Showing posts with label oil prices. Show all posts
Showing posts with label oil prices. Show all posts

July 06, 2008

FLASHBACK: Ten Years Ago, Bin Laden Demanded Barrel Of Oil Should Cost $144Filed


By Faiz on Jul 5th, 2008 at 1:02 pm

FLASHBACK: Ten Years Ago, Bin Laden Demanded Barrel Of Oil Should Cost $144»

In a 1998 interview, Osama bin Laden — the terrorist organizer of 9/11 who still roams free — listed as one of his many grievances against the U.S. that Americans “have stolen $36 trillion from Muslims” by purchasing oil from Persian Gulf countries at low prices. The real price of a barrel of oil should be $144, bin Laden demanded.

Ten years ago today, the price of a barrel of oil was just $11. Heading into this holiday weekend, the price of a barrel of oil rested at $144 — a thirteen-fold increase.

One month after 9/11, the New York Times wrote of possible “nightmare” scenarios that would deliver bin Laden’s goal. Neela Banerjee warned that among the “misguided decisions” that would put oil supplies at risk would be “that the United States attacks Iraq.” The Times included this quote in its story:

“If bin Laden takes over and becomes king of Saudi Arabia, he’d turn off the tap,” said Roger Diwan, a managing director of the Petroleum Finance Company, a consulting firm in Washington. “He said at one point that he wants oil to be $144 a barrel” — about six times what it sells for now.

Bin Laden didn’t have to become king of Saudi Arabia to achieve his goal; in fact, Bush’s policies delivered it for him. The Bush administration’s catastrophic decision to invade Iraq, sink the nation into debt to pay for that war, and consequently, weaken the dollar have all caused oil prices to soar astronomically.

Testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee last May, Anne Korin, the co-director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, reminded Congress about bin Laden’s goal:

[A]bout ten years ago, Osama bin Laden stated that his target price for oil is $144 a barrel and that the American people, who allegedly robbed the Muslim people of their oil, owe each Muslim man, woman, and child $30,000 in back payments. At the time, $144 a barrel seemed farfetched to most. […]

I would like to impress upon this Committee that $144 a barrel oil will be perceived as a victory for the Jihadist movement and a reaffirmation that the economic warfare component of its campaign against the West is a resounding success. There is no need to elaborate on the implications of such a victory in terms of loss of U.S. prestige and our ability to prevail in the Long War of the 21st century.

Indeed, ten years later, a mission accomplished for bin Laden.

120 Responses to “FLASHBACK: Ten Years Ago, Bin Laden Demanded Barrel Of Oil Should Cost $144”
scytherius Says:
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Anyone that doesn’t have an orgasm every time Rush Limbaugh speaks knows the terrorists won along with China owning the U.S. What is saddest is that Bin Laden knew how stupid America was but America didn’t know.

July 5th, 2008 at 1:06 pm

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Alecto Says:
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George Bin Laden

July 5th, 2008 at 1:07 pm

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Badmoodman Says:
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Ten Years Ago, Bin Laden Demanded Barrel Of Oil Should Cost $144”

- - Oh OBL, you visionary dreamer, you.

July 5th, 2008 at 1:08 pm

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Alecto Says:
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Arrest, Try, Hang, Decapitate, INcinerate, send to the sun George W. booosh and all of the other NeoCon traitors.

July 5th, 2008 at 1:08 pm

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katy Says:
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how in the world would binladen ever “become king of Saudi Arabia” anyway???

who seriously thinks these things?

July 5th, 2008 at 1:08 pm

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YouCantHandleDaTruth Says:
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Bush has done more to progress Bin Ladens goals than one can imagine.

MsM will make sure to ignore this or down play as much as possible

July 5th, 2008 at 1:09 pm

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LiberalVoter Says:
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So Bush is really shilling for OSB. It seems everything OSB wanted, Bush has given him. And now the same a**holes that supported Bush and his criminal cabal want to continue it by voting for McCain? What in the hell is wrong with these people?

July 5th, 2008 at 1:10 pm

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Hussein McCain Says:
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We are living in the twilight zone. Please God, let me wake up!

July 5th, 2008 at 1:20 pm

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Alecto Says:
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Boooosh caved into OBL back 2 days before the Mission accomplished speech, or have we all forgot that the ONLY thing OBL wanted, was to remove the bases from Saudi Arabia. And on April 30, 2003 we announced we would do just that.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/ org/ news/ 2003/ 030430-psab01.htm

boooshit caved into PBL back then, and he had the same agenda as OBL $144+/bbl oil as OBL. They are birds of a feather. “Two, two, two terrorists in one.”

http://www.hermes-press.com/BushSaud.htm

July 5th, 2008 at 1:20 pm

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Briseadh na Faire Says:
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Note the silent acceptance of this phrase, “the Long War of the 21st century.”

As we continue to fight “the Long War of the 21st century” our standard of living must, of necessity, decline. Deficit spending cannot be sustained indefinitely. Yet tax cuts to the ruling class (and no-bid contracts to the ruling class) ensure that the economic burden will fall upon the working class.

There will be a point in time where taxes on the working class will be insufficient to pay the interest on the debts of this nation; will be insufficient to fund any infrastructure or social programs. Our nation will be forced into bankruptcy. Countries which funded our spending spree with then be able to dictate to us what we can and cannot do.

Then, the Long War will be over. We will have lost.

July 5th, 2008 at 1:21 pm

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Alecto Says:
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PBL should be OBL.

I want the enemy booosh dead.

July 5th, 2008 at 1:21 pm

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Badmoodman Says:
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katy Says:
how in the world would binladen ever “become king of Saudi Arabia” anyway??? who seriously thinks these things?

- - People who think the John Woo movie Face Off was non-fiction?

July 5th, 2008 at 1:21 pm

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hussein toasterhead Says:
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MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

July 5th, 2008 at 1:29 pm

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dbadass Says:
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He isn’t wearing a Swatch is he?

July 5th, 2008 at 1:31 pm

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DieNowForPeace Says:
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Then, the Long War will be over. We will have lost.

Yet the Neocons whole-heartedly believe that we MUST democratize the rest of the World in order to sustain our prosperity (endless growth). When in fact a healthy diplomatic relationship, rather than bombing campaigns and occupying sovereign soil, goes a long way towards opening economic avenues into foreign lands.

What the Cons fail to realize is that societies dictate the basic principals and philosophies of their respective governments, and you can’t change 100’s of years of cultural evolution overnight. Therefore it would behoove us to try, at least, to play nice because we are the youngest nation on Earth and culturally, we have very little unity.

We are weak, we have no pretext. So those who might pillage, do so, and those prone to weakness, fail.

July 5th, 2008 at 1:32 pm

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ralph the wonder llama Says:
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Can someone explain again to me why bin Laden would want anyone but Bush (or, now, McBush) in the White House?

July 5th, 2008 at 1:35 pm

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Zooey Says:
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Long War of the 21st century

The Bush/Cheney wet dream — pure profit, until we lose.

July 5th, 2008 at 1:36 pm

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DieNowForPeace Says:
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He isn’t wearing a Swatch is he?

Looks more like a date/calender/digital, back-lit LCD Casio.

Fugly as hell, but chic in the nerd crowd.

July 5th, 2008 at 1:37 pm

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Zooey Says:
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Oops, BnF got there before me. Typical. ;)

July 5th, 2008 at 1:39 pm

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rozerze Says:
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In a 1998 interview, Osama bin Laden — the terrorist who organized 9/11 — listed as one of his many grievances against the U.S. that Americans “have stolen $36 trillion from Muslims” by purchasing oil from Persian Gulf countries at low prices.

So the us has “stolen” from muslims by not doing enough business with them?.what the hell does he really want?.

July 5th, 2008 at 1:40 pm

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ninique Says:
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with all that’s been said and done we still see images of BushCo and people applauding every programmed word that falls out of his pie hole in the backround… WHY????

July 5th, 2008 at 1:41 pm

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dbadass Says:
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DieNowForPeace Says:
——————————————————————————–

He isn’t wearing a Swatch is he?

Looks more like a date/calender/digital, back-lit LCD Casio.

Fugly as hell, but chic in the nerd crowd.

