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December 7th 03, 05:00 PM

In article ,
(Steve Robeson, K4CAP) writes:

(Larry Roll K3LT) wrote in message
...

The problem with Russian vs. Arab oil is that the Arabian oil is a whole
lot easier to get at. You poke a hole in the sand, stick a pipe in it,
and out it comes. Moreover, the oil fields are located close to accessible
sea ports, meaning relatively short and inexpensive transport of the oil
to the ships that will carry it away to the customers. I'm not at all
certain, but I'm pretty sure you'd find that Russian oil is not only a
whole lot further away from sea ports, but also a lot harder to drill
for. A hot, arid climate, while not particularly comfortable, is still a
whole lot easier to deal with than a frigid one when it comes to
crude oil production. If Russia's oil were, in fact, economically feasible
to produce, I have no doubt that those resources would be being
exploited to the greatest extent possible.

All too true...but then too, the geography lends itself to long
pipelines, and once they were laid in, that existing infrastructure
alone would drop the price of oil.

Besides...Russians and Americans are closer in social and
geopolitical ideologies than Americans and those folks in the Middle
East and SW Asia...So let's spend our money where it's appreciated.

I don't look upon the country formerly known as the Soviet Union ("Russia"
is actually just a part of it) as being a place which is particularly stable,
from a political standpoint. They now claim to be our allies, but are they
really our friends? Keep in mind the civil strife which continues between
the Russians and the Chechnyans (sp?). How do we know that other
ethnic shredout groups wouldn't try to assert themselves, should they begin
to feel as though they're not getting a fair share of the hegemony?
Keep in mind that there is also a large Islamic population over there,
and that is always going to mean trouble, from a political standpoint.

Of course that would tick off the Germans who'd be selling a lot
fewer Mercedes and Audis, but they'd make up the slack on the back end
selling them in Moscow ! ! !

They'd be better off sending their oil to Japan, which would then oblige
by spewing out Toyotas, Honda's, and Nissans for the Russian market.

Just as long as Central Europe keeps it's Tribants!

That's Traubant, which means "grape." While stationed in Germany, I used
to see them occasionally. Traubant drivers were usually experts in the
navigation of the many back roads of Germany, since they dared not to
venture out on the Autobahns. Their wheezing little 2-cycle engine only
put out about 24 horsepower, the thing simply couldn't accelerate at all.
I've never driven a "Trubby," but I'm told it's a very lawnmower-like
experience.

73 de Larry, K3LT