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Politics : President Barack Obama -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: koan who wrote (54532)	5/14/2009 12:16:42 PM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 149317

Cool. Now find a use for hydrogen sulfide. TIA Beneath the seabed off the coast of Saudi Arabia is an oil field called Manifa. It is giant, and its riches are almost untapped. There is, however, a snag. Its oil is heavy with vanadium and hydrogen sulphide, making it virtually unusable. One day the technology may be in place to remove these contaminants, but it will not be for a long time, and when, or if, it becomes possible, it will do no more than slightly reduce the rate at which the world's oil supplies slip away towards depletion. Even this field has one advantage over the massive reserves of oil which middle east suppliers are said to hold, ready to secure the future of industrial civilisation. Unlike those fantasy fields, Manifa does actually exist. theoildrum.com

To: koan who wrote (54532)	5/14/2009 12:26:39 PM
From: Mac Con Ulaidh	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 149317

A morning moment that made me think of you - I was down at the beer store. got to cross two county lines to get there, but it gives that rare chance to do a lil radio listening. anyways, so there I am in small town beer town across the county line, quite white being northern Alabama and small town... and there was a black man washing windows with help from his 15ish year old daughter. I gather from the convo with the young white woman at the counter that her school was closing (figuring they are from B'ham) and she will have to switch and all her friends be split up around town. The counter woman was telling them how good the schools were in little beer town and what a great place it is and that they should come on down. Another brick falls from the wall. see, in time... the folks you rail about are even fading and losing down here. on my way out I confirmed for them her assessment of the schools and the town and that they should give coming on down some thought. The daughter is too intelligent and thoughtful looking a young woman to be trapped in north B'ham.

To: koan who wrote (54532)	5/14/2009 12:32:54 PM
From: Mac Con Ulaidh	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 149317

oh, that was the second moment. The first came at the farm store where I'd gone to pick up a load of gypsum. It's way out on a county road. There was a half a dozen rednecks about, their trucks in the parking lot (where I pulled up in by them in my lil black truck). And the guy at the counter. And the guy who loaded up my bags for me. And everyone felt so comfy on a perfect stark-blue-skied late spring day. Easy laughter and smiles in the convos. And I was trying to picture one of them listening to Rush rant and spit, much less those Fox guys and skinny blonde gals. And I couldn't. And I was looking a lil especially ragged in my droopy jeans, my hair uncombed stuck under my cap, my glasses crooked and... they all smiled and said a word or more to me and... they are losing, dude. even down here in the civil rights flashpoint land. take heart?

To: koan who wrote (54532)	5/14/2009 12:54:17 PM
From: Mac Con Ulaidh	Respond to of 149317

wait wait wait - there was a 3rd moment. and it's not even noon here yet. a banner day... we used to bank with AmSouth, which wasn't tiny but regional and customer based. Even if you weren't a huge fish in this tiny pond, you knew the president of the bank. she took time. but we switched to a more local bank when she moved to it. and then AmSouth got bought by Regions and what we had left there, we moved. They became no better than BofA in terms of customer care. So anyways... just over wanted to switch cc because that was still Regions and they are wanting to jack up the interest rate, even tho we've been perfect customers for 2 decades and are talking with the local bank... we placed a call to the local yesterday and the president called back today. And when small bizzes are getting pelted and put out of biz by BofA and Wells Fargo - the small biz here that we are invested in and does there revolving loan thru the local bank? no problem. The bank is solvent. And they talk personally with the biz. And they keep things running. Why would any small biz go thru a major stupid bank if they have a local alternative? granted, this particular small biz has a local benefactor who the bank knows that puts there name on the line with them... but that is part of community, yes?