Gas Prices

Lionheart 705 said:

Hi Peter

I think I've learned from this that we are all being screwed
wherever we live! All governments seem to view the car as a cash
cow on the one hand, while telling us not to use them on
"environmental" grounds on the other.

A bit like tobacco & drink really - don't smoke or drink on health
grounds - please smoke 'cos we need your taxes.............

Sad fact is that for someone like me and many others in rural areas
there is just no viable alternative to the car. We have one bus a
week to the nearest city (10 miles away) and I use my car
extensively for business because there is no other way to do it.
Whatever the tax I've just got to pay it and try and recoup it from
their grasping little paws some other way.........

Click to expand...

I can't agree with you more. There's really not much we can do but wait for a reasonable alternative to oil, and I don't quite see that coming anytime soon.

The fact of the matter is that there are some valid point in all these positions. However the human animal is selfish. Humans will never do what is right. It does not matter if you are talking Communism or Democracy.

Strip away the politcal and supposed civility and you are still left with a Species that is incapable of selflessness.That is why we have governments in the first place because we cannot be trusted as individuals, but neither can they.

Greed and money rule the species, anybody who thinks differently is fooling themselves.

The greatest cause of suffering of any kind is human indifference. Yours, mine, we are all guilty.

When I was younger and Naive I used to wish for peace on earth but then I quit that because it was obvious the human species would have to be gone.

Cell Phones, Gas prices , behavior in New Orleans are all a result of the nature of man. They could have spent more money on the barrier.

People did not have to shoot and ****. They all had the choice on what to do and they chose to be true humans and abandoned each other.

We are selfish and don't care about each other. It all starts here.

As is evident by all the people on this forum who are not driving to New Orleans to assist.

Andrew

Andrew Philip said:

The fact of the matter is that there are some valid point in all
these positions. However the human animal is selfish. Humans will
never do what is right. It does not matter if you are talking
Communism or Democracy.

Strip away the politcal and supposed civility and you are still
left with a Species that is incapable of selflessness.That is why
we have governments in the first place because we cannot be trusted
as individuals, but neither can they.

Greed and money rule the species, anybody who thinks differently is
fooling themselves.

The greatest cause of suffering of any kind is human indifference.
Yours, mine, we are all guilty.

When I was younger and Naive I used to wish for peace on earth but
then I quit that because it was obvious the human species would
have to be gone.

Cell Phones, Gas prices , behavior in New Orleans are all a result
of the nature of man. They could have spent more money on the
barrier.

People did not have to shoot and ****. They all had the choice on
what to do and they chose to be true humans and abandoned each
other.

We are selfish and don't care about each other. It all starts here.
As is evident by all the people on this forum who are not driving
to New Orleans to assist.

Andrew

Click to expand...

Bottom line? You're right.

Andrew Philip said:

People did not have to shoot and ****. They all had the choice on
what to do and they chose to be true humans and abandoned each
other.

Click to expand...

Honestly, your post sure looks at humans in a very bleak light. I surely hope we aren't THAT selfish every moment.

But you DO make some valid points. The looters & thugs in New Orleans didn't have to behave that way. OK, I know, they were hungry & famished, and humans are bound to act irrational when they're hungry & hot and sweaty et al. But **** & shoot each other? That's just ridiculous.

I think we as humans are capable of being less selfish than the way you were talking. But I do observe some of what you're saying, and concur. For instance--last week, my car's battery was dead. I live in a small apartment complex where everyone knows everyone. Do you know that one of the residents pulled up in his car to come home, and wouldn't give me so much as a jump start when I asked?

I had the cables, he had a car (obviously), and the condition of my car was as such that all that was needed was to hook the cables up & jump-start; leaving the "good" car idling for 5 minutes wasn't even necessary. I told him as much, and it wasn't like I was going to bum this off of him day after day; I was headed to Autozone to get a battery and did just that.

But--a simple jump start is too much to ask? Good grief.

Look, we have had some very passionate and even mean-spirited discussions here about this cell phone issue, but I bet that any of us would come to each other's aid in a situation like that; you'd put aside such differences and help out your neighbor. I mean, after all, it's just a 60-second jump start, and you're at home not going anywhere anyway.

But this is definitely an example of it. But then--who am I to talk? I recall past times going to work seeing a guy with his vehicle stuck in an intersection, I had 10 minutes or so to spare--and I just passed him by. There you go again.

---



LRH
http://www.pbase.com/larrytucaz

larrytusaz said:

Honestly, your post sure looks at humans in a very bleak light. I
surely hope we aren't THAT selfish every moment.

But you DO make some valid points. The looters & thugs in New
Orleans didn't have to behave that way. OK, I know, they were
hungry & famished, and humans are bound to act irrational when
they're hungry & hot and sweaty et al. But **** & shoot each other?
That's just ridiculous.

