Oil now $144 a barrel

[Hickory Man]

Sorry if I can't buy into the analogy that gas stations have to raise prices to keep the same profit margins. The price of oil goes up, and the price at the pump instantaneously jumps....acting as if the supply stores of gas at the lower cost suddenly dries up and is replaced by new, more expensive product. The reality is, the supplier is paying the same price for his product for at least 3-4 weeks, but raises his price right away, and their margin start s looking pretty nice for a bit. Then the supply catches up, and they are back at their usual margin.

Any other business that did that would out of business in short order, because we would shop elsewhere. Not in this case, because our own government is the profiteer, and they have us right where we want us.

[Pb Derigable]

Sorry if I can't buy into the analogy that gas stations have to raise prices to keep the same profit margins. The price of oil goes up, and the price at the pump instantaneously jumps....acting as if the supply stores of gas at the lower cost suddenly dries up and is replaced by new, more expensive product. The reality is, the supplier is paying the same price for his product for at least 3-4 weeks, but raises his price right away, and their margin start s looking pretty nice for a bit. Then the supply catches up, and they are back at their usual margin.

Any other business that did that would out of business in short order, because we would shop elsewhere. Not in this case, because our own government is the profiteer, and they have us right where we want us.

The first part is correct, when oil goes up, gas goes up, when oil goes down, gas, not so much. They claim that if they waited until the oil they bought for $2 gets to the pumps, it will be too much of an increase. Whatever, i will think gas may get down near 4 by the end of the next week. There will be too much pressure on them if they stay high. You may see a gas war with two gas stations. now if congress fucks around and does somthing that will scare the speculators, like not voting for the offshore bill, then gas will stay high.

[wanna be drummer]

Clearly you have not thoroughly researched the subject matter. The global elite have been running the show for well over 100 years. John McCain is in the pockets of the global elite; That is a fact;You can call it whatever name you want,it is real and in the midst of unraveling. What I'm talking about has nothing to do with a NWO or a one world government, I'm talking about the reality of secret societies and secret governments that are controlled by the bilderberg group, Rockefellers, and the Rothchilds that currently control the banking systems of the world and therefore our elected political leaders.

Thats too general. Of course elites run the world, politicians are elites

As far as secret societies and secret governments go, I'd like some proof.

(I'm sure you have none)

[cryingbluerain]

However,.. while the oil companies' 8% profit margins are not obscene in comparison to profit margins realized by other manufacturing industries [about 2% higher], per se,.. oil companies' overall profits are certainly, imho, obscene. When that 8% profit margin amounts to $41 billion in one year.. and the American people are struggling under the weight of $4.50 price per gallon gas,.. and oil company CEOs are earning $20 million annually.. then, yes, imho that 8% is obscene. Under the circumstances, a 2% profit margin ($10billion.. annually) should suffice, don't ya think? *wink*. Seriously though,.. why do oil companies make billions of dollars in profit each year? Because of the enormous volumes of sales involved; because consumers are dependent on their product (ie, their product is an absolute necessity to consumers); because the industry is controlled by just a handful of companies; and because those companies collude to manipulate the supply of refined oil to keep demand always exceeding supply. The oil companies buy crude oil at OPEC prices, but they manipulate cost of gas to consumers by manipulating the supply of refined oil (gas) available to consumers.

Rather than invest a percentage their profits in building more refineries.. which would increase the supply of gas available to consumers and thus lower the price consumers pay at the pump,.. they (the CEO's and board members) pocket their vast profits, build nicer office complexes, buy ever-fancier corporate jets, give themselves outrageous retirement packages, and "invest" in "donating" to political campaigns (ie, they finance lobbyists who then buy political support.. ie, a process of legalized bribery).

Lee Raymond, former Exxon Mobil CEO who retired in Jan 2006, earned $49 million in 2005 ($4 million in annual salary, the rest in bonuses, stock options, etc). He retired with a retirement package worth $8 million a year (he chose to accept a lump sum payment of $98 million instead). Rex Tillerson, current Exxon Mobil CEO, earned $16.7 million in 2007,.. (a 29% increase from his 2006 earnings) and will earn $27 million in 2008.[Exxon Mobil CEO income info complied from various web sources]

I don't care who earns it, or what job they perform to earn it,.. a $27 million annual salary is an obscene amount of money. Thats $2.25 million a month; approx $600,000 a week; approx $85,000 a day; and approx $8,500 per work hour (given a 10hr work day). "Hi, I'm Rex, and I earn $8,500 an hour.. that's more than most people make in 3 months. ".

ok, screw the greedy CEOs.. let's get back to looking at company earnings:

Exxon Mobil.. one company.. earned $41 billion in PROFIT in 2007.

