Fausta's Blog

American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

July 31, 2008 By Fausta

New time at NowLive, Baldilocks saves the Obama school, and other morning items

Today’s 15 Minutes on Latin America at NowLive: The Colombia Free Trade Agreement. Please note the new time: 2PM Eastern.

Save the neglected Obama school in Kenya! Juliette Ochieng has decided to save the Obama Kogelo Secondary School, which has been neglected by the annointed – who, as Neoneocon‘s commenter puts it, is following Clinton’s example of

On all issues, he tried to present an image of a man taking positive action. That he actually took little or no action was of no consequence.

Juliette, who takes action, is starting a non-profit. Go to her blog and scroll down, and contribute.

Since his inflated ego has gotten him so far, Obama’s now saying that inflating your tires will save as much gasoline as “all the oil that they’re talking about getting off drilling.” Hear for yourselves:

John Hinderaker of Power Line (h/t Larwyn) sat down and did the numbers:

Just for fun, I did the math. Properly inflating your tires can improve gas mileage by 3%. Of course, many people already keep their tires properly inflated, and many more are at least close to being properly inflated. Let’s be generous and assume that one-half of the total possible savings would be realized if we all inflated our tires properly; that’s a net gain of 1.5% fuel efficiency.

Americans drive approximately 2,880 billion miles per year. If we average 24 mpg, we use around 120 billion gallons of gasoline in our vehicles. If, through perfect tire inflation, we improved our collective fuel efficiency by 1.5%, that would be 1.8 billion gallons. A barrel of oil produces around 20 gallons of gasoline, so the total savings available through tire inflation is approximately 90,000,000 barrels of oil annually.

How does this stack up against “all the oil that they’re talking about getting off drilling?”

ANWR: 10 billion barrels
Outer Continental Shelf: 18 billion barrels (estimated; the actual total is undoubtedly much higher, since exploration has been banned)
Oil shale: 1 trillion barrels

So, on the above assumptions, it would take only 11,308 years of proper tire inflation to equal “all the oil that they’re talking about getting off drilling.”

Alfonzo has a new video, The Vote Reaper, martial arts and Kentucky Fried analogies included:

Speaking of Kentucky Fried, Kentucky Fried Chicken has opened up in Fallujah. Chew on that one, Harry Reid.

Update on the blog move:
The blog move has gone very well, and there are only two minor kinks to be worked out: my favicon doesn’t show, and Memeorandum’s no longer picking up my posts. I appreciate your patience and all your support, and thank you for each time you visit, read, link to, blogroll, and tell your friends about this blog. Please also subscribe to the new feed, http://faustasblog.com/?feed=rss2.

UPDATE
Obama (finally!) Reaching Out to American Muslims through the Chicago political machine:

In contrast, Obama’s point person is Mazen Asbahi, a longtime Chicago lawyer with heavy involvement at the grassroots level of the Muslim community there.

(h/t the Baron)

Digg!

Share on Facebook

Share

Filed Under: Barack Obama, Colombia, Harry Reid, Iraq, Latin America, NowLive, oil, oil. Barack Obama, podcasts Tagged With: Fausta's blog

July 30, 2008 By Fausta

In today’s 15 Minutes on Latin America: Paraguay

In today’s video podcast at 11AM Eastern I’ll be talking about Carlos Alberto Montaner’s article the The Independent, Paraguay: Ireland or Venezuela?

The task facing Lugo is therefore tremendous. He inherits a profoundly corrupt and poor country, governed for 60 years by a party with a totalitarian bent, during Stroessner’s long reign, where much of the national income has been brazenly pocketed by some unscrupulous businessmen and the political classes through a mercantilist economic model that is well known in Latin America: right-wing populism. Right-wing populism is a basically demagogic monster that is hard to excise because it rots the heart of society. It combines nationalism, protectionism, and patronage, as happened in Mexico during the PRI and still happens in Argentina, where Peronism, more than a political party, is a chronic addiction to a kind of moral-dulling narcotic.

Can Mr. Lugo improve the situation in Paraguay? It depends. He might also worsen it. The former bishop has frequently stated that he favors Liberation Theology. That is very dangerous. That sociophilosophical gibberish—born of a ménage à trois between Marx, Che, and a biased interpretation of the New Testament, first circulated in the 1970s by the Peruvian priest Gustavo Gutiérrez—is to blame for the fact that a sector of the Church stained its hands with blood and irresponsibly sent hundreds of people to their death. It is no good for governing, reducing poverty or creating a more just nation. Trying to improve the problems of society with that vision of reality is like trying to cure a cancer patient by roasting him on a slow-turning spit.

