$90 Crude Oil: Law of Supply and Demand Trump Politics

Crude Oil Prices Dropped to $90/Barrel
Is Big Oil Less Greedy Now?



"International oil prices have dropped about 10 per cent in two days, the biggest slide since 2004, with US crude down to a seven-month low of about US$91 a barrel."

Oil dropped to around $90 per barrel yesterday.

What has caused the drop in crude oil prices--from over $140 just weeks ago?

Are oil companies suddenly less greedy? Did a collective light bulb go on in the heads of Big Oil executives--perhaps, after listening to all the Leftie talk about how cold-hearted they were?

Maybe it was the US House of Representatives passing a "Don't Drill Now!" bill?

Will economic conspiracy theorists have to find a new whipping boy?

Or maybe it was that strangest of economic mysteries: the Law of Supply and Demand.

Economic problems around the world, exacerbated by this week's turmoil on Wall Street, had depressed expectations of demand and affected the oil price.

Talking about "the law of supply and demand" is not politically sexy for liberals.

Bashing Big Oil is.

With the price of oil down--by as much as $55/barrel--does this mean that Big Oil is 1/3 less evil?

Will liberals and House Democrats change their rhetoric?

Does a bear wear a beanie?


by Mondo
images: dbkp; dkimages

Sarah Palin: Top Ten Signs Palin May be an Orthodox Jew

Palin an Undercover OJ?



Shmuel, our point man at Vanity Kippahs notices things. Some of the things he notices, we notice.

Shmuel noticed "Anyways, I am starting to think that Sarah Palin has all the symptoms of being an Orthodox Jewess".

We'll let him make his case and the readers can decide for themselves.


10- Her husband Tom is part of a Union. And union rhymes with Minyan.

9- She fired the chef in the governors mansion. No Orthodox Jewish woman wants another cook messing in her kitchen…

8- Palin gets French style pedicures. Need I say more?

7- The stylish pile-on hair style, seems like something straight fromYaffa Wigs

6- The name of her youngest child is Trig; the second most popular male name for babies born in Hasidic communities; wedged between Mendy and Yolie.




5- She bears an uncanny resemblance to Yentel; taking on the establishment and being unafraid of the males in charge.


4- The name of her future son-in-law is Levi.

And the Top Three Reasons Sarah Palin may be an Orthodox Jew?

Well, for those you'll have to click on 10 Signs Sarah Palin could be an Orthodox Jew at his blog at Vanity Kippahs.

He may have a point. Is Shmuel onto something here?

What do you think?


by Mondoreb
image: Vanity Kippahs

Background: The Russia-Georgia Conflict

Questions:
Why are they Fighting?
The Possible Consequences





On August 8th 2008 the Russian army moved into the area of South Ossetia in the Caucasus region. South Ossetia is a part of Georgia that wants to break away. The current round of fighting had been going on for at least a week between the S. Ossetians and Georgian forces before the Russian Army moved into South Ossetia in force. This is not a new conflict in a region of the world where conflict is common. However, this time it could be different and could trigger a full-scale regional war.

A look into the background of the region and the conflict would be the logical place to start.





Readers can see from the map above that there is no shortage of ethnic groups in the region. This is one of the reasons why the area is no stranger to conflict.

The South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions separated from the central Georgian government during a conflict in the early 1990's. There is no love lost between Moscow and Tbilisi because Georgia wants closer ties to the West (NATO membership being a part of that) and Russia gives political/military and economic support to the breakaway regions.

The Russians are claiming that they moved military forces in South Ossetia to protect their citizens from attack by Georgian forces. This is a smokescreen of BS, pure and simple. The Russians are trying to reclaim their great power status. They don't like a former region of the USSR not only going independent but also preferring NATO membership instead of closer ties with Moscow. The second reason is one of energy routes to the western world. Here is a map of pipeline routes in the region:




The map above highlight the importance of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline. This is a line that does not move through Russian territory. The Russians don't like the situation because they have no control over this pipeline; the Russians have already bombed this pipeline. If the original reason for Russian forces to be sent into South Ossetia was for the "Humanitarian reasons" they claimed, then why are they hitting a pipeline inside Georgia proper?

What are the true Russian motivations behind this action?

First, they want to remind all the now-independent countries who used to be part of the old USSR not to wander too far away or consider displeasing Moscow. NATO membership for these countries in not in the Russian interest, nor is something that is likely to be tolerated.

Second , Moscow has always had an inferiority complex. Beating up on a small independent country is a way to show the world that Moscow wants respect. This move by Russia had to be planned long ago. The best proof of this is the speed that the army units moved into the area. Ralph Peters provides background, plus a 'big picture' look at what these events in Raping Georgia, Russia Invades an American Ally

The military comparison between Georgia and Russia is truly a bully vs. underdog story. But it isn't totally bleak for the Georgians. They have been training to Western standards for a couple years now. [Georgia Security & Stability Operations (Georgia SSOP)]

In fact, since the middle of July there has been a multi-national exercise being conducted in Georgia that has included US forces: Immediate Response 08

[See also: Operation Immediate Response begins in Country of Georgia]

The Georgian military is fighting on home soil. They are fighting for their nation. They know the land and hopefully can use that knowledge to their benefit. The Russian military today is not the Red Army of World War 2, in fact it is not even the Red army of the Cold War. Today's Russian forces are badly-treated conscripts, not volunteers. This means they probably don't even want to be in the military, much less getting ordered into a invasion. Plus, there are some serious corruption issues in the Russian military.

