Jubilee21
June 13th, 2008, 12:05 AM
Not in the mainstream news here in the states from what I have seen but all hell seems to be breaking out in other countries over rising fuel prices and shortages..this is pretty bad:
High prices trigger protests in Thailand
By SUTIN WANNABOVORN – 8 hours ago
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — Tens of thousands of heavy trucks are threatening to cause havoc in the Thai capital while fishermen have begun burning their boats in nationwide protests against soaring prices of fuel and other essentials, protesters said Thursday.
The government has until next Tuesday to subsidize fuel for truckers or face at least 100,000 vehicles rumbling into already traffic-clogged Bangkok, said Thongyoo Khongkhan, secretary-general of the Land Transport Federation of Thailand.
Also protesting or planning to stage demonstrations in this still heavily agricultural nation were garlic, cabbage and rice farmers, along with fishermen.
A government spokesman said budget has been allocated to subsidize some costs of the farmers, fishermen and transport workers.
"The government is trying its best to reduce the immediate problem of the various groups of protesters," said Natawut Saikau.
"The ongoing protests are not affecting the stability of the government but merely affecting the feelings of the people," he said.
Prices for some commodities, such as rice, have risen because of greater worldwide demand, but farmers complain that these have been offset by skyrocketing inflation spurred by soaring fuel prices.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h...Rt-JgD918FLD80
Spain's car plants shut as fuel protests mount
WedJun 11, 2008 1:26pm EDT
By Emma Pinedo and Ben Harding
MADRID, June 11 (Reuters) - Spain's car industry came to a virtual standstill on Wednesday because of a nationwide strike by truck drivers angry at the soaring price of fuel.
The car makers' association Anfac said all of Spain's 18 car factories, which produce 13,000 vehicles a day and account for about 5 percent of Spain's GDP, would be out of action by Thursday because of a lack of parts and fuel.
In recent days truckers across Spain have also blocked deliveries of fuel and food -- sparking a rush by consumers to stockpile staple goods -- and have jammed up motorways, causing travel chaos for millions. The dispute has become increasingly violent -- one protester was killed on Tuesday.
Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said police had arrested at least 51 protesters since the strike began on Monday, 34 of them for blocking the main motorway from Madrid to the north.
Police have so far escorted almost 3,000 trucks carrying food, fuel and medical supplies to their destinations, and Rubalcaba told distributors to call police if they needed protection to move goods by road.
He warned those on the picket lines that, although they had a right to strike, they had no right to hurt the interests of ordinary people.
"We will continue to act with maximum force against those who want to disturb public order," he told a news conference.
The Portuguese capital's main airport ran out of fuel because of the strike -- causing delays but no cancellations -- but Spain's main airports are supplied by pipelines and were unaffected, a spokeswoman at the airport operator AENA said.
Spanish Infrastructure Minister Magdalena Alvarez told parliament the government and the main haulage association had agreed terms.
However, the two other groups, representing most of the strikers, were continuing to demand that the government set a minimum tariff for their services, which Alvarez said was impossible.
In the northeastern region of Catalonia, police said they had managed to clear protesters and reopen the Jonquera border crossing with France.
Diesel has risen to around 1.30 euros ($2.01) a litre from 0.95 euros a year ago, pushing heavy fuel users such as truck and taxi drivers, fishermen and farmers across Europe to demand support from their governments.
http://www.reuters.com/article/lates.../idUSL11659239
[Fuel protests spread around the world
Protests over soaring fuel prices erupted in Asia on Tuesday as truckers in Hong Kong and tire-burning demonstrators in India and Nepal added their angry voices to protests that began last month in Europe.
As oil hit a record $139 a barrel, large and small businesses that depend on gasoline and diesel said they can no longer cope with pump prices that have doubled or tripled, with the steepest increases coming in recent months.
Several hundred trucks and buses were used in a go-slow protest in Hong Kong, snarling traffic in that major Asian economic center. Drivers were demanding reductions in fuel taxes.
