Since repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in the late 1990s that separated traditional banking from other financial activities, investment banks have been allowed to sell exchange-traded futures funds linked to commodities. The volume of oil sold in these “synthetic” markets is now equal to 18 times daily consumption compared to 6 or 8 times daily consumption in the 1990s.
The investment bank that underwrites that contract, in turn, goes into the futures markets to offset its risk. Since there are few speculators betting the market will go down in such an environment (the buyers outnumber the sellers by a wide margin), the futures price goes even higher
“The American consumer is paying 75 cents more per gallon because of excessive speculation,” according to Mark Cooper, the chief economist of the Consumer Federation of America.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Speculation Costs 75 cents Per Gallon At The Pump
Sunday, April 08, 2012
Tulsi around Taj Mahal
The forest department of Uttar Pradesh, with the help of an organization called Organic India Limited, Lucknow planted lakhs of tulsi saplings around Taj Mahal to protect its surface from industrial emissions. This step has yielded positive results.Shyamkant Padoley, eminent botanist, read a paper at the International Conference on Occupational Respiratory Diseases at Kyoto in 1997 where cyclo oxygenate, an enzyme only found in tulsi was labelled for the first time. This enzyme regulates the entire mechanism of oxygen evolution. "Tulsi gives out oxygen for 20 hours and ozone for four hours a day along with the formation of nascent oxygen which absorbs harmful gases like carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide from the environment."
ToI: Tulsi has environmental benefits too
Saturday, April 07, 2012
Pesticides Linked to Bees' Decline
And we subsidize this stuff :
Farmers worldwide have been using neonicotinoids to keep harmful insects off their cotton, grains, vegetables and other crops. Like other neonicotinoids it targets the nervous system of insects, resulting in paralysis and death. Because honeybees are insects, too, biologists have long suspected neonicotinoids as a possible force in colony collapse disorder.Scientific American: Common Pesticide Implicated Bee Colony Collapse Disorder
Researchers have now found that repeated low-dose exposures are perfectly capable of gradually killing of whole hives of bees. In fact, 94 percent of hives whose bees had been fed the pesticide died off entirely within less than six months.
Friday, April 06, 2012
dharun ravi: Do a good deed, this could have been any of our kids
apr 5th, 2012 CE
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: nWell, not mine because I ain't got none, but I have plenty of nephews and nieces, and young people that I know and care about. This is an utter miscarriage of justice, driven by plain old New Jersey pig-headedness. In the whole trial, it does not appear to have occurred to ask why it is appropriate for a university to allow a 32-year-old outsider to be repeatedly in the dorm room of freshmen, doing whatever they were doing, and what that did to the rights of the scared, shocked roommate, i.e., Dharun. What they were doing was a felony per Georgia law at least, and the guy is going scot-free. Don't they have Administrative Offices at Rutgers U. for these Church-like activities, like they had at Penn State? He must have had worse lawyers than the University of Georgia had defending them a while back. But what we can do is fight back, even now. Sign, and send on to others, please, I am sorry to be sending chain spams, this is a rare exception and I have been feeling so powerless to do anything about it, until I saw this Petition. It is the right approach. https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/#!/petition/address-fact-media-driving-justice-system%E2%80%99s-decisions-18-year-old-rutgers-student-dharun-ravi-not/jqlNR9lP n
From: nWell, not mine because I ain't got none, but I have plenty of nephews and nieces, and young people that I know and care about. This is an utter miscarriage of justice, driven by plain old New Jersey pig-headedness. In the whole trial, it does not appear to have occurred to ask why it is appropriate for a university to allow a 32-year-old outsider to be repeatedly in the dorm room of freshmen, doing whatever they were doing, and what that did to the rights of the scared, shocked roommate, i.e., Dharun. What they were doing was a felony per Georgia law at least, and the guy is going scot-free. Don't they have Administrative Offices at Rutgers U. for these Church-like activities, like they had at Penn State? He must have had worse lawyers than the University of Georgia had defending them a while back. But what we can do is fight back, even now. Sign, and send on to others, please, I am sorry to be sending chain spams, this is a rare exception and I have been feeling so powerless to do anything about it, until I saw this Petition. It is the right approach. https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/#!/petition/address-fact-media-driving-justice-system%E2%80%99s-decisions-18-year-old-rutgers-student-dharun-ravi-not/jqlNR9lP n
Thursday, April 05, 2012
easter special: Letter sent to bible thumping candidate Rick Santorum
apr 5th, 2012 CE
leviticus, exodus and the rest of the gang clearly believe that 'consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds'.
