This is a good article in Asia Times on strategic questions.

This is a technical paper describing why technology (and finance) won’t get us out of the Peak Oil problem. (Man walks into hardware shop. Asks for Nails. Buys up the stock of nails. Comes back next day. Asks for nails. Salesman says ‘you bought them all yesterday’. Man says ‘I’ll pay double’! That’s what the economics perspective on Peak Oil reduces to.)

Here is the text of Ahmadinejad’s letter to President Bush. Fascinating stuff, like this: “All governments have a duty to protect the lives, property and good standing of their citizens. Reportedly your government employs extensive security, protection and intelligence systems – and even hunts its opponents abroad. September 11 was not a simple operation. Could it be planned and executed without coordination with intelligence and security services – or their extensive infiltration? Of course this is just an educated guess. Why have the various aspects of the attacks been kept secret? Why are we not told who botched their responsibilities? And, why aren’t those responsible and the guilty parties identified and put on trial?”

Whatever could he mean?

Actually, I’m being a bit naughty by just quoting that. What most strikes me in reading that is that here is a person who really believes – and it will be interesting to see if the US response (if any be possible) shows such an acknowledgement of the bounds of faith.

This analyses the impact of Peak Oil on UK Petrol Prices. Good news is that $200 per barrel price of crude only translates into a 50% price hike for UK drivers. (Yes, that is good news). The impact on the US will be markedly more severe – and the political consequences will cause those two elements of the Anglosphere to diverge further as well.

And on a lighter note, I always enjoy Mark Steyn. This is great on the Da Vinci Code: “Novelist Dan Brown staggered through the formulaic splendour of his opening sentence.” Quick plug – Learning Church, ‘The Da Vinci Code Debunked’, Sat May 20, 9:30 Church Hall.