fletcher's folly



March 25, 2005 Barbara and I are taking off for the Big Apple, New York City. I remember the first time I went to New York. It was the most exciting thing. I love it. It's a great city, with lots of stuff to do. We'll be visiting family and friends, going to museums and gallerys, and even going to a show. I intend to take lots of photos. I thoroughly enjoy just walking around in New York. Anyway, I expect to be back with new photos on April 4, the day I turn 65. Look for me then. March 24, 2005 From Riverbend at Baghdad Burning Two Years... We've completed two years since the beginning of the war. These last two years have felt like two decades, but I can remember the war itself like it was yesterday. The sky was lit with flashes of red and white and the ground rocked with explosions on March 21, 2003. The bombing had actually begun on the dawn of the 20th of March, but it got really heavy on the 21st. I remember being caught upstairs when the heavier bombing first began. I was struggling to drag down a heavy cotton mattress from my room for an aunt who was spending a couple of weeks with us and I suddenly heard a faraway Îwhiiiiiiiiiiiiizâ that sounded like it might be getting closer. more.... March 23, 2005 The Energy Crunch to Come by Michael T. Klare Ê Data released annually at this time by the major oil companies on their prior-year performances rarely generates much interest outside the business world. With oil prices at an all-time high and Big Oil reporting record profits, however, this year has been exceptional. Many media outlets covered the announcement of mammoth profits garnered by ExxonMobil, the nation's wealthiest public corporation, and other large firms. Exxon's fourth-quarter earnings, at $8.42 billion, represented the highest quarterly income ever reported by an American firm. "This is the most profitable company in the world," declared Nick Raich, research director of Zacks Investment Research in Chicago. But cheering as the recent announcements may have been for many on Wall Street, they also contained a less auspicious sign. Despite having spent billions of dollars on exploration, the major energy firms are reporting few new discoveries and so have been digging ever deeper into existing reserves. If this trend continues -- and there is every reason to assume it will -- the world is headed for a severe and prolonged energy crunch in the not-too-distant future. ---snip--- This coming scarcity cannot be wished away, nor can it be erased through drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which contains far too little petroleum to make a significant difference even in U.S. oil supplies. Only an ambitious program of energy conservation -- entailing the imposition of much higher fuel-efficiency standards for American automobiles and SUVs -- and the massive funding of R&D in, and then the full-scale development of alternative, environmentally-friendly fuels can offer hope of averting the disaster otherwise awaiting us. more.... March 22, 2005 Ê Why is the Military Stressed out by Iraq??? Ann Tyson reports that the heavy demands of Afghanistan and Iraq (about 150,000 men and women are deployed)Ê are draining the military of people and equipment. She fails to mention that this strain is happening at a cost of about $500 billion a year, if one adds the Fiscal 2005 supplemental defense budget (almost $80 billion) to the rest of the defense budget (almost $420 billion) Even if one removes the effects of inflation, the currentÊ level of defense spending is far more than we spent at the height of the Vietnam War where we had deployed about 550,000 troops, while we also maintained the forces needed for the Cold War.... more.... March 21, 2005 This one is really nutso. The Republicans have certainly gone off the deep end. House Members Hold Sunday Night Session on Schiavo Bill ******** Don't we care anymore? Italy's announcement that it will withdraw its troops from Iraq as soon as possible should come as no surprise. Protests against the war have been building in Rome for months and came to a head when U.S. troops at an Iraq checkpoint killed an Italian agent and wounded newspaper correspondent Giuliana Sgrena. The Coalition of the Willing dwindles further, until almost the entire European continent appears unwilling to take part in this questionable conflict. more.... March 20, 2005 There are still some action happening today. If you're in the South Bay, there's a march in San Jose today. ******** Barbara and I went to the demonstration and march yesterday. We lucked out on the weather. It was partly cloudy, with patches of sun and toward the end, a slight drizzle. I was able to take lots of photos. Barbara played the piccolo with the Musicians Action Group. Look for her photo sometime in the next day or three. There was a fair crowd of people, maybe 5-10,000. The possibilty of rain probably kept a lot of people away. March 19, 2005 There's a demonstration in San Francisco today. Sure hope it's not raining, though that's the forecast.	(Click on icons to see larger images.) March 25, 2005 March 24, 2005 March 23, 2005 March 22, 2005 March 21, 2005 March 20, 2005 March 19, 2005	Archives August 21, 2004 - August 27, 2004 August 28, 2004 - September 3, 2004 September 4, 2004 - September 10, 2004 September 11, 2004 - September 17, 2004 September 18, 2004 - September 24, 2004 September 24, 2004 - October 1, 2004 September 2, 2004 - October 8, 2004 October 9, 2004 - October 15, 2004 October 16, 2004 - October 22, 2004 October 23, 2004 - October 29, 2004 October 30, 2004 - November 5, 2004 November 6, 2004 - November 12, 2004 November 13, 2004 - November 19, 2004 November 20, 2004 - November 26, 2004 November 27, 2004 - December 3, 2004 December 4, 2004 - December 10, 2004 December 11, 2004 - December 17, 2004 December 18, 2004 - December 24, 2004 December 25, 2004 - December 31, 2004 January 1, 2005 - January 7, 2005 January 8, 2005 - January 14, 2005 January 15, 2005 - January 21, 2005 January 22, 2005 - January 28, 2005 January 29, 2005 - February 4, 2005 February 5, 2005 - February 11, 2005 February 12, 2005 - February 18, 2005 February 19, 2005 - February 25, 2005 February 26, 2005 - March 4, 2005 March 3, 2005 - March 11, 2005 March 12, 2005 - March 18, 2005 No War in Iraq march. San Francisco, Ca., January 18, 2003 San Francisco, Ca., February 16, 2003 Home This site consists of original photographs and composites by Fletcher Oakes, unless otherwise credited. photoblogring \| Join \| Random \| List