Becoming Irrelevant ? I was not aware they ever were.

Crude oil exports to British and French companies have been halted," Oil Ministry spokesman Ali RezaNikzad-Rahbar said on theministry's website. "We have our own customers and have no problem to sell and export our crude oil to new customers."

Thats the problem with oil, enemies can always find customers for it. Im sure India and China are throwing a party right now, since they were just handed their own private reserves..

I find it kinda funny though, since England worked so hard to make oil shipments to them, a exception in the sanctions and then they get cut off.. Well back to being dependent on Putin..

Alexander the Great.

That is all.

John-351853

Iran, you're becoming irrelevant in world affairs with the exception that at some point soon, someone is going to slap you down.......hard. Your knee-jerk, save your face "export cuts" to Britain and France is a joke. Get over yourself.

Hate to break it to you, but as long as the world relies on oil, Iran actually isn't irrelevant. Their political beliefs may be, but they can influence the worlds economy with the blink of an eye. The EU is really in a bad situation with an already crippled economy, that's only going to get worse because of this (gas prices, which are much much higher than in the US, will skyrocket).

The US is only a few steps behind, our economy is definitely rebounding but it's still susceptible to disruption and small or large we really don't need this right now. Unfortunately, as long as Iran and most of the rest of the world are at odds...this is going to continue. We definitely need to invest in the next major energy source.

Iran saying sanctions will raise oil prices , just shows how disconnected they are, any fool knows its Wall Street Speculators that control the price of oil.

B Murphy

I agree with you on this one. My gut feeling is we will sell refined oil products to Europe. You must remember we are the second or third largest exporter of refined oil products in the world today. But no matter how you look at it " The World Today is in a Mess ".

bob

1973 gas shortage. Nixon was president. Iran the threat.

We are in a carbon based economy and Iran is the 4th largest producer. Hmmm. China and India come to mind. Are we shooting ourselves in the foot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_oil_production

with ALL these foolish/ hissy fits, REST ASSURED; American Capitalization will do their Part at the GAS PUMP..STIFF, Common Working Class Americans..WE are well aware of that...

While we don't get any oil from Iran, their supply (or lack of it) does affect the price we pay as it's a global commodity. That means everyone, including China and India, will pay more per barrel unless Iran enters into a special agreement with them.

We've got to find a way to use less oil, even if it means spending more in the short term. Eventually our green energy alternatives will beat the price of oil (never mind all the other plusses like reduced pollution), but not if we never develop any.

AG99 is exactly right. Oil is a commodity. Unless Iran stops selling it altogether, which would be a blow to their economy, it doesn't really matter if a particular barrel is sold to the UK or to China. If the Chinese buy it, it frees up a barrel from another oil producer to be sold to the UK. We're not in a zero-sum game, where selling to one country makes an equivalent amount unavailable to another buyer.

So, basically, Iran's announcement is one big snooze.

This past week bloombergTV reported that tanker insurers would not insure tankers getting iranian crude because of risk. If you can't ship the product, any iranian excuse will do.

It's a free market...right...so they should sell to whomever they want. I don't think they will have trouble finding buyers...China for instance. Maybe we should go on a national effort like we did with the space program to develop alternative energy...then Israel will become an exporter of solar energy and finally become an asset to the world's energy supplies...of course, this is still good for everyone in the middle east...there's not exactly a shortage of desert and wind there.

1973 gas shortage. Nixon was president. Iran the threat.

Not true and not applicable here. OPEC shut down the oil to the US, not a single oil producing country. And the cause was the US's support for Israel during the Yom Kippur war. Nothing to do with Iran.

Chris, you're right. I was reading the wrong event. 1979. Carter.

Sorry for the erroneous post.

Barry in NJ; right on point, Russia, U.S. can make up the difference in a couple of days, the oil cartels control the price, production, distribution and delivery , they are in the oil shortage business, North America has the ability to flood the world with oil for the next 200 years, however the cartels control, all aspects of oil, and our Congress goes along.

This is not news. The leaders of Europe and America and even a dummie like me knew that this was going to happen as a consequence to the so-called sanctions. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia gave President Obama their word that they would make up, by their increased production, any and all loss should Iran decide to do just this. So, the White House was hip to this happening.

Coming to your neighbor's home soon and your neighbor's neighbor. Take comfort in this thought: these "leaders" do not care about the "working stiff." The problem for the working American is that there are just too few working hours in any given day.

Now if the Iranians are realy smart they what gold for their oil.

None of those worthless US petro dollars. THAT WILL screwup the western economies.

BTW that is already happening.

Wall street will have a ball. Gas prices WILL in crease thanks to wall street.

Next I read somewhere that there tankers comint through the strait of Hormus will no longer be alble to get insurance.

So another reason to jackup the oil price. Love those stupid politicians, thay are all a brick shy off a full load.

@Barry You can look at it from that point of view but will China stop buying oil from the sources it already has? or will they just add to the amount they are getting they have more needs then supply, China is on the rise and demand is high, I think they will just use it as an additional source. Also once oil is purchased by one Nation it can go on the market and be sold again at a higher price so the market will see some effect and Iran will still sell its oil, that's the problem with sanctions they only work if the world community cooperates and that's not happening when China and Russia refuse to cooperate. China and Russia are not the only non participants, take Venezuela for instance if they purchase oil from Iran then they can divert that oil at see to meat their quota to say Brittan, so Brittan buys 300,000 barrels of oil from Venezuela and Venezuela sends them 300,000 Bls from their supply that happens to be setting on a ship that came from Iran, how do you control this. does anyone know of a time when sanctions enforced by half the world has actually worked, in todays modern market, with developing countries I don't see how sanctions can work unless everyone cooperates. the only thing happening is we are creating middle men and inflating the price.

@roger, I take it you aren't a history buff? If I remember right PERSIA was very relevant in world affairs for 1000's of years, in fact you could say the worlds affairs revolved solely around Persia (iran) for many centuries. It seems Americans only know the Anglo-Saxon history, it's like the rest of the world just magiaclly appeared one day in the 15th century.

I wonder if Iran checked with the Oil Barons throughout the world before they initiated this self-imposed embargo? Seems to me that the rise and fall of gasoline and fuel-oil prices is more in the hands of the world-wide Big-Oil Industry than anything else.

The exception, of course being those nations (eg.: China and Venezuela) where the pricing is subject to the whim of the government.

