The US State Dept. TransCanada Keystone XL Pipeline

The US State Dept. has outsourced much of its responsibility for determining whether to give approval to the TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline to TransCanada consultant Cardno-ENTRIX, including  :

1) the State Dept.'s TransCanada KeystoneXL webpage - see the tiny print at the bottom ,

2) two Environmental Impact Statements(EIS) and Presidential Permits for international border crossing  (Great commentary and an explanation on how EIS work from Scarecrow at FireDogLake), and

3) the public hearings held in the states along the length of the proposed pipeline - Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas - with a final one in Washington DC on October 9.

Should you wish to send your opinion of the pipeline proposal directly to the US State Dept, Cardno-ENTRIX handles that too.

The US State Dept has inserted a corporation between itself and the people it was elected to serve.

Excellent article and new information on this extraordinary conflict of interest from Brad Johnson at Think Progress yesterday, with thanks to his link to a Creekside post back in July , where we noted :

 Cardno-ENTRIX explains on their website :

Keystone XL Oil Pipeline Project EIS

Client : TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. (Keystone)
"TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. (Keystone) has applied to the U.S. Department of State (DOS) for a Presidential Permit ....
Keystone contracted with Cardno ENTRIX as the third-party contractor to assist DOS in preparing the EIS and to conduct the Section 106 consultation process."

and again in a Cardno Mergers Presentation :

Keystone and Keystone XL Pipelines

Client : US Department of State and TransCanada

ENTRIX is the prime contractor for the preparation of two third party EIS’s for the US Department of State and TransCanada Keystone Crude Oil Pipeline System.The project features 1,702 miles of new 36-inch diameter pipeline (327 miles in Canada and 1,375 miles in U.S.) with capacity for 900,000 barrels per day.

So how did those Cardno-ENTRIX public pipeline hearings go?

People arriving 45 minutes early to the Port Arthur, Texas hearing found "hundreds" of people already there in t-shirts which read BUILD KEYSTONE XL NOW! GOOD JOBS! U.S. SECURITY!

"Once we were allowed to sign up to speak (at a table staffed by Cardno Entrix, according to their name tags) we entered the room to find the first 8-10 rows, (left side:suits, right side: oil field workers), filled by these individuals and their slogans."

By the time people in opposition got their turn, it was getting late and their time to speak was cut back.
But at least they didn't get arrested for it.

Austin, Texas :

"According to Karen Hadden, the Executive Director of the Sustainable and Economic Development (SEED) Coalition, “This was not a hearing, this was a farce.” Ms. Hadden arrived and had been waiting for a couple of hours to give comments when they cut the hearing off. Later, when she was attempting to find out what her options were for providing comments to the State Department given she was unable to do so at the hearing, she was told she must leave the premises or she would be arrested."

Ms Hadden provides a photo of someone else being arrested for 'expressing concerns about the flawed process'.
The public hearings along the pipeline route are now over.

There's been no media interest so far up here in Canada that TransCanada and the US State Dept have apparently shared the use of a "professional environmental consulting company" in the almost certain future approval of the KeystoneXL pipeline.

Must be part of that "Shaping the Future" thing.
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And now a word from our sponsors ...

Knock, knock. You Mr Smith? Delivery. Sign here please.

Whoa! Massive box! But there must be some mistake - I didn't order anything.

You are Mr Smith, apartment 1A...

Yes, but ...

No worries, it's prepaid. Just sign here.

Alright - a present! So what is it? What's it say is in the box?

Let's see ... a remote control plane.

Really? I always wanted an rc plane. Who's it from? Bet it's my dad.

If you'll just sign here, I'll be on my way.

Oh sure, sorry ... here ya go and thanks.


Wow, this weighs a ton - must be one massive plane. Say, what's this other stuff listed on here with the plane :"Six assault rifles, three grenades, 25 pounds of C-4 plastic explosives, detonators ..." WTF ???

Hey, nice plane. You Mr Smith?

