Thanks for the reality check Ronald, and it's amazing how many Americans do not understand why the cost of their gasoline has gone up. As you point out, it has absolutely nothing to do with the cost of crude, and everything to do with speculation in the oil markets (primarily the two major oil bourse exhanges in New York and London, with Wall Street speculators assisting). A secondary reason is the lack of competitive refining capacity in the US, which many feel is by design, in order to "regulate" domestic supply.

And for those of you who believe that the US threats to attack Iran have anything at all to do with Iran's nuclear goals, you have missed the news on the real reason: a new oil bourse. Iran has opened their own bourse, and it is based on the "petro dollar," and NOT the US dollar as with the other two exchanges. This event has the potential to further reduce the value of the almighty US dollar in the oil markets, and Hallibuton and the Dubya "oil men" will not stand for that. See this link for more info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrobourse#Background

This is also one of the real issues behind the formation of PNAC, and it's goals to control the world's resouces for an elite few. Spreading "democracy" my ass! The invasion of Iraq was just a "stepping stone" in the process for the PNAC planners.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_for_the_New_American_Century

Thanks for the reply and information.

I have read some about this.

I got lost here. I could not really understand what was meant by “oil bourse.” Is that something like a trading house?

Ron

Why would congress or the senate want to regulate speculation?  Some of them are oil lobbyists on the side and others represent companies in their respective districts that want oil to be selling high.  That in turn allows them to easily open our federal lands and offshore of our beautiful country to drill gas and oil wells anywhere and everywhere they care to and a select few will be allowed to make billions more off our precious resourses.  And they can justify it by saying it will lower prices at the pump.  But most experts say it is only a drop in the bucket and it would be at least six years or more before it could even start producing anything and even then it would not affect prices at the pump that much for some time.  Greed is an amazing thing and when rich people with low morales see ways to get richer faster they run with it.  And in the 8 years since America has turned into Bushia with the anything goes regulations that faver corporations and oppress the people, why would they not take full advantage of it.  The banks and mortgage companies were doing the same thing as well.  And you saw how quickly the government decided to step in with our money to help indymac but when there was a need to help the average America with his medicare and forclosures they really had to think about it.  And now, what the heck they gave premier bushkavite everything he wanted so he's called off the fight on global warming to boot.  There is a saying in business about pricing for "what the market will bear", well in the case of what has happened since 8/11 and just before it has been a case of "what the people will allow us to get away with".  The question is how much longer will these things be allowed America.

You got that right, Shakerdog.

Why would Congressmen and Senators want to do anything when they receive thousands of dollars from Big Oil?

Much of this rhetoric seems to be an election year political game. Unfortunately, the people are paying the price. Because it is costing the people it is a form of blackmail. Blackmailing the people into supporting the greedy oil companies to drill in Alaska and the Continental Shelf.

Did you see the news flash today. Bush to lift executive ban on offshore drilling

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080714/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush

Bush to lift executive ban on offshore drilling

By BEN FELLER, Associated Press Writer 28 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - In another push to deal with soaring gas prices, President Bush on Monday will lift an executive ban on offshore drilling that his stood since his father was president. But the move, by itself, will do nothing unless Congress acts as well.

But Big Oil already has thousands of acres under lease, including off-shore leases. Bush continues to blackmail Congress and the people into supporting Big Oil. Bush should be impeached.

Ron

It looks to me as if Bush/Cheney are about to announce Operation Iraqi Liberation a success, another Mission Accomplished. Of course we will have to leave a few thousand U.S. troops there to do some mopping up, but it looks like we got what we came for, "our" OIL.

U.S. war planners want an obedient client state that will house major U.S. military bases, right at the heart of the world's major energy reserves.

The deal just taking shape between Iraq's Oil Ministry and four Western oil companies raises critical questions about the nature of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq -- questions that should certainly be addressed by presidential candidates and seriously discussed in the United States, and of course in occupied Iraq, where it appears that the population has little if any role in determining the future of its country.

Negotiations are under way for Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP -- the original partners decades ago in the Iraq Petroleum Company, now joined by Chevron and other smaller oil companies -- to renew the oil concession they lost to nationalization during the years when the oil producers took over their own resources. The no-bid contracts, apparently written by the oil corporations with the help of U.S. officials, prevailed over offers from more than 40 other companies, including companies in China, India and Russia.

"There was suspicion among many in the Arab world and among parts of the American public that the United States had gone to war in Iraq precisely to secure the oil wealth these contracts seek to extract," Andrew E. Kramer wrote in the New York Times.

Kramer's reference to "suspicion" is an understatement. Furthermore, it is highly likely that the military occupation has taken the initiative in restoring the hated Iraq Petroleum Company, which, as Seamus Milne writes in the U.K. Guardian, was imposed under British rule to "dine off Iraq's wealth in a famously exploitative deal."

http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/91123/?ses=ddfc161f22520c99453f0f131f3...

So, if US based oil cos. are about to close their hands around the majority of Iraq's oil why do we need offshore drilling?

Why is the bourse a problem for us? Either the world compromises with us or we take Iran and start our own bigger bourse.

Will gas prices go down as soon as we start to refine Iraqi/U.S. oil into gasoline from the very large oil reserves that we have conquered?

Why is Bush not willing to dip into the U.S. oil reserves? Is he saving that reserve oil for something he hasn't told us about as of yet? Maybe more war? Iran is nice in the fall, I hear.

"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag, carrying a cross." ~ Sinclair Lewis