Tens of thousands of Spanish drivers did go-slow protests on major roads, knotting traffic near cities such as Madrid and Barcelona as Portuguese drivers have joined. France was also one of the countries where protests over the impact of record oil prices happened.
Two protesters were killed Tuesday, one in Spain and one in Portugal, as they attempted to block traffic. One of the striking truck drivers was killed near a Grenada market in southern Spain and the other, a picket, died as he tried to stop a truck on a road north of the Lisbon, in Portugal.
The protests in India and Nepal were smaller and more isolated, but also reflected the spreading anger over prices. India increased petrol and diesel prices last week by around 10 percent after the cost of fuel subsidies brought state oil companies close to bankruptcy.
Diesel has risen to $2 a liter from $1.47 a year ago in the European Union. Fuel taxes are also seen as the central issue for truckers in Europe, because they account for a large portion of the retail price of fuel.
Unleaded gasoline sold for $8.65 a gallon and diesel for $9.62 a gallon Tuesday in Britain, which charges a flat $3.77 a gallon in fuel duty and imposes 17.5 percent consumption tax on the total price.
Fishermen have also been on strike since May 30 in protest at rising fuel costs, which have especially hurt Spain's independent or self-employed contractors amid an overall economic slowdown. Spanish fishermen strike, now in its 12th day, showed no sign of breaking. Only a trickle of fish passed through Vigo -- Europe's biggest fishing port -- compared to the 200 tons that is normally traded there every day.
GOVERNMENTS ON ALERT
http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/t...d=231&sz=89942
/QUOTE]
Fuel strikes continue in India, shutting down West Bengal
The Associated Press
Published: June 6, 2008
MUMBAI: Angry consumers blocked railroad tracks and roads and shut down businesses in several parts of India for a second day Friday, protesting an increase in fuel prices by the government.
[QUOTE]Like other Asian countries, Malaysia faced a spiraling fuel subsidy bill that could have been more than 56 billion ringgit, or $17 billion, this year because of rising oil prices on global markets.
Although the government wants to ensure that pump prices are close to market rates, it is not likely to review prices again in the short run, Shahrir said.
In addition to the fuel hike, Malaysia also increased electricity tariffs by as much as 26 percent for some consumers, beginning in July.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/.../indstrike.php
Fuel Protests Erupt in Asia As Oil Hits $139 a Barrel
Two Protesters Die In Strikes in Europe
By Kevin Sullivan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, June 11, 2008; A10
LONDON, June 10 -- Protests over soaring fuel prices erupted in Asia on Tuesday as truckers in Hong Kong and tire-burning demonstrators in India and Nepal added their angry voices to protests that began last month in Europe.
As oil hit a record $139 a barrel, large and small businesses that depend on gasoline and diesel said they can no longer cope with pump prices that have doubled or tripled, with the steepest increases coming in recent months.
Two protesters were killed Tuesday, one in Spain and one in Portugal, as they attempted to block traffic, news reports said. They appeared to be the first two fatalities in strikes that began in those countries last month.
Truckers in South Korea voted to strike, and Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi pledged about $306 million in supplemental funding to maintain support among provincial lawmakers angry over the fuel costs.
Several hundred trucks and buses were used in a go-slow protest in Hong Kong, snarling traffic in that major Asian economic center. Drivers were demanding reductions in fuel taxes. The protests in India and Nepal were smaller and more isolated, but reflected spreading anger over prices.
Fuel taxes are also the central issue for truckers in Europe, because they account for a large portion of the retail price of fuel. Unleaded gasoline sold for $8.65 a gallon and diesel for $9.62 a gallon Tuesday in Britain, which charges a flat $3.77 a gallon in fuel duty and imposes a 17.5 percent consumption tax on the total price.
