Al-Qaeda: Canada deserves bombing...

Hello

Dennis.

Thou are correct.
We here in the US are still letting them in by the plane load
All one has to do is go to Newark, O'Hare, or LAX and watch.
Yes, I know I will hear heat about this, but lets not forget that the terrorist from 9/11 were American educated.

Im all for immigration, but reform is needed and needed now

 

I got this intersting e-mail that may hold the answer to stopping Al-Qaeda and its supporters:


It has been calculated that if everyone in the United States did not purchase a drop of gasoline for one day and all, at the same time, the oil companies would choke on their stockpiles.

At the same time it would hit the entire industry with a net loss of over 4.6 billion dollars which affects the bottom lines of the oil companies. WHAT POWER, WE, THE PEOPLE, HAVE WHEN WE WORK TOWARD THE SAME GOAL!

Therefore, May 19th has been formally declared "Stick it to ‘em Day" and the people of this nation should not buy a single drop of gasoline that day.

Waiting on this administration to step in and control the prices is not going to happen. What happened to the reduction and control in prices that the Arab nations promised two weeks ago?

Remember one thing, not only is the price of gasoline going up but at the same time airlines are forced to raise their prices, trucking companies are forced to raise their prices which affects prices on everything that is shipped. Things like food, clothing, building materials, medical supplies, etc. Who pays in the end? We do!

We can make a difference. If they don't get the message after one day, we will do it again and again.

So do your part and spread the word, tell your family and friends, share it with your neighbors, talk about it to everyone you meet. And of course forward this email to everyone you know as quickly as you can to get the word out. Mark your calendars and make May 19th a day that the Citizens of the United States were united in saying "Enough is Enough"!

Make it so!

 

I'm not understanding how punishing American oil companies also punishes Al-Qadea.

The terrorists don't need much to carry out their mission. They don't have multi-million dollar pieces of military hardware, nor do they need them. A suicidal sap wearing $50 worth of explosives seems to be their weapon of choice. Mobil or Exxon going bankrupt is not going to foil the terrorists.

A much better strategy, IMO, is to write your elected officials and demand that the handcuffs are taken off the military. We could crush the insurgents in Iraq in a matter of weeks (if not days) if the usual PC constraints were lifted off our Armed Forces.

To give you an example, I was in the first Gulf War. We were given orders to not shoot at or otherwise damage a mosque, under any circumstances. We came across a mosque in a small city just outside Kuwait City, and started taking fire from inside. It was only one sniper, but we couldn't shoot back. We played duck & hide (with many bullets kicking up dust right next to me) for about 5 hours until he ran out of ammo and surrendered. Luckily, we had no casualties.

From what I've read, we are now able to attack mosques if they are a viable military target. That's a good start, but we have to fight this war as a war.....not as an encounter group.

 

The thought behind the e-mail (I think) is by not buying gasoline/oil is to eventually stop supporting those who support terrorism (and to lower gas prices).


Boy, Bruce, I didn't know you were in the Gulf War. I am proud of you and to know that you fought for our country.b (sincerely)

 

Yes, indeed. I spent 3 years in the active Army in the 101st Airborne, then another 6 years in the 972d Military Police Company of the Massachusetts Army National Guard. Nothing happened for me during my 3 years of Army service, but my Guard unit was activated for the first Gulf War. We spent 7 months in the combat zone.

Thank you.

I could count on one hand the number of times that anyone has ever said that to me.

 

Which oil companies are intended to choke? Explorers? Extractors? Transporters? Refiners? Retailers? American? British? Dutch? Norwegian? Venezuelan? Russian? Nigerian? Saudi? Kuwaiti?...

If true then "the entire industry" would have no choice but to pass on the additional costs to consumers.

Ever hear the one about cutting off your own nose to spite your face?

The "government has magical, mystical powers" fallacy.

I don't recall that promise. Which nations made it?

That's a given.

Again, of which "they" do we speak.

Enough is enough of lynch mobs and economic ignorance.

 

I have actually. But I have also been paying attention to this crap since I was a kid. The demands haven't changed really.