—
Ya know fugly is a good word that needs to come back into common usuage. Thanks for that. I say everyone try to make it a point to say fugly atleast a have a dozen times today

July 5th, 2008 at 1:43 pm

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DieNowForPeace Says:
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Something I’ve long feared is the assimilation of socio-economically disenfranchised groups into existing terror networks, especially here in the U.S.:

“Its the Economy Stupid”: Analysis of Al-Qaeda”

The fact is, Sunni and Shia radical groups, with the help of US wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Palestine (by way of Israel) have become much stronger in the seven years since 9/11.

The key aspect that many analysts are overlooking is the enormously unfair and unjust social and economic conditions in the Arab world, which are playing right into Al-Qaeda’s hands. Previously, AQ was relatively elitist. For example, all but one of the 19 9/11 hijackers had a university degree. Now this is changing. The discovery of recent cells in Algeria, Morocco, Lebanon and Gaza suggests that Al-Qaeda recruits are increasingly coming from poor backgrounds.

LINK

July 5th, 2008 at 1:45 pm

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hussein toasterhead Says:
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rozerze Says:
So the us has “stolen” from muslims by not doing enough business with them?.what the hell does he really want?.
July 5th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
______

$144/barrel crude.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

July 5th, 2008 at 1:45 pm

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ralph the wonder llama Says:
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rozerze Says:

So the us has “stolen” from muslims by not doing enough business with them?.what the hell does he really want?.

Why don’t you ask your man Bush what bin Laden really wants? He seems pretty adept at meeting OBL’s desires.

July 5th, 2008 at 1:45 pm

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LiberalVoter Says:
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Aarg. Sorry, in #7 OSB should be OBL (not enough coffee yet).

July 5th, 2008 at 1:46 pm

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joe cantwell Says:
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roz,

you’re in over

your head.

*

try an easier subject

to comment on.

like tee ball.

*

good luck.

%

July 5th, 2008 at 1:48 pm

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curmudgeon Says:
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Wouldn’t a photo of Usama bin Laden standing next to George W. Bush, smiling, with an arm draped around each other’s shoulder, and flashing a thumbs up sign with a “Mission Accomplished” banner in the background just say it all?

July 5th, 2008 at 1:50 pm

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Zooey Says:
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rozerze still doesn’t realize Bush is OBL’s tool.

July 5th, 2008 at 1:50 pm

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Badmoodman Says:
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Doesn’t that photo of bin Laden just scream Urban Outfitters?

July 5th, 2008 at 1:52 pm

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kasinca Says:
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The Bush Crime Family has done more to hurt the USA than Bin Laden ever could. The amzing thing is that the GOP can still convince their base to be scared of Bin Laden while Dubya is ripping them off. One thing about wingers, they are really good at stupid.

July 5th, 2008 at 1:52 pm

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rozerze Says:
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ralph the wonder llama Says:

Why don’t you ask your man Bush what bin Laden really wants? He seems pretty adept at meeting OBL’s desires.

as if gas prices are his fault…world oil production has peaked, demand from developing, and developed countries hasn’t.

July 5th, 2008 at 1:53 pm

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dbadass Says:
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#29
Good call but what is that green mystical orb thing in from of him. Pier 1 maybe?

July 5th, 2008 at 1:54 pm

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DieNowForPeace Says:
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So the us has “stolen” from muslims by not doing enough business with them?

A little slow on the up-take there chief?

Since all we really want is to sell them McDonalds and Starbucks franchises (products they don’t want) while demanding a reduced price for their natural resources in the open market, I’d say they’re entitled to that belief.

July 5th, 2008 at 1:54 pm

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ralph the wonder llama Says:
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rozerze Says:

as if gas prices are his fault…world oil production has peaked, demand from developing, and developed countries hasn’t.

First, gas prices: the current price of oil is directly affected by Bush’s “fiscal conservatism”, since oil is (for the moment) priced in dollars, and Bush’s deficit spending and reckless war mongering have led to an incredibly weak dollar. Moreover, the absolute lack of any significant alternative-energy program over the last eight years has contributed mightily toward the increased demand for a finite resource.

Now, beyond that, I mentioned Bush’s uncanny ability to deliver what bin Laden seeks, and that goes way beyond $144 a barrel oil. It includes removing the US military from Saudi Arabian holy sites (done), provoking a costly and protracted land war in the middle east, designed to drain our prosperity and willpower (done) and causing panic in our government that led to degraded civil liberties, diminished respect for the US around the world and loss of any moral authority we carried.

Mission accomplished.

July 5th, 2008 at 2:04 pm

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barfly Says:
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rozerze Says:

as if gas prices are his fault…world oil production has peaked, demand from developing, and developed countries hasn’t.

Is RR saying there is such a thing as peak oil? Conservative apostasy; off with his head!

July 5th, 2008 at 2:06 pm

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Guido the Loving OBGYN Says:
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I don’t give a shit what Osama thinks or thought. No amount of grievances justifies him killing civilians. These barefoot terrorists should have been learning how to effectively change public opinion through non-violence starting 1948.

1. Osama and Zawahiri should be dead or in prison.

2. Bush/Cheney let them go.

July 5th, 2008 at 2:08 pm

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had enough Says:
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I wonder if Beleize and other like countries that encourage retired US citizens to reside in their country for their country’s economic reasons are still doing that.

And if our country falls, what are these people, the citizens abroad to do?

July 5th, 2008 at 2:17 pm

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regular_joe Says:
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Ten Years Ago, Bin Laden Demanded Barrel Of Oil Should Cost $144”

Mission Accomplished!

July 5th, 2008 at 2:18 pm

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Bad Eye Says:
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“We are continuing this policy in bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy. Allah willing, and nothing is too great for Allah,” bin Laden said in the transcript.

(From CNN.com’s archives, 2004)

July 5th, 2008 at 2:24 pm

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backup Says:
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It obviously wasn’t the intention, but probably the best thing that could have happened to spur conservation, innovation, and reduced emissions of CO2.

The silver lining of high oil prices is lower demand for oil.

Blame Bush for high oil prices, but embrace the higher prices as a catalyst for reduced dependancy and a cleaner environment.

July 5th, 2008 at 2:26 pm

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Keith Says:
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rozerze Says:
as if gas prices are his fault…world oil production has peaked, demand from developing, and developed countries hasn’t.

When oil was $19 per barrel, W said it was President Bill Clinton’s fault. But now that it is $144, we are not allowed to say that it is Pres W’s fault? Kind of a double standard. Everything W and Dick have done has resulted in increased price of oil (including the Iraq ivasion and constant threats toward Iran). And their oil buddies are loving it. The big western oil corporations’ reserves are now worth about $3 TRILLION.

For about eight years of Pres Clinton, my gas stayed at about 95 cents per gallon.

During Pres Carter I could easily find a job at $12 per hour.

July 5th, 2008 at 2:28 pm

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Keith Says:
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rhf flagged for uncalled for off topic abuse.

July 5th, 2008 at 2:30 pm

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Bad Eye Says:
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backup Says:

The silver lining of high oil prices is lower demand for oil.

Blame Bush for high oil prices, but embrace the higher prices as a catalyst for reduced dependancy and a cleaner environment.

July 5th, 2008 at 2:26 pm

Yet drilling the hell out of this country to get a few extra years of cheap (yeah, sure) oil will have just the opposite effect, right?

July 5th, 2008 at 2:33 pm

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barfly Says:
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backup Says:

It obviously wasn’t the intention, but probably the best thing that could have happened to spur conservation, innovation, and reduced emissions of CO2.

The silver lining of high oil prices is lower demand for oil.

Blame Bush for high oil prices, but embrace the higher prices as a catalyst for reduced dependancy and a cleaner environment.

No, blame you for higher gas prices, since you voted for the oilman, and we didn’t.

Still waiting for your apology for lying, backup.

July 5th, 2008 at 2:37 pm

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had enough Says:
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# 37 Guido the Loving OBGYN Says:

I don’t give a shit what Osama thinks or thought. No amount of grievances justifies him killing civilians. These barefoot terrorists should have been learning how to effectively change public opinion through non-violence starting 1948.

1. Osama and Zawahiri should be dead or in prison.

2. Bush/Cheney let them go.
July 5th, 2008 at 2:08 pm

Bsh/Sheney let them go?

