WASHINGTON — With six months left in office, the Bush administration moved Tuesday to accelerate oil-shale development across the Rocky Mountain West.

Shale deposits in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming could provide 800 billion barrels of oil, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said, enough to meet U.S. demand at current levels "for 110 years."

"We need to be doing more to develop our own energy here at home," Kempthorne said. "Public lands have a significant role to play in meeting our domestic energy needs."

Tuesday's release of draft rules for shale exploration by the Bureau of Land Management was the latest shot in the growing battle of politicians pointing fingers over $4-per-gallon gas and oil as high as $147 per barrel.

Oil shale, along with drilling offshore and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, is part of the solution, Republicans say.

Democrats counter that none of those actions would lower energy costs in the short term and that more must be done to develop alternative energy. In the case of shale, some argue, too many uncertainties exist to move forward aggressively.

"The administration is trying to set the stage for a last-minute fire sale of commercial oil-shale leases in western Colorado, despite the fact that we are still years away from knowing if the technologies for developing oil shale on a commercial scale are even viable," said Democratic Sen. Ken Salazar.

In a conference call with reporters, Kempthorne said it would be 2015 before shale development produced oil. Even so, he said, that could affect gas prices by signaling to the futures market that the U.S. is ramping up domestic production.

For now, the Interior Department is limited in what it can do. Language inserted in a spending bill by Salazar bars the department from issuing final rules on oil-shale development. That moratorium expires Oct. 1. Kempthorne and Republicans want to prevent Salazar from extending that through 2009.

Kempthorne said he plans to move swiftly if given an opening.

Issuing the preliminary regulations started the clock on the final regulations, which could be published in about two months if the moratorium dies.

Environmental groups that oppose oil-shale development said the 235- page BLM document with preliminary rules is unnecessary. In it, the BLM states that "currently, there is no oil-shale industry and the oil-shale extractive technology is still in its rudimentary stages."

Denying the undeniable: Enforced disappearances in Pakistan

Amina Masood Janjua holding the photo of her “disappeared” husband in September 2006.

© Amnesty International. 22 July 2008

“For us relief is only when our loved one is safe and sound standing freed before us. [...] I believe that my husband Masood is held only three kilometres from my home, yet he continues to suffer unknown ill-treatment and we, his wife, his children and his very old parents cannot even see him. They [the new government] must act now to bring them back immediately."
 - Amina Masood Janjua, July 2008

The last time Amina Masood Janjua saw her husband, Masood Janjua, was on 30 July 2005 when he left home to meet his friend Faisal Faraz. Pakistani security forces apprehended both men on that day while on a bus journey to another city.

Since then, Pakistan’s government has been holding them in secret without charge or trial, repeatedly denying any knowledge of their whereabouts despite eyewitness testimony as to their detention.

Masood Janjua and Faisal Faraz are among hundreds of victims of enforced disappearance in Pakistan, including children as young as nine and ten years old. Many of them were detained after the attacks in the USA on 11 September 2001, their detentions justified in the name of the US-led “war on terror”.

The practice, rare before 2001, then spread to activists involved in pushing for greater ethnic or regional rights, including Baloch and Sindhis.

Despite undeniable evidence, the government of President Pervez Musharraf consistently denied subjecting anyone to enforced disappearances.

In the report Denying the undeniable, enforced disappearances in Pakistan, Amnesty International uses official court records and affidavits of victims and witnesses of enforced disappearances to confront the Pakistani authorities with evidence of how government officials obstructed attempts to trace those who have “disappeared.”

New government brings opportunity for change

The report urges the newly elected government of Pakistan – which has pledged to improve Pakistan’s human rights record - to end the policy of denial, investigate all cases of enforced disappearance and hold those responsible to account.

“By holding people in secret detention the government of Pakistan has not only violated their rights, but also failed in its duty to charge and try those suspected of involvement in attacks on civilians”, said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia Pacific director.

Crucially, Pakistan’s new government must reinstate deposed judges who had previously been investigating disappearance cases and were deposed by President Pervez Musharraf when he imposed a state of emergency in the country in November 2007.

Vanity Fair Covers The New Yorker

by Vanity Fair July 22, 2008, 12:10 PM

We here at Vanity Fair maintain a kind of affectionate rivalry with our downstairs neighbors at The New Yorker. We play softball every year, compete for some of the same stories, and share an elevator bank. (You can tell the ones who are headed to the 20th floor by their Brooklyn pallor and dog-eared paperbacks.)

And heaven knows we’ve published our share of scandalous images, on the cover and otherwise. So we’ve been watching the kerfuffle over last week’s New Yorker cover with a mixture of empathy and better-you-than-us relief.