Yeah, why?

I've got a delivery for you. Three tonnes of fertilizer, prepaid. Where do you want it?

No offence to the hard working intelligence officials in Canada, US, and Australia, but just how small a part is the perp permitted to play in these terrorist plots to blow up public buildings anyway? Besides the usual initial angry anti-gov chat, I mean?
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The NAFTA to TILMA to CETA race to the bottom

BC jobs go to Alberta; the profits go to Texas ...

The public utility BC Hydro is spending $1-billion to upgrade its transmission lines.

The Northwest Transmission Line contract - $364-525 million with 280 direct jobs per year - went to Valard Construction, based in Alberta and owned by Quanta Services from Texas. A BC company qualified as a bidder but were later told by Quanta to withdraw from the competition.
 
The Lower Mainland Transmission line - $540-780 million with 543 person years of work - is going to Graham-Flatiron, who subcontracted the line work to another Alberta company, also owned by Quanta.

The Columbia Valley Transmission project - $132-209 million - went to RS Line Contr.Co., another Alberta company.

As Doug McKay of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers told The Tyee, these companies come in with their own workers :

"They're scared to hire the people out here because we're quite unionized."

The B.C. jobs typically go to the lowest bidders, he said. "Here we look at low price and close our eyes and hope nobody gets killed," he said. "It's a race to the bottom as far as we're concerned."

According to BC Hydro :

"BC Hydro is subject to both the Agreement on Internal Trade and TILMA. BC Hydro’s policies require public competitive bids to be fair, transparent and open to all bidders who meet the requirements for each procurement. We do not track whether contractors are union or non-union."

So while the people of BC might expect to benefit from local jobs and revenue from their publicly owned electricity utility, TILMA and NAFTA sends those jobs and personal taxes to Alberta while the profits go on to Texas and BC Hydro doesn't care whether those jobs are union or not.


Meanwhile CETA, Steve's Canada-EU free trade agreement, promises more of the same "freedom" for foreign investors.
Here's the text of the negotiating mandates approved by the EU General Affairs Council for investment protection chapters in free trade agreements of the EU with Canada, India and Singapore. Note the last line.

Annex 1 TITLE 3 A : Investment protection

Objective: In accordance with the principles and the objectives of the Union's external action the respective provisions of the agreement shall provide for :

the highest possible level of legal protection and certainty for European investors in Canada/India/Singapore,

Scope: the investment protection title of the agreement shall cover a broad range of investors and their investments, intellectual property rights included, whether the investment is made before or after the entry into force of the agreement.

Enforcement: the agreement shall aim to provide for an effective investor-to state- dispute settlement mechanism. State-to-state dispute settlement will be included, but will not interfere with the right of investors to have recourse to the investor-to-state dispute settlement mechanism. It should provide for investors a wide range of arbitration fora as currently available under the Member States' bilateral investment agreements (BIT's).

Relationship with other parts of the agreement: the chapter on investment protection shall be a separate one, not linked to the market access commitments. These markets access commitments may include, when necessary, rules concerning performance requirements.

All the sub-federal or local entities and authorities (such as provinces or municipalities) must effectively comply with the investment protection chapter of this agreement

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Say No to the Tar Sands/Ottawa Action today

                           
                   Canadians are planning to risk arrest today on Parliament Hill

Tony Clarke in the Toronto Star, excerpted :

"On Monday I will be joining hundreds of fellow Canadians on Parliament Hill to demonstrate growing public opposition to the relentless expansion of the tarsands megaproject in northern Alberta.  

... the Ottawa action will be carried out in solidarity with the more than 1,200 U.S. citizens who were arrested during a two-week protest outside the White House in Washington in late August. 

Canada has no national energy policy and strategy. Although the Harper regime frequently promotes Canada as the “next energy superpower,” it has no plan in place for making the critical transition urgently needed over the next decade, moving from our societal dependence on dirty fossil fuels to clean, sustainable and renewable sources of energy.