"We're doing this for our industry and our customers," said David McCutcheon, an organizer of a go-slow protest by scores of truckers in Scotland on Tuesday, according to Britain's Press Association. "Our industry cannot sustain paying a 25 percent tax while the government enjoy the windfall and put it in their back pocket."
Protests began to hit home for consumers as Spanish news media reported that gas stations in some areas had run out of fuel and that some markets were reporting shortages of fresh produce.
Tens of thousands of Spanish drivers continued go-slow protests on major roads, knotting traffic near cities such as Madrid and Barcelona.
Traffic jams several miles long formed Monday at Junquera, a crossing on the French border, where Spanish drivers refused to let foreign trucks enter and smashed the windshields of those that tried to pass.
The Spanish Interior Ministry announced that the first fatality of the demonstrations was a protester struck by a van at a picket line outside a wholesale market in the city of Granada. A ministry statement said the man was hit when the van's driver, who has been detained, accelerated when protesters started throwing rocks at him as he tried to drive past.
The second death was that of a 52-year-old protester in Portugal who was run over as he tried to signal for a truck to stop on a road north of Lisbon, according to news reports.
The government of Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero continued talks Tuesday with a key transport union, which is demanding relief against soaring prices.
In Britain, Prime Minister Gordon Brown cautioned the public against panic buying of gas and diesel ahead of a threatened strike by 500 oil tanker drivers. "We believe that this strike is unnecessary, and we would want to ensure that nothing was done that inconvenienced the public," Brown told reporters. "But the most responsible thing the public can do is to continue to buy as normal."
Pay, not rising prices, is the central issue in the action threatened by the oil tanker drivers.
But officials worry that the strike, scheduled to begin Friday unless a solution is found, could create fuel shortages at the pump.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...002877_pf.html
__________________
Argentina half-halted on gas oil shortage and roadblocks
Serious problems in fuel supply are affecting two thirds of the country. Roadblocks carried out by farmers and truckers in oil firms' stations and pickets on roads are the most evident cause of shortage. Around 200 cuts were observed on Wednesday. If this strike extends, essential goods will run short in the weekend. Meanwhile, government announced easing of restrictions on wheat exports, 1 million tons through which $115-million export taxes will be collected. Español
http://www.ambitoweb.com/diario/noti...%20en%20Ingles
PETROL TO DOUBLE AS PUMPS RUN DRY
ABOVE: Panic fears on the forecourts12th June 2008 By Ross Kaniuk Petrol prices will double to £2 a litre “in the foreseeable future” oil experts warned yesterday.
The shock verdict came as talks to avert a tanker drivers strike were reaching a climax.
Fears were growing that Friday’s four-day stoppage would see forecourts close and food vanish from supermarkets.
That is already happening in Spain where tanker driver action has caused riots, death and empty shops.
Five hundred British petrol tanker drivers employed by two firms delivering to Shell are due to walk out from 6am tomorrow in a pay dispute.
But already motorists are draining petrol stations of fuel.
Meanwhile Alexey Miller, head of Russian fuel giant Gazprom, said demand from the developing world will push up the price to $250 a barrel “in the foreseeable future”.
That would mean £2-a-litre petrol and would send shockwaves through the UK economy.
Panic-buying led to an Asda petrol station in Liverpool running out of diesel for a time.
There were around 40 cars queuing in the morning Asda porter Dave Alty
Dave Alty, an Asda porter, said: “We are normally quite busy here but drivers are just panicking.
“There were around 40 cars queuing in the morning.”
A spokesman for the Prime Minister said: “We want the public to continue to buy as normal so as to avoid creating problems that might otherwise not exist.”
In Torres Novas, Portugal, 60 miles north of Lisbon, a protester was killed when a truck failed to stop at a picket line. And in Spain a protester was killed by a van at a picket line at a market in Granada.
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view...dry/?printer=1
__________________
Okay..sort of gives you a clue whats been going on while our eyes have been turned on Iowa and the midwest storms as well as other events..
