Lindsay Lohan has checked into rehab. "I have made a proactive decision to take care of my personal health. I appreciate your well wishes and ask that you please respect my privacy at this time," said the 20-year-old actress in a statement issued Wednesday through her publicist, Leslie Sloane Zelnick.
I guess that means no new 'bottom' pictures right now.
Us Weekly reports that Lohan entered the posh Wonderland Center in Los Angeles at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, arriving in a sport utility vehicle and clutching a Jamba Juice. The starlet checked herself into rehab after an all-night drinking binge following the Golden Globes on Monday night, the New York Post's Page Six gossip column reported. Lohan didn't attend the awards show, but went to the parties later and wound up at Prince's after-after party at the Beverly Wilshire, Page Six reported. Witnesses told Page Six she caroused until 6 a.m. Tuesday and was later found passed out in a hotel hallway.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/19/2007 00:00 ||
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Kee-rist, what a fluffball. Rehab? Used to be that you'd give yourself a stern lecture, take two Excedrin with a bloody mary, and haul your hungover butt back to class. What is this country coming to?
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
01/19/2007 7:09 Comments ||
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#3
exJAG, why do you think Germans are entitled to a doctor-prescribed couple of weeks at a health spa every few years? Or the annual "taking of the waters" that the European aristocracy has indulged in for centuries at Wiesbaden, Baden Baden, Bath and all those other chi-chi places -- most of the impurities being sweated out had hydroxyl groups at the end, not blackheads. That "Take 2 Exedrin with a bloody mary" thingy is for us normal folks, which Miss Lohan most decidedly is not.
Besides, everybody knows that after purging one's system of impurities at a health spa it takes so much less alcohol to end up passed out in a hotel hallway -- a major cost savings!
#4
Lightweight. Shuffle her scrawny ass off the Ms. Janice Dickinson's School For Wayward Girls. Mizz Janice will show her how to really party.
Posted by: ed ||
01/19/2007 7:33 Comments ||
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#5
Lindsay Lohan Checks Into Rehab
she'll probably go high rent, [sic 50k program w/ lovely settings, lots o'nappy poos, and features way soft landings thru the best pharmacopoeia concoctions money can buy.]
after-all, nothing but the best for Her smooth bare petunia will do. >:
#6
LOL, TW! That's some very nice chemistry kung-fu. :)
I hear that Germans are supposed to be powder puffs these days, but all the ones I know are hard-drinking, chain-smoking sunzabitches. I learned the bloody mary trick from a German ex. He also recommended smoking a menthol cigarette if you couldn't get to a toothbrush. Heh. And this guy was a high-priced corporate lawyer, so I can only imagine what German truck drivers do.
Oh yeah, I don't have to. One often sees them "giving back the waters" right off the side of the autobahn.
#8
Lindsay Lohan Not In Rehab. Now that would be news.
Congratulations, hon. Your primary claim to fame is teenage alcoholic. It must be, because I have no idea what you've done in your life or alleged career to rate this kind of attention.
But everybody loves a train wreck...
#9
Deno, Frank, and Foster must be laughing their collective asses off.
Ah, for the good ole' days. Look back at some of the old shows like The Dean Martin Show and The Thin Man. Everyone had a drink and a cigarette and anyone who didn't was thought to be weird.
#10
TW, there are time you are just absolutely ruthless. This is one of those times.
The Leading Husband is a lucky man.
Posted by: Mike ||
01/19/2007 13:26 Comments ||
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Today must be Train Day @ the Burg: first we get a beautiful pix of 611 on page one and now a verbal description of a train wreck. I have rather nice collection of those, but don't know how to attach to this post. ( they are on my screensaver and co-workers think I am a bit, uh, wierd)
#12
Mike, you say the sweetest things. I shall be sure to tell him.
exJAG, you are teaching chemistry, after all. Interesting insight into German circles we didn't travel in... or perhaps it's just that the hard-drinking, chain-smoking sunzabitches didn't give me lifestyle tips.
AT the height of his power, Charles Taylor carried around a map of "Greater Liberia", his vision of a republic that would one day encompass parts of three neighbouring countries and their diamond, mineral and timber reserves. Taylor's dream - and West Africa's nightmare - began in Gbarnga, an unassuming provincial town where he launched his rebel movement in 1989.
Behind an army of drugged-up boy soldiers, Taylor rose to the presidency of Liberia, laid waste to his country and stoked conflicts throughout the region, amassing a vast personal fortune in pursuit of his empire. Now Taylor holds a special place in the annals of African dictators: he is the first to be tried for war crimes by an international court. He is due to face charges in April that he funnelled cash and weapons to neighbouring Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front rebels - who killed, mutilated and raped thousands during a 1996-2002 civil war - inexchange for access to diamond mines.
Taylor left power in 2003, forced into exile by a domestic insurgency and growing international condemnation, and might have expected to live out his days in his oceanfront villa in Nigeria. But last March, under pressure from US officials, Liberia's newly elected president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, demanded that he be transferred to Sierra Leone's UN-backed war crimes tribunal. He briefly escaped custody but was caught trying to cross the border into Cameroon in a Range Rover with diplomatic licence plates.
Fearing that his trial could throw Sierra Leone back into turmoil, authorities extradited Taylor to The Hague, where, starting on April 2, he will answer to 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, sexual slavery and enlistment of child soldiers.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/19/2007 00:00 ||
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UN-backed war crimes tribunal, international courts, blah blah blah have no place in this world. These are nothing but tools for countering the interests of the United States and advancing a Trotskyist agenda.
Posted by: The Don ||
01/19/2007 8:02 Comments ||
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NEW DELHI: Saudi Arabia plans to increase its crude oil production capacity nearly 40 percent by 2009 and double its refining size over the next five years to keep pace with growing global demand, the country's oil minister said Thursday. The minister, Ali Naimi, said the plans were part of a $80 billion commitment that Saudi Arabia — the world's biggest oil exporter — had made to increase oil supplies in the global market. "Saudi Arabia is committed to increasing the availability of energy to global markets," he said.
The country's priority is in investments to increase sustainable oil production capacity to 12.5 million barrels daily by 2009, from 9 million barrels now, Naimi said. "Additional projects have been identified for implementation after 2009, if warranted by market conditions."
Naimi blamed the sharp rise in global crude prices over the past two years mostly on "insufficient investment and rising energy demand," especially from the booming economies of Asia. "The rise has been a wake-up call for the industry and for producers and consumers alike, who are now beginning to address deliverability problem head on," he told delegates to an international energy conference in New Delhi.
Saudi Arabia, which has a quarter of the world's proven oil reserves, has a significant stake in ensuring stable markets, Naimi said.
Saudi Arabia is also making substantial investments in refineries within and outside the country so to double its refining capacity to 6 million barrels a day over the next five years, he said. He said he believes there are enough oil resources to meet energy demands for the next 30 years.
