Oil today is flirting with a new all-time high around $140 a barrel.

Gasoline is selling for about $4/gallon.

Libya is threatening to cut production in retaliation for American belligerence in the Middle East, and for threatening to sue OPEC.

The Saudi King has said that he is going to keep any more oil that they find for future generations.

The President of Brazil (it's state oil company is now the world's 5th largest company) has said that he does not want his country to be a big oil exporter as he would rather use the oil to build the internal economy.

The US gives $1.5 billion a day of its wealth away to buy oil from abroad.

And still NO ONE says that unspeakable "C" word.

I admit to being a bit worried reading this, coming from supposedly the most technologically advanced nation on the planet.

Most Americans believe that angels and demons are active in the world, and nearly 80 percent think miracles occur, according to a poll released yesterday that takes an in-depth look at Americans' religious beliefs.

What is truly fascinating is the differences found in this survey compared to a similar survey done recently in Canada. More below.

The idea for this diary came from a post by ianfrack yesterday, and also by a series of energy related articles over the last few days.

I used to drive 75-80 every day on my 35 miles one way to work. I have a 2005 Honda Accord. It would take 13 gallons to fill it up and it would go roughly 400 miles in between fill-ups for roughly 30 MPG.

A little over a month ago I cut back to 55-60. I do feel like I'm going to get crushed, but so far, it hasn't happened. What has happened it shocking. I now go 500-525 between fill-ups. That's approaching 40 MPG...a 30% increase in MPG just by slowing down.

I have estimated this will save me 1.5 tanks of gas each month, or about 20 gallons, or about 80 bucks today..

.

Well with a bit of math we come up with the conclusion that he is actually making (saving) $12.50/hr in after tax money during the extra 9 minutes of his commute each day.

Wow...this only took seven years. Funny how an approaching deadline can "motivate" action.

The Sunday Times has a report up titled Get Osama Bin Laden before I leave office, orders George W Bush

Defence and intelligence sources in Washington and London confirmed that a renewed hunt was on for the leader of the September 11 attacks. "If he [Bush] can say he has killed Saddam Hussein and captured Bin Laden, he can claim to have left the world a safer place," said a US intelligence source.

Until the American news media understands that what’s happening outside the U.S. is more important than what’s happening inside, U.S. investors will struggle to understand why oil prices are forecast to hit $150 and perhaps even $200 a barrel over the next several months.

So far the media and the politicians are missing the real energy story. This is a worldwide issue of limited supply and increasing demand.

Let's take a look at what's going on outside of the US.

Flashback time. Almost 8 years ago, June 28, 2000 to be exact.

Let's look at what the Gore and Bush campaigns were saying courtesy of the NYT:

Gov. George W. Bush of Texas said today that if he was president, he would bring down gasoline prices through sheer force of personality

Offering a sweeping vision of a future in which pollution is conquered and cars run without a "drop of oil or gasoline," Vice President Al Gore today proposed tax breaks and other incentives for both reducing America's dependence on oil and cleaning up the environment.

Every once in a while you get a simple story that provides a clear view into a complex situation.

In this article, When Afghan tempers explode, Rosie Dimanno tells the story of being stuck in a traffic jam caused by a US convoy stopped on the road. You see, no one will go within 100 meters of a US convoy for fear of being blown to bits, so when a US convoy stops on the road, everything stops, in both directions, until the convoy decides to move.

I am not an America-basher. I have immense respect for U.S. troops, for all soldiers doing their government's military bidding in distant lands.

But one day last week, I wanted to throttle a Yank-in-uniform and I think for a split-second he considered killing me too. He, however, had a machine gun.

Please read the whole article at the link above.

A desire for change is an extremely powerful emotion and as any good politician knows, once that desire for change builds up enough momentum in the electorate, it can be impossible to stop.

But transformational change is not only happening in the political arena. It's also happening in cars and trucks. Yes, across the nation, cars and trucks are sending a similar message of change ... more below.

For many this will be a controversial position so I only ask that you hear me out before ....you know...

We all remember the Enron speculation induced power crisis from a few years back. We are now seeing an oil price spike and some here are tempted to place the blame again on speculators.

Yes, speculators have a role in the oil price spike but there are reasons that they have been able to play the market, and ways that we can "beat" them.

This has not happened yet... but it is the type of leadership that is required, and the type of leadership that Obama could deliver.

Imagine...next week (NO we don't have time to wait for the election)  Obama buys national TV time to address the American people and says the following (though in a form far more eloquent than what I have written).

The Chinese don't just sell junk to us ... They sell it to their own people too!

One of the biggest aftershocks of the Sichuan earthquake will not be the ground moving:

Survivors blame corruption, shoddy construction and cost cutting for the collapse of so many 'tofu buildings' – and even state media outlets are asking questions

There is a lesson here.

Well the deluge of pundits commenting on the end of the campaign continues. Tonight we have Dana Milbank in the Washington Post with a scorching assault on what remains of HRC's candidacy.

Milbank roasts the gasping for life Clinton campaign, interspersing lines from Monty Python's famous "Dead Parrot" Sketch.

The article opens with:

Customer: "Look, matey, I know a dead parrot when I see one, and I'm looking at one right now."

and it only gets better/or worse from there.

From Tennessee:

Gov. Phil Bredesen said Wednesday that state tax collections have been "deteriorating dramatically" in recent months, and it will be necessary to make another $468 million in budget cuts.

He said that will necessitate cutting 5 percent of state jobs - or 2,011.

Here is the test.
 

Name the 4 largest publicly traded corporations worldwide, measured by market value (on a stock exchange).
 

Hint #1: You may be surprised by the answers.

 
Hint #2: The Chairman of one of the companies just became the President of his country.

See below for answers...but try to guess a couple first.

We all know that someone should have a long hard chat with HRC and point out to her that there is no chance that she is going to win the nomination and maybe she should just face reality.

Of course the same thing could be said for the entire country as my less than favorite columnist pointed out the other day:

We are not as powerful as we used to be because over the past three decades, the Asian values of our parents’ generation — work hard, study, save, invest, live within your means — have given way to subprime values: "You can have the American dream — a house — with no money down and no payments for two years."

If you are wondering why the stock market has been soaring when we have a credit crunch, job layoffs, a housing crisis among other negative factors, you are not alone.

But...maybe there is an explanation. I call it the boa constrictor economy.

Today the Bureau of Labor Statistics came out with its jobs numbers for April:

Nonfarm payroll employment was little changed in April (-20,000), following
job losses that totaled 240,000 in the first 3 months of the year, the bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  The unemployment rate, at 5.0 percent, also was little changed in April.  Employment continued to decline in construction, manufacturing, and retail trade, while jobs were added in health care and in professional and technical services.

It's the first of the month so it's the day that the car companies announce how many cars they sold last month.

The news today is GRIM.

It looks like car sales have now slipped to the point where at an annual rate they are below 15 million, for the first time in 15 years!! OUCH.