<DrumBeat: February 6, 2007The Oil DrumDrumBeat: February 7, 2007>

122 comments on US News and World Report looks at Ethanol

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Leanan on February 6, 2007 - 3:02pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Which do you think is the right answer if the USA wants to regain some of the substantial amounts of international good will lost in the last 6 years?

Wrong question. I doubt many care that much about international good will.

FWIW, my employer recently took delivery of a bunch of natural gas powered cars. And promptly returned them as unacceptable. Too small. They said there wasn't enough room for passengers and equipment, especially since there's no trunk on such vehicles. (The gas tank takes up the whole trunk.) They asked for minivans instead, but apparently, nobody makes natural gas powered minivans.

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Euan Mearns on February 6, 2007 - 3:10pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

I doubt many care that much about international good will.

Well they should.

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Leanan on February 6, 2007 - 3:27pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

They'd rather boycott French fries.

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Euan Mearns on February 6, 2007 - 3:45pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

The French were right!

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AlanfromBigEasy on February 6, 2007 - 6:12pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

The French are also more effective in providing aid to New Orleans than those incompentent Americans in Washington DC.

Just talked with firefighter in line in grocery store. The only reason that we have ANY fire protection in the 80% of the city that flooded is because of our good friends the French. They sat down with the NOFD and selected which stations to rebuild and they "just did it". The other fire stations are still years away from any FEMA funding and the city is broke. Good ole French "Can Do" spirit !!

Fire risks, and fires, are up dramatically as people rebuild their homes and live in tents inside their gutted homes.

Viva La France !

Alan

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ET on February 6, 2007 - 11:18pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Well, this is no surprise since the French now own Louisiana.

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AlanfromBigEasy on February 8, 2007 - 8:59am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

We could only hope and pray.

Reminds me of "what we lost" articles during bicentenial "celebrations" of Louisiana Purchase.

Universal health care, vacation all August, several nuclear power plants to get us off of natural gas for electricity. Cultural culinary exchange (we have done things with roux that the French never dreamed of :-) High speed trains and more streetcars (will we have to call them trams ?). A more melodic and expressive language. Tariff free access to the EU AND, most important, freedom from the stulifying, uncaring bureaucracy of Washington DC and getting a responsive gov't instead.

Best Hopes,

Alan

PS: I especially liked that part about immediately spending the French payment to buy back Louisiana on rebuilding Iraq. Bush certainly has his priorities straight !

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AlanfromBigEasy on February 8, 2007 - 9:02am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

.

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Valuethinker on February 6, 2007 - 3:50pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

That's Freedom Fries.

The US cares about international goodwill when it needs the cooperation of other powers to achieve its ends.

For example:

- to hunt down international terrorist groups like Al Quaida

- to form a united front against Iranian nuclear ambitions

- to help extract itself from the mess that it is in in Iraq

- to help secure Afghanistan

- to maintain a united front against a crazed and nuclear armed North Korea

- to work out what to do about global warming

Now it turns out French intelligence is particularly good on the Islamic terrorist issue (having crushed Islamic terrorists in the early 90s, and being spectacularly well connected in the Middle East).

And before the invasion of Iraq, Syrian intelligence was very helpful in tracking down Al Quaida people (and Syria was part of the CIA Extraordinary Rendition aka torture network).

So GWB's bluster notwithstanding, the US needs the world, just as the world needs the US.

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Leanan on February 6, 2007 - 3:51pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

So GWB's bluster notwithstanding, the US needs the world

But not enough to actually drive a car without trunk space.

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Euan Mearns on February 6, 2007 - 4:04pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

You guys need bigger cars with bigger trunks.

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Ash23 on February 6, 2007 - 11:53pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Americans, on the whole, have more than enough 'junk in the trunk'.

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