The best thing about this is that if the Saudis keep production up, the fall in oil prices virtually guarantees that neither Chavez or Ahmadinejad can survive in power.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/19/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Not that I like the magic kingdom, but the more oil they sell, they smaller the market is for Iran. Or at the very least it brings the cost of oil down. Either way, Iran takes a hit.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
01/19/2007 1:57 Comments ||
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#2
Mike, methinks that's exactly the point here. Betcha Kuwait is coordinating in the same direction, for the same reason. And while it's quite plausible it wasn't part of the puzzle, coordination with the US on this would be no surprise either. Me like.
#4
I hate to inject a sour note here, but how is OPEC going to keep prices high and have SA increase production by 40%? They want sell more oil and at higher prices, it can't work like that. Oil is going to slide back down to 20$ a bbl. again and they are all going to cry. This doesn't make sense to me. Not that I don't like cheap gas, but it doesn't fit the arab/opec strategy very well. Also, if they are going to pump more, so are all the other opec members. Nobody will want to get stuck with a huge inventory of unsold oil.
#5
bigjim-ky, the saudis can survive a drastic drop in oil price. The Iranians and Venezuela can't.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
01/19/2007 7:52 Comments ||
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The Sauds do not want to maximize revenue at this time. They see a great threat in Iranian expansion and the most effective weapon the Sauds have is to strangle Iranian revenues, therefore ability to dominate the Persian Gulf.
It's a good time to enact variable oil import duties to keep oil prices high enough (~$40/barrel) for alternative sources (nuclear electricity, coal based fuels, renewables, hybrids and electric cars) to replace the imported 60% of US oil consumption. Otherwise with the pricing power OPEC has, they will kill any competitor to oil by lowering oil prices and then jack it back up again when the competition is bankrupted.
Remember, the quoted price per barrel is only a fraction of the price Americans pay for Persian Gulf oil. Add in miliary spending ($50 billion/year pre 9/11, additional $200 billion/year just in DoD spending post 9/11, domestic security) and the price of muslim sourced oil is over $200/barrel with additional costs of dead Americans, internal strife and loss of security. Better to wean America off the muslim oil tit and completely remove all islamic interaction with our economy and society.
Posted by: ed ||
01/19/2007 7:58 Comments ||
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#7
Actually there is quite a difference between production capacity and actual production.
Probably the Saudis are looking at the potential opportunity to replace some of Iran's exports in case something was to happen to that country.
#8
I second what ed said, this needs to be stressed over and over. If the rest of the world didn't depend on Islamic oil, the WOT would be very, very different, possibly no problem at all.
Knock out Iranian oil production & the rest of the Islamic oil producers will be sitting very pretty indeed, plus the "price shock" for the rest of us will not be so severe.
#9
What mhw said; if Iran's oil producing capability goes TU, then there is a fallback for other oil-needy clients and SA is in the driver's seat. Maybe this is the sound of another piece falling into place.
#10
Add to the Saudi and Kuwaiti production improvements, that of Iraq : the Iraqis are looking to have another 500K barrels a day flowing in the next 8-9 months. Plus, all of the oil production facilities in Iraq are now getting much needed maintenance and upgrades, so the Iraqis are digging themselves out of the hole Saddam condemned them to by not investing in the oil fields.
Never forget one point : Iraq has the second largest proven oil reserves in the world, and it was only Saddam's greed and stupidity that resulted in a much diminished oil industry for Iraq. With the new refineries planned, the increased oil production, and the new security plans in place for the oil pipelines, Iraq looks to max out its OPEC quota for the next several years. Plus the in-country refiners will slowly eliminate Iraq's need to import gasoline and other refined petro products.
#11
One other point, the Iraqis are pumping oil onto the open market as quickly as they can. The only reason they have not pumped more is the condition of the fields, and sabotage of their oil pipelines. Iraq's need for cash and the profitability of the existing oil fields means that the Iraqis can afford to go the volume sales route, so $20 a barrel oil does not hurt them. All selling more oil for less per barrel does is reduce the per barrel payments to Kuwait for the 1991 Gulf War.
#12
Note that production for both Venezuela and Iran is flat to down and that domestic consumption has risen in both coutries. Therefore they both have less oil to deliver to the international market.
Since both have less oil to deliver, neither have anything to lose by OPEC cut backs and both have been big supporters.
Chavez'z latest moves to increase state ownership in oil operations and in other public companies is an attempt to make up for revenue lost due to falling international sales and falling prices. With his new abilities to rule by decree he will continue down that road until the golden goose and every other bird he can get his hands on is dead.
So slow, you can hardly see it...
MADRID (Reuters) - Cuban leader Fidel Castro is making a "slow but progressive" recovery although his condition is serious due to his advanced age, a Spanish doctor who has examined him said on Friday. Yep, you'll be up and dancing in no time, El Supremo...
Castro, 80, has suffered complications after undergoing surgery to his digestive system but could return to his normal life if he manages to make a full recovery, Dr Jose Luis Garcia Sabrido said. Thanks for the scoop, doc.
"I have recent information that his recovery is slow but progressive," Garcia Sabrido, who examined Castro in Havana late last year and is a consultant to the Cuban leader's medical team, told Reuters. Nurse! More ice for El Jefe's ice machine!
"The doctor is lying!"
"How can you tell?"
"His lips are moving!"
Garcia Sabrido, head of surgery at Madrid's Gregorio Maranon hospital, said the outlook for any patient of Castro's age who had undergone complications after surgery, was very serious. "For a patient of his age, who has had complications after an operation, it's always going to be a general prognosis," Garcia Sabrido said, when asked if Castro was in a "very serious condition," as reported by Spain's El Pais newspaper this week. When in doubt, don't answer the question.
#3
I wonder if when he kicks the bucket their gov will be like the Norks and claim he is still alive and technically still the leader although his brother will be handling the daily mundane stuff.
OK, so it's a Python rip-off. It's also apropos. They actually did give him a transplant.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
01/19/2007 11:56 Comments ||
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#6
Rob Crawford Did you hear Castro's had an asshole transplant? Fortunately, the asshole's rejected him.
LOL! :-) funny RC.
******************
Scene: World Renown Socialist Paradise Hospital in Downtown Havana.
Cut To, Transplant team and Castro: the Chief Doc, Dr. Vinny Chihuahua answering questions with El Hefe himself..
Castro asks, "hey Doc, How will I know if I'm having a rejection episode after my asshole transplant"?
Dr. Vinny Chihuahua answers, "Well the good thing is that there are warning signs".
Castro, "hey, like what I'm concerened?"
Dr. Vinny Chihuahua, it's like this Comendante,.. well first your asshole will begin to itch like hell for a couple of hours, then your asshole begins to stink real bad, five minutes after that it's all over Fidel your asshole falls off".