Instead, we are well on our way to becoming a petro-state

All the great social movements of the last century — workers’ rights, women’s suffrage, civil rights, First Nations, anti-poverty, environmental rights, anti-apartheid — were marked by key moments of direct action and civil disobedience. Indeed, this is a defining moment for all who are concerned about environmental and social justice in our times."

#ottawaaction .... #NoTarSands .... 
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Occupy Wall Street - Day 8

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Tell them where to stand, barracade them in, then pepper spray them in the face.

Update : A slo-mo version of the portion of the vid showing the unprovoked sneak attack on the women.

NY Daily News :

"A video posted on YouTube and NYDailyNews.com shows uniformed officers had corralled the women using orange nets when two supervisors made a beeline for the women, and at least one suddenly sprayed the women before turning and quickly walking away."

Among the 80 -100 arrests, a PBS reporter was arrested for interviewing the pepper sprayed women.
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#occupywall street ... #ourwallstreet  ... live feed
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The Conservative Dumb-on-Crime Agenda

CBC : Crime rates in Canada lowest level since 1973

"Canada's national crime rate has been on the decline for the past two decades and has reached its lowest level since 1973, according to Statistics Canada. The total volume of crime, representing nearly 2.1 million Criminal Code incidents, fell five per cent in 2010 from the previous year, said the federal agency. The Crime Severity Index also dropped six per cent to its lowest point since 1998."

And if you go to the original you can hover over the arrows for specifics.

But holy crap - look at that big red arrow showing the increase in drug offences! That's terrible!
... hover ... hover ... OK, never mind - it's just that stupid marijuana bullshit again - due to get appreciably worse with the Cons new dumb-on-crime bill :

CBC : New pot laws could overwhelm BC jails, as anyone convicted of growing six plants will get a six-month minimum sentence .

Meanwhile over at StatsCan  : The crime severity index from 1999 to 2009:

Tabatha Southey wonders why a government that "defends its new sentencing laws as necessary, despite the fact that crime is down, with the statement that they're “not governing on the basis of the latest statistics” " ie facts, is nonetheless happy to pay $90,000 a day to outside consultants brought in to look for them.
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$93K a day for advice on outsourcing government

"Trained economist" Stephen Harper has given Deloitte, the world's largest accounting and consulting and outsourcing firm with $28.8 billion in profits for 2011 , a $19.8-million contract to advise federal cabinet and senior officials on how to trim $4 billion from government program spending in order to balance the books by 2014.
The contract runs till March 31, 2013, with an option for a one-year extension

New Conservative Party motto : You have to spend money to save money.

Back in December, CBC ran a story on the ballooning of a parallel civil service made up of consulting firms.

"... preliminary findings show that over the past five years, the cost of outsourcing has ballooned by at least 80 per cent. Estimates reveal the government is spending billions of dollars a year on professional services.

"I've been in environments where there are 80 consultants and 10 staff or 20 staff and we outnumber them and that's a very different experience from when you're the two or three token consultants," said Gordon Martin, a senior analyst and technical architect who is one of the thousands of people who works as a contractor for the government.

Alex Beraskow, who runs a consulting firm specializing in IT and management, said the use of consultants by the government is a huge business.

"It's the single largest market in Canada for professional services. It's what we call a sunrise industry rather than a sunset industry," said Beraskow.

Maurice Chenier, chief executive officer of the Information Technology Services Branch at Public Works, noted that about a third of the staff in his department are consultants."

Billions of dollars a year on consultants. Do you think Deloitte is likely to recommend $4B less of them?

Update : Deloitte has consulted on a number of other issues both within Canada and worldwide : water privatization, massaging the tarsands image.

Earlier this year in conjunction with Public Policy Forum they published Innovation in Government? Conversations with Canada's Public Service Leaders - about 100 of them, mostly deputy ministers.