I think we as humans are capable of being less selfish than the way
you were talking. But I do observe some of what you're saying, and
concur. For instance--last week, my car's battery was dead. I live
in a small apartment complex where everyone knows everyone. Do you
know that one of the residents pulled up in his car to come home,
and wouldn't give me so much as a jump start when I asked?

I had the cables, he had a car (obviously), and the condition of my
car was as such that all that was needed was to hook the cables up
& jump-start; leaving the "good" car idling for 5 minutes wasn't
even necessary. I told him as much, and it wasn't like I was going
to bum this off of him day after day; I was headed to Autozone to
get a battery and did just that.

But--a simple jump start is too much to ask? Good grief.

Look, we have had some very passionate and even mean-spirited
discussions here about this cell phone issue, but I bet that any of
us would come to each other's aid in a situation like that; you'd
put aside such differences and help out your neighbor. I mean,
after all, it's just a 60-second jump start, and you're at home not
going anywhere anyway.

But this is definitely an example of it. But then--who am I to
talk? I recall past times going to work seeing a guy with his
vehicle stuck in an intersection, I had 10 minutes or so to
spare--and I just passed him by. There you go again.

Click to expand...

You know, Larry, after all our battles in this thread, I must admit, I actually agree with you. Even I'm shocked.

Human behaviour can be strange, and entirely unpredictable.

Would I have helped you with your car problem? Probably! However, it all depends on the circumstances at that particular moment. If my day had been bad, perhaps not. We may never truly know.

With the intolerance you have projected in this thread, its not that hard for me to believe your neighbor would not help you. You have gone on and on about people getting in YOUR way, SLOWING you down, BUTTING into your business, are you surprised by the fact that your neighbor didnt want to be bothered. Kharma's a cold ***** aint it

I know for a fact any of my neighbors would have given me a jump in a similar situation, I have shown a willingness to help them whenever I can, and that comes back in spades when I need help myself. My car broke down on a snowy night, I was 10 miles from home, it was 1AM, snowing, many roads were closed and a complete stranger who lived in the area my car was stranded in, drove me home, he had to drive 20 miles an hour or less due to conditions so it took maybe 45 minutes each way. I have always looked at that situation as kharma paying me back.

I could be wrong about you, but you honestly have come off here as a bigoted, intransigent, contumacious person and its entirely possible you give off that same vibe to your neighbors.

You may have heard of Occams razor, well, there is a corolary to it, it goes something like this:
"If everyone is telling you you are wrong, you quite possibly are"

You obviously have enough intelligence to see the arguments, at this point it seems you are continuing your obstinance out of spite. I was dumbfounded by your pro-wife beater stance last night, but was hoping the thread would just die. And don't try and temper your point, I got it, its just silly.

Take care, I'm sure your not as bad as I imagine, in fact you might be a decent guy in real life, text based communication sometimes makes ogres out of those who would speak much more carefully face to face, hopefully as you get a little older you might soften your stance.
Take care, Ted

matter his arguments makes no sense. Let it die.

Don't forget that all major oil companies have increased their profits by roughly 30 (!!!!) percent compared to last year!

THAT is the real impertinence!! And even know, nobody seems to consider this fact.

Although we have high taxes on gas here in Germany, the raising of the gas price - from 1.10 Euro in January to 1.50 Euro end of August - goes completely on account of the big oil companies. Only one word can describe such an behaviour: GREED

Additionally, analysts are saying that about 13 dollars of the oil prize is pure specultation. There's something wrong here too! What do they take us for??

On the other side it seems that the gaz price isn't high enough. People are still driving those idiotic SUVs and cars with 150 hps and more....

Doh!! Don't take a way my SUV...

How else can I transport all my Camera Equipment when I finally get my dream list...
--
John (Messenger ID is TartarFan)
Equipment in Profile (By Request)



http://www.TARTARFOOTBALL.COM

TartarFan said:

Doh!! Don't take a way my SUV...

How else can I transport all my Camera Equipment when I finally get
my dream list...
--
John (Messenger ID is TartarFan)
Equipment in Profile (By Request)



http://www.TARTARFOOTBALL.COM

Click to expand...

.........you naughty boy!

Lionheart

Dragons slain, trolls hung, drawn & quartered, (this is a completely free public service), witches burnt at the stake, serfs freed, maidens rescued, crusades fought, moats dug, sieges mounted, armour de-rusted, swords sharpened, boils lanced, teeth pulled, night soil collected, scolds bridled, outlaws hunted, virgins deflowered - call for free estimate

It STILL isn't any

larrytusaz said:

of your business, even if it does affect your safety

Click to expand...

You should have told that to Bush before he went to Iraq...

Thanks to the USA for increasing the oil prices. They murdered thousands to obtain the oil fields and i guess it back fired.

