Saudis October surprise

[wdmso]

Seems obvious and it’s shocking how little commentary you Find From Republicans

Special Report: Trump told Saudi: Cut oil supply or lose U.S. military support - sources

US House Republicans tell Saudi crown prince to cut oil supply or risk response
Letter from nearly 50 Representatives indicates economic and military cooperation at risk unless Riyadh acts promptly

But now they are Silent on the matter of cuts. Yep they love what The Saudis did

And Saudis clam the move was just economic


Seeing a $500m investment by a Saudi firm in Russian oil giants Gazprom, Rosneft and Lukoil at the beginning of the Ukraine conflict – or Riyadh’s decision in the summer to double purchases of Russian oil for its power plants to free up more of its own crude to export.





ELECTION INTERFERENCE”: OIL PRICE HIKE IS SAUDI ARABIA’S OCTOBER SURPRISE AGAINST BIDEN
“The Saudis are working to get Trump re-elected and for the MAGA Republicans to win the midterms.”
Ken Klippenstein
October 11 2022, 1:07 p.m.
A nozzle pumps gasoline into a vehicle at a gas station in Los Angeles on Oct. 5, 2022. Photo: Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
WHEN, JUST ONE month before midterm elections, Saudi Arabia announced it would be slashing oil production by 2 million barrels a day, White House officials called it a “hostile act” and said the administration was “re-evaluating” the Saudi relationship. It was the kind of bellicose language officialdom virtually never uses to describe the oil-rich monarchy, whose vast wealth has bought it enormous influence in Washington.

Congressional Democrats facing reelection amid soaring gas prices were similarly incensed. Usually, Capitol Hill will trot out bloodless language of “deep concern” in response to the kingdom’s myriad human rights abuses, but this time congressional Democrats struck back, vowing to block weapons sales and even taking the unprecedented step of introducing legislation to withdraw U.S. troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The bill’s sponsors linked their efforts to the war in Ukraine, pointing out how keeping oil prices high results in a windfall of profit to bankroll Russian President Vladimir Putin’s bloody invasion.

“There’s no doubt that the Saudi-led OPEC oil production cuts are a strategic effort to hurt Americans at the pump.”
Yet experts pointed to the price hikes as more than a geopolitical move. They said it was also a foray by Saudi’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, or MBS, into U.S. electoral politics: a move by the Saudi-dominated oil cartel OPEC against President Joe Biden and in favor of Donald Trump.

“The Saudis are working to get Trump re-elected and for the MAGA Republicans to win the midterms,” Bruce Riedel, a senior fellow of the Brookings Institution, told The Intercept. “Higher oil prices will undermine the Democrats.”

Oil prices affect not just the price at the pump but also the cost of virtually everything in our fossil fuel-dependent economy — and are a major driver of inflation. “There’s no doubt that the Saudi-led OPEC oil production cuts are a strategic effort to hurt Americans at the pump and undermine our work to tackle rising costs,” said Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., in an email.


MBS’s affinity for Trump is hardly a secret. Trump broke with presidential tradition by paying his first foreign visit to Saudi Arabia’s capital, where he inked a record $350 billion weapons sale to the autocracy. He also repeatedly defended MBS amid reporting, including by his own CIA, that the crown prince had ordered the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. “I saved his ass,” Trump reportedly said. “I was able to get Congress to leave him alone” — referring to three times he vetoed congressional resolutions blocking billions in weapons sales to the Saudis.


The cozy relationship between Trump’s circles and the Saudis persisted after the president left office. Just six months after leaving the White House, Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and former top White House adviser, won a $2 billion investment from the Saudi sovereign wealth fund at the request of MBS, who overrode the objections of Saudi officials. Kushner would later flaunt his influence with the Saudis in a pitch to investors for his investment firm Affinity Partners, according to a pitch deck obtained by The Intercept in April. And Trump’s Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s firm, Liberty Strategic Capital, raised $1 billion from the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.

EXPERTS SUGGEST THAT MBS’s oil production cut is a targeted attempt to hurt the Democrats’ electoral prospects. “This is MBS’s October surprise,” said Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. “This is his election interference. It forces Biden to make a choice: Will he protect America’s democracy and Democratic lawmakers in Congress, or will he triple down on a flawed gamble that says that the U.S. has no choice but to acquiesce to Saudi Arabia to prevent Riyadh from aligning with Russia?”

