COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Connections: Saudi Arabia raises production and drop oil prices - Turkey loses bid to serve on the UN Security Council - Putin and Merkel meeting gets cancelled because he’s late

Let’s go back two years ago for some background - The usual suspects were determined to destabilize Syria and affect a regime change - The Russians were warning about the possible repercussions of interference in Syria :



Who was right and how has the interference worked out so far?





WASHINGTON  

Putin, Erdogan, Saudi Arabia: The Balance Of Power Is Shifting


FORBES - Melik Kaylin
If you subtract Ebola and ISIS from the news, what are the three most significant recent developments in world affairs? Here are my nominations: Saudi Arabia announces it will raise production and drop oil prices, Turkey loses its bid to serve on the UN Security Council, a meeting between Putin and Merkel gets cancelled because he’s late (though they meet later). You may be surprised to know that all three events do interconnect in unexpected ways. They also tell us a lot about real-time shifts in geostrategic power balances, how they happen and how to read them.
Let us begin with the first. Why would Saudi Arabia seemingly cut off its nose to spite its face, as it were, by gratuitously reducing its own national revenue? Recent reports have it that the Saudis are willing to see oil prices go down to $80 a barrel and even, according to this report, down to $60 or $50 for preferred customers in the West and Asia.http://www.aa.com.tr/en/economy/402343–saudi-arabia-to-pressure-russia-iran-with-price-of-oil. The article identifies the real purpose: to punish Iran, Russia and its client Assad, of Syria. Top Russian oil official Mikhail Leontyev from Rosneft was quoted in Russian media as saying, “Saudi Arabia has begun making big discounts on oil. This is political manipulation and Saudi Arabia is being manipulated politically which could end badly”.  Translated into blunt English, Leontyev is actually threatening the Saudis while not accusing them directly. In other words, the Russians know it’s the Saudis making a strategic move against them. According to most statisticians Moscow needs to sell oil at $100 to pay for its budget commitments.http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-saudi-arabia-and-oil-prices-2014-10.
All this comes on the heels of a slowdown in the world economy also dragging down the price of oil. Add to that the sanctions imposed on Moscow and Tehran by the West and the pressure on the geostrategic balance of power grows clearer. Although SA’s decision helps Western sanctions, Moscow knows full well Riyadh has not co-ordinated with Washington because really low oil prices (at say $50) will also damage America’s fracking revolution by undercutting it. So Leontyev’s message to Saudi should actually read “you are helping Western sanctions even if you don’t intend to but we know you’re acting alone and that makes you the more vulnerable”. So why would Saudi, acting unilaterally, risk Moscow’s ire at this juncture? Because the alignment of the US with Russia and Iran and Assad against ISIS doesn’t suit the Saudis at all. Riyadh tried countering the Shiite bloc by helping fund jihad in Syria and it backfired. So now the Saudis have decided to punish everyone concerned, including the US. A huge gamble indeed.  The Saudis are deploying the last arrow in their quiver.
Let us put Turkey to one side for now and consider how the above affects Merkel’s behavior towards Putin. He was late to a crucial meeting with her in Milan because he preferred to hang out in Serbia partying with pan-Slavists. As I noted in my column before, Putin conducts himself at the highest levels of summitry in the most insulting fashion towards his counterparts. Publicly so. He routinely flouts the common courtesies of protocol so pointedly that he intends the world in general and Russians in particular to take note of his power.  http://www.forbes.com/sites/melikkaylan/2014/09/04/putins-duplicity-is-a-kind-of-theater-what-is-his-real-message/.   In my column on this topic, I commented “One can imagine the exasperation of the no-nonsense Frau Merkel confronting (Putin’s) poker-faced unsmiling insincerity yet again,,, He knows that she knows that he’s lying to her.” I noted that he had met Merkel three times and given her reassurances of peace which he instantly falsified by new aggressions against Ukraine upon returning to Moscow.
So by now Merkel knows it’s going nowhere each time. But Putin likes to humiliate his adversaries by using diplomatic protocols to insult them. He made Secretary Kerry wait four hours after Kerry flew to Moscow for a face-to-face. On one occasion, after the invasion of Georgia, when the feckless EU pressured Georgia’s then President Saakashvili to make a special trip to conciliate Putin, Saakashvili had to wait seven hours. Putin tried the same thing with Merkel at the current annual Asia-Europe summit in Milan and she cancelled on him for being late. http://www.thejournal.ie/merkel-putin-late-meeting-milan-belgrade-1728826-Oct2014/. The meeting was rescheduled, lasted two hours and led to frosty exchanges on the Ukraine situation. Putin then took off for a late night party at his friend Berlusconi’s private residence lasting til 4am. So much for his priorities.
Merkel blamed him publicly for his intransigence on resolving the conflict in Ukraine. His response was, “I’m always getting blamed for something”. He threatened to reduce gas to Ukraine if Kiev siphoned off any gas intended for Europe on the shared pipeline. Which makes no sense as it would further reduce Russia’s fuel revenues. The fact is, Merkel has enough problems with the re-collapsing Euro economy. But even more – she knows that Putin has overreached his gamesmanship. His bluffs grow ever hollower as oil prices collapse, as Saudi piles on the pressure, as China’s economy (and demand for Russian oil) slackens, as the EU co-ordinates Europe-wide gas usage so it can even resell Russian gas to Ukraine. Merkel doesn’t have to take it from Putin anymore.
Now Turkey. Erdogan has also reached the limit of his tomfoolery. Having stoked, funded and supported ISIS in various ways, he faced the ultimate blowback with the Kurdish battle over the border town of Kobane. The Kurds were either going to suffer slaughter – and blame Erdogan in world media – or achieve a public victory – and humiliate Erdogan.  All because he won’t commit Turkish troops to fight ISIS. He doesn’t trust his own military. He won’t allow Nato to use its Turkish airbase at Incirlik to bomb ISIS. He doesn’t trust his American allies. But he also won’t let Kurds in Turkey go across to help the Kurds in Kobani. For all this, he doesn’t have the excuse anymore that ISIS is holding Turkish hostages; they’ve been repatriated. He has looked the other way while cheap ISIS oil got sold through Turkey. He has let Iran launder sanctioned money through Turkish banks.
Meantime, he has criticized the regime in Egypt for suppressing his allies, the Muslim Brotherhood. So Egypt hates him. Ditto the Saudis who also hate the MB. He has certainly alienated Russia, Iran and Syria’s Assad. He has alienated the Libyans by supporting the jihadis there.
Yet he expected Turkey to get elected to a (revolving) UN Security Council chair. In public, scores of countries (including Saudi) pledged to support him. In the actual (secret) vote, the majority voted for Spain instead. His prestige internationally has collapsed. The Turkish economy will follow. The Saudis will exclude Turkey from their cheaper oil clients roster. Their oil glut will force OPEC countries to cut prices and cut subsidies to Erdogan’s party. Turkey’s export markets are shutting down one by one due to turmoil, sanctions or sheer political disgust. Its tourism will ebb at the first sign of terrorist incidents within. The black money that has buoyed the economy stealthily is being hunted down through global pressure. Erdogan has played himself and his country into a corner. He, like Putin, is losing leverage and his tatterdemalion posturing looks daily more threadbare.
George Galloway’s view a month ago:

