Tonight (21/10/07) between the Bingo, Kath and Kim on Channel Seven, the Neanderthals on SBS and Idol on Channel Ten, John Howard looked like a spent vacuum. On the other side, Kevin Rudd looked like a statesman... The worm on Channel Nine seemed to reflect my personnal observation. But let's not be complacent about John Howard's way to turn things around by whatever means, from porkies to opportunistic interpretations of events.

John Howard's gotta go-go-go...

Even before consulting the verdict, it seemed that John Howard was wormed tonight...

John Howard's gotta go-go-go...

But Glenn Milne from the National Press Club says Channel Nine knew the conditions set before the broadcast began.

"I can understand Nine being upset about that," he said.

"I can understand it being considered an infringement of their broadcast rights, and you could even take it further and say it's an infringement of free speech and journalistic reporting.

"But if Nine felt seriously about this issue, they should have walked away from the negotiations and the debate at the point at which the Liberal Party insisted the worm not be used."

Channel Nine director of News and Current Affairs, John Westacott, says no deal existed between the network and the Australian Press Club to not use 'the worm'.

Mr Westacott says the station had always intended to use the worm.

"We didn't agree with any conditions that were laid down by the Press Club, including charging us for the event," he said.

----------------

Gus: John Hartigan in his Andrew Olle address referred once again to the freedom of the press being curtailed by governments... Referring to Phillip Ruddoch's assertion that the press got all the information it needs to know, John Hartigan said Ruddock must be kidding... (Mind you John Hartigan in is support of angel Rupert was very sweet and so dedicated indeed...)

Anyway, for the punch-up kid Milne to support the government on the wormgate affair is ludicrous and shows his true colours.

The worn has eaten away at some sensitivites....

Meanwhile:

-------------

PM's Iraq review an election stunt, says Labor

Prime Minister John Howard's promise to review the role of Australian troops in Iraq has been labelled as pre-election posturing by Labor.

In last night's leaders' debate Mr Howard said a review by military commanders will start in two days, with an outcome expected in June next year.

Labor's defence spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon says the timing aligns with Labor's proposed troop withdrawal.

"I have no doubt that John Howard has become increasingly concerned about public attitude and public opposition to our ongoing committment in Iraq," he said.

"It's interesting that the timing of his new initiative coincides with Labor's committment to bring our combat troops home."

-------------------

Yes... If anyone out there believe John Howard on this curly furphy, they must be under the age of consent or still believe in Santa Claus...

John Howard has gotta go-go-go...

(see cartoon at the head of this line of blogs...) 

Steep decline in oil production brings risk of war and unrest, says new study

· Output peaked in 2006 and will fall 7% a year
· Decline in gas, coal and uranium also predicted

Ashley Seager
Monday October 22, 2007
The Guardian

World oil production has already peaked and will fall by half as soon as 2030, according to a report which also warns that extreme shortages of fossil fuels will lead to wars and social breakdown.

The German-based Energy Watch Group will release its study in London today saying that global oil production peaked in 2006 - much earlier than most experts had expected. The report, which predicts that production will now fall by 7% a year, comes after oil prices set new records almost every day last week, on Friday hitting more than $90 (£44) a barrel.

--------------------

Gus: Steep decline in oil production brings risk of war and unrest? Nothing new here... The US has already started the process and gone to war in Iraq for its oil... The US and other countries have known for a long time that peak oil was on its way soon and THE US decided to grab what they could under false pretenses....

The nerve of war — money...

Bush wants another $US189b for wars

US President George W Bush has asked Congress for $US189.3 billion ($213.5 billion) to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, another huge request that faces deep scepticism from lawmakers opposed to prolonging the Iraq conflict.

Mr Bush's request covers ongoing military operations for the 2008 financial year, which began on October 1, the White House said.

It is in addition to about $US600 billion already approved for the wars.

House of Representatives appropriators said earlier this month they would not even consider the new war funding request until early 2008, and said they wanted to link it to a plan to bring US combat troops home.

But they left open the possibility of paying for the war through an interim measure called a "bridge fund."

In announcing the latest war request, Mr Bush prodded Congress to approve the request swiftly and without conditions.

"They should pass a good, clean bill as soon as possible," Mr Bush told reporters at an event where he was flanked by veterans and family members of fallen soldiers. Lawmakers who say they support the troops should "show it," he said.

"Congress should not go home for the holidays while our troops are still waiting for the funds they need," he added.

