Oil hits $114/barrel - No end in sight. - Page 12 - U.S. Politics Online: A Political Discussion Forum

jviehe · #**166** (**permalink**) 05-23-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by underboss

I bet you only believe what Fox tells you right? You have no clue what is happening in this country or around the word - do you?

The word's food crisis.

Food Rationing in America.

In Haiti, people are eating mud pies because they can't afford food. How far away is Haiti?

The claim was made that the United States is rationing food, and the only example given that one store out of thousands in one company rationed rice for one day. Now you post another story which states:

Quote:

Of course when you get deeper into the story you find out an interesting tidbit that suggests the problems are probably more due to how stores handle logistics than due to actual shortages.

To quote you:

Quote:

You have no clue what is happening in this country or around the word - do you?

Americano · #**167** (**permalink**) 05-23-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swoop187

Weatherman, known colloquially as the Weathermen and later the Weather Underground Organization, was an American radical left group formed in 1969 by leaders and members who split from the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). They took their name from the lyric "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows," from the Bob Dylan song "Subterranean Homesick Blues". They also used this lyric as the title of a position paper they distributed at an SDS convention in Chicago on June 18th, 1969, as part of a special edition of New Left Notes. The Weathermen were initially part of the Revolutionary Youth Movement (RYM) within the SDS, splitting from the RYM's Maoists by claiming there was no time to build a vanguard party and that revolutionary war against the United States government and the capitalist system should begin immediately. Their founding document called for the establishment of a "white fighting force" to be allied with the "Black Liberation Movement" and other "anti-colonial" movements[1] to achieve "the destruction of US imperialism and the achievement of a classless world: world communism."[2]

The group's first public demonstration was the "Days of Rage," an October 8, 1969 rally in Chicago that was coordinated with the trial of the Chicago Eight.[3] In 1970 the group issued a "Declaration of a State of War" against the United States government, under the name "Weather Underground Organization" (WUO), and members adopted fake identities and pursued covert activities. They carried out a campaign consisting of bombings, jailbreaks, and riots. Their attacks were mostly bombings of government buildings, along with several banks, police department headquarters and precincts, state and federal courthouses, and state prison administrative offices.[4][5]

Apart from an apparently accidental premature detonation of a bomb in the Greenwich Village townhouse explosion which claimed the lives of three of their own members, no one was ever harmed in their extensive bombing campaign (yea ok, the supporters can ignore documented dead folks, more liberal ignoring of the facts of life as if they dont really matter and teach them today like they do) , as they were always careful to issue warnings in advance to ensure a safe evacuation of the area prior to detonation.[6][7] Nevertheless, their activities have often been characterized as domestic terror.[8] Also included with the evacuation warnings issued in their communiqués were statements indicating the particular event to which they were responding. For the bombing of the United States Capitol on March 1, 1971, they issued a statement saying it was "in protest of the US invasion of Laos." For the bombing of The Pentagon on May 19, 1972, they stated it was "in retaliation for the US bombing raid in Hanoi." For the January 29, 1975 bombing of the Harry S Truman Building housing the United States Department of State, they stated it was "in response to escalation in Vietnam."[6] The Weathermen largely disintegrated shortly after the U.S. reached a peace accord in Vietnam in 1973 , which saw the general decline of the New Left.

Maybe you can enlighten me as to what your extended rant on the Weathermen has to do with escalating fuel prices?

Norrin Radd · #**168** (**permalink**) 05-23-2008

Zbigniew Brzezinski and the CFR Put War Plans in a 1997 Book – It is “A Blueprint for World Dictatorship,” Says a Former German Defense and NATO Official Who Warned of Global Domination in 1984, in an Exclusive Interview With FTW

Summary

“THE GRAND CHESSBOARD – American Primacy And It’s Geostrategic Imperatives,” Zbigniew Brzezinski, Basic Books, 1997.

