Tim Cole said:
Actually, no.
I think it started a few years ago, as partly evidenced by this thread, and that it is chiefly an economic war but that some countries did not get the memo.
Those countries will blow each other up and go bankrupt while doing so while a country like China keeps lending them the money to do it, then exchanges the buildup of the borrowers' increasingly worthless currencies for land and resource assets such as oil fields, uranium properties, land in Manhattan and Hawaii, etc.
It's just like what we did to the Natives over here, exchanging junk for land and resources. The Chinese sold us a bunch of junk, lent us the money to buy it with, and now are buying our future and assets out from under us both physically and by the process of speeding the dollar devaluation - a large part of the appearonce of oil/gas prices going up as discussed previously in this thread.
This is in no way a racist view, if anything I'm giving them full credit for figuring out how to obtain our land and resources with our own money and without having to destroy the land and resources with bombs first in a "conventional" war or killing/angering the people who will in the future be their manufacturing workers.
History repeats, and the new wealth/empires have always emerged to the West of the old.
It's a theory, anyway. They might not view it as a war but the end result for us is the same and we will likely lose. For them, it might just be ensuring their future prosperity by not holding collapsing currencies and by securing their future energy and resource supplies. For all the smoke about "homeland security" over here, the debates during last elections in Niorth America made no mention of such issues. Instead we argued about gays and which boogeymen to bomb with borrowed Billion$.
Stupid is as stupid does ... or something. Either way, current events won't make for cheaper oil/gas/etc and so I am not thinking of selling my holdings any time soon. As a human and a citizen I think it's sad and pathetic. As an investor and even as a daily commuter, I am laughing all the way to the bank.
Vorago said:
Have you been watching LOTR again???
Never seen it, why? I'm guessing they used that line? It didn't come from there.
Seriously, 75$ a barrel in London, and it doesn't look like it's gonna lower any time soon.
Agreed. $76 now.
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"Light, sweet crude for August delivery shot up $1.30 to $76.25 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, surpassing the previous high of $75.78 set during trading last Friday.
The surge in oil prices rattled stock market investors, sending the Dow Jones industrials sharply lower for the second straight day. Shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, slumped 3 percent on the New York Stock Exchange on concerns that high energy prices are cutting into consumers' discretionary income.
"The economy took $50 oil in stride," Yergin said. "It's clearly not taking $70 or $75 a barrel in stride. This is a rougher adjustment.""
I've been adamant for a couple years now that nuclear is the only option. Typically, the worlds "leaders" are slower than even your average dozer posting on a message board.
G-8 Gives Some Support to Nuclear Energy
"ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) -- With high demand and worries about supply driving oil near $80 a barrel, the Group of Eight offered cautious support Sunday for nuclear energy as an alternative."
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060716/russia_g8_energy.html?.v=2
Gas Prices Move Past $3 to All-Time High
Monday July 24, 1:57 am ET
U.S. Gas Prices Hit All-Time High, Rising Nearly 2 Cents Over 2 Weeks to Just Over $3 a Gallon
CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) -- Nationwide gas prices hit an all-time high in the last two weeks, rising nearly 2 cents to just over $3 per gallon, according to a survey released Sunday.
The national average for self-serve regular stood at $3.0150 a gallon Friday, up 1.98 cents in the last two weeks, according to the Lundberg Survey of 7,000 gas stations across the country.
The price exceed the previous high of $3.0117 set in September last year, analyst Trilby Lundberg said.
A gallon of mid-grade gasoline averaged around $3.12, and premium at nearly $3.22.
Nationwide, the lowest price for regular was $2.77 a gallon in Charleston, S.C., while the highest -- $3.28 a gallon -- was in San Diego.
canopener said:
Check out some of SMASH's posts about "beating" high gas prices (I think there may be some on earlier pages in this thread). As soon as I get a decent bankroll, I might follow suit.
Thanks for the reference. Article from today's news. This guy has the rant down pat and does a much better job than me of outlining the thinking simply :
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It's quite short and easily read. IMO, a must-read for anyone serious about understanding the symbiosis between commodity prices and the dollar (de)valuation ... what the *real* costs are, of interest rates, oil, whatever.
Ignorance can be bliss, and knowledge is power. Everyone has that choice to make when it comes to their "Economic Security".
You'd think something's gotta give, but so far nothing is giving.
http://www.prudentbear.com/archive_comm_article.asp?category=Random+Walk&content_idx=56630
"Speaking of mysteries, humans in America havent changed their driving habits much even though gas prices keep going up, up, up. According to the Department of Energy, U.S. gasoline prices rose 1.6 cents last week to an average $2.99 per gallon. Thats the third week in a row of rising prices, and the highest weekly average gas price since September 5, 2005. Already this summer, demand for gasoline in certain weeks has been near record highs. Thats amazing human behavior given that a year ago gas prices were 67 cents lower. As recently as July 2004, gas prices were below $2.00. And three short summers ago, gas sold for $1.55, back when a human could drive a Hummer across America without stopping to apply for a higher credit card limit. "
Check the graph in the article. Yowza !
I agree totally, and often say so myself. That's the beauty of it - people, and nations, are currently utterly dependent on oil & gas. And it's not just for driving that we're so in need of it, so in other words a drastic reduction in driving would still make little difference especially given that supplies are declining and those supplies are increasingly more expensive to extract and refine.
Energy is the last thing people will, or really can, give up. We need to get around, heat our homes (or cool them in Summer as recent news from California illustrates), and cook our food.
Then factor the problem of global warming and pollution.
Nuclear is the only solution, and I bet accordingly on gold, silver, platinum, oil & gas, and best of all uranium.
Wow. 135 MPG car ->
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http://news.com.com/2300-11386_3-6096355-1.html?tag=ne.gall.pg