Saudis Discourage Development of Alternative Energy Sources

According to this article by the New York Times’ Jad Mouawad, the Saudis are fighting the efforts of other OPEC members to raise oil prices from the recent $50 a barrel back to the peak $77 a barrel. The Saudi Oil Minister, Ali al-Naimi, recently announced that “Saudi Arabia's policy was to maintain ‘moderate (oil) prices’.”

In his article, Mouawad comments that the Saudis want lower energy prices because they realize that high energy prices are bad for the world economy:

The Saudis appear to be relearning the fact that painfully high energy prices take a profound toll on the global economy, which reduces demand for oil.

Then he speculates that the Saudis are taking action to curb Iran’s growing belligerence and ambition in the Middle East.

Although Saudi officials say their oil policy is based on market considerations and not political ones, the November meeting (with Vice President Dick Cheney) led to renewed speculation that the kingdom might be tempted to dry out Iran's ambitions by pushing oil prices down.

But I think the true reason is that the Saudis know that the United States has the technical capability to develop alternate energy sources that will no longer require the world to kowtow to the Middle East:

But 2006 was not the first reminder for the Saudis that too-high prices can backfire. The oil shocks of the 1970s and '80s also set off a scramble for gas-sipping cars and a brief push to wean the West from its oil dependency.

In recent months, the higher prices have rekindled America's quest for alternatives and propelled energy security to the top of the agenda in the United States and Europe.

Even Bush, who began his presidency seeking to increase domestic oil production, called for cuts in gasoline consumption over the next decade in last week's State of the Union address.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’d love to have $100 a barrel oil. This would force us to develop alternate energy sources and dry up the funding for Middle Eastern madmen. But the Saudis are smart. They know that high oil prices are killing the goose that laid the golden Ferrari.

C’mon. Let’s have $100 a barrel oil; $200 a barrel oil. Like I said in my April post:

Our technological innovation is gaining momentum. Soon, it will reach juggernaut status and nothing will stop development of fantastic, environmentally safe, and American energy sources.

So say it loud and say it proud:

Thank God for high oil prices! May they keep going higher!

The original post can be found at:
http://thephantomrepublican.blogspot.com/2007/01/saudis-discourage-development-of.html

It’s Nice of Us to Tell Our Enemies What We’re Doing

In boxing, it’s called “telegraphing” a punch when a boxer gives advance warning of the punch he’s about to throw. It’s a surefire way to lose a fight.

We’ve made the same mistake in Iraq, over and over again. Why do we feel the need to announce our plans before we execute them?

The latest example of this is the announcement of the “surge” in American troops deployed in Iraq. According to this article in the Houston Chronicle, Muqtada al-Sadr’s militia is going undercover to wait out our “surge”.

Mahdi Army militia members have stopped wearing their black uniforms, hidden their weapons and abandoned their checkpoints in an apparent effort to lower their profile in Baghdad in advance of the arrival of U.S. reinforcements.

"We have explicit directions to keep a low profile ... not to confront, not to be dragged into a fight and to calm things down," said one official who received the orders from the anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr…

Mahdi Army militiamen say that though they remain undercover now, they are simply waiting for the security plan to end….

and…

Mahdi Army sources said that their heavy weaponry had been moved from Sadr City or hidden since the announcement.

We’re going to lose the war in Iraq if we continue to put our plans on national television and on the front pages of our newspapers.

The original post can be found at:
http://thephantomrepublican.blogspot.com/2007/01/its-nice-of-us-to-tell-our-enemies.html

Where Do You Think The PI Stands on Gun Control?

Did the PI take a tragic event and use it to foist their opinion on their readers?

Media bias or not? I’ll let you decide.

Based on their choice of an above-the-fold headline for last Friday’s Seattle Post-Intelligencer, where do you think they stand on gun control?

Not Muslim? No Taxi for You!

Muslim taxi drivers in Minneapolis are refusing to pick up anyone who is carrying alcohol or has a dog - including seeing-eye dogs.

Here's an excerpt from an article in the New York Sun titled, "New in America: Not Muslim, No Taxi":

Islamic taxi drivers at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport are refusing passengers carrying alcohol and blind folks with seeing-eye dogs because the animals' saliva is sacrilege according to Sharia law.

The enterprising Muslims during the past year have stranded 100 passengers a month, sometimes for more than an hour, according to the Metropolitan Airports Commission, since three-fourths of the 900 taxi drivers servicing the airport are Somali Muslims who have decided to participate in the new discipline.