So much here and so little time, alas; I feel the need to put out a statement. Not that I'm in a position to expound, but I figure this is a safe crowd...<smile>
Much as has been made clear by HCR: the oil and gas (OG) industry has reaped (reapt?) tremendous profits, as most know, and have never NOT. While it is hard to ignore, industry a…
So much here and so little time, alas; I feel the need to put out a statement. Not that I'm in a position to expound, but I figure this is a safe crowd...<smile>
Much as has been made clear by HCR: the oil and gas (OG) industry has reaped (reapt?) tremendous profits, as most know, and have never NOT. While it is hard to ignore, industry advocates will try to declare that these profits are ALL going back into the difficult job they have going forward with a diminishing supply and increasing demand (BS, it's about profit). I won't get into what a "reasonable" profit is, here, but I'd say...just using fuzzy "Dubya" math, that the industry is returning profits just fine. I don't hold shares in them but I see the stock tickers...
When Biden halted development of domestic production (read, no NEW permits on Federal/Public land) he didn't invalidate any existing permits. As HCR pointed out, and I concur, Biden's Order left in-place 9000 (NINE THOUSAND) issued but not-acted-upon permits to take minerals from the public's land. Didn't say or do or limit ANY private grants...truth be told, many of the authorizations in North Dakota, in particular, do NOT implicate Federal Land and don't even TOUCH previously granted permits and leases. But I digress.
I find it at best obtuse that the party that claims to be the 'savior' of OG didn't give two licks about future leases when he-shall-not-be-named was in control didn't make it a priority. IF leases were an issue, you can bet that they were quietly granted, but I guess that doesn't fit into a sound-bite. In other words, the current administration is not revoking or limiting a THING that has been approved with respect to current leases. Any suggestion otherwise is, "fake news."
With respect to Russian oil, our domestic needs only implicate the USSR in a tiny way (1-3%) and Biden's announcement seems to be a symbolic effort on our part, despite the huge media-hype over today's announcement (OTOH, there are refineries that are specific to Russian Crude that are not tooled for other inputs). That said (and acknowledged) I'm NOT excited about replacing our tiny Russian contribution to our energy needs with approaching Venezuela for that production; I'm just not. I'd rather lean into Canada, if necessary, than lean on another shitty authoritarian regime we historically oppose and is just as bad as any petty-dictatorial regime we profess to oppose...
I totally get that this calculation for us is different if you are in Europe and you rely to a greater extent on Russia for carbon (which they certainly do), but that is a horse of a different colour. We can do what we can do: and we are by no-means energy poor, here. While difficult, I stand with Mr. Colbert (and maybe I'm just affluent enough to do it) when he said, "I'd pay ____" to prove the point that we all stand united against this regime and not support its illegal war on Ukraine... by agreeing to pay more at the pump (but then also admitted he drove a Tesla(?). I would agree to that suffering, too: but I' m also not the electrician who HAS TO drive to the customer's site or the gal that HAS TO drive to her place of employment... these decisions to 'screw' Putin are regressive in effect. Any bleeding-heart-for-Ukraine HAS TO understand that if this struggle is, in any way, tied to the cost of their ability to WORK: it will have consequences at the ballot-box. Joe and Jane 'six-pack' for the most part care about THEIR families and THEIR bottom-line. 15-75 cents a gallon is a huge burden for folks who drive to or for work.
I applaud some of the folks who want a Federal Gas Tax holiday to take the burden down of high prices for gas down (States could do the same by the by). But at the end of the day it will be an economic grudge-match with a petty dictator who HAPPENS to have a bunch of REAL nukes at his disposal; this is not Kim Jong here. Until others around Putin convince him to stand-down or he pushes his Country to a point (global war and nuclear options) that even his own people (the DUMA) can't accept, he calls the shots. It ultimately will be on the Russian people to fix this and hopefully not as drastic a result as Lyndsey Graham has suggested (idiot).
It seems that, for now, the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine is not enough to sway anyone who has a conscience in the DUMA. They stand with Putin, despite the fact that he is as close to a dictator as anyone since Hitler and has basically holed-himself-up in a compound akin to Hitler's bunker (Sochi). Once the Oligarchs realize that they have more to lose than to gain in this struggle, I expect they will act, but not before the rest of the World forces their hand.
