Sacramento Diesel $6/Gallon - Why California's Gas Price Nightmare Could Last For Weeks.

Sacramento Diesel $6/Gallon - Why California's Gas Price Nightmare Could Last For Weeks.(BI).California drivers may have to wait until November to see any relief at the pump, analysts say.
The state's gas prices surged 17 cents last night and have spiked 36 cents in the past week.
A confluence of factors have caused Golden State gas prices to jump, including refinery outages and pipeline disruptions.
But the most persistent driver has been the government's mandate that summer blend gasoline be sold through Oct. 31, AAA analyst Avery Ash told us by phone.
Wholesalers have begun petitioning the EPA for waivers to switch to winter blends for some early relief, he said.
Without that relief, prices could top the state's 2008 record of $4.61 early next week.
GasBuddy.com's Gregg Laskoski told us prices could average between $4.70 and $4.85 per gallon.
California consumers will likely cut back on things like movies and dining out to make up the difference, he said.
Diesel prices have not been affected, he added.????????
Independently owned gas stations are going to be hit hardest, since many must buy unbranded gasoline on spot markets, he said. Wholesaler Valero has already stopped selling on spot markets, DowJones reported.
CostCo has already shuttered some of its stations.
"If I'm an independent station, am I going to purchase significantly higher wholesale costs and taking a loss on those sales, or sell at a price my consumers are not willing to pay? That's why some say 'we're not selling'."Read the full story here.More here.

Re Election worried by gas prices, Obama seeks new oil market crackdown

Re Election worried by gas prices, Obama seeks new oil market crackdown.(Yahoo).U.S. President Barack Obama, whose political fortunes are threatened by rising gasoline prices, proposed new measures on Tuesday to reduce oil market manipulation that are unlikely to get support from a divided Congress. Obama called on lawmakers to raise civil and criminal penalties on individuals and companies involved in manipulative practices. He also pressed for more money to fund the agency charged with policing the markets to hire "more cops" for oversight and upgrade old technology. Republicans, who blame Obama's energy policies for high gasoline prices, called the effort a political gimmick. "We can't afford a situation where speculators artificially manipulate markets by buying up oil, creating the perception of a shortage, and driving prices higher, only to flip the oil for a quick profit," Obama said in the White House Rose Garden. "We should strengthen protections for American consumers, not gut them," he said. Republicans said the new measures would not help Americans struggling with high gasoline prices. "It probably polls pretty well, but I guarantee it won't do a thing to lower prices at the pump," said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. "The president has all the tools available to him if he believes the oil market is being manipulated," said John Boehner, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives.
Gasoline prices have surged nearly 50 cents since late January, as tensions in the Middle East and supply disruptions bolstered oil costs. While prices at the pump have eased slightly in the past two weeks, gasoline remains around $3.92 a gallon nationwide. Obama has spent weeks trying to show he is on the case to bring down energy costs over the short- and long-term. Senior administration officials, speaking to reporters on a conference call, said increased volatility in oil markets justified the need for the crackdown. They could not point to specific increases in oil market speculation, however."Every time prices go up, there's some sort of ruckus," said Marc Spitzer, a former commissioner for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission who was appointed by President George W. Bush. Spitzer said the proposed measures may satisfy a populist urge to bash speculators, but if implemented they would likely cause a modest increase in volatility, instead of bringing down prices. Hmmmmm........"Republicans, who blame Obama's energy policies for high gasoline prices, called the effort a political gimmick."How many of you are aware Sunoco, Conoco Phillips and The HESS Corp are all closing US oil refineries? Not many, as the media refuses to give this HUGE story coverage. My guess is that if Americans understood the complete truth to how we are being sold out, and enslaved there just might be the much needed revolution to turn this country around. Last September, both Sunoco and Conoco Phillips announced plant closing, effecting thousands of workers. Sunoco announced they are completely getting out of the oil industry. Closing up shop. They are done with the US oil industry. Sunoco is closing it's 2 oil refineries in July 2012 in Philadelphia and Marcus Hook, Pa. Those 2 facilities alone process over 500,000 barrels a day. Also announced last year, ConocoPhillips announced 2 plant closing for sure in Trainer, PA and Bayway, NJ., the other 3 plants are undecided as of today.
Conoco also announced they were closing their Alaskan refining facility: Just a week ago, the US 3rd largest oil refinery owned and operated by The HESS Corp just announced it's permanent closure. Costing over 2,000 jobs, and effecting 950 contractors.
Refineries on the East Coast of the US supply 40% of the gasoline sales and 60% of the diesel and other fuel oils. Of that, HALF that comes from the Sunoco and Conoco Phillips plant closures. When Conoco Phillips announced that it was closing the Trainer refinery, Willie Chiang, then ConocoPhillips' Senior Vice President of Refining, Marketing, Transportation and Commercial, noted that their decision to sell, like Sunoco's, was based on unfavorable economics caused by a competitive and difficult market environment characterized by "...product imports, weakness in motor fuel demand, and costly regulatory requirements." They are ALL closing up shop due to government regulations, union demands and excessive operating costs brought on by the Government regulations. Then you have the unions, led by Barry's buddy Leo Gerard saying they will close ALL US oil refineries starting from the east coast to west coast today. Think gas and energy costs are high right now.......wait 6 months. You haven't seen anything yet. How can anyone expect any company to do business with an anti-American, hostile government out of control? You can't. That is why we are seeing a mass exodus, across the board in every industry in the US LEAVING.Hmmmm.......You will obey and buy electric cars.Read the full story here.