Khalid Aljabri — son of Saudi Arabia’s former intelligence chief, Saad Aljabri, and a frequent commentator on Saudi affairs — also made the comparison to the October Surprise: a term for a late-in-the-game, election-swinging event coined during Ronald Reagan’s successful bid to unseat Jimmy Carter. Aljabri said, “Emboldened by Biden’s no-consequence policy and empty campaign rhetoric, MBS wants to make a Carter out of Biden with OPEC’s October surprise, knowing that high gas prices and inflation influence domestic U.S. politics.”

In many ways, MBS’s decision to tamp down oil production is a rebuke to Biden’s controversial meeting with the crown prince in Jeddah this summer in which the two shared a fist bump. The meeting — following secret backchanneling with Riyadh by CIA Director William Burns, in which oil was discussed — flew in the face of Biden’s campaign promise to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah.”

“This is MBS’s October surprise. This is his election interference.”
There were several early signs that the meeting wouldn’t lead to the diplomatic thaw that the administration had hoped for. When Biden touched down in Jeddah, he was greeted not by a top official but by a provincial governor — a major diplomatic snub. And within minutes of the meeting between Biden and MBS, Saudi officials were leaking to the media, disputing Biden’s claim to have brought up Khashoggi.

The failure of the meeting to repair relations created tension between the White House and congressional Democrats, who feel as though the oil production cuts leave them vulnerable in the upcoming election and that the administration isn’t doing enough to compel Saudi Arabia to restore production.


“

[Jim in CT]

(1) do you have a link to the letter from republicans to the Saudis? I'd like to know which Republicans requested this.

(2) I thought electing Biden was going to improve our standing with the world, and make for better allies?

(3) drill baby, drill. The less reliant we are on countries that don't like us, the better off we are.

Inflation roaring, stock market tanking, crime is up (though not as high as 1980 if that makes you happy), gas prices soaring, all going right into the midterms. I still don't see a big red wave happening though, at best a tiny shift to the right.

[wdmso]

Originally Posted by Jim in CT

(1) do you have a link to the letter from republicans to the Saudis? I'd like to know which Republicans requested this.

(2) I thought electing Biden was going to improve our standing with the world, and make for better allies?

(3) drill baby, drill. The less reliant we are on countries that don't like us, the better off we are.

Inflation roaring, stock market tanking, crime is up (though not as high as 1980 if that makes you happy), gas prices soaring, all going right into the midterms. I still don't see a big red wave happening though, at best a tiny shift to the right.

Search Republicans response to Saudi oil production cuts

You’ll get none

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by wdmso

Search Republicans response to Saudi oil production cuts

You’ll get none

here’s a republican response …i was told that replacing trump with biden would improve our standing in the world community. It appears that was bullsh-t?

[Pete F.]

Originally Posted by Jim in CT

here’s a republican response …i was told that replacing trump with biden would improve our standing in the world community. It appears that was bullsh-t?

Sure if your definition of the world community is totalitarian governments that want the guy who loved them back.
It’s like asking why didn't Putin invade Ukraine under Trump? Because the criminal doesn't mug the old lady when he's got her on the verge of signing her entire estate over to him.
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[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by Pete F.

Sure if your definition of the world community is totalitarian governments that want the guy who loved them back.
It’s like asking why didn't Putin invade Ukraine under Trump? Because the criminal doesn't mug the old lady when he's got her on the verge of signing her entire estate over to him.
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Well, I didn't hear anyone say that Biden would improve our standing, except among OPEC. People like you said the world would like us more. If the countries that like us more are the ones not in a position to help us, I'm not sure what that's worth.

Obama got elected, because the subprime mortgage crisis happened on Bush's watch. It wasn't Bush's fault obviously, Bush didn't tell people to buy more homes than they could afford, Bush didn't tell banks to bundle crappy mortgages into fishy investments. But it happened on his watch, and every democrat in the country said it was his fault. And it worked.

Biden similarly owns inflation, gas prices, stock market correction, border mess, surging crime. None of those things are entirely his fault, some are probably very very little his doing. But they are all his problem, as the subprime mortgage crisis was Bush's.

Politics is a rough sport.