#7
RC: Did you hear Castro's had an asshole transplant? I've been wondering whatever became of Michael Moore. The rejection surprises me, tho. I would have thought it a perfect match.
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Venezuela's National Assembly gave initial approval Thursday to a measure that would let President Hugo Chavez enact laws by decree for 1 1/2 years, a key step in what the leftist calls an accelerating march toward socialism.
The law is expected to easily win final approval next week by a legislature filled with Chavez allies. Among the laws planned by Chavez are moves to nationalize Venezuela's main telecommunications company and the electricity and natural gas sectors. "This process is unstoppable," lawmaker Juan Montenegro Nunez told the National Assembly. "This process is a historic necessity."
We've seen this movie, haven't we? 1935 in Germany? 1959 in Cuba? I'm sure this movie's been made countless times.
Emboldened by landslide re-election last month, ...
... which he won by intimidating the opposition and squatting firmly on the people ...
... Chavez said Wednesday night that he was seeking special powers to approve "revolutionary laws" that would mean political, economic, social, national security and defense reforms. The National Assembly has been entirely filled with Chavez's allies since opposition parties boycotted 2005 elections, citing concerns about fairness. Chavez has said his opponents pulled out of those elections because they knew they had little support.
Opposition politician Gerardo Blyde criticized the proposed law, saying "what is becoming evident is that all the powers are one single power in Venezuela - Hugo Chavez."
Separately, Chavez has formed a commission to recommend sweeping changes to the country's constitution. He said Venezuelans would decide whether to approve constitutional reforms in a referendum, and that the vote would likely be held by the end of this year.
Just in case the decrees don't work, or someone gets uppity.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/19/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
I'm sure this movie's been made countless times.
"Meesa movin' that we give the Supreme Chancellor emergency powers." -- Jar Jar Binks, Attack of the Clones
#3
What's this clown going to do when the Saudis increase oil production by 40% in 2009? 20$ a bbl. won't go very far towards crushing the capitalist devils in the U.S.
#4
Meanwhile, in a Senate office building in downtown Washington, Chris Dodd and Ted Kennedy nod approvingly. "Wish we could rule by decree," says Chris.
"I decree it's time for another drink," Ted replies, hoisting a bottle of Bushmills.
Posted by: Mike ||
01/19/2007 8:56 Comments ||
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It is a done deal. The General Assembly unanimously approved it.
Imbecils!
#1
Since the mid-1980s, the United States has had the ability to take down satellites, but the Chinese don't have satellites worth attacking, Pike said. The United States may have to develop alternatives to its current spy satellites - perhaps stealthy satellites or unmanned aerial vehicles, which are harder to detect than the current well-established U.S. satellite network.
Or we are just crossing our fingers and hoping such alternatives exist. More important than even the Keyhole-type surveillance birds, however, is the entire communications and GPS infrastructure without which a networked military is only a hi-tech Tonka Toy collection. If the ChiComs can threaten those satellites, and it seems they can, we have a problem on par with the negation of all big-gun battleship navies by air power.
#4
Fitting a satellite with a railgun still does not solve the problem of reactive force. Remember, for every action there is an equl and opposite reaction. So, if you toss a 3 kg mass at some ungodly speed you get a reaction against the firing vehicle in the opposite direction.
F=ma works in both directions.
Now, the F generated against the launcher vehicle isn't as catastrophic as the F generated by the impacting slug, but it's still acting against the launcher in the opposite direction.
#5
Just fit two railguns on opposite sides of the satellite and fire them simulaneously to cancel-out the reactive force on the satellite. It's a waste of a round and the energy required to fire it, but it would solve the problem nicely.
#6
Yet another Clinton escapade come home to bite us in the ass. Loral sold the Chinese missle technology in the 90's. Loral was a huge Clinton contributor...you do the math..
1984 - George Orwell predicted there would be three countries left :
Oceania, East Asia, and Eurasia
2084-
3 countries left
Oceania (Wetern Hemisphere) - Language : Spanish East Asia (China , SE Asia, Australia) - Language : Chinese
Eurasia (Except East Asia- above, but Incl Africa) - Language : Arabic
#9
I think the only limit for surface based rail guns is the amount of electricity needed to fire them. No theoretical reason they couldn't be used to put projectiles into orbit from earth (or bombard the other side of the world in a most economical manner).
The other consideration is all the debris left over after a satellite is destroyed, making the orbital paths like a gigantic pinball machine.
Interesting how the MSM has had so little to say about this up until now. More important things to put on the front page, I guess.
#10
A satellite having active defense sounds pretty expensive. What about putting up several defensive satellite (laser I would assume) that each cover an area?
Or better yet, why don't we get our crap together and put the brakes on Chinas' economy?
Posted by: Mike N. ||
01/19/2007 14:08 Comments ||
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#11
Re: Comments #1 & 2: Despite all the blather about the Aurora and the TR-3 and all, I wuold bet that there is indeed an air-breathing vehicle for recon that provides the redundancy in the event of a satellite loss. It has been published in the general press that in addition to Dreamland, there is a new Dreamland being built in Colorado. first question is why? Second question is: why has the gov't within the last few years, greatly expanded the boudaries of the Tohonopah Dreamland? I am not a koolaid swilling UFO-nut, but we did not retire the SR-71s due to 'budget.' There is something better out there. Bet on it.
#12
USN Ret: It has been published in the general press that in addition to Dreamland, there is a new Dreamland being built in Colorado.
Dulce? Supposedly the location of a huge underground facility.
first question is why?
Likely because Area 51 and S-1 are known locations by almost everyone.
Second question is: why has the gov't within the last few years, greatly expanded the boudaries of the Tohonopah Dreamland?
Likely because a lot of the UFOnuts and almost certainly "others" (ie spies) were setting up cameras to observe from the slopes of nearby hills and ridgelines. They were operating stealth and a lot of other secret stuff out of Area 51 and S-1 at the time as I recall.
I am not a koolaid swilling UFO-nut, but we did not retire the SR-71s due to 'budget.' There is something better out there. Bet on it.
Of course. You don't retire perfectly good aircraft until you have a decent replacement.
#14
This is a blatant act of war. I wonder how the Democrats will react to it. At the least, all trade with China should be stopped, cold. We should also mine their ports and harbors and destroy their submarine fleet, but that's more than the donkeys can stand. Personally, I think we should take China to the United Nations and force resolution after resolution in that body, until the Chinese get dizzy from trying to veto them all (actually, I think the best option would be to nuke Beijing and a few areas southwest of Xian, but I know that will never happen. I'm sure the Japanese just started up their nuke weapons assembly lines, though).
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/19/2007 16:58 Comments ||
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#15
uh, OP, they knocked down one of their OWN sats. How is that an act of war?
