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Gold/Mining/Energy : Strictly: Drilling and oil-field services
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To: Tomas who wrote (74481)9/24/2000 10:37:23 PM
From: Tomas  Read Replies (1) of 95453
 
How suave sheiks of OPEC inspired Europe's tax revolt
National Post, September 23
Donald Coxe
...
One reason for the outbreak of Europrotests was media coverage of OPEC spokesmen's calls for tax cuts. They pointed out that governments were getting most of the revenue, so why should OPEC producers drive down oil prices when crude oil accounts for maybe 16% of the consumer cost?

The sheiks suavely called for "sharing" among governments and OPEC of the high costs of "temporarily" short oil supplies.

This is the first time OPEC has used Western media to influence public opinion. Until now, the sheik to shook-up call was an unknown form of communication. Europeans knew they were paying high gas taxes, but most had only a vague idea of the government's take.

They had seen their leaders on TV protesting against OPEC intransigence. Now they learned they had elected the highest-paid co-conspirators. As Pogo put it, "We have seen the enemy, and they is us."

Saddam Hussein now has the power to provoke a short-term global energy crisis by slashing his three million-barrel-a-day production. After the U.S. elections are over, Western governments will realize that Big Oil is its best protection against a potentially Saddamized OPEC.

Donald Coxe is the chairman of Harris Investment Management of Chicago and Jones Heward Investments; don.coxe@harrisbank.com
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