Holy crap...! Even OPEC thinks the U.S. should at least temporarily ban offshore drilling

when opec makes a statement like this, it would behoove us to pay attention...

OPEC called Monday on the United States to reconsider a ban on new deep-water drilling that could hold back oil supplies — despite safety concerns in the wake of the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Abdalla Salem El Badri, secretary-general of the 12-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, says offshore drilling is an important source of oil and any ban would be too hasty when the cause of the Gulf of Mexico spill is still unclear.

"We should not really ban it and we should not jump to conclusions," he told reporters after meeting European Union officials in Brussels.

President Barack Obama last month imposed a six-month ban on Gulf of Mexico drilling after an April 20 explosion at a BP oil rig killed 11 workers and blew out a well 5,000 feet (1,525 meters) underwater — spewing out hundreds of millions of gallons (liters) of oil.

A federal judge last week overturned the ban as rash and heavy-handed. The White House has appealed, saying continued drilling exposes workers and the environment "to a danger that the president does not believe we can afford."

as long as we have elected officials and judges wholly bought and paid for by the oil industry, we're going to keep digging our own grave...

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Brazil wants to join OPEC

spiegel interviews the brazilian president...

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva: We discovered immense oil reserves 273 kilometers (170 miles) off the coast, at a depth of 2,140 meters (7,021 feet) and under a 5,000-meter (16,404-foot) layer of salt and rock. We have the know-how to exploit these reserves. We expect to start test-drilling in March and start producing oil in 2010. Then Brazil will become a major oil exporter. We want to join OPEC and try to make oil cheaper.

that will certainly put a new spin on the world oil markets...

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Batten down the hatches, Ma, there's COMMIES on the doorstep...!

together with



against



i notice that almost all the propaganda talking points i called attention to yesterday about the potential brouhaha in latin america have been recycled in today's "news" stories, so i'll only bother to post this little, clearly propagandistic EXPANSION of the circle of evildoers that surround arch-fiend, hugo chávez...

Colombia takes more heat from Latin America left

Latin America's leftist leaders heaped more criticism on Colombia, leaving it increasingly isolated on Thursday in a crisis that has threatened political stability in the Andes.

Colombia, the United States' closest ally in South America, set off a major diplomatic crisis on Saturday when its army crossed into Ecuador to kill Colombian Marxist guerrillas just across the border.

OPEC oil exporters and leftist allies Venezuela and Ecuador reacted by cutting off diplomatic relations, moving troops to their borders with Colombia and lambasting Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, who receives billions of dollars in military aid from the United States.

ain't it interesting...? up until this little kerfuffle, latin american leaders (with the exception of chávez of course) were being called "center-left" or "populist"... suddenly, with the possibility of war stirring the quivering, testosterone-engorged male organs of the neocons and the captains of the industrial war machine, they turn into full-blown "LEFTISTS"... katie, bar the door...! get the children to a safe place, ma...! THERE'S A STORM A'COMIN'...!

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Oil, money and obscenity

OPEC Says Members Won't Pump More Oil
As Crude Price Sets Record, Cartel's Intent Is Questioned

Though OPEC's production decision was widely expected, Naimi's comments and the wording of the group's communique added to concern that OPEC is more worried about pumping too much oil for weakening economies than it is about the possible harm that high oil prices might do to those economies.

In its statement after the meeting in Vienna, OPEC pointed to "the economic slowdown in the U.S.A., which, together with the deepening credit crisis in financial markets, is increasing the downside risks for world economic growth and, consequently, demand for crude oil."

yeah, they're worried about declining revenue... gosh, i would be too if it meant i'd have to forego goodies like this...


Make and Model: Bugatti Veyron
Owner: Sheikh Mohammad's Son, Sheikh Rashid Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum
Cost: $GBP5M/$USD10M
Location, Dubai, UAE
Engine: V16 engine, 1000bhp, 10 radiators
Top speed: 407km/hr

taking obscenity to undreamed-of heights...

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OPEC doesn't want to talk about the falling U.S. dollar because the talk might make it worse

Nobody wants to have less money than more money. I am sure that we all agree on that.

looks like opec made a big boo-boo...

The accidental airing of a closed OPEC session Friday provided a surprise glimpse into a sensitive debate over the weakening U.S. dollar, with Saudi Arabia's foreign minister warning that even talking publicly about the currency's decline could further hurt its value.

The high-profile blunder ahead of a rare OPEC summit revealed the debate as Iran attempted to convince other member countries to express concern over dollar depreciation in the meeting's final declaration.

Oil is priced in dollars on the world market, and its depreciation has concerned oil producers because it has contributed to rising crude prices and has eroded the value of their dollar reserves. Cartel officials have resisted pressure to increase oil production to ease prices.

"The reality is that we have this problem. I think we should draft the declaration to reflect our concerns," Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said during a pre-summit meeting here with fellow ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

But Saud al-Faisal, foreign minister of U.S. ally Saudi Arabia, came out against the proposal with unusually frank comments.

"In my feeling, the mere mention that the OPEC countries are studying the issue of the dollar is itself going to have an impact that endangers the interests of the countries," he said.

"We all should be worried if any action that we take will lead us to do some injury to our returns on our product," al-Faisal said. "Nobody wants to have less money than more money. I am sure that we all agree on that."

The closed meeting was accidentally broadcast to journalists and after about 40 minutes, an official rushed into the press room and yanked the television cable out of the wall.

can't you just SEE that tv cable come flying out of that wall...?

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Bush's perpetual confusion isn't a laughing matter

there's clearly something wrong with the man...

"Thank you for being such a fine host of the OPEC summit," Bush said to Australian prime minister John Howard. He quickly corrected himself, "APEC summit," and joked Howard "invited me to the OPEC summit next year. (Such an invitation would be impossible because neither the US or Australia are members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.)

Later in the speech, Bush can clearly be heard on tape thanking Howard for visiting "Austrian troops" in Iraq last year, but White House scrubbers fixed that gaffe for him, changing the official government transcript to "Australian," the Associated Press reported.

an occasional stumble or gaffe is something that happens to everyone... with this guy, however, i get the distinct impression that he's borderline dysfunctional...

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