chargin' the angler

now, who ain't bustin' a gut 'bout those freakin' nigerians sayin' , what was it? oh yeah, "We are filing charges against Cheney"?  sweet mother.  that just sounds grand, even though i didn't actually hear anything, just imagined a haughty African official proudly declaring that dick freakin' cheney was to be charged!  who cares with what?  somethin'.  fuck, the guy's got his plump soft hands everywhere.  anyway, just sayin', lovin' it!  while it lasts.

which ain't long at all, one expects.  but let us rejoice in a summary of the story so far, and try to ignore the phrase, "Nigerian anti-corruption police."

Nigerian anti-corruption police said today that they will charge former US vice-president Dick Cheney over a $180m bribery case involving energy firm Halliburton.The announcement follows a probe into the construction of a liquefied natural gas plant in the conflict-ridden Niger Delta.

Halliburton's top official in Nigeria has been summoned and 10 of its Nigerian and expat staff detained for questioning after a raid on the company's office in Lagos. Cheney was head of Halliburton before becoming George W Bush's vice-president in 2001.

"We are filing charges against Cheney," said Femi Babafemi, a spokesman for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), adding that the charges were likely to be brought next week. He declined to give any further details on what the charges were or where they would be filed.

Houston-based engineering firm KBR, a former Halliburton unit, pleaded guilty last year to US charges that it paid $180m in bribes between 1994 and 2004 to Nigerian officials to secure $6bn in contracts for the Bonny Island Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project in the Niger Delta.KBR and Halliburton reached a $579m settlement in America but Nigeria, France and Switzerland have conducted their own investigations into the case.

turns out, those halliburton lunks think that they're suffering a hit in a covert corporate proxy war  where bought and paid for officials remain the currency of the realm.

Halliburton said last year it had "reason to believe" payments may have been made to Nigerian officials by agents of its TSKJ consortium, which built the Bonny Island facility.

and this is great. as usual, it all comes down to local politics. nigerian local politics. and apparently the cheney-halliburton guilt cow just keeps on getting milked in nigeria, squirting out a somewhat substantive political nectar that keeps an incumbent well nourished.

Nigeria will hold presidential elections in April and some analysts have suggested the sudden revival of interest in the Halliburton case is no coincidence.  Incumbent Goodluck Jonathan faces a challenge for the ruling party nomination from former vice-president Atiku Abubakar, who was in office between 1999 and 2007. Abubakar's opponents have in the past tried to link him to the Halliburton case,

well, goodluck jonathan. we'll see how the cheney angle plays out.

dontcha love how dick cheney is being used as a pawn and framed as a political liability in the presidential elections in nigeria?  i know i do.  i hope goodluck jonathan manages to arrest the prick and toss 'im in the can.  and then, amidst much rejoicing, win the election.  if that is what it takes, by god, do it, man.  just do it.