A June 23 2011 interview on Business News Network - Innovation and Re-making the Canadian Government - introduced Deloitte Global Director William Eggers as someone who has "been coming up here four or five times a year for years" to advise government on "efficiencies".
Yes, he said, he's been up here so many times he's joked with Canadian government officials that he should be made an honorary Canadian citizen by now. Eggers :

"I used to lead something called the Texas Performance Review and our job was just to go in and find anywhere from a billion to two billion dollars each biennial of savings ... you know what we did? We looked all over the world for good ideas in business that we could connect back to government."

Hey, if it's good enough for Texas, it's good enough for Steve.
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North American Security Perimeter Law and Order

A week ago US Attorney General Eric Holder told the Northern Border Summit :

"[T]here are areas in which the U.S. and Canada can enhance cooperation in criminal investigations and prosecutions. And I believe we must consider how extradition, and mutual legal assistance processes could be streamlined to avoid delays; and whether certain sentencing laws – and information sharing policies and practices – should be updated."

He also announced a joint DOJ, DHS, Public Safety Canada and Justice Canada pilot project they hope to launch next year.

Yesterday, despite a continuing 20 year decline in crime in Canada, Dumb-on-Crime Minister Rob Nicholson - flanked by Jason Kenney, cops, and crime victims’ advocates - introduced the 9-bill lawnorder omnibus C-10, which is ... wait for it ... primarily focused on tougher sentencing laws. Noting that "This is only the beginning. We’ll introduce other legislation as well," he explained:

"We're not governing on the basis of the latest statistics."

That's ok, Rob, we never thought you were. We already get the part about spending $3-billion on filling new prisons with pot smokers and First Nations and people with mental health problems while simultaneously diverting money from social programs, education, and health care - a Made in America strategy that ultimately resulted in California emptying its prisons in order to afford its pensions, social programs, and education. 

Also yesterday ... a commenter left a link to a "special ceremony" in Toronto in August at which the Canadian and American Bar Associations signed an agreement "committing them to closer cooperation, information exchanges and other joint efforts."
"Our people are really one people," said ABA President Stephen N. Zack at the ceremony.

The American Bar Association Canada Committee focuses on "programs and policy dealing with international and cross-border aspects of issues affecting Canada" including :

"national security, cross-border litigation, privacy, government procurement, product safety regulation, antitrust, trade remedies, insolvency, customs, immigration, economic sanctions and export controls, financing, M&A, public law, and bilateral and multilateral trade and investment agreements, including NAFTA and the agreements of the World Trade Organization."

Coincidentally, Steve and Barry's February agreement : Beyond the Border: a shared vision for perimeter security and economic competitiveness is also very big on joint law enforcement operations and information sharing.
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Dear useless fucking Canadian media

Occupy Wall Street media coverage : Day 3

The Guardian : The call to occupy Wall Street resonates around the world *

New York Examiner : Protestors take Wall Street in "Day of Rage" against corporate cronyism .

Wall Street Journal : Wall Street Protesters Plan to Stay Awhile .

Business Week : Wall Street Areas Blocked as Police Arrest Seven in Protest .

International Business Times : Occupy Wall Street Protest, Day 3

Georgia Straight : Anti-capitalist protesters descend on New York City, but where's the coverage? .

Good question, Georgia Straight. Let's see ...
CBC,  Toronto Star**, G&M,  PostMedia, CTV, Reuters Canada: ... zzzzzz ... crickets ... zzzzzz ...

Thanks so much for that, Canadian MSM.
Three Koch-funded tea-baggers communing in a bathtub have you all flying in film crews but the occupation of Wall Street somehow reminds you how important the Emmys are to all of us.

Roseanne Barr speaks at Occupy Wall Street and announces her run for presidency.








The most fascinating part of the livestream coverage for me over the weekend was the really incisive discussions and then, after the NYPD demanded no signs and no amplifiers for speeches, watching hundreds of people learn the logistics of direct democracy in a decision-making process : how to give everyone a voice without a hierarchy and how to use the "human microphone" to ensure all are heard.
Everyone watching via the net learned from this. An invaluable lesson.

