Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ron who wrote (75911)	7/20/2008 4:48:03 PM
From: JohnM	Respond to of 541915

Crude Reporting- Howell Raines It's easy to forget what a terrific reporter Howell Raines was. I gather he still may be. Thanks for posting this.

To: Ron who wrote (75911)	7/21/2008 9:59:41 AM
From: Rambi	Respond to of 541915

Wow, that soured the coffee for me. Excellent article.

To: Ron who wrote (75911)	7/21/2008 9:26:24 PM
From: greenspirit	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 541915

Raines appears to believe oil companies have a magic wand they wave around in order to manipulate the price of oil to keep it the highest they possibly can. Does it make sense to cripple the economy? Ruin the airline industry, or put the oil industry under a microscope from politicians? Does Raines really believe 10 billion barrels or more of oil in ANWR are meaningless toward the price of oil? Does he really believe it wouldn't help America become less dependent on foreign sources of oil? Does he believe the 80-100 billion barrels of oil off the coast of the United States would not make a difference to the price of oil if it were allowed to be extracted? Locking up our energy resources and sending billions upon billions of dollars overseas to dictatorial governments is economic insanity. The Congress and President should be doing everything they can to fast track the bureaucratic process in order to allow American oil companies to start pumping oil from within our borders. They should also fast track the process of building new, or expanding old refineries. The price of oil is largely based on perception. If the perception of oil traders shifted into believing the American Congress was serious about addressing increased supplies, the price of oil would go into a free-fall. New oil and natural gas finds and building nuclear power plants represents the two most effective ways of addressing our energy needs in the short and intermediate term. Both industries have been crippled by overregulation and bans from politicians for decades. It is ridiculous to blame the free-market! If the market were free Alaska would be pumping millions of additional barrels of oil. If the market were free, millions of barrels of oil and natural gas would be flowing from the outer continental shelf of the United States to a local gas station. The blame lies with politicians and those who have been supporting radical environmental groups, whose lobbyists funnel millions upon millions of dollars into the coffers of politicians. These environmental groups represent a religious calling. Pantheists believe the earth is Gaia and must be protected at all costs. The blind followers of these environmental groups work day and night proselytizing their religion. While the American people have been sleeping and going about their day-to-day lives, they've been working for decades to elect the right politicians, the right judges, and place the right members of the EPA in key positions. Breaking their influence is going to be difficult. Mr. Raines and other writers of the N.Y. Times serve these entities. They also serve the interest of two bit wanna be dictators like Chevez and long standing oil Sheiks in the Middle East. Serving these entities, instead of the American people, is a strange way to waste your writing talent.

To: Ron who wrote (75911)	7/23/2008 5:25:12 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 541915

The bottom line for the oil people is, 'How much can I make while spending the least I can get by with on refineries, synthetic fuels, and for exploration and drilling on the vast, unused acreage in existing oil leases?' No the bottom line is how to be most profitable. If the oil companies think that objective requires spending more on any of those things, than they will spend more on those things. and drilling on the vast, unused acreage in existing oil leases? The number of acres isn't a very useful metric. You can have a lot of acres with little or no economically recoverable oil. The current amount of drilling is also inconclusive. The fact that the oil companies aren't taking oil out of a particular lease, even if there is economically recoverable oil there, doesn't tell you a lot in isolation. They might not have discovered the oil, or they may be working through the process to get everything ready for the drilling, or perhaps its barely economically recoverable, and they haven't made that particular field a high priority instead chosing to focus on other areas. "The most chilling statistic is Exxon Mobil's. It spent twice as much last year to buy back stock as it did on exploration." Nothing chilling, or even particularly significant about that fact. Message 24777956 For another response see Message 24781146