I already told you, Bush did not steal enough oil!

feh.

See Halliburton! Told you so, nanananana!

/moonbat

That is SO weak - but of course will be eaten up by their audience - LLLers and Despots unite to destroy Freedom, yeah!

I feel the whole issue has been a witchhunt from day one as part of a broader Republican political agenda," Annan said in his statement to CNN.

Ahhh Kojo channels Hillary Clinton!

WTF kind of name is Kojo anyway?

Quick! Look over there! Pay no attention to the corruption, dammit! Halliburton! Bushitler! Illegal war!

Mike al-Moore is salivating to make this his next movie project- after the F9/11 sequel!

The UN took a page out of the ol' Clinton playbook- blame the accuser. Sick!

*rolls eyes* Great good shining gods. It's got to be the US' fault. "You were stealing!" "Well, you failed to stop us from doing it, so it's your fault!"

Why do we bother with these people?

# 6 TPP

I guess they figured it was less dorky than Kofi jr.
:-)
:-)

But what I really want to know is, what does nodroG have to say about this? ;)

It's France's fault. They knew about all of this from the get-go and were getting most of the money. So, if they had joined us in the coalition of the swilling, we'd all know where not just the oil is, but also the money.

So there.

How do you say that in French?

The UN is a farce filled with non-democratic nations including despots, dictators, tyrnats, and even Kings - yes people there are still kings rulign over serfs that are legitimized by this piece of real estate in NYC!

A real UN would only allow free countries run with democratic principles

GET THE UN OUT OF NY
GET NY OUT OF THE UN

Without your American tax dollars supporting the UN - the dictators and despots would never eat their free expenseive lunches there

It is time for Americans to call on our government representatives to stop funding the UN with our hard-earned taxed dollars!

Meanwhile, UN faces an intifada of its own in Haiti.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Hundreds of U.N. peacekeeping troops stormed a stronghold of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's supporters yesterday, seeking control of areas that have become flashpoints of violence. At least four people were killed.

Shootouts broke out between residents and U.N. troops who rolled into Cite Soleil before dawn, said Damian Onses-Cardona, a spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping mission.

At least six people were shot in the slum yesterday, including a 26-year-old woman, a 16-year-old boy and a 13-year-old boy, all injured during gunfire between peacekeepers and residents.

Strange, according to popular opinion the US was solely interested in Iraq's oil. They didn't even bother to hunt down those pesky terrorists but went straight to the oil fields to steal the black gold all for themselves.

When oil prices skyrocketed it should have given people some idea about what was really going on. Now the UN says that the US didn't take care of the oil.

Will people stop saying that the US went into Iraq for the oil? Of course not! Will they continue saying that Bush is Hitler? You bet.

www.dutchdisease.com

When is Bush going to stop playing nice. It is time he actually became the nasty son of a bitch the left accuse him of being. Hey, George, they hate you, they really really hate you. Any medicare bill, any AIDS funding, any increased school spending WON'T MATTER! SO TAKE OF THE GLOVES FOR CHRISTS SAKE!

NO WAR FOR (OUR KICKBACK) OIL (VOUCHERS)!

Dear Third-World Criminals, Despots, Tyrants, and Other UN Employees:

Please leave our country.

The UN is rapidly becoming the next France.

Kojo, meet Cujo. Cujo, Kojo.

Git 'em, boy!

Well, if that just isn't the pot calling the kettle black...

A United Nations panel has found that the US-led occupation authority failed to exercise proper controls over Iraq’s oil industry and could not say how much oil had gone missing since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

Previously, the UN knew exactly how much oil went missing. The US failed to keep the necessary players awash in bribes. Have we no shame?

Either I've become clairvoyant or I've really got Kofi's number; cuz I coulda told you-all this was a-comin'. At least President Bush should get a chuckle out of it. Everyone needs a little levity once in a while. (;-/p]

The panel, which also includes representatives from the IMF and the World Bank, expressed particular concern about how large contracts paid out of Iraqi funds were given to US firms, such as the oil services group Halliburton, without competitive bidding. ...

To the victor go the spoils, losers.

# 14 Ed

FYI -- O'ahu North Shore swamped by 40+ ft. waves! Eddie Aikau Memorial big wave invitational surf contest to be held!

Can we just pull the plug on this institution now?