As much as we are all, "for," Ukraine, now, we do have history with them and rest of the World needs to consider that even Ukraine poked the Bear. They took steps, very harsh steps, to push away from Russia, including not recognizing the Russian language (officially) and rejecting the Country in its official dictates. While this is certainly appropriate for them to do, those efforts behind that the scenes that have not been reported in the media also contribute to the attitude Russia has. It's not a concession, mind you, but a cautionary note that not all of this is just about territory and NATO. We had a chance to make a bigger deal with this conflict almost a decade ago and didn't. He who shall-not-be-named made our position worse by cuddling Putin and essentially, politically, communicating to him that Ukraine would not get the support of the US, at least not going forward. That, in my mind, opened the door for him to start down this path. The WEST is complicit here. The US AND NATO. Shades of the conflict in Crimea should be considered when we all gasp at this aggression, now. Who stopped him then?!
Putin (and many Russians) sees Ukraine as what it was; a part of the Soviet Republic. Growing pains are what they are and I stand with Ukraine. They are no different than than that little group of loosely-allied 'states' that declared that they wanted independence from King George. We are the United States of America. If you don't accept that: let's go! and we did. Rightly or wrongly, with a few gaffs, Ukraine is us. We (the World's powers) should not look away and I hope we have the same resolve when China makes a similar move on Taiwan...
“ It ultimately will be on the Russian people to fix this ”
“ Once the Oligarchs realize that they have more to lose than to gain in this struggle, I expect they will act, but not before the rest of the World forces their hand. “
Thank you for your many good comments, especially about Venezuela and Taiwan. Thank you also for the information about Putin being holed up in Sochi, I don’t know why that hasn’t made the news here.
Yes, I understand perfectly the similarity between the former Soviet states and the colonies which united to oppose King George. Although it’s not front-and-center yet, China is also a union of different states, not a monolith, and it’s always good to be aware of that reality.
Yes of course the US and NATO are complicit here. As you know, Biden made Russia one of his objectives, so the timing of this war I’m sure is not accidental. Obama, who represented our country’s worldview at the time, ignored Crimea. Biden is a different man for a country now in a different place. The Obama period was something of a heady time, and now the honeymoon is over and it’s time to get down to work. We are looking at Europe and Russia differently now, and especially at Russia’s place in the world.
Criminal autocracy gets a free pass for awhile, and then the hammer falls. That is the way of things. The devil gets to play for a while on his own, causing mischief, and then the forces of morality and worldwide solidarity enter in at some point to bring things back in line. Being a renegade and a maverick only works long-term if you are in harmony with morality and justice, if you’re not engaged in criminal behavior, otherwise your ass will eventually be grass as the lawnmower arrives (silly 1960s metaphor).
In America, as everybody here surely knows clearly by now, there are two segments of the population, the forward-looking supporters of an equal and diverse society, and the backwards-looking adherents to racism sexism et al who don’t even know they’re clutching ignorantly to the racism and sexism of a bygone age. That polarity causes the back-and-forth between Republican and Democratic administrations. In the Obama and Biden eras, we see the U.S. at its best. With flaws, of course, nothing is perfect. Crimea was such an oversight.
Why thank you! After a long day in court and a long night in City Council, my "five o'clock" is about 11 PM! I expect Putin will be spit out of the mower, hang from a tree or eat a bullet at some point but until then he is a 4 Y.O. running with nuclear scissors who is getting every parent on the planet to watch and pay attention, as his sad little ego desperately needs.
Surprised me with the spit out of the mower. Wonder if there's a wood chipper in Fargo that could be brought into sorta humanitarian use. Keep up the writing H. Alan.
I expect there is a chipper someplace but I'm more the gulag-type. Fun facts: I LIVE a mile from the site of the bar in Fargo (a little charmer called the Lost Lake Inn) and went to college about a half-hour drive from the small town (Hallock) that the Coen's shot another scene at AND dated a gal who now OWNS the real Lebowski family-home! Strangely but rightly, I am not yet famous. :|
ha! well, thanks, but HCR is the brilliant one; I'm just another sock-puppet with a keyboard and opinion. I appreciate the opportunity to rant/vent/share more than anything. It's cathartic to have the forum for sure and with such erudite participants. I learn much more than I offer. :) Be well.
In regard to Venezuela and oil, please see my note below. As far as the Saudi's not helping by increasing production, there may be another reason, I also posted a Wikipedia article below about Saudi Arabia and Russia feuding about oil. Things can get so complicated when we're talking about geopolitical resources. Barbara Reed
After the Revolutionary War was over, the decision makers realized that if they, as small colonies/states, didn’t join together, foreign powers would be able to pick them off individually. Even recognizing that premise, getting all the states to vote to band together was like herding cats. We have to find ways to help Ukraine not “get picked off” by Russia. Limited direct engagement on our part would be disasterous.