So you decided to get an account on dpreview so that you can start political threads about how USA is bad?

I am not an American, but I do live here. Apart from my personal reasons for living here, I know from experience that this country does pull together when a crisis hits. The experience during the 9/11 attack was so impressive that I was proud to just be in the country and see how everyone came together. I expect nothing less this time. Sure there will be some political fights now as there is no external enemy, but this country will make sure that those in need will be taken care of. Give it a bit more than a week and you will see how all support, government and volunteer, gets organaized and the help provided will be impressive.

Consider that the number of displaced individuals probahbly rivals the population of New Zealand.

If you came here to talk photography, try to post at least one post about that for every political post you feel the urge to post.

you call a situation where a hospital is under seige from snipers and gun shots at helicopters trying to rescue civilians something to be proud of ? i dont call that "coming together", maybe you do.

http://toccionline.kizash.com/films/1001/178/index.php

flash - dialup users be patient, it's worth it.

WARNING - Adult themes

--
Ian

Hoogienz said:

Thanks to the USA for increasing the oil prices. They murdered
thousands to obtain the oil fields and i guess it back fired.

Click to expand...

...........like it or not, the world is now and for the forseeable future dependent on oil. Unless you have a better suggestion the fact is that every country in the world now depends on it for their basic infrastructure.

Switch off the oil and this is what happens.................industrial meltdown, massive power outages, mass unemployment, food riots, democratic governments worldwide overthrown, complete breakdown of basic services, hospitals etc., government by the sort of people you would not want to govern you.

How would YOU suggest we deal with that or replace oil in the short term? Windmills and other half-baked "environmental" alternatives just won't do it, nuclear being the ONLY viable alternative. Politically that is not an option in my country, sadly.

Even if the US DID invade Iraq to protect the west's oil supplies (and they almost certainly did) in my view that was fully justified, given the results if the taps turned off. My only complaint is that we were not told the true reason - if we were I'm sure any sensible person would have supported it. How else would we gurantee oil supplies given that all the other major producers were already in the hands of nutters, religeous maniacs and similar totally unreliable sellers. Oil is THE interest for the west - like it or not, that's a fact. If you disagree tell us how YOU would change things.

The fact is that we all have a lot to thank America for in the last 100 years - yes, they infuriate the rest of us from time to time (as Great Britain did during the time of our empire) but we would be up S* t Creek without them. Think about it

Lionheart

Dragons slain, trolls hung, drawn & quartered, (this is a completely free public service), witches burnt at the stake, serfs freed, maidens rescued, crusades fought, moats dug, sieges mounted, armour de-rusted, swords sharpened, boils lanced, teeth pulled, night soil collected, scolds bridled, outlaws hunted, virgins deflowered - call for free estimate

perplex said:

you call a situation where a hospital is under seige from snipers
and gun shots at helicopters trying to rescue civilians something
to be proud of ? i dont call that "coming together", maybe you do.

Click to expand...

What are you talking about? There were no snipers involved in the 9/11 attack. You don't think the rescue operation to get people out of tower I & II was impressive and showed the resolve of the American people?

peterbeyer58 said:

I can't agree with you more. There's really not much we can do but
wait for a reasonable alternative to oil, and I don't quite see
that coming anytime soon.

Click to expand...

How about E85? It's 85% made from crops. There are several multifuel vehicles available already that can run it. Of course, they're taking advantage of the high gas prices and E85 seems to be following the price of regular fuel.

That has to be one of the dumbest things I've ever read. Everyone who read your comments are now less smart. How cell phones and race have anything to do with each other is beyond me. The fact that you have a sticker on your car telling everyone how much you love your cell phone is disturbing to say the least. What was your "addiction" before there were cell phones? Oh, you're so important, and everything you have to say is sooo important and that's why you "running over that kid on a bike because of your important phone call" is none of my business. I'll let you get back to your important phone calls.....sweet jezzzus.

There is no shortage of gasoline, reserves are plentiful. I would not be suprised if this disaster (New Orleans) and the current price of oil are being used by Oil companies to bring North American gas prices in line with the rest of the world (at minimal increased cost). This will mean huge profits for Oil Companies. Unfortuneatly the root cause is still personal greed, nothing more... Really, that is all it is. There is no complicated economic reason, you could use one to try to explain it but the Root Cause is greed, Mine, Yours, Everyones.

People invest their money expecting high return, Banks lend money to make a profit not to help humanity or small buisness. Every Company, including Oil companies, has debt and that debt is owned by the bank and the shareholders. All want high returns. We are being gouged for profit, nothing more.

If you care to test this theory, go into a bank and tell them that
you want $5000 to save a life. After the Bank Manager (as an Individual)
stops laughing you can leave.

This is not some complicated thing going on here, It is very simple, honestly.

Andrew