So when is the last time that you read in the MSM that the only competitor that Halliburton as far as giant oil-services firms is the French company TotalFinaElf, which was a totally-owned subsidery of Saddam Hussein, Inc...

cathy :-)

Amazing how the UN suddenly cares about smuggling and strict accounting practices.

Maybe they are under the mistaken impression that they are still getting kickbacks and want to make sure they get their full cut.

Worse yet, they are still under the mistaken impression that they relevant to the future of Iraq and the world.

The UN is wrong on both counts.

well, the U.N. caught the U.S. red handed! oil on our hands!,
I say that the U.N. should immediately throw the U.S. out of
the U.N.! No country as bad , and corupt as the U.S. should
be allowed to stay in the U.N.!

It's the best thing to do! think of the world's children!

Sounds to me like a thief caught selling stolen property complaining that the cops should have caught him earlier!

Kofi learned from his pal Yasser that playing the victim pays.

Why do we continue with the farce that is the U.N.? Lets just pull out, stop our funding, kick them out of N.Y. and start over. NATO would be a decent starting point.

As far as the Oil goes, I've about had it. Let's just build a wall around the oil fields, pull out of the rest of Iraq and declare the oil producing area part of a U.S. commonwealth. I mean, after all, if we are going to be accused of the "crime", we should get some benefit!

Then Kuwait and Saudi Arabia (one of the biggest "sponsors" if Islamo-terrorism in the world) should be next. If we are going be accused of being "imperialists" and a modern version of Rome, then we might just as well live up to the expectations. If memory serves me right, Rome conquered just about everything around the Med and then imported all the natural resources for its own benefit. Sounds like a fine example to me. Pax Roma = Pax Americana.

#13 mglazer,

You know, I really don't have much of a problem with kings and queens. I forget who wrote about it, but generally speaking "enlightened despotism" is actually the most efficient form of government.

Naturally, the catch is that "enlightened" bit ;).

If we don't get the hell out of the U.N fast, this administration and Republican politicians are going to feel the heat. We all need to start a constant drumbeat through phone and email contacts with our elected representatives to get the U.S. out of this worthless POS "organization."

In the meantime, we need to appoint Zell Miller U.N. Ambassador.

I'm contacting my reps (again) to tell them we want out of the U.N. Please do the same!

re: 25

Um, never...

This seems to be the new UN strategy, tar the accusers.

Yesterday Kojo Annan claimed it was all an evil Republican vendetta:

Annan's son: Probe 'a witchhunt'

"I feel the whole issue has been a witchhunt from day one as part of a broader Republican political agenda," Annan said in his statement to CNN.

And the LLL will eat it up.

"See, SEE? I told you Bush was evil."

Or just see SADM's #2.

Buckaroo

With a little luck, a 980 mb storm may be offshore New England Monday morning to Tuesday morning, with a 1030 mb arctic high over northern Quebec feeding cold air from northern Siberia over the North Pole down towards Florida. (See my posts on the All Intifada thread). This portends a killing freeze to near Orlando, the kind of freeze with wind that reduces the effectiveness of smudgepots and sprinklers for preventing major damage not just to the citrus but to the trees. GFS says line between flooding rain and snowfall measured by the half meter right over the Big Cities, while the European model says all snow but not as much. Winds gusting to 100 km/hr offshore could generate surf in excess of 10 meters along the Massachusetts coast.

BTW, I think it got to -2 at Houston IAH this morning, but Joe Bastardi at AccuWeather thinks colder air than that hits Texas before Christmas.

A United Nations panel has found that the US-led occupation authority failed to exercise proper controls over Iraq’s oil industry

You mean, the 'war for oil' was not really about oil?

You mean, the early focus on Iraq's oil ministries as Saddam's regime fell, instead of 24 clay pots, was not a mistake?

Is this BBC article a parody?
 

#30 Jolly Roger ,

Efficient for whom?

Sure, being the KING is great (I think Mel Brooks said that) but what if your not?

The best Government is a representative government with a strong federal system.

People need and want to be free to pursure their own personal forms of happiness without harm to others

That is the best for everyone - when everyone is happy to amek their own decisions; that do not bring harm others

'Tis stormy in the southwestern North Pacific.

A United Nations panel has found that the US-led occupation authority failed to exercise proper controls over Iraq’s oil industry and could not say how much oil had gone missing since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

Would that include the amounts blown-up and burned by the UN's terrorist allies or not?

So freaking typical. Throw suspicion off of yourself by creating a phony scandal (and a clever one that "HALLIBURTON!" conspiracy freaks will lap up like starving dogs) - and then challenge the US to prove it "didn't happen."