127 comments:

  1. Every time Ergodan opens his pie hole he sounds like the capital of Turkey - Instantbull!

    ReplyDelete
  2. .

    There are certain things you might have to put up with Putin. Cooling your heels for 4 hours in the lobby isn't one of them. That was embarrassing.

    He should have got on his plane and left.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      As I recall, he was late in meeting with Obama too. That was the first time there was a real good reason for Obama to pack up and go play a round of golf. He should have had the White House butler tell the little prick that Obama had an important meeting and couldn't wait.

      .

      Delete
  3. All that Solar and Wind that Europe has been building out has taken a certain edge off of Putin's game.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All those nuke plant shutdowns and fracking bans have negated any benefit from their renewables.

      Delete
    2. .

      Right now, Germany is importing coal to make up the difference.

      Worldwide energy demand is supposed to double by 2050. I think Germany was mistaken in acting so precipitously.

      .

      Delete
    3. I guess the idea of a "Chernobyl," or "Fukushima" right next door doesn't appeal to them.

      As for fracking, I don't recall reading of any really good prospects in Europe. They tried Poland, but they couldn't get enough oil to make it economic.(normally, you find frackable situations in the same geographic zones that produce conventional oil, I think.)

      Delete
    4. Right now, Germany is importing coal to make up the difference.

      Like I said, they have negated any benefit from their increase in renewables, not just in joules but in carbon.

      Delete
    5. I didn't say that their work was complete.

      But, Germany is now getting something like 25% of their electricity from renewables.

      Delete
    6. As for fracking, I don't recall reading of any really good prospects in Europe.

      Funny how an administrative ban puts a damper on exploration.

      Delete
    7. It's worth keeping in mind that the U.S. is getting 40% of its coal from mines (Powder River Basin) that will be mostly played out in 20 years.

      Fossil Fuels Are a Finite Resource.

      Delete
    8. Israel holds almost 250 billion barrels of oil shale reserves (that’s according to the World Petroleum Council). That’s almost equal to Saudi Arabia’s 260 billion barrels...

      It's all about motivation. If Europe was serious about shutting down Putin they'd be fracking yesterday.

      Delete
    9. The US has 480 billion tons of coal reserves, and burns 900 million tons a year (a number that is declining in favor of natural gas). Assuming however, a constant burn rate, we'll run out of coal in the year 2525, as the song goes.

      Delete
    10. Israel shits, too.

      What Israel might have is some of that "Green River" type stuff that Cannot be processed into anything usable at a price less than God only knows what.

      Delete
    11. 480 Billion Tons? Good God, Teresita, where do you come up with this nonsense?

      Delete
    12. http://www.eia.gov/coal/reserves/

      As of January 1, 2013, the demonstrated reserve base (DRB) was estimated to contain 481 billion short tons. In the United States, coal resources are larger than remaining natural gas and oil resources, based on total British thermal units (Btus). Annually, EIA reports remaining tons of coal in the DRB, which is comprised of coal resources that have been identified to specified levels of accuracy.

      Delete
    13. You quit reading too soon.

      "Recoverable coal reserves at producing mines represent the quantity of coal that can be recovered (i.e. mined) from existing coal reserves at producing mines. These reserves essentially reflect the working inventory at producing mines. In 2012, the recoverable reserves at producing mines were 18.7 billion short tons. EIA conducts an annual survey, form EIA-7A, “Coal Production and Preparation Report,” to gather and report the quantity of recoverable coal reserves at producing mines."

      Delete
    14. Now, it's true that if you want to, for instance, drill a couple of miles deep under the Mississippi River to get to a narrow seam of Incredibly High Sulfur Coal, you might get to 480 short tons.

      That's way more expensive than any Renewable, Plus you have the problem of cleaning up some horribly, filthy stuff.

      That ship has sailed, kiddo. It's 2014, not 1914.

      Delete
    15. Coal is like anything else; you mine your easiest to get to, cleanest stuff, first. After that, it's all downhill.

      Delete
    16. Rufus, I see why you bought into the Oil Drum business, you're all about extrapolating from a static condition. Naturally your assertion is correct that the energy we are mining from existing mines will play out in x years, but as that starts to happen, the asset price goes up, which sends a signal to the market to allocate resources to tapping into one of those blue areas indicated on the US map in my link.

      Delete
    17. Well, of course, Teresita; that IS the point. Wind is cheaper than coal, Now. Solar is close. Those technologies are rapidly becoming Less Expensive, while Coal (and, Gas) will continue to become More Expensive.

      What part of that is hard to understand?

      Delete
    18. Solar and wind represent farming energy, pay as you go. Coal and gas represent mining energy, which is like drawing from Daddy's trust fund. Not many spoiled brats get motivated to milk the cows when they can just use Daddy's plastic and hit the mall.

      Delete
    19. I'll tell you 'when I bought into the "oil drum business.'"

      In July of 2008, when the price of oil had Increased by 1400% in a little over 8 years.

      Delete
    20. I remember on the Price is Right, four digits, guess the price of the car, and the first one was always 2. Now the first one is always 2 again, but there's five digits. But I don't go around saying "Peak Car".

      Delete
    21. No, you don't remember $2,000.00 cars on the price is right.

      Delete
    22. However, I do remember $2,000.00 cars; and I remember what pieces of junk they were, compared to today's $20,000.00 (or less) cars.

      Delete
    23. Okay, theoretically, you "could" remember $2,000.00 cars on the price is right (it started way earlier (1956) than I thought.

