SAR #8184

The troubling thing about peak oil is that it is the end
of who we thought we were.

Twist My Arm: Senior Pentagon officials are concerned that Israel could carry out an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities before the end of the year. Preferably before the election.

Takes One To Know One: KB Homes' Eli Broad, who made his fortune selling houses, sees the US economy as being the worst in his lifetime and expects it will be several years before the housing market recovery begins. Elsewhere, some claim the Dow has bottomed and it's time to buy! This bunch builds nothing, sells hope.

Indigestion: Now that BOA has swallowed Countrywide, do the future losses from lawsuits against Countrywide become part of the $30 billion the taxpayers are picking up?

A Day At The Zoo: At the Democratic Convention in Denver the "designated protest zone" will be a fenced in cage far removed from the action. I was hoping that someone might remember that this whole country used to be a free speech zone.

Inflation Summation: The job market between now and about 2014 looks dismal. The US auto industry is crippled, probably terminal. The oversupply in the housing market wont begin to go away until after the 2009 - 2011 wave of Alt-A and Option-ARM foreclosures reach the market. No jobs, no customer demand, no income - and no oil. How can the future hold inflation?

Coffee In A Cardboard Cup: Starbucks is closing 600 stores and cutting 12,000 employees. Grandé.

Talking Turkey: The Erdogan government in Turkey has arrested 2 retired Army generals and 20 others who are charged with plotting to overthrow the government. Actually, Erdogan's Justice and Development Party is about to be outlawed by the courts and it is expected the army (as protector of Ataturk's secular state) will enforce the ruling against Erdogan. If only....

Lies, Damn Lies & Secrets: The DC Court of Appeals, in the first judicial review of the 'secret evidence' which has kept a detainee detained in Guantánamo for 6 years, found the evidence to be unsupported allegations. The government argued that because the allegations had been repeated in three different secret documents, it must be true. The court said that telling the same lie three times does not improve its veracity.

Mystery: Some character from the World Petroeum Congress in Madrid says (a) "The Arctic is almost completely unexplored." and (b) " There are 100 billion barrels of oil to be found in the Arctic." Question, If (A) how the hell do you come up with (B) ?

Low Expectations: McCain now supports Bush's tax cuts, which 7 years ago he could not "in good conscience support." Obama, a self-described "longtime advocate” of public financing, has rejected it. So what's changed? Nothing, they are politicians. Change comes with revolution.

Box Score: June sales data: Chrysler, down 36%. Ford, down 28%. Toyota down 21%. GM down 18%. Honda, up 1.1%. Any questions?

Cleanliness Is Next To Godliness: A judge in Atlanta's Fulton County Superior Court blocked construction of a coal-fired power plant until it can operate with severly limited COT emissions. Don't get excited, some Bush appointee up the line will reverse this weird attempt to save the planet.

Shifting Gears: Is there a simple formula that combines the price of gasoline, the one-way commute in miles, and per-hour wages that will let those in the exurbs (and soon, suburbs) figure out when it's time to move back to the city?

Porn O'Graph: Construction, Housing and Other.