Iran is hilarious.......

This is Iran's version of ...."You can't fire me... I quit...!

It will only cause the speculators to raise the price.

The world uses a certain amount of oil. They will use the same amount today as they did yesterday before they cut off the oil. If Iran sells more oil to India and China, then wherever China and India were buying their oil from will now have a surplus. It is not like China and India are going to buy the oil that the EU was buying in addition to all the oil they currently do.

This will just shift the place where countries get their oil from. If anything, it should lower prices because Iran should have to offer a lower price to get India and China to buy their oil.

and as long as China, India, and Russia are buying their oil, it really doesn't matter. All we are doing is buying oil via third party through them. How about we (the nations that have elected to put an embargo in affect) really enforce the embargo and stop buying products from China, India, and Russia that are being made with Iranian oil. Then perhaps the Chinese, Indian, and Russians can decide what side they want to come down on, and who is more important. Oil from Iran or the rest of the world which means loosing trade status with all the nations who have placed an embargo in place.

/ // /?????????

The problem we have is that we have enough oil in Alaska to make us energy self sufficient, it's just the poor tree hugger's that are stopping us from drilling. What we need to do is to deal with the situation as is for two years, open up these area's in the name of national security, get rid of Obama and his senseless stopping of the Canadian oil line, and in two years the problem is fixed. And if the environmentalist do not like it then tell them to join the Amish and live that life style, but they have a choice, either live what you preach or shut the h@ll up and let us drill wherever the need and oil is.

Then we need to poor money into developing new energy and cars that are more efficient and not dependent on petroleum products, make it into a Gemini like project and both our long term and short term issues are taken care of.

And Europe need to also fallow our example, and we along with all food producing nations need to tell North Korea and Iran to stop and give up their nukes or we will cut off food supplies. Will people suffer, yes, but a hungry stomach does not care about supporting irrational leaders, they will remove them to get the food coming in again. It may be cold hearted, but I promise that it would work. And if they want to go to war, look at what happened to Iraq, and they were superior to them, and we have had twenty years to let our technology grow, so a war would only last a couple of weeks. But this time use drones, these people are not worth wasting one of our soldiers lives over.

IRESPOND:

As long as we depend on their oil, we need to be more careful.

We get no oil from Iran.

Let me get this straight- Iran is cutting off oil exports to countries that were about to stop buying oil from them anyway? Isn’t this the same as when you break up with your girlfriend and then she screams "you can’t break up with me because I’m breaking up with YOU"!? Pretty childish behavior if you ask me.

Starve the nation until the people rise up and kill the clerics.

Ricky says all we have to do is outlaw abortion and put woman back to the 19th century Humm - sounds like a Muslim to me? Read what the Teabaggers say on this Blog
— Nuke Em. Oil goes to $1000 a barrel and they get their Armageddon. Vote
End Times Vote Republican!!

I'm not sure how all of this will work out but I am sure Exon will have another record profit.

You can look at it from that point of view but will China stop buying oil from the sources it already has? or will they just add to the amount they are getting they have more needs then supply,

China can buy all the oil that it wants now. No one is being deprived of oil. If it was interested in acquiring more oil, it would do so. The only reason that they would buy more oil is if the price was lowered and demand went up (classic Econ 101 price curve), but that would hurt the Iranians.

There was an op-ed piece in the New York Times several months ago that advocated an embargo of Iranian oil, with one exception -- China. Since the Chinese wouldn't honor an embargo anyway, it wouldn't change things much, EXCEPT that as the only legal customer, the Chinese would have the Iranians over a barrel. The Chinese would drive the price down because the Iranians would have no other customers, drastically cutting into Iranian revenues.

...get rid of Obama and his senseless stopping of the Canadian oil line,...

The majority of oil has already been designated for export. It wouldn't do anything for our energy independence. The Canadians just want access to the Texas refineries and Gulf Coast shipping ports.

When are these tree hugging politicians going to realize we need to be independant of this B__l S__t! If the price of crude oil were to fall due to an influx of crude into the market, where would the Middle East get their money then? Last I checked sand is not on the commodity exchange.

Drill it here, sell it here, and keep more inside of the boarders. Let the rest of the Middle East squabble over the scraps that remain. Won't be long before prices fall into the toilet.

garcher .. our known oil reserves are less than 10% of countries like Venezuela and Saudia Arabia. Even the total estimated undiscovered oil is still a fraction of theirs. We certainly couldn't set the world awash in oil and couldn't support our own consumption for long.

Oil from shale is a different story, but so far the economics aren't there. Conventional oil is cheaper. Who knows, maybe it could work with a massive government project funding the research, but the tea partiers hate the idea of government programs.

But, do we want cheap oil? I don't think so. Oil is finite and will run out sooner or later. If oil were suddenly to drop to $40/barrel, there'd be no incentive for conservation or innovation. Oil is going up in price, but the increases don't send tremendous ripples through the economy they way that the oil price shocks did 20 or 30 years ago. Per dollar of GNP, we're less dependent on oil. Do we really want to reverse the progress that we've made?

Just so ya'll know...War is not fun

High gas prices, though more of an issue..are also not fun...everything you touch..required gas too get it there

BTW...Let's not wait till they do something...STUPID

Well, oil doesn't exactly follow the traditional model of supply and demand; especially when speculators can push the price north even while demand is declining, ON THE BELIEF that demand will go up on the future. And then based on that speculative bit, they pre-emptively raise the price before market reality hits.... If this speculation does push $5 a gallon gas, and it motivates more people to buy hybrid cars; we'll see if it does/doesn't return to what it was when the future will have become the past....

But in a way, people say they're not going to buy their oil, Iran says we won't sell, gee they're in agreement. It's in some ways the most absurd sort of response. No doubt China will be hungry for it, and Russia might as well. India, not so sure. Do they have a need for oil? Sure, but they're also not in the same position of China politically speaking. India, last I heard is also wanting to earn a permanent seat on the UN Security Council...

The flip side of this however is that Saudi Arabia has the reserves to off set Iran's influx into the international market for oil; and as such the Saudis can counter the actual supply side of things, leaving it to the speculators pretty much. If anything, Iran's actions means the Saudis stand to sell more product....

@Barry N-J

You make an EXCELLENT point about the fact that oil from shale is just not economically there. Now with that in mind what part of Green Energy do people not understand is by far much more expensive then petroleum? It does not matter what side of the isle you are on or if you are in the damn isle FACTS ARE FACTS but people just don't want to accept it.

