrctly sttd bt th r Vchy ldrs n fghn bng ncl mplys. gss nvr sw th flm, s th mtrl pprs nw. Thnks gn fr th tp. f ntrstd, chck yr lbrry, s tht s whr ths cm frm.
[Editor: ignore=off]scout, I urge you to seek medical attention immediately. Other than that, thanks.
Posted by Seven of Six at May 9, 2007 09:33 AM7, wll, y'll hv t lct psychlgst tht wrks tsd th Blshvk/Nz prdgm, whch my b nxt t mpssbl. Bt f y fnd n, pls g, nd h'll tll y wht y dn't wnt t hr. :)
[Editor: ignore=off]Here's the quote of the day: "From our perspective, looking back, as I say, to a year and a half ago, I think it's remarkable progress. I think we've turned the corner, if you will." That would be our vice president in Iraq today, giving our GI's the Real Truth of the Iraqi War. I wonder if any of our Media outlets will share that tidbit with the nation?
Posted by T2 at May 9, 2007 10:14 AMT2, of course they've made progress getting oil and money out of Iraq. I wonder if they've finally put meters on the spigots yet? See, our idea of progress and Cheney's are two different things.
Posted by iamcoyote at May 9, 2007 10:34 AMWe've turned so many corners, Deadeye, that we're back at square one!
Half the Iraqi parliament supports a withdrawal timetable and it's literally unremarked by the "press". Your lib'rul media!
Posted by euzoius at May 9, 2007 11:27 AMSteve,
Thanks for a very useful summation of recent events and the links to related stories.
Now that Total Dick has applied his prodigious strategic intellect, endearing persuasive powers and proven managerial abilities to his hopelessly failed colonial expedition and foundering quisling puppets in service of his corporate oil and weapons patrons, look for three directly related consequences:
a. a dramatic spike in carnage, instability, misery and the precarious situation of our soldiers in the disastrous Iraq war of occupation,
b. a pronounced increase in the military and political dominance of Iran, Syria and their allies concurrent with an inversely proportional change in America's and its allies', and
c. a Washington Post op-ed, steeped in deceit and sophistry, by one, two or perhaps all three of the filthy, greedy and malicious Cheney harpies waving a bloody shirt and proclaiming civilization's imminent triumph in Iraq.
Shooter can scream and yell all he wants -- the oil law ain't gonna happen. Read Juan Cole for the details, but the gist is the Iraqis are wise to Shooter and his pals. The Sadrists, the Sunnis, the huge oilworkers union and the average Iraqi all vehemently oppose the oil law because of course it legalizes the theft by the oil companies of their primary resource and everybody knows it. It's not like the good old Nixon days, Dick. Then you could loot countries with impunity because nobody knew what you were up to. But the "information superhighway" has changed all that -- and you're pretty much screwed, Shooter.
Posted by dalloway at May 9, 2007 02:53 PMp-dip, I put it in the open thread already! Beat you to it once again! Mwahahaha
Ha! I beat you both! I posted it last night!
Mwahahaha!
I posted mine late in the 19th centry after dining with Emil Zola. I have the Time-O-Matic time machine from RONCO! Mwahahaha!
I only hope lots of people respond.
Posted by phidipides at May 9, 2007 06:24 PMI posted mine late in the 19th centry
Rats! Foiled again. I rescind my "mwa" and also my "hahaha" to your obvious win. Well played, sir.
Posted by iamcoyote at May 9, 2007 07:33 PMRats! Foiled again.
I have been im-pug-n'd. Only a duel will satisfice to restore my honor!
Or...please, beyond cotote and me, contact Congress if this important to you.
There is one question everyone fails to ask:
Once U.S. military forces, and all other foreign coalition forces, are withdrawn from Iraq, who will enforce "the production sharing agreements in the draft Iraq Oil Law"?
Namely, who will enforce the desire of the Western oil companies to control a large part of Iraqi oil revenues over the next several decades?
Private "for-hire" security personnel, non-Iraqi foreigners provided by Western security firms, personnel hired to police Iraqi oil installations for the next several decades, to secure Iraqi oil profits for Western oil companies?
Cheney the other day visited Baghdad to pressure prominent Iraqis, like al-Maliki, into passing the Bush/Cheney-backed Iraqi Oil Law. This is the only
"benchmark" that matters to Bush and Cheney.
Thus, this is the only "benchmark" that Democrats might be able to use to put pressure on Bush and Cheney to get our troops out of Iraq. Why?
Because a majority of Iraqis reportedly want all foreigners, including U.S. troops, out of their country.
Thus, Democrats need to tie these two "benchmarks" together and send a funding bill to the White House stating that once the Iraqi Oil Bill becomes law in Iraq that our troops have to be withdrawn from Iraq within six months.
I bet that after (and only if) Bush signs this Democratic bill, the Iraqi legislature will pass the Iraqi Oil Law, especially if a foreign troop withdrawal date is included.
Otherwise, Bush and Cheney NOT signing this Democratic funding bill will speak volumes.
Even with the dramatic increase in the chance they'll get their much-desired blood-stained Iraqi Oil Law passed, they want our troops to remain in Iraq even more.
Which once again raises the question: who do Bush, Cheney and the Western oil company CEOs plan on having in Iraq to enforce the Iraqi Oil Law and secure their planned decade-long profits?
Because once our troops leave (if ever), then the Iraqis (even after an Oil Law has passed) may decide to cancel the Bush/Cheney-backed terms of the earlier Oil Law and instead contract with whomever they choose.
If Democrats, though, link the Oil Law passage to our troops withdrawing, then Bush and Cheney will have to explain what their real plans are for Iraq...and our troops caught in the middle over there.
Posted by The Oracle at May 10, 2007 12:58 AM