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I think a bombing campaign against Iran is in the works, we simply lack the boots on the ground to physically invade anyone more for the foreseeable future. Since Iraq is the second largest reserve of sweet crude in the world after Saudi Arabia then controlling Iraq is tantamount to controlling a big chunk of the sweet crude reserves. The Coalition Provisional Authority under L Paul Bremer wrote sweetheart deals into Iraqi law for American oil companies.. Unless you have been paying extremely close attention to news sources other than the mainstream American media much of what is happing will be beyond your ken. https://www.prophetofdoom.net/pics/Is...hold_hands.jpg Quote:
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OTOH when you think about this in the broad context of history and human survival, yes, you are correct. Quote:
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IMO, the war in Iraq was about oil from the start - countries fight wars for resources, this is no different in that regard. Furthermore, our economy is built on oil, so establishing permanent bases in that part of the world makes complete sense in order to protect our oil supply. Quagmire or not, we'll be in Iraq for another 30 years, manning the permanent facilities built by Bechtel, etc., to ensure continuous oil supplies as long as the reserves will last. Since you are the one with experience in the oil industry, what is your take on it? Why don't you think that pumping oil from Iraq was "part of the plan?" IMO it was part of the plan from the outset. What are you trying to tell me that I'm missing? |
Here's the key point on the supply issue that I have yet to see anybody address: Is it a shortage of refineable crude, a shortage of refining capacity, or a deliberate shortage of production?
My money is on the third option, with oil investors that are in-the-know making a killing on crude speculation until an outside force puts a stop to it. Who should that outside force be? While I think that Congress could do something about it, the ultimate responsibility rests with us as the consumers. Our government is little better than total chaos most of the time, so don't rely on it to make your life better. They can, but ultimately, every one of us must do what we can in our own best interest eventually. While I think the profits of oil companies are routinely disgusting, we don't complain about it. We simply consume less, and we are continuing to work toward that end. Sadly, with some exceptions, we are surrounded by millions who would rather complain than actually do something about it. The Amish get by just fine without oil for getting around. (Though many have chosen to utilize tractors for farming.) I would not advocate for 100% elimination of fossil fuel use, but clearly the vast majority of us use far more than necessary. |
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Oil is a fungible commodity, with Iraqi oil essentially out of reach for the present that makes other oil that can be reached more valuable. The results of this strategy are clearly evident, indeed they are at least part of the raison d'etre of this thread. We have an oilman as vice president and an oilman as president and oil prices and oil company profits are at an all time high. It's a case of the oilmen having their cake and eating it too, the oil that can be reached now becomes more valuable by curtailing Iraqi production and the oil under Iraq will be the property of the American oil companies and its future value is enormous and incalculable. |
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I have a make a 320 mile trip between my university and home 4 or 5 times a year in both directions. Sure I could try to make it out there with the Geo (we actually had to get another one, the last one blew up), but driving a 15 year old car with 180,000 miles on it just isn't a very intelligent decision. That said, I'm not going to complain too much. I think my car is a diamond in the rough. It was free, and cost 1k to fix. On the downside it costs too much to fill up to actually test the mileage regularly. |
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Her last car, a 93 Infiniti G20, we finally retired at 15 years and 310,000 miles, everything on the car still worked perfectly except the crankshaft pulley on the front of the engine came loose and ruined the end of the crankshaft. The better Japanese cars in particular, if they are properly cared for, will go well over 200,000 miles with few problems. Avoid automatic transmissions and they have even fewer problems.. I It doesn't take too many new car payments to make even a fairly hefty repair bill on an older car and new car payments go on roughly *forever*.. :D |
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as far as drilling goes, some experts believe increased supply would lower the prices especially if you could put refineries near the drilling. but as you said about new tech, this(new drilling/refineries) too will take time. but failing to plan IS absolutely planning to fail! |
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in the words of Andy Taylor(Griffith), "couldn't HEP it, couldn't Hep it!":D |
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