      However, given your age, you would have been a strange child to be watching the price is right at the time, not to mention having a hell of a memory. :)

      Delete
    24. Israel's oil find, no matter the cost, is mostly about making Israel NOT dependent on others for energy.

      Israel uses Iron Dome, on the surface, does not make financial sense. But Israel and it's survival cannot be explained in cost per defensive missile or price per barrel.

      Delete
  4. George's solution?

    Deliver arms to Iraq, the Kurds (one part I agree on) and strengthen the government of Syria and let Iran, Syria and Iraq fight it out.

    Interesting.

    When he was stealing millions from the oil from food program (and sucking Saddam Hussein's dick) he was a cheerleader for Saddam in public,

    Now he is a cheerleader for Syria and Iran. Both who have murdered hundreds of thousand of civilians, intentional.

    I wonder does he suck Assad dick now also?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why in the world does "O"rdure want to discuss the sexual preferences of other folks ....
      Oh, yeah, sexual perversion, that is a major industry, in Israel.

      Tel Aviv devotes about $100,000 — more than a third of its international marketing budget — to drawing gay tourists. Though no exact figures exist, officials estimate that tens of thousands of gay tourists from abroad arrive annually.

      "We are trying to create a model for openness, pluralism, tolerance," Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai told The Associated Press. "Live and let live — this is the city of Tel Aviv."


      The city's first openly gay-owned hotel was opened recently and numerous city-backed travel sites direct gay visitors to the hottest clubs, bars and resorts in town.

      "We've long recognized the economic potential of the gay community. The gay tourist is a quality tourist, who spends money and sets trends,"
      said Pini Shani, a Tourism Ministry official who has been involved in the campaign.

      "There's also no doubt that a tourist who's had a positive experience here is of PR value. If he leaves satisfied, he becomes an Israeli ambassador of good will."


      http://cnsnews.com/news/article/tel-aviv-emerges-top-gay-tourist-destination

      Delete
    2. If you're born with a preference to use the left hand, it's a perversion to try and use the right.

      Delete
    3. Notice Jack only can see the dick sucking and comments on that...

      obsessed he is with homosexual dick sucking.

      Delete
    4. You're the one who brought it up.

      Delete
    5. Gay Phoenix: Welcome to the gay valley of the sun


      Photo by Laszlo-photo
      Phoenix and Scottsdale sit in the heart of a valley which enjoys 325 sunny days a year and is aptly named "The Valley of the Sun." The temperatures here are warm year round and the summers bring many days over 100 degrees (F). Phoenix, probably due to its warmth, has a laid back small town feel. But don't let that stop you -- it has a thriving gay community and there's a growing variety of dining and nightlife options for all types here. The incredible racial mix of the huge metro area makes the gay scene particularly rich and diverse. Gay nightlife and the bars & clubs are mostly concentrated in central Phoenix between 7th Ave and 7th Street and Indian School and Camelback Mountain roads.

      Now that's where Jack Hawkins is known and loved...

      Delete
    6. When "O"rdure brings sex into the conversation, the Israeli Standard will be mentioned.
      It is referred to a 'counter battery'.
      Tit for Tat ...

      I have noticed he is concerned about the sexual activiies of others, but does not want to read about the Babylonian Zionist Standard that has been implemented in Israel

      Delete
    7. Arizona could profit from gay marriage, study finds

      Legalizing gay marriage could bring $60 million to Arizona's economy and support up to 500 jobs around the state, a study by lawyers and economists for UCLA has found.

      The report assumes half of Arizona's nearly 16,000 same-sex couples counted in the 2010 census would get married within three years. It also assumes wedding budgets that are a quarter of the $24,000 average 2012 budget for nuptials in Arizona. The resulting new spending would create greater demand for related jobs and services, much of it in the first year, the report's authors claim.

      The report was produced by UCLA's Williams Institute, which researches sexual orientation and gender-identity law and public policy.

      "Using this estimate, we expect resident same-sex couples to generate $47.5 million in direct wedding spending over the introductory three-year period," the report said. Assuming there are 16 out-of-state guests, as seen in Massachusetts, and they stay one night, gay marriage would bring 126,000 visitors and more than $14 million in additional spending.


      AZ says, bring on the GAYS....

      Delete
    8. We made it legal here in WA by popular referendum, not legal maneuvering, and God hasn't punished us with a volcano or something yet.

      Delete
    9. It is a great thing now, legal contracts are no longer limited by gender, here in AZ.
      Now any two people that want to access the legal benefits of matrimony.

      The political debate should be centered on what those benefits are, and why the "Law" provides them.
      Not who should be able to enter the benefit zone, based upon their gender.

      Delete
    10. Now any two people that want to access the legal benefits of matrimony can.

      Delete
    11. Are you marrying your horse?

      Since you are not capable of finding a HUMAN to marry

      Delete
    12. OH my bad...

      How about those illegals you keep locked up in your dungeons on your 350 acres?

      Can you torture one of those into MARRYING you?

      Delete
  5. 10 civilians killed by coalition air strikes yesterday
    October 18, 2014
    Der-Ezzor province: 7 civilians killed by coalition air strikes on a gas station near Konico gas factory near the town of Khesham in the eastern countryside of Der-Ezzor. al-Hasakah province: 3 civilians including a child under the age of 18, killed by coalition air strikes targeted oil fields near Kabiba village in the countryside of al-Shadadi south of al-Hasakah

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, this is Obama's war so it's okay, Rolling Stone is cool with it.

      Delete
    2. No outcries by Hamas dick suckers choir?

      Delete
    3. Pornographic filmmaker Michael Lucas has turned Israeli soldiers into an attraction for gay tourists while Omer Gershon — the gay flotilla hoaxer and hasbara activist — has said that tourists find Israeli men “very exotic.”
      http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3871457,00.html

      Delete
    4. Israeli men can do pushups with no hands.

      Delete
    5. Jack Hawkins is an EXPERT at dick...

      Delete
    6. All of Jack Hawkins obsession with DICK?

      Doesn't change the point....

      10 civilians killed by coalition air strikes yesterday
      October 18, 2014
      Der-Ezzor province: 7 civilians killed by coalition air strikes on a gas station near Konico gas factory near the town of Khesham in the eastern countryside of Der-Ezzor. al-Hasakah province: 3 civilians including a child under the age of 18, killed by coalition air strikes targeted oil fields near Kabiba village in the countryside of al-Shadadi south of al-Hasakah

      Delete
    7. Civilians DIED Jack Hawkins LIED

      But Jack Hawkins is the expert at KNOWING all the dick sucking spots of Scottsdale. The Gay Capital of the SouthWest.

