As gas prices begin what will be a record surge, people ask why and the reason is a speculative frenzy. The frenzy has been fueled by the actions of The Gang That Can't Shoot Straight - Literally or Figuratively - and the saber rattling at Iran. I call upon the so-called leadership to put a pin in this ballon by sending Bush a budget that expressly prohibits any funding of U.S. militray action against Iran.
In the meantime, the real cause for concern, Pakistan, comes to a boil inpart because Bush is exporting hypocracy, not democracy - how long will it be before Bush declares the American Bar Association is a terrorist organization ?
As I awoke this morning to reports that AAA fears we are heading for $ 4 a gallon gas; and that the greedy hedge fund traders who control this commodity market are pushing crude to $ 100/barrel, I dusted off the PhD hanging on my wall, and asked myself: WTF is going on here – it doesn’t make sense.
Who said sense had anything to do with it- wrong question you asked, genius. Sure enough, a clue in the Washington Post.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
After a week of new records for crude oil prices, the question is: How high can they go?
In the past 10 weeks, the price of crude oil has shot up $25 a barrel, closing at $95.93 in New York on Friday, near an all-time inflation-adjusted peak. Unlike earlier spikes in oil prices, which came on the heels of war in the Middle East, this latest ascent does not appear to be linked to any one conflict or to any physical shortage.
Instead, traders who treat oil like any other commodity are widely thought to be driving prices upward, bolstered by a weak dollar and money flowing out of stock markets and other investment vehicles.
So far U.S. consumers have not felt the full impact....
Not for long. We see the classic pattern: mainstream media dutifully, mindlessly, and uncritically reports some triviality (in this case from PeMex) that ‘justifies and explains’ a price spike. Look for $ 3.25 by Thanksgiving.
Sluggish U.S. gasoline demand over the past two months has made it hard for oil giants to pass through higher costs; refinery profit margins, which hit records in the spring, have been squeezed. But if high crude oil prices persist, they will flow through to the gas pump. Yesterday, the Lundberg Survey reported that the average retail price of regular gasoline is up 16 cents in the past two weeks to $2.96 a gallon.
No doubt the Dick is smiling, while the President is asking his advisers if oil is $ 100/barrel, how much is it without the barrel.
"Oppenheimer & Sons analyst Fadel Gheit says oil is $30 a barrel overpriced.
Well, duh.
But analysts also say that the past 10 weeks have demonstrated the power of traders at investment houses. ...
Should we be looking at market manipulation? After all if I only paid taxes at a 16% rate because I’m a hedge fund, I’d try to make more money too...even if it was at the expense of the public good...but the public will get trickle down effects you say ,,,hmm...I call bs, and speaking of which ...
"There is no current shortage, but no one deals on today's market.
RIGHT.
They make deals based on tomorrow's market.....the weekend declaration of a state of emergency in Pakistan, which has no direct effect on global oil supplies, won't calm nerves.
"It would be silly if we waited until things were not available," said a veteran energy trader at a U.S. hedge fund, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect his business relationships. He said traders have become convinced that military conflict between the United States and Iran is inevitable. He added, "People react to perceptions of what will happen. That's not idle speculation."
So after we squander a trillion dollars and priceless lives in one of the signature foreign policy disasters in U.S. history, we now are making down payment on part two of this Shakespearian ...oops that’s too advanced for Dubya ..Bushian tragedy each time we fill up???
Hello Democratic leadership..this is Radio Nowhere..is there anybody alive out there ... WILL YOU FOR ONCE STAND UP AND DO SOMETHING OTHER THAN SEND ‘FIRMLY WORDED LETTERS WARNING THE PRESIDENT, OR DEPLORING SUCH ACTIONS’ – as far as Dubya and the Dick are concerned they will just wipe their behinds with these letters.
You can start by prohibiting action against Iran to cool off the hedge fund profiteers; and since we are supposed to be spreading democracy rather than hypocrisy, perhaps somebody should listen to Joe Biden...
http://www.delawareonline.com/...
Delaware Sen. Joe Biden said the state of emergency declared by Pakistani president Gen. Pervez Musharraf on Saturday indicates a need for the United States to redefine its foreign policy with Pakistan.
"President Bush should personally make clear to General Musharraf the risks to U.S.-Pakistani relations if he does not restore the constitution, permit free and fair elections, and take off his uniform as promised," Biden said in a statement released Saturday.
Biden said the policy needs to shift "from a Musharraf policy to a Pakistan policy" and that the United States has to build a new relationship with Pakistan, including more nonmilitary aid, so that the moderate majority in Pakistan has a chance to succeed.
Musharraf's decision to suspend the constitution and oust the chief justice of Pakistan's Supreme Court follows comments Biden made on Tuesday at the Democratic presidential debate in Philadelphia. Biden said "an out-of-control Pakistan" was a greater threat to America compared with Iran.
Wait a minute, Musharraf said the suspension of the constitution and crackdown on lawyers was to part of the war on terror ? Dubya- the Dick- wait are you waiting for ?- oh, you're not waiting...snark...
Muqtedar Khan, a political scientist for the University of Delaware who focuses on U.S. relations in the Muslim world, said Biden's views were shared "common wisdom" for people who realize that Pakistan is already a nuclear weapon.
"Anti-Americanism is high in Pakistan," Khan said. "Pakistan is clearly the most important state to watch."
In case you missed the debate :
www.motherjones.com
SEN. BIDEN: I would pledge to keep us safe. If you told me, Tim -- and this is not -- this is complicated stuff. We talk about this in isolation. The fact of the matter is the Iranians may get 2.6 kilograms of highly enriched uranium; the Pakistanis have hundreds, thousands of kilograms of highly enriched uranium.
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If by attacking Iran to stop them from getting 2.6 kilograms of highly enriched uranium, the government in Pakistan falls, who has missiles already deployed, with nuclear weapons on them, that can already reach Israel, already reach India, then that's a bad bargain.
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What is the greatest threat to the United States of America: 2.6 kilograms of highly enriched uranium in Tehran or an out of control Pakistan? It's not close.
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Biden was taking the mature approach to foreign policy, daring to challenge the false dichotomy: let Iran go nuclear or start a war. A nuclear-armed Iran would indeed be a problem, but a U.S. military strike against Iran could cause greater problems.