So much here and so little time, alas; I feel the need to put out a statement. Not that I'm in a position to expound, but I figure this is a safe crowd...<smile>
Much as has been made clear by HCR: the oil and gas (OG) industry has reaped (reapt?) tremendous profits, as most know, and have never NOT. While it is hard to ignore, industry advocates will try to declare that these profits are ALL going back into the difficult job they have going forward with a diminishing supply and increasing demand (BS, it's about profit). I won't get into what a "reasonable" profit is, here, but I'd say...just using fuzzy "Dubya" math, that the industry is returning profits just fine. I don't hold shares in them but I see the stock tickers...
When Biden halted development of domestic production (read, no NEW permits on Federal/Public land) he didn't invalidate any existing permits. As HCR pointed out, and I concur, Biden's Order left in-place 9000 (NINE THOUSAND) issued but not-acted-upon permits to take minerals from the public's land. Didn't say or do or limit ANY private grants...truth be told, many of the authorizations in North Dakota, in particular, do NOT implicate Federal Land and don't even TOUCH previously granted permits and leases. But I digress.
I find it at best obtuse that the party that claims to be the 'savior' of OG didn't give two licks about future leases when he-shall-not-be-named was in control didn't make it a priority. IF leases were an issue, you can bet that they were quietly granted, but I guess that doesn't fit into a sound-bite. In other words, the current administration is not revoking or limiting a THING that has been approved with respect to current leases. Any suggestion otherwise is, "fake news."
With respect to Russian oil, our domestic needs only implicate the USSR in a tiny way (1-3%) and Biden's announcement seems to be a symbolic effort on our part, despite the huge media-hype over today's announcement (OTOH, there are refineries that are specific to Russian Crude that are not tooled for other inputs). That said (and acknowledged) I'm NOT excited about replacing our tiny Russian contribution to our energy needs with approaching Venezuela for that production; I'm just not. I'd rather lean into Canada, if necessary, than lean on another shitty authoritarian regime we historically oppose and is just as bad as any petty-dictatorial regime we profess to oppose...
I totally get that this calculation for us is different if you are in Europe and you rely to a greater extent on Russia for carbon (which they certainly do), but that is a horse of a different colour. We can do what we can do: and we are by no-means energy poor, here. While difficult, I stand with Mr. Colbert (and maybe I'm just affluent enough to do it) when he said, "I'd pay ____" to prove the point that we all stand united against this regime and not support its illegal war on Ukraine... by agreeing to pay more at the pump (but then also admitted he drove a Tesla(?). I would agree to that suffering, too: but I' m also not the electrician who HAS TO drive to the customer's site or the gal that HAS TO drive to her place of employment... these decisions to 'screw' Putin are regressive in effect. Any bleeding-heart-for-Ukraine HAS TO understand that if this struggle is, in any way, tied to the cost of their ability to WORK: it will have consequences at the ballot-box. Joe and Jane 'six-pack' for the most part care about THEIR families and THEIR bottom-line. 15-75 cents a gallon is a huge burden for folks who drive to or for work.
I applaud some of the folks who want a Federal Gas Tax holiday to take the burden down of high prices for gas down (States could do the same by the by). But at the end of the day it will be an economic grudge-match with a petty dictator who HAPPENS to have a bunch of REAL nukes at his disposal; this is not Kim Jong here. Until others around Putin convince him to stand-down or he pushes his Country to a point (global war and nuclear options) that even his own people (the DUMA) can't accept, he calls the shots. It ultimately will be on the Russian people to fix this and hopefully not as drastic a result as Lyndsey Graham has suggested (idiot).
It seems that, for now, the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine is not enough to sway anyone who has a conscience in the DUMA. They stand with Putin, despite the fact that he is as close to a dictator as anyone since Hitler and has basically holed-himself-up in a compound akin to Hitler's bunker (Sochi). Once the Oligarchs realize that they have more to lose than to gain in this struggle, I expect they will act, but not before the rest of the World forces their hand.
As much as we are all, "for," Ukraine, now, we do have history with them and rest of the World needs to consider that even Ukraine poked the Bear. They took steps, very harsh steps, to push away from Russia, including not recognizing the Russian language (officially) and rejecting the Country in its official dictates. While this is certainly appropriate for them to do, those efforts behind that the scenes that have not been reported in the media also contribute to the attitude Russia has. It's not a concession, mind you, but a cautionary note that not all of this is just about territory and NATO. We had a chance to make a bigger deal with this conflict almost a decade ago and didn't. He who shall-not-be-named made our position worse by cuddling Putin and essentially, politically, communicating to him that Ukraine would not get the support of the US, at least not going forward. That, in my mind, opened the door for him to start down this path. The WEST is complicit here. The US AND NATO. Shades of the conflict in Crimea should be considered when we all gasp at this aggression, now. Who stopped him then?!