Sort of a frightening "peek" into what we could be looking at down the road here:ohno
These are not third world countries either ...
High prices trigger protests in Thailand
By SUTIN WANNABOVORN – 8 hours ago
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — Tens of thousands of heavy trucks are threatening to cause havoc in the Thai capital while fishermen have begun burning their boats in nationwide protests against soaring prices of fuel and other essentials, protesters said Thursday.
The government has until next Tuesday to subsidize fuel for truckers or face at least 100,000 vehicles rumbling into already traffic-clogged Bangkok, said Thongyoo Khongkhan, secretary-general of the Land Transport Federation of Thailand.
Also protesting or planning to stage demonstrations in this still heavily agricultural nation were garlic, cabbage and rice farmers, along with fishermen.
A government spokesman said budget has been allocated to subsidize some costs of the farmers, fishermen and transport workers.
"The government is trying its best to reduce the immediate problem of the various groups of protesters," said Natawut Saikau.
"The ongoing protests are not affecting the stability of the government but merely affecting the feelings of the people," he said.
Prices for some commodities, such as rice, have risen because of greater worldwide demand, but farmers complain that these have been offset by skyrocketing inflation spurred by soaring fuel prices.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h...Rt-JgD918FLD80
Spain's car plants shut as fuel protests mount
WedJun 11, 2008 1:26pm EDT
By Emma Pinedo and Ben Harding
MADRID, June 11 (Reuters) - Spain's car industry came to a virtual standstill on Wednesday because of a nationwide strike by truck drivers angry at the soaring price of fuel.
The car makers' association Anfac said all of Spain's 18 car factories, which produce 13,000 vehicles a day and account for about 5 percent of Spain's GDP, would be out of action by Thursday because of a lack of parts and fuel.
In recent days truckers across Spain have also blocked deliveries of fuel and food -- sparking a rush by consumers to stockpile staple goods -- and have jammed up motorways, causing travel chaos for millions. The dispute has become increasingly violent -- one protester was killed on Tuesday.
Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said police had arrested at least 51 protesters since the strike began on Monday, 34 of them for blocking the main motorway from Madrid to the north.
Police have so far escorted almost 3,000 trucks carrying food, fuel and medical supplies to their destinations, and Rubalcaba told distributors to call police if they needed protection to move goods by road.
He warned those on the picket lines that, although they had a right to strike, they had no right to hurt the interests of ordinary people.
"We will continue to act with maximum force against those who want to disturb public order," he told a news conference.
The Portuguese capital's main airport ran out of fuel because of the strike -- causing delays but no cancellations -- but Spain's main airports are supplied by pipelines and were unaffected, a spokeswoman at the airport operator AENA said.
Spanish Infrastructure Minister Magdalena Alvarez told parliament the government and the main haulage association had agreed terms.
However, the two other groups, representing most of the strikers, were continuing to demand that the government set a minimum tariff for their services, which Alvarez said was impossible.
In the northeastern region of Catalonia, police said they had managed to clear protesters and reopen the Jonquera border crossing with France.
Diesel has risen to around 1.30 euros ($2.01) a litre from 0.95 euros a year ago, pushing heavy fuel users such as truck and taxi drivers, fishermen and farmers across Europe to demand support from their governments.
http://www.reuters.com/article/lates.../idUSL11659239
[Fuel protests spread around the world
Protests over soaring fuel prices erupted in Asia on Tuesday as truckers in Hong Kong and tire-burning demonstrators in India and Nepal added their angry voices to protests that began last month in Europe.
As oil hit a record $139 a barrel, large and small businesses that depend on gasoline and diesel said they can no longer cope with pump prices that have doubled or tripled, with the steepest increases coming in recent months.
Several hundred trucks and buses were used in a go-slow protest in Hong Kong, snarling traffic in that major Asian economic center. Drivers were demanding reductions in fuel taxes.