Carlos Alberto, whom I had the pleasure of meeting last December, is the author of Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution, Twisted Roots, and El manual del perfecto idiota latinoamericano. He won’t be in the podcast but I recommend his books, which are available through Amazon.

Prior posts on Paraguay here.

————————————————————————–

In other Latin American news, Brian Faughman lists One More Reason to Expand Domestic Drilling: PEMEX’s declining oil production.

The issue of Mexico’s declining oil production is not exaggerated, and voters have rejected President Calderon’s privatization (small and modest as it was) proposal to open portions of the state petroleum monopoly to private or foreign firms.

Will the US Congress wake up and allow us to use our own natural resources? Don’t count on it.

Digg!

Share on Facebook

Share

Filed Under: Latin America, NowLive, Paraguay, podcasts, politics Tagged With: Fausta's blog

Tweets by @Fausta
retirees_raise-2015_300x250

Pages

  • About
  • Email

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Previous Posts

  • Mrs. Maisel goes full Alinsky on Mrs. Schlafly
  • Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?
  • You need to unfriend me
  • Go ahead and Kiss the Girl, if you dare
  • Ashamed

Recent Comments

  • John on Mrs. Maisel goes full Alinsky on Mrs. Schlafly
  • Today’s hot topics: Democrats’ collusion shift, tax-return rift, Venezuela drift, and more! – PoliticalWitchDoctor.com on Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?
  • Today’s hot topics: Democrats’ collusion shift, tax-return rift, Venezuela drift, and more! - AmericanTruthToday on Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?
  • Did Venezuela’s Minister of Defense Back Out At The Last Minute? on Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?
  • Roseanne Not Back, Khan not Invited, Operaman’s back, Jobs back, Fausta’s back (but not here yet) Thoughts under the fedora – Da Tech Guy Blog on Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?

Archives

  • 2019
    • December 2019
    • May 2019
    • January 2019
  • 2018
    • December 2018
    • October 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
  • 2017
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
  • 2016
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
  • 2015
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • January 2015
  • 2014
    • December 2014
    • November 2014
    • October 2014
    • September 2014
    • August 2014
    • July 2014
    • June 2014
    • May 2014
    • April 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • January 2014
  • 2013
    • December 2013
    • November 2013
    • October 2013
    • September 2013
    • August 2013
    • July 2013
    • June 2013
    • May 2013
    • April 2013
    • March 2013
    • February 2013
    • January 2013
  • 2012
    • December 2012
    • November 2012
    • October 2012
    • September 2012
    • August 2012
    • July 2012
    • June 2012
    • May 2012
    • April 2012
    • March 2012
    • February 2012
    • January 2012
  • 2011
    • December 2011
    • November 2011
    • October 2011
    • September 2011
    • August 2011
    • July 2011
    • June 2011
    • May 2011
    • April 2011
    • March 2011
    • February 2011
    • January 2011
  • 2010
    • December 2010
    • November 2010
    • October 2010
    • September 2010
    • August 2010
    • July 2010
    • June 2010
    • May 2010
    • April 2010
    • March 2010
    • February 2010
    • January 2010
  • 2009
    • December 2009
    • November 2009
    • October 2009
    • September 2009
    • August 2009
    • July 2009
    • June 2009
    • May 2009
    • April 2009
    • March 2009
    • February 2009
    • January 2009
  • 2008
    • December 2008
    • November 2008
    • October 2008
    • September 2008
    • August 2008
    • July 2008
    • June 2008
    • May 2008
    • April 2008
    • March 2008
    • February 2008
    • January 2008
  • 2007
    • December 2007
    • November 2007
    • October 2007
    • September 2007
    • August 2007
    • July 2007
    • June 2007
    • May 2007
    • April 2007
    • March 2007
    • February 2007
    • January 2007
  • 2006
    • December 2006
    • November 2006
    • October 2006
    • September 2006
    • August 2006
    • July 2006
    • June 2006
    • May 2006
    • April 2006
    • March 2006
    • February 2006
    • January 2006
  • 2005
    • December 2005
    • November 2005
    • October 2005
    • September 2005
    • August 2005
    • July 2005
    • June 2005
    • May 2005
    • April 2005
    • March 2005
    • February 2005
    • January 2005
  • 2004
    • December 2004
    • November 2004
    • October 2004
    • September 2004
    • August 2004
    • July 2004
    • June 2004
    • May 2004
    • April 2004
    • March 2004
Content Copyright Fausta's Blog

Site Developed and Managed by 300m.com