The Flashlight, Oct. 20-26, 2007
THE FLASHLIGHT, October 20-26, 2007
International
Iraqi Oil
Truthout.org editorial. 10-25, Jack Miles, “Endgame for Iraqi Oil?” (The author is professor of English and Religious Studies at UCal Irvine). Iraq’s oil reserves are worth about $30 trillion in today’s prices. Alan Greenspan recently acknowledged that “everybody knows that the Iraq War is largely about oil.” Gen. John Abizaid (retired) said of the War “of course it’s about oil, we can’t rely deny that.”
Maliki’s government is likely to follow the example of its neighbors and outlaw foreign control over the nation’s oil development. Only short-terms contracts for specific tasks by foreigners are likely to win Iraqi acceptance.
A bill, approved by the US Congress that would give control of Iraqi oil development to the US and British oil companies, is now pending in Iraq’s Parliament, But it is unlikely to pass because of the opposition of both politicians and the Iraqi oil workers union. One signal of its coming rejection is the vigorous protest of the Maliki government against the operations of foreign mercenaries in Iraq (Blackwater and Dynacorp). Another signal is a bill passed on October 17 by the Maliki government giving $1.1 billion in contracts to Iran and China to build power plants in Sadr City, Najaf, and Karbala.
The editorial concludes: “The eerie silence of the Bush Administration about oil grows all the more deafening as the price of crude climbs toward $100 a barrel. Blood for oil may never have been a good deal, but so much blood for no oil at all may seem a far worse one.”
World Oil Production
Guardian 10-22. The German-based Energy Watch Group reports that the peak in world oil production was reached in 2006, much earlier than expected. Production of gas, coal and uranium has also peaked and is expected to fall from now on.
Education Excellence: Multinational Study
The Economist 10-20, p. 80. In a comparison between nations in producing educational excellence, it was found that the US lagged behind its peers. There were three main reasons: 1) The US recruits its K-12 teachers mostly from the bottom third of college graduates. In peer industrialized nations, teachers are recruited in intense competition from the best college graduates. 2) The US does not get the best out of its teachers because it does not systematically reward excellent and creative performances. 3) When pupils lag behind, the US does not intervene early enough with tutoring et al.
All these faults can be corrected without excessive cost.
US News
Health and Stress
Medical News Today 10-25. A national study of the American Psychological Association found that one third of all adult Americans felt extremely stressed. One half of all American felt that stress damaged their health, their personal relationships, and their productivity at work. This upward trend has occurred over the last five years and is expected to worsen on account of the housing finance crisis.
Homelessness
The Economist 10-20, p. 46. It is no longer true that most of the homeless are single men troubled by mental illness or drug addiction. About half of the homeless are families with young children who cannot afford housing: about 1.35 million children and 600,000 families . The prospect of home foreclosures ahead should increase the numbers of homeless families. Each homeless person uses about $40,000 a year in public services, mainly hospital care and jail time. Punitive measures are useless. When shelter and counseling are provided they are no more expensive than the less useful services currently offered.
Wildfires in Southern California
CBS 10-21, Fires are worse now: they are hotter, bigger, and more destructive. This is because in recent decades the weather has been the hottest in a thousand years. On account of climate change the fire season has been extended two months each year. Southern California has received only three inches of rain so far this year. The air is drier and the winds are stronger.
CNN 10-22. The fires in Southern California within seven counties are out of control. This is worse than anyone predicted. The fires extend from Santa Barbara to the Mexican border. The dry Santa Ana winds are blowing westward from the desert. The National Guard has been asked to send 800 men from guarding the border to help firefighters. Thick smoke is hazardous to asthmatics and others and prevents airplanes from dumping water and fire retardants on the blazes. In Orange County some fires were started by arsonists. In San Diego emergency services are operating efficiently providing housing, food, and medicine to residents forced
to flee their homes.
CNN and PBS 10-23. 1300 homes have been destroyed. 600,000 acres are burnt over or burning. Strong winds and high temperatures are expected to last until Wednesday evening (10-24).
Guardian and CNN 10-24. There is over one billion dollars of damage from these fires. Nearly one million people have been evacuated from their homes. The Federal Government has classified this as a major disaster, thus releasing more funds. The FBI has been called in to investigate.
NYTimes 10-25. San Diego County is the largest county in California without a county-wide fire department (local departments only). The taxes are low in relation to the growth of population.
Lousiana Election
The new governor of Lousiana is a Republican, Bobby Jindal, whose parents, both scientists, are Hindus from India. Bobby graduated from Brown University Phi Beta Kappa and is a Rhodes Scholar. A convert to Roman Catholicism, he is a proponent of the theory of “Intelligent Design.” He want to solve the health insurance problem by free market measures.
