Oil's Slippery Logic

Oil prices have slipped $23 dollars since they topped $147. The factors that pushed oil to those levels remain present, and will remain present for the forseeable future. Expect a lot of volatility. Any demand concessions made by the US will be sucked up by China and India. There is no slack in the market, so expect massive up and downward spikes, but the trend overall remains higher.

My Prediction:

I don't see prices going under $110 for the remainder of the year, and see them reaching $150 or higher, even $170, towards the tailend of 2008, particular once that report on the world's wells comes out in August.

clipped from www.bloomberg.com Current Oil Price `Not Expensive,' Gabrielli Says (Update1) July 25 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil at $126 a barrel is ``not expensive,'' considering production costs and rising demand, said Jose Sergio Gabrielli, chief executive officer of Brazil's government-controlled oil company, Petroleo Brasileiro SA. ``Oil is an exhaustible resource,'' Gabrielli said in an interview today in Rio de Janeiro. ``In order to produce new oil to replace the barrel you just used, you have to find oil that's much more expensive than what you already produced.''

In the early 21st century, the death of air travel

Who woulda thunk?

clipped from www.msnbc.msn.com $130-a-barrel oil won't save the airlines — travelers must save themselves Even as the nation's network carriers began reporting billions in second-quarter losses last week, a furious rally drove share prices up by 45 to 60 percent. The market shrugged off the $1.4 billion loss reported by the parent of American Airlines, the nation's largest carrier, and ran its stock up 59 percent. The nation's second-largest airline, United, will report losses in the $3 billion range this week, yet its shares climbed 58 percent. But irrational exuberance is nothing if not irrational. The biggest airlines — American, United, Delta, Northwest, Continental and US Airways — can't make money at $130 a barrel. They can't make money at $100 a barrel, either. Nor can their smaller competitors.

Dark Knight 'one of the greatest movies of all time'

It is certainly worthy of a lot of attention, and a lot of debate. It's a reflection of the disturbing dystopia that our world has become, and as such a meaningful, valuableand important flick.

clipped from blogs.guardian.co.uk Is The Dark Knight really the best film ever made? It's shot straight to the top of imdb.com's top films of all time. Fair praise for Christopher Nolan? Or is this a vote-rigging scandal by Bat-fans? A far better barometer, though, is the Internet Movie Database's top 250, where The Dark Knight has deposed The Godfather as the No 1 movie. This is no mean feat. In fact, it's incredible. Coppola's crime opus has held the imdb's top spot ever since I've been using it - at least 10 years. The next highest 21st century movie is The Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King at No 14.

The Carbon Dioxide Con

A massive international campaign needs to be introduced by governments to address ordinary motoring habits and national power production (particularly by coal) immediately. Countries might elect to sponsor China with nuclear powered plants in exchange for fishing rods, plastic toilet seats, etc. Failure to do so may have dire consequences. Communities need to take to the streets if appropriate measures are not set in motion soon and as a matter of urgency.

clipped from english.ohmynews.com All life is literally made out of thin air. The tissues of human beings (corneas, fingernails, eyelashes and skin) are sophisticated cellular arrangements based on reconfigurations of the surrounding atmosphere. Carbon is such a vital element for life because of its allotropic nature: different chemical bonds mean it can take many different forms, from the hardest known natural substance -- cubic crystallized diamonds (which are transparent) -- to soft hexagonal graphites (which are black), to the constituents of chewing gum or plant cellulose. When viewed under a microscope carbon can resemble up to eight different crystal allotropes. The total CO2 pumped into the atmosphere by all countries is currently 27.23 billion tons. Anyone who seriously believes that these extraordinarily high levels of pollution will not have a devastating and catastrophic impact on living systems on Earth need to check in immediately to the nearest asylum.

Hurricane Dolly About to Hit

How will the hurricane season impact oil production in the Gulf of Mexico and gas prices?

At 5 p.m. ET, Dolly had sustained winds of nearly 75 mph and was 165 miles southeast of the border town of Brownsville, Texas, which could see the brunt of the storm.

The storm combined with levees that have deteriorated in the 41 years since Beulah swept up the Rio Grande pose a major flooding threat to low-lying counties along the border. Beulah spawned more than 100 tornadoes across Texas and dumped 36 inches of rain in some parts of South Texas, killing 58 people and causing more than $1 billion damage.

"We could have a triple-decker problem here," Cavazos told a meeting of more than 100 county and local officials Tuesday. "We believe that those (levees) will be breached if it continues on the same track. So please stay away from those levees."

clipped from www.msnbc.msn.com Dolly becomes hurricane, levee breaks feared Texas officials warn of flooding; up to 15 inches of rain expected McALLEN, Texas - Dolly strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane Tuesday afternoon and was making its way to coastal areas of northeast Mexico and South Texas, where officials worried it would bring so much rain that flooding could break through the levees holding back the Rio Grande.

How to be happy this year

Ben-Shahar surmises, "Attaining lasting happiness requires that we enjoy the journey on our way toward a destination we deem valuable." Click on the clipped link below to read the excellent article: 'The Happiness Hype'.

clipped from english.ohmynews.com On the one hand, those in the West enjoy the highest standard of living ever seen during humankind's existence. On the other hand, according to Harvard psychologist Tal Ben-Shahar in his book Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment, "rates of depression [in the US] are ten times higher today than they were in the1960s, and the average age for the onset of depression is fourteen and a half compared to twenty-nine and a half in 1960." "If we are so wealthy, why aren't we happy?" Just as plants need sun, water, and good soil to thrive, people need love, work, and a connection to something larger. It is worth striving to get the right relationships between yourself and others, between yourself and your work, and between yourself and something larger than yourself. If you get these relationships right, a sense of purpose and meaning will emerge.

A World Without Mandela is Becoming Too Horrible To Contemplate

Yes he is just a man, but in him are vested the hopes of many, and when he is no longer there, will those hopes remain? The great leadership vacuum worldwide is like a great darkness...one that many people feel is growing. Who will stand up against the darkness of corruption, troubles, growing disorder and chaos. Without Mandela we will have our memories to fall back on. And, of course, merely ourselves and each other.

clipped from www.nytimes.com “Mandela is 90,” the Mail and Guardian said in its online edition Friday (www.mg.co.za). “But the sweet celebration of a life of leadership, service and generosity is mixed with the sour taste of a legacy being polluted in front of the old man’s tired eyes. “ It went on: “ Where Mandela united, Mbeki has divided. His willingness to forgive and be reconciled with his former persecutors in the interests of South Africa is in sharp contrast with the “politics of total takeover” that has gripped the ruling party.” It is thus with a certain wistfulness that some South Africans contemplate a post-Mandela era. “Mandela can’t come to our rescue any more. But his example can,” the newspaper said.