At the End of the Day

Guess who? That's right, until Apollo is back in fine fettle, you're left at my dyslexic mercies. Where is your dog now?!

• This is not really political, but it is an example of some of the worst kind of corporate chicanery you can imagine. No lives lost (as far as I know) but millions upon millions of investor and consumer dollars (and yen, and euros, etc.) have been consumed by the HD DVD/Blu Ray format war.

HD DVD, the beloved format of Toshiba and three Hollywood studios, died Friday after a brief illness. The cause of death was determined to be the decision by Wal-Mart to stock only high-definition DVDs and players using the Blu-ray format.

I've not had the misfortune of investing in either format, so I'm not fanboy of either. But, like the years ago format war between Betamax and VHS, it would seem that once again, the better format lost out (ironically, this time, Sony was the purveyor of the inferior format). As one pundit noted, regarding the whole mishegas, HD DVD is a product, Blu Ray is a theory. But, $$$ talks.

Sony was between a rock and a hard place, if they lost the Blu-Ray fight the PS3 would have been collateral damage and the impact on Sony financially might have been terminal. This means that Sony, much like anyone fighting for their life, was willing to do almost anything to ensure they didn’t fail.

As in, Sony bribed the living hell out of every studio in Hollywood.

• Here we go, ever so much closer to $100 per barrel.

World oil prices advanced on Friday towards 100 dollars per barrel, briefly topping 96 dollars, as geopolitical jitters stemming from Nigeria and Venezuela stoked global supply concerns, traders said.

Those market fears overshadowed a gloomy warning from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, who predicted "a period of sluggish growth" ahead for the energy-hungry US economy.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, won 43 cents to 95.89 dollars a barrel, after rising as high as 96.05 dollars -- which was last seen on January 9.

Stand down, Al. We're doin' just fine.

Al Gore on the second ballot: A scenario that a few weeks ago seemed preposterous is beginning to look plausible to some nervous Democrats looking for a way out of the deadlock between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. It goes like this: We love them both, but neither is a sure bet when it comes to electability. It's not about gender and race, each has more mundane vulnerabilities. Hillary's negatives will drive white men to John McCain; Obama's inexperience will require a gut check on the part of voters. What if the super delegates decide not to decide, denying either candidate the requisite number of delegates to secure the party's nomination. Democrats want to win. The new rallying cry: Gore on the second ballot.

Oh, and Eleanor? Shut the hell up, already. We're all so very tired of ye creatures of the noise machine, no matter where on the political spectrum you may fall.

• February's halfway over, and now I don't think I mind I missed my flu shot this year.

Nationwide, 4.6 percent of flu samples tested have shown signs of drug resistance this season, said officials with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In previous years, resistance to the drug hovered below 1 percent of all cases.

"We have seen this before, though not at this level," said Dr. Joe Bresee, chief of epidemiology and prevention in the CDC's influenza division.

The worry among some experts is that flu strains could develop resistance to more than one drug, leaving doctors with few options for treating severely ill patients. One way that could happen would be for patients to get infected with two flu strains at once, each with resistance to a different type of anti-viral medication.

Have a good weekend. Don't take any sub-prime nickels.

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At the end of the day

AP: "Candidates Scramble to Reach Voters"

Sign of the times -- "Bush’s abuse of signing statements has been a constitutional mess for several years now — with more than 151 signing statements challenging 1149 provisions of laws, Bush is without rival in American history — but this week, matters grew particularly ugly." Seems Bush intends to ignore certain portions of a defense authorization bill. Meaning he's above the law. More at The Carpetbagger Report.

U.S. attorney scandal -- The Wisconsin Senate voted unanimously to reimburse Georgia Thompson $228,793 for her wrongful prosecution by one of the DOJ's loyal Bushies. "And remember that efforts by Congress to investigate the Justice Department's handling of the case -- in addition to other possible cases of selective prosecution -- have been firmly rebuffed (with the exception of the disclosure of one telling email)." From Paul Kiel.

Get the Swoop -- Economy is on the front-burner at the WH: "President Bush intervened forcibly to convince an initially reluctant Federal Reserve to reduce interest rates.... On foreign affairs: "One senior official commented privately to us about Secretary of State Rice: 'She is there but not there.'" Concerns over Pakistan and Afghanistan "are now concentrated.... ...Admiral Fallon has just returned from a visit to Pakistan where he held discussions with the new Army Chief of Staff General Ashfaq Kayani." Special ops to deploy to Pakistan "under nominal Pakistani command. US officials have noted... Musharraf’s position continues to weaken. They are unimpressed by any of the civilian alternatives and would be content to accept a new military leader." Swoop

Digby discussed the Reagan myth and it's the same ol' conservative story -- "They get into office, cut taxes on the rich and steal taxpayer money for their [wealthy] contributors."

Oil bonanza -- Mobil-Exxon "beat its own record for the highest profit ever recorded by a U.S. company, with net income rising 3 percent to $40.6 billion last year.... ...Exxon has benefited from a near-doubling of oil prices, from a low of around $50 a barrel in early 2007 to almost $100 by the end of the year - the single biggest jump in oil prices in any one year." Via TP: "Climate Progress notes that the other Big Five oil giants — BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Shell — have seen similar trends."