Fully electric cars like the Chevy Volt.... where is the infrastructure to recharge these vehicles?? I don't think my neighbor would like it if I asked to run an extension cord from his house to mine so I could have some FREE electricity! And where does a majority of this electricity come from?? Clean Coal technology power plants, but also Nuclear and Natural Gas. FYI to the uninformed, we do not have but a small percentage of the World's oil reserves. BUT WHEN IT COMES TO COAL WE SIT ON ENOUGH TO LAST MORE THAN 200 YEARS. You couple this with sane exploitation of our own petroleum reserves in the Gulf and YES Alaska, coupled with a progressing but logically paced transition to Green Technologies and in 25 years we have COMPLETE ENERGY INDEPENDENCE from the WORLD!!!!!!

It is telling that Iran would rather cut supplies than simply subject itself to demands. They are a small barely there country and a government with there thumb on there populace yet yearn to be in the big times. ; ] Wont happen because everything is a threat with them. An ill advised boast or proposition un welcomed.

There people will be awakened soon enough.

Cheers

I find it amusing seeing the leadership of Iran cut their own throats so they can strike a blow against the "infidel". This kind of behavior will not change the fact that Iran is a pariah nation. These fools have given me an idea for a movie it will be called 'The Rat That Roared'.

Phuny that the 'Keystone' pipe is at odds. YES we need to wean AWAY from oil, but we can't do it immediately. Accomodate oil dependance (those uninformed seem to attack "big oil" yet hove no problem being shuffled from place to place on gas now and then) and AT THE SAME TIME develope other sources for energy.

As for Iran, they're asking for it and I hope somebody gives it to 'em.

Saudis should reduce the oil prices, make up for Iranian short faill and supply to all those who need them instead of manipulating the prices far higher later!

NATO forces are not even back from Iraq, now the dramas by Israel and Saudis, oil companies and their lobbyists have started.

Bankrupt nations living by printing currencies or on loans can't do much and their options are shrinking!

Why are so many "Americans" quote un quote [4 effect] so ready to destroy America? Do mountains not matter? Forest? Homes? Lakes rivers? Hmm. So many so ready to see America destroyed bit by bit piece by piece for a cheap buck? Things you can never bring back ever for a rich guy who wants his way like a childish baby? Really? Temporary jobs? Because I want to get this straight what it is we are exchanging here. Whats the point of America if America doesn't matter at some point?

China Canada seem oh to ready to rape themselves for a buck. Go get em. ; ]

Cheers

I call your @!$%#in bluff Iran!!!!!!!

Iran, instead of building nuclear weapons, should buy or steal nukes from Pakistan.

Of course, nukes need to be tested. The best place to start will be Saudi Arabia especially Mecca/Medina.

With this, one of the biggest evils in ME, will be gone and all the oil price manipulations will be out!

Garcher, there will not be a major glut of oil on the market in order to reduce the cost. The reason the Bakken reserve is doing so well is because the cost is high enough to make it profitable. If the cost of crude goes down, the mineral rights owners will stop pumping it until the price goes back up. It is the way with any commodity. Coal, corn, livestock. Just because someone owns mineral rights does not mean they have to produce it for market. LMAO.

You have a serious lack of education in economics.

The U.S. should tie the price of a bushel of wheat or corn to the price of a barrel of oil.

You want to pay $10.00 for a loaf of bread? $5.00 for a ear of corn? Why don't we just start adding natural gas and methane gas to our transportation needs we have plenty of it, methane we can manufacture from sewage and garbage. bio diesel can be manufactured from just about anything that decomposes and gives off a oil residue. there has to be a bigger picture here, neo socialism, nwo, transfer of wealth, whatever its not working very well. we should just go back to the gold standard, but that's a different issue, we could kick this in the butt if we could ever find a leader that wasn't bought and paid for. I don't see any reason why we should have the problems we have except for mismanagement. we have been playing this game for almost half a century, there are already cleaner safer for the environment fuel sources at our disposal, why haven't we started using them. places like New York should be building methane digesters for garbage instead of dumping it in the ocean as raw garbage, same goes for every sizable city, we wont need so many landfills, do you know how much methane is naturally made and is all around us its stagering , we could harness a great deal of it. and we could manufacture all we need, and since it is natural the cost should be low. and it burns clean. the only reason we have a problem is because we allow it to be.

In Madison WI our ex county exec. did help us to build a plant for bio-fuel plant. The UW was set up to change their energy supply to do the same UNTIL our GOP Gov Walker and legislature put a stop to that. At the time he proposed to sell all our state owned power plant without any bidding process. Guess who promoted that idea---the Koch Bros. The GOP wants to keep the US dependent on oil. What I cannot understand if the US has all this oil to export why do we import and pay the higher prices? We export our reserves of wheat and corn and then the price for American companies raise the prices of our food? Why are we exporting our supplies and end up paying the high price? It is like if I grow my own tomatoes then sell them for .99 cents then when I want one I go to the grocery store and pay $1.59 a pound. What am I missing?

Because multinationals have no loyalty to any one country. It's all about business, money, and playing hard ball. They have no conscience, and as the customer often does.... Just because a multi-national started in the US, doesn't mean they're on the countries side, they're on their own, it is what it is. There simply is no loyalty to anything except the almighty buck with many of them, and no sense of community for many of the business leaders, outside people to be exploited, for a profit....

But there's a disparity because most people aren't caniving amoralists who like to play dirty when it gives them leverage... Just the difference in consciousness is striking between the person who goes to the bank, takes out a loan, and sees the issue in terms of ethics. Banks don't think in terms of ethics by and large, and if they can package up bad loans, and sell them (falsely advertised) to make a profit, while making the bad loan someone elses problem, they will. AKA, BofA and their many sellings of Countrywide mortgages to the treasury dept, AIG, and others, for instance...

D Russ-3965159

...... The GOP wants to keep the US dependent on oil.

Umm, how do you figure?

Probably we should look for alternatives :

• My kindergarden teacher told once: OIL IS A NON- RENEWABLE RESOURCE.

Illiteracy is the root of all EIVL

Not using spell check is the root of most eivl.

Nonsense, humans are the root of all evil.

Buckhunter: Don't you have Bambi's mother to go kill to make you feel better about the man that you are?

humans are the root of all evil.

What happened to "eivl"???