The largest profit recorded in the history of the human race.

Chevron.. $19billion. Add in ConocPhilips and Shell.. and together the

four companies reaped in $100billion in profits.. in.. just.. one.. year.

Slice that however you want, but the bottom line is that those

four companies earned $100 billion more than they spent.

They may earned just 7.8% more than they spent, but the

bottom is that they profited $100 billion in one year.

[And that's their net annual earnings. Kinda makes ya

wonder what their gross earnings for the year are, huh? ]

The trend:

in 2003 Exxon Mobil earned $22 billion

in 2004 Exxon Mobil earned $25 billion

in 2005 Exxon Mobil earned $36 billion

in 2006 Exxon Mobil earned $39 billion

in 2007 Exxon Mobil earned $41 billion

[in the 1st quarter of 2008, Exxon Mobil earned $11 billion;

..the company is on pace to earn $44 billion for the year.]

At 2% profit margin instead of 8%, they'd still make $11 billion for the year.. annual

earnings that most business owners would consider a successful year, donch ya think?

The Perspective:

Exxon nation:If Exxon Mobil were a country, its 2007 profit would exceed the gross domestic product of nearly two thirds of the 183 nations in the World Bank's economic rankings. It would be right in there behind the likes of Angola and Qatar—two oil-producing nations, incidentally, where Exxon has major operations.

Ahead of the pack:Exxon Mobil's profits are 80 percent higher than those of General Electric, which used to be the largest U.S. company by market capitalization before Exxon left it in the dust in 2005. The new economy? Microsoft earns about a third as much money. And next to Exxon, the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart, looks like a quaint boutique, with annual profits of about $11 billion.

On the margin: The oil industry urges people to look beyond its profits to its profit margin: about 7.6 percent of revenues late last year. That's not much higher than the 5.8 percent profit margin for all U.S. manufacturing, and if you exclude the financially troubled auto industry from that analysis, the oil industry actually appears less profitable than most manufacturers, which were earning 9.2 cents on every dollar of sales.

But unrivaled returns on equity:. However, profit margins across industries vary greatly based not on how well each business is doing but how capital- or labor-intensive it is. Oil is among the most capital-intensive. But look at the oil industry's profits compared with shareholder equity it has available for investment. The U.S. Energy Information Administration's most recent analysis of the oil industry's performance, released just last month, showed oil industry return on equity of 27 percent—about 10 points higher than that of other manufacturers. source

----------------

Thank you for that analyis comrade.

[Electrophile]

Anyone who thinks that Obama is a Communist has neither brains nor sense.

[TheHunter1188]

Thats too general. Of course elites run the world, politicians are elites

As far as secret societies and secret governments go, I'd like some proof.

The proof is there, Im not going to do the research for you....but it's all well documented with credible whistle blowers and documentation (such as from the bilderberg group).

It's always easy to be a skeptic

(I'm sure you have none)

[cryingbluerain]

Anyone who thinks that Obama is a Communist has neither brains nor sense.

But didn't BO attend the Trinity United Church of Christ which specifically incorporates Black Liberation Theology into its vision statement?

http://www.tucc.org/talking_points.htm

And correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Black Liberation Theology based on Marxism?

The Marxist Roots of Black Liberation Theology

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080...on-theology.htm

(excerpt)

One of the pillars of Obama's home church, Trinity United Church of Christ, is "economic parity." On the website, Trinity claims that God is not pleased with "America's economic mal-distribution." Among all of controversial comments by Jeremiah Wright, the idea of massive wealth redistribution is the most alarming. The code language "economic parity" and references to "mal-distribution" is nothing more than channeling the twisted economic views of Karl Marx. Black Liberation theologians have explicitly stated a preference for Marxism as an ethical framework for the black church because Marxist thought is predicated on a system of oppressor class (whites) versus victim class (blacks).

[Electrophile]

I'll repeat, anyone who thinks Obama is a Communist has neither brains nor sense.

[Suz]

I'll repeat, anyone who thinks Obama is a Communist has neither brains nor sense.

Haven't you heard? He's a communist AND a Muslim!!!! Show some respect for the dimwitted dipshittery that has overtaken our country (yet doesn't realize it's well on it's way out).

[cryingbluerain]

But didn't BO attend the Trinity United Church of Christ which specifically incorporates Black Liberation Theology into its vision statement?

http://www.tucc.org/talking_points.htm

And correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Black Liberation Theology based on Marxism?