Why are we paying these guys again?

#27 - "I say that the U.N. should immediately throw the U.S. out of the U.N.! No country as bad, and corupt as the U.S. should
be allowed to stay in the U.N.!"

Dead, on, brother. Although, they'll would probably demand that we still pay our full membership dues!

And can anyone explain why in the world Tom Lantos of all people would say this:

"I assured the secretary-general that all of us in Congress who know him continue to have the highest regard not only for his commitment to public service but his integrity and dedication to international peace and the improvement of economic conditions throughout the less-developed world," Mr. Lantos said after meeting with Mr. Annan.

"Knowing Kofi Annan as well as I do, I know he will be the one leading the cleanup," Mr. Lantos added.

Annan to hold talks in D.C.

CathyF

Hate to fact check you, but as a former Halliburton employer, Halliburton's major competitor as a worldwide oilfield service company is Schlumberger.

They are a Paris based Phroggie company, but they have these shares (I forget what they call them) that trade on the NYSE under the ticker symbol SLB.

A United Nations panel has found that the US-led occupation authority

I have never heard of this organization? As the UN did not formally support the invasion of Iraq, and in fact has worked to undermine the Coalition Forces, who are they talking about and what records are they using?...

Is this the same panel that locked up explosives with metal/lead tags like those found on my electric meter and called them depots secure?...

I hope the UN kicks out the the US and move their little club of despots out of the US

Its funny this reminds me of what the LLLers are gonna say when they realize that Islam isn't peaceful - BUSH LIED!

Its that childlike reaction when you are wrong to say NO you are wrong - pathetic.

#42 Ed Moran

Actually the ticker for Schlumberger is SLB and it's traded on the NYSE.

These people at the UN are really funny when you think about it...Let's see GWB and the U.S. spent $200 Billion in War and Reconstruction Money to steal...$20 Billion in Oil...WTF kind of deal is that? Wow by the end of 2005 maybe we can get the ratio up to $300 B for $40 B..Supid Assholes!

On a related note...My Halliburton Stock is up 23% since I bought...thank you Mr. President and Mr. Veep for helping my 401 K recover form the Clinton Bubble burst.

On a related note...I hear Halliburton is looking at a new NY HQ building in the Turtle Bay area of Manhattan...What a great conference room!

45 mglazer

I hope the UN kicks out the the US

dyslexia?

How dare Halliburton steal the oil before TotalFinaElf gets a chance to!

Damn Americans!

I hear Halliburton is looking at a new NY HQ building

How about the United Nations building?!

#27 U.n. should throw the U.S. out!

I think we have been going at this all wrong. Instead of screeming at our government to get out of the U.N. , maybe
we could incite all the moonbats, trolls, acedemia , and the U.N. itself to demand the U.S. get off the security council , and then out of the U.N all together!

It's the U.N.'s fault that they allow the U.S. to remain a member! Go ahead U.N., throw the U.S. out!

And to teach the U.S. a lesson ... just break your lease and
leave!

William (#36),

Is this BBC article a parody?

Nope. The BBC's desire to trash any and all thing Bush trumps facts, consistency or professionalism.

I'm going to repeat this post from the next thread here, b/c it's more on-topic:

did anyone see this article about the fundamental flaws at the U.N.

I know, I know: there are so many. This article focuses on how the original concept of the UN got hijacked into the Charter that resulted; it also points to the awful legal morass that the Charter created in International "Law."*

* If you can call it "law."

Oh, dear. Honey, did you remember to send the jizyah payment to the UN on the oil bill? And remember a separate check to Co-fee, c/o Cujo?

but it's too scary to help with elections

It's easy to sit in NYC with a double-latte and smear your accuser, but please don't get up get from your comfy seat and do anything constructive whatsoever. Wouldn't want you to wrinkle your $2000 suits...

What a crock-full. Now it's time to not just follow the money of OFF, but also time to turn off the money pipeline into the black hole of Calcutta called "UN," including all those US taxpayer dollars supporting these Nigerian-scam artists.

This is the most perverted, ridiculous statement to come out of the UN in at least two days (?).

The country has been at virtual war with itself for the last 18 months with attacks on oil wells (tip to #39), refineries, hijackings of oil tankers (trucks), pipelines being blown up, etc., etc. Of course oil is going to go missing!

