General Stuff: General NewsNews the General reads.More Oil Shortage News (Which is Especially Bad News If You Are Hugo Chavez)- March 9, 2004 Oil Giant's Officials Knew of Gaps in Reserves in '02. Top executives of the RoyalDutch Shell Group were advised of huge shortfalls in proven oil and natural gas reserves two years before they were publicly disclosed. By Stephen Labaton and Jeff Gerth. New York Times: NYT HomePage This makes me think of global warming and its public face. Something tells me that even if most scientists were to agree that it's too late to reverse global warming trends, the government would sign up some...http://blogs.salon.com/0003158/categories/generalNews/2004/03/09.html#a158 Summer Gas Shortage for US Predicted... Time for the CIA to head to Venezuela!- March 6, 2004 According to an article in USA Today (yesterday), there may be gas shortages in the United States this summer, leading to higher prices. Fears of shortages. As warmer weather triggers more driving, demand for gasoline will rise from 8.8 million barrels a day now to 9.5 million by late summer. U.S. refineries can't make that much and depend on imported gas to fill the gap. &149;Petro-politics: OPEC, the cartel that pumps one-third of world oil, says it will cut production April 1. Venezuela, a.http://blogs.salon.com/0003158/categories/generalNews/2004/03/06.html#a154 Caps Trade Gonchar, But Not To Toronto- March 3, 2004 After shipping out Jaromir Jagr, Peter Bondra and Robert Lang, the Washington Capitals have dumped some more salary - this time off their own blueline - sending defenceman Sergei Gonchar to the Boston Bruins in exchange for defenceman Shaone Morrisonn and a first and second round draft pick in the 2004 Entry Draft. TSN As a hockey fan in general and a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs in particular, General Stuff gets nervous at this time of year, just days before the trading deadline (March 9)...http://blogs.salon.com/0003158/categories/generalNews/2004/03/03.html#a151 As I Said Below, Cutting Social Programs is Bullshit... Look What Doesn't Get Cut- March 3, 2004 http:www.salon.compoliticswar_room20040302transition President Bush is getting quite a reputation, even among fiscal hawks in his own party, for not spending our money wisely. Now comes a report that he wants to spend $1 million to "train" people who would work for him if he wins a second term. The request is unprecedented, the AP says. It's the first time a president has sought to use public transition funds to prepare officials to enter a re-elected administration. Meanwhile, Bush is...http://blogs.salon.com/0003158/categories/generalNews/2004/03/02.html#a150 Paul Krugman: Still Kicking Ass- March 3, 2004 The General loves Paul Krugman. The guy is kicking ass and taking names. From today: ....There are three lessons in this tale. First, "starving the beast" is no longer a hypothetical scenario &151; it's happening as we speak. For decades, conservatives have sought tax cuts, not because they're affordable, but because they aren't. Tax cuts lead to budget deficits, and deficits offer an excuse to squeeze government spending. Second, squeezing spending doesn't mean cutting back on wasteful...http://blogs.salon.com/0003158/categories/generalNews/2004/03/02.html#a149 Haiti: A Crisis Made in the United States- March 2, 2004 http:www.greenleft.org.auback2004570570p18.htm Roberto Jorquera & Neville Spencer The crisis that Haiti is facing is, however, not simply due to the policies of the Aristide government, but is partly a consequence of US policies. Since the beginning of the century, the US has intervened in Haiti in a similar fashion to the way it has in the rest of Latin America. In 1915, US marines occupied the country for 20 years to make sure that it would pay its debt to the US. After their...http://blogs.salon.com/0003158/categories/generalNews/2004/03/02.html#a147 |