International
Iraqi Oil
Truthout.org editorial. 10-25, Jack Miles, “Endgame for Iraqi Oil?” (The author is professor of English and Religious Studies at UCal Irvine). Iraq’s oil reserves are worth about $30 trillion in today’s prices. Alan Greenspan recently acknowledged that “everybody knows that the Iraq War is largely about oil.” Gen. John Abizaid (retired) said of the War “of course it’s about oil, we can’t rely deny that.”
Maliki’s government is likely to follow the example of its neighbors and outlaw foreign control over the nation’s oil development. Only short-terms contracts for specific tasks by foreigners are likely to win Iraqi acceptance.
A bill, approved by the US Congress that would give control of Iraqi oil development to the US and British oil companies, is now pending in Iraq’s Parliament, But it is unlikely to pass because of the opposition of both politicians and the Iraqi oil workers union. One signal of its coming rejection is the vigorous protest of the Maliki government against the operations of foreign mercenaries in Iraq (Blackwater and Dynacorp). Another signal is a bill passed on October 17 by the Maliki government giving $1.1 billion in contracts to Iran and China to build power plants in Sadr City, Najaf, and Karbala.
The editorial concludes: “The eerie silence of the Bush Administration about oil grows all the more deafening as the price of crude climbs toward $100 a barrel. Blood for oil may never have been a good deal, but so much blood for no oil at all may seem a far worse one.”
World Oil Production
Guardian 10-22. The German-based Energy Watch Group reports that the peak in world oil production was reached in 2006, much earlier than expected. Production of gas, coal and uranium has also peaked and is expected to fall from now on.
Education Excellence: Multinational Study
The Economist 10-20, p. 80. In a comparison between nations in producing educational excellence, it was found that the US lagged behind its peers. There were three main reasons: 1) The US recruits its K-12 teachers mostly from the bottom third of college graduates. In peer industrialized nations, teachers are recruited in intense competition from the best college graduates. 2) The US does not get the best out of its teachers because it does not systematically reward excellent and creative performances. 3) When pupils lag behind, the US does not intervene early enough with tutoring et al.
All these faults can be corrected without excessive cost.
US News
Health and Stress
Medical News Today 10-25. A national study of the American Psychological Association found that one third of all adult Americans felt extremely stressed. One half of all American felt that stress damaged their health, their personal relationships, and their productivity at work. This upward trend has occurred over the last five years and is expected to worsen on account of the housing finance crisis.
Homelessness
The Economist 10-20, p. 46. It is no longer true that most of the homeless are single men troubled by mental illness or drug addiction. About half of the homeless are families with young children who cannot afford housing: about 1.35 million children and 600,000 families . The prospect of home foreclosures ahead should increase the numbers of homeless families. Each homeless person uses about $40,000 a year in public services, mainly hospital care and jail time. Punitive measures are useless. When shelter and counseling are provided they are no more expensive than the less useful services currently offered.
Wildfires in Southern California
CBS 10-21, Fires are worse now: they are hotter, bigger, and more destructive. This is because in recent decades the weather has been the hottest in a thousand years. On account of climate change the fire season has been extended two months each year. Southern California has received only three inches of rain so far this year. The air is drier and the winds are stronger.
CNN 10-22. The fires in Southern California within seven counties are out of control. This is worse than anyone predicted. The fires extend from Santa Barbara to the Mexican border. The dry Santa Ana winds are blowing westward from the desert. The National Guard has been asked to send 800 men from guarding the border to help firefighters. Thick smoke is hazardous to asthmatics and others and prevents airplanes from dumping water and fire retardants on the blazes. In Orange County some fires were started by arsonists. In San Diego emergency services are operating efficiently providing housing, food, and medicine to residents forced
to flee their homes.
CNN and PBS 10-23. 1300 homes have been destroyed. 600,000 acres are burnt over or burning. Strong winds and high temperatures are expected to last until Wednesday evening (10-24).
Guardian and CNN 10-24. There is over one billion dollars of damage from these fires. Nearly one million people have been evacuated from their homes. The Federal Government has classified this as a major disaster, thus releasing more funds. The FBI has been called in to investigate.
NYTimes 10-25. San Diego County is the largest county in California without a county-wide fire department (local departments only). The taxes are low in relation to the growth of population.
Lousiana Election
The new governor of Lousiana is a Republican, Bobby Jindal, whose parents, both scientists, are Hindus from India. Bobby graduated from Brown University Phi Beta Kappa and is a Rhodes Scholar. A convert to Roman Catholicism, he is a proponent of the theory of “Intelligent Design.” He want to solve the health insurance problem by free market measures.
posted by THE FLASHLIGHT at 5:18 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home