Don’t for a second think it’s coincidence! Witnesseth:

OPEC heads of state converged on Riyadh for a rare summit opening Saturday with the organisation divided over the falling US dollar and attempts to give a political impetus to the oil-exporting cartel.

In a gaffe late Friday, a private meeting of ministers from the 12 members of the cartel was mistakenly broadcast to journalists, revealing a spat between Saudi
Arabia and anti-US members Iran and Venezuela about the waning US currency.

Journalists witnessed Iran request that the final declaration to be issued by OPEC leaders at the end of the summit on Sunday express the concern of member states about the falling US currency and its impact on oil revenues.

Reacting to the proposal, which was backed by Venezuela, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal warned against mentioning the US currency.

“There are media people outside waiting to catch this point and they will add to it (exaggerate) and we may find that the dollar collapses,” Prince Saud said.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who arrives later Saturday, has also called on OPEC to take on a stronger “political and geopolitical” role and return to its stance of the 1970s when it tightened the screws on consumer nations.

Saudi Arabia appeared to have prevailed in the debate about the dollar and the issue is not expected to be mentioned, but the incident highlights sharp differences at the heart of the group.

“It’s the second meeting when OPEC is showing its dissension and there are clear divisions and fissures emerging,” said Yasser Elguindi, a manager at oil brokerage SIG, referring to discord about output at a meeting in September.

“It’s a gaffe. Nobody likes to air their dirty laundry in public,” he said.

The remarkable insight into the inner workings of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries on Friday, which produces 40 percent of world oil, ended when a furious official emerged to switch off the television.

The fall of the dollar, which has declined by about 15 percent in 12 months, has affected the revenues of OPEC members because most of them price and sell their oil exports in the US currency.

This OPEC meeting comes at a time of concerted stress on global oil markets, with the OPEC cartel under pressure from many sides (foremost by the US) to increase its output to help calm record crude prices that threatened to breach $100 dollars a barrel for the first time last week.

And Saudi Arabia cannot afford to be privately or publicly seen to support America, trust me.

If we didn’t “get it” then, we should “get it” now: Iran and Venezuela are our enemies. And Saudi Arabia took an actual bit of a stand for the US. But make no mistake: Chavez and Ahmadinejad will do all they can to see us burn.

I have to hand it to Vinny Testaverde, however, who threw two late-game TD passes for the Panthers — Vinny being the oldest quarterback in the NFL.

Consider: Brett Favre is the third oldest QB on an NFL roster this year. From PackersNews.com:

At 44, Testaverde is by far the oldest active quarterback in the NFL, ahead of 39-year-old Brad Johnson, the Dallas Cowboys’ backup. Favre is next at 38, followed by New Orleans backup Jamie Martin (37), Tampa Bay starter Jeff Garcia (37) and Washington backup Mark Brunell (37).

The oldest regular starters this year are Favre, Garcia and Arizona’s Kurt Warner (36).

And folks, Favre is KATN this season! Way to go, Packers!

And yes, I do have a cheesehead.

These and others are the most common American surnames extant.

Moving up:

Step aside Moore and Taylor. Welcome Garcia and Rodriguez.

Smith remains the most common surname in the United States, according to a new analysis released yesterday by the Census Bureau. But for the first time, two Hispanic surnames — Garcia and Rodriguez — are among the top 10 most common in the nation, and Martinez nearly edged out Wilson for 10th place.

The number of Hispanics living in the United States grew by 58 percent in the 1990s to nearly 13 percent of the total population, and cracking the list of top 10 names suggests just how pervasively the Latino migration has permeated everyday American culture.

Two points:

For almost a week, last week, I became a Large Mammal in the TTLB Ecosystem. I noticed that I am back down to a Marauding Marsupial in my blog hits. I was proud, then disappointed. For a time I ranked up there with some blogs I really admire. Big White Hat. Texas Fred.

I also noticed that many of my posts (for whatever reason) this past month were peppered with scattered expletives.

I stand naked before you now with either a reason or an excuse, and then a question.

First, some background: I have been in law enforcement (as many of you already know) for over 30 years. I have worked for both Federal and local LE systems. As you might imagine, I’ve somehow sopped up some colourful language over the years — to include words you’d not yet imagined in your personal lexicon.

With the FBI and the Marshals, you kept your lip zipped in the bullpen and then purged in the field if necessary. With my current agency, I’ve pretty much continuously possessed a “potty mouth” except when trying valiantly to be on my best behavior in various academy classes. And yet I warn my students: some things may slip out; I’ll do my best to slip them back in.

The confounding thing is, I’m not undereducated. I’m facile with the multisyllabic word or two, and took my BA and then my Masters with regard to command of the Engrish Rang-grage.

And yet I’m wondering: too many poo-poo nasties for my readers?

Weigh in now, preeze. Should I tone down my f-and -s-bombs? Or does it even matter?