"Isn't this getting to be a little old?" Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democratic war opponent from Nevada, asked on the Senate floor after Mr Bush spoke.

Senator Reid noted Bush had recently vetoed a bill to expand a popular children's health program. "We've been fighting for America's priorities while the President continues investing only in his failed war strategy," he said.

-----------------

Gus: the good Senator Reid, like many people in Amerika — including General Sanchez, have not comprehended that the failure of the Iraq war strategy IS the main game, to sustain the momentum of war and that of the "occupation by invitation".

So why maintain the "costly" theater of war(s)?

To control the Iraqi oil... The revenue of which is geared to bring in more that 1000 to 5000 trillion dollars extra to the US economy over the next thirty years. The cost of war pales into insignificant poker chips in this giant game. Even if the cost of war balloons to one trillion dollars per year, over that period it's still chicken feed...

Considering that the price of crude is likely to hit 100 dollars a barrel before the end of the year, considering that the added value to oil is HUGE in manufactured products, in energy source and transportation, considering that we've passed the PEAK OIL point... the grand-prize in the minds of presidents — soaking in oil — is worth the cost, in human lives, in "investments" into war, in lies, in despicable actions and in hypocrisy...

Should the war be terminated by peace, the oil might end up on the open auction market, unless there was some drastic agreements with the US, but so drastic that it would disintegrate the peace, enforcing another lengthy occupation...

We should be able to accept better than that. But we're brainwashed to accept the stolen gruel because we're told we might not get any other...

PM against Iran strikes

John Howard says his government is against pre-emptive strikes and will not be supporting any such action against Iran.

United States Vice-President Dick Cheney has issued another warning to Iran about its nuclear program, saying serious consequences will be imposed if it is not abandoned.

Mr Howard says Australia will not be supporting any military action against the rogue state.

"We in Australia believe that Iran's challenges and Iran's transgressions should be dealt with diplomatically," he said.

"We're not looking at pre-emptive strikes, we're not encouraging pre-emptive strikes, we're against them and we want diplomacy to continue."

Labor leader Kevin Rudd says that goes against what Mr Howard has said in the past about pre-emptive strikes.

"He said a long time ago, in a famous interview with Laurie Oakes I seem to recall, that he favoured a doctrine of pre-emption and now he says something different," he said.

---------------------

Gus: John Howard knows that his pre-emtive strike on Iraq with his mate Bushit is as popular as bad breath. So seeing a gulf opening in front of him he tries to throw desperate porkies at us... Would Johnnee chastise Bushit if Bushit does a surgical strike on Iran? He would tell us that the US does what it feel best and Australia does not support or condemn the excursion...

Get rid of Howard before he becomes a fully back-flipped embarrassment full of porkies... Blah blah blah...

From the BBC

Oil price settles at record high

Oil prices have risen to fresh highs due to a combination of the weak dollar, supply concerns in Mexico and continued tensions in northern Iraq.

By close of trade in New York, US light crude for December delivery rose by $1.67 to $93.53 a barrel, marking a record settlement price.

Light crude had hit an intraday high of $93.80. In London, Brent crude added $1.63 to settle at $90.32 a barrel.

Some analysts believe oil prices will hit $100 a barrel before year end.

"Every new bullish factor pushes US crude irrationally closer to $100 barrel," French investment bank Societe Generale said in a commentary on energy markets.

Gus: irrationality AND war —as in Iraq war... Good for business. Morally bankrupt but profitable business nonetheless... Suck your thumb and hold on to to your energy security blanket, Charlie brown... The dog and Lucy are trying to steal it from you...

Iraqi made false WMD claim to bolster asylum bid: CBS

US television network CBS says it has identified a man known to intelligence agents as "curve ball," whose fake story of biological weapons drove the US argument for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The network's 60 Minutes program identified the man as an Iraqi defector named Rafid Ahmed Alwan, who arrived at a German refugee centre in 1999.

The program said that after a two-year investigation it had found that Mr Alwan had lied about being a chemical engineer in charge of a facility making mobile biological weapons in order to bolster his case for asylum in Germany.

