Open Thread

14 Comments

1. 

   idredit on May 21, 2008 at 6:23 pm

   today we found out that Big Oil are hapless victims amid rising oil profits

   WASHINGTON – On a day oil prices leaped to unheard-of highs, senators lined up Big Oil’s biggest executives and pummeled them with complaints that they’re pretending to be “hapless victims” while raking in record profits.

   [.]

   “People we represent are hurting, the companies you represent are profiting,” Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., told the executives. He said there’s a “disconnect” between legitimate supply issues and the oil and gasoline prices motorists are seeing.

   The executives, sitting shoulder to shoulder in the hearing room, said they understood people were hurting, but they tried to blunt the emotion with economic analysis.

   Profits have been huge “in absolute terms,” conceded J. Stephen Simon, executive vice president of Exxon Mobil Corp., but they “must be viewed in the context of the massive scale of our industry.” And high earnings “in the current up cycle” are needed for investments in the long term, including when profits will be down.

   “‘Current up cycle,’ that’s a nice term when people can’t afford to go to work” because gasoline is costing so much, replied Leahy with sarcasm.

2. 

   dada on May 21, 2008 at 6:25 pm

   beer:30, a frosty glass of ESB, and this

   
   when the gas ran out…l’m outta here!

   later

   • 

     idredit on May 21, 2008 at 6:52 pm

     by mid-June a $5.00 nill will buy one gallon gas.

     • 

       Omir the Storyteller on May 21, 2008 at 7:14 pm

       Oh please FSM no. I have a road trip I’m committed to in June and every dollar gas goes up adds at least $100 to the bill.

       I know, I know, it’s a petty concern when people are worried about gas to get to work and back. It just happens to be my petty concern, and one I don’t have to deal with on a daily basis (my employer provides me with a monthly bus pass).

     • 

       ask on May 21, 2008 at 7:23 pm

       Petrol is simply to cheap!
       Just noticed that back in home Norway the cost for a litre is now NOK 13. 1 USD = 5.10 NOK. So, 3.7 x 3.7/5.1=$9.43/gal!

       This in a major oil exporting country.  

       • 

         idredit on May 22, 2008 at 9:01 am

         Norway’s production has been in decline for the last 10 years. Canada is also an exporting country, yet domestic prices are affected by prices set on Wall Street or City of London. Also European prices are impacted by higher taxes on the refined product.

         OPEC is pointing out that these current levels are due to investors’ speculation in paper contracts that the supply demand is fairly balanced. It’s an Oil Bubble. In the interim, oil producers benefit – they get to charge the higher rates basis these “paper contracts”

         Cities in Europe with good public transit cannot compare to North America suburban sprawl based on cheap gas. No cheap gas, no disposable income.

         Something will give as we’re headed to a different lifestyle.

3. 

   maryb2004 on May 21, 2008 at 6:39 pm

   What Digby said.

4. 

   fabooj on May 21, 2008 at 7:18 pm

   I finally finished my 2005 and 2006 taxes.  I have to be doing something wrong though…It saw for 2006 we owe over $30K.  That can’t be right, right?

5. 

   Drew J Jones on May 21, 2008 at 7:28 pm

   When can we dispose of Hillary?

   • 

     The Voice In The Wilderness on May 21, 2008 at 7:39 pm

     When she loses in November.

6. 

   RandyH on May 21, 2008 at 7:38 pm

   What The Rude One said. Yeah, it’s a little rude. Yeah, even the title’s offensive. And I couldn’t agree more with his conclusion. That’s what will make this all worthwhile in the end.

   • 

     The Voice In The Wilderness on May 21, 2008 at 7:55 pm

     Thanks for the link. The Rude Pundit has hit the nail on the head. And when Hillary steals the nomination, the backlash will give McCain a landslide.

   • 

     Drew J Jones on May 21, 2008 at 7:57 pm

     That was fantastic.  Right on all points, in my view.

7. 

   KlatooBaradaNikto on May 22, 2008 at 10:08 am

   I want to comment on three things on my min.So, will keep each one short.

   First,the very best news we can hope for.That is the peace talks between Israel and Syria.I hope that they conclude a peace treaty similar to Egypt.And all others in the Midle East also join this movement.The people of the Middle East have suffered long enough.It is time that they enjoyed peace, security and, for lack of a better word, brotherhood.

   Second, the continuing saga of Mrs.Clinton’s crack up that seems to flourish unabated.The level of self absorption, delusion and ego mania that her actions an words require is for people more qualified than I to examine.Suffice it to say that she has become revolting.

   Third, is the price of oil which has reached $135 per barrel today and experts are predicting $200 a barrel within the next few months.Of course, the pain at the pump is real.Where I live it has reached well over $4 a gallon an $5 a gallon is around the corner.This is the kind of thing that is going to change our life style.When you remove the pain we will inevitably go through,it has the potential to strip us of our imperialist delusions and hopefully usher in an era of moderation in our thoughts and actions.Waging wars against the weak has reached the point of diminishing returns and it is time for a change as Mr.Obama keeps saying.