#18
Plus, they had the orbit completely mapped out, it was an old Chinese satellite, and it was in a Low Earth Orbit {500 miles} - not Geosynchronous {22,500 miles}. Meaning, they can shootdown the International Space Station, but not any of our Keyholes.
#20
Actually, a gas pressure system involving nothing more than used/rejected wheel ball bearings and a sand-type reaction mass would be feasible as a satellite defense system. Hollow tube that is open on both ends, excepting for the protective membrane,light gas cannister propellant to expel the ball bearings out one side and the crystal counter mass out the other side. Could make the counter mass out of some chemical that completely vaporizes in low G, near-vacuum conditions to avoid debris field creation. The ejected ball bearings would spread out like shotgun pellets and would be traveling at the same speed as the satellite plus say 250 feet per second more from the ejection. Mass times speed impacts are nasty things.
#22
Milstars are geo-synch, KH are in a modified LEO, and GPS is at 12,600 miles. So KHs may be vulnerable, but Milstar and GPS are not. But even then, there is the fact of the launch of what can appear to be a ICBM if the track is not directly over China. And the fact that Aegis can use Standard Mark 3 to intercept such a launch. Besides, going to blind the US KH network would be a declaration of war - same as trying to sink a carrier with a sub or cruise missile.
#23
And for the Chinese to be truly safe once they started in on the KHs, they would have to knockdown the Hubble, the ISS, and any Shuttles in orbit. All 3 of those can and have been used for direct Earth observation.
Plus they would have to shutdown Vandenburg AFB to prevent replacement launches.
THE architect of Germany's radical labour reforms confessed yesterday to cheating Volkswagen, the biggest European car-maker, by using a slush fund to pay for prostitutes and luxury holidays for top trade unionists. Peter Hartz, who was the company's personnel director, is accused of paying E400,000 ($658,000) to the Brazilian mistress of the former works council chief of VW. Unauthorised bonuses were paid to union leaders' nightclub visits and escort girls became part of the business culture to ensure that worker representatives who were given boardroom directorships played along with unpopular management decisions.
The prosecutor yesterday estimated the total damage to VW at about E2.6 million. Mr Hartz was once seen as the saviour of an ailing economy apparently unable to stem mass unemployment. Yesterday, he was heckled by protesters shouting "Traitor!" and "A great day for the unemployed".
Gerhard Schroder, the former chancellor, had called on Mr Hartz to introduce a system designed to push people into employment. Until the 1990s it was sometimes more profitable to live on welfare payments than to seek work. The reforms - the latest round is called Hartz IV - have made Mr Hartz into a hate figure, especially in eastern Germany, where people complain that they are being pushed below the poverty line. Mr Hartz faces 44 charges of breach of trust and, if found guilty on a single charge, faces a maximum five-year jail term.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/19/2007 00:00 ||
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I'm going to sue my guidance counselor, the only perks I ever got at work was tea-room cookies, and a beer at the Christmas party.
#5
Union bosses, don't worry, your members are far too stupid to figure out how you are living the parasite life off of their dues. You donks don't have to worry either, the union flunkies still think you are representing them. Hahahahahahahaha.
You can fool some of the people all of the time.
PARIS - The two-year delay to the Airbus A380 is proving costlier than expected, parent company EADS said Wednesday in a profit warning that sent shares lower as the aircraft maker confirmed it had lost its five-year lead in orders to Boeing. Airbus won orders for 824 airliners last year, the company said -- well short of both Boeing's 1,050 tally and its own industry record of 1,111 in 2005 -- but delivered 434 planes to its U.S.-based rival's 398.
Despite the production crisis blighting the double-decker A380, 2006 was ''the best year ever in terms of deliveries and the second best year in terms of sales,'' said EADS co-Chief Executive Louis Gallois, who also heads Airbus.
Both of which are crumping: the orders now, and deliveries in the next year or two as the slump in orders catches up.
Shortly before the orders announcement, EADS said an unspecified fourth-quarter accounting charge tipped Airbus into an operating loss for 2006 that will ''roughly balance'' earnings before interest and tax from other divisions. Hans Peter Ring, chief financial officer for both EADS and Airbus, said the ''bulk of the charges'' were previously disclosed but had now been brought forward -- including costs linked to the A380 setbacks and restructuring plans. ''We're accepting a bigger hit in 2006 to prepare a better future,'' Ring said, declining to provide any breakdown of the losses. The A380 problems would wipe 4.8 billion ($6.2 billion) from 2006-2010 profit, EADS said last October.
That's a lot of money to suck out of the pockets of Euro taxpayers.
#4
The interesting thing about the wiring issue, if that's really the problem, is that it would seem that each plane will also be much more costly to produce than expected. It would follow that it has been underpriced, and that gross margins will be less than expected. It's even possible that Airbus will lose money on every A380 that has been ordered to date.
Airbus is probably considering how much to increase the price of the aircraft and how much they can get from European governments to cover the additional costs to keep the factories running.
#5
DoDo: that is a pretty fair assumption. Airbust was counting on huge freighter orders to subsidize the pax version, but now all freighter orders except UPS have melted away. And freighters didn't need the expensive in-flight entertainment wiring systems that the pax versions do. I think there are deeper problems that haven't been made public yet, but will be brought out in about a year, as an excuse for more 'schedule slide.'
Note to the USAF Tanker program: Don't bet on these guys producing anything on time.
AoS note: please note the formatting changes I made. I can't do this to every article; I'm more likely to delete them if it takes too much time. Your comments are in yellow hilite, not italics.
Hat Tip: FrontPageMag.com
I'm a Republican, but this kind of chicanery is exactly one of the reasons why the GOP lost in the last election. Amnesty for illegals is a no-fly idea and it needs to be stopped.
Republican National Committee members think they will get a secret ballot on today's election of a new general chairman, which would protect members opposed to the White House's push to fill the new slot with an advocate of an amnesty for illegal aliens. "If we get the secret ballot as promised, then every member will feel free to express his or her view without the fear of coercion or intimidation," said RNC member Curly Haugland of North Dakota. What? Secret ballots? Why, why, that would be like democratic or something and we can't be associated with that now can we?
The move to create a new top office on the committee and fill it with Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida is scheduled to take place today, on the third day of the annual RNC winter meeting here. Mr. Martinez supports President Bush's plans for what conservative critics call amnesty for illegal aliens.
Former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, a former state party chairman and RNC member who attended the meeting yesterday as an observer, was talked up by some members as an alternative to Mr. Martinez. Mr. Steele, praised by name in a farewell speech by outgoing Republican National Chairman Ken Mehlman, lost a Senate run in November but remains popular with RNC members. Steele would be a good candidate for the position IMO.
"The Republican Party is against amnesty for illegals, but if the president wants Mr. Martinez as general chairman, that should be the president's prerogative," Mr. Steele told The Washington Times. Then again...kowtowing to the President on this issue is just stupid. Being Republican doesn't mean blind obedience to stupid ideas.
