Originally Posted by The Duke

The U.S. government would not be pushing for the Saudis to pump more oil and for additional drilling of the OCS if speculation were the problem. In this debate, actions certainly speak more loudly than words, so far the central theme seems to be supply.

It's the Saudis who blame price on speculation...I don't trust the Saudis, I'm sorry. I feel that I have good reason not to trust their government and ther state oil company, ARAMCO.

I'd like to believe that speculation is the problem, but it clearly is not, at least based on the actions that we've seen so far.

The airlines have peaked in terms of size because of cheap oil...the pendulum is now swinging in the other direction, energy costs will stay expensive, it is now time for the airlines to downsize drastically by means of charging an equitable fare for their tickets. It's a tough pill to swallow, but this what we're going to see. Heck, we're seeing it already, why deny reality.