MFS - The Other News

                      Afternoon  Posting.

• Live broadcast info from Japan directly ! Here.

• Libya Live Blog - April 21. Here .(Al-Jazeera).

• Syria Live Blog - April 21. Here (Al-Jazeera).

• Updated !Earthquakes in the last 24 hours in the world low seismic activity in Japan  today between 4.5 and 4.7! More info here.

• Japan - Latest official Situation Update No. 93.Source : Here .

• Japan  : For the most accurate info on the nuclear disaster go to : Paul Langley's Nuclear History Blog

• LIVE STREAM - DR TERRY JONES IN COURT NOW! here .

• TRENDING: Trump says he'll reveal 'interesting things' on Obama.(CNN).Possibly-serious Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is giving few details about the investigation he claims to have launched in Hawaii to get to the bottom of where President Obama was born, but the business mogul told CNN Thursday Americans will be "very surprised" by what he has found."We're looking into it very, very strongly. At a certain point in time I'll be revealing some interesting things," Trump said on CNN's American Morning.Trump first claimed earlier this month he had sent investigators to Obama's home state in an effort to find out if the president was indeed born there, as he says he was and several media organization's independent investigations have confirmed. "I have people that have been studying it and they cannot believe what they're finding," Trump told NBC then.During the interview with CNN, Trump also maintained he is worth considerably more than the $2.7 billion Forbes Magazine has estimated, and says he will reveal the real number if he decides to run for president. I can tell you that's a very low number," Trump said of the Forbes estimate. "It's much more than that. And if I decide to run, which I very well may surprise people, but if I decide to run, I will give a net worth statement essentially. As you know, we have to fill out very detailed forms for the federal government. And I think people will be extremely impressed."Hmmmm......Who would have thought Donald Trump the saviour of the America as we know it ?Read the full story here.

