Bill Sykes' Newsletter
from America.
(September 2005)
An ex-Brit gives his views - (without
fear or favor) - of the American Scene
The
price of oil:
At the time of the first Gulf war, Sheena and I were on a do-it-yourself
tour of Australia and New Zealand, and I remember standing on the steps of the
Australian Parliamentary building in Canberra and watching a demonstration against
the Gulf war where the banners being carried stated "No more blood for
oil".
I must admit that I totally agreed with their sentiments.
a) Who wins:
Why of course the top
brass and investors associated with the oil companies
who are benefiting royally from the vast profits being
made from the oil price bonanza, where a single barrel
of crude oil is rapidly approaching $70, certainly not
the ordinary citizens of this world. If one takes a look
at the oil company’s balance
sheets one can readily see that their profits are the
highest in their history.
The stock market traders are
not doing too shabby either as with each day’s
trading they are virtually forcing the price of crude
oil up to astronomical levels.
The higher echelon management of the oil company conglomerates are making vast
fortunes and it would not surprise me one little bit if our President and his
Vice President, plus all the other partners in crime, are also laughing all
the way to the bank.
 I remember Osama bin Laden stating a few years ago
that the infidels would not only pay the price for Middle
East oil in blood but also that a price of $100 a barrel
would be achieved in the not too distant future which
would cripple the western world economies. Was he right?
Unfortunately it would appear to be a very much foregone
prophesy.
b) Who loses:
Practically everyone,
as petroleum products touch every facet of our daily
lives, but above and beyond everything else the real
sufferers are the families of the 2000 plus coalition
soldiers who have died in battle and the 15,000 or so
who have been badly maimed in a futile effort to protect
America’s oil supplies. The families
of these brave individuals will suffer the eternal grief
of losing fathers, mothers, sons and daughters, and the
families of the soldiers wounded in battle will be reminded
on a daily basis of the terrible consequences of going
to war when seeing some of the horrendous injuries and
shattered bodies of their loved ones who will have to
continuously battle to come to terms with the physical
and mental torture of those injuries.
c)Question:
Was the current oil price
crisis caused and exacerbated by the Bush Administration’s
decision to got to war against Iraq to protect American
oil interests, (which has turned out to be a costly and
enormous failure), and does the uncertain future of Middle
East oil production quotas bear a degree of responsibility
for the current surge in worldwide gasoline prices, or
was it created, (as the United States Government claim),
and brought about by a huge increase in worldwide demand
for petroleum products.?
I would appreciate the reader’s views.
We welcome feedback about any of the contents of these
newsletters. Please send all correspondence to bill_sykes@huddersfield1.co.uk
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