What a difference a month makes
Just over a month ago I was writing about space shuttle launches and recovery, strikes at Heathrow and the beginning of a possible England cricket team renaissance.
Katrina
How rapidly things change. Now, a lot of time and thought has been focused on the the tragedy unfolding on the Gulf Coast, USA - particularly the hardship and suffering faced by the residents of New Orleans (although we should not forget that it was actually a whole swath of the coastal area that was affected)
It looks as if the rescue / recovery / rebuild is now getting in to full swing although how the thousands of people who have been displaced from their homes will face the future is beyond me. I have wondered how I would cope in similar circumstances and the honest answer is that I'm not sure that I could, especially in the short term. Imagine the scenario - you have nothing to call home any longer, you may only have the clothes that you stand up in, all your personal possessions have probably been destroyed, your job has disappeared (perhaps only temporarily, maybe permanently) you have no source of income and your friends have dispersed to all corners of the country. With many banks being local, it's possible that you have no access to your money any more, that's presupposing that you had any money saved up and weren't just living from paycheque to paycheque. And that's just the tangible things - it does not even begin to look at the stress and emotional impact of Katrina as well as possible health implications.
I suspect that the above barely scratches the surface of the turmoil that the survivors are going through and certainly has not even begun to cover the distress of the possible loss of loved ones, or even the uncertainty associated with the not-knowing as to whether loved ones have survived, are among the missing or have died as a result of the catastrophe.
Cost of oil
On a more selfish note, we are faced with an ever increasing rise in fuel costs - this will impact in so many different ways - suppliers will have to increase costs, pushing up the cost of living, petrol prices are soaring, heating costs are escalating, businesses may fail as their costs rise and so it goes on.
I think a lot of this is down to the current speculative nature of the oil supply market place. Historically, oil was just bought and sold in a supply / demand lead economy, but it now seems to have become a commodity and, as such, is actively traded on the futures market whereby investors actually gamble (effectively) on the future price of oil and are looking to make financial gain by trading their oil purchases. I suspect that this could easily add 25-30% to the cost of a barrel of oil.
Although not a fan of governmental control (nationalisation) I can see the benefit in national governments taking control of oil markets, not for their profit but to be better able to manage the market, to ensure costs are realistic, and to remove the uncertainty in prices caused by speculation.
Cricket
And now the good news - following on from my comments in my last entry with regards to cricket - the England cricket team have magnificently beaten the Australians in one of the most enthralling series of games ever seen. The excitement levels have been consistently high because in many ways, the games of cricket could have swung either way. Now, the England cricket team are feted as national hero's (and quite rightly so) although their prize is more symbolic than tangible. After all, the Ashes reside in a tiny urn, less than 6 inches high.
Football
I am not going to say much about the England football team, other than - beating Wales by 1 goal is not good enough and being beaten by Northern Ireland is definitely a very poor show and serious thought should be given to the performances of some of the overpaid prima-donnas - perhaps including the manager in that as well.
Well, that's all for now, I'm off to watch TV, it seems as if the autumn schedules are dishing up some very watchable programs, Spooks, Waking the Dead and the ever present Eastenders. With the return of Jonathon Ross to our screens, all it requires is for Top Gear to return and my compliment of "English Twit" :-) shows will be almost complete. A man with a tiny brain is so easily entertained and pleased.
Tara for now.
Katrina
How rapidly things change. Now, a lot of time and thought has been focused on the the tragedy unfolding on the Gulf Coast, USA - particularly the hardship and suffering faced by the residents of New Orleans (although we should not forget that it was actually a whole swath of the coastal area that was affected)
It looks as if the rescue / recovery / rebuild is now getting in to full swing although how the thousands of people who have been displaced from their homes will face the future is beyond me. I have wondered how I would cope in similar circumstances and the honest answer is that I'm not sure that I could, especially in the short term. Imagine the scenario - you have nothing to call home any longer, you may only have the clothes that you stand up in, all your personal possessions have probably been destroyed, your job has disappeared (perhaps only temporarily, maybe permanently) you have no source of income and your friends have dispersed to all corners of the country. With many banks being local, it's possible that you have no access to your money any more, that's presupposing that you had any money saved up and weren't just living from paycheque to paycheque. And that's just the tangible things - it does not even begin to look at the stress and emotional impact of Katrina as well as possible health implications.
I suspect that the above barely scratches the surface of the turmoil that the survivors are going through and certainly has not even begun to cover the distress of the possible loss of loved ones, or even the uncertainty associated with the not-knowing as to whether loved ones have survived, are among the missing or have died as a result of the catastrophe.
Cost of oil
On a more selfish note, we are faced with an ever increasing rise in fuel costs - this will impact in so many different ways - suppliers will have to increase costs, pushing up the cost of living, petrol prices are soaring, heating costs are escalating, businesses may fail as their costs rise and so it goes on.
I think a lot of this is down to the current speculative nature of the oil supply market place. Historically, oil was just bought and sold in a supply / demand lead economy, but it now seems to have become a commodity and, as such, is actively traded on the futures market whereby investors actually gamble (effectively) on the future price of oil and are looking to make financial gain by trading their oil purchases. I suspect that this could easily add 25-30% to the cost of a barrel of oil.
Although not a fan of governmental control (nationalisation) I can see the benefit in national governments taking control of oil markets, not for their profit but to be better able to manage the market, to ensure costs are realistic, and to remove the uncertainty in prices caused by speculation.
Cricket
And now the good news - following on from my comments in my last entry with regards to cricket - the England cricket team have magnificently beaten the Australians in one of the most enthralling series of games ever seen. The excitement levels have been consistently high because in many ways, the games of cricket could have swung either way. Now, the England cricket team are feted as national hero's (and quite rightly so) although their prize is more symbolic than tangible. After all, the Ashes reside in a tiny urn, less than 6 inches high.
Football
I am not going to say much about the England football team, other than - beating Wales by 1 goal is not good enough and being beaten by Northern Ireland is definitely a very poor show and serious thought should be given to the performances of some of the overpaid prima-donnas - perhaps including the manager in that as well.
Well, that's all for now, I'm off to watch TV, it seems as if the autumn schedules are dishing up some very watchable programs, Spooks, Waking the Dead and the ever present Eastenders. With the return of Jonathon Ross to our screens, all it requires is for Top Gear to return and my compliment of "English Twit" :-) shows will be almost complete. A man with a tiny brain is so easily entertained and pleased.
Tara for now.
posted by andy at
12:02 PM
2 Comments
