(June 8, 2008) In a May 31 article the British newspaper, The Independent, enumerated the problems the world is facing because of the oil crisis. (Shocked! How the oil crisis has hit the world) The article reports on the situations various segments of societies around the world are experiencing,
“British pensioners who cannot afford to heat their homes. European hauliers and fishermen whose livelihoods are under threat. Palestinians forced to fill up their cars with olive oil. Americans asked to go down to a four-day week.”
The article gives some examples of the unrest that is occurring in every inhabited continent and some of the services that are being curtailed:
-Britain’s Silverjet airline announced it had stopped flights after failing to get a $5m loan from Abu Dhabi-based investors, becoming the third London to New York business class-only carrier to run out of money
-Protests by French truckers and fishermen left several motorways blocked and ports paralysed
-Fishermen across Europe went on a one-day strike, blocking ports. The biggest demonstrations were in Spain and Portugal where 10,000 protesters converged on Madrid
-The Newcastle to Scandinavia ferry route is being cut by the Danish company DFDS Seaways
-Brazil, the world’s largest ethanol producer, biofuels account for more than half of transport needs. But while biofuels have kept petrol prices down, food prices – particularly in Central American countries such as Mexico and Haiti – have shot up as vast tracts of arable land are switched from producing food to fuel
-Daily protests have erupted across Indonesia this week after the government removed subsidies on fuel
-Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific and Taiwan’s China Airlines announced they were considering scaling back some long-haul routes whilst Korean Air said it would temporarily cut flights on 12 international routes
-African governments already under pressure from food protests, and in some cases such as Mozambique violent riots, have now to contend with a new problem
-Middle Eastern countries unlucky enough not to be sitting on lakes of black gold are facing growing resentment from their own populations over fuel prices
-Australia’s Qantas airline announced this week that it was intending to slash hundreds of jobs, freeze executive pay and shut down some domestic rural routes
Since it is unlikely that oil prices will decrease in the long term, the world’s oil problem will continue to exacerbate the civil and economic unrest that the countries of the world are currently experiencing. The New York Times’ global edition, International Herald Tribune, has a June 8th article which reports the reductions in profits by many businesses as a result of the oil crisis. (Pressure from oil prices spreads) The reporter writes, “Airlines, package shippers and car owners are no longer the only ones being squeezed by the ever-mounting price of oil, which shot up almost $11 a barrel Friday, to a record $138.54. Companies that make hard goods using raw materials derived from oil, like tires, toiletries, plastic packaging and computer screens, are watching their costs skyrocket, and they find themselves forced into unpleasant choices: Should they raise prices, shift to less costly procedures, cut workers or all three?” Oil price hikes will continue to increase the cost of manufacturing commodities and the transportation of them.
On his June 9th program, Fox’s Bill O’Reilly discussed the oil crisis in his Talking Points memo. (We Are All in Danger) He declares, “We now know that Israel will attack Iran if that country continues its nuke buildup. That kind of attack will put oil well over $200 a barrel. We also know that radical Islamists and aggressive socialists like Hugo Chavez are using oil money to create terror and havoc. It is also apparent that Iran will continue to cause trouble in the Persian Gulf region, with the goal of destabilizing Western economies.” After suggesting a couple of solutions O’Reilly made the following statement, “Simply put, Americans must demand that Congress and the new president stop the nonsense, or there will be a world war over oil. That will happen and it will make Iraq look like a high school prom.”
As I have stated on this web site, I believe America will decline from its superpower status militarily or economically or both. Such a reduction in strength will allow the invasion of Israel by a conglomeration of countries seeking to rid the Middle East of Israel forever. (Coming Invasion of Israel)
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Tags: America, economic, Invasion of Israel, oil