JustThinking.us

Because we’re a mite out of practice, we’re gonna ease into this thing today with some simple stuff.

President Obama continues to block the Keystone Pipeline project.

And yet, Canadian oil exports to the United States continue to expand.

How’s it getting there?

Rail.

Wait a minute ..... where have I seen a chart like this before?

Of course, it looks just like Michael Mann/Al Gore's famed "Hockey Stick" chart!

Oh well, at least the profits were real ..... in both cases.

Silly political reporters spent a couple days arguing about “ugly politics”, the “Green” wing of the Democrat Party and how they are killing jobs all over the country.

Your Uncle Roany, cynic that he is, is inclined to consider a different possibility and wonders who owns the Rail Cars delivering all that oil. 

Mostly, it’s the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railways is 22% owned by Berkshire Hathaway since 2009.

You might have noticed that shipments of oil by rail took off big time in 2010.

Speaking of rich guys, Berkshire Hathaway’s largest shareholder is of course Warren Buffett.

Just sayin'.

Who, as an aside through Berkshire Hathaway, also bought a 1% interest in Suncor, a huge player in the Canadian Oil Sands just last summer.

In the interest of full disclosure, your Uncle Roany is about to get back into COS.

Speaking of oil, Russia is about to end up with about as much Ukraine as Putin feels like having despite the best efforts of the Neocon/Lib imbeciles running amok over at the CIA/State Department, as Europe will cave on the issue, leaving the pathetic little man in the White House with even more egg on his face than usual.

Here are the only two pieces of information you need in order to discern the fate of Ukraine.

If you’re wondering where the world’s proven oil reserves reside now days, here’s your answer.

Not much has changed in a while.

Not much has changed on the consumption side either, except that China continues to expand it's consumption.

Along with it's pollution problems.

That's all for now.

To quote Tony Kornheiser,

From Zero Hedge which remains our first read of the day.

The photo to the right is that of State Department Spokesperson Jennifer Psaki. Enjoy the following exchange between Jennifer and Associated press reporter, Matthew Lee during the Q&A following Ms. Psaki's announcement of the State Department's launch of the Third Annual "Free The Press Campaign", in which the Federal Government of the United States of America highlights "journalists or media outlets that are censored, attacked, threatened, or otherwise oppressed because of their reporting."

JENNIFER PSAKI: One more announcement for all of you: With World Press Freedom Day around the world on May 3rd, the department will launch its third annual Free the Press campaign later this afternoon in New York at the U.S. U.N. mission. Beginning on Monday and all of next week, we will highlight emblematic cases of imperiled reporters and media outlets that have been targeted, oppressed, imprisoned or otherwise harassed because of their professional work. The first two cases will be announced by Assistant Secretary -- Assistant Secretary Tom Malinowski later at the -- at U.S. U.N. And we invite you of course to follow Tom at Twitter, who has -- on Twitter who, as you all know, was just confirmed several weeks, @Malinowski and to keep up with human rights issues on DRL's website.

One unarmed Ukrainian woman stops an entire column of tanks with one hand.

Her left hand at that.

While not entirely sure just exactly what that means,

I think that one has to be impressed with a man so dialed in to his mind, body and spirit that he felt death coming well enough in advance to get off a quick note about it.

Click on the photo for a pretty good Wikipedia primer on this powerful little man.

One hundred years ago this weekend, the most destructive storm in their recorded history struck the Great Lakes.

Bodies along the beach south of Goderich, Ontario wearing Wexford life jackets. Photo: The Historical Collection of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University, as used in The Wexford: Elusive Shipwreck of the Great Storm, 1913; Paul Carroll.

Twelve ships went down with all hands, eight on Lake Huron as over 250 men were lost.

Waves reached thirty six feet as winds in excess of eighty miles and hour were recorded.

Sustained winds of over sixty miles per hour raged throughout the Great Lakes Region for over sixteen hours.

Click on the photo above for a nicely done story on this tragedy from The Detroit News.

The Great Storm 1913 from Andy Morrison on Vimeo.

This one has well over three million hits by now, so maybe you've seen it.

We post it as an example of the attitude and quality of service being provided to the American people by the Federal Government of the United States of America.

Which service by the way, the American people are paying top dollar for.

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor a real long sidewalk .......

Named after the application for unemployment benefits from the United Kingdom, UB40 went on to sell over 70 million records over their 30 plus year career, during which time they have filled major concert venues on every continent and nearly every country on this earth.

If ever there was a testament to the power of simple songs with simple parts and simple arrangements played perfectly night in and night out it is UB40.

Here is the incomparable Ali Campbell on vocals and hips.  Robin Campbell playing his upside down strung, Fender Strat, left handed. Astro doing whatever it is that Astro does.  James Brown is on the drum kit and Norman Hassan is playing percussion.  Earl Falconer is playing bass guitar and Mickey Virtue the keyboards.  The back line features Brian Travers on a Yamaha WX7 breath controller to a synth, along with Henry and Patrick Tenyue on Trombone and Trumpet respectively,

UB40

Where Did I Go Wrong.

And from the same show, because I couldn't make up my mind.

Come Out To Play.

A Military Times survey of more than 750 active-duty troops this week found service members oppose military action in Syria by a margin of about three to one.

“I haven’t heard one single person be supportive of it,” said an Army staff sergeant at Fort Hood who asked not to be identified by name.

Click on the pie chart over there to the right for a series of three charts summarizing the opinions of the men and women in America's armed forces concerning air strikes on Syria, whether President Obama's proposed military intervention in Syria is in America's national interest, and whether or not Congress should pass a resolution on military action against Syria.