Tuesday edition - June 17, 2008

"And OPEC said, this week, it will call a meeting of its members to discuss what it calls unjustified oil prices. See, not to bring the price down. They just want to come up with a reason to justify it." --Jay Leno

The-World-Is-A-Safer-Place-Without Saddam

• US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,099 AP

• Motorbike bomb kills four anti-Qaeda fighters AFP

• Iraqi TV reporter killed in Iraq The Associated Press

• Army probe of Reuters death flawed: U.S. inspector Reuters

• Taliban militants destroy bridges in Afghanistan AP

• Afghan President's Comments Highlight Frustration in Kabul and ... Voice of America

Military Industrial Complex Update

The senior civilian official who managed the military's largest contract in Iraq says he was reassigned in 2004 when he refused to approve more than $1 billion in charges to KBR until the Houston company provided credible spending records, The New York Times reported.

"They had a gigantic amount of costs they couldn't justify," retired Army official Charles M. Smith told the Times in a story posted on its Web site Monday night. "Ultimately, the money that was going to KBR was money being taken away from the troops, and I wasn't going to do that."

Disturbing News

• Tomato Salmonella Cases in 5 More States New York Times 

• Threat of levee breaks heightens further flood risk in Midwest CNN

"Now, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia says he wants to have this meeting. Now, you ever notice, when OPEC nations get together, there's always kings and sultans and crowned princes? See, that's where the term 'royally screwed' comes from." --Jay Leno

Royal Torture

As a trusted adviser to a member of the ruling family of the United Arab Emirates, Texas businessman Bassam Nabulsi says he safeguarded the sheik's most important documents: financial records, investment documents, and videotapes showing the sheik torturing people with a cattle prod and a spiked plank.

Republican-Shenanigans News

• Is McCain Like Bush? It Depends on the Issue New York Times

• Bush seems to whack his own credibility on travel plans AP

• Judge rules for White House in e-mail controversy AP

• Report: Pentagon misled Congress on NORAD threat AP

How Not To Woo Hillary Supporters

Chicago native Patti Solis Doyle, former Clinton campaign manager jettisoned in the final months of the primary, joins the Obama team as the chief of staff to Sen. Barack Obama's eventual running mate, as Michelle Obama beefs up her operation with a new chief of staff.

For tea leaf readers: The Solis Doyle appointment could be seen as a sign that Sen. Hillary Clinton is drifting down and out from Obama's vice presidential short list. The minus is that perhaps Obama should not have sent this signal so soon, as he is busy wooing disgruntled Clinton supporters.

Rock-The-Voter News

• Obama holding on to small lead over McCain: poll Reuters

• McCain & Obama 'even' among independents USA Today

• Gore puts support behind Obama New York Daily News

• Obama says will visit Iraq and Afghanistan Reuters

In this photograph provided by 'Meet the Press,' Democratic strategist James Carville and his wife Republican strategist Mary Matalin burst into tears during a taping of 'Meet the Press' in memory of the late moderator Tim Russert Sunday, June 15, 2008, at the NBC studios in Washington.
Photo/Meet The Press, Alex Wong

Biz-Tech News

• Oil falls $2, mulls more Saudi crude Reuters Canada

• High prices blamed on oil traders Cayman Net News, Cayman Islands

• Midwest flooding spurs record corn prices Reuters

• McClatchy Plans to Cut 1400 Newspaper Jobs New York Times

• AP to meet with blogging group to form guidelines AP

• Perot launches Web site about government spending AP

"There was a big power outage in DC this morning, the whole city. The good news is, Homeland Security says it was not terrorism. Whew! Luckily, it was just our lousy energy policy. So that's a relief." --Jay Leno

She's Still Failing After All These Years

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wound up her visit by hosting a trilateral meeting with the Israeli defense minister and Palestinian prime minister. But after two days of talks in Jerusalem and the West Bank there was no sign of progress in peace talks sponsored by the United States.

Bush-Prison-Torture News

• Detainees recruited for jihad Seattle Times

• Ex-detainees say US troops abused Quran Seattle Times

I Wonder If The Pentagon Used The Google

A Senate investigation has concluded that top Pentagon officials began assembling lists of harsh interrogation techniques in the summer of 2002 for use on detainees at Guantanamo Bay...

Email

Hi Lisa,

Would you care to predict the price of a gallon of gas just before the November presidential election?

~Don

Me predict the cost of gas? Yes, the cost of a gallon of gas in November will be much more than I can afford.

Go-F**k-Yourself News

• Community service for Cheney protesters Tulsa World, OK 

I hope you had a good time today

Please support All Hat No Cattle

Offline Donation

Lisa Casey

PO Box 88

Ashford. AL 36312

Click here to e-mail a comment

Odd News

• In Russert death, feud for thought New York Daily News

• No signs of water yet from Mars lander Los Angeles Times

• Study: Chimps calm each other with hugs, kisses AP

• Fighting crows halt trains Reuters

• Scientists reverse vasectomy on endangered horse AP

• Guy kidnaps ex-girlfriend to get ironing done Reuters

This May 2008 St. Sugar Cancer Sniffing Dog Training Centre (SCSDTC) photograph shows Marine, a six-and-a-half-year-old Labrador trained in Japan to detect cancer patients by smell. A South Korean firm said Monday it has successfully cloned four dogs from Marine. The cloned retrievers will soon be sent to Japan for training in the same skills as their mother.
Photo/Yuji Satoh

Peace.