Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : THE WHITE HOUSE -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: pompsander who wrote (20760)	7/18/2008 3:43:15 PM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Respond to of 25737

"The Administration could have just stroked the Bolton crowd all the way until January" LOL! Well... maybe. But not the actual JOHN BOLTON. :-) (They split with him a while back and eased him out... and he ain't exactly on their 'Christmas card list' any more! <g>)

To: pompsander who wrote (20760)	7/18/2008 4:18:36 PM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Respond to of 25737

Crude Oil Falls for Fourth Day on Iran Talks, Falling Demand By Mark Shenk July 18 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell for a fourth day, capping the biggest weekly decline in more than three years, as the Bush administration decided to participate in nuclear talks with Iran. Prices fell as prospects for a dialog with Iran eased concern of a possible conflict with Israel. Iran holds the world's second-largest oil reserves. A slowing global economy, faltering U.S. fuel demand and rising supplies also cut prices. ``There's been a significant lessening of tensions with Iran in recent days,'' said John Kilduff, vice president of risk management at MF Global Ltd. in New York. ``A feared imminent attack on Iranian nuclear facilities helped push prices to records. The meeting in Geneva is a significant step.'' Crude oil for August delivery fell 41 cents, or 0.3 percent, to settle at $128.88 a barrel at 2:44 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The 11 percent decline this week was the biggest drop since December 2004. President George W. Bush is sending the State Department's third-ranking official, Undersecretary for Political Affairs William Burns, to multinational talks in Geneva, the highest- level discussions between the two countries since Iran's Islamic revolution in 1979. Brent crude oil for September settlement fell 88 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $130.19 a barrel on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange. Prices climbed to a record $147.50 on July 11. To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Shenk in New York at mshenk1@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: July 18, 2008 15:06 EDT

To: pompsander who wrote (20760)	7/18/2008 4:21:02 PM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25737

(Maybe he's hoping that Obama might get bumped-off by announcing departure dates? :-( McCain says Obama trip to Iraq soon Fri Jul 18, 2008 2:17pm EDT reuters.com DETROIT (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain said on Friday that his Democratic opponent, Barack Obama, is likely to be in Iraq over the weekend. The Obama campaign has tried to cloak the Illinois senator's trip in some measure of secrecy for security reasons. The White House, State Department and Pentagon do not announce senior officials' visits to Iraq in advance. "I believe that either today or tomorrow -- and I'm not privy to his schedule -- Sen. Obama will be landing in Iraq with some other senators" who make up a congressional delegation, McCain told a campaign fund-raising luncheon. "I am sure that Sen. Obama is going to arrive in Baghdad in a much, much safer and secure environment than the one that he would've encountered before we started the surge," McCain said. McCain, who has made national security and foreign policy the centerpiece of his campaign for the November 4 election, has pressured Obama to visit Iraq. Obama said last month he would go to both Iraq and Afghanistan soon. Robert Gibbs, a top aide to Obama, said he had no comment on McCain's remark. The Obama campaign has announced an upcoming trip to Jordan, Israel, London, Paris and Berlin but has only made public the barest of details. McCain has been sharply critical of Obama for days, particularly for announcing his support for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq in a 16-month timetable, before actually having visited the country or meeting with commanders on the ground. McCain, a strong backer of the U.S. troop build-up that President George W. Bush launched in early 2007, said while on the trip Obama should thank the top U.S. military officer in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, for the current strategy and "thank him for his leadership." And he said Obama should express his regrets to Petraeus for not having voted last year on a non-binding Senate resolution condemning an advertisement in The New York Times by the liberal group Moveon.org that mocked Petraeus as "Gen. Betray-us." "So he'll land in a very different Baghdad. And we have succeeded in Iraq, and we will win if we continue with this strategy that we are pursuing," he said. Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Democratic Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island were to be part the Congressional delegation. (Reporting by Steve Holland, editing by Vicki Allen) (For more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online at blogs.reuters.com/trail08/) © Thomson Reuters 2008. All rights reserved.