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Human rights group slams Israel's probe of Gaza conflict

02-08-10 4:18 A GMT-08
Excerpt: Human Rights Watch says Israel has not shown it will conduct objective probe

Pictures: Sarah Palin's Palm Crib Notes. The Real Tragedy of Stupidity

02-08-10 4:14 A GMT-08
Can't remember her core principles? Lame.

Haiti aid chopper crashes, killing 2 Americans

02-06-10 2:47 A GMT-08
Helicopter with two Americans helping the aid effort crashed into a mountain while returning to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.

Americans From New Life Children's Refuge (Idaho) Caught at Haitian Border with Unauthorized Orphans

01-31-10 6:58 A GMT-08
Said they were taking them to an orphanage in the Dominican Republic. Is this group part of New Life Church. I'd read (in The Family) that it was expanding. And why take orphans from Haiti to drop off in Dominican Republic?

President Obama Related to Scott Brown. Let the Howling Begin!

01-30-10 7:26 A GMT-08
Rushbo is gonna freak.

Video -- Rachel Maddow: Scott Roeder Who Shot Dr George Tiller Last May Loses Chance for Lesser Charges

01-29-10 6:20 A GMT-08
Life in prison seems to be his future, now. Earlier in his trial the judge said he would consider a lesser charge, causing fear that Roeder would be set free within a few years.

Newsday Paywall Fails to Make Money

01-27-10 1:14 A GMT-08
Readership up because online news is free to paper subscribers and cable users, but readership has narrowed become local. Employees not happy. It was supposed to make money, instead has reduced papers influence. Newsday.com only has 35 subscribers. Wake up NYT!

Get to Know O'Keefe's Accomplices (Via Digg bar)

01-27-10 12:57 A GMT-08
Dig bar offers you a chance to vote on article via Digg. OKeefe's friends are young republican activists with an agenda. Thanks to @thejoshuablog at Twitter.com for link

HCR bill likely to deny women the basic right to health care. Srsly Centrists, You Want to Pass This? SRSLY???

01-26-10 6:39 P GMT-08
The bill as it stands makes second class citizens of women solely based on the genetic makeup of their bodies. And yet we are told just to get in line and support it. Right.

Chart Distribution of Wealth US 2004

01-26-10 5:47 A GMT-08
Even by that time the inequality in the American economy had expanded, though the Bush administration claimed that everyone would be benefitted by the "Ownership Society" Thanks to @eversollae at Twitter.com who posted his graphic to Yfrog

Paliban Daily: Pat Roberston Voodoo Doll on Ebay with Proceeds Going to the Red Cross

01-21-10 2:30 A GMT-08
You might want to stick a few pins in it when you get it too.

Buzzflash: Hugh Conrad: Mr. President: "Yes we can -- stay home!"

01-20-10 11:13 P GMT-08
The base was taken for granted. This should not happen again.
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How Current Cold Winter in US & EU Actually Helps Prove Global Warming Theory

01-17-10 8:27 P GMT-08
I know the Christian Jihadists are trying to keep people ignorant so that they can push thieir right wing policies for the big money makers of this world, but their lies could cost lives, including those of loved ones.

The Livesay (Haiti) Weblog

01-13-10 7:22 P GMT-08
Blogger from Haiti

CNN iReport on Haiti Earthquake

01-13-10 6:52 P GMT-08
Individual reporting and pictures from Haiti. The first source I found and the rawest pictures may be found here.

Raw Stroy: Teabaggers Threaten American Cartoonist

01-11-10 6:19 P GMT-08
Much like the Muslims have threatened a Danish cartoonist over his depiction of Mohammed, the teabagger movement has recently had members threatening Mark Fiore a brilliant video hurmorist over video about how to speak like a "tea bagger". The cartoon premiered in November, but Bill O'Reilly recently used it to assert that NPR which hosts Fiores video cartoon on their site is too liberal.

6.5 Earthquake Off Northern CA Hit Sensitive Junction on San Andreas Fault

01-10-10 8:05 A GMT-08
I tweeted earlier a suspicion that Saturday's earthquake off Eureka might be on the San Andreas Fault which goes offshore at San Francisco and runs under the ocean as it goes north past Eureka.