-----------------

Gus: Curveball was never credible and the US and the Germans knew that. The visit by the weapons inspectors proved that. The CIA knew Curveball was telling porkies. All the Yanks wanted was the "excuse in the petri dish trick" to go to war and plunder the oil. End of story... Curveball had long been discredited, that Bush asked the CIA to froth up the case for war, no matter what. The worse tragedy, before that grand tragedy of illegal wars, was that David Kelly in England knew what was going on and made a discreet leak to a "lazy" jouno (he should have not used David Kelly as his (only) source of info, in the same manner as the CIA and the coalition of the "willing" used only one major "disinformation" source: Challabi paid by the CIA US$350,000 a month to trawl for more liars from Iraq) that Tony Blair's dossier's on the same and other "incriminating" subjects were being "sexed up" for war. David Kelly paid with his life... Suicide, we were told... Inconsistencies at the scene of death indicate he was most likely "suicided" (killing disguised as a "suicide"). The lies followed the lies. Here in Australia, Andrew Wilkie, a career officer, an analyst at the Office of National Assessments, knew that the "intelligence" was dubious at best and crap in reality... and said so, publicly, as he was unable to sit and watch in silence as Australia drifts towards war with Iraq... It could have derailed the Bush lies to go war but the construct of that grand swindle was such that the "media" was mostly thick as thieve with the governments of the US, the UK and Australia... Even the most doubtful media was fed titillating tit-bits by these government so the scribes could not resit taking the bait... But the UN did not get swayed... The French and the Germans knew it was all crap and stood firm, despite US pressure to authorise the war (it became popular in the press to lambaste the French...). The Spanish government was bought off by the US despite 90 per cent of Spaniards being against the war. Here, Downer lied and lied repeatedly spruiking publicly that "Saddam has weapons of mass destruction" at least 8,500 times in a Nazi-style disinformation campaign. All this is history now. Tragic history... The fact remains Howard, Blair and Bush lied. THEY LIED...

Kick Howard out and charge him with conspiracy... Actually, charge him with piracy.

Australia, you deserve to clean your soul. Throw Howard out of your system. He has blackened your heart for too long...

The calamity of Iraq has not even won us cheap oil

We knew the war was built on lies - but to have increased petrol prices as well as terror will surely seal history's verdict

Geoffrey Wheatcroft
Friday November 2, 2007
The Guardian

Although "the judgment of history" has a sonorous ring, it doesn't necessarily require the long gestation that phrase might imply: sometimes there's no need for the owl of Minerva to hang around waiting for the sun to go down. When one eminent historian, Sean Wilentz of Princeton, pronounces bluntly that George Bush the Younger is "the worst president in American history", and another, Tony Judt of New York University, calls the Iraq war "the worst foreign policy error in American history", not many of us will argue with them.

And yet history still doesn't know the half of it. It has long since ceased to be a matter for debate that the Iraq adventure began in mendacity and ended in calamity. Sir Richard Dearlove's public penitence this week merely confirmed what he had already said privately, and not only has every single one of the original official reasons for the invasion been falsified, they have all been stood on their heads. Now even what many suspected was the ulterior motive - a war for oil - has gone awry...

No doubt about that Gus, but the scamming continues unabated ....

Gasoline prices are poised to explode again. Oil companies are setting up the framework for higher prices because of fears of a Turkish invasion of Kurdish-controlled Northern Iraq and administration saber rattling about Iran. Crude oil, at $29.59 a barrel when President Bush took office in January 2001, is now pushing toward $100. Washington State's current gasoline cost of $3.09 per gallon, double Seattle's 2001 price of $1.52, is now second only to California in the 48 contiguous states. 

Jay Leno joked on the "Tonight Show" October 17, "The Nobel Prize for Economics was awarded to three people - the CEOs of Exxon, Texaco, and Shell for figuring out how to quadruple the price of oil over a seven year period without an actual shortage." 

He's right, there is no actual shortage. Even if something happened, Kurdish oil production is less than 1/4 of 1% of the world's oil, and all of Iraq generates under 3%. Iran's share of world production is falling, 5% last year compared to 8% in 1974. The oil industry uses the unrealized potential of small disruptions to implement huge price fluctuations. They are using the fear factor and war profiteering to repeat and increase what they had last year, the highest profits for any industry in American history. 

Be Honest About Gas Gouging

The Pentagon has launched a preventive strike against a target that military chiefs presumably regard as one of the most active current threats to U.S. and world security - namely, the office of the vice president of the United States. Thrusting back hard against Vice President Dick Cheney’s warmongering, the head of U.S. forces in the Mideast declared that an attack on Iran “is not in the offing,” and more or less urged the vice president and his political allies to shut up. 