The RNC leadership's desires historically almost always carry the day, especially when a Republican is in the White House, but some members yesterday said they saw hope that things might turn out differently this time. "If it is a secret ballot, it will make a huge difference," said RNC member Denise McNamara of Texas, who said she intends to vote against the creation of the general-chairman position and, if that move fails, to vote against Mr. Martinez to fill the office, regardless of whether the vote is secret or public.
So far, a minority of members share her willingness to publicly express opposition. "I will vote against the creation of an office of general chairman, even if it is a voice vote," said RNC member Steve Cloud of Kansas. "But a lot of others on this committee who also oppose the creation of that office -- whether because it violates the rules or because they oppose amnesty for illegal aliens -- they will be afraid to say what they think unless there is a secret ballot."
At issue is whether the RNC's rules permit the creation the "general chairman" position. The rules governing the RNC, adopted at the 2004 Republican National Convention, call only for an elected chairman and co-chairman. RNC member Robert M. "Mike" Duncan, a Kentucky resident and the current treasurer, is running unopposed for chairman. RNC member Tim Morgan of California is exacted to become the new treasurer. Great! Just what the GOP needs - another layer of bureacracy. I swear the parties get more and more alike every day.
#3
Greg, thank you. I don't mean to be difficult at all. I check in a couple times a day for a few minutes each (lunch and if I get a break in the action in the lab) to ensure that the Burg is okay. I check the Poster to see if we have new articles in the hopper and then check the Editor to see if things are ok (in case a spammer slipped through, etc). I can fix simple stuff on articles but I don't want to spend a lot of time on it, 'cause I don't have a lot of time.
So a word to all who contribute: first, thank you. Second, your comments are in hilite, never italics. Don't use leading or trailing linespaces, but start each new snark on a separate line. Please teach the MSM how to edit by removing all the redundant crap. Always, always, always put the article's URL in the source box. And don't embed a pic from outside Rantburg unless it's superfantastic and small enough not to cause loading and display problems.
Again, thanks.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/19/2007 17:24 Comments ||
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#4
And don't embed a pic from outside Rantburg unless it's superfantastic and small enough not to cause loading and display problems.
(2007-01-18) — Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-NB, today introduced a bill with several of his Democrat colleagues that would cap the number of Republican Senators at current levels and begin negotiations with Democrats for a phased GOP withdrawal from the Senate.
The measure comes as the Senate prepares to debate a Hagel-sponsored resolution opposing President George BushÂ’s move to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq.
“Just as sending more U.S. troops isn’t the solution to defeating terrorists in Iraq,” said Sen. Hagel, “more Republican senators won’t accomplish the party’s legislative goals here. Each additional GOP senator simply antagonizes the majority party and makes the Senate a worse quagmire than it already is.”
New York Democrat Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton co-sponsored the so-called “cap and yank” measure.
“We admire Chuck Hagel,” said Sen. Clinton, “because when he reaches across the aisle, it never seems like a stretch.”
WASHINGTON: Having developed the capability to build and operate a centrifuge plant, India is speeding up efforts to make highly-enriched uranium (HEU) for its nuclear submarine program and may even conduct a N-test, an American think tank has said.
In a report released on Thursday, the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security said India, which is operating about 2,000 to 3,000 centrifuges at the Rare Materials Project (RMP), is now attempting to expand the number of centrifuges by 3,000.
This expansion would more than double RMP's output and increase its capacity by almost 15,000 separative work units per year, the report said. Further expansions are expected.
Authors of the report, David Albright and Susan Basu, said the move would increase India's ability to make HEU for its naval nuclear program and "enable it to add a substantial number of thermonuclear weapons to its arsenal."
In turn, "the production of thermonuclear weapons may lead India to conduct additional N-tests as it seeks to make more deliverable, reliable, and efficient weapons," they suggested.
Albright, president of ISIS and a well-known non-proliferation activist, has long been seen as an alarmist by Indian strategic circles.
In the latest report, he and Basu maintained that since the Indian government has proposed designating its gas centrifuge enrichment facilities, such as RMP, as military sites under the framework of US-India N-deal, Delhi is unlikely to use these facilities to create low-enriched uranium (LEU) to fuel the Tarapur reactors.
With increased access to international fuel markets, India is expected to be able to import sufficient amounts of LEU to fuel these civil reactors.
Albright-Basu also said that despite the gradual development of its domestic hi-tech industry, India's centrifuge program still seeks foreign suppliers for several key items.
If the NSG makes an exception for India, as a non-signatory of NPT, foreign suppliers of dual-use items will need to exercise extra care to ensure that RMP is not the ultimate end user or beneficiary of exports intended solely for peaceful, non-military uses, the report cautioned.
In a separate report they also warned that Pakistan, which has mastered the uranium route to N-weapons, may be close to cranking up its plutonium production.
New imagery of Pakistan's Chashma N-park raises the question of whether Islamabad may intend to bring on line a new reprocessing facility capable of separating weapons-grade plutonium out of spent reactor fuel.
Such a capability, would aid Pakistan in developing thermonuclear weapons as well as increasing the size of its nuclear arsenal, they said.
Posted by: john ||
01/19/2007 19:31 ||
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#1
David Albright was a former U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq. Couln't find a WMD if he was sitting on it.
Posted by: john ||
01/19/2007 20:59 Comments ||
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A Saudi non-government organisation, the World Assembly of Muslim Youth, will construct a model village near Muzaffarabad for the widows and orphans of the October 8 earthquake. One with a really, really big mosque.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/19/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
The widows will earn their living by working in a sowing shop, and the orphants will carry the shop's products into Afghanistan.
#2
World Assembly of Muslim Youth Founded by Osama bin Laden's nephew
Holds conferences and distributes literature promoting jihad and anti-Semitism
Raises funds for Palestinian terrorist groups, including Hamas
Has been linked to both the 9/11 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing
Your typical muslim charity, said without a hint of sarcasm. More at link.
Posted by: ed ||
01/19/2007 7:26 Comments ||
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#3
Oh. Now I get it.
At first I thought they were gonna build it out of, like, Legos or something on top of one of those old electric football games.
But then I figured, nah, that's pretty stupid...
Gunmen stormed the Stars and Stripes printing press in Baghdad on Thursday, kidnapping 22 Iraqi workers before letting six go free later in the afternoon, officials of the private Iraqi company that prints the paper said. Roughly 30 armed men — about half dressed in Iraqi police uniforms and about half in business suits — pulled up to the printing plant around 1 p.m. in Land Cruisers, then entered the facility and began shooting at equipment and in the air, the contractors said. The men rounded up the printers and press maintainers working at the time, then drove them off in the vehicles, the contractors said.
Ibrihim Zayer, the owner of the printing facility, said the attack was not politically motivated or the act of terrorists targeting the newspaper. He attributed the action to an ongoing business dispute.
