Exxon Mobil, the world’s largest publicly quoted oil and gas firm, yesterday said it made $25bn (£13bn) in 2004, the highest profits in the company’s history.

The earnings are roughly equal to the gross domestic product of Luxembourg or Guatemala, and higher than the individual GDPs of Syria, Bulgaria and Kenya.

The record profits were achieved on the back of the surge in oil and gas prices last year due to high demand and instability in some of the biggest producing nations.
Full Article: guardian.co.uk

by Sami Ramadani
On September 4 1967 the New York Times published an upbeat story on presidential elections held by the South Vietnamese puppet regime at the height of the Vietnam war. Under the heading “US encouraged by Vietnam vote: Officials cite 83% turnout despite Vietcong terror”, the paper reported that the Americans had been “surprised and heartened” by the size of the turnout “despite a Vietcong terrorist campaign to disrupt the voting”. A successful election, it went on, “has long been seen as the keystone in President Johnson’s policy of encouraging the growth of constitutional processes in South Vietnam”. The echoes of this weekend’s propaganda about Iraq’s elections are so close as to be uncanny.

With the past few days’ avalanche of spin, you could be forgiven for thinking that on January 30 2005 the US-led occupation of Iraq ended and the people won their freedom and democratic rights. This has been a multi-layered campaign, reminiscent of the pre-war WMD frenzy and fantasies about the flowers Iraqis were collecting to throw at the invasion forces. How you could square the words democracy, free and fair with the brutal reality of occupation, martial law, a US-appointed election commission and secret candidates has rarely been allowed to get in the way of the hype.
Full Article: guardian.co.uk

Obscure provision cuts reliance on CIA

WASHINGTON Congress has given the Pentagon important new authority to fight terrorism by authorizing Special Operations forces for the first time to spend money to pay informers and recruit foreign paramilitary soldiers.

The new authority, which would also let Special Operations forces purchase equipment or other items from the foreigners, is spelled out in a single paragraph of an 800-page defense authorization bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush in October.

It was requested by the Pentagon and the commander of Special Operations forces as part of a broader effort to make the military less reliant on the Central Intelligence Agency, according to congressional and Defense Department officials.

…Defense Department officials did not call attention to the program even at a briefing last week in which they confirmed news reports about other steps to broaden the military’s involvement in intelligence operations. Those include the formation of a new clandestine unit within the Defense Intelligence Agency to work more closely with Special Operations forces in supporting battlefield missions, including counterterrorism operations.

A CIA official said the new authority would not rival the agency’s own programs.

“The fact that DOD has fixed a gap in its capability is a good thing,” the official said, referring to the Department of Defense.

“But the CIA exists to do exactly this. Just because another agency has a new authority doesn’t mean we stop doing what we’re doing. In fact, the president has asked us to increase our capability by 50 percent.”
Full Article: iht.com

Embattled University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill resigned his chairmanship of the school’s ethnic studies program Monday.

“I don’t think it is appropriate that under these conditions, that I represent my department,” said Churchill, who added that he has recently received numerous “credible” death threats

…It doesn’t look to be a routine day. The CU College Republicans are planning a four-hour protest outside the University Memorial Center, highlighting their petition drive asking President Betsy Hoffman to fire Churchill.

The group will also present fliers to students arriving for Churchill’s 12:30 p.m. class in the American Indian Studies program, “Indian/Government Conflicts.”

The fliers will inform students about Churchill’s 9/11 commentary.

Conflict has been a close companion lately for Churchill, who is also a prominent member of the American Indian Movement of Colorado.

Full Article: rockymountainnews.com