On Sat, 1 Mar 2008 11:40:00 -0500, "Eisboch" wrote:


"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
"HK" wrote in message
...
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- President Bush, saying he was unaware of
predictions of $4-a-gallon gasoline in the coming months, told reporters
Thursday that the best way to help Americans fend off high prices is for
Congress to make his first-term tax cuts permanent.

...

Analysts have said that gasoline could reach $4 a gallon by this spring,
due to strong demand and a change in formulation, among other reasons.

When taking the question about the $4 milestone, Bush told the reporter,
*"That's interesting. I hadn't heard that."*


Strong demand. What a crock of ****. Last spring, it was "on fears of
renewed violence in Baghdad". Prices are effected by events in a country
from which we get pretty much zero oil?


Can somebody please explain to me why high oil prices is perceived as a
unique problem to the USA with Bush at the center of the cause?

Only perceived that way by some.
OTOH, Bush, and Clinton, and Reagan did very little to rein in the
profligate waste of oil, and seek alternatives.
The depletion of oil reserves has been writ large on the wall since
I was a kid. Leadership has failed to address it properly, so as to
avoid a sharp transition and all the whining we hear now.
Of course it was because of political pressures, so that's how it
goes.
Carter used to wear sweaters and told people to turn their heat down,
and is generally mocked.
We are all responsible, and will just have to work it out.
Not that I'm a glass half-empty kind of guy, but two sci-fi stories
always come to mind when I contemplate the future.
Can't remember the titles or authors, but one addressed air pollution,
and the answer to that problem was everybody wearing gas masks all the
time.
The other addressed over-population, and ended with the crew of a
long-voyage space ship returning to earth and as they approached a
coastal plain they wondered at the herds of animals munching grass and
moss. The herd turned out to be humans.
So cheer up!

--Vic

"Vic Smith" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 1 Mar 2008 11:40:00 -0500, "Eisboch" wrote:


"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
"HK" wrote in message
...
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- President Bush, saying he was unaware of
predictions of $4-a-gallon gasoline in the coming months, told
reporters
Thursday that the best way to help Americans fend off high prices is
for
Congress to make his first-term tax cuts permanent.

...

Analysts have said that gasoline could reach $4 a gallon by this
spring,
due to strong demand and a change in formulation, among other reasons.

When taking the question about the $4 milestone, Bush told the
reporter,
*"That's interesting. I hadn't heard that."*


Strong demand. What a crock of ****. Last spring, it was "on fears of
renewed violence in Baghdad". Prices are effected by events in a country
from which we get pretty much zero oil?


Can somebody please explain to me why high oil prices is perceived as a
unique problem to the USA with Bush at the center of the cause?

Only perceived that way by some.
OTOH, Bush, and Clinton, and Reagan did very little to rein in the
profligate waste of oil, and seek alternatives.
The depletion of oil reserves has been writ large on the wall since
I was a kid. Leadership has failed to address it properly, so as to
avoid a sharp transition and all the whining we hear now.
Of course it was because of political pressures, so that's how it
goes.
Carter used to wear sweaters and told people to turn their heat down,
and is generally mocked.
We are all responsible, and will just have to work it out.
Not that I'm a glass half-empty kind of guy, but two sci-fi stories
always come to mind when I contemplate the future.
Can't remember the titles or authors, but one addressed air pollution,
and the answer to that problem was everybody wearing gas masks all the
time.
The other addressed over-population, and ended with the crew of a
long-voyage space ship returning to earth and as they approached a
coastal plain they wondered at the herds of animals munching grass and
moss. The herd turned out to be humans.
So cheer up!

--Vic


Everybody wants someone else to fix problems, because we have "the right to
do whatever we want". yawn............

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...

"Vic Smith" wrote in message
...

On Sat, 1 Mar 2008 11:40:00 -0500, "Eisboch" wrote:


Can somebody please explain to me why high oil prices is perceived as a
unique problem to the USA with Bush at the center of the cause?


Only perceived that way by some.
OTOH, Bush, and Clinton, and Reagan did very little to rein in the
profligate waste of oil, and seek alternatives.



Everybody wants someone else to fix problems, because we have "the right
to do whatever we want". yawn............


Well, since my guess is as good as any, I'll offer my opinion.

The primary reason for the dramatic world-wide increase in the price of oil
is, IMO, ..... China.
As China has gone through it's rapid industrialization and modernization,
there have been several shortages of basic materials leading to spikes in
prices. Quality stainless steel plate is becoming difficult to order for my
son's business with huge increases in price when you can get it. The same
was (still is to a degree) true with concrete. China was buying up
everything that the world could produce.

As China continues to industrialize and more and more of her population hang
up their bicycles in favor of newly affordable automobiles, oil prices will
continue to rise regardless of what any individual country, including the
USA, does. All we can do is find alternatives to oil which is a daunting
challenge.

Eisboch

"Eisboch" wrote in message
...

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...

"Vic Smith" wrote in message
...

On Sat, 1 Mar 2008 11:40:00 -0500, "Eisboch" wrote:


Can somebody please explain to me why high oil prices is perceived as a
unique problem to the USA with Bush at the center of the cause?


Only perceived that way by some.
OTOH, Bush, and Clinton, and Reagan did very little to rein in the
profligate waste of oil, and seek alternatives.



Everybody wants someone else to fix problems, because we have "the right
to do whatever we want". yawn............


Well, since my guess is as good as any, I'll offer my opinion.

The primary reason for the dramatic world-wide increase in the price of
oil is, IMO, ..... China.
As China has gone through it's rapid industrialization and modernization,
there have been several shortages of basic materials leading to spikes in
prices. Quality stainless steel plate is becoming difficult to order for
my son's business with huge increases in price when you can get it. The
same was (still is to a degree) true with concrete. China was buying up
everything that the world could produce.

As China continues to industrialize and more and more of her population
hang up their bicycles in favor of newly affordable automobiles, oil
prices will continue to rise regardless of what any individual country,
including the USA, does. All we can do is find alternatives to oil which
is a daunting challenge.

Eisboch



Demand from China certainly explain a long term trend. But, it absolutely
does NOT explain the weekly ups & downs.

I'd like your thoughts on this article, please. Assume it's true, since it
is.

http://www.thetimes.co.za/Business/A...aspx?id=672709