SAR # 8202

In whose interest was it to make our currency
the harlot of the world?

Credit Where Credit Is Due: Oil at $140 a barrel gets the headlines, yet the US uses only 15% more today than it did in the early 1970s. Meanwhile, electricity consumption has grown 115%. Think of Ready Kilowatt as round two.

Band Aid Removal: Theories vary. Some prefer the quick but sharp pain of sudden removal; others prefer to proceed slowly and deliberately, suffering a little pain, longer. Same choices seem to exist in the credit crunch rectification business. I suspect it will be both sudden, sharp, and very slow to go away.

Feeling Safer: In 2004 Dr. Steven Kurtz, of the University of Buffalo, was arrested for having petri dishes of the bacteria Bacillus subtilis at home. He was using them in an artwork about genetically modified foods. The FBI labeled him a bio-terrorist even though tests showed the microbes to be harmless. Dr Kurtz was incarcerated under that part of the Patriot Act designed to protect Monsanto from tasteless artwork. In the end Kurtz was charged with mail fraud. When the case - after four years of harassment - got to court, the judge immediately dismissed it. Feel safer now?

Crawl First, Walk Later: We cannot wait until the fuel runs out to find a new fuel, a new energy source, a new basis for our economy and a new civilization. These steps need be taken while we still have access to cheap and plentiful petroleum, not after. Now, not 10 years from now; but we won't.

Guess the Date: Usual prize for the person coming closest to picking the date of the first military skirmish over Arctic resources. Bonus points for naming the combatants..

Even with my warped view of the world one gets tired and needs rejuvenation. Thus a vacation. We will return about July 25th. Meanwhile go visit the guys listed on the left.