What the left has, is Trump and abortion, and some laughably weak GOP candidates like Herschel Walker. And very low unemployment. And those are valuable things to have. But probably not enough to prevent the GOP from taking the house by a handful of seats, the senate probably isn't going to move more than a set or 2 in either direction. Who knows what happens at the state level, where the GOP has had a majority for a few years.

But after what happened on Wall Street today, I feel like I know less than nothing.

[Got Stripers]

Originally Posted by Jim in CT

here’s a republican response …i was told that replacing trump with biden would improve our standing in the world community. It appears that was bullsh-t?

If your name is Russian, North Korean, you know the list of Trumps man crushes, need I go on?

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by Got Stripers

If your name is Russian, North Korean, you know the list of Trumps man crushes, need I go on?

If you want to convince anyone that my life is better today than 2 years ago because world leaders like Biden more than Trump, then yes, you have to go on. Because most of the tangible evidence seems to suggest that life is a lot harder today than 2 years ago.

[wdmso]

Originally Posted by Jim in CT

here’s a republican response …i was told that replacing trump with biden would improve our standing in the world community. It appears that was bullsh-t?

Ya ok Jim! our standing in the world has improved greatly with everyone to include our allies under Biden

But you And the MAGA party which you are 100% a card carrying member who love to support ! Strong men you wish could run the country like Putin MBS Xi Jinping and Kim seeing Trump tried but failed

Over your own country And it President of the united states ....


there was a name for that and it isn't Patriot

[Got Stripers]

Originally Posted by Jim in CT

If you want to convince anyone that my life is better today than 2 years ago because world leaders like Biden more than Trump, then yes, you have to go on. Because most of the tangible evidence seems to suggest that life is a lot harder today than 2 years ago.

World wide too, that damn Biden.

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by wdmso

Ya ok Jim! our standing in the world has improved greatly with everyone to include our allies under Biden

But you And the MAGA party which you are 100% a card carrying member who love to support ! Strong men you wish could run the country like Putin MBS Xi Jinping and Kim seeing Trump tried but failed

Over your own country And it President of the united states ....


there was a name for that and it isn't Patriot

I asked a fair question, and you dodged it completely and lobbed a few insults, the hallmark of a little man on the losing end of an argument but who can't admit anyone else might have a point.

There aren't many tangible statistics you can point to right now, to suggest life is easier than it was during the previous administration. I didn't even mention drugs, overdoses, suicides, etc. So if making the world like us more didn't help with any of that, I'm not sure it's something to brag about.

Why is Trump STILL polling well in a potential rematch against Biden? Answer - life was easier and more prosperous when Trump was POTUS. I don't say that because I like Trump. I say that because it's obviously true.

"our standing in the world has improved greatly with everyone to include our allies under Biden"

Well, it's being reported that the Biden administration asked the Saudis to wait until after the midterms to cut production, and they told us to go kick rocks. So again, where's the evidence that our improved standing in the world, is making life better for Americans?

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by Got Stripers

World wide too, that damn Biden.

Last time I checked, covid was world-wide, but you all blamed Trump.

I know, I tell my little kids all the time, it's frustrating when your opponents take your own very tactics and spit them right back into your face at a later date, but what's good for the goose...

Is illegal immigration skyrocketing worldwide?

I've said 100 times, it's nowhere near true to say this is all Biden's fault. But it's all his problem.

[Pete F.]

Originally Posted by Jim in CT

Last time I checked, covid was world-wide, but you all blamed Trump.

I know, I tell my little kids all the time, it's frustrating when your opponents take your own very tactics and spit them right back into your face at a later date, but what's good for the goose...

Is illegal immigration skyrocketing worldwide?

I've said 100 times, it's nowhere near true to say this is all Biden's fault. But it's all his problem.

Excess death rates from COVID were 153% higher among Republicans than Democrats in Florida and Ohio AFTER THE VACCINE WAS READILY AVAILABLE. Republicans literally killed off tens of thousands of their own voters to “own the libs.”

The ones that are left are claiming to be victimized by Biden.

There are now 100 million forcibly displaced people around the world—more than at any time in modern history. These are people who have fled extreme dangers, whether to escape relentless bombing, an invading army, gang violence, or other life-threatening circumstances.

It's amazing how the U.S., and only the U.S., is dealing with inflation right now.