Even though Russia is a oil-producer/exporter and has enjoyed good economic times from the rise in energy prices, surprisingly, not a whole lot of this money has been spent on the Russian military. A look at the TV footage of the conflict, one sees a lot of older Russian vehicles. But many in the Russian invasion force are badly-educated/trained and poorly-treated conscripts who have a hard time using more modern equipment.

This could devolve into a really bad situation in any number of ways. If any U.S. forces in-country for the above training exercise or the new forces arriving to provide humanitarian assistance get caught in the line of fire by the Russians, it could get ugly. The Ukrainians (another former Soviet republic that has no love for Russia) are talking about not allowing the Russian navy ships taking part in the Georgian conflict return to their harbors in Ukrainian territory.

Bottom line: if the USA and the West truly believe in democracy and the rule of law, they need to step up with one voice and tell Russia this won't be tolerated, period. If we don't, Russia will continue to regain control of their former regions using every tool at their disposal. This could result in a frosty relationship between Russia and the West.

One Cold War was enough, the world doesn't need Part 2.

by CDWT
images:
* www.globalsecurity.org
* www.colorado.edu
* ttp://europe.theoildrum.com


If you have any thoughts/comments/etc feel free to contact me at chicagodudewhotrades@gmail.com

Why Friday the 13th is the Unluckiest Day of the Year

Abbas: Temple Mount "100% Islamic"



Isaiah 40:2

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins.

Abbas: Temple Mount '100% Islamic'
Warning: 'Any action that offends holy site will be answered by 1.5 billion Muslims'




Abbas: Temple Mount "100% Islamic"



Isaiah 40:2

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins.

Abbas: Temple Mount '100% Islamic'
Warning: 'Any action that offends holy site will be answered by 1.5 billion Muslims'

Why is Friday the 13th considered unlucky? Personally, nothing bad has ever happened on Friday the 13th--that I recall.

But maybe, Friday the 13th induces amnesia!

A random and sundry collection of information on the (supposedly) unluckiest of days: Friday the 13th.


* Friday the 13th is considered a day of bad luck in English-, French- and Portuguese-speaking countries around the world, as well as in Austria, Germany, Estonia, Finland, The Netherlands, Belgium, Republic of Ireland, Poland, Bulgaria, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, and the Philippines.

* Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of the number 13.

* Paraskevidekatriaphobia is the fear of Friday the 13th.

* "Friday 13th is unlucky for some. The risk of hospital admission as a result of a transport accident may be increased by as much as 52 percent. Staying at home is recommended."
--Findings of a 1993 study published in the British Medical Journal, "Is Friday the 13th Bad for Your Health?"

* If 13 people sit down to dinner together, all will die within the year. The Turks so disliked the number 13 that it was practically expunged from their vocabulary (Brewer, 1894). Many cities do not have a 13th Street or a 13th Avenue. Many buildings don't have a 13th floor. If you have 13 letters in your name, you will have the devil's luck (Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy and Albert De Salvo all have 13 letters in their names). There are 13 witches in a coven.
--According to various legends; from Urban Legends.about.com



* Many Christians have long believed that Friday was unlucky because it was the day of the week when Jesus was crucified. The number 13 was believed to bring bad luck because there were 13 people at The Last Supper. Since there were 12 tribes of Israel, that number was considered lucky.

* "Does anybody believe that Friday the 13th is necessarily a bad luck day anymore? Get over it. Superstitions make great copy and distill fear, the key element in our reality upon which most storylines are based."
--Friday the 13th

* After 13 years of being the richest man in the world, Microsoft Corporation chairman Bill Gates lost this title, according to Forbes magazine's 2008 list of the world's billionaires.

* Never change your bed on Friday; it will bring bad dreams. Don't start a trip on Friday or you will have misfortune. If you cut your nails on Friday, you cut them for sorrow. Ships that set sail on a Friday will have bad luck – as in the tale of H.M.S. Friday ... One hundred years ago, the British government sought to quell once and for all the widespread superstition among seamen that setting sail on Fridays was unlucky. A special ship was commissioned, named "H.M.S. Friday." They laid her keel on a Friday, launched her on a Friday, selected her crew on a Friday and hired a man named Jim Friday to be her captain. To top it off, H.M.S. Friday embarked on her maiden voyage on a Friday, and was never seen or heard from again.
--According to various legends; from Urban Legends.about.com

* The first recorded incident relating to Friday the 13th refers to the massacre of the Knights Templar on Friday October 13, 1307. The forces of Philip IV of France were instructed to open letters that morning, giving them orders to seek out and arrest all known members of the Knights, slaughter those that resisted, and capture Jacques DeMolay, the last known Grand Master of the Knights Templar.

After checking the calendar, all of the bad events in my life (blessedly, only a few) did not take place on Friday--or even on the 13th. But, like Scarlett O'Hara says, "Tomorrow's Friday the 13th is another day".

Or something like that.

If all of this doesn't get you started down the road to a good Friday the 13th bender, what will?

compiled by Mondoreb the 13th
Sources:
* Friday the 13th
* Why Friday the 13th is Unlucky
* Friday the 13th
* Friday the 13th
* Friday the 13th
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