BP closed the Forties Pipeline System, carrying 40 percent of the U.K.’s oil output, after a strike at the Grangemouth refinery cut power supplies to the network that delivers 700,000 barrels daily. Five police were killed and guns and ammunition seized in yesterday’s attack in the Niger Delta where output has already been halved by strikes and attacks on pipelines.

Many people may overlook the oil crisis as a worldwide issue. It is important to recognize that not only Americans are struggling from this current trend. Other countries may be feeling more remorse toward the oil companies as they, may not be as wealthy and could be struggling at a more extreme level. The United States along with the rest of the world needs to come together and devise a solution for the crisis at hand. Perhaps tapping into the U.S. oil supply at a higher level?

Senator Barack Obama recently blamed the rising oil prices on the administration in Washington DC. Obama raised the point that the United States has not raised it’s fuel efficiency standards in more than thirty years.

The candidates with the Washington experience – my opponents – are good people. They mean well, but they’ve been in Washington for a long time and even with all that experience they talk about, nothing has happened,” Obama said in remarks delivered at a gas station. “This country didn’t raise fuel efficiency standards for over 30 years.

The democratic presidential candidate, expressed his support for an alternative to oil in that of ethanol, but maintained that the reason for the rising oil prices is due to the failure of the past and present administrations to stand up to the oil industries. I am not sure how much success they would have simply just putting their foot down with the oil industries, but I am a strong supporter of using ethanol. The use of ethanol does have some trade offs, as it may contribute to rising food costs, and less corn being exported to other countries, which could potentially cripple not only the U.S. economy, but also economies across the world.

Speaking at a Westminster eForum on web 2.0 this week in London, Jim Cicconi, vice president of legislative affairs for AT&T, warned the current systems that constitute the internet will not be able to cope with the increasing amounts of video and user-generated content being uploaded.

He said: “The surge in online content is at the centre of the most dramatic changes affecting the internet today. In three years’ time, 20 typical households will generate more traffic than the entire internet today.”

More than eight hours of video is uploaded into YouTube every minute, and by 2010 video will account for more than eighty percent of the Internet bandwidth, up from 30 percent today. Also, within the next three years, 20 households will generate more traffic then all of the traffic generated today. Without substantial investment, users could be trouble in terms of their Internet activities. The article suggests that it is not a good idea for the government to be the main investor, but I believe that it should be. I still believe that it should play a lesser role in regulation, but should help keep it afloat, as the Internet is a very large part of not only individuals and firms, but the government itself relies on the Web greatly.

Before being elected President, George W. Bush made several promises to alleviate emissions in attempt to solve the global warming problem. A general consensus can conclude that all of his ideas were only disappointments.

At the last international meeting of climate change in Bali in December, the frustration of the rest of the world bubbled over. A representative from Papua New Guinea shouted at the U.S. delegation: “If you are not willing to lead, then get out of the way!”

President Bush currently only has goals and principles set to solve this problem. Instead the President should mandate certain regulations, and make sure that all legislation is followed up, unlike some of the previous ideas he proposed, such as reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from factories and power plants. Being the leader of the strongest nation in the world, Bush needs to start making some actual action before the rest of the world finds other ways to solve these problems, potentially leaving the United States out of the loop.

Had the Booz Allen executive clicked on the attachment, his every keystroke would have been reported back to a mysterious master at the Internet address cybersyndrome.3322.org, which is registered through an obscure company headquartered on the banks of China’s Yangtze River.

It is scary to see what people are able to do with different Internet programs and languages these days. New security updates and firewalls need to be constantly in production. The surveillance program of the Internet may also need to be manipulated to account for the needs or security for not only large firms and the U.S. government, but also for individuals.

To qualify for McCain’s HOME Plan, a borrower’s home would have to be a primary residence. In addition, the government would verify that the owner told the truth about his financial situation when he applied for the original mortgage and was able to make a down payment when getting his original loan, according to a campaign adviser.

McCain’s plan would not just simply bail out individuals who got caught up in the “frenzy” as he believes that they should not be given support and be able to dodge the consequences of their own bad judgement. I agree with his standpoint, people should be responsible for their own actions and should only be helped if they fit his proposed criteria. With the slouching market, worthy borrowers should be backed by the government with intentions of potentially stimulating the economy. 

Later this week, a small band of independent Obama supporters plans to launch another new fund-raising Web site, AnObamaMinute.com, with the goal of raising $1 million dollars in one minute.

AnObamaMinute.com calls for pledgers (who can pre-register) to register a donation within 60 seconds, at 1pm on Apr. 21st.

In the month of March the Obama Campaign announced that they have raised more than $40 million, which is twice as much as the Clinton campaign in the same time period. If their feat is realized this indeed could show how this amount of money is not viewed as being as much as it used to be. It also exemplifies how the different campaigns are going to new levels to gain support both economically and physically. It makes you wonder what could be next, perhaps $10 million in just a single day? Fascinating.

Claiming he has been ahead of Clinton on critical proposals, Obama said he called two years ago for a crackdown on predatory lending that fueled the nation’s housing problems. He boasted that he was the first presidential candidate to call for a middle-class tax cut and the first to seek a tax rebate as part of an economic stimulus package.

It does not seem like the end of the election can come soon enough. The faster we get Bush out of office the better. No matter who the next president be, McCain, Obama, or Clinton, it will prove to be a significant improvement. 

The hotly-contested provision rewriting the bankruptcy code, opponents say, would allow borrowers to effectively rewrite their mortgage contracts and would prompt lenders to tighten their standards and raise interest rates.

Part of the new legislation would also give states more than $4 billion to buy up and refurbish foreclosed homes. Also, the government is brewing the idea of offering a $15,000 tax credit to individuals who buy foreclosed home. I feel that this will give some incentive for people to buy foreclosed homes, instead of building or buying something else. This could also help eliminated a portion of the trouble mortgage problem within the United States.

 Defying diesel’s lingering reputation as a smelly, smoky alternative to gasoline, a new generation of “clean” diesel cars is rolling into U.S. showrooms—at least a dozen are planned in the next two years. Typically selling for less than hybrids, the diesels offer a nearly paradoxical combination of high mileage and punchy performance that is likely to surprise car buyers.   

The automakers are typically looking to push out the production of larger vehicles such as trucks and SUVs, as they feel that the improved gas mileage will yield steeper price premiums. This is a step in the right direction as many of us are facing outrageous prices at the pump. Its nice to see that many automakers are making adjustments to the current “oil problem”, that the government seems to have failed to make.