We had our own presidential campaign cover in the works, which explored a different facet of the Politics of Fear, but we shelved it when The New Yorker’s became the “It Girl” of the blogosphere. Now, however, in a selfless act of solidarity with our downstairs neighbors here at the Condé Nast building, we’d like to share it with you. Confidentially, of course.

Illustration by Tim Bower.

Another good McCain gaffe 

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a81/kos102/2008/Video/?action=view&current=mcsame-screwsup.flv

â-º On Newstands everwhere - August '08 edition.

Life around Camp Ramadi in Iraq can grow tedious, as soldiers provide security escorts in the 120-degree heat of the Sunni Triangle. But Air Force Col. Robert Burton of Mount Pleasant said the routine was shaken up a bit Tuesday.

Burton was one of several military officials who got to meet and greet Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama as Obama stopped by the camp on a Middle East tour.

He also met Obama's colleagues, Sens. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Jack Reed of Rhode Island.

"I was very impressed," Burton said in a telephone interview after the group left. "They were all sharp and very knowledgeable, and they all understood military experience very well. ... It was a very cool thing to meet these guys."

The visit involved more handshakes and photos than substantive talks, but Burton, who hosted a fundraiser in Mount Pleasant for New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson during the Democratic primary campaign, was able to ask Obama whom he will pick as his running mate.

"He smiled at me so well and said, 'What do you think?' " Burton said. "I said to Obama, 'You and (New York Sen.) Hillary (Clinton) were too sexy. Richardson couldn't get anything going.' He just kind of smiled."

Burton said he also told Obama that he understood the need to maintain suspense about the vice presidential pick, "and he said, 'Yeah, I do need to do that.' "

Burton, who ran as a Democrat for S.C. Adjutant General in 1998, said he found Obama personable and bright and said criticism of Obama's lack of foreign policy experience and his failure to support the recent surge in Iraq misses a point.

"He's a smart enough man that he'll surround himself with people who know things that he doesn't," Burton said. "(Republican presidential nominee John) McCain is a bright guy, too. I'm confident that both of these men would represent us well."

Burton said he knew about Obama's trip for a week but had to keep it secret for security reasons. He told his wife he might not be able to talk with her by phone for a few days, and while she worried at first, she eventually figured it out. "My daughter sent me an e-mail saying, 'Daddy, that's so cool. Get me an autograph.' "

Reach Robert Behre at 937-5771 or at rbehre@ postandcourier.com.

Food and oil prices take toll across Asia

JAKARTA: While prices are rising in the United States and Europe, the biggest increases are being felt in Asia, with double-digit inflation already a problem in India and Vietnam and with other countries facing the same risk.

Sharp rises in global food and oil prices are now spilling over into wages and broader measures of inflation across Asia, as the Asian Development Bank noted in a report released Tuesday. Workers are demanding higher wages to cover their rising living costs, and companies are imposing higher prices for a wide range of goods to cover accelerating production costs.

"The epicenter of the inflationary storm is really in Asia," said Cyd Tuano-Amador, the managing director of monetary policy at the Philippines Central Bank.

Higher inflation in Asia is also starting to contribute to higher prices in the United States. According to the Labor Department in Washington, prices for imports from Pacific Rim countries - mostly Asian goods - rose 2.7 percent in the 12 months through June after falling 1.4 percent in the preceding 12 months.

Asia's top central bankers, who are preparing for their annual gathering Monday in Shanghai, have been unable to develop a united response to deal with the worst inflation threat in the region in at least a decade.

Boediono, the governor of the Bank of Indonesia, called in an interview here on Tuesday for a coordinated international move toward tighter monetary policy, including higher interest rates by the United States, so as to slow inflation.

In an era of global capital flows, so much excess money is now sloshing through world markets that no single country can fight the international problem of inflation effectively by tightening its own monetary policy, Boediono said. Like many Indonesians, he uses only one name.

"I don't think any one country, even as big as China or even the United States, would be able to stomach the adjustment" of raising interest rates far enough to slow global inflation, he said.

World oil prices could fall by 30 percent if countries around the globe do take coordinated action to reduce liquidity, he said. He attributed much of the recent rise in global commodity prices to excess money in circulation.

But Boediono said he was not recommending that Asian central banks sell any of their dollar reserves to put pressure on the United States to raise interest rates. Asian purchases of dollar-denominated securities, led by China's $1.8 trillion in foreign reserves, have played a central role in financing the U.S. trade and government budget deficits and in holding down interest rates on mortgages during the recent American housing market decline.

Sen. Barack Obama speaks with a U.S soldier in Afghanistan during breakfast at Camp Eggers in Kabul Sunday.

