Free Republic

Remember how China drew praise for extending all that influence throughout Africa, and not just Africa, but in Latin America and Asia, too?  Investing in development where wicked private investors just wouldn't?  Telling everyone that its gentle message worldwide was "Let's get rich together"?  Showing America how it's done? This propaganda has been in the news pipeline for years and drawn a lot of praise, or at least subtle accolades, from the pundits.  But now it turns out that that aid and those "investments" weren't quite as free and altruistic as promoted. China is now putting the squeeze on the countries it made its "investments" in.  Not...

President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he has not implemented policies to halt domestic oil production; however, the Biden administration has enacted policies that are hampering the nation’s energy output. “Biden’s green policies have created a hostile environment for investment in oil and gas, which has hurt production,” Phil Flynn, an energy market analyst with the PRICE Futures Group, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “If the president wants to debunk some myths, let’s start with the fact that he’s leased fewer acres of federal and offshore land than any other president since the end of WWII,” Republican Rep. Bruce...

Democrats’ electoral fortunes have improved significantly in recent months. And while it appears the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is the biggest reason, the coinciding drop in gas prices surely didn’t hurt. But just as the party appeared primed to take advantage of that in the midterm elections, which are just a month away, the problem rears its ugly head again. And Democrats are clearly quite concerned. Just how concerned should they be? Gas prices had already been rising for the past two weeks, after 98 days of consecutive declines over the summer, to a national average...

John Catsimatidis argued that crude oil prices would drop by half if Biden turned to North American oil vs Saudi Arabia... New York City billionaire and oil refiner John Catsimatidis said President Biden should "open up the spigots" as Americans feel the wrath of soaring costs at the pump and in the food store. Reacting to the national average price of a gallon of gas reaching a new all-time high of $4.86, Catsimatidis told FOX Business' Dagen McDowell that "it will get worse" and lamented that neither the exacerbation nor an economic recession has to happen, but leaders refuse to...

White House praises King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for their roles in the ceasefire extension in Yemen's war, ahead of Joe Biden's expected visit to Riyadh The White House has taken a rare step of recognizing the role played by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in extending a ceasefire in Yemen ahead of what is expected to be a trip to Riyadh by President Joe Biden. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Thursday that bin Salman and Saudi King Salman deserved credit for their roles in the truce extension in Yemen's war...

herapists advise against making major decisions when you’re highly emotional. Democrats should heed that advice and stop proposing rash ways to lower gasoline prices. With pump prices now averaging $4.33 per gallon, President Biden and his fellow Democrats in Congress clearly worry that motorist pain could doom them in the November midterm elections. Biden’s Energy Secretary, Jennifer Granholm, practically begged U.S. energy firms to produce more oil at an industry conference on March 9. Biden officials are pleading with Middle East drillers and even pariah nation Venezuela to boost supply. Some Democrats in Congress want to impose a new “windfall...

“It’s simply not true that my administration or policies are holding back domestic energy production. That’s simply not true.” — President Biden, remarks while announcing a ban on Russian oil and gas exports, March 8 “Democrats want to blame surging prices on Russia. But the truth is, their out-of-touch policies are why we are here in the first place.” In a moment of national unity against Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Democrats and Republicans are fighting passionately over the steep increase in the cost of gasoline. Prices have already risen sharply since Biden became president — and he acknowledged that his...

The highest oil prices since the 2008 financial crisis are dealing a heavy blow to the global economy, slowing Europe’s pandemic recovery to a near stall and complicating the fight against inflation in the United States. China, the world’s largest oil importer, will probably strain to reach this year’s economic growth target, while developing countries in North Africa and the Middle East confront the danger of social unrest over rising energy and food costs, economists said. The interruption of Russian oil shipments, including the U.S. import ban that President Biden announced Tuesday, represents one of the largest supply disruptions since...

President Biden and congressional Democrats united Tuesday behind a ban on Russian oil and natural gas imports, embracing a politically risky strategy that is expected to drive up already-rising fuel prices while seeking to pin the blame for Americans’ pain at the pump on Vladimir Putin. In a speech announcing the ban, Biden acknowledged it would probably result in more expensive gas for consumers in the United States, a potentially perilous admission for a president who has been scrambling to head off Republican attacks over the rising cost of groceries, rent and other items. Biden frequently named the Russian president...

CNN went all out to hype a small decrease in gas prices in December as a sign of better days. Now that gas prices have skyrocketed, the network’s twisted coverage on the issue deserves revisiting. The national average for gas prices surged to top $4 per gallon for the first time since 2008 yesterday, and U.S. crude oil briefly topped a whopping $130 a barrel. The news follows months of CNN trying to twist its coverage of the energy crisis to somehow benefit President Joe Biden’s image on energy. But the disturbing news on energy prices skyrocketing makes CNN’s pro-Biden...

