Hardware

In the last day, as the President Bush appeals to congress to repeal the ban on offshore drilling, as the New York Times reports "Dearth of Ships Delays Offshore Drilling,"

a floating rig in Nigeria was attacked and shut down. Nigeria, one of the largest producers of oil, where the people live in abject poverty.

Crude oil futures climbed $2 a barrel immediately upon the news.

"production had been stopped from the field, which normally produces about 200,000 barrels of crude per day. That accounts for about 10 percent of Nigeria's current daily output of about 2 million barrels per day production" AP.

Rebels who were, last year, referred to as "thugs" are now being spoken of as a "powerful militant group."

A Bloomberg article quotes, "It's certainly of a different tactical order,'' Antony Goldman, an independent U.K.-based analyst specializing in Nigeria, said by telephone from London. Goldman said he was surprised the militants had the ``hardware'' to carry out such an attack."

Hardware.
Bombs. Guns.
The oil field was more than 65 miles from land.

An American worker was kidnapped.
Today a man was kidnapped.
He must be so scared.