It is actually this:

I TIMOTHY 6:10 "For the love of money is the root of all evil"

Please note that it is not money but the love of money.

Was the reseach stop by the GOP House?

Hydrogen powered cars has seemed the way forward, to me. And though there's energy used in seperating the hydrogen from the oxygen atoms in water, there's also electricity used in charging up batteries for an electric car. That some look at the electric grid would come into question would arise, either way.

But the hydrogen would be very efficient in terms of energy one could get out of it, per unit one's holding, there wouldn't be a need for a gasoline backup, and long distance travel (thousands of miles trips, or cross country) wouldn't be the same issue that people find today with electric, without charging stations on every major interstate.... IMO, hydrogen powered cars would have a lot of advantages in moving ahead. That a country maneaged to make the switch already however, is something I have not known though....

Chester, how many more cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, pleasure boats, etc. are in the U.S. compared to Norway?

Hydrogen can replace, coal, natural gas, oil and nuclear power. And where is Obama in all this?

Hydrogen may be the most plentiful element in the universe, but you won't find much of it on earth. It has to be created, and that requires electricity. We'll still need coal, natural gas, nuclear power, hydropower, solar power, etc... to generate the electricity needed to separate water into oxygen and hydrogen.

Before blaming Obama (and he may indeed be at fault here, I don't know), we also have to consider just how much money Congress would put behind this effort. The current House of Representatives is distinctly uninterested in alternative energy. If it doesn't pollute, they don't seem to like it.

The war mongers and Israeli-firsters seem to have forgotten the hardships the American drivers will be going through and just assume only Iran will sufer, but one can already see gasoline prices rising rapidly in the past week or so. Notice that Israel doesn't say much about this oil embargo ..

Thank you for telling these people the reality of the things....They seem to forget that when they drive their trucks and hummers to get gas...Time to wake up people!! It will co$$$$t you to be so righteous.

so true

6 month grace period.

conserve dummie conserve!

Sure, but until then, Drill baby drill!!

ha!

Right you are Texas. We will need crude products for quite some time yet, and so why do we rely on those that would do us harm? Let's produce locally and stop f***ing around with Canada and build the pipeline that will result in over 100K American jobs, and reduce our dependence on Middle Eastern oil. It is not only a matter of economics, but also national security. Time to have a "true" national energy policy that is viable, and not built on the pipe dreams of subsidized green energy that, while a good idea and one that should be built out for the future, does not mitigate the need/reality of crude products today and over the next 20-30 years by all estimates.

Drill? That will only keep gas and oil prices down and the oil won't even be used here it will be sold on the world market. It will prolong the conversion to alternative energy. The solution (as painful as it seems) is to stop all oil production and let gas prices soar through the roof. Only then will investors become serious about developing alternative energy. With their backs against the wall and enough money I believe we develop alternative energy in a very short period of time

Wind? Solar? Have you driven through California and seen all them thar wind turbines moving? About a third are actually moving the other two thirds are stuck on stupid. Brilliant idea....Solar do we need to go there solyndra. Idiots abound....

jammajam

That is about the best way i have heard to kill the U.S. economy. You should on Obama's counsel of advisors.

Not everyone has 20 or 30 grand laying around to drop on a new car. so they can save money at the pump.

Cash for clunkers killed the used car market. the price of a small cheap used car doubled. Thanks Barry.

no they wasted that consuming two to three times as much gas every week for well over a decade. hello. not me though ,I have always driven 4 cylinder cars or trucks.But I think ahead.

tell you what, I will buy a smaller car when it can tow 5000 lbs and get the equipment that I need to work from one job to the next. Also, when they don't cost three times what the vehicle that I am driving costs. I have a paid off vehicle that is used every day for work ( which I am sure you know nothing about). It is reliable, and it gets the job done. Unlike a plug in hot wheels that you want us all to drive.

not all of us live in a area that small cars are valid. believe it or not the rocky mountain area, if you live in the mountains, kinda makes suv's a very smart choice... not the "stupid useless vehicle" you claim them to be. they are actually the smallest 4wd vehicles that can get you down the snow covered and/or dirt roads...

work truck is one thing , but what do you take your vacation in? do you drive a sensible car to work and then get in the "work truck" to go out to jobs? Do you know they make 4 clyinder turbo diesel trucks? I bet you don't. well they do . I own one a 4,000 lb 1986 isuzu trooper II, 4WD that I have hauled a 25 ft sundancer with, ,all while getting 30 mpg. They are all foreign of course. they will also haul as much as you want, even a trailer. You just need a trailer brake. so , once again wake up people. CONSERVE! 4cly turbo diesel 30 MPG SUV! AMAZIN!! right? get one snowboarder they are grrrreat!!!!

It would sure be nice if the GOV would give tax gas more and use the money to build more wind and solar electric collectors. Look to Europe as an example of how to manage energy and employ people in new energy production.

But no...drill baby, baby drill...never go into the future...lets just join the Third World because we don't want to move forward.

Cash for clunkers killed the used car market. the price of a small cheap used car doubled. Thanks Barry.

Not really. Only the price of gas efficient cars. Why are you surprised about that? Plus, you had the chance to exchange yous gas gauger for another more economical car.

Used gas gaugers are very cheap these days.

origonal statement. Really I don;t care what you drive. If you choose to drive a 10 to 20 mpg truck when you could drive a truck that gets 30 to 35mpg or a car that gets 40 or maybe 55 mpg as some do. It's your money you are throwing away every week. I go to work on a motorcycle that costs me 20 bucks every two weeks. and use car or truck when needed. But I care about the environment and future of this planet. I have a daughter, and we both live in the "test tube" and I say we be conservative and cautious with this balance that our "God" has created. So wasteful people kinda piss me off, and I'm not sorry to say that. I'm not perfect, but I try to be a conservative person.

snowboard life: I live in the Rockies on a narrow gravel road at 7,300' and my little Mazda 3 seems to do all right.

c_ris ......I guess the unemployment line may be in your future if gas goes up to 6.00 a gallon. Or maybe you will learn that 4 cly diesels have lots of torque. sensible countries have used them for years. dummies are the only ones using ford and dodge v8's everyday. but like I said it's your money you work a couple of extra hard hours every week to piss it away at the pump. so have fun with that. btw... a-hole, I do "work" and use the funds earned more sensibly, than you evidently, so I MUST also be smarter.

irespond - have fun looking for an economical used car. Cash for clunkers did us no favors. Many would have liked a cash for clunker clunkers program.