Putin (and many Russians) sees Ukraine as what it was; a part of the Soviet Republic. Growing pains are what they are and I stand with Ukraine. They are no different than than that little group of loosely-allied 'states' that declared that they wanted independence from King George. We are the United States of America. If you don't accept that: let's go! and we did. Rightly or wrongly, with a few gaffs, Ukraine is us. We (the World's powers) should not look away and I hope we have the same resolve when China makes a similar move on Taiwan...
Well, look who has cut loose today!!
Thank you so much for your rant, dear Friend.
“ It ultimately will be on the Russian people to fix this ”
“ Once the Oligarchs realize that they have more to lose than to gain in this struggle, I expect they will act, but not before the rest of the World forces their hand. “
Thank you for your many good comments, especially about Venezuela and Taiwan. Thank you also for the information about Putin being holed up in Sochi, I don’t know why that hasn’t made the news here.
Yes, I understand perfectly the similarity between the former Soviet states and the colonies which united to oppose King George. Although it’s not front-and-center yet, China is also a union of different states, not a monolith, and it’s always good to be aware of that reality.
Yes of course the US and NATO are complicit here. As you know, Biden made Russia one of his objectives, so the timing of this war I’m sure is not accidental. Obama, who represented our country’s worldview at the time, ignored Crimea. Biden is a different man for a country now in a different place. The Obama period was something of a heady time, and now the honeymoon is over and it’s time to get down to work. We are looking at Europe and Russia differently now, and especially at Russia’s place in the world.
Criminal autocracy gets a free pass for awhile, and then the hammer falls. That is the way of things. The devil gets to play for a while on his own, causing mischief, and then the forces of morality and worldwide solidarity enter in at some point to bring things back in line. Being a renegade and a maverick only works long-term if you are in harmony with morality and justice, if you’re not engaged in criminal behavior, otherwise your ass will eventually be grass as the lawnmower arrives (silly 1960s metaphor).
In America, as everybody here surely knows clearly by now, there are two segments of the population, the forward-looking supporters of an equal and diverse society, and the backwards-looking adherents to racism sexism et al who don’t even know they’re clutching ignorantly to the racism and sexism of a bygone age. That polarity causes the back-and-forth between Republican and Democratic administrations. In the Obama and Biden eras, we see the U.S. at its best. With flaws, of course, nothing is perfect. Crimea was such an oversight.
Why thank you! After a long day in court and a long night in City Council, my "five o'clock" is about 11 PM! I expect Putin will be spit out of the mower, hang from a tree or eat a bullet at some point but until then he is a 4 Y.O. running with nuclear scissors who is getting every parent on the planet to watch and pay attention, as his sad little ego desperately needs.
Surprised me with the spit out of the mower. Wonder if there's a wood chipper in Fargo that could be brought into sorta humanitarian use. Keep up the writing H. Alan.
I expect there is a chipper someplace but I'm more the gulag-type. Fun facts: I LIVE a mile from the site of the bar in Fargo (a little charmer called the Lost Lake Inn) and went to college about a half-hour drive from the small town (Hallock) that the Coen's shot another scene at AND dated a gal who now OWNS the real Lebowski family-home! Strangely but rightly, I am not yet famous. :|
:)
You are brilliant, my good man.
“I expect Putin will be spit out of the mower, “
😆
ha! well, thanks, but HCR is the brilliant one; I'm just another sock-puppet with a keyboard and opinion. I appreciate the opportunity to rant/vent/share more than anything. It's cathartic to have the forum for sure and with such erudite participants. I learn much more than I offer. :) Be well.
And to you as well, kind sir.
Brilliant, and humble too. Killer combo. What an exceptional man.
In regard to Venezuela and oil, please see my note below. As far as the Saudi's not helping by increasing production, there may be another reason, I also posted a Wikipedia article below about Saudi Arabia and Russia feuding about oil. Things can get so complicated when we're talking about geopolitical resources. Barbara Reed
After the Revolutionary War was over, the decision makers realized that if they, as small colonies/states, didn’t join together, foreign powers would be able to pick them off individually. Even recognizing that premise, getting all the states to vote to band together was like herding cats. We have to find ways to help Ukraine not “get picked off” by Russia. Limited direct engagement on our part would be disasterous.