In God We Trust

Cameron Says:

3 July 2008 at 5:38 am.

Myanmar cyclone victims saved from traffickers

1 hour, 22 minutes ago

YANGON, Myanmar - More than 80 women and children who were victims of Myanmar’s recent cyclone have been rescued from human traffickers scheming to smuggle them to neighboring countries, a media report said Thursday.

Border police caught the traffickers, who had taken victims of Cyclone Nargis from the Irrawaddy delta to border areas, between June 11 and 14, the well-regarded biweekly journal Eleven reported, citing police.

Police Lt. Col. Rahlyan Mone, from the force’s human trafficking division, told the Yangon-based journal that victims facing hardship are being enticed with job offers abroad by traffickers disguised as aid workers.

Police and other authorities who deal with human trafficking could not immediately be reached for comment.

Cross-border trafficking, especially to Thailand, has grown in recent years as people in one of the world’s poorest nations seek opportunities elsewhere but are often tricked or coerced into prostitution or sweatshops.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080703/ap_on_re_as/myanmar_human_trafficking

Benjamin Says:

3 July 2008 at 9:07 am.

And the pain continues…

Oil closes in on $146 per barrel after drop in US stockpiles and potential Iran conflict

Oil prices neared $146 a barrel Thursday for the first time ever on reports of declining U.S. stockpiles and the threat of conflict with Iran.

Comments by Saudi Arabia’s oil minister suggesting his country had no immediate plans to boost production also lifted prices.

Expectations that the European Central Bank will raise interest rates later Thursday could further weaken the U.S. dollar and drive oil prices even higher, as investors turn to commodities as a hedge against a falling greenback, traders said.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080703/oil_prices.html

Benjamin Says:

3 July 2008 at 10:11 am.

Commentary: Your gas money for a flat screen?

By Glenn Beck
CNN

This number should put our skyrocketing gas prices into perspective. To explain: In January 2007, gas prices were at a measly $2.17 a gallon. Since then they’ve skyrocketed to more than $4.

Considering the average amount of gas used per household, the rise has cost us approximately $1,690. With the average 42-inch plasma screen going for $975, just the extra cash you’ve forked over for gas in the last year and a half could have bought you 1.733 plasma TVs. And that number just keeps rising.

Of course, there are a lot more serious issues than the “flat screen factor.” Gas prices have changed families who were once able to save a little into families breaking even. Families who used to break even now run up credit cards. Families who ran up credit cards now dodge calls from creditors. And families who dodged calls from creditors are now families in full-fledged financial crisis. (like Ed McMahon I’ve heard).

So, the question is: What do we do?

President Bush and many Republicans argue that increasing domestic production of oil is the right strategy.

Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain has become a recent convert to this philosophy as well; at least as far as offshore drilling is concerned. (His lack of support for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge [ANWR] is a distinction I can’t understand. If we can drill safely without environmental harm under thousands of feet of water, why not on a small patch of ice in the middle of thousands of desolate square miles?)

“What about the environment?”

This may surprise those who think I’m the pre-eminent murderer of the Earth, but the only real argument against owning our own oil destiny is an environmental one.

Under this theory: High gas prices equal less gas usage, which equals a saved planet. Thomas Friedman, in a recent column, laid it out in an honest fashion: “Now that [gas] is $4 a gallon, the government should at least keep it there, since it is really having the right effect.”

He went on to describe Chrysler’s promotion that guarantees cheaper gas as “the moral equivalent of tobacco companies offering discounted cigarettes to teenagers.” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, apparently agrees, saying that coal and oil are making us sick along with “ruining our country” and “ruining our world.”

If you believe such nonsense, then it’s perfectly rational to ignore our ample energy resources. (It’s not rational to combine that with complaints about high gas prices, sorry Harry Reid.)

For the rest of us, while visions of the Exxon Valdez may dance through your head, the National Academy of Sciences found that the offshore industry is among the safest industrial activities in the United States.

And please, next time you hear someone complaining about environmental risks of drilling at home, remember this from a 2003 speech from the director of the US Minerals Management Services “Imports present an environmental risk of spills about 13 times greater than domestic production” and “natural seeps account for 150-175 times more oil in the ocean than outer continental shelf oil and gas operations.”

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/02/beck.oilexploration/index.html

M.G. Says:

3 July 2008 at 12:46 pm.

Man…I was thinking about coming on here and making some brilliant insightful comment but after reading what Carrie wrote I think I’ll go out and buy some fireworks instead.

Cavetrollhead Says:

4 July 2008 at 12:56 am.

I like Glenn Beck Benjamin.

This is golden. “Imports present an environmental risk of spills about 13 times greater than domestic production” and “natural seeps account for 150-175 times more oil in the ocean than outer continental shelf oil and gas operations.””