A Slow News Day

Subject: A Slow News Day Mon Jun 16, 2008 3:18 pm

This seems to be a slow news day because some of the top stories from around the world are a bit on the bizarre side.
Take the Tory politician in Wales, for example. He was being interviewed on radio and the discussion turned to football, a sport called soccer in this country. I wish someone would do something to clarify these names because it always is necessary to point out that to an American, football has an entirely different meaning than it does to the rest of the universe. Then there is Australian Rules football, but that's a subject best left alone.
So a lady on the radio program said something about the team from Sweden being boring and then the talk turned to the team representing Italy. The politician, who flunked political correctness in school, called the Italian team "Greasy Wops."
This, in the circles where I have always moved, would result in a barroom brawl. For the Tory it meant banishment from the upcoming election, something tantamount to political exile. Should he decide to take a vacation now that he no longer needs to be out and about campaigning, it is unlikely he will travel to Rome, Naples or the Isle of Capri.
Our dear friends and allies in Saudi Arabia had nothing to say about Italians, at least not today, but they did arrest a woman for driving a car. She drove all of ten miles to pick up her husband, a newsman, after work. The ever-alert Saudi police swooped down and cast her in irons. As her guardian, the husband obtained her release by guaranteeing she would never commit such a dastardly deed again. It also gave him a leg up on the competition for the next day's edition.
However, the Saudis say they are going to increase the production of oil. This, of course, more than offsets any blatant violation of human rights the United States demands of countries it considers friends. When oil is involved, all bets are off.
By reading an Irish newspaper, not one of several I scanned in this country, I learned that John Edwards has changed his mind and will consider running for vice-president again if asked by Barack Obama. Look for $400 haircuts to stage a comeback in the campaign. I sometimes wonder, though, why the best source of news on the American political scene is newspapers in other lands.
One piece of news from the Publishers Weekly morning report was downright disturbing. George W. Bush is considering writing a book. God help us all.

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Subject: Re: A Slow News Day Mon Jun 16, 2008 4:54 pm

Good insights as always.

A book by George Bush? Certainly he will employ a "Ghost" of a writer. I'll bet he won't even get a rejection - even for grammatical errors. And a million dollar advance is most likely. That may even be figured as tax free. Ex Presidents have a whole bundle of fringe benefits that includes a lifetime security protection force. Something he most likely will need.
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Subject: Re: A Slow News Day Mon Jun 16, 2008 6:15 pm

How can the Arabs steal their own oil?
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Subject: Re: A Slow News Day Mon Jun 16, 2008 8:09 pm

Yah, how do you go about stealing something you already own? confused

Three Star Member Joined : 13 Jun 2008 Posts : 86

Subject: Re: A Slow News Day Mon Jun 16, 2008 11:34 pm

I suggest a study of the history of ARAMCO.
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Subject: Re: A Slow News Day Tue Jun 17, 2008 9:47 pm

Saudi Aramco's history dates back to May 29, 1933, when the Government of Saudi Arabia signed a concessionary agreement with Standard Oil of California (Socal) allowing them to explore Saudi Arabia for oil. Standard Oil of California passed this concession to a wholly-owned subsidiary called California-Arabian Standard Oil Co. (Casoc). In 1936 with the company having no success at locating oil, the Texas Oil Company purchased a 50% stake of the concession..

After a long search for oil that lasted around four years without success, the first success came with the seventh drill site in Dammam, an area located a few miles north of Dhahran in 1938, a well referred to as Dammam number 7. The discovery of this well, which immediately produced over 1,500 barrels per day (240 m³/d), gave the company the confidence to continue and flourish. The company name was changed in 1944 from California-Arabian Standard Oil Company to Arabian American Oil Company (or Aramco). In 1948 Standard Oil of California and the Texas Oil Company were joined as investors by Standard Oil of New Jersey who purchased 30% of the company, and Socony Vacuum who purchased 10% of the company, leaving Standard Oil of California and the Texas Oil Company with equal 30% shares.

In 1950, King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud threatened to nationalize his country's oil facilities for a fair share of profits, thus pressuring Aramco to agree to share its profits on oil sales 50/50. A similar process had taken place with American oil companies in Venezuela a few years earlier. The American government granted US Aramco member companies a tax break known as the Golden gimmick equivalent to the profits lost in sharing oil profits with Ibn Saud.

In 1973 the Saudi Arabian government acquired a 25% share of Aramco, increased this to 60% by 1974 and finally acquired full control of Aramco by 1980. In November 1988 the company changed its name from Arabian American Oil Company to Saudi Arabian Oil Company (or Saudi Aramco).

Personal Note: I have been to Aramco headquarters in Dammam. It is a beautiful complex similar to a US Military base, fully equipped with all the western conveniences including a cinema, gymnasium, clubs, etc. The housing area, with continuously watered green lawns, gives the appearance of a small town in the USA. The foreign workers get paid very well, and all of it is tax free.

It is their land and their oil. To think that we can simply take what we want is arrogance
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Admin Joined : 11 Jan 2008 Posts : 1784 Location : UK

Abe,

The links in the text are to wikipedia pages. Please could you add a link to the actual wikipedia article?
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Three Star Member Joined : 13 Jun 2008 Posts : 86

Subject: Re: A Slow News Day Tue Jun 17, 2008 11:57 pm

Yes, Shelagh:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/saudi_aramco
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