 

Despite our differences...

...and the ludicrousness of some of the postings (yes I take SOME responsibility for the political fringe stuff ), I am also proud of your service, and thank you personally for having made the self-sacrifices you undoubtedly did to serve our country in its time of need. So maybe now you can count the number of times people have said that to you on more than one hand?

- Carl

 

And what exactly happens after we remove all of our troops from the Middle East and stop supporting Israel? Do the radical Islamicists simply stop terrorism and live as a peaceful part of the global community?

The fact is, those aren't the only demands of the more radical elements. After all, Andalucia is rightfully theirs as well. But I guess if we are willng to trade Israel for peace, we ought to be willing to give up the Iberian peninsula as well. And if genocide of Christians goes on in Mulsim controlled countries (such as Sudan), we should just let it happen. Or will this just stop as a result of giving in to their demands.

I understand that we don't always make things easier on ourselves. We can probably pull all of our troops out of Saudi Arabia, for example (a move only strategically possible as a result of Iraqi regime change), which should help us long-term. But it is clear to me that we cannot give in to these terrorists. As a result, killing the terrorists seems to be the only reasonable solution.

 

Hey, I didn't say I agree with it or that we should even care what they want. I was just pointing out that it's not about Islam taking over the world as mentioned. Not a popular or manly sentiment, but terrorism dies out by itself after it inevitably fails. It's hard to keep up the furor. This too shall pass.

 

And what about the tens of thousands of people who support that energy business. I work for an oil company (private company) that employees about 15,000 people, every single one us are dependent on the drilling, shipping, and refining of oil.

I hate to break the bubble, but remember almost all prices in the oil sector are based on futures trading, not the current situation. We are building roads (asphalt - an oil product) today, from contracts bid on a year ago, with asphalt that was delivered in the winter, that was future bid last spring.

There are a multitude of complexities that drive the cost of oil refining and gasoline and I can promise you one thing, regardless of what happens to demand, the oil companies are NOT going to shrink margins, only when the cost of barrels being bought exceeds the predicted cost does the margin suffer.

Just in case your interested

 

<< I was just pointing out that it's not about Islam taking over the world as mentioned. Not a popular or manly sentiment, but terrorism dies out by itself after it inevitably fails. It's hard to keep up the furor. This too shall pass.>>

I wish that were true. Unfortunately, I don't believe it is.

Pug

 

The goal of these terrorists is to take your life and the lives of everyone you know and have ever known because you do not believe exactly as they believe. Pluralism is not a concept they endorse. Once they're through with killing us (meaning all of Western civilization) they will undoubtedly begin a never-ending series of factional wars amongst themselves. This is the way of true believers. I believe that the point that some other posters were making is that the only real way of "deny(ing) them any hope of achieving it," is to kill them first. I'm not a big fan of open warfare but it seems clear to me that these people are not exactly open to the prospect of compromise.
BTW, thanks Bruce.
Jack

 

Bruce

Yo! Puking Buzzard Bro.

Bet you have not heard that in a long long while. I feel you pain. Was not in GWI, but attached with the UN Peace Keeping Forces in the Siani in 1983.
Served Egypt, Chad (area), and S. Isreal.
As I stated in a post before, I know where you come from. As an E-3 at the time I was the lone 60 gunner on post. During prayer, or during marches through small villages in the "Zone" we had to unclip our weapons. No ammo!
I was in NE Egypt near the borderzone when our Marines took the hit in Beruit. Something at the time told me they were not locked and loaded either.
I was an ENGR that spent many days disarming and clearing land mines and other explosive devices in the AOR.
101ABN 3rd Brigade. 1982-1985
157th MP BDE 1985-1988 ARNG

My only thought on this whole thing is we have been screwing around too long. The politicians make this their bully pulpit and attempt to turn our soldiers into social workers with a group of individuals who would rather slice your throat than be your friend.

My cousin was stuck there in the 70's, me in the 80's, my other cousin and you in the 90's, and now my other cousin and brother in law now.
40 years is enough. I think we should just pull out and let'm kill each other.

