American Eagle To Be Listed On NYSE This Wednesday

Link here.

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I Can't Make This Stuff ... I Can't Take The Credit For It -- A Big "Thank You" To My Readers .......

Community organizers had anticipated at least 300 would show up at Enbridge and TransCanada regional headquarters in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, (that country to the north of us) to protest "global warming."

But due to a winter storm, only fifty or so folks who had access to gas-guzzling and diesel-guzzling SUVs were able to make it.

I can't make this stuff up.

The Calgary Sun is reporting:

Originally about 300 people were slated to participate in the Calgary protest, but due to a snow storm only about 50 showed up. [Those in gas-guzzling, diesel-guzzling SUVs; I assume all those who made it will be staying overnight in Winnebago RVs.]

“We have to take advantage of our knowledge at this point and really change our behaviour, change our way of development. [Change our way of development, whatever that means.]

“We can’t keep developing infinitely on a finite world.” [Quoting Malthus, I'm sure.]

Chagnon said it was important to hold a peaceful gathering in Calgary, because the city is home to the headquarters of several energy giants. [The jolly green giant is an exception.]

The protest was held as world leaders in Poland for the United Nations Climate Change Conference discuss plans for international co-operation on the issue.

"We have to take advantage of our knowledge ... " when asked where Poland was, several of the protestors said Poland was the outermost planet in the solar system.

Yes, I made that part up. About the Poland being the outermost planet in the solar system.

ObamaCare...This Says It All ... And This Is Why The Insurers Are Running Scared ...

Yahoo!News is reporting:

With all the problems facing the rollout of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, nowhere is the situation worse or more surprising than in Oregon, a progressive state that has enthusiastically embraced the federal law but has so far failed to enroll a single person in coverage through the state's insurance exchange.

Despite grand ambitions, an early start, millions of dollars from the federal government and a tech-savvy population, Oregon's online enrollment system still isn't ready more than a month after it was supposed to go live. The state has resorted to hiring or reassigning 400 people to process insurance applications by hand.

"We're all surprised and frustrated that we're in the position that we're in now," said Jesse O'Brien, a health care advocate at the Oregon State Public Interest Research Group, which lobbied for the exchange.

Remember: the federal government is only reporting how many have "put something in their shopping cart." Putting something in one's shopping cart is not the same as paying for it/buying it.

The bad news: Oregon has its own enrollment site. The Oregon site is in worse shape than the federal government's enrollment site. The federal government's enrollment site is in such bad shape, the government now considers an "80% success" of access as "smoothly operating" and "fixed"; previously reported. For the 20% of Americans who will never be able to access the federal website, the administration is now working with insurers to find ways around the on-line exchange: like telephone calling, pencil, and paper. 

We're not "some banana republic" -- President Obama, September 20, 2013. No, the banana republics are actually getting things done.

Germany Announces Largest New-Build Program For Hard Coal Stations Since 1998; Ten New Plants Coming On Line Over The Next Two Years

Earlier I posted this update at "coal central" (note the date: a reader sent me the article today; I had missed it back in October):

October 14, 2013: coal will surpass oil as the key transportation fuel by 2020 -- Mail OnLine.

Coal will become more in demand than oil by 2020 driven by growth in China and India, despite campaigns to reduce carbon emissions across the globe, a new report reveals.

Marking a return to an era reminiscent of Britain's industrial revolution, the rapidly expanding economies in the East are turning to coal since it is cheaper and more reliable than oil or renewable energy sources, energy consultancy firm Wood Mackenzie said on Monday.

Rising demand in China and India will push coal past oil as the two Asian powerhouses will need to rely on the comparatively cheaper fuel to power their economies.

Coal demand in the United States, Europe and the rest of Asia will hold steady.'China's demand for coal will almost single-handedly propel the growth of coal as the dominant global fuel,' said William Durbin, president of global markets at Woodmac.

'Unlike alternatives, it is plentiful and affordable.' China - already the top consumer - will drive two-thirds of the growth in global coal use this decade. Half of China's power generation capacity to be built between 2012 and 2020 will be coal-fired, said Woodmac.

So, that was posted earlier this morning.

Now, Don sends me a story that could be interpreted at least two different ways:

• Germany is blowing off concerns about global warming
• Woodmac saw this coming

The story, being reported by Bloomberg:

Germany, Europe’s biggest energy market, is in its largest new-build program for hard coal stations since 1998. Ten new plants with a combined capacity of 7,985 megawatts are scheduled to start producing in the next two years, according to information from German grid regulator Bundesnetzagentur and operators.

$26/Gallon Transporation Fuel Vs Benefits For Active Duty

Back on July 19, 2012: US Navy to pay $26/gallon for transportation fuel.

The Los Angeles Times is reporting:

When the U.S. Navy sailed an imposing fleet near Hawaii that was powered in part by algae and used cooking grease, environmentalists weren't the only ones who were thrilled.

Executives at bioenergy startups in the San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago and elsewhere — and the venture capitalists backing them — had reason to cheer. The Obama administration has made the military, the largest consumer of energy in the country, a financial lifeline for cash-strapped alternative fuel innovators.

But the pilot voyage of the Navy's "great green fleet" came with a troubling aspect: price.

The fleet's green fuel costs $26 a gallon, several times more than conventional diesel and jet fuel. And the costly experiment came just as the military moved into an era of deep budget cuts.

Republicans in Congress have howled over the price tag, and they're not alone. Some independent energy experts doubt the military's projections that spending on pioneering technology will yield sufficient benefits.

And, of course, earlier this morning, from The Wall Street Journal, I posted that the military is ready to cut benefits for those on active duty because of cost:

Military eyes cuts for military benefits.

Off the table for now are changes in the retirement system. Because the military hopes to allow current service members to keep their existing retirement plans, it will be two decades until any savings from changes in military retirement are realized, making shifts in the program less urgent. 

Wow, what a bunch of hypocrisy. It's not benefits for active duty that need to be cut. The general officers who approved the plan to contract for $26/gallon of transportation fuel (vs $3.00/diesel) need to be cut/retired. Or court martialed.