No other country. Just us. The rest of the world is not struggling with this same thing.
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[wdmso]

Jim still thinks people blamed trump for Covid. it was his denial and refusal to acknowledge it was a problem that it was killing thousands and went on the kill 100 of thousands of Americans

Yet Republicans blame Biden for gas prices and inflation. Which is world wide
The difference is Biden has acted with the limited tools a POTUS has sure they had hopes inflation would slow , but so far it hasn’t happened , and it sucks for many . Yet no ones dying in the thousands which I am sure is a disappointment to Republicans

Because the 2 issues are similar but no where near the same

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by wdmso

Jim still thinks people blamed trump for Covid. it was his denial and refusal to acknowledge it was a problem that it was killing thousands and went on the kill 100 of thousands of Americans

Yet Republicans blame Biden for gas prices and inflation. Which is world wide
The difference is Biden has acted with the limited tools a POTUS has sure they had hopes inflation would slow , but so far it hasn’t happened , and it sucks for many . Yet no ones dying in the thousands which I am sure is a disappointment to Republicans

Because the 2 issues are similar but no where near the same

Pete boned trump for every single death. And you never disagreed.

That’s what happened.

[wdmso]

Originally Posted by Jim in CT

Pete boned trump for every single death. And you never disagreed.

That’s what happened.

Nor did I agree but that’s not the point . is it ?

I blamed Trump for his lack of compassion and lies and magical cures I give him credit for funneling money to get the vaccine fast tracked No more no less . But Some lies led to some people’s deaths because they believed those lies .. and abandoned his vaccine .

not much different then the election he lied people believing him stormed the capital it’s an easy pattern to follow

[wdmso]

Greece says its entire electrical grid ran on 100% renewables for the first time

Seem it’s a real world example it can be done

[Pete F.]

Originally Posted by Jim in CT

Pete boned trump for every single death. And you never disagreed.

That’s what happened.

Feb. 7, 2020

“It’s also more deadly than even your strenuous flu... This is deadly stuff” [Trump in a private interview with Bob Woodward from The Washington Post made public on Sept. 9, 2020]

Feb. 10, 2020

“I think the virus is going to be—it’s going to be fine.”

Feb. 10, 2020

“Looks like by April, you know in theory when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away.”

Feb. 24, 2020

“The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA… the Stock Market starting to look very good to me!”

Feb. 25, 2020

“CDC and my Administration are doing a GREAT job of handling Coronavirus.”

Feb. 25, 2020

“I think that's a problem that’s going to go away… They have studied it. They know very much. In fact, we’re very close to a vaccine.”

Feb. 26, 2020

“The 15 (cases in the US) within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero.”

Yea, he’s responsible
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[scottw]

Originally Posted by wdmso

Greece says its entire electrical grid ran on 100% renewables for the first time

Seem it’s a real world example it can be done

did you read the article?

[wdmso]

Originally Posted by scottw

did you read the article?

I did. was I wrong? So Greece the size of Alabama ran on all renewables for 5hrs . Is a nothing burger. Funny coming from someone who claimed to embrace living off the Grid.. lol

Your funny conservatives have been cheering Trump for American being energy independent for about the same period

Ronna McDaniel
@GOPChairwoman
·
Follow
Under Trump, America was energy independent.

Biden’s strategy? Let’s hope Saudi Arabia and the UAE stop hanging up on us!
5:19 PM · Mar 11, 2022

It wasn’t all that long ago that America was energy independent, we can get there again.

Ohio should be a leader in restoring America to energy independence; we just need Washington DC to get out of the way.
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[Got Stripers]

Originally Posted by Pete F.

It's amazing how the U.S., and only the U.S., is dealing with inflation right now.

No other country. Just us. The rest of the world is not struggling with this same thing.
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But the U.S. is hardly the only place where people are experiencing inflationary whiplash. A Pew Research Center analysis of data from 44 advanced economies finds that, in nearly all of them, consumer prices have risen substantially since pre-pandemic times.

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by Got Stripers

But the U.S. is hardly the only place where people are experiencing inflationary whiplash. A Pew Research Center analysis of data from 44 advanced economies finds that, in nearly all of them, consumer prices have risen substantially since pre-pandemic times.

It's not only a US problem. Nobody is denying that.

