I've been in more than few virtual fist fights in the general discussion forum but I don't believe that I have ever started a thread. So here goes and then I'll sign off and let you guys have a go at it. What do you think of our counrtries relationship with the Saudis? Are you for or against continued political relations with them and why?
The idiots were looking for water years ago (back in the early 30's) and found this black stuff they didn't know what do to with. It took American know-how and investment to get the oil out from their camel parking lot. In return for trading oil with us, we (Roosevelt) promised to protect the Saudi royal families from their ruthless neighbors. King Fahd or what I like to call "the Fahd King" ran his empire with a tight religious fist. Women today are still treated like slaves. Except for the new buildings and roads that oil money bought, they still act like the camel jockeys that have roamed the desert for thousands of years. We are damned if we do and damned if we don't. We need their oil more so than at anytime in our history. We also have to kiss their butt as we can't afford to upset the Fahd King's family. If it were me, I (U.S. Government) would offer any U.S. company 10 billion dollars to quickly develop and implement an alternative fuel source so we can tell the Saudi's where to go. That would be my prize offering. Let American know-how (and greed) go to work. It just scares the hell out of me that the most whacked people on the face of the earth control the earth's oil...and Mecca is smack in the middle of that mess. I think Moses is kicking himself for making a left when he should have made a right after he exited Egypt. Doh!
Thought you might like to know Hydrogen fuel cell technology is just around the corner. The only real hold up right noe is how to make it safe for the average joe to pull up to the pump and fill up with 18,000psi hydrogen.
Well, for once, I have to AGREE with Midas (a scary idea, I know!). But he is correct: we're damned if we go in and invade them, because every American will know the only purpose of that war would be to get oil - and look how many people oppose the Iraqi occupation because of that reason alone! But we're damned if we do nothing about the Saudis as well - if they decide to raise oil prices, there's not a lot we can do about it except pay even more at the pump. I also agree with his potential solution, pay off someone for the patent rights to develop alternative fuel technologies. Right now, many of the patents for such concepts as hydrogen fuel cells, electric motors, wood-burning (yes, wood-burning: they make a special "oil" out of wood pulp) engines, etc. are held by big oil companies who don't want to see them get out. But if we pay somebody off to get them, it's gonna be a heck of a lot better in the long run for everybody. Heck, let's give whoever gives the US Government the patents to one of those technologies first exclusive rights to sell Hydrogen at the pump for 15 years or so! That ought to make them happy enough! ~AJ
I think it is more than just you agreeing with Midas AJM. I think the rest of the country is pretty fed up with the Saudis. I erroneously used to believe that Bush and the Saudi were in bed together during his first run at the presidency, but I now believe that due to Bush's lack of interest in the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, the Saudis turned their backs on the U.S. and did nothing to prevent 9/11 when they probably could have. Everything from the 9/11 attacks to the suicide bombers in Iraq have Saudi fingerprints all over them. Their two-faced policies need to end. I say let the radicals in the Saudi kingdom overthrow their corrupt government and give us a clear shot at the ones left standing. Confine the population to the already isolated cities and pump the h--- out of their oil fields-after nuking Mecca first of course. O.K. maybe I went a little overboard. What I'd really love is if a Saudi would get involved in this conversation but I guess if a Saudi was interested in coin collecting, there'd be none left for us to collect.
Alternative fuel is differant than the mode of transportation. People love their cars and the freedom that comes with it. Even in traffic, at least I can listen to what I want on the radio. I hope that Hydrogen or something that is NON-SAUDI oil can be implemented...quickly before gas hits $3 a gallon...which maybe by Christmas. *********************************************************** Wow! Never thought I see agreement in the General Discussion area on such a sensitive topic. I had it with the Saudi's like most people. I know we can;t take the oil we discovered and developed...but it sure would be nice. So much for a fantasy...
Public transportation for the most part uses oil. I'll grant you that we'd use less oil if more people used public transportation but we'd still be dependent on the Saudis and OPEC to more of a degree than I am comfortable with. I think that this issue has the potential to become an enormous political sandstorm in the next election instead of the gentle rain it was last election; depending of course on the price of gas by that time. I think that this IS something Americans agree on no matter their political allegiance. Let's turn this Saudi/American relationship around and charge them $65 a bushel for grain. Our farmers could get rich and we wouldn't have to pay them not to grow food anymore.
Still not getting involved but............ Sounds like a little of me rubbed off on ya!! Had to do a double take!
Have you ever tried riding the buses out here in Phoenix? There's a good reason nobody uses it! As for nuking everbody in the Middle East, we can't do that. I understand that there's a lot of tension between USA and Saudi Arabia, but much the same as Midas, Steve, me, etc. didn't raise gas prices, neither did Joe Hassan and Jane al-Kaladieri in Saudi land. What needs to happen is we need to develop alternative fuels, and get some of our less level-minded GOVERNMENTAL players out of our government and the Saudi kingship. We don't need to nuke the country, because not all Saudis are bad, just a few of the rulers and terrorist cells. Americans need to remember that it's not Joe and Jane out there that's the problem. So when the time comes, because it will someday, some time, we need to develop our alt. fuels and increase our intelligence capabilities to quickly take out the real problem - Saudi government officials who are holding the world ransom for oil. ~AJ
Nobody said, "Everyone in the Middle East" -Just Mecca and I was only half kidding about that. I don't think Bush's heart is really into alternative fuels because he and half his administration are waste deep in the oil industry-Maybe chest deep. He talked a little bit about alternatives early on but there wasn't anything but tax give always and new drilling opportunities for the oil industry in the most recent energy bill. Sometimes I wonder if it is the Saudis hold us hostage or our own oil industry. The amount of funding for alternatives in the energy bill could have been raised at my last garage sale. I don't think public transportation is ever going to work on a large scale in this country because of the sheer size of the U.S. Europe is much more compact and has a lot of countries to share the costs of large transportation systems while countries like ours and Canada are too spread out. I remember being lectured by one British gentleman in a pub one night about everything from the reality of the lunar landing in '69 to the reasons we don't use more public transports. I told him that maybe if we lived on an island, we could have a better system. He, like most of the British I met, had the idea that New York City was a short jaunt from Miami. They simply have no idea of the size of the geography here-Of course they also think that France is hundreds of miles from England. We need alternatives to oil not better public transportation if we are ever going to get out of this cycle of drill and burn. Oil should never be the reason for any war.
I know YOU were, but for others, that seems a very real possibility (I'm referring to some of my amigos out here in AZ). That's part of why I said we needed to wait until we can get rid of some governmental people - many of them are in the pockets of "Big Oil" and we can't do too much while they're in office. A little of both, I think. No, unfortunately, it never will until someone can develop teleportation.... Beam me up, Scotty!
