i am not anti-american & other daily stuff...

so with Katrina & Rita making it a 'one-two' blow on the American Coast and its refineries, what does it mean for the Oil Prices and the world economy?? first it was Katrina that wrecked the states of Mississippi and Louisiana and shot the world oil prices to over $70 per barrel, and now Rita seems to be heading towards the Oil refining capital of the US (i.e. Texas) next with an even more dreadful force. ouch!! somehow i have the feeling that we shall be seeing oil touching new heights in terms of cost. $70 per barrel is only the beginning. get ready to cough up more for your car folks or maybe horses would be a cheaper option. guess that the OPEC has done its homework in terms of diverting attention from the immense profits that they are earning. it is very convenient for OPEC to raise their crude supply to the maximum of 2 million barrels extra per day. since there won't be any refineries left to process the crude into petrol and other by-products, i don't see how the world oil prices are going to subside or even stay put at where they are. this only gives the Oil Sheikhs 2 million X $70 plus per day profits (i.e. $14,00,00,000 per day). hurray for the so called efficient market system.

one thing that eludes me is that why in the name of God do the other countries have to cough up extra for what can be termed as American losses?? right, so America looses all its refineries due to the hurricanes and so they can't process their oil, but then why should this cost other countries? if America wants they can pay $70 + per barrel, but other countries don't have to pay that much. if it comes down to simply refining crude, i guess that India and China have enough refineries to not only manage their own demand but also export it to America if need be. also let us not forget the refineries in Europe. i'm sorry if i am sounding anti-American in this regard, but i simply don't believe in having to bear the cost for something that is not directly liked to us. Bush didn't want to sign the Kyoto, so now let him pay for the rising oil. i say let the efficient markets prevail in the true sense and let crude be accessible to the capacities of Asia. no one wants to pay in extra dollars for what can be paid for in local terms. maybe its simply time we realized that the time for American dominance in the world economy has begun to fade. no doubt that after the two World Wars (especially the 2nd) America had the resources and ability to control and manipulate the world. but things have changed a lot since then. this is simply what we call evolution in economics. dominance and leadership changes over time. from the Spanish galleons of the 15th and 16th centuries to the British Pound dominance of the 17th and 18th centuries to the great Americanization of the world of the 19th and 20th centuries. it is now time for someone else to take over the mantel of the world economy. we got rid of the gold standard and now i suppose it is time to do something about the dollar standard. this is the story of economics and it has many characters. one dies, the other takes over. as simple as that.

coming to other things now. i don't know if Germany is ever going to be able to decide who is going to be the next Chancellor. the two party leaders seem to be locked in an ever lasting battle. people are talking of various coalitions for the ‘Christian Democrats and the Greens’ to the ‘Christian Democrats + the Greens + Mr. Schroeder’. guess the Jamaica-Coalition may sound pretty colorful but it sure is not what is needed at this hour. learn from the Indian mistake. never allow two opposing parties to from a coalition if neither of them have a clear majority. they only manage to make things worse with their infighting and ideological differences. guess if things don't work out soon there are going to be fresh elections.

elections and decisive results remind me, this time around the boys (i.e. the Mauritian gang) stood for the Student Union elections in the University and guess what?? we won all the seats. yes, all 10 of them starting from the Union Office bearers to the Faculty Reps in each faculty. for heaven's sake, even Siven won!! so i guess that this year is finally going to be different from the rest. ;D

anyways, i guess that i better quit here at this point. i think that i have angered a certain Miss America enough. i don't want a reward on my head and Bush bombing Mauritius by tomorrow morning. it was nice to hear your voice today Gordon, though the connection sucked. have fun in SA. i still maintain that only the Indians are good cricketers (all right maybe even the British after the recent Ashes). :D

so much for now.

ps: got your mail Mitty...nice pics. you sure are having fun. also, a big HI to Andy!!