If anything productive is to be done, isn’t an all out non biased investigation of the years starting with 1980, including the real facts about 9/11, Cheney’s secret energy meetings, the Bush/media LIES selling the Iraq war,the robbing of our treasury and borrowing from China to pay for this horrific deed still going on benefiting the Saudis (who bombed us 9/11) and evil minded corporatist?

I believe in the Constitution, a Constitution that has been trashed, and will fight and die for my country.

July 5th, 2008 at 2:38 pm

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RUCerious Says:
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Mission Accomplished! Bin Laden’s mission that is.
Congrats you effing traitorous administration!

July 5th, 2008 at 2:40 pm

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Bad Eye Says:
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Found an article in FoxNews’ archives referencing a Bush-Cheney ad during campaign 2004 that blasted Kerry for suggesting a 50 cents/gal. gas tax. Gas at that time was $2.12 cents in San Diego, as referenced in the article. Adding the gas tax would have taken it to $2.62.

Now that gas is double that, what do we get from the Bush/Cheney administration? No damned concern whatsoever.

July 5th, 2008 at 2:43 pm

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barfly Says:
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prono Says:

How do you like your ideological cellmates, backup?

He’s a real peach.

July 5th, 2008 at 2:48 pm

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Keith Says:
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Bad Eye, Bill Clinton was blasted in the 1992 campaign for suggesting a nickel per gallon tax.

July 5th, 2008 at 2:48 pm

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barfly Says:
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Sombody flag el porno…

July 5th, 2008 at 2:50 pm

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Bad Eye Says:
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Prono’s links appear to go to a porno site. I’m flagging them.

July 5th, 2008 at 2:51 pm

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dbadass Says:
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republicans hate facts:
What is your damage?

July 5th, 2008 at 2:51 pm

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Bad Eye Says:
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Keith Says:

Bad Eye, Bill Clinton was blasted in the 1992 campaign for suggesting a nickel per gallon tax.

July 5th, 2008 at 2:48 pm

Yep. And I remember when he did enact a 4 cent increase in the fed tax and the wingnuts went wild. A week later, the price of gas in our area dropped 6 cents, or 2 cents cheaper than before the tax was added.

July 5th, 2008 at 2:53 pm

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dbadass Says:
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sorry barfly I can’t help. I have a policy against it.

July 5th, 2008 at 2:53 pm

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backup Says:
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barfly. I disagree with the fraud and liar rhetoric, but I acknowledge that it was due in large part to you that I had to examine the relevancy of the snopes link to the point I was making. (The credit for getting me to understand it goes to Gregor, who did a more effective job of communicating it).

I walked away from the discussion with a better understanding of the quotes (those who thought Saddam was a threat in ‘98 may not have thought he was a threat in ‘03 and many who thought Saddam was a threat in ‘03 didn’t think war was the answer).

Please continue to question my posts.

I will be better off for it. Thank you.

July 5th, 2008 at 2:53 pm

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barfly Says:
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republicans hate facts:
What is your damage?

[barfly covers ears]

Oh, no, not again….

July 5th, 2008 at 2:53 pm

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barfly Says:
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Please continue to question my posts.

I will be better off for it. Thank you.

Pointing out fraudulent uses of data is what I enjoy most, so it’s a two-fer.

July 5th, 2008 at 2:55 pm

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barfly Says:
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But I’m still waiting for the apology, backup, or the dead chicken stays where it is, you bad doggie.

July 5th, 2008 at 2:58 pm

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ThomasMc Says:
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Did anyone really doubt this would happen when the Oil Men stole the White House?

July 5th, 2008 at 3:00 pm

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dbadass Says:
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I think it is really freakin’ weird that I can use no variation on the anole eyes word around here but the shit is A-okay. What’s up with that?

July 5th, 2008 at 3:00 pm

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backup Says:
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barfly. Here’s your apology. (If that’s what makes you happy).

I’m sorry that you’re obsessed with discrediting me and not just my ideas. Makes it seem that you more than a little threatened.

But, it is complimentary. Thank you.

I’m not sure when the battle of ideas became a team sport, but you truly are a team player.

Go, team.

July 5th, 2008 at 3:01 pm

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dbadass Says:
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the/that you get the point don’t year dear big brother moderator…

July 5th, 2008 at 3:02 pm

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barfly Says:
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backup, your ideological brother prono, is wandering from thread to thread. Do see if you can get a grip on him, like a good chap.

July 5th, 2008 at 3:02 pm

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dbadass Says:
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year/you. You know what I mean. TP please explain. “anole eyes” they’re watching you….

July 5th, 2008 at 3:04 pm

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barfly Says:
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barfly. Here’s your apology. (If that’s what makes you happy).

Good Doggie! Come here, and let me cut that nasty carcass off you. I hope you learned your lesson - now go play!

July 5th, 2008 at 3:04 pm

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xtro Says:
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It should be clear to you that Bin Laden was just a ploy used by the Bush admin and the CIA (which employs Bin Laden) to get exactly that price threshold he mentioned. He wasn’t talking the dreams of a terrorist fanatic, he was previewing the ambitions of the next administration. Let me make it clear - Bush and the neocons deliberately orchestrated 9/11, using Bin Laden (a CIA asset going back to the Russian/Afghan wars) to vilify the arab world and make the costly wars with Iraq (and even Iran) possible.

The NYT article said the sinking of 3 tankers in the Strait of Hormuz would be enough to get oil from $11 to $144 a barrel. 3 tankers. Does anyone think that even if Iran was heavily bombed, they WOULDN’T be able to take out at least 3 tankers? So what happens if 3 or more tankers were sunk today? If prices shot up at the same rate the NYT predicted they’d go up SIX TIMES what oil sells for now. That means oil would go from $144 a barrel to $864 a barrel, or about $25 for a gallon of regular unleaded. Even an increase of half that would DESTROY the US economy in its current state, we’re talking about the complete financial collapse of the US.

From this it can be concluded that the US WILL NOT be attacking Iran any time soon, just as it won’t be attacking Russia anytime soon. Because, a Russian response would be in terms of physical devastation, what an Iranian response would be in terms of financial devastation.

Hence the only reason for the continued threats of an attack are to drive up the price of oil and keep it up. Either way Bush’s actions are clearly criminal and against our national security interests (the same way an unprovoked attack on Russia would be against our interests).

That is, unless what some say is true and the neocons really are planning on using an economic collapse to facilitate the adoption of the North-American-Union, a gov’t with an unelected parliament, above the US Supreme Court and Congress, that would transform the US from a democratic republic into a “market-state”. Read this review of top neocon Phillip Bobbitt’s recent book, “Terror and Consent”:

“Specifically, we must stop thinking like a nation state and start thinking like the “market state” that we are inevitably becoming. The nation state — a constitutional order dedicated to protecting and improving the material welfare of its citizens — served the United States well from the mid-19th century to the end of the Cold War. But Bobbitt contends it’s vulnerable to a new battery of threats. The accessibility of weapons of mass destruction, the globalization of international capital and the “universalization of culture” have eroded the conventional borders that once legitimated national security.

What’s needed is a constitutional order that takes its structural cues from multinational corporations and nongovernmental organizations, relying “less on law and regulation and more on market incentives” to expand people’s options. Such a market state keeps its finger on the pulse of consumer demand, advocates trade liberalization, is prone to the privatization of public works and “will outsource many functions.”
http://www.roguegovernment.com/news.php?id=8315

Only one event could create the kind of government he describes - the complete and total collapse of the US financial system. A war with Iran would do that. This may be the 9.11-part 2 they’ve been speaking of…

July 5th, 2008 at 3:05 pm

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dbadass Says:
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backup:
Do you know the correct spelling of “pwned”?

July 5th, 2008 at 3:07 pm

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stewarjt Says:
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Ten Years Ago, Bin Laden Demanded Barrel Of Oil Should Cost $144

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

July 5th, 2008 at 3:09 pm

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Gregor Samsa Says:
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I remember the quaint ole’ days when reichwingers would get apoplectic every time a political opponent made a statement that even remotely resembled something Bin Laden had said before.

Now that their Dear (mis)Leader’s disastrous policies have resulted in the very outcome Bin Laden was aiming for, will they have the same temper tantrums?

(It’s a rhetorical question, of course. I know they won’t. The Bush personality cult followers don’t mind getting played by their Supreme Leader. I’d say they rather enjoy it)

Heckuva job Georgie!