These are the very first words in the book, “Ever since the continents started interacting politically, some five hundred years ago, Eurasia has been the center of world power.” - p. xiii. Eurasia is all of the territory east of Germany and Poland, stretching all the way through Russia and China to the Pacific Ocean. It includes the Middle East and most of the Indian subcontinent. The key to controlling Eurasia, says Brzezinski, is controlling the Central Asian Republics. And the key to controlling the Central Asian republics is Uzbekistan. Thus, it comes as no surprise that Uzbekistan was forcefully mentioned by President George W. Bush in his address to a joint session of Congress just days after the attacks of September 11 as the very first place that the U.S. military would be deployed.

As FTW has documented in previous stories, major deployments of U.S. and British forces had taken place before the attacks. And the U.S. Army and the CIA had been active in Uzbekistan for several years. There is now evidence that what the world is witnessing is a cold and calculated war plan - at least four years in the making – and that, from reading Brzezinski’s own words about Pearl Harbor, the World Trade Center attacks were just the trigger needed to set the final conquest in motion.

CRG -- The CIA met Bin Laden while undergoing treatment at an American Hospital last July in Dubai

Pre-Planning For September 11th
Like all of the major wars of the last century, this one too has had a hidden but very real and undeniable phase of preparation. International Law Professor Francis A. Boyle, of the University of Illinois wrote on October 12, "Obviously, the war against Afghanistan was planned for quite some time. We know for a fact that it had been war-gamed by the Pentagon going back to 1997. Right around September 11, two US Aircraft carrier task forces conveniently arrived in the Persian Gulf right at the same time on "rotation." Obviously, preplanned. Just before September 11, the UK had put together what was billed as the "largest armada since the Falklands War" and had it steaming towards Oman, where now 23,000 UK troops are on maneuvers. This had been planned for at least 3 years. Also, the US "Bright Star" operation is currently going on in Egypt. 23,000 US troops plus an additional 17,000 from NATO and its associates. This had been planned at least two years ago. Finally, NATO just landed 12,000 troops into Turkey. This had been planned for at least two years. It is obvious that we are seeing an operational War Plan being executed here that had been in the works for at least the past four years. September 11 is either a pretext or a trigger or both."
In light of the known available intelligence information that we have previously presented in these pages, and the hard data on insider trading that we present in this issue, there can be no doubt that the Bush Administration awaited the attacks as a pretext for the massive military operations that we see occurring now. In the words of retired Army Special Forces Master Sergeant Stan Goff - who taught military science at West Point - "I can't help but conclude that the actions we are seeing put into motion now are part of a pre-September 11th agenda. I'm absolutely sure of that, in fact. The planning alone for operations, of this scale, that are now taking shape, would take many months. And we are seeing them take shape in mere weeks."

9/11 war games before and during the attacks

jviehe · #**169** (**permalink**) 05-23-2008

Tin foil alert!

ViPER · #**170** (**permalink**) 05-23-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by jviehe

Tin foil alert!

NWO is inevitable, due to such rants as yours for decades Americans have ignored NWO and have gone about their busy lives in ignorance.

It's just a matter of time and which side will get there first. the right-wing elitist Dictators or the left-wing socialists.

Because we have done nothing for so long - the alternative to NWO is most likely chaos and the next dark age.

Our Presidents have been discussing NWO for 2 decades and yet people automatically assume they need tin foil hats when the subject is broached

Imperator · #**171** (**permalink**) 05-23-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Norrin Radd

Zbigniew Brzezinski and the CFR Put War Plans in a 1997 Book – It is “A Blueprint for World Dictatorship,” Says a Former German Defense and NATO Official Who Warned of Global Domination in 1984, in an Exclusive Interview With FTW

Summary

“THE GRAND CHESSBOARD – American Primacy And It’s Geostrategic Imperatives,” Zbigniew Brzezinski, Basic Books, 1997.

