Need an energy boost? More people than ever are turning to so called energy drinks for increased stamina, alertness, better workouts, late night partying, and who knows what else. It?s now estimated that there are as many as 200 different brands of energy drinks in the U.S., bringing in close to 1 billion dollars in annual sales.

You can probably guess where the kick in these drinks comes from. An 8 oz AMP (a Mountain Dew spin-off) has 77 mg of caffeine. An 8.3-ounce Red Bull contains 70 mg. The University of Florida College of Medicine recently found 105 mg of caffeine in a 6.5 oz can of Starbucks Doubleshot. By comparison, a typical 8 oz. cup of brewed coffee has around 85 mg of caffeine.

The alcohol was involved, as an important influence factor in the danger of losing out of body fat. The question of whether the alcohol is "Mast" is a very controversial topic, because technically speaking, the alcohol is not stored as fat, it is oxidized ahead, the other fuels.

I knew I liked the new French President, Sarkozy. In this story, he's warning Russia to, essentially, tread lightly with how it handles its energy resources. It's a strong statement to make, but it makes sense that Sarkozy would say it: the EU is far more reliant on foreign energy sources than is the US.
 
The money quote:
 
Sarkozy, in a sweeping speech to French ambassadors outlining French foreign policy, noted that "Russia is imposing its return on the world scene by playing its assets, notably oil and gas, with a certain brutality."

Sarkozy said Russia's resurgent global activity comes "while the world, particularly Europe, is hoping for an important and positive contribution from (Russia) toward settling the problems of our age."
 

Here's a short bit in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on the "carbon credits" movement and how it creates a new form of feudalism.
 
A quote:
 
Under the ruse of "protecting the planet," certain well-connected bureaucrats and politicians will determine how much coal, wood or petroleum products they will allow a person, business and even a country to use.

This resembles the government-chartered monopolies in the age of mercantilism. In fact, it will be a type of Marxist monopoly envisioned in Ayn Rand's novel "Atlas Shrugged." And who stands to benefit for this feudal right to allocate resources and sell the permission to use carbon?
 
Well said, I think. Read the story to learn who benefits.

Well, they've gone and done it. Russia has planted a flag on the sea floor at the North Pole. It has no legal standing, of course, any more than the American flag planted on the Moon means that we own it. But to Russia, it's more than just symbolism.
 
The only economic strength that Russia has is its energy resources. It will do anything it can to exploit them, and to grow them. And so I expect some serious wrangling over this territory, and I don't expect it to be pretty.

I'm linking to this post only because of the bizarre headline: "Future War: Russia vs Canada vs Denmark." It's comical, put that way.
 
Of course, the dispute over energy resources in the North Pole won't be so comical in the future, I'm afraid. Obviously, Canada and Denmark would never go against the Russians on their own. Should things come to a shooting war, the US would be hip deep in it.

Climate change is a challenge for all fellow humans, no matter where our most recent ancestors came from. I am seeing a lot of blaming and finger pointing. Certainly the Native American's knew how to steward our planet. And certainly the Eurpoeans who seized their land, did not. We can argue endlessly about who was responsible. It doesn't matter. The truth is WE ARE ALL RESPONSIBLE NOW.

To mis-quote two favorites, we are all bozos on this cockeyed caravan.

Let's get beyond blame and support solutions.

Common sense tells us what to do. Blame and denial only keep us from bringing balance back home. Our mother planet will right itself, with or without us. If we don't cooperate, the righting will be extreme and certainly without us human beasts. The choice is ours, and the time is NOW.

- Arye Michael Bender -

Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it has developed a plug-in hybrid vehicle for public road tests in Japan and plans the tests for the U.S. and Europe. Other major automakers, including General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. of the U.S., are developing plug-in hybrids.

America needs to get its head out of George Bush's colon and wake up.  The above story appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle today.

It provides me a true sense of hope of what an enlightened culture can accomplish.  

I've always believed that technology will solve the energy "crisis." Still do, and it's relatively obscure inventions like this that will help immensely. Something like this could make wind power, for example, a legitimate contendor.
 
Although I still wish we'd build more nuclear powerplants.

I'm sure Santa's going to be a bit upset, although he always did seem to have some Communist tendencies. I'm not sure how Putin thinks Russia would secure such a claim, which tends to lend some weight to the "Putin as a buffoon" theory.

It's interesting to note, though, that there's twice as much oil up there than is in Saudi Arabia. That could become a real point of contention sometime in the near future.

Putin continues to outflank American and European leadership on important issues. This one's energy.

Again, the question looms: is Putin a genius or a buffoon?