Thank goodness I don't live in NY as I would probably be in jail for screaming at the top of my lungs inside the UN "Are you guys f***ing stupid!" I just don't understand how people can be so dishonest and have so little integrity.

I have written letters to my not so honorable congresspeople about withdrawing our funding of the UN but have never received a coherent response. Anyone know where there is a legitimate place I can lend my support?

Sorry about the rant. I just blew my stack on reading this.

Has anyone mentioned that we here in the U.S. still pay TOP-FUKKIN'-DOLLAR for oil, so drop the war for oil bullshit, already!

NYers need to make regular protests at the UN

something like:

"GET THE F OUT OF MY CITY"

"NO DICTATORS ALLOWED"

"NO KINGS ALLOWED IN QUEENS"

They should be made uncomfortable and nto want to stay

#28 Paco from Sefarad: PMP (;-)))!

OMG the absolute gual of these people is just unfathomable to me. They steal oil profits for YEARS, when the money was supposed to go to Iraqi children for food, hospitals, and medicine.

Then IGNORE their own corruption by saying they can investigating themselves (yeah right, like Scott Peterson could investigate himself for murder?). Then go on to obfuscate the issue by blaming the US for something oil realted...typical

This "missing oil" thing will go the way of the "missing explosives" thing.
It's just a smoke screen to try to divert the world eye off kofi & kujo.

Takes one to know one. Nyah-nyah!

A United Nations panel has found that

insert irrelevance here - like the typical bluster - "You accuse me, well, I accuse you...neener, neener, neener."

And to think that our President actually endorsed the crooked lameass SecGen UN and probably extended his career to serve out his full term...pathetic.

Does this work as a graphic?

-:(

Someone sent it to me as a misspelled frowning face. I saw it as a one finger salute...

#64 Atlas Wannabe

I like it.

Take this -:( L3 media!

Works for me!

#51 missouri boy,

That is a great idea. Of course, once the UN throws us out, it will then become the agent for combined action (diplomatic, military and economic) of our enemies against us under the guise of "international law". When ultimately they pass Security Council resolutions and take actions against us, we in turn will have the basis to crush the lot of them. That would be a good thing. Right now, we have to play this absurd charade that actually has us refer to them as "allies".

46 PP

Me:
They are a Paris based Phroggie company, but they have these shares (I forget what they call them) that trade on the NYSE under the ticker symbol SLB.

You:

#42 Ed Moran

Actually the ticker for Schlumberger is SLB and it's traded on the NYSE.

Um, now I'm confused.

First we rush to war too slow, and fail to steal their oil properly! We suck at this Evil Empire thing!

#37 mglazer,

I said "efficient", not "best" ;). If you assume a society with a ruler who actually cares about his/her subjects, with a very high degree of individual rights and freedoms, it would work just fine. (Not that this actually happens in the real world. )

Think of all the cash you'd save on salaries for elected officials who rarely even show up. [..now whom could I be talking about there?]

I have resisted joining this chorus but mark me down as another one that wants the US out of the UN and the UN out of the US.

#42 Ed

They are a Paris based Phroggie company, but they have these shares (I forget what they call them) that trade on the NYSE ...

Foreign companies' shares traded on the NYSE are called "ADRs" -- American Depository Receipts.

Halliburton's chief competitors -- firms big enough & sufficiently staffed with experienced people -- are Fwench-based Schlumberger and Fwench-owned/Fwench govt TotalFinaElf. No wonder they're bitching. First, we cut off their OFF skim, then shut them out of bidding on Iraqi reconstruction work for their failure to join the Coalition of the Willing.

Let the frogs eat flies.

#56 ocrager

There is a site with a get out of the UN petition: it is [Link: www.moveamericaforward.org...] I don't know if it will do any good (the Govt is not responsive to conservative American opinion) but it did make me feel better.

Athos (#63),

Please. Bush did not "endorse" Kofi.

WASHINGTON — President Bush on Thursday declined to endorse a Republican senator's call for U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to resign but did not offer Annan any words of support.

Asked by reporters if Annan should step down because of allegations of corruption in the U.N. oil-for-food program, Bush said he was awaiting the results of investigations.

"I look forward to a full disclosure of the facts, a good, honest appraisal of that which went on, and it's important for the integrity of the organization," he said.

ibn guru

I knew they called them something.

Kojo has a brother named Kojack and they like to share each others clothing. One day, Kojack borrowed Kojo's hat and went to collect more payoffs for the family. When asked about Kojack's whereabouts, Kofi said "Kojack off in Kojo's hat!"