Frank Rich: The Other Plot to Wreck America

01-10-10 7:23 A GMT-08
Another group works to gain advantage over Americans. They have the power to do more damage to our nation than Al Qaeda and other terrorists. And surprise they are not a political party, but they do seem to own them. Frank Rich explains.

Mitt Romney Vote Fraud

01-09-10 6:19 P GMT-08
Mitt Romney voted in recent MA election despite having sold his last home in the state by using his son's address and has sent mai-in ballot for January's special election for senator. I doubt that qualifies as legal in anyway but mainstream news media's eyes. I'm evem betting. That's more voterfraud than ever proven against ACORN or it's associates or employees (which BTW was nil)

Gumby Creator Dies

01-09-10 5:21 P GMT-08
Oh Noes! Does that mean no more new Gumby Cartoons? LOL

The Marriage Revolution Struggle Will Be Televised! Proposition 8 Trial will be shown on YouTube

01-08-10 6:17 P GMT-08
The right screams that their witnesses will be intimidated. People might also see that Ken Starr (Yes, that Ken Starr who often goes by the name Kenneth these days) is one of their main lawyers too. The judge will be able to decide if witness faces and voices should be changed. But what about their names? Ted+Olson (Argued the Bush side in Bush v Gore) is part of the team. Some wonder if the suit is just to nationally outlaw SSM before the coinservatives lose their majority. (The word is that Justice Kennedy is looking towards retirement.) But will the closet cases among conservatives turn the tables?

Juan Cole Offers Reality on The Latest Iran News

01-08-10 10:10 A GMT-08
Another great piece from Cole This one is explaining how we should deal with Iran and why you should believe little of what you read in the papers and nothing from Murdoch's rags. (Actually he passes you on to arms control specialist Gareth Porter for rebuttal to Murdoch's London Times assertions about nuclear trigger plans found in Iran.)
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The Ady Gil Sinks. And the LA Times Tells Us Who the Heck Ady Gil Is

01-08-10 9:22 A GMT-08
I heard the Ady Gil was provided to Sea Shepherd by someone connected to Hollywood, and today's LA Times report on the final sinking of the former "Earthrace" tells us that the benefactor is one Ady Gil. Details at link. I'm sure the Japanese already know this and will try to attack both Ady Gil proper and Bob Barker in the usual personal attack style of right wingers, neocons, and corporatists world wide.

Juan Cole: The Stupidity of Profiling Nations and What We Should Do (Title paraphrased)

01-08-10 8:39 A GMT-08
We will lose money and power by discriminating against Middle East and African nations and the selection of countries for invasive inspections before travel recall pre Martin Luther King policies is what I read in Mr. Cole's piece. He also thinks that patting everyone down from the watch list countriies wouldn't work and other methods will.

Egyptian Soldier Killed at Gaza Border During Dispute

01-06-10 6:45 P GMT-08
Soldier shot twice in back. Egyptians claim from Palestinian fire. So Egyptian soldiers stand with their back to the fight? oR Are they saying their soldier was running away? It sounds like friendly fire to me.

Sea Sheperd's Anti-Whaler superboat, Ady Gill, Heavily Damaged by Japanese Whalers

01-06-10 8:30 A GMT-08
I received a report from SS on my phone, but couldn't open up the original, nor can I find it now. This link goes to the AFP which copies the SS report mostly. Sad news.

FDL: Casual Observer: Was Pants Bomber Motivated by Israeli Attack on Gaza Last Year?

01-06-10 5:33 A GMT-08
Abdulmutallab seems more likely to be inspired by attack on Gaza. Tickets were bought before December's attack on Yemen al Qaeda accompliiss compound, AAP claims for that motivation falls flat.

The Above Linkblogs Might Contain "Borrowed" links.

Linkblogs do not substantially contribute traffic to my blog that I can discover. They all go offsite, and are often accessed from my blog. It's possible to access them from the RSS according to my settings. Still, even if I were to get ads clicking on a linkblog from the RSS won't drive more people to my blog than otherwise because they leave my resources. (Note to self, do more posts, less LBs with sources I find). I explain because I sometimes borrow links from people at Twitter, and often forget who put them up. (To fellow Twitterers: If you have a link to your blog, I will point it there, but Twitter, being impermanent, cannot hold your link for people to discover from there. I only 'borrow' them to get news out to as many people as I can who might not have seen the reports and videos found by the smart people I follow at Twitter or find in search rooms.

