Oil speculators are hard at work again

[GliderGuider]

Now they're speculating that Hurricane Gustav might disrupt oil production in the Gulf of Mexico. They've already driven the price of oil up $2.00 in a single day! Will nothing stop these rapacious rapscallions? Who will rid us of these meddlesome market priests?
:sarcasm:

[liberal N proud]

1. Only regulation will stop the thieves

And the current regime has no interest in stopping criminals, McSame will follow suit

[Hugabear]

2. Hillary was right about OPEC being an illegal cartel

If a group of businesses got together and organized the way OPEC does, they'd have the Justice Dept. breathing down their neck. Yet so many people think it's perfectly acceptable for OPEC to do what's illegal in this country.

[GliderGuider]

3. What does OPEC have to do with prices? They just produce the stuff.

The most they can do to control prices is open or close the tap. As far as I can tell they're producing pretty much all they can right now (at least there's no evidence they are voluntarily restricting production to force prices up).

Oil prices are set on the international market by buyers who live in non-OPEC countries like the USA, Japan and Italy. If they are willing to pay $140 a barrel for oil, are OPEC suppliers supposed to say, "No thanks, here take it for $60"?

There may be some amount of distortion in the oil markets, but I'm damned sure the prices we've seen this year aren't OPECs fault.

[tama]

5. Sarcasm?

Or just imperial delusion... :D

"perfectly acceptable for OPEC to do what's illegal in this country" - you're killing me LOL

PS: in about 10 years or sooner, US is going to be totally collapsed - much worse than Soviets did. Just because of general idiocy.

[hatrack]

4. Some people say they live in a hollowed-out volcano, using a weather machine to control hurricanes!

Not only that, but the hollowed-out volcano is surrounded by a moat filled with man-eating crocodiles and awash in horrifying leftover Beijing Olympics plush toys!!