(Say it slowly, if you don't get it the first time.)

(Shamelessly stolen from a 1970's era National Lampoon article about then-current TV shows and adapted to fit this subject...)

OT:

Speaking of "international law" (whatever in the h*ll that is!). Did you folks hear that Australia plans on extending its at-sea security enforcement out to 1,100 miles from its mainland? (Heck yeah! Go Aussies!)

Wanna bet the U.N. jumps all over this and threatens Australia with a violation of "international law" if the Aussies even think about stopping a few ships for inspection?

#41 Geepers
I guess cause the prez did... They each have their own agendas. Lantos wants the UN to mark the anniversary of the Shoah. He thinks by kissing up to Koffi they will soften. Bush just wants to be liked in this world of idiots who despise him. What can I say except, what is good for the goose is surely good for the gander.

I feel both are very wrong. The UN and the arab/european world to whom they represent should eat out of our hand, not the opposite. There is nothing on the planet we can do so those people will respect us. Appeasing them is bullshit. When will we learn this remains a mystery to me.

As far as I am concerned we just kissed the oil for food scandal good bye by embracing Koffi. And look what we get for it, another huge slap in the face.

The winner in all of this is Norm Coleman. He had the tenacity to say what others just can't seem to do. Without a doubt, the world needs more like him.

Ahem...Would that be the same iraqi oil that the UN claimed was helping pay for iraqi medical supplies through the UN under Hussein? the same oil that was being doled out to france, germany and russia under the UN's nose (with its blessing) to keep the iraqi people under their tyrant's boot?

We only went in their for conquest and oil anyway, right? so (following moonbat logic) i guess we've failed in our imperialist uber-jihad on a benevolent and peaceful non-western society because we didn't secure the oil. We only succeded in destroying every life in the world somehow and some way, and we've murdered our chances for redemption, victory, peace, stability, progress, or change.

Moonbat say :
the REAL crime was putting Saddam in a jail cell. THEYRE SHINING A FLASHLIGHT IN HIS MOUTH? CALL THE UN! GENEVA CONVENTION! OH THE HUMANITY!

#74 Geepers

OK - point taken.

I think that when it comes to the end of the investigations - the failure to call for Annan to step down will haunt us.

#75 Ed

Please, Ed -- "ibn" means "son of" and I am nobody's son! It's "ibu" -- "lady." Thanks.

#77 Fatal

Aussies are taking steps to protect their borders/shores from illegal aliens, smuggling, bogus "asylum" seekers (people who want to live off taxpayers of other countries for lack of any ability or inclination to support themselves in the manner to which they wish to become accustomed).

Hoorah for the Aussies!

#30 Jolly Roger:

"Enlightened despotism" may be nice, but it rarely lasts even one generation. It is one system where absolute power will totally corrupt the following generations of leaders.

DRK

Sorry Cujo it doesn't wash. Clinton and his elk were in charge during the years of the oil for rotten food schmandle. Next...

# 77 F

link please if possible!

1100 miles out over a coastline that's what? 4,000+ miles? That's a lot of Pacific to cover for a relatively small navy!

selpaw (#78),

GW's "endorsement" and Tom's are worlds apart. But I agree that "Appeasing them [UN] is bullshit" they both need to be far more forthcoming in calling for Kofi's resignation.

Kofi's malfeasance is indisputable.

And Norm Coleman is leading the charge, but he's not the only one, there are 20 other Congressmen who have signed on to the "Kofi needs to go" language.

And I don't think this is going away. Too much money involved. Wait for the lawsuits.

The only good thing that will likely come of it is like Clinton who refused to go, Kofi will continue to be a target of investigation. And further expose the UN's corruption and impotency.

I found this report; looks like it was just released, although it was dated some time ago. The BBC spins again.

Page 5, paragraph 6 of the report goes into it some more. New rules were established almost a year ago...where's that in the BBC report?

BBC also failed to mention that in Nov 03, the UN officially handed over the OFF program to the Coalition Prov. Authority.

MSM=irrelevant

Again, the UN program was f*cked long before we got there, and you can't polish a turd.

The icing on the cake, Background- Page 1, OFF transition:

Incomplete UN projects

Wow, the UN is really loosing it. Lessee here... we started the war to get control of the oil, which is Evil... but we failed to control the oil, which is Evil...

Don't these morons read their own press releases?

ploome,

and I learn something every day

Hear, hear! Me too.