The printing and delivery company contracted by Stripes has been the victim of violence before. At least two contract drivers have been killed while on deliveries, one near Ramadi and one near Balad. The Baghdad facility also prints several Iraqi newspapers.
Stars and Stripes began printing in Baghdad in October 2003. Between papers printed at the Baghdad facility and those in other countries, some 50,000 copies of the paper are distributed on bases throughout Iraq each day.
Stars and Stripes officials said they were looking into alternative printing arrangements, if necessary, so the paper could be distributed as usual in Iraq. It was not immediately known whether FridayÂ’s paper would be available.
S&S is the 'official' DoD newspaper for the troops. It tends to encourage the party line, but in the past has done some genuinely tough and hard-hitting stories. During GW I they did a series uncovering corruption in the supply system that had it been in a civilian paper it would have gotten a Pulitzer nomination. You might be thinking of the Gannett-owned 'Times' papers (Army Times, Air Force Times, etc)that are usually found in the BXs - they have NO official connection with DOD and tend to have the same attitude as USA Today, except they have a strictly service-oriented slant, and most people I know wouldn't hit a dead dog in the a*s with one.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
01/19/2007 7:18 Comments ||
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#4
Business dispute? Someone forget their union dues? OSHA violations? Enquiring minds want to know.
#5
#1. Could you be thinking of the now defunct Overseas Oversexed Weekly which was published in Europe from 1950 to 1975 and in the Pacific 1964-1975? "The least popular publication at the Pentagon is the Overseas Weekly ..." - Time Magazine, 10/20/1967
Vatican City, 19 Jan. (AKI) - Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday called on Turkey to give the Catholic Church legal status as a recognised religious institution. The pope made the remark during a meeting with Turkey's new ambassador to the Holy See, Moammer Dogan Akdur. "In enjoying the freedom of religion which the Turkish constitution grants to all believers, the Catholic Church hopes it can benefit from a recognised judicial statute," Benedict said.
Benedict told Akdur that he hoped all religions would strive for peace "beginning by denouncing violence which too often in the past has been motivated on religious grounds."
The pope also referred to his visit to Turkey last November which went off without negative incidents despite fears for his safety because of tensions caused by a speech he made just months before in which he appeared to crtiticise Islam. "During the course of my memorable trip to Turkey, I manifested on several occasions the great respect that the Catholic Church has for Islam and for the Muslim faithful," Benedict said.
Nice coat of butter.
A visit to Istanbul's Sultanahmet, or Blue Mosque, during which he prayed together with a Muslim cleric remained one of the fondest memories of his trip, the pope said. Reciprocity
Scientists have unlocked the secrets of a deadly superbug that attacks healthy young people and can kill within 24 hours.
The news is a vital first step in attempts to find a cure for the virulent disease, PVL-MRSA, that is highly resistant to current antibiotic treatments.
Already responsible for two deaths in Britain, experts fear we are in the early stages of an epidemic that could result in a massive death toll if the superbug took hold in hospitals.
The bug generally attacks the body through open wounds and can cause necrotising pneumonia, a disease that rapidly destroys lung tissue and is lethal in 75 per cent of cases.
In 2004 it killed Richard Campbell-Smith, an 18-year-old Royal Marine, who died after scratching his legs on gorse during a training exercise in Devon. An outbreak last month at Norfolk and Norwich University hospital killed a baby and infected five others.
According to the Health Protection Agency there were 106 cases of PVL-MRSA in England and Wales in 2005 and one confirmed death from necrotising pneumonia. But researchers at the University of Texas in Houston and Lyon University in France say their new understanding of how the bug works gives them hope of heading it off before it colonises hospitals, like the basic MRSA bug before it.
Gabriela Bowden, who lead the study, told the Guardian: "We've shown that not only is PVL responsible for causing necrotising pneumonia, but it somehow also causes over-production of these other proteins which cause damage and help the infection spread.
"We now have targets to go for." Ooo. Ick. Flesh eating lung bacteria. It has been discovered that a lot of people have this bacteria living in their nasal passages, that waits for significant tissue damage to make an opportunistic infection. Some hospitals are now using a specific nasal spray antibiotics in patients awaiting surgery.
DAHLGREN, Va. — Normally, new weaponry tends to make defense more expensive. But the Navy likes to say its new railgun delivers the punch of a missile at bullet prices. A flashy demonstration of the futuristic and comparatively inexpensive railgun weapon Tuesday at the Naval Surface Warfare Center had Navy brass smiling. The weapon, which was successfully tested in October at the King George County base, fires nonexplosive projectiles at incredible speeds, using electricity rather than gun powder.
The technology could increase the striking range of U.S. Navy ships more than tenfold by the year 2020. "It's pretty amazing capability, and it went off without a hitch," said Capt. Joseph McGettigan, commander of NSWC Dahlgren Division. "The biggest thing is it's real not just something on the drawing board," he said. "It could go to the field right now. We just want to improve it, to make it better."
The railgun works by sending electric current along parallel rails, creating an electromagnetic force so powerful it can fire a metal projectile at tremendous speed. Because the gun uses electricity and not gunpowder to fire projectiles, it's safer, eliminating the possibility of explosions on ships and vehicles equipped with it. Instead, a powerful pulse generator is used.
The prototype fired at Dahlgren is only an 8-megajoule electromagnetic device, but the one to be used on Navy ships will generate a massive 64 megajoules. Current Navy guns generate about 9 megajoules of muzzle energy. The railgun's 200 to 250 nautical-mile range will allow Navy ships to strike deep in enemy territory while staying out of reach of hostile forces.
Rear Adm. William E. "Bill" Landay, chief of Naval Research, said Navy railgun progress from the drawing board to reality has been rapid. "A year ago, this was (just) a good idea we all wanted to pursue," he said.
Elizabeth D'Andrea of the Office of Naval Research said a 32-megajoule lab gun will be delivered to Dahlgren in June.
The projectile fired Tuesday weighed only 3.2 kilograms and had no warhead. Future railgun ordnance won't be large and heavy, either, but will deliver the punch of a Tomahawk cruise missile because of the immense speed of the projectile at impact. Garnett compared that force to hitting a target with a Ford Taurus at 380 mph. "It will take out a building," he said. Warheads aren't needed because of the massive force of impact.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/19/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
At least somebody found a use for a Taurus.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
01/19/2007 0:38 Comments ||
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#2
We (industrialized nations) have a lot of staff. Now, all we need, is the will to use it on the barbs.
#4
If folks worry about the magnetic fields around power lines and cell phones, what are they going to say about 32 megajoule pulses? And it had better not screw up my tv signal.
#5
When they first started messing with this stuff in the 70s, I read that they could accelerate a [forgotten figure, on the order of an ounce] pellet to escape velocity.