1surrviivor

work truck is one thing , but what do you take your vacation in?

What is a vacation to you??? Mine is being able to drive a '96 Mazda to the grocery store(usually WalMart) and buying $400 worth of groceries that will easily fit in the trunk!

uscg1970.....I live near the beach, ride motorcycle to work and drive a 1987celica convertible , and a 1986 4x4 isuzu trooper II 4 cyl. turbo diesel two door ,I brought from overseas, when needed, as stated. retired military.VA care,I work on Harleys, my life is a vacation. I am sorry that you a conserving by driving something economical and still not able to afford a vacation, other than spending at walmart. I hope being coast guard that you still live near a good vacation spot and will be able to enjoy one soon.

I got a 69 mini 3K$ 50 MPG.

ford v8 engines aren't that bad unless you don't know how to take care of them, i drive a 1988 ford bronco with a 5.0 302 v8 that's fuel injected and i get an absolute max of 35 mpg on the highway average of about 32 with fresh oil and grease, also if you pay attention to all the stuff that can waste fuel and cause friction and you improve these parts with synthetic grease and use 15w 40 motor oil with a thickening agent and fine tune your transmission for the needed stall for your engine so you use up every last bit of extra torque that you can get and tune your differential for your needs(mostly climbing hills like Oregon or mostly flat lands like Texas) and don't forget to keep an eye on your bearings for all the parts that use them they usually need replaced every 10 years same for u joints, also the more electricity your rig needs the more gas you use making the power from the alternator, i use led bulbs for the dash and signals and hid bulbs for the headlights now my battery is always slightly overcharged and can jump start a truck from completely dead in usually 2 seconds once connected. i don't take vacations, i go hunting and fishing and exploring, good luck doing that with a car.

Hell, my 98' Mazda 626 gets 32-35 mpg and cost me $1500. Sure its a 4 banger and non-sporty. But if you want to flaunt your a$$ and profile and do 85mph on the interstate then I'd be getting real worried about gas prices. I've seen people spend more on their cars then the actual $hithole places they live in. How about dropping the speed limit a bit?Instead of 75mph on interstates and people doing 85mph they just drop it back down to 55mph. Saves gas,oil and tires.

scarletbirds..................32 mpg with a ford bronco 302 v8, now that's amazing! because www.fueleconomy.gov rates by ford. are from 10 mpg to 13 ......I would look that up, and check my math . sounds like you are spending alot more money on fuel than you realize. get rid of that hogg and you will have alot more money in your pocket, and use less of something our grandchildren may need for their creature comforts..again 4 , 5 and6 cyl turbo diesels and non turbo have all the torque you need. you can look that up

cool jim and dave..uh also scarlet.. site www.fueleconomy.gov ... ford rated that truck at 4,770 a year average fuel COST . so that's alot out of your retirement fund you are wasting.

most of my components aren't common and most are custom, i did the math and that web sight isn't reliable for non stock rigs. the trick to saving gas is to make dam sure your gearing is right and to reduce friction in as many places as possible, i also do a lot of driving and only fill up my gas tank once a month. also don't trust the gov web sights with anything that discusses gas/oil they cant be trusted to be 100% honest because they consider anything that can allow an engine to really sip gas to be a threat to our national security. i have also had other people with me as well and they kept track of my fuel usage as well and did their own math and couldn't find anything wrong with my mileage numbers. now if my rig was a carb type engine i would agree with you as a carb really sucks down the gas, also i don't have normal driving habits as well i spend most of my time coasting in neutral with my engine idling at 500 rpm and i follow routes that allow for mostly downhill routes both ways. i also just checked that web sight and all their info is for stock rigs only they have nothing useful to say about custom rigs, as for calling my bronco a hog not really its quiet as well as reliable, I've been driving it since i was 21 now I'm 26, when i first got it it did suck gas but there was also an intake manifold leak because the mechanic didn't install the gasket properly it was folded in half, i only spend 100 dollars max per a month on gas, sometimes when i get lucky its more like 50 if i didn't have to deliver a bunch of supplies or go exploring for the month, a friend of mine who lives right next to me had a Lincoln town car with the exact same engine in it and because his was a car and streamlined compared to mine he got an average of 35mpg with 50mpg on premium being his best. don't forget a vacuum or back pressure is also considered a form of friction and both being made where they aren't wanted will also consume fuel, also the closer to sea level you get the better your mileage and power is as well.

yup. there was always one shiite controlled country, Iran. (crazy basterds). Them we elected a dummie for president ,we went to war and created another shiite controlled country, iraq , and spent trillions doing this. so sad we elect such stupid selfish people, to the presidency.

Them we elected a dummie for president ,we went to war and created another shiite controlled country, iraq

The only "dummie"here was George Bush. He took us to war. QUIT blaming President Obama for the crap that is happening in the Middle East. The S**t will hit the fan soon enough, as LeRoy wants. Heads will roll, and not all from Democrats.

tell me about it, but hopefully we can vote him out in 2012..... (you spelled bastards wrong)

irespond... isn't that what I said? oh and rreeaally troop? I spelled really wrong two, troupbas- tard. or is that to, no too no I was right . two . sorry ms. troop.

It doesn't matter what obama wants it is what the nation needs. We will never develop a cheap alternative to oil until investors get serious. Investors won't get serious until demand dries up. High gas prices are the only way to dry up oil demand. I know it is extremely painful to imagine that scenario but there is really no alternative unless you want to drag it out with gas prices that people can barely afford for the next 20 or so years

Last time I checked, all of the big oil companies have been spending billions of dollars on alternative energy.

Don't believe me? Does the battery in your cell phone weigh 4 pounds like it did in the 80's?

Didn't think so.... It is only a few ounces and can store more energy in it than the 4 pound one did. That technology was made possible by the oil companies. Most of the supplies for the lithium batteries are made by the oil companies. Bad part is they are still made out of oil.

"troop" you remind me of my old English Teacher- OMFG (21st century)

The country doesn't need $8 a gallon gas; while totally ignoring the hardships that the working class will all have to take on themselves in creating some ideal.... I just love the sort of self rightious "we want to get here, so make the people suffer to bring it about mentality"; while forgetting what any move into the future should or shouldn't be helping to benefit... And both sides of the political isle seem so ready to make that choice and sacrifice for people other then themselves.