Statement from the occupation at Wall Street

In Pictures


* OK, so Kalle Lasn cowrote this one
** No Star coverage except for Antonia Z on Friday: Is the Arab Spring coming to America?
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Monday evening update : Well, helloooo Canadian media! Welcome to day 3. Links to Canadian coverage noted in comments below.
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The revolution will not be televised ... very much ... at first

Watch live streaming video from globalrevolution at livestream.com

Protesters invade NYC Financial District


#occupywallstreet .... #takewallstreet ... #ourwallstreet
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Homeland security perimeter

Listening in on : Border Security Challenges After 9/11: A Conversation With Three Commissioners of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Sept 9, 2011

On Sept. 10, 2001, Robert Bonner tells us, he began his job as head of what is now the US Customs and Border Protection. The next day, in reaction to 9/11 events, he raised the border security alert to Level One, resulting in border wait times from Canada increasing from an average of 10 minutes to over 12 hours. It was at this point he realized security considerations would have to be addressed without "effectively shutting down our [US] country's economy ... These two pillars are not mutually exclusive."

Expanded X-ray and radiation technology on the borders and "advance electronic data" and vetting incoming travellers in foreign airports were put in place to expand the security envelope beyond the US borders.

 "And this is an important point," he said. "We were able to do this without congressional mandates."
 
Also at the roundtable was former commissioner Ralph Basham, who described the US/Mexico security fence as the "dumbest idea" he had ever heard of : "We all knew this wasn't the answer".
And current CBP Commissioner Alan Bersin :

"What will become more and more a feature of our homeland security efforts is partnership at a new level with the private sector. We cannot actually accomplish this goal without being in partnership with the private sector, given their involvement in the private supply chain and travel network ....  From day one we brought the private sector into the discussion and rather than designing and then mandating an approach to security, we actually co-created it in the case of the express carriers.....

In this way we will overcome the dichotomy within this decade and we have always realized it as a dichotomy - those of us inside CBP have realized it but I think we need to make this much more a staple knowledge on the part of the American people - which is that trade and security are not mutually exclusive. Not only are they not mutually exclusive, let alone antithetical to one another, but we at CBP increasingly believe that they are the same process, that in fact we cannot increase our security profile unless we expedite the 99.5% of trade and travel that is legitimate." 

And if 'we' don't, added Basham, the terrorists will have won.
 
"Without congressional mandate" and dependence on the private sector from day one should remind you of the SPP : Security and Prosperity Partnership, whose various proponents advised on its deathbed that it could only be resuscitated in increments.
 
Steve of course continued to deny for months that any such new combined security perimeter border action plan even existed, while simultaneously consulting on it with lobby groups and the private sector since last fall.

Interesting that all three CBP commissioners repeatedly emphasized the importance of keeping the borders nice and thin for their supply lines, isn't it?
I thought that was supposed to be our worry, not theirs - something the Americans just don't get - and thus the reason why we have to give them whatever they want so trucks will keep running back and forth between Windsor and Detroit.
 
So much for the "prosperity" part - on to "security" :
 
Yesterday ...
Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the Northern Border Summit 
 
... 9/11 ...  unprecedented threats... yada yada
"Because of the promising new “Beyond our Border” initiative that President Obama and Prime Minister Harper proposed earlier this year, our law enforcement efforts have never been more closely aligned ...
The creation of “NextGen” teams of cross-designated officers would allow us to more effectively identify, assess, and interdict persons and organizations involved in transnational crime ..."
Ok, here we go, italics mine :

"Despite the excellent relationship we’ve established, I believe that there are areas in which the U.S. and Canada can enhance cooperation in criminal investigations and prosecutions. And I believe we must consider how extradition, and mutual legal assistance processes could be streamlined to avoid delays; and whether certain sentencing laws – and information sharing policies and practices – should be updated.
As Canada’s national government considers various anti-crime policies and approaches, we will continue working to implement a comprehensive anti-crime framework that respects the sovereignty of both our nations."