Imagine taking out a tank - and part of the real estate behind it - with a .45 round.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/19/2007 9:16 Comments ||
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#7
Now to put that auto feeder on it.
By the way, I believe there is no recoil with such a propulsion system, and rapid fire is definitely within normal operation.
#10
For nuke powered ships, a row of gauss cannon should be easily powered.
The question is how feasable having a generator+capacitors makes this viable for a tank, since you can use lighter rounds and not have to worry as much about brewing up.
#11
Feasible for a ship from an energy stanpoint. An Aegis destroyer's engines generates 100MW shaft power, say 90MW for a generator if electric drive, or enough power to sustain 1 shot per second at 60MJ per shot plus rapid fire ability from reserve power stored in ultracapacitors.
For a tank, maybe. The best tank cannons generate near 20MJ kinetic energy.
If the claims of ultracapacitor startup EEStor are true (not yet verified ), a 52kWH (187 MegaJoules) ultracap storage pack weighs 400 pounds. 5 or 6 such packs may be enough for 40 shots assuming the ultracaps can discharge enough energy in miliseconds. A 1500 shaft horsepower turbine on an M1 tank can generate 1.0 MW electricy, enough to sustain only 2 shots/minute after the stored energy is drained. Add to that the need for a generator, hybrid or electric drive, ultracap and electronics storage volume balanced against the elimination of the loader crewman, small ammo volume, possibly even higher rate of fire and ability to tailor muzzle velocity to the target.
BTW, a 52kWH ultracap can power an electric car for 200 miles.
Posted by: ed ||
01/19/2007 13:16 Comments ||
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#12
The "rods from God" weapon system has been criticized for the high cost of putting such weapons into orbit. Rail guns drastically cut the price, and could conceivably make it possible to bombard the other side of the world using suborbital and orbital projectiles at a much lower cost. Maybe rail guns on naval vessels aren't the only possible application.
#15
USN WIfe used to work @ Dahlgren: whenever they tested Battleship guns ( had a bunch of 16 " barrels laying around) they had to clear the river downstream and depending on the weather, herd the staff that was nearby into little noise shelters, that looked like thick concrete bus stops. I got to go over and play with some really neat airplane related spooky stuff, and the station looks like an 'A'Team playground.
#18
Now that they have unveiled this maybe the Navy ought to think about restoring Bussard's fusion research budget and if the DOE complains tell 'em to go piss up a rope
#20
Be sure to thank God, or at least Madonna + SIblings, for dev Coconuts + Tropical Islands. The next time PAULA "DELILAH/BATHSHEBA" ABDUL kicks a tropical plant, have her arrested.
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - State media on Thursday accused pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi of evading taxes by spending her money from the 1991 Nobel Peace prize and other awards overseas.
Generals must be losing their grip on power.
Suu Kyi, the country's opposition leader, has been in prison or under house arrest for 11 of the last 17 years. Myanmar's military junta regularly calls her a threat to national unity and says she and her party are trying to undermine the government by collaborating with foreign powers.
She might be the only person who could lead Myanmar out of the darkness.
The New Light of Myanmar newspaper carried another accusation in its Thursday edition. Commentaries in the state-run press often reflect the viewpoint of the country's military government. "She avoided paying taxes to the State by asking her family members abroad to spend all her cash awards provided by international organizations and honorariums presented for her works she had created abroad, instead of spending the money in the country," the newspaper wrote.
Where it would have been seized immediately by the generals. They get her either way, but that's the idea.
Suu Kyi was married to a British academic, Michael Aris, who died of cancer in Britain in 1999. Her two grown sons live abroad. She has been given nearly 100 awards and honorary titles for her nonviolent efforts to achieve democracy. Among them were the 1991 Nobel Peace prize, for which she was awarded 6 million Swedish kronor, currently equivalent to about $856,000.
The newspaper also said that the junta has treated Suu Kyi leniently by putting her under house arrest and not sending her to prison. "It was very considerate of the government to put only restrictions on her, instead of punishing her in accordance with (the) law," the paper said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/19/2007 00:00 ||
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Wait - she'd been under house arrest for 11 years, and spent her money overseas.
Has anyone thought about cutting off her E-Bay account?
Washington, Jan. 19 (ANI): Hollywood's tough guy Sylvester Stallone is set to helm a film based on the controversial book 'The Forty Days of Musa Dagh', which describes the alleged Turkish massacre of the Armenian community in 1915. Authored by Franz Werfel, the publication of this book had raised a huge controversy in Turkey, which never accepted it wholly to be a historical fact.
"Armenians? What Armenians?"
Stallone's plans to make a film adaptation of the book has also raised a controversy, and the 'Association On Struggle Against Armenian Genocide Acknowledgement' is urging him not to go ahead with his decision."The book is full of lies, since the author got his information from nationalist and radical Armenians. We have already sent necessary documents about the mentioned days to the producer of the film. Our allies will urge the producer not to produce the film," Contactmusic quoted Chairman Savas Egilmez fumes as saying.
Sly Stallone vs Turkey. Hardly a fair fight
Stallone says that the flick will be "an epic about the complete destruction of a civilisation. (But) talk about a political hot potato. The Turks have been killing that subject for 85 years."
Apparently Stallone has been trying to get this project off the ground for several years.
Posted by: Steve ||
01/19/2007 10:30 ||
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After that Billy Zane/Gary Busey movie that did major box office in Turkey, I hope Stallone makes this. Hell, I'll even go see it if he does.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
01/19/2007 11:58 Comments ||
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#2
Excellent to see what may be evidence of non-moonbattery in Hollywood.
#4
Hollywood's tough guy Sylvester Stallone is set to helm a film based on the controversial book 'The Forty Days of Musa Dagh', which describes the alleged Turkish massacre of the Armenian community in 1915.
I think the story needs much more exposure, and I'm glad Stallone is attempting that. I also like what he says about the Turks' efforts to revise history.
As far as I can tell from what I've read, except for the nutcase fringe, nobody sane is denying that Turks massacred Armenians. What's in dispute are numbers and whether it was a systematic, planned genocide. I'm convinced it was, but Bernard Lewis (yes, that one) doesn't. You can google up tons of commentary on his statement.
If crude oil prices extend their sharp slide below the $US50 a barrel mark it could trigger an even deeper wave of investor selling, energy analysts said on Wednesday. Oil prices have slumped about 16 per cent since the start of the year to below $US51 a barrel before picking up to around $US52.50 in after-hours trading and the market has a concentration of "put", or sell, options around the $US50 and $US45 a barrel level, making them key pivot points.
The spot price in Dubai sank to $US49.39 on Wednesday but in early trading last night was back over $US50 - by just one cent.
The spot price in Dubai sank to $US49.39 on Wednesday but in early trading last night was back over $US50 - by just one cent. "If the speculative funds were able to push crude below $US50 a barrel it could trigger a further wave of put short hedging which would give additional negative momentum," said Olivier Jakob at Petromatrix.