These are the very first words in the book, “Ever since the continents started interacting politically, some five hundred years ago, Eurasia has been the center of world power.” - p. xiii. Eurasia is all of the territory east of Germany and Poland, stretching all the way through Russia and China to the Pacific Ocean. It includes the Middle East and most of the Indian subcontinent. The key to controlling Eurasia, says Brzezinski, is controlling the Central Asian Republics. And the key to controlling the Central Asian republics is Uzbekistan. Thus, it comes as no surprise that Uzbekistan was forcefully mentioned by President George W. Bush in his address to a joint session of Congress just days after the attacks of September 11 as the very first place that the U.S. military would be deployed.

As FTW has documented in previous stories, major deployments of U.S. and British forces had taken place before the attacks. And the U.S. Army and the CIA had been active in Uzbekistan for several years. There is now evidence that what the world is witnessing is a cold and calculated war plan - at least four years in the making – and that, from reading Brzezinski’s own words about Pearl Harbor, the World Trade Center attacks were just the trigger needed to set the final conquest in motion.

CRG -- The CIA met Bin Laden while undergoing treatment at an American Hospital last July in Dubai

Pre-Planning For September 11th
Like all of the major wars of the last century, this one too has had a hidden but very real and undeniable phase of preparation. International Law Professor Francis A. Boyle, of the University of Illinois wrote on October 12, "Obviously, the war against Afghanistan was planned for quite some time. We know for a fact that it had been war-gamed by the Pentagon going back to 1997. Right around September 11, two US Aircraft carrier task forces conveniently arrived in the Persian Gulf right at the same time on "rotation." Obviously, preplanned. Just before September 11, the UK had put together what was billed as the "largest armada since the Falklands War" and had it steaming towards Oman, where now 23,000 UK troops are on maneuvers. This had been planned for at least 3 years. Also, the US "Bright Star" operation is currently going on in Egypt. 23,000 US troops plus an additional 17,000 from NATO and its associates. This had been planned at least two years ago. Finally, NATO just landed 12,000 troops into Turkey. This had been planned for at least two years. It is obvious that we are seeing an operational War Plan being executed here that had been in the works for at least the past four years. September 11 is either a pretext or a trigger or both."
In light of the known available intelligence information that we have previously presented in these pages, and the hard data on insider trading that we present in this issue, there can be no doubt that the Bush Administration awaited the attacks as a pretext for the massive military operations that we see occurring now. In the words of retired Army Special Forces Master Sergeant Stan Goff - who taught military science at West Point - "I can't help but conclude that the actions we are seeing put into motion now are part of a pre-September 11th agenda. I'm absolutely sure of that, in fact. The planning alone for operations, of this scale, that are now taking shape, would take many months. And we are seeing them take shape in mere weeks."

9/11 war games before and during the attacks

tin foil nothing...I have a black helicoptor hovering outside my house...

jviehe · #**172** (**permalink**) 05-23-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by ViPER

NWO is inevitable, due to such rants as yours for decades Americans have ignored NWO and have gone about their busy lives in ignorance.

It's just a matter of time and which side will get there first. the right-wing elitist Dictators or the left-wing socialists.

Because we have done nothing for so long - the alternative to NWO is most likely chaos and the next dark age.

Our Presidents have been discussing NWO for 2 decades and yet people automatically assume they need tin foil hats when the subject is broached

Cant hear you, tin foil hat is blocking all conspiracies.

ViPER · #**173** (**permalink**) 05-23-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by jviehe

Cant hear you, tin foil hat is blocking all conspiracies.

Like I said - Our presidents have been discussing NWO for decades. A conspiracy would be a secret. NWO is no secret.

Tin foil hats in this case are simply pacifiers for the ignorant.

Imperator · #**174** (**permalink**) 05-23-2008

so oil, dollar here dollar there inflation, debt. jesus christ who can make sense of it all? The fed? Not....

Oil and the Fed
May 23, 2008; Page A14
So the Federal Reserve is signaling that its rate-cutting binge may finally be over, and we can be grateful for that small favor. The consequences of its easy-money bender will roll through the economy for years to come, however, so it's important to draw the right lessons.