July 5th, 2008 at 3:10 pm

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upside99 Says:
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I wonder if OBL has sent his personal Thank You to BushCo?

I know Darth and the Bush Crime Family have sent theirs; which is that he is still at large.

They all are billions richer now. As is the entire Bin Laden family in Saudi Arabia.

July 5th, 2008 at 3:12 pm

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Gregor Samsa Says:
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Let’s hear it, Bush bootlickers!

Let your yakking begin: “It’s Clinton’s fault!!”

(You can also try to reach back to Carter or FDR. It makes your prattle even more irrelevant and asinine)

July 5th, 2008 at 3:16 pm

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JBaddo Says:
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#1 What is saddest is that Bin Laden knew how stupid America was but America didn’t know.

Bin Laden simply put it: f**k with us in our countries we will f**k with you in your country. Blowback for America’s nefarious meddling in countries it wants to control. Human nature is people defending itself against aggression and strike at the homeland of the aggressor. The IRA did this successfully against Britain.

July 5th, 2008 at 3:17 pm

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barfly Says:
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If Iraq is going so well that a theme park is planned for the near future, when will they be building one in Afganistan?

Just think of the thrill of rollercoastering through the simulated-live-fire-rifle-and-mortar-shell-ed mountains, at breakneck speed, up and down near-shear cliffs, through villages, and waterfalls, and poppy fields as far as the horizon.

Call it, the Taliban Twister…

Or the Wahhabi Nightmare…

July 5th, 2008 at 3:22 pm

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Noob17 Says:
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Osama was correct. Maybe he will inform which numbers will win the next $500.00 Mega lottery.

July 5th, 2008 at 3:24 pm

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dbadass Says:
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Hi prono:
What are you up to today? I sort of have an idea but do you really think everyone else has to see it? Think of the children…

July 5th, 2008 at 3:26 pm

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Gregor Samsa Says:
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The saddest part is that the Bush administration hasn’t had enough yet.

They have their eyes on Iran and I am afraid they won’t be happy until they have set the entire Middle East on fire.

Such is the Bush legacy: Incompetence, cronyism, disastrous policies, and one of the biggest military blunders.

July 5th, 2008 at 3:27 pm

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barfly Says:
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prono spill, in produce!

Bring the shop-vac…

July 5th, 2008 at 3:28 pm

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Nashoba nowa Says:
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Oil $144.00 a barrel, the U.S. Constitution scorned and suppressed by our own Government, Fear Mongering by our President at every breath, apathy on behalf of most Americans, the U.S. bogged down in the Occupation of Iraq spending 12 billion dollars a month, I would say that bin Laden got far more than he ever thought possible.

July 5th, 2008 at 3:32 pm

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Crusty Old Bastard Says:
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Today is a slow day so I will go OT and practice for the next post about the flip-flopping of Obama and McPain.

For want of something better to do I have succumbed to the temptation of examining the present political partisan phenomenon phrased as phlip-phlopping. My reference (Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, C. & G. Merriam Company, Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.A., 1977) defines “flip-flop” as an intransitive verb denoting the action of a sudden reversal of direction or point of view. Note there is no value judgement attached to the action. It is only when the action is assigned judgement in terms of an adverb or adverbial phrase and applied to “My Guy” or “Your Guy” does the concept of “flip-flopping’ take on a positive or negative connotation. “Your Guy is a flip-flopper because he is a wish-washy opportunist. BAD! “My Guy” is a flip-flopper because he is a fact-considering pragmatist. GOOD!

To illustrate the concept in real terms let us consider a scenario with which we are all too familiar. Imagine, if you will, two drivers side-by-each, at a stop light. Both drivers have a common destination but that is the end of their similarity. The driver in lane 1 (closest to the curb) waits for the light to turn green by revving his engine, creeping over the line and watching the opposing light to gain an advantage at the start. When the light turns green he makes a rubber-burning jack-rabbit start and begins using the means to justify the end–getting to the destination in front. He changes lanes without looking, signaling nor considering the drivers he cuts off, he exceeds the speed limit, he pushes the limit on yellow lights, he honks, he curses, he follows too closely, if not breaking the laws he sure bends the crap out of them, ignores all the one-finger waves and mouthed profanities, and if stopped he lies about his actions. The driver in
lane 2 spends his time waiting for the green light by carefully planning his trip. He considers the traffic, the time of day (rush hour), the day of the week (week-day, week-end), time of the month (holiday), and the month of the year (season). When the light turns green he observes the entrance to the intersection and when safe to do so he starts at a reasonable rate to conserve gas. He uses the means dictated by law and common sense to attain the end (destination) safely and legally. He changes lanes when the circumstances dictate that it would be a prudent move but only after checking the traffic and making the proper signals. He maintains a safe and prudent speed at or under the posted limit. He anticipates the traffic lighs and does not stop suddenly nor proceed unsafely. He uses his horn only as a safety measure to warn other drivers of his presence. He obeys all the applicable laws to assure he is not stopped. He exchanges friendly five-fingered
waves of greeting with his fellow drivers. Who got there first? Who knows? Who cares? The point is that both drivers flip-flopped continuously during the trip. Was one a “good” flip-flopper? Absolutely! Was one a “bad” flip-flopper? Without a doubt. Which is which? Now is the time to apply those value laden adverbs. For the driver in lane 1 the two words that come to mind immediately are “arbitrary” (selected at random and without reason) and “capricious” (characterized by a sudden, impulsive, unwarranted change of mind). For the driver in lane 2 the terms “considered” (matured by extended, deliberative thought) and “justified” (proven to be just, right and reasonable).

How, you ask, does the preceding tale shed light on the pressing problem of the present political phenomenon phrased as phlip-phlopping?

One need to look no farther than the lanes which the drivers have chosen”

The arbitrary and capricious flip-flopping driver in lane 1 is on the RIGHT.

The considered and justified flip-flopping driver in lane 2 is on the LEFT.

July 5th, 2008 at 3:32 pm

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barfly Says:
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Noob17 Says:

Osama was correct. Maybe he will inform which numbers will win the next $500.00 Mega lottery.

Save your cash. There’s a sale on Bay Rum hair tonic, at TJ Max.

Cheers, mate.

July 5th, 2008 at 3:33 pm

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barfly Says:
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Hey Crusty:

A little more paragraphing would make your post much more palatable. Look at it. It sits there like a huge pill, just waiting to be swallowed whole. Next time, bust it up a little, for those of us with limited attention spans.

July 5th, 2008 at 3:41 pm

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dbadass Says:
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barfly:
Are you now or have you ever been a tenth grade english teacher? Do you have any idea how tired the teaching of the 5 paragraph essay has become?

July 5th, 2008 at 3:45 pm

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Max-1 Says:
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.

M I S S I O N
ACCOMPLISHED!

.

July 5th, 2008 at 3:48 pm

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MapleStreet Says:
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Dare I point out that as OBL’s predictions for the future come true, that he is in a much better position to be leader than Shrub ?

Or as it says in the good book, if one’s predictions come true then they are a prophet and should be listened to. If not, they are a false prophet and should be stoned. (and I’m not referring to Shrub’s being stoned on drugs either).

July 5th, 2008 at 3:51 pm

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Mrvee Says:
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Give me a break. Bin Laden? Mission Accomplished??

How transparent is this story? It’s got Karl Rove written all over it. Whatever it takes to deflect attention from President Bush and McBush from the total decimation of this nations economy he’s about planting it. No way in the world will he escape responsibility for what he’s done with our country.
I expect more stories like this one to crop up in the press. Worse than Jimmy Carter ever was.

July 5th, 2008 at 3:52 pm

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Angry McAngus Says:
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Of course all the “traitors” who pointed out in the runup to Iraq in ‘02 that this was the case (blood for oil), that occupying a Middle Eastern country would create a “quagmire” (”once you break it, you own it”) and bankrupt the U.S. (see USSR/Afghanistan) were told they were completely wrong-headed blame-America-first-ers who compared Iraq to Vietnam when these were completely different as one was a jungle while the other is a desert, stuck in pre-9/11 thinking blah blah

July 5th, 2008 at 3:54 pm

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SteveSOD Says:
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Heckuva job, Junior Bush, you cokeheaded, Connecticut-born, false-Texan, miserable failure fraud.

