The coolest pictures of a leopard attacking and killing a crocodile that you will probably see all day.
Centennial Olympic Park
A picture of sunny Centennial Olympic Park, taken yesterday.
Even 3 months after the tornado, the Westin still hasn’t replaced the windows.
Apropos of Nothing in Particular
This just seems more relevant than ever:
Nothing particular in the news that made me post this, just a nagging feeling I have had for a while. Plus, I think everyone should watch this and read about the Milgram experiments.
Saudi Oil: Not as Much as They’re Saying
Via Matthew Yglesias, it seems that the Saudi claim that the kingdom can produce up to 15 million barrels a day is just blowing smoke. Business Week:
But the detailed document, obtained from a person with access to Saudi oil officials, suggests that Saudi Aramco will be limited to sustained production of just 12 million barrels a day in 2010, and will be able to maintain that volume only for short, temporary periods such as emergencies. Then it will scale back to a sustainable production level of about 10.4 million barrels a day, according to the data. BusinessWeek obtained a field-by-field breakdown of estimated Saudi oil production from 2009 through 2013. It was provided by an oil industry executive who said he had confirmed it with a ranking Saudi energy official who has access to the field data. The executive, who has proven reliable over several years of reporting interaction, provided the data on condition of anonymity to protect his access to the kingdom and the identity of the inside contact who confirmed the information.
and…
On oil matters, the kingdom’s credibility has been clouded by intense secrecy. The Saudis, for instance, refuse, unlike Russia, Venezuela, and Norway, to release detailed assessments of their oil reserves, which has made many skeptical. “They are just a bunch of empty boasts,” Matthew Simmons, chairman of Houston investment bank Simmons & Co. International, says of the kingdom’s recent promises of 12.5 million barrels a day. He is also skeptical of Saudi reserve estimates.
Oil took a small dive yesterday on speculation that global demand for oil will go down because of the high prices (which would be good). When you factor in the high demand from China and India, I wouldn’t look for them to go down much further. I was having a conversation with a friend this morning, and we talked about gas prices hitting $6.00 a gallon around Labor Day. We’ve already hit $5.00 in some places.
Saudi Oil: Not as Much as They’re SayingPost + Comments (44)
Screwed
Missed in all the trivial bullshit of the past few days is this really big story:
The broad cutbacks included a 20 percent reduction in payroll for salaried workers, elimination of health care for older white-collar retirees, and suspension of G.M.’s annual stock dividend of $1 a share.
The retirees will receive an additionally $300.00 a month, but as we both know, that will not make up for the loss of their health-care plan. If it did, GM wouldn’t be cutting it in the first place. The $300 is just a cushion. Additionally, how easy is it going to be for 70 year-old retirees to find a new plan other than Medicare? By 65-70, pretty much everyone has a pre-existing condition.
This is a sign of things to come:
General Motors Corp.’s (GM) plan to cut health benefits for certain salaried retirees may make only a small dent in profits at Medco Health Solutions Inc. ( MHS), GM’s pharmacy benefits manager, but it could signal broader, more significant changes to come for the health-benefits industry.
“GM’s decision to cut retiree benefits is likely to have only small impact on (Medco’s) 2009 earnings. Even so, we see the move as a watershed event for the retiree benefits marketplace that is likely to lead other employers to do the same, which will, in turn, cause the issue to grow as an overhang for the stock, ” Morgan Stanley analyst David Veal said.
Probably a good thing the Bush Medicare veto was over-ridden yesterday.
Equal Time
Let’s see the reactions to this, with the slipper on the other foot:
*** Update ***
Reading the comments here, it appears the nation at large is filled to the brim with humor critics. My question- how the fuck did Carlos Mencia get a job with all you people and your perfect interpretations of what is and what is not funny? What? You mean people may have differing ideas of what is and what is not funny? You mean some people may not get jokes! OH NOES!
Also, I will point out that there is NOTHING more unfunny than researching humor. I have done it. I will never do it again.
Time Flies
Was working out and listening to the Dead, when it dawned on me that in a few weeks, it will be the anniversary of Brent Mydland’s death. I remember when I found out- I was at gunnery in Germany in Grafenwoehr getting ready for Table VIII, and heard it on the radio. A few days later Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait.
I can’t believe it has been 18 years. Where does it go?