In this handout picture taken on July 20, 2008, US Democratic Presidential contender Barack Obama shakes hands with a US soldier of Combined Security Transition Command during a visit to Camp Eggers in Kabul. Democratic Presidential hopeful Barack Obama met US troops in Afghanistan, during a visit to assess efforts against extremist militants at the start of a major international tour, US military commanders at the main US base at Bagram, north of Kabul, briefed Obama and other senators on the international effort against Taliban and other Islamic extremists, the US-led coalition said.
3:28 a.m. ET, 7/20/08AFP/Getty Images

I think Blueberry nailed it when she said the divide between Obama and Clinton is back in full swing. I don't know what is going on tonight but this forum sucks.

People have to fight to read posts in between people who insist on posting EXTREMELY long postings...case in point at least 2 of mels that I would have missed if they weren't on the high rating list. How many more have I missed?

More people are bitching about humor, which many women do indeed find funny, rather than talking about Women's rights.

What happened to the women’s health care issue? I know exactly what happened, Lincoln Park brought it up by posting Obama’s position on it and all the anti Obama people complained about it instead of adding to the conversation on how women do NOT get the same treatment as men when it comes to health care.

Do any of you realize that more women die from a heart attack because their symptoms are brushed off as heartburn or some other minor complaint? I thought for sure we’d be discussing the latest issue of Viagra v Birth Control Pills.

I guess some people just cannot accept that not all women are alike nor do we wish to be. I hope that next week’s forum will be like the others we have had, Fun and Informative. If we can’t, our Friday Forums will disappear very quickly.

Since many of the usual bloggers are on tonight could we all please come to some kind of agreement on when to use extended post?

I'm sure I am not the only one that is missing some of the smaller posts in between these extremely long ones.

For those that do not know how to use Extended Post here is a very easy how-to-DIY...

"EXTENDED POST - PLEASE use the extended post section for majority of text of your blog leaving just a paragraph or two to entice the reader on the front page. This little snippet entices the reader, but leaves more blogs on the front page for people to read. OR you can ignore this advice and receive lots of snarky comments."

Pentagon sending 800 more specially armored vehicles

Workers at the Naval Weapon Station, in Charleston, S.C., prepare Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, or MRAPs, in January for departure to Iraq and Afghanistan.WASHINGTON - The Defense Department will send close to 800 more bomb-resistant vehicles to Afghanistan, where a resurgent Taliban has military leaders developing plans to add thousands of U.S. troop reinforcements.

The hulking vehicles, known as MRAPs, protect U.S. personnel from the powerful blasts of roadside bombs, the No. 1 cause of combat deaths in injuries in Iraq. The improvised explosive devices are a growing threat in Afghanistan where 36,000 American troops are battling militant groups and training Afghan forces.

MRAPs come in various sizes. One model, fully loaded, can weigh as much as 40 tons. Due to Afghanistan's mountainous terrain and unstable roads, defense officials have opted for the lightest and most maneuverable version, called the RG-31.

REALLY Scary????

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"President Bush signed a bill giving phone companies immunity for letting the government spy on its customers without a warrant. Isn't that unbelievable? President Bush said 9/11 changed everything. And you know, he's right, because violating the Constitution and breaking the law used to mean jail time. Apparently no more." –Jay Leno

"The other day the plane that Barack Obama was on had some mechanical difficulties and was forced to land. Well, the National Transportation Safety Board did an inspection on the plane, and you know what they found? The bolts on the plane were fine, but apparently Jesse Jackson had taken some of the nuts off." --Jay Leno

"I'm sure you know by now, Jesse Jackson was overheard saying, and I'll put this more delicately, that he wanted to cut Barack Obama's testicles off. And Jesse has been on several news programs the last couple of days, explaining what he meant by those comments. Do you need to explain that?" --Jay Leno

"Insiders claim that even though Jesse Jackson supports Barack Obama publicly for president, privately he doesn't like him. You know, it's kind of like Bill with Hillary." --Jay Leno

"Today Jesse tried to reach out to Obama, and Obama said, 'Keep your hands where I can see them!'" --Jay Leno

Today's New York Times has once again raised the issue that John McCain may not be eligible to be President because he is not a natural born U.S. citizen. Apparently, McCain was born outside of the 13 colonies." --Conan O'Brien

"Jesse Jackson also said he thought Barack Obama was talking down to black people by lecturing them on things like fatherhood and being a responsible husband. Jesse thought it was insulting, not only to him, but to his former mistress and their love child." --Jay Leno

"I don't, I don't think Jesse learned his lesson, today he was overheard saying he wanted to cut off John McCain's Medicare." --Jay Leno

"This week, Iran test-fired nine missiles, and the White House said this is the sort of thing that could disrupt the Middle East peace process. Just when things were going so well. We had this big love-fest going! I hope this doesn't, ruin it, in any way!" --Jay Leno

"And, for the first time in American history, Congress's approval rating has fallen to just 9%, 9%. You don't know how bad that is - the oil companies are at 12%." --Jay Leno

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