As far as oil. Well, there is Russia, Mexico, and Alaska. Not to mention thousands of domestic wells that were capped during Clintons realm which brought most of this crap today in the first place.

Enjoy Bruce,

Dave

 

Re: Bruce

Wow...that brings back some memories! (for those who don't know, Dave & I both served in the 101st Airborne Division, which has the "screaming eagle" on its unit patch. Sort of looks like a puking buzzard from a distance)

The stuff about unloading weapons is a perfect example of P.C. bullshit. Don't forget the Marines in Lebanon that couldn't have loaded weapons. If the sentry at the gate didn't have to try to load his weapon, the truck bomb might never have reached the barracks.

Once, just once, I'd like to see the handcuffs taken off our Armed Forces, so that they can get the job done without needless casualties.

 

Re: Despite our differences...

It's getting there, Carl, thanks!

 

Hey Bruce,

Add my and my families admiration and eternal thanks. What you guys do (and sometimes in the face of tremendous opposition) is no less than heroic and it is truly appeciated by many.

We do not say thanks often enough.

Mike

 

I am interested. Futures prices are tied to spot prices**, and spot prices are tied to the current situation.

** F = S*e^(rT), where F is the futures price, S is the spot price, r is the risk-free rate, and T is the time to maturity.

If futures prices weren't tied to spot prices there would be risk free arbitrage - something only oil company execs have access to.

 

I was attempting to speak more to speculative pricing and long term contract pricing, than "futures trading on NYMEX", but understand while future prices are tied to spot prices, speculative events drive up the cost of the barrel. The primary reason contracts (and oil prices) are expensive today is because the refiners/producers are worried about what might happen in the middle east, so better protect my margin now against lower production in the future. If OPEC increased production tommorrow it would ease the price somewhat, but the biggest factor is still the unrest in the middle east and what might happen. To that, yes spot prices are tied to the current situation, but with arbitrage, margins are protected against almost all outcomes.

Crude Oil Futures trade 30 consecutive months (plus long-dated futures initially listed 36, 48, 60, 72, and 84 months prior to delivery). Additionally, trading can be executed at an average differential to the previous day’s settlement prices for periods of two to 30 consecutive months in a single transaction. These calendar strips are executed during open outcry trading hours. Options: 12 consecutive months, plus three long-dated options at 18, 24, and 36 months out on a June/December cycle.

But because the contract varies in price as a direct function of the variables (currency, delivery month, last trade date, etc.), and is combined or traded as part of more complex financial derivative, if everyone stopped buying for a day, the spread (in what ever paper arbitrage you selected) would hopefully cover, demand would fall, oil producers would be pissed, the market would correct and the refiner/distributor/resaler would loose little (in the way of margin --- a few hairs would go by the wayside), especially when folks started burning gasoline the next day.

All that aside, the most likely outcome of day-long "strike" against gasoline purchases is market analysts would evaluate the liklihood of such a "strike" happening again (and believe me it would frighten the market enough to get tongues wagging) and adjust future prices for another "probable" event.

If we all didn't buy gas for one day, you woudl scare the oil companies into $3.00/gallon gas the next day. The end result would be the opposite of what one would hope to gain. That is the way the market works.

I think my premise still holds.

 

Ok, I think we’re actually in agreement here. It’s just that your statement that oil prices are determined by futures prices is not accurate, unless you are arguing that futures markets have made spot markets more volatile. This is a very controversial claim that is by no means universally accepted.

Futures have to be driven by the underlying asset. The underlying asset is, to varying degrees, driven by uncertainty. That uncertainty is built into estimations about underlying volatility and predictions about interest rates etc. The fact that assets are being delivered based on contracts negotiated some time ago does not mean that oil prices are immune to current shocks. It just means that market participants are using the futures/options markets for their express purposes: to hedge risks, or to speculate.

I think we’re in agreement that uncertainty and unforeseen shocks will be priced in the market. It’s just that those variables are priced now in terms of volatility. Futures prices will adjust accordingly, not the other way around.