Ben's Astonishing Site

The Slick Alberta Moonscape

2008-05-02T09:37:00.001-04:00

Syncrude Tailings Pond
Originally uploaded by Stop the Tar Sands

Ah the joys of tar sand oil production.

In the news Wednesday it was reported how 500 ducks were killed by flying into a Syncrude tailings pond. Now it's not that I have a overwhelming love for ducks (they're alright, I like 'em well enough but they're no bees), but this event does highlight the environmental disaster that is oil sands reclamation.

Here's my proposal - let's get a handle on our greenhouse gas targets and figure out how to cleanly get the oil. If it takes until oil is $200 a barrel I don't think that's a bad thing.

Flickr

2008-05-02T09:26:00.001-04:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Explaining the Financial Markets Crisis

2008-04-29T09:45:00.002-04:00

A great segment from the Long Johns explaining Structured Investment Vehicles -- an integral part of the sub-prime mortgage debacle.

North Sea Strike sends oil near $120

2008-04-28T13:13:00.000-04:00

Oil prices have hit a fresh high just below $120 a barrel after a strike at a UK refinery disrupted production from the North Sea.

BP shut down a key North Sea pipeline after staff walked out of the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland in a two-day strike over pensions.

Providing a third of UK oil output, the closure of the Forties pipeline has raised fears about supply shortages.

US light crude hit a high of $119.93 a barrel before edging down to $119.40.

Toyota No.1 Automaker?

2008-04-24T14:51:00.002-04:00

Toyota took the global sales lead from General Motors in the first quarter, capitalizing on growth in China and Europe as GM saw its North American sales drag down gains in other markets.

Toyota Motor Corp. said yesterday it sold 2.41 million vehicles in the January-March period, compared with General Motors Corp.’s 2.25 million, prompting one industry analyst to predict that 2008 would be the year Toyota unseats GM in global sales.

Why it was scientifically advisable to leave OANDA

2008-04-23T17:00:00.001-04:00

Boring jobs turn our mind to autopilot, say scientists - and it means we can seriously mess up some simple tasks.

Monotonous duties switch our brain to "rest mode", whether we like it or not, the researchers report in Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences.

They found mistakes can be predicted up to 30 seconds before we make them, by patterns in our brain activity.

It's time for Big Solar!

2008-04-21T15:10:00.003-04:00

High oil prices are making massive scale solar projects look more and more attractive.

For an investment of $400 billion over 30 years, an ambitious solar plan could eventually power Europe plus two-thirds of the MENA countries by 2050, while dramatically cutting C02 emissions and phasing out nuclear power at the same time.

That’s a sizeable chunk of the whole world’s energy needs. And for only $13 billion per year.

BMW vs AUDI

2008-04-18T14:51:00.000-04:00

Scary Financial Views: Fed has given up on the dollar

2008-03-17T11:52:00.001-04:00

Jim Rogers is not happy that the Fed is apparently now in the business of buying Mazeratis for Wall Street traders.

Fed makes emergency move

2008-03-17T00:30:00.001-04:00

The Federal Reserve, in emergency decisions aimed at containing a crisis of confidence in the U.S. financial system, cut the rate on direct loans to commercial banks and opened up borrowing at the rate to securities firms.

The moves, coming in an announcement timed for the start of trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, included commitments to encourage JPMorgan Chase & Co. to buy Bear Stearns Cos. after a run on the firm threatened the stability of global markets. The Fed also extended the maximum term of loans to commercial banks to 90 days from 30 days.

Liverpool FC News

2008-03-11T18:06:00.002-04:00

An FYI to visitors to this blog (Hi Mom). Today Liverpool became the fourth English side to reach the Champions League quarter-finals with victory against Inter Milan at the San Siro.

I was only able to see the second half, but it seemed that Inter decided not to come out and play today. Excellent goal from Torres.

The win gives England a powerful presence in the closing stages of the competition, with Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal joining Liverpool in the last eight - the first time any country has dominated the Champions League in such a fashion.

Oil - A New High!

2008-03-10T15:00:00.001-04:00

Today oil hit an all-time high of $107 a barrel.

The oil price is being supported by last week's decision by producers' cartel Opec not to raise supply, despite rising demand in China.

Many analysts believe that traders are also buying oil, priced in dollars, to protect the value of their money against the sliding currency.

