Then according to Xinhua News Agency, Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co Ltd said it is planning to bid. A Hyundai spokesperson said, "We are invited as a qualified bidder from Saudi Aramco and thus we will bid for the refinery project. We're positive about our chance of winning orders given our improved financial standing and price competitiveness."

The person added that Hyundai recently finished a US$2.8 bln gas plant project in Iran ahead of schedule, permitted in all likelihood, I believe, because Iran is no longer at war with Iraq, thanks to America.

Sometimes you wonder why Americans (i) cause most of the oil related cash flow riches of Saudi Arabia, (ii) protect the safety of the Saudi's from their neighbors, (iii) suffer their 9/11/01 catastrophe at the hands of mostly Saudi nationals, (iv) protect the South Koreans from their neighbors, and (v) refinance the massive bankruptcy of Hyundai, only to have to wake up to this kind of news.

I am not a political type, and I am Canadian, but I have to wonder why American taxpayers and military families have to subject themselves to this abuse. I mean why bother? Why not just save the $250 billion or more per year poured into those economies for their benefit and invest it in America, and then blow away the competition with better technology, and "improved financial standing and price competitiveness."

I am all for free and open competition in global trade and commerce. Don't get me wrong, and I don't mean to sound like Larry Kudlow, but sometimes I think he makes sense.

And for those who are counting, I received an e-mail from a reader who reminded me that a billion might be incomprehensible, but it is a thousand million, and in terms of time, which is something we all can relate to, if you haven't yet celebrated your 32nd birthday, you haven't lived a billion seconds, and that a billion minutes takes us back to the time of Christ.

That's just for those who are counting, and thinking about these billion dollar numbers being thrown about today.