Tens of thousands of Spanish drivers did go-slow protests on major roads, knotting traffic near cities such as Madrid and Barcelona as Portuguese drivers have joined. France was also one of the countries where protests over the impact of record oil prices happened.
Two protesters were killed Tuesday, one in Spain and one in Portugal, as they attempted to block traffic. One of the striking truck drivers was killed near a Grenada market in southern Spain and the other, a picket, died as he tried to stop a truck on a road north of the Lisbon, in Portugal.
The protests in India and Nepal were smaller and more isolated, but also reflected the spreading anger over prices. India increased petrol and diesel prices last week by around 10 percent after the cost of fuel subsidies brought state oil companies close to bankruptcy.
Diesel has risen to $2 a liter from $1.47 a year ago in the European Union. Fuel taxes are also seen as the central issue for truckers in Europe, because they account for a large portion of the retail price of fuel.
Unleaded gasoline sold for $8.65 a gallon and diesel for $9.62 a gallon Tuesday in Britain, which charges a flat $3.77 a gallon in fuel duty and imposes 17.5 percent consumption tax on the total price.
Fishermen have also been on strike since May 30 in protest at rising fuel costs, which have especially hurt Spain's independent or self-employed contractors amid an overall economic slowdown. Spanish fishermen strike, now in its 12th day, showed no sign of breaking. Only a trickle of fish passed through Vigo -- Europe's biggest fishing port -- compared to the 200 tons that is normally traded there every day.
GOVERNMENTS ON ALERT
http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/t...d=231&sz=89942
/QUOTE]
Fuel strikes continue in India, shutting down West Bengal
The Associated Press
Published: June 6, 2008
MUMBAI: Angry consumers blocked railroad tracks and roads and shut down businesses in several parts of India for a second day Friday, protesting an increase in fuel prices by the government.
[QUOTE]Like other Asian countries, Malaysia faced a spiraling fuel subsidy bill that could have been more than 56 billion ringgit, or $17 billion, this year because of rising oil prices on global markets.
Although the government wants to ensure that pump prices are close to market rates, it is not likely to review prices again in the short run, Shahrir said.
In addition to the fuel hike, Malaysia also increased electricity tariffs by as much as 26 percent for some consumers, beginning in July.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/.../indstrike.php
Fuel Protests Erupt in Asia As Oil Hits $139 a Barrel
Two Protesters Die In Strikes in Europe
By Kevin Sullivan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, June 11, 2008; A10
LONDON, June 10 -- Protests over soaring fuel prices erupted in Asia on Tuesday as truckers in Hong Kong and tire-burning demonstrators in India and Nepal added their angry voices to protests that began last month in Europe.
As oil hit a record $139 a barrel, large and small businesses that depend on gasoline and diesel said they can no longer cope with pump prices that have doubled or tripled, with the steepest increases coming in recent months.
Two protesters were killed Tuesday, one in Spain and one in Portugal, as they attempted to block traffic, news reports said. They appeared to be the first two fatalities in strikes that began in those countries last month.
Truckers in South Korea voted to strike, and Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi pledged about $306 million in supplemental funding to maintain support among provincial lawmakers angry over the fuel costs.
Several hundred trucks and buses were used in a go-slow protest in Hong Kong, snarling traffic in that major Asian economic center. Drivers were demanding reductions in fuel taxes. The protests in India and Nepal were smaller and more isolated, but reflected spreading anger over prices.
Fuel taxes are also the central issue for truckers in Europe, because they account for a large portion of the retail price of fuel. Unleaded gasoline sold for $8.65 a gallon and diesel for $9.62 a gallon Tuesday in Britain, which charges a flat $3.77 a gallon in fuel duty and imposes a 17.5 percent consumption tax on the total price.
"We're doing this for our industry and our customers," said David McCutcheon, an organizer of a go-slow protest by scores of truckers in Scotland on Tuesday, according to Britain's Press Association. "Our industry cannot sustain paying a 25 percent tax while the government enjoy the windfall and put it in their back pocket."