Merrill Lynch in a pinch -- MA Sec of State William Galvin "filed a civil fraud complaint against Merrill a day after the firm took the unusual step of agreeing to reimburse Springfield for losses on the investments.... ...An official in Mr. Galvin’s office said the Springfield case was part of a larger investigation into Merrill’s sales of similar investments to other Massachusetts towns and cities." NYT

Playing favorites -- BTD at TalkLeft: "...blogs should not be about favorite candidates. It should try to persuade and/or pressure Dems, candidates and officeholders, on the issues that matter to them. In 2007, I was very critical of the blogs' performance on withdrawal from Iraq. Why? Because it was candidate centric, not issue centric.... ...There is nothing more important that we can do, as citizens, activists or bloggers than fight to pressure DEMOCRATS to do the right thing on OUR issues.... ...It's more important BY FAR than 'fighting' for your favorite pol because your favorite pol will ALWAYS, I mean ALWAYS, disappoint you."

Those killed in the dual suicide bomb attacks in separate Baghdad markets rises to "as many as 100 people." McClatchy Newspapers questioned, "Were Baghdad bombers willing suicides or victims?"

U.S. troop cuts in Iraq may be put on hold according to Gen. Petraeus. Senior Pentagon officials countered by saying "that President Bush [should] also consider the stress on U.S. ground forces and other global military risks when determining future troop levels." Chairman of the JCoS, Adm. Michael Mullen: "I find all the talk about a freeze or a pause [in troop cuts] in Iraq so interesting." More remarks at WaPo.

[That's all...no more after the jump.]

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U.S. arms for Saudi oil?

HERALD SUN CAPTION: Arabian knights: President Bush's car is escorted by riders as he arrives at the guest palace in Riyadh. Picture: AFP

UPDATED BELOW

The Herald Sun in Australia reports an arms deal with Saudi Arabia "to counter Iran's growing military clout." Snip:

Just hours after [Bush's] arrival for the first time in Riyadh, the US Administration said it had notified Congress of its intention to offer the Saudis a controversial package of advanced weaponry as part of a multi-billion-dollar deal with Gulf Arab allies.

Precision-guided bomb kits, or "smart bombs", would give the country's armed forces highly accurate targeting abilities.

[Keep reading... more after the jump.]

But the deal has raised concerns in Israel and among some of its allies about the military balance of power in the region.

The sale appeared to be part of Mr Bush's effort to persuade Saudi Arabia, one of the Arab world's most influential states, to help contain Iran and offset what he has branded a danger to world security.

USAToday headline announces, "Saudis rebuff Bush's call for increases in oil production." Bush had requested that OPEC "increase the supply of oil in hopes of lowering gas prices and avoiding a U.S. recession." What did the Saudis say?

...Saudi Arabia's oil minister said such action would be premature.

"We will raise production when the market justifies it," says Ali Al-Naimi, minister of petroleum and mineral resources for the world's largest oil-producing nation.

Bloomberg News added:

Saudi Arabia has held back about 2 million barrels a day of oil that could be supplied to the market if needed, Naimi said.

And so the horse trading begins. Was the Strait of Hormuz kerfuffle with Iran -- which turned out to be a hoax -- fronted as justification for a U.S.-Saudi arms deal to ultimately cajole more oil out of OPEC? I dunno but all of this smells...greasy.

UPDATE: Via Iran Nuclear Watch:

Yesterday, the Bush administration initiated the formal 30-day notification process for the proposed sale of 900 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) to Saudi Arabia. In response, my colleagues Travis Sharp and Katie Mounts released a report they have been working on for some time arguing that the administration continues to use deadly technologies as the flawed currency of friendship with foreign nations.

The report concludes that instead of working with countries to improve political freedom, the $20 billion sale rewards an oppressive Saudi monarchy whose human rights record has not met expectations of improvement following the accession to the throne of King Abdullah in August 2005.

Report available from the Center for Arms Control and Non-proliferation.

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Sunday Shorts

Steve Benen offers a splendid day-by-day breakout of Rudy Giuliani's Worst. Week. Ever. Alas, even the magical wand of the Tax Fairy couldn't ameliorate Il Douche's woes because there is no such hocus pocus, a fact that informed adults already know.

Harvard University published a new study: "Nearly two-thirds of Americans do not trust press coverage of the 2008 presidential campaign... four out of five people believe coverage focuses too much on the trivial -- and more than 60% believe coverage is politically biased." What's that say about journalistic integrity and the Beltway intelligentsia?

With all the talk about the military success of the Surge™, the lack of political progress becomes more apparent and oil divides Iraq even more. Remarkably, the Bush WH didn't deny that the military outpaced the political gains in Iraq.

Tragically, the suicide rate of returning Iraq war vets is "four times as high as the general population." Unsurprisingly, "Bush's Department of Veterans Affairs lied" about the "epidemic of suicides among returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans."

Presidential contender Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico took congressional Democrats and a few of the Democratic WH hopefuls to the woodshed. Good for you, Big Bill.

And in a sick display of utter wingnuttery, when Hillary Clinton's NH campaign office in Rochester was assailed by a hostage-taking mental case, Michelle Malkin's rightwing nutjobs came out to laugh it up. How insane is that? Certifiably wacky.

Now it's almost time for the Sunday funnies and I've got to git 'cause Lil' Tim and The Villagers can bust your guts making you roar with laughter at the stuff they think is smart.

[The end. But y'all come back. Chow!]

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