| The perfect storm could really blow
Mark Mitchell from London, Canada writes: Why does not anybody realize that U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait virtually ensures the free flow of oil supplies to the West? Moreover, why does nobody realize that the dollar's linkage to those massively protected supplies ensures the United States can continue to sustain its massive debt so long as its military holds the world's oil hostage? "
The US Navy ensures that there is stability in the world. The USA is not dependent on oil from the mid-East (no more than 15% of its daily oil needs come from mid-East). Same cannot be said for Europe, Japan and China. Without the USA protecting the world's oil supply Japan and China certainly would have to take steps to to do so. Yet a militarized Japan is not acceptable to China, similarly Japan could not accept China controlling Japan's access to oil.
LCC registration system produces more headaches for students, staff
Midway through the first week of classes at Lansing Community College, Reba Milow still was trying to register. The school's online registration system hadn't been working, and the East Lansing 18-year-old, who had come to campus to get her schedule worked out with an actual person, was frustrated. "I cannot drop classes. I cannot register for classes," she said. "The furthest I can go is to log into my account, but, as far as registration or anything like that, it won't even open up." .
Prominent local couple perish in 2-car crash
Ashley Boudreaux, one of Michael Herring's high school classmates, lost her New Orleans home during Hurricane Katrina. One of her first calls was to her friends, the Herrings."The first thing they asked me was, 'Do you need a house?' " Boudreaux said. "They put us up without hesitation, without flinching, when we were in the depths of hell emotionally. I don't even know what to say about all of this. I'm floored."Cleaning up the crash Pat Houston, who works for ACE Body Shop, spent three hours Thursday night towing away the vehicles and starting the cleanup process. He returned to the crash site Friday to finish."I had trouble getting this one up because it was all twisted," he said, pointing to the east shoulder where the Tahoe came to rest on its side. "This was the worst one I've seen in a long time."When the cars collided, Houston said the engine of the Jeep was ripped from the vehicle and landed on the westbound shoulder across the road from the rest of the vehicle.Houston said he's frequently called to crash sites between that stretch of Gulf Beach Highway and Perdido Key."It's a two-lane highway and people are going too fast to start with," Houston said.
Financing options urged for bridges
FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Transportation Secretary Joe Prather said yesterday that the state's road fund can't pay for the $4.1 billion Ohio River Bridges Project and other large highway ventures, and he supports finding new ways to finance them. Prather stopped short of endorsing a specific source of additional money, although his remarks came weeks before the state Transportation Cabinet expects to issue a report evaluating whether tolls are feasible for the Ohio River project. .
Bucking the Tide on Private Loans
As the scandals and debates over private lending have grown in recent months, conventional wisdom has held that private loans are a necessary evil. Sure, students and their families are taking on debt that is typically more expensive and more risky than federally backed loans. But as long as families feel that college costs are otherwise beyond their reach, private loans will continue to become more popular. .
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