sometimes it gets harder to understand

CBS, cowed by conservative criticism, is refusing to air a news segment – which is critical of the Bush administration's use of forged documentation in its claims that Iraq tried to buy uranium from Niger – until after the election.

well this makes perfect sense really.. CBS, like nearly every other participant in the major media of the US, has been coerced into behaving by the threats of the FCC and the Bush/Cheney team. if you don't play by their rules you will not be allowed to participate in their events. this is a serious threat to the commerce of media. we are on the brink of a total and complete fascist takeover of all media consumed by the masses. fear and intimidation are used against those that don't follow the correct talking point messages. has Fox been threatened for it continuous blatant disregard for the truth? of course not. lie all you want as long as you don't tell lies about "US" who are your masters.

ADMINISTRATION PRIVATELY LOWERS EXPECTATIONS: Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) said that members of the administration have privately told him they've lowered expectations for democracy in Iraq. Kolbe quotes one administration official: "When we went in there, I thought we would build American-style democracy. Hell, I'd be happy with Romanian-style democracy now."

this at the same time that the General in charge of Iraq suggests that Iraq can model its elections after our own in 2000, complete with fraud and marginalization and discounting of voters. and need i remind people what is meant by Romanian-style---a pure and horrendous totalitarian abusive dictatorship. yep that would be perfectly acceptable to Bush. Powell knows its going bad, as do most of the Repugs senators, but that no longer means anything. and why? well because of the next story i think.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices have surged to new record highs near $50 for U.S. crude as Nigeria emerges as the latest focus for worries about supply security on world energy markets. U.S. light crude gained 86 cents to $49.74 a barrel on Monday, the highest in 21 years of trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange contract. Growing concerns over militancy in Nigeria, OPEC's number five producer, are compounding worries about supply security in Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
"All these factors create apprehension in the market and reinforce the view that we're on a knife's edge in terms of supply and demand," said Daniel Hynes, industry analyst at ANZ Bank in Melbourne." "The uncertainties heighten the risk premium applied to this market."
Global supplies have risen strongly this year but are still straining to meet the fastest demand growth in 24 years. World crude output is close to its limit after many years when OPEC producers kept large volumes untapped. The lack of a supply cushion has reinforced the view among some investors that oil near $50 is not overpriced, despite a 50 percent jump crude prices since the start of the year.
"The market faces the prospect of years without sufficient flexibility or insulation from shocks during a period of extreme gepolitical stress," said analyst Paul Horsnell of Barclays Capital.

so here we have it.. the real issue is that since there are tragically diminishing world supplies of oil and more and more people demanding more and more oil, there must be some lines drawn around the world and in the US. in order to draw these lines, democratic processes must be discounted so that harsh judgements can be made for the sake of the survival and success of the few against the many. learning how to fight in urban war in iraq is essential for national guard troops who will be pressed into service trying to stop unrest here in the US after these harsh regulatory restrictions are set in place, particularly the provisions of Patriot Act2.

can't you just see it... a nation of fortified gated communities of the wealthy, around which troops and security forces control populations of impoverished laborers whose tasks are to maintain the external components of the infrastructure.... visions of the future as found in handmaid's tale, blade runner, farhenheit 451, 1984, etc...