The Marxist Roots of Black Liberation Theology

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080...on-theology.htm

(excerpt)

One of the pillars of Obama's home church, Trinity United Church of Christ, is "economic parity." On the website, Trinity claims that God is not pleased with "America's economic mal-distribution." Among all of controversial comments by Jeremiah Wright, the idea of massive wealth redistribution is the most alarming. The code language "economic parity" and references to "mal-distribution" is nothing more than channeling the twisted economic views of Karl Marx. Black Liberation theologians have explicitly stated a preference for Marxism as an ethical framework for the black church because Marxist thought is predicated on a system of oppressor class (whites) versus victim class (blacks).

Oh my bad, what was I thinking? He resigned from that church after going there for 20 years. So since he is no longer affiliated with them I should disregard anything they stand for as far as it pertains to his beliefs ..

[Electrophile]

Haven't you heard? He's a communist AND a Muslim!!!! Show some respect for the dimwitted dipshittery that has overtaken our country (yet doesn't realize it's well on it's way out).

I'm waiting for the "His middle name is Hussein, therefore he has connections to Islamic terrorists" crowd to come out of hiding. Because they always do.

[Suz]

I'm waiting for the "His middle name is Hussein, therefore he has connections to Islamic terrorists" crowd to come out of hiding. Because they always do.

They're not hiding. They're right there with their 3 teeth for all the world to see.

[Electrophile]

Why are you so sure he is the right answer? What if you are wrong? Have you ever considered that he may be a lier? That maybe there is some truth to the church stuff and everything that your buddy Planet 51 and PB have been saying?

"Buddy"? Don't make me puke.

[Suz]

"Buddy"? Don't make me puke.

Church stuff. Lier.

Yep, sign me up for that shit.

[Pb Derigable]

Why are you so sure he is the right answer? What if you are wrong? Have you ever considered that he may be a lier? That maybe there is some truth to the church stuff and everything that your buddy Planet 51 and PB have been saying?

Yey, i got some ink.

It's not what about what i think he belives, its the point he stayed in that church to get elected and got out of that church to get elected.

I think he is an empty suit and all his bad triats are realisticly Michelle, his pastors and his good buddy Ayers. and since the dems will control congress next year, Mr. Obama will just be the person that signs away all the shit that been storing up in the dems closet since 1965.

Honestly, if Obama was white, he'll be a republicain. Im not saying all blacks are Democratic, their not, but as soon as they saw that big ear, good looking, well spoken black guy coming out the doors of an ivy league school. The Dems made sure he was a liberal.

and if he was a republicain, i still think he is an empty suit, but he will be my empty suit.

[Hermit_]

Haven't you heard? He's a communist AND a Muslim!!!! Show some respect for the dimwitted dipshittery that has overtaken our country (yet doesn't realize it's well on it's way out).

Even more amazingly.. he's a communist AND a Muslim..

who has been "masquerading" as a Christian for 20+ years!!!!

It's true! Any dimwitted dipshit knows that Muslims are totally accepting of one of their own attending a Christian church every week.. getting married in a Christian church.. having his children baptized as Christians.. and never going to a mosque. Surely every dimwitted dipshit knows that! Right? And they also know that Muslims don't mind one of their own openly praying to Jesus.. and proclaiming him to be the messiah, too. And they know that Muslims don't mind one of their own showing affection to his wife in public,.. a wife who is educated and who works a paying job and whom he treats as his equal rather than as a subordinate. Right? And of course they know that communism is naturally the ideology that a Muslim.. one who's masquerading as a Christian, anyway.. would embrace. Right? And I guess they think this Communist Muslim-just-masquerading-as-a-Christian has been doing his 5-times-daily facing-Mecca prayers in secret over that 20+ year time span, eh?

Yyyeah,.. that's the ticket.

Hooray for the dimwitted dispshittery!

[]

[wanna be drummer]

The proof is there, Im not going to do the research for you....but it's all well documented with credible whistle blowers and documentation (such as from the bilderberg group).

It's always easy to be a skeptic

Well, see here's the thing. I went through a big conspiracy phaze, where I looked shit up like the JFK assassination, NWO, Illuminati, World Trade Centers, etc.

I've yet to find anything credible that cannot be disproven. See, with conspiracies, you cannot just read the con. theorists. You have to look up the anti-conspiracy argument and those are almost 20x better.

It's always easy to be a conspiracy theorist, all you have to do is be gullible or paranoid

By the way, not backing up what you're saying is really a copout.

[Pb Derigable]

Even more amazingly.. he's a communist AND a Muslim..

who has been "masquerading" as a Christian for 20+ years!!!!