Certain sentencing laws?
Well we knew about the push for information sharing but "sentencing laws" ? For what crimes?
Is this why Steve has been pushing for "spending hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayers dollars on prison building, in order to impose a mandatory minimum term of six months in jail for anyone who grows more than six marijuana plants" ?

Holder winds it up :

"Since December, senior representatives from DOJ, DHS, Public Safety Canada and Justice Canada have been meeting regularly ... and progress has been made in developing a pilot project that we hope to launch next year."

Operation Spliff? Operation Doobie?

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9/11 : A Conspiracy Theory

"Everything you ever wanted to know about the 9/11 conspiracy theory in under 5 minutes"

From The Corbett Report, which includes a transcript and well-sourced links to all statements made in the vid.

h/t Michael. Thank you.
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Bonus : Lloyd’s Sues Saudi Royal Family for Funding Al-Qaeda in 9/11 Attacks

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Steve kicks off 9/11 blather week

with a CBC interview targeting "Islamicism" as the "major threat to Canada".

Islamicism?

"So what are we then?" respond the Unabomberanians, Norwegochristofarians, and McVeighlians. "Choppity liverers?"

"There are other threats out there, but that is the one that I can tell you occupies the security apparatus most regularly in terms of actual terrorist threats," Harper said.

Funny you should mention what "occupies the security apparatus", Steve ...

"Militant Extremists in the United States" : Council on Foreign Relations, Feb.7, 2011 :

"Since September 11, the threat of internationally based Islamic extremist networks has dominated concerns of Homeland Security officials. And while authorities say the threats posed by homegrown Islamic extremism is growing, the FBI has reported that roughly two-thirds of terrorism in the United States was conducted by non-Islamic American extremists from 1980-2001; and from 2002-2005, it went up to 95 percent."

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The liberation of Libya

WikiLeaks cable 07TRIPOLI967, Nov. 15, 2007, from the US Embassy in Tripoli :
GROWTH OF RESOURCE NATIONALISM IN LIBYA

1.(C) Summary: Libya has a long history of resource nationalism linked to the policies and rhetoric of the Qadhafi regime. Beginning in the 1990's, many of these practices were scaled back; however, the removal of U.S. and UN sanctions and Libya's attendant opening to the world have prompted a resurgence of measures designed to increase the GOL's [Government of Libya's] control over and share of revenue from hydrocarbon resources. End Summary.

The cable goes on to laud the new "investment surge" of "more than forty international oil companies toil to discover marketable quantities of oil and gas", but warns of "nationalist rhetoric, policies" :

3.(C) With this inflow of capital, and in particular the return of international oil companies (IOCs), there has been growing evidence of Libyan resource nationalism. The regime has made a point of putting companies on notice that "exploitative" behavior will not be tolerated. In his annual speech marking the founding of his regime, Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi in 2006 said: "Oil companies are controlled by foreigners who have made millions from them -- now, Libyans must take their place to profit from this money." His son, Seif al-Islam al-Qadhafi, said in March 2007 that, "We will not tolerate a foreign company to make a profit at the expense of a Libyan citizen."

4.(C) There is a growing concern in the IOC community that NOC, emboldened by soaring oil prices and the press of would-be suitors, will seek better terms on both concession and production-sharing agreements, even those signed very recently. -- Libyan labor laws have also been amended to "Libyanize" the economy in several key sectors, and IOCs are now being forced to hire untrained Libyan employees.

7.(C)  But those who dominate Libya's political and economic leadership are pursuing increasingly nationalistic policies in the energy sector that could jeopardize efficient exploitation of Libya's extensive oil and gas reserves. Effective U.S. engagement on this issue should take the form of demonstrating the clear downsides to the GOL of pursuing this approach ....

