Payback For OPEC+ Cuts? Biden May Press U.S. Companies To Limit Saudi Business, Report Says

Payback For OPEC+ Cuts? Biden May Press U.S. Companies To Limit Saudi Business, Report Says (archived)

The Biden administration wants to leverage U.S. companies with ties to Saudi Arabia but without sacrificing regional security efforts, according to the report.

The Biden administration will immediately begin scaling back its diplomatic and military activities in Saudi Arabia, at least until OPEC+’s next meeting on December 4, NBC reports, citing an unnamed senior administration official who said the meeting will “be a key test” of how OPEC+ will respond to European Union sanctions that ban Russian oil imports, effective December 5.

The OPEC+ conglomerate–a Saudi-led alliance of oil-producing countries, including Russia–plans to curb oil production by 2 million barrels a day beginning in November. The move, characterized by the Saudi government as an effort to stabilize energy markets, is expected to increase global oil prices and raise gas prices. The Biden administration has vowed “consequences” for Saudi Arabia over the announcement, and Democratic lawmakers have urged the president to halt arms sales to the kingdom, but the White House has yet to announce how, exactly, it will retaliate and is not expected to do so until Congress returns from recess after the November midterms.

Saudis say US sought 1 month delay of OPEC+ production cuts

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia said Thursday that the U.S. had urged it to postpone a decision by OPEC and its allies — including Russia — to cut oil production by a month. Such a delay could have helped reduce the risk of a spike in gas prices ahead of the U.S. midterm elections next month.

Saudis say US sought 1 month delay of OPEC+ production cuts

Related:

Saudi Arabia Defied U.S. Warnings Ahead of OPEC+ Production Cut

The one-month delay requested by Washington would have meant a production cut made in the days before the election, too late to have much effect on consumers’ wallets ahead of the vote.

To entice the Saudis to delay their decision, U.S. officials told the kingdom they would buy oil on the market to replenish Washington’s strategic stockpiles if the price of Brent, the main international benchmark, fell to $75 a barrel, according to U.S. officials and people inside the Saudi government.

Quid pro quo, huh?! 🧐💭

Tulsi Gabbard says she’s LEAVING the Democrats

Former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard announced Tuesday morning she is leaving the Democratic Party in a series of tweets criticizing their ‘cowardly wokeness’ and accusing them of ‘stoking anti-white racism’.

Tulsi Gabbard says she’s LEAVING the Democrats

Related:

Video: Why I’m leaving the Democrat Party

The Untold Truth Of Tulsi Gabbard

Hopefully, she stays an Independent. Update: Wasn’t impressed with her video. She seemed to imply that we don’t have the right to ‘freedom from religion’, which is false. As with Republicans, she complained about Conservatives being targeted but no mention of Biden also going after Socialists. The Biden Administration is going after anyone that isn’t satisfied with their policies! She seemed to be pandering to the right. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[2017] Why vaccine manufacturers are exempt from liability

In 1986 Congress passed the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA), creating a no-fault compensation program to stabilize a vaccine market adversely affected by an increase in vaccine-related lawsuits and to facilitate compensation to claimants who found pursuing legitimate vaccine-inflicted injuries too difficult and cost prohibitive.

Why vaccine manufacturers are exempt from liability

The Washington Quid Pro Quo and a Comment on Roe v. Wade

The Washington Quid Pro Quo and a Comment on Roe v. Wade

As to Neuburger’s on Roe v. Wade, the fact that many people are mighty unhappy about it being overturned is not germane unless they manage to pass new Federal legislation, which seems unlikely. Women’s advocacy groups collectively need to be taken out and shot. If you read the original ruling, it’s a handwave. It was always vulnerable to being reversed. And yet those with most to lose did nothing to protect their rights. The response to abortion doctors being shot and women going to abortion clinics being threatened didn’t elicit remotely the warranted level of outrage. This action should have been made domestic terrorism in the laws of the Democratic-leaning states and prosecuted as such. The defenders of abortion acting like a bunch of wimps helped pave the way to where we are.

Comment by Yves Smith