It's all about oil
Israel and Lebanon's lil shin-dig is keeping prices high, high, high and the oil chieftains in Riyahd and Washington are muy feliz.
"Why haven't those we laughably call the "leaders" of the US, Iran and Saudi Arabia called back their delinquent spawn, cut off their allowances and grounded them for six months?
Maybe because mayhem and murder in the Middle East are very, very profitable to the sponsors of these characters with bombs and rockets. America, Iran and Saudi Arabia have one thing in common: they are run by oil regimes. The higher the price of crude, the higher the profits; and the higher the profits, the happier the presidents and princelings of these petroleum republics."
Check it out!
"Why haven't those we laughably call the "leaders" of the US, Iran and Saudi Arabia called back their delinquent spawn, cut off their allowances and grounded them for six months?
Maybe because mayhem and murder in the Middle East are very, very profitable to the sponsors of these characters with bombs and rockets. America, Iran and Saudi Arabia have one thing in common: they are run by oil regimes. The higher the price of crude, the higher the profits; and the higher the profits, the happier the presidents and princelings of these petroleum republics."
Check it out!
posted by George W. Bush at 10:23 AM
6 Comments:
I don't disagree that the Republicans and the Saudis are laughing themselves to sleep.
I fault the left in their apparent decision to concentrate on legislation rather than cultural change. Granted much of Europe's walking and public transit culture is a consequence of the insane price of gas, I still believe that the solution to the gas issue is for people to take steps to become personally less dependent on the Saudis and the texas oil barons, and to encourage freight by train rather than truck.
What legislation are you referring to, I'm pleading ignorance here?
For me it's tough to compare Europe and the US's walking, biking, shipping, and driving infrastructures. They are so different, I agree with you, for us to ween ourselves will require a profound shift in thinking. It will be tough though, 90% of our country is geared toward the auto. People can't walk to the store, buses aren't available in most cities, and highway improvements are one of the larger public expenditures.
Take public transportation! (My pension is badly underfunded).
I think a lot of Europe's walking culture stems from the fact that it's cities predate the automobile and weren't designed to accomodate heavy traffic. Add to that the fact that post WW2 consumerism (i.e. 2 cars in every driveway) wasn't really an option for most Europeans in the late 40's early 50's. Oh, and their gas taxes are sky high.
"I fault the left in their apparent decision to concentrate on legislation rather than cultural change."
Legislation can indeed change culture--for the good and for the bad. Look at the cultural destruction wrought by Stalinist legislation in Eastern Europe, or at the profound change in attitudes towards conservation that were in part created by legislated increases in fuel economy, clean air and water practices, and the creation of recycling programs by local governments. I'm not sure what else "the left" could be doing to shift culture without legislating (which they really haven't done much of in the last decade anyway.
As for that article, there should be a logical fallacy named after Pallast. Sky high oil prices are not always in the best interests of oil producing countries, particularly when they result from events that are beyond the control of those countries. I could argue, with the same evidence than Pallast musters, that Bush and his Arab cronies are in fact a bunch of Nader's Raiders masquerading as corporate manchurian candidates, and that their destabilization of the Middle East is in fact a ploy meant to increase gas prices, which, the 70s taught us, is the one surefire way to force the government to mandate higher fuel economy standards. Obviously bullshit, but no better substantiated than Pallast's claims. His MO is to create very crude caricatures of complex situations in order to make intellectually lazy people feel OK about the fact that they don't put any time into learning difficult things.
I don't know this Pallast fellow's editorial history, does posting a piece require me to defend him? I hope not, I appreciate your angle on this one, in fact I heartily agree with your point that his piece is rife with conjecture.
One can argue that this article's only accomplishment is the further bemusement of us lazy folks, however, I think Pallast does offer up some interesting angles, that if explored further, may yield some thought-provoking conclusions.
You state: "Sky high oil prices are not always in the best interests of oil producing countries, particularly when they result from events that are beyond the control of those countries"
Are these events beyond the control of SA, USA, and Iran? I don't know, it doesn't take a doctoral dissertation to see the correlation between the involved parties. Are the oil oligarchs behind all of this? Doubt it, unfortunately yesterday's telling piece on Exxon's record profits certainly bolsters Pallast's claims.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5220954.stm
I do agree, dear Jeffskovitch, that higher oil prices do not NECESSARILY mean happier Saudis, Kuwaitis, and Republicans. In this case, however, given Exxon's ability to turn most any world event into higher gas prices, for the gullible consumer to just accept and move on, higher barrels pay for those producing oil and, as a lagniappe, give the gas stations the excuse why they have to gouge.
Over the past day, I've undulated between personal responsibility and socialism regarding this issue. At the moment, I am opposed to my very self of the other day. If the only way to avoid being the Saudi's perpetual bitch is to mandate better fuel efficiency and economically encourage the greening of our buildings, then I'm all for it. What I am against is the solution of just making gas more expensive. You can make gas 10 bucks a gallon, and Americans will still use it more than necessary, and the waitress barely getting by will be screwed over while the millionaire laughs himself to Ameritrade.
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