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All external links last last verified 08/21/2006
Items on this page were researched by Bill Sanders (aka LYAO Editor or "-LE")
Each item in question is in a white box and listed first, followed by it's status, links to my sources (where I determined the fact was right, wrong, etc.), and any comments I might have on the subject in a light yellow box. ;-)
Any short notes written by me on quoted material are in square brackets ("[" and "]"]
NOTE: This page Under Construction/Conversion
This page has not been completely converted to OFPv2 Standards.
When this is completed, this paragraph will go away.
Meanwhile, all external links on this page open a new window.
AKAs:
Be sure to read my End Notes (below) for more.
What Gasoline Buys ...
I have received, and debunked, the following email so many times in the last year that I finally decided to just put it here, so I don't have to search for previous emails about it!
I've received it both as a PowerPoint Slideshow (which make it seem more authoritative to some) and as Individual Pictures. (I will include thumbnails on this page, and a link to a page showing the larger pictures, rather than include them on this page, making it WAY too long.) I've included comments on THAT page, so (hopefully) someone won't copy IT and send it out as TRUTH.
It's normally just forwarded around under the subject "What Gasoline Buys...", sometimes, with individuals making their own comments about it, a few of which I've included here.
Subject: What Gasoline Buys...
The claim is that the pictures show a PALACE in Saudi Arabia, and that the Audi, shown, is ACTUALLY SILVER.
Comments included on some of the forwards I received:
Be sure to check out this DWELLING ...
Amazing,,, just Amazing,,, hmm??
-LE
Good Afternoon Family & Friends,
This was shared with us by my friend in Louisville. It emphasizes what has happened because our gang in Washington can't pass and implement a meaningful energy policy. So what's new? There are lots of issues that have been bogged down there for years. One of those issues is a war in Iraq. Look at the pictures a second time. It's awful.
This makes the Biltmore Castle in Asheville, NC with 295 rooms look like a shack on the other side of the tracks!!!!
[NOTE: Clicking a picture will open a new window, showing a page with the full-size images, thumb-nailed below. Simply close that page to return here. -LE]
Status: WRONG
Source(s):
- Urban Legends Reference Pages (Snopes): Palace in the Desert (building)
- Urban Legends Reference Pages (Snopes): Silver Audi (car)
Comment(s):
- The building is NOT, as stated, a Palace. It IS a HOTEL.
- The Audi is NOT, as stated, silver, but a special polishing technique was used.
How to Spend Oil $ - Ski Dubai
I HAVE only received this one a couple of times, but its message relates. It was not included in a PowerPoint Slideshow.
Subject: How to spend oil $ (read on, huh?)
Ski Dubai
[forwarded comment]
This would look right at home in Las Vegas.
[NOTE: Clicking a picture will open a new window, showing a page with the full-size images, thumb-nailed below. Simply close that page to return here. -LE]
Why is it again that gasoline costs $2.39 a gallon for regular unleaded?
Status: RIGHT, but the comments are questionable ... (see full-size image page)
Source(s):
- Urban Legends Reference Pages (Snopes): Ski Dubai
- About.com - Dubai Ski Resort (Photos) - Netlore Archive
- Ski Dubai ski - skiing in Dubai Ski Resort Dome
- Pictures of inside Dubai Ski resort - Snowbliss - Snowboarding and Skiing
- Discovery Channel's HD Theater - Extreme Engineering - Dubai Ski Resort
Comment(s):
See the sources for more information, and if you get Discovery Channel, check out show times. You can see the engineering that went into building it. It's actually pretty fascinating.
And, now they know how to do it right, I would not be surprised if it didn't appear in Vegas, soon.
Something to think about...
If it had been built in Dubai, first, I could almost understand the grievance. But ... from: Indoor Skiing - Snow Domes @ ABC-of-Skiing.com
"There are at least two Snow domes opening each year. Nowadays, approximately 30 Snow domes around the world are in operation and many others are still under construction. Most of these Indoor Ski slopes can be found in Europe, which is leading in terms of Snow domes. Some Asian countries are also into Snow domes after SSAWS of Tokyo, Japan which previously the biggest Indoor Ski slope in the world."
AND...
If something like this HAD been built in Las Vegas FIRST, THEN in Dubai, would we be complaining about it being built using profits from GAS? Uh... I really don't think that MOST of Vegas' money comes from GAS/OIL, does it?
End Notes
The main problem I have with this type of email, is not the opulence. It's that suddenly, ALL people of Arabic decent are looked upon with suspicion.
Remember 9-11? Even people whose parents immigrated here, meaning THEY were BORN a US Citizen, or even those who had lived here and were known by neighbors for more years than many of their detractors were alive, were castigated.
In WWII, we IMPRISONED - ok... put in "internment camps" - AMERICANS of Japanese decent, for God's sake! SOME of whom had relatives who were fighting FOR and WITH us! Then, for years afterward, many were viewed with suspicion. Again... Many had lived here for years.
What is it about the American human condition (and other nationalities' too) that says if a man (or woman) does something wrong, heinous, etc., if you are a member of HIS/HER race, religion, creed, color, it's obvious that it's not that whole group's fault, but it's something wrong with him/her and/or the place or way he/she was raised; BUT, if that person is NOT of our own race, religion, creed, color, etc., it's so easy to blame the whole group?
And why is it that even if we, ourselves don't "blame" that whole group, we will blithely forward crap like this, that either directly promotes or even simply "fans the flames" of hate, jealousy and/or envy, all over the world?
It is so easy to look some of this stuff on the 'net. Here are some of those I found:
- From the US Government: Energy Information Administration - A Primer on Gasoline Prices (online brochure)
- Uh... And actually, $2.39-$3.00 is relatively CHEAP, believe it or not...
See CNNMoney.com - Gas prices around the world - US Fuel Prices (AAA) AAA Daily Fuel Guage Report
- ConocoPhillips - Energy Answers - Gasoline including information on why prices change so much.
- Something to think about:
from Scott Hanselman's Blog Entry - Gas Prices Around the World
"In this time of higher gas prices, I would remind those who are frustrated and complaining (like the woman on NPR just now who found it “horrifying” that she might need to carpool or pay $40 to fill up) that there are those in Zimbabwe who have queued for petrol for as long as 4 days (96 hours) to pay the equivalent of $5 a gallon, or nearly 30% of their monthly salary." -Scott Hanselman (09/2005)
- see No Pundit Intended's "Gas Prices of the World" Entry
- World-wide Discussions:
As long as there's no alternatives (other than walking and biking) and people (around the world, not just in the US) are willing to pay...
See OFPv2/SSFF - Rumors/Advice - Gas Boycotts [End Notes - Comments] for some of the ways people are suggesting to save money on gas, and why many won't work for many people.
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