All the more so because the Fed's most senior officials continue to insist that recent price increases have almost nothing to do with . . . monetary policy. Imagine that. The latest to wash his hands of responsibility for the value of the currency is Donald Kohn, the Fed's current Vice Chairman and long-time resident intellectual. In a speech in New Orleans this week, Mr. Kohn acknowledged soaring oil and food prices, but he blamed them on global supply and demand for corn, oil and so on.

"As interest rates in the United States fell relative to those abroad, the dollar declined, which could have boosted the prices of commodities commonly priced in dollars by reducing their cost in terms of other currencies," Mr. Kohn explained. "But the prices of commodities have risen substantially in terms of all currencies, not just the dollar. In sum, lower interest rates and the reduced foreign exchange value of the dollar may have played a role in the rise in the prices of oil and other commodities, but it probably has been a small one."

If Mr. Kohn really believes this, we're in more trouble than we thought.

For starters, he is simply wrong about the relative price of commodities and other currencies. The price of oil has risen far more rapidly in dollars than it has in euros since 2002. David King points this out today with a chart that we have run in the past. Had the Fed merely kept the dollar stable against the euro, the price of oil would be closer to $80 than to $131 a barrel.

No one denies that supply and demand play a role in commodity prices, but oil on global markets is denominated in dollars. When the value of the greenback falls, and especially when speculators anticipate that it will fall further, oil sellers demand more dollars for their product. This was the experience of the 1970s, the last time the Fed lost its monetary moorings, and we have been living through a sequel this decade.

As recently as last August, the dollar price of oil was only $70. The current spike in oil and other commodity prices coincides almost exactly with the Fed's decision to turn the monetary spigots wide open as a response to the credit crunch. They have since taken the fed funds rate down to 2% from 5.25%, while commodity prices have soared.

Oil prices have jumped recently on reports of higher global demand, but this too reveals a Fed miscalculation. The central bankers have justified their rapid plunge down the yield curve as necessary to avoid a recession, arguing that a slowing economy would mitigate any inflationary impact. Yet the economy has been far more resilient than either the Fed or its Wall Street beseechers expected, and we may still avoid a single negative quarter for gross domestic product this year.

As for inflation, this week's producer price numbers were alarming. The wholesale inflation figure is up 6.5% in the last year, despite an anomalous April decline in gasoline prices. That decline won't continue with $131 oil. With even the Fed's phony "core inflation" rate well above the 2% fed funds rate, Mr. Kohn and company are running a negative real interest rate policy.

No wonder inflation expectations have been rising. Economist Michael Darda points out that the University of Michigan's year-ahead inflation survey hit 5.2% in May, the highest reading since 1982. Yet some at the Fed continue to insist that inflation expectations are "well-anchored." Anchored on what planet?

The price for this Fed blunder is going to be very high, and we don't mean only at the grocery store or gas station. If inflation doesn't fall, the Fed will have no choice but to start raising rates again, perhaps rapidly and perhaps soon. That could put a damper on any economic recovery, especially if it coincides with the huge tax increase that Barack Obama is promising next year.

Politically, meanwhile, the Fed's commodity spike is proving to be deadly for the Republican Party that occupies the White House. As the nearby poll question shows, rising prices overall and gas prices specifically are by far the public's biggest economic worries. Voters are understandably furious because they can see that their real incomes are falling as prices rise. This is the real source of middle-class economic anxiety – not the housing recession, or jobs, or the liberal obsession with income inequality.

Republicans may be punished this November for forgetting that the Reagan policy mix had two levers – tax cuts and stable money. The Bush Administration got tax policy right. Its tragic error was falling for the siren song of dollar depreciation, and abetting a Federal Reserve that even now seems not to comprehend the damage it has done.

Oil and the Fed - WSJ.com

Norrin Radd · #**175** (**permalink**) 05-23-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Imperator

tin foil nothing...I have a black helicoptor hovering outside my house...

