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Technorati'Kill the cable, kill the cable,' shouted the security guard as he burst through the double doors into the media room at the Intercontinental Hotel in Riyadh, followed by Saudi police. It was too late.
A private meeting of Opec leaders, gathered this weekend in Riyadh for the cartel's third meeting in its 47-year history, had just been broadcast to the world's media for more than half an hour after a technician had mistakenly plugged the TV feed into the wrong socket. The facade of unity that the cartel so carefully cultivates to a world spooked by soaring oil prices was shattered.
Sometimes, such innocent mistakes can have far-reaching economic and political consequences. Commodity and currency traders said this weekend that oil prices would surge again tomorrow - possibly breaking the $101 per barrel record set in the late 1970s - while the already battered dollar would fall further on the back of the unintentional broadcast.
On Friday night, during what the participants thought were private talks, Venezuela's oil minister Venezuela Rafael Ramirez and his Iranian counterpart Gholamhossein Nozari, argued that pricing - and selling - oil using the crippled dollar was damaging the cartel.
They said Opec should formally express its concern about the weakness of the dollar when the cartel makes its official declaration at the close of the summit today. But the Saudis, the world's largest oil producers and de facto head of Opec, vetoed the proposal. Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, warned that even the mere mention to journalists of the fact that leaders were discussing the weak dollar would cause the US currency to plummet.
Unfortunately his words and those of everyone at the meeting were being broadcast via a live television feed to a group of astonished reporters. 'I couldn't believe it,' said one who was there. 'When I realised they didn't know they were being broadcast live, I frantically started taking notes.'
Opec only realised that the leaders' row was being broadcast to the world when the Reuters news agency put out a report of the argument.
The weakness of the dollar is one reason why oil prices are so high, as cartel members seek to compensate for their lower earnings. This means a further drop in the dollar is likely to be accompanied by a rise in oil prices.
© 2007 The Guardian
21 Comments so far
Show AllBurn the blood-spattered worthless greenback scrip and while you're at it pull down that vile house of Bush Arabia.
amerika has for too long been living at everyone else's cost.
The redneck cowpuncher hoedown is finally coming to a close. Peace and joy to the world!
Yeah, and if China is starting to dump U.S. dollars for Euros you can be sure that everyone else is quietly trying to do the same before the trend is noticed and the downward spiral escalates and removes the potential for recouping investment.
Hello Gail,
Actually, on May 21, 2007, the Chinese government invested USD3 billion in the Blackstone Group, not Bear Stearns.
well.. that article made me really think. We need to get Bush out of office. I have oil heat and am a full time college student who is newly married, i can only afford 100 gallons of oil becuase that right now in PA is 3.00 a gallon. I never thought i would see this high of oil in the world we live in. I also study american history, HAVENT WE LEARNED THAT IF WE DON'T LEARN FROM THE PAST WE ARE DOOMED TO REPEAT IT. BUSH should start taking lessons from our past.. like the recssion in the 70s and even to the depression of the 30s.... well i just hope america find an answer before all of us can't afford to drive our cars or heat our homes or even finish college I am in alot of debt with that as well.
have a great day!
The road less traveled is not an easy road, but it may lead to your happiness.
Togetherness, my friends, togetherness!
A song I wrote recently I feel is appropriate.
Money Economy 
By Robert R.Goldsborough III
There are so many things that don't have the value we give them
Short-term profits, short-term greed
We slip into inflation, slide down to depression
Any way you look at it for us it's oppression
Anyway you look at it for us it's oppression
An addiction to power an addiction to greed.
The more we put a price on everything we need
Let's get together roll up our sleeves
It's time to look after our community
Go to work end this mad debauchery.
Getaway, getaway from this money, money economy
Money can keep us from what we need
Destroying the life of everything we see
Money for exchange may be good and fine
Let's be careful and not be blind
Plant seeds, build houses, create what we need
Getaway, getaway from this money, money economy
We don't need money for exchange
Don't let it slip into everything we do
Work for work and a thing for a thing
See what each of us can bring
It's time to escape it's time to flee
Getaway, getaway from this money, money economy
© Copyright All rights reserved by Robert R.Goldsborough III 2005-2007.
There's been speculation for a long-time that the dollar devaluation and the price of oil was connected. Thanx to the open mic we have confirmation. Nothing short of a revolution in this country will right all that's wrong. Nothing short.
Hi Malthus,
Save your breath. The frightening working class Repugnicants are blindly loyal to the well spun mantra that Repugs are for small government and hate government interference. Actually, the foul treasonous bastards hate government that INTERFERES with their orgasmic love of PRIVATISING everything to slip their hands into the tax-payers coffers, period. If the Democrates hadn't whored out to the same corporations the Republicans have been getting their high-protein meals from for centuries, they could expose the Reps for the murderous swine they are. Can you imagine? The rank and file Repukes worship the spawn of the bastards who, about 100 years ago, (and since then), wrestled us into near slavery, then hired half of us,(commonly referred to as lackeys, toadies, "hero" cops, "our boys" in the military etc), to slaughter the other half of us, (labor leaders,striking miners,construction workers, truck drivers etc) Google the Virginia mining wars, Ludlow Colorado, THAT's the Republicans...you know the dirty murdering bastards that stole 2 elections, RAPED the South during the "Reconstruction". Now THERE'S a doozy!! They screwed the Southern folks bleeding raw and now it's a Republican STRONGHOLD! Makes a thinking man realize why they have such contempt for us....They can hire half of the "masses" to murder the OTHER half. What a bloody JOKE, on us and our children.