      Delete
    8. Hey, "O"rdure, you must have gotten that copy of HTML for Dummies that I had dropped shipped to the "Bernie Madoff School of Business", in Tel Aviv.

      Good deal, you've been studying!

      Delete
    9. I live in Ohio.

      As you know, since you had stalked me to the point I reported you to the AZ FBI.

      You used to drop comments about my store and it's location....

      I guess you are to busy helping import illegals and selling dope and guns to pay attention.

      Delete
    10. You never have been good with guessing, "O"rdure.

      What is "Occupation"Sat Jul 19, 10:54:00 PM EDT
      it's a great time to buy the stock (Sodastream) Herr Rodent..
      It's undervalued. ($29.11)
      LOL
      you really just don't understand business..


      That was then ...
      This is now

      October 11, 2014 by Doug Henwood for Mondoweiss
      SodaStream: is BDS hitting where it hurts?

      SodaStream’s stock is now 70% off its all-time high set in July 2011
      Sodastream price Oct 14, 2014 - $20.95


      Now let us review ...
      "O"rdure recommends buying Sodastream on 19July 2014 at $29.11 telling us it was undervalued.
      On 14Oct2014 Sodastream closed at $20.95

      That is DOWN $8.16 or 28% since "O"rdure made his 'buy' recommendation.

      What is "Occupation"Fri Oct 03, 10:16:00 AM EDT
      I have been turned down repeatedly for a REFI.
      The system is screwed.


      Someone really does not understand business, and it ain't Herr Rodent

      Delete
    11. PE ratios around 22.

      600 MILLION in sales.

      I suggest people buy LOW and SELL high.

      It seems to me that you advocate for people to buy into stocks at peak prices.

      Maybe that's why you shovel horse shit for a living?

      Delete
    12. What is "Occupation"Fri Oct 03, 10:16:00 AM EDT
      I have been turned down repeatedly for a REFI.
      The system is screwed.


      It's interesting when you lack facts you simply just cut and post comments like a 4th grader making a collage.

      Ok, Jack the BALL wonder.

      POST the COMPLETE post or you will prove to everyone you are lying....

      It's a test for the retarded.

      You

      Delete
  6. Replies
    1. Oil is set to plunge to as low as 55 dollars a barrel...

      :)

      Delete
    2. At $55.00 / Barrel, there won't be a well started anywhere in the world.

      Delete
    3. I paid $3.26 yesterday but that was at the Casino and included the 10 cent cash discount.

      Delete
    4. Every day I drive past a certain ARCO where I track the price of gas, last time it was $3.03. By Monday I expect to see something in the two nineties. Back in '98 it was under a buck.

      Delete
    5. Rufus IISat Oct 18, 11:02:00 AM EDT
      At $55.00 / Barrel, there won't be a well started anywhere in the world.

      That's the Saudi plan, bankrupt everyone from Russia to North Dakota.

      60 dollars a barrel is the profit/loss point for most oil.

      This will be the 3 time that the Saudis did this.

      drive the price up, keep it there til the market opens up new vistas, then crash it....

      Now if we were smart? We'd enact a minimum tax on imported oil to make sure it's at least $62 a barrel.

      Delete
  7. Senor Rat Mierda speaks.

    (rough translation: Mr Rat Shit passes more gas)

    ...........................

    Good Day Vandal Fans Across the Nation and Around Our Blue Globe !

    Idaho plays New Mexico State today At Home In The Dome, so it is not an important game as far as our continuing record setting run of Loses On The Road is concerned.

    I will try to report the score sometime during the day. I am going gambling, pow wow ing, and free Lobster and Crab Leg Dinner ing this day, which is Alumni Day in Moscow.

    I think Mexico State may have been the one team we beat last year, Vandal Fans.

    Cheers !!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Looks like the "Draft Dodger" got his benefit check.
      Now he is off to the casino.

      Delete
    2. Just consider that his way of contributing to the velocity of the US dollar within our economy.

      Delete
    3. Maybe we should support him. There's not much of that "velocity" goin' around. :)

      Delete
    4. Jack HawkinsSat Oct 18, 11:02:00 AM EDT
      Looks like the "Draft Dodger" got his benefit check.
      Now he is off to the casino.

      Ad hominem so early in the morning.

      Delete
  8. Jack Shit, you are following me about again.

    The Doctors have told you that you mustn't do that.

    The Doctors, Jack, have told you that many times.

    And to keep your hands to yourself.

    And be polite in public.

    You know all the rules, Jack.

    You are earning a bad monthly report.

    Now, scoot away, away away Jack.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What is wrong with you, Robert "Draft Dodger" Peterson?
      You, like Elvis, should leave the building.

      Delete
    2. Jack Shit, you are confused again.

      You are the only one here in the building.

      You can't leave the building without an escort and your ankle bracelets.

      The rest of us are at our homes or offices using our own computers.

      And remember, you are being monitored by The Nurse, JackPsychoRatShit.

      Delete
  9. The Saudi have done this once before, and cracked up the Soviet Union.

    The idea that they are moving without consulting their alliance partners in the US, kind of comical.
    Sure, it will take the wind out of the fracking sails, but fracking is uneconomical, except under the artificially high prices that the Saudi/US have been able to maintain through the utilization of military force and political blackmail.

    It is all good for the consumer, in the short term, not as good from a national security perspective.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jack Shit, you are babbling again. You have your facts and conclusions both wrong. You are being monitored and recorded.

      The Nurse is taking notes, Jack.

      Delete
    2. You are projecting, again, "Bob".
      I had a nice IM with your caregiver Nurse Ratched, on Facebook, she says that you are no longer suffering with the dementia, but seem to have embraced it as your new reality.

      She thought all your rambling on about the 'rat' was directed towards her.



      Delete
    3. So desperate for attention invention is his only companion.

      Jack HawkinsSat Oct 18, 11:29:00 AM EDT
      You are projecting, again, "Bob".
      I had a nice IM with your caregiver Nurse Ratched, on Facebook, she says that you are no longer suffering with the dementia, but seem to have embraced it as your new reality.
      She thought all your rambling on about the 'rat' was directed towards her.