However, the last 2 administrations pumped trillions and trillions of dollars into the economy. I don't know how much you know about the effects of supply and demand on the value of goods. But chapter 1 of every economics text ever published, says that if you drastically increase the supply of something, the value of that something is going to decrease.

Biden caused some of this with his spending. So did Trump, Obama, and Bush. But only 1 of them is the president now, and when Biden campaigned, he specifically promised not top blame others for his results, and Americans see he lied on that promise, because he's blaming everyone but himself.

Bush didn't cause the subprime mortgage crisis, but it happened on his watch, and the left gleefully pinned it on him for political benefit.

Now it's the democrats turn to catch heat for what happened on their watch.

[wdmso]

Biden caused some of this with his spending. Jim none of that money has even been spent . In the economy


U.S. President Joe Biden's infrastructure and social spending legislation will not add to inflationary pressures in the U.S. economy, economists and analysts in leading rating agencies told Reuters on Tuesday.

The impact of the spending packages on the fiscal deficit will be rather small because they will be spread over a relatively long time horizon

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/exc...ry-2021-11-17/




White House Philosophy Stoked Mortgage Bonfire





Jim their lying to you
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[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by wdmso

Biden caused some of this with his spending. Jim none of that money has even been spent . In the economy


U.S. President Joe Biden's infrastructure and social spending legislation will not add to inflationary pressures in the U.S. economy, economists and analysts in leading rating agencies told Reuters on Tuesday.

The impact of the spending packages on the fiscal deficit will be rather small because they will be spread over a relatively long time horizon

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/exc...ry-2021-11-17/




White House Philosophy Stoked Mortgage Bonfire





Jim their lying to you
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

"none of that money has even been spent "

Wrong. Covid relief checks went out, child tax advance payments went out. You're literally making stuff up out of thin air now. Obviously it hasn't all been spent, but where do you get off saying none of it has been spent?

"Jim their lying to you"

No, just you are lying.

Did you ever provide support for your claim that the cost of illegal immigrants is covered by the feds? You said the infastructure is already there. OK, where? Where are the schools, hospitals, houses, that you say were built for illegals?

[wdmso]

Originally Posted by Jim in CT

"none of that money has even been spent "

Wrong. Covid relief checks went out, child tax advance payments went out. You're literally making stuff up out of thin air now. Obviously it hasn't all been spent, but where do you get off saying none of it has been spent?

"Jim their lying to you"

No, just you are lying.

Did you ever provide support for your claim that the cost of illegal immigrants is covered by the feds? You said the infastructure is already there. OK, where? Where are the schools, hospitals, houses, that you say were built for illegals?

U.S. President Joe Biden's infrastructure and social spending legislation will not add to inflationary pressures in the U.S. economy, economists and analysts in leading rating agencies told Reuters on Tuesday.

Did you miss that?

Then change topics again

Did you ever provide support for your claim that the cost of illegal immigrants is covered by the feds? You said the infastructure is already there. OK, where?

What no internet


Bipartisan Border Solutions Act which he sponsored with the support of co-sponsor Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema. During this trip, leaders voiced the need for improvement to the city's border infrastructure.

KXAN-TV, the NBC affiliate in Austin, reported that local leaders told Cornyn that the lack of infrastructure renders the community unable to handle surges


But let’s send then to MV with no immigration infrastructure.

They make #^&#^&#^&#^& up when their moved off island

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by wdmso

U.S. President Joe Biden's infrastructure and social spending legislation will not add to inflationary pressures in the U.S. economy, economists and analysts in leading rating agencies told Reuters on Tuesday.

Did you miss that?

Then change topics again

Did you ever provide support for your claim that the cost of illegal immigrants is covered by the feds? You said the infastructure is already there. OK, where?

What no internet


Bipartisan Border Solutions Act which he sponsored with the support of co-sponsor Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema. During this trip, leaders voiced the need for improvement to the city's border infrastructure.

KXAN-TV, the NBC affiliate in Austin, reported that local leaders told Cornyn that the lack of infrastructure renders the community unable to handle surges


But let’s send then to MV with no immigration infrastructure.

They make #^&#^&#^&#^& up when their moved off island

i admitted that mit all of it had been spent. but some of it has. that’s contributing to inflation, and it doesn’t matter that you wish it weren’t so.