The drop in oil prices has been caused in part by an abnormally warm winter that has cut into demand for heating fuels and has rung alarm bells for OPEC members struggling to buoy prices with production cuts. But analysts have also been pointing to hedging by oil producers who wish to lock in revenue because they think oil's five-year rally may have run out of steam. "A $US50 WTI [West Texas Intermediate] price represents a level that could concern higher-cost producers and at that level we would expect to see further producer hedging that may not be easily absorbed by the hedge fund community," JP Morgan said in a research note.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/19/2007 00:00 ||
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it could trigger a further wave of put short hedging which would give additional negative momentum
Translation: "We are SO screwed...."
Does anybody remember after the post-Katrina price hikes settled down how we were told $2.50 a gallon was forever and we'd better get used to it? In all honesty, I think this is going to only be a respite, but I intend to enjoy it.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
01/19/2007 7:13 Comments ||
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#4
I hope those bastards lose their shirts. Monkeying around with oil prices affects every single working class person in the country, but they don't give a rat's ass. They even go so far as to drive the price of heating oil and gas up to make a buck. And that's a real dog act in my book.
#5
My "Mad Mullah" Brothers in Iran might have a couple of problems with oil under $50 also. Seems that little commodity is their 'line-of-credit', for which they are currently vastly overextended. Their 'creditors (Russia, China, Phrance, whomever else) might just want their 'pound of flesh' if the trend continues. Suddenly your 'futures' don't look so good on paper. The Iranian citizenry will subsequently suffer more.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
01/19/2007 8:35 Comments ||
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#6
I hope these investors all lose their asses!!! While we are struggling to make ends meet because of 2 to 3 buck a gallon gas, these wall street types were lighting their cigars with 100's. I hope they suffer.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
01/19/2007 8:46 Comments ||
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#8
1 - I hope someone is out there watching the system to insure all the speculators who drove the price up are not allowed to get out of their contracts. Though the cynic in me assumes that political and banking interests are going to protect their buds and contributors.
2 - The Sauds are intentionally doing this as a weapon against the Iranians. When the Iranian threat diminishes, you can count on the Sauds cutting back on production. Once again we'll pass up a window of opportunity [see its not just a Paleo affliction] to bring our own resources on line.
#11
I've always thought that 5 bucks a gallon was not too high a price to see those barbarins go down for the count, but the then 25 cents a gallon would also be good:-))
Posted by: kelly ||
01/19/2007 13:36 Comments ||
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#12
I wonder if this is intentional or just a serendipitous change in the weather.
Aside from the West losing the incentive for domestic energy production, I see nothing but wins for us.
It essentially bankrupts Iran and Venezuela. I don't know how well Saudi and Kuwait, et al will hold up with the lower prices, but it seems like an additional economic pressure on the Iranian/Venezuela thugs. And by extension, robs North Korea of a rich ally.
*shrug* I just hope all the good outweighs the bad.
#13
Anon4021: *shrug* I just hope all the good outweighs the bad.
What will happen will happen. All I know is that everyone else doesn't worry about balance of good and bad of THEIR actions, doing what they damn well please, followed by demands that those with a better track record of success pay for their failures.
#15
A year or so ago I said that these huge prices hike would be only temporary, and they were.
Cartels such as OPEC only work for so long, then their power is overwhelmed by the actual market.
Read history and study oil prices as I did, and you will see that oil prices must be propped up on low supply or by articial ( meaning government ) means such as regulations that affect oil directly.
Low supply and high prices always mean new investment will seep into the oil market until such activity an no longer be sustained, such as when production increases.
Once the spigot is enlarged is it very hard to slow it down until supply, or interference in the market forces a change in investment due to falling prices.
The history of oil prices has always been deflationary. It is impossible to see high oil prices beign sustained for too long without some kind of intervention ( taxes or regulation)
Oil is finding its new permenant equilibrium and there will be a shakeout until that new level is reached.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Lindsay Lohan has checked into rehab. "I have made a proactive decision to take care of my personal health. I appreciate your well wishes and ask that you please respect my privacy at this time," said the 20-year-old actress in a statement issued Wednesday through her publicist, Leslie Sloane Zelnick.
AT the height of his power, Charles Taylor carried around a map of "Greater Liberia", his vision of a republic that would one day encompass parts of three neighbouring countries and their diamond, mineral and timber reserves. Taylor's dream - and West Africa's nightmare - began in Gbarnga, an unassuming provincial town where he launched his rebel movement in 1989. 
NEW DELHI: Saudi Arabia plans to increase its crude oil production capacity nearly 40 percent by 2009 and double its refining size over the next five years to keep pace with growing global demand, the country's oil minister said Thursday. The minister, 
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Venezuela's National Assembly gave initial approval Thursday to a measure that would let President Hugo Chavez enact laws by decree for 1 1/2 years, a key step in what the leftist calls an accelerating march toward socialism.
THE architect of Germany's radical labour reforms confessed yesterday to cheating Volkswagen, the biggest European car-maker, by using a slush fund to pay for prostitutes and luxury holidays for top trade unionists. Peter Hartz, who was the company's personnel director, is accused of paying E400,000 ($658,000) to the Brazilian mistress of the former works council chief of VW. Unauthorised bonuses were paid to union leaders' nightclub visits and escort girls became part of the business culture to ensure that worker representatives who were given boardroom directorships played along with unpopular management decisions. 
PARIS - The two-year delay to the Airbus A380 is proving costlier than expected, parent company EADS said Wednesday in a profit warning that sent shares lower as the aircraft maker confirmed it had lost its five-year lead in orders to Boeing. Airbus won orders for 824 airliners last year, the company said -- well short of both Boeing's 1,050 tally and its own industry record of 1,111 in 2005 -- but delivered 434 planes to its U.S.-based rival's 398.
Vatican City, 19 Jan. (AKI) - 
DAHLGREN, Va. — Normally, new weaponry tends to make defense more expensive. But the Navy likes to say its new railgun delivers the punch of a missile at bullet prices. A flashy demonstration of the futuristic and comparatively inexpensive railgun weapon Tuesday at the Naval Surface Warfare Center had Navy brass smiling. The weapon, which was successfully tested in October at the King George County base, fires nonexplosive projectiles at incredible speeds, using electricity rather than gun powder.
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - State media on Thursday accused pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi of evading taxes by spending her money from the 1991 Nobel Peace prize and other awards overseas.
If crude oil prices extend their sharp slide below the $US50 a barrel mark it could trigger an even deeper wave of investor selling, energy analysts said on Wednesday. Oil prices have slumped about 16 per cent since the start of the year to below $US51 a barrel before picking up to around $US52.50 in after-hours trading and the market has a concentration of "put", or sell, options around the $US50 and $US45 a barrel level, making them key pivot points. 