In a front-page interview published on Nov. 12 by the Financial Times, Adm. William Fallon, who heads the U.S. Central Command, spoke in diplomatic tones, as top military officers usually tend to do when they make strong political statements. Yet there was no mistaking the admiral’s message. While Iran certainly poses a “challenge,” he said, U.S. policymakers must engage Tehran to encourage changes in the regime’s behavior. But the Iranians won’t “come to their senses” while under threat of bombardment, invasion or worse 

Taking Aim At The Cheney Threat

God likes Liberal policies: Howard

November 18, 2007

God is not a Liberal, but he sure likes Liberal policies, Prime Minister John Howard has told Korean churchgoers in his marginal Sydney electorate.

As the election campaign entered the final week, Mr Howard with his wife Janette, was back in Bennelong on Sunday amid fears he could lose the seat to the Labor challenger, former journalist Maxine McKew.

At the Riverside Girls High School hall in Gladesville, Mr Howard addressed a Korean congregation through an interpreter telling them he shared their belief in God and the "transforming influence" of Jesus Christ.

"I'm not suggesting that God is either Liberal or Labor," Mr Howard said.

"He is neither.

"But I am suggesting that the influence of Christianity in such policies as families, individual responsibility ... personal choice and free enterprise sit very comfortably with the values of my party."

----------------

Gus: Does god likes people who tells lies to go to war? For oil?... Did Janette influenced that awful murderous decision to wriggle-in the war in Iraq or was she baking cupcakes for the kids on that day?... As mentioned on the value of sharing in regard to sitting ("sit very comfortably"), relating to king of the Saudis:

The rest of our common values sits on the cushions of his palace and the chairs of our lounge rooms... You know what I mean..

And how would John Howard know what god likes or dislike?... Does John has a hot line direct to Him?... Or does he interpret the "good book" passages that suit his frame of cameleonic mind? Suggesting god is not "Labor nor Liberal" but prefers the smirk and smug Liberal policies, aren't you? God likes free enterprise? Remember that Christ chased some "free enterprisers" from the temple...

Australia deserves better than John Howard. Kick him out.

According to the latest bulletin of the ABC, our Rattus in chief is saying the Iraq war has not been an election issue "because it's going well"... Hello? Any grey matter under that thick skull? Or are we on the road to "Mr Alzahmer" or whatever his name is... Sorry, can't remember.

So far this month 28 US soldiers have been killed and around 200 have been injured, many badly... But then these do not make the front page anymore, they have not for the last three years... Yes, prime Minister, the numbers of attempts at killing US soldiers has dropped from about 150 a day to about 60 a day... If this is what you call going well, then it's tragic that you can't see.... More and more Iraqi are seeking to cross the borders of their country to live abroad in abject camps, and those who can't, go and live in abject camps in the Iraqi desert. One million people has already been killed and may I say as many by invasion troops — some as collateral damage — than by insurgents and revenge killings. Walls have been erected to enclave ethnicity, keeping the Shiite away from the Sunnis in various sections of Baghdad, the Iraqi Christians have all but left the country and more than 70 per cent of Iraqis hate the US. The oil keeps flowing mind you...

Fantastic success. Mission accomplished. See toon at the top...

With oil prices just down from their all-time high and many analysts fearing a recession, Exxon Mobil is planning to announce next week that it has broken its own record for "the most money ever made by a company in U.S. history."  

Exxon Mobil, the world's largest oil company, is expected to rack in over $39 billion in 2007 profits, "which breaks down to the company earning about $75,000 a minute."  

Exxon Mobil is by no means the only struggling oil behemoth to turn high oil prices into record profits.  

Last week, ConocoPhillips announced a 37 percent increase in fourth-quarter profit, "even as the third-largest U.S. oil company produced less crude and natural gas than a year earlier."  

Fourth-quarter oil prices were over 50 percent higher than a year ago, "prompting forecasts for more eye-popping earnings from oil majors."

Shell smashed all-time British company profit records today, posting 2007 earnings of $27.5billion (£13.9billion), and immediately ran into a storm with union leaders, who are demanding the Government hits the oil giant with a windfall tax.  

Shell's profit surge - it is now making a staggering $75million (£38million) a day - on the back of a booming oil price that touched $100 a barrel this winter, was labelled as "obscene" by Tony Woodley of Unite, the UK's largest trade union, as Britons struggle with soaring energy costs.  

Shell's Obscene £13.9Billion Profit Is Biggest Ever By British Company

The Iraqi government is inviting major oil multinationals to participate for the first time in the development of the oil industry, without waiting for the passage of crucial but controversial hydrocarbons legislation.