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Quick News

Canadian Olympic Ski Stadium Seized for Debt

01-20-10 11:53 P GMT-08

Yeah, one of those which was supposed to be hosting next month's event.

See CP report ""

So What's Really Keeping Oil Prices at Inflation Inducing Levels. Would you believe inflation?

posted 04-20-08

Sheesh. If this isn't Catch 22, I don't know what is.

People and funds are investing in commodities as a hedge against inflation pushing the price of oil into the stratosphere.

But, as we see, the high cost of fuel is adding to inflation.

The change in one analysts' reasoning since January (when the Fed drop interest rates) is rather scary.

Will anything that used to work be effective today?   Can we put a pin in that bubble?

According to a Washington Post report " " the experts bemoan the fact that oil, itself,  isn't distributed in a capitalistic way.  OPEC and oil exporting nations can control how many barrels they sell.

Well, that's a point, but the alternative would entail continuing to invade oil producing nations and setting the oil free for Exxon and Chevron to exploit. 

That would be insanity, except in the Bushco world, and maybe John McCain's.  

And the invasion of Iraq sure didn't turn out so well, anyway did it?  Where is all that cheap gasoline we were promised?  Okay, I wouldn't have traded the blood of one of our soldiers nor any Iraqi's life for cheap oil.  I'm just pointing out that one of the Bush administrations supposed reasons for invading Iraq has had the exact opposite result.

And the reasons for high oil prices tend to shift.  I'd like to figure out more conspiracy theories, but after reading some articles and analysis, I'm beginning to believe that the causes really are shifting.

Last summer we were told we would have to  more for petroleum products because of China's manufacturing. Unfortunately, then the global economy went into a bit of a tailspin and it turned out that we wouldn't need so much stuff from China after all.  Yet, the price of fuel kept rising.

In January, commodities advisor Philip K. Verleger  in   (PDF) blamed EPA actions and the Bush administration stuffing oil into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. 

In my view, two energy policy actions drove prices to nearly $100 in 2007. Left unchanged,
these actions will take prices higher in 2008. The first policy act was the imposition of new regulations requiring removal of almost all sulfur from diesel fuel and gasoline in the United States, Europe, and some Asian countries.

Now that sounds bad,  Real Rush Limbaugh ranting stuff,  (and I believe the guy will probably use this sometime) but remember Verleger mentioned two policies and he indicates the EPA move was not the worst part of the fuel price run up.  And the Bush administration could take steps immediately to lower the price of the kind of oil being used today without endangering anyone's health.  

 Verleger adds:

Refiners have met these new requirements by investing in sulfur removal equipment. Their
record over the last ten years has been remarkable. The investment has enabled them to produce low-sulfur products from crude feedstocks with very high sulfur content. In addition, though, the regulations have created a stronger demand for very-low-sulfur crude oils. Low-sulfur crudes those containing less than 0.5 percent sulfur) can be processed into low-sulfur products more easily than high-sulfur crude.

Yet concludes: 

Absent other changes, the imposition of the new regulations would have added a  modest upward bias to crude prices – but it certainly would not have taken oil to $100 per barrel.

So what else happened?

The U.S. Department of Energy resumed adding sweet crude to the Strategic Reserve (SPR) in August 2007. At the time, crude prices were $70 per barrel. DOE’s decision ignited the rise toward $100. On the heels of its “success,” DOE nnounced it would double the input rate of sweet crude into the SPR beginning this month. In effect, the price rise has been Made in America.

Actually, specifically, created by the Bush administration.

Remember that   and that's down from 82% in 2006, but that amount could rise since the Bush administration has been so good for their bottom line and McCain keeps rattling swords at Iran which still has abundant oil if  it could get better technology to refine out the sulfur and clean out the sand (Iran has been denied this technology through sanctions.  This is a major reason that Iran says it needs nuclear energy.  But we put on more sanctions when they try to develop it.  Another Catch 22.)

Verleger finds a simple solution that doesn't even require a moratorium on putting oil into the strategic oil reserve.  Now, I'm pretty sure every candidate's  team has read this, and knows that they could continue to stuff the SPR if they only did it correctly, but I'm sure they all decided much of the electorate wouldn't understand the nuances and therefore they have all called for a moratorium.  Yes, all three.  Though McCain did it loudly in the last few days, and Hillary was very vocal in her last call which was for a year's halt in addtions, Obama's team did say they would stop putting into the SPR even as far back as March according to OregonLive.com -- Mapes on Politics: " ".  I guess there is some value in not trying to out "working class" the masses. 

