A Twist On The Spill

I thought that this "larger view" perspective on the BP oil spill was interesting.

"The specifics of the disasters are, of course, unpredictable.  But it's reasonable to expect an increasingly negative social mood to bring about a daisy chain of incompetent decision making, corner cutting and the willingness to assume bad risks which will result in tragic accidents.  What may turn out to be the 'biggest environmental disaster the country has ever faced' fits perfectly with the resumption of the bear market that will end as the biggest in the lives of all who survive it."
Steve Hochberg, Elliott Wave International

The Breakup Of The Two Dynasties?

As usual, I'll stray from the typical "known" perspective of a recent event.  We all know that the BP oil spill is a tragedy of epic proportions.  We know that BP's CEO will be jobhunting soon (not really; he'll get a tremendous parachute; next thing to be mad at).  We all know that the politicians are seizing the moment.  Jindall won't leave the beach.  Nungesser has elevated his political ambition.  Obama is the fall guy (you know he blew up the levees).  Palin is paralyzed with her "drill baby drill" speech.  But, I digress.

One of the most interesting developments is the intense anger at BP because it is a British company.  I've heard so many sheeple proclaim "why is a foreign oil company drilling in our waters?".  Now you ask?  Because they and many others have been doing it for years.  We need them to because we need their investment capital. 

Could this event be the beginning of a rift with our "next of kin"?  Our co-invasion buddies?  Xenophobia against our native homeland?  During the contraction we herd with those like us and move away from those that are different.  Remember, keep an eye on the European Union.  It will come to a catastrophic conclusion.  Mark my words.

Political Harikiri

It's too bad that these politicians won't recommend "harikiri" for themselves:
"'Mr. Stearns asked Mr. McKay to resign,' Cao said, referring to Rep. Cliff Stearns. 'Well, in the Asian culture we do things differently. During the Samurai days, we just give you a knife and ask you to commit harakiri.' Harikari is a Japanese ritual suicide performed by soldiers or others who have committed a serious offense or brought shame upon themselves. Cao, Vietnamese-American Republican, mentioned the anger among his constituents at BP's response to the Gulf oil disaster."
Source: NY Daily News

Worse Than We Thought

Headlines for two recent mega-events, BP's oil spill and Greece's meltdown, caught my eye. Initial reports both used the phrase "worse than we thought". I believe that this phrase will be used and over-used a lot in the coming years. The hype and the facades are presented by the media on a daily basis, but the true facts and hard numbers go unreported and unnoticed. When reality rears its ugly face, we are told "it was worse than we thought". Thank you for the advance warning. Once again, I advise that you do your own research. Some examples below.

"Oil spill off US coast is worse than we thought, BP admits - BP has conceded that the extent of an oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico may be much worse than originally thought."
Source: Times Online

"Greece's budget deficit worse than first thought - Greece had a far larger budget deficit than expected last year and the figures may yet get worse, according to the European Union's statistics office."
Source: BBC

"Obama Administration's Summers: Economy is worse than we thought - Despite bracing for the worst, a comprehensive look at the official hard data has provided another dose of the sobering economic reality for the young Obama administration."
Source: Blogging Stocks

The economy "is worse, quite frankly, than everyone thought it was," Lawrence Summers, President Obama's chief economic advisor, said Sunday on NBC's Meet The Press.

"Worse than we thought - Report warns of 4C rise by 2100 - The world's scientists yesterday gave their starkest warning yet that a failure to cut greenhouse gas emissions will bring devastating climate change within a few decades."
Source: The Guardian

"S&P: Housing crisis worse than we thought 2 months ago - Standard & Poor's has downgraded Washington Mutual and stated that the housing situation is worse than it believed at the beginning of the year (when it believed the housing situation was pretty bad). S&P sez, according to AP."
Source: The Baltimore Sun

"True Colors (Even Worse Than We Thought)" - It seems that ugly crowd of protestors harassing members of Congress in the Capitol complex this afternoon got even uglier than we thought. As noted earlier, in addition to menacing behavior toward multiple members of Congress, one protestor called Rep. Barney Frank a "faggot", a taunt greeted by laughter from fellow protestors."
Source: TPM

"Tech Addiction Worse than We Thought - Ever felt like you wouldn't be able to live without your smartphone or daily access to media and communications technology? Well new research shows that the "crackberry" effect may be real, as people deprived of their gadgets may undergo withdrawal symptoms similar to those of drug addiction."
Source: Thomas Net News

"High Fructose Corn Syrup: Worse Than We Thought? - High fructose corn syrup, which has long been considered an equivalent to table sugar, might lead those who eat it to gain weight faster."
Source: That's Fit

"Even worse than we thought - three economists at the Inter-American Development Bank have a new paper that tries to quantify the damage caused by last month's earthquake in Haiti."
Source: The Economist

"Sea level rise: It's worse than we thought - Jakobshavn has doubled its speed in the past 15 years, draining increasing amounts of ice from the Greenland ice sheet into the ocean, and Holland, an oceanographer at New York University, has been trying to find out why."
Source: New Scientist

"Analyst: Downturn in cruise business worse than we thought - Another prominent Wall Street analyst is turning more bearish on the cruise business, noting that pricing is dropping at a rapid rate."
Source: USA Today

Black Swans and Black Gold

Another "Black Swan" is heading for Louisiana. Just when my home state was really starting to feel it's "mojo" again. Just a few weeks ago, the New York Times declared that the New Orleans comeback was for real. A Superbowl victory and a new hot HBO show called "Treme".

The oil spill off the coast of Louisiana is growing daily with no confirmed short term solution. The Valdez had a finite volume of oil on board. This well is flowing from an oil reservoir that could produce for forty years.

Last Sunday I was watching the memorial for the deceased miners. Within one week, another energy catastrophe is upon us. The only good thing that can come from these events is that our nation starts a dialogue on an energy policy. The oil/gas industry has discovered a staggering amount of natural gas over the past five years. Natural gas powered eighteen-wheelers and government vehicles sounds like a "no brainer". The coal lobby might just be too powerful. We'll see. Some proactive behavior will be required.