Yeah I know..I was trying to be "cool"
:-)

Canadian oil stocks may be worth a look if things in the Middle East start going to hell (moreso, that is). Alberta claims to have some pretty serious reserves, albeit no peice of cake to recover.

My (unheard) advice to the Bush Admin would be to do everything possible to negotiate directly with the govt of Alberta, cutting out the Cdn Fed govt completely if possible. The Liberal govt in Ottawa engages in politics probably almost as Byzantine as Moscow or Beijing.

It's unlikely, of course, that the US govt would even attempt such an end run...pity, it could really simplify things.