Cool Beans SF

With the exception of Watergate, there has never been a scandal more egregious and with wider implications than the Teapot Dome affair during the presidency of Warren G. Harding. It involved the secret leasing to private companies of oil-containing tracts owned by the Navy, mainly in Wyoming and California.

“Domes” are natural reservoirs of crude oil. The “Teapot Dome” - named after a rock resembling the kitchen implement - was near Casper, Wyoming. It was “reserved” in 1920 for the future energy needs of American Navy vessels.

Senator Albert B. Fall of New Mexico - Harding’s secretary of the Interior - opposed this “conservation” policy. Hence his furtive attempt - in collusion with Secretary of the Navy, Edward Denby and others - to lease the domes to private extractors. Teapot Dome was leased to Harry F. Sinclair’s Mammoth Oil Company. The Elk Hills reserve in California was rented to Edward L. Doheny’s Pan-American Petroleum and Transport Company. The two gave Fall and others gifts and “loans” amounting to $400,000 - an enormous fortune at the time.

The scandal was made public in 1922 in a long investigation by the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Public Lands led by Senator Thomas J. Walsh from Montana and Senator Robert M. Lafollette.

After much prevarication by Attorney General Harry M. Daugherty, Fall was brought to justice. He sentenced to one year in prison and $100,000 fine in 1929 and many officials were implicated. Daugherty himself resigned in 1924. When Harding died in 1923, he was succeeded by Calvin Coolidge and public outrage subsided. Coolidge acted resolutely and appointed special prosecutors under his personal supervision to protect the interests of the government.

The Supreme Court annulled both the Elk Hills and the Teapot Dome leases in 1927. But, though government officials were convicted of corruption and conspiracy - no oilman was found guilty of bribing (still, they paid damages). Sinclair refused to collaborate with a second Senate investigation and hired gumshoes to shadow members of the jury in his case. He served a short sentence for tampering with a jury and for criminal contempt.

The Democrats failed to capitalize on the affair and lost the presidential elections in both 1924 and 1928.

Sam Vaknin ( samvak.tripod.com ) is the author of Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited and After the Rain - How the West Lost the East. He served as a columnist for Global Politician, Central Europe Review, PopMatters, Bellaonline, and eBookWeb, a United Press International (UPI) Senior Business Correspondent, and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory and Suite101.

Until recently, he served as the Economic Advisor to the Government of Macedonia.

Visit Sam’s Web site at samvak.tripod.com

Dalmatia is one of the areas of Europe which has a vivid history which runs to the time of great Romans. Although Dalmatia
was much wide-ranging at the times of the Romans, the latest Dalmatia consists of a significant amount of area
at present. First of all, Dalmatia is not the region of
organization. Rather, Dalmatia is just a geographical area which stretches from Croatia to Montenegro. So, at
present, [$Dalmatia]$ is owned by the two countries; Croatia and Montenegro.

What is it like to be in Dalmatia?

Dalmatia has a historical worth of being representative of cultures and settlements. Nevertheless, at present Dalmatia is a nature goddess.

The area of Dalmatia is mostly Covered by Dinaric
Alps that runs from north-west to south-east of the country. The visitors can easily find a Mediterranean climate in the costal areas of Dalmatia, and frosty and snowy winter in the
mountain areas.
At summer times, it’s hot and dry as usual making it one of the best tourist attractions in Europe.

Many travel agents
arrange tours to Dalmatia with the facility to book your trip online. There are many things such travel website extend for the travelers. So let’s have a look at a few facilities.

Traveller’s Paradise

First of all, the travelers can choose the case of accommodation. They can ordinarily choose from hotels to private apartments or rooms. Nevertheless, hotels are not frequently found in there so you’d be better off settling for a room or an apartment.

When it comes to Dalmatia, there are many common destinations such as Vodice, Srima, Tribunj, Sibenik, Pirovac, Jezera, and
Betina. The travel website or portals ordinarily offer accommodation facilities in almost all destinations mentioned
above. All these destinations have their own set of divergences. Vodice
is considered one of the biggest tourist attractions of the region, where there are a lot of facilities for pop tourist.
When it comes to Tribunj, the tourists may not find such luxury as in Vodice. While Tribunj is one of the oldest Dalmatia towns, it holds the atmosphere from 10AD, making things laid back in nature for a tourist.

Things to try out in Dalmatia

If you are visiting Dalmatia, be sure to visit Pirovac as it is one of the best destinations around. The local caterers
organize regular seafood festivals on Saturday evenings, so the tourists can enjoy the traditional Dalmatia seafood dishes. The tourists who are involved in sport fishing can also engage in fishing in Vransko Lake where a variety of fishes are
available. Peak tourist seasons see the light of traditional events, seafood fiestas and Pirovac night.

Angela Merkel, German Chancellor, stated that the speech in Cairo by United States President Barack Obama proved successful in reaching out to the Arabs. It also presented a “unique opportunity” in renewing Middle East peace endeavors.

Merkel said that Obama’s address could be the end of the many delayed political efforts regarding the Middle East peace process. She believed that with the new United States government and president, there is a possibility that the peace process can be revived.

The German leader said that her country is prepared to assist in such process and emphasized the need to a two-state solution concerning Palestine and Israel.

Merkel also stressed on Germany’s custom of good relations with the Israelis as well as the loyal commitment to the security of the Jewish state.

She further said that the two states must have the willingness to be at peace with each other to achieve such a peace.

Meanwhile, President Obama said he has given more effort than previous presidents to put up a Middle East peace arrangement, claiming he has built new ways for these talks.

When Obama was asked why he thought that peace talks should be acted now, he replied that in his first five months as president, he has seen “an extraordinary activity already on this issue, and that sent a signal to all the parties.”

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