August 30, 2005

Bush planning to invade Canada: The oil sands give Canada one of the single greatest advantages of any state in the Western world," says Paul Chastko, a University of Calgary historian who recently published a book called Developing Alberta's Oil Sands. "It gives Canada the ability to supply all of North America for the next 50 years without touching a drop of imported oil"... The National Energy Board estimates there are approximately 1.6 trillion barrels of crude bitumen saturating the ground in northern Alberta. Bitumen -- a form of heavy, thick oil laden with sulphur and deficient in hydrogen -- can be refined into synthetic crude oil to make everything from gasoline to plastics. It is the lifeblood of every industrialized economy. According to the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, about 178 billion barrels of bitumen are economically recoverable using existing technology -- enough to produce more than 150 billion barrels of crude. If these estimates are accurate, Canada's oil reserves rank second behind only Saudi Arabia's 260 billion barrels. And there are many who believe the current oil sands assessments understate the true potential here. The AEUB has projected that rising prices and improved technology could ultimately push the oil sands yield close to 300 billion barrels, which would make it the richest petroleum field in the world. 2:33:10 PM

(AP Photo) NEW ORLEANS — Hurricane Katrina was not the apocalyptic storm that New Orleans has been dreading all these years. But it was still a nightmare for the city and a 200-mile stretch of the Gulf Coast. Some neighborhoods in the Big Easy were submerged up to their roofs. Flood waters gushed into Mississippi's flashy beachfront casinos. Sailboats were flung across a highway like toys. Dozens of people had to be rescued from rooftops and attics as the water rose through their homes. And an untold number of people were feared dead. On a street that had turned into a river bobbing with garbage cans, trash and old tires, a woman leaned from the second-story window of a brick home and pleaded to be rescued. "There are three kids in here," the woman said. "Can you help us?" Katrina barreled into the Gulf Coast just outside New Orleans around daybreak Monday as a monstrous, 145-mph storm, making a right turn at the last minute to spare (AP Photo) the Big Easy the doomsday scenario it has long feared. Had Katrina not shifted, hurricane waters could have spilled over levees and swamped the saucer-shaped city in a toxic soup of refinery chemicals, sewage and human bodies. Late Monday, an emergency official confirmed 50 people in Mississippi's Harrison County had died because of the hurricane. Because of high water, rescuers could not immediately reach some of the most hard-hit areas in New Orleans and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast. 9:41:52 AM

What's in Steve Jobs' pocket? San Jose Mercury News -  Apple Computer plans a major announcement next week in San Francisco, sparking speculation that the company that revolutionized digital music will unveil a video-playing iPod or an iTunes mobile phone. 8:02:49 AM

Common Drug May Save Lives After Heart Attack WebMD - Millions of people currently take cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins in hopes of reducing their risk of heart attack or death. But a new study shows that statins may also help reduce the risk of death after a heart attack has already occurred. Researchers found treatment with a statin within the first 24 hours after a heart attack reduced the risk of death while still in the hospital by more than 50%. 7:58:51 AM

Lebanese arrests in Hariri probe CNN - Three former top Lebanese security officials and the head of the presidential guard are suspects in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafi Hariri, the current prime minister has said. 7:54:17 AM

Noted With Interest Washington Post -The Food and Drug Administration was already more than six months late in ruling on the hotly-debated question of whether the "morning-after pill" should be more easily accessible to women, but last Friday afternoon the agency changed gears when it had a decision to announce.  Commissioner Lester M. Crawford revealed that the agency would neither approve nor reject the application because of unresolved regulatory issues. 7:52:30 AM

Java Joy: Study Touts Coffee's Benefits Washington Post - When the Ink Spots sang "I love the java jive and it loves me" in 1940, they could not have known how right they were. Coffee not only helps clear the mind and perk up the up the energy, it also provides more healthful antioxidants than any other food or beverage in the American diet, according to a study released Sunday. 7:49:57 AM