RIP King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia

[Martinus]

I can't believe the motherfucking Republicans are shitting on Michelle for that.

I think she did the right thing.

When Obama did the opposite and bowed, they also shat on him. I bet if Michelle wore a headscarf these fucks would conclude the Obamas are Muslim after all.

What a bunch of fucking faggots.

[Martinus]

It was still a state funeral, to be frank, it's one of the few instances where people covering themselves - male and female - is sort of observed in the West too.

Fuck that.

[grumbler]

How is low oil prices which are so low they undercut the efforts of North America to become oil self sufficient (not to mention the efforts to develop alternative energy) scratching the back of the West.  They are not doing any favours here.  They have their focus on their own long term interest. 

Cheap oil means that consumers and businesses spend less for petro products and have more money to spend on other products, thus improving the standard of living in the West (and everywhere else except the oil exporting countries).  Everyone has their focus on their own long term self-interest, unless they are morons.

North American oil "self-sufficiency" is the scam, not world spot market prices for oil.

[Ed Anger]

Ed has a saud.

[crazy canuck]

How is low oil prices which are so low they undercut the efforts of North America to become oil self sufficient (not to mention the efforts to develop alternative energy) scratching the back of the West.  They are not doing any favours here.  They have their focus on their own long term interest.

The oil will still be there 10, 20, 50 years from now.  If technology in the short term supersedes oil then better that we don't cause whatever environmental damage it causes to extract it.  If technology takes a significantly longer time to catch up to the market prices of oil then this price drop is only temporary and the NA oil will still be well worth getting later.

Technology development might, at most, be slowed down by a few years, and that's only if prices stay low for a good while longer.

I consider this a huge favor, even if they don't mean it as such.

But you have to ignore all the other forms of energy technology that are undercut by cheap oil for it to be a favour.  Absent a carbon tax which balances the effect of cheap oil the Saudi's will get what they want - continued dominance in the energy market until their reserves run dry.  Not much of a favour.

[frunk]

But you have to ignore all the other forms of energy technology that are undercut by cheap oil for it to be a favour.  Absent a carbon tax which balances the effect of cheap oil the Saudi's will get what they want - continued dominance in the energy market until their reserves run dry.  Not much of a favour.

A carbon tax is a good idea if oil is $50 or $150 a barrel.  I doubt the Saudis can keep the price suppressed for more than 10 years.  If they do just about every oil exporter in the world will be hurting, badly.  Even a less than one year period with low oil prices has already put severe strains on most of them.

Let's run through the list of other energy technology (assuming cheap oil for a long time):

Coal - Oil is generally the better alternative if you are worried about pollution/environment.
Nuclear - It might slow down new plant construction, but current plants will continue to run.  Big chunks of the world are already leaving this for one reason or another (most of them stupid).  I think India is one of the few looking to expand.
Hydro - Existing plants will still run, new construction might slow.
Solar - Price point is still a bit high ATM, even with more expensive oil.  Existing setups will continue to run (as all the cost is in installation).  Presumably the price point is going to continue to drop, no matter the price of oil.  Also causes power infrastructure problems if there is serious uptake.
Fusion - Still in development.

Are there any I might have missed?  Too much of this energy technology relies on long time windows for plant creation to worry about short term jumps in the price of oil (except coal).  It would require a continued and long period (10+ years) of cheap oil for significant shifts in usage patterns for most of them.

[Monoriu]

What about natural gas?

[Admiral Yi]

And wind.

Does anyone still burn oil to generate electricity?

[Eddie Teach]

What exactly makes the theocracy in Iran so much worse than the theocracy in Saudi Arabia?

That it's a theocracy and not an oligarchy run by mostly religiously observant people. Also, the nuclear program. And the government sanctioned hostage taking- we haven't forgotten.

[Razgovory]

I can't believe the motherfucking Republicans are shitting on Michelle for that.

I think she did the right thing.

When Obama did the opposite and bowed, they also shat on him. I bet if Michelle wore a headscarf these fucks would conclude the Obamas are Muslim after all.

What a bunch of fucking faggots.

Are they?  There was a remarkable silence from the most sources.  Normally "offending a key ally", is one of those things that Obama is accused of when caught "trying to degrade American on the world stage".  Republicans would make terrible writers.  Obama's motives are almost always on par with supervillians.  He's normally trying to destroy America.  Beyond that there is rarely a reason why beyond him hating America and freedom.

[Monoriu]

I don't really care if the Saudis get what they want.  That is not my concern.  My concern is if I get what I want, which is stable sources of energy at a reasonable price.  If the Saudis happen to fulfill that need, we have a deal.  That's what is happening and I don't see what the problem is. 

[Valmy]

Coal - Oil is generally the better alternative if you are worried about pollution/environment.
Nuclear - It might slow down new plant construction, but current plants will continue to run.  Big chunks of the world are already leaving this for one reason or another (most of them stupid).  I think India is one of the few looking to expand.
Hydro - Existing plants will still run, new construction might slow.
Solar - Price point is still a bit high ATM, even with more expensive oil.  Existing setups will continue to run (as all the cost is in installation).  Presumably the price point is going to continue to drop, no matter the price of oil.  Also causes power infrastructure problems if there is serious uptake.
Fusion - Still in development.

Oil is generally used for fuel, not electricity, so is generally not in competition with those things.  Unless we are talking about electric vehicles.  I mean I doubt there are any of steam powered trains out there using coal.

I mean oil is used for electricity, about 5% of the worlds electricity is generated with oil, but this is not a very economical use of petroleum.

[Valmy]

I don't really care if the Saudis get what they want.  That is not my concern.  My concern is if I get what I want, which is stable sources of energy at a reasonable price.  If the Saudis happen to fulfill that need, we have a deal.  That's what is happening and I don't see what the problem is. 

Do you even own a car in Hong Kong?  Why do you care about fuel prices?

[Monoriu]

I don't really care if the Saudis get what they want.  That is not my concern.  My concern is if I get what I want, which is stable sources of energy at a reasonable price.  If the Saudis happen to fulfill that need, we have a deal.  That's what is happening and I don't see what the problem is. 

Do you even own a car in Hong Kong?  Why do you care about fuel prices?

I do own a car.  I also hold stocks and bonds in various energy companies like CNOOC. 

[Martinus]

What exactly makes the theocracy in Iran so much worse than the theocracy in Saudi Arabia?

That it's a theocracy and not an oligarchy run by mostly religiously observant people. Also, the nuclear program. And the government sanctioned hostage taking- we haven't forgotten.

The nuclear program and the government sanctioned hostage taking are all actions taken because of hostility with America - I doubt Iran would be engaging in those (especially against the West) if it was a Western ally.