This was sent to me by my uncle who was a pilot during WW2 and in Korea:

Subject: Think About This


The OPEC minister may look you in the eye and say,
'We are at war with you infidels and have been since
the embargo in the 1970s. You are so arrogant you
haven't even recognized it. You have more missiles,
bombs, and technology; so we are fighting with the
best weapon we have and extracting on a net basis
about $700 billion/year out of your economy. We will
destroy you! Death to the infidels!

While I am here I would like to thank you for the
following : Not developing your 250-300 year supply
of oil shale and tar sands. we know if you did this,
it would create thousands of jobs for U.S. citizens,
expand your engineering capabilities, and keep the
wealth in the U.S. instead of sending it to us to
finance our war against you infidels.

Thanks for limiting defense dept. purchases of
oil sands from your neighbors to the north. We love
it when you confuse your allies.

Thanks for over regulating every segment of your
economy and thus delaying, by decades, the
development of alternate fuel technologies.

Thanks for limiting drilling off your coasts, in
Alaska , and anywhere there is an insect, bird, fish,
or plant that might be inconvenienced. Better that
your people suffer. Glad to see our lobbying efforts
have been so effective with at least one or your
parties.

Corn based Ethanol. Praise Allah for this sham
program! Perhaps you will destroy yourself from the
inside with theses types of policies. This is a
gift from Allah, praise his name! We never would
have thought of this one! This is better than when
you pay your farmers NOT TO GROW FOOD. Have
them use more energy to create less energy, and
simultaneously drive up food prices. Thank you
U.S. Congress!

And finally, we appreciate you letting us fleece
you without end. You will be glad to know we have
been accumulating shares in your banks, real estate,
and publicly held companies. We also finance a good
portion of your debt and now manipulate your
markets, currency, and economies for our benefit.

THANK YOU AMERICA !'

Ahh, at last, in-your-face truths. It is extremely unfortunate that average Joe America will not see the above and if seeing it - will not comprehend it.

China attempted the same with Britain, which resulted in war. Britain decided to play the same hardball cricket - and forced China to become

opium eaters.

Bless those deceased British.

What will America do?

Good news, bad news...,

Hi, I am your govt - and I'm here to help you. --Reagan, Maximus

This tale could be spun to the exact same ends from exactly the opposite direction, and I'll probably try to write it this afternoon when I'm less busy. But just a very short note that someone who can't tell the difference politically and religiously between the oil barons and the jihadis is probably not in the right business as a commentator on international relations issues.

True Indeed!!

And the facts are that a majority of the oil used in the US is from the US and Canada (roughly 60-65%). THe US imports about 55% of the oil it uses. In terms of sources of oil for the US, Sudia Arabia ranks 4th considerably behind Canada and Mexico. Of the imported oil 18% is from Canada, 15% Mexico, and 12% from Suadia Arabia. The only other signifcant Middle Eastern sources of oil imported to the US are Iraq (5%) and Kuwait (2%). So Middle Eastern oil accounts for only about 10.5% of the oil used in the US.

Yes, there is a big difference: the oil barons of OPEC would like to see the US be ever more dependent on them and they do not care if the American nation and economy are badly weakened in the process, whereas the jihadists want to see Americas suffering and defeated. Is that it?

Check out the article on jihad, and it will become plain that an oil baron may be just as much a jihadist as someone on the battlefield. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jihad

The main idea of the article is that in many respects quite a few Ameicans are shockingly doing a great deal that is beneficial to the oil barons and the jihadists and opposed to the best interest of Americans. I think that to that extent the article makes a valid point.

How come we in Canada can't sell our oil and make the whole country rich like they in Saudi do?

Please explain how these facts show that the points made in the article are invalid or inaccurate.

I definitely agree with the main point of the article, John, and tried to say so above. It's just some of the steps along the way that gripe me. Let me have a bash at it, and maybe you'll see what I mean:

The OPEC minister may look you in the eye and say, "I absolutely love owning 27 racehorses and a couple of private jets. My personal yacht is larger than some of your warships, and has a solid gold bathroom. We love building cities of the future in the desert and creating whole new island chains with luxury resorts on them. When the oil runs out, we'll have positioned ourselves with innovation and tourism to keep doing fine. I enjoy my fleet of Rolls Royces and having to decide whether to wear the Rolex or the Patek Philippe this morning.

While I am here I would like to thank you for the following: Fighting hard to avoid making your vehicles more fuel efficient. Maybe you could have taken the hint in the 1970s, but instead you kept making them bigger and bigger, and introduced loopholes in the laws for trucks that allowed - and even encouraged - passenger vehicles to become heavier and less fuel efficient. Frankly, if you'd decided to put in an effort on this like you did on the space program after Sputnik - an effort that put a man on the moon in 15 years - you'd be selling *us* oil by now... except no-one would need oil because we'd have endless cheap fusion power and a hydrogen economy... or something better.

If you'd done that you wouldn't now be looking down the barrel of having to dig up the Rockies for shale and foul the beaches of California with crude oil, spoil the view with drilling rigs and destroy the Arctic ecosystem: all those things you value would be safe.

Thanks for throwing trillions of your treasure at toppling Saddam - who was an embarrassment to us - rather than putting it the research that would have allowed you to become independent from us. Thanks too for threatening Iran - the unrest that promotes in world oil markets just pumps the price up. $143 oil is beyond our wildest dreams - thank you.

Thanks for declining to pour adequate funding into education and research, while subsidising your massively inefficient oil companies, thus delaying, by decades, the development of alternate fuel technologies. If you'd got there you'd be an even more massive world economic superpower, because you'd own the technologies of the 21st century. We'd be out of business - so thank you so much.

Corn-based ethanol. Thank you for this sham program! Perhaps you will destroy yourself from the inside with theses types of policies. This is better than when you pay your farmers NOT TO GROW FOOD. Have them use more energy to create less energy, and simultaneously drive up food prices. Thank you U.S. Congress!

And finally, we appreciate you letting us fleece you without end. You will be glad to know we have been accumulating shares in your banks, real estate, and publicly held companies. We also finance a good portion of your debt and now manipulate your markets, currency, and economies for our benefit.

THANK YOU AMERICA !"

Very good, Bravus. I like it and am in fundamental agreement with it. It is basically making the same point as the first one.

I don't agree with the following, however:



I do not think that the evidence shows oil-drilling would foul the beaches of California or destroy the Arctic ecosystem.

Oil-drilling in northern Europe hasn't fouled their beaches. Today's technology involving oil drilling is much improved over what it once was.

Not guaranteed, no, but the potential would always be there for leaks and accidents. I have to admit that one was a little bit of a stretch.