      Delete

  10. Went to an American Indian pow wow last tonight.

    Wonderful dress, great dancing, and the kids were cute as angelic coyotes.

    I asked if I could take some pictures.

    Not during the ceremony, was the reply.

    Sacred.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Multi-day, multi-tribe pow wow.

      Wow.

      Delete
    2. No pictures, because the camera captures their soul, right?

      Delete
    3. Nah, that's an African thing.

      They just don't think it proper to take pictures of their sacred dancing.

      Back in the days when you were a Catholic you wouldn't have wanted cameras flashing during a High Mass.

      It distracts the mind's flow in accord with the movements of the sacred dance.

      Perfectly understandable in my view.

      GOOD dancing.

      And this year the dress and costumes are SUPER all the way round.

      The little kids love the whole affair ! It's a happy time.

      :)

      Delete
    4. No pictures, Ms T, because "Bob" never left the Home.
      Nurse Ratched was quite clear on his condition.
      He can only go out with a group, they go and play 'Bingo' twice a week.
      He gets on the 'Short Bus' that the Indians provide, and it takes them to the 'casino'.

      She tells me that "Bob" really loves those Indians, that he thinks they are going to India when he gets on the bus.

      Delete
    5. Why, what a surprise !

      The Grim Rat makes an attempt at humor.

      This is a good sign folks.

      But it's still way way to early to even begin to think about any possible recovery.

      Delete
    6. Not humor, but a report from Nurse Ratched.

      She shed a light on your condition, Robert.
      Almost made me feel sorry for you.

      Delete
  11. Creepy clown sightings go nationwide................drudge

    Damn Quirk touched off a craze.......

    ReplyDelete
  12. I am becoming concerned about the Senate race in Georgia.

    Perdue is losing his lead and Nunn may overcome.

    Without her famous name she would be running for County Commissioner.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. On the other hand Colorado is looking unexpectedly bright for the Republicans.

      Delete
    2. >>>Polls published in recent days show that Nunn — the daughter of former senator Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) — has nudged ahead of her Republican opponent, David Perdue, upending a race that wasn’t expected to be as competitive or closely watched in the final weeks of campaigning. National Democrats and Republicans are pouring millions of dollars into the state to bankroll a wave of TV ads, while an anti-Nunn super PAC has also bolstered its spending.<<<

      Politics
      Michelle Nunn gets boost from TV ads, new money in Georgia Senate race

      http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/michelle-nunn-gets-boost-from-tv-ads-new-money-in-georgia-senate-race/2014/10/17/c862f400-5608-11e4-809b-8cc0a295c773_story.html

      Delete
    3. .

      Looks like I won't have to vote for the Democrat here. Peters (D) has a pretty good lead over Land (R). Not that I care about either of the candidates. Peters is a hypocritical prick and Teri Lynn Land is dumb as a rock. However, I would vote for Peters if it were close just to do my part in trying to keep the Senate out of GOP hands.

      Things can only get worse if one party controls both houses of Congress, IMO.

      Besides, Obumble, why would you want the GOP to take the Senate before 2016? Not much will happen over the next two years. The economy isn't likely to improve much from were it is now. The job situation will be the same or worse. Having both houses in GOP hands would just provide Obama one more excuse, one more card to play to try to explain the failure of his presidency.

      .

      Delete
    4. Might I mention that "Jobless Claims," last week, were the lowest since the Clinton Administration?

      Delete
    5. Supreme Court vacancies, for one thing, HalfQuart.

      Some of these wilted fading flowers are one fine day going to keel over. No one lives forever on this earth, though the makeup of our Court seems to argue otherwise.

      Getting rid of Dirty Harry is another.

      General Principles, a concept you may not have heard of, is another.



      Delete
    6. Why does HalfQuart have one brown eye and one blue eye?

      Cause he's a half quart low on bullshit today.

      harharharhardeharhar

      Delete
    7. For HalfQuart -


      The Saturday Interview
      What If Republicans Win?
      We’ll never ‘have the moral authority to deal with social welfare if we can’t deal with corporate welfare.’


      By
      James Freeman
      Oct. 17, 2014 6:33 p.m. ET


      Jeb Hensarling may be the most important Republican elected official you’ve never heard of. He will become even more important if his party wins control of the U.S. Senate in November’s elections, two weeks from this Tuesday. He’s also a leading candidate to eventually succeed John Boehner as House speaker.

      So it’s a good moment to sit down with the Texan, who represents a district near Dallas and is now chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, to talk about the political possibilities and strategy. He believes the GOP is “poised for a good election” but not a great one. Good because President Obama is ineffectual and unpopular. Not great because Republicans haven’t talked enough about their plans to encourage job creation and rising incomes.

      But if Republicans do win a majority, count Mr. Hensarling among those who think they will have to do more than stymie Mr. Obama for his final two years. They’ll have to produce legislation, he says, putting bills on the president’s desk that he will have to sign or veto. The political trick will be calculating what to pass that Mr. Obama might conceivably sign, and what to pass anyway to educate the country and prepare for the 2016 election.

      Together with Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wis.), who is expected to become chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, Mr. Hensarling will drive economic policy in the House. A cerebral veteran lawmaker who opposed the bank bailouts, he carries the respect of both tea party conservatives and establishment moderates within the GOP.

      He’ll need that credibility because he is aggressive in sketching out a 2015 legislative agenda for faster economic growth. The common theme he stresses with Journal editors is liberating people from bureaucracy, whether they are seeking a mortgage, buying health insurance, crossing America’s southern border to make an honest living in the U.S. or simply filling out their tax returns.

      Delete
    8. This last one provides an opportunity to liberate Americans from billions of hours of unproductive labor. “Nothing says economic growth like fundamental tax reform,” says Mr. Hensarling. The idea is to slash tax rates, along with loopholes, to enact a simpler, more user-friendly tax system.

      Contrary to much Washington wisdom, including among conservative pundits, he says tax reform is possible in 2015 not only because the IRS is in such ill repute, but also because Republicans will have no excuse for inaction if they control both houses of Congress. “It’s a put-up or shut-up moment for us,” he says.

      An early gut check for Republican reformers will come next year when Congress will decide whether to once again reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, a monument to crony capitalism that provides cheap financing for selected international trade deals.