 But the simple solution that Verleger gives is:

The Bush administration can ease upward pressure on prices by altering its SPR policy. DOE need not release oil from the reserve or even stop filling it. It needs only to stop inputting sweet crude. I believe crude prices would ease dramatically were this to happen, possibly to $70 per barrel.

Hello,  Washington.  Can you hear him?

Unfortunately, that was then January 7, 2008 and this is now.  Things happened and then we got the notice of $4 a gallon gas by summer and we are already almost there.

So all the Bush people have to do is put high sulfur crude into the reserve instead of sweet crude.  Everyone's going to be a lot less selective one what kind of crude we use, if we ever get to the point of needing the Strategic Reserve in the event of a true emergency.  

(And BTW, Sweet crude?  Could they please stop making a toxic substance sound like a dessert topping? ) 

When experts say supplies are tight, they mean the low sulfur kind.  There is actually quite a lot of high sulfur product lying around. 

(Remember the  PVK analysis linked and summarized above comes from early January.  Other actions taken or not by our government apparently spurred further increases that led to the $4 a gallon we're heading for.)

 Remember in January when some people were bemoaning the Fed cuts as inflationary?  Well, they certainly were to the price of oil.  Now those lower credit card rates don't look so pleasant, anymore.

From WP (again as linked near top of post):

"I think more cash will come in and keep coming in until people are convinced that the Federal Reserve is going to do something about inflation," said Philip K. Verleger, an Aspen, Colo.-based oil analyst.

Verleger estimates that the flow of money into oil commodity investments rose from $450 million a week to $3.4 billion a week from the time the Fed cut interest rates in January until mid-March. Unlike traditional oil traders, the hedge, investment and pension funds are buying oil to diversify their portfolios, he said. That means that high oil prices have not stopped them from buying more.

 I do trust Mr. V even if he is involved with the commodities markets as an adviser.  The reason that I trust him is that according to an article in Reason Magazine.  We remember all the advisors about stock market, and the housing market that wouldn't be honest about their sector experiencing a bubble.  That showed too much pandering to those who were benefiting from the price increases in the sector, and especially the already affluent and powerful.  If Verleger is admitting the run up in gas prices is a bubble, then he must be honest enough to not pander to his clients too much.  Any admission from a guy who would get so much press that what we are seeing is a "bubble" would tend to put a little downward pressure on such increases and possibly his own income or capital gains.

The WP sees reasons for the price of oil to continue rising. 

Suckers. 

Okay.  They may be correct.

But then they report some ideas on what the true price even in our tough times for a barrel of oil.

Some economists say the price of oil today should be slightly higher than the cost of finding and producing a new barrel of oil. If that were the case, the price might be about $60 a barrel, the cost of getting oil from Canada's abundant tar sands.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said recently that the Canadian cost was the new price floor -- even though world oil market prices only surpassed that level a year ago. Yesterday, Total chief executive Christophe de Margerie told an energy conference in Paris that "there is a new floor linked to costs" of developing new fields, and he said prices would stay above $70 a barrel.

Other analysts say the cost of developing new oil fields is much lower, as little as $10 a barrel, in much of the Middle East but that war in Iraq and restrained expansion in Saudi Arabia prevent cheaper oil from coming onto the market. Investment obstacles from Russia to Mexico also keep current production lower than it might be.

Still $70 a barrel is  only c. 60% of $117 per barrel which we saw in the past few days.  Imagine taking 60% off the price of gasoline.  The cheapest regular I've seen lately is $3.60.  That become $2.21 almost the same as we saw last summer.   (Actually lowest local we saw was c. $2.08, but I'll take that hit.)

Now, I don't want to be too nice to the commodities advisers,  and investors, and Big Oil.  As , the oil producers, traders and whatnots are not exactly pushing for quick workable ways to supplement our energy needs by sustainable means.  Now even I can't wrap my mind around Learsy's solution, "gasoline rationing".  (I don't have a noble reason for this.  It might work well to suddenly put brakes on the rise of gas and oil prices.)  And I guarantee, no candidate will dare breathe those words, nor is such a scenario likely under any president that is now likely to win the presidency.