July 5th, 2008 at 4:12 pm

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backup Says:
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barfly. my post #63 and yours #67 and you accuse me of lies of omission?

you might have more luck attacking a mirror.

you have helped me to see things more clearly:

that you’re clearly not someone capable of reason.

Take care, my friend. I’m not giving up on you. :)

July 5th, 2008 at 4:17 pm

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Crusty Old Bastard Says:
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barfly and dbadass,

Thanks for reading my stuff. I’ll do better next time.

Actually it is all TP’s fault!!! If they let us use all that wasted space and void over there on the RIGHT (pun intended) the aspect ratio would change and it would look like a capsule and not a pill.

July 5th, 2008 at 4:26 pm

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McWars Says:
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I think Obama was railing against late-term abortions, rhf. That’s what I heard of the radio clip. If there’s more to the story, anybody except rhf should fill me in.

Can’t have it both ways, Chucky RHF. You’re either a progressive who respects all progressive posters, namely ZOOEY, or you’re a stalking psycho who’s missing the fruits from his loops (credit: Wayne).

July 5th, 2008 at 4:44 pm

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McWars Says:
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Georgie told the Marines they couldn’t surround Tora Bora and capture Bin Laden, because he knew they’d never find him there. Not surprising, they’re also off limits from searching the guest room at Bush’s ranch. Well, make that a “long-term” guest room.

July 5th, 2008 at 4:54 pm

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dbadass Says:
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what McWars said @92

July 5th, 2008 at 5:34 pm

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Game of Life Says:
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bin Laden made a deal with the devil (chimpy.)

chimpy: I’m not concern with bin Laden.

July 5th, 2008 at 5:38 pm

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Game of Life Says:
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backup Says:

It obviously wasn’t the intention, but probably the best thing that could have happened to spur conservation, innovation, and reduced emissions of CO2.

The silver lining of high oil prices is lower demand for oil.

Blame Bush for high oil prices, but embrace the higher prices as a catalyst for reduced dependancy and a cleaner environment.

It doesn’t seem to affect the rich like mcchimpy and his “freedom” plane, heck he didn’t know the price of gas. The high price only affects the poor; higher cost of food, higer cost disposable products etc. So with you limited thinking only the rich deserve fuel and food.

July 5th, 2008 at 5:55 pm

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had enough Says:
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Gregor Samsa Says:

The saddest part is that the Bush administration hasn’t had enough yet.

They have their eyes on Iran and I am afraid they won’t be happy until they have set the entire Middle East on fire.

Such is the Bush legacy: Incompetence, cronyism, disastrous policies, and one of the biggest military blunders.
July 5th, 2008 at 3:27 pm

Saddest of the sad is we are still just talking instead of acting. Not even doing this

July 5th, 2008 at 5:58 pm

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barfly Says:
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backup Says:

barfly. my post #63 and yours #67 and you accuse me of lies of omission?

you might have more luck attacking a mirror.

you have helped me to see things more clearly:

that you’re clearly not someone capable of reason.

Take care, my friend. I’m not giving up on you. :)

Now, you don’t sound apologetic at all! That’s just you, trying to make a point? I must confess your wit escapes me, as does your point.

Am I going to have to re-tie that wormy carcass around your neck, again? Please, don’t make me do it, doggy. It hurts me more than it does you.

…well, not really, but the smell is godawful!

July 5th, 2008 at 6:00 pm

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jay_severin_has_a_small_pen1s Says:
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The jokes on Bin Laden.

The US dollars we are paying with are worthless!

July 5th, 2008 at 6:34 pm

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DaTruth Says:
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Ah! Yes he roams free alright. After 9/11 Bush gave him Carte Blanche. A long time friend of the Bushes, tracing back to the Saudis and the Carlyle Group. He was told : “…knock down the WTC Towers and you can write your own ticket! We’ll find a secluded hideaway where you can plan future terrorist attacks in case we need another!” Thanks to Bin Laden Bush got “re-elected”. Bush Bin Laden Partnership 7yrs later it is so obvious.

July 5th, 2008 at 6:50 pm

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pluege Says:
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jay_severin_has_a_small_pen1s Says:

The jokes on Bin Laden.
The US dollars we are paying with are worthless!

Jackass - what’s that $100 fill-up doing for you and all the other Americans paying into Exxon-Mobil instead of buying food and paying their mortgage? I guess bush really got one over on bin laden now didn’t he - shhheeessshhh, how stupid can you be.

July 5th, 2008 at 7:30 pm

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ralph the wonder llama Says:
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Uh… pluege? I think jay_severin_has_a_small_pen1s was being sarcastic.

Just a hunch.

July 5th, 2008 at 7:49 pm

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WmPennsExperiment Says:
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uh oh first post on TP.
How do we get mainstream USA out of their Hummers long enough to understand what is really going on? Here’s a quote from OBL in the NY Timesfor god’s sake.

July 5th, 2008 at 8:02 pm

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John Kerry Says:
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Well, now thanks to the DO NOTHING Dem lead Congress your dreams are coming TRUE!!

Nice job libs!

July 5th, 2008 at 8:04 pm

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Turfkiller Says:
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Of course before Bush and the tax cuts that made this great American economy what it is today, $144 was a lot more money 10 years ago.

All these attacks on oil countries are really meant to drive up the price of oil high enough so the large oil companies can really teach us the real meaning of obscene profits.

As for the do nothing Dem congress… the previous Republican congresses would have done better doing nothing as everything they have done has been wrong.

July 5th, 2008 at 8:14 pm

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Cats r Flyfishn Says:
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Looks like Bin Lauden beat the boy Bush at his own game or is the boy Bush really a good buddy of Bin Lauden. Makes me wonder sometimes considering the fact that the boy Bush let Bin Lauden get away.

July 5th, 2008 at 8:30 pm

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Cats r Flyfishn Says:
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Apologies - should be Bin Laden and not Bin Lauden.

July 5th, 2008 at 8:31 pm

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wizard2000 Says:
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The Republicans (and a few DLC Blue Dog Democrats) have definitely been a boon for Osama bin Laden and his cutthroat band of right-wing religious zealots.

Just as Prescott Bush, Georgie’s grandpa, had extensive dealings with Hitler’s Nazi Germany, the Bush family has had extensive dealings over prior decades with Saudi Arabian kings and princes, and no doubt, contact with the bin Laden family, which is a major player in Saudi politics.

So, on Aug. 6, 2001, a CIA officer briefs George W. Bush, reading from a presidential daily briefing entitled “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in the U.S.”, after which Bush (and his national security team) promptly did nothing.

Osama bin Laden, a Saudi, sends right-wing terrorists under his command to launch a suicide attack inside the U.S., with 15 of the attackers being fellow Saudis (among the rest, not a single one was Iraqi).

Within hours of the 9/11 attacks, Bush (and his national security team) began moving Saudi nationals around inside the United States, gathering them at a staging site, from which they were flown out of the country…even as all other U.S. air carriers were grounded following the attacks.

Bush (and his crack”pot” national security team) initially want to attack Iraq, but with all the evidence pointing to Osama bin Laden and fellow Saudis being behind the 9/11 attacks, they have to deal first with bin Laden in Afghanistan, except that when Osama bin Laden was cornered at Tora Bora, the Bushites let bin Laden escape, allowing him to flee across the mountains into Pakistan.

Now, I read that Osama bin Laden in 1998 was wishing for $144-a-barrel oil prices.

In late 2000, former Sen. Phil Gramm (R-TX) snuck a provision into a bill that deregulated on-line energy trading, which opened the door to price-fixing by Enron’s on-line energy traders, under the command of the late Kenneth Lay. The West Coast of the U.S. bore the brunt of this Gramm/Lay/Enron scheme, suffering rolling blackouts in early 2001, with utility customers seeing tripled monthly utility bills.

Gramm’s little deregulatory provision, called the “Enron loophole,” was left wide open for years, with Republicans thwarting attempts by concerned Democrats to close it. Enter the oil futures speculators, especially the ones trading on-line.

After hearing this quote by Osama bin Laden from 1998, what would stop Osama bin Laden, or any of his terrorist sympathizers, including members of his own family in Saudi Arabia, or even among the Saudi royals, from pumping millions of dollars into oil futures speculation?