      Mr. Hensarling views the Ex-Im battle “somewhat as a precursor to the tax reform fight because there are so many vested corporate interests” served by the current tax code: “If we can’t get rid of this agency and the corporate welfare it represents, how will House Republicans ever muster the intestinal fortitude to be able to do fundamental tax reform?” He adds, with some political poignancy, “I don’t know how we will ever have the moral authority to deal with social welfare if we can’t deal with corporate welfare.”

      On the Financial Services Committee, Mr. Hensarling has been quietly crafting bipartisan reform bills that now lie buried in Majority Leader Harry Reid ’s Democratic Senate. But if Republicans control the upper chamber after November, Mr. Hensarling suddenly will have someone to work with, probably Alabama’s Richard Shelby, who is expected to become chairman of the Banking Committee in a GOP Senate.

      Mr. Hensarling sees an opportunity to revisit the 2010 Dodd-Frank law, which was drafted in haste after the financial crisis and was falsely promoted as an end to too-big-to-fail banks. Mr. Hensarling says that “given the state of the economy, people are taking a second look” at both the law and the story they were sold by its authors. “We’ve all heard about Wall Street greed. I think people are now starting to be a little bit more sensitized to Washington greed—the greed for power and control over our lives and our economy.”

      Delete
    9. He notes that consumers aren’t pleased with the results: Free checking and credit-card perks are disappearing, and more generally the economy is lagging. Mr. Obama’s approval ratings on economic policy are down, and Mr. Hensarling thinks one reason is the burden on lending and small community banks by Dodd-Frank’s “sheer weight, volume, complexity and number of regulations.”

      He is particularly focused on the law’s Financial Stability Oversight Council—which can vote to rescue certain huge corporations it deems “systemically important”—and on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which he calls “the single most unaccountable agency in the history of America.” Housed within the Federal Reserve, it draws funding from the Fed but doesn’t answer to any Fed officials, or to congressional appropriators, or to a bipartisan commission, as most independent agencies do. The bureau is run by a single director who cannot be removed unless the president can show cause.

      Mr. Hensarling also notes that the Bureau doesn’t even have true oversight by the courts because of the Supreme Court’s Chevron legal doctrine that compels judges to show deference to the bureau’s decisions. This lack of accountability may be why the bureau has been constructing what Mr. Hensarling calls “the Taj Mahal” to serve as its Beltway headquarters.

      Mr. Hensarling believes the CFPB’s lack of accountability is also leading to “consumer protections” that Americans don’t want or need. Once the bureau’s rules are fully implemented, he says, “one third of all blacks and Hispanics” will “no longer be able to buy the homes that they have traditionally been able to buy. We are protecting them out of their homes! The qualified-mortgage rule should have been called ‘quitting mortgages’ because that’s what it’s all about. So I think I’ve got the argument that is very compelling and people feel it,” says Mr. Hensarling. “They’re less free and less prosperous.”

      Does this put him in the company of affordable-housing advocates who favor degraded underwriting standards for politically favored demographic groups?

      Delete
    10. “Possibly, yes,” he says. “I don’t want degraded standards. I want market standards. I don’t want government fiat standards. I don’t want one view coming out of Washington on what acceptable mortgage risk is.” Because, he adds, that view is guaranteed to be wrong.

      Will he try to put a repeal of the CFPB on Mr. Obama’s desk next year? “It would be a very different CFPB,” he replies. “I want government to vigorously police our markets” and it’s not necessarily a bad idea to have this function centralized in one department. “What is bad is giving an unelected, unaccountable bureaucrat the unilateral power to essentially decide what credit cards go in our wallets, what mortgages we can have on our homes, which is exactly what CFPB is doing.”

      What about the stability council in Dodd-Frank? Would a GOP Congress vote to repeal it?

      “I would hope so,” Mr. Hensarling says, and he expects such a plan would enjoy “a little more bipartisan buy-in.” He’s willing to seek whatever reforms to the law can attract 60 votes in the Senate. “Absolutely, whatever the market will bear. I came here to make a difference, not to make a speech,” he says. He’d like to combine a repeal of this big-bank rescuer with a new bankruptcy plan for large financial firms crafted by the House Judiciary Committee, along with requirements that banks hold more capital.

      In fact, he’s already agreed with liberal Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters on dozens of modest reforms to financial laws that provide regulatory relief, even though the two lawmakers “come fairly close to representing ideological bookends of the United States House of Representatives.”

      He’s particularly optimistic about being able to lessen the bureaucratic load on small banks next year. And he thinks a housing-finance reform that ends the dominant role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is possible as well, provided Democrats don’t demand “another affordable housing slush fund on steroids.”

      Delete
    11. But why would Democrats cooperate with any of this, given the political benefit they seem to see in blaming Republicans for obstructing the president’s agenda? “I don’t think that is selling like it once did,” he says. “I don’t want to hurt their careers so they shall remain nameless, but there are a number of Democrats on my committee who have indicated an interest in working on certain issues. It’s always a tough thing to do, and a lot of times you don’t want to do it unless you think that ultimately you can make a difference because you end up taking flak from your party.”

      He adds that “there are some Democrats on that committee that have done some pretty good work on some issues. Now they still tend to vote the party line because they don’t think this would see the light of day and thus it is not worth the risk for them to step out, but they’re there.”

      Beyond Mr. Hensarling’s committee, he says the GOP agenda next year should include “making ObamaCare optional.” And the Texan would like to see immigration reform that allows more H-1B visas for high-tech workers and also creates a “vibrant guest-worker program” for low-skill workers who want to come here to work in agriculture for example.

      He also favors more border security but says that doesn’t mean a physical wall is required over the entire length of our southern border. He believes a good guest-worker program is a form of border security because it allows law enforcement to focus on catching criminals and terrorists: “Less hay to find the needles.” This focus on immigration’s economic benefits is consistent with his free-market principles, though it puts him at odds with the drift of many Republicans who are falling for the fallacy that there are a finite number of jobs in the country and every immigrant robs a job from someone already here. Mr. Hensarling acknowledges the drift but thinks a GOP Congress would still be able to move piecemeal immigration reform to Mr. Obama’s desk.

      Mr. Hensarling recounts walking at his local July Fourth parade this year and noticing a woman come running at him from the curb. As a public official he’s learned this “is either a very good thing or a very bad thing.” But she had a smile on her face and said in a thick accent, “I had to learn your name for my citizenship test and I’ve always wanted to meet you.”

      When he asked where she was from, the woman said, “Russia. And I love freedom.”

      “Welcome home,” he replied.

      Mr. Freeman is assistant editor of the Journal’s editorial page.