Brzezinski's resume includes.........
According to his resume, Zbigniew Brzezinski lists the following achievements:
Harvard Ph.D. in 1953
Counselor, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Professor of American Foreign Policy, Johns Hopkins University
National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter (1977-81)
Trustee and founder of the Trilateral Commission
International advisor of several major US/Global corporations
Member of ACPC, American Coalition for Peace in Chechnya, a.k.a. American Committee for Peace in the Caucasus
Associate of Henry Kissinger
Under Ronald Reagan - member of NSC-Defense Department Commission on Integrated Long-Term Strategy
Under Ronald Reagan - member of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board
Past member, Board of Directors, The Council on Foreign Relations
1988 - Co-chairman of the Bush National Security Advisory Task Force.

In 1981 awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his role in the normalization of U.S.-Chinese relations and for his contribution to the human rights and national security policies of the United States.

In 1995, was awarded the Order of the White Eagle, Poland's highest civilian recognition, for his contribution to the recovery of Poland's independence from Soviet Union.

Brzezinski is also a past attendee and presenter at several conferences of the Bliderberger group.

Some more quotes from this tin foil hat wearing conspiracy whacko.........

“The momentum of Asia's economic development is already generating massive pressures for the exploration and exploitation of new sources of energy and the Central Asian region and the Caspian Sea basin are known to contain reserves of natural gas and oil that dwarf those of Kuwait, the Gulf of Mexico, or the North Sea." (p.125)

"In the long run, global politics are bound to become increasingly uncongenial to the concentration of hegemonic power in the hands of a single state. Hence, America is not only the first, as well as the only, truly global superpower, but it is also likely to be the very last." (p.209)

“Never before has a populist democracy attained international supremacy. But the pursuit of power is not a goal that commands popular passion, except in conditions of a sudden threat or challenge to the public's sense of domestic well-being. The economic self-denial (that is, defense spending) and the human sacrifice (casualties, even among professional soldiers) required in the effort are uncongenial to democratic instincts. Democracy is inimical to imperial mobilization." (p.35)

"Moreover, as America becomes an increasingly multi-cultural society, it may find it more difficult to fashion a consensus on foreign policy issues, except in the circumstance of a truly massive and widely perceived direct external threat." (p. 211)

Brzezinski - Grand Chessboard quotes

Yep, another typical response from someone who wouldn't know the truth if walked up and bit them on the ass.

Americano · #**176** (**permalink**) 05-23-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Imperator

so oil, dollar here dollar there inflation, debt. jesus christ who can make sense of it all? The fed? Not....

Oil and the Fed
May 23, 2008; Page A14
So the Federal Reserve is signaling that its rate-cutting binge may finally be over, and we can be grateful for that small favor. The consequences of its easy-money bender will roll through the economy for years to come, however, so it's important to draw the right lessons.

All the more so because the Fed's most senior officials continue to insist that recent price increases have almost nothing to do with . . . monetary policy. Imagine that. The latest to wash his hands of responsibility for the value of the currency is Donald Kohn, the Fed's current Vice Chairman and long-time resident intellectual. In a speech in New Orleans this week, Mr. Kohn acknowledged soaring oil and food prices, but he blamed them on global supply and demand for corn, oil and so on.

"As interest rates in the United States fell relative to those abroad, the dollar declined, which could have boosted the prices of commodities commonly priced in dollars by reducing their cost in terms of other currencies," Mr. Kohn explained. "But the prices of commodities have risen substantially in terms of all currencies, not just the dollar. In sum, lower interest rates and the reduced foreign exchange value of the dollar may have played a role in the rise in the prices of oil and other commodities, but it probably has been a small one."

If Mr. Kohn really believes this, we're in more trouble than we thought.

For starters, he is simply wrong about the relative price of commodities and other currencies. The price of oil has risen far more rapidly in dollars than it has in euros since 2002. David King points this out today with a chart that we have run in the past. Had the Fed merely kept the dollar stable against the euro, the price of oil would be closer to $80 than to $131 a barrel.

No one denies that supply and demand play a role in commodity prices, but oil on global markets is denominated in dollars. When the value of the greenback falls, and especially when speculators anticipate that it will fall further, oil sellers demand more dollars for their product. This was the experience of the 1970s, the last time the Fed lost its monetary moorings, and we have been living through a sequel this decade.