• In Shot Heard Around Business World, Obama’s Labor Board Issues Complaint Against Boeing.(BigGovernment)On Wednesday, President Obama’s union-controlled National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint against the Boeing Company that, if ruled in the union and NLRB’s favor, may prove to have far-reaching consequences across the American business landscape. Ultimately, the outcome to this case will state whether or not America has, in fact, become entirely hostile to business (and the jobs they provide). The complaint was issued by the NLRB’s Acting General Counsel (the same one who threatened to sue South Carolina and three other states over the states’ secret-ballot initiatives) and is set to go to hearing on June 14th before an administrative law judge in Seattle.At issue, according to the NLRB, is whether Boeing violated federal labor law by deciding to transfer a second airplane production line from a union facility in the state of Washington to a non-union facility in South Carolina for “discriminatory reasons.”Despite the fact that Boeing now employs around 1,000 employees in South Carolina and has spent millions to build a facility, the NLRB’s Acting General Counsel is seeking an order for Boeing to maintain production of the second production line in Washington.Despite the possibility of political retaliation on the part of the Obama NLRB, as well as the possible job losses in South Carolina an eventual NLRB decision may cause, the core principle at stake is whether or not an employer has the right to move business away from a unionized location that has repeatedly been the victim of extortive strikes, causing the employer hundreds of days of lost production, customer delays and billions in revenue.Senator Jim Demint [R-SC] also issued a similar statement with respect to the politics of pull likely at play:

“This is nothing more than a political favor for the unions who are supporting President Obama’s re-election campaign. Unfortunately, it comes at the expense of hundreds of jobs in South Carolina and thousands of jobs nationwide. There is no doubt that if the National Labor Relations Board’s claim against Boeing moves forward, it will have a chilling effect on job growth in my state and in right-to-work states across the country. Using the federal government as political weapon to protect union bosses at the expense of American jobs cannot be tolerated. I intend to use every tool at my disposal as a United States Senator to stop the President from carrying out this malicious act.”“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776.Read the full story here.

• Turkey encouraging US officials to act 'fairly' ahead of April 24.(Hurriyetdaily).Turkey expects the U.S. administration to act in a fair and impartial manner in the run-up to April 24, on which Armenians around the world commemorate the “Armenian genocide,” a Turkish Foreign Ministry official has said.“We are telling the U.S. authorities that it would be problematic to deliver a decision on a controversial international conflict covering a period in history [that has been the center of much debate],” Selçuk Ünal, ministry spokesperson told reporters Thursday.U.S. President Barack Obama, who as a candidate vowed to use the term genocide to describe the Ottoman mass slaughter of Armenians nearly a century ago, declined to do so in 2010 as he marked the anniversary of the start of the killings.Meanwhile, the ministry contacted Switzerland following the Alpine country’s decision to erect an “Armenian genocide monument” in Geneva’s city center, Ünal said. Ankara launched similar diplomatic initiative following an “Armenian genocide” movie in Iran.“Armin Wegner, the Armenian Genocide Photographer” documentary by Armenian film director Tigran Khzmalyan will be screened in Tehran on April 24. Iranian deputies are expected to attend the film exhibition together with representatives of the Armenian community.Turkey has contacted the Iranian administration over the movie screening, Ünal said. “We will monitor this issue,” he added.Hmmmm......You can't hide the truth forever from everyone!"Erdogan "Muslims don't commit genocide".Read the full story here, more on the Armeniam genocide here.

• Related :From UnitedHumanrights :

Referring to the Armenian Genocide, the young German politician Adolf Hitler duly noted the half-hearted reaction of the world’s great powers to the plight of the Armenians. After achieving total power in Germany, Hitler decided to conquer Poland in 1939 and told his generals: ‘Thus for the time being I have sent to the East only my ‘Death’s Head Units’ with the orders to kill without pity or mercy all men, women, and children of Polish race or language. Only in such a way will we win the vital space that we need. Who still talks nowadays about the Armenians?’Source .