I've heard that same sentiment so many times here.

I wonder how often it's said at Atrios or Kos?

Hey u.n. when you can bring back to life ALL of the Rwandans you watched being slaughtered, when you can stop what's happening in the Sudan, when you can stop Iran from building and deploying nuclear weapons, when you can disarm North Korea, when you can stop the spread of AIDS through Africa when you can bring back the Iraqi's you helped Saddam savagely murder AND when you give the Iraqi's ALL of the "oil for food" money you stuffed in your pockets...maybe, MAYBE then YOU can lash out.

#88 and #90

Hear, hear!

The question of which pill to take illustrates the personal aspect of the decision to study philosophy. Do you live on in ignorance (and potentially bliss) or do you lead what Aristotle called 'the examined life'...

Thanks for the red pill Charles.

#84 Buckaroo

Linkie right alongside lgf in the headlines:

Prime minister announces new 1,700-kilometre security zone off Australia

Under the new plan - due to begin in March - all vessels that enter within 1,850 km of Australia's shores will be required to present information to defence and customs authorities about the ship's identity, crew, location, speed and intended port of arrival, Howard said

It seems rather like our requirements for ships & planes entering US air/waters to file passenger/cargo lists.

This is pure vomit from the UN, spoonfed to the hopelessly biased BBC news organization, replete with the trigger-word Halliburton. Don't be surprised if you see crappy reports on the evening news tonight, with a shot of Halliburton's headquarters.

This from the UN, after Bush graciously saves Annan's ass from the wolves. Throw him back to the wolves, I say.

#92

poingnat, and a wonderfully said , sir.

poignant, and wonderfully said, sir.

sorry- got a little excited there.

Nobody knows how much revenue for reconstruction was lost as a result.

I hate this kind of open-ended loaded statement. First, someone probably has a pretty good idea, but why should a lazy moonbat give details, when he/she can give an open-ended loaded statement? Pooey.

How about a little re-write?
"My report says the UN authorities also failed to deal with widespread funneling of UN old-for-food money to bank accounts of Kofi Annan's friends and family. Nobody knows how much revenue for reconstruction was lost as a result."

The UN knows how to deflect attention away from real problems--blame some other problem on Israel or the U.S.. Hey, it's worked for the Arabs for decades.

Yes I believe that Halliburton is entirely responsible for the oil for food program.

I also believe that:

France is an honorable country filled never-give-up heroes.
Arab fundamentalists would never resort to violence.
Bill Clinton never had sex with Monica Lewinsky.
Janet Reno was a marvelous Attorney General.
Bush and the CIA planned the World Trade Center attack.
John Kerry is good-looking.
It never rains in the Amazon.
A New York headwaiter smiles at you because he likes you.

Fuck the Un! Stick a stake thru its heart...its dcne.

It's a complete waste of time to point out this is another complete act of equivocation which does nothing but feed their God and minions of hatred more lies...which will eventually result in the deaths of countless millions.

Never in the Un's history have they performed a single act without worsening conditions, the lives of all involved. Just another example of why the Un needs to be swiftly Un-done.

Yeah, yeah, yeah - whatever.

Everything in the world is OUR fault.

Yadda yadda yadda.

What are these waste-of-skin oxygen thieves still doing in our country?

This article shows how, in India, they are openly equating left-wing extremism and Islamic Fundamentalism as the root source of much conflict. Seems like much of India is asking the same questions as us: who will protect our country from this threat?

[Link: www.indianexpress.com...]

An interesting read...

[moonbat unthinking tinfoil cap]

The UN is wonderful. This is always true. The U.S. is bad, also always true. I read the above article. My worldview is intact. No thinking is necessary, ever.

[mutc]

Isn't it way past time to ask the UN to leave?

Of course no one here wants to accept the fact that US and British representatives were on the board that oversaw the oil for food program. Therefore, we were lax in the oversight as well.

I realize the xenophobia of this board prevents meaninful reflection, but maybe the report contains truth? No, of course not. It wasn't on Fox news, so it much be a lie.

now back to your regularly scheduled denial...

#100 bigel

Gedmin adds that Americans have learned the hard way that appeasement invites aggression. Most Europeans still have to learn that."

Like they never had the opportunity?

'Many more believe in what you said than you think.' I reply, 'Where are they? Let them come out of the closet and join the party.' They remain silent because they are cowards, and they want to be liked and to see what the group thinks.

