It's a piece by the New York Times, but when both Slublog and Megan recommend it, it's probably worth reading.

I'm only halfway through (it's a ten pager) and while the author seems somewhat pessimistic on world petroleum supplies, the piece seems pretty sober overall. And sobering.

On the other hand, Instapundit links this debunking of the article by the author of Freakonomics.

He notes the piece states that high oil prices aren't necessarily good for the Saudis -- if oil gets too costly, a recession falls, and demand for oil decreases after a brief windfall period. Stephen J. Dubner notes:

Oops, there goes the whole peak oil argument. When the price rises, demand falls, and oil prices slide. What happened to the "end of the world as we know it?" Now we are back to $10 a barrel oil. Without realizing it, the author just invoked basic economics to invalidate the entire premise of the article!

The Washington Times reports that the drumbeat for raising fuel efficiency is getting louder in DC.

I admit: I know absolutely nothing about this topic. I hear some experts talking panic in the streets -- food riots, atonal music! -- and other saying we'll have more than enough oil until we have fusion and replicators.

So I don't know. I would say that while I'm not a fan of government regulation generally, this does seem to be a national security issue.

Posted by: Ace at 09:49 PM | Comments (62)
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As Mike at the Pit snarks, looks like that'll be our news for the next month and a half.

Pretty girl. Ratings bonanza. Geraldo omnipresence.

Posted by: Ace at 09:33 PM | Comments (18)
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I'm sure at some point the degenerates at the BBC used that sentence. After all, parasites like Howard Dean and Michael Moore use it to make Iraq seem better under a genocidal dictatorship.

So I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised when Lord Haw-Haw's intellectual heirs start waxing nostalgic over the Taliban like this:

These days, many outsiders often think it is the Taleban who were responsible for most of this country's troubles, forgetting the civil war that followed the Soviet withdrawal.

For people in Kabul at least, the worst memories come from that time, when mujahideen factions took control of the city, then proceeded to tear the city apart in internecine warfare.

Perhaps 50,000 people died. It was the Taleban who brought it to an end.

This part really makes me laugh:

And one reason many Afghans worry about these forthcoming parliamentary elections is that a significant number of those running were commanders and senior figures in those factions, some accused of direct involvement in atrocities.

Human rights groups and many Afghans say they should be standing in the dock, not in a new parliament.

Posted by: Tanker at 08:54 AM | Comments (17)
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“I’m trying to learn [about greenhouse gases and global warming]. The more I learn, the bigger believer I become.”

Posted by: Ace at 07:56 AM | Comments (31)
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Well, someone asked for it. Why not?

Thanks for the 333+ comments on that one post, guys. That's the kind of response to a post that makes advertisers say "Whoa! What a bunch of freaks and mutants! Spend no money there!"

Posted by: Ace at 06:48 PM | Comments (86)
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And lo, in California, there was no room at the op-ed section, and thus an anti-Jew slur was born in a simple email, of no earthly father nor mother; thus Saint Cindy produced her first miracle.

She peddled anti-Jew conspiracy theories, she got caught, she lied about it (claiming her email had been "hacked" somehow), she got caught about it again.

And the media continues to kiss her squeakhole. We'll see how much longer that lasts, though.

It's times like these that I really appreciate the World CryptoZionist Conspiracy To Control The Media.

No movie of the week for you.

Linked Fixed. Sorry about that.

Posted by: Ace at 06:32 PM | Comments (73)
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Main concerns were an ergonomic chair which would make shackling comfortable, and a type of restraining duct tape that wouldn't irritate his beard.

Outstanding. Keep up the good work, guys. While you're at it, how about a mid-interrogation handjob for Mr. bin Ladin? I know a nice handjob always relaxes me in a stressful situation.

Posted by: Ace at 03:59 PM | Comments (25)
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One of the Power Rangers and his wife kill a married couple to steal their yacht.

They're expected to be defended by F. Lee Bailey, Robert Shapiro, Mark Geragos and Ron Kuby, who will all join together to form an eighty-foot tall Gargantuan Legal Defense Robot.

Posted by: Ace at 03:56 PM | Comments (11)
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Sunnis who support the democratic process are publicly assassinated; then we pick up this tidbit from Page 2:

On Friday, a Saudi insurgent leader, Abu Muhammad Hajeri, of Zarqawi's group, was found dead in Ramadi with three Iraqi members of the insurgency. Sunni tribal members, speaking on condition of anonymity, said tribesmen had killed them.

The killings were in retaliation for tribal deaths in clashes earlier this month, when Sunni tribesmen took up arms to prevent Zarqawi's group from enforcing an edict ordering the expulsion of local Shiites, the tribal members said."

'Red on red' activity is a hopeful development as previously noted. Curious if these Sunnis are defending their (Shia) countrymen, or just repudiating the Wahabbists.
But either way, the opposition continues to fracture.

Posted by: LauraW. at 07:13 AM | Comments (78)
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Lucky for her, she has a son employed in America!

You get what you pay for. Nothing.

Posted by: Tanker at 02:58 PM | Comments (11)
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