Not In That Order, I'll Bet . . . .

The two topics noted in the title of the Reuter's report will no doubt be reversed:

Cheney to discuss peace and oil on Mideast trip
Mon Mar 10, 2008 - By Tabassum Zakaria

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vice President Dick Cheney leaves on Sunday for the Middle East where he will raise U.S. concerns about record-high oil prices and try to push Israeli-Palestinian peace talks forward, the White House said.

Cheney will visit Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West Bank, Turkey and Oman in a trip expected to last about a week or more, his office said on Monday.

"His goal is to reassure people that the United States is committed to a vision of peace in the Middle East," U.S. President George W. Bush said after meeting with Poland's prime minister at the White House.

Cheney will also take the message "that we fully see the threats facing the Middle East, one such threat is Iran, and that we will continue to bolster our security agreements and relationships with our friends and allies," Bush said.

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Cheney also will meet with Saudi King Abdullah when oil prices are hitting record highs, reaching above $106 a barrel last week.

He was expected to reinforce the message from Bush, who had urged OPEC to increase production during his visit to Saudi Arabia in January. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries decided not to boost output.

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"When the president traveled there in January at every stop Iran was of interest and concern. And so I don't expect that that changed in the last two months since Iran hasn't changed its behavior at all," Perino said.

The United States has led efforts to pressure Iran, and the U.N. Security Council voted last week for a third sanctions resolution against Tehran over its refusal to halt its nuclear program.

References to Iran above were emboldened by moi for obvious reasons.

This crowd has ample time to ramp up the anti-Iranian rhetoric to get that war started before they leave office.

dickhead cheney needs more Halliburton stock options for his retirement, you know . . . .

(Cross-posted from Moving to Vancouver)

Pumping Profits . . . .

In light of my ZENN car post below, this bit of good (?) news from Reuters today:

Exxon, Chevron earnings soar on record oil prices
Fri Feb 1, 2008 By Michael Erman

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp, the world's largest non-government-controlled oil company, on Friday posted the highest-ever quarterly and yearly profits by a U.S. company, propelled by record oil prices.

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Exxon's net income in the quarter rose nearly 14 percent to $11.66 billion, or $2.13 a share, from $10.25 billion, or $1.76 a share, in 2006. Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $1.98 per share.

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The company's quarterly result as well as its full-year earnings of $40.61 billion set new records for U.S. profits, beating out previous marks also set by Exxon.

Now ya' wanna put your order in for that ZENN car ? ? ? ?

(Cross-posted from Moving to Vancouver)

They sold it and we bought it

More money than they've ever made... ever.

ExxonMobil, the largest publicly traded oil company in the world, is set to announce their largest annual earnings ever. Which also means ExxonMobil will break their own record set last year as the most money ever made by a company in US history.

CNN Money is reporting that ExxonMobil will announce next week $10.37 billion in earnings for the fourth quarter - a paltry $111 million a day.

Expected annual earnings for ExxonMobil in 2007 are a whopping $39 billion - or about $106 million a day, $4.4 million an hour and $73,000 a second.

Oy.

Ah, REAL Journalism Does Exist . . . .

CBC's On The Map series with Avi Lewis has been mentioned before in MTV for it's excellence in journalism.

With the recent release of Naomi Klein's book The Shock Doctrine it seems appropriate to mention the show again. You see, Ms. Klein is the partner of Avi Lewis. One can see one reason they have hooked up: They are both more than capable journalists.

While perusing the archives of the show, I came across two clips relating to the Iraq oil law and how the profits will be "divided" amongst the principals. The lead up to Avi's interview with John Bolton is located here and it gives a great synopsis of the process involved in formulating the final oil program.

The Bolton interview, in which Avi more than holds his own with the fuzzy-faced Bolton follows in it's entirety: