Not to mention that the Saudis did not flood the world with oil in mid 1980's because of Afghanistan, they did in response to all the other OPEC members cheating on production quotas.
Also the Saudis are not in as strong a position to simply "turn on the taps" as you might believe. The Saudi fields are badly in need of infrastructure improvements to increase their production capacity by any meaningful amounts, somewhere in the neighborhood of 250 BILLION the last time I checked.
Another thing to keep in mind about the oil "boom" of the 1980's as compared to todays high prices. Oil was driven up artificially in the 80's through the OPEC cartel's manipulation of supply. There was always plenty of oil in the 80's OPEC just refused to sell any more of it to keep the price high. Today's prices are demand driven, there simply is not enough excess capacity out there to drive prices down the way that prices were driven up in the 80's.
You really need to get your facts straight, and quit confusing wishful thinking with a meaningful strategy. The Saudis will do what's good for the Saudis and attempting to drive down the price of oil is by no means good for the Saudis
We walked on the moon in 1969.
IN NINETEEN-FRACKING-SIXTY-NINE!!!
That's 44 years in which we could have changed the face of this planet, the nature of the human condition and the future of our entire species.
Whatever happened to the promises of our youth? My youth.
Fucking political stupidity all around, short sighted self serving political con-men and criminals the whole fucking lot of em. And now, Pontius Putin plans to populate the planets. starting with the moon. Talk about a red line our flaccid Congress can back away from.
Shame on the American government for allowing our space program to fall so far down the toilet.
Shame on the American people for continuously electing short-sighted idiots who don't give a rat's ass about anything but getting elected again.
Put someone in the white house who will actually do something besides make us look flaccid on the world stage.
Bah! Where's that envelope, i got to get laid.
......if the Saudi's were to boost their oil production incrementally and the U.S released a few hundred thousand barrels of oil per day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, crude oil prices could drop $15-20 or more per barrel from their current levels. This would have severe consequences for Putin and his Russian economy
So all that would be accomplished by such an action would be to make a bunch of speculators rich.
Not to mention that even if you were correct, why would the Saudis want to do something so against their own interests?
You do realize that the world uses in excess of 80 million barrels a day, do you really think a 1% increase in supply is going to have a 15-20% impact on the price?
.............driving down the global price of crude until it reached $20 a barrel (in today's prices) in the mid-1980s. It would take a much smaller drop in the cost of oil – from $107 a barrel currently to somewhere south of $90 a barrel – to cause Russia severe financial and economic damage.
Saudi Arabia is the only producer with the potential to drive down prices in this way and, with much deeper pockets than the Russians, could afford to do so. It would not surprise me, if this possibility was not discussed between Obama and the Saudi King on his visit a few weeks ago. The Russians are already in the Saudi Kings crap house over their continued support for Iran and President Assad of Syria
Not to mention that the Saudis did not flood the world with oil in mid 1980's because of Afghanistan, they did in response to all the other OPEC members cheating on production quotas.
Also the Saudis are not in as strong a position to simply "turn on the taps" as you might believe. The Saudi fields are badly in need of infrastructure improvements to increase their production capacity by any meaningful amounts, somewhere in the neighborhood of 250 BILLION the last time I checked.
Another thing to keep in mind about the oil "boom" of the 1980's as compared to todays high prices. Oil was driven up artificially in the 80's through the OPEC cartel's manipulation of supply. There was always plenty of oil in the 80's OPEC just refused to sell any more of it to keep the price high. Today's prices are demand driven, there simply is not enough excess capacity out there to drive prices down the way that prices were driven up in the 80's.
You really need to get your facts straight, and quit confusing wishful thinking with a meaningful strategy. The Saudis will do what's good for the Saudis and attempting to drive down the price of oil is by no means good for the Saudis
on the geo-political importance of oil.
remember how well that worked out?
he Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, or Assembly Bill (AB) 32, is a California State Law that fights climate change by establishing a comprehensive program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from all sources throughout the state. AB 32 was authored by then-Assembly member Fran Pavley and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles) and signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on September 27, 2006.
AB 32 requires the California Air Resources Board (CARB or ARB) to develop regulations and market mechanisms to reduce California's greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year of 2020, representing a 25% reduction statewide, with mandatory caps beginning in 2012 for significant emissions sources. The bill also allows the Governor to suspend the emissions caps for up to a year in case of emergency or significant economic harm.
California's Energy Future - The View to 2050
(May 2011) This detailed overall summary report looks a generation ahead at what's required to reduce the state's emissions 80 percent below the 1990 level by 2050. Resources available include a spreadsheet with emissions summary calculations, powerpoint presentations, and media coverage of the report.
https://www.ccst.us/publications/2011/CEF%20index.php
...but that happened in Abbottabad instead of the moon.
We said, if you fuck with us, we will hunt you down to the ends of the earth and put a bullet in your eye. How's that for credibility?
We do have to be careful about how we approach Russia. If we press too hard, then Putin will dig in his heels. We have to encourage Putin to chill the fuck out, and give him the option to back down. I think we should quietly enact so many sanctions on Russia that their entire economy crumbles like it did in Iran. That will require global cooperation, which means utilizing diplomacy. Goose stepping and chest thumping isn't going to fix this one.
are similar. The Anaasází were the ancient ones who lived in the cliff dwellings of the American Southwest. Per the Navajos I knew, the name Anaasází means literally the "enemies of the Navajo". It is how the Anaasází identified and defined themselves. When they ceased to be enemies; the Anaasází ceased to exist.
I believe one of the consequences of the fall of the Soviet Union is that America's identity had to be redefined. The Cold War provided America with an identity; that as a nation dedicated to freedom and enemy of communism. My hypothesis I offer Doctor Gonzo, is that we as a nation are in the middle of an identity crisis and have not outlined our destiny. A destiny to be part of something, bigger than ourselves.
President Obama I was hoping, would offer an outline of our destiny and he had a chance but when the timing is gone, it's gone. President George HW Bush offered an outline, a vision of a kinder gentler nation, and protector. A new world order he called it, and I loved it. Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and rather sit on his ass, he coalesced a coalition of nations to oust Hussein's Army. It was a template, I believe that will bring peace to this world. When one nation strikes another, a band of a nations says this will not stand and take action.
I support diplomacy, but for words to mean anything you must have credibility. Credibility, comes from action not words.
-- Modified on 4/12/2014 5:45:51 PM