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Archive for May, 2008

U.S. Terrorism list is Political Tool

WASHINGTON (AP) — North Korea has not been linked to a terrorist attack in more than two decades, but it is still on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. Now, it may be on the verge of its coveted goal of getting removed – for reasons having little to do with terrorism.

Meanwhile, Washington has what appears to be fresh evidence that Venezuela supported Colombian guerrillas that the U.S. considers terrorists. Yet the terrorism list does not include Venezuela, a major oil supplier to the United States.

Nearly three decades after its inception, the state sponsors of terrorism list is not just about terrorism. It has become a diplomatic tool to win concessions from U.S. adversaries eager to end the stigma and sanctions that come with the designation. It may also be too blunt a tool to be used against strategically important countries, even if the terrorism link appears clear-cut.

“Of course the list is political,” said Bruce Hoffman, a professor of security studies at Georgetown University.

The United States has many blacklists for people, groups and countries it deems unsavory. But the state sponsors of terrorism list has perhaps the highest profile, though only five countries are on it: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria.

Green Beret Electrocuted In His Shower

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (CNN) — A highly decorated Green Beret, Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth died a painful death in Iraq this year. He died not on the battlefield. He died in what should have been one of the safest spots in Iraq: on a U.S. base, in his bathroom.

Ryan Maseth, a 24-year-old Green Beret, died in his shower January 2.

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The water pump was not properly grounded, and when he turned on the shower, a jolt of electricity shot through his body and electrocuted him January 2.

The next day, Cheryl Harris was informed of his death. A mother of three sons serving in Iraq, she had feared such news might come one day.

“I did ask exactly, ‘How did Ryan die? What happened to him?’ And he had told me that Ryan was electrocuted,” she said.

Her reaction was disbelief. “I truly couldn’t believe he would be electrocuted … in the shower,” she said.

Maseth, 24, was not the first. At least 12 U.S. troops have been electrocuted in Iraq since the start of the war in 2003, according to military and government officials.

How Long Till Gas is $12 a Gallon?

It may be the mother of all doom and gloom gas price predictions: $12 for a gallon of gas is “inevitable.”

Robert Hirsch, Management Information Services Senior Energy Advisor, gave a dire warning about the potential future of gas prices on CNBC’s May 20 “Squawk Box”. He told host Becky Quick there was no single thing that would solve the problem, due to the enormity of the problem.

“[T]he prices that we’re paying at the pump today are, I think, going to be ‘the good old days,’ because others who watch this very closely forecast that we’re going to be hitting $12 and $15 per gallon,” Hirsch said. “And then, after that, when oil – world oil production goes into decline, we’re going to talk about rationing.

In other words, not only are we going to be paying high prices and have considerable economic problems, but in addition to that, we’re not going to be able to get the fuel when we want it.”

Oil Shortages Loom Within Five Years

Fears of a shortage within five years propelled long-term oil futures prices to almost $140 a barrel, further stoking inflationary pressures in the global economy.

The spot price of Nymex West Texas Intermediate hit a record $130.30 a barrel on Wednesday. On Tuesday investors had rushed to buy oil futures contracts as far forward as December 2016, pushing their prices as high as $139.50 a barrel, up more than $9.50 on the day.

Veteran traders said they had never seen such a jump and said investors were increasingly betting that oil production would soon peak because of geopolitical and geological constraints.

Neil McMahon, of Sanford Bernstein, said: “Peak oil views – regardless of whether right or wrong – are seeping into the market and supporting high prices.”

Anne-Louise Hittle, of Wood Mackenzie, added that investors were shifting their focus from the short-term to the medium-term, where supply fears played a bigger role. Since January, long-term futures oil contracts, such as those for delivery in 2016, have jumped almost 60 per cent, while near-term prices have gone up 35 per cent.

That trend was exacerbated by T. Boone Pickens, the influential investor who believes world oil production is about to peak as aging fields run dry. He warned that oil prices would hit $150 a barrel by the end of the year.

“Eighty-five million barrels of oil a day is all the world can produce, and the demand is 87m,” Mr Pickens told CNBC. “It’s just that simple.”

Keith Olbermann from MSNBC gives the best summary of George W. Bush that I have ever heard.

The video is a very passionate address to the President. I have never heard a mainstream media figure explain so intelligently and eloquently, some of the grave crimes and atrocities our President has commited.

If you even still care a little bit about this country, you don’t want to miss this.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/24635229#24635229

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Union Apprenticeships Are More Successful Than Other Programs

Union apprenticeships provide more skilled workers and are more successful at recruiting women and ethnic minorities to the building trades in Massachusetts, a study by the Labor Resource Center at the University of Massachusetts-Boston has found.

The full study, being released Wednesday by the resource center, is based on a comparison of union and nonunion apprenticeship programs registered with the state Division of Apprenticeship from 1997 to 2007.

“We spend over $28 million a year in recruiting and training the best qualified craftspeople in the construction industry, and the results of this study demonstrate that the investment is paying off,” said Frank Callahan, president of the Massachusetts Building Trades Council, in a statement.

• Apprentices in union programs go on to journeyperson status at higher rates — 81 percent (6,142 workers), compared to 19 percent (1,419) in nonunion programs.