Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

"John McCain is still stuck on the low road express," said Kerry. "He doesn't get it. He's even dangerous, I think, for the direction of this country."

Kerry accused McCain of repeated flip-flopping and going back on his word of running a clean campaign He also poked fun at McCain's economic credentials.

"I don't know if you know this," joked Kerry, "John McCain is looking for someone for vice president who has more economic expertise than he does. So congratulations to all of you, you're on the short list."

Nice of you to show up, Lt Kerry.  Four years late, but better late than never, I guess.  More and better, please.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

Surely we must be sorely mistaken. It can't the 30's all over again.

Rien n'est gratuit en ce bas monde. Tout s'expie, le bien comme le mal, se paie tot ou tard. Le bien c'est beaucoup plus cher, forcement. Celine

In the long run, just like cellulosic ethanol, it makes sense to identify and pursue non-edible alternative, abundant and inexpensive feedstock. A number of companies across the Western Hemisphere are performing small-scale experiments with alternative feedstocks such as waste vegetable oil (used cooking oil), animal fat and fish oil.

In addition, efforts are underway to assess the potential and economic feasibility of jatropha curcas, a small tree that yields seeds rich in non-edible oil (35-40 percent) that can be converted to biodiesel. Because of its toxicity to humans and animals, jatropha is used for neither human nor animal consumption. Moreover, it is native to the Caribbean and Central American region, increasing the chances that it could form the basis of a local biofuels industry. To date, most of the information about jatropha planting and biodiesel production comes from India, where microfarmers grow the plant. A small commercial jatropha biodiesel company is operating in Guatemala and more developmental projects are underway in Honduras and South Florida.

Citation from a policy paper that was published by the Center for Hemispheric Policy for its task force on "Energy Cooperation and Security in the Hemisphere."

"Beware of the man who does not talk, and the dog that does not bark." Cheyenne

We had the storm from hell last night.  We get a lot of tornado warnings during the summer, a lot of thunderstorms, being in the Midwest and all.  But last night was officially scary.  The entire area was under a tornado watch.  All of the tv stations cut out and had that scary computerized voice telling people to get in the basement, evacuate their cars.  Then the local weather people would come on: No, really, this applies to you people living in the city too.  If you live downtown, go to the lowest floor of your building, yadda yadda yadda.  The electricity was off and on, and all you could hear was the wail of tornado sirens.  They were tracking the funnel clouds from the western suburbs to the city, block by block.  I've never heard of funnel clouds in the city proper.  Crazy stuff.  90 mile an hour winds, funnel clouds (I don't think any actually touched down) and sirens.  Cat was not happy.  Uhg.  

Here are some pics from the Trib:

"Pretending that you already know the answer when you don't is not actually very helpful." ~Migeru.

http://www.carrotmob.org/

Why Oil Really Fell Today--and Could Keep Falling

Oil slipped below $120 at one point today and now overall is down nearly 20 percent from its July high of near $150. But I don't think the drop had much to do with the usual suspects--a weak consumer spending report, less risk that Tropical Storm Edouard will smack the Gulf Coast--which will surely be mentioned in the financial pages tomorrow.

I think the drop had everything to do with reports this weekend that MIT chemist Daniel Nocera seems to have discovered a cheap--by a factor of 1,000--and easy way to separate hydrogen from water.

Screwy Squirrel

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes