$2.87/gal was apparently as good as it gets

Okay, so Christmas, 2011 gas was $2.87 per gallon. At least it was up here in the Northland and on the East side of the city. Now, today, it's back up to $2.99/gallon and is expected to go higher in the new year though it's lower on the international markets today, due to the Saudis saying they'd make up for anything we lose if the Iranians shut down the Strait of Hormuz. Who knows? Stay tuned. Link: http://news.yahoo.com/oil-price-falls-saudis-trump-iran-threat-145636032.html;_ylt=AmHECaU3OViIVGuEdlIh4Rn99XQA;_ylu=X3oDMTRvaHE1dDVkBGNjb2RlA2dtcHRvcDEwMDBwb29sd2lraXVwcmVzdARtaXQDTmV3cyBmb3IgeW91BHBrZwMxZWU5ODJlOC02YmIyLTMwMmUtODA4Ni04ZGMyMzFiMWM5ZGIEcG9zAzIEc2VjA25ld3NfZm9yX3lvdQR2ZXIDMGI0MWIwYjAtMzE5OC0xMWUxLWFiZmYtNGFiOTU4MmM2Yjkw;_ylg=X3oDMTJ0am41dTRtBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDM2ExMDUzZWYtNTVlNS0zZDM3LThiZDgtM2E5OTBhZWE0OTBjBHBzdGNhdAN0ZWNoBHB0A3N0b3J5cGFnZQR0ZXN0Aw--;_ylv=3

So many really bleak predictions

I have friends I keep in contact with, one way or another, through email or on Facebook (yes, that) and frequently they will make the point that we're on the verge of World War III or some such cataclysm. I tell you, it's frustrating. It's really dark, really bleak. News out today, yet again, seems to point that way for them, too, I must admit, in this form: U.S. Fifth Fleet says won't allow Hormuz disruption And today's warning is our repsonse to this: Iranian Official Threatens Military Drill Sealing Off the Strait of Hormuz The list goes on and on for these people of how we're all being set up for one more war, this one with Iran. Some say it will be WWIII. Others say it will be the end of the world. It is tiresome. And nihilistic. Can we not have hope any more? Can we not hope the right things will be done and that intelligence will prevail? Is that too much to ask? Sure, the world economies have gone to heck and there are major realignments all across the planet but if anyone knows anything about human history, it has happened before. Imagine life in 1917 Russia. Granted, now humankind has nuclear weapons capable of wiping life off the planet but can we not hope that cooler, calmer and more intelligent heads will prevail? I know I do. I refuse to be all "pollyanna" about the world but that doesn't mean I can't have hope. Sue me. Links: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/12/13/iranian-official-threatens-military-drill-sealing-off-strait-hormuz/; http://news.yahoo.com/iran-navy-chief-says-shutting-off-gulf-very-092339883.html;_ylt=AlX783MEMF0gglA.2MT8vwWs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTQ1ajE1M2NtBG1pdANTZWN0aW9uTGlzdCBGUCBXb3JsZARwa2cDYjBkYjY3ZmEtZTcwZS0zNWQ1LWE0ZmMtNWE5OTIyYTU1OGRkBHBvcwMzBHNlYwNNZWRpYVNlY3Rpb25MaXN0BHZlcgM1YjZhMmRlMC0zMTc3LTExZTEtOTZjZi1mNGNlYTExYmMwYzI-;_ylg=X3oDMTFvdnRqYzJoBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25zBHRlc3QD;_ylv=3

Quote of the day

"'We are no longer in a global, free-market economy. There are now two systems out there. There is a free-market system, largely in the developed world. There is a state capitalist system in China, Russia and the Persian Gulf. The systems are mutually incompatible,' Bremmer says. 'When your principal actors are multinational corporations in the private sector and they rely for their growth on unfettered access to global markets, and state capitalist systems don't do that, you are going to have a problem. And we are just at the beginning of that problem.'" --Ian Bremmer, The Eurasia Group from his book The End of the Free Market.

Link to original, complete post, including an excerpt from the book:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126835124