Thin Ice

Thin Ice

Arctic Losing Long-Term, Thicker Ice Coverage, Scientists Say

March 19 (Bloomberg) -- Older Arctic ice is decreasing dramatically, which may result in an acceleration of rising global temperatures, NASA researchers said.

While that news may get Al Gore and his fellow tree huggers hot and bothered, I am bothered by the proverbial "rest of the story"

According to the article,

"The thawing of the Arctic may provoke conflict between the European Union and Russia, as access to fossil-fuel deposits improves and new sea routes are opened up, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said on March 13 in an 11-page report.

Russia in August planted a flag on the Arctic seabed at the North Pole, staking a claim to billions of dollars of natural resources that are becoming more accessible as the sea ice retreats because of warmer temperatures. The U.S., Denmark, Canada, Norway and Russia all lay claim to part of the Arctic."

The Russian bear will be a ravisher beast sooner than most of us think.

The United State's economy is on thin ice too. Despite assurances that every thing is fine, and the Fed propping the stock market, we are on thin ice. Some of us are blithely skating on as we did before, and some us are down and trying to spread our weight, and some of us are dancing as fast as we can, but we are all going to be really wet. And soon!

Thin ice, indeed

Let them eat cake

Let them eat cake:

Global demand for grain and oilseeds is at record levels, causing the nation's grain stocks to reach critically low levels, according to Purdue University agricultural economist Chris Hurt.

With a weak U.S. dollar and global demand so high, foreign buyers are outbidding domestic buyers for American grain, Hurt said.

And somebody said "Time for the Atkins Diet." Well.... according Mr Hust, "More than 70 percent of Nebraska corn crop this year could go to ethanol production." And what do pigs and cows and chickens like? Corn!

And there's more: U.S. home prices dropped 9% in the final quarter of 2007 from a year earlier. That's the steepest decline in the 20-year history of the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index.

And more.... Gasoline prices, which for months lagged the big run-up in the price of oil, are suddenly rising quickly, with some experts fearing they could hit $4 a gallon by spring. Diesel is hitting new records daily and oil closed at an all-time high on Tuesday of $100.88 a barrel.

A little bit more..... Prices for finished energy goods — gasoline and home heating oil, for example — rose 1.5% in January, while food prices increased 1.7%, the biggest bump in four years. Over 12 months ended in January, prices for finished energy goods climbed 22.6%.

About that quote, "Let them eat cake." I'm told that Marie Antoinette never uttered the words.

But I think they're appropriate now.
 

Canadian Troops?

I came this piece on Canada.com: Canada and the U.S. have signed an agreement that paves the way for the militaries from either nation to send troops across each other's borders during an emergency.

Neither the Canadian government nor the Canadian Forces announced the new agreement, which was signed Feb. 14 in Texas.

The U.S. military's Northern Command, however, publicized the agreement with a statement outlining how its top officer, Gen. Gene Renuart, and Canadian Lt.-Gen. Marc Dumais, head of Canada Command, signed the plan, which allows the military from one nation to support the armed forces of the other nation during a civil emergency.

 There are specific prohibitions on the US using against civilians. The Posse Comitatus Act comes to mind, and the introduction of Canadian troops only complicates the matter.

Why is that important? Well, I don't really know. But I find it odd.