This would have the effect of driving up world oil barrel prices to $144-a-barrel (and gasoline prices at the pump in the U.S.), essentially making a self-fulfilling prophecy of what bin Laden said in 1998, with George W. Bush, Republicans and a few lapdog DLC Blue Dog Democrats looking the other way while our national security is severely undermined, if not on the brink of being a national disaster.

So, I agree. What Bush, the Republicans, and certain Blue Dog Democrats have done has only helped the hardcore, right-wing religious terrorists, like bin Laden and his zealous thugs, while causing harm to our nation that will be extremely difficult to fix. We all know now who the true traitors are…Bush, Cheney, Republicans and some Blue Dog Democrats.

July 5th, 2008 at 8:39 pm

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dbadass Says:
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Hi John Kerry:
I think I speak for all of us when I welcome you to stay and chat a bit. You always seems so rushed. Do you take milk with your tea? Help yourself to those silly little sandwiches…

July 5th, 2008 at 9:57 pm

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MusicLover Says:
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“Mission Accomplished.”

July 5th, 2008 at 10:16 pm

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ralph the wonder llama Says:
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Maybe it’s just me but I’ve always felt bin Laden looked a lot like the dry cleaner that Jerry cajoles into admitting guilt for shrinking a shirt on Seinfeld.

I mean, with a fake beard and all that.

July 5th, 2008 at 10:29 pm

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Brain From Planet Arous Says:
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BushLaden Productions with it’s main antagonist, Osama Bin Goldstein, and his many doubles and disguises. Oceania is never safe when Bin Goldstein broadcasts.

Brought to you live from a cave in the Stella Doro Mountains.

July 5th, 2008 at 11:32 pm

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jasonabdon Says:
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HA! Worthless American dollars? They only accept the Euros.
Put that in your turdblossem pipe and smoke it.

July 5th, 2008 at 11:52 pm

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Leftside Annie Says:
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Ah, yes, Boy George and OBL = BFFs. They have been in cahoots for years, IMO. Cave in Pakistan, my ass. OBL is tucked up snug and secure in the bosom of his family in Saudi Arabia, courtesy of King George and his evil court.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!

July 6th, 2008 at 12:33 am

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ForTruth Says:
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Bin Laden is purely political. There were no plans to actually get him. It’s all a farce people.

Lets show some caves gettin’ blowed up!

Binny is a business partner to the Booosh Family.

July 6th, 2008 at 12:46 am

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Bad Eye Says:
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John Kerry Says:

Well, now thanks to the DO NOTHING Dem lead Congress your dreams are coming TRUE!!

Nice job libs!

July 5th, 2008 at 8:04 pm

The Repubs led Congress for 12 years; what did they do to help prevent the current issue with oil prices? Hmmmm?

July 6th, 2008 at 8:15 am

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Bozo The Neoclown Says:
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“John Kerry Says:

Well, now thanks to the DO NOTHING Dem lead Congress your dreams are coming TRUE!!

Nice job libs!”

Perhaps you would be better served taking a Civics course at your local junior college to avoid sounding like an utter moron on a regular basis. The Democrats do not have a clear cut majority in the Senate and your tin idol in the White House likes to use the power of the veto like it’s going out of style. Compound that with the obstructionist Waaahhhhpublicans in both houses (think back to them wetting their nappies over the G.I. bill) and you end up with a stalemate.

July 6th, 2008 at 8:24 am

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Turfkiller Says:
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After looking at all of these comments it appears we have 2 choices:

1. The do nothing democrats
or
2. The do everything wrong republicans.
so

If you get a W2 at the end of the year, you almost have to vote democratic.
or
Why would anyone who gets a W2 vote republican?

July 6th, 2008 at 9:54 am

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Alecto Says:
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backup Says:

barfly. Here’s your apology. (If that’s what makes you happy).

I’m sorry that you’re obsessed with discrediting me and not just my ideas. Makes it seem that you more than a little threatened.

But, it is complimentary. Thank you.

I’m not sure when the battle of ideas became a team sport, but you truly are a team player.

Go, team.

GOing a little o/t
See this is the Reichwing difference between fanaticism (religious) and science. Fanaticism relies on th personal opinion and “understanding” of the their world, and how this personal “understanding” should be EVERYONE’s understanding of the world, as compared to SCIENCE which shares the basic understanding of the world around us all, and shares the commonality of those experiences to build a framework of expectations of the world around us.

Just saying.

July 6th, 2008 at 11:44 am

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Briseadh na Faire Says:
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Why would anyone who gets a W2 vote republican?

I. gays in the military

II. gay marriage

III. abortion

IV. Flag lapel pins

V. skin color

VI. “Christianity”

VII. “Death” tax

VIII. “terrorists”

IX. Tax cuts

X. Commander in Chiefiness

July 6th, 2008 at 11:56 am

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Mugsy Says:
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George Bush, bin Laden’s best friend, let me count the ways:

1. Ignored the threat of al Qaeda before 9/11, allowing them to pull off their spectacular attack. :(

2. Helped bin Laden’s family flee the country in the days after 9/11.

3. Tora Bora.

4. Pulled U.S. troops, stationed in Saudi Arabia, out of the country (a stated reason OBL gave for attacking the U.S.).

5. Turned sights from completing the job in Afghanistan to focus on Iraq (even pulling troops out to go to Iraq) to overthrow a secular dictator that OBL himself sought to overthrow.

6. Bankrupted the U.S. economy, devalued the dollar, pushed the U.S. into a recession, and now has oil trading at over $144/barrel, exactly where OBL said it “should be” trading for.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: “Just whose side is George Bush on???”

April 30, 2008

By the time the summer is over, there will be a tent city in DC - martial law or not.

http://therealnews.com/web/index.php?thisdataswitch=0&thisid=1421&thisview=item

US truckers call for nation-wide shutdown

Truckers' protest urges Congress to stop subsidizing oil industry and build new refineries

Wednesday April 30th, 2008

A convoy of trucks rolled through Washington, DC, on Monday, as part of a protest to pressure Congress into acting on high gas prices. As gas around the US hit an average of $3.66 per gallon--a full 66 cents above the price this time last year--truckers called on the US government to take action.

April 09, 2008

Oil rises to new high of $112.21 as inventories fall + comments from those who KNOW

My comment:

Until such time as the wars in Afghanistan and Irak END and definite timetables to withdraw troops are SET IN STONE

and the borrowing agenda of the US Treasury is stopped

and the SEC puts on real monetary regulation

Then all the Bad News will just continue.

I remain convinced that at some point that the middle class is going to get pissed enought to DEMAND IMPEACHMENT before the election.

Meanwhile, the KlusterfucK just advances in the United States and Canada.

A SHOCK event - war with Iran or Syria, martial law declaration somewhere because of a natural catastrophe such as an earthquake or a manufactured pandemic are just about due NOW.

Computer runs put the date for a Big Event for tomorrow- April 10th.

Hmmm mmmm.

I wonder what Dick the Prick and Hankie Poo are up to today.

Don't YOU??

Time to haul out the Big Scare agenda once again. I wonder if they discussed it over a seafood dinner inside the bunker last night.

If you ARE reading this - HAVE you signed an impeachment petition yet?

Have you?

Without rule of law, things are gonna get REAL ugly!!

Here, below, is the continuing saga about $ociali$m for the RICH, where THEY share the profit$ at the top- and we get the losses.

Veeger


SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures rallied nearly $4 Wednesday to a new record of $112.21 a barrel as government data showed a surprising drop in U.S. inventories.

Similarly, gains were seen in petroleum-products futures trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The nation's stockpiles of crude fell to 316 million barrels in the week ended April 4, the Energy Information Administration reported.

This was down 3.2 million barrels on the week. Analysts surveyed by energy information provider Platts had been looking for an increase of 2.7 million barrels.

Crude oil for May delivery surged $3.71, or 3.4%, to a record of $112.21 a barrel in Nymex action in mid-afternoon trading. The benchmark contract had been up less than $1 before the data came out.

Chris Lafakis, an analyst at Moody's Economy.com, called last week's reduction in inventories "supportive of record oil prices." Crude's previous all-time high record was $111.80 hit on March 17.

Also Wednesday on Nymex, May reformulated gasoline rose 5.83 cents to $2.8087 a gallon and May heating oil gained 7.7 cents to $3.1872 a gallon, while May natural gas futures rose 41.3 cents to $10.11 per million British thermal units. Weekly data on U.S. gas in storage are due out on Thursday.