It's true! Any dimwitted dipshit knows that Muslims are totally accepting of one of their own attending a Christian church every week.. getting married in a Christian church.. having his children baptized as Christians.. and never going to a mosque. Surely every dimwitted dipshit knows that! Right? And they also know that Muslims don't mind one of their own openly praying to Jesus.. and proclaiming him to be the messiah, too. And they know that Muslims don't mind one of their own showing affection to his wife in public,.. a wife who is educated and who works a paying job and whom he treats as his equal rather than as a subordinate. Right? And of course they know that communism is naturally the ideology that a Muslim.. one who's masquerading as a Christian, anyway.. would embrace. Right? And I guess they think this Communist Muslim-just-masquerading-as-a-Christian has been doing his 5-times-daily facing-Mecca prayers in secret over that 20+ year time span, eh?

Yyyeah,.. that's the ticket.

Hooray for the dimwitted dispshittery!

[]

I get it now.

Obama is not a muslim because he went to a christian church for 20 years.

Obama is not Anti-American, even though he went to an anti-american church for 20 years.

Becasue he only belived the words of the lord, but not his pastor.

But the pastor can't be anti-american. He is a former marine just like Lee Harvey Oswald who was a communist.

Im voting for him now, anybody who can get away from being a muslim based on going to a church for 20 years and quit the same church to prove he is not anti-american has my vote. but if he quits the church that made him muslim, does that make him a muslim again. He was antiamerican before he quit and now he is not. Does that work both ways.

Still, he got married by an anti-american former marine and had his daughter baptized by the same pastor, but he has nothing to do with that pastor, except that it proves he is a christian, not antiamerican, or a commie.

[Electrophile]

You actually think Obama is a Muslim? And you're in the electorate? Holy shit.

[wanna be drummer]

PB...I don't know anyone, that is religious, who could hide their faith for 20 years and attend another faiths church. I'm Catholic. My dad is a pretty devout Catholic. I would say that if he was to go to a Lutheran Church for the next twenty years without being able to go to a Catholic Church on at least a monthly basis, he would probably convert. Just how it is bud.

[Electrophile]

It's like being a member of the Jewish faith and then attending a Methodist church for 20 years. Two completely different ideologies, it's not like they're off-shoots of the same denomination. It just can't be done. You can't be a Muslim and attend a Christian church for 20 years. It's basically impossible.

Geez Louise.

[wanna be drummer]

It's like being a member of the Jewish faith and then attending a Methodist church for 20 years. Two completely different ideologies, it's not like they're off-shoots of the same denomination. It just can't be done. You can't be a Muslim and attend a Christian church for 20 years. It's basically impossible.

Geez Louise.

No kidding. You can only be "that one Jewish guy" in a palce full of Methodists for so long. Eventually, individuality would cave in. We, as humans, simply don't have that will power to stand strong in our beliefs for 20+ years if no one else believes in us

[TheHunter1188]

You actually think Obama is a Muslim? And you're in the electorate? Holy shit.

It's sad isn't it

[TheHunter1188]

Yey, i got some ink.

It's not what about what i think he belives, its the point he stayed in that church to get elected and got out of that church to get elected.

I think he is an empty suit and all his bad triats are realisticly Michelle, his pastors and his good buddy Ayers. and since the dems will control congress next year, Mr. Obama will just be the person that signs away all the shit that been storing up in the dems closet since 1965.

Honestly, if Obama was white, he'll be a republicain. Im not saying all blacks are Democratic, their not, but as soon as they saw that big ear, good looking, well spoken black guy coming out the doors of an ivy league school. The Dems made sure he was a liberal.

and if he was a republicain, i still think he is an empty suit, but he will be my empty suit.

Have the guts to come out and just say it....that you don't like obama because he is a black man, that you are ignorant and close minded enough to actually think that a man's damn name determines someone's allegiance. These Innuendo's used against Barack Obama appeal to the lowest denominator when it comes to intellectual ability to reason, it's what keeps us as a nation from progressing.

[TheHunter1188]

It's like being a member of the Jewish faith and then attending a Methodist church for 20 years. Two completely different ideologies, it's not like they're off-shoots of the same denomination. It just can't be done. You can't be a Muslim and attend a Christian church for 20 years. It's basically impossible.

Geez Louise.

Your Exactly right, great point. I have a thought though, why the fuck does it matter if he was of the Muslim faith? I thought any born citizen of a certain intellect was qualified at becoming president? I thought we had freedom of religion in this country and that your religious believes couldn't be used against you when applying for a job ( such as president)? We have to get past these pointless fights over religion.