Saturday, February 10, 2007

Cheney/Iran Attack/Plame; Heat/Eat; Mint/Pennies, Nickels; EU Envoy/Ivory Coast; British/Saudi Arms; Al Jazeera/Gold; Global Warming/Satellites

Cheney Pushing for Iran Attack, Report Says
Cheney Directed Plame Outing
More Families to Face Heat or Eat Choice This Winter
U.S. Mint: Don't Melt Pennies or Nickels
EU Envoy Shot On Ivory Coast
British Drop Inquiry into Saudi Arms Deal
Al Jazeera and ROB-TV on Suppression of Gold Price
Effect of Global Warming on Satellites

12 comments:

Rice Farmer said...

"Qatar ‘to consider selling gas in euros’"
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=132088&version=1&template_id=57&parent_id=56

"QATAR, the world’s largest shipper of natural gas, will consider selling gas in euros, instead of dollars, HE the Finance Minister Yousef Hussain Kamal said, reducing global demand for the US currency."

Rice Farmer said...

The "heat or eat" dilemma is seriously aggravated by the US practice of heating a whole house to shirtsleeve temperature. When things REALLY get bad, people will suddenly discover that they never really needed central heating, and that bundling up indoors is a good way to save fuel. Those who fail to rid themselves of their sense of entitlement will have it the worst.

Rice Farmer said...

"Canadian City Taking Steps to Curb Metal Theft"
http://www.recyclingtoday.com/news/news.asp?ID=10977

Hmmm... Seems that metal theft is the up-and-coming crime wave. And a lot of it will probably be coming from infrastructure.

The warning against melting down coins included a statement by a government official that it costs the taxpayers a lot of money to replace the coins. What chutzpah! Elites steal money from the taxpayers a million dollars at a time and then lecture the victims.

Rice Farmer said...

The mention of "al Qaeda" in reports (notably by ABC) on the recent abortive attack on the US military's Camp Zama in Japan is almost certainly propaganda. This sort of tactic with crude homemade rocket launchers is a staple in the repertory of Japan's ultra-left.

A peon said...

I've been having problems with my computer lately,so this might be nothing,but I was attempting to access the "Open and Shut:Four Years Later We Still Have 10 Big Questions" and couldn't.And a belated Happy V-Day to everyone. <3

Rice Farmer said...

Planning to leave the US and take youra assets with you? Check out the "exit tax."

http://cryptogon.com/?p=384

Rice Farmer said...

Chrysler is up against the wall. And the last I checked, Daimler is stuck with this albatross because no one, including Toyota, wants to buy it.

On the subject of oil, I see that Matt Simmons says that world oil production has likely already peaked and is calling for oil producers to publish production data for each field.

Rice Farmer said...

"Big Oil Warns Biofuels Will Not Meet U.S. Energy Needs"
http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=12236

Rice Farmer said...

Now apparently GM is showing interest in buying Chrysler. But GM too is in trouble. And amazingly, GM and Chrysler are discussing a joint project for a big SUV! Some people never learn. Although the Age of the Automobile is still edging toward a close, the Age of the American Automobile has already had its curtain call.

Rice Farmer said...

Will the recent "economic recovery" in Japan push interest rates up? It could, but the Bank of Japan is still under pressure to maintain the flow of easy money. Interesting to note is the role of oil price here. Says the Independent, "Consumer spending, which accounts for more than 50 per cent of total economic activity, led the way as the Japanese splashed out on travel, flat-screen televisions and mobile phones after years of austerity. Cheaper heating oil and a mild winter freed up money for spending, the government said." Now, just turn that around. It's apparent that even though in absolute terms there is still lots of oil, crude only has to hit a certain price to trigger economic collapse. The recent news about the troubles of super-giant oil fields in that context is highly inauspicious. I will be collecting more firewood this weekend, thank you.

Rice Farmer said...

Excuse me while I steal some copper: Metal theft in Japan. Today's paper has two stories on metal theft. In one instance to men ages 75 and 81 (!) were caught red-handed trying to steal heavy copper wire from the storage yard of a metal company. The other story is about the theft of multiple bronze alarm bells used by fire departments in fire watch towers.

Rice Farmer said...

"Thieves rip apart rural churches for copper wiring"
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070217/NEWS/702170355/1001

"Two jailed for handling stolen copper cable" (taken from railways)
http://www.yorkshiretoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=55&ArticleID=2056700

Japan: "Record number of wiretaps in 2006"
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070217a9.html