A Tangled Web

My guess is that these guys (Worldwide Strategic Energy, and those connected to it) have more to do with high oil prices than Wall Street speculators do.

From McCain's senior foreign policy advisor tied to global petro-influence peddling by Lindsay Beyerstein:

John McCain's senior foreign policy adviser is a close business associate of Stephen Payne, the lobbyist caught on tape offering access to top administration officials in exchange for donations to the Bush Library.

This is explosive news because Payne's company's entire business model is international influence peddling in exchange for oil and gas leases from politically unstable and dictatorial regimes.

Read the rest here.

From Homeland Security Adviser Offering Cash-For-Access Deal Worked With McCain's Foreign Policy Adviser by Andrew Tilghman:

Before last week, we'd never heard of Worldwide Strategic Partners and Stephen Payne, the (former) Homeland Security adviser who was caught on video soliciting big donations for the future George W. Bush Presidential Library fund while offering to arrange access to top White House officials.

But Randy Scheunemann, Sen. John McCain's top foreign policy adviser, has known him -- and been working with his business associates -- for years.

Read the rest here.

I’d like to just list a few names from these articles. They all seem to be interconnected in one way or another. John McCain, Bracewell Giuliani (yes, as in Rudy Giuliani), Colin Powell, Enron, George W. Bush, and Ahmed Chalabi. Oil and Iraq. Iraq and oil. Scum and corruption. Corruption and scum.

I searched for Stephen Payne at CNN News this morning. Here are the first four results:

Tuesday, January 23 updated Tue, January 23, 2007
BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Gunmen launched an attack on the convoy of Iraq's Higher Education minister Wednesday morning as it passed through southern Baghdad, a minister's aide told CNN, killing a bodyguard and wounding another.

E-mail appeals: India updated Wed, February 23, 2005
We received thousands of e-mails in the days after December's tsunamis from people seeking news of friends and relatives in areas affected by the disaster.

showbuzz updated Wed, October 13, 2004
Matthew Perry is sweeping back to NBC, but he won't be visiting his friend "Joey."

'Chicago' and its stars glitter in Golden Globes updated Sun, March 16, 2003
"Chicago," a film about star-struck dolls and the guys in their lives, shouldered three honors Sunday night in the Golden Globe Awards, winning best actress and actor awards, plus plaudits for best musical.

In fact, none of the results had anything to do with Stephen Payne. And there were only fifteen results.

Americans might be a little less ignorant about what is going on around them if it weren’t for that damn liberal media.

I just can't wait for the day the Supreme Court decides that John McCain will be our next president. I'm sure that McCain will end all corruption forever, or at least for the next 100 years.