• Family of 12 Ethiopian asylum seekers who have just landed in Britain get £1,460-a-week ($2.390)for vast London home.(DailyMail).An Ethiopian family of 12 are being put up in a vast house costing the taxpayer almost £1,500-a-week just two months after arriving in Britain.The couple and their 10 children are receiving a staggering £1,460-a-week housing benefit from the cash-strapped Tower Hamlets council in London - Britain's poorest borough.The jobless family - who will also be receiving other handouts such as unemployment and child benefits - only arrived in London from Africa in the past few weeks. It is yet another example of taxpayers having to pick up the bill for families to stay in vast houses in the capital.And it comes as it emerged benefits payouts in Tower Hamlets have cost the taxpayer a mammoth £223million in just one year. The Ethiopians, who are believed to be asylum-seekers, will cost taxpayers £76,000 if they are allowed to stay in the property for 12 months. They received a weekly sum of £1,462,90 on March 4, according to the council's housing benefits claims department.Another nine families in the borough received between £590 and £613 in the same week and the last annual figures show 10 families getting between £20,600 and £38,300 for 2008-09.Tower Hamlets Opposition leader Peter Golds said: 'Paying a yearly rate of £76,000 for one family shows the ludicrous public money being paid to put people into expensive housing.'It is utterly, utterly ridiculous what sort of properties the council must be housing these families in.'Read the full story here.

• Ahmadinejad Takes Over Iran’s Intelligence Ministry.(BigGovernment).An informed source in the Iranian government said that President Ahmadinejad has announced the removal of Heydar Moslehi from his duties as the minister of intelligence.It was reported on April 18th in the Iranian media that President Ahmadinejad had fired Moslehi because the he had dismissed several seasoned intelligence officers from the Ministry, but hours later the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei then reinstated the minister.The informed source further elaborated that President Ahmadinejad appeared personally before the supreme leader to explain the situation and consequently, Ayatollah Khamenei agreed with Ahmadinejad to release the minister from his duties. President Ahmadinejad is now in command of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security of the Islamic Republic.Other reports indicate that the collaboration between Heydar Moslehi and Hossein Taeb (the former commander of the Basij who was involved in the bloody suppression of the Iranians demonstrating for freedom, and who now is the head of the Revolutionary Guards’ intelligence unit), to take over control of the said Ministry was the cause for the firing of the minister by Ahmadinejad. Taeb’s intrusion, with the help of Moslehi, meant the Guard’s intelligence unit would take hold of the Intelligence Ministry since Taeb as head of that unit is in opposition to Ahmadinejad.It seems that divisions within the Iranian establishment have now extended to the intelligence arms of the Guards and Ahmadinejad’s office. This is while the Revolutionary Guards’ newspaper, Javan, warned about the spread of Ahmadinejad’s influence in the Ministry of Intelligence and how his team wants to use the Ministry to further their goals!Hmmm.....2011 - Rise of the dictators?Read the full story here.

• Missouri House votes to ban Sharia law.(Stltoday).JEFFERSON CITY • A bill prohibiting state courts from using or recognizing Sharia law passed the Missouri House Wednesday on a 102-51 vote. The legislation, which was sponsored by state Rep. Paul Curtman, R-Pacific, bans Missouri courts from utilizing foreign law or legal code in any ruling. Although it never specifically mentions the words “Sharia” or “Islam," Wednesday’s debate focused almost exclusively on Sharia law, which is the religious law of Islam. “This bill is not all about Sharia Law,” Curtman said. "It’s Sharia Law, French law, Dutch law or anything else.”Since the beginning of 2009, numerous states have considered proposals to ban Sharia. During last year's elections, Oklahoma voters passed a referendum banning state courts from considering international or Islamic law. However, it was later blocked by a federal judge who said that the law was unconstitutional.Legislation similar to Curtman’s was introduced in the Missouri Senate by Republican Brian Nieves but has yet to gain traction. The House bill picked up momentum earlier this session when House Speaker Steve Tilley threw his support behind it, saying “the laws of this country should trump any other laws regarding the citizens of our country within our borders."Speaking in opposition to the measure, State Rep. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, said she’d like to help educate Curtman on Sharia law. “I truly believe you think you’re doing the right thing,” she said while talking to Curtman on the House floor, later adding: “I don’t think that you have ill intentions, so I would encourage you to become familiar with Sharia Law. I’d really like to sit down with you and we can study together and come to a better understanding of what Sharia Law is, how it works and what it does.”Last week, the inaugural Muslim Lobby Day was held at the Capitol, in part due to the anti-Sharia legislation introduced this year. Despite the criticism from Democrats, Curtman remained resolute that his legislation was needed. “This bill is about one thing and one thing only, and that is to protect the fundamental rights that are guaranteed to our citizens under our founding documents, in the federal constitution and in our state constitution,” he said.Read the full story here.

