Juggling Dynamite

Saudi Arabia is America’s second largest source of foreign oil behind Canada. Less understood perhaps, is that Canada itself spends some $26 billion a year importing oil from other countries and some $8 billion of that comes from middle east exporters including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Algeria, Angola. Money that could be kept at home to fund life-sustaining and enriching programs instead.  More excellent reasons to end our self-destructive reliance on oil.

With undercover footage and on-the-ground reporting, FRONTLINE reveals a side of Saudi Arabia that’s rarely seen, and traces the efforts of men and women who are working to bring about change.  Here is a direct video link.

Here’s a novel business idea for driving strong growth in an aging, heavily indebted world:  build a product that lowers the financial burden of transportation and climate change.  Since March 31, Tesla Motors says reservations from Model 3 surpass 276,000:

The Model 3 is a sedan capable of seating five and going 215 miles on a charge and 0-60 mph in less than 6 seconds, starting at a price of $35,000.

To give a sense on the scale of the backlog, BMW sold about 95,000 3-series sedans in 2015 in the U.S. The Model 3 is roughly the same size and price and would likely outsell the U.S.’s best-selling compact luxury car in its first year of production if Tesla can make enough cars….

The 276,000 reservations equates to an $11.6 billion backlog of orders, based on Mr. Musk’s assessment that the average Model 3 would cost about $42,000 with options. Last year, Tesla’s global revenues were about $4 billion.

Just think how much further we could all be today if pig-headed, short-sighted, dumb GM had not ripped its much loved EV1’s out of leasee hands to destroy them all in 2003. They might have even prospered and not needed another taxpayer bailout in 2008.  Imagine.

With the American media focusing all its attention on who will be the presidential candidates for the Republican and the Democratic parties, it’s easy to forget that there is a third party. We have not heard much about it, in the midst of what has become a political circus.

The Green Party of the United States will hold its own nominating convention in August. Members of the U.S. Green Party have been elected in state legislatures in California, Maine and Arkansas. Others hold positions at the municipal level, on school boards, city councils, and as mayors.

Dr. Jill Stein is the leader of the Green Party of the United States; she is running for President for the second time. She is a physician and a committed activist. Here is a direct audio link.