or Powell's or me• • •
"Mike and Jon, Jon and Mike—I've known them both for years, and, clearly, one of them is very funny. As for the other: truly one of the great hangers-on of our time."—Steve Bodow, head writer, The Daily Show
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"Who can really judge what's funny? If humor is a subjective medium, then can there be something that is really and truly hilarious? Me. This book."—Daniel Handler, author, Adverbs, and personal representative of Lemony Snicket
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"The good news: I thought Our Kampf was consistently hilarious. The bad news: I’m the guy who wrote Monkeybone."—Sam Hamm, screenwriter, Batman, Batman Returns, and Homecoming
December 15, 2004
"We Help Our Clients Find Value"
As I say below, everyone who knows anything about Planet Earth knows US concern about Iraqi WMD was always a joke. (Of course, this "knowing anything" requirement disqualifies many Americans.) As Deputy Assistant Secretary of State James Placke told Iraqi high-up Nizar Hamdoon in 1984, "We do not want this issue to dominate our bilateral relationship."
This never changed. All that happened is that Iraq's WMD switched from "embarrassing PR problem" to "valuable PR pretext."
But then... what issue DO we want to dominate our bilateral relationship with Iraq?
Here's a hint: James Placke doesn't work for the US government anymore. Now he's a Senior Associate at Cambridge Energy Research Associates. CERA tells us it's:
...a leading international advisory and consulting firm. It focuses on the energy industries: markets, geopolitics, structure, and strategy.We help our clients to find value.
Uh huh. Among the Keynote Speakers at CERA's upcoming conference in Houston are top executives from Exxon Mobil, ChevronTexaco, LUKoil and SaudiAramco.
I think it's fair to say James Placke was always helping his clients find value. Now he's just doing it a little more directly.
Posted at December 15, 2004 09:31 AM | TrackBack
