Actually, a large portion of our oil (and much of Europe) is exported from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is believed that the Kingdom can actually meet the current demand, but it is choosing not to. The royal family is sitting back and probably enjoying the increasing dependence on their oil, not to mention the bankroll. We’ve had our troops over in Saudi for quite sometime, protecting the royal family and the oil infrastructures. This occupation is believed to be the “set point” for OBL’s (a Saudi himself) disgruntlement with the U.S.’s foreign policy. Someone mentioned Iraq- ironically, 90% of the oil recovered there cannot be used in motor vehicles. Even more ironic, some scientists believe the hurricane that defuncted the oil refineries in the gulf was characteristically strong like most tropic storms of the past few years- as a result of global warming. May not be true, but if it is, it surely came around and bit us all on the rear.
We can sit here and bitch about the prices at the pump (i'm in the midst of considering alternatives myself- public transportation, biking, car pooling, etc), but this situation in the New Orleans is A LOT worse than any of you think. Rescue teams can’t do much when there are delinquent gangs shooting at them. Hospitals cannot be evacuated because of snipers on roof tops. People are literally walking among the dead, feces, disease-infested sewage waters that keep rising, and no food, water, communication, or any message from authority. Not only is there a set death toll in the 1000s from the storm itself, but the numbers keep rising, with people not being able to receive appropriate medical attention or some just starving and dehydrating to death. “Anarchy” is what they’ve been calling it over in New Orleans. Even local police have resorted to looting guns before others can get to them.
With all this talk of this tragic storm, there was another event that has gotten little media exposure- the 'stampede' that occurred over an Iraqi bridge during a religious pilgramage. One rumor of a suicide bomb brought panic to the large crowd, resulting in 1000 dead, either crushed or drowned.
The line that divides life and death seems very thin...
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