ABOUT OIL

Critically good news:

The seizure of oil and port facilities in southern Iraq deprived Hussein of some of his most prized assets and appeared to prevent any serious sabotage of the sort envisioned by many analysts in recent weeks. Marine officers said as many as nine oil wells were burning in Rumaila, but civilian firefighters will be sent in a few days to put them out and no important facilities suffered major damage. By preserving the oil industry and using the port to bring in humanitarian aid, the U.S.-British coalition hopes to demonstrate positive intentions to the Iraqi people.
“The ability to recover in a post-Saddam world will be greatly enhanced by keeping the oil infrastructure,” said Col. Christopher Gunther, chief war planner for the Marines. “It won’t be like Afghanistan where they’re really hat in hand.”

Some major possible disasters haven’t happened yet. Which is cause enough for relief.

AND YOU THOUGHT I WAS TOUGH: “The New York Times is a hyper-capitalist vacuum which sucks in high commodity advertising targeted to its wealthy readers, covering it with a pathetic, neosocialist editorial slant, designed to disguise its plutocratic raison d’etre: handbags for the rich and editorials for the poor.” – Charlie Finch, lambasting the Times’ fine arts coverage, artnet.

WHAT DISMAYS THE “PEACE” MOVEMENT: Pictures like this one.