I dunno, self sacrifice can be a noble quality; but for me imposing sacrifices onto other people, willing or not, has always seemed to be something quite different in nature.... Words such as cold hearted and callous also come to mind when describing the latter.... Perhaps some thought should be given to that, when some seem to wish $8 a gallon gas on people, so many will end up having to resort to stealing or the like, in order to be able to eat... What a lovely world which could get created in the interum of "motivating people" to invest different....

But then on the flip side, figuring if we can use sanctions as a means to motivate people to rise up and overthrow a corrupt regime, so they can fight with their bare claws against people with guns, while being so hungry they're ready to just feint before whomever; meh... What a world we live in....

rightjust one ... You are right. And in any scenario, even in the unlikely event that a third of all of the cars on the road, (220 Millon), were replaced with electric cars or electric hybrids in the next decade, Big Oil would still make out like an absolute bandit. With 65 or 70 million electrics being plugged in every night, the electrical grids would be maxed out so the electrical companies would have to produce a lot more power ... by building and increasing generating capacity and, you guessed it, burning a lot more fossil fuel .. coal, gas and oil. The end result is that the electric power bills for people would soar beyond anything now imagineable and be equal to or more than they pay for gasoline each month. It is still a virtual no-win scenario for the motorist. The oil companies have this country, and indeed the entire world, right by the short hairs. Thanks for your post.

Peace to all

stop being so dam compliant and stand up.

And do what, exactly? Not buy gas? Not consume electricity?

Steve, I can see it now, a brand new infrastructure of plug in electric grids. Instead of parking meters we will have parking electric plug in meters. A new source of revenue for our urban centers, and we all know how efficient government is. lol!

American - Yes, and don't run over your time on the curbside plug-in meter when you charge your car or the local meter police will stop by and stick a $ 50.00 ticket on your windshield... another profitable day for the power company and the city. Have a good one.

Peace

uh not drive so much, not ship salads across the country , not go to grocery store everyday , or feel the need to go out every night to do nothing and buy a bunch of useless crap......to to to to ...conserve?

why are "conservatives" the least conservative?

1surrviivor: I'm all for conservation, but it only puts off the inevitable. With our ever-growing population, demand will always catch up with supply. We need alternatives than can be used and expanded indefinitely. Solar would be nice, but the tech's not here yet. Wind is also nice, but we don't want windmills covering entire states. Hydrogen is great, but long-term storage is a problem. Nuclear is the most practical so far.

true.....and we start by conserving, and being more localized.

Ok let's have some fun.... how about a new system where a new type of car, like a balloon floats on air currents? I remember a story a very long time ago. They were called GEMs (Ground Effect Machines) Just think about it like air hockey games. We could heat the air and never have to worry about snow and ice. If they collided they would bounce off each other. Air is a renewable source correct? We could also create a CO2 filter on the air intakes to clear up global warming fears:) Yes the initial investment is high for the new roads but would create a ton of jobs too. Its just for fun :)

AG, Photo Votaic and Wind Energy ARE READY NOW...WE are just so stuck on cheap gas that we refuse to change. If you were paying 8 to 9 dollars a gallon for gas like the Europeans, you would be screaming for electric.

I say, raise gas taxes and use the money to off set the costs of installing electric power.

hahaha that texas well dried up a long time ago, and the town went with it. good thing he moved to the "hills".

1surrviivor,

Wrong State.

Strato .. It was a funny show, and Jed made a great lucky shot to bring up that 'bubblin' crude, black gold' ... but I really liked Ellie Mae ... :-)

Peace

Hills of Tennessee moving to Beverly Hills.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnXfRstZntE

But, yes, most of the Oil of the US was depleted during the 1900s "Black Gold Oil Rushes" of California, Texas, etc.. So now to get every cent invested the Oil Corporations are pushing Natural Gas, without telling the US Public just how poisonous Methane is or how much more harmful to the Ozone Layer Methane actually is. Then there is the contamination of the ground (Drinking Water) with hydraulic Fracking and the obvious causing of increased destabilization of the Earth's Crust (Earthquakes).

duh, and yes fracking is f'kd I loved and hated "gasland" great docu.

But i guess Iran sending 2,000 soldiers to Syria to put down a revolt is Americas's fault too.

They have invested in wind and solar. Way more than 8 billion.

that's nothing. look what we invested in a war that the occupied country's "oil revenue" was supposed to pay for . you know so much and remember so much, any memory there?

Bill, Iowa utilities have generated hundreds if not thousands of wind generators. They are looking for ways to to get other states utilities to share the costs of creating additional transmission lines to distribute the power generated.

Do you really think the electricity suppliers have been doing nothing? In Jersey they've already started installing solar panels on all of the telephone polls in many cities. Now against the total backdrop, might not be that much, but certainly is opportunistic in terms of where energy can be found....

The US military is also looking at solar generation on military bases, once they set out land that can't be used for such purpose due to possible interference with their strategic operations. But setting that aside, there was still an estimated 8 giga-watts of power production they could come up with. And talk was in dumping (what they aren't using) onto the public grid, though for the strategic benefits of power generation capeability when the grid needs repair (you don't want to be pumping juice through 220 v or 440 v power lines work crews need to work on, for obvious reasons) there's also research into technology to island the bases off and allow them to generate the power even when the flow has to be shut off to the outside, but allowing them to dump power on the grid, when it's safe to do so (non maitenance/repair periods).

site lag caused duplicate post....

Why Iraq? Because we already screwed them over and now they owe us for it?

But no worries, the Saudis will. The US gives them plenty of weapons and never questions them (even though 14 of the 9/11 attackers from Saudis), lets the Al Saud family run the most backwards and oppressive regime in the middle east... and in return they help us out with oil. A fine example of what US foreign policy is really all about. But at least we get their oil when we need it, right?

Iraqs oil goes to China.

and it was supposed to pay for the dummies war...sad the idiots that voted for those 8 years.. hope you weren't one

William-2831665 - Personally I´m against sanctioning countries that don´t behave like us, but that being said, can´t Iraq oil take up some of the slack? (I realize Iraq is still a mess).