In some cases, it can also get you arrested.

Oil was discovered after the system of nation states emerged from the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, so this system did not set any default for the ownership status of resources. It happens that all the oil fields around the gulf were nationalized, including these of pre-war Iraq.

There is an European exceptionalism in history: This part of the world has never known a severe shortage of water and the political burdens that such a situations puts on pre-democratic societies. In the gulf states however, the nationalization of resources made oil replace the water of the old hydraulic economy as Karls August Wittfogel described it:

He published Oriental Despotism: A comparative Study of Total Power in 1957. The book examines the origins of complex societies and states. Historical in nature, the book identifies the management of water as a method used by Chinese emperors to gain power over their people. The emporers developed "hydraulic societies" which were dependent on complex irrigation systems. Wittfogel felt that the cost of hydraulic construction and its subsequent maintenance required a political and social structure capable of forceful extraction of labor. This led to despotism. "Those who control the (hydraulic) network are uniquely prepared to wield supreme power."

The discovery of oil has ballooned the water kleptocracies into oil kleptocracies that would treat their neighbors as bad as their subjects. So Saddam, the Mad Mullahs, the House of Fraud, OPEC would buy themselves into the international institutions and become the King Cotton of our time. In the US, there has been some pre-war talk about privatization:

The neoconservatives aren't looking to enhance Chevron's profits. They support privatization on ideological grounds--they favor investment by new Iraqi companies as much as by U.S. oil companies. "We need to support indigenous [private] groups," says one energy consultant who works closely with administration neoconservatives. They also see the privatization of Iraqi oil as setting in motion a chain of events that could transform the Middle East.

In contrast the words of Joscha Schmierer, a senior official in the German foreign office, back in 1974 when he still was a head of a Maoist [built upon hydraulic society] organization:

The example of the Arab countries in their struggle for control of the crude oil encourages the other countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America to determinedly continue their struggle against the exploitation of their resources and marine waters, and to unite themselves against the imperialistic countries. This is a fine development which decisively hits one of the lifebloods of imperialism. In this conflict, we categorically stand on the side of the oppressed peoples, even when they are represented by classes who only want to be deeper involved into the exploitation of their own peoples instead of leaving the lion's share to the imperialists. ... In the struggle for disposal over the oil and the resources of the Third World, the KBW has decisively sided with the oppressed peoples and tried to teach to the working class and the people in West Germany that the struggle of the dependent states for independence and control of the resources is just - even if state power is in the hands of a class which exploits and oppresses its own people.

Now the bottomline of this weird BBC article is that the UN holds itself to a much lower standard than the one to which it holds the US responsible. Isn't this unintended realism?

hs,

I realize the xenophobia of this board prevents meaninful reflection,

Do you even know what the meaning of the word xenophobe is?

#111 leo (dissident view from Berlin)

This also explains the connection between environmentalism and political power. He who controls (or prevents the use of) water makes the rules, and eventually gets the gold.

It looks like Kojo's being investigated less because of a "Republican witch hunt" and more because he a cheat and a liar:

Cotecna is a Swiss-based company that inspected freight shipments going into Iraq on behalf of Oil-for-Food; it employs 4,000 people in 100 countries. Both the company and the elder Annan have said that Kojo had nothing to do with the troubled U.N. program.

But a Cotecna management fax reviewed by FOX News appears to direct Kojo to get involved with U.N. officials.

The Aug. 28, 1998, fax praises Kojo's work at a meeting of world leaders in South Africa and adds: "Your work and the contacts established at this meeting should ideally be followed up at the September 98 UN General Assembly in New York."

Also, congressional investigators want Kojo to explain a hotel bill for the Holiday Inn Garden Court in Durban, South Africa, in September 1998. His registration card reads: "K Annan, United Nations." That hotel charge was billed to Cotecna as a business expense.

Investigators are also probing Kojo Annan's phone records. His AT&T calling card was billed to Cotecna as a business expense and shows a series of calls to a number that begins 212-963-XXX. Nearly all U.N. offices in New York have that same area code and prefix, a coincidence investigators are now studying closely.

But, in his first public comment on the subject, Kojo told CNN in a written statement this week: "I have never participated directly or indirectly in any business related to the United Nations."

But hey, so long as Kojo got a new BMW who cares how many Iraq kids starved to death, huh?

#114 Geepers

Speaking of starving to death:

Menu for a past UN world food summit.

