Actually the title of this article is misleading. There is
no mystery surrounding these ships, however I wanted to connect it to an
article I wrote a few days ago about a similar incident off the coast of South
Wales because I have come to suspect that the
causes are similar, see: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2020/04/mystery-ships.html.
Actually when I posted this article, many people commented that what I was
reporting on was normal shipping manoeuvres. If that is so then I'd have to ask
why the mainstream media mentions it. Either way, the same cannot be said for
this similar story. A huge fleet of ships have been gathering in the seas off
southern California USA. They are supertankers whose job it is to feed America 's
unquenchable thirst for petroleum, or unquenchable until now. The coronavirus
lockdown has reduced the demand for oil by such a sudden and extreme level that
it has caused a bottleneck; one which actually appeared while those ships were
at sea. So supply has yet to adjust to demand. Source: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-04-24/dramatic-video-shows-l-a-coast-filled-with-dozens-of-oil-tankers-with-nowhere-to-go.
This has obviously caused a record-breaking crash in oil prices, source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52367052,
that even surpasses the one a few years ago when the world started a trade war
with Russia ,
see: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2015/02/you-really-dont-like-russia-do-you.html.
Hopefully this situation is temporary, but it is clear that the
powers-that-shouldn't-be are quite relishing this new opportunity to exercise
their authoritarian muscles and this includes economic reform. How many of the
changes caused by the COVID 19 pandemic will remain with us after the pandemic
is over? What will be the long-term historical effects of the lockdown? One
thing is for sure is that it will be dragged on for as long as it can be
justified in the minds of the population.
See here for
background: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-coronavirus-industry.html.
Hi Ben. I think we will see libertarian free market ideology becoming somewhat unfashionable as a consequence of C19. A move towards collectivism like we saw after the end of WW2 will follow I am sure. I hope in Britain we might see the last vestiges of ultra individualism and Thatcherism finally thrown into the dustbin of history. Ade
ReplyDeleteHi Ade. There are certainly going to be permanent changes to the economy. What they will be, we'll have to wait and see.
ReplyDeleteYes definitely, but underpinning those changes to the economy will be ideological changes. A real game changer
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