What the candidates are saying is to stop putting oil into the SPR as I reported above.  During the debate, Hillary did mention investigating the oil and gasoline industry.  The threat of investigations actually did work to suppress oil and gasoline prices during her husband's tenure.  I used to note that on my earlier blogs in the early Bush years.  There is a problem with that though.  The last investigation wasn't completed until after the Bush administration took office.  Guess what the Bushies found.  Nope, no speculation.  Nothing wrong with the oil and gas markets. Nada! 

You know how the press considers the US government as one unchanging, non political seamless guide and protector (unless, of course a Democrat lives in the White House, but I digress...).  

In 2002, the Senate finished an investigation that found the gasoline market was non competitive and easily worked up schemes to increase the price of gasoline.  They even pushed for environmental controls that they could use to self mandate price increases.  Of course the press reported on the investigation and report once and since then has dropped it's influence when doing any analysis of gasoline prices because "the government" found no problems.  Um, hey wait guys!  The Senate is part of "the government" too... Oh, nevermind.

Well, to keep from prejudicing your perspective of what Senator Clinton's intentions are, here are her words from :

SENATOR CLINTON: Well, I met with a group of truckers in Harrisburg about a week and a half ago, and here's what I told them. Number one, we are going to investigate these gas prices. The federal government has certain tools that this administration will not use, in the Federal Trade Commission and other ways, through the Justice Department, because I believe there is market manipulation going on, particularly among energy traders. We've seen this movie before, in Enron, and we've got to get to the bottom to make sure we're not being taken advantage of.

Number two, I would quit putting oil into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and I would release some to help drive the price down globally.

And thirdly, if there is any kind of gas tax moratorium, as some people are now proposing --

MR. GIBSON: Like John McCain.

SENATOR CLINTON: -- like John McCain, and some Democrats, frankly -- I think Senator Menendez and others have said that we may have to do something, because when you get to $4-a-gallon gas, people are not going to be able to afford to drive to work. And what I would like to see us do is to say if we have that, then we should have a windfall profits tax on these outrageous profits of the oil companies, and put that money back into the highway trust fund, so that we don't lose out on repair and construction and rebuilding.

But ultimately, Charlie, we've got to have a long-term energy strategy. We are so much more dependent on foreign oil today than we were on 9/11, and that is a real indictment of our leadership. And I've laid out a comprehensive plan to move us toward energy independence that I hope I will have the opportunity to implement as president.

And Obama's solutions as expressed in the debate: 

...people are cynical, because decade after decade, we talk about energy policy or we talk about health care policy, and through Democratic and Republican administrations, nothing gets done.

Now, I think many of the steps that Senator Clinton outlined are similar to the plans that we talked about. It is absolutely true that we've got to investigate potential price gouging or market manipulation. I have strongly called for a windfall profits tax that can provide both consumers relief and also invest in renewable energies.

I think that long term, we're going to have to raise fuel efficiency standards on cars, because the only way that we're going to be able to reduce gas prices is if we reduce demand. You've still got a billion people in China, and maybe 700 million in India, who still want cars. And so the long-term trajectory is that we're going to have to get serious about increasing our fuel efficiency standards and investing in new technologies.

That's something I'm committed to doing. I've talked about spending $150 billion over 10 years in an Apollo Project, a Manhattan Project to create the alternative energy strategies that will work not only for this generation but for the next.  

So will any of this be effective in the short term? 

I think we should try some of these. Though Verleger sees only the inflation, what we know about bubbles is that they are very thin skinned.

I believe it was Mr. Verleger who said once people and funds  (CalPers is mentioned in the Washington Post) see profits declining on oil futures they will bolt. 

But the Bush administration and oil industry will be doing all they can to protect their little orb. 

So what's the solution? I don't know, but though it can seem insurmountable, a financial bubble is named a bubble for a reason. Driving substantially less (if we all did it) or the president calling for a halt to filling the SPR might be enough.  Notice this president isn't even trying.  I can hardly wait until February of next year.

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Canadian Olympic Ski Stadium Seized for Debt

01-20-10 11:53 P GMT-08

Yeah, one of those which was supposed to be hosting next month's event.

See CP report ""

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