• Chilling effect of Euro judges: Public safety being put at risk by human rights court, warns top Lib Dem lawyer.(DailyMail).Rulings by unelected judges in Strasbourg are having a ‘chilling effect’ on public safety in Britain, a senior government adviser warns today.Lord Carlile, a Liberal Democrat peer, said the European Court of Human Rights had placed itself on a ‘collision course’ with the UK Parliament.In particular, he attacked the way the European Convention on Human Rights was blocking the removal of foreign criminals and terror suspects.Lord Carlile, a Home Office adviser on terrorism, said: ‘A narrow interpretation of the convention has had a chilling effect on deportation, and thereby on public safety.’The fact that such scathing comments are being made by a Lib Dem grandee will reopen the controversy over human rights law.Prime Minister David Cameron promised to reform the law in opposition, but he has since been frustrated by his Lib Dem coalition partners.The peer made his remarks in the foreword to a new report by Tory MP Dominic Raab, an expert in international law who led the backbench revolt against prisoner voting.The pamphlet, for the Civitas think-tank, calls for urgent reform of human rights legislation to keep European judges from deciding British law.Mr Raab says: ‘The massive expansion of human rights law threatens to frustrate Britain’s ability to deport convicted criminals and terrorist suspects. The goal-posts keep shifting, because of unaccountable judicial legislation – especially the expansion of claims around the right to family life. ‘Britain has lost a degree of control over its borders, which inevitably means we are importing more risk. This has contributed to the growing terrorist threat.’Mr Raab calls for the law to be changed so the right to a family life is no longer a bar to deportation. Read the full story here.

• $6 a gallon for gas? The 'perfect storm' that will send prices soaring could hit this summer, says economist.(DailyMail).Gasoline prices could hit as high as $6 a gallon this summer if the weak dollar continues to fall against foreign currencies, according to one economist.Securities strategist Richard Hastings believes a 'perfect storm' could see record prices at the pumps.This would be a combination of a crumbling dollar combined with hurricanes disrupting supplies and a heavy demand this summer by drivers.Commodity prices for energy and metals are expected to rise because of the pressure the dollar is under.It has dropped 6 per cent this year, while regular unleaded gasoline is up about 28 per cent. Commodities are priced in dollars and thus come at a discount on foreign markets.One result already has been a surge in gasoline prices to nearly $4 a gallon and in some states nearly $5 - and this before the summer driving season even starts.Hastings, of North Carolina's Global Hunter Securities in Charlotte, told CNBC.com: 'All we have to have is a couple badly placed hurricanes which could constrain some of the refinery output capacity in some key locations.He sees gasoline having 'no problem' getting to $6.50 a gallon over the summer after increased demand and storm disruptions come into play.Some experts believe policies by the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates down have been enough to boost energy by themselves.Meanwhile, American drivers are changing their driving habits because of the rising cost of gasoline according to a new poll.More than six in 10 earning less than $50,000 a year said they would be driving less.Thirty-six per cent of motorists blamed the Middle East for the price rises and 33 per cent pointed at oil companies. Only 11 per cent thought Obama and Democrats were responsible, while six per cent blame congressional Republicans.Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, which conducted the nationwide poll, said: 'Americans have certainly noticed the gas prices, and most drivers are saying they're changing their driving habits. 'This is an issue that strikes close to home.'Hmmmm....Only 11% of Thinking Americans left?While 6 % braindead Americans?Read the full story here.