Not going to happen, after President Obama's2009 Improved Relations withIran Policy, that allowed Iran to do anything without US Interventions, the Iranians applied Political Pressure on the Shiite Government of Iraq NOT to deal with the US anymore. At the same time Iran, directly supported the Islamic Jihadist Training Camps at Northern Iraq (Autonomous Kurdistanis Region). The Kurdistanis have been the Armed Allies of Iran ever since the Iran Iraq Wars. The Shiites to the South originally came from Iran Generations ago. The Kurdistanisended up controlling the Iraqis Northern Oil Fields and the Shiites at Iraq ended up controlling the Southern Iraqis Oil Fields and the Iraqis (Arabs, Sunnis, Arabic) ended up withnothing (as to why the rise of Iraqis Insurgency Groups to take back their Nation). So the Iranians negotiated with their Allies at Iraq for the Iranian Allies the Chinese and Russian Federation to get the Iraqis Northern and Southern Oil Field Contracts. This made the Libyan Oil of Strategic Importance to the US European Allies.

William-2831665 - Or Libya, they said they were going to remember all the countries that helped them in the revolution.

In 2010, US Ally Turkey raided the Main Islamic Jihadist Training Camps that are directly supported by Iran at Northern Iraq the Autonomous Kurdistanis Region, instead of just finding the Kurdistanis PKK, HPG, KGK, the Turkish Military ended up fighting against over a hundred thousand Islamic Jihadists, this is still an ongoing Turkish Military "War" including Airstrikes, Turkish Special Forces, Artillery, Tank Battalions, etc.. This caused many of the Islamic Jihadists to flee back to the Nations that they originally came from. Egypt as the Muslim Brotherhood, Libya as the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, Yemen as Al Quada Yemen, Palestine as the Hamas Foreign Fighters and the many Islamic Jihadist Organizations, Gaza as the Army of Islam Gaza, Afghanistan Al Quada and the Taliban, Pakistan as the Al Quada Pakistan Army of Islam Pakistan Pakistani Taliban Haquini Network, Syria Al Quada Syria, etc.. These Islamic Jihadists were trained in Asymmetric Warfare and could not go directly against the Turkish Military Forces, so as trained by the Iranian Military Trainers and Advisers they started to get their Nations Populations to fight for their Cause(s), in this case the Overthrows of US Allies as the so called "Arab Spring".

So prior to the "Libyan Civil War" these Islamic Jihadist Organizations went to Libya to Overthrow Gaddaffi the Collaborator to the Christians, Jews, Unbelievers (President Obama's Executive Intelligence Agency, the CIA, Prisoners at Gaddaffi's Prisons): 80% of the "Libyan Rebels" were Al Quada Saudi Arabia (AQ), Al Quada Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Al Quada Syria (AQS), Al Quada Yemen (AQY), Hezbollah, Al Quada Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), etc.

The Result. Iranian Ally Qatar negotiated with the "Libyan Rebels" for Iran's Ally the Chinese to get the Libyan Oil. So the Chinese not the US European Allies got the Libyan Oil.

The Islamic Jihadistsgot 20,000 Shoulder Launched Anti Aircraft, SA-7, Missiles. Along with many weapons from Gaddaffi's Military Bases as they were waiting before the first Demonstrations to intiate Asymmetric Warfare Operations against Gaddaffi's Military. It was NOT a coincidence that the "Rebellion" started at Benghazi, as this was one of the first locations seized by the Islamic Jihadists, as the 60 bunker Hight Razma facility on the eastern outskirts of Benghaziand a 35 bunker facility on the eastern outskirts of Ajdabiyah. These "bunkers" are the size of very large warehouses.

It is believed that the Islamic Jihadists will use the 20,000 Shoulder Launched Anti Aircraft, SA-7, Missiles to shoot down US Commercial Airlines after all the Failed Islamic Jihadist attempts like the underware bomber, shoe bomber, laser printer toner, etc..

1surrviivor,

LOL. It was US Congress after denying President Bush's request for Oil Exploration of the ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Reserve), reappropriating more funds to President Clinton's H.R.4655 "Iraqis Liberation Act of 1998" that became US Military Operation Iraqis Freedom 1998 to 2011, that told him if you want Oil go to Iraq and get it. And do NOT say No as a non participant reading crap written by non participants; because I had to get my Teams ready by going all over the US to find people that were on my previous Teams from H.R.4655 and 1998 Operation Desert Fox; that did not want to get involved in H.R.4655 again. And then the 9/11 2001 Attacks occurred so instead of going to Iraq to Overthrow President Hussein we ended up going into Afghanistan to: 1. Overthrow the Fundamentalist Islamic Taliban Government that was providing Islamic Sanctuary to Osama Bin Laden, Al Quada and was directly supporting the Islamic JihadistTraining Camps with the direct support of Fundamentalist Islamic Iran. 2. Reestablish a form of Democracy., 3. Seize and Secure locations for the arrival of US Military Conventional Warfare Forces., 4. UN Mission Nation Building., 5. Mission added after President Bush 2006 amended the US No Assassination Policy, the Termination of Osama Bin Laden. It was after the US Senate Declared War on Iraq with the 2002 Iraqi War Resolution (as the House of Representatives already Declared War withIraq with H.R.4655) so both Houses of US Congress Declared War With Iraq as required; we then were sent to Iraq during 2002 Operation Hotel California to start the Liberation of Iraq aka US Military Operation Iraqis Freedom.

Marc-3844994 - (even though 14 of the 9/11 attackers from Saudis)

LOL. While we (US Military Training Teams attached to SAD) were conducting Operation Cyclone by training the 1980s Pro US Afghan Muhajeen to defeat the USSR 40th Army Occupation; OsamaBin Laden was living with his rich Relatives at Saudi Arabia forming his new Anti US Ally Saudi Arabian Government and Anti US Islamic Jihadist Organization, Al Quada. Ding, ding, ding, this is a Game Show, BUY a F**K Clue Marc-3844994. Unlike your conspiracy theories we did NOT train Osama Bin Laden nor did we train the 1990s Fundamentalist Islamic Taliban. The Only CIA that Osama Bin Laden would have been associated with would have been the NYC Culinary Institute of America before the 1993 First World Trade Center Bombing. And the Fundamentalist Islamic Taliban were those Pro USSR Afghans that fled into USSR Backed Fundamentalist Islamic Iran during the USSR 40th Army Occupation, and when they returned to Afghanistan they massacred the 20,000 to 50,000 1980s Pro US Afghan Muhajeen that we abandoned.

Let China worry about the Mideast. Screw the Chinese !!