Fast-forward two years ...

WikiLeaks cable 09TRIPOLI867, Oct. 27, 2009, from the US Embassy in Tripoli
PETROCANADA CAUGHT IN QADHAFI'S CROSS-HAIRS

1.(C) Summary: According to the xxxxxxxxxxxx of PetroCanada, xxxxxxxxxxxx the Libyan government demanded PetroCanada cut its oil production due to misunderstandings between Libya and Canada over Muammar al-Qadhafi's aborted trip to Canada in late September. 

FROM THE HORSE'S MOUTH: PETROCANADA GM DETAILS RECENT ORDEAL

¶2. (C) xxxxxxxxxxxx of PetroCanada, shared with Econoff his company's recent ordeal in Libya that began with a threat of nationalization, but which was pared down to an order by the National Oil Corporation (NOC) to cut production by 50 percent. He said PetroCanada and Hrouj, its NOC-owned partner, had actually surpassed production quotas for the past six months but the NOC had never asked them to cut back. Although the NOC never gave PetroCanada a clear reason for the production cuts (and may simply have been passing down an order from PM-equivalent al-Mahmoudi), xxxxxxxxxxxx believed they were linked to the diplomatic row surrounding Libyan Leader Muammar al-Qadhafi's aborted trip to Canada. xxxxxxxxxxxx noted that press reports had "spun out of control," alleging that the Canadian FM had planned to see al-Qadhafi on his stop-over in Newfoundland to complain about Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi's "hero's welcome."

¶3. (C) xxxxxxxxxxxx said the Canadian company was suddenly threatened with nationalization during the week of September 27 which was then pared down to the required decrease in production.

¶6. (C) In spite of the current dispute, xxxxxxxxxxxx said PetroCanada still planned to continue with its plans to drill 49 new wells starting in the first quarter of 2010.

¶10. (C) Comment: Libya's moves against PetroCanada, set against the backdrop of an escalating conflict with Switzerland, have left the expatriate business community on edge. Libya's willingness to explicitly link commercial contracts to political disputes has only added to the international energy companies' growing frustration with the Libyan business climate.

Happily the international energy companies' growing frustration has now been resolved ...

Guardian : The race is on for Libya's oil, with Britain and France both staking a claim

The starting pistol has been fired on bids by Britain and other western powers to secure a slice of the oil prize in Libya ...

Rebel leaders had already made clear that countries active in supporting their insurrection – notably Britain and France – should expect to be treated favourably once the dust of war had settled.

although there has been the odd wrinkle ...

NYTimes : Files Note Close C.I.A. Ties to Qaddafi Spy Unit

Documents found at the abandoned office of Libya’s former spymaster appear to provide new details of the close relations the Central Intelligence Agency shared with the Libyan intelligence service — most notably suggesting that the Americans sent terrorism suspects at least eight times for questioning in Libya despite that country’s reputation for torture

Libya rebel commander contends was tortured, rendered by CIA

The top Libyan rebel military commander in Tripoli, Abdel Hakim Belhaj, dropped something of a bombshell in an interview with the New York Times yesterday: In  2004, he said, two CIA agents tortured him in Thailand and then "rendered" him to Libya. From that point on, he maintains, he was held in solitary confinement for the next six years.

Belhaj, known as "Abu Abdullah al-Sadiq" in jihadi circles, is the previous commander of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), "a jihad organization with historical links to al Qaeda, the Taliban, and the Egyptian al-Jihad organization".

Never mind all that now. At least NATO got rid of that awful Qaddafi, who gassed his own people, was building a nuclear arsenal, threw babies out of incubators onto the floor, was behind 9/11 threatened to maybe nationalize Libyan oilfields sometime in the future.

Government House Leader Peter van Loan told CBC's The House yesterday that the Conservative government wants to extend Canada's military role in Libya beyond the scheduled end date.
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Update : Chris Hedges : Here We Go Again
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