this would be hilarious if it weren't the case that this stuff made up by some (probably drunk) medieval monks is believed to be absolute truth by so many people.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: sri venkat
Date: Thu, Apr 5, 2012 at 6:08 AM
Subject: Letter sent to bible thumping candidate Rick Santorum
To:
http://hillenbrandreport.com/index.php?entry=entry071101-205359
A letter sent by a lady to candidate Santorum:
Dear Friends,
I have been greatly moved by Rick Santorum's wise pronouncements, guided by
Biblical principles, especially those concerning marriage. Of course he
believes that sexual intercourse should be used only for purposes of
procreation (he says he has never worn a condom), but there are some gray
areas I was hoping he could clear up, so I wrote him the following letter:
Dear Sen. Santorum:
Thank you for doing so much to educate us regarding God's Eternal Law. I
have learned a great deal from you and understand why you would propose and
support a constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage, which of
course is an abomination.
As you said, "In the eyes of God, marriage is based between a man and a
woman." I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When
someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply
remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination.
End of debate.
I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of
God's Laws and how I might obey them:
1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female,
provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine
claims that this applies only to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you
clarify? Can I own Canadians?
2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus
21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
(She works hard, but does eat a lot.)
3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her
period of menstrual uncleanness (Lev. 14: 19-24). The problem is, how do I
tell? I have tried asking when meeting young women at church socials, but
most of them seem to take offense.
4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a
pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev. 1:9). The problem is with my neighbors.
They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them, or would
Lysol work?
5. I have a neighbor, Aaron Rogers, who insists on working on the Sabbath.
Exodus 35:2 clearly states that he should be put to death. Am I morally
obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it? And how
good is the Packers backup QB?
6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an
abomination (Lev.11:10) it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I
don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there degrees of abomination? What
about a homosexual at an oyster bar?
7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a
defect in my sight. I have to admit that I do wear glasses. Does my vision
have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here? What about contacts?
Can God tell?
8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair
around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev.
19:27. How should they die? I know they must be put to death, but I do not
know the recommended method. .
9. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different
crops in the same field (I think corn and alfalfa). And his wife wears
garments made from two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend).
He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we
go to the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? (Lev.
24:10-16). Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair,
like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14).
10. And last, I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig
makes me unclean. May I still play football if I wear gloves?
I know that you are very busy with your presidential campaign, but, if you
get a chance, I would really like your guidance on these critical and
disturbing issues.
Thank you again for reminding us of the eternal and unchanging truth of the
Holy Bible.
Yours truly, etc
From: sri venkat
Date: Thu, Apr 5, 2012 at 6:08 AM
Subject: Letter sent to bible thumping candidate Rick Santorum
To:
http://hillenbrandreport.com/index.php?entry=entry071101-205359
A letter sent by a lady to candidate Santorum:
Dear Friends,
I have been greatly moved by Rick Santorum's wise pronouncements, guided by
Biblical principles, especially those concerning marriage. Of course he
believes that sexual intercourse should be used only for purposes of
procreation (he says he has never worn a condom), but there are some gray
areas I was hoping he could clear up, so I wrote him the following letter:
Dear Sen. Santorum:
Thank you for doing so much to educate us regarding God's Eternal Law. I
have learned a great deal from you and understand why you would propose and
support a constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage, which of
course is an abomination.
As you said, "In the eyes of God, marriage is based between a man and a
woman." I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When
someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply
remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination.
End of debate.
I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of
God's Laws and how I might obey them:
1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female,
provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine
claims that this applies only to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you
clarify? Can I own Canadians?
2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus
21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
(She works hard, but does eat a lot.)
3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her
period of menstrual uncleanness (Lev. 14: 19-24). The problem is, how do I
tell? I have tried asking when meeting young women at church socials, but
most of them seem to take offense.
4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a
pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev. 1:9). The problem is with my neighbors.
They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them, or would
Lysol work?
5. I have a neighbor, Aaron Rogers, who insists on working on the Sabbath.
Exodus 35:2 clearly states that he should be put to death. Am I morally
obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it? And how
good is the Packers backup QB?
6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an
abomination (Lev.11:10) it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I
don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there degrees of abomination? What
about a homosexual at an oyster bar?
7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a
defect in my sight. I have to admit that I do wear glasses. Does my vision
have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here? What about contacts?
Can God tell?
8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair
around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev.
19:27. How should they die? I know they must be put to death, but I do not
know the recommended method. .
9. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different
crops in the same field (I think corn and alfalfa). And his wife wears
garments made from two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend).
He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we
go to the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? (Lev.
24:10-16). Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair,
like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14).
10. And last, I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig
makes me unclean. May I still play football if I wear gloves?
I know that you are very busy with your presidential campaign, but, if you
get a chance, I would really like your guidance on these critical and
disturbing issues.
Thank you again for reminding us of the eternal and unchanging truth of the
Holy Bible.
Yours truly, etc
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