An interesting bed time read that explains a lot. Just keep in mind what nationality most of the 9/11 hi-jackers were!!!!
"It’s Story Time Dear Reader
By Max Whitmore
The story you are about to read is pure, unadulterated fiction. It is a collection of fictitious events that no one can prove ever happened. It is fantasy at its best. So, sit back, relax, and see what it is all about.
Our little story began in the deserts of the Middle East in late September of 1969. A powerful oil executive had just met with the king of the most powerful and largest of all the Middle Eastern kingdoms, and, returning to his office that day, told his colleagues that he “really had to put that guy in his place.” The executive went on to say that the king had asked to open negotiations that would give his country a larger percentage of the oil revenues. “Can you imagine the gall of that guy?” said the exec. “It will be a cold day in Hades before that ever happens,” he smirked.
When it was plain that the executive was not going to open talks, the king, having exhausted what he felt were reasonable requests, quietly called his ministers together and told them he was parting company with the high-minded westerners. He told his ministers to go to each of the other oil kingdoms and tell them to come to his capital city for a vitally important meeting.
From that fateful meeting early in 1970, a meeting lasting a full two weeks, came a group that was to eventually reshape the world’s financial landscape.
There was nothing said publicly by this Cartel then or for the next two years about that meeting. You see all the members had agreed to say nothing while they secretly put in place the plans made at their momentous meeting.
Then, in February of 1973 the king called a worldwide press conference. At the conference, he took the first step of the Cartel’s plan and announced that all the Middle East oil producers had agreed that they would take control of the oil fields in their respective countries. There would be some reimbursement paid to the western oil companies for their investments, of course, but from now on the oil fields were the property of the producers. And oh yes, the amount of oil to be produced the coming year would be restricted to 70 percent of the previous year, as they felt the price of oil had for too long been too low.
Well, you can imagine the turmoil that raised all over the world. The Americans were not able to understand what had happened. The situation in the developed western nations quickly turned chaotic, to put it mildly. Long lines for fuel formed, as oil supplies dwindled rapidly. And gasoline prices shot up to three times their old levels, to over $1.50 a gallon! It was highway robbery, said the public. But there was no going back, said the king. This was the future of the oil business — higher prices.
Well, over the next 20-25 years, the world seemed to get used to the king and his Cartel setting production levels to keep oil prices high. And it seemed the Middle East kingdoms were beginning to float in money. The king declared that everyone was eligible for a handout each year: no work, just a handout. And huge sums of money were being spent on public projects of all sorts. They built everything from skyscrapers, sprawling apartment complexes, incredible shopping malls, and even an indoor winter ski slope right in the middle of the desert! And it seemed that everyone who had an idea for a new business venture wanted to find some broker representative from the Middle Eastern powers to get a loan or better yet some investment capital for their great idea.
But, then, as with every great movement, eventually there was some inside squabbling. Some of the kingdoms felt that the king was being rather arbitrary in setting the amount that each kingdom would be allowed to produce of the total output the king declared for each year.
So, some of the Cartel members began to use the backdoor to make extra money. If the king wouldn’t let them sell it, they would black market it. They were entitled to sell as much as the market would bear, they justified to themselves. And as you might expect, it wasn’t too long before oil price levels the king wanted to hold in place started to fail, as he found himself unable to stop the backdoor selling.
The king watched dejectedly as oil prices fell from nearly $20 barrel to under $10 per barrel. It was about 2001 by now, and the situation was just getting worse and worse. Money was getting in short supply all throughout the kingdom. Unrest was building. But, it seemed no one was willing to follow the king’s dictates.
Then, one day the king had an idea. He called in his ministers and they talked it over at great length. The following week, the king invited all the other producers to a major Cartel meeting. And what he had to say astounded the listeners.
Basically he said, “Fellow Cartel members, we have proven that when we go off on our own track, all of us suffer. Our oil costs us $5 a barrel to produce and the best we can get for it is $9 a barrel. We were getting nearly $20 a barrel just a year ago. But, all of you wanted to sell as much as you could. Now, none of us make very much. However, I want to make a proposal to all of you. Hear me out. What I have to say will require four years of close cooperation, but I am of the belief that if we invest the time and really cooperate, we can sell our oil for $100 a barrel. But, again, only if all of you will promise to cooperate.
The members of the Cartel were dumbfounded. How in the world could they ever get $100 a barrel!! One hundred dollars a barrel? IMPOSSIBLE!
Then, the king quietly laid out his plan. Step one, he said, was to clearly act as one to cut oil production and get prices back up to the $20 a barrel mark, as quickly as possible. There were no objections, so far. They wanted to hear more. Then, said the king, I want each of you to put 25 percent of your oil revenues into a fund I will operate.
What? "Never," they all shouted, "Never!" Wait, said the king. You all will get your money back. You see, I will need a huge cash fund to carry out my plan. I plan to set up three huge oil futures investment funds. No one will know who owns the funds, as I have made arrangements with the Swiss to totally shield our identity. I will instruct the fund managers to buy oil futures at a rate I set from time to time. The idea will be to keep the buying pressure on the futures markets. Don’t you see? If we can control that market, the rest of the plan will automatically go into effect. As the price of the futures rise, we will just increase what we charge per barrel. We will claim our costs are going up, just like everyone’s. We will claim loudly that it is just beyond our control.
I am promising you $100 a barrel for your oil, and I firmly believe that within four years I can deliver just that. And there is no one who can stop us. The power for us is in the futures markets. As we make huge profits from the higher prices we will get for our oil, we will also reap gigantic profits from the futures markets investments. It is the perfect plan!
And if any one decides to cause us problems, we will just put on more buying pressure at the futures pits and buy, buy, buy until the markets capitulate. Don’t you see? We will be able to control the markets for years to come. And the huge amounts of money we gather will give us power to buy banks, factories, and retail businesses all over the world. They will come to us with their hats in their hands. I promise it! We will be the only source of big money in all the world.
The members of the Cartel sank back into their chairs stunned by the immensity of the plan. But, slowly it began to dawn on them that the king was serious and that this plan might just work. It took two weeks to work out all the details, but by the end of that meeting in November 2004, the plan was finished and all the members had signed.
From that day to this, no one leaked the plan. In fact, the plan worked even beyond the king’s wildest dreams. All the Cartel members could see now was that the huge caches of money they had acquired kept growing bigger and bigger! And they all saw that the king had been right. They would soon become the most powerful financial group in all walks of life all over the world. Buying banks, buying factories, buying other oil companies, buying, buying, buying, buying, buying. . .
OK folks, our little fantasy story is over. Wasn’t that fun! Why, I could almost hear the king speak as the story unfolded. By the way, before I leave you today, here are some real life facts that you ought to know, now that you have read my little fantasy story.
These numbers are real.
In 2000-2001, there was only $9 billion being invested in the oil futures of the world. The dollar was at its zenith. Since that time, the dollar price has dropped by about 30 percent.
But, listen to this number carefully. The price of a barrel of oil has increased by 500 percent. Plus, today it is reported that over $240 billion is being invested in the oil futures markets all over the world.
And oh yes, least I forget, several huge world banks, hat in hand, just sold part of their business to investors from the Middle East. These investors used their “sovereign funds” (what a quaint name), to invest over $50 billion in these banks, making them powers whom the banks must now reckon with every time an important bank decision must be made.
And here is the strangest twist of all. Again, these are real numbers: World demand for oil has declined in January and February of this year by 3-4 percent each month. World oil production, however, has risen in the first quarter of this year by 3.5 percent and is expected to continue at that pace for some time."
Couldn't quite get it all in on here.