Hybrid Hypocrisy (not OT)

It was your buddy Bush who wanted to save the world by shoving democracy up everyone's ass. Poor neocon dupe. You lost. Get over it. Move on.

I didn't lose.....America lost.

The proof will be evident shortly.

btw why do you think Iran is glad the San Fran Libs won?

No, we're not that good at cutting weight. I was referring to patrol equipment only, tents aside. The patrol box holds the cooking equipment, fly, washup equipment, lighter, fuel (3 1lb propane cans) and single-mantle lamp, tree hanger for the lamp and a few other things. The extra box holds dual-burner campstoves (propane). We used to use 10lb gas tanks, hoses, lamp poles, dual-mantle lamps, which made for 6 boxes of stuff for 3 patrols. Cutting the 2 extra boxes helped a lot. We also require 3 Scouts per tent (it's a 4-man Eureka! Timberline tent, so they're not too uncomfortable).

I agree with you on durability vs weight for routine camping. Yes, we also have lighter equipment, including tents, for backpacking. I thought at one time of having the Troop equip and pack at all times as though we were backpacking but decided we couldn't afford lightweight equipment that was tough enough to survive constant use by First Year Scouts.

You mention canvas flys... We use nylon dining flys for our regular gear. They may not hold up quite as well as canvas but we haven't replaced one in the 7 years I've been with the Troop. I like them because they dry very fast. Why do you stick with canvas? The durability?

Since we had a little extra money a while back, I bought two ultra-lightweight SilNylon flys for Philmont last time and one of them ripped right away. In that case, I'd say the expenditure for the weight savings was most definitely NOT worth it but the weight penalty for the duct tape we carried was!

And Gary wonders why he's on my block list?

Charles of Schaumburg

Do I? No. Do I believe you've blocked me? No again.

Because your side gave them no good reasons to vote Repug anymore. BTW, the pouting just isn't you.

The reasons to vote Republican are already showing up.

The Republicans lost....the Dims did not win.

Hell you Dims didn't have anything to offer.

Surrender monkeys...you Dims are...

Have fun for a bit...

whatever helps you rationalize it for yourself......

I know you'd try that.

What is the MAIN factor which affects the price of oil?

I know I'd try it too, but I'm not in front of you.

I suppose you're going to say it's a conspiracy among big oil companies and/or middle east countries, and the Bush family ect or some such rubbish.

Profit, but it is reinvested. If you look at the amount of investment oil companies have to make, way into the future it would be poor business practice not to operate without profits or be limited by government regulation as to how much profit they can make, that would be a disaster, that is if we want a stable supply of crude into the future. With the high price of crude there is now investment in new fields. The democrats want to put additional tax burden on profits the oil companies make. Where would that tax money go?

I can't say if there is any one factor. Can't be demand and it can't be supply. The prices are almost at record highs right now and there's plenty of crude around, the demand is high but the supply is there and prices are dropping, so I don't know to answer your question honestly.

The price of gas at the pump is mostly tax, 75 percent or so, we know how that's controlled.

So tell me what is the main factor?

Hint, in the form of typical tidbit from the news:

"Oil rose two bucks a barrel today, on fears of renewed violence in Halvahlabad".

Fears?

Yes that can be one of many factors that affect the price of oil, but not THE one factor.

Again: "Oil rose two bucks a barrel today, on fears of renewed violence in Halvahlabad".

Whose fears? Which people?

Here's another hint: Let's say you're following Federated Department Stores stock, with an interest in buying some. Everything about the financials looks good. You're just waiting for a CD to mature at the bank and spit out some cash. On the day you're ready to trade, you hear on the news "The retail sector took a major hit today, due to lower than expected earnings at Home Depot".

Nothing about Federated has changed except the price. Why did the whole sector go down in price?

The whole market place is driven by fear as one of the many things that affect it. I am looking at long term, always long term. Yes in the short term the price of oil can jitter up and down a little, but if you look at the long term cycles of oil prices, speaking of years, 10-15 years the fear factor is small if there at all. Other more important factors affect the price of crude oil in the long term big picture.

Where the hell is Halvahlabad?

Anyway carry on, I'll be out of the office for a time.

The major oil price swings come from traders, who are nothing but stockbrokers gambling on an exchange. If you had kept track of the headlines, and compared the "fears" with actual events, you would find little or no correlation. Someone just needed to do some trading. They make commissions when they trade.

Translation: People who are in no way connected with the oil business have their hands in our pockets. Most businesses try and hedge their bets based on unexpected changes in supply and demand, but very few of them deal through investment exchanges which are one step removed from the actual business. This practice needs to be stopped. Remember $3.00 a gallon? Quite a bit of that extra money went to traders.

That"s true with any freemarket trading, stocks, grain, ect. You also have to keep in mind large buyers of oil products don't by on the spot market. Large buyers puchase fuel needs and oil months ahead of time. Airlines, ship companies which use huge amounts of fuel and of course our own U.S. government all buy fuel way in advance. I do not think traders make that much difference in the price of crude in the long term.

Then, how do you explain the almost instantaneous increases which occur after some sort of fake news hits the wires?

It's fear and more a desire to protect ones own ass from a loss regardless if the fear is real or just another rumor. How do you explain the drop in crude oil in the last thre months in light of even more violence in Iraq and the NK nuke episode and Iran chain rattling and so on. In light of all that crude oil prices have fallen. These are all short term jitters in oil prices. Lets keep an eye on the long term chart and see where it goes. I'm more interested in how price is related to consumption as opposed to known reserves in the next say 10 to 20 year span. Some say there is plenty of oil, but costs more and more money to get at it, buried deeper in the ocean and other hard to reach places, which in my mind means crude prices will try to stay high to spur exploration in the next 15 years. Alternative is shortage in the coming years. It takes quite a long time to develop new oil fields and money, investment. I admittedly do not know anything about the oil business. Mine is just a guess, but I don't feel that fear is the one thing causing crude prices to rise.

The asses being protected are STOCKBROKERS. Traders. Get it? They respond when there's nothing to respond to. When there IS something to respond to, they sometimes do nothing. Even though their antics may not affect what the oil companies actually pay, the prices at the pump still responded. Remember?