Oil importing countries that are food producing and food exporting must band together and impose a food export moratorium or embargo, whatever it is, against the oil rich mullahs, sheiks and kings in the middle east.
But... But... Using FOOD! as a weapon? Why that would be - well - wrong.
It'd probably work. Good luck getting all the pie in the sky pansies running the show in the west to do it though.
On the other hand while they're starvin' we'd be freezin or fryin and doing it without the ability to go anywhere.
Wonder who'd blink first?
Just in case you were responding to me...
You do understand that the Middle East oil cartels don't set the price of oil, right?
Of course - the market sets the price of oil. Simple economics really. No matter how much the socialists and commies deny it it really all boils down to supply and demand. Then again if one controls enough of the market one can essentially control the price. Ever hear of DeBeers? Think diamonds. So - no - the mideast oil exporters don't control the price per se' but they do affect it.
You do understand that we get the bulk of our oil from ourselves and friendly North American allies. Right?
Yep
You do understand that most of the leadership in those Middle Eastern cartel nations would let their own populations starve before they give up any revenue, right?
And your point would be?
You understand that the runup in oil prices has far more to do with our own domestic financial situation and our unwillingness to replace dwindling domestic sources with new domestic sources.
Yes indeedy... That is a part of it to be sure.
Surely you've actually bothered to learn a thing or two about the way the oil markets function before deciding to meddle in them.
Had to. A major part of a business I worked for back in the early 2000's was acquiring fuel oil for fuel and aluminum as a raw material. I traded both fuel oil and aluminum futures for my employer as insurance against market price changes and always for delivery. So yeah - I'd say I know how the commodities markets function.
You do understand how utterly stupid that OFEC idea is, right? I assume you're just venting, blowing off steam, and that you don't really mean what you say.
Actually the price of oil never really entered into my thinking at all. You see I lived in Turkey the better part of 3 years, spent about a year off and on in Lebanon and Egypt. With the exception of W. and S. Africa there's not a more hateful, screwed up and rotten part of the world. If the mid-east just dried up and blew away with all it's people I wouldn't shed a single freaking tear.
Rational - probably not.
Emotional definitely.
Do I care? No.
And I'm not bashing Islam either. Note I said mid-east. I'm convinced those folks would be total barbarians even without Islam to egg 'em on.
ITS TIME TO FIGHT BACK. Oil importing countries that are food producing and food exporting must band together and impose a food export moratorium or embargo, whatever it is, against the oil rich mullahs, sheiks and kings in the middle east. From soya to corn to coffee, and sugar. Poultry products, beef, dairy products to bananas in the Philippines has to cease. And lets see who buckles down first. I say Expensive food for expensive oil. No oil- no food. Lets see if they can shove those black oil down their greedy throats. 1st world aid to impoverish NIGERIA even has to stop. The NIGERIAN govt has got to do the most part in providing security to their oil production. ITS TIME that these rich mullahs and even the isolationist regime of medvedev to Chavez get the real sense of fairplay. Include Russia, yield in their agriculture sector continue to be insufficient for their own. They too cannot have our food.
Yea! Let's starve those major oil producing nations. Like US, UK, Norway, Russia, Mexico, Canada, etc. Oh, wait. D'oh.
Gods, man. Oil is produced all over the world. The Middle East does produce a large amount of oil. But not the overwhelming majority. Middle East DOES have a large voting bloc of OPEC. They're swing voters, essentially. It's not merely the amount of oil they produce. It's their willingness to increase or decrease production that is their power. Other oil producing nations do not have nearly as much leverage in altering oil production levels for price fixing.
If the US tried to embargo all Middle Eastern nations, the rest of the world would laugh at us and scramble to sell them whatever the Middle East wanted. Do you realize how much oil money is banked back into the US? You really think Australia wouldn't bank in on our stupidity? Do you think US farmers wouldn't scream bloody murder? Or that agriculture experts wouldn't move to other countries?
As for your other preconceptions. The only real theocracy run by Mullahs in the Middle East region is Iran. Which you may wish to recall is not an Arab country. The core of the Middle East are primarily oligarchies. A few rich families who own the majority. They will eat regardless of food prices.
"even the isolationist regime of medvedev to Chavez get the real sense of fairplay." I'm having difficulty parsing that statement, but I gather you don't like Chavez. Don't like him myself. Charismatic leaders are dangerous sorts. But uhm, he was elected into office. Pretty fairly, as South American elections go. The US may or may not have been involved in efforts to overthrow or assassinate Chavez. In either event, it was not successful. So he was elected reasonably fairly, survived assassinations, and attempts at coups failed. What exactly do you propose to do? Alter free commerce of our nation to sanction a state that has made no militaristic threat towards our country because they elected someone rude and uncouth?
Perhaps you'd be better off campaigning for tax cuts for new energy production facilities, nuclear being a very good choice? Maybe lessening EPA regulations on oil refineries or car emission controls that decrease gas mileage? Maybe invest YOUR own personal dollars in companies that are doing good research in synthetic gasoline instead of demanding other people's careers are ruined (farmers) and tax dollars squandered (sanctions) for worthless futile gestures?
You do understand that we get the bulk of our oil from ourselves and friendly North American allies. Right?
Yeah, but it's just so much easier to blame the middle east.