For the first time since arriving in the US, am breaking a rule to never comment on US politics. Said rule originally imposed because one should only comment on another democratic country when one can vote, and therefore bring about change. However, what is going on right now regarding the oil ‘shortage’ is very serious, and must be exposed as the true sham it is.Back in the 1970s, when jeans were flared, hair was long and music had syncopation, I recall my genius English teacher Mr. Tabor discussing a different aspect of world affairs each week, including various future threats to our existence. We would always look forward to his class and it often turned into a very educational debate. Proof if any that interaction is the way to learn. Anyway, the thing that stuck in my mind ever since, other than the fact we would run out of food by the mid-1990s due to overpopulation, was his teaching that we would run out of oil by 2030 if our rate of consumption continued at the current rate.Well, it’s the 000s now, and we never ran out of food in the West due to efficient farming and the balancing effects of capitalism, which make it impossible for everyone to consume too much at the same time. His predictions were in fact accurate ones, it was just that like the discovery of the Ozone hole, if we know about a threat early enough on, we can deal with it in advance.Likewise, with oil, we have used similar forward thinking to discover new oil fields, and modern cars (in Europe anyway) are very economical in comparison to those of the 1970s and early 1980s. In fact, until a few months ago (1st QTR 2000), it was pretty well established that we had enough oil to last until 2050 &√Ǭ£45;- an extra 20 years to warm the Earth up another few degrees. :)But hang on! Why all of a sudden do we have an oil shortage? We still have 50 years to go!I will tell you, and this is politically sensitive stuff, so if you don’t like the ugly reality of world power & faith struggles that have cursed humanity since our ancestors developed egos, turn the other way.Vice President Al Gore, in what was a very smart move, has chosen a Jewish running mate in Senator Leberman. Unfortunately, in those areas where most of the world’s oil supplies lie buried deep, there is an opposing faith buried equally deep that is non too happy about the possibility Mr. L will be influencing the leader of the world’s most powerful nation. A nation that is a friend and sponsor of Israel. You don’t need me to explain this aspect of the situation in any more detail.But there is more to this…The Republicans, who have major ‘connections’ with the oil industry don’t want the Gore ticket to win either (duh!), so what better way to stop them winning than to undo the very reason the current administration is so popular right now &√Ǭ£45;- the booming economy.While I don’t know how all this underhand stuff works, it is pretty obvious that someone from the right of the house is probably out there in the Middle East having words with those with their hands in the oil wells and asking them to instigate a temporary shortage. Their reward being that after the election, and a few more bombs on Iraq to stop Saddam misbehaving, the US will supply the Arab nations a squadron of brand spanking new F-22s or upgraded F-15 fighter bombers, at a special price. “To you, $15billion. OK, $12.5b. Hey, my wife’s having a baby, I need the commission. Oh, give me a break will ya! Alright, $10b. Oh, you wanna Sheik on it too? W is going to kill me.“Just as I type this, the current administration is being forced to fight this covert action by the Republicans and make what appears to be a major mistake by releasing some of the US oil reserves, falling right into a very well laid trap.Or will they?Perhaps Mr. Clinton will slide by yet another ‘crisis’? After all, he’s a smart chap (possibly, smarter than W),and is calling the Republican’s bluff. After all, if there really isn’t an oil crisis, and the US does burn through the oil reserves, then after the election, the prices will drop (no matter who wins) and the reserves can be replenished.So, like a Hollywood movie (or the last 5 minutes of a Star Trek episode), by February 2001, everything will return to normal, and we’ll continue to zip on up to Tahoe every weekend at $1.19 a gallon.Mind you, if we continue for too long, and things get any warmer, we’ll be skiing on grass.