In a sign that the oil law the US has been pressing for is unlikely to be agreed by parliament any time soon, Hussain Shahristani, Iraq’s oil minister, said in an interview with the Financial Times that Iraq was now determined to push ahead with plans to raise production from a current 2.5m barrels per day to 6m bpd in five years.

Speaking on the sidelines of a conference at Chatham House in London, he said major companies were registering to pre-qualify for oil development licences before the February 18 deadline. The process, he said, should lead next year to the award of the first contracts to develop oil fields across the country.

Oil giants, so far deterred from Iraq by violence and the absence of clear legislation, are showing keen interest in the pre-qualification process. It marks the first opportunity to tap into a country with the world’s third largest proved oil reserves and a largely undeveloped oil industry with low production costs.

The companies include Royal Dutch Shell and BP as well as US giants ExxonMobil and Chevron and France’s Total.

Iraq Pushes Ahead With Oil Plans

In his opinion piece Harry puts the Prince in Principle, Gerard talks a lot about of stuff:

----------------

Blah blah Prince Harry...

....

"In his 2006 book A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1900, the British historian Andrew Roberts argued that "by taking such an aggressive stance over the war against terror since 9/11 - and especially by overthrowing the Taliban and Baathist regimes in 2002 and 2003 - the English-speaking peoples unmistakably demonstrated to the rest of the world that they still enjoy global hegemony". He added that "they have thus made less likely the type of clash that historically has cost the most lives in the period since 1960: a struggle between the Great Powers"."

....

etc, blah blah

---------------

Yes Gerard but what about the oil? see toon at top.

Secret emails and memos showing how the Iraq war dossier was "sexed-up" must be released by the Cabinet Office, The Independent has learnt.

Richard Thomas, the information commissioner, has told civil servants to release undisclosed material which could provide "evidence that the dossier was deliberately manipulated in order to present an exaggerated case for military action". 

After repeated freedom of information requests, Mr Thomas says in a 20-page ruling given to The Independent that there is a clear public interest in seeing comments about drafts of the dossier between 11 and 16 September 2002, in the days before Alastair Campbell suggested changes. Mr Thomas adds that there is no national security justification for keeping these comments from politicians secret. 

The prospect of a return to the debate over the dossier – which led to a furious row between the BBC and the Government, the death of Dr David Kelly and the subsequent Hutton Inquiry – will horrify ministers who hoped Tony Blair's departure from office last year had drawn a line under the affair. 

Cabinet Office Ordered To Release Secret Memos On Iraq Dossier

A Canadian Conservative Party speech-writer has resigned after Prime Minister Stephen Harper was accused of plagiarism in a speech he made in 2003.

Owen Lippert admitted he had been "overzealous in copying segments" of a speech in support of the invasion of Iraq by then Australian PM John Howard.

-------------------------

Gus: Isn't possible that our Rattus in chief at the time copied his "own" speeches from Aussie Tony and Yankie Bushie? They had the same crooked intelligence and sexed-up dossiers... although our Rattus was the best at porkying with devious gravitas..

The US fears that Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude oil exporter, may not have enough reserves to prevent oil prices escalating, confidential cables from its embassy in Riyadh show.

The cables, released by WikiLeaks, urge Washington to take seriously a warning from a senior Saudi government oil executive that the kingdom's crude oil reserves may have been overstated by as much as 300bn barrels – nearly 40%.

The revelation comes as the oil price has soared in recent weeks to more than $100 a barrel on global demand and tensions in the Middle East. Many analysts expect that the Saudis and their Opec cartel partners would pump more oil if rising prices threatened to choke off demand.

However, Sadad al-Husseini, a geologist and former head of exploration at the Saudi oil monopoly Aramco, met the US consul general in Riyadh in November 2007 and told the US diplomat that Aramco's 12.5m barrel-a-day capacity needed to keep a lid on prices could not be reached.

According to the cables, which date between 2007-09, Husseini said Saudi Arabia might reach an output of 12m barrels a day in 10 years but before then – possibly as early as 2012 – global oil production would have hit its highest point. This crunch point is known as "peak oil".

Husseini said that at that point Aramco would not be able to stop the rise of global oil prices because the Saudi energy industry had overstated its recoverable reserves to spur foreign investment. He argued that Aramco had badly underestimated the time needed to bring new oil on tap.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/feb/08/saudi-oil-reserves-overstated-wikileaks

Gus: ... hard to know if this is part of a double-cross or if the fear is genuine... see toon at top..