Quiche Moraine

We needed to talk, to spend some time alone and in a fairly quiet, undisturbed location so we could discuss a mutual friend who had gotten into some very serious trouble. We needed to find out where we each were on the issue, about our respective mutual states; we needed to compare notes and remember details covering several years of time; we needed to talk about what had to happen next. And given our schedules, we needed to eat. Which is fortunate, because it was time for me to write another restaurant review.

If you recall all those burning oil wells after the first Gulf War in Kuwait, you will understand that many of those burning wells were gushing oil and gas. That’s why they continued to burn. This illustrates how many of the wells in that region are under pressure and how petroleum flows to the surface with no need of pumps. Iraqi oil fields are some of the least expensive places on the planet to extract oil.

They let us think we have a democracy here. They let us think that because the Iraqis have purple stains on their fingers that they are building their own democracy. They can demonize Putin, the Chinese, the Saudis for the suppression of their people and their press, but governments choose their friends and enemies based on economics. Cheap labor and oil—those are your rulers.