A nation of sheep, led by a cartel of whores, controlled by Israel/big business. Welcome,...To the REAL EVIL EMPIRE.
Regarding our debt situation it is actually Reagan, Bush I, Bush II Administrations that rolled up most of the debt to the current 9.1 trillion. That is trillion with a T. The debt is increasing at 1.47 billion dollars per day.
I am not sure how much was added under Clinton, but he did balance the budget in his second term. Repugs hold down taxes and give tax breaks to billionaires so your kids can be forever in debt. What a faustian bargain, but people believe it is the liberals who tax and spend! It is the GOP that borrows to spend. The GOP noise machine is great at propaganda to make you think otherwise.
Ridyah
yeah right it was an accident and the fact that 911 had how many people from SA was just some coincidence
probably as coincidental as Sadahm wanting to price their oil in euros
and excuse me Shaw Kenaw this is Chavez & Ahmadinejad who are going to sink US
Wake up America The Federal Reserve is a private corporation and we used to have a constitution
IMPEACH AND PROSECUTE NOW ACCORDING TO THE CONSTITUTION
HOW FAR DOWN DO YOU WISH TO GO BEFORE YOU CALL A HALT, AND START TO REMAKE AMERICA SOMETHING NOT ONLY WE BUT THE REST OF THE WORLD CAN BE PROUD OF?
America was rich, middle class, and poor with a realistic hope of improvement. We, us and I know this sounds idealistic, as well as simplistic, but if we can't figure out how to come together again as one, it's over. The haves and have nots will not coexist without the middle class and the Realistic hope of something better. Doesn't work anywhere....oh sure the haves seem to think they'll be alright....but when you have no hope, desperation and then, well there's nothing to lose and all hell breaks loose....do we need to revisit this again?
We have brains, resources, strength where are our Statesmen to lead us out of this mayhem??? Politicians be Damned! Now is the time to stand up for America....but maybe we're not scared enough to do so....yet?
To Plaza Toro;
Your right dude,when Pres.Clinton left office he left a great surplus $$$. Buch blew it in 6 months and has been putting us deeper in debt ever since.
Oh yea, we'll go to alt.energy right after everyone in our country is bankrupt, except that mystery TOP 1%. anybody reading this in that group? I don't think so
OMFG!!! Looks like Goldfinger acutally did accomplish his mission and nuked Fort Knox. I haven't heard the term "reserve currency" here yet.
The reason national banks use the USD at all is because oil is only sold in it. Without USD, no oil. No oil, no economy. If OPEC started selling crude in Euros the USD would have absolutly no value other then for buying whatever the USA currently exports. Yeah.
If Chavez and Ahmadinejad get their way the USD will hit the 50 cent mark vs the Euro in a matter of weeks. There ya go. End of story. The US economy would choke choke choke.
I can see it now. Hugo and Mahmoud in zombie costumes moaning:
"One of us. One of us. One of us. One of us. One of us. One of us."
Yeah, but the price of oil in Euros isn't too bad.
I guess where the price of oil is worst is in blood.
That Reuters reporter just learned a lesson in "loose lips sink ships" when he or she posted the story before the conference was finished. Timing can be everything in a journalist's work.
Hey Baruch.....are you by any chance in Vermont?
Correction canuckchuck,
Whatever else Clinton may have done, he was not involved in the bankrupting of the US. As I understand it, he left Bush a hefty surplus, a surplus which, like the world goodwill the US gained as a result of the 11th of September 2001 attacks, Bush squandered.
Yikes. This actually means I'll likely be paying more taxes here Connecticut, where the state government a few years ago installed a tax on wholesale gasoline based on a fixed percentage... so every time the price of gas goes up, we pay even more. And this is on top of per gallon taxes levied by the federal and state government at the pumps. At least the per gallon taxes are fixed at 25 cents for the state and about 18 ( i think) for the feds. you know what you're getting there, but pegging a tax to the fluctuating price of gasoline is ridiculous.
P.S.
There's a short and to-the-point article by Thomas Heffner that you might want to read:
http://www.economyincrisis.org/articles/show/116
Is it on YouTube yet??
If the price of oil remains tied to the US "Peso", we are all in deep crap. the USA has been bankrupted by Bush/Clinton/Bush
Have no fear. The latest news is that Dubai International Financial Centre (DUBAI GOVERNMENT) is considering buying into U.S. Financial Service firms that are losing money due to the sub-prime mortgage crisis.
China has already invested its money in Bear Stearns, if I'm not mistaken. Now we have the Dubai Government looking to invest in the American Banking system which American tax payers (complements of government officals) are always bailing out after one of their scams. Before you know it, the entire world will own our government.....everyone but us.
Oil is just one of our problems. We haven't even seen the beginning of the extensive problems this mortgage crisis is creating.
Keep your eyes open for the next round of corporate give-aways by our government that thinks nothing of using our tax dollars to support the profits of investors around the globe.