Crude inventories in detail

The unexpected drop in crude inventories came from sliding imports, the government's data showed.

U.S. oil imports averaged 8.9 million barrels a day last week, down nearly 1.4 million barrels a day from the previous week, the EIA reported.

"While imports will probably rebound next week, oil prices will nonetheless go up in the interim," said Lafakis.

The EIA also reported crude inventories at Cushing, Okla., the delivery point for crude traded on the Nymex, were unchanged at 17.5 million barrels.

Meanwhile, U.S. gasoline supplies fell 3.4 million barrels in the latest week, while distillate supplies, which include heating oil and diesel, dropped 3.7 million barrels. Analysts surveyed by Platts had been anticipating declines of 2.3 million barrels for gasoline stocks and 1.3 million barrels for distillates.

U.S. refineries operated at 83% of their operable capacity last week, up from the previous week's 82.4%.


In a separate report, the American Petroleum Institute said U.S. crude inventories rose by 6 million barrels in the week ended April 4, reaching to 315.5 million barrels. The API, an association of the U.S. oil and natural gas industry, calculates inventories based on different criteria.
Distillate stocks fell to 112.8 million barrels, down 177,000 barrels, while gasoline stocks rose by 1.8 million barrels to stand at 219.2 million barrels, the API said.

Weak demand

Crude's new record came even when the EIA is forecasting lower energy demand in the U.S.
EIA said in a monthly report released on Tuesday that consumption of liquid fuels and other petroleum products is projected to grow by 40,000 barrels a day in 2008, a downward revision of 100,000 barrels a day from the previous monthly forecast.
After accounting for increased ethanol use, U.S. petroleum consumption actually will fall by 90,000 barrels a day, EIA said.

West Texas Intermediate crude, or the underlying product of the Nymex crude futures, is expected to average $102 in March, EIA said in the report. The annual average WTI price, which was $72 per barrel in 2007, is projected to average $94 per barrel in 2008, but ease to about $86 per barrel in 2009. End of Story

Moming Zhou is a MarketWatch reporter, based in San Francisco.
Polya Lesova is a MarketWatch reporter based in New York.

ARay is ranked in the community as Analyst
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I was just wondering, Isn’t it about time that the professor from Colorado State U. (you know, that hotbed of hurricane activity) announce that there will be seventy or eighty hurricanes headed for the Houston oil refineries. The oil companies are running out of things to blame high prices on. The fact that he has been wrong the past two or three years may limit the pump and dump to, say $10 or $15 dollars a barrel.
Any thoughts?

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mikeyl2826 3 hours ago
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Thats about right...he predicted something like 5-8 named storms with 1-2 being CAT 5s and for three yrs since Katrina he has been wrong...I don't understand how somebody estimating how many hurricanes there will be drives up oil prices...at least wait until they form off the coast of Africa, try and make us believe you arent screwing us at every turn....
numisman 3 hours ago
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You're right. The hurricane predictions are pretty boilerplate stuff. Take the long term average and add or subtract a storm or two.

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BlueHorseshu 3 hours ago
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Guys we need to hold on tight here. Oil is going to fall off a cliff after this announcement but it will be volatile. Next stop $101 watch this space!
numisman 3 hours ago
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$101 is still way overcooked in my book.

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DOWJONI 18 minutes ago
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Im with you this is a CROCK SHORT OIL. The lyin thieves!!!

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ARay 2 hours ago
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Want some more Busish news?

"The Bush administration is currently adding 70,000 barrels of oil a day to the SPR, which is scheduled to hit a record volume of 700.7 million barrels by the end of the month.

Shipments to the reserves could shoot up to 125,000 barrels a day under a plan by the U.S. Energy Department that would put the government in competition with refiners for oil during the busy summer driving season."

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1444397720080314?pageNumber=2%26virtualBrandChannel=10112
rockrat 59 minutes ago
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The SPR is still accumulating oil? The only reasons for that are to prop up the oil prices, or as preparation for the invasion of Iran. Congress should override this lunacy.

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JanPaul 2 hours ago
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I believe that the U.S. needs oil at these prices so OPEC has enough money to lend our government the money it is spending. With our deficit rising and the need for loans and some countries backing off from our debt, OPEC is our "loan lifeline."

When Japan and China sold off debt a few months back, OPEC stepped in to buy and still loan us the money we need.

Well the numbers are in. So much for a surplus.

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true2you 2 hours ago
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Still looking for an answer do we have an open order for as much crude as we can get or is it an agreement between buyers and sellers that they will buy so much?

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FuelMangerServices 2 hours ago
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I repeat - Senate Bill S. 577 would stop most of this c*** happening on the commodity markets especially in the energy sector...Today, Oil and Gas traders do NOT report any trades and more importantly WHO'S funding the trade. My Gut and Heart tells me it's the big three oil companies via oil money supported trading companies and also OPEC...Before you don't believe it could be that simple - PLEASE google Senate Bill S. 577 and you'll most likely be as upset as I am due to I monitor the NYMEX daily and for the last 24-years....The NYMEX was originally established to CONTROL major up/down swings in the energy markets. When this administration came into office they re-wrote the play book...This is exactly what they want to happen...KAOS is great for the very wealthy "have mores" -
jerryl 1 hour ago
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The big banks are the ones who are holding the oil price and futures. They can no longer make money with loans. The futures market gives them BIG short term returns... They have been doing this since they had no real profitable place to put their funds.

JerryL

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JanPaul 2 hours ago
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The big three only control about 5% of the oil reserves but, the government does want high oil prices because the value of the dollar is tied to oil demand. The less dollars needed to buy oil with and the lower the dollar falls.

High oil prices are all about propping the dollar up and having enough wealth in OPEC nations to loan us the money we need.
loangstar 2 hours ago
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Why we need to borrow money from these countries? Can we just ask them to pay us for protecting them against Ir**.
BobP863 26 minutes ago
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Loangstar, good question. Bush Sr managed to get Kuwait to pay us in full for the Gulf War. So far Junior has only managed to get loans, loans, and more loans, while cutting taxes, to pay for Iraq and now he want to do the same for waging a war against Iran. Can't seem to get too many countries interested though.
mgrg 2 hours ago
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You forgot to mention that Bush is responsible for everything

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numisman 1 hour ago
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What's the end-game to this strategy?

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sands8oo 1 hour ago
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Excellent point JP - it boggles my mind trying to explain to folks that the rising oil prices are all in direct correlation with higher spending (ie bailouts, the Iraq war, etc etc)

How do you keep the dollar from collapsing? You get people to buy our treasuries. What happens when Japan and China no longer are buyers? You ask the Middle East to do so - and they comply, however, to get the money to do it, they need prices to go up so they have the cash flow.

Dont send these silly proposals for commodities price regulation - send proposals against continued expenditure of tax dollars for federal housing and banking bailouts.

Oh wait, that might cause an economic pandemonium - so lets just stick with higher oil to prevent chaos and let everyone complain and play nicely.

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sl1966 27 minutes ago
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When oil went below 100 a couple of weeks ago the dollar went up so that doesn`t completely go along with what you said.

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zymurguy 2 hours ago
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I love how these shortages in oil reserves are always "unexpected". The people in charge of watching and managing the volume of oil reserves are worse than the weatherman... YOU'RE FIRED! I mean, c'mon, what does it take to check the dipstick each day, make a few phone calls... "hey Jim, what's the tank look like today?"... "oh, it's unexpectedly low, Bob, I dunno what happened." Sheesh.
mikeyl2826 1 hour ago
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I know when it drops it is totally unexpected but when they rise, it is usually not building enough so prices are still bullish....what a crock!

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theargo7 1 hour ago
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Especially since it is normal for gasoline inventories to drop at this time of year (The inventories fell this week last year by almost the same amount as this year). Yet they forecast the drop to be very small so they can sell the "soaring demand" or "shrinking capacity" theory when it comes out as a larger drop than expected. The whole thing is a farce.

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JanPaul 1 hour ago
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What is the "end game?" It was set in motion in 1971 when Kissinger made the deal to save the dollar with OPEC. Collapse of the dollar.

