Fanatics cause petrol shortage

[non sociopath skin]

So when are Chuck Clarke and his intrepid rozzers going to feel the collars of the right-wing anti-government fanatics whose anti-democratic fatwah caused this panic?

Or will we simply wait and send in the armed hit-squad to round them up when they start their criminal action at the refineries.

And NO TALKING TO THEM! Force is the only think that fundamentalists understand.

Sorry? They're WHITE RIGHT-WING CONSERVATIVES!
Oh that's alright then, sir. Sorry to have troubled you. Mind how you go ....

The Skin



Fuel suppliers have said they are struggling to cope with a week's demand in just one day.

They called for calm as demand at the pumps across the UK increased amid fears of blockades at refineries and resultant shortages reminiscent of the 2000 fuel crisis.

Despite official reassurances, petrol stations across the country have been running out of fuel, with long queues developing where fuel is still on sale.

But the UK Petroleum Industry Association (UKPIA), which represents suppliers such as Shell, BP, Esso and Total, said there was no need for motorists to panic

http://channels.aolsvc.co.uk/motor/article.adp?id=20050913081609990001

[fedsron2us]

1. Pure case of double standards

If it was trade unionists organising the blockades then civil injunctions would be raining down and the activists would find their bank accounts and other assets seized in double quick time. The fact that the government doesn't do anything about it just goes to show what a bunch of pusillanimous hypocritical farts make up this current administration.

[Briar]

2. That is my question too

And why, if they are just staging a peaceful protest and have no wish to disrupt supplies again, is that protest outside refineries? When French farmers do this kind of thing they tend to dump muck outside of townhalls - staking out the refineries was obviously designed as a threat. They have the power to bring the country to a standstill and the means to exercise it. They are a far worse danger to "our way of life" than animal rights activists, peace campaigners, Gate Gourmet staff and so on put together. A greater threat than terrorists or firebrand preachers! But I don't see Bliar and Clarke rushing out some makeshift, please-the-bigots legislation designed to send them to gaol for just thinking the wrong way!

[moggie]

14. Ah, the French

That reminds me of one of the ironies of the big fuel protests a few years ago. They started in France, leading to the Daily Mail ranting about how those nasty froggie protesters should be dealt with firmly by their government. Then, when the similar protest sprang up in the UK just a few days later, suddenly the Mail was fully behind it...

A (presumably short-lived) single-issue political party was formed during that protest. Well, almost single-issue: the first version of their manifesto called for various fuel-related measures, plus an end to immigration. So I guess the rumours of the involvement of BNP and other far-right people in the protest were probably true...

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. And the disinformation from them about European prices is annoying

"Our duty is twice that in Europe", someone just claimed on TV. Well, not in the major countries:


and even then, 85p per litre, at €1.48 to the pound, ie €1.26, is cheap in France compared to what they do pay:

(Paris price, 7th Sept)

[Briar]

4. It's also annoying that so often the media

just repeat their disinformation instead of correcting it.

But the media have a vested interest in encouraging the "panic buying". It makes for hotter news!

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

10. Jon Snow basically said as much in his "snowmail" today

"We're in that dangerous hinterland where, if we are not careful, the media will play its part in bringing about a huge petrol crisis. There's no shortage, no protest and not much evidence of either in the wings. The police are adamant that they will keep supplies rolling however big the protests are, should they materialise, but still the petrol hunger hysteria builds."

[ikri]

12. They're protesting the wrong people

Perhaps they should be asking Ford, BMW, etc. why a Model T Ford could manage 25-30 miles per gallon yet the modern equivalent can barely manage 30 mpg.

Over 10 years ago Citroen were producing prototype cars that did over 100 mpg, yet we have never seen these in production. Why not?

In 1996 Honda managed to produce a car for the world mileage marathon that did an incredible 9426 miles per gallon yet 9 years later the most basic Honda Civic can just about manage 35 mpg.

I cannot think of another industry where 97 years after the first major innovation there has been such little progress.

[T_i_B]

13. Or the other usual suspects...

I agree that fuel duties are the wrong thing to protest here but I'm afraid to say that if anyone needs to be protested it is the usual suspects of the Bush administration. The US government is in thrall to big oil and that hasn't helped here IMHO. The kowtowing of Blair hasn't helped either.

[Taxloss]

5. Smash them like Thatcher smashed the miners.

Get Orgreave on their arses.

They pose a much greater threat than the miners for more petty ends. I want mounted police and baton charges. Otherwise I might begin to suspect the establishment is a bit hypocritical.

These fuckers are a menace are must be given a smack of firm government.

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. Larry Elliott, is that you?

Make no mistake. Blockading refineries would pose a much bigger threat to the economy than any posed by Arthur Scargill two decades ago. The signs are that this may be only a faint reprise of the protests of five years ago, but if they are successful, there is a risk that the country could seize up in a way not seen since the three-day week of the early 1970s. The oil companies should be left in no doubt that the government expects them to keep the fuel flowing and that any suggestion of collusion with the protesters - as there was in 2000 - will be met with a windfall tax on their profits. As for the protesters, they would appear to be planning illegal secondary picketing. It is time for the smack of firm government.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,5673,1568781,00.html

[Taxloss]

7. Yes, it is.

Only kidding.

But I did read that article. And I agree absolutely, and I felt the same way in 2000. Destroy them.

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. I agree as well

Why these right-wingers suddenly stop understanding the basis of a market economy - when the costs for an entire industry go up, the industry has to pass the rise on in the form of increased prices to its customers - I don't know. No, I wouldn't enjoy paying more for my delivered goods, but it's part of a capitalist society. The airlines seem to manage it. And taxing carbon dioxide-producing activities is a Good Thing. The fuel escalator was probably the best economic policy the Tories ever came up with, and it's a shame Brown backed down from it.

[Taxloss]

9. The Invisible hand can help with your deliveries as well ...

... by dismantling the false (subsidised) economies of the supermarket and making locally sourced produce more viable. And the hauliers act out of pure greed, nothing more; their fuel is tax-deductible.

[non sociopath skin]

11. The right are too boneheaded to realise folk can see through their "rules"

... which are conveniently bent when it suits.

Yes, the fuel "protests" are all about greed and the media should be saying it loud and clear.

BTW, was that Austin's cartoon character I saw being interviewed on TV this morning? :+

The Skin

[Taxloss]

17. "We will be tough" police warn fuel rebels

http://www.guardian.co.uk/oil/story/0,11319,1569456,00.html

Well, they did rough up the pro-hunting protestors. But I'll believe it when I see it. Unlike picket lines, these people are breaking the law.

[fedsron2us]

15. So far the protests look to be a bit of a non event

despite the vain attempts of the Daily Mail to hype it into a crisis. I suspect one of the reasons for the relative lack of enthusiasm on behalf of some hauliers is that the fuel price differences with the near European continent seem to have largely disappeared since 2000. As a result the threat to their livelihood from cheaper foreign truckers has greatly diminished. Without this driving force the demonstrations are not really able to gather any momentum.

[Taxloss]

16. The Daily Mail CAUSED the panic-buying. Classic agitation.

There was no panic buying until the DM reported that there was. And then ...