Oil's recent bull move has some predicting further pain at the gas pump in 2022. Gas price tracking outfit GasBuddy predicted in a new report on Tuesday — which it shared exclusively with CNN —that the national average price for gas will reach $3.41 a gallon in 2022 compared to $3.02 this year. GasBuddy didn't rule out gas prices hitting $4 a gallon by the Memorial Day holiday. "No question about it," said Streible, on whether gas prices will march higher in 2022. Streible thinks oil prices are at risk of hitting $60 in the near-term due to an Omicron-related...

With winter ahead and a gas crunch in Europe, the demand picture appears promising. But demand destruction could be imminent as prices climb higher, some experts are warning. Higher energy prices will also fuel even higher inflation, which poses a significant threat to demand. The current energy market picture is looking good for oil bulls. International benchmark Brent crude passed the long-anticipated threshold of $80 per barrel on Tuesday, though it’s since slipped back down to trade at $78.47 as of Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. in London. West Texas Intermediate was trading at $74.73 per barrel around the same time....

BREAKING: Massive explosion at oil refinery in Indramayu, Indonesia

On the front page of Monday's paper edition of the Wall Street Journal is an article titled: "Oil Rises as Supply Tightens and Demand picks up."I read the article (retitled in the online edition), and somehow, I didn't find any mention of Biden's executive orders blocking pipelines and oil leases as a substantial reason why prices have taken off. His and the Democrats' policies of doing everything they can to block supply is what is contributing greatly to the increase. They are very helpful to Russia, Iran, and other producers who truly appreciate the rising prices and are very happy...

Oil prices moving downwards today with a barrel of West Texas Intermediate at 12.58 a barrel.... Two motorcyle officers rammed by a car driving in the wrong direction in a Paris suburb today.... The Syrian government says that three civilians were killed and four wounded in an early morning Israeli airstrike on the Damascus area..... The US military denying a Syrian Arab News Agency Report that two American soldiers are missing...... Fighting reported in Syria between members of the HTS Al Qaeda forces and Turkish soldiers in the Greater Idlib region.... The United States military killed and injured civilians in...

An overhwelming vote in the House today to approve the spending of 484 billion dollars related to the coronavirus with most of it going into what's called a "paycheck protection program" for small businesses.... Five no votes on the legislation four of them Republicans Andy Biggs of Arizona, Ken Buck of Colorado, Jody Hice of Georgia and Thomas Massie of Kentucky. Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also voting no. Republican Justin Amash of Michigan voting present... The French Interior minister prefers to call the violence in Paris suburbs in recent days "sporadic tensions" not "riots"..... More developments from Idaho where mother Sara...

Its happening here in the USA the arrest of a mother who asked questions when confronted by police enforcing de facto martial law related to the coronavirus.... The price of oil today with the West Texas Intermediate price at 14.23 a barrel by 530 pm Eastern US time..... The meat supply in the United States being impacted by the coronavirus. The US Department of Agriculture reporting beef production down 20 percent for this month compared to April of last year..... Another example of a food processing facility affected by coronavirus is in Alabama where at least 75 cases have been...

A complete and total collapse of oil prices today to below zero levels...... Syrian media report an Israeli air strike on the central city of Palmyra tonight.... After an additional buildup of Turkish military forces in northwestern Syria over the weekend the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdgoan accusing the Syrian government of violating the cease-fire in the Greater Idlib region. He said the Syrian government would face 'heavy losses' if the violations continued. The "Al Masdar" news website reporting Syrian government shelling of jihadist positions in Idlib.... The Iranian Foreign Minister visited Damascus today.... An attack on a US military...

The oil price situation tonight at of 1045 pm Eastern US time sees the WTI price at 20.49 per barrel.... White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow says the guidelines from President Trump on "reopening the economy" will come in the next day or two..... ...California Governor Gavin Newsom said today he would follow the lead of the scientists and public health experts and would not give a specific date for reopening California.... And when the results came in Monday for the Wisconsin Supreme Court contest Republican-Conservative Daniel Kelly was defeated by Democrat-Liberal Jill Karofsky in what's being called an "upset"......

Breaking News: Tornadoes left a path of death and destruction in Mississippi today..At least seven are reported dead.... An agreement among the OPEC+ nations to reduce oil production was reached this afternoon US time. Some 9.7 million barrels a day from OPEC+ countries will be combined with 2.7 million barrels a day in cuts coming from Brazil, Canada and the United States..... President Trump holding a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin..... A Turkish court this weekend accepting the indictment of 20 Saudi nationals in the killing of write Jamal Khashoggi.... The Israeli President Reuven Rivlin is denying Blue and...