From that time on, the Fed, oil, trade deals, wars, etc. have all been to keep the dollar from collapsing. It is a game where you have to keep expanding the need for dollars one way or the other. Anytime demand falls, like when Saddam started selling oil in Euro's you have to find a way to counter that fall in demand. One way is war and another, in the case of Iran, is to raise prices so that what Iran sells in other currencies is made up for by the other nations selling at higher prices in dollars.

This continues until a "panic sell" takes place. If another nation sells in other currencies in a large quantity, it sets in motion a chain reaction where first out, gets the most for their dollars and last out loses most of the value they had. They don't want to do this yet. The U.S. consumer is still important to the global economy that they want us buying. That is declining but we aren't to a decoupling yet.
MrRaz 1 hour ago
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Very interesting JanPaul. Would you be so kind to suggest a bit further reading on the Kissinger "end game." Thanks in advance. Raz, I see that you already have!

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heffer 1 hour ago
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OPEC has the world right where they want them. They can control the world economy with the price of oil. All they have to do is say they are cutting production and the price of a barrel will skyrocket. There is no stopping of the rising price. With the dollar not worth anything Look out for the $200 barrel.

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JanPaul 1 hour ago
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US DOLLAR HEGEMONY:
THE SOFT UNDERBELLY OF EMPIRE (AND WHAT CAN BE DONE TO USE IT!)

by Rohini Hensman and Marinella Correggia
http://www.sacw.net/free/rohini_marinella30012005.html
======================

This article is one that details the role of dollar hegemony and our "empire."

Ron Paul also covers dollar hegemony
quote:
It all ended on August 15, 1971, when Nixon closed the gold window and refused to pay out any of our remaining 280 million ounces of gold. In essence, we declared our insolvency and everyone recognized some other monetary system had to be devised in order to bring stability to the markets.

Amazingly, a new system was devised which allowed the U.S. to operate the printing presses for the world reserve currency with no restraints placed on it-- not even a pretense of gold convertibility, none whatsoever! Though the new policy was even more deeply flawed, it nevertheless opened the door for dollar hegemony to spread.

Realizing the world was embarking on something new and mind boggling, elite money managers, with especially strong support from U.S. authorities, struck an agreement with OPEC to price oil in U.S. dollars exclusively for all worldwide transactions. This gave the dollar a special place among world currencies and in essence “backed” the dollar with oil. In return, the U.S. promised to protect the various oil-rich kingdoms in the Persian Gulf against threat of invasion or domestic coup. This arrangement helped ignite the radical Islamic movement among those who resented our influence in the region. The arrangement gave the dollar artificial strength, with tremendous financial benefits for the United States. It allowed us to export our monetary inflation by buying oil and other goods at a great discount as dollar influence flourished.
http://tinyurl.com/54ywk2
================

Understanding the problems with the dollar is important if we are to understand many of the policies of the U.S. over the last 3 decades. As things get worse with it, the more the government has to intervene in things.

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wikimikey 1 hour ago
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Were we not discussing these same issues with oil back in the early 1980's? Wasn't gasohol gonna be the savior of our energy independance? Were we not warned that oil was too powerful back then? This country seems too have a bad memory or is it because the amount of junk that is daily spoon fed to us since the start of the misinformation age has us jaded?

It begs to ask... Why would you want the government to head anything? Why would you rely on them to fix anything? It truly is the disconnect that Washington DC has with the country at large.

zymurguy 30 minutes ago
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yeah, like ethanol. "Let's financially support and supplement the development of an alternative fuel element with guv'ment money... what's that? ethanol is made with corn? great! we have lots of that right? and it's cheap." doh! "wha'? oh, we didn't really think about the fact that corn is used in everything else and the free market we haven't taken control of yet responded by farmers selling high to ethanol producers rather than their past buyers." double doh! "we can still fix this, don't report fuel or food inflation anymore, we'll call it "core inflation"... yeah, that's it... nothing to see here, move along."

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biker 36 minutes ago
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Crude oil rallied today when a corn fell off of an old womans big toe today as she crossed the street to sign up for food stamps. It was not expected to have an affect on the price of corn used for the ethanol market as that does not matter anymore with farmers cutting back to 80% of production for this year. However, she did pass gas and that sparked a rally for green house friendly stocks as Greenpeace beat her senseless.

more to come....

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jwlivingston 35 minutes ago
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The refiners have decreased utilization down to 83% whereas last year they were at 88% and they were surprised that there was a decrease in gasoline inventories which are quite a bit higher than they werelast year at this time. Last year this time they hovered around 200 million barrels versus the 219 million this year. Last year prices "went up due to a new additive is short supply. So they have more on hand, demand is down, (depending on what you read by 2% or 6.8%)and we should have to pay more because the refiners are manipulating the "stockpile numbers" by their production output. Common sense is thrown out and our government who is bailing out wall street, the perpetrators of the dot com bubble, housing bubble, and now the commodities bubble, stand by and say the price of gas of 3.50 a gallon concerns them. Probably concerns them because they could benefit a lot more at 4.00 a gallon. I think it's time for them to go and go quickly.
theargo7 31 minutes ago
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I never heard them say it concerns them (although I agree that they are probably concerned that it isn't $4 yet). They are probably subsidizing the refiners to curtail gasoline production.

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JanPaul 32 minutes ago
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I saw an awful lot of people filling up at the station I use this week. Why?

Were they thinking prices were going to go up and trying to get a tank filled prior to that? If so, maybe inventories will improve next week.

However, "one station does not a trend make," so, it is just a thought.

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sbenard 27 minutes ago
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This news, in turn,is causing grain prices -- biofuels -- to explode through the roof today! Soybean prices have hit lock limit up! See today's corn, wheat, and soybean charts, which I posted to my blog:

http://globalcapital.blogspot.com/

What commodity bubble?

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kudlowpet 25 minutes ago
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Even OPEC acknowledged big institutions control prices...

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correctthinking 14 minutes ago
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It's clear that the "free market" system does not work where energy is involved. Perhaps it's time for the government to sieze the oil companies and run them. Price will drop when profit is eliminated. Or better yet, how about we get off our collective a##, and insist that the government and the oil companies begin immediate construction of 100 large refineries across the nation...we can import all the oil we want, we can pump it out of the ground all we want, we can fill SPR with ten billion barrels of the stuff, but if you can't refine it, you can't use it. Build more refineries, triple or quadruple the capacity, and the cost comes down. And while we're at it, we need to drill for more oil domestically, in Alaska, off the coast of California and Florida. The tree-hugging enviros can no longer dictate energy policy, they need to shut the h*** up before we all go bankrupt.

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connemarasports 13 minutes ago
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I think 4-5 a GAL. is great in that we still get it much cheaper then euroland and the govt''s at all levels get a cut on each gal which help to stabize our Taxes at local,state,county and fed's levels.I think all you Repub's who our awash will tax cut monies and your oil stocks really our enjoying this.I do have oil/metals in some of my mutual funds and have seen 38%+ increase yoy last four years,but previous to thoses years only 3-5%-so its nice and hopfully it will cut down on enviroment issues as oil hits 4-5 within the next few months and years{plus 13-19 billion congress gives us for new ways to find more oil and metals}!God sure is GREAT!

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ARay 9 minutes ago
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Here's a good one I just came across. Directed at the housing bubble, but I hope it applies here!

Greater foolishness
In fact, off-plan ‘investing’ is not investing at all - which implies a long-term commitment- but speculation. It is based on the expectation that there will be willing buyers you can sell to at a good profit. And the big risk is: what if there aren’t? The ‘greater fool’ theory says that it’s OK to be an idiot when you buy something so long as there’s an even bigger idiot who you can sell to.
But as US off-plan speculators have discovered, the ‘greater fool’ game gets very ugly when the music stops and the idiots suddenly all wise up. So the rule you should apply if you want to join this or any other speculative game is: only play with money you can afford to lose.


http://money.uk.msn.com/Mortgages/BuyToLet/article.aspx?C***-documentid=5182780

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dryheavesdaily 4 minutes ago
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Breaking news
Merrill Lynch May Post First-Quarter Loss on $6 Billion to $6.5 Billion in Further Write-Downs

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dryheavesdaily 4 minutes ago
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Breaking news
Merrill Lynch May Post First-Quarter Loss on $6 Billion to $6.5 Billion in Further Write-Downs

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Silverbull 25 seconds ago
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G7 Meeting on Friday, are we going to see another manipu.... manual adjustment?

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