      Delete
    12. .

      Supreme Court vacancies, for one thing, HalfQuart.

      All the old farts there are Libs but you will have to carry them out before they leave willingly.

      .

      Delete
  13. Oops, another one done snuck in below the radar.

    On Oct. 17, Abengoa celebrated the grand opening of its cellulosic ethanol plant in Hugoton, Kansas. Construction on the 25 MMgy facility was completed in mid-August and ethanol production commenced in late September. In addition to cellulosic ethanol, the facility also producers renewable energy. Residual biomass solids from the ethanol conversion process are used to generate 21 MW of electricity, enough to power the plant itself and provide excess renewable power to the local community.

    The Hugoton plant is the first ever facility to deploy Abenoga’s proprietary enzymatic hydrolysis technology, which converts biomass into fermentable sugars that can be used to produce ethanol. In addition to planning a crucial role in proving the commercial viability of cellulosic ethanol production, Abengoa said the success of the project provides a platform for its future development of other bioproducts, such as bioplastics, biochemicals and drop-in jet . . . . . . .

    Hello

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Abengoa also expects to expand it’s the scope of its process to take in additional feedstocks in the future. According to the company, it has been operating a demonstration-scale facility for more than a year that is capitalizing on its enzymatic hydrolysis technology and enzyme cocktail to extract cellulosic sugars from municipal solid waste, which would allow the expansion of renewable fuels production to urban areas.

      Delete
    2. One of these in every county, and we can tell Russia, and the entire Middle East to kiss our ass.

      Delete
  14. Before we get all gaga over Saudi Arabia "boosting" production, you might want to have a look at this chart.

    Saudi Production

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Even if Saudi Arabia produced what they said they did last month, that still puts them about 350,000 bbl / day below what they were producing last year.

      Delete
    2. What you're really looking at, here, is slowing Chinese growth, and Europe back into Recession.

      And, continuing strong production out of the U.S.

      Delete
    3. Continued turmoil in Libya, takes a million barrels a day off the market.
      Then the turmoil in Iraq, keeps that countries exports below 3 million barrels per day.

      Syria, doubt that they were a major producer, but their production HAS to be down from whatever it once was...

      Iran, they seem to be on the production rebound, increasing exports to India, while the Chinese docked a naval vessel there, recently.

      Delete
  15. Nah, not really surprised.

    Nice map of USA church influences.

    ReplyDelete
  16. The ObamaEconomy's only job growth sector -

    Wanted: Ebola screeners for $19 an hour.....................drudge

    ReplyDelete
  17. Important Breaking News from Paris, France -

    Vandals deflate Paris 'sex-toy' sculpture after outrage
    AFPBy AFP | AFP –

    The controversial, inflatable "Tree" sculpture by US artist Paul McCarthy sits deflated on the Vendome square in Paris on October 18, 2014View Photo

    The controversial, inflatable "Tree" sculpture by US artist Paul McCarthy …
    View Photo

    A giant inflatable green sculpture was reduced to a flaccid heap on one of Paris's swankiest squares on Saturday after vandals attacked the work that sparked outrage for its resemblance to a sex toy.

    The 24 metre-high artwork by American artist Paul McCarthy, called "Tree," was unveiled on Thursday on the Vendome Square alongside the Ritz Hotel and luxury jewelry stores, provoking a storm of mirth and outrage on social media over its resemblance to a sex toy called a butt-plug..........

    https://uk.news.yahoo.com/vandals-deflate-paris-sex-toy-sculpture-outrage-101638263.html#slolhpN

    video

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is truly outrageous.

      What kind of Sick-O would deflate a butt plug?

      Delete
    2. Muzzies

      Think Muzzies

      Delete
  18. A Butt-Plug is a "sex toy?"

    I guess I Am getting old. :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Did you all notice the insensitive ethnically grotesque racist use of the word "Vandals" in the above referenced article?

    Did anyone here complain about it?

    NO

    Wish me Lucky Sevens

    GOVANDALS

    Cheers !

    Later

    ReplyDelete
  20. What is "Occupation"Fri Oct 03, 10:16:00 AM EDT
    I have been turned down repeatedly for a REFI.
    The system is screwed.


    It's interesting when you lack facts you simply just cut and post comments like a 4th grader making a collage.

    Ok, Jack the BALL wonder.

    POST the COMPLETE post or you will prove to everyone you are lying....

    It's a test for the retarded.


    Still waiting, Jack, the Ball-less...

    Prove us wrong, post my words in total...

    Or don't and be a liar by the absence of your actions....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The "readers" are waiting Jack...

      Post the words in total..

      Prove your point or prove mine..

      Liar liar pants of fire.

      Delete
    2. What is your point.

      It is a 'sound bite' world.
      Anyone that wishes to read the totality of any statement I reference, can.

      Watch your words, "O"rdure.

      Delete
    3. Jack is a lying chicken shit ass.

      Delete
    4. Time stamp the lie, for a reference, Anonymous.

      If you can, which you can't.

      Delete
    5. What is "Occupation"Sat Oct 18, 02:18:00 PM EDT
      The "readers" are waiting Jack...

      Post the words in total..

      Prove your point or prove mine..

      Liar liar pants of fire.

      You made the "quote"

      You prove it or shut the fuck up liar.

      Delete
    6. What is "Occupation"Fri Oct 03, 10:16:00 AM EDT
      I have been turned down repeatedly for a REFI.
      The system is screwed.


      It's interesting when you lack facts you simply just cut and post comments like a 4th grader making a collage.

      Ok, Jack the BALL wonder.

      POST the COMPLETE post or you will prove to everyone you are lying....

      It's a test for the retarded.


      Still waiting, Jack, the Ball-less...

      Prove us wrong, post my words in total...

      Or don't and be a liar by the absence of your actions....


      Post the complete and total post..

      Let my words speak for themselves.

      No more "Cut and Paste" Jackoff.

      Delete
    7. What is "Occupation"Mon Jul 21, 09:33:00 PM EDT
      If there is one Hamas member still alive and spitting? Israel lost…


      Not only did Israel lose, "O"rdure, but so did you.
      Adapt to the new world odor or don't, does not matter to me.

      Delete
    8. SodaStream
      NASDAQ: SODA - Oct 17 4:00 PM ET
      21.00


      "O"rdure's "Buy" recommendation was made on 19JUL14 with the stock trading at $29.11.

