[viruswitshoes]

i'm assuming some of my conservative friends will just dismiss this as liberal paranoia, but the author does write an interesting article:

link:

Disaster Capitalism, State of Extortion


excerpt:

Oil Price Shock: Give Us the Arctic or Never Drive Again

Iraq isn't the only country in the midst of an oil-related stickup. The Bush Administration is busily using a related crisis--the soaring price of fuel--to revive its dream of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). And of drilling offshore. And in the rock-solid shale of the Green River Basin. "Congress must face a hard reality," said George W. Bush on June 18. "Unless members are willing to accept gas prices at today's painful levels--or even higher--our nation must produce more oil."

This is the President as Extortionist in Chief, with gas nozzle pointed to the head of his hostage--which happens to be the entire country. Give me ANWR, or everyone has to spend their summer vacations in the backyard. A final stickup from the cowboy President.

Despite the Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less bumper stickers, drilling in ANWR would have little discernible impact on actual global oil supplies, as its advocates well know. The argument that it could nonetheless bring down oil prices is based not on hard economics but on market psychoanalysis: drilling would "send a message" to the oil traders that more oil is on the way, which would cause them to start betting down the price.

Two points follow from this approach. First, trying to psych out hyperactive commodity traders is what passes for governing in the Bush era, even in the midst of a national emergency. Second, it will never work. If there is one thing we can predict from the oil market's recent behavior, it is that the price is going to keep going up regardless of what new supplies are announced.

Take the massive oil boom under way in Alberta's notorious tar sands. The tar sands (sometimes called the oil sands) have the same things going for them as Bush's proposed drill sites: they are nearby and perfectly secure, since the North American Free Trade Agreement contains a provision barring Canada from cutting off supply to the United States. And with little fanfare, oil from this largely untapped source has been pouring into the market, so much so that Canada is now the largest supplier of oil to the United States, surpassing Saudi Arabia. Between 2005 and 2007, Canada increased its exports to the States by almost 100 million barrels. Yet despite this significant increase in secure supplies, oil prices have been going up the entire time.

What is driving the ANWR push is not facts but pure shock doctrine strategy--the oil crisis has created the conditions in which it is possible to sell a previously unsellable (but highly profitable) policy.

[cogitoergosum]

There seems to be an awful lot of potentially disasterous factors in unregulated markets. It seems I have been losing my faith.

In times like these, I turn to the good book of his Scotchiness, Adam Smith.

[vogues157]

Originally Posted by viruswitshoes

Two points follow from this approach. First, trying to psych out hyperactive commodity traders is what passes for governing in the Bush era, even in the midst of a national emergency. Second, it will never work. If there is one thing we can predict from the oil market's recent behavior, it is that the price is going to keep going up regardless of what new supplies are announced.
[/i]

I couldn't disagree more with the article. In my opinion, anyone who thinks speculation isn't a reason for high oil prices isn't really paying attention to the trading. On top of that to say because oil has had a huge run up, the only direction it can continue to go is up, is just stupid. Also, I cant understand how anyone could say that supplies don't matter and won't have an effect on price, so let's just not drill. Doesn't make much sense to me.

[vogues157]

double post

[Aloha Brah]

too long some one summarize for me

[VikingRage]

Originally Posted by Aloha Brah

too long some one summarize for me

Basically Naomi Klein who is a dumb biatch that is about as logical as a High school Cheerleader after getting gangbanged in the Mens Locker room writes about Capitalism and wants Socialism to prevail. She takes Milton Friedman out of context so many times this broad needs to be cast off into the arctic where she can preach to the snow there.

[cogitoergosum]

Originally Posted by VikingRage

Basically Naomi Klein who is a dumb biatch that is about as logical as a High school Cheerleader after getting gangbanged in the Mens Locker room writes about Capitalism and wants Socialism to prevail. She takes Milton Friedman out of context so many times this broad needs to be cast off into the arctic where she can preach to the snow there.

That is quite a summary.

[Darwinist]

Originally Posted by cogitoergosum

That is quite a summary.

Not to mention completely erroneous.