Can We Sue Germany for WWII?

[The Grand Nudger]

But then the Saudis could decide to stop selling us oil, and then we'd have a real problem on our hands.  What you've described is more of a cold war, not a lawsuit.  And I really don't think that pissing off Saudi Arabia is a good idea.

They could, if they wanted to turn their own country into a shithole overnight...but what problem would we have on account of that?  An 8% hike in the price of gas at the pump? I've seen worse.


https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/pet_move_im...mbbl_m.htm

You're stuck in the 70's (as are most people who troll the boards with "wars for oil" narratives ).

[Minimalist]

It's already a shithole.  They can make it a little worse and allah won't do fuckall to help them.

[Edwardo Piet]

Omg you are such a bastard, lol.

Go to bed!

How I can stay up for multiple without sleep if I want to: lots and lots of masturbation followed by lots of high energy music during my refractory period and then lots and lots of more masturbation... and there are other tricks to stay awake sexualizing too.

Hell, I should write a book.

I'm glad this isn't explicit 'masturbate' ain't explicit right?

[Thumpalumpacus]

What are they going to do, come move the buildings they own here over to SA? Perhaps seize Chase by force of arms?

I don't think you're thinking this through. The interconnection of the world's economy means that every country worth mentioning has hooks on every other country worth mentioning -- especially America, a favorite investment destination. We don't need Saudi cooperation to impound funds generated in America by Saudi investments.

But then the Saudis could decide to stop selling us oil, and then we'd have a real problem on our hands.  What you've described is more of a cold war, not a lawsuit.  And I really don't think that pissing off Saudi Arabia is a good idea.

If we freeze their assets here, there's not a damned thing they can do about it.

We source very little of our oil from the Saudis, and given how they're glutting the market trying to put both American frackers and Russian drillers out of business -- with the deficits that such price drops imply for the Saudi budget -- I think we're in the catbird seat there. They'd have to raise prices (right now at $49/bbl), while fracking needs $45/bbl to be profitable, and Russian drilling only $40/bbl. If they raise prices to help their budgeting, they open the market even further to competition. The Saudi budgeting has been predicated on oil at around $60/bbl, and they're already backing down on their welfare-state in order to trim costs.

I'm not describing a cold war. I'm describing a physical fact, backed up by economic muscle. If the Saudis lost a hypothetical lawsuit to 9/11 family members, the judgement could and likely would be enforced by attaching Saudi assets in the US. And if they got sore about it and wanted to retaliate using oil, they'd only make the market more open to both American and Russian producers.

[Thumpalumpacus]

If those assets are in America, what will the Saudis do?

Manipulate the price of oil.

They've been doing this for three years now trying to drive frackers out of business. It doesn't seem to be working.

Better news yet -- they're depleting their reserves ever more quickly in the attempt, meaning that in the foreseeable future they'll go back to being irrelevant assholes unable to finance madrasas and Al-Qaeda operations.

[Thumpalumpacus]

It's already a shithole.  They can make it a little worse and allah won't do fuckall to help them.

... and we can help them along that path.

[Ravenshire]

Manipulate the price of oil.

They've been doing this for three years now trying to drive frackers out of business. It doesn't seem to be working.

Better news yet -- they're depleting their reserves ever more quickly in the attempt, meaning that in the foreseeable future they'll go back to being irrelevant assholes unable to finance madrasas and Al-Qaeda operations.

Speaking from inside the oil biz, yes it is. There are companies downsizing and flat going out of business all over Colorado, Wyoming and the Dakotas because it's no longer profitable enough to frak the Bakken (and other) reserves.

[The Grand Nudger]

It would be, if the saudis stopped selling us oil, or stopped intentionally devaluing it.  Nevertheless, the industry as a whole is growing, not shrinking.  Fracking accounts for half of our oil production and half of our natural gas production..that production itself is growing (which is how we quietly outgrew the persian oil narrative of yesteryear). We've pulled back on rigs, which is why you see companies going under, while simultaneously upping our production. This isn't a bad thing.....as unfortunate as it may be for some specific individual oil industry worker or company.

[Sterben]

If we start to sue other countries, that would they could sue us right back. If that were to happen, we would owe a lot money in damages. The Japanese could hypothetical sue us for dropping two atomic bombs on them, and the middle eastern countries could also ask for damages for the countless civilization deaths we have caused.

[The Grand Nudger]

If we start to sue other countries, that would they could sue us right back. If that were to happen, we would owe a lot money in damages. The Japanese could hypothetical sue us for dropping two atomic bombs on them,

Negatron, not a terror attack.  This doesn't open us up to that.

and the middle eastern countries could also ask for damages for the countless civilization deaths we have caused.

-or that.

Though it does open us up to litigation concerning those people we've trained and armed.