SAR #8331

While 'what goes up must come down' is well confirmed,

the reverse remains unproven.

My, How You've Grown: The oceans are growing in acidity ten times faster than climate change models predicted and is directly correlated with atmospheric CO2 increases. Acidic oceans will dissolve the calcium carbonate shells of corals, shrimp, crabs, and other sea creatures, especially krill which form the base of many major oceanic food chains. Neither the Fed nor Paulson has plans to bail out crustaceans.

Traitor! Shell's CEO Jeroen van der Veer, who ought to know, warns that mankind must quickly convert to alternate energy sources "or else the lights would go out." He cited the usual constraints and offered no solutions.

Symptoms: How bad is Citibank? Look at it this way: As part of the government's all-hands effort to save the behemoth, the FDIC would only take on $10 billion of future Citibank losses. Does Ms. Bair know something Ben and Hank should?

Not Quite the News: One-third of China's Yellow river is so polluted with sewage and factory waste that it is unsuitable even for agricultural use. I'm shocked that it isn't 50%.

Progress? Bush is proud of the progress made in Iraq. But... But sewage still runs in the streets of Sadr City. Electricity is available only 5 or 6 hours a day in Baghdad. Clean running water is a memory. Ah, nothing like the combination of American ingenuity and Republican supervision.

Coming & Going: Last year Brazilian coffee farmers could not afford to buy fuel, petroleum base pesticides and fertilizers. This year they can't get credit to buy these things, even though prices have fallen.

Not Good News: An 'ultra-large' 23 billion ton coal deposit has been discovered in China's Turfan Basin. Great, just what the atmosphere needed.

Ambidextrous? There's a story out of Washington claiming that last July staffers from both McCain and Obama's campaign compiled a joint list of candidates for positions in the new administration. Just as you've always suspected.

Headline Only: People in the UK who fail to tell the authorities of a change of address or amend other key personal details within three months will face fines of up to £1,000 per offense.

Health Insurer's Security Act: That's the working title of Obama's health plan. It requires that everyone in the US give blue Cross Blue/Shield, HCA, and their co-conspirators $500 a month forever. In return they will do redundant paperwork that doesn't cover much of anything. Doesn't matter whether you want to or not. Single Payer? Actual health care? Not a Prayer, not in this Universe.

Marriage Counseling: We're spending $7.5 trillion in an attempt to save our economic system. That's like buying an abusive spouse a really expensive present in hopes they won't beat you again. They will.

Numbers Game: So many folks in England fear genetically modified crops that field trials will be conducted in secret to prevent disruptions. The experimenters maintain that there is no way to feed an exploding world-wide population without using GM technology. Like the Green Revolution 50 years ago, all this effort and money is being spent to make an unsustainable population larger.