No, no, no. Didn't you see the Budwiser Shootout last night. Probably the most exciting race I've seen in 15 years.

I watched about 5 minutes of it. Then took my wife out to dinner. My dad used to race. I like racing it has just grown out of control. It's like baseball. I can watch a few playoff games, but do they need 4000 games a year. Boring.

Just like the 24 hours of Sebring in the 1970's.

Nobody misses them.

You missed voteing for yourself on this one. Pay attention.

leroy2112........... Shut your pie hole.......... The car industry gets a vast amount of research information from NASCAR......... Which they put into their cars, that they sell to the public..........

Ghost, could you be more specific. Exactly what research information from cars that travel at 190 mph transfers to cars that travel at 70 mph?

you are growing on me leroy.

ghostard...hahaha is that why they call them stock cars. wh-owwww

Which they put into their cars, that they sell to the public..........

Most be Vaseline to lube other things...Otherwise I don't really see what benefits NASCAR has

Too the people who say, ( how does Nascar benefit US ???????? ) Improved tire technology from Goodyear... A simple thing like a tire, that can withstand the simple abuse of ordinary driving... Tires that can last for 40, 50 and even 60,000 thousand miles...... THANKS NASCAR !!!!!

Like a braking system, that can let gram ma drive at the flow of traffic, and still stop in time, so she doesn't hit little 1surrviivor. So ( he, she or it ) can walk to their little feel good protest ....... Thanks NASCAR......

Like a suspension system, that makes for a smooth ride over these terrible American roads, so IRESPOND can enjoy ( his, hers, or its ) laata from Starbucks..... THANKS NASCAR......

Like an improved fuel economy system , so people like nobrent, can get better fuel economy when ( he, she, or it ) travels at 70 miles per hour...... THANKS NASCAR......

Irespond, the benefits of NASCAR is seeing blonde babes with big boobs and tiny little shirts and shorts.

Considering that technology that goes into the air bag can track back to NASA and the space program, it shouldn't be a surprise... Besides, not all cars people drive on the road would top out at 75 mph, nor would one really want one that has to drop at top speed everytime one gets on the interstate. And that's to say nothing if one needs to add an extra heavy load onto that car... Yes, some people do drive Cameroes and the like for their everyday vehicles as well....

you mean we don't make tires that are as good as we'll ever need. and there is no other testing than racing making left hand turns? braking haha fuel economy all tested wh-owwww that's jest great fiddle me timbers, I had no idear thanky nascar. ghostard is so smart. have fun with the new commercialized yellow flag allllllllllll day races!

Does the word "Holocaust" mean anything to you?

Because the Germans ever since the 1980s Natural Gas Pipeline with the USSR have been cozy with the Russian Federation. The Russian Federation just happens to be an Ally of Fundamentalist Islamic Iran ever since the Iran Iraq Wars (USSR backed Iran, US Backed Iraq). Why do you think the Germans did not want to get Militarily involved with the Libyan mess (see post#15.4, as Iran's direct support of the "Libyan Rebels".).

CHINA can afford to pay especially after they give them a sweet deal. And they they were going to embargo Iranian oil ANYWAY. Iran just sped it up for the fools

Who is Wall Street?

Right larry, that is why oil is traded globally, bet the asian or other markets could give a shlt about wall street. How about if the world no longer pays for oil in $US?

all the 401k are wall street.

What power generating sites aren't fixed? BTW - france generates about 70% of electrical power via nuclear energy. Germany probably just buys electricity from them.

David-1023706,

Go out and experience the Real World Life or Death School of Hard Knocks.

Germany is shutting down their Nuclear Power Plants because they are TOO OLD and the International Greens Political Party is telling the Germans that they cannot build new Generation (Safer) Nuclear Power Plants to replace the old ones.

So now they have to buy electricity from the French.

Stop playing that race card .... "LOL"

Great line.

Just browsing leroy ....

I meant no harm ....

Really that was F A F . Funny as ****

Best line I have read all weekend. LOL

There's phine ....

Hope all is fine ....

Always good to see you , your looking good this morning ....

I'm running around near Miami this week , having a blast ....

So much to do and see ....

F A F i agree. and with orig. comment by leroy, good one . ahh miami I liked it so much I moved there.

Let the government drill for oil. I think we are the only country in the world that doesn't allow that. I'm in favor of the gov drilling about 500 wells . They can regulate themselves. They can deal with the EPA. Let oil companies still drill. Open compitition will lower prices. They could at least drill enough to supply our military.

Oil companies make 8 cents for every dollar invested. Computer manufacturers make 27 cents for every dollar invested. How do you like your laptop hypocrite.

by the way your computer is made out of oil and precious metals. You are probably against mining companies too.

To quote Jimmi Hendrix: "Hey Leroy, Your MaMa.... She wants you"

leroy2112 - by the way your computer is made out of oil and precious metals. You are probably against mining companies too.

I have told them the same thing over and over and over again. Add to that all the Oil Based Plastics as used for the Electrical Insulation for the wiring in their homes, vehicles, electricity transmission lines, etc.. Also all the Oil Based Plastics used for the "Alternative Energy".

The loss of the High Tech Mineral Wealth of Afghanistan due to President Obama's 2009 Improved Relations with Iran Policy, with Iran negotiating with their Neighbors Afghanistan for Iran's Ally the Chinese to get the High Tech Mineral Rights for Mining here (Afghanistan). In 2011 the Chinese then declared Embargoes against the shipments of High Tech Minerals out of China (mined here (Afghanistan)). These High Tech Minerals are Mandatory for the Manufacturer of US High Tech (Computers, Smart Phones, etc.), US Alternative Energy, Electric Car Batteries, US High Tech Weapons Systems, etc.. Translation, US now screwed by China, as now all of this is either Made In China or US does without. What really pisses me off is that it was my Teams with attached Scientific Teams of SAD that verified the High Tech Minerals here (Afghanistan) by spelunking into the thousands of miles of former mines, mineshafts, mining tunnels, etc. while hunting the Taliban, Al Quada, etc..

This (US Loss of High Tech Minerals and Oil Resources) is also one of the Primary Reasons why China will REPLACE the US as a "Superpower" with the US Standard of Living becoming a Fourth World (like here (Afghans) or the Somalis) by 2015.

I would really like to have a magic wand so that I can make all the Oil Based Plastics and High Tech Minerals disappear at the US for just a few days, just so that all these people finally realize the obvious.