The Oracle

O.K. -- Greenspan admitted he just might have been "partially" wrong. There was a "flaw" in his ideology.

So, now this arrogant &@*$!, the same one who would sneer at lesser beings, the man they called "The Oracle", says "whoops" -- while hard working folks lose their homes, their retirement, their savings, their college funds.

How about folks who are retired and CANNOT work? People who have problems related to old age -- are they to be penalized for losing everything?

If they end up getting help from the Government -- will they be "welfare cheats"? Will those folks who built this country, put kids through college, saved, did the "right thing", will they now be cast aside?

How is that different from setting them adrift on an iceflow?

now what

I've been watching the unfolding financial mess / recession / housing collapse / credit contraction / world wide overall depression / Icelandic return to using Cod as currency / etc., etc., etc., etc., etc.

If anyone else says it's just a "lack of confidence", my head's going to explode.

A lot of regular, everyday folks have been saying this economy sti8nks since 2000. The cheerleaders seem to have been IDEOLOGUES, folks who just cannot admit things really SUCK.

For the longest time I've been telling folks that the USA works best when pragmatic folks run the country. Every time we get a bunch of Ideologues in charge -- we end up in trouble. Separation of Church and State should also include Ideology.

"Invisible hands", "infallible markets", should be classified as Religious expressions -- and, kept away from PUBLIC POLICY.

I want a working Government back. I want PUBLIC roads, schools, water supply, power companies, health care, prisons, welfare agencies, etc.

End this insane rush to "privatize" ---- IE - make tons of profit for crony's and the dishonest politico's they support.

Could this happen?

" No, Mr. Obama, we will not sell you oil. We're getting technical assistance from Venezuela, China, and Japan. In any case, your currency is debased -- we need something more stable."

Oh Wow!

Cuba claims massive oil reserves

Cuba currently produces 60,000 barrels of oil a day

The state-owned Cuban oil company says the country may have more than 20bn barrels of oil in its offshore fields - more than double the previous estimate.

Cubapetroleo's exploration manager said drilling in the offshore wells would begin as early as the middle of 2009.

Such reserves would place Cuba among the top 20 oil producing nations.

Cubapetroleo's estimates are based on comparisons to known oil reserves found within similar geological structures off the coasts of the US and Mexico.

The company said Cuba had undersea geology "very similar" to that surrounding Mexico's giant Cantarell and Poza Rica oil fields in the Bay of Campeche.

'More data'

Cuba's share of the Gulf of Mexico was established in 1977, when it signed treaties with the US and Mexico.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) recently estimated that as much as 9bn barrels of oil and 21 trillion cubic feet of natural gas could lie within that zone, in the North Cuba Basin.

However, Cubapetroleo exploration manager Rafael Tenreyro Perez said his company's estimate was higher because it had better information about Cuba's offshore geology.

"I'm almost certain that if [USGS officials] ask for all the data we have, their estimate is going to grow considerably," he told a news conference in the capital, Havana.

If correct, Cuba's oil reserves would be almost the same as those of the US - 21bn barrels, according to the Oil & Gas Journal - and nearly twice the size of Mexico's - 11.7bn barrels.

It could generate unprecedented wealth for the Communist-run state.

Mr Tenreyro said he expected the first production well to be drilled before the middle of next year by a consortium led by the Spanish oil company, Repsol, and that more wells could be started before 2010.

Cuba currently produces 60,000 barrels of oil a day.

It depends on Venezuela for an additional 93,000 barrels a day, which it receives at preferential rates in exchange for the services of thousands of Cuban doctors working in Venezuela.

Watching

Lately, I've been watching the financial apocalypse that is destroying our country. It's truly amazing -- it almost appears that our "freemarketeers" will succeed in ushering in our new era of Socialism. The disaster might just be big enough to bring an end to some of the "Corporatism" we now have. Perhaps a blessing in disguise (no, I don't think so).

Supposedly, Alan Greenspan had strong Libertarian beliefs -- always remember, many Libertarians are just Republicans on Crack.

Absolute must read

"The Conscience of a Liberal" -- Paul Krugman's blog is a must read for just about everyone. Clear, direct -- Prof. Krugman makes sense of economic issues facing us all.

arrrrgghhh!!!!!!

I'm trying to listen to the VP Debate -- can't do it. Cannot listen to "Sassy Sarah" anymore.
Does not answer the question, does not bother to tell the truth.

I just can't bear the thought of this person as VP -- or anything else.

Suzy is a politics junkie -- I can not get away from those droning voices. John McCain, John McCain, John McCain, etc., etc., etc. --- those sounds rumbling through my mind like the sound of an out of control garbage truck (thanks to "Meat Hamburg, Private Eye, Ear, Nose, Throat, and Leg Man" -- Uncle Pogo's So-So Stories).

I'm tired of these debates. I'm really tired of Sarah Palin. At the same time, I've admired Joe Biden since I first heard him -- there is something very REAL about him.