      He told us it was undervalued, at $29.11, now, 90 days later the truth is clearer.
      Sodastream was over valued on 19JUL14.

      He is a student at the "Bernie Madoff School of Business" in Tel Aviv, so we can forgive him his transgressions, but not forget his errors.

      Delete
  21. WASHINGTON: US war planes struck more than two dozen times in Syria and Iraq on Friday (Oct 17) and Saturday (Oct 18), hitting Islamic State militants and oil infrastructure they control, the American military said.

    Of 15 air strikes in Syria, 12 were aimed at "degrading and destroying their oil producing, collecting, storage and transportation infrastructure," the US Central Command said in a statement. The militants control a swath of territory straddling northwestern Iraq and eastern Syria, home to most of Syria's main oilfields.

    Experts said the militants were earning as much as US$3 million daily from oil before the coalition began launching strikes on Syria, building on the air war under way against IS in Iraq since Aug 8.

    Seven of the US strikes were east of Diban; they "successfully struck an IS crude oil collection point consisting of crude oil collection equipment and a modular oil refinery," the statement said. Another of the five others against oil targets was southeast of Deir Ezzor and damaged a modular refinery. Three other strikes in Syria hit two IS fighting positions near Kobane and a military camp in the Raqa province.

    In Iraq, five air strikes south and west of Bayji "struck two IS units, destroyed one IS armed vehicle, an IS heavy weapon, an IS machine gun position, an IS building and three IS guard shacks and damaged one IS guard shack."

    Another five west of the strategic Mosul Dam destroyed vehicles and damaged a building occupied by militants.

    bizzy, bizzy, bizzy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is what our military should be doing, breaking shit, not building schools and handing out soccer balls.

      Delete
  22. .

    Rufus IISat Oct 18, 12:53:00 PM EDT

    Might I mention that "Jobless Claims," last week, were the lowest since the Clinton Administration?



    Obama on 60 Minutes

    'Are you better off than you were four years ago?'...And the answer is, the country is definitely better off than we were when I came into office.”

    Rufus would agree, however,

    Most members of the public do not share this view, according to this week's Washington Post/ABC News poll. Only 22 percent surveyed agreed that they are “better off financially” than they were when Obama was inaugurated in January 2009 — including only 37 percent of Democratic partisans. This says a lot about how people feel, because six years ago, the nation was embroiled in the very financial crisis that Obama still cites to absolve himself from blame for America's continued economic doldrums.

    Why the disconnect?

    Another bright spot has been the standard unemployment rate, which at just 5.9 percent last month has fallen off significantly since Oct. 2009. But that statistic doesn't reflect the reality faced by many Americans.

    For one thing, the rate fails to capture a strong current trend toward the substitution of part-time for full-time work. Even as the overall number of jobs in the United States recently surpassed the pre-recession highs of late 2007, the number of full-time employees in America last month was still about 2 million less than it was in September 2007. Part-time work, which jumped as the recession began, has remained at historically high levels, 2.4 million higher than it had been seven years earlier.

    Nor does the unemployment rate capture the pessimism of Millennials and members of Generation X — those currently in their prime working years. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are about 5 million fewer people aged 25 to 54 with jobs today than there were when the recession began.

    Third, the unemployment rate also doesn't reflect the lower wages workers are making today. As the Washington Examiner's Joseph Lawler has observed, median household income is still down 8 percent from 2007, and wages are currently just keeping up with inflation.

    Finally, the unemployment rate can be deceptive because it goes down as people stop looking for work. Labor participation remains mired near a 30-year low.

    Despite Obama's efforts to talk up the nation's economic performance, nearly six years into his presidency, it doesn't feel like a recovery to many Americans.


    http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/theres-no-sugar-coating-obamas-economy/article/2554897

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To hell with jobless claims or jobs created. What we need is a statistic that multiplies jobs created (or lost) times starting salaries. If I lay off one white collar worker making 48K and hire three McDonald's workers at 16K, then my statistic would be neutral. This would capture the labor costs per unit of GDP.

      Delete
  23. Forbidden fruit syndrome, like when Jimmy Swaggart preached against the whoredoms of Rome, and later was caught with a hooker.

    ReplyDelete
  24. At least 17 killed in Benghazi; rival Libyan governments claim to control oil policy

    A self-styled rival government controlling Libya's capital announced its own oil policies this week, drawing a rebuttal from Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni who said oil revenues continued to go to the elected government.

    Underscoring the turmoil gripping the major oil producer, at least 17 people were killed on Friday in the main eastern city Benghazi where pro-government forces backed by locals are fighting Islamists. A suicide bomber killed three, witnesses and medics said.

    Libya is struggling with two competing governments vying for control after Operation Dawn, an umbrella of armed groups from the western city of Misrata, seized Tripoli in August, forcing Thinni's government to withdraw to the east.
    The Misrata-led forces have since formed their own rival parliament and government, which has taken over some ministries and effectively controls parts of western and central Libya.

    Oil traders are concerned about the uncertainty over who is in charge of Libya's vast oil reserves after the Misrata group appointed its own oil minister and took over the official website of state firm National Oil Corp. (Reuters)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Study: Elephants may know when it's raining 150 miles away
    Matt Cantor, Newser 10:44 a.m. EDT October 18, 2014
    635492256690260024-518351537

    (Photo: EcoPic, Getty Images/iStockphoto)
    92 CONNECT 50 TWEETLINKEDIN 4 COMMENTEMAILMORE

    Maybe the Weather Channel should start hiring elephants. A study in PLoS ONE suggests the creatures can detect rainstorms happening 150 miles away, possibly by hearing them even from that far off.

    Migrating elephants are known to change direction out of the blue, and researchers haven't been certain why. The Namibian research team figured it might be because of rain—as Phys.org explains, elephants are regularly looking for water in the region, which is dry outside of the January-to-March rainy season.

    Researchers placed GPS devices on elephants in 14 different herds for seven years. Meanwhile, they kept track of rainfall in the region. They found that changes in the elephants' movements were associated with the direction of rain.

    "We don't know if they can actually hear the thunder or if they are detecting other low-frequency sounds generated by the storms that humans can't hear," a researcher says, as the tamuTimes reports. "But there is no doubt they know what direction the rain is."

    This information may help officials protect elephants, Discovery reports, because it could provide some guidance as to where the animals are headed.

    (The news comes amid fears African elephants could be wiped out within a century.)

    ReplyDelete