Sgt Jose Pequeno

Today was not a particularly good day. I, like many others, continue to worry about the economy, my business and my future. I continue to worry about my family and whether I am able to make it or not. The stock market drop today was particularly scary. In addition, there was the price of oil and the continued slide in home prices and home sales. The bottom seems to falling!!!

It seems as if the Lord smacked me on the head. I picked up the latest edition of the Nation Magazine (http://www.thenation.com) I read about Sgt. Jose Pequeno. I read about a 34-year man who volunteered to serve his country. He was severely injured in an attack on a Iraqi Police Station. "He lost the bottom two lobese of his brain (his picture shows that over half his brain is gone)." When I saw his picture, it brought tears to my eyes. It brought me down to earth. It reminded me to be thankful for what I have. It made me truly believe that whatever challenges I have will be overcome. I think I owe Sgt. Jose Pequeno for the sacrifice he and his family has made.

Iraq, Oil and No-Bid Contracts

There is a report that four of the big oil companies in the U.S. have been awarded contracts to help develop Iraq's oil infrastructure. This is in addition to the negotiations on the Iraqi Status of Force agreement. Iraq claims to be sovereign. I wonder.

On another note, there is a rush now to start opening up ANWAR and the outer continental shelf. This is great rhetoric. The fact is that such action will not yield any substantive results in the short term. So, why start this now? The key is to begin to think beyond the "now". That's the key. Yet, all our efforts are being spent on somehow coming up with a magic solution to bring down the price of gas. It will not happen overnight. Our leaders want us to believe otherwise.

When will the politicans start telling us the way it is?

Drilling For Oil...

I am right now listening to a Congressman from Michigan clamoring to go after Amwar (Alaska National Wildlife Refuge). They want to drill off our coast. This is not leadership. It will not bring down the price of oil. Why can't leaders be responsible enough to go beyond the "now" and look at the next challenge. The stupidiity and hypociracy of it all is mind-boggling.

Oil..The Drama!!

Cathay Pacific, the Hong Kong-Based Airline, has reported that 40% of its' total cost is now fuel. It is going through the same challenges that all Airlines and us ordinary folks are going through. EADS, the parent of Airbus, has warned of slowing orders partly because of the rising fuel cost. Where will it all end? Will our political and business leaders step up and truly think beyond the "now" or will they continue to sacrifice the short-term for the long-term. I wonder.....

The Coming Oil Shock

By now, there is a general consensus that Oil is running out. There is an interesting book that debunks one of the central tenants of U.S. Policy: reliance of Saudi Arabia. I remember the late Claiborne Pell when he questioned Saudi Arabia and as to why we worked to support the land of 2000 princes. But, we have more fundamental challenges to understand. Simmons, in his book, casts doubt on the long term reliability of Saudi Arabia. Here is the amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=The+coming+saudi+oil+shock.

This is another painful discussion that we will need to have.

Iran, A Nuclear Middle East & The Future

The psychological build-up against Iran continues. We have John McCain trying to make a joke to bomb Iran, we have US Generals stating that Iran is arming Sunnis, the Taliban and so on. The comment on the Taliban is attributed to General Pace. General Pace seems to convienently forget that Iran almost went to war with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Apparently, this Adminstration does not want to learn anything from the debacle in Iraq.

The concerns about Iran are justified. But, The Iraq disaster has allowed everyone in the Middle East to talk about the unthinkable: having the Middle East go nuclear. Iran will be one of the first countries who has to truly start thinking about life beyond oil. Iran has not had wise rulers such as the rulers of the United Arab Emirates who have already planned for life beyond oil The present government in Iran has been irresponsible, to say the least. It has squandered its' oil windfall and it is now being forced to import Gasoline. Furthermore, the government will be beginning a rationing program starting next month. If we talked to North Korea, it seems that we can start a dialogue with Iran. If the dialogue failed and the Adminstration had to make some decisions, then the moral justification will be there. I doubt that discussions will happen during the Bush Adminstration.