As recently as last August, the dollar price of oil was only $70. The current spike in oil and other commodity prices coincides almost exactly with the Fed's decision to turn the monetary spigots wide open as a response to the credit crunch. They have since taken the fed funds rate down to 2% from 5.25%, while commodity prices have soared.

Oil prices have jumped recently on reports of higher global demand, but this too reveals a Fed miscalculation. The central bankers have justified their rapid plunge down the yield curve as necessary to avoid a recession, arguing that a slowing economy would mitigate any inflationary impact. Yet the economy has been far more resilient than either the Fed or its Wall Street beseechers expected, and we may still avoid a single negative quarter for gross domestic product this year.

As for inflation, this week's producer price numbers were alarming. The wholesale inflation figure is up 6.5% in the last year, despite an anomalous April decline in gasoline prices. That decline won't continue with $131 oil. With even the Fed's phony "core inflation" rate well above the 2% fed funds rate, Mr. Kohn and company are running a negative real interest rate policy.

No wonder inflation expectations have been rising. Economist Michael Darda points out that the University of Michigan's year-ahead inflation survey hit 5.2% in May, the highest reading since 1982. Yet some at the Fed continue to insist that inflation expectations are "well-anchored." Anchored on what planet?

The price for this Fed blunder is going to be very high, and we don't mean only at the grocery store or gas station. If inflation doesn't fall, the Fed will have no choice but to start raising rates again, perhaps rapidly and perhaps soon. That could put a damper on any economic recovery, especially if it coincides with the huge tax increase that Barack Obama is promising next year.

Politically, meanwhile, the Fed's commodity spike is proving to be deadly for the Republican Party that occupies the White House. As the nearby poll question shows, rising prices overall and gas prices specifically are by far the public's biggest economic worries. Voters are understandably furious because they can see that their real incomes are falling as prices rise. This is the real source of middle-class economic anxiety – not the housing recession, or jobs, or the liberal obsession with income inequality.

Republicans may be punished this November for forgetting that the Reagan policy mix had two levers – tax cuts and stable money. The Bush Administration got tax policy right. Its tragic error was falling for the siren song of dollar depreciation, and abetting a Federal Reserve that even now seems not to comprehend the damage it has done.

Oil and the Fed - WSJ.com

I'm so weary of the devalued USD is good for America dogmatic chant that I've put it in the we're winning in Vietnam, winning in Iraq and the world loves us category.

Americano · #**177** (**permalink**) 05-23-2008

Spoke with a friend and diesel is now $5/gallon in Paso Robles, CA. Got to be a gulp for the retirees and travelers using RVs with pusher diesels at 5mpg. A buck a mile just for fuel.

Looks to me like I'd better start offering gas money to the hourly household help or they'll eventually figure out public assistance that doesn't require a reliable vehicle is a far better deal than working.

Imp, have you ordered the Focus?

groupthink · #**178** (**permalink**) 05-23-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Americano

Spoke with a friend and diesel is now $5/gallon in Paso Robles, CA. Got to be a gulp for the retirees and travelers using RVs with pusher diesels at 5mpg. A buck a mile just for fuel.

Looks to me like I'd better start offering gas money to the hourly household help or they'll eventually figure out public assistance that doesn't require a reliable vehicle is a far better deal than working.

Imp, have you ordered the Focus?

paying alot for gas is patriotic.

Imperator · #**179** (**permalink**) 05-23-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Americano

Spoke with a friend and diesel is now $5/gallon in Paso Robles, CA. Got to be a gulp for the retirees and travelers using RVs with pusher diesels at 5mpg. A buck a mile just for fuel.

Looks to me like I'd better start offering gas money to the hourly household help or they'll eventually figure out public assistance that doesn't require a reliable vehicle is a far better deal than working.

Imp, have you ordered the Focus?

no but we are close, $4.39 today. T Boone Pickens who called this last year ( the price by 5 cents ) at this time, says $150.00 a barrel by X mas..I think he should short that.

groupthink · #**180** (**permalink**) 05-23-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Imperato