The Independent has been doing a thorough job of reporting on the maneuvering of the big-oil companies in Iraq.  

The latest report is of the "Technical Services Agreement" (TSA) contracts to be signed before the end of June.  These agreements, between Big Oil and the Baghdad government, will be the first to be signed since the American-led invasion in 2003, and will front-run the controversial the Hydrocarbon law discussions (the "Production-Sharing Agreements" or PSAs) which have been stymied for the past 5 years.

http://www.independent.co.uk/...

I just watched a segment on Fox News, evening/late night edition, announced as "Talking Points Memo." Curious!

It was a Fox-biased political story.  

I wonder if Josh knows about this?  

It's not just audacious; it seems like a copyright violation.

Bob Fitrakis has been a leader in election fraud investigative reporting. He revealed yesterday, on http://www.freepress.org/...  that:

There is more than ample documentation to show that on Election Night 2004, Ohio's "official" Secretary of State website – which gave the world the presidential election results – was redirected from an Ohio government server to a group of servers that contain scores of Republican web sites, including the secret White House e-mail accounts that have emerged in the scandal surrounding Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’s firing of eight federal prosecutors. 

<snip> and more after the fold.

Charles Gibson just reported on ABC, almost as a toss away, that General Abizaid will retire next month.

I have not seen anything else on this, at google news and/or ABC. How 'bout you?

The report came after a clip of Bush's press conference today, when he hints that he may not take the miliary's advice on the way from here in Iraq.

I just send the following to my "Christmas card" list, many of whom do not ever discuss politics.  I titled it  "Personal Appeal":

A personal appeal from the xxx's:

Do you believe that you are casting your votes tomorrow based on exclusively local issues?  

Whether it is admitted or not, the results of the election tomorrow will be taken as a proxy for US participation in the war in Iraq by this Administration.  

Please consider what voting for a continued Republican majority for Congress communicates to the man who claimed a mandate after the 2004 election.  At that point, the President said "would spend his political capital".

Two years later, and billions spent, is this how you trusted things to be designed?

If not, I would urge you to give your support to the Democratic candidate for any Federal office on November 7-- if only for this one cycle!      

Interesting article on www.webpronews.com.

Seems as though the Crhistian Coalition is going to calling their Congressmen in August to SUPPORT net neutrality.   Strange bedfellow, but all I can say is "whew".

There is further interesting political stuff here too, but I will stop with these good tidings.

http://www.webpronews.com/...

U.S. concedes ground to Islamists on Iraqi law
Sat Aug 20, 2005 11:27 AM ET

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. diplomats have conceded ground to Islamists on the role of religion in Iraq, negotiators said on Saturday as they raced to meet a 48-hour deadline to draft a constitution under intense U.S. pressure.

U.S. diplomats, who have insisted the constitution must enshrine ideals of equal rights and democracy, declined comment.

Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish negotiators all said there was accord on a bigger role for Islamic law than Iraq had before.

From http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/_/id/7265052?pageid=rs.Home&pageregion=single7&rn d=1114114700265&has-player=true&version=6.0.12.1059

Almost unnoticed in the 2000-page budget that Bush just submitted, tucked away in a single paragraph, is a provision that could make every consumer protection a thing of the past.

     The proposal, spelled out in three short sentences, would give the president the power to appoint an eight-member panel called the "Sunset Commission," which would systematically review federal programs every ten years and decide whether they should be eliminated. Any programs that are not "producing results," in the eyes of the commission, would "automatically terminate unless the Congress took action to continue them."

More below the fold....