Kenya - Army moves on Militia

2008-03-10T14:48:00.002-04:00

OK, not the story that I was expecting when I read the headline...

Army offensive on Kenya militia - Kenya's army has launched a huge military operation targeting a militia which has killed some 500 people in a land dispute over the past 18 months.

On another Kenya-related note, here's an interesting article about Kisumu given to me by a colleague. Incidentally, we had an excellent lunch and safari on Lake Naivasha.

State-sponsored violence in Kenya?

2008-03-05T09:55:00.000-05:00

The BBC has learned of allegations of state-sanctioned violence in Kenya during the turmoil that followed last December's disputed presidential poll.

Sources allege that meetings were hosted at the official residence of the president between the banned Mungiki militia and senior government figures.

The aim was to hire them as a defence force in the Rift Valley to protect the president's Kikuyu community.

Kenya and Cellphones

2008-02-29T16:59:00.002-05:00

Here's an interesting article about how cellphones were used anonymously to spread hate and information in Kenya following the elections when TV and Radio were under blackout.

No resolution to Kenyan poll crisis

2008-02-26T17:51:00.001-05:00

Talks to end post-election violence in Kenya have been suspended, former UN head and mediator Kofi Annan has said.

Mr Annan said that negotiations had become acrimonious and that the situation had become 'very dangerous'.

He also said he would speak to President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga to find a way to move forward 'much faster'.

A favourite topic: Oil breaks a new record

2008-02-22T16:44:00.002-05:00

This week saw a new record high for oil prices -- here's how it got there?

Castro Retires

2008-02-19T09:14:00.000-05:00

Cuba's ailing leader Fidel Castro has said he will not accept another term as president, ending 49 years in power.

"I neither will aspire to, nor will I accept, the position of president of the council of state and commander in chief," he told the newspaper, Granma.

The 81-year-old handed over power temporarily to his brother, Raul, in July 2006 when he underwent surgery.

Aston Martin vs. ... well you won't believe it.

2008-01-31T23:17:00.000-05:00

Here's an amusing video.

Facebook fatigue' kicks in as people tire of social networks

2008-01-31T15:40:00.000-05:00

I've been saying this a while (but not online). Social Network engagement is down -- the new economy darling has jumped the shark. The average length of time users spend on all of the top three sites is on the slide. Bebo, MySpace and Facebook all took double-digit percentage hits in the last months of 2007.

MP's killing sparks Kenyan unrest

2008-01-29T10:18:00.000-05:00

Things in Kenya are going from bad to worse. Overnight, at least four people have died after mobs torched houses in a slum in the Kenyan capital Nairobi. Yesterday an opposition MP, Mugabe Were, was killed outside his house nearby. Raila Odinga pointed the finger at the government: "We suspect a foul hand of our adversaries in this".

Meanwhile, towns in the Rift Valley are witnessing fresh inter-ethnic fighting.

Gary and Drew in Zambia

2008-01-22T10:34:00.000-05:00

Drew and Gary are currently in Zambia working at the Kondwa project. They are making periodic posts to a blog specific to the trip.

Fed slashes rates in shock move

2008-01-22T10:33:00.000-05:00

The US Fed has cut interest rates to 3.5%, a shock three-quarters of a percentage point reduction. This was an emergency move, used for the first time since 2001 after stock markets tumbled from Hong Kong to London and the U.S. economy showed increasing signs that it's headed into a recession.

However, despite the attempt tostave off a US recession, the move failed to calm investors, with shares continuing sharp falls as Wall Street opened for trading today. This recession is already called the worst downturn of the post-war era.

Violence in Kenya on Day 2 of Protests

2008-01-17T15:49:00.000-05:00

The Guardian is reporting scenes of great violence in Nairobi and Kisumu on this the second day of planned protests against the government.

Raila has accused the police of turning the streets into "killing fields of the innocent".

Safari Photos

2008-01-17T15:05:00.001-05:00

I've now posted a subset of the photos from our recent trip to Kenya. These photos include a limited set of pictures from the old town of Mombasa as well as pictures from our safari in the Maasai Mara. Chnida has our photos from Watamu.

The other set of photos I have is from the extended Nairobi leg of our trip. As it turns out, these photos are mostly of Lake Naivasha in the Rift Valley (an hour drive from Nairobi).