Toast di foie gras con kiwi (Foie gras on toast with kiwi fruit)
Aragosta in vinagrette (Lobster in vinaigrette)

Filetto d’oca con olive (Fillet of goose with olives)

Verdure di stagione (Seasonal vegetables)

Composta di frutta con vaniglia (Compote of fruit with vanilla)

Mushroom crêpes
Risotto with orange and zucchini slices

Salmon with peppers and polenta

I hate the UN

This from 50, 100 & 150 Years Ago From Scientific American:

OIL PRODUCTION-

" The world's petroleum production for 1903 stands at 20,000,000 tons, and of this more than one half is furnished by Russia, the rest coming from the United States and Canada, Roumania and Borneo. The demand for production greatly exceeds the present production.

How the world's changed in 100 years.

That's approximately 133 million barrels.

Today approximately 2.5 billion barrels.

Iraqi President Charges Syrian Security Services with Involvement in Insurgency
Iraq's interim President Ghazi al-Yawer said Monday he believed elements of the Syrian security services were harboring insurgents. "(Syria) is a country that is run by security...and definitely they cannot operate from Syria unless there is somebody who is condoning what they are doing," he said. (AP/Guardian-UK)

via Daily Alert

Intestinal Fortitude (#115),

The UN is devoid of any sense of responsibility. It's disgusting.

#39 exactly right. the jihadis have been blowing the pipes like there's no tommorow.

here is a tally of attacks on oil in Iraq: Iraq Pipeline Watch

this is worth reading too:

Iraq's Oil Sector One Year After Liberation

and this:

Terrorists Have Oil Industry in Cross Hairs

I hate the UN as much as they hate Jews so we're even.

nikita (#117),

"When a fire breaks out in your neighbor's house, you should put it out quickly, not only for the sake of your neighbor but also so that you are not forced to extinguish in your home when it spreads there,'' he [Al-Yawer] said.

Ironically I think that's exactly what's going on. Syria and Iran see the "fire" of democracy spreading in Iraq and are scared shitless that it might spread to their countries.

zulubaby,

Then be thankful that I edited out the pic I had of Kofi shaking hands with Mugabe that I had in inserted in that post.

Geepers, they deserve each other. Really.

How Syria is Working Against the U.S. in Iraq - Editorial (Wall Street Journal)

- Foreign fighters in Iraq interviewed by Western media say they received training in light weapons, explosives, and hit-and-run operations at camps in Syria. In April, Jordanian intelligence captured an al-Qaeda cell, apparently trained in Syria, as it planned a chemical-weapons attack in Amman.
- Syria continues openly to support Hizballah. It also gives sanctuary to Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other anti-Israel terrorist groups.
- U.S. officials tend to say things like "Syria needs to do a lot more" to stop terrorist infiltration, as if Syria is doing anything at all.
- In May, President Bush ordered sanctions on Syria under Congress's Syria Accountability Act of 2003. But U.S. trade with Syria was already minimal, so the sanctions had little effect, and even that was offset by a trade deal the EU reached with Damascus the same month.
- Much of the problem is that the Syrians don't take U.S. threats seriously. Assad's calculation is that the U.S. is too tied down in Iraq to entertain any action against Syria. Yet the fact remains that Syria is providing material support to terrorist groups killing American soldiers in Iraq while openly calling on Iraqis to join the "resistance."
- In 1998 the Turks threatened to invade Syria to end the terrorist campaign against it by the Kurdish PKK and Assad capitulated, showing that there are ways to get the message across to the Syrian regime.

test

#109 hs
Of course no one here wants to accept the fact that US and British representatives were on the board that oversaw the oil for food program. Therefore, we were lax in the oversight as well.

Stop watching CNN and start reading Claudia Rosett. The US or British could spike a contract for cause and did; however, it was up to the gov't in Russia, France, China, Iraq, Syria, S. Africa, etc. to do some thing about it. Most of the time Iraq would just draw another contract for "medicine."

My favorite contract in this whole mess, and interesting that it hasn't gotten more play was the 199k deal that the al-Shifa pharma plant in Sudan had with the OIP. The deal was struck in Nov-Dec 1997 and the aspirin was never delivered. I suppose aspirin takes a long time to manufacture because by 20 August 1998 the plant couldn't make much of anything. Why is this interesting: OBL and Iraq[in other ways] are tied to the plant! And Cohen to this day still stands by the decision to bomb the plant.

Feb-Mach 1998:: Release the video and photographs!

RichatUF