Protests began to hit home for consumers as Spanish news media reported that gas stations in some areas had run out of fuel and that some markets were reporting shortages of fresh produce.
Tens of thousands of Spanish drivers continued go-slow protests on major roads, knotting traffic near cities such as Madrid and Barcelona.
Traffic jams several miles long formed Monday at Junquera, a crossing on the French border, where Spanish drivers refused to let foreign trucks enter and smashed the windshields of those that tried to pass.
The Spanish Interior Ministry announced that the first fatality of the demonstrations was a protester struck by a van at a picket line outside a wholesale market in the city of Granada. A ministry statement said the man was hit when the van's driver, who has been detained, accelerated when protesters started throwing rocks at him as he tried to drive past.
The second death was that of a 52-year-old protester in Portugal who was run over as he tried to signal for a truck to stop on a road north of Lisbon, according to news reports.
The government of Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero continued talks Tuesday with a key transport union, which is demanding relief against soaring prices.
In Britain, Prime Minister Gordon Brown cautioned the public against panic buying of gas and diesel ahead of a threatened strike by 500 oil tanker drivers. "We believe that this strike is unnecessary, and we would want to ensure that nothing was done that inconvenienced the public," Brown told reporters. "But the most responsible thing the public can do is to continue to buy as normal."
Pay, not rising prices, is the central issue in the action threatened by the oil tanker drivers.
But officials worry that the strike, scheduled to begin Friday unless a solution is found, could create fuel shortages at the pump.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...002877_pf.html
__________________
Argentina half-halted on gas oil shortage and roadblocks
Serious problems in fuel supply are affecting two thirds of the country. Roadblocks carried out by farmers and truckers in oil firms' stations and pickets on roads are the most evident cause of shortage. Around 200 cuts were observed on Wednesday. If this strike extends, essential goods will run short in the weekend. Meanwhile, government announced easing of restrictions on wheat exports, 1 million tons through which $115-million export taxes will be collected. Español
http://www.ambitoweb.com/diario/noti...%20en%20Ingles
PETROL TO DOUBLE AS PUMPS RUN DRY
ABOVE: Panic fears on the forecourts12th June 2008 By Ross Kaniuk Petrol prices will double to £2 a litre “in the foreseeable future” oil experts warned yesterday.
The shock verdict came as talks to avert a tanker drivers strike were reaching a climax.
Fears were growing that Friday’s four-day stoppage would see forecourts close and food vanish from supermarkets.
That is already happening in Spain where tanker driver action has caused riots, death and empty shops.
Five hundred British petrol tanker drivers employed by two firms delivering to Shell are due to walk out from 6am tomorrow in a pay dispute.
But already motorists are draining petrol stations of fuel.
Meanwhile Alexey Miller, head of Russian fuel giant Gazprom, said demand from the developing world will push up the price to $250 a barrel “in the foreseeable future”.
That would mean £2-a-litre petrol and would send shockwaves through the UK economy.
Panic-buying led to an Asda petrol station in Liverpool running out of diesel for a time.
There were around 40 cars queuing in the morning Asda porter Dave Alty
Dave Alty, an Asda porter, said: “We are normally quite busy here but drivers are just panicking.
“There were around 40 cars queuing in the morning.”
A spokesman for the Prime Minister said: “We want the public to continue to buy as normal so as to avoid creating problems that might otherwise not exist.”
In Torres Novas, Portugal, 60 miles north of Lisbon, a protester was killed when a truck failed to stop at a picket line. And in Spain a protester was killed by a van at a picket line at a market in Granada.
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view...dry/?printer=1
__________________
Okay..sort of gives you a clue whats been going on while our eyes have been turned on Iowa and the midwest storms as